Portraits of Power (The New Yorker)
Mr. Ahmadinejad
British photographer Platon, in this interesting multimedia gallery at the New Yorker website, shows some of of portraits with world leaders at the U.N.
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What A Man Can Do To A Brand
Football and vacuum cleaners, two words that have notting in common. Unless your brand is called Henry and your product is a vacuum cleaner, which you sell in Ireland.
Ierse schoonmakers zijn hun stofzuiger van het merk Henry kotsbeu. Door de naam 'Henry' moeten veel Ieren terugdenken aan de desastreus afgelopen barrages met Frankrijk. De Fransen ging door nadat Thierry Henry vrijwillig hands maakte bij de beslissende assist aan Gallas. Scheidsrechter Hansson zag de wansmakelijke actie door de vingers, waardoor Frankrijk naar het WK in Zuid-Afrika mag.
"Het is te gek voor woorden", zei een werknemer van het Ierse ministerie aan The Sun. "Schoonmakers willen dat we de stofzuigers verwisselen. Anderen hebben een sticker gekleefd over de naam van de spits. Zo diep zit de frustratie er al ingebeiteld." De uitschakeling kost de Ierse economie mogelijk meer dan 100 miljoen pond (110 miljoen euro).
Breaking News: FIFA grant France V Ireland replay
FIFA have granted their permission for a replay of the last half of the extra time section of Wednesday night’s game to take place in Stade de France.Ireland will be playing right to left ... 
The O'Malley Twins
Thanks to @sandnsurf
A man stumbles up to the only other patron in a bar and asks if he could buy him a drink. Why of course, comes the reply. The first man then asks: Where are you from? I'm from Ireland, replies the second man. The first man responds: You don't say, I'm from Ireland too! Let's have another round to Ireland. Of Course, replies the second man.
Curious, the first man then asks:"Where in Ireland are you from? Dublin, comes the reply. I can't believe it, says the first man."I'm from Dublin too! Let's have another drink to Dublin. Of course, replies the second man. Curiosity again strikes and the first man asks: What school did you go to? Saint Mary's, replies the second man. I graduated in 62. This is unbelievable! the first man says. I went to Saint Mary's and I graduated in '62, too! About that time in comes one of the regulars and sits down at the bar. What's been going on? he asks the bartender. Nothing much, replies the bartender. The O'Malley twins are drunk again.
A man stumbles up to the only other patron in a bar and asks if he could buy him a drink. Why of course, comes the reply. The first man then asks: Where are you from? I'm from Ireland, replies the second man. The first man responds: You don't say, I'm from Ireland too! Let's have another round to Ireland. Of Course, replies the second man.
Curious, the first man then asks:"Where in Ireland are you from? Dublin, comes the reply. I can't believe it, says the first man."I'm from Dublin too! Let's have another drink to Dublin. Of course, replies the second man. Curiosity again strikes and the first man asks: What school did you go to? Saint Mary's, replies the second man. I graduated in 62. This is unbelievable! the first man says. I went to Saint Mary's and I graduated in '62, too! About that time in comes one of the regulars and sits down at the bar. What's been going on? he asks the bartender. Nothing much, replies the bartender. The O'Malley twins are drunk again.
France v Ireland Handball Debacle Demands Instant Replay
FIFA'a failure to apply its discretion in a manner befitting the integrity of the game- they were quick to deny a replay between Ireland and France- calls for prudent measures that could not only prevent future blunders, but also any accompanying conspiracy theories (with the French going through, Platini and Blatter have certainly had their wish granted following their dubious last minute reseeding of the European World Cup qualifying playoffs).
Rather than assault the purity of the game, the judicious use of instant replay would help to maintain it. Certainly it would have to be limited to two very simple items: whether the ball crossed the goal line and if the ball was improperly played in scoring a goal (i.e. handball). Given that match officials are inadequate to get it right at all times (remember the '86 World Cup or that match in the English Championship last season between Reading and Watford where a goal was awarded for a ball that rolled wide of the post) it seems a necessary step. And rather than following the NFL's idiotic example which leaves us wondering if the referee is peering off into Narnia as the minutes tick away and play is stopped, FIFA should adopt something akin to the NHL's policy. In a game of 90+mph slap shots it's not uncommon for a puck to enter and exit the net while escaping the notice of players and officials. A bounce off one of the inner metal supports is mistaken for a redirection off the crossbar and the game carries on- that is until the signal comes down from the league press booth that instant replay shows it was a clear goal. Yes, common sense can save the day.
