Ahead Of Israel Expulsion Vote U.S. Orders Raid On FIFA
Today the U.S. ordered Swiss police to raid, incarcerate and extradite to the U.S. six FIFA officials for alleged corruption. The raid, with obviously pre-alarmed New York Times reporters on the scene, comes shortly before a FIFA vote to expel Israel from the association.
This Friday the world football association FIFA is meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, for its 65th regular World Congress. One of the votes on the agenda (pdf) is about the "Suspension or expulsion of a member". There is also an "Update on Israel-Palestine".
The Palestinian Football Association has called for a vote to suspend Israel from FIFA:
The Palestinian group objects to Israeli teams playing in the West Bank. They also say Israel restricts movements of Palestinian players between the West Bank and Gaza as well as for international matches."They keep bullying here and there, and I think they have no right to keep being the bully of the neighborhood," Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub said of Israel. "If the Israelis are using the issue of security, I can say that their security concern is mine. I am ready to fix parameters for security concerns, but security should not be used ... as a tool in order to keep this racist, apartheid policies."
He declared the situation in the West Bank far worse than apartheid that existed in South Africa because right-wingers and extremists in Israel want to "delete Palestine." In the 1960s, FIFA suspended South Africa for decades after it failed to comply with the association's nondiscrimination policies. The nation was also expelled from FIFA a month after the Soweto Youth Uprising of 1976.
"I am not asking for the suspension of the Israeli association; I am asking to end the suffering of the Palestinian footballers," Rajoub said. "I am asking to end the grievances, the humiliation we are facing."
The vote requires a 75% majority of the 209 FIFA members. There was a good chance that it was going to be successful.
But now, just by chance, the U.S. government ordered the Swiss police to raid the hotel where the main FIFA functionaries are residing to arrest some of them on corruption charges going back to the early 1990s. The U.S. wants these to be extradited to face a U.S. court.
Also, just by chance, reporters and photographers of the New York Times happen to be in that very Swiss hotel lobby, at 6 am, to capture the incident live:
As leaders of FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, gathered for their annual meeting, more than a dozen plain-clothed Swiss law enforcement officials arrived unannounced at the Baur au Lac hotel, an elegant five-star property with views of the Alps and Lake Zurich. They went to the front desk to get keys and proceeded upstairs to the rooms.
...
The charges allege widespread corruption in FIFA over the past two decades, involving bids for World Cups as well as marketing and broadcast deals, according to three law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the case. The charges include wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering, and officials said they targeted members of FIFA’s powerful executive committee, which wields enormous power and does its business largely in secret.
While some of the indicted persons are U.S. citizens one wonders what contorted maneuvers the U.S. justice department will make to claim jurisdiction over foreign national FIFA functionaries:
United States law gives the Justice Department wide authority to bring cases against foreign nationals living abroad, an authority that prosecutors have used repeatedly in international terrorism cases. Those cases can hinge on the slightest connection to the United States, like the use of an American bank or Internet service provider.
Is there corruption involved when FIFA decides to run the World Championship in this or that country? Are there kickbacks when it sells media rights? Might there be gambling going on in the casino?
Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds? Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here! [a croupier hands Renault a pile of money] Croupier: Your winnings, sir. Captain Renault: Oh, thank you very much.
Additional to their U.S. ordered raid the Swiss also feel compelled to open criminal proceedings around the 2018 and 2022 World Cup FIFA votes. The U.S. lost out against Russia and Qatar in its bid for those games and U.S. hawks still want to change that. It is not that paying bribes to be chosen for world games is unfamiliar to the U.S., but being rejected necessitates regime change at the top of the responsible organization.
In the United States it is legal to bribe politicians, via campaign financing, in practically unlimited amounts. Not one U.S. banker has been indicted for the massive Wall Street fraud that brought the world economy to a halt. The world is aware of this and it does not like the U.S. to lecture it about moral outrages. FIFA, while certainly corrupt, is also the soul of world football and the organizer of the most beloved championship in the world. If the U.S. believes that using something similar to terrorism charges against FIFA will have a positive echo in the world it is very mistaken.
Especially as the just by chance motive for this is pretty obvious.
As an Israeli journalist already gloats:
Anshel Pfeffer
Poor Jibril Rajoub. Doesn't look like his gimmick is going to get much attention right now #FIFA
Let me guess: That was a main purpose of this raid?
Posted by b on May 27, 2015 at 7:31 UTC | Permalink
#USCongressPreparesVoteforVisaFreeEntryforIsraelis
That should be enough 'mystery voters' to capture 2016, then you'll never hear any of this 'Palestinian State' חרא again.
#DidtheIzziesAssassinatethePopeYet?
Posted by: Chipnik | May 27 2015 10:37 utc | 2
b, this is why I keep coming back - always on the money as far as articulating my thoughts. I've been diligently waiting for the vote, and now this. Why now, if not to derail or undermine a vote? Why not years ago when the world was laughing at Qatar being awarded the world cup? Don't be too surprised if the collection of corruption "evidence" is used to blackmail and dictate the terms of FIFA policy indefinitely.
Posted by: Pat Bateman | May 27 2015 10:40 utc | 3
qatar world cup will be boycotted due to a breakdown in security.
Posted by: mcohen | May 27 2015 11:48 utc | 4
Translated into Serbian:
Ћирилизовано: САД наредиле напад на ФИФА уочи гласања о искључивању Израела
Kind regards,
Aleksandar
Posted by: Александар Јовановић | May 27 2015 12:07 utc | 5
this raid, "bombs" by Palestinian extremists, men they sure know their business.
Posted by: papa | May 27 2015 14:20 utc | 6
@b
No mention of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS Movement)?
While the Palestinian team may have made the request, the sensitivity of a suspension/expulsion is clearly due to the added impetus that such a high-profile action would give to the BDS Movement.
