European Media Claims FIFA President Sepp Blatter Resigning

“Sepp Blatter has sensationally quit amid the bribery scandal that has consumed FIFA,” writes the U.K. Daily Mail.

He announced it at the Zurich FIFA headquarters at a hastily-called news conference.  Blatter is currently under intense scrutiny as the FBI in the U.S. investigates whether bribes were authorized by soccer’s world governing body.

Blatter announced he will continue in the role until an “extraordinary congress” can be called to vote in a successor.

Speaking on Tuesday, Blatter said: “I have thoroughly considered and thought about my presidency and the last 40 years in my life. These years were closely related to FIFA and the wonderful sport of football I appreciate and love FIFA more than anything else.”

“…Although FIFA have given me a new mandate, it doesn’t seem to be supported by everyone – fans, clubs. Those who inspire FIFA like we do.”

The resignation announcement comes after a press on Tuesday that reportedly linked FIFA’s number two man – secretary general Jerome Valcke – to payments made in 2008 that investigators believe amounted to $10 million in bribes. FIFA said in a statement that the payments were approved in 2007 by the chairman of FIFA’s finance committee at the time, Julio Grondona, write The New York Times.

“I only want to do the best for FIFA and my institution,” said Blatter in Zurich.  “I decided to stand again as the best option for football. The elections are closed but the challenges we face haven’t come to and end. FIFA needs restructuring. Although FIFA have given me a new mandate, it doesn’t seem to be supported by everyone – fans, clubs. Those who inspire FIFA like we do.

“This is why we will cause a process, it will be held to. I will continue to exercise my function as president at FIFA until next time. The new elections will be held until in Mexico.

“I will not stand of course and I am free from the constraints of an election. I will be free to focus on an election.

Blatter’s 17-year reign as FIFA’s top official has looked increasingly untenable since the FBI charged 14 officers with high-level corruption last week.

He reportedly would like to recommend term limits for the FIFA presidency.  “We need a structutual change of profile change. We need to look at the profiles and attitude of all the members. We need limitations on mandate in terms of office presidency…,” he said.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-3107842/Sepp-Blatter-resigns-president-FIFA-amid-bribery-scandal.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/sports/soccer/sepp-blatter-to-resign-as-fifa-president.html

FIFA Officials Arrested On Corruption Charges

CNN

Acting on an indictment by the U.S. Justice Department, Swiss police arrested several top FIFA officials on charges of corruption.

The officials were allegedly arrested Wednesday morning in Zurich.  They were accused of widespread corruption dating to the 1990s.

The New York Times reports that Sepp Blatter, a Swiss national, “has ruled FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, for the past 17 years with no term limit, no external oversight, no passion for business ethics, no appetite for reform and, apparently, no shame over the rampant scandals, corruption and match-fixing that have sullied the beautiful game.”

FIFA is a multibillion-dollar organization that governs soccer but has been plagued by accusations of bribery for decades, writes the New York Times.

What About Sepp Blatter?  A FIFA spokesman said that Blatter remains serene despite the arrests of officials on corruption charges and that a leadership vote will go ahead on Friday.

Mr. Blatter was not charged. Still he remains wildly unpopular, except among his “enablers,” writes the New York Times – corporate sponsors like Coca-Cola, Adidas and Visa, and docile national soccer federations.

Mr. Blatter, 79, is expected to win a fifth term as FIFA’s president on Friday, but he presides over an organization with a reputation in tatters.  Sepp Blatter became president of FIFA in 1998. He has held other jobs with the organization.In FIFA Politics, Blatter Is the “consummate player,” writes the New York Times.

(Updated article)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/05/27/top-fifa-officials-arrested-in-international-soccer-corruption-investigation-according-to-reports/

Are Teachers Treated Poorly In This Country?

The Young Turks

Annika McKenzie, 34, is charged with second-degree assault and strangulation for physically attacking a teacher, according to ABC 7.  Her 14-year-old niece is facing second-degree assault charges as a juvenile.

McKenzie allegedly became enraged because she believed that a math teacher at Alverta B. Gray Schultz Middle School in Hempstead, Long Island “put her hands on” her 12-year-old daughter, the New York Daily News reports.

The teacher, Catherine Engelhardt, was outside her classroom at around 2 p.m. when, cops said, McKenzie attacked her. Engelhardt is a 22-year veteran of the Hempstead School District.  McKenzie allegedly knocked the teacher to the ground, then put her in a chokehold until she lost consciousness, according to Pix 11.

The niece allegedly joined in the attack by punching the teacher in the head, Hempstead Police Chief Michael McGowan told Newsday.

(Updated report)

Who Is Aaron Schock?

mccainisthroughX

Aaron Schock, a Republican U.S. Representative from the city of Peoria, Illinois, resigned recently after numerous scandals concerning his repeated illegal use of Taxpayer money.  Schock was known for office decor made to look like “Downton Abbey,” and he had reportedly spent tens of thousands of dollars on hotels and flights in the first three months of 2015, according to the Peoria Journal-Star. Schock made an announcement March 17th, 2015, that he would resign effective March 31st.

Also, it was reported that Aaron Schock made campaign contributions to “at-large” Peoria City Council members and others during the three-month period in which scandal surrounded him.  City Council members Chuck Weaver and Eric Turner received the largest campaign checks.

The Schock for Congress committee wrote a check to Weaver — the second-highest vote-getter in the at-large council races — on March 5 for $5,000.

Just days after Schock resigned, Weaver took steps with his campaign treasurer to isolate those funds until the query into the lawmaker had reached a conclusion.

Schock also had a $2,500 check cut on Feb. 19 to support Turner’s candidacy.

Schock also donated $2,000 apiece to the nascent re-election efforts of four female Republican members of Congress — Ann Wagner of Missouri, Mimi Walters of California, Renee Elmers of North Carolina, and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming.

(Updated post)

CBS Denver: TSA Screeners At Denver Airport Manipulated System To Grope Passengers

Two TSA agents allegedly changed the screening system at the Denver International Airport in order to grope male passengers. The agency has since removed the two officers, Mashable confirmed.

“These alleged acts are egregious and intolerable,” TSA spokesman Ross Feinstein said.

It happened roughly a dozen times, according to information gathered by CBS4 in Denver, Colorado.

According to law enforcement reports obtained during the CBS4 investigation, a male TSA screener told a female colleague in 2014 that he “gropes” male passengers who come through the screening area at Denver International Airport.

“He related that when a male he finds attractive comes to be screened by the scanning machine he will alert another TSA screener to indicate to the scanning computer that the party being screened is a female. When the screener does this, the scanning machine will indicate an anomaly in the genital area and this allows (the male TSA screener) to conduct a pat-down search of that area.”

Although the TSA learned of the accusation on November 18th, 2014, from an anonymous tip from one of the agency’s own employees, reports show that nearly three months would pass before anything was done.

More here

Do We Have Conflicts Of Interest With Elected Judges?

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

The vast majority of US judges are elected, forcing many judges to pander to the electorate and accept campaign money in order to keep their jobs.  The midterm elections gave a host of courthouses all over the country to big business, and corporate campaign donations were the big winner in judicial elections.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver looks at it.

What Is ‘Net Neutrality?’

Last week the US Federal Communications formally adopted stricter “net neutrality” rules that essentially will regulate the internet in the country like a public utility, according to Quartz.

Of course, this ruling could (and probably will) be challenged in the courts by the big broadband companies. But many internet advocates and stock investors are already shifting their focus to looming consolidation in America’s communications markets that could change the way Americans access the internet and consume video.

At least two major corporate transactions that had been in limbo while the net neutrality vote was up in the air, will now need FCC approval. So, “net neutrality” would keep the large corporations from consolidating control of the internet.

TYT Network

The Clinton Global Initiative Accepts Donations From Foreign Nations

TYT Network

A Wall Street Journal review of donations to the Clinton Foundation in 2014 showed the charity received money from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, as well as from Canada’s foreign affairs department, which is promoting the Keystone XL pipeline.

The foundation had agreed to stop raising money from foreign governments in 2009, after Mrs. Clinton became secretary of state. That step was in deference to Obama administration concerns about the propriety of taking money from other nations while Mrs. Clinton served as America’s top diplomat, according to WSJ.

Mrs. Clinton left the State Department in early 2013, and the foundation later dropped the ban.

Louisiana Man Given Life In Prison For Selling $20 Of Marijuana

Secular Talk

“On September 5, 2008, Fate Vincent Winslow watched a plainclothes stranger approach him. Homeless and hungry, on a dark street rife with crime, the 41-year-old African American was anxious to make contact, motivated by one singular need: food,” according to The Daily Beast.
(…)

“Police arrested Winslow, drove him to prison, and locked him up. Six months later, a jury found him guilty of distribution of a schedule I substance (marijuana). Three months after that, a judge sentenced him to life imprisonment with hard labor, without the benefit of parole,” according to The Daily Beast.

Winslow had a criminal record, and the prosecution sought the maximum punishment. “His prior convictions, all non-violent felonies, made him a candidate for the notorious mandatory minimum sentencing laws,” according to The Daily Beast.

Updated to change the title.

Is There Still A Scott Walker Scandal Going On?

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is one of the brightest stars in the Republican Party, and he has very clear ambitions to run for President in the near future.

Before he hits the national stage, however, he still has a lot of investigations to overcome.

Mike Papantonio discusses this with Brendan Fischer from the Center for Media and Democracy.

Ring of Fire

More on Walker’s campaign finance scandal here.