Virtual ghost
Complex paradigm
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2008
- Messages
- 19,911
Shortly after the last polls closed in Russia, early returns pointed to the conclusion everyone expected: that Putin would extend his nearly quarter-century rule for six more years. According to Russia’s Central Election Commission, he had some 87% of the vote with about 80% of precincts counted.
The extraordinary early results — which Putin hailed as an indication of “trust” and “hope” in him — were another reflection of the preordained nature of the election. The Russian leader only faced competition from three token rivals and any public criticism of him or his war in Ukraine was stifled.
Putin’s fiercest political foe, Alexei Navalny, died in an Arctic prison last month, and other critics are either in jail or in exile. Unusually, Putin referenced Navalny by name in a news conference after polls closed. And he said he was informed of an idea to release the opposition leader from prison, days before his death. Putin said that he agreed to the idea, on condition that Navalny didn’t return to Russia...
But they look so much better now, I might actually watch soccer if more uniforms were as easy on the eyes as these. The glaring white brightness and yellow and red colors i see on a lot of them are just hard for a person with light sensetive eyes to watch. I don't buy ball sport merchandise, but I would buy one of these pink and purple ones.Germany is in mourning and shock.
First the new away jerseys for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 cup were presented and they are *gasp* pink and purple!
This obviously lead to a lot of pearl clutching from certain circles, especially since the team sucked big time in 2022 in Qatar where they wore a rainbow batch as a sign of LGBTQ alleyship. There just has to be a causal relationship.
To top things off the national soccer association declared that after 70 years of partnering with Adidas (a German brand) they would wear Nike (American brand) outfits starting in 2027, simply because the Americans pay double the money for the team to wear their cloths. I actually agree this is sort of lame.
So to summarize: We have a European championship coming up which we will host. I don't think I need to explain that soccer is the most seriously taken sport in these parts of the world. Rightwingers already have a hard time accepting that about one in five players in the national team is a migrant (or son of migrants). Last time they wore a rainbow and this time they'll occasionally wear pink. Imagine the outrage. I think, if they now were to change to a female trainer or feed the athletes some vegetables there would be civil war!
I personally don't care about professional sports at all, but have very fond memories of when Germany hosted the world cup in 2006. There was a magical mood all summer. And I know how much this matters to many people.
I know, right? It's almost as if what offends them is people pointing out racialized injustice and violence rather than sonebody kneeling for the national anthem. But what do I know?It's strange to think the odd little things people will go to war for. I didnt realize players taking a knee was going to be seen as disrespectful. Kneeling is like the literal most respectful pose a person can take. Otherwise Knights would have stood before the king or queen to be knighted. You wouldnt kneel to pray, drop to your knees to beg, It's like no one ever reads the dictionary, or takes a moment to think before reacting and its fascinating too, but more frightening, and so many seem to think thats the way it should be and that's just baffling. It's like different worlds folded on top of each other. Hard to believe if you've never laid eyes upon it. Hope your week is going well.