Pictuere by rocketr
Depressing, isn’t it? To think that a man with a name like that could be re-elected President of FIFA. I mean, Blatter. Sepp Blatter. Says it all really, doesn’t it? And it could have been so different. They could have elected Prince Ali.
No, Virginia, Prince Ali is not related to that great sportsman, Muhammad Ali. Although they sort of share a surname (actually Prince Ali’s full title is Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein) and Prince Ali is reckoned to be the forty-third generation direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. Dovetails nicely, though. Prince Ali may not be the greatest but he’s got name links with one of the greatest sportsmen ever. And with the Prophet Muhammad. What more could you want from a FIFA president?
You’re probably wondering: who is this also-ran? Well, Prince Ali had several things going for him – besides being a Prince and the 43rd generation direct descendant of the Prophet. He’s the son of King Hussein of Jordan. He’s studied at Sandhurst in the UK and at Princeton in the US. He’s from Jordan, which has strong friendly ties with Israel and the US.
Jordan has an interesting political system.All 75 members of its senate are appointed by the King. Political parties are allowed to contest one-fifth of the seats in the house of representatives – the rest must be independents. Government critics for a long time have insisted that many of the elections are rigged. Capital punishment exists for murder, terrorism or sexual offences, but any execution must get a thumbs-up signal from the King. Those found guilty are hanged; in the past they were shot.
In Jordan, a husband decides if a woman can work and how they interact with the public. They’re big into ‘honour crimes’ in Jordan. That’s where a woman has brought shame on her family through marital infidelity, pre-marital sex, flirting or rape. Thousands of Jordanian women are killed by family members to “restore honour”.
So while it’d have been obviously great to have had a man with such a democratic and transparent tradition behind him elected, it’s unlikely Prince Ali would have called for the full development of women’s soccer. All those shorts and thighs. On the other hand, those names: how much nicer to speak of ‘Prince Ali’ rather than speak of Sepp Blatter, a name that resounds with connotations of stomach wind and noisy toilets. Alas, the chance to bring in a fresh face and fair play has been lost. My condolences, Your Royal Highness.
Smoking guns, smoke, mirrors and cigarette packets
“How is it we have so much information but know so little?” Noam Chomsky
It is a refreshing thought that we do not have to worry about honour crimes in this part of the world. However, a sceptic blatter might question dishonourable crimes.
Panorama (28.5.15) posed questions about the continued need for the state to prevaricate and procrastinate about the past. The Chief Constable appears content to delegate the responsibility to investigate crime to the Office of the Ombudsman. He does so in the knowledge that all the evidence points to a failure on the part of elements within the establishment to actively support the work of the Office of the Ombudsman. Sabotage, now that is a different story.
One has only to recall the initial meeting between a former Chief Constable and John Stalker in 1982. Stalker later claimed that during their first meeting Jack Hermon sketched out Stalker’s family tree on the back of a cigarette packet, highlighting Stalker’s Irish Catholic ancestry. Files were lost, buildings went on fire, forensic evidence was tampered with and at least one forensic exhibit went on display in a museum. At least it is safe now in a military museum.
The Chief Constable states there were no ‘rules’ to control informers in the past. What does that statement say about the rule of law? The rule of law apparently does not prevent the Ulster Drugs Association plc, driving around in convoys in order to engage in a range of paramilitary activities in the present.
The media is currently at saturation point with quotations from the Old Testament concerning sodomy, homosexuality and the need for a conscience clause.
“… stomach wind and noisy toilets. Alas, the chance to bring in a fresh face and fair play has been lost.”
The silence is deafening about the morality of a shoot to kill policy. There is still time for an international inquiry on this aspect of our dishonourable past.
And the great and the good tell us never to mix politics with sport? From the outset of the FBI initiative this whole thing reeked of politics. To hear Cameron etc pontificate about the woes of corruption is laughable. To accuse FIFA officials for taking bribes etc he and others have some cheek. Did england not offer sweeteners to obtain a World Cup a couple of years ago? Alas their sweeteners weren’t sweet enough ie they didn’t offer enough readies fact. Why they complain that other countries put more money where their mouths where is pathetic.
The U.S. and European imperialists just don’t like it when other countries don’t do their bidding. The cash cow that is a World Cup is going to other lesser countries and these bullies don’t like it. Fair play to FIFA for showing us other parts/peoples of the world that we wouldn’t normally see or hear of on our t.v. The Anglo Saxon bullies and their proxies need to realise there is more than them in this world.
Also jude let’s not forget that this charade is probably aimed at that pesky Putin as well. After all the next World Cup is in Russia. And darn it but the west plan to undermine Russia isn’t working as best as they would wish. Pathetic.
