2014 FIFA World Cup™ Round of 16: Germany vs Algeria| Tuesday, Jun 30, 4:00 PM

a great democracy that bomb populations abroad ? or a country that make embargos on others countries and let babies diying by flu because no medecine ?
really, you don't see ?

 

ah. i get where you're coming from.

this isn't the place for a discussion about how a certain nation is trying to keep a certain ideology from imposing itself on the rest of the world.

 

of course. i don't want to begin a political discussion.
i just wanted to say that each country have it's bad side. and that rooting for a country that is a dictatorship is not a sin.

if someone root for equatorial guinea, no matter of it's political situation, it don't make him a bad person.

 

the British National Party...again???

 

and i applaud the honorable intentions. but i think it's the wrong kind of nationalism.

 

which kind of nationalism ?

 

i think there is a line in the sand. if you're Persian, i understand supporting the Iran national football team, regardless of whether Iran is a nation with a specific political agenda that is difficult to endorse. i'm not intending to pick on Iran, per se, but their stated position on Israel is well-documented, just as an example. but if you're Argentine or Greek, just to make a specific example, unless you think Israel is an international pariah, and i'm not sure where that view would come from, unless you're some brand of Ishmaelite, supporting the Iran national team would be on the wrong side of the line in the sand, as far as i am concerned.

btw, i tried to think of an abstract example and decided it would be so cumbersome to set the stage that i abandoned it. personally, i sympathize with Persians who do not share their nation's aggressive stance regarding Israel, and i hope for the best.

so, instead of avoiding a political discussion, we have one.

 

I guess this match was controversial...

 

who won???????

 

Israel is a bad example because i have a totally opposite point of view on that country (but i will not say it because its not a political thread ).

But if someone that dobt care about politics want to root for israel or iran for totally apolitic reason (he love the flag, he went in a trip, he had a gf, he studied their language at school...) why should i ask him to change and talk him about political things ?

 

i can't pigeon-hole things so easily. to me, the political agenda of a nation defines it, not the people, as such, but the country. in a democracy, the political agenda is supported by the majority of the people at the point that the governing party -- in the case of the US of A -- wins an election. elsewhere, there are different forms of government, but most have a balance of powers, except dictatorships.

Iran is a unitary theocratic republic. the official politics of Iran are shaped by the theocratic ( viz., Islamic ) nature of the governmental system.

right now, in the US of A, there is wide dissatisfaction regarding the leadership of the Federal government, and there might be changes in the mid-term election regarding control of the Legislative branch, namely the Senate.

whatever you might think about the US of A, as far as foreign policy is concerned, the governmental process is relatively democratic, as far as it involves choosing the leadership.

i'm not sure you can say that about Iran and i know you can't say that about Equatorial Guinea.

 

I really dont understand where you want to go ?

Iran is not democratic and usa is.
Ok. And then what ?

 

i don't want a brutal dictatorship to enjoy sporting success. i feel bad for the players.

the end

 

You think that lose will make them feel better ?

 

So anytime a democratic country plays a non-democratic one and have no ties to either, I must cheer for the democratic one, even if they play like crap, like Greece or Switzerland?

 

Yes.
You are with us or against us

 

no. you must have a speck of a conscience. plug that into the equation.

or don't cheer for either. remain neutral. hope for an enjoyable experience watching the buggers play. don't get involved.

if Russia beats the Ukraine in futbol, it's Darwinism at work.

 

Ridiculous, or rather Orwellian. Not happening.

 

i'm glad for the players. i want individuals to succeed. i'm glad that they came together as a team.

i hate it when Hugo Chavez' Venezuela defeats Peru

 

Even if chavez has been elected in a democratic way ?

 

my wife just purchased a linen shirt in almost that exact shade of purple. it was made in the Peoples Republic of Somewhere.