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Russia 2018


Rob2012

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Aim from the sides. I'd shoot from the Right to get the former KGB guy first and then the bullet follows thru to the poor Swiss fool on the left.

Yeah, that would be a good call. I'm thinking that Blatter is much thicker and the bullet might get lodged in him, so it'd be smart to pop Putin first.

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Germany has called for the 2018 World Cup to be moved and the Netherlands has publicly stated there will be a discussion on if they should compete in the 2018 World Cup. This could get nasty.

Well on the bright side, it looks like Tony might get his wish...

Quite honestly, I can't see how the Dutch could possibly compete in Russia. When a nation almost certainly had something to do with the annihilation of 193 of your citizens, how can you bring yourself to compete in a soccer tournament in their country?

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I just don't get the politics of Putin. His actions only make sense if his motivation is solely power. Almost everything Russia has done since 2009 has on served to raise tension and antagonism between Russia and the West. Hard to think that a 100 years ago Britain and France had an alliance with Russia and were willing to go to war for her.

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I just don't get the politics of Putin. His actions only make sense if his motivation is solely power. Almost everything Russia has done since 2009 has on served to raise tension and antagonism between Russia and the West.

Internal politics

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia experienced an economic depression worse than the great Depression in the 1930's. Russia was politically humiliated with the independence of her satellite countries such as Ukraine and Poland. The far right in Russia is outraged by their fall in prestige and power, and the best way (in Putin's eyes as an ex-KGB operative) to return to glory is through a return to the aggressive politics of the Soviet era.

The crackdown on non-traditional lifestyles is not motivated by any real fear of Russia being overrun by gays, Catholics, or anything else, but rather the same scapegoating than happened in Germany in the late 1930's. The policies are intended to unify Russia in nationalism and traditionalism.

The policies of hostility towards Poland, Ukraine, etc are a similar return to Russian prestige through military strength. And the strategy of tension is used to obtain public support -or at least indifference- for government policies such as assassinating journalists and critics of the government, corruption and increasing authoritarianism.

Contrast that with China. China's record on human rights, the environment and democracy are poor, but you have to consider that the Chinese have gone from near feudalism to a modern society in 150 years. The Chinese middle class is growing in number and political influence, and you can start to see signs of democratization.

Meanwhile Russia is moving backwards.

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you also really cant blame fifa for taking russia at the time. Back then they looked like a burgeoning democracy, and they would be a first time host. But today they look like a imperialistic, cold war reincarnation.

Not sure about the "burgeoning democacy" bit in 2010, but it sure made sense in the way that it was a big country with a bit of football tradition that had not yet hosted.

However, if this drags on, there may be a point where a relocation would come up on the agenda seriously. I certainly can't imagine the Dutch team going there if the WC would start next week.

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Internal politics

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia experienced an economic depression worse than the great Depression in the 1930's. Russia was politically humiliated with the independence of her satellite countries such as Ukraine and Poland. The far right in Russia is outraged by their fall in prestige and power, and the best way (in Putin's eyes as an ex-KGB operative) to return to glory is through a return to the aggressive politics of the Soviet era.

The crackdown on non-traditional lifestyles is not motivated by any real fear of Russia being overrun by gays, Catholics, or anything else, but rather the same scapegoating than happened in Germany in the late 1930's. The policies are intended to unify Russia in nationalism and traditionalism.

The policies of hostility towards Poland, Ukraine, etc are a similar return to Russian prestige through military strength. And the strategy of tension is used to obtain public support -or at least indifference- for government policies such as assassinating journalists and critics of the government, corruption and increasing authoritarianism.

Contrast that with China. China's record on human rights, the environment and democracy are poor, but you have to consider that the Chinese have gone from near feudalism to a modern society in 150 years. The Chinese middle class is growing in number and political influence, and you can start to see signs of democratization.

Meanwhile Russia is moving backwards.

Good thoughts, but it still makes his moves illogical. I've read similar analyses from various newspapers. Comparisons to Nazi Germany, many of the now failed communist states and even the Russian Empire are apt. Which makes this all the more puzzling because we know the course of history.

you also really cant blame fifa for taking russia at the time. Back then they looked like a burgeoning democracy, and they would be a first time host. But today they look like a imperialistic, cold war reincarnation.

The IOC can hide behind that argument but FIFA cannot. It was crystal clear when Russia was awarded the 2018 World Cup were things were heading. The escalation is puzzling given the timing.

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FIFA rejects calls to strip Russia of World Cup

ZURICH (AP) — FIFA has rejected calls to move the 2018 World Cup from Russia, saying the tournament "can achieve positive change."

Russia's alleged involvement in shooting down a Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine last week prompted calls from some lawmakers in Germany to review the country's hosting rights.

On Friday, FIFA issued a statement saying it "deplores any form of violence" and would support only peaceful, democratic debate about the World Cup.

"History has shown so far that boycotting sport events or a policy of isolation or confrontation are not the most effective ways to solve problems," FIFA said, adding that global attention on the World Cup "can be a powerful catalyst for constructive dialogue between people and governments."

The conflict between Ukraine and pro-Russia separatist rebels escalated days after the World Cup ended in Brazil.

On July 13 in Rio de Janeiro, Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a World Cup hosting handover ceremony with Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff. Both then sat next to FIFA President Sepp Blatter to watch the final at the Maracana Stadium, won by Germany.

FIFA, which has Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko on its executive committee, said a World Cup in the country "can be a force for good."

"FIFA believes this will be the case for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia," the governing body said.

Blatter already rejected calls to strip Russia of the tournament after it annexed the Crimea this year.

"The World Cup has been given and voted to Russia and we are going forward with our work," Blatter said in March.

In a separate statement Friday, Mutko said a United States-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics had been a mistake.

"So there's no sense in reacting to politicians trying to make names for themselves," Mutko was quoted saying by Russian news agency R-Sport. "We're preparing in a calm way, building facilities, getting ready for the World Cup."

Russia has announced a $20 billion budget for building and renovating 12 stadiums, and other construction projects, for the first World Cup to be held in eastern Europe.

"FIFA has stated many times that sport should be outside politics," Mutko said. "Hosting an event like this, we're doing it for athletes from all over the world, for footballers, for the fans."

AP

http://news.yahoo.com/fifa-rejects-calls-strip-russia-world-cup-115634761.html

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We all know about Russia's transgressions, but let's not over-react to the immediacy of an incident like the Malaysia Airlines jet. By 2018, pretty sure most of us will have forgotten about that one, especially in the context of Russia hosting a World Cup. This isn't Qatar, a country that has no business hosting this event. Russia is capable and can actually be good for the sport in that country. As much as some think Russia's political policies are awful (and you're probably right), I don't think we're going to see anything happen with this World Cup like we know we will with the one after it.

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This does beg the question as to what would trigger a boycott or removal of a host by FIA or its members? Would the invasion of Eastern Ukraine qualify; what about the invasion of the whole of Ukraine? How many civilian aircraft need to be blown out of the sky before FIFA would react to events on the ground. I suspect if sanctions bite and reduce Russia's ability to pay FIFA oodles of cash then they would be more inclined to move the tournament somewhere else.

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What really could bring a second era of boycotts in our days? Despite the uselessness of it, it appears some are eager to push political agendas to any event possible. The IOC, more than FIFA maybe, is obviously more affected because of the scale of the Olympic Games. But given the nature of the FIFA World Cup qualification and reduced number of nations involved, a boycott would achieve very little.

Refusing to bid, OTOH is proving to be a much more effective way to leave a message.

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