glad someone asked this as i did a whole study and project at this at schiool many years ago. Whilst it did nothing directly it made people world wide, aware of the racism and bias in America that only a "black/coloured" person can understand. It had no direct result apart from opening the eyes of the watching public to the fact there were problems. they chose to risk being disowned ny thier team, country, friend and everyone to bring attention to a serious issue. So in the same way as freeing Nelson mandela "achieved nothing directly", thier protest is one of the most widely recognisable and recounted ever.. We all know about it, so it must have made a mark somewhere dont you think? Ill happily debate this with anyone for hours one of the most important sports protests ever..as far as "we" are concerned
Why Russia? when other countries invade kill and make dreadful errors against humanity. Have a count up how many we have made or even the USA. Banning a game of football will not be much of a comfort to the people who lost people. Money pushed this far too much in Brazil where a lot of people died in the name of money Football is not as big as life in my book especially when the western world turns its back when it feels like it You mix sport and politics fair enough but then you have a created real monster that you will struggle to control. Sport today is used by politicians to make them look better and influence the masses it makes me sick when they are paid to serve us not themselves. They piggy back anything that may make their power last longer. Russia and the Ukraine have problems fair enough but so do so many other parts of the world we never hear of I ask my QPR brothers and sisters to open their minds more and question exactly the information they are receiving and even more why are they receiving it? We are ants
No problem with Russia but the WC needs to be taken off Qatar pronto. 1,000+ dead building as yet unfinished structures, financing terrorism in Syria and Iraq, exploitation of foreign workers, lack of any form of democracy, lack of rights for women, oppression of Shia Muslims, racism, corruption, dishonest reporting by al-Jazeera and last but not least "Sheikh" Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his disgustingly corrupt ruling family. **** the lot of them. Putin's a saint in comparison.
Is he really? Firstly i have to say that of course WC 2022 have to take away from Quatar and from those cruel sheiks. The corruption which surrounds FIFA is awful and so is the exploitaiting of the foreign workers in Qatar. The sheiks who are doing that and are also financing the terrorist organzations. So many reasons to take the WC 2022 out of there. So, having said that do you really think Putin as a saint comparised to them???? You also said you dont have problem with Russia? Think again! Sorry to said that but im afraid that we all are having problems with Russia in not so near future. Im living in a country who have almost thousand miles shared borderline with russia. Maybe i wouldnt be so worried if didn't remember so well the shared history of our two countries. Putin is very frightening man and he dont stop in Ukraina if someone or something does not stop him. He wants that big massive russian back with old borderlines. Threat to take WC 2012 out from Russia wont stop him but at least make him think that he wont have it all. I know that USA is not that much different compared to Russia but i never believe that USA want to start WW3 but with Russia the matter could be different. USA is much more balanced country than Russia. Well there was maybe too much politics and WW-fear in this post but i just cant understand peoples who take Putin lightly......
Russia has no interest in Finland, the atrocities of the White Guard and the co-belligerence with Nazi Germany are things of the past, Russia has no desire to avenge either. You're simply an ex province or rather "Grand Duchy" much like Alaska, get over the paranoia, the past is history.
Putin's expansionist policies bear an uncomfortable resemblance to Germany's occupation of the Sudetanland, and later the rest of Czechoslovakia in 1938/9. Similar excuses were made - protecting German speaking peoples - as Putin is making now for Russian speakers in Eastern Ukraine. Similar devious means were used to make it look in the eyes of the world like the aggressive power was protecting minorities. The Nazi's were appeased. We'll have to wait to see whether Putin will be, by a Nato anxious to avoid hostilities. Sure, the World Cup seems insignificant in this scheme of things, but in my opinion the right to hold it in 2018 should certainly be taken from Russia. To allow Russia to keep it would send out a message that despite Putin's bully boy tactics in Ukraine, and Georgia before that, life will go on as normal.
