FIFA's Culture of Corruption

Sepp Blatter never fails to reach new levels of mendacity. 
The bids for World Cup 2018 and 2022 are due to be announced on December 2nd and to hear Sepp tell it, the decision will be "above reproach".
 "Above reproach" translates in FIFAese as "the money has been spread around equally and those that have been bought, will stay bought". FIFA is a kleptocracy of the highest order and its members should be proud that they have succeeded in keeping the bribes and collusion behind literally closed doors all these years. 'Secret' votes which are explained as needed to keep 'politiking' away from the process have made many men rich and important.
 The recent sting by the Sunday Times is the latest manifestation of this culture. Reynald Temarii needs $2.3 million for Tahiti to set up eight 'Academies' in New Zealand to develop the game. Tahiti is a part of French Polynesia, which is a part of France. And he won't even let his fellows in on the scam. He wanted the money delivered to him in CASH!
 Tonga's representative wanted $800k for a country of 100,000 that plays Rugby first, second and last! These are just the idiots who talked openly to 'representatives' of bidding nations.
  Vote swapping and winks. "I'll vote for your bid, if you'll vote for mine" are one manifestation of a culture so corrupt that when the full story is told, and it will be told, it will make the Genovese Family and the concrete industry in NYC blush in shame that they didn't think of it!
 So let's wait for Thursday and see who paid off who and then we can walk the dog back to the money. 

The Weasel League of America and Nathan Deal

[ To be released @ 1:00 PM EDST 10/31/10]
  The Weasel League of America wishes to inform The Newspaper Guild of America in the strongest possible terms that we are in no way affiliated with or a part of Nathan Deal's campaign for Governor of Georgia.
 The recent defamatory associations of our organization with the aforementioned candidacy is a scurrilous attempt to give the impression that Mr. Deal is related to our mission.
 The use of certain appellations applied to Mr. Deal by journalists associated with the NGA will not be tolerated in the future.
 These include, but are not limited to;  weaselly, weasel like, sneaky, cunning.
 We wish it to be known that Mr. Deal is not a member of this organization, now, or in the past. Our standards of conduct are of a much higher ethical and  moral standard. Nathan Deal would not make it up the first step of our club,  Stoats and Martins.
Our solicitors at Dewey, Cheatham and Howe will be ever vigilant for any trespass of our reputation.

Beckapalooza

There has been much conjecture lately as to the size of the crowd at Beckapalooza. At the right are two photos I got from the website of AirPhotosLive.com. I went to Google Earth and used the Ruler tool to construct a rectangle overlay of the area.
The height=1,000ft
The length=2,500ft
Area=2,500,000
Area per person=20sqft (generous given that the four corners of this rectangle are sparsely populated)

125,000, give or take a vendor.

Sepp Blatter and Putin

So... Sepp is now in bed with Putin. England and the 2018 World Cup bid would be "too easy". 
So let's have Russia build ten new stadiums at a cost of $7b and hope half of it ends up buying concrete. The level of corruption is staggering in any infrastructure project because it is so easy to hide under the levels of subcontractors! England has everything needed to host a WC next week and would not need the handholding that Russia will require. Then again maybe that's the dodge. All the trips from Geneva to Moscow will be ample opportunity to oil palms.
I wonder if Sepp has a nephew who is at this moment buying a rebar manufacturer in Volgograd? 

We're Against It, Except When We're For It

Things have reached a point where the unfettered demagoguery of the nativists in this country is simply horrifying  Some Senators and others are advocating for a repeal of Sec.1 of the 14th Amendment. 
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
This amendment is called one of the Reconstruction Amendments. It was passed as a direct refutation of Dred Scott v Sandford 60 U.S (19 How.) 393 (1857). 
This is nothing but the second act of that new play The Wogs Begin at Calais, now being staged in Phoenix and various cities around the nation.
This comes on the heels of calls for government intervention in where religious physical structures may reside. (please note the difference between at and near) A few years ago there was a furor over the removal of a copy of the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Courthouse. Chief Justice Roy Moore was incensed at the order by US District Judge Myron Thompson. Judge Moore railed at this government intrusion in religious practice and the idea that government had any say in the matter. Now various parties,public and private,  think it's fair game to have a government hand in the location of said structure.
Irrationality and bigotry are excused as O.K. because of our National Grief! 
It's easy to stand up for our basic freedoms when the birds are singing and the sun is shining and all is sweetness and butterflies. When it's raining and thunderclaps are chasing you through a moonless night and the mud is sucking at your shoes is the time to be most vigilant! 

