Apartheid in S. Africa and “Gender Segregation and throwing people in prison for their speech” in Iran is incomparable. It’s “ludicrious” that you would think otherwise. The most cursory search on the internet will make this point obvious. People in Iran may be tortured and imprisoned for their political opposition to the government or for other ridiculous reasons, but nothing happens to them because of the color of their skin, and 90% of them are not destined from birth to be oppressed by the laws of the nation. Women in Iran may have it bad, but they don’t have it as bad as did the black Africans in S. Africa — they have not been “resettled” on “homelands” and given fallow land to live on; they have not been systematically denied the most basic amenities like plumbing and electricity; there are not laws forbidding them from getting the same education as everyone else in the country; etc. etc. etc. I don’t know what you think is going on in Iran, but it’s not that bad, that’s for sure.

If you’re comparing S. Africa to Iran, then I’m definitely entitled to compare Brazil to Saudi Arabia. Who are you to decide what transgressions rise to the level of punishment and which ones don’t? In fact, who should decide — the West, the East? The results are obviously subjective and will differ depending on the deciding party. Maybe that’s why they say sports shouldn’t mix with politics.

Best wishes for Team Melli!

Stick it to Portugal Iran.

It doesn’t matter why certain EU politicians don’t want Iran going to Germany, I’m talking about why Iran should have been banned from the outset along with a number of other countries.

And I haven’t mentioned Saudi Arabia, because we aren’t talking about Saudi Arabia, but of course they deserve to be banned as well.

Brazil’s transgressions don’t rise to the level of punishment. Comparing Brazil to Iran or Saudi Arabia is ludicrous.

Even assuming that we are talking about banning Iran from the World Cup because of its human rights violations, using S. Africa as a precedent to do so is flawed on so many different levels. But that discussion is for another time and another site.

Man, I can’t wait for the World Cup!

i never said standing up to an authoritarian regime is easy. i don’t presume it is. but if the iranians want a better life, and they don’t want to go to jail for political thoughts, and if they want to see game if they have breasts, they are going to have to do something about their government even if it means they get hurt, thrown in jail, or killed.

i don’t take jack for granted, but i’m not the one who lives in a country where religous freaks tell people what they can and cannot do.

as an outsider all i can do is take a stand against the mullahs. one way i can do that is to advocate for banning all iranian sports teams from international competition until the iranian government lets their people go free. and that’s a hell of a lot less dangerous than advocating war or economic sanctions, because the only that is hurt is country’s pride.

Living in a democratic society like US, we are so accustomed to the freedoms we enjoy that it’s hard to comperhend what people in otherwise repressive societies face. From personal experience, I can tell you that many Iraninans who did something to defend their most basic freedoms, would it be choice of the clothes they wear, music they listen to, or news they read, have ended up in jail or executed for it. Now, do you think they lack motivation to stand against their governmnet. They don’t! They already got millions of reason to resist their governmnet. But, it’s just not as easy as you and me think! They would be risking their lives (and many do everyday). People love their pride and joy! But they like to live first.

To get an understanding for my position on the issue of women please go to my own website, follow the links on this post, and perhaps read a few of the comments.

Cheers,

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