Paranoia???????? I dont know where you live and why are are taking this so lightly but i sincerely hope you're wright. However my own homecountry is not the only thing im worried about. It has showed many times in the history of the world that in a flame situation, even minor issues can lead to big and terrible things. Never underestimate that. There is no need to panic you are right about that, but you should be a little bit worried thought.....
It does seem like the Cold War is still alive although, rather than a status quo, it looks like Putin has figured out that aggressive acts within its former borders also seem to be treated with the same fearful inaction as the former relatively ineffectual posturing did. He gives off the air of a ruthless megalomaniac who doesn't pay much heed to treaties, protocols or anyone that stands in his path (and his disdainful defense to the UN seems to include a ludicrous implausible deniability). I'd expect that the main battle against him, should there be one, should start with destabilising his base of supporters in Russia (those allies he's made rich) - they might be of the same character but they'll not be as impervious to all outside influences I'd suspect. Of course, I'm not an expert and am probably clogging up the thread with drivel.
Very good comparison Goldhawk. Also worth saying that as Russia starts to feel she get away with things, it will give them incentive to try again. Would Ukraine be happening if we had intervened in Georgia. If you can all forgive me for being a little long winded, there is a whole aspect to this that has been completely overlooked, not just on here but even by the media so far. And it's one that has more significance than the land politics. Forget politics for a moment and think purely in a military terms for this next bit. Russia's greatest military threat come from N.A.T.O. China and Russia have a well establish friendship. The Bearing Sea has never been seen as a route to each other for many reasons and is stable. That leaves Europe. (eg N.A.T.O.) The Russian fleet will always want more than one route into the Atlantic as it is seen as one of the major battle grounds if NATO and Russia have a major clash. The only two way from Russian ports to the Atlantic is via the Baltic sea and round the top of Norway (The Arctic convoys from the second world war used this Route.) Both these routes could be easily blocked with modern weapons effectively hamstringing the western Russian fleets. To counter this The Russians black sea fleet would sail for the Atlantic via the Mediterranean sea and the Suez cannel. The home of the Black sea feet is Sevastopol in Crimea which is why when the Russian thought they might lose it, they rolled in there quickly. Now they want to have a land corridor to Crimea and as much land around it, to stop over flights in the name of security, from foreign planes. It's as much to do with tactical battle planning as anything else. This is why I fear for the northern Baltic states in the long team. I don't have any answers at to where it is going in Ukraine or how to calm it down, but it is something that need to be considered when viewing the conflict in Ukraine as it stands at the moment. Thanks for staying with it and I apologise if I've made your eyes bleed.
I think too many on here are believing everything they read and hear from a very biased western media. As with everything in life, there are two sides to this story as well. Take a quick look at Syria and the Russian argument and logic two years ago as to why Assad should be kept in power as the lesser of two evils and you'll clearly see how they were the ones talking sense. All is not what it seems.
A very strong statement just made by the NATO Secretary-General along the lines of 'If you attack one ally, you will face the whole Alliance'. Following Putin's 'don't mess with us, we've got nuclear weapons', this is getting a little scary.
I have recently been to Latvia, and to say they feel threatened by Russia is a huge understatement..... They are scared that expansionism will engulf them. As Quality says" only two way from Russian ports to the Atlantic is via the Baltic sea and round the top of Norway". Access through these routes means controlling one side of the water or the other. To invade Norway, would initiate a world war, but readsorption of the Baltic states, would anyone raise more that an cursory finger? I hope so.....and the Balkans would fight, to the last....that is a horror show sceanario....and must be curtailed before it even starts. No wonder Igor is worried. And when US and NATO are fiddling about on two fronts (Russia and Islamic revival) now is the time , to gain a little land, a little more destabilization, a little closer to the goals...worrying times indeed
Some excellent posts on here - back to the original question, I would be in favour of forcing FIFA to move it. However, FIFA only thinks about money and some of their biggest financiers / sponsors are Russian - so don't expect much from them!
