Russia's Winter Games...[ 3574 ]

Team figure skating: Big day ignites Russia's Games

Nancy Armour, USA TODAY Sports 6:07 p.m. EST February 9, 2014

(Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports)

SOCHI, Russia -- Russia limped out of the Vancouver Games, its pride bruised from winning just 15 medals.
It was only one more than South Korea, no one's idea of a Winter Olympics powerhouse, and wasn't even good enough to crack the top 10 in the gold medals count. For a nation used to ruling the snow and ice, it would have been an embarrassment under any circumstance. But with a home Olympics in Sochi, a party Russia would pay $51 billion for, looming, the situation was dire.
Fast-forward four years, and things didn't look any better when Russia ended the first day of competition without a single medal. Not until late Sunday afternoon did they collect some bling, a bronze medal in the women's 3,000 meters in speed skating.
Just like that, however, Russia was cranking the heavy medal.
BRENNAN: Gold already dreaming of another medal
Over the next five hours, it won three more medals including its first gold, in the team figure skating event. By the time the day was over, the Russians were tied for second in the medal count with the United States, Canada and the Netherlands.
"We are very happy to be able to bring the first gold medal to Russia," ice dancer Ekaterina Bobrova said. "We hope it will inspire other athletes to win more medals."
RECAP: First-ever team figure skating event
MORE: 15-year-old Russian dazzles with jumps, artistry
And the best part for the Russians is that they're just getting started – in Sochi and beyond.
BRENNAN: Gracie Gold wants more hardware
Alexander the Great and his buddies have their first hockey game Thursday against Slovenia, a warm-up for their much-anticipated matchup two days later with the United States. There are almost two dozen medals still available in cross-country and biathlon, two of Russia's strongest events.

Yulia Lipnitskaia of Russia acknowledging the crowd after her performance in the team ladies free skate during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Iceberg Skating Palace.(Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports)
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Figure skater Julia Lipnitskaia, 15, who clinched the team gold, is not only a contender for gold here but also the leader of a youth movement that could keep the Russian women on top of the podium for the next decade.
No wonder President Vladimir Putin was all smiles as he congratulated the figure skating team.
"The Olympic Games," ice dancer Dmitri Soloviev said, "mean the rise of Russia."
Putin was determined that Russia not be embarrassed in Sochi, sparing no expense for either his athletes or their Olympic playgrounds. Millions were pumped into training and development programs; U.S. bobsledder Steve Holcomb marveled at how the Russians seemed to show up with new sleds at every race while the Americans waited until last fall to upgrade the "Night Train" that carried them to gold in Vancouver. (The "Night Train" is still being used by the Americans, too, but by their No. 2 team.)

Evgeni Plushenko of Russia after the team ice dance free dance.(Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports)

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And if personal pride and patriotism weren't enough, the Russian government said recently that it would reward its Olympic medalists with cold, hard cash: $130,000 for gold, $76,000 for silver, $52,000 for bronze.
"(My coach) was promised a car if I won (a medal)," said Olga Vilukhina, who won silver in the women's biathlon 7.5-kilometer sprint Sunday. "Now he's going to get it, and he can choose whatever car he likes."
Nowhere are the results of Russia's resolve more striking than in figure skating, where it already has more gold medals in one event than it managed in all of Vancouver (none) and is halfway to matching its medal total from 2010.
It is all but assured of adding another medal, likely gold, to its stash this week. Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov are heavily favored to win the pairs title, and the "B team" of Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov could be a darkhorse for the podium.
The Russians also should claim medals in women's and ice dance.
"Russia will fight to the end," ice dancer Elena Ilinykh said. "Russia is the best. Russian figure skating is coming back. That's the message we want to send to the world."
If there was any doubt about the importance of Russian success in Sochi, it was erased by the presence of Putin at the Iceberg Palace on Sunday night. He may be a sports enthusiast, but you didn't see him up at slopestyle or the downhill.
He not only watched the event but also greeted the team as it came off the ice. He congratulated all of the skaters, and gave Evgeni Plushenko a big hug.
"It's the first (gold) medal for Russia this Olympics," said Plushenko, the men's gold medalist at the 2006 Olympics. "I love being first."
First, second or third. So long as it gives Russia another medal.
Contributing: Elena Vlasova

Μπάσκετ: Κυπελλούχος Ελλάδας ο Παναθηναϊκός...[ 3573 ]

