BruceVC

I watched the Germany game and I was very disappointed with the outcome Germany should have won. Again I use the official stats to make this point Germany possession 65% vs 23 % Goal attempts 21 vs 6 But they only came alive in the second half. And then the goal that was disallowed for " goalie interference"?? Really I also hate penalty shootouts as the way to decide who wins but I suppose you have to have some way to get a winner Biggest disappointment so far And then to make things worse Netherlands lost to Morocco so now 2 prominent EU teams are out Japan can at least be happy with there performance against Brazil

I enjoyed the SA vs Canada game Firstly I didn't think we would even progress to the next stage but we did beat SK. So just getting to the last 32 was a win for me But end of the day Canada deserved to win, they played a better game but our defense was excellent. The biggest " mistake " we made was assuming we would get into extra time but Canada scored in the last 3 minutes I mentioned this before but I like to see host countries doing well. So Im not disappointed, South Africa did as well as they could Now we will see teams drop like skittles, its going to be frenetic and exciting

@Katphood Glad you okay, you were understandably quiet for ages

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."