This FIFA scandal is beginning to sound like a bird sanctuary because people are singing and spilling the beans faster than the media can keep up with them. Before we launch into who is saying what, we must put this on the record. The next scandal should be the awarding of the olympics. That entire organization smacks of an old boys club, exactly like fifa. But we digress.
Here’s the fifa scandal in a nutshell:
1. Nine FIFA officials were indicted last week by the U.S. Department of Justice for taking $150 million in bribes while awarding FIFA broadcast rights. This includes the bidding process for the 2018 Russia World Cup and the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Everyone wondered why Qatar was awarded the games when they are played in the summer and the temperature is about 50 Celsius or 122 Fahrenheit. As well, alchohol is banned. Now you know why they got it. Money talks.
2. Russia is having a particularly rough year. Vladimir Putin was awarded (wink wink, nudge nudge) and needs the 2018 World Cup to boost morale, tourism and investment, and Russia is set to spend $20 billion on public works projects and stadium preparations. You can be sure that the games will stay there because people are afraid of Putin.
3. Qatar is another story. They were planning to spend $200 billion on the games in a place everyone knew was wrong for soccer in the summer. The heat, coupled with the ban on alcohol, will not do much to attract people to the tournament. If you take away the sheiks and their extended families, no one else is coming. Watch this part of the story. It is very possible they will lose the games.
4. Although this is an American led investigation, Americans don’t really like soccer. For them watching the scandal unfold is a lot more fun than watching a soccer game.
Blanche, stop gloating. Remember we told you that the Jenner business – from Bruce to Caitlyn was a monumental money grab? Well guess what? Jenner is going to have his/her own reality show. And what is the point of that show? To help others in that situation? Forgive us if we don’t believe it. Jenner stands to make gzillions exploiting the misery of other people. Fech and ich.
Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey is not a slim man. Nothing wrong with that, there are millions of chunky Americans and Canadians. Last night there was a special baseball game held in honor of three policemen gunned down in cold blood last year in New York. The issue? Christie didn’t fit into his uniform. He not only didn’t fit, but it was so tight it showed every roll and his entire girth. Let’s just say that his intentions were good but the sight of him was blinding. Yes Blanche, he’s so competitive he would lose weight but he just hates losing.
Seems the avalanche of complaints about this year’s tour de l’isle reached the ears of the director of the event. You can read the lengthy interview in tomorrow’s paper, but we thought we’d share one or two salient points. You may need the barf bag so get it ready:
…This year, the route went through the Côte-des-Neiges—N.D.G. borough, which we do about once every four years. Every time we do, we hear more complaints than we do from other neighbourhoods, and there were more complaints this year, yes, mainly from anglophones in N.D.G., to our hotline. It may be because the neighbourhoods on the western part of the island are less accustomed to events that involve road closures. Oh really?
NDG is not used to events that close the roads? How about the fact that the area is densely populated, has had a construction festival with the new hospital for ten years and never have their snow cleared. Keep up the pressure folks. You’re getting under his skin and he may think twice about doing it in the west end of Montreal again. This next piece is a two-pronged Pierre Karl Peladeau. The first is relatively simple and we heard it only once, but we perked up when we did. There was a suggestion made to rename Amherst Street in Montreal after Jacques Parizeau. Seems Amherst was a Brit that not too many people liked. PKP got wind that Amherst runs right through the gay village and said it is not befitting Parizeau to have that street named after him. Now dat’s going to raise the brows of quite a few people.
The next PKP issue is his blind trust business. Claude Bisson, the former chief judge of the Quebec court,stated unequivocally today that if PKP ever became premier (perish the thought), that blind trust would be illegal. PKP did not take kindly to that statement. In fact, he announced yesterday he will no longer speak to Bisson. Is that so? Here’s the bottom line: PKP wants to give those shares to his children and he’s not giving them up for anything or anyone. Let’s see who’s going to win this one.
Blanche never sends her readers to other sites. It’s actually not a smart thing to do – send people away. But after watching this very short video, we felt selfish not sharing it. It is a 2 minute time lapse of the 11 years it took to build One World Trade Center. Truthfully, we found it melancholy as it brought back memories of 9/11. It’s still worth the watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn11DWH_LEA
Yesterday was the yarzeit of Naftali Fraenkel, Gil-ad Shaer and Eyal Yifrach. Their names are seared in our minds. As Jews we prayed together as one throughout the world for their safe return. It was not to be. Yesterday over a million Jews marked their yarzeit.
Their families did not want the unity that the Jewish world felt in those few weeks to be lost forever and so they decided that Jewish unity would be their sons’ legacy.
The families are dedicating themselves to raising awareness of the importance of unity every day, and not only during times of crisis and conflict with the nation’s enemies. It is incumbent upon all of us to take their lead and show just a small bit of ahavas Israel where we did not do so before. It’s the least we can do.
Good Shabbos We’ll talk…