Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 08, 2014

1-7

Brazil’s Cup
Neymar Injury
Brazil All The Way
My July 4th Weekend Plans: World Cup Soccer
FIFA Retweeted Me, Twice

This was not Brazil versus Germany. This was Brazil versus FIFA and FIFA lost. Big.








































A 7-1 Rout of World Cup Hosts That Felt Even Worse Than That
World Cup Records Fall as Germany Advances to Eighth Final
7-Goal Scoring Spree Stuns Even Germany
Three key points: Why Brazil went down in flames
Brazil cries and Twitter laughs as Germany wins 7-1
Netherlands wears black hat into World Cup semifinal vs. Argentina
World Cup pre-game: Netherlands vs. Argentina
Voyager 1 hears 'sounds of space' as solar tsunami sweeps past




Saturday, July 05, 2014

Neymar Injury



This was a knee to backbone deliberate premeditated attack. This was an immediate red card. This was criminal behavior.














Neymar Airlifted From Brazil's Training Camp
When the plane arrived in Rio early Saturday, teammates came one by one to embrace him as he sat in a wheelchair waiting to be taken into the ambulance...... The 22-year-old Neymar broke his third vertebra after being kneed in the back by Colombian player Juan Camillo Zuniga in the 86th minute at the Arena Castelao....... Doctors said he will not need surgery but is expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks. The player is wearing a strap to help keep his back immobilized........ Seeking its sixth world title, Brazil will play Germany in Tuesday's semifinal in Belo Horizonte. The final is next Sunday, with the third-place game a day earlier......Neymar was carried off the field in tears on a stretcher and "screamed in pain in the dressing room" before being taken to a hospital for tests, the Brazilian confederation said in a statement......Neymar had been one of the standout players of the World Cup, scoring four goals in the team's first three games.....Fans watching the Argentina vs. Belgium quarterfinal in Brasilia on Wednesday at times chanted "Neymar, Neymar."

Zuniga apologizes to Neymar for tackle
Colombia defender Camilo Zuniga has sent a letter of apology to Neymar, saying he is “deeply sorry and sad” for causing the injury that knocked the Brazil striker out of the World Cup......In a statement distributed Saturday by the Colombia team, Zuniga says “although I feel the situation was normal in a game, there was no bad intention, malice or negligence on my part.”
Neymar injury robs Brazil and the World Cup of its star attraction
Ronaldo spoke as he once played, speeding to his target. “It was a very violent, unlawful tackle,’’ Ronaldo said. “We all have to fight for football to have more fair play. We have to demand that sanctions to be given to violent players. I am in favour of very severe sanctions to those who don’t want to play football and just want to do such violent tackles. It was an evil tackle.’’ ........ The way that Zuniga leapt into Neymar, the speed, force and angle of the knee would suggest this was no normal sporting collision. As well as calling on Fifa to punish Zuniga, Ronaldo argued that the incident accelerated the arrival of video technology. “I’m in favour,’’ Ronaldo said. “We have goal-line technology brought in for this World Cup and it’s not been a hindrance.” ......Yet that was for issues of fact, of whether the ball has crossed the line. Establishing intent such as Zuniga’s was more difficult. “This debate about technology in football has to grow. We should use technology on behalf of football.” On protecting the stars. ...... Agreement came from Cannavaro, who gave a defender’s insight into the situation. The man who led Italy to 2006 World Cup glory was a defender of great stealth and timing, who used intelligence rather than belligerence in challenging for the ball. “I didn’t like that high knee,’’ Cannavaro said of Zuniga. “When Neymar had the ball, there was no possibility of his [Zuniga] getting the ball like this. Neymar is not transparent. It was a foul with intention to cause harm. It will be very hard for Fifa to accept such a challenge because it is very evident foul. Everybody who has ever played the game knows that.’’ ...... Ronaldo texted his stricken compatriot. “I sent Neymar a message, conveying my support and solidarity. I told him the whole country is proud of him and the team will win the World Cup and dedicate it to him. ...... “No German fan or player is happy with Neymar being injured. We want the spirit of fair play and that wasn’t there [by Zuniga]. But Brazil don’t just have 11 players. They have a very good squad. I think Dante will play instead of Thiago Silva and he’s used to pressure because he plays for Bayern Munich where there’s a constant obligation to perform. Thiago Silva is easily replaceable. To replace Neymar is just not possible. It could be Willian who is used to pressure, having played for Shakhtar and now for Chelsea.’’....... Ronaldo responded, issuing a rallying cry: “We are fearful and sad about out loss but if the German team believe they are going to come against weak, demoralised team because of the loss of Neymar, the Germans will be making an enormous mistake. Brazil are never made up of just one player. Pele got hurt in the 1962 World Cup [against Czechoslovakia] and Brazil still won. We’ve lost a very important figure, our main reference, but perhaps Fred may step up and become a more important player for Brazil......... “I believe we will win [against Germany] because I believe so much in our national team.”


