If the lead up to the 2014 Sochi Olympics are going this well, the 2018 World Cup venues should be up and running in no time. What’s that you ask? Russian preparations for the upcoming Winter Olympics are a clusterfuck as many predicted. There are accusations of slave labor, mob assassinations, real estate battles and firings of Olympic officials. There’s also less than a year until the opening ceremonies.

Russian President Vladmir Putin responded by firing Russian Olympics Committee deputy chief Akhmed Bilalov after he was asked about delays in the completion of a ski jumping complex.

Firing the deputy chief should resolve any delays and see that the remaining construction is completed on time and on budget. Unfortunately workers will be required to put in 16 hour days without pay instead of the usual 12 just to make sure things stay on schedule.

The meddling kids at Human Rights Watch published a report yesterday detailing abuse and exploitation of workers involved in the construction of Olympic venues.

The tens of thousands of migrant workers toiling at the Olympic venues and other sites have less to celebrate, according to a 67-page report published today by Human Rights Watch. It documents multiple cases of workplace abuse and exploitation: non-payment of promised wages, 12-hour shifts with few or no days off, confiscation of travel and identity documents, and breach or withholding of employment contracts.

If the workers, mostly from Eastern Europe and various Stans, don’t like the conditions, there’s always the desert paradise of Dubai*.

HRW puts much of the blame for worker conditions on Olimpstroy, a state owned company and the International Olympic Committee. Both claim there’s nothing to see and claims were investigated and resolved.

However, a senior Russian official told Reuters the accusations in the New York-based organisation’s report were exaggerated and that the government was monitoring workers’ rights closely. A spokesman for the IOC said it had “a longstanding commitment to follow-up” on human rights issues connected to the Games and had taken steps ensure a handful of reported instances of non-payment of wages were resolved.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak claimed HRW’s report was “not broad enough to warrant serious concern”.

Anyone looking to delve deeper into these concerns might end up like Aslan Usoyan or Grandpa Hasan as he was also known. The former mob kingpin caught a bullet from a sniper as he exited a Moscow restaurant several weeks ago. His death sparked a battle for control of his holdings which includes prime Sochi real estate.

Rival clans are said to be eagerly eyeing property and businesses once overseen by Aslan Usoyan, better known by his mob name “Grandpa Hassan”. Usoyan oversaw a vast empire that was particularly strong in Moscow and Sochi, the site of next year’s Winter Olympics.

“Where there is money, there is organised crime,” said Sergei Kanev, a veteran crime reporter for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta. “[Sochi] was his fiefdom. He considered it a second homeland.”

This is just what Russia needs this close to the Olympics. Gangland battles over turf when the world’s (read: Northern Hemisphere) eyes will be focused on Sochi.

Turf wars aren’t the only problems affecting real estate in the resort town. There are also claims of forced evictions without proper compensation and destruction of fragile environmental habitats.

Let’s not even mention that these Winter Olympics will be the most expensive in history. Current estimates are in the ballpark of $50 billion if the IOC is to be believed. Officials claim this is due to the lack of infrastructure but it’s safe to assume much of the cost will end up in the pockets of government officials, developers and organized crime. Hа здоровье!

* Read this account of the “dark side of Dubai” if you get a chance. The plight of immigrant workers is only one of the things that should disgust you. I’ve had the unfortunate pleasure of experiencing Dubai first hand. My advice to you. Skip it.

If you were hesitant to watch one of the most interesting sports of all the Winter Games because you didn’t understand what the heck was going on…well then you are dumb and you need a giant picture like the one above to help you out.  Thank the maker for we are here to assist you.  Click on the picture and enjoy knowing what all the hipsters in the great white north have known about for ages.  Plus, its really just a fine piece of graphic design.  Very well done.  Impressive even.e

Also, if you haven’t checked out PlayCurling.com you really should.  I saw it on Levy & Zerkle’s tweets the other day and I must say, the game is friggin addictive.  As a matter of fact, they found it so addicting, they’ve created an online curling tournament.  Check out the twitter hashtag #blogswithstones for information on signing up or just to see what happens.

Finally, just because this post needed something sexy to keep it going,  curling women can actually be pretty hot.  If somehow haven’t seen them, click here, but be careful, some are NSFW.

Graphic From iGraphics Explained

Herschel Walker is one bad dude.  He won the Heisman Trophy in college, was an USFL and NFL all-pro, a member of the US Olympic Bobsled Team, a fifth-degree black belt in tae kwon do and now, at 47 years old he apparently is just getting started. Walker is set to fight Greg Nagy in a STRIKEFORCE MMA bout on Jan. 30 at the Florida Panthers’ arena.

I mean if ex-athlete can do it, certainly he can do it, right? This guy was and, from some hardly independent doctor’s accounts, still is a physical freak. Who knows, Herschel could be the next Kimbo Slice like MMA phenomenon if he is any good. Certainly he’s got more skills than Slice since he is a 5th degree black belt. This might be enough to get even more eyes on the ever growing MMA sport.

No odds are posted for this fight that I could find, but we’ll keep you updated on that…well probably not, we’re not too good on following up stories here. In any case, I have to imagine that Walker is the favorite, Nagy’s overall record is just 1-1 and he is a virtual unknown in the MMA world. This has to be a setup.

From Charleston Daily Mail

Deutschland is happy and gay. Israel? Not so much and who can blame them? The Jerusalem Post reports that Munich is considering a bid for the 2018 Olympics. The Israeli Olympic Committee is considering a response. I imagine it will be something along the lines of “Ummmm….Are you out of your fucking mind??”.

Munich mayor Christian Ude says Munich is “well-equipped and hard to beat like the Panzerkampfwagen VI”. Maybe he didn’t mention anything about armor.

Following Salzburg’s defeat that saw the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi win the 2014 games on Wednesday, Ude said “even more arguments speak in favor of a German bid.”

If one goes by that logic, Belarus and Turkmenistan should throw in bids as well. I’m sure the Israelis could come up with just as many arguments if not more against it.

Seriously, people should lighten up. What are the chances of 1972 happening again? Twice in the same place? Come now. Terrorists wouldn’t be so foolish as to try it again. I’m sure they’ve all watched Munich by now. They’d have the Hulk and James Bond on that ass. Anyway, I’m sure they don’t like the winter.

Maybe Germany could do its part to appease the naysayers by promising to throw an opening ceremony dedicated to an apology to all peoples wronged by the Fatherland. Of course, it would be through song and dance. An interpretive, apologetic dance done by Bismarck lookalikes wearing pickelhaubes. It could be something similar to the stalker death dance from The Running Man. A Springtime for Hitler rendition with changed lyrics that scream “my bad” or “everyone was on vacation“. Of course the finale would be a medley performed by Rammstein, The Scorpions and David Hasselhoff. If that doesn’t say let bygones be bygones, I don’t know what does.