Uzbek referee to judge Asian Cup final [Press TV]

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162224.html

Australia thrashes Uzbekistan 6-0 [Press TV]

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161955.html

Comment about FC Barcelona Win In El Clasico

I am not surprised about the victory of FC Barcelona in El Clasico and its ascent to the top of La Liga. FC Barcelona won by its consistency in its play as well as offence and defemce.

Why USA Will Not Attack Iran

The Islamic Republic of Iran has tested its multiple launch system called the Prophet IV. It has also test fired the Shahab 3 and the Sejil Missiles which are of a long range and capable of hitting Israel and Europe. The response of the Western World is to condemn Iran and threaten it with sanctions in the same way Honduras has been threatened.

The Governing Elite of the United States of America has also talked about attacking Iran via Isreal. Saudi Arabia has even offered its airspace for such an attack. It has been the same brinkmanship that has pushed the world closer to war in the Middle East. The response has to allow people to experience nervous breakdowns over and over with regard to Iran, the so called threat from Iran, and the threat to Iran.

It is doubtful that the United States of America will attack Iran even if it could. The reason is that the Governing Elite has involved the USA in two wars that appear to be without end such as Iraq and Afghanistan. The toll in these wars have been psychological, physical, and financial. It would be an act of suicide on the part of the Governing Elite of the USA to attack Iran since it would open a third front and deplete the Armed Forces further.

The financial situation of the United States of America such as the deficit is $11,785,492,802,779.81 as of the 29th of September 2009 would quadruple in case of a war against Iran. It will be counterproductive for the United States of America to attack Iran without bringing about more economic destruction.

One of the other reasons as to why the United States of America will not attack Iran is that the International Community will not support such an adventure. It has been lied to by the Governing Elite with regards to Afghanistan and Iraq especially when there was no proof of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

While the world is debating whether there will be an attack against Iran or not on the part of the USA, it is doubtful that the USA will not attack but will attempt to find a negotiated solution that would benefit both parties. It is not in the interest of anyone to see a war between the USA and Iran which could escalate into World War III. All of the parties involved would give peace a chance.

http://www.helium.com/items/1601319-iran-vs-usa

“90″ and Iranian Football Federation

While the term soccer is used in the United States of America, I will be using the term “Football” for the remainder of this article since “Football” is the true name of the sport called “Soccer”. Also, the Federation in the article that is being written uses the term “Football”.

The year 2009 started with another controversy for the Iranian Football Federation and it was one that it tried to avoid. The Iranian Football Federation went as far as to try to be diplomatic about the whole situation. It involved a Popular Sports Programme called “90″ which was transmitted by IRIB or the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Network.

The popular Sports Programme “90″ is hosted by a popular football [soccer] commentator whose name is Adel Ferdowsipour. Mr. Ferdowsipour dared to criticize the Iranian Football Federation in his programme. He added salt to the wound by questioning the leadership abilities of the Federation with regards to Football.

The Iranian Football Federation responded with indignation and decided to take measures against the programme “90″ and their host Adel Ferdowsipour. One of the measures that was taken was the prohibition by the Iranian Football Federation on the subject of participation in the “90″ programme. In other words, no member of the Iranian Football Federation were allowed to be interviewed or to be part of the “90″ Programme as a sign of maintaining dignity.

In the next programme, Mr. Ferdowsipour asked the people who support the programme “90″ to text their approval or disapproval of the programme. The people wanted the”90″ Programme and its host Adel Ferdowsipour.

The stadiums in Iran were filled with banners and pennants supporting the “90″ Programme and its host Adel Ferdowsipour. Of course, Mr. Ferdowsipour should have been more careful over how he expresses himself with regard to the Iranian Football Federation. He should have concentrated more on what he is an expert on which is to report about football [soccer] without allowing his bias to interfere on objective sports reporting.

Mr. Ferdowsipour should have presented documented proof about the management of different football [soccer] programmes in Iran by the Iranian Football Federation. The United States Mainstream Media should learn from this experience and invite people who watch it to vote on what programme should remain on the air via texting and E Mail.

I am of the rule that a Football [Soccer] Federation should be respected and that any internal situations should be handled by the experts within the federation without the need of involvement of outside forces. A sports reporter can make a comment or report about what has happened but without destructive criticism.

Reference:

Press TV: “IFF expects Positive Changes in “90″ 21 January 2009 18:33:06 GMT

http://www.presstv.com/Detail. aspx?id=83188&sectionid=35 10211

Press TV: “Poll 90 More Popular than Ever” 27 January 2009 18:48:03 GMT

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.a spx?id=83886&sectionid=351 0211

http://www.helium.com/items/1330168-90-and-the-iranian-football-federation

 

Press TV: Daei: Dejagah will not play for Iran

Press TV: Daei: Dejagah will not play for Iran

Ali Daei, Iran’s national soccer head coach, says he has no intention of calling upon the services of Iranian-born Ashkan Dejagah.

