alan@sdcrdcf.UUCP (05/11/84)
< Of COURSE they're not puppets of the USSR ! >
I have a hard time believing that the Soviets are serious about
not coming to the Olympics. They have too much to gain in propaganda
during their reports to their citizens about how incredibly terrible it
is in the free world.
The real reason they are playing this game is to milk as much
propaganda about crime in America as they can, while hoping for the
US to stifle the protesters and defection organizations.
But, if they are serious, they must believe that the threat of
defections from the Iron Curtain countries is too large, and they'll
lose too much face.
Those who understand the Soviet Union realize that if there was
a half-decent chance that one of the Soviet athletes would be mugged or
raped, they would most assuredly come. The propaganda value of that
would be large and long, and they could be sure that even the free world
press would play it up big. They wouldn't pass up an opportunity like that!
-----------
P.S. Three months ago, I had some drinks with some Polish political
refugees, some of who had been to the Olympics in Moscow. One woman was
telling me: You wouldn't believe it! I saw an average of 4-5 police
on every intersection in the city. Honestly! I'm not exagerating!
To which two Poles immeadiatley interrupted her at the same time,
saying: Ah, but you saw only the ones in uniform!
Alan Algustyniak (sdccsu3!sdcrdcf!alan)
(ucbvax!ucla-vax!sdcrdcf!alan) (allegra!sdcrdcf!alan)
(decvax!trw-unix!sdcrdcf!alan) (cbosgd!sdcrdcf!alan)ix652@sdccs6.UUCP (Mark Johnson) (05/14/84)
Come on!! The Russians have gone to Olympic games before in the West, so I don't think that the fact that this year's will be in a western `free' country was the reason for the pullout. Personally, I think it's because the US didn't go to Moscow last time, and this is their way of "paying us back". Childish as it may seem, I think it's a more probable explanation. Mark Johnson sdcsvax!sdamos!mark
daver@hp-pcd.UUCP (05/19/84)
This year there have been groups in southern California claiming that they would make major attempts to encourage Soviet athletes to defect. Someone in the USSR must have seen "Moscow on the Hudson" and taken it seriously. Dave Rabinowitz hplabs!hp-pcd!daver