Western Media Cheerlead Banning Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
A same day article called the Olympic movement more about big business, profiteering, corruption, politics, spectacle, and exploitation than amateur athletics at their best – unrelated to good will, open competition and fair play.
It suggested dark forces in Washington were behind suspending the Russian Olympic Committee, along with banning Russian athletes from participating under their nation’s flag in next winter’s games, the action sinking Olympism to a new low, delegitimizing it.
Not according to Western media, virtually unanimous in supporting the disgraceful IOC ruling.
Vladimir Putin is overwhelmingly popular for opposing US-led Western imperialism, its aggressive wars, its hostility toward Russia.
Not according to the New York Times, demeaning him repeatedly, absurdly suggesting his popularity would suffer from the IOC’s action – lying about “something…rotten in Russian sports.”
In a late November editorial, the Times disgracefully called Russia “the reigning pariah in international sports competition” – typical Times disinformation, especially anything about the country.
So-called “documented email and forensic evidence of rampant doping and urine-tampering by Russian sports and government agencies at Sochi and across years of competitive sports” is utter rubbish – Russian athletes no more culpable of using performance enhancing drugs than athletes from other countries.
The Times: “(G)lobal sports competitions ha(ve) been stealthily hijacked for years by the Russians.”
Utter rubbish! Shameful Times trash!
The Times: “(G)iven the evidence (none credible), and Mr. Putin’s bald defiance (a Big Lie), the ultimate sanction (would be) banning Russia outright until Mr. Putin can provide credible reassurance that he will no longer blatantly undermine the sportsmanship that’s supposed to be the point of the Olympics.”
The only chance for accurate Times reporting on Russia is if there’s a publication with the same name on another planet – not this one!
The neocon/CIA-connected, Russophobic Washington Post headlined “Let’s not congratulate an IOC that awarded Russia an Olympics in the first place,” disgracefully saying:
“The International Olympic Committee’s window-dressing decision to suspend Russia doesn’t really touch the ‘state’ part of ‘state-sponsored’ doping.
Facts don’t interfere with WaPo opinions. No credible evidence proves Russian state-sponsored doping, just baseless accusations.
The same goes for nonexistent Russian interference in America’s electoral process, nonexistent “Russian aggression,” and a laundry list of other phony accusations and allegations – media scoundrels like WaPo and the New York Times responsible for proliferating them.
Here’s a sampling of other headlines, demeaning Russia in all of them:
Wall Street Journal: “Russia Barred From 2018 Winter Olympics Due to Doping”
Financial Times: “Russia banned from Winter Olympics”
Reuters: “Russia banned from Pyeongchang Winter Olympics”
AP News: “Under Olympic flag, Russia can win medals”
Chicago Tribune: “Russia banned from 2018 Olympics following doping allegations”
Accompanying Chicago Tribune editorial: “How do you say, ‘Cheaters Never Prosper’ in Russian?”
Los Angeles Times: “Russia’s Olympic team barred from 2018 Winter Games”
ABC News: “Russia barred from competing in Winter Olympics”
CBS News: “Russia banned from Olympics, fined by International Olympic Committee for systematic doping”
NBC News: “International Olympic Committee bars Russia from 2018 Winter Games over doping”
BBC: “Russian doping: IOC bans Russia from 2018 Winter Olympics”
London Guardian: “Russia banned from Winter Olympics over state-sponsored doping”
London Guardian before the IOC ruling: “The IOC must do its duty this time and ban Russia from Winter Olympics”
All of the above reports and editorials focused on demeaning Russia, disgraceful bias – truth-telling off-limits when reporting on the country.
An accurate headline would be: Disgracefully Banning Russia from the 2018 Winter Games Exposed Olympism’s Politicization – something like this only found from alternative media sources, never mainstream ones.
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