“I never intended to invite him to play for Iran,” the former captain of the national team told reporters on Monday. “Besides, FIFA rules set an age limit for players switching nationality.”

FIFA allows a soccer player to change nationality if he has dual citizenship and makes the request under the age of 21, rendering Dejagah, 22, ineligible.

“Dejagah considers himself a German and is currently playing for German teams,” Daei, Iran’s all-time leading scorer with 109 goals, added.

In 2007, Dejagah sparked an outcry in Germany after the VFL Wolfsburg player announced he would not accompany Germany’s under-21 national soccer team to Tel Aviv, out of respect for his homeland.

“I have more Iranian blood than German in my veins,” Dejagah said.

In October 2007, Iran’s Vice-president Mohammad Aliabadi had expressed willingness to have the Iranian-born German soccer player join the Iranian squad.

Ferydoon Zandi, another Iranian-German soccer player, is currently playing for the national Iranian team.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=66304&sectionid=3510211

Statins and Dementia [Press TV]

Scientists believe taking cholesterol-lowering statins prevent from dementia in individuals at a high risk of developing the condition.

According to a study published in the Neurology journal, taking statins for about 5-7 years, reduces the risk of dementia by 50 percent.

University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers believe statins prevent from Alzheimer’s disease by influencing cerebral insulin pathways.

The study concluded that apart from the benefits of statins in protecting individuals against heart attack by lowering cholesterol levels, these drugs can be used as a preventative treatment for dementia.

Several studies have enumerated high cholesterol levels, type-2 diabetes, obesity and hypertension as the main risk factors for dementia.

FIFA Bans Iraq

According to a Press TV release on the 26th of May 2007, FIFA has announced that it is banning Iraq from International Football as a response to the decision of the US Installed Iraqi Government to abolish all of the Sports Organization in Iraq. This runs contrary to the rules of FIFA and International Football in which Sports and Politics must be separated. What the US Installed Iraqi Government has done is an injustice to those who love sports. The people who suffer the most is the Iraqi National Football Team who won the Asian Cups after defeating Saudi Arabia. If this situation does not resolve, Iraq will have to forfeit all of its games leading to the 2010 World Cup because of the myopic views of a Puppet Government in Iraq.

Press TV and Zimbabwe [A Personal Reflection]

Taking into account the election campaign in Zimbabwe, the Alvarez Galloso News Hour [El Noticiero Alvarez Galloso] has decided to reissue an article it wrote about the Press TV Coverage of the Zimbabwe Situation. The article was previously published on the 25th of July 2007. 

Press TV Journalist Yvonne Ridley dedicated a segment in “The Agenda” to Zimbabwe and Mugabe. Among the people interviewed were A Representative for MDC [Movement for Democratic Change] from Great Britain and Ireland; Mr. Julius Sal Mutyambiza-Dewa, Stephan Chen who is Professor of the School of Oriental and African Studies, and Wilf Mbanga; Editor of The Zimbabwean.

Ms. Ridley stated in “The Agenda” that an official from the Embassy of the Republic of Zimbabwe refused an invitation to appear in the programme to explain the position of Mugabe.

The subject was whether Mugabe was a liberator or a tyrant. The response from Dr. Chen was both. The Independent Journalist and the MDC Representative for the UK and Ireland stated that Mugabe was a tyrant.

There were comments about how Mugabe has created conditions for either a violent revolution or civil war. The three interviewees agreed that South Africa has the leverage to force change but does not want to since South African President Mbeki supports Mugabe.

The interviewees also agreed that Mugabe is using the nationalist card for his own ends and that there is a general dismay at the situation in Zimbabwe. Press TV also interviewed a group of demonstrators in the Zimbabwean Embassy in London.

Ms. Ridley added that investors are lining up into Zimbabwe, the response of Mr. Mbanga was that opportunists can make money even in unstable times. Mr. Mbanga struck a chord since we have the same situation in the American Continent in terms of opportunists and speculators.

Ms. Ridley also asked the question of what would happen if MDC was accused of “sell out”. The response of Mr. Sal Mutyambuza-Dewa was the need for global trade, term limits, and transparency in a governmen with separation of powers.

Another invitation was a Human Rights Activist who talked about radio and TV with sanctions against the ruling class. In this part, there is disagreement on the part of the underwriter since there are blogs such as the ones existing in blog.co.uk, short wave radio stations like SW Africa FM.

