Three-time Olympic Graeco-Roman Wrestling champion Honored Master of Sport Aleksandr Karelin (one of the greatest bad-asses of all time)… he took part in the Sochi opening ceremony… Ura!
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Editor’s Note:
Yes, this is an “old” item… but I wanted to get away from the Ukrainian crisis for a while, and post some GOOD NEWS. This is good news, indeed… ‘rasslin lies at the heart of the Olympics. It’s good to see a prole sport beat out a rich man’s so-called “sport” like squash. There are SOME things RIGHT with the world, after all…
BMD
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Wrestling will stay an Olympic sport, per an emotional International Olympic Committee vote in Buenos Aires on Sunday 8 September 2013. Wrestling beat out squash and baseball/softball to remain on the programme during the 2020 Olympic Games and beyond. The IOC slashed wrestling back in February, but after seven months of campaigning by FILA, wrestling’s international governing body, and many rule changes, the ancient sport will continue to grace the Olympic Games. According to Nenad Lalović, President of FILA, cheers, applause, and tears of joy followed Sunday’s vote by the IOC in Buenos Aires on Sunday, after it announced that wrestling would remain an Olympic sport past 2016. He said, “Everybody jumped and screamed and I saw tears in the eyes of men who were 80-years-old. That was fantastic”.
It was an emotional triumph. It followed a seven-month campaign that began last February, when the IOC surprisingly slashed wrestling from the Olympic programme past 2016. Since then, wrestling made it to a final round of runoffs that had it up against two other sports battling for a final spot, baseball/softball, and squash. Whilst Lalović said he didn’t see the other presentations, so he couldn’t pass judgement on them, he knew that he had tradition on his side the entire time. After all, wrestling is a fundamental elemental Olympic sport. It had an honoured role in the original Olympics of Athens, in Ancient Greece. Lalović noted, “You have to understand that it was very difficult because the burden we carried on our back was bigger than the other sports had. We were fighting to survive; for them, that was it, they’re not in. They’ll be in one day, but for us it was much more difficult, especially on the emotional side”.
According to Lalović, wrestling was losing steam in the international community. The rules were too confusing, it wasn’t entertaining to watch, and the wrestling community did little to promote itself on the global stage. Since the so called “wake-up call” seven months ago, Lalović said FILA introduced many changes to make the sport more entertaining, saying, “We had to update our sport. We received the message and understood it very well, and found a way to be back. We succeeded in that, and, one day, maybe, this 8th of September will be the greatest day in wrestling history. We learned what we had to learn”.
Lalović vowed to change FILA’s constitution to increase the number of weight classes for women, as well as add a female vice president to the board, something that’s in line with the IOC’s request to make the sport more female-friendly. Additional rule changes include penalising wrestlers who are overly passive, and an amendment to the points system, all of which, according to Lalović, will make the sport more enjoyable to watch. Lalović said the fight isn’t over, and they’ll adopt more rule changes in future to keep wrestling up-to-date with international demand.
9 September 2013
Vasili Sushko
Voice of Russia World Service
http://voiceofrussia.com/us/2013_09_09/241747045/
Voices from Russia 
Doubt Grows About “Deal”… Russia DIDN’T Sign Off on It
Tags: All-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda", breaking news, civil unrest, diplomacy, EU, European Union, Gennady Zyuganov, Government of Ukraine, Kiev, KPRF, political commentary, politics, President of Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Sergei Lavrov, Sergey Lavrov, the Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Viktor Yanukovich, Viktor Yanukovych, Vladimir Lukin, Vladimir Putin
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On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin conferred with the permanent members of the RF Security Council (SBRF) to discuss the Ukrainian situation. Taking part in the meeting were Chairman of the Government Dmitri Medvedev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and other high-ranking officials. Federation Council Chairman Valentina Matviyenko, RF Gosduma Chairman Sergei Naryshkin, Head of the Presidential Administration Sergei Ivanov, SBRF Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, his deputy Rashid Nurgaliyev, Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev, FSB Director Aleksandr Bortnikov, SVR chief Mikhail Fradkov, and SBRF permanent member Boris Gryzlov also attended the conference. Peskov said, “The meeting discussed the situation in the Ukraine”.
