Putin's scorecard #3

Russian wound up with the most medals (13 gold, 11 silver, 9 bronze = total 33), with the U. S. in second place with 28 (9 + 7 + 12).

There were no terrorists attacks directly related to the Olympics, and no scandals involving athletes or visitors being mistreated by police.

The games all got done with no major malfunctions, and the main complaint seemed to be the fault of Mother Nature:   melting snow on the ski slopes due to higher temperatures.

So Putin can claim a victory -- even though their men's hocky team got knocked out before the semi-finals.

As the NBC host summarized:  "There was a lot of uncertainty about what was going to happen here . . . .  but they pulled it off."

However, the increased exposure has led to -- and will lead to more -- articles critical of the cost over-runs (suggesting massive corrupt profits going to a favored few) and an increasingly totalitarian government.

Exhibit #1:   A long cover story in the February 12th edition of The New Republic, titled:  "The Loneliness of Vladimir Putin:  He Crushed His Opposition and Has Nothing to Show For It But a Country That Is Falling Apart."

Worth reading, if you care about what's happening in Russia.

Ralph