Bribe at CONCACAF meeting got soccer investigation rolling - LA Times

Bribe at CONCACAF meeting got soccer investigation rolling - LA Times

South Africa denies $10-million bribe to secure 2010 FIFA World Cup - LA Times

South Africa denies $10-million bribe to secure 2010 FIFA World Cup - LA Times



 uth African Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula on Thursday vehemently
denied allegations that South Africa bribed FIFA officials with $10
million to secure soccer’s World Cup in 2010, and accused the United
States of going “beyond its borders” by indicting 14 people, including
FIFA officials, on corruption charges.

Meanwhile, one of the top
South African officials involved in the bid, Danny Jordaan, head of the
South African Football Assn., was on Thursday sworn in as mayor of the
coastal town of Port Elizabeth. He made no comment about the allegations
of corruption.

 he decision to award the World Cup to South Africa was one of the
nation’s recent defining moments -- and when it won the right to host
the event in 2004, many attributed the move to the personal charm of its
first black president, Nelson Mandela, who pressed for South Africa to
be given the opportunity.  It was the first time the World Cup was held
in Africa, uniting the continent in pride.

But U.S. Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch told a news conference Wednesday that the process was tainted by corruption.

“Around
2004, bidding began for the opportunity to host the 2010 World Cup,
which was ultimately awarded to South Africa, the first time the
tournament would be held on the African continent. But even for this
historic event, FIFA executives and others corrupted the process by
using bribes to influence the hosting decision,” she said.



Nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives were indicted
Wednesday on racketeering, conspiracy, money laundering and corruption
charges in connection with the case.

The U.S. indictment describes
co-conspirators Nos. 15 and 16 as high-ranking officials of South
Africa’s 2006 and 2010 World Cup bid committees, without naming them. In
South Africa, the indictment has ignited a clamor for top officials to
be investigated, including Jordaan.

But Mbalula told a news
conference Thursday that the government was “very clear in our
conscience as South Africa on this matter."

“We're very clear that there's nothing that we do that was unlawful with respect to the 2010 World Cup.

“We didn't run a spaza
shop or picnic,” he said, referring to a small shop in a South African
township. “We ran a proper process. We're clear we've not done anything
untoward.



Mbalula said South Africa would protect its “sovereignty” in
connection with the accusations of corruption in the FIFA process to
award the World Cup.

“We've got nothing to hide as a nation and as
a government,” he said. “As a nation we will be the first to endorse
the fight against corruption wherever it is found.”

He said the Department of Sport and Recreation’s accounts had been audited and that no bribe had been paid.

“We
will study carefully the copy of the [indictment] once received from
the U.S. government through the diplomatic channels and we will
pronounce further after carefully studying it,” Mbalula said in a
statement.

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Some critics questioned the haste with which
Mbalula dismissed the detailed allegations in the U.S. indictment. On
page 80 of the 162-page indictment, it is alleged that then-FIFA
official Jack Warner cultivated ties with South African sports officials
after the country’s unsuccessful 2006 bid to host the World Cup.

A
South African official met a member of Warner’s family in a Paris hotel
room and handed him a briefcase containing bundles of $10,000 bills,
according to the indictment. The family member immediately flew back
Warner's home of Trinidad and Tobago and handed the briefcase to him,
according to the indictment.



As South Africa and Morocco faced off for the right to host the 2010
World Cup, Moroccan officials offered Warner a $1-million bribe in
exchange for his promise to vote for Morocco in the executive committee
secret ballot to decide who would get the event, the indictment said.

According
to the indictment, high-ranking South African government officials and
members of the country’s bid committee were willing to pay a $10-million
bribe in order to secure the votes of Warner and two others on the
executive committee. The payment was to be disguised as money “to
support the African diaspora,” the indictment said.

In May 2004, South Africa was named the successful bidder in a ceremony attended by Mandela.

It
later turned out that South Africa was unable to make the payment
directly from government funds, the indictment said. Instead, the money
was taken from FIFA funds that were transferred to South Africa to
support the World Cup, according to the indictment.

