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Topics - WestCoast

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421
http://www.playthegame.org/News/Up%20To%20Date/Calls_on_FIFA_to_lift_its_intolerable_ban_on_Jennings.aspx

Calls on FIFA to lift its intolerable ban on Jennings

29 September 2006

by Kirsten Sparre

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has written to FIFA to demand that it lifts its intolerable ban on investigative reporter Andrew Jennings and allows him back in at FIFA press conferences. Jennings is the only reporter banned from FIFA but leaked minutes from FIFA’s Committee on Ethics and Fair Play show that at least one other reporter has also been in danger of exclusion.
For three years Andrew Jennings has been excluded from FIFA press conferences, he has received threatening letters and been met with a persistent refusal to respond to documented and serious charges of maladministration. Most recently FIFA tried to ban the publication of his book Foul! in Switzerland.
“The Jennings experience illustrates just how difficult life becomes for investigative journalists when powerful institutions give the impression they are answerable to on one and beyond criticism,” says Aidan White, IFJ Secretary General.
The IFJ says that FIFA should live up to its declared principles of openness and co-operate fully with Jennings and other investigative reporters.
“Public trust depends absolutely upon open and accountable government and FIFA should be in the forefront of setting standards of transparency,” says White.
FIFA Committee prepared to exclude another reporter
Earlier this month Play the Game could report that FIFA maintains its right as a private organisation not to enter into discussions with or answer to journalists who oppose FIFA and severely violates the principles of proper journalism.
So far only Andrew Jennings has been declared persona non grata by FIFA. However, leaked minutes from a meeting of FIFA’s  Committee on Ethics and Fair Play in February this year shows that secretary general Urs Linsi proposed to ban another critical journalist, Jens Weinreich of the Berliner Zeitung, for publishing articles “attacking the integrity of the FIFA president and the FIFA general secretary in particular.”
According to the minutes Urs Linsi proposed that the journalist should be declared  persona non grata as his misconduct had been comparable with that of Jennings. The committee unanimously agreed and referred the matter to the Executive Committee for ratification.
However, Jens Weinreich has not been banned from FIFA. President Sepp Blatter intervened and personally reassured the reporter that such an event would not occur. Observers believe that  the incident is mainly an illustration of the in-fight between Sepp Blatter and his secretary general but such events do nothing  to bolster FIFA’s public commitment to transparency .

422
Cricket Anyone / International cricket will throw out racist spectators
« on: October 02, 2006, 05:42:35 AM »
http://www.playthegame.org/News/Up%20To%20Date/International_cricket_will_throw_out_racist_spectators.aspx

International cricket will throw out racist spectators

29 September 2006

by Kirsten Sparre

The International Cricket Council  (ICC) is lawyering up in an attempt to stamp out racism at cricket matches. The Chief Executives’ Committee has decided to ask a lawyer to draft legislation to deal with racist behaviour at matches and then ask its members to lobby their respective governments to get them to adopt the laws.
The appointment of a lawyer is one of several measures agreed by the ICC’s top body on the recommendation of India’s Solicitor General, Mr. Goolam Vahanvati. He  has investigated racist comments made by spectators in Australia towards players from South Africa during a test match in 2005.
Other measures include a text message or telephone hotline at venues so spectators can report offensive behaviour in confidence, official diversity days and a tightening of the ICC Code of Conduct.
In the future, spectators who are found guilty of racist abuse at matches face punishments ranging from ejection from the match to a lifetime ban. ICC members also face penalties if incidents happen at their venue ranging from warnings through fines to the possible withdrawal of international status from the venue.
“Cricket is a sport which reflects the world’s diversity with a range of races and religions all involved. That diversity is something the game can be proud of and our Anti-Racism Code is something that emphasizes the commitment of all our members to maintaining and enhancing,”says ICC Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed.
English players can still be called poms
Cricket Australia has immediately engaged in definitions of what constitutes racism, reports Cricinfo. Peter Young, spokesman for Cricket Australia, assures Cricinfo that Australian spectators are still allowed to call visiting English players for “poms” or “pommys”.
The term is an expression used to describing English immigrants to Australasia. Some consider it disparaging, others find it endearing and it is has been used a lot in cricket.
But according to Austrialia’ Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission the term “pom” is acceptable and not hurtful if “used in isolation, although using the word with others could be deemed racist, offensive or humiliating.”

