As I said, one of the rules is that if I have a stick, I get to make the rules.

FIFA doesn't interpret it that way. They, of course, don't care at all about your interpretation.

Luckily, neither did the US team. US-Belgium was easily the second best match of the world cup thus far.

I wish the team best of luck in the next world cup. They have set the bar high for fair play, team effort and enjoyable soccer. I know they have won many fans here in Norway.

That power can do as it chooses is not a rule.

Tim Howard was good.

That isn't the same thing as what I said.

I'd argue that, but first I have some jelly I need nailing to the wall.

The US team played very well over all. Belgium was better, but they needed to play as well as their lineup suggests possible, and it is one of the best lineups in the championship.

Given that the US isn't known for the game, not much to complain about.

No one visits the slums that abound about and throughout Paris. Paris is mainly a ****hole - the tourist areas and some portions of the city excluded.

Why hate France? Because it is fun! And they, mostly, deserve it. With the 100th anniversary of August, 1914 coming up - the lickspittle nation of France deserves all the condemnation that can be tossed at it. They basically have done nothing worthwhile or made any significant contributions to humanity since the "enlightenment" of the mid-1700's. It all started crashing down with their 'revolution' and the terror. They are directly responsible for much of the causes of WWII and all the ugly consequences during that major conflict. We had to save their hairy butts in WWII just like in WWI. They lost in 1870, needed help from the US to squeeze out a win in WWI, and need I say anything about the Vichy Government and collaborating with the Nazis in WWII. To the tune of sending about tens of thousands of Jews to be gassed, including children. The French government refused to admit this until their own supreme court forced them to in 2009 - it only took about 70 years. It is a long and sordid tale, much like the last 225 years of French History.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...World-War.html

Piss off you French F**Ks

Brazil wins but loses Neymar!

That hit on Neymar's back that fractured his vertebrae seemed pretty intentional to me. Some real sob to do this to such player or any player.

Dont hate France Zeno for real, not that i care personally but its ridiculous, jokes are ok but what on earth they have still decent science, same Nobel Laureates per citizen as US basically. I am not saying they arent involved in some nasty things too but who of the real big ones isnt?

Oh and by the way to all Americans that forever say they came to save Europe from Germany and all kinds of bs like that. GARBAGE to the Nth power. They didnt come to save anyone. The soldiers that died are another story. All those that worked for the reconstruction later etc are individuals and one must be grateful to all. But the country didnt come to save anyone. US has taken more from Europe than it has ever given myself included. It came to avoid Russians winning it all for communism and to allow themselves to become a modern superpower in the process. The US has benefited massively by the war and they adored the idiotic Japan that attacked Pearl Harbor and made it all possible. Some idiots both Japan and Germany that didnt know how to win the game by playing slightly differently everything. Inept morons starting with Hitler that coulnt understand basic math of the process they were starting. What a gift to the US all these wars were. The ultimate gift.

A gift? A GIFT??? BS to the Nth degree. A gift is something that you give to someone freely without the stipulation that you will get something in return. England gave us lots of technology which sparked our enormous rise in industrialism. They did that so that we could produce massive numbers of trucks, tanks, planes, and guns necessary to win the war. They did that because they couldn't do it themselves. Hitler was having their way with them, and all Churchill could do is whine and beg the US to please come bail them out yet again, which we did, with the largest amphibious invasion force in the history of the world.

Yes of course the men who died and sacrificed. Who else? My uncle lived in excruciating pain his whole life from being buried in shrapnel fighting the Battle of the Bulge. And that wasn't the only time. I lost count of how many oak leaf clusters he had for his purple heart. I think they actually had to give him a second purple heart to hold them all. Go walk up to him and tell him that was a gift that he benefited from. We'll take bets on which side you land on. He used to box with the lightweight champion of the world before the war took everything from him. Every time he saw me, the first thing he'd do is shake my hand with his mangled gnarled hand. Then I'd sit across from him at Christmas dinner and watch him wince as the metal shards shifted around inside his body. That was a gift too, right? And we admire the Japs? My dad came to within an inch of his life fighting them in the jungles of the South Pacific. I never heard much from him that sounded like admiration. In fact some of what he said I best not repeat here. We got some benefits from the war. But they were no gifts. We earned them with hard work, blood, and broken lives.

Our economy was booming before that - in the 20's, during the industrial revolution of the late 19th century, and in the plantation South. We we got an economic boost out of the deal which we earned, and because Roosevelt was smart and pwned everyone at Potsdam. That hardly compares to the benefits to Europe of their very survival. And they still benefit to this day as little more than a de facto US protectorate. Yet when we needed something from them in the war on terror, many, particularly France, turned their backs on us. Now to all the Europeans who keep banging on about how we didn't do much in the 2 wars other than receive a gift, this is my message to you. GFY you pathetic weak ungrateful pussies. We should have let you all burn.

they just change colors. 5 bronze = 1 silver so after 4 bronze clusters, the 6th award is displayed with 1 silver cluster.