In his
news conference Thursday, Mbalula insisted that no payment was made from
the South African government to FIFA officials. However, the allegation
is that the money was subtracted from FIFA’s payments to South Africa.

South
Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance called Thursday for an
investigation and demanded that Jordaan, head of the football
association, appear before parliament’s committee on sports to explain
what happened.

“As the CEO of the bid committee, Danny Jordaan
oversaw the 2010 bid strategy. His role in these allegations must be
probed,” said Solly Malatsi of the Democratic Alliance. “A transaction
of the magnitude of $10 million would not have happened without the
knowledge of the most senior figures leading the country’s bid for the
World Cup,” he said.

“It is a national shame that one of the
proudest moments for our democratic nation has been tarnished by this
latest scandal,” he said.

Lionel Messi: the genius who operates to a different set of physical rules | Barney Ronay | Football | The Guardian

Lionel Messi: the genius who operates to a different set of physical rules | Barney Ronay | Football | The Guardian

Citing neuroscience, a Grandmaster says men are better at chess. Smart move? - CSMonitor.com

Citing neuroscience, a Grandmaster says men are better at chess. Smart move? - CSMonitor.com

British
chess Grandmaster Nigel Short claims that the brains of men and women
are 'hard-wired' differently, giving males an advantage at chess. But
neuroscience doesn't back up his claims.

 

In a commentary for a chess magazine, British chess Grandmaster Nigel
Short appealed to neuroscience to support his claim that women’s brains
are “hard-wired” in a way that predisposes females to have less innate
chess aptitude than their male counterparts.

In essay titled  "Vive la Différence!” published this week in Chess In News,
Mr. Short writes that Dutch chess Grandmaster Johannes Hendrikus
Donner, may have “had a point,” when he wrote, “The difference between
the sexes is remarkable in chess, but not any more so, to my mind, than
any other field of cultural activity. Women cannot play chess, but they
cannot paint either, or write, or philosophise. In fact, women have
never thought or made anything worth considering.”

“At
university level, women are clearly now outperforming men in many
disciplines. In my own family, my daughter was uniformly academically
excellent, whereas my son (like his father before him) is both lazy and
erratic,” Short says. “But within the narrow confines of chess, the jury
is still out. It is not enough to point to the recently-retired Judit
Polgar as evidence that women are as good as men, as the brilliant
Hungarian is clearly an outlier.”

Recommended: Are you scientifically literate? Take our quiz

Short has first-hand experience on this point, having lost more than once to Ms. Polgar.

Polgar, a Grandmaster, is one of three Hungarian-born sisters known for their exceptional chess ability. Susan Polgar was the world's first female Grandmaster and a four-time World Champion. She now coaches the Webster University chess team which, last month, won an unprecedented fifth college Final Four chess championship. Sofia Polgar is an International Master, the rank just below Grandmaster.
Their father, László Polgár, is notable for his insistence that "geniuses are made, not born," and he has set out to prove it by training his daughters to be champions.
Short writes, “Men and women’s brains are hard-wired very differently, so why should they function in the same way? I don’t have the slightest problem in acknowledging that my wife possesses a much higher degree of emotional intelligence than I do. Likewise, she doesn’t feel embarrassed in asking me to manoeuvre the car out of our narrow garage. One is not better than the other, we just have different skills. It would be wonderful to see more girls playing chess, and at a higher level, but rather than fretting about inequality, perhaps we should just gracefully accept it as a fact.”
Are Short's claims backed by science? Not according to Northwestern University neuroscientist Catherine Woolley, who’s work focuses on how the brain differs between the sexes, says, “My reaction to that as a scientist is that that kind of statement sounds like personal opinion and not one based on any known fact about the male brain versus the female brain.”