Μπάσκετ: Κυπελλούχος για 15η φορά στην ιστορία του ο Παναθηναϊκός

Με μεγάλη εμφάνιση στο δεύτερο μέρος οι πράσινοι διέλυσαν 90-53 τον Άρη

Κυριακή, 09 Φεβρουαρίου 2014 21:35

UPD:22:43

ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ/ΣΤΕΦΑΝΟΣ ΡΑΠΑΝΗΣ

Οι παίκτες του παναθηναϊκού πανηγυρίζουν στην απονομή την κατάκτηση του κυπέλλου Ελλάδος στον τελικό μεταξύ του Παναθηναϊκού και Άρη στο κλειστό Στάδιο "2 Αοράκια" στο Ηράκλειο.

Για 15η φορά στην ιστορία του ο Παναθηναϊκός στέφθηκε Κυπελλούχος Ελλάδας, καθώς στο μεγάλο τελικό της διοργάνωσης οι «πράσινοι» με μεγάλη εμφάνιση στο δεύτερο ημίχρονο διέλυσαν τον Άρη με 90-53.
Η ομάδα του Αργύρη Πεδουλάκη πανηγύρισε τον πρώτο εγχώριο τίτλο της σεζόν για τρίτη διαδοχική χρονιά στο κλειστό του Ηρακλείου Κρήτης «Δύο Αοράκια». Οι δύο ομάδες είχαν συναντηθεί ξανά πριν από 9 χρόνια και πάλι στην κρητική πρωτεύουσα, με το «τριφύλλι» να παίρνει και πάλι το τρόπαιο (72-,648), ωστόσο, αυτή την φορά οι «πράσινοι» δυσκολεύτηκαν μόνο για ένα ημίχρονο.
Στο δεύτερο μέρος ο Παναθηναϊκός «πάτησε γκάζι» και δεν επέτρεψε σε καμία στιγμή στους Θεσσαλονικείς να πιστέψουν σε αυτό που προς στιγμή έδειξαν ότι μπορούσαν να πετύχουν. Με άμυνα από γρανίτη στο δεύτερο ημίχρονο ο Παναθηναϊκός δέχτηκε μόνο 13 πόντους σε δύο δεκάλεπτα, ενώ είχε δεχτεί 40 στο πρώτο μέρος, ενώ πέτυχε 50 στην επίθεση, 10 περισσότερους από τους αυτούς που σημείωσε στο πρώτο μισό του τελικού.
Ο Άρης «κοίταξε στα μάτια» τον Παναθηναϊκό στο πρώτο 10λεπτο και δεν επέτρεψε σε καμία στιγμή στους «πράσινους» να ξεφύγουν στο σκορ. Η ομάδα του Αργύρη Πεδουλάκη πήρε δύο φορές προβάδισμα τριών πόντων, αλλά οι Θεσσαλονικείς με τους Μποχωρίδη και Βεζένκοφ βρήκαν τον τρόπο να ισοφαρίζουν κι έτσι η πρώτη περίοδος έκλεισε με τον Παναθηναϊκό να προηγείται με 20-18.

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Κυπελλούχος Ελλάδας ο Παναθηναϊκός

Στο ξεκίνημα του δεύτερου μέρους ο Παναθηναϊκός με πιεστική άμυνα και ένα μακρινό τρίποντο του Φώτση κατάφερε να πάρει διαφορά επτά πόντων (25-18), αλλά η απάντηση του Άρη ήταν άμεση. Με σερί 7-0 (πέντε πόντοι από τον Πελεκάνο) η ομάδα του Μίνιτς ισοφάρισε πολύ γρήγορα, γεγονός που ανάγκασε τον Πεδουλάκη να πάρει τάιμάουτ. Η συνέχεια ήταν ανάλογη του πρώτου 10λεπτου. Οι «κίτρινοι» πέρασαν μπροστά με 31-29 για πρώτη φορά στη δεύτερη περίοδο, ενώ με καλάθι του Μποχωρίδη ξέφυγαν για πρώτη φορά στο ματς με τέσσερις (33-29). Ο Παναθηναϊκός αντέδρασε και ισοφάρισε γρήγορα (33-33), αλλά και πάλι το συγκρότημα του Μίνιτς με μικρό σερί 5-0 ξέφυγε με 38-33.  Με τον Κάρι «ζεστό» και το Μπατίστ να πετυχαίνει το πρώτο του καλάθι στο ματς, το «τριφύλλι» ισοφάρισε 40-40, σκορ με το οποίο ολοκληρώθηκε το πρώτο ημίχρονο.

ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ/ΣΤΕΦΑΝΟΣ ΡΑΠΑΝΗΣ

Ήταν προφανές ότι ο Παναθηναϊκός των πρώτων 20 λεπτών ήταν...απών στο αμυντικό κομμάτι. Οι «πράσινοι» μπήκαν αποφασισμένοι να αλλάξουν τα «κακώς κείμενα» στην 3η περίοδο. Με τρία διαδοχικά τρίποντα (δύο από τον Φώτση κι ένα του Κάρι)  ο Παναθηναϊκός ξεκίνησε με σερί 9-0 και ξέφυγε με 49-40, ενώ έγινε 15-0 με τα καλάθια των Μπατίστ, Διαμαντίδη και Φώτση (55-40).

ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ/ΣΤΕΦΑΝΟΣ ΡΑΠΑΝΗΣ

Ο παίκτης του παναθηναϊκού Δημήτρης Διαμαντίδης πανηγυρίζει στην απονομή την κατάκτηση του κυπέλλου Ελλάδος στον τελικό μεταξύ του Παναθηναϊκού και Άρη στο κλειστό Στάδιο "2 Αοράκια" στο Ηράκλειο.

Η διαφορά πήρε μεγάλες διαστάσεις στη συνέχεια, καθώς έφτασε και στο +18 (65-47), με τον Άρη να μην μπορεί να παρακολουθήσει τους «πράσινους». Ο τελικός είχε τελειώσει ουσιαστικά στην 3η περίοδο. Στην 4η η ομάδα του Πεδουλάκη έφτασε στο 84-49, με τους θεσσαλονικείς να πετυχαίνουν τελικά μόλις 13 πόντους σε 20 λεπτά, ενώ στο πρώτο μέρος είχαν βάλει 40!

ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ/ΣΤΕΦΑΝΟΣ ΡΑΠΑΝΗΣ

Ο παίκτης του παναθηναϊκού Ραμέλ Κάρι παραλαμβάνει το βραβείο του πολυτιμότερου παίκτη στον τελικό του κυπέλλου Ελλάδος μεταξύ του Παναθηναϊκού και Άρη.

Κορυφαίος των νικητών ήταν ο Ραμέλ Κάρι με 17 πόντους, ενώ ο Δημήτρης Διαμαντίδης έγινε ο πρώτος Έλληνας παίκτης με 10 συμμετοχές σε τελικούς Κυπέλλου μπάσκετ. *Εκτός 12άδας έμεινε τελικά ο Τζέιμς Γκιστ, ο οποίος τραυματίστηκε στην προπόνηση της περασμένης Παρασκευής και την θέση του πήρε ο νεαρός Κ

Animal rights activists campaign ...[ 3572 ]

Anger Erupts Over Danish Zoo’s Decision to Put Down a Giraffe

By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ  // FEB. 9, 2014

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Visitors to the Copenhagen Zoo watched as the body of Marius the giraffe was cut up to feed the zoo's lions. Rasmus Flindt Pedersen/Polfoto, via Associated Press

Marius the reticulated giraffe died at the Copenhagen Zoo on Sunday. He was 2 years old.

The cause of death was a shotgun blast, and after a public autopsy, the animal, who was 11 feet 6 inches, was fed to the zoo’s lions and other big cats.

Zoo administrators said they decided to put down Marius, who was in good health, because his genes were already well represented among the captive giraffe population in European zoos. But that explanation failed to satisfy animal rights activists who had mounted a furious last-minute campaign to save him.

Besides nearly 30,000 online signatures from those who did want Marius euthanized, Copenhagen Zoo officials received death threats after they turned down adoption offers from other zoos, as well as a bid of 500,000 euros, the equivalent of $681,000, from an individual who was willing to take Marius in.

One group, Animal Rights Sweden, urged people to stop visiting zoos as a protest, The Associated Press reported. “It is no secret that animals are killed when there is no longer space, or if the animals don’t have genes that are interesting enough,” the organization said in a statement.

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In addition to the lions, the giraffe's remains will be given to the zoo's other big cats. Rasmus Flindt Pedersen/Polfoto, via Associated Press

Marius was born in captivity at the Copenhagen Zoo, where there are seven reticulated giraffes, a species that is native to Africa and is not endangered but faces threats from habitat loss and hunting.

