Let's hope third time lucky, 'cause I picked England to win over Portugal.
Come on, England!
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The rantings and musings of a Tennessee expat and long term London resident.
As I rushed to get ready this morning, I heard a piece on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme* about stupid pet names - or rather quite sensible human names given to dogs and cats.
Max, Charlie, Holly and Molly top the table of popular pet names in Britain. I've certainly known people and pets with these names.
I admit I'm guilty of giving my cats people names. But I've tended to give them names which, if ever popular, have faded out of general use. Hence, Otis the Cat and Berty the Cat. These names never caused any problems. (Bert was coincidentally the name of my grandfather's girlfriend - which I knew before I named the cat - oops).
But Berty's kitten, Other Cat, was hard to name due to her blankness of character. Eventually we settled on a moniker that is a person name - but I'd never heard of anyone with this name, nor had I seen it used in fiction. Other Cat blogs pseudonymously, but trust me it's not an everyday name. We moved around the time Other Cat was 2 months old and guess what our new next door neighbour was called - yep, the same. For the two years we lived there we called her Little Cat to avoid embarassment.
We can't call her Little Cat anymore, because she's fat.
Fancy the Cat came into our house after Berty's death No doubt someone, somewhere has christened their child Fancy, but they really shouldn't have. We named her after the 'ho character in the Reba McEntire hit. She might have been born just a plain black cat, but Fancy is her name.
Other cat - not so little anymore
She's Fancy
ENGLAND's massive army of World Cup fans is drinking Germany dry, it emerged yesterday. Breweries warned beer could run out before the final because of huge demand from our supporters. In Nuremberg, organisers revealed 70,000 England fans who flooded the city drank 1.2MILLION pints of beer - an average of 17 pints each.
Astonished bar keeper Herrmann Murr said: "Never have I seen so many drink so much in such little time."
Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira had little sympathy for his counterpart, however, saying: "That is what losers do, they whinge and they cry."
The Vol-in-Law is not the biggest sports fan, but for the World Cup, he tries.
Yesterday while the Texan and I were watching Portugal v Netherlands, our eyes glued to the screen as the beautiful game descended into gutter brawling, the ViL provided us with running commentary. It was along the lines of "Ex-fascist countries do better at football than ex-communist countries, but good football doesn't seem to be compatible with stable democracy and civil liberties."
Ahhh then - England's football chances should be improving. And for that matter we should begin to see the US become a footballing phenom.
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The game between Portugal and the Netherlands was a disgrace. While a small part of the English supporters may have had a battle against Germans in Stuttgart on Saturday, the battle of Nürnberg took place on the playground with participation of most players in both teams. 16 bookings and four players sent off is a World Cup record in one game.or you could look at it like this:
After such a misconduct neither of the teams would deserve to go forward in the tournament. Portugal does, though, thanks to the strong goal by Maniche in the middle of the first half. That was the only sportsmanlike performance of the game. The rest of it has nothing to do with football. - More shameless remarks by Larko.
Alright, this game is what the World Cup is all about. These teams played very physical football and it led to a exhibition of guts, discipline and national pride. The game was under control until the 22nd minute of the game when Portugal scored from a trade of passes sending the ball deep into the net and sending Netherlands deep into despair. From then on the game started to spiral out of control as both teams continued their physical attacks that led to a few yellow cards. Wes' MindThe Russian ref lost control of the game by handing out some pretty iffy yellow cards at the very beginning in an attempt to stamp his authority. Players then dived and drew fouls and faked and it just got uglier from there. But it was some exciting game to watch.
Well, not their whole world... Just the academic and future careers of 20 or 30 students.
The Vol-in-Law is behind on marking scripts and exams. I went by his office to pick up the test papers so he wouldn't have to carry the whole lot home himself (academia can be backbreaking physical work).
I'm plagued with thoughts of what if I forget the bag of papers on the Underground. What if I throw them under the train in a fit of pique. What if I went ahead and marked them myself - assigning random numerical grades, justifying them only with banal academical comments like "thesis is underdeveloped" or "perhaps if you'd spent a little more prep time", "excellent work, are you sure it's your own?" or "keep on truckin'".
