USA Ready to “Rumble” in the Squared Circle with Iran and Russia… Ura for ‘Rassling

Svetlana Lipatova… Russian wrestler… ‘rassling ain’t just for guys any more  More and more women are ‘rassling… the IOC pissed on them, too. Keep ‘rassling IN the Olympics where it belongs… keep political correctness OUT. 

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The USA wrestled with Russia over the war in Syria, missile defence, human rights, and adoptions. Both countries wrestled with Iran over its nuclear ambitions. Now, the three nations are wrestling… just to wrestle, in a rare partnership designed to convince the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not to eliminate wrestling from the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. “The Rumble on the Rails” takes place Wednesday when the American wrestling team battles Iran in one match, and, then, Russia at the main hall of New York’s historic Grand Central Terminal. “Rumble” is part international exhibition and part charitable fundraiser, but the focus is on whether the IOC will be watching… and, perhaps, reconsidering its unexpected recommendation to scrap Olympic wrestling.

In February, the IOC’s executive board recommended that wrestling not be included in the 2020 Summer Olympics, a move that’d eliminate a sport that’s endured from the ancient Olympic Games through every modern Olympic competition since the movement’s revival in 1896. USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender said in a statement, “It became very evident to us immediately that this decision proved one thing… our international federation needed some help. Not just from the Americans, but from the Iranians, the Russians, from wrestling countries all over the world. Therefore, some of the best wrestling nations in the world will compete on one of the most unique stages in the history of the sport, for a unique purpose, which is to maintain our presence on the Olympic programme”.

There are eight sports vying for one slot in the 2020 Summer Games. The IOC board meets in Russia on 29 May to determine a short list of sports that could be chosen, with a final decision expected in September. Russian Team Leader Christakis Alexandridis said in a statement, “The three strongest teams in the world, the USA, Russia, and Iran, will come together to battle and to show the world that wrestling isn’t only part of sports, but a very important part of life for a lot of people”.

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Russia, Iran, and the USA… rivals on the world stage… joined together in an unlikely alliance Wednesday inside New York’s Grand Central Terminal train station for a wrestling exhibition to try and save their sport from being dropped in the Olympics. The athletes competed against each other on the mat Wednesday, but were united against a common foe… the International Olympic Committee (IOC), whose executive board has recommended that wrestling be eliminated beginning with the 2020 Summer Olympics.

The “Rumble on the Rails” event served as a fundraiser for New York-area youth wrestling programmes, but it also had the purpose of putting an international spotlight on the IOC’s proposal, which shocked the wrestling world when the IOC made it in February. Russian Federation team member Soslan Ramonov, who took part in one of the matches, said, “There are millions of kids all over the world who’re involved in wrestling. In any type of sport, the ultimate goal is to reach the Olympic Games. That’s a dream for so many kids. To deprive them of having that dream come true, that’s a crime”.

Security was tight at the event, with New York Police anti-terrorism officers manning the train station’s entrance, and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling the venue. The event filled Vanderbilt Hall, a large open space inside the terminal, dwarfed only by the station’s enormous main hall next door. Bleachers were set up for fans from all three nations, and a contingent of Iranian supporters waived their nation’s flag and cheered on their team. Members of New York’s Russian community were less boisterous than the Iranians were, but no less enthusiastic. Grigori Lukiyantsev, who works at the Russian Federation mission to the UN, said, “I think it’s a wonderful display of sportsmanship and friendship”. Moreover, as to wrestling’s future, he cited history, noting, “It’s been part of the Olympics since ancient times. So, you really can’t imagine the Olympics without wrestling”.

In fact, wrestling’s Olympic heritage does go back that far. Historians say it was part of the original ancient Greek games dating from around 700 BC. American film actor Billy Baldwin, who wrestled as a student through high school and college, attended the event, and called preservation of Olympic wrestling a matter of social justice, saying, “This isn’t some kind of elitist sport you can only play with a horse and a polo mallet. Wrestling is part of life in second and third world countries. All you need is two guys and a plot of land, and let’s go”.

American team member Kyle Dake said that the camaraderie on display didn’t surprise him, observing, “We’re a brotherhood. We know what each other goes through to get where we are. I know those Iranians are working their tails off just like I am, and those Russians are doing the same”. Iran beat the USA 6-1 in the exhibition matches, and the USA prevailed against Russia 8-1. However, the result everyone’s focused on comes in two weeks, when the IOC, meeting in Russia, narrows down the list of eight sports including wrestling that are vying for a single open spot in the 2020 Summer Olympics. Then, they’d make a final decision on wrestling’s fate as an Olympic sport in September.

Dan Elias

15 May 2013

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/sports/20130515/181170719/US-Ready-to-Rumble-with-Iran-Russia.html

http://en.rian.ru/sports/20130516/181177436/US-Russia-Iran-Tangle-to-Save-Olympic-Wrestling.html

Editor’s Note:

The three ‘Rassling Superpowers (Iran, Russia, and the USA) will be hard to overcome. You see, wrestling has ALWAYS been part of the Olympics. You could no more have a real Olympics without ‘rassling than you could have a grilled cheese sandwich without the cheese. It’s IMPOSSIBLE. Wrestling is part of the core of the Olympic ethos, along with athletics (track n’ field in the USA) and running. Everything else is mere commentary… the ‘rasslers, the runners, and the pentathlon athletes have always been the heart of the Olympic movement… nothing against other sportsmen, but that’s what is.

Keep ‘rassling in the Olympics where it belongs… who knows, if we can do that, they could bring back the pankration! Now, that would be a pip, wouldn’t it?

BMD

 

14 May 2013. Sergei Yolkin’s World. The UN Points Up Yummy Healthy Delicacies

The UN Points Up Yummy Healthy Delicacies

Sergei Yolkin

2013

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UN experts said that people should eat more insects. Could we get used to that, especially, if it became fashionable? Here’s how Sergei Yolkin sees it.