Recommended: Are you scientifically literate? Take our quiz

“When people, especially people in positions of societal authority, such as a chess master who has reached the top of their field – which gives them some credibility – make statements that play into stereotypes, it’s easy, though incorrect, to recognize a ring of truth in their statements,” Dr. Woolley says. “When you add credibility, plus stereotype, it’s easy for people to accept their statements.”
Short also told Sky News that women excel at verbal skills, but that the gap in chess was, "quite large and I believe that's down to sex differences."
“There are differences between the male brain and the female brain. We know some of them. There are probably many more that we don’t know yet. But I can’t see any direct connection between sex differences in the brain and the types of complex behaviors that that person was referring to, either chess or parking the car, or emotional intelligence,” Woolley says. “Those statements [made by Short] sound to me like stereotypes, cultural stereotypes, that now the neuroscience of sex differences in the brain is being hijacked to support.”
Woolley concludes, “As a neuroscientist who studies sex differences in the brain, I find no foundation in science to make those statements.”
Twitter users have blitzed Short with posts over his comments.

Nakamura and Krush Captured U.S. Titles | Chess News

Nakamura and Krush Captured U.S. Titles | Chess News



 1.d4 f6 2.c4 g6 3.c3 d5 4.f4 g7 5.e3 0-0 Garry Kasparov, having just turned 52, advocated 5...c5 6.dxc5 a5 during his playing days. 6.c1 c5 7.dxc5 a5 8.cxd5 d8 When
the position appeared in the game Capablanca - Reshevsky, AVRO 1938,
the American grandmaster spent 58 to Capa's two minutes. The game was
drawn in 42 moves, allowing Reshevsky to celebrate his 27th birthday. 9.c4 In the game Tolush-Botvinnik, Leningrad 1939, White tried to trick his opponent with 9.d2?! xd5 10.c7?! A virtual fork! xc7 11.xd5 xd5! The exchange sacrifice refutes the diabolical trap. 12.xd5 e6 13.d2 c6 14.d1 d8 15.c1 a5+ 16.d2 d5 and Black won the c-pawn with decisive advantage. 9...e6 9...xc5 10.b3 favors White. The black Queen is uncomfortable. 10.e4 Arturo Pomar's idea, giving up the e-pawn and keeping the strong d-pawn. Nearly
75 years ago, it was fashionable to deflect the black queen with 10.b4,
until a cure in the form of the exchange sacrifice was found: 10.b4 xb4 11.b3 xb3 12.xb3 xd5!? 13.xd5 xd5! A different version of the same exchange sacrifice. 13...xd5? loses to 14.d1 . 14.xd5 xd5 15.f3 c6 16.0-0 xa2 with a compensation for the exchange, Podgorny-Prucha, Prague 1943 10...xe4 11.ge2 xf2 The best of many inadequate choices. The inaugurate game went: 11...xc5 12.0-0 d7 13.g5 b5 14.d3 b4 15.e4 xd3 16.xd3 b5 17.f3 f6 18.d6 xe2 19.xe2 fxg5 20.dxe7 e8 21.d6 1-0 (21) Pomar Salamanca,A-Tatai,S Malaga 1969 12.a4! Not 12.xf2? xc5+ 13.e3 xc4 12...xc5 After 12...xa4 13.xa4 xh1 14.dxe6 f5 15.f1 c6 16.g1 and White picks up the knight on h1 with an edge. 13.dxe6 xh1 14.exf7+ f8 All White needs is to land one of his knights on the square e6. 15.e4 b6 16.c7!? This Tolush-like move should win. 16.a3! is even stronger threatening to bring one of the knights to e6 ( Ne4-c5-e6 or 17.Be3 and 18.Nf4. For example a6 17.e3 xb2 17...b4+ 18.xb4 xb4 19.f4 18.g5! wins. 16...e3 Finally, Troff plays a novelty, but it should still lose. Accepting the bishop did not turn out to be good: 16...xc7 17.g5 xh2 18.e6+ xf7 19.xd8+ f6 19...f8 20.e6+ f7 21.g5+ f8 22.b5 h4+ 23.g3 xg3 24.e6+ f7 25.c7+ and White mates soon. 20.e8 h4+ 21.g3 xg3 22.f7+ g5 23.e6+ h5 24.f3+ h6 25.xg3 c6 26.e2 h2+ 27.f2 d4+ 28.d3 1-0 (28) Estevez Morales,G (2345)-Beggi,P (2200) Reggio Emilia 1974 17.xd8 c6 18.xe7+ xe7 19.e6? This runs into an unpleasant deflection, losing the big advantage. 19.c2 keeps the pressure on. Black's knight on h1 has problems. 19...b5! This deflection equalizes the game. 20.c2 20.xb5 xe4-+ 20...f2 21.c5 d8 21...d4= was another good choice. 22.b3 22.b3 d6 23.d7+ xd7 24.c8+ xc8 25.xc8+ e7 26.e8+ f6 27.xe3 d3+ 28.f1 c5= 22...d3+?! A slight slip. The fireworks after 22...d4 23.d7+ xd7 24.xe3 24.xd7? d3+ 25.d1 xe2+ 26.xe2 xc1+ 27.f3 xb3+- 24...xe3 25.xd7 d3+ 26.d1 xc1= lead to equal chances. 23.xd3 xd3?! 23...xd3 24.xd3 xd3 25.c7 xb2 26.xa7 c6 was a better alternative. 24.xb5± It is more difficult for Black now. d2+ 25.f1 d8 26.b3 xb2 27.a5 f6+ 28.e1 28.g1 b6+ 29.xb6 axb6 30.f4± 28...b8 This move leaves White with two pawns up. 28...b6 29.xb6 axb6 30.f4 b8 is a complicated way to stay in the game, but it had to be tried. 29.xa7 White should be winning. d6 30.g3 e5 31.c5 f6 32.d1 c8 33.b4 g7 34.d7 f8 35.d2 f5 36.f4 xf4 37.xf4 b6 38.f2 38.g4! Not only does White attack the knight, but he also protects the pawn on h2. The checks are meaningless: g1+ 39.e2 g2+ 40.d3 h3+ 41.e4 g2+ 42.f3 forces the Queen exchange. 38...a5+ 38...c1+ 39.e2 b5+ 40.d2 c8 41.d3 c6 42.f3 39.d2 b6 40.f1 b5+ 41.g1 b6+ 42.g2 e3+ 43.h3? A shocking turnabout! White now loses. 43.f3! was sufficient to win. 43...g5! Threatening 44...Qh6 mate. 44.d6 44.d6+ xd6 45.xd6 g4+ 46.h4 f5+ wins. 44...g4+ 45.h4 f5+ 46.g5 xd6 47.b2 d4 48.xg4 c5 0–1