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So England face Ecuador on Sunday in the first of hopefully quite a few games in the knockout rounds of the World Cup. And perhaps we'll continue to see the red and white flags flying on cars and shops and homes that have become part of the landscape of London for some little while to come.
Over the time that I've lived in England, it's become more acceptable to fly the Cross of St George, the flag with the red cross on a field of white. Like the Confederate battle flag, it had become associated with racism, xenophobia and white trash. But the England flag, unlike the stars and bars has undergone something of a redemption. It's become transformed into recognised symbol benign national pride largely because the very people it was supposedly alienating have embraced it.
To be sure, the white working classes that weren't indoctrinated by Marxism have never really put it aside, and it's also true that the thuggist British National Party used it as a symbol of an "indigenous only" England. And since it indeed was a Crusader cross, some use it in symbolic battle against a rising tide of radical islamism.
But maybe it's because of this history that British (English?) Asians, Africans and West Indians have embraced it.
It's nigh on impossible, it seems, to become English. My husband could become American, if he so chose. I could even move to Texas and become Texan (George Bush did it). I could take a British passport, but I could never truly become English. And for a long time, it seemed that even 2nd and 3rd generation people of colour couldn't become English either. So, many non-natives identified as British - something that's been seen as a little bit more about nationality than ethnicity.
But Britishness is losing its identity, largely down to the whinging of the Scots and to some extent the Welsh. I know Scottish folk who vehemently deny their Britishness as if being Scottish was somehow especially exclusive and overrode geography and the fact that they were born on the island of Great Britain in these British Isles.
The English are awakening to the fact that their British compatriots are denying their Britishness because it's seen as too English - and are embracing Englishness. But as the British identity fades, immigrant populations are left with few options for expressing their love and pride in the country where they live and perhaps where they were born. And so they cleave to Englishness, too. Since being English is partly about ethnicity - the way to express your love of England is to wave the flag during football internationals. I'm an immigrant, too, and I fly the St George's cross in support of my host country and my team.
The guardianistas and chattering classes still don't like the sight of a St George's cross fluttering magestically in the breeze, but there's little they can say about its racist overtones when people of all colors, creeds and nationalities are flying it in a sense of inclusive pride.
-o-
Germany, the World Cup hosts, are seeing a resurgence in flag waving and national pride, too as a result of the German side playing well in all three matches of the group stage. Their recent history on this score is a little uglier than most - so perhaps it's a welcome relief for their populations. Still, I hope those flags come down soon after they lose and lose big to Sweden on Saturday.
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Speaking through former police worker Stephany Cohen, of Lancaster Close, Bromley, the Grays say England will reach the quarter finals.
And she says they will definitely not make it to the final, which she believes will probably be won by Brazil.Brazil are good this time, but not great. Who ate all the pies? Ronaldo.
The aliens, from the planet Sirrus D, have also scuppered hopes Wayne Rooney will be fit enough. Apparently his metatarsal fracture will not heal in time for any games and he should be replaced by Jermain Defoe.Ha ha, Sirrian Ds - it was only an injury of the soft metatarsal (whatever that means). Wayne's playing! And Defoe went home, maybe that was Sven's cunning plan to thwart the aliens, 'cause heaven only knows why else he kept the lineup he did (yes, I'm talking about Theo Walcott). But I guess I can grant the space aliens some slack. Rooney hasn't been up to form, yet.
And the spiritual healer also says Michael Owen is not 100 per cent fit but will still play in the tournament.
She added: "Their success should read win against Paraguay, beat Trinidad and Tobago and draw with Sweden.Eerily, acurately prescient. Still - England win their group and play Ecuador on Sunday.
People in some deprived areas work informally, out of 'need not greed', in response to poverty: they feared going without basics such as food and heating or facing mounting debt.
Try your hand as a 'washer-boy' and see what you can find - shiny bits of quartz, flurospar or galena maybe?
Yes, marriage is a matter for government, though many libertarians would argue against that.