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A source close to the negotiations said that Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin, sent by President Putin to Kiev to act as a mediator in negotiations between the Ukrainian government and oppositionists and EU representatives, refused to sign the final document dealing with the present Ukrainian crisis. This information lacks official confirmation.
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On Friday, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich and three oppositionist leaders signed an agreement to end the present crisis, to put a stop to the violent street clashes between rioters and police in Kiev. The agreement followed an announcement by Yanukovich to hold early elections, to form a national unity government, and relinquish some of his presidential powers. Two EU foreign ministers who brokered the deal witnessed the agreement.
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On Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MID) said that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the Ukrainian peace deal with EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton. Lavrov and Ashton discussed the deal, “and the prospects for its implementation in the conditions of continuing activity by extremist forces”, and Lavrov urged the EU to condemn the “radicals” responsible for the violence.
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The MID said that Russia and the EU shall coöperate to settle the Ukrainian crisis, showing respect to Ukrainian sovereignty and the powers of its legitimate government. Particularly, the people must approve any amendments to the constitution in a vote in a nationwide referendum {a key KPU demand: editor}. The fact that Russian envoy Vladimir Lukin didn’t sign off on the Ukrainian crisis settlement document doesn’t mean that Russia isn’t interested in a compromise.
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KPRF First Secretary Gennady Zyuganov lent his support to the agreement settling the Ukrainian political crisis. He told Interfax on Friday, “I believe the political decision to hold presidential elections in the Ukraine in December is generally right, but they shouldn’t have let that fire happen in the first place”, adding that they could’ve made a draft version of such an agreement earlier. Zyuganov went on to say, “Establishing peace and preparing for elections is the best option. However, if they want to hold elections, the first thing they need to do is normalise the situation in the country and act using healthy forces. Otherwise, we won’t have elections per se, but a settling of accounts”. Zyuganov said that Foreign Minister Lavrov could help normalise the Ukrainian situation, saying, “Lukin wasn’t enough. Lavrov should go there; he’s the most experienced specialist”.
21 February 2014
Voice of Russia World Service
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_02_21/Putin-meets-Russias-Security-Council-members-to-discuss-Ukraine-crisis-3747/
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_02_21/Russias-Lukin-didnt-sign-document-on-outcome-of-Ukrainian-govt-opposition-ad-EU-officials-talks-4223/
http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_02_21/Ukrainian-President-oppositiona-sign-agreement-9316/
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_02_21/Russian-FM-Lavrov-urges-EU-condemn-radicals-responsible-for-Ukraine-violence-1401/
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_02_21/Russia-EU-to-cooperate-on-settling-crisis-in-Ukraine-amid-respect-for-its-sovereignty-Moscow-4722/
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_02_21/Zyuganov-praises-decision-on-early-presidential-elections-in-Ukraine-7156/
Editor’s Note:
There is much left unsaid in the reportage, from both “Eurasian” and Western sources. That’s what’s most interesting to me. Also, note well that there are THREE oppo leaders, NOT one figure. That is, if any of the three dissents, the deal goes in the shitter. Look at Tyagnibok… he’s the spoiler, I’d say. There’s much LESS to this than meets the eye. In fact, the New York Times only talked to Yatsenyuk, not Klichko, nor Tyagnibok. That means that the Grey Lady got only a partial view (of course, they pumped it up more than they should, but they always do that, don’t they?). By the way, Zyuganov’s guarded approval of the deal means that the KPU has a similar attitude to it… it means that the commies are for peace, but aren’t quite sure about the extremists (which means that all decent folks should stand with the commies, not with the American-funded extremists).
As I said, there’s much left unsaid, and I’m not mentioning some of it, because the plug-uglies may not know it (or overlooked it), and I’m not going to hurt the good guys. The takeaway is that it’s not much really, and it may not last. Stay tuned… the (in)Human Comedy goes on its merry way…
BMD