Winter Olympics Part III: Politics in Sochi

Politics has always played a part in the Olympics, and Sochi is certainly no exception. 

Ever since Sochi was announced as the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics in 2007, tensions have been running high. This is the first Olympics to be hosted in the Russian Federation since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Every eye has been on Russia and not everyone is liking what they see.

Here's a rundown of the major issues surrounding the 2014 games.

The Circassian Genocide
As I wrote in my last post, the area around Sochi was conquered by Russia in the mid 19th century, an event that ended in the deaths or expulsion of most of the native Circassians.Circassians around the world still remember the genocide and have called for the games to be moved or cancelled unless a formal apology is issued.

Circassians commemorate the banishment of the Circassians from Russia in Taksim, İstanbul
(Wikimedia Commons)

Putin's Anti-LBGT Stance
Check out any of the news sources and this issue will come up, fast. In July, Putin, Russia's President, signed a law that forbids any pro-gay "propaganda" anywhere accessible to minors. Humans Rights Activists have turned the Sochi Olympics into a platform to protest this law and numerous athletes and officials have expressed and are expected to express their disgust with the Russian law.

In front of the Russian Embassy in Helsinki, Finland. In 7 September 2013 a group of activists painted the pedestrian crossing stripes with rainbow colors to protest the Russian anti-LGBT sentimentality and legislation, notably the bans on "homosexual propaganda".(Wikimedia Commons)

Tensions with Georgia
This concerns events that happened during the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Even as the Opening Ceremonies were happening, Russia invaded Georgia. (It was much more complicated than I'm making it out to be, check out this NY Times article for more information) The conflict was short and brutal. Sochi is less than 25 miles from the region of Georgia that was invaded in 2008 and the Olympic security zone has been extended to include parts of Georgia, which has tensions riding high once again.

Terrorist Activities
Two suicide bombings in the region north of Sochi and two threats directed at the Olympics have everyone on high alert. The Caucus Mountains are home to known terrorist groups, including Chechen separatists and Islamist extremists (which may spring from the same sources), and others who feel the Games defiles the land of the native Circassians (see above). The Olympics are a world stage and are always at risk for violent demonstrations, but the Sochi Games seem more at risk than most. Putin has reacted by creating a strong security ring around Sochi (see the note above about the tensions with Georgia) and everyone involved is hoping for an uneventful Games.

On a lighter note, the Opening Ceremonies are tonight. If you live in the US, you can catch them on NBC at 7:30p Eastern. Sorry, NBC refuses to live-stream them.

Share Spotlight: Educator How To: Create Your Own Medieval Heraldry

This week's Share Spotlight comes from BeyondBones, the Houston Museum of Natural Science blog.
Educator How To: Create Your Own Medieval ID with Basic Heraldry

Who hasn't wanted to be a knight at some point or another? With this blog post, you'll have all the tools you need to create your own shield. While the activity is often for children, there is nothing saying adults can't have fun, too! Heraldry has a very long history in Europe, so this activity is both fun, and educational.

Have you ever made your own heraldic shield? Plan on making one now?

Castles and Libraries

So, yesterday was the group excursion to Dover Castle. The morning dawned beautifully, with sunshine coming in my window. But by the time we left shortly before noon, it was looking more like rain. We made it to the train station with only a few drizzles, but right after we got on the bus (the train was down between Canterbury and Dover, so they had a replacement bus running) it decided to start pouring. I got to sit on the top of a double decker bus! First thing on my list done yesterday. Also, the bus went by the cliffs, so I got some good pictures of the whit cliffs of Dover! Second thing on my list done yesterday. Luckily, the rain stopped by the time we got to Dover and had settled down to 25 mph winds.

We went into the secret wartime tunnels where the heads of the military planned during the beginning of WWII. The castle had had tunnels there from the time of Henry II, but they were expanded during WWII. When we got out, the wind was cold and blowing hard enough that I was worried about being blown off the cliff. So we headed inside the little shop for some hot chocolate and I got a scone, which was the third thing on my list that I did yesterday.

Then the anthro class headed up to the old Roman lighthouse, and after a brief history lesson, we were free to explore. I stuck around with Sam and Ariel, and after heading into the gift shop to warm up for a minute, we headed into the castle. They had it set up as a 'working' castle, so you could look into the kitchen and there were a bunch of people arguing. They were pretty funny. They also had a king. Who, when shown on a  (12th century) map where Texas was, asked the McGee's if they lived in hell. I told them they should have said, well, for part of the year.

We made it to the top of the castle and the view was great. But you couldn't look over the battlements because the wind was blowing straight up. I took a picture for Ariel of her hair flying straight up behind her. We then went back to the gift shop to get our souvenirs, then decided to head back to the train station because it looked like it was going to rain soon. Well, we made it to the gate just as it started pouring and raining sideways. So we hung out in the gate until it lightened up, then made it to the train station without any mishaps, other than getting splashed by a few cars.

Today I met Eileen in London and we went to the British Library. The Library was pretty cool. They had some amazing works there, several original Shakespeares, a Canterbury Tales, a copy of the Magna Carta (which I'm still not impressed with), a Gutenberg Bible and a  1400's King Jame's Bible. They had a lot of beautiful books, but also some music. They had an original of 'The Wedding March' and a piece of Handel's 'Messiah'. It was cool looking at those and being able to hum them.

They also had a science fiction exhibit going on. They had copies of some of the first science fiction books ever written, apparently by the ancient Greeks! They even had a Tardis (I don't know, ask a Doctor Who fan) as well as a 'draw your own alien' station.

We headed back to Canterbury, where we walked all the way across town, twice. The first time to get Eileen (and her stuff) to the hostel and the second time to find dinner. We stopped at a fish and chips place, where I had chicken (so sue me, I don't like fish, I did have a bite of Eileen's though.) and we talked about getting a pint (well, Eileen getting a pint. Me maybe getting a sprite) but decided we have to be up early tomorrow. So now I'm washing clothes downstairs and then I'm headed to bed. I have to be at the train station at 5:30, so it'll be an early start to the day.

P.S. the thing I'm using for the slideshow is being annoying, so I'm just going to put stuff on facebook from now. Their will still be a pretty slideshow, but no new pictures there. Besides, the caption on my Facebook pictures are so much more entertaining.