BruceVC

Yes I would typically be behind Germany but they already through so I also didnt mind Ecuador winning. And you could see difference and how Ecuador were very aggressive until they scored the second goal and then they wanted to slow things down. At the end Germany had most of the possession and goal attempts but I wanted Ecuador to win, the faces and tension of the fans was palpable But I was mostly worried that the Ecuadorian coach was going to have a heart attack 🤪 This type of game and the energy is an example of the benefits of the 48 teams because now you have a 3rd place chance of progressing. Its great for fans

https://www.firstpost.com/business/from-panic-to-pause-why-brent-crudes-fall-to-72-signals-a-reset-in-oil-markets-14026083.html Oil price in now at pre-war levels, $72/barrel Some good news for the peace talks 👍

I didnt watch the game because it was too late, 3am But we all woke up this morning to an unexpected victory and we will progress to the next stage for the first time Well done to South Africa !!

I finished Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened after about 20 hours It was incredibly short but still fun. The detective mechanics grow on you and how you find clues really becomes engaging Its gets a solid 60\100 on the " BruceVC game rating system " Now Im playing the new version of Temple of Elemental Evil I first played it in 2006 before I had a dedicated gaming PC and I used my work laptop. I cant remember if I finished it but I do remember I loved it and the Greyhawk setting which is my 2nd favorite D&D gameworld and D&D is overall my favorite ruleset I used this Steam mod guide to configure ToEE and I also installed Co8 and Temple+ so Im playing that version and not SNEG. I recommend this guide for anyone wanting to understand the different install options and how to mod the game https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3623934050 I created my 6 characters manually, its great fun micromanaging everything. I did have to review some D&D rules just to remind myself of a few things My party consists of fighter barbarian cleric rogue wizard sorcerer Lets see how things progress 🐲

I enjoyed the England vs Ghana game but if you look at the stats it was obvious what the Ghana strategy was. They decided to just defend to ensure they progress and they not a push over team so it makes it very hard to score if that's the strategy. It does make the game dull. A draw means at least 1 point England vs Ghana possession : 72% -20% England vs Ghana attempts at goal : 19-2 So now Ghana has to just draw with Croatia to progress in group L? https://www.fifa.com/en/match-centre/match/17/285023/289273/400021506

Are you suggesting after all of this Iran should still try to get nukes, please tell me I'm misunderstanding you?

Not really, its this type of peace deal or a military solution. And no one in the US has the appetite or political fortitude for that If Iran suddenly attacked American military ships the US wouldn't be negotiating because then war would be justified " this is the worst deal ever....except for all the others "

Oh no, Iran has several different factions. And the hardliners are not the same as the Supreme leaders son who is mostly in charge Its the Western media who are framing this peace deal as an " Iranian win " but thats how everyone feels within Iran https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/19/middleeast/iran-us-nabavian-peace-agreement-intl "Before the war, containing anti-government dissent was among the regime’s chief domestic priorities. Now, it faces a different challenge: managing opposition from within its own ranks. According to Vali Nasr, author of “Iran’s Grand Strategy,” the supreme leader and those around him will first have to look inward to a hardline faction known as the Jebhe-ye Paydari, which Nabavi is close to. “For this agreement to work, (Supreme Leader) Mojtaba (Khamenei) and the (Revolutionary Guards) have to control the very forces that they helped create,” he said. The hardline faction has tried to sabotage the deal with the US throughout the negotiations process. They see such an agreement as capitulation and appeasing them is more critical than appeasing anti-regime groups in Iran, he said. A message posted Thursday purportedly by Khamenei confirmed that he authorized the deal while stressing that its architects had accepted responsibility for it, an apparent effort to distance himself from any fallout should the agreement unravel. "

Great game, I underestimated how good Ivory Coast is and there goalkeeper was phenomenal I was expecting a draw but Germany came through at the end. But both teams will progress to the next stage ⚽

@rjshae I see the US game was in Seattle. The vibe and excitement must have been amazing, especially after the win? 2-0 against Australia with Oz scoring an own goal but the US is through to the next stage like Mexico Like I mentioned its always better to see hosting countries progress as far as possible

Yes, it doesn't align with Netanyahu or the Israeli far-rights objectives of how to secure Israel But these objectives were never achievable unless the US was deeply committed to a military conflict and there is no real political appetite or convincing reason in the US for that But Israel will have no choice but to go along with this peace deal because the US has the real influence on them and needs US support on several levels Its not just Israel who would be opposed to this deal, hardliners in Iran and within Hezbollah would also not want it but they also will need to go along with it

This is a big geopolitical development because of the decades long bastion of socialism that Cuba is or was Finally the Cuban state will be moving away from its failed model of socialism and adopting different degrees of privatisation and free market economics Yes US sanctions had a huge influence on this prudent decision but this should have happened 30 years ago when the Cold War ended. Finally the people of Cuba may have a future or at least live in a functional country https://www.reuters.com/world/ameri...omic-reforms-amid-us-stranglehold-2026-06-18/ "HAVANA, June 18 (Reuters) - Cuban lawmakers unanimously approved sweeping reforms backed by the Communist Party and former leader Raul Castro that would privatize a vast swath of the country's socialist economy in a bid to survive punishing U.S. sanctions. The ‌measures, if implemented as passed, would represent the single largest change to Cuba's socialist model since former leader Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution and a major shift towards a market economy. The reforms open the door to private real estate development on the Caribbean island, propose to transform state-owned businesses into private commercial ventures with shares and equity stakes and would allow private banks to enter Cuba's once state-dominated finance sector. They would also allow the "sale of state-owned properties to national and foreign legal entities and individuals, including Cubans residing abroad," according to a televised presentation to lawmakers - a major change in a country where the state has long held control over land and industry."