Friday, May 23, 2014

Google Is Being Harassed By Europe

Flag of Wallonia فارسی: پرچم والونیا Nederland...
Flag of Wallonia فارسی: پرچم والونیا Nederlands: Vlag van Wallonië (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Europe might not be China, but it is no America either. European politicians are way out of line in some of their assertions. At some fundamental level they seem not to comprehend the Internet. The US government should be defending Google.

Europe should learn from China and try and maybe come up with an Alibaba instead of being jealous of the Google success.

The world could use a better search engine, but that might require innovation, not political rhetoric. And this political rhetoric poisons the space for entrepreneurship and innovation in Europe. These political clowns, who are they pandering to?

Google's Settlement with European Union Faces Increased Pressure
France has given the company a bill for back taxes that could reach over EUR1 billion, including fines...... The French government said it would push for a new European law later this year to classify Google and other Web giants like public utilities, forcing them to guarantee access to all of its services like phone operators. In Germany, Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel advanced the idea of breaking apart Google in a German newspaper this week, though officials acknowledge such a move would require new laws ...... "We don't want to become a digital colony of global Internet giants," said French Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg said at an event to oppose the antitrust deal last week. "It is necessary, indeed urgent, to put in place a framework that guarantees a level playing field" for European companies. ...... Tech executives respond that the political rhetoric in Europe toward American tech companies amounts to a new kind of digital xenophobia, that could chase away foreign investment. Regulating search engines like public utilities could make them "impossible" to operate, one tech executive said. ....... Martin Schulz, a German candidate who is in the running to become the next European Commission President, has put the case at the heart of his election campaign. During a televised election debate with other candidates, Mr. Schulz said Google was "a monopoly in Europe entirely and nobody even discusses it. […] That's why the instrument of competition in that case is a very important one." ...... "We must do everything so that the market power of Google doesn't become ever stronger."
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Saturday, October 27, 2012

Google Should Pay For Linking? Weird

Image representing Rupert Murdoch as depicted ...
Image via CrunchBase
I think Rupert Murdoch had a similar beef a few years ago. He was sick and tired of Google linking to articles on his properties. I found that mindset amazing.

If Google scrapes your article and publishes them at its own property passing for its own, that is a huge problem. But if Google shows you up in search results, if it links to your articles from the Google News page, how is that a problem for you? What do you want? Less traffic to your site? I don't get it.

Learn from The Drudge Report about how to survive in this digital age.

French Minister Says Google Faces Critical Questions Over Copyright
French lawmakers want to pass a bill that would tax Google for content it currently indexes for free, after newspapers lobbied for the measure. .... Brazilian newspapers have taken the more extreme step of boycotting Google for the past year. .... The company noted in a letter it directs 4 billion people a month to French publishers’ pages, so a Google ban would be a significant blow to newspapers, too.
How are the Brazilians managing to stay away from Google? Beats me.