I think its become clear that Israel and friends of Israel will go to great lengths to squash the BDS Movement.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | May 27 2015 14:28 utc | 7
The investigation into the Qatar's corruption acts to win the 2018 Soccer game was never published. Qatar "worked hard" to make it irrelevant.
Yet this potential scandal is Qatar's only Achilles heel.
Qatar's involvement in financing terrorism has never been exposed because Qatar spends a lot of money "investing" in foreign countries and in PR activities.
This investigation into FIFA, that Qatar will fight like hell, may hopefully expose that vicious country acts and humiliate them for good.
The 2018 FIFA game should NOT be held in Qatar.
Posted by: Virgile | May 27 2015 14:40 utc | 8
Good catch b, in politics, nothing is accidental or a "coincident".
Posted by: ben | May 27 2015 14:57 utc | 9
Holy sh*t,I was wondering the impetus for this,as soccer in America is largely illegal immigrant driven,as Americans aint into watching paint dry :),but hey Israel rears its putrid head again.
I was just reading at the Graun how thousands of dollars were given to congress critters to pass TPP,in outright bribery,and we are pointing fingers at soccer feds?
Posted by: dahoit | May 27 2015 15:00 utc | 10
Thanks, b, for alerting us about this new travesty of justice. The long arm of the Zionist mafia, the Ulcered Sphincter of Asserica, reared its ugly head again to do the dirty job for the criminal Zionist apartheid regime, trampling once more on the rights of the Palestinian people. And the criminally corrupt NYT playing the game exactly like a trash rag on the NY mafia payroll, notified in advance, ready to roll with the slander and lies. The Zionist mafia and its protecting Godfather need to be obliterated from the face of this planet, for as long as they exist, humanity will live in shame.
Posted by: Lone Wolf | May 27 2015 15:00 utc | 11
b, you have educated us well! When I saw the 'news' report this morning, it didn't take hours pondering, minutes thinking about or seconds deciphering. My response was instantaneous: Those bastards!
Posted by: kafkananda | May 27 2015 15:29 utc | 12
another brilliant coincidence... my coincidence theories are piling up and outnumber my conspiracy theories by at least 3 to 1..
Posted by: james | May 27 2015 15:32 utc | 13
@10 dahoit
When corruption is the rule, it's a safe assumption that many prosecutions of corrupt actors are politically motivated
Posted by: Crest | May 27 2015 15:37 utc | 14
Tremendous post, b. Hopefully a segment of the benighted U.S. public will come away thinking, as you say, "Not one U.S. banker has been indicted for the massive Wall Street fraud that brought the world economy to a halt." But somehow the DOJ has the ability to reach across the globe to Switzerland and nab some FIFA officials.
The daily production of news by USG/commerial media neoliberal cartel is one vast experiment in mind control. Like the endlessly repeated lie "Sunnis prefer ISIS to Shiite sectarianism."
Posted by: Mike Maloney | May 27 2015 15:50 utc | 15
@Virgile
its the 2022 tournament that Qatar is hosting, the Russians are holding the 2018 event
Posted by: heath | May 27 2015 18:02 utc | 16
It's a bit too cute of the USG to malign and attempt to prosecute FIFA bigwigs BEFORE prosecuting, or even filing charges against, the Wall St banksters who perpetrated, and profited from, the Sub-Prime Swindle.
Talk about creative cherry-picking ...
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 27 2015 18:10 utc | 17
"It vas a miracle!"
This is so obvious it's laughable. The jew doesn't even care if you know anymore.
Posted by: marcion | May 27 2015 18:14 utc | 18
I was just about ready to write something similar--thanks for saving me the trouble of doing so. I would personally say it's the Russian choice first, and the Israeli second, but that is only my intuition. The question, as you and the commentators note, is not the corruption of FIFA: In this world of ours, there is corruption everywhere, from Wall Street to the City of London, from Capitol Hill to New Delhi, from the Red Cross to Amnesty International. So, when they go after someone for corruption, it's almost always for sinister reasons. That is why they went after the governors of IL and AL and NY (who actually were not really corrupt), why they went after the former IMF director, and so on. When someone is arrested, that means that person should get a medal for defiance and courage, in this upside-down world of ours.
Posted by: Moti Nissani | May 27 2015 18:23 utc | 19
Love all the Media pre-smearing of the suspects.
It's obviously not going to be a jury trial because the smearing would make it impossible to select an untainted jury in the US.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 27 2015 18:27 utc | 20
For the jew this was a 2 for 1.
Smear Palestine and Russia (due to host the WC in 2018) with one shot.
I think FIFA had the votes to expel israel, thus the arrests. If any members were on the fence regarding the vote this action was designed to intimidate them.
Posted by: marcion | May 27 2015 18:59 utc | 21
Just in case anyone has any doubts, here is a 5/26/2015 official news release: "Sens. Menendez, McCain Call on FIFA Congress to Elect New FIFA President that Would Deny Russia 2018 World Cup."
Our rulers no longer bother to hide their criminality. See for instance:
Posted by: Moti Nissani | May 27 2015 19:33 utc | 22
There is no area of life where the evil empire won't try to propagandise against its self created enemies.
If the US can try to discredit/create pressure to change a political vote in favour of its genocidal ally - which affects in this case suspension of Isreali apartheid-ists from FIFA - it will do so with zeal.
This PR if it also gets the US to claim it's anticorruption ( fraudulent ) credentials. Just like a US official said about corruption: that "enough is enough". Sorry if you just ate.
Since you can seemingly arrest the whole FIFA association for corruption, I'm curious about the individuals targeted. Were they them some of the main pushes for suspension against Israel ?
Or were they not loyal enough to other political and corporate interests ?
And once again for the trillionth time, The top tier of the elite, the 1%, the head honcho's are never threatened with any punishment.