As for Greg dyke declaring that the reelection of Blatter ‘isn’t the end of this’, is he suggesting that he will ignore democracy? Maybe that’s even corrupt? Indeed to hear a man like dyke who has worked in one of the most corrupt organisations on these shores, the BBC, displays what a bundle of chancers these objectors are?
Anyway I don’t care how many brown envelopes are exchanged within FIFA as long as the status quo remains ie they ensure in-ger-land don’t get a sniff at winning any tournaments in the future! That’s all that matters lol.
“One of the most corrupt organisations on these shores” —–In the light of the Panorama programme this week,would you still maintain this wild assertion?You might be aware that Jude frequently appears on the B B C to give his opinions on various topics.He would hardly lend credibility to a “corrupt organisation”!
In my view the recent panorama production didn’t go far enough. It’s a testament to the families who have campaigned tirelessly that they have finally managed to get the media to seriously investigate claims of british state terror. When panorama properly do an exclusive eg british state agents within the IRA who actually were involved in botched operations were civilians were killed then I might take them as genuine. Beano Casey could be a starting point? In any counterinsurgency war, it is imperative to undermine your foe via black operations such as engineering a way to get the enemy to kill civilians. Heck the British army even have a handbook on it!
Jude can appear on any programme he chooses, it’s none of my business. Sometimes you have to go into the belly of the beast to make your point.
You bet I can (although I don’t choose, I get chosen). The idea that by using a broadcasting institution of which you’re critical is some sort of betrayal or contradiction is simply stupid. Sorry, no other word for it.
I don’t know where you get the notion I said it was ‘some sort of betrayal or contradiction’? Stupid?
I think a gremlin is at work , WT – I remember posting that but I’m fairly sure it wasn’t in response to something you said. I wish to God these bloody posts would come up in sequence and attached to the relevant post.
The passing over of Prince Ali, Esteemed Blogmeister, was not the only blow for the beautiful game of soccer during the week.
There was also the sad passing of Bill O’Herlihy, the critically-acclaimed ring-master of the three-ring soccer circus on RTE.. This was a passing which may well have escaped the notice of residents of Norneverland as it was almost totally concealed indeed from residents of the Free Southern Stateen itself.
Receiving as it did from his modest media colleagues only slightly more coverage than would, say, the passing of a reigning monarch in our neighbouring Atlantic island in the mainstream UK media. This followed on from the scarcely-mentioned shuffling off of the mortal coil of another behemoth of broadcasting, one Derek Davis.
The reason for all this low-key leave-taking, this muffled drum-roll of the media, is in keeping with the distinctive niche which the fourth estate of the FSS has carved out for itself as a paragon of self-effacement.
This was particularly noticeable during the recent Referendum de dum to cum and gone when the ‘Yes’ side somehow managed an overwhelming win despite a strict-stop-watch coverage by the demonically fair and disinterested watch-dogs of the public.
For the paltry few who may have just about caught the egregious snubbing of Bill O’Herlihy’s sorrowful egress it was a salutary reminder of the heady days of Italia 90 and more glory besides.
When Ireland, little Ireland, smaller than your average Lidl Ireland not only won the hearts of the soccer world by overcoming the handicap of being the No-George Best land. By proving to have (gasp) ‘the best fans in the world’ but also, the minds of the world by showing itself to have (gulp) ‘the best panel of pundits in the world’.
Last Saturday’s joyous Rainbow of Saying-no to Paddy Pota-to in the courtyard of Dublin Castle was but the logical outcome of those two previous Yeses to Best.
Oh, dear, world leaders again.
Little wonder that John ‘Horse Sense’ Delaney, who somehow manages to scrape by on a mere more than 300,000 squids per year as Taoiseach of the footballing wing of Fianna Faillure, is a strong (moral) supporter of Prince Ali.,
That the latter’s defeat is but of a temporary nature is devoutly to be hoped.
Consider, for one moment in t., what the Chief Game Warden-to-be of Jordan could do for the bootyful, oops,beautiful game in this morally uplifting stateen of the Free Southern.
He could start for instance with sorting out those supreme actors of the maggot on the stage of sport: the GAA / Grab All Association. And restore parity of esteem to that centre of soccer excellence, Clonliffe Road in general, and its vocal residents, in particular.
By funding, oops, funneling his ginormous Moral Authority to have that hideous eyesore called the Nally Stand razed to the ground. An outrageous structure which ought never have been raised off the ground in the first place.
Named as it was in honour (sic) of an On the Run from the Rule of Royal Law, one Pat Nally (for it was he !). A leading conspirator of the Crossmolina Conspiracy he got off lightly with a ten year sentence to chokey in 1881. Justice was not only d. but was also seen to be d. when he succumbed to kid glove treatment in the aptly named Mountjoy Prison.He was then in his tenth and, as it happened, his final year of incarceration.
