ONLY THE GERMANS SAW IT COMING

And to be honest I'm not even sure they did! Let me explain.

It was a Tuesday evening. Everyone was sat in front of the TV waiting for the football to begin. In Brazil, the stands of Belo Horizonte stadium were a sea of yellow jerseys as everyone came out to support their home nation in what they hoped would be a thrilling match against Germany. 

Except it wasn't. Well not in the way it was supposed to be anyway.

The German football team were literally on fire and the Brazilians never knew what the hell hit them.

Within twenty minutes, Thomas Muller, Miroslav Klose, Toni Kroos, and Sami Khedira had steamrollered over Brazil to the humiliating tune of 5-0.

It was very painful to watch. The team that have won 5 previous world cups and are, to some, the epitome of what football is all about, were being systematically slaughtered by a German team who refused to give an inch. It was absolutely horrible. 

And it only got worse. Could it get any worse? Oh, yes.....!  

In the second half, Andre Schurrle scored two more goals to complete Brazil's worst defeat in years! 

Brazil's Emboaba Oscar  did give us a quick "Hello! Hello!" moment, as I'm fond of calling it, by getting a consolation goal, so well done to him. 

But the damage had been done. Brazil had been booed off at half-time and a lot of fans didn't even stick around to watch the end of the game.

We were wondering whether any of the players would leave Belo Horizonte stadium alive. We can only wonder what Luiz Felipe Scolari was thinking as he watched his team completely fall to pieces.

Most of us could only stare at the TV and wonder what the hell had happened!

On Saturday they played in a 3rd place match against Holland and it did not feel too good. Fans hoped to see them do better, if only to regain some shard of dignity out of this embarrassing scenario. But it didn't happen. They lost that game 3-0

As for Germany, well they are heading for the final on Sunday, at the expense of Brazil's humiliation. Will they hand out the same to Argentina. We can only wait and see.

One thing we do know. These defeats hurt like hell and it will hurt for a long time to come.

JOURNALISM IS NOT A CRIME

On 23 June 2014 the world of Journalism was torn apart after three Al Jazeera English journalists were jailed in Egypt. Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy were given seven years each and Baher Mohamed was given ten years (well, seven with three extra for possessing a bullet).

Yes, this nonsense trial in a kangaroo court finally came to its conclusion - the wrong way!

There was no credible evidence; the evidence they had was either nonsense (a pop video? Gimme a break!) or not relevant to the case. 

There was absolutely no reason for these men to have been given their respective sentences. For a start the so-called "bullet" was actually only an empty casing that Baher had picked up during a protest. He wasn't the first journalist to take a souvenir and probably won't be the last. To prosecute him for this is just ludicrous.

Egypt has effectively and unjustifiably made journalists and journalism it's enemy. They have received condemnation from all over the world.

As a freelance journalist, I feel this verdict has not only shown contempt for journalism but will encourage other  countries to think they have carte blanche to treat journalists in any way they see fit whether it be legal or not; whether it be humane or not and whether it is justified or not.  This ruling has effectively put journalists in even greater danger than they were before.

The journalists' families and respective countries are using diplomatic means to get the three journalists released. Meanwhile, everyone else - journalists and non-journalists alike - are continuing to scream, shout and tweet #FREEAJSTAFF and #JournalismIsNotaCrime until their fingers bleed.

And it must keep going. We must let these three brave men see that they have not been forgotten. We also need to show Egypt that we will not tolerate them treating any journalists like this.

Hopefully, but unlikely, the Egyptian authorities will come to their senses and release the staff of Al Jazeera.

Until then; we shall still scream #FREEAJSTAFF.


If you wish to send a message to Peter Greste please visit:  freepetergreste@gmail.com

If you wish to send a donation, please visit: http://www.freepetergreste.org 

If you wish to send a message to Mohamed Fahmy please go here: http://repent11.wordpress.com/2014/07/06/words-of-support/comment-page-1/#comment-90 …