Posted by: tom | May 27 2015 19:57 utc | 23
One question: will the eventual "fines without admitting guilt" cover the cost of the investigation and arrests (Swiss hookers are not cheap and there were plenty of "special" agents with time to kill before the show)?
Posted by: Oleaginous Outrager | May 27 2015 21:07 utc | 24
BREAKING: The DIA Gives an Official Response to LevantReport.com Article Alleging the West Backed ‘Islamic State’
I was surprised they actually took my questions:
http://levantreport.com/2015/05/27/the-dia-gives-an-official-response-to-levantreport-com-article-alleging-the-west-backed-islamic-state/
May 29 is the vote for FIFA President fifth term and he is adamant on having the 2018 Cup in Russia.
Little Jewish Bootlicker Bob Menendez website: NEWARK, NJ – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and John McCain (R- Ariz.) sent a letter encouraging Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Congress to reconsider its support for President Sepp Blatter’s fifth term as FIFA President in light of his continued support for Russia’s hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Posted by: farflungstar | May 27 2015 21:49 utc | 26
The Ukraine Lobby has been pushing hard for months to have World Cup 2018 taken away from Russia.
Here's a story from Canada broaching this subject:
http://globalnews.ca/news/2021051/heres-why-critics-dont-want-russia-and-qatar-to-host-the-world-cup/
Posted by: jayc | May 27 2015 21:57 utc | 27
More proof that nearly everyone has to be bullied and bribed into accepting or tolerating JSIL. They really got the AmeriKan moose by the short hairs and is milking this Golem for all it's worth. All this trouble and although I am unsure how it works, I don't think the israelis have strong national team. Maybe if opposing teams turned their backs on these clowns on the pitch JSIL's teams can actually win some games.
VE MUST BE LEGITIMATE AT ALL COSTS!
Posted by: farflungstar | May 27 2015 21:58 utc | 28
Sorry Moti did not mean to post the same link as you.
Posted by: farflungstar | May 27 2015 22:02 utc | 29
Look at the Clintons running the biggest charity racket on the planet. They are not even being investigated let alone jailed. And which political parties were responsible for approving the new Attorney General? Evidently Hillary is eminently qualified for her new job. Why even have an election? Doesn't she have an honest looking face?
Posted by: wjabbe | May 27 2015 22:05 utc | 30
And just think of BO herself: Winking at the crimes of the Sec. State who knew she was not following the law regarding use of a private server for public business not to mention all the rest of her lies and crimes. She surrendered and abdicated any rights to personal privacy when she knowingly and deliberately mixed her private likely criminal deals with public likely criminal deals all in secret and protected by BO at the highest level of our government! Foreknowledge of the hoaxes at Sandy Hook and Boston Bombing, blatantly lying to the public about them, not to mention providing the stupid Americans with a forged, fake BC as proved by experts. Don't you think there is a secret bank account for this expletive deleted only blocks from where these dupes were arrested and that account has over $ 1 billion and rising fast? Americans are the biggest fools on Earth. God Americans are stupid. We learned nothing from Nazi, Germany except how to copy them and their tactics.
Posted by: wjabbe | May 27 2015 22:44 utc | 31
All of this confirms the insightful wisdom from the late Howard Zinn, Ph.D.:
"The jails are full of petty thieves but the grand thieves are running the country".
Dumbed down Americans, all to busy to be bothered with all this government obscenity in America, deserve their plight into oblivion.
Posted by: wjabbe | May 27 2015 22:51 utc | 32
Thanks. Very busy at the moment. Caught a "blip" about the FIFA bust in Switzerland with NYT somehow "conveniently" there. Everyone knows FIFA, like the Olympics thugs, are corrupt to the bone, but I wondered: what? why? what's at stake.
Thanks for the enlightenment about the Usual Suspects. Quelle surprise, except not.
US citizens won't care bc awareness about world football is low on the totem pole here, plus there must be something more important to discuss, like who dumped who in Hollywood last night.
Figures it's the tail of Israel wagging the dog of USA... albeit anymore I think it's the USA that's the tail... Israel certainly calls the shots here, and how (not that I like it). ugh. sheesh.
Posted by: RUKidding | May 27 2015 23:01 utc | 33
@Heath
Yes Qatar is in 2022. I hope the investigation will uncover the bribes that this country gave to get the FIFA soccer game in the middle of summer!
Posted by: Virgile | May 27 2015 23:41 utc | 34
on a similar note only yesterday was i made aware of the OAC - office of antiboycott compliance - which makes it illegal for u.s. companies to participate in boycotting or sanctioning any entity of israeli officialdom. criminals all the way down....
Posted by: b real | May 28 2015 1:26 utc | 35
Were the NYT folk outfitted in Weegee gear, curated by the costume department?
http://www.amadelio.org/volumes_entries/weegee/weegee_pics/weegee_17.jpg
Posted by: Jay M | May 28 2015 1:34 utc | 36
Today's article on RT shows that several officials of FIFA whom the Swiss will be extraditing and transferring to the custody of those choir boys at the Justice Dept, happen to hail from South American countries:
Other officials held by Swiss police include Rafael Esquivel, President of the Venezuelan Football Federation, Eduardio Li, President of the Costa Rica Football Association, Jose Maria Marin, vice-president of the Brazil Football Federation and Jose Maria Marin, vice-president of the Brazil Football Federation. [...]Miami is also a focus of the investigation.A total of 14 officials and sports-marketing executives were charged in an indictment containing 47 counts. Seven of the defendants were arrested this morning. They are now be facing extradition to the US.
Read moreFIFA officials arrested on corruption charges, face extradition to US
Two FIFA vice-presidents are also involved in the corruption scandal, as well as the South American confederation, CONMEBOL, and the US Soccer Federation, CONCACAF, which are part of the six continental confederations recognized by FIFA.
