August 22, 2004
AND KATARINA WITT WANTS HONECKER BACK:
Iraqi football players caution Bush (Al-jazeera, 19 August 2004)
Iraq's second coach, who filled the gap left behind when German manager Bernd Stange left the team due to security concerns, told SI.com that he believed US occupation forces destroyed everything in his country."My problems are not with the American people," Adnan Hamad told the sports monthly.
"They are with what America has done in Iraq: destroy everything. The American army has killed so many people in Iraq. What is freedom when I go to the [national] stadium and there are shootings on the road?"
Iraq upsets Portugal 4-2 in Olympic soccer (SERGIO CARRASCO, 8/12/04, Associated Press)
Iraq was a surprise addition to the Olympic tournament. The nation managed to cobble together a team amid ongoing conflict at home and efforts to rebuild an Olympic committee that was previously run by Saddam Hussein's late son, Odai, who allegedly ordered the torture of players who fell out of favor.In May, Iraq clinched an Olympic soccer berth just three months after being reinstated by the International Olympic Committee. Two months later, the team's German coach, Bernd Stange, resigned, claiming authorities advised him to leave for his safety.
He was replaced by his assistant, Adnan Hamad, who coached Iraq's national soccer team to victory in the West Asian Championship in 2002 and played on the national team during the early 1980s.
Though we're stumped as to why anyone would listen to soccer players about anything, it's especially appalling to see the press hang on the words of Uday's pampered flunkies. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 22, 2004 7:51 PM
From the Great White North comes this-- Alice [Cooper] slams anti-Bush rockers
"If you're listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you're a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we're morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal."
The same goes for soccer players and their coaches, especially one who stayed on Uday's good side.
Nothing could compel me to watch a second of this bilge -- not even an appearance by GWB.
Posted by: Melissa at August 22, 2004 11:23 PMLet's see. Sports Illustrated "interviews" a member of the Iraqui soccer team.
First. Its MSM.
Second, noboby at SI speaks Arabic. They hired one of the ex-Ba'athist minders who hangs around the hotels inside the green zone.
He asks the soccer player how his hamstring is in Arabic. The soccer player says it will be fine in time for the Olympics in Arabic.
Then the minder feeds the SI idiot this crap about Bush in English which causes the SI idiot to have an orgasm and give the minder a big tip, since it confirms all of his prejudices.
The editors love it. They think: "See, they really hate Bush, Just like everybody we know."
And you believed them.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at August 23, 2004 12:25 AMI'm very proud of the fact, in spite of disliking what they have to say, that these men can now say whatever they like. They can speak ill of Bush, unlike their former leader, without the fear that their tongues will be cut out or that their wives or daughters will be raped in front of them. I'm certain that this will probably never occur to them, but it is quite ironic isn't it?
Posted by: MB at August 23, 2004 12:52 AMFor a different point of view.
Posted by: Uncle Bill at August 23, 2004 9:38 AMI wondered about Sunday's NBC telecast, when Jim Lampley reported a webrumor that Bush would attend the soccer final if Iraq was a participant. Lampley went on to state that neither the Iraqi team nor the Greek citizens wanted Bush there; the greek citizenry hated Bush and the neocons, while loving America. It rang false, as though Lampley wanted to get his licks in, join the rest of the network hairdos in condemning the Republicans.
Posted by: ed at August 23, 2004 1:13 PMBUSH ROCK'S ALL THE WAY TO IRAQ
Posted by: USA # 1 at August 27, 2004 12:15 AM