"Nobody is above or beyond the law," FBI Director Comey said. "We will not stop until we send messages that this is not the way things should be and that they must be different".
Maybe this line should have a caveat about people who have a lot of social/political capital?
I'm just glad to hear them talking like this at all; it shows someone in there is at least a partial vertebrate. I want this attitude to become universal, not to prohibit them from asserting it while still being locked into corporatism.
Say what you will about hypocrisy, it is at least "the homage vice pays to virtue," and I don't want the Department of Justice dropping that homage, I want them delivering more of it.
"Nobody is above or beyond the law," FBI Director Comey said. "We will not stop until we send messages that this is not the way things should be and that they must be different".
Maybe this line should have a caveat about people who have a lot of social/political capital?
I'm just glad to hear them talking like this at all; it shows someone in there is at least a partial vertebrate. I want this attitude to become universal, not to prohibit them from asserting it while still being locked into corporatism.
Say what you will about hypocrisy, it is at least "the homage vice pays to virtue," and I don't want the Department of Justice dropping that homage, I want them delivering more of it.
The only reason their doing this is precisely because the sport is so small in the US that they don't believe they'll be pissing off anyone of actual importance to them.
"May God stand between you and harm in all the empty places where you must walk." - Ancient Egyptian Blessing
Ivanova is always right.
I will listen to Ivanova.
I will not ignore Ivanova's recommendations. Ivanova is God.
AND, if this ever happens again, Ivanova will personally rip your lungs out! - Babylon 5 Mantra
My point is, I at least want the Department of Justice to keep thinking "no one is above the law." I do not want that phrase erased from the official vocabulary of the state, because that is another step on the road to us losing all hope of it ever actually being true.
Very interesting timing of the arrests. As a fan of football I have to say Blatter has to go. Either he's up to his neck in corruption or he is the most incompetent motherfucker to have ever lived. In totally unrelated news FIFA welcome its latest sponsors The Brown Envelope Company.
The Quatari World Cup is a disaster waiting to happen and a winter World Cup will mess up near enough every professional league in the northern hemisphere. At least Russia has a tradition of football and actually have the infrastructure in place to host a tournament of that scale.
If UEFA are smart they'll boycott FIFA until Blatter is gone. I won't hold my breath. At this stage the only way Blatter leaves is in a pine box.
Lord Pounder wrote:If UEFA are smart they'll boycott FIFA until Blatter is gone. I won't hold my breath. At this stage the only way Blatter leaves is in a pine box.
Would that not mean European teams not taking part in the world cup? I do not think any sane fan of the sport would want to miss out on those games just for the sake of spiting FIFA.
It has become clear to me in the previous days that any attempts at reconciliation and explanation with the community here has failed. I have tried my best. I really have. I pored my heart out trying. But it was all for nothing.
You win. There, I have said it.
Now there is only one thing left to do. Let us see if I can sum up the strength needed to end things once and for all.
Lord Pounder wrote:If UEFA are smart they'll boycott FIFA until Blatter is gone. I won't hold my breath. At this stage the only way Blatter leaves is in a pine box.
Would that not mean European teams not taking part in the world cup? I do not think any sane fan of the sport would want to miss out on those games just for the sake of spiting FIFA.
I wasn't paying attention to last year's World Cup, but the one before that was worth boycotting for its own sake. Somebody should have force-fed Blatter a vuvuzela when he tried to claim that incessant, monotone droning is an important part of South African soccer culture.
Lord Pounder wrote:Very interesting timing of the arrests. As a fan of football I have to say Blatter has to go. Either he's up to his neck in corruption or he is the most incompetent motherfucker to have ever lived. In totally unrelated news FIFA welcome its latest sponsors The Brown Envelope Company.
If UEFA are smart they'll boycott FIFA until Blatter is gone. I won't hold my breath. At this stage the only way Blatter leaves is in a pine box.
The problem is - almost every single sport federation is corrupt. No exceptions, where you look you will find bosses who sat on that seat last 20-30 years due to kickbacks and grants. Take FIFA for example - Europe generates vast majority of football income and interest, yet has small minority of votes thanks to the fact a country that never had a match in last 50 years weighs almost as much as say Germany or UK. Kick a grant for 'football development' there and you have a sure-fire vote next election.
Then there is Switzerland, country that acts like tax haven for dozens of these 'sports' organizations because their law is not only incredibly lax, it gives them prestigious location in the centre of Europe. Had FIFA been forced to move HQ to Bahamas or Tobago to avoid taxes, there would be a huge hit on the image of the sport, but Swiss locations you can flaunt as you please. And here, the only way of forcing a reform would be Switzerland deciding it had enough corruption scandals and grabbing a broom themselves.
Thanas wrote:
Man, your tu quoque gets funnier every day. Especially because I already freely acknowledged the failure by all Europeans in this matter. So, you managed to make yourself like an insecure shortdick right now.
Dude, not a thread guys by where you can't stand but to make a snide comment. If you don't want bullshit whataboutism complaints, then don't bring up shit that isn't really relevant at hand.
First, you need to get them extradited, then convicted or interested in a plea. EDIT: At least one of them doesn't seem to do much quaking in his boots right now.