The unexpected arrests were carried out by Swiss authorities as part of a top-level US investigation. On top of the OAG probe, the FBI will be looking into bribes 'totaling more than $150m' linked to commercial deals dating back to the 1990s for football tournaments in the United States and Latin America.
The Miami headquarters of CONCACAF, a football federation that governs North America, Central America and the Caribbean, has also been searched, the DoJ said.The US is seeking to extradite nine FIFA officials indicted for conspiracy and corruption. The Swiss justice says six of those arrested oppose extradition.
@Brad@25
BREAKING: The DIA Gives an Official Response to LevantReport.com Article Alleging the West Backed ‘Islamic State’
Brad, thanks for reporting back. Yes, they gave you and Official Response for sure: "...can't comment on this, that and that either."
I was surprised they actually took my questions:
Just for the record. They wanted to make the point across that was "raw" intel and may or may not have been processed into an exec plan. In any event, the genie is out of the bottle, and they cannot put it back, however much they try. Thanks for all your work.
Posted by: Lone Wolf | May 28 2015 2:23 utc | 38
Although the sabotage of FIFA's vote for possible expulsion of Israel from international soccer is indeed an interesting angle; it nonetheless stands little chance of penetrating public consciousness anywhere, compared to the media feeding frenzy the story is undoubtedly designed to generate.
The coverage, and the obsession brought on by such a scandal in international sports, will proliferate through who knows how many news cycles. The diplomatic bailout that spares Israel some little humiliation is probably secondary to the sheer strategic distraction offered by a tsunami of words in print and broadcast news.
Well beyond empire's networks this story is already spreading (to teleSUR, for instance) where multi-layer coverage already underway.
This distracts the public mind from the international crisis: the manic brinkmanship now going on, the war games within war games, between Empire Team (US, NATO, Israel, Turkey, GULF-STATES & GANG) , against Russia&China/Iran/BRICS/Axis of Resistance).
Look on the bright side: at least the Swiss authorities are not being tracked by drones.
copeland quote "Look on the bright side: at least the Swiss authorities are not being tracked by drones." i wouldn't put it past the same folks..
Posted by: james | May 28 2015 3:57 utc | 40
On another note, going back to serious matters...
Army, Kurdish Fighters Seize ISIL’s Main Stronghold in Syria’s Hasaka
The Syrian army and the Kurdish Popular Defense Committees gained control over ISIL's most important stronghold in Hasaka province on Saturday.
This cuts the supply lines from Turkey to ISIS headquarters in Mosul and pushes ISIS into having to resupply in Eastern Syria through Jordan and Israel.
This represents a far greater defeat for ISIS than anything thus far. With stories being spread about the collapse of the Syrian army, this kind of strategic triumph, totally unreported in the West is an indication that the US doesn’t seem to have the heart to oppose ISIS for some reason.
With the attack last Saturday on Deir ez Zur by US Delta force now a suspected extraction of a CIA asset involved in stealing and selling Syrian oil, the rules seem to be rapidly changing.
TEHRAN (FNA)-The ISIL lost control of the Abdel Aziz Mountain which is located 38 kilometers to the Southwest of Hasaka city today.Gaining control over Abdel Aziz Mountain by the Syrian army and Kurdish fighters means that the Takfiri terrorist group has fully collapsed in Western Hasaka province and also lost control over its supply line that stretches from Al-Shadadi city in Southern Hasaka and Deir Ezzur to Northern Hasaka and Reqqa.
Posted by: Lone Wolf | May 28 2015 4:00 utc | 41
Funny how the Swiss will extradite these officials for their 'club fed' crimes, but roman polanski the pedophile was allowed to go free
Posted by: DamascusFalling | May 28 2015 4:00 utc | 42
brad@25 - thanks for trying.. for others who want to skip reading the link with the q and a's - here is a summation of dia's answers : "JK: I have no comment on that."
Posted by: james | May 28 2015 4:02 utc | 43
wjabbe
"Why even have an election? Doesn't she have an honest looking face?"
There absolutely must be an election! How else to delude Americans into believing they have a “true” functioning democratic electoral and political system, than an election that is very long on populist rhetoric, hugely efficient in polishing up the propaganda apparatus, and diverting everyone’s attention from how very deep is the level of “deep state” corruption.
This post by B is amazing! Just when I was foolishly believing that it was about time that the rot, which has long been an indispensable feature of FIFA’s entire history, was in for a long overdue clean-up, here is this post setting me straight on yet another Atlanticist MSM propaganda sleight of hand. Same tactic by authoritarian governments as they publicly launch a “corruption clean-up” program; the motive of which is solely to eliminate political enemies, and potential threats to the status quo.
Posted by: bjmaclac | May 28 2015 4:27 utc | 44
Just out of morbid interest: are those nine FIFA Felons(tm) still able to vote via proxy?
Interesting list of defendants:
Cayman Islands Football Association (CIFA) president.
Costa Rican Soccer Federation (FEDEFUT) president.
Nicaraguan Soccer Federation (FENIFUT) president.
South American confederation (CONMEBOL) president.
Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) special adviser.
Venezuelan Soccer Federation (FVF) president.
Former Cayman Islands Football Association (CIFA) general secretary.
Former Brazilian National Soccer Federation (CBF) president.
Former Uruguayan Soccer Federation (AUF) president.
South American officials, each and every one of 'em.
Which means that the USA just did a big s**t on the head of All The Important Football People in its part of the world.
Which does rather suggest (if b's theory is correct) that the USA wasn't able to strong-arm any of the South Americans behind the scene, hence the need to go with a very public full body slam.
Hmmmmm. I would suggest that there is only one certain outcome from this effort: the USA can kiss goodbye to any chance of ever again hosting a World Cup.
