Thursday, February 20, 2014

Blonde Bias?


Gracie Gold could feel herself crooked in the air and knew she was about a second from splatting on the ice.

"No way," she thought. "Not here."

Showing instincts that would impress a cat, Gold managed to save the landings on not one, but two of her jumps in the short program. They may not have been the prettiest landings she's ever had, but they did the trick, keeping alive her chances for a medal at the Sochi Olympics.

Following the short program, Yuna Kim, Adelina Sotnikova and Carolina Kostner make up the top-three with Gold a hefty 5.49 points behind Kostner for third.


Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Black Widow



Of particular concern to Russian authorities at the Sochi Olympics are the "black widows," frequently young women whose husbands have been killed by Russian forces. Last month, Russian security forces published photographs of three such women allegedly planning to bomb the Olympic torch relay, and another of a 22-year-old woman called Ruzanna Ibragimova, who they said might be in the Sochi area.

How common are female suicide bombers?  What motivates them?

Are suicide bombers Crazy?

Monday, February 10, 2014

Sochi's Terrorism Problem


A Man suspected of trying to hijack plane to Sochi was detained in Turkey as passengers were evacuated.

A Ukrainian man tried to hijack a Turkey-bound flight to Sochi, Russia, as the Winter Olympics were kicking off Friday, but the pilot tricked him and landed in Istanbul instead, where he was stealthily detained after a four-hour stand-off on a plane full of passengers, an official said. The hijacking drama came as the Winter Olympics opened in the Russian resort city, with thousands of athletes from around the world pouring into the tightly secured stadium amid warnings the games could be a terrorism target.