Comments on: Russians, Canadians Tie for Gold in Repression Olympics

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:14:25 +0000

Dave, do you imply in this comment that you are going to go away? I find that hard to believe. I think you are fascinated with this site and secretly in love with me, and can’t turn away from my opinions without being overwhelmed by a great feeling of emptiness.

I would love to just say to you “Prove me wrong” but that would be cruel.

By: Stephanie Z

Stephanie Z — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:14:14 +0000

Gee, dave, I bet your toys were really nice too.

Self-selection can be a lovely thing, but sometimes it gets pointlessly noisy.

By: dave

dave — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:53:17 +0000

If Earth had no boundaries and cultural stereotypes, you’d have nothing to talk about. I gave you the standard three article chance.. good luck with your self-loathing blather.

..oh and attempting to mask your opinions as somehow related to science.. find a more appropriate site for this tripe.

By: MadScientist

MadScientist — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:51:32 +0000

This is art after all – I can just imagine: “We only wanted to create a fusion of cultures to show how we are all united in harmony” or some such (excuse me while I go puke). If the skaters were claiming to actually present some authentic cultural bits then they’re just unbelievably wrong. I wouldn’t associate that routine with the Australian aboriginals at all, just as I wouldn’t associate Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado with the Japanese – but maybe that’s just me. I like the Debian logo on that skater’s costume though …

By: Observer

Observer — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:15:07 +0000

Haven’t watched the routine but from the photo that girl is hot.

The nose press is used by Maori in NZ and is called the hongi.

By: JosÃ©

JosÃ© — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:47:31 +0000

Here’s a link to the whole routine, if anyone hasn’t seen it. The hair pulling is at 2:15.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIze8qQqzek&feature=related

By: JosÃ©

JosÃ© — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:41:42 +0000

Did I see the guy pulling the girl around by her HAIR at one point

Yes you did. The man also started the routine stooped over like a cave man.

By: ginger

ginger — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:05:19 +0000

One additional point about the “silly” distinction between “Aboriginal” and “aboriginal” – the two separate indigenous cultures of Australia are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. The group that was sort of represented by the dumb Russian skaters is the Aboriginal. The cultures are pretty different – the Aboriginal culture’s the oldest extant on the planet, at 60,000 years and counting, whereas the Torres Strait Islands have been inhabited for “only” the past 2500 years or thereabouts.

Me, I think the judges should have punished the Russians for their stupid costumes and for the absence of any particular folk dance in their alleged folk dance routine. There are hundreds of Aboriginal groups, different enough to have 200 separate languages (*not* dialects) – and at no point did the Russians name the group whose dance they were performing. (At one point they claimed it was Moldavian, though.)

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:35 +0000

I could not see the event, and did not know anything about this, but I can confirm that the most egregious offenses tend to happen in the area of tropical “primitives” and go unnoticed or excused more easily than with African American or Asian examples. This is why, while I thought the film itself not offensive, I had mixed feelings about Krippendorf’s Tribe. People often don’t know where tha line is.

By: jj

jj — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:54:12 +0000

@Greg
It depends on what games your watching! A game with a total of maybe 6 goals between both teams would be a good game and might be about average (for NHL).

In fact, looking at the numbers for last year, in 82 games Detroit scored the most goals @ 289 so average about 3.2 goals per game with an average goals against of 190 or 2.3. Wiki answers states around 6 per game.

You’ll see blowouts from time to time, but not on the frequency you see in the Olympics. There are different rules, like no-touch icing (which I’d say has a negligible effect on the game), or the larger goal crease which would theoretically help the goalie (Offensive players can’t interfere with the goalie in the crease)

Games like Canada vs US (sub many other teams that produce NHL players) are more likely to be close to NHL standards as the players all play for the NHL.

Although I do not watch Woman’s Hockey (not that I wouldn’t, just isn’t a televised sport) those scores have been outrageously high.

Case in point: Canada vs. US (or the Swiss) looked like your average NHL game, while Canada vs Norway was quite the blowout.