Boycott of Brazilian newspapers on Google becomes a model abroad
The Brazilian newspapers' pioneering boycott on Google News - most newspapers haven't allowed links with news to be displayed on the search engine for over a year - has raised interest abroad. ..... information requests from French, German and Chilean newspapers. ..... boycotting Google News helped to bring down one of the arguments the search engine used, that being featured on the search lists helps to improve audience - which could lead to more publicity revenues. ..... Since the newspapers associated with ANJ, which represent 90% of the market, decided to give up having their articles displayed by the search engine, their traffic declined on average less than 5%. ..... Unlike Brazil, in Germany and other European countries copyrights belong to journalists, not the newspaper.
I still don't get it. Even if you charge people to access your content, showing up in Google's search results would be in your interest, one would think. Scratch, scratch. Why is losing that 5% a good thing?
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Thursday, August 09, 2012

Breaking Up The Euro Feels Unthinkable

The solution is to give Europe a political union that matches the monetary union. The continent is going through hard times. But it is not like breaking up the Euro is an easy solution. You could break the Euro and all the problems would still be there. The loans would not vanish.

Tempted, Angela?
it is looking ever more likely .... A chaotic disintegration would be a calamity ..... For the moment, breaking up the euro would be more expensive than trying to hold it together. But if Europe just keeps on arguing, that calculation will change. ..... Begin with Greece. There is a common fallacy, not least in Germany, that dropping the Greeks would be a fairly costless way to teach a useful lesson. In fact the European Central Bank (ECB) owns Greek bonds with a face value of €40 billion ($50 billion), which would be converted into devalued drachma and which Greece might not service. A further €130 billion or so of loans that Greece has received in the bail-out would have to be written down, or written off. The €100 billion of the temporary debts Greece has stacked up in the ECB’s payments system would crystallise into a loss. Add in a one-off grant of say €50 billion to tide Greece over—call it conscience-salving “solidarity”—and the bill might come to €320 billion. Estimating the price of a “Grexit” is guesswork, but Germany’s share might reach €110 billion of this, about 4% of the country’s GDP. ...... Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus and Spain also all owe investors abroad a net sum of 80-100% of GDP (the gross debt is much larger). ...... With the single market in peril and depression looming, Mrs Merkel would come under huge pressure to pay whatever it takes to save the rest of the euro zone. She would have no time to negotiate the pan-European federal discipline that she has always demanded as the price for German aid. A rescue would be a blank cheque. .... A bolder Plan B would amputate well above the site of infection, cutting off Spain, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus too. Italy, which has net foreign debt of just 21% of GDP, would probably escape the chop: even with its heavy debts and chronic lack of competitiveness, Mrs Merkel would reckon that the euro zone could not function politically without it. ..... When you add up the ECB’s holdings of their bonds, the temporary debts in its payments system, written-off rescue loans, and a care package to soften the blow of being chucked out, the total for Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus and Greece comes to perhaps €1.15 trillion. Germany would also have to put money into its own banks, hit by losses in the five departing countries. Altogether, this might cost Germany getting on for €500 billion, or 20% of GDP. ..... the euro zone’s members should use their combined strength to create a banking union and to mutualise a chunk of the outstanding debt (as well as introduce policies to temper austerity and promote growth). ..... This more federal Europe would also involve costs. Recapitalising banks and financing a euro-wide deposit-guarantee scheme might cost €300 billion-400 billion, perhaps a third of it paid for by Germany. But this would be a one-off and might be reclaimed from the banks. Mutualising a slug of debt would lift Germany’s interest costs by €15 billion or so a year. The numbers are rough, but, even allowing for some extra loans to the south, rescue would be cheaper than break-up. And that is before you factor in the enormous political costs of disintegration, with, say, Greece departing into a new Balkan hell. ..... had the politicians agreed on who should pay what or on how much sovereignty to surrender. ...... Southern Europe’s economic rot is deepening and spreading north. Politics is turning rancid as the south succumbs to austerity fatigue and the north to rescue fatigue .... breaking up the euro would be riskier than fixing it. ... the choice will be between an expensive break-up sooner and a really ruinous one later.
Europe going down the tube like this was not my idea of an Asian century.
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