"Oh man one of the guys arrested is being publicly brave it must mean the odds of extradition are slim to none. THANKS AMERICA"
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."
Gandalf wrote:
Maybe this line should have a caveat about people who have a lot of social/political capital?
Man, they convicted a guy who was the Chief Executive of a state with a GDP the size of Belgium.
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."
Thanas wrote:Man, your tu quoque gets funnier every day. Especially because I already freely acknowledged the failure by all Europeans in this matter. So, you managed to make yourself like an insecure shortdick right now.
Dude, not a thread guys by where you can't stand but to make a snide comment. If you don't want bullshit whataboutism complaints, then don't bring up shit that isn't really relevant at hand.
First, you need to get them extradited, then convicted or interested in a plea. EDIT: At least one of them doesn't seem to do much quaking in his boots right now.
"Oh man one of the guys arrested is being publicly brave it must mean the odds of extradition are slim to none. THANKS AMERICA"
Dude, you got shit on Blatter right now, or you would have arrested him. If you can't bring down Blatter, getting a few flunkies is nothing. Don't expect me to congratulate the DoJ on that.
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------ My LPs
AFP ZURICH — FIFA President Sepp Blatter will resign from soccer's governing body amid a widening corruption scandal and has promised to call for fresh elections to choose a successor.
The 79-year-old Blatter was re-elected to a fifth term on Friday, two days after a corruption crisis erupted and seven soccer officials were arrested in Zurich ahead of the FIFA congress.
"This mandate does not seem to be supported by everybody in the world of football," Blatter said Tuesday at a hastily arranged news conference. "FIFA needs a profound restructuring."
Elections are expected to take place sometime between December and March.
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
Damn, 79 years old. One would think at his age, he would just take the money and run maybe a decade ago, but I guess gaming the system had been fun. While encouraging, it would certainly be better if he was arrested as well.
I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season."
Soontir C'boath wrote:Damn, 79 years old. One would think at his age, he would just take the money and run maybe a decade ago, but I guess gaming the system had been fun. While encouraging, it would certainly be better if he was arrested as well.
It's possible that's why he has resigned. If the Swiss/Yanks have made an appointment to arrest him, he may have resigned to save what little dignity he still had.
EBC: Northeners, Huh! What are they good for?! Absolutely nothing!
Cybertron, Justice league...MM, HAB SDN City Watch: Sergeant Detritus
Days Unstabbed, Unabused, Unassualted and Unwavedatwithabutchersknife: 0
Frankly, I have never understood how resigning prevents one from being civilly or criminally liable. It just seems to me as long as I get to do a shitload of bad shit and then resign before the FBI or whomever gets wind, I'm off scot free.
I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season."
Pelranius wrote:Mr. Blatter just said he'll resign.
AFP ZURICH — FIFA President Sepp Blatter will resign from soccer's governing body amid a widening corruption scandal and has promised to call for fresh elections to choose a successor.
The 79-year-old Blatter was re-elected to a fifth term on Friday, two days after a corruption crisis erupted and seven soccer officials were arrested in Zurich ahead of the FIFA congress.
"This mandate does not seem to be supported by everybody in the world of football," Blatter said Tuesday at a hastily arranged news conference. "FIFA needs a profound restructuring."
Elections are expected to take place sometime between December and March.
Holy Crap. They actualy did it. I'll concede everything.
THANK YOU DOJ. I'll be raising a glass to them this night.
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------ My LPs
I wonder if Sepp is going to soon head for a country with no extradition treaty with the US?
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
My bet is the sponsors forced him out; an awful lot of big western companies were mumbling about reviewing contracts and future deals and that wasn't just going to go away in a few weeks of acting like nothing was wrong. Putin phoning around the world to declare Blatter his buddy wasn't helping either on that.
"This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree"
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
I'm not a fan of soccer, but the allegations against FIFA have been sufficiently horrific to capture my interest. I'm delighted to see this man go down, and to see more proof that US Justice is worth something, at least some of the time.
The BBC's Nick Bryant in New York says that several US officials told the New York Times that they are hoping to gain the co-operation of some of the Fifa figures now under indictment on charges of racketeering and money laundering to try to build a case against Mr Blatter.
In announcing the US prosecution last week into what she called the "rampant, systemic and deep-rooted" corruption in world football, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch did not address Mr Blatter's position directly.
But she did say that this was the beginning of the investigation, not the end.
She also called for a new start at Fifa.
Our correspondent says it is primarily the US investigation that has plunged the world football governing body into its most serious crisis.
Earlier the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, who is involved in the US prosecutions, all said they would not comment on the Blatter resignation.
"This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree"
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
Hm. On some very trivial level, I feel like this is an argument in favor of cultural diversity and the nation-state, as opposed to uniformity and globalization. A sport that is Big Business and nearly untouchable in most countries is touchable in the one country that just happens to not care very much about that sport.
I would argue that cultural diversity and globalization are not mutually exclusive, but that's rather off-topic.
Edits: In any case, I'm glad there was someone in the world willing to do this. Nobody should be above the law, and everything I've heard about FIFA leads me to conclude that Blatter is either loathsome or at least surrounded by loathsome people.