I completed all Kings Quests from 1-6 It was fun. I did use guides for about 30% of most of the games because I didn't have the interest to spend hours trying to find some random Island or somehow know a whale is suppose to swallow you so you can find a critical item But as I mentioned a great nostalgic experience Im now playing Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened. Its an adventure, mystery game with a horror Lovecraftian theme Im enjoying it, it took a bit of time to understand how Holmes is suppose to find evidence and progress the story around clues but now I understand all that Im making progress on the dark narrative Its the first Sherlock Holmes game I have ever played

Some interesting games yesterday South Africa vs Czech 1-1. An uninspiring game from both sides but at least we get a point Comprehensive wins for both Canada and Switzerland, Canada scoring 6 goals. Not bad Mexico and Switzerland are the first 2 teams to qualify for the next stage

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/crude-oil Oil price as expected is dropping nicely, it was down to $76/barrel Its dropping quicker than I expected and the world may get relief from gas\petrol price pressures sooner than expected. Big news for Trump who needs this for Midterms voting sentimen It shows how much the oil price volatility was more about speculation and risk sentiment than supply chain realities because the Straits are open but there is still backlogs around shipping But good news for everyone except for Russia. Global economic collapse averted 👍

Yes, in summary this whole war and this current MOU has achieved one main goal Iran wont get nukes and try to enrich Uranium. Its the same outcome that Obama and the JCPOA reached After all the dust settles if the MOU maintains that's what this fundamentally means from an American objective perspective. So Trump leaving the JCPOA and deciding to attack Iran was unnecessary and a pointless endeavor

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgmqzr6p9mo The real MOU is now publicly available. I would encourage everyone who has a genuine interest in the truth about the terms of the current peace deal to read the link above As expected there is lots of SM and general fake news about what the US and Iran agreed on Both sides have had to make concessions and no one gets everything they want. But in summary the main points are both the US and Iranian blockages will be lifted Iran will not be controlling the Straits Iran has agreed to not develop Nukes and stop enriching Uranium Iran will get sanction relief from the US The $300 billion is a reconstruction fund that the US will control but the US doesn't have to contribute towards Each of these points is explained and clarified in more detail in the link I posted And these points will be implemented and measured over the next 60 days Netanyahu will probably be unhappy with this outcome because several of the original Israeli goals have not been ostensibly achieved and this included some of what the US also wanted but this changed over time as a quick win became unachievable . This includes regime change in Iran Iran no longer having ballistic missiles Iran no longer funding its proxies But none of these were realistic goals that could be reasonably achieved or effectively monitored Lets see how things unfold over the next 60 days

England v Croatia was the best game so far of the WC, both teams can be proud of there performance. Where have we seen 4 goals been scored by halftime? The 2 goals Croatia scored were very impressive and there goalkeeper needs a medal, he stopped a lot of attempts But England deserved to win, when they got the 3rd goal early in the second half they were dominant going forward Definitely an exciting game where both teams performed ⚽

Some US FIFA humor

I had to post this, despite how the fan was honest he couldn't speak English I thought it as brilliant. He made his point fine and it was easy to understand the overall sentiment and support for Japan Its an example of the global reach of the WC. Ignore the negative comments, they miss the point and they condescending

Sure but this is similar to what I mentioned to @Malcador England invented football but they havent won in 60 years This seems like the perfect time to get behind England in this WC, I can count on your support Gorthfuscious? 🥳🥳

Im enjoying the expanded teams. It creates more global excitement and interest and it becomes more inclusive It allows a team like Cucacoa to qualify and they have never played on the global WC stage. And as I mentioned previously they had to still qualify in there region which requires skill and commitment I understand the criticism but I think the positive outweighs the negative?

Good to see NZ get a point, interesting how no one in your group has got a win Its wide open for who can progress. I will predict definitely Egypt

So now its the English fans who are the problem, how are they more obnoxious than other fans? Can you be specific Its strange how I come across all this rejection and dislike of England winning the WC on various forums but I cant get a consistent answer about why so many people dont want England to win? And yet so many people love the English League I dont see the difference between English fans, the team or the press compared to other similar countries? But I dont follow football extensively so Im probably not aware of something historical

How is the current England team unlikeable, can you be more specific? Nice Swedish victory against Tunisia, you must be happy Something else about Sweden, what happened to @Azdeus ...is it just me or has he been very quiet lately?