Now it seems like the FBI is indeed investigating the allocation of WC 2018 and 2022 http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/06/03/soccer-fifa-fbi-idUKL1N0YP1HG20150603 (and several other sources)
Blazer's testimony has been released, it goes back to the '90s, not surprising though. I have found copies on the links below (I dont own them and dont know for how long they will be available there) https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2093153/blazer.pdf https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2093153-blazer.html You can start on page 20 (nothing too substantial on the initial pages)
Thanks an interesting read -- certainly points to significant issues over a long period of time and, assuming the FBI has the details to what Blazer refers to in it -- there are more shoes to drop on this one. The key words: Among other things, I agreed with other persons in or around 1992 to facilitate the acceptance of a bribe in conj unction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup. Beginning in or about 1993 and continuing through the early 2000s, I and others agreed to accept bribes and kickbacks in conj unction with the broadcast and other rights to the 1996, '1998, 2000, 2002, and 2003 Gold Cups. Beginning in or around 2004 and continuing through 2011 , I and others on the FIFA executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World CupOne tumbled and it was only a matter of time for the rest of the house of cards to fall.
Here, by the way, is a link to the full FBI document: http://www.justice.gov/opa/file/450211/download 25 unnamed co-conspirators in addition to those arrested or for whom warrants were served. Some of those 25 co-conspirators are Chuck Blazer and the other guys who have already talked. Reading it now, not through it....just wanted to clarify the number '25'. It seems to me that co-conspirator #1 is Blazer.
So there's 10 others out there besides Blazer and the 14 already indicted correct? Hopefully one of them is ole Seppy himself.
At least we know the judge was truly impartial. Probably did not even know what soccer was before this case.
Maybe, and this is only a guess mind you, is that the actual bribery and corruption the FBI is going after happend on US soil and through the US banking system?
Yeah, taking the world cup away from a middle eastern country and giving it to the US is going to blow over well.
I am starting to get worried again....I don't believe Blatter ever used the word 'resign' in his 'resignation speech'....maybe this is his idea of laying low a bit, making the Europeans forget their idea of an 'alternative world championships' (apparently now off the table for discussion in Berlin on Friday)...Blatter will delay the next conference as late as he can and meanwhile be pulling the strings at FIFA for months yet, so...business as usual. Of course the FIFA employee's gave him a '10 minute standing ovation'....if you didn't stand and clap, chances are you wouldn't be working at FIFA 5 minutes after the applause stopped.... Blatter has proved to be a slippery, elusive dictator for going on two decades....he ain't leaving yet....
Even if Qatar is going to be stripped of the WC I highly doubt it is going to end up at the US, just wouldn't look right. Also Qatar has bought a lot of good will with investing heavily in several European top clubs which certainly motivates some federations to keep the Qatar thing going. Maybe they have done things like that in other confederations as well? How is qatari investments in other leagues around the world? Would be interesting to know.
Now this is finally an argument that is logically sound, and well reasoned. If you've seen Taibbi's articles regarding the execrable decision of Holder justifying Corporate Fraud, and the criminal actions of every last one of our banks (and pretty much everyone else's, you need to check out what the Brit and Deutchebank's did as well, and the Libor scandal which pretty much involved everyone) on the soundless premise that the corporations are responsible for ten's of thousands of jobs, and hurting the company through criminal trials, instead of fines, would actually cause more damage than help, you should be fully aware of how loathesome those thieves are, and how despicable Holder is, particularly considering the main fall guy for that kind of reasoning are the very minorities he supposedly is interested in protecting the rights of (considering they get sentenced to ten years, and sometimes life for dime bag deals, while bankers like HSBC, that are the bag men for the biggest terrorist organizations in the ME, and narcoterrorists in Mexico and elsewhere, make billions out of these criminal relationships, and get a free ride from our justice system based on yep, bribes, dressed up as "Free Speech", and Holder's moronic philosophy on criminal prosecution, and massive banking entities. However that's another topic, and not related, like pretty much all of your arguments.
I recognize what you say, but I'd argue that the whole concept is the whoring out of republican democracy. Money is not speech and never will be, the idea that it is is farcical. If it is, it means that billionaires have the right to billions more times free speech than the poorest of the poor, and that is antithetical to the idea of republican democracy and popular sovereignty. It's absurd. But that's another topic, and a very very depressing one to boot.
That said the lack of action on the banks doesn't forgive what FIFA has done or mean the US shouldn't be going after them with the zeal they apparently are.
Well, to be within their jurisdiction it has to have touched the US somehow. However, it doesn't mean that the perpetrators ever set foot in the US. If you read the actual indictment (I have not read it all but some), one of the points made is that the US financial system was used to launder and transfer money because of the 'relative' safety and stability of the US financial system. I would imagine that is true of a lot of people, not just the ones identified to date. I am also confident that if the FBI finds information that points to the Swiss Financial System being used for illegal means that they will be passing that information on to the Swiss. And the indictment does reference that Swiss financial institutions with branches in the US were used. As such those transactions fall within the FBI's purview, but I'm sure the Swiss will be looking at them as well.
I think it is so funny people are saying things like it doesn't look right if the Cup is taken away from Qatar and given to the USA. Newsflash... ...it did not look right for Qatar to get it in the first place! That is the issue that has to be resolved.
https://twitter.com/SeppBlatter Just see for yourself: Working hard on reforms after meeting Audit & Compliance Committee Independent Chairman Scala http://t.co/PQzpewvQz6 pic.twitter.com/FDPQeyFFNT— Joseph S Blatter (@SeppBlatter) June 4, 2015 And then read the replies: Just in the nick of time then. @SeppBlatter— Adam Devlin (@ad_I_am) June 4, 2015 I cant believe I didnt find and read these earlier.
For the record I'd be fine with the cup going to Australia, England, Japan, S. Korea, China, Spain, Morocco, whatever. It doesn't have to be in the US, it just needs to be the heck out of Qatar. Heck, some joint holding of the cup by two African states would be fine too. I don't really care, it just has to actually make logical sense, be hosted during the proper time of year, and not be an obvious fix for a region via vote rigging/pay offs, and it has to be able to host it while getting at least a competent grade on the technical report, and not a, "You're joking right <while laughing hysterically>" response for anyone who wasn't bought off, and of course you need to be able to host it without killing thousands of people (none of whom are even your citizens for gods sake, and of course that wouldn't justify it either) in the process, and can assuredly provide a great experience for fans and their own citizens. It's not about the US hosting it, it's about Qatar buying it, lying in their presentation, and then using imported slave labor they kill through their labor practices/law to make it happen. There's about 10 countries in Europe, 3 or 4 in Asia, 2 or 3 in Africa, 2 or 3 in South America etc, Australia, and beyond that could justifiably host it. Hopefully they take advantage of this opportunity to ---- can this bought off, horrific idea, however, as another poster has mentioned, Blatter was pro US for the cash, he wasn't pro-Qatar, but he stuck with Qatar once it was voted in. So in the end, I still suspect nothing will happen, and it will be the disappointment, or outright debacle all of us expect.