Russia 2018 World Cup

[pollaxe]

I'm not so sure on the bad loser score, merdat, we've had enough practice!

[Steve A]

Quit with the british thing tbh .... the majority of the world are bad losers. (im pretty sure no one likes to lose, so its hardly a British thing)

Its the way things were done that was a sham, there should be far more transparancy with regards voting, they should do it individually and state there reasons for voting otherwise it just open to abuse, thus just voting for who your friends with or where you had the best holiday etc.

I have nothing against Russia, im sure they will hold a great World Cup but still unsure how they managed to win by such a clear margin.

Call me sceptical but still can't quiet get my head round it.

[TooNice]

^ Indeed I disagree with Greg's singling the British as 'bad losers' on basis of the comment on this thread. I don't give a crap about the fact the game won't be held here, and I suspect that applies to Saracen too (at least based on his opinion of the game in the last WC).

People who care about the game are all going to be disappointed, and I suspect that you'll find similar comments as seen on this thread in forums from the other countries that did not win too.

Corruption is not equal in every country and while the UK is not snow white, Russia does have a worse reputation. That said, I do think the accusations come across as a bit of a cheap shot given the 'evidence' presented so far.

[Jay]

I find Greg quite insulting, he wants to be a member of the UK society but only when it suites him. The loss of the world cup doesn't bother me but having a foreign national come on to a forum to bad mouth the country and its population that has welcomed them to their society leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[Steve A]

^^ Have to say i totally agree with you, people are so quick to "bad mouth" our country and celebrate when we fail, but love it when it suits them.

[TooNice]

I find Greg quite insulting, he wants to be a member of the UK society but only when it suites him. The loss of the world cup doesn't bother me but having a foreign national come on to a forum to bad mouth the country and its population that has welcomed them to their society leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Off topic, sorry, but there are a couple points I'd like to make about that post:
1. Does he really want to be a member of the UK society? Perhaps his dad did, but 10 years ago, I doubt that he had much of a say in the matter. Assuming that his dad want to be a 'member' of the UK society, does it mean that he automatically has to?

2. Unless you are dealing with a minuscule population, you can't really say that the population has welcomed him. The HO granted him permission to stay (presumably), but the population had very little / quasi-no involvement with it. I am sure there are circumstances where he may be asked to leave, but that most likely does not involve bad mouthing the population to this extent displayed so far.

3. Personally, I don't think that one should need to be a citizen of the country to be able to criticise it (objectively - something I do not think Greg has done here). I've seen quite a bit of "If they are not happy here, then they should leave". Like political parties, there are no 'perfect' countries. They each has their own respective pluses and minuses, and one shouldn't need to be Chinese to complain about pollution in China, Russian to complain about corruption (@Greg: the UK isn't perfect, but it does rank considerably higher: http://www.worldaudit.org/corruption.htm), or British to complain about.. the things a British typically complain about.

4. Speaking of bad mouthing other countries and it's population, it is something I've seen not too uncommonly here on Hexus. In terms of country, the US is a fairly frequent target. I realise this forum is largely UK focussed, and most of the members are based in the UK, but I do cringe every time I see a post insulting the intelligence of the 'Americans'. Actually, I cringe every time a large group of people people are associated with certain negative characteristics (whether it's Americans, religious people, Apple users etc. etc.). So yeah, I also cringed when I read Greg's calling the British 'bad losers'. I believe the world would generally be better place if we keep snide remarks to ourselves. And I do find it ironic that many members complain about 'political correctness gone mad' about many things some feel insulted when the UK comes under criticism (well, I am not sure if the members are the same).

5. Personally, I put nationalism/patriotism and religion in the same book: they are based more on emotions than rationality. They have been used to commit evil but are not necessarily evil, and both can motivate people to do good. This forum seem to have a lot of non-religious people (some strongly against), but I wonder how many feel the same way about patriotism.

Right, enough procrastinating. Back to studying

[Georgy291]

thank you toonice,

sorry if i came a bit OTT here but, all i wanted to say Britain isnt perfect either. and regarding jumping to criticising, look at first number of posts, who was criticising who?

[neonplanet40]

I think people need to remember that Russia hasn't hosted it before and this is a first for Eastern Europe. I think Russia had the best case for hosting this World Cup. England has had it before and will have it again - Just not in our lifetimes.

[nibbler]

I think people need to remember that Russia hasn't hosted it before and this is a first for Eastern Europe. I think Russia had the best case for hosting this World Cup. England has had it before and will have it again - Just not in our lifetimes.

