kactus

Miracles do happen my friend. Don’t give up hope If/ should that be the case I will definitely buy another pint on your behalf and drink to that.

Since you addressed this question to citizen, which I am hoping he will answer let me ask you the same question what do you think? I give you my philosophical answer which may not bode well with some members here as it may be misconstrued with insulting their intelligence... If Iranians tomorrow chose MEK over the Ayatollahs it would mean they have not learned from their past mistakes and will kerp reoeating it. Remember these Ayatollahs were pledging to improve the lives of citizens after the revolution. We saw the opposite effect. My point of contention is and I keep repeating this that if you keep on repeating the same mistake over and over then one cannot expect a different result. And if you did that would be a sign of insanity! Citizen is right on one thing...Mullahs cannot be reformed but neither is right for Iranians to chose a notorious cult like MEK if they want to make a change for better IMO.

I have already given the answer but somehow got ignored through selective hearing. Sorry citizen!

The extent of support/ endorsement of Harper or any other western government of this notorious cult is not a coincidence/ lack of knowledge or by them showing naivety. They know exactly what MEK are capable of. It transpires that in the absence of a credible opposition to Ayatollahs people/ governments tend to chose bad over worse. That is MEK over Ayatollahs!

England’s team has a tendency to become complacent. They sit back once they score a goal. This happens alot in their games. They must change tacts in their next game against Sweden. As this stage of the WC, I like seeing Brazil in the final. Any predictions who will be in the final?

To be fair, I watched the Uruguay vs. Portugal game and Uruguay by far were a better team....Their goals will be remembered in this WC amongst others.

Well well welll talk about miracles. Two penalties conceded and still managed to beat Colombia in sudden death. @capricorn, enjoy that pint while it lasts... Next game against Sweden

That’s a long shot even though they are one up against Colombia . Like to think you are right but England will be out next round...When if that happens you can send me a virtual toast. ;)

History has shown time and time again that democracy cannot be spoon fed...It has to be realised! Europe went through this transition. Same applies for other countries including Iran. Look...we can sit behind keyboards and become very academic about this topic. Reality is forcing a change that people don’t want will backfire...I see that through every god damn country the West has interefered....Sure there are examples such as Iraq that one can dispute Iran’s meddling but how about Libya? Is that country prospering now? Really!? If we keep carrying on along this path then nothing will change and probably similar predicament awaits Iran. Something probably many Iranians don’t want to happen to them or their loved ones if there was a full force military attack. Notice I am not suggesting that’s what you say but it is a probability.

It’s interesting that both England and Colombia have one of the easiest path in this WC to qualify to the next stage. Whether that is a boost to their moral and save their legs for a big match who knows...This WC has certainly been very entertaining. Belgium just beats Japan. The odds are stacked up and it will be interesting to see how it shapes.

Good grief.... The stuff about Trump and Saudi Aramco corporation is text book....Trump as a president pledged to make America “great again”. You remember all those stuff about America first? Ofcourse honouring these pledges comes at a price. Signing those billion dollar contracts to sell atms to saudis is just s mean to deliver on those promises. It’s Economics stupid (it’s just a phrase and not addressed to anyone) Getting back to the topic....I cannot even fathom the prospect of giving MEK (that btw was listed as a terrorist organisation by CIA a few years ago) a chance to become a political force. That’s whether through transition or change of government in Iran. They are notorious, hypocrites and at worst traitors to the Iranians. This old cliche that just because you don’t approve of MEK policy then you must be a regime supporter is growing tiresome and just shutting different opinions....I think I have made my views chrystal clear here that I strongly oppose the Ayatollahs and their existence. But to even suggest that just because there’s no alternative Iranians should embrace MEK to topple the current occupying regime is preposterous and suicidal at worst case scenario!!! There is no chance in hell they will be accounted for as a credible force to replace these god damn mullahs. Through change must be initiated by Iranians as they have shown with their regional protests. You cannot export democracy to another country unless the motive is to create anarchy, instability and division in that country. Any interferance by means of military action against another soverign state will be perceived as an attack against their people. Providing the means to weaken the regime and the system from inside and out is the best solution to get closer to establishing democracy in Iran given the absence of a credible opposition IMHO.

