CINA

..in S. Korea..

Surprisingly I found following report in yesterday's Korea Times: 

Civic Group Alliance Starts Anti-World Cup Movement

Civic Groups have launched a movement against the World Cup fever sweeping the country, criticizing one of the world’s biggest sporting events for diverting public attention from urgent social and political agenda.

Culture Action, an alliance of about 100 civic groups, and other organizations said on Sunday the World Cup has been distracting the public for months from vital social issues that should be tackled to improve lives of Korean people.

This week, they plan to put stickers on World Cup sculptures, billboards and other related properties in Seoul to warn the public of harmful effects on Korean society brought about by World Cup frenzy.

Some stickers read ``Doesn’t South Korea have better things to do than cheer for World Cup?’’ and ``I am against World Cup marketing that takes advantage of my passion for soccer.’’

``We decided to launch this movement to inform the public that intense media coverage of the World Cup and reckless celebrations are distracting us from important issues that have significant impacts on our daily lives,’’ a Culture Action spokesman said.

He said that unlike spontaneous voluntary outdoor celebrations and festivities during the 2002 World Cup, this year’s events are mainly driven by private businesses looking to promote their brand images and generate profits.

``World Cup cheering and celebrations are being used commercially as well as politically by those who are seeking selfish gains. In the process, society has lost its course of action and neglected the underprivileged who desperately need our help,’’ he noted.

The group also said it is unfortunate society has lost interest in important issues such as the anti-U.S. base relocation protest, adding that posting stickers on public property is to help remind the public of the harsh reality we are living in.

They have been criticizing Seoul City for allowing a group of private companies to exclusively use the grass square in front of City Hall for marketing activities during World Cup.

The companies include SK Telecom, the country’s biggest mobile-phone carrier, KBS, the biggest television station, and the Chosun Ilbo, the most-circulated daily newspaper.

Private companies competed to secure rights to access Seoul Plaza, planning massive programs to expose their brand image to large crowds gathered for live, World Cup broadcasts from Germany.

During the last World Cup, held in Korea and Japan in 2002, Seoul Plaza became the ``cheering mecca’’ of the city, where thousands of fans gathered regularly for televised football games and cheered as the Korean national team made an unexpected advance to the semifinals.

Companies paid the city a daily fee of 5.21 million won for their planned outdoor festivities during the World Cup.

Civic groups said that by allowing selected companies to organize Seoul Plaza festivities, the city government has sapped the strength and enjoyment of outdoor fan celebrations by reducing the gatherings to marketing events for businesses.

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200606/kt2006060418011910510.htm

..and in Germany

Last Friday between 200 and 300 people protested, under the slogan "kick it! putting 2006 wc apart"("kick it! fifa-wm 2006 ins abseits stellen", in German language) in Berlin against the World Cup(WC) and especialy against the conditions for workers during the WC period, the massive exploitation of workers who are producing sportswear in countries(such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam..), the commercialization of sport, culture(actually just everything of the daily human life..) and the militarization of the public life, especially during the month of 2006 WC.

But the protesters also denounced the anti-social politicy of the German government.

(Btw: during Germany's application, between 1991 and 1993, for the before last Olympic games, finally they were held in Sidney in 2000, ten thousands of people, especially in Berlin, were active to prevent this "event" here. In the case of 2006 WC only few people were concerned...)

Anti-Olympia posters(1992)

Meanwhile, while daily racists and fascists in East Germany and the eastern part of Berlin were/are hunting foreigners or just non-white people, the Berlin federal government, supported by the German govt. and many [capitalist(what else?!..^^)] companies, celebrated "multi-culturalism" in the western part of the city. About 800,000 people, better said consumers, joined yesterday and today the so-called "Carnival of the Cultures" in Berlin Kreuzberg. Of course one of the main goals of this years's event - now it was held the 11th year - was to make a good promotion for the (f...) 2006 WC.

KOTZ!! f.. sh..

A report in German about this(f..) event you can reads here:

http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,419663,00.html

PS.:

Events like that and the 2006 WC in the Roman Imperium - "Bred and Games" - were held to devert the poor and oppressed masses from their daily suffering. And even today, 2,000 years later, this system seems to work very well. Especially when the organizers, can make a huge profits...

A few days ago, even the German bourgeois daily newspaper Berliner Zeitung called the WC as a "Billion Game(How the FIFA is earning Billions..)".

Of course not only FIFA is winning.  A lot of the main worldwide companies are earning Billions of Dollars/Euros by maximum exploitation of manpower(in the poor countries) and mass commerce/consumption(mainy by the 'ordinary' people in the 'rich' countries).