I'm sure there are all sorts of reasons for Brazilians to go on the rampage but if one of them is to protest against the bizarre amounts of money being spent on mounting Sepp Blatter's international circus then please allow me to throw a symbolic rock in sympathy! As Tim Worstall points out drily, 'the Graun' (and the BBC) cannot bring itself to admit that the riots are aimed at a centre-Left government run by an ex-Marxist - such lèse-majesté!
Still, talking of majesty, "Oh bliss 'will it be' in that dawn to be alive" when King-Emperor Blatter is given a right good kicking! If the people of Brazil, perhaps the greatest 'footie' fanatics in the world, can bring themselves to burn down all their corruptly-built and eye-wateringly expensive stadia so that the world cup venues are reduced to rubble, it might just provoke the Russian people, already irritable with the winter olympics venue in their country, to emulate their Latin bravado in 2018. Just think, if we could get Blatter and Putin with one good uprising who would say no?
David
There are few things uglier than the reaction of a left leaning rulers being attacked from the left.
Posted by: Hank | Saturday, 22 June 2013 at 03:16
Exactly so, Hank.
Posted by: David Duff | Saturday, 22 June 2013 at 14:22
The rugby today was a good contest, though the better side lost. There was one lovely irony; the Australians performed quite a few illegal obstructions (in my view) and then lost to a try resulting from a move that also, perhaps, included one. Ha, ha.
P.S. It wasn't so long ago that it was only the All Blacks who routinely committed obstructions.
Posted by: dearieme | Saturday, 22 June 2013 at 15:36
So, DM, it's , "We blame the ref" time - again - just like 'footie'!
Posted by: David Duff | Saturday, 22 June 2013 at 19:29
No, the ref was consistent on obstructions - he's a Kiwi after all, he doesn't mind them. He was also consistent on yellow cards: he could have given two, one to each side, for killing the ball, but he didn't. He had a pretty good game I thought.
The better side lost not because of the ref, but because they missed their kicks, most dramatically in the last minute when the goal-kicker's standing foot slipped as he kicked. On such small margins .....
Posted by: dearieme | Saturday, 22 June 2013 at 21:51
Fair enough but I hear this morning that one of the Aussies is up before the beak for stamping. Swine! Our decent British chaps wouldn't stoop so low.
Posted by: David Duff | Sunday, 23 June 2013 at 08:51