It does look remarkably clumsy, doesn't it?
Maybe FIFA can do the double: kick the USA out of FIFA along with Israel.
They can then form their own rival competition: FAZA (Football Association of Zionist A**skissers)
Posted by: Johnboy | May 28 2015 6:46 utc | 45
I just noticed this bit: "The indictment alleges that, between 1991 and the present, the defendants and their co-conspirators corrupted the enterprise by engaging in various criminal activities, including fraud, bribery and money laundering."
Interesting date, that, since there was a World Cup held in the USA in 1994.
Odd that the DoJ didn't exclude that from their indictment.
Anyone know the significance of 1991?
I assume that one of the five defendants who have already stooled for the Feds started working for/with FIFA in 1991.
Or is there some other importance to that date?
Posted by: Johnboy | May 28 2015 6:58 utc | 46
Yep. When I learned that Russia would host the 2018 soccer worldchampionship, that was the moment when I suspected that this raid was meant to hurt Russia.
Posted by: Willy2 | May 28 2015 7:45 utc | 47
39
As much fun as it is to poke fun at the Izzie genocidae buffoons in Bibi's Homeland Uber Allen lashup, the FIFA purge, and that'she what it was, was launched as a DIA screed against #JohnMcCainArmed&FundedISIS.
In mass media there is a critical mass: if a story breaks that threshhold, it feeds on itself and takes on wings, like Hillary'a Benghazi. The DIA revelations were seriously being debated on right-wing rags -- they knew they'd been betrayed, the same way the RINOS raised the debt ceiling and created an $89B 'war slush fund'.
The crowd was getting wicked mad. Existential crISIS time!
Also, not to push the point, but naming names for genocidal crimes against humanity, like #JohnMcCainArmed&FundedISIS, carries serious legal consequences if it does go critical mass, tying back to war criminals in chief Bush the Lesser, Cheney and Rumsfeld, then from there, the whole Yinon Plan PNAC End of History Wehrmacht.
FIFA swamped media coverage. There was only a couple paragraphs on the DIA revelation today, and one mention of ISIS losing the war..
Full Spectrum Dominance of Global Media returns.
All is Right with Das Welt.
And if the Izzies wacked a mole on the Palestine State issue, then froeliche wunderbar!
Posted by: Chipnik | May 28 2015 8:33 utc | 48
45
Would that USIL soccer group be called the Neo-Intifaza? " )
Posted by: Chipnik | May 28 2015 8:43 utc | 49
Interesting that the NYTimes article about Blatter has only four photos in it, one of which has this caption "Mr. Blatter released a dove during a May 20 visit to the West Bank city of Ramallah."
So even though this is a dude who goes everwhere and is Very Much Photographed that photo from the West Bank is one of only four to make the cut.
Interesting.
A subliminal message, perhaps?
Posted by: Johnboy | May 28 2015 10:30 utc | 50
50
Die aktuelle Medien caucophony ist begründet darin die Herkunft aller rhythmischen Künste aus den Arbeitsgesängen und zeichnet die Utopie einer harmonischen Gesellschaft, in der die Kollektive durch Arbeitsrhythmen zusammengehalten werden und in der sich das arbeitende Individuum wieder mit der Lebenswelt synchronisiert.
Diese heute, unsere harmonischen Gesellschaft bleiben durch die Medien caucophony von 140 patriotische Wortanfang Twittern.
Posted by: NoReply | May 28 2015 11:15 utc | 51
Target of raid is Russia. The U.S. lost out in the bidding process for the 2018 World Cup … I hate sore lozers. So the corruption has been rampant since 1991? Never read where DOJ was worried about the $1bn+ bribe by UK to Saudi Arabia to deliver weaponry. Lookie who wants the 2018 WC location moved to Cameron's UK … still using rocks as cover to spy in Moscow? Of course, Chuck Blazer has been talking to the FBI about corruption … he knows all about it. Football's big sponsors VISA, Coca Cola and others likely hit by sanctions and can't manifest itself in the 2018 Games in Russia.
Sepp Blatter is hosting an emergency FIFA meeting as we speak …
obviously arab oil money can be put to good uses but corrupting soccer is not one of them.women cannot attend soccer matches in iran so why is qatar,a moslem country hosting a soccer tournament in the first place.in any event palestinian accusations that the west bank is worse off than south africa because israel wants to delete the west bank was as stated by jabroul is rubbish......seriously "delete".... what does that mean,
many forget that 10 years ago arab suicide bombers were murdering hundreds of innocent civilians every month in israel.most of those suicide bombers were from the west bank
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinian_suicide_attacks
the only reason those attacks ended was through israel taking preventive security measures
jibril arsejoub neglected to mention this
Posted by: mcohen | May 28 2015 12:23 utc | 53
Michel Platini, the French president of UEFA and a firm opponent of Blatter, is backing Blatter's presidential opponent Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan if Friday's election goes ahead.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSKBN0OC0B020150528?irpc=932
for those blaming israel would do well to remember that seth blatter is supposed to be replaced by a prince from jordan....perhaps the bribery charges might change that
Posted by: mcohen | May 28 2015 12:37 utc | 54
"...10 years ago arab suicide bombers were murdering hundreds of innocent civilians every month in israel."
Posted by: mcohen | May 28, 2015 8:23:08 AM | 53
There never were and still aren't any innocent (Jewish) civilians in the violent, mendacious, cowardly, racist military dictatorship known as "Israel."
None (not one).
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | May 28 2015 13:01 utc | 55
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32913509
Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria has been ordered by the jihadist network not to use the country to launch attacks on the West, the group's leader has said.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Abu Mohammed al-Julani said al-Nusra Front was focused on capturing Damascus and toppling President Bashar al-Assad.
He also promised to protect Syrian minorities that disavowed Mr Assad.
