Olympic flame lost?

Equality for all is an Olympic ideal There's no room for repression at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, or anywhere else in Russia. Demand a gold medal performance in human rights. I got this from Amnesty International: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=519769&msource=W1310EAIAR3 Dear Tracy, The 2014 Winter Olympics have yet to begin and we may already have the games' first loser - the Russian people. Under President Vladimir Putin's leadership, Russian authorities have severely curtailed the human rights of freedom of expression, assembly and association. They've silenced peaceful activists, passed dangerous anti-LGBTI laws, and launched raids on human rights organizations - including Amnesty International. Doesn't sound like the Russian government's acting in the Olympic spirit, does it? Don't let President Putin extinguish the torch on human rights in Russia: urge him to repeal these repressive policies BEFORE the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. No amount of fanfare can hide the menacing changes President Putin has made in just two short years: Homophobic legislation enacted in 2013 has contributed to an atmosphere where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people feel - and are - threatened. New laws criminalize protests and have led to the arrest of over 5,000 people in the past two years - like 34-year old Artiom Saviolov, who was arrested while protesting Putin's contested re-election in Moscow's Bolotnaya Square in 2012. More than 200 civil society organizations have been targeted as "foreign agents" and subjected to arbitrary raids like the one on Amnesty's Moscow office last year. Make sure the Olympic flame burns for human dignity, not repression. The International Olympic Committee knows about Russia's crackdown on freedoms, but they won't intervene! Just last month, the Committee gave President Putin a free pass, announcing that it was "satisfied" with Russia's explanation of its blatantly discriminatory anti-LGBTI law. Satisfied? I'm not satisfied with a government that promotes homophobia and cracks down on basic human rights. Are you? It's up to human rights activists like you and me to stand in solidarity with Russian civil society and demand change from President Putin. Join Amnesty and call for an end to repression in Russia. In solidarity, Steven W. Hawkins EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA