Russia and Belarus out for next two world championships.

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Russia should be allowed to have a team and he and many others should be allowed to play on it. The league has a extensive list of Russian superstars who should be able to wear the flag of their homeland.
They can do that as much as they want - but their flag has no business being in any international tournaments.
 
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putins's clique always gave this tourney more attention than it deserved. the khl should have always came first. doubt that ban will change anything, though. they are incorrigible idiots.
 
Yeah sure, that’s the reason. Nothing to do with the fact that Russia has unleashed the most brutal war on European soil since WWII that aims to remove another European nation from the map. The words “reflection” and “self-awareness” seem to be missing from the Russian dictionary.


A lot of them do support it. Ovechkin for example loves the leader.

If the situation was as you stated, China would be banned in addition to Belarus. Chinese assistance has been vital to the Russian war effort.

But the IIHF will never ban China. Why? Because banning China comes with a whole myriad of different political implications.......just like the IIHF found it did with Israel.

Its all about the self interest, my friend.
Perhaps the words “reflection” and “self-awareness” are actually missing from your dictionary.
 
If the situation was as you stated, China would be banned in addition to Belarus. Chinese assistance has been vital to the Russian war effort.

But the IIHF will never ban China. Why? Because banning China opens the IIHF up a whole myriad of different political implications. Just like the IIHF found out it did with Israel.

Its all about the self interest, my friend.
Perhaps the words “reflection” and “self-awareness” are actually missing from your dictionary.
I agree with the Belarus - China comparison up to a point. Belarus is not doing a huge amount and didn’t seem to have a huge amount of choice whether to get involved. Still, the Belarus involvement is a lot more open and obvious, though China’s support objectively more vital.

That said, obviously Russia is completely in its own league. Comparing China’s involvement with Russia’s war as if it was the same as Russia’s is patently absurd. I’d be OK with Belarus being allowed to play again, but not Russia.

The world’s narrative on Israel is absurd. Israel was savagely attacked and did what it had to do. It is very sad that Hamas chooses to hide its weapons in hospitals and schools, but that is the choice they made. They attacked, they say even now that given any chance they would do it again. Israel’s war is defensive in my view and banning them from anything woukd be absurd.
 
I agree with the Belarus - China comparison up to a point. Belarus is not doing a huge amount and didn’t seem to have a huge amount of choice whether to get involved. Still, the Belarus involvement is a lot more open and obvious, though China’s support objectively more vital.

That said, obviously Russia is completely in its own league. Comparing China’s involvement with Russia’s war as if it was the same as Russia’s is patently absurd. I’d be OK with Belarus being allowed to play again, but not Russia.

The world’s narrative on Israel is absurd. Israel was savagely attacked and did what it had to do. It is very sad that Hamas chooses to hide its weapons in hospitals and schools, but that is the choice they made. They attacked, they say even now that given any chance they would do it again. Israel’s war is defensive in my view and banning them from anything woukd be absurd.

I wasn't comparing Russia to China. I was comparing China to Belarus. Banning one and not the other (for assistance to Russia) shows a very biased an uneven interpretation by the IIHF......predicated obviously on self-interest.

And Israel's war is not defensive. Netanyahu is on record agreeing with Trump about ethnically cleansing Gaza. They've been occupying lands for nearly 60 years. Netanyahu is wanted by the ICC for war crimes, and the UN has found Israel's war tactics consistent with genocide.
But of course, none of this matters to the IIHF. The Palestinians aren't white Europeans.
 
I wasn't comparing Russia to China. I was comparing China to Belarus. Banning one and not the other (for assistance to Russia) shows a very biased an uneven interpretation by the IIHF......predicated obviously on self-interest.

And Israel's war is not defensive. Netanyahu is on record agreeing with Trump about ethnically cleansing Gaza. They've been occupying lands for nearly 60 years. Netanyahu is wanted by the ICC for war crimes, and the UN has found Israel's war tactics consistent with genocide.
But of course, none of this matters to the IIHF. The Palestinians aren't white Europeans.
You are parroting ahistorical nonsense, but no point in engaging in a lengthy discussion here that will be removed anyway. Plus Israel left Gaza in 2005 - literally removed all Jews by force. The strip was given enough cash to be a new Dubai and they used it for tunnels and weapons. Of course the war was defensive - no Hamas attack, no war. Netanyahu’s idiocy was mainly that he didn’t expect this and was caught with his pants down, thinking that all the money given to Hamas leaders (with his approval) had made them more docile and constructive.
 
You are parroting ahistorical nonsense, but no point in engaging in a lengthy discussion here that will be removed anyway. Plus Israel left Gaza in 2005 - literally removed all Jews by force. The strip was given enough cash to be a new Dubai and they used it for tunnels and weapons. Of course the war was defensive - no Hamas attack, no war. Netanyahu’s idiocy was mainly that he didn’t expect this and was caught with his pants down, thinking that all the money given to Hamas leaders (with his approval) had made them more docile and constructive.

Don't be ignorant. Israel was propping up Hamas for years b/c Israel wanted Hamas in Gaza instead of the Palestinian authority. It would nullify a 2 state solution. Netanyahu's party thrives on conflict.

Unfortunately it blew up in his face..
and when it did he used the situation to commit genocide and become a fugitive from the ICC.


For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces
 
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I understand why certain people feel it’s deserved, but if you are then going to refuse to acknowledge double standards with some of the other teams that haven’t been banned in the past, you aren’t being fair.

I find the IIHF wholly corrupt. I hope the IOC that isn’t nearly as controlled by certain federations will be more sensible.

World Championships isn’t that big of a deal because realistically it’s not as important as the Olympics and probably even the yearly junior events. I think the bigger deal is we won’t have Russia at the important junior tournaments for 2025-26. A total buzz kill and the quality will be watered down again.
Certain people? I guess you don't live in Europe or have knowledge of what has happened recently, and to add some more facts; has happened several dozen times during the last 2-3 centuries. It's a hell of a lot more than 'certain people' who have reached their limit.

If hockey gets hit a little because of that then so be it. Nobody with their head screwed straight should give two f***s about that.
 
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Don't be ignorant. Israel was propping up Hamas for years b/c Israel wanted Hamas in Gaza instead of the Palestinian authority. It would nullify a 2 state solution. Netanyahu's party thrives on conflict.

Unfortunately it totally blew up in his face, and once it did he used the opportunity to commit genocide and become a fugitive from the ICC.

For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces
Call me when we have Israel team attempting to participate a major hockey tourney....yeah, crickets chirping and tumbleweed rolling.
 
Call me when we have Israel team attempting to participate a major hockey tourney....yeah, crickets chirping and tumbleweed rolling.

Israel is slaughtering disposable dark people, not golden as the sun Europeans. So obviously Israel is crickets to the European hockey playing nations..... so much so they were un-banned.

But no harm, no foul....it's all white!
 
Israel is slaughtering disposable dark people, not golden as the sun Europeans. So obviously Israel is crickets to the European hockey playing nations..... so much so they were un-banned.

But no harm, no foul....it's all white!
I repeat: "Call me when we have Israel team attempting to participate a major hockey tourney....yeah, crickets chirping and tumbleweed rolling.".

You'll never see me defending Israel for it's politics. But you need to stay on topic instead of strawmans and clinging to whataboutism. Russia deserves all the bans and punishments it is getting. No, in fact it deserves a lot more and hopefully long-lasting ones.
 
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Certain people? I guess you don't live in Europe or have knowledge of what has happened recently, and to add some more facts; has happened several dozen times during the last 2-3 centuries. It's a hell of a lot more than 'certain people' who have reached their limit.

If hockey gets hit a little because of that then so be it. Nobody with their head screwed straight should give two f***s about that.
Well, not all of us believe it was justified. The world is rife with wars. It is one of the only things that is a constant in this world. There will be wars. I don't believe every country that takes part in a war (even those that start wars) should be completely blacklisted from society. I know that might be a novel concept to some, but that's my belief. I don't see what international hockey tournaments have to do with what two dictators do on the political front of their countries.

And what would living in Europe do to enhance my understanding? I'm genuinely curious. Are you suggesting you fear for your country's safety because you believe Putin will attempt to imperialize your country (whichever country it is)?
 
I repeat: "Call me when we have Israel team attempting to participate a major hockey tourney....yeah, crickets chirping and tumbleweed rolling.".

You'll never see me defending Israel for it's politics. But you need to stay on topic instead of strawmans and clinging to whataboutism. Russia deserves all the bans and punishments it is getting. No, in fact it deserves a lot more and hopefully long-lasting ones.

I’m not engaging in whataboutism. I understand and accept being banned (Russia).

However everybody should be held to the same standards. The IIHF fails to do this.

Unfortunately most European fans are too self-absorbed to grasp this. On the flipside many American fans in particular see it with less bias (they are aware of their own gov’s horrible track record). They’re more perceptive to blatant hypocrisy.
 
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I’m not engaging in whataboutism. I understand and accept being banned (Russia).

However everybody should be held to the same standards. The IIHF fails to do this.

Unfortunately most European fans are too self-absorbed to grasp this. On the flipside many American fans in particular see it with less bias (they are aware of their own gov’s horrible track record). They’re more likely to understand the hypocrisy.
I see exactly one country lawlessly attacking another country with the aim of subduing it permanently, to physically enlarge it's perceived empire. This country is Russia with it's illusions of past grandeur. It does not care about killing countless innocents while pursuing those imperialistic goals. By the way, both these countries are hockey countries and have played at the highest level many times. This makes that particular affair of civilian mass murder and rape a lot more pertinent to discuss than, say, Egypt vs. South Africa would.

If e.g. US attacks Canada of Greenland (Denmark) in order to expand itself, as has been proposed by a certain someone very recently, you won't see me defending that either. Instead, I'll have a new mortal enemy in addition to Russia, North Korea and China.
 
Well, not all of us believe it was justified. The world is rife with wars. It is one of the only things that is a constant in this world. There will be wars. I don't believe every country that takes part in a war (even those that start wars) should be completely blacklisted from society. I know that might be a novel concept to some, but that's my belief. I don't see what international hockey tournaments have to do with what two dictators do on the political front of their countries.

And what would living in Europe do to enhance my understanding? I'm genuinely curious. Are you suggesting you fear for your country's safety because you believe Putin will attempt to imperialize your country (whichever country it is)?
Do you know where Finland is located? Do you know an anything about the area and it's recent and not so recent history? Open you f***ing eyes, thank you. I can't believe I need to have this discussion...

I am not going to waste more time explaining obvious things to someone who pretends to be ignorant. Or, if that really is lack of knowledge speaking, look up the history section on your favorite encyclopedia/wikipedia.
 
I see exactly one country lawlessly attacking another country with the aim of subduing it permanently, to physically enlarge it's perceived empire. This country is Russia with it's illusions of past grandeur. It does not care about killing countless innocents while pursuing those imperialistic goals. By the way, both these countries are hockey countries and have played at the highest level many times. This makes that particular affair of civilian mass murder and rape a lot more pertinent to discuss than, say, Egypt vs. South Africa would.

If e.g. US attacks Canada of Greenland (Denmark) in order to expand itself, as has been proposed by a certain someone very recently, you won't see me defending that either. Instead, I'll have a new mortal enemy in addition to Russia, North Korea and China.

That doesnt nullify my point.

For example, why is Belarus banned but not China? Chinese assistance is instrumental for Russian military

And you realize the US is STIlL in Iraq, right? An illegal invasion that caused civilian death and destruction that engulfs anything occurring in Ukraine.

Again, I’m okay with being banned. But why the uneven criteria and double standards of the IIHF?
 

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