423
http://www.playthegame.org/News/Up%20To%20Date/Judge_says_Balco_reporters_must_talk_or_go_to_jail.aspx

Judge rules Balco reporters must talk or go to jail

29 September 2006

by Kirsten Sparre
Talk or go to jail! A federal judge in California has issued a ruling which sends two investigative sports journalists, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, to prison for up to 18 months because they refuse to reveal who leaked them confidential grand jury testimonies from athletes investigated in connection with the Balco case.
At issue are testimonies by athletes including Jason Giambo of the New York Yankees, sprinter Tim Montgomery and Barry Bonds of the Giants who had been supplied with steroids from BALCO. These testimonies were leaked to the reporters who reported on them in 2004.
Now federal prosecutors want to know who the source of the leak is and argue that the only way to find out is for the journalists to reveal their source. Which they refuse to do.
This week U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White has ruled that Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams should either talk or go to jail for up to 18 months – possibly even longer.
However, for the time being the reporters are still free. The judge accepted to delay imprisonment until a panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco decides whether the journalists have a right to conceal their sources.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle a hearing in the case is unlikely before early 2007.
”We are hopeful that the Ninth Circuit will see the case for what it is, which is important, truthful investigative reporting that should be protected,” laywer Eve Burton said to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Sportswriters for Freedom of the Press
Sports journalists from the US have turned out in support for Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams. Many were present outside the courthouse at the latest hearing in the case brandishing t-shirt with the text: Sportswriters for Freedom of the Press.
One of the organisers is columnist Rick Telander from the Chicago Sun-Times.  He has collected hundreds of signatures for petition which says: ”I am opposed to the subpoena of Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams demanding them to reveal their private sources, and I support their right, and the right of all journalists, to be fully protected by the First Amendment and its clear provision for freedom of the press.”
In a column in the Chicago Sun-Times, Rick Telander says that time shas come for sports journalists to be pushed no further:
”As American sportswriters, we cannot stand idly by and watch brethren railroaded by a government investigative group that has admitted it subpoenaed Fainaru-Wada and Williams because it’s too inept to figure out where the leaks came from on its own.”

424
Football / Jack Warner mounts defence but is not expected to sue FIFA
« on: October 02, 2006, 05:30:08 AM »
http://www.playthegame.org/News/Up%20To%20Date/Jack_Warner_mounts_defence_but_is_not_expected_to_sue_FIFA.aspx

Jack Warner mounts defence but is not expected to sue FIFA

29 September 2006

by Kirsten Sparre

FIFA vice president Jack Warner is expected to drop his threat of legal action against the authors of an auditing report and some FIFA officials, reports The Daily Telegraph. But when the story of Warner’s alleged illegal sale of 4,500 World Cup tickets broke earlier this month, he was all set to sue and claimed he had been the victim of a set-up.
As reported by Play the Game, investigative reporter Andrew Jennings published two confidential reports from auditors Ernst & Young detailing that company’s findings in two separate investigations of Jack Warner’s alleged sale of World Cup tickets. Warner hit back a few days later with a report compiled by lawyer John P. Collins who sits on FIFA’s legal committee.
According to Collins’ investigation which has been posted on the Internet, the Ernst & Young reports were based on incomplete information and reach “erroneous conclusions.” Collins writes that Warner was not involved in the purchase, distribution or re-distribution of any tickets. And the lawyer asserts that the leak of the Ernst & Young reports to Andrew Jennings is highly suspect.
“Not surprisingly, Mr. Jennings used these documents and their erroneous and incomplete information to write an extremely derogatory article against Mr. Warner. Moreover, Mr. Jennings posted these documents on the Internet. Needless to say this “indiscretion” has caused significant harm to Mr. Warner,” writes Collins in his report.
Now The Daily Telegraph reports that Warner is expected to drop his threat of getting outside legal involvement with the case and instead accept what FIFA’s disciplinary committee decides on the matter.
The disciplinary committee was landed with the difficult task of sifting through the evidence in the Warner case after the FIFA Committee on Ethics and Fair Play was disbanded and a new Ethics Committee was set up under the chairmanship of Sebastian Coe. The new Ethics Committee can only deal with cases that occur after its set-up, so instead Sepp Blatter has handed the matter to the disciplinary committee.