To me it's less a question of if the state has any business in the relationships between individuals, but how much.
Does the state have any real business in the day-to-day emotional aspects of my marriage? No, not really. Should the state tell me to pick up my clothes from the bedroom floor or tell my husband to clean the toothpaste splatter off the bathroom mirror? (A definite no to the former and a grudging principled no to the latter.)
But the state does have a role in establishing reasonable terms for a marriage contract and enforcing that contract should either of us become unreasonable.
In most marriages, the state gets no more involved than at the beginning - ensuring it's a valid, exclusive contract, and at the end - establishing probate on the death of one of the partners. The state oversees privileges (state pensions, etc) and enforces responsibilities. In case of divorce, the state steps in to enforce common law principles of equity where parties cannot agree over the dissolution of the partnership contract.
People enter into contracts all the time. Where parties are reasonable, the state doesn't get involved, e.g. I hire somebody to do some work, they do it, I pay them, that's it. Where we can't agree, we turn to the state in the form of the courts to seek resolution.
Now some would say that's an intrusion of the state. Maybe. But how else would you like to enforce contracts? Do we reward the sneaky, the corrupt or the brutal by allowing them to enforce or break their own contracts? Should the distribution of property after a marriage ends rely on who's willing to act the worst, hiding or taking assets, threatening physical violence? Clearly, it's better if people behave reasonably, but we have evolved institutions such as marriage, the law or the courts because we recognise that people don't always behave reasonably and don't always keep their word.
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The great thing about the World Cup is that you can support more than one team. To be sure, there's one you pull for more than the rest, but you can form a hierarchy of allegiances. This keeps your interest focused after your real team gets knocked out.
ENG-ER-LAND
I support England above all. Most English people are pleasantly, but deeply, surprised by this. There's an automatic assumption that if you're an immigrant in your hierarchy of allegiance you'll support first your home country team and then maybe England as well. (Unless of course you're Scottish, but I'll come on to that later). Many want to know the source and path to my fandom. It's like this:
I first arrived in this country in the middle of the European tournament Euro 96. It was hosted in England and it was hard not to get caught up a little. England did well, but got knocked out by Germany in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals. I happened to be in Scotland for that, and wanted to watch that game in a bar. But when my then boyfriend (now the Vol-in-Law) and I hit the streets of Edinburgh in search of a suitable venue all the bar crowds were pulling for Germany, quite demonstrably. They have a "I support Scotland and whoever's playing England attitude" that I find unsportsmanlike*. So we ended up watching it at his parents' as I favored England.
I think that sealed it for me right then, and my passion has only grown. It's not as if I've jumped on a winning bandwagon either. Oh no, England will always break your heart in the end.
I like all the hoopla that goes with supporting England, the bunting, the flags, the t-shirts, the chanting and even the pop record releases. England goes nuts...though it's not a tenth of Knoxville level support for the Vols even post-season, even post a losing season.
Plus, for a long time supporting England has been seen as oikish (Britspeak for trashy) and flying the St George's cross as pandering to unpleasant nationalism at best and vaguely racist at worst. There's nothing I like more than wallowing in the slightly un-PC gutter and getting up the noses of whinging killjoys.
USA
Of course I want the US soccer team to do well. But like many expats over here, I'm sort of "Why should I waste my passion on this team when y'all back home hardly care?". It's a bit sad really. And I think it's a sign of increasing US isolationism when not only do Americans not care about the World Cup - which everyone else in the world gets in a frenzy over, but increasingly y'all seem to care less about the Olympics, too. (I always cheer on US athletes).
The Americas
After the US, I'll root for any American team. It's part of my pan-American hemispheric solidarity. Mexico first, then just about any of those little countries, then Argentina, then Brazil, then Columbia, then Canada.
Europe
This is where it all gets a bit murky. I'd support Finland out of ancestral solidarity, if they were any good. I'm generally going to pull for a European team over an Asian or Middle Eastern team but there are plenty I don't like (e.g. Germany, France). I am quite liking the Australian soccer-roos in this World Cup, if for the nickname alone, and I'll pull for them when they meet Brazil. Thus violating my earlier general rule.