After seeing “The Agenda” on Press TV, many conclusions have to be drawn.

Press TV and Ms. Yvonne Ridley have done their homework concerning Zimbabwe. Press TV has done a coverage of Zimbabwe at the same par as the BBC, RNW [Radio Netherlands], CBC/RCI [Canada], and CRI [China]. This type of special in depth coverage does not exist in the “Mainstream Media” of the USA except for PBS [Public Broadcasting Service]. Press TV deserves a 100% for their report.

Mugabe is nothing more than a tyrant with a desire to maintain power at any cost. Mugabe is willing to sacrifice Zimbabwe por his personal gain and could care less about the hyoerinflation, lack of basic necessities. Mugabe is creating a replica of North Korea as Ark-888 has said.

Football Teams Hire On The Basis of Merit

With all due respect to the people who think that soccer teams limit their success by appointing ex players, appointing ex players have their pros and cons. It all boils down to the individual. For example, no team would ever appoint someone like Diego Maradona who has excess baggage in spite of his professional victories. Examples worth mentioning have been China, the Kurd Stars FC, Africa, and Iran.  

China appointed Bora Multinovic as their national coach taking into account the experience he had. Multinovic may not have won the 2002 World Cup for China but he was able to help China take football [soccer] to a new level. We should also take into consideration that China has been a success in itself by surprising the Football [Soccer] World with its victories in the 2007 Asian Cup. What Multinovic did was construct the bases for a better football [soccer] in China, what China did was improve itself and became known as a Football [Soccer] Powerhouse. 

The Kurd Stars FC who is the only Kurdish Team to play in an English League has Kinan Midhad Kadir as their coach and Sarkhell Nawroly as its Chairman and Player. Kinan Midhad Kadir and Sarkhell Nawroly have brought the Kurd Stars FC to higher levels in football [soccer] as well as promoting Kurdish Football [Soccer] to the Kurdistan Olympic Committee, Kurdistan Football Association, and The Ministry of Sports and Youth of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Kurdistan of Iraq. Kinan Midhad Kadir and Sarkhell Nawroly have been able to promote Kurdish Football [Soccer] through their years of experience as ex player, player, as well as manager and coach. The Kurd Stars FC has managed to advance to the leagues in England, Kurdistan, and the remote areas of the world. They even gained a supporter in Miami Florida. 

African Countries like Cameroon, Nigeria, Angola, and even Rwanda have had ex players from other countries as managers and coaches secondary to their experience in the field. Africa in the end has advanced in the World Cups and is expected to make a strong impression in the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa. For example, the coach of Cameroon who was an ex player for various German Teams whose name is Winfried Schafer took Cameroon to the near top of the African League. Winfried Schafer also managed to help instill discipline, tactics, continuity, and a pro active play into Cameroon that was instrumental in converting Cameroon into an African Powerhouse in Football [Soccer]. Winfried Schafer also asked Germany’s Coach Rudi Volli to respect Cameroon as a team in a show of defiance against his country and in defence of the country that accepted him. This show of defence occurred in the preparations for the 2002 World Cup.  

Cameroon was such a success that Press TV reported that Iran offered Winfried Schafer but what transpired was that nothing came to fruit and Iran finally offered the job of coach and manager to a trainer for Persepolis Tehran with experience as a player in Iranian Football [Soccer] named Afshin Qotbi. Whether Iran can progress to the 2010 World Cup is another matter. I think Iran will progress since Iran has chosen experienced players and trainers in the past to coach and manage its national team. Football [Soccer] teams do not limit their success by restricting appointments of managers to ex players. Football [Soccer] teams appoint what they think is the best person who can help a team win or at least take a team to “higher levels” [using the quote by Joel Osteen].   

REFERENCE: 

Kurd Stars FC Website

http://www.kurdstars.com/index.html

Assessed on the 18th of March 2008 

BBC Sport: “Eto’o sees Schafer as World Cup ‘key’ Wednesday, 26 December, 2001, 13:52 GMT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/1729264.stm

Assessed on the 18th of March 2008 

BBC Sport: “Schafer warns Germany”; Tuesday, 4 December, 2001, 11:55 GMT  

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2002/1691467.stm

Assessed on the 18th of March 2008 

Press TV: “Iran finally introduces new coach”

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=37281§ionid=3510211 

Press TV: “Reid will not coach Iran soccer team”

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=32038§ionid=3510211 

Press TV: “Schafer may coach Iran soccer team”

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=31091§ionid=3510211 

Press TV: “Qotbi Iran’s new football coach”

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=45350§ionid=3510211