Norway 'taking foreign children away to counter inbreeding' says Lithuanian talk show | Daily Mail Online

Norway 'taking foreign children away to counter inbreeding' says Lithuanian talk show | Daily Mail Online

Norway 'is taking foreign children away from their parents because
it has the highest rates of inbreeding in the world': Country forced to
deny claims after Lithuanian child is taken into care

• A Lithuanian talk show has accused Norway of seizing foreign children
• Claimed they were needed to combat 'world's highest rate of inbreeding'
• An 'expert' said fresh blood was needed to strengthen genetic material'  
• Lithuanian Gražina Leščinskiene's son was taken into care early this year

جريدة البشاير | المصريون علي مذهب أبو حنيفه الذي إعترف بعشرين حديثا نبويا فقط والباقي مدسوس |

جريدة البشاير | المصريون علي مذهب أبو حنيفه الذي إعترف بعشرين حديثا نبويا فقط والباقي مدسوس |



 ي مقالته الأخيره تساءل الباحث عادل نعمان : لماذا لم يكفروا الإمام
أبوحنيفة النعمان أو اعتبروه أنكر معلوماً من الدين بالضرورة ، حين أجاز من
أحاديث النبى أقل من عشرين حديثاً، ورفض الآلاف المروية عن النبى؟

تصوروا : أننا كمصريين ، نتماهي كثيرا كثيرا مع مذهب أبو حنيفه . ونتزوج
علي مذهب أبو حنيفه ، ونؤدي طقوسنا الدينية علي مذهب أبو حنيفه ..