“A giraffe is not a pet; it’s not like a dog or cat that becomes part of the family,” Bengt Holst, the zoo’s scientific director, said by telephone. “It is a wild animal.”

Mr. Holst said he had decided against sending Marius to another zoo because that would have opened the door to inbreeding, and potentially removed a place for a giraffe whose genetic makeup was more valuable in terms of future offspring in captive breeding programs.

Mr. Holst seemed caught off guard by the public protest, calling it “totally out of proportion.”

“People said, ‘If you kill the giraffe, I’ll kill you,' ” he said. “It’s insane.”

“We don’t do it to be cruel; we do it to ensure a healthy population,” he added. “You have to breed them to make sure the population is renewed.”

As for individual offers, Mr. Holst said giraffes were social animals and could not be kept in isolation.

Giraffes are allowed to breed in captivity since it is part of their natural behavior in the wild, Mr. Holst said, even though breeding can produce what he called “a surplus animal.”

“As long as they are with us, we want them to have a good life, with as much natural behavior as possible,” he said.

Marius was not full grown, Mr. Holst said. He could have grown another three feet or so.

A shotgun rather than an injection was used to end the giraffe’s life so his meat would be safe to eat for the zoo’s predator animals. And following an autopsy that was open to visitors as an educational opportunity, Marius’s remains were fed to the zoo’s lions.

“We still have meat for lions, tigers and leopards,” Mr. Holst said. “It’s just meat that can be fed to every animal.”

"Peur exclusion = Suisse steril ? " ...[ 3571 ]

Switzerland votes to limit numbers of EU migrants

Early estimates showed ‘yes’ campaign to enforce caps on foreign migrants had received around 50.5% of vote

Paris

Sunday 09 February 2014// the Independent

Relations between Switzerland and the rest of Europe have been plunged into confusion after the Swiss appeared to have voted in favour of a ceiling on foreign migrants – including citizens of the EU.

Against all expectations, early counts suggested narrow approval of a referendum proposal to stop “mass migration” which will tear up agreements with the EU on free movement of people and goods.
The proposal, tabled by the right-wing populist party the Democratic Union of Centre (UDC), had been fiercely condemned by Swiss business groups and opposed by the federal parliament, president and government.
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The referendum result obliges Switzerland to impose unspecified, annual ceilings on all foreign migrants, including Britons and other EU citizens and daily cross-border commuters from France, Italy and Germany. Such limits would breach “open borders” treaties signed with Brussels which also allow Swiss goods to circulate freely within Europe and give Swiss business the right to bid for government contracts in the 28 EU countries.
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The Swiss political scientist Pascal Sciarini said today that the country faced economic “chaos” because all its diplomatic and commercial agreements with the EU would have to be renegotiated from scratch. Over half of all Swiss exports go to the European Union.
The UDC argued that migration, currently running at 80,000 people a year, threatened to swamp the culture and identity of Switzerland. The country has a population of 8,000,000, of whom one in four were born abroad.
Unless ceilings abolished by a previous referendum in 2000 were re-established, the UDC said, Swiss housing, health, education and transport services would collapse under the pressure from the foreign “invasion”. The “yes” campaign’s posters showed black legs striding purposefully over a Swiss flag – recalling the party’s much criticised poster in a 2009 referendum showing white sheep ejecting a black sheep from Switzerland.
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Although the party was again accused of using the race card, the most dramatic effect of the referendum result will be to scramble relations between Switzerland and its neighbours and ethnic cousins in Germany, France and Italy.
Yves Nidegger of the UDC said that a majority of Swiss people had rejected the “alarmist” tactics of business and mainstream parties who had warned that the “ten plagues of Egypt ” would strike the country if it voted “yes”.
Far from taking their revenge by ejecting Switzerland from its EU trade agreements, he said, many European countries would soon follow the “respectable and exemplary” Swiss lead and impose their own curbs on free movement of people within Europe.
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Martine Brunschwing-Graf, president of the federal commission against racism, used another biblical image to make the opposite argument. She said that Switzerland had suffered “ten lean years” after it refused to join the EU single market in 1992. Its economy had boomed since it reversed the decision in 2002.
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“Now we are throwing away our good fortune,” she said.
Under the Swiss constitution, a referendum needs both a majority of cantons and a simple majority of the popular vote to pass. The proposition “against mass racism” easily won a majority of cantons.  The polling institute GfS estimated that the “yes” had won 50.4 per cent of the popular vote – compared to only 43 per cent in favour in the final opinion polls.