Well my prediction was Germany and Spain. They are both out...At this rate cannot say that I am disappointed as this WC has been pretty exciting with some fantastic goals. The Uruguay vs Portugal was one of those games that presented good sportsmanship and great game of football.

The behaviour of Ayatollahs in Iran and 40 years of of theocracy rulings has created a place where Iranians are fed up with anything that comes from the horsemouth of their leader Khamenei and their supporters. It has created divisions and mistrust of who is pro and who is anti regime. One thing for certain no Iranian wants to see Maryam Rajavi (leader of terrorist organisations like MEK) who is is much admired and recognised by the US administration to reign over Iran after the ayatollahs.... It is regrettable that certain mindset is fixated that toppling this despicable regime can be done with the help from MEK! In her conference yesterday in France Maryam Rajavi leader of MEK already sees herself as the president of Iran....

I would take the words of people like Bonyadi with a pinch of salt....It is not the first time a so called reformist says something to align himself with the view of public majority only to preserve the existence of Ayatollahs. Notwithstanding his criticism from the regime, what influence if any do so called reformists have on these issues when the supreme leader Khamenei can silence any criticism including the reformists??? After all, he is the one that ultimately has a say in these things....

Ghost, you have misread his post. Citizen is saying that in arab countries of those nations and even Turkey that is not even an Arab country people like their leaders. This is not the case in Iran as people loathe mullahs as much as the islamic doctrines they are shovelling down their throats...That’s the reality and what makes it different from the rest. The unfortunate thing is the survival of mullah regime hinges on the behaviour of western countries most notably UK, France and Germany cosying up to mullahs in Iran. There is no common consensus and strategy by western governments on how to deal with the mullahs as it’s prevalent by the stance of US nuclear deal vis a vis the big three in Europe! It’s widely recognised that change is inevitable but that change must be initiated by Iranian people to choose their government hopefully with no finacial assustance and back kissing of the mullahs butts by European Union. Now when there is no consensus even amongst europeans and US over how to deal with Iran how on earth do you expect the western governments hold rich oil Saudi Arabia to a different standard!? Ofcourse they are not going to forego their national interests over poor treatments or democracy....There will always be ‘business as usual’ when dealing with oil rich Saudi Arabia regardless of their poor human rights etc....That’s a no brainer.

Well what a match between Iran and Portugal.... First, I will congratulate the players and their coach Carlos Queiroz who did a fantastic job to bring them to this stage against and play very tough opponents to qualify. Have to say though that Portugal's only goal against Iran was fantastic and nicely executed. The second half was full of drama and I had some innate suspicion that the referee's decision to grant Ronaldo a bizarre penalty kick was wrong. That wasn't a penalty. And what makes it worse is that despite the introduction of VAR the referee took too long to refer to screen. Interestingly....Ronaldo undoubtedly one of the world's best football player's penalty kick was saved by the Iranian keeper. He also picked a yellow card for elbowing an Iranian player which IMO should have been red. In any case he will be on bench in Portugal's next match against Uruguay..(Karma works in mysterious ways :)) Now back to the point on VAR....As I have said I am a big fan of this into football games. However, last night's game between Iran and Portugal was very poorly managed by the Paraguayan referee. It looked as though we needed another referee just to referee him....I was also disappointed by the acrobatic shows of primarily Portuguese players taking every opportunity to dive on the pitch and making a scene to waste time and get referee's attention...This still happening despite the VAR in place. That was really lame and kills the spirit of the game. I think despite the adversities that Iranian players faced pre world cup they performed remarkably. These shortfalls ranged from Nike boycotting the players and didn't give them trainers because of sanctions or Iran's friendly matches that were cancelled...It doesn't matter that on the score sheet the Iranians lost. They scored on penalty against Portugal when Portugal's undoubtedly best player Ronaldo failed to score a penalty...It was an honourable goal and many other opportunities for Iran especially in last minutes to score....