A rebel alliance including al-Nusra has been making gains in north-western Syria, capturing the city of Idlib.
Rebel fighters are now advancing on the Mediterranean coastal province of Latakia, a stronghold of the president and his heterodox Shia Muslim Alawite sect.
Posted by: okie farmer | May 28 2015 13:13 utc | 56
'Attaboy, oh boy...
@Johnboy@45, 46, 50
They can then form their own rival competition: FAZA (Football Association of Zionist A**skissers)
LOL...they are both so bad at soccer both of them will lose.
Or is there some other importance to that date?
Probably the time they started keeping tabs on FIFA with nefarious purposes?
A subliminal message, perhaps?
If there was a drive in the US whorehouse (Menendez et al) to go against FIFA because of Russia 2018, there was an added motivation and that was the vote on expelling the Zionist mafia from FIFA.
Posted by: Lone Wolf | May 28 2015 13:57 utc | 57
53;The end of suicide attacks were because of the negative publicity in Western media which hurt the Palestinian cause.Your walls mean poopie cockie.
Posted by: dahoit | May 28 2015 14:31 utc | 58
@mcohen - all 53 European nations will back Blatter's opponent prince Ali bin Al Hussein. During Blatter's reign, the Football World Cup has expanded into Asia (Korea-Japan), Africa (South-Africa) and not to forget the U.S. in 1994. Some executives are tearing out hair looking back on that decision. Haha
As there is one vote for each member nation, all 209 in total, with the expansion Sepp Blatter has guaranteed his re-election during last 20 years and would have sailed through on Friday for his 5th term with ease. UEFA has been a thorn in the FIFA establishment as long as I can remember. The corruption charges are primarily pointed at the American, or CONCACEF executives.
Putin Slams US Over FIFA Arrests:
What is just as ironic is that the one reason the US determined it has jurisdiction over the case is only because FIFA's corrupt officials had used US banks as intermediaries to funnel and otherwise launder bribes and other flows of funds. The same criminal banks which the Department of Justice busted just a week earlier for rigging the FX market.How many people were arrested in the DOJ's crackdown on criminal US banks? 0.
How many people are arrested as part of the DOJ's crackdown on FIFA: 14.
=
In addition to FX, there was: subprime, CDOs, Libor, money laundering, and more. I don't think anyone was arrested for any of this.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | May 28 2015 14:41 utc | 60
Putin's take on the DOJ "witch hunt" to take down FIFA's Blatter …
○ This is an obvious attempt to expand Washington’s jurisdiction in other countries.
As an aside …
○ Russia, Venezuela agree on massive $14bn oil & gas investment deal
There are a lot of indications that Russia is either the target, or one of the, targets of this action. One of these is Putin's reaction (as described in the ZH post).
This seems like a teachable moment.
It is noteworthy how foolish deluded people STILL are. Hoping - yet again - that their masters leaders would see reason and act responsibly. So many had convinced themselves that Sochi talks were a turning point based on specious arguments like a reaction to Russia-Chinese closeness (that would be very very difficult to reverse at this point) and Obama's desire for a better legacy.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | May 28 2015 15:07 utc | 62
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176003/tomgram%3A_michael_klare%2C_superpower_in_distress/
Delusionary Thinking in Washington
The Desperate Plight of a Declining Superpower
By Michael T. Klare
Take a look around the world and it’s hard not to conclude that the United States is a superpower in decline. Whether in Europe, Asia, or the Middle East, aspiring powers are flexing their muscles, ignoring Washington’s dictates, or actively combating them. Russia refuses to curtail its support for armed separatists in Ukraine; China refuses to abandon its base-building endeavors in the South China Sea; Saudi Arabia refuses to endorse the U.S.-brokered nuclear deal with Iran; the Islamic State movement (ISIS) refuses to capitulate in the face of U.S. airpower. What is a declining superpower supposed to do in the face of such defiance?
~~~
The problem, as many mainstream observers now acknowledge, is that such a strategy aimed at perpetuating U.S. global supremacy at all costs was always destined to result in what Yale historian Paul Kennedy, in his classic book The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, unforgettably termed “imperial overstretch.” As he presciently wrote in that 1987 study, it would arise from a situation in which “the sum total of the United States’ global interests and obligations is… far larger than the country’s power to defend all of them simultaneously.”
~~~
The Party of Utter Denialism
Clearly, in the face of multiplying threats, juggling has not proven to be a viable strategy. Sooner or later, the “balls” will simply go flying and the whole system will threaten to fall apart. But however risky juggling may prove, it is not nearly as dangerous as the other strategic response to superpower decline in Washington: utter denial.
Posted by: okie farmer | May 28 2015 15:52 utc | 63
@62 There is the option of de-escalation.......but that would look like weakness.
Posted by: dh | May 28 2015 16:08 utc | 64
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Could-The-New-Silk-Road-End-Old-Geopolitical-Tensions.html
Could The New Silk Road End Old Geopolitical Tensions?
By Robert Berke
Posted on Tue, 26 May 2015
Part 2: Cold War or Competition on the New Silk Road.
Note:
In Part 1 of “The New Silk Road,” we examined the China’s plan for rebuilding the Silk Road, stretching from Europe to Asia.
In Part 2, we look at currently proposed projects, and geopolitical rivalries that could stall and hamper progress.
Silk Road Projects:
It is important to understand that the new “Road’ is not a formal plan in any sense but merely a broad outline of goals, a work in progress, being filled in, opportunistically, with projects as they are developed, and as negotiations with target countries allow. The Road is also not a 'start-up' from scratch, but builds upon and extends a number of projects that have been ongoing with China's partners.
The Iran-Pakistan-China project (described in Part 1) is one of the few that provides more details, but it is still very much in the planning stage. The second proposed project, only recently made public, focuses on Russia. China is also proposing a partnership with India for its third project.