A team of 3 match trained officials could sit in a press booth while having direct contact with officials on the field who in turn could signal the match officials in the unlikely event that a crucial aspect of the match has escaped their perception. But, unlike the NFL, by no means could any appeals be directed to this proposed salve. There would be no 'slippery slope' as instant replay's scope could be kept severely limited. In that manner, the only thing to change is that phantom goals and "the Hand of God" would be relegated to the past instead of awaiting the next scandalous moment that lowers the sport a peg while infuriating those who truly love the game. And with European soccer facing its second major scandal in the last three years, instant replay could go a long way in making it harder to fix a game, even if your name is Platini or Blatter.
Good to see Roy Keane still isn't bitter about the Republic of Ireland footy team
via news.bbc.co.uk
That being said he does make some valid points - the match aint gonna get replayed so get over it
Matches I'd rather see replayed: Italy v South Korea WC2002, Milan v Liverpool CL2003, Greece v Germany MP1972.
Marx was right: Socrates was clearly offsides.
FIFA Advises The World On How To Smile On While Your Mistress Congratulates Your New Wife
Woe unto the Irish but the conventional wisdom- wisdom honed through years of bonehead mistakes or missed calls that have melded us all together through the shared experience of gut wrenching pain- would say they had their chances, and yes, even officiating mistakes are something you expose yourself to if you do not convert your chances. And the Irish, after Robbie Keane's opener in the 33rd minute, failed to do just that in the second half, with several glorious opportunities wasted; before bowing out in the 55th minute, John O'Shea lashed one well over the bar that he should have tucked under within a wide stretch of open net; there was Doyle's inability to convert a brilliant ball from Keane; amidst Keane's own failures in the 2nd, none stand out more than when he beat the diving French keeper only to run the ball over the touchline to the left of the post. Why no shot before or after?! Bah, too bad Ireland, you had your shot. This is football after all.
And hey that officiating was pretty stellar for 103 minutes, so why complain? Anelka's clear dive in the area hardly drew any concern- or a card- by Swedish official Martin Hansson, the cards were evenly distributed, and Diarra was finally- after fouling Keane continuously through two matches- booked in the 79th minute.
Of course, rather than keep quiet, the soccer world is right to voice its collective angst, since who can stomach a mistress at a wedding? And this is the world's biggest sporting event we're talking about, so why let it be marred? France simply doesn't deserve to be there. Do we continue the sad course of accepting titantic blunders simply because they were let go in the past? Will the pantheon rise up and strike us down if we do otherwise?! Certainly, there's Article 5, but FIFA also has the discretion to consider a replay for a match whose conclusion has drawn the ire of the entire world. Could FIFA be so sagacious as to weigh the match officials' ineptitude in the same manner as they did an erroneous call in '06 World Cup qualification that allowed a match between Uzbekistan and Bahrain to be replayed? Why not, since Hansson failed to consult his linesmen after-if we should believe the villain- Henry admitted his foul.
Certainly, Article 5 of FIFA's rules governing the game flatly states, in a manner as terse as their denial today to the Irish FA's request for a replay, that the referee has all authority in match decisions and such decisions are final. But on top of the obvious use of cheating to produce a result, there's also the backdrop of FIFA's insidious use of seeding for the European qualifying playoffs- a decision made at the last minute only when it was clear several big name teams were threatened- which, taken with the double hand ball, calls into question all the blattering about fair play and the integrity of the game by FIFA's top officials. But hey, smile on you crazy diamond, because this is football. Instant replay, technology- that's crazy talk! Don't worry about Ronaldo reproducing his antics from World Cup '06 or someone doing an even better job of emulating Maradona, since that's football too. That is unless the game's governing body saves it and The World Cup from disgrace.
What Does It Profit A Man?
It was written all over his face at the final whistle. Thierry Henry knew that he'd done a bad thing. For me, it was a bit like finding out there was no Father Christmas. I've always been a great admirer of Henry. For my money, he's been the most talented player in the world for much of the past 10 years. And he's always struck me as a man of integrity. But I suspect that, not only fans all around Europe will turn against him, but I suspect even his own countrymen might find it hard to revere him in quite the same way. The French people have always had a strong sense of fair play, and they can't be happy this morning.
Henry, according to this morning's L'Equipe is passing the responsibility to the referee, admitting that the ball hit his hand (it looked more like he was juggling with it from where I was sitting...) but that he's not the referee. Well, perhaps. But we not only remember the great acts of sportsmanship (think Paulo di Canio, Jack Nicklaus), we measure a man by the company he keeps. Thierry Henry - should he do a quick Google this morning - will see that he's in bed with Maradona. Not a pleasant thought. Give me the moral victory of the Irish any day.
