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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran team face mass protest |
| 2006-06-11 |
| Iran's Football team will be met with a series of protests across Germany during their World Cup campaign as anger mounts against the country's viciously anti-semitic President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Senior politicians, Jewish groups and a prominent German TV host will join a demonstration today in Nuremberg hours before Iran play their opening match of the tournament against Mexico in the city. They are furious that Ahmadinejad's deputy, Mohammad Aliabadi, has been allowed into the country after the Iranian President called the Holocaust 'a fairytale' and called for the destruction of Israel. 'Aliabadi has not distanced himself in any way from the statements that his President has made,' said Sacha Stawski of pro-Israel group Honestly Concerned, who are helping to organise today's rally. 'It's highly unlikely he thinks any differently. Until he distances himself from the regime we will protest against him.' Aliabadi went to Friday's opening ceremony and first game in Munich and is due to watch his countrymen in their opening fixture in Group D in Nuremberg at 5pm. A cross-party group of German politicians is due to speak at the protest, including Gunter Beckstein, Bavaria's right-wing Interior Minister, and Claudia Roth, the co-leader of Germany's Green Party. The country's most famous Jewish TV personality, Michel Friedman, will also attend. He has threatened to take legal action against Ahmadinejad if he comes to Germany, where Holocaust denial is a criminal offence. |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #15 I thought the Game of Games was the first 20 minutes after the bars close. I've heard it called the Dance of the Mayfly... My bad. :) |
| Posted by: flyover 2006-06-11 20:05 |
| #14 Because baseball is soooooo exciting We can't all have the luck to grow up in the States and enjoy the Game of Games. ;-) |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-06-11 19:55 |
| #13 Rantburg University strikes again! Thanks for educating me, Rafael and Sherry. :-) There's soccer on, and you would rather watch cars go round and round, Frank? ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-06-11 19:28 |
| #12 tw -- once had a customer who had played pro for the Dallas soccer team. (Retired for medical reason) And some Internet research proved him to be the successful player. Before that, and being a big sports fan, I didn't know we had pro soccer, but we do. And some of those guys are playing in the World Cup. http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/index.jsp |
| Posted by: Sherry 2006-06-11 17:27 |
| #11 ;-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-06-11 16:29 |
| #10 NASCAR Pocono 500's on...you're watching soccer? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-06-11 16:27 |
| #9 Incidentally, if they were looking for the kind of sanction on Iran that would have really put the screws to the regime, they would have insisted that Iran not be allowed to play in the World Cup. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2006-06-11 16:15 |
| #8 The commentator on ABC mentioned the ruins of Hitler's staging area for Nazi rallies outside the stadium there in Nuremburg. (There was a long pause, then...) "Knowing how [Iran's] national leader feels about that horrific time [the Holocaust], I have to wonder if they felt the same kind of chill we did as we walked into the stadium." |
| Posted by: eLarson 2006-06-11 16:15 |
| #7 Apparently the American men's team is rated #5 in the world going into this World Cup Mrs TW, unfortunately the ranking system is flawed when considering world teams. There are supposedly top 20 ranked teams that did not qualify for this World Cup. Nonetheless, I'm not saying the U.S. should be disregarded. It's gonna be the Czechs, though :-) Btw, that was a nice gesture on the part of the Iranian team, giving the Mexican goal keeper flowers :-) |
| Posted by: Rafael 2006-06-11 16:04 |
| #6 Mexico 3, Iran 1. Time for a cerveza... |
| Posted by: PBMcL 2006-06-11 15:06 |
| #5 Apparently the American men's team is rated #5 in the world going into this World Cup, the result of a generation of American soccer moms. Just because we don't have a domestic professional league doesn't mean we don't do well, or that the youngsters aren't watching. Our guys just have to go overseas if they want to go pro, is all, just like our young opera singers. It's the U.S. vs. the Czech Republic tomorrow morning -- let's see how that goes, shall we? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-06-11 15:05 |
| #4 Because baseball is soooooo exciting. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2006-06-11 14:00 |
| #3 Same difference. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2006-06-11 12:29 |
| #2 Oops, on ABC. |
| Posted by: flyover 2006-06-11 11:29 |
| #1 Coming up in 30 min on ESPN2. Just watched the Nederlander match. I miss the excitement of curling. |
| Posted by: flyover 2006-06-11 11:00 |