Domenico Scala: Fifa's independent audit committee president resigns

You've got love Fifa and it operates.  The U.S. Attorney General opens an investigation for bribery and corruption involving football's governing body which leads to criminal indictments against 12 Fifa officials and the resignation of the it's top three officials and the President of UEFA.  Fifa pledging to reform constitutes several oversight committees which are meant, not only to reform how Fifa operates but give the governing body more transparency.  On Friday that all was thrown into chaos  when members of Fifa's Congress voted to give the governing council the right to dismiss members of the independent committees. Yes, Fifa always willing to shoot itself in the foot at every opportunity.  

Domenico Scala, Fifa's head of auditing and compliance, has resigned in protest at reforms at the governing body of world football.

Scala is angry the new Fifa council will have the ability to appoint and sack those in charge of its committees, including auditing, ethics and finance.

The council replaced the Fifa executive committee, in the aftermath of a corruption scandal at the organisation.

Committees had been "deprived of their independence", said Scala.

Swiss official Scala, who has resigned with immediate effect, said the new reforms made it possible for the council to "impede investigations against single members at any time".

In Asia: It's All About Perception

What's the most commonly smuggled item into Korea? Well it isn't fake high end luxury items that's for sure.  Fake erectile dysfunction pills.  

  The erectile dysfunction drug Viagra tops the list of goods being smuggled into Korea.
They included some 19.22 million fake Viagra pills. The same amount of the genuine article would cost W207.6 billion. 
The next most-commonly smuggled product was another erectile dysfunction drug, Cialis, followed by 3M products and yet another erectile dysfunction drug, Levitra.

Where one's priorities lie (pun intended)


Politicians clean up the streets.

Municipal Corporation sanitation workers’ strike enters day five.

Delhi Ministers and Aam Aadmi Party MLAs along with party men armed with brooms cleaned the streets on Sunday even as the Municipal Corporation sanitation workers’ strike entered day five. A sanitation drive was launched in all the AAP constituencies and garbage was removed.

The sanitation workers on their part continued with their strike and the vociferous protestors has warned the AAP government that if their demands, which includes clearing their dues and regularisation, aren’t looked into, the garbage situation in the city is likely to ‘deteriorate’ in the coming days.

Finally a useful activity for an elected official. They're actually cleaning something up.

I took no money from the people who gave me money

Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari resigned abruptly on Thursday to take responsibility for a political funding scandal that has rocked the government, but denied having taken bribes.
The resignation of Amari, who has spear-headed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policies, could pose a setback to the administration’s Abenomics growth plan aimed at driving Japan out of deflation, analysts said.
But the government moved swiftly to contain the fallout by appointing Nobuteru Ishihara, a former environment minister and secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as his replacement.

He will investigate his own wrong doing and find himself innocent. And feel good about it.

Built to look like the Pentagon meant to be a shopping mall

Chinese ghost towns are a well documented phenomenon - completely built up cities with very few people living in them.
But the Pentagonal Mart has now gained the dubious title of Shanghai's largest empty building.
This shopping mall in Shanghai was built in 2009 - inspired by the Pentagon in the United States.
But despite its massive size - 500,000 sq m - there are very few shoppers in sight.

But now, like the Pentagon it's nothing more than wasted space

Who Says FIFA Isn't Corrupt

Swiss police arrest Fifa officials in Zurich

Six football officials have been arrested over corruption charges at governing body Fifa, at aHOTEL IN Zurich, Switzerland.

The suspects, who are said to include a Fifa vice-president, have been detained pending extradition to the US.

It involves alleged bribes worth about $100m (£65m; €92m) over two decades.

Fifa members are gathering in Zurich for their annual meeting on Friday, where incumbent President Sepp Blatter is seeking a fifth term.

However, Mr Blatter is not understood to be one of those arrested.

'Seeking clarification'

The New York Times says plain-clothed police officers took theROOM KEYSfrom the reception of Baur au Lac hotel, where the officials were staying, and headed to their rooms. It said the operation was carried out peacefully.

Jeffrey Webb - head of the confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean - has been named as one of the officials arrested, says the BBC's Richard Conway, who is at theZURICH HOTEL.

FIFA isn't about world football, its about enrichment of footballs top execitives.   Just look at where the next two World Cup's are being staged. Russia and Qatar.  If there wasn't corruption inolved in those winning bids then Harry Potter is a real person.