US has, for almost 4 years now, put aside the direct military offensive in the buffer zones (the middle-east, central and eastern Europe, part of Africa) and is relying on its proxies to advance her political aims. Those proxies have shown themselves not to be a really capable actors. The overall plan of the “West” is therefore in quandary again. I expect the main actor to display a more curled-in attitude publicly in the next one year or so while the most extremist (France, Saudis, Israelis) proxies becoming more agitated and the less extremist falling into some kind of “moderation”. Once the overall policy collapse again the extremist will be the ones that will lose the most politically.

Posted by: ATH | Feb 5 2014 19:15 utc | 4

The BBC spent almost an entire program yesterday, spewing propaganda about the Sochi Olympics and how the entire event is soaked in corruption.
They managed to find some token Russian citizens living in Sochi to express their disgust and outrage about the game etc etc. They also brought in their criminals Oligarchs from Yeltsin’s era who fled to London after Putin came to power.The claim the event cost $60 Billion. How did they arrive at that figure????
The bottoms line here is that, many Western governments(Germany, UK etc etc), who can’t face up to Putin on real issues, have taken it upon themselves to turn this beautiful event into a political show and score some cheap point against Putin. Putin, so far have chosen to ignore them and focus on the game.

Posted by: Zico | Feb 5 2014 20:13 utc | 6

“The claim the event cost $60 Billion. How did they arrive at that figure???”
They rolled in the cost of building mountain roads, a rail line, bridges&tunnels for both, new port facilities, a new international airport, tens of thousands of new hotel rooms, a new world-class hospital, geothermal power plants to power all the above, and much more.
In other words, the costs to turn a sleepy coastal town into a major year-round resort destination.

Posted by: rkka | Feb 5 2014 22:17 utc | 8

@7
‘Russia’s despicable anti-gay policies,’
since when is a law punishing the soliciting of minors ‘despicable’?

Posted by: brian | Feb 5 2014 23:13 utc | 10

I think people are right to point to the Georgia War and the attempt to overshadow the Beijing Olympics. But I don’t think we’ll see something quite so spectacular.
The US/UK is far to wise to gin up something that would give the Russians any sympathy, so I think we’ll see some gay/”Pussy Riot”/Greenpeace type stunt which the western media will use to overshadow the games. Along with playing up the terror threats and focusing on them to overshadow the joy of the games.
But they will do something. The US security state is too insecure and petty not to. But my guess is it will be a media spectacle, not so much a violent attack.

Posted by: guest77 | Feb 6 2014 3:17 utc | 12

Central Asia, possibly Xinjiang. It is the common Achilles heel of Russia and China, because of potential terrorism. The Central Asian region also shares commonalities with the Islamic nations to the west. Stirring up some troubles by the West is a prelude of Things to Come from Syria to Xinjiang.
China’s state media have practically elevated the visit of President Xi to Sochi as a summit/state visit. Russia recently affirmed its support for China with its stand against the war shrine visit by Japan’s prime minister. The Russo-China love-in is practically a de facto alliance except in name. Nothing more than the “West” would like more dearly than to throw some mud (or worse) in their faces.

Posted by: nakedtothebone | Feb 6 2014 4:10 utc | 14

Toothpaste bombs : A new and more potent “mother of satan” explosive compound made in your mom’s bathtub can blow jumbo jets out of the air when triggered by the heat of being inserted into your bum. Red Alert, how nice.

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Feb 6 2014 11:48 utc | 16

Zico thinks the Olympics are a “beautiful event”? that’s hilarious. the Olympics are disgusting, no matter where they are held. they promote obscene spending on police-state security, decimate public coffers, and temporarily render social ills, like homelessness, invisible. the Olympics represent everything that is fucked up with the global community. fuck the Olympics.

Posted by: lizard | Feb 6 2014 12:57 utc | 18

@19
Yup and from this article about the same:

For now, the Mount Whitney and the Taylor are an unsubtle reminder to Moscow that Washington remains worried about the potential security threat to the Winter Games. American officials have repeatedly offered to lend any assistance that Russia needs to preserve the security of the Winter Olympics, which have been threatened with attacks by fighters from Russia’s restive Muslim regions.

Why can’t the world just get it through its thick f*cking skull that the United States is here to help?!! FFS, if the world would just listen to the United States and shuts its f*cking yap then we wouldn’t have any problems!! The U.S. is going to help you until it hurts and then help you so more b!tches!!! It’s for your own f*cking good!!!

Posted by: JSorrentine | Feb 6 2014 15:27 utc | 20

I’m visiting in Wisconsin and a Wisconsin Public Radio talk show spent a 20 minute segment on all the “issues” and “problems” connected with the Sochi Olympics.
The topic they asked listeners to comment on was whether or not the terror warnings would lead these listeners to not watch Olympics coverage on TV. Or to not follow the Olympics.
Once caller, who admitted she would have watched in any case, said the mass killings of wild dogs had turned her off the Olympics in Russia.
One caller said, essentially, how do terror warnings affect appreciation of ahteltic competitions??
The threat of toothpaste tube bombs on planes flying to and within Russia was in all the NPR top of the hour news summaries. I don’t know what the MPM (Mainstream Corporate Media) did on the evening TV news broadcasts, but I assume it was considered a Big Deal.
Since some US government high muckymuck stated this was a “creditable threat.”
Sheesh.
BTW, does anyone know the actual source of the dog killing reports? A BBC reporter said he had seen quite a few dogs running free and wondered about the report. He noted some animal rights people had been rounding up as many of the dogs as they could, whether to get them off the streets or to save them from being killed was not clear.
This morning the two recently Pussy Rios women being in NYC was reported on in depth.
But, the drum beat about terra terra terra reminds me so much of Bush Boy’s years in office it almost makes me laugh.
Update: Interestingly, listeners to NPR have apparently been asking why only the bad side of the Russian Olympics are being featured on NPR and other US media. So, today, the architecture of the main stadium has been featured. “Breathtaking,” was one judgement of building, which can be changed to accommodate smaller crowds. It was designed with Russia’s bid for a future World Cup in mind.

Posted by: jawbone | Feb 6 2014 21:24 utc | 22

B,
Listen to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSxaa-67yGM#t=89
the whole story here:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26072281

Posted by: Yul | Feb 6 2014 23:46 utc | 24

Of course Bandar is not alone, perhaps distanced from US, just perhaps but I suppose have full support from sh..ty country which is equivalent. This guys are very adaptive and have assets in every hot spot on planet. Which are those hot spots? Syria, Ukraine, Iraq, Gaza…I do not think something big happen outside ME as the potential to great gains (WW3 or regime change or stole land) for them diminish with distance, for the time being. But as nackedtothebone address, just to throw some mud Xingjian is a good target and could be a tactical advance, but too Chechenia or the destruction of the golden dome mosque…if more I will…

Posted by: Rihard | Feb 7 2014 21:38 utc | 26