Belief or Knowledge

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!"
Upton Sinclair.
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. 
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Since the dawn of civilization philosophers have been struggling with the question "What is knowledge, how do we know?" Sensory perceptions? Cogito erg sum? Works of the sages? Divine revelation? 
Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that seeks to answer this as a "theory of knowledge".
What it all comes down to is that everyones bullshit meter needs constant recalibrating. ASTM Committee F-104 on Bullshit and Irrationality has a protocol for a standard bullshit sample to be placed on a Google search for 'quick money' and the acceptable level for the meter to react in Alarm Mode. A test result of anything over one part per billion needs to have the "?" valve replaced. 
"They say.. everyone knows that... I heard it.. this book.. on TV the ad... well known experts... Rush said on the radio..." Have your meter checked regularly!!

Matthew 25:40

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. KJV
The recent dustup in Arizona had me reaching for the exact wording and citation for the parable of the goats and sheep. Of course it was a Google search and I found a strange thing. This verse is given an opposite reading in most of the new translations. Here is the NIV.
The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.
Notice that the first reading in KJV "..done it unto one". Second reading in NIV "..did for one".
The first is 'unto me' and the second is 'for me'. The first is read as negative, the second as positive. 
If you have tuned a blind eye to oppression, poverty and all the ills of this world, you have turned a blind eye to me. This is a true reading of the verse. You are expected, as a follower of his word, as a matter of course to help the lame and the sick! This is the default position for all human behavior. The approbation is against the Levite and the Kohen and for the Samaritan.
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8

The Periodic Table of Irrational Nonsense

At last we have a precise way to measure irrationality. Go back to your Organic Chemistry textbook and make fun new compounds and solutions. Mix 2 parts Pareidola with 3 parts Xenoglossy and get the face of The Virgin on a German dictionary! And you now can magically speak a new language with Art Appreciation thrown in. Have fun!!

The Secret and The Power

On the heels of my video post on Facebook comes news in NYT that Rhonda Byrne, the author of The Secret, has a new book on offer on August 17th called The Power. 
According to her publisher Atria, the new work will "..show how perfect health, incredible relationships, ... and the money you need to be, do and have everything you want, all come from the power." 
Her previous book has to date sold 19 million copies. Now... evidently The Secret didn't reveal all. There is more to learn and you will have to purchase her new work to find out.
Yeah, The Power alright! The power to get another 19 million suckers to lay down $24.95 so she can "have everything" she wants and needs. 
But I suppose that it won't be another 19 million. The original 19 million will do just fine, thank you! 

LeBron James and Hella

The interest in this event was so wacked that my head is ringing.
Recently the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures was petitioned to give acceptance to a new name for a mathematical unit, 10 to the 27th. The proposed name is hella.
Well, I could give a hella of a rats ass as to anything to do with the NBA. 

Health and Wealth; All You Need Is To Think It

Watch Out! This is going to veer towards the rant side of the road.

Here in Atlanta GA we have every stripe of religious denomination known to man. Every permutation of Baptist (Primitive, Old Regular, Original Free, Reformed, Separate etc.) is represented in our great state. And that's just the Baptists. 

According to Oxford Dictionary of World Religions; John Bowker ed. OUP, 1997 there are 4,000 permutations of Protestant doctrine organized today. Notice the word organized. This doesn't account for the storefronts that are one offs. I was aware of the huge diversity of practice around the world and prided myself on keeping up! Then, just when I wasn't watching, a new line has been formed. 

The "Health and Wealth Church" This church can belong to anyone of the myriad doctrines, but the main message is simple. Just tell Jesus you want it and he will give it. Couldn't be any easier than that.

 "I am a good person and I'm trying real hard! Why shouldn't I, a righteous man enjoy the fruits of this bounty? Please Jesus, send your Love my way!!"

One other important part. To make sure you are really sincere in this request you must tithe to the church. That way Jesus will be sure to make it happen.

Now, this is just the religious department of this school. There are other wings of this university.

Positive Thinking. Rub a crystal. Point your sofa towards NNE of Tibet. Read a special quote everyday. All of these practices will make you successful and admired over the backyard fence. 

Education? Overrated. Talent? Just try really, really hard. Genius? You know where those hacks end up. Craftsmanship? But, I tried hard to make the two pieces line up.

Wishin' and Hopin' is the title of a song that Dusty Springfield sang. It's not a way to live.

Exciting!!

If you didn't think Uruguay vs Ghana was exciting, you need to check your meds!!! Hand ball at final time and they still win!! This game will drive you nuts.