1994

Mullahs language is not to start a conversation with them. They will negotiate their way out of it.... 1- Unilateral and systematic sanctions by US as well as ass kissers of mullahs namely UK, France and Germany on ‘Sepah’ and other governmental organisations. 2- Freezing mullah’s assets in Swiss and other foreign bank accounts. 3- Targetted surveillance of activities by Sepah through charitable organisations where they “waste” Iranian’s money on buying arms and building the infrastructure of other countries rather than helping Iranians. The only language a mullah will understand is force! Weaken their position by cutting off the money supplies that they use to prop up their survival. This will give ammunition to people to come out in masses. Any killings of people in masses will be met by force.

A good mullah is a dead mullah.... Fortunately, these fucktards are literally so old and out of touch that the younger generations of population don’t take them seriously. They just want to attach themselves to people like a bunch of leech sucking their blood whilst creating an outside enemy. Their mission is accomplished....They achieved yo turn Iranians against religion by their enforcement of their version of islamic laws. ffs why should a mullah rule Iran and get involved in politics when their place should be in religious institutions just like the archbishops in churches!!! I don’t get it. I don’t think they are even welcome in mosques.....

I hear from some sources that the reason for censorship of telegram is because it is believed to be an Israeli invention and can potentially help gather data on individuals and supporters of the alien regime occupying Iran. Afterall, Israel and US did use stuxnet to set back the nuclear program a few years ago... In any case, it will be a hard job to discredit this regime when there are so many vile and tyrannical regimes surrounding Iran. Saudi Arabia, Syria etc to name a few. Any opposition expressed against this brutal regime will swiftly be offset against past actions of US in the region and the terrible legacy that it has left post invadion...Whilst that may be true the situation in Iran can best be understood by Iranians who have the pulse of this regime and know exactly how they are being treated....For this reason alone it is a matter that requires no direct intervention from the West and only cut out business deals with the regime that can potentially reduce their survival and allow people to make the change ftom within...

I think given that they were playing world champions the Iranian players had to overcome psychological pressure by playing defensively to mitigate risks od conceding goals against Spain from the start. As the game progressed and specially when they went a goal down they realised they had nothing to lose and everything to gain by takibg a stab at it and attack at the spaniard’s goalpost and so they did. One of my spanish friends tells me he was very impressed with the Iran’s game in second half and admitted that there were times he thought Spain was going to lose... It is all about self belief and conviction that they can do it. The game with Spain gave Iranians the opportunity to gain that confidence and prove themselves, which probably matters as much as winning a game...

One ought to refer to mullahcracy as lunacracy.... It is despicable however that some foreign western governments are happy to do business as usuall with these lunatics that are much loathed by the majority of Iranian population....

No more....This resonates a kind of regime that has occupied Iran for 40 years. It uses patriotic fever and similar sentiments to achieve its goals. That is to distract the population from the internal problems and struggle and divert their hatred towards the West. For so many years they have used these scare mongering tactics so that the public anger is directed towards the West and exonerates them from their own failures. People are no longer receptive to these deceptions and where public money is invested in the building the infrastructure of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen at the expense of Iranian people who live in poverty. In turn these bunch of lunatic mullahs live quite comfortably with their wealth scattered in various foreign accounts across the globe....

To be fair watching the Iran goal against Spain was an offside. Good lord I may have to retract my comment about VAR as this goal would have been allowed in previous world cups. It was clear from the moment the game started that the strategy for Iranians was to defend and keep the game going for as long as possible. There is a shortfall with this strategy. But in the second half the players believed in their abilities and took a more attacking approach on Soains’s goal post which presented Iran with a number of opportunities for scoring goals. Kudos to the Iranian players....despite the sanction and psychological mind games by media to underplay their efforts they came against all odds and nearly equalised with the world champions Spain.

To be honest there is nothing special about polish football. They have always been a second/ third class football team in Europe.... Good luck to Iran and team e Meli. As much as I favour underdogs in the world cup, playing top level European/ South American teams is a different level playing fields. This world cup has brought in many surprises so far. For me the introduction of VAR has been very useful in helping referees making the right decision.