Iran was defeated 2-0 by Portugal in World Cup and lost any hope to go to the next round. Iranian bloggers have shared their thoughts, feelings and photos about this game.
Watching the game with the iron men
Arash Ashoorinia, a leading photoblogger, watched the game with Hossein Rezazadeh (the man in red), the current world record holder, and Kourosh Bagheri, former 94 kg weightlifting champion of the world. The photo blogger has captured an exceptional moment : 
The blogger has not been surprised by Iran's defeat. He say ” we were supposed to be defeated by Portugal, weren't we”?
We are not professionals!
Deltang writes that our football problems are structural. The blogger says our football is old and sick and it needs structural changing. Deltang says our players are not really professional. The blogger considers we are far from a professional football which is based on mathematic calculations (Persian).
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The shelling of a Gaza beach few days ago which resulted in several deaths, continues to be a priority story for Palestinian bloggers this week; specifically the unresolved issue of responsibility.
While Kabobfest takes a look at the findings, Moi from My Occupation thinks this may be another Israeli cover-up but wouldn’t be surprised if those responsible get away with it. Amal Amireh quotes a Times article detailing an admission by the Israeli army that their initial report was “flawed”.
Meanwhile, Umkhalil looks at the international media’s approach to the story and the spin that ensued.
“Predictably the US media fails to recognize the deaths of Palestinian children as the report that the IOF didn't do it from the folks who wreaked havoc in “the land without a people for a people without a land” headlines google news and yahoo main pages.”
Dalia is shocked at all the recent internal fighting between Hamas and Fatah, reprimanding both parties in a post where she says with frustration:
“…and who ends up winning? NO ONE!!! The people here are hungry PA employees have not received their salaries in 4 months, the economy is going down the drain and Fatah and Hamas are fighting with each other”
With almost 20,000 names (and counting) added to a digital petition against a restrictive DRM (Digital Rights Management) bill in the Polish legislature, Poland IP news and resources reports that:
Under the heavy critique of the public opinion the Ministry of Culture withdrew some most criticized provisions (inter alia changes to the penal code) but the situation is still unclear - there is no official version of the text.
A small, provisional victory for ‘clicktivists' and yet according to Poland IP, it's demonstrable proof that a critical mass in Poland sees the internet as a legitimate means of expressing and organizing public dissent.
But that's not all… Internet activism, or clicktivism, comes in a variety of forms this month. Combining the PC mouse and camera, Fotosia, clicks together a compelling photo display of a much blogged about (see the beatroot, boo, and P3) recent Equality Parade in Warsaw. Starting with perhaps the protagonists ('heroes‘?) of the parade, on to the antagonists (the bad folks - they even wear black!), and ending with a display of faceless state power (a perspective reflecting the photographer's own ambivalance to the state?), Photosia captures the parade.
And not to rain on anyone's Polish parade…but the World Cup is well underway and the Polish football team is probably already home (ahead of many fans I reckon). Polska*ポーランド*Poland provides some interesting photos of the Poland- Germany match (0-1), televised in the center of Warsaw. P3 adds some heart-wrenching match afterthoughts; while the beatroot identifies a scapegoat (or legitimate solution?) to Poland's last-minute loss. In the comments section, anonymous defends the Polish coach:
“… Janas should be fired but some arguments of his are valid.. anyway please note that IT IS NOT THE ERA OF coaches teaching players how to play. All players do play in their respective leagues aroung Europe or at home and in 3 weeks Janas had with them not much could be changed.”
Continuing the search for a scapegoat, this time in the field of crime prevention, the beatroot outlines a controversial thesis put forward by Freakonomists, Steven Levitt and Dubner. The suggestion made in the post, that re-legalizing abortion would reduce the crime rate in Poland, was not necessarily the beatroot's but it did spark a lively debate in the comments section.
That’s the Poland blogopshere update! Until next time - Do widzenia y po widzenia!
Even though the France VS South Korea Match is considered a boring one, there are still 60 plus comments in dissidentdave's match description post in the Marmot's hole. One of the comments goes like this: Dave, I’m korean as well and I admitted i think at least twice in different comment sections. oh well, too bad for the french. you are right, if it happened to koreans, i media/fanbased riot would have broken loose.
Liz Henry has a great introduction to the Chilean women behind the entertaining and informative Club de Lulu (ES). Then, a follow-up with links to the contributors' individual blogs.
“Beijing-2008″ is a huge painting by Liu Yi (刘溢), exhibited in New York in March. Inside the picture, there are 5 women playing ma-joh (2008 Beijing Olympic game). One of the political interpretations by jxhill is that the 5 women are U.S (middle), Taiwan (left near the wall), japan (backward towards the audience), Russia (upside down on right) and China (standing, outside the game) (zh).
AfghaniDan, a US soldier in Afghanistan, talks about his experience & daily life in this country. The blogger
writes “the gardens in the governor's compound give you a good idea of how different life is for the power brokers in Afghanistan, much like anywhere else for that matter. People may be living in dirt outside, but inside the pink walls, life is good”.
There have been much reports about the tradition of cat eating in southern China. What is new this time is that netizen has organized animal rights protest against such tradition. ESWN has a full translation of the recent development.
Ecuadorean blogger Cristhian Caiza Niama, writing from Germany, shows evidence that his visiting compatriots haven't stopped celebrating their team's advancement to the second round.
Afghan Warrior discusses the Afghan government's plan to recruit tribal militias and argues that it is the wrong direction for Afghanistan.
ESWN translates a post about Zhengzhou University riot. At its worst, almost 10,000 people were rioting. The cause of the riot was that the school lowered the status of the university diploma and did not refund tuition fees to fourth-year students as contracted.
Luke Distelhorst has photos of a recent trip to Omnogovi, Mongolia, where he went to help install equipment for a radio station.