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The first of many I suspect. The United States has spent the better part of a century now projecting soft power all over the world, in a number of ways, many no

The first of many I suspect. The United States has spent the better part of a century now projecting soft power all over the world, in a number of ways, many not even necessarily nefarious. We're a reliable member of the global community. Well, were. Since the first Trump administration we've steadily been losing that global influence (largely to China) because dipshits who don't understand international relations keep getting put in charge of international relations, not the least of which is the Toddler in Chief himself, and think it's a waste of money. Then they go on to complain how China is stepping into those vacuums and gaining that influence, the irony completely lost on them. Or they're just flagrant con men, take your pick.

diziet 2y ago
I am not sure if we read the same article, but the article I read specifically calls out funding by nations as problematic: > This is because WADA relies heavily on funding from stakeholders, some of which have had the highest number of doping cases to investigate, such as Russia, China and the US. This in turn creates serious challenges for WADA in maintaining its own independence and impartiality. The US has had more olympic medals stripped than China due to doping, but less than Russia [1]. This could be because China is better at hiding/masking it. It could be because US athletes get tested more thoroughly. However, the article calls out the relationship between funding and nations that are interested in doping and winning athletic competitions as problematic. Your... quick dismissive and berating diversion to our current administration is not very enlightening. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1288717/countries-most-stripped-olympic-medals-doping-worldwide/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1288717/countries-most-s...
- mopsi 2y ago
  In authoritarian countries, sports have long been an important tool for laundering their international image. East Germany had a particularly notorious government-run doping program (with horrible long-term health consequences), and the Russian system is well-documented too. Talented young athletes, often while still children, are coerced into doping, with the full backing of security services, which use all available resources to manipulate the subjects and cover up any traces. I can't think of any Western country ever placing such emphasis on professional sports. That's definitely a factor too. If you haven't seen it, I recommend watching Icarus, an exceptional documentary on state-sponsored doping: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6333060/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6333060/

diziet 2y ago

I am not sure if we read the same article, but the article I read specifically calls out funding by nations as problematic: > This is because WADA relies heavily on funding from stakeholders, some of which have had the highest number of doping cases to investigate, such as Russia, China and the US. This in turn creates serious challenges for WADA in maintaining its own independence and impartiality. The US has had more olympic medals stripped than China due to doping, but less than Russia [1]. This could be because China is better at hiding/masking it. It could be because US athletes get tested more thoroughly. However, the article calls out the relationship between funding and nations that are interested in doping and winning athletic competitions as problematic. Your... quick dismissive and berating diversion to our current administration is not very enlightening. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1288717/countries-most-stripped-olympic-medals-doping-worldwide/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1288717/countries-most-s...

mopsi 2y ago
In authoritarian countries, sports have long been an important tool for laundering their international image. East Germany had a particularly notorious government-run doping program (with horrible long-term health consequences), and the Russian system is well-documented too. Talented young athletes, often while still children, are coerced into doping, with the full backing of security services, which use all available resources to manipulate the subjects and cover up any traces. I can't think of any Western country ever placing such emphasis on professional sports. That's definitely a factor too. If you haven't seen it, I recommend watching Icarus, an exceptional documentary on state-sponsored doping: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6333060/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6333060/