US fears over Sochi Olympic Games security...[ 3570 ]

Napolitano plays down US fears over Sochi Olympic Games security

• Rory Carroll in Los Angeles // theguardian.com, //  Sunday 9 February 2014 18.05 GMT

Former homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano, second from left, leads the US delegation to the opening ceremony in Sochi. Photograph: David Goldman/AP

Janet Napolitano, the leader of the US delegation at the Sochi Winter Olympics, on Sunday tried to draw a line under domestic criticism of the Games by defending Russian security and saying gay athletes appeared to be welcome.
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The former secretary of homeland security played down concerns over terror threats, heavy-handed security and state-sanctioned homophobia in an upbeat assessment which contrasted with sniping from some US politicians and media organisations.
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“The level of security is quite appropriate and it’s very good and I hope the attention of the media and the world turns now more to what the athletes are going to do instead of the threats that are being made,” she told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
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On Saturday, Russian special forces killed five suspected militants in a raid on a house in Makhachkala, the capital province of Dagestan, police said. The suspected militants were allegedly part of the Buynaksk terror group, which carried out two bombings in Volgograd that killed 34 people in December.
Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee, used his Sunday talkshow appearance to fault Moscow for not sharing intelligence.
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“We were hoping the Russians would share more information on internal security threats, of which the operation in Dagestan is a great example,” he told ABC’s This Week. “That obviously had some nexus to the Games. It would have been helpful if we’d had a full and robust relationship and shared that information.”
Napolitano, who is currently president of the University of California, said the absence of President Barack Obama and other senior administration officials was not a snub to the government of Vladimir Putin and added that Russia’s anti-gay laws had not impacted directly on the Games. “I have not seen any such signs,” she said.
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The US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, also in Sochi, echoed Napolitano’s emollient tone, saying the US government’s threat assessment had not changed. “We’re quite satisfied with the security over these Games right now,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press.
McFaul, who will soon leave his post, said the US delegation had had a “fantastic” time in Sochi. “It’s a great atmosphere here,” he said. “The US team is feeling very confident.”
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Russia has deployed 70,000 security personnel and rocket batteries in a “ring of steel” to deter terror threats against an event that is widely seen as a political showcase for Putin. He has staked his prestige on Russia’s ability to safely host athletes and dignitaries in a region that is threatened by Islamist insurgents.,..
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US media coverage has irked the Games’ hosts by focusing on security threats, unfinished hotels and other glitches, even after Friday’s colourful and widely praised opening ceremony. Sunday’s US network talkshows focused largely on the issue of security.

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Rogers said physical security in Sochi appeared to be good but added that averting an attack from so-called Black Widow bombers or other militants would hinge on the quality of intelligence available.

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“We can only hope that they find those individuals before they can penetrate any of the security rings,” Rogers said. “I don’t think those individuals have to strike at the Games, I think they can hit an event somewhere. And that makes them dangerous.”

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Two other Republican congressmen used the Sunday talkshows to voice their concerns. “I’ve never seen a greater threat certainly in my lifetime,” the House homeland security committee chair, Michael McCaul, said on Fox News Sunday. “I think there’s a high degree of probability that something will detonate, something will go off, but I do think it’s probably most likely to happen outside of the ring of steel and the Olympic Village.”

.Representative Peter King, a New York Republican who sits on the House homeland security and intelligence committees, addressed the issue of intelligence sharing. 
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“There has been some more sharing than there had been, still not what it should be,” he said on CBS’s Face the Nation. “[The Russians] are still reluctant to give intelligence that they feel would allow us to determine their sources and methods. And also, there’s a certain amount of pride. I believe that they feel they can handle a lot of this on their own.” 
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These are the first Olympics since the 2000 summer Games in Sydney at which a president, vice-president or first lady has not represented the US, reflecting tensions between Moscow and Washington over the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, Ukraine, Syria and other issues.
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President Obama made a riposte to Russia’s anti-gay laws by including two gay athletes in the 10-member US delegation.
Napolitano said: “I think President Obama has been very clear about the United States and our position with respect to human values, human rights, free expression, tolerance and diversity. These are things we hold dear in the United States and this is an area where we have some disagreements with Russia.”
“They got the message, they know exactly where we stand on that issue,” McFaul told NBC.
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However, an opening ceremony which soft-pedalled Russian nationalism and elided the cold war appears to have helped soothed some of the tension.
“We don’t have an interest in embarrassing the Russians,” said McFaul.