لكننا لا نتورع عن إتهام أي واحد بالكفر والزندقة ، إذا أنكر كتب البخاري وغيره من كتب الأحاديث المدسوسة ..





لنعد الي مقالة عادل نعمان :



فى الجدل بين واصل بن عطاء والحسن البصرى عن مرتكب الكبيرة مؤمن أم كافر؟
كان رأيه (ليس كافراً مطلق الكفر، وليس مؤمناً مطلق الإيمان، بل هو بين
منزلتين لا مؤمن ولا كافر). واعتزل «واصل» شيخه الحسن البصرى، ولذلك سمى
وأتباعه «المعتزلة». «المعتزلة» يؤمنون بأولوية العقل المطلق على النقل.
وأن الإنسان مخير، ويتمتع بالإرادة الحرة، لأنه يمتلك العقل الذى يحكم بين
الخير والشر، والعدل والظلم، وهو مناط التكليف، لهذا فهو مسئول عن كل
أعماله (خالد فى النار إذا ارتكب الكبيرة حتى لو عبد الله مائة عام). فكر
المعتزلة عكس فكر «الجبرية» الذى يرى أن الإنسان مسير ومجبر، ولا إرادة له
فى اتخاذ قراراته، لأن كل ما يفعله الإنسان لا اختيار فيه، ومكتوب عليه
قدراً مقدراً منذ الأزل، وليس من العدل معاقبة الإنسان عن أفعاله لأنه مجبر
عليها (لا يضر مع الإيمان معصية والكل يتساوى فى الجنة). بنو أمية تبنوا
فكر الجبرية لتبرير ظلمهم للعباد، وسلطانهم وظلمهم أمر الله عليهم،
والتسليم به إذعان لأمره تعالى. الشيعة تبنوا فكر المعتزلة، ما دام العقل
للفصل بين الخطأ والصواب، يصبح له الحق فى الرفض والقبول، خصوصاً رفض بيعة
الحاكم الظالم والخروج عليه، وقتاله على بغيه، وبنو أمية ظلموهم واستلبوا
الحكم منهم، وهذا مدعاة لقتالهم، وهدم دولتهم.



إعمال العقل، جعل المعتزلة يؤمنون بالكثير، منه الآتى: إنكارهم رؤية الله
عز وجل يوم القيامة، القول بخلق القرآن وقت نزوله على سيدنا محمد بلسان
عربى، ولم يكن فى اللوح المحفوظ منذ بدأ الله الخلق، إكبار العقل وتقديمه
على كل الأمور، وتأويل الآيات القرآنية التى لا تتفق مع العقل حتى تتسق
معه، رد كل الأحاديث للعقل حتى لو كانت متواترة وصحيحة، ومنها الصحيحان
البخارى ومسلم، رفضهم التام لأحاديث الآحاد، الطعن فى رواة الأحاديث كأبى
هريرة، إنكارهم كثير من الغيبيات كالملائكة والجن والسحر.



أحمد بن حنبل، عارض فكر المعتزلة، وحبسه الخليفة العباسى «المأمون»، راعى
فكر المعتزلة ومعتنقه، والذى ازدهرت الثقافة فى عصره والترجمات والفلسفات
والرياضيات والانفتاح على الحضارات الأخرى. حتى جاء الخليفة المتوكل
العباسى فحارب المعتزلة وشردهم وقتلهم فلم يجدوا سبيلاً سوى اللجوء إلى
الشيعة الأقرب لأفكارهم (الاختيار). ثم جاء أبوحامد الغزالى وحبس العقل فى
حظيرة النقل. وجاء بن تيمية شيخ الإسلام وإمام الفكر السلفى فحارب العقل
والمنطق (من تمنطق فقد تزندق)، وتلميذه النجيب محمد بن عبدالوهاب إمام
الوهابية الذى قال (الفكر والكفر أمرهما واحد لأن حروفهما واحدة).



