Why I'm boycotting the Olympics

Let me just rant for a bit here, okay? Anyone who knows me knows I am an animal lover and animal welfare advocate. So my rant shouldn't surprise anyone. Here the government of the city of Sochi, Russia is hiring a company to "exterminate" strays roaming around because they don't want the appearance of strays or the concerns strays might present with the Olympics about to unfold. By the way, there is a petition circulating here http://www.thepetitionsite.com/972/019/713/2000-street-dogs-and-cats-will-be-killed-for-the-olympic-games-in-sochi-in-2014/ for people to sign to try stopping this, and it will be forwarded to president Vladimir Putin. This action is one of the most appalling and abhorrent things I've seen in some time. If the Russian government is so concerned about its image, I would think it would have some of the more important things in order for the games and those there to participate in and cover the event.

I am talking about hotels that aren't finished and rooms that aren't ready to go; brown water that comes out of the faucets; toilets where you're unable to flush toilet paper down and instead have to put the used paper in a stand-alone receptacle; manholes on the sidewalks that don't all have covers on them; and so on. The Russian powers that be have had 5 years and spent between $51 and $53 million dollars on this event and with all this yet to do and the news reports and tweets going out all over the place from people experiencing these conditions, they're instead worried about rounding up and killing stray dogs and cats. RIDICULOUS and HIGHLY SHAMEFUL!!

No disrespect to the athletes who have trained so hard for this moment, but with all this going on, coupled with Russia's well-publicized stance on human rights, gay rights, animal rights, and environmental issues, I will be boycotting the games and encourage others to do the same, especially if you care about these issues.