Preferences between European teams will generally depend on whether I've had a fun, good value vacation in that country. So I'm particularly looking forward to seeing England smash Sweden.
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*Although I dislike the Scottish attitude of "any team but England". I do fondly remember the bumper stickers that said "I'm for the Tennessee Volunteers...and whoever's playing Alabama"
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Beautiful, beautiful goal by Czech Republic's Rosicky. See my previous post.
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I tried to get away early. I was 20 minutes late leaving, but could stilll catch the kickoff in USA v Czech Republic World Cup match if everything worked my way in Transport for London land.
The commuter gods conspired against me and I had a hellish journey - and got home in the middle of half time commentary and a 2 -O score in favor of the Czechs.
There's 20 minutes left and team USA looks outclassed and they still have Italy to face.
Good thing, I support England. (Or maybe not)
In positive news, Australia's socceroos defeat Japan 3-1. Congrats to them!
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One of the biggest fears the Germans have for the World Cup is that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will come here to watch his team play. His comments casting doubt on the Holocaust caused outrage in Germany.
This match is serving as a focus for protests against him, even though he is only sent his deputy, Vice-President Mohammed Aliabadi.
Iranian expats will also be putting on a separate protest outside the game.
...anyone who watches Iran in the World Cup, and also sees Offside, may find it difficult not to imagine the persecuted female fans, just out of view, just off-camera. With this quiet, profound film, Panahi shows that divisions between the personal and political are as vulnerable as a striker's metatarsal.One more reason to pull for Mexico.
Yvonne Ridley was a British tabloid journalist who travelled to Afghanistan during the fighting there. She was captured by the Taliban, who after some time freed her when she promised she would read the Koran.
She admits that she would have promised just about anything to get out, but anyway, she claims she kept her promise. She then duly and publicly converted to Islam.
Conversion has been good for Yvonne, she was lambasted for the ill-advised adventure in Afghanistan, but upon conversion she has her own tv show (dreary though it is) and is able to keep herself in the public eye more regularly than in her days as a member of the Church of England.
Last night (actually two days ago now - I couldn't post because of stupid Blogger outages) we watched a bit of her show on the Islam channel - way up in the nosebleed section of the cable channels (where you can also find Christian Evangelical offerings such as the God channel).
The show itself was not terribly exciting. She was interviewing a Palestinian farmer who was a little difficult to understand - I really only got "to exist you must resist". And apparently, you can resist by buying his brand of olive oil. Although Yvonne did her best to enliven the proceedings by asking the farmer if those in Egypt and beyond were following the example of the "heroic resistance in Palestine". He admitted he really didn't know much about that.
What was much, much more interesting was the ticker at the bottom of the screen, apparently based on viewers' text messages. It constantly scrolled three texts, which I paraphrase:
1. when will we stopped being fooled by the lies of America and Israel?
2. Umma, when will we rise up and establish an Islamic state?
3. It seems that some members of the community are trying to stir up trouble.
Well-spotted, Viewer Number Three! Yes, call for the establishment of an Islamic state in the UK does smack of stirring up trouble.
Yvonne herself was stirring it up last night. Probably at the same time we were watching the pre-recorded show, she was at meeting of George Galloway's Respect party exhorting Muslims not to cooperate with the police, following a recent terror raid in East London.
Now we all know that the Met are hardly infallible. And maybe this raid was a colossal error following a malicious tip-off. But what are the police supposed to do? Yvonne Ridley seems to be encouraging both revolution with the ticker of terror and for an entire community to choose to become accessories before the fact.
In this book Lakoff explains how conservatives think, and how to counter their arguments. He outlines in detail the traditional American values that progressives hold, but are often unable to articulate. Lakoff also breaks down the ways in which conservatives have framed the issues, and provides examples of how progressives can reframe the debate.
No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
We the People of the Tooting, in Order to form a more perfect Neighbourhood, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Safer Neighbourhoods Panel.And for my British readers, as Citizen Smith would say, Freedom for Tooting!