http://www.playthegame.org/Home/News/Up%20To%20Date/FIFA_vice_president_breached_FIFA_code_to_sell_4500_World_Cup_tickets.aspx

425
Football / Swiss magistrate accuses FIFA official of taking bribes.
« on: October 02, 2006, 04:57:43 AM »
http://www.playthegame.org/News/Up%20To%20Date/Swiss_magistrate_accuses_FIFA_official_of_taking_bribes.aspx

Swiss magistrate accuses FIFA official of taking bribes
by Kirsten Sparre


Nicolás Leoz, a FIFA executive member and president of the South American football confederation Conmebol, has been accused by Swiss magistrates of receiving bribes in the amount of almost 212.000 Swiss francs. The claim comes in a Swiss investigating magistrate’s report relating to the collapse of the sports marketing company ISL/ISMM.
The British newspaper The Guardian has seen the report which refers to two payments made from ISL/ISMM to Nicolás Leoz in January and May 2000 respectively. The money was paid by an entity linked to ISL/ISMM called Sunbow SA.
According to the Guardian, the Swiss investigators say that the “qualification of these payments as bribes is based on the statements made by Jean-Marie Weber himself… and statements by Hans-Peter Weber.”
The two Webers are among six individuals who are investigated in Switzerland on charges including fraud, fraudulent bankruptcy and damage to creditor’s interest by reduction of assets. All deny the accusations.
Conmebol denies all allegations
In South America, Conmebol denies the allegations against its president. In a statement on Conmebol’s website the secretary general, the vice president and the treasurer say that no member of the organisation has ever received payments from Sunbow SA or been commercially involved with the company.
“Due to the gravity of the accusations, we reserve the right to take legal action,” the statement concludes.
Meanwhile president Nicolas Leoz told reporters in Asuncion that he never took part in financial matters for FIFA.
“I could hardly have taken part in negotiations with ISMM-ISL and even less influenced decisions,” he said.
FIFA itself does not want to comment on the Guardian’s story. FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren has told the Associated Press that he can not comment as the story refers to a report which FIFA has never seen.
Well-established practice of bribery
According to the Guardian, the investigating magistrate’s report also reveals a well-established practice of financial “inducements” to reputable personalities in sport.
One former ISMM executive, Christoph Malms, is quoted as saying “I was confronted with the fact that ISL had been engaging in such practices since the time of its foundation. Upon my repeated urgings to suspend the payment of inducements, it was made clear to me by Jean-Marie Weber … that this practice had led to commitments which were still in place.”
Most of the payments are not believed to be football-related, and it is believed no Swiss nationals – which would include FIFA president Sepp Blatter - were among football officials who took bribes from the ISL.
The report has now been passed on to local prosecutors although court proceedings have not yet taken place.

426
Jokes / Try MY anger management!!
« on: September 29, 2006, 06:08:14 PM »
    When you occasionally have a really bad day, and you
    just need to take it out on someone, don't take it out
    on someone you know, take it out on someone you don't
    know.
 
    I was sitting at my desk when I remembered a phone
    call I'd forgotten to make. I found the number and
    dialed it. A man answered, saying "Hello."
 
    I politely said, "This is Chris. Could I please speak
    with Robyn Carter?"
 
    Suddenly a manic voice yelled out in my ear "Get the right
    f***ing number!" and the phone was slammed down on me.
 
    I couldn't believe that anyone could be so rude.
    When I tracked down Robyn's correct number to call
    her, I found that I had accidentally transposed the
    last two digits.
 
    After hanging up with her, I decided to call the
    'wrong' number again.
 
    When the same guy answered the phone, I yelled "You're
    an asshole!" and hung up.
 
    I wrote his number down with the word 'asshole' next
    to it, and put it in my desk drawer.
 
    Every couple of weeks, when I was paying bills or had
    a really bad day, I'd call him up and yell, "You're an
    asshole!"
 
    It always cheered me up.
 
    When Caller ID was introduced, I thought my
    therapeutic "asshole calling" would have to stop.
 
    So, I called his number and said, "Hi, this is John
    Smith from Verizon. I'm calling to see if you're familiar
    with our Caller ID Program?"
 
    He yelled "NO!" and slammed down the phone.
 
    I quickly called him back and said, "That's because
    you're an asshole!"
 
