"The Hilarious Truth About Hate..."

 I could be wrong, but maybe if Russian officials weren't so focused on anti-gay hate, they might be doing a better job of putting their best foot forward as Olympic hosts. After spending more than $50 billion this is what the international press are saying about the Olympic venue - probably not the best way to get reporters to look the other way on the anti-gay/human rights abuses issue.  Oh yeah, and that extermination order on stray dogs the other day certainly won't help either... even if American Evangelical zealots praise Russia's anti-gay stance, unless the dogs in question happen to be gay like the Nigerian cat from last week, Mr. Putin & company may expect a continuing furor.

BTW, I'm not gloating, really I'm not...

Journalists At Sochi Are Live-Tweeting Their Hilarious And Gross Hotel Experiences

Caitlin Dewey
February 4 , 2014

Skiers walk by a construction site ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Amid continued debate over whether or not Sochi is prepared to host the 2014 Olympics (here are 15 alarming signs that Russia might not be ready) reporters from around the world are starting to check into local hotels — to their apparent grief. Some journalists arriving in Sochi are describing appalling conditions in the housing there, where only six of nine media hotels are ready for guests. Hotels are still under construction. Water, if it’s running, isn’t drinkable. One German photographer told the AP over the weekend that his hotel still had stray dogs and construction workers wandering in and out of rooms.

The disarray seems to contradict repeated promises from both Russian and Olympic officials that Sochi is ready for the games, despite terrorist threats, unfinished construction and concerns over human rights abuses in the country. The Sochi Olympics have also run way over budget — to a record $51 billion — which seems particularly remarkable when you consider that some of the work isn’t actually done. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has of course denied that, insisting both that the “stage is ready” and that many concerns, including those over safety and construction, are overblown. Meanwhile, Dmitry Chernyshenko, president of Sochi's Olympic organizing committee, had this Twitter exchange with a CNN producer who complained that only one of the network's 11 requested rooms was ready for them:

In any case, the world can decide for itself soon enough. Sochi’s opening ceremony will air Feb. 7 at 11 a.m. ET; the actual events will start the day before.