14 May 2013

Sergei Yolkin

RIA-Novosti

http://ria.ru/caricature/20130514/937276200.html

Russia and the USA Want Talks Between Syrian Régime and Opposition

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On Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Russia and the USA would set up an international conference on Syria by the end of this month. He’s optimistic that it’d involve both the Syrian government and opposition forces. At a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov, Kerry said that the conference would aim at facilitating a solution to the Syrian crisis through political dialogue. Lavrov added that the Syrian government assured Russia that it’s ready to participate in the conference, saying, “But, of course, so far, these are just words that have yet to be transformed into actions”. He went to say that the Syrian opposition hasn’t commented on the proposal. So far, opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have refused to sit down for talks with the régime in the past, saying that Assad’s removal is a non-negotiable issue. Lavrov pointed up that the conference would be a follow-up to last year’s international meeting in Genève that drafted a peace roadmap for Syria.

The communiqué passed in Genève by the UN Action Group on Syria, which includes Syria’s neighbours and the permanent members of the UN Security Council, proposed to start with the creation of a transitional government drawn both from the opposition and Assad’s administration. Both Kerry and Lavrov stressed that Russia and the USA support the Genève roadmap, seeing political dialogue as the only solution for Syria. Kerry said that the alternative is increasing violence, a humanitarian crisis, and the country’s disintegration.

Moscow and Washington have clashed over Syria in the past; the USA put the responsibility for the civil war on Assad’s régime, whilst Russia insisted that the opposition should share the blame for the conflict. Russia blocked several UN Security Council resolutions on Syria, saying that they were biased in favour of the opposition. The USA supported the Syrian opposition, providing the motley coalition of forces (which includes many radical Islamists) with non-lethal military equipment. Recently, a bill filed with the US Senate proposed the supply of weapons to the Syrian insurgents. Kerry said the bill’s fate depended on the American inquiry in progress into reports that the rebels used chemical weapons, but added the matter may become a moot point if the government and the opposition begin dialogue. More than 70,000 have died in the two-year-long present conflict in Syria, according to the latest UN estimates.

8 May 2013

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/world/20130508/181018883/Russia-US-Want-Talks-Between-Syrian-Govt-Opposition.html

Editor’s Note:

Let’s not put too fine a face on this. The USA has woken up to the fact that Islamist radicals would benefit from the toppling of Assad. Besides that, Russia and China are adamant… NO MORE BOMBS! To put the kybosh on the idea of “intervention”, it’s unaffordable (there ain’t nuttin’ in Motha Hubbard’s cupboard, kids… Bush wasted it all on the adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan) and it’d destabilise the entire region (the Gulf States are most jittery on that score, and they’re American allies). Look carefully at:

Recently, a bill filed with the US Senate proposed the supply of weapons to the Syrian insurgents. Kerry said the bill’s fate depended on the American inquiry in progress into reports that the rebels used chemical weapons, but added the matter may become a moot point if the government and the opposition begin dialogue.

That is, Kerry’s given the US government a face-saving fig-leaf. The opposition will refuse to sit down with Assad… then, the USA will piously (and hypocritically) withdraw its former offer of arms. “They won’t sit down for peace talks… they’re terrorists intent on mayhem”. Let’s not be coy, the Boston bombing incident makes it politically impossible for any American régime to cooperate with any group that even looks like it might have Islamic militants within it. Any road, most of Obama’s rhetoric on Syria was election-year hogwash, not meant to be taken seriously by mature adults. Reflect on this… Wet Willy would’ve gotten the USA involved in a very sticky wicket just to placate the Religious Right troglodytes in the GOP. God IS in His Heaven… the Old Master does it again (just like when he defused the claptrap over Iran)… hey, anybody who still chain-smokes, backs Spartak, plays the guitar, goes white-water rafting, and cusses when he wants to can’t be all bad.

BMD

RF Gosduma Ratifies Child Abuse Convention

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On Friday, The RF Gosduma approved Russia’s accession to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. The convention opened for signing in 2007, and it came into force on 1 July 2010. Russia signed the convention in 2012. To date, 46 states have signed and 26 states have ratified the convention, which sets out international standards for protecting children against sexual exploitation and abuse. The Gosduma also ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography. The UN General Assembly adopted the protocol on 25 May 2000. Russia signed the protocol in 2012. According to the protocol, the signatory countries must stipulate criminal, civil, or administrative penalties for selling children for sexual exploitation, organ transfers for profit, or forced labour, as well as for improperly inducing consent, as an intermediary, to a child’s adoption in violation of the applicable international legal instruments on adoption. These offenses include offering, obtaining, procuring, or providing a child for child prostitution and producing, distributing, disseminating, importing, exporting, offering, selling, or possessing child pornography.

26 April 2013

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130426/180862132/Duma-Ratifies-Child-Abuse-Convention.html

Editor’s Note:

The USA added the following caveat to the Protocol upon its ratification of the instrument in 2002:

(1) NO ASSUMPTION OF OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD. The United States understands that the United States assumes no obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child by becoming a party to the Protocol.

http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-11-c&chapter=4&lang=en

That is, the Bush Administration and the Republican Party stated baldly that the ratification of the Protocol added NO additional protection for American children. Sexual predators have “rights”, dontcha know! That’s what “freedom” means for the GOP… along with predatory buccaneer crapitalism, toothless labour laws, mind-boggling greed, and the lightest of tax burdens upon the rich. If you vote for such, that’s what you vote for, full stop. It puts a new face on the posturing moralisers (especially, the smarmy self-righteous Evangelicals), doesn’t it? None dare call it evil… especially, not the well-paid and bovine American news media…

BMD