    One day I was at the store, getting ready to pull into
    a parking spot.
 
    Some guy in a black BMW cut me off and pulled into the
    spot I had patiently waited for. I hit the horn and
    yelled that I'd been waiting for that spot, but the
    idiot ignored me.
 
    I noticed a "For Sale" sign in his back window which
    included is phone number, so I wrote down the number.
 
    A couple of days later, right after calling the first
    asshole (I had his number on speed dial) I though that
    I'd better call the BMW asshole too.
 
    I said, "Is this the man with the black BMW for sale?"
 
    "Yes, it is", he said.
 
    "Can you tell me where I can see it?" I asked.
 
    "Yes, I live at 34 Mowbray Blvd, in Vaucluse. It's a
    yellow house, and the car's parked right out in
    front."
 
    "What's your name?" I asked.
 
    "My name is Dave Hansen," he said.
 
    "When's a good time to catch you, Dave?"
 
    "I'm home every evening after five."
 
    "Listen, Dave, can I tell you something?"
 
    "Yes?"
 
    "Dave, you're an asshole!" Then I hung up,
    and added his number to my speed dial, too.
 
    Now, when I had a problem, I had two assholes to call.
 
    Then I came up with an idea. I called Asshole #1.
 
    "Hello?"
 
    "You're an asshole!" (But I didn't hang up.)
 
    "Are you still there?" he asked.
 
    "Yeah" I said.
 
    "Stop calling me," he screamed.
 
    "Make me," I said.
 
    "Who are you?" he asked.
 
    "My name is Dave Hansen."
 
    "Yeah? Where do you live?"
 
    "Asshole, I live at 34 Mowbray Blvd, Vaulcuse, a
    yellow house, with my black Beamer parked in front."
 
    He said, "I'm coming over right now, Dave. And you
    had better start saying your prayers."
 
    I said, "Yeah,like I'm really scared, asshole," and
    hung up.
 
    Then I called Asshole #2. "Hello?" he said.
 
    "Hello, asshole." I said.
 
    He yelled, "If I ever find out who you are."
 
    "You'll what?" I said!
 
    "I'll kick your ass," he exclaimed.
 
    I answered, "Well, asshole, here's your chance. I'm
    coming over right now."
 
    Then I hung up and immediately called the police,
    saying that I lived at 34 Mowbray Blvd, Vaucluse, and
    that I was on my way over there to kill my gay lover.
 
    Then I called Channel 9 News about the gang war going
    down in Mowbray Blvd, Vaucluse.
 
    I quickly got into my car and headed over to Mowbray.
 
    I got there just in time to watch two assholes beating
    the crap out of each other in front of six cop cars,
    an overhead police helicopter and a news crew.
 
    NOW I feel much better.
 
    Anger management really works!

427
General Discussion / Mento Music
« on: September 27, 2006, 11:29:16 AM »
look wha i stumbled across today...Mento Music from Jamaica
I have ah feeling is ole time Calypso oui ;D ;D
http://www.mentomusic.com/WhatIsMento.htm

428
General Discussion / House prices falling?
« on: September 27, 2006, 12:23:52 AM »
http://realestate.msn.com/Buying/Article_forbes.aspx?cp-documentid=930911&GT1=8588
maybe de people wid some extra cash should wait awhile to see how low the prices will go.
who here following this?

429
Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Pan History Help
« on: September 26, 2006, 04:38:38 PM »
1.) In Sparrow choon, "The Band plays on", he mentions a few people...anyone know their names?

2) Where can I get history of Steelbands.....I took a look at   http://www.pantrinbago.co.tt/  site but most dont have websites and some of the links doh work no mo'.

Thanks

430
Jokes / Foren Education?
« on: September 25, 2006, 10:01:36 AM »
A Barackpore ( my sincerest apologies to Barackpore people buh dis is de email i got, so insert any tong name here  ;D ) couple had made sacrifices to save money to send their only
son to university. Once there, he began to let his hair grow long, plus
sideburns, a moustache, and a goatee. When his hair was luxurious enough to
satisfy him, he had his photograph taken and mailed it home with a note
that read: "Do you like my hair style? Do you think it makes me look like a
count?"

"You idiot!" His father wrote back. "Here we are spending a fortune on your
education and you can't even SPELL!"

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