Maybe not in your lifetime but I intend to see it before I die, got another 65-70 years if all goes well

[neonplanet40]

Lol well maybe I will too. Next time England can host is 2030. Ill be 45 so hopefully

My point is, its only fair other countries get a chance.

[htid]

*edit* didn't realise there was a 3rd page doh!

[Macman]

I can honestly say I never expected Russia to get it... As for Qatar, Zidane must've persuaded the voters, if they didn't vote, then they would be head-butted lol.

[Saracen]

see you still need to take other tests Saracen, also note that the results have to be there by feb, and when do british results come out?

A Levels are the equivalent of Sat 2, and count for us as Sat 2's would for US students, who also have to take Sat 1.

As for Feb submission, the closing date for Sat tests for US students is November for Single-Choice Early Action admission, or January for Regular decision, and for the ACT, while it's possible to leave it to Feb, Yale recommend against because results may not arrive in time. And foreign students can hardly expect a top uni to completely vary it's entire process to accommodate them.

Different uni's have widely different selection processes and criteria. For instance, with Cambridge (in my day), you could go for a conditional offer, in which case you'd get told what A-Level grades you needed (and it'd typically be at least 5 GCE's in different subjects, including at least 3 A-Levels at Grade A, but typically also include one or more S-Levels), or you could sit the matriculation exams (as I did). Those exams were hard, and different in nature to A-Levels, but if you passed, you needed a basic minimum (IIRC, 2 GCE's at O-Level) and no A-Levels at all, and you got a firm offer without waiting for the A-Level results. But most uni's didn't run the matriculation exam process. *It's a bit like that with uni's like Yale - they have a very demanding application process, and while A-Levels are accepted as substitutes for subject-based SATs, they are FAR from adequate. The best A-Level grades could well see you fail on the counts, as could top SAT scores.

But that's not the point. You said

British A levels aren't accepted anywhere else in the world other than Britain.

and that simply isn't the case. Not even close.

[Saracen]

.... I don't give a crap about the fact the game won't be held here, and I suspect that applies to Saracen too (at least based on his opinion of the game in the last WC).
....

Correct.

I see two arguments for wanting the World Cup here. First, you're a footy fan and want to go see matches. Second, it'll bring it a lot of money and/or development.

Well, I'm not a footy fan. Can't stand the game. If not so much as another dingle football match was ever played on the whole planet, it wouldn't upset me at all, and it'd take wild horses, and very large bribe indeed or the point of a gun to get me to go to a match. So, on that score, I don't care if it's here or not.

So for me, it's about economics. On that point, I'm far from convinced it'd be as good for the country as promised, and indeed, am even sceptical about whether we'd simply be left holding a large bill.

So I'm certainly not upset it's not being held here. In fact, I rather hoped it wouldn't be.

[Saracen]

....

sorry if i came a bit OTT here but, all i wanted to say Britain isnt perfect either. and regarding jumping to criticising, look at first number of posts, who was criticising who?

Britain certainly isn't perfect. I'd be fascinated if anyone can come up with ANY country they can convince us all is perfect?

Countries tend to be full of people, and where that happens, perfection is a flippin' tall order.

On the subject of bribery, Britain is not exempt, but it does tend to be more about British companies going along with it as a requirement for doing business in some other countries, where it's simply a case of go along with local "traditions", or lose the contract. So we have a choice - go along with expectations, or pack up and go home, because there will be someone else come along that will use bribery if we don't.

Sadly, it's a fact of life and while it may be morally wrong, pragmatics tends to trump morals in business.

It'd also be naive to think bribery never happens within the UK. Show me someone that thinks it never happens here and I'll show you someone so naive they didn't really ought to be let outdoors without a babysitter.

However .... bribery is certainly not widespread or endemic in Britain, as it is in some countries, and much of the criticism I've heard (other than on Hexus) of the way things are done in Russia these days has come from Russians.

As for who started criticising who in this thread, I couldn't agree more.

[twosheds]

Sepp Blatter did remind the Fifa guys about 'certain media coverage' before the vote (in fact copies of 'derogatory' comments were passed around.

The man is a complete buffoon, "football was invented in China" for gods sake.

I reckon England should withdraw from FIFA and tell 'em where to shove their World Cup. Without the huge revenues they get from UK TV companies I think they'd soon have second thoughts.