هذا ما فى المعتزلة.. فماذا حول إسلام بحيرى؟



كان بداية الانحطاط الفكرى فى عهد «المتوكل»، الخليفة العباسى، حين حارب
العقل مناط التفكير والتكليف، وكان بداية جمود عقل المسلم حين وضع أبوحامد
الغزالى على عقل الأمة أقفالها، وكانت محنة عقل المسلم حين أحرقوا كتب
وأفكار ابن رشد، وقتلوا الخيال وحنان الوصل مع الله بصلب «الحلاج». لماذا
لم يكفروا الإمام أبوحنيفة النعمان أو اعتبروه أنكر معلوماً من الدين
بالضرورة حين أجاز من أحاديث النبى أقل من عشرين حديثاً، ورفض الآلاف
المروية عن النبى؟



لماذا لا نترك كلاً يدلى بدلوه ونرد على التساؤلات التى لا يحملها «إسلام»
فقط بل الملايين التى تتوق عقولها الحائرة لمعرفة الحقيقة، وسيحملها الآلاف
غيره إذا أخرستم لسانه وعقله؟



أنا ضد تجاوز إسلام بحيرى، ليس فى تساؤله فهذا حقه، لكن فى تهكمه واستعلائه
أحياناً. لكنى فى الوقت نفسه لا أقبل الحجر على أفكاره لهذا السبب. ناقشوا
واطرحوا الأمر للحوار، وأجهزوا عليه بالعقل والحجة، وليس بإغلاق فمه
وتخويفه بازدراء الأديان. سيخرج الملايين يسألون ما يسأله، هل تكممون كل
الأفواه وتغلقون كل العقول؟



إن محنة عقل المسلم أن يقبل التراث وهو نتاج بشرى لا وحى فيه، يحتمل الخطأ
كما يحتمل الصواب، ويحتمل حسن النية وسوءها، أن نأخذه من المسلمات ونقبله
على علاته دون اعتراض أو نقد.. لماذا يجد المسلم الكتب الدينية فى المكتبات
منظمة ومرتبة، ولها شرعية كاملة. وحين يحتار ويتساءل بحرية يصيبها شطط
الفكر أحياناً، باحثاً عن مرفأ يهتدى إليه، ويفرد فيه شراع عقله ويقرأ
غيرها، يتهمونه بالكفر والزندقة؟



عقولنا جميعاً فى محنة، من منع عنها ومن سمح لها، من صدق على الإطلاق ومن
رفض عليه، من قال نعم ومن قال لا على طول الخط. لا خلاص سوى بالسماح للعقول
أن تتحرك، وتحاور وتناقش ولا خوف من تمردها.



الغلق لن يمنع العقل من التفكير، ولن يمنع الإنسان من الحيرة، وهذا حقه
الطبيعى. افتحوا الأبواب المغلقة عن عقل المسلم، واقبلوا تساؤله مهما كان
جافاً أو خارجاً. لا تكمموا الأفواه، ولا تغلقوا العقول بأقفال الترهيب
والتخويف، حتى لا يتسرب تلاميذ المدرسة إلى الشارع يستقون المعرفة من
الحمقى وبلطجية الأديان، ويزداد عدد الحيارى ولا يجدون سبيلاً سوى رفض
الأمر برمته. وأجيبوا هل نحن مع العقل نتساءل ونحتار، أم نحن مع النقل نغلق
عقولنا ونستسلم؟

Chess champ busted in embarrassing bathroom cheat | New York Post

Chess champ busted in embarrassing bathroom cheat | New York Post





A chess grandmaster’s career is in the crapper after officials
flushed out a smartphone he hid in a toilet to cheat during an
international tournament.


Georgian champ Gaioz Nigalidze was thrown out of the Dubai Open after
his opponent, Armenian Grandmaster Tigran Petrosian, suspected that his
frequent runs to the john were prompted not by the call of nature, but cries for help from a chess app, the Daily Telegraph reported.


The disgraced grandmaster, whose social-networking account was logged
onto the phone, had his moves analyzed by the app. Nigalidze faces a
15-year ban for his wrong move.

▶ Wing chun for beginners lesson 2: basic leg exercise with twist - YouTube

▶ Wing chun for beginners lesson 2: basic leg exercise with twist - YouTube