Do You Link Me?

Let's dive right in to a heptathlon of links for this Friday.  As always, enjoy and feel free to contact me if you hear or read anything interesting.

1. According to RIA-Novosti, Slovenia wants in on Sochi building projects.  Slovenian prime minister Borut Pahor met with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, recently to talk business relations, particularly to sign an agreement allowing the South Stream gas pipeline to go through Slovenia.
2.  According to the AFP and others, Putin looked into a snow leopard's eyes and saw its soul.  With the relatively recent coronation as one of Sochi's Olympic mascots, the snow leopard has seen a surge in popularity.  Also, it was widely reported that the leopard was Putin's first choice.  So, he met one, and had this to say about the significance of the meeting: "That one of the symbols of the Olympics is a beast that was wiped out by man in the 1950s shows that Russia is different. Russia cares about nature, about its riches and preserves them for future generations."
3.  As I wrote about this week, the IOC blew through town for the 5th time to check the progress of the Sochi build.  The USA Today leads with the headline "Sochi work on track at quick pace," according to the words of Jean-Claude Killy, the man who lead the recon.  On the other hand, the Toronto Sun heads their article with "IOC concerned about progress for Sochi Olympics."  I hope to write a bit more about the visit this weekend but these opposing viewpoints are interesting nonetheless.  
4. Longtime foes Georgia and Russia settled it all last week...on the rugby pitch.  Georgia dominated, winning 38-6.  This sews up the top spot in Division 1 for Georgia in advance of next year's World Cup.
5. Sochi/Adler airport, which will be used by most everybody headed to the Sochi Olympics, has upgraded its technology.
6. Companies (not sure which ones, exactly, beyond Gazprom) have signed a so-called "green" declaration, promising to protect the local ecosystem. 
7. Not really a link, but I'll actually be heading to Kazakhstan on Sunday to work as an election observer for the "accelerated" presidential election.  If I get some time over there and have access to the internet, I'll try to update any relevant news, etc.  Also, I'll try to write some stuff up this weekend to auto post over the next week.