Removing a sporting event to punish a country for a heinous act they may or may not have been directly or indirectly involved in, when we as a nation failed to take responsibility for the same act against Iran would be the height of hypocrisy. I'm speaking of course of the reprehensible downing of Iran Air 655, an inexcusable atrocity resulting from some mix of aggressive overreaction and willful incompetence, for which we paid money but never admitted blame. That's what passes for our leadership on the world stage, which is why no one listens when we castigate Russia. Don't get me wrong - Russia's aiding and abetting the rebels, the rebels aren't exactly acting innocent about the whole thing, and the whole thing is reprehensible.

Unfortunately, so are we.

Fortunately, whether to proceed with the World Cup in Russia is up to FIFA, which would appear to have the kind of moral authority appropriate to the fucked up world these events are transpiring within - none.