The Pakistan program is an important economic development project that ties in with the Road as one of the connecting dots along the way, while the proposed program for Russian could become the nexus for the entire Road project, and the proposed India project could become the crucial piece in tying it all together.
Russia and China, the Emerging Partnership:
What makes Russia important enough to include in the plan? A better question might be: how is it possible to leave out Russia, the largest country in Eurasia, from a plan to build across the entire region?
In a recent meeting in Moscow, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the allied victory in World War II – which saw Indian, Chinese, and Russia troops parading in Red Square – China and Russia signed multiple agreements to tie development of the Chinese sponsored Silk Road to the Russian sponsored Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
The EAEU plan is a Kremlin-sponsored trade union between Russian, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Armenia, that has been pilloried in the western press as part of Russia’s supposed underlying agenda to re-establish the Soviet Union. With Russia’s inclusion, the plan for the Silk Road will extend from Beijing to the border of Poland. The blossoming cooperation between Russia and China is not something to be ignored, according to former Indian diplomat M.K. Bhadrakumar:
“Clearly, the cold blast of western propaganda against the EAEU failed to impress China…China’s integration with the EAEU means in effect that a real engine of growth is being hooked to the Russian project. In reality, China is the key to the future of the EAEU. Significantly, Xi has combined his visit to Moscow with a tour of Belarus and Kazakhstan, the two other founder members of the EAEU….This is vital for the implementation of the Silk Routes via Russia and Central Asia.”
Posted by: okie farmer | May 28 2015 16:14 utc | 65
@63 Not sure why I needed to point that out. It is precisely what the writer is saying.
Posted by: dh | May 28 2015 16:15 utc | 66
mcohen @ 53 says:
many forget that 10 years ago arab suicide bombers were murdering hundreds of innocent civilians every month in israel
well, mcohen, i sure don't remember that, and i sure can't find any evidence to back it up either, including your wiki link, which i guess you didn't even bother to read, you fucking asswipe.
Posted by: john | May 28 2015 16:30 utc | 67
I think that you are over-thinking this.
Loretta Lynch apparently started this when she was US attorney, and it segues perfectly with her pattern of ignoring/going soft on banks, and going with "media catnip" high profile cases to deflect this.
She just cut a deal with the banks that was another sellout, and suddenly there is this case which is guaranteed to generate a media frenzy.
QED.
Posted by: Matthew G. Saroff | May 28 2015 17:26 utc | 68
Here in a lot of the Australian media, the disgusting display of commentators and soccer personalities thanking the US Justice Department for its fight against FIFA corruption, had the exact PR effect that was intended by this fraud against fraud.
The US was painted as being a defender against corruption, and Ive not seen as much PR thankfulness and praise in a 'fight against corruption' than what the US Justice Department received yesterday from the Aussie media.
If one aspect of this operation was to get a PR boost for the evil empire, then it was a magnificent success thanks to all the fools out there who predictably will always play their part.
Posted by: tom | May 28 2015 20:41 utc | 69
Oh Moon
I spend all day trying to understand the world. I am continually amazed at your depth of insight. Thanks
Sherman Nichols
Posted by: Sherman Nichols | May 28 2015 22:29 utc | 70
john #67 says
"you fucking asswipe"
you sure don,t and you sure can,t and you sure won't and you sure.......deny...f f
Yeshivat Beit Yisrael massacre March 2, 2002 Yeshiva in Jerusalem 11 Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility.
2nd Egged bus 823 bombing March 5, 2002 Afula 1 Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.[12]
Ariel hotel lobby bombing March 7, 2002 Ariel, West Bank 15 injured (1 seriously) PFLP claimed responsibility.[12]
Café Moment bombing March 9, 2002 Rehavia, Jerusalem 11 Hamas claimed responsibility.
Egged bus 22 bombing March 17, 2002 Jerusalem 25 Injured Hamas claimed responsibility.
3rd Egged bus 823 bombing March 20, 2002 Vadi Ara, Muzmuz Junction 7 Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
King George Street bombing March 21, 2002 Jerusalem 3 Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility.
Passover massacre March 27, 2002 Netanya 30 Suicide attack on Passover seder in Park Hotel. Carried out by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Kiryat HaYovel supermarket bombing March 29, 2002 Kiryat Yovel in Jerusalem 2 Hamas claimed responsibility.
Allenby Street coffee shop bombing March 30, 2002 Tel Aviv 1 Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility.
Baqa al-Gharbiyah bombing March 30, 2002 Baqa al-Gharbiyah 1 Booby-trapped vehicle that Palestinians tried to sneak into Israel.
Matza restaurant suicide bombing March 31, 2002 Haifa 15 Hamas claimed responsibility.
Efrat Medical Center March 31, 2002 Efrat, West Bank 4 injured (1 seriously) Hamas claimed responsibility.
Posted by: mcohen | May 28 2015 22:31 utc | 71
I have a couple of comments to make on this.
First, I think it is a given that the USA isn't doing this because it cares about FIFA, or because it is in any way concerned that the corrupt behaviour of FIFA Hobnobs - bribes, money laundering, wire fraud, etc. - is having a corrupting effect on the US banking system.
If you believe that then you'd believe in the tooth fairy.
But let's look at this from both sides.
Let's argue that b's claim is false i.e. this isn't about the Israeli vote, but simply a fortuitous happenstance along the way to an American hostile takeover of FIFA for, well, for whatever reason.
In that case FIFA officialdom must know that the USA is never satisfied with anything less than full-spectrum dominance, and so this is supposed to end with all of them out of power and replaced by USA toadies.
Well, heck, in that case simply rolling over is not really an option, not if they want to keep themselves on easy-street. They are all schedules for "retirement with extreme prejudice".
