Character Art Exchange

he finished siixth in the National League

SOCHI, Russia -- An interactive website launched Monday by anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny paints a vivid picture of the suspected cost overruns and conflicts of interest at the Sochi Winter Olympics. [url=http://www.runningshoesonlineuk.com/adidas-pure-boost-uk/mens-adidas-pure-boost.html]Adidas Pure Boost Mens Black[/url] . Russia has spent about $51 billion to deliver the Sochi Olympics, which run Feb. 7-23, making them the most expensive games ever, even though as a winter event it hosts many fewer athletes than summer games do. Navalny claims that Russia spent twice as much as necessary to build at least 10 of the Olympic venues -- including the Bolshoi Ice Palace, the Fisht Stadium for the opening/closing ceremonies and the speed-skating arena. Allegations of corruption have dogged preparations for the Sochi Games for years, as reported by The Associated Press and others. Navalnys new website -- Sochi.FBK.info -- combines data gathered during his own investigations along with media reports and other activists analysis. Using colorful graphics, the website makes a wide range of data accessible in English and Russian. "Athletes are not the only people who compete in Sochi," Navalny, who finished a strong second in Moscows mayoral election last year, wrote on the website. "Officials and businessmen also took part in the games and turned them into a source of income." President Vladimir Putin has rejected claims about rampant corruption in Sochi, saying the inflated prices were due to the honest mistakes of investors who underestimated the costs. "If anybody has got this information, please show this to us," Putin said in a recent television interview. "But so far we havent seen anything except speculation." A 2012 report by the governments Audit Chamber found about 15 billion rubles (about $500 million) in "unreasonable" cost overruns in the preparations for the Sochi Olympics. Auditors found that the work of some staff members at Olympstroi, the state company in charge of Sochi construction, between 2008 and 2010 was "conducive to incurring unreasonable cost overruns." At least three criminal investigations against Olympstroi employees have been opened, but none of them has reached court. Olympstroi has since changed its management. The Sochi Organizing Committee would not comment Monday on Navalnys new website. When asked about it, Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, said the IOC stands "against any form of corruption." "Whenever there have been concerns and accusations and information in the past, they have been passed on to the organizing committee," Bach said. Navalny does not seem to provide solid evidence of how money was stolen during the many Sochi construction projects. This has proven extremely difficult to do, because the games were not covered by Russian laws on tenders and procurement, making officials unaccountable for the money spent. Olympstroi was given free rein by Putin to "determine the ground rules for selecting investors and contractors" for Olympic venues. This created fertile ground for corruption in the allocation of funds, according to Ivan Ninenko, deputy director of Transparency International in Moscow. Olympstroi "is even less transparent than companies in (Russias) state-owned sector, where corruption is rife," he told the AP. The total amount of state contracts overseen by Olympstroi was about 700 billion rubles, or $22 billon, according to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, the government official in charge of the games. A website Navalny set up in 2010, called Rospil, has monitored thousands of Russian state contracts and appealed to law enforcement agencies to get the murky ones annulled. Rospil has been successful in overturning nearly 130 contracts worth nearly $2 billion in taxpayer money. Not for the Sochi Games, though. "Opportunities for public control are very limited" for Sochi contracts, said Konstantin Kalmykov, who works for Navalny. All it takes is a presidential or government decree to award a contract to a specific firm. "If there were regular public control in place, that would be a big factor in saving funds and increasing efficiency of spending," Kalmykov said. Navalnys new website lists several Sochi construction projects with evident conflicts of interest. In one of the most glaring examples, the Ice Cube curling stadium was built by a company controlled by businessman Alexander Svishchev, the father of Dmitry Svishchev, president of the Russian curling federation, the website said, citing public records. One of the key beneficiaries of lucrative Olympic contracts was Putins childhood friend Arkady Rotenberg. Through a majority-owned subsidiary, Rotenberg holds nearly 39 per cent of the Mostotrest company, which amassed a dozen Olympics-related state contracts to build nearly all of the highways in the area. "The biggest contractor is Arkady Rotenberg, who is -- surprise! -- Vladimir Putins friend," Navalny told The Associated Press. "And we saw here the same people who are Vladimir Putins friends and who traditionally win such big tenders." Mostotrests contracts in Sochi amounted to $3.1 billion, including a $1.6 billion bypass for Sochi, as well as tunnels, bridges and railroads, the company confirmed to the AP. The Russian business daily Vedomosti in 2009 analyzed scores of tenders for Olympic contracts and discovered that the majority of bids were very close to the maximum the state said it would pay and in many cases bidders were barred from running, leaving one company to claim the contract. Mostotrest won the $1.6 billion bypass contract after firms owned by tycoons Oleg Deripaska and Roman Abramovich dropped out of the competition in 2009. Mostotrest offered to build the road for 59.36 billion rubles, just barely below the maximum state price of 60.9 billion rubles. [url=http://www.runningshoesonlineuk.com/adidas-ultra-boost-uncaged-uk.html]Adidas Ultra Boost Uncaged Triple Black[/url] . Defenceman Tessa Bonhomme was among three players released from the team Tuesday morning along with defenceman Brigette Lacquette of Waterhen, Man. [url=http://www.runningshoesonlineuk.com/men-s-reigning-champ-x-adidas-ultra-boost-3-0-primeknit-running-shoes-white-light-grey.html]Mens Reigning Champ X Adidas Ultra Boost 3.0 Primeknit Running Shoes White/Light Grey[/url] . -- Jerry Rice Jr. [url=http://www.runningshoesonlineuk.com/adidas-pure-boost-uk/adidas-pure-boost-x.html]http://www.runningshoesonlineuk.com/adidas-pure-boost-uk/adidas-pure-boost-x.html[/url] . Early in the first period, Stuart pinched in from the blue line, hit Nash and was assessed a minor penalty for elbowing. Nash remained in the game for the rest of the first period, but did not return for the second.Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto will receive the James "Tip" ONeill Award prior to Wednesdays game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at The Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. The award is presented annually by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame to the player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to baseballs highest ideals. "Joey Votto is not only a superstar on the field, but hes also an inspiration and a difference-maker away from the ballpark," said Scott Crawford, the Halls director of operations. "There was a very strong field of candidates for this award, but Joey deserves this honour for his tremendous contributions both on and off the field." The Etobicoke, Ontario native, who was selected to his fourth consecutive All-Star Game in 2013, hit over .300 for the fifth straight season and set new Canadian single-season records for walks (135) and times on base (316). Hitting 24 home runs, he finished siixth in the National League MVP voting and topped Canadians in every offensive category except for doubles, RBI and stolen bases. [url=http://www.runningshoesonlineuk.com/adidas-x-plr-shoes-uk.html]Adidas X_PLR Shoes[/url]. Off the field, Votto launched the Joey Votto Foundation, which helps military veterans and active service members in Cincinnati and Toronto deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. His goal is to offer care to approximately 500 new patients each year. "Its an honour to be recognized again by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame," Votto said. "It is very flattering to be mentioned in any discussion that includes Larry Walker, who represented our country with such dedication and professionalism during his Major League career. I have to thank the Baseball Hall of Fame for its efforts in promoting our great game in Canada." Votto becomes the first player to win the award four years in a row and the second player to win it more than three times, joining Maple Ridge, B.C., native Larry Walker, who won the award nine times. 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