They beat Australia. I didn’t expect that. Looks like Iraq may just come out of this with a medal.
Cool.
Moe
PS: Yup, I read some of the hostile comments about the USA made by the Iraqi team. And?
14 thoughts on “Damn.”
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“And?”
And so what did you think of them?
“And so what did you think of them?”
(Shrug) That my approval or disapproval of his opinions is a matter of supreme unimportance to his future well-being. Which is as it should be. 🙂
Actually, the hostile comments I read were a direct response to the Bush-Cheney team using the Olympics, and the Iraqi team in particular, as campaign fodder. Which would explain why the U.S. Olympic Committe was a little hostile on the subject themselves.
If Mr. Bush wishes to participate in Olympics glory, he should compete with one of the teams. Iraq participated in the Olympics before Saddam Hussein, during Saddam Hussein, and following Saddam Hussein. Bush/Cheney should leave the Olympians alone.
Funny how the word hostile is attributed to this poor man. He just sounded like someone standing up for himself.
Actually the Olympics have stepped in and said BC04 cannot use the olympics in an ad.
Although there is a bizarre rumor that Bush is going to fly in to Athens to watch their next game.
As for the football players, one was from Najaf, one rom Fallujah, and the other was the coach who apparently was tight with Uday. There are probably others, though.
“Actually the Olympics have stepped in and said BC04 cannot use the olympics in an ad.”
And most reports say that BC04 hasn’t violated the Olympic copyright and the current ad can’t be restrained.
(If the IOC could have their way, they’d doubtless prevent us from mentioning them in blog comments without payment and permission; after all, they forbid linking to them.)
Oh, and no blogging.
Funny how the word hostile is attributed to this poor man. He just sounded like someone standing up for himself.
Well, I would say that depends, Wilfred.
Salih Sadir: “Iraq as a team does not want Mr. Bush to use us for the presidential campaign. He can find another way to advertise himself.”
Adnan Hamad: “My problems are not with the American people. They are with what America has done in Iraq: destroy everything. The American army has killed so many people in Iraq. What is freedom when I go to the [national] stadium and there are shootings on the road?”
Ahmad Manajid: “How will he meet his god having slaughtered so many men and women? He has committed so many crimes. I want to defend my home. If a stranger invades America and the people resist, does that mean they are terrorists? Everyone [in Falluja] has been labeled a terrorist. These are all lies. Falluja people are some of the best people in Iraq.”
(cite)
I’d say Sadir just sounds fed up, Manajid’s definitely hostile (and given that apparently the US occupation have killed his cousin, that’s not surprising), and Hamad just sounds despairing.
It may be legal for Bush to claim that Afghanistan and Iraq are now “free nations” – but it’s hardly truthful. It is tacky for him to use the Olympics as part of his Presidential campaign. But tacky is certainly an improvement on slimy.
Thanks for posting those other quotes Jes. I had previously only seen those by Sadir.
Like I said, coach, Najaf, Fallujah w/ dead cousin.
Coupla items:
1. The IOC would sue people for using the word “olympics” if they thought they could get away with it. They make the RIAA and MPAA look like copyright anarchists. Yeah, they got their panties in a bunch. Skroom.
2. The ad is tacky and inaccurate (Iraq and Afghanistan “democratic nations”? Gimme a break!), but we all expect tackiness and lies from politicians. Like Jesurgislac posted above, tacky is an improvement on slimy. As political ads go, it’s not bad.
Perhaps Sadir, an ignorant, stupid, and lucky little S**T of a coach would prefer to be welcomed home by Usay rather than the “American army” which is likely paying for his ass to be there after which said Usay would introduce said Sadir’s gonads to Usay’s fine collection of cattle prods.
According to Wired News, it’s the USOC, not the IOC that is defending the Olymic/Olympiad/Olympic Games trademark thingy. Apparently “Olympics” is a loophole that still violates the spirit, but not the letter of the law.
While it’s fun to hope that the Olympics can remain free and unsullied from politics as intended, it’ll never happen. Still, the ad was a blunder. It’s not a good idea to use somebody’s name/image/identity against their will.