Seriously Bruce i am amazed that you fail to see my point or do not want to see it because it hurts. Truth hurts. My respect for the fallen and injured is always evident. ALWAYS.

Did the US have a choice to not fight? Would the total domination of Russia in Europe be a great outcome? Did Japan help the US to defeat them with the idiotic Pearl Harbor attack yes or no? That what i meant by the "adoration" . Of course you adore all the idiot opponents that give you (as politician towards your masses on citizens) the argument you need to start the war. Why hadnt the US engaged in Europe before that but only in some light peripheral sense? Hitler was winning just fine and nobody stopped him for years. And then boom once the war for England failed to reach invasion and the problems started in Russia the tide turned. Did the US have a choice after it became obvious in late 1941 that Hitler had made a massive error with Barbarossa?


I was the guy the other day that on D day anniversary posted a tribute documentary. It should have been clear who i respect for their losses in the war. But this is game theory at work . Soldiers are just the means to an end. Of course the soldiers are celebrated for their sacrifice. Add to them all the allied soldiers and all the resistance forces and the population that suffered. Care to do a study what fraction of losses on the allied army is the US casualties by the way?

The war created 2 superpowers with its sequence of events and inevitable emergence of outcomes. Did the US have a choice not to be the one of the two? So yes thank you very much Hitler and Japan for making the US a superpower.

The fact i am grateful communism didnt cover most of Europe is a fact. Of course the monster of communism would never have existed if capitalism in 18th and 19th century hadnt been so hardcore barbaric. But you didnt come to protect me from Germany or Stalin. You came to protect the national and superpower interests of control because thats what wars are all about, they are almost never about saving precious civilians from death, or stopping the atrocities that took place while the US was away indifferent for 2+ years. Naturally of course later it became the flag of the war because of course what would be the argument, world domination and opportunity?

Lets all have some decency to be capable to respect both those that gave their lives from all sides that fought against fascist forces of axis but also the reality of the situation that the true reason/motivation at a pragmatic level was a purely game theoretical beneficial one that was inevitable.

And finally lets also study by the way who (all the countries) exactly gradually helped Germany after ww1 get into the Hitler nazi orbit and cause all this mess because the guilty are not just Germans.

Until you get to 10, and then you need a second ribbon. This is mathematically necessary since you can't have more than 4 on a ribbon, and the ribbon counts as 1. You also need 2 ribbons for 14,15, 18-20.

See diagram.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_lea...r_and_examples

Argentine is up on Belgium 1-0, so far.

Would be great to have a Brazil and Argentine Cup Final. The unmitigated hate between the two countries would add so much to the match. Riots, mass hysteria, looting and burning at the stake, and perhaps even some outright human sacrifice and cannibalism. I love sports. It brings out the best in people.

You said that it was a gift which was stupid and wrong, and if you were here, I'd punch you right in the nose. Yes, truth hurts. It must hurt like hell when you have a culture that's thousands of years old or an empire that has spanned the globe, and then have to be rescued by some young upstart, lose everything, and disappear into irrelevancy. I can imagine that people who live in such countries would have to find some way to rationalize and spin the history that they teach their children so that they can still have some pride in their country and their heritage. This would seem inevitable, and that's what I suspect happened to you and your ilk. Before you accuse others of hiding from the truth, I suggest you remove the plank from your own eye.


Nobody has a choice in anything. Haven't you been reading the free will threads? But the soldiers I mentioned were volunteers.


If we had a choice, would the vast majority of us have chosen for those things to never have happened?


We were still tired from pulling your hairy asses out of the fire the first time around, and we weren't particularly eager to do it all again.


There were more US casualties on D-Day than casualties from all the other countries combined.


Yes, I'm sure the American Jews are all very thankful to Hitler.


Well of course we didn't do it purely out of altruism. That would be stupid. But we did it nonetheless, and we are a compassionate people, many of whom did and still do argue to fight largely and even predominately for compassionate reasons. So you really need to be careful who you're talking about when you refer to "you".

Integrating some history lessons into this World Cup thead:

The Marshall* Plan:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/.../Marshall-Plan

*George C. Marshall was one of American's greatest Generals and Leaders. A fact not well recognized by many, including many in America. He did receive a Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_priz...shall-bio.html

Bruce come here and punch me. LOL. my Ilk? FU

Why do sport and politics get mixed?

Sport is a proxy for war.

Makes sense. Thanks.

If that's true, then teams should be able to form alliances, even coalitions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Summer_Olympics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Summer_Olympics

I was referring to things like agreeing to draw with each other in order to improve each other's chances of winning, not forming coalitions to boycott participation in the games.

First, it is just a proxy, not a perfect substitute.

Second, they are allowed to. Just not under any of the currently existing sporting governing bodies such as FIFA.