Running and Diving at The World Cup

Running and passing. Avoiding a tackle. Heading a forty meter flighted ball in an intended direction. Catching that pass with your foot dead on the spot. These are the skills we marvel at this month. But that also brings up the dreaded diving.
There is no question but that it is a real and pernicious part of the game. Strikers writhing in pain only to pop up and sprint full speed twenty seconds later. I'm here to argue that the running that world-class soccer players do is knife edge physiology.
I once heard a former college champion tennis player talk about his experience as the 'hitting partner' for a pro at a tournament in California. All the really top guys have their own entourages etc. and don't need to recruit locals for this job. But this pro was ranked around 110 in the world and had to find a local. This former champ was it. This local said to the effect that the difference in skill and power between himself and the pro was so vast that he scarcely regarded the game he was playing and the pro was playing as the same! That is the thing to remember. A professional is different. Evolution has separated the species.
When you see Robben charging down the field he is doing an extremely complex task. He is running full bore, extending every stride to cover the most ground. He is precariously balanced in this motion. One misstep and he is down and that is what happens when that opposing boot just clips his instep. Imagine walking a tightrope with someone hacking at your ankles. There are dives and then there are those little clips.

FIFA

FIFA is an organisation of Sepp and by his underlings and for unlimited junkets. When you understand that FIFA has more members that the United Nations, you can see how this happened. It is nothing but a kleptocracy that exists for itself. 
FIFA lives off the fees that are generated by the 'events' that are granted it's imprimatur. 
So they have to maximize the return with many teams and many events.
The first clue is to look at the United Kingdom. FIFA divides this Nation into four separate entities for membership purposes thus increasing the revenues by 400 %.
Scotland (Act of Union 1707), Wales (Laws in Wales Acts 1536-1543) and Northern Ireland (1800 Act of Union) are for every other purpose known to man or nations one. But not to FIFA. And they play into the old grievances in the bargain. In Scotland, come World Cup time it's "..anyone but England..".
There's no land too small or obscure that isn't a FIFA member or a Confederation member or a wannabe being talked up in Geneva. Purely for sport mind you. Never mind the 'fees'.
Martinique, Yap, Zanzibar, Sardinia. The list is impressive to any geography crank!
The events that are official FIFA tournaments is truly impressive. On FIFA's site they list 14 tournaments and these are just finals. Think of the thousands and thousands of qualifiers that have to be played just to get to Worlds. Then all the Confederations have their own internal competitions. The number of games that carry the FIFA label is immense. And remember every game sends money to Geneva!

France is Too French

Now that Sarkozy has entered the fray over the debacle in South Africa by Les Blues and making it a question of national pride he has been smacked by FIFA. One of the few areas that FIFA has done good work is the total resistance to any political meddling.
But this is not the French way. Honneur! Fiertie! Nation! As if France held such an exalted position on the World stage that any scuffing of its shoes is letting down the side as everyone looks to France for moral guidance. Typical Gallic hubris. 

Anosognosia

The reason that morons don't know they're morons is because, well.. they're morons. 
I have used this explanation for years and today I discovered it has a formal name in the field of psychology. 
NYT has the full article.

Vaccinations

Kevin Drum has a good article on a pertussis outbreak in California and the usual suspects response.
Did the Anti-Vaccine Movement Help Create a Whooping Cough Epidemic?
Read the article and my comments.

McChrystal and Trust

In twenty five words or less, Obama went to the mat to back McChrystals strategy when all around him were saying less, not more. And this is the way he pays him back? 
Bloviate all you want, simply put, McChrystal overestimated his value as the indispensable man. Hubris is a m.....f.....r! 

USA!!!!!

Whew!!! From the outhouse to the penthouse in 15 seconds!! 
The offside call on Dempsey was pathetic. If the touchline judge can't see him, then he has to be even with the last defender. Hence, not offsides!  

Best Ever?

All too frequently during this World Cup various commentators accompany Maradona with "all-time great", " all-time goal", "best" etc. It seems that it is almost the default modifier for Maradona. This is an all too familiar problem with any comparison between now and then. We all have a tendency to remember today and forget yesterday. 
How about Alfredo de Stefano? Eusebio? Garrincha? Beckenbauer? Puskas? Pele?
Compare this age old conundrum to basketball. Both games are team games and the ultimate definition of a team game is championships. Who holds the record for North American  professional sports championships with Henri Richard? Here's a hint. It isn't Michael Jordan. And throw in two NCAA championships.