There his Stand still stands, with all the architectural charm and elegance of a superannuated Christmas Tree in a dumpster.
(Let us fervently pray that the name – at the very least – will have been erased before the egg-headed IRFU has run – and fingers crossed, won – the race for hosting the Rugby World Cup of 2023 and the FAIlure’s bid to host the Soccer World Cup of 2123).
Perkie’s inner poetaster feels the urge to conclude with a dirge:
J. Horse Sense Delaney is v. pally
With Jordan’s humaney Prince Ali
Truth is beauty
Booty is toothy
Both will take a stand on Ardan Nally.
wolfie
How can you twist this into being about the hated English.The corruption in FIFA is undeniable and Blatter has at very least presided over it.
And a world cup in Qatar? In summer?
Try not to view the whole world through the narrow parochial prism of your bitterness.
“If England is for it I’m agin it. If England is agin it I’m for it.”
Gio, please don’t tell me how to think. There are enough of that type of police about already.
If the ‘hated english’ would practice what they preach then I might accept their view. But their track record up to the present day on decency and fairness is laughable to say the least. Granted they may have built us savages the odd railway track here and there but I still feel they brought a lot more unsavoury gifts as well. If you are suggesting that this FBI thing is anything to do with decency for the common people are concern for people’s welfare you are seriously disturbed.
Anyway if you don’t mind I will stick to my own barometer that has kept me in good staid up to now ie if the english are giving off about someone then they are probably not that bad or at the very least not as a bad as the english. If that makes me bitter then pass me another lemon.
Savages? What are you on about? Self pitying nonsense.
Have you any opinion at all about Blatter?
Why has America not already bombed Jordan? They have bombed almost all other non democracies in the middle east and murdered their populations by the hundreds of thousands to bestow on them the benefits of this wonderful democracy.
So what is so special about this little country that it hasn’t been bombed into democracy?
Jude, you mention the prince’s connection with the prophet – maybe he would have done better had his connection been with the profit!
What has surprised me from the start of this whole shebang has been the involvement of the US administration – in soccer!
In my ignorance I never had the foggiest that they had the slightest interest in the game – but then with the next World Cup going to Russia, and the Yanks trying every dirty trick they can think of to embarrass Putin, everything becomes clear.
This is all to do with American dirty tricks, so, whatever Blatter’s failings, if the Yanks are promoting an undemocratic prince, there must be something crazy going on!
The lack of scrutiny of Prince Ali`s `cv` by the media says it all. Sepp Blatter is the bad guy, so anyone else by definition must be the good guy. Football, the game of the poor, which raised Maradona and Pele and co. from abject poverty, being run by a Prince. And that`s not all folks, that other paragon of equality, Prince William, has issued forth his two gold sovereigns worth, it is almost enough to make one start following the game of cricket. I wonder what Billy Bragg and Owen Jones think of the LBW rule? The simple fact is the English have still not recovered from the humiliation of their World Cup bid, Cameron, Windsor/Wales and Beckham were snubbed, poor old William even invited a bunch of strangers to his (publicly funded ) wedding to curry favour and was flabbergasted to find out it had all been a waste. One is not used to not having one`s own way. As for Greg Dyke, failure at the BBC has landed him in a nice cushy job at the FA, mister Dyke returned a £16, 400 watch he received from the Brazilian FA, you read that figure correctly, SIXTEEN THOUSAND AND FOUR HUNDRED POUNDS. Dyke has backed away from some of his more preposterous threats about England boycotting the World Cup, possibly because FIFA would be delighted at having three less games to organise. What do you mean you thought they ALWAYS boycotted the World Cup?
Never let the facts get in the way of a good rant eh Another Jude?
That’s not a very strong argument you’ve advanced there, neill…Is it?
So which bit of my post is not factual neill?
Do you think it’s acceptable that key members of FIFA are taking backhanders and Blatter knew nothing or did anything about it?
I think the expression `people who live in glass houses shouldn`t throw stones` is very apt. I have no great love for Sepp Blatter for many reasons, for instance two events during the 2006 World Cup alone spring to mind, first he publicly criticised the Russian ref who sent off four players during the Holland v Portugal game and he also refused to present the trophy to the winning Italian captain, saying he was worried about being booed by the fans. However the English FA in particular broke the rules over their 2018 bid and we now know at least three British banks are implicated in the whole dirty money scandal. I don`t think any person should remain in charge that length of time but FIFA does a good job spreading the game around the world and there are lots of poor Football Associations that rely on money from their fund. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely but I don`t think Greg Dyke is the sort of person we should be listening to when it comes to dodgy dealings.