In which case they may as well fight back with everything they've got, and the first thing they've got is a beauty: a penalty kick against that pipsqueak little mini-me called "Israel".
So if those raids WEREN'T about the Israel vote then, Hells Bells, it soon will be.
But let's look at it from the other end: let's assume that b is correct and these raids are all about that upcoming vote to kick Israel out of FIFA.
If it is then this is a damn odd way of going about it.
Think about it: the arrests are about corruption and obstruction of justice, but if the USA then turns around and tells FIFA that if it knows what's good for it then those votes need to swing the other way then, by any measure, the USA is indulging in corrupt practices including - but not limited to - blackmail, extortion and, yes, obstruction of justice.
I struggling to see how these arrests are supposed to swing that upcoming vote in the direction that Uncle Sam wants it to go.
How does that work, exactly?
Posted by: Johnboy | May 29 2015 0:20 utc | 72
@67 Don't feed the troll, John.
He is determined to argue that Jibril Rajoub can not possibly be in a position to complain about Israel's current practices viz football because, well, because this troll insists on waving about a decade-old list of Hamas suicide bombings.
Or some such nonsense.
Why are you pandering to him?
Posted by: Yeah, Right | May 29 2015 1:14 utc | 73
Please Sign Now - 24 Hours Left! Don't Allow The FIFA Corruption Crisis To Save Israel From Expulsion From World Footballhttp://www.earth-heal.com/news/news/45-take-action/2206-fifa-petition.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EarthHeal-NewsForAnEarthInTransition+%28Earth+Heal+-+News+for+an+Earth+in+Transition%29
Posted by: zerojr | May 29 2015 5:04 utc | 74
#72 yeah right
"nonsense"
are you calling the suicide bombings nonsense...are you aware that international tourists visiting israel were murdered as well
are you aware that a disco was blown up full of young kids
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphinarium_discotheque_suicide_bombing
Posted by: mcohen | May 29 2015 5:26 utc | 75
Did anyone hear something just then?
Couldn't be certain, because I was distracted by the whiff of something quite foul...
Posted by: Yeah, Right | May 29 2015 6:01 utc | 76
Funny how the Swiss will extradite these officials for their 'club fed' crimes, but roman polanski the pedophile was allowed to go free DamascusFAlling at 42.
Mutual extradition treaties are always contingent on the crime being prosecuted being a crime in the extradicting country. (E.g. the Swiss cannot extradite an American to the US for growing, smoking, or selling small amounts of pot, as this is not a crime in CH.) In the case of Polanksi, there were two major obstacles: the consent of the ‘victim’ (she could not be proved to be non-consenting) and the statute of limitations. Polanski had superb lawyers, and I reckon as the law stands this decision was inevitable.
Second, it is is not sure that the ‘7’ will be extradited. The US is notorious for screaming about how it wants someone extradited and then never following up, for whatever reason, and then sort of ‘blaming’ the other party. (What they do is they let the time for making the request run out and then they say the other party did not respond.) The Americans will have to make the request. Then the Swiss will have to decide…we will see, but in principle, the Swiss are working with the Americans (and no doubt will do what their master tells them in hyper collaborative mode..)
However, the matter is more complicated than it appears at first blush, because what is lost in the news is that the Swiss arm of the investigation and action is the outcome of, and rests on, a complaint for fraud, corruption, falsified accounts, disloyal management, and the like (Idk the complete list) made in Nov. 2014.. by the FIFA itself in Switzerland. Thus presumably Blattner. The persons indicted have not been named in the news, and they may even be ‘unknown’ or ‘anonymous’ (i.e. some suspicion or proof of malfeasance but insecurity as to the precise perp.) So the Swiss may hang on to one or another. Thirdly, the matter is complex, because bribery laws in CH and USA are different, some bribery actions can’t be prosecuted in CH unless there is a complainant. Which if you think about it introduces an interesting twist.
The US investigation is also very old.. I don’t know when it began, but FIFA has been in its sights for a long time.
I reckon the vote on Israel (which would imho never have led to banning them anyway) is just a coincidence. What happened there is that the Palestinian pressure has become more acute in all organisations, what with Palestine now having almost a de-facto official country status.
Posted by: Noirette | May 29 2015 9:33 utc | 77
Yeah, Right asks @ 73:
Why are you pandering to him?
i'm just calling him out for spewing some particularly pernicious, and false, bile. isn't that clear enough for you? why are you asking why? are you a stupid fucking asswipe as well?
Posted by: john | May 29 2015 11:30 utc | 78
59;Not being a soccer fan,I still marvel at the success and world participation of the game in its world cup,and does not most of that success go to Blatter and his leadership?
Posted by: dahoit | May 29 2015 14:01 utc | 79
Palestinian leadership show how stupid they are once again,
Palestine stop its demand to kick Israel out of FIFA!
http://rt.com/news/263229-palestine-drop-israel-fifa/
Posted by: Anonymous | May 29 2015 14:06 utc | 80
#78
hi pal.....you,re so gay,with your anal fixation.
annie and moosie say hi
b
Posted by: mcohen | May 30 2015 3:17 utc | 81
@78 "why are you asking why?"
*sigh*
Because the entire point of a hasbara troll is to deflect the talkback - any talkback - away from the topic under discussion and onto their own nonsensical talking points.
That's why.
But, please, do carry on.....
Posted by: Johnboy | May 30 2015 10:30 utc | 82
#82
but far right asks a valid question..why are you asking why
pandering with intent is usually associated with people like george pell
Posted by: mcohen | May 30 2015 13:50 utc | 83
The comments to this entry are closed.
Could be coincidence. Didn't think the Isrealis cared too much about football. And even if you're right, wouldn't that start a war with FIFA? Not exactly good PR... Either way, both entities involved here are blood sucking agents of pure greed.
Posted by: dan | May 27 2015 10:20 utc | 1