Is World Cup 2010 Fixed?

Lord Triesman is now the former chairman of the English Football Association and England's 2018 World Cup bid team as he has resigned from both of the positions.

This resignation came after he has revealed that Spain will be getting Russia, who didn't qualify for the coming World Cup 2010, to 'buy' some referees in next month's World Cup to be held in South Africa.

Why is Russia being so accommodating in helping Spain?
It seems that both Spain and Russia are putting up a bid to host the World Cup in the year of 2018. Spain was alleged to have offered Russia that Spain will pull out of the race provided Russia helps to settle with some of the referees in next month's World Cup. That Spain will also support Russia's bid and will help to obtain votes from the Latin Americans to support Russia as well.

This puts the World Cup 2010's integrity into a big question - has the World Cup 2010 been fixed?

Does Lord Triesman know something that we all don't know?
Was Lord Triesman a whistleblower in this case?

Lord Triesman was actually entrapped by a former aide of his during his posting with the government. This traitor former aide of his somehow sold the recordings of the personal conversation to Mail on Sunday newspaper. Lord Triesman not knowing the entrapment spoke from what he knew already or from his heart. His recorded conversation was released to Mail on Sunday, after a few other publishers had been approached possibly on price tag issue, and published publicly.

Well, the former aide was rumoured to be his 'mistress', Ms. Melissa Jacobs. Poured out everything not knowing she will betray him. It seems that this girl has a second batch of recordings yet to be released. Presumably looking for a higher price tag since the first batch of recordings have fetched an unsurmountable worldwide interests.

The English Football Association even tried to get a High Court injunction to prevent the article from being published.

There goes everything, maybe even English Football Association's chance to host the World Cup 2018. Melissa Jacobs not only destroyed Lord Triesman's reputation but a multi-millions of potential businesses if England was to host the World Cup 2018. English fans of this era/generation may have been robbed of their chance to witness the best show on earth right at their doorsteps. You can say thanks to her.

Personally, Lord Triesman shouldn't be put on trial here as I expected the FIFA to act and investigate further on his purported claim. It will be a disaster if what he claimed was true. Anyway, FIFA's Ethics Committee has requested English Football Association to provide a report on what was alleged by Lord Triesman.

Your World Cup 2010 might be fixed! So, don't put so high hope for your favourite team as the winner could have been decided waaaaaaay before the first ball is kicked in South Africa. Spain to progress all the way to the finals? Let's watch!

Now, let me guess who will host the World Cup 2018. Will FIFA's 24 executive committee members decide on Russia? We will see!

Reading: FA chief Lord Triesman accuses Spain and Russia of bid to bribe World Cup referees - Mail On Sunday
Tags: World Cup 2010, World Cup 2018, English Football Association, Spain, Russia, South Africa, Lord Triesman, FIFA Ethics Committee, Mail on Sunday, Melissa Jacobs

New Sponsorship For Cardiff FC

Cardiff City FC has just gotten a new owner who has bought a 36.7% stake. That stake's worth about £6 million.

Of all people, this new owner comes from Malaysia - Chan Tien Ghee. He said to be the business partner of Vincent Tan, one of the richest men in Malaysia, where both are mentioned to have collaborated to buy the Welsh football club.

Both of them became the first Malaysians to own an English football club. This is a rich man's game. Another top Malaysian businessman - Tony Fernandes, the owner of the low cost carrier - Airasia and Lotus F1 team, just missed out on West Ham recently.

Cardiff City will not worry about new sponsorships for the next few years to come. Why is that so?

Vincent Tan's vast business empire in Berjaya Group has a number of businesses that could sponsor Cardiff City and guess how the football jersey will look like next season.

Suprised?

Got the jersey design from another blogger.

Cardiff City is to play Blackpool for a place in the Premier League next season. It will be a good £6 million investment if it wins that ultimate play off finals.
Tags: Welsh Football Club, Cardiff City FC, Berjaya Group, Chan Tien Ghee, Vincent Tan, Blackpool, Football Jersey Design

Overpriced Super Bridge in Malaysia

Have you heard that we may be building a super bridge connecting our nation with another neighbouring nation?

Definitely not Singapore because there are more things to it.

Not Thailand or Brunei because we are stucked with them whether you like it or not.

Not Phillipines as their people are able to move in and out of Sabah without any hindrance already.

Same goes for Indonesia but then, based on a proposal submitted, it was claimed that with this new super bridge it will spur economic growth and strengthen the relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia. So, we will go for it.

Yeah, the super bridge will be connected at Malacca's Telok Gong in Alor Gajah to Sumatra's Pulau Rupat, Dumai and Pekan Baru.

Facts:-
Length - 37km (another Star article reported a much precised length, 48.69km)
Usage Per Day - 15,000 vehicles
Toll Charges - RM266 to RM301 per vehicle
Cost - US$13 billion
Financing - 85% via China Eximbank / 15% via Straits of Malacca Partners Sdn Bhd

Reading: Malacca assembly rejects motion to scrap bridge to Sumatra - Star

After reading about the huge project as above, I remembered that two other nations are trying to build a connecting bridge to each other too.

Qatar and Bahrain are negotiating on a construction deal to build the world's longest marine causeway, spanning 40km, to be named as the Qatar-Bahrain Friendship Causeway.

Reading: World’s longest marine causeway to start construction by 2010? - Mena Infrastructure

What's the cost of this bridge? US$2.3 billion!

Let's compare with a few more bridges.

A mega bridge project has begun its construction in China and its SAR (not the disease, ok!) areas, namely Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. This will be built at a cost of US$10.7 billion for a bridge spanning approximately 50km.

Another bridge that is under re-construction coupled with new sections, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, is being constructed at a cost of US$6 billion but may ballooned up to US$12 billion (as reported in SF Public Press).

The Malaysian-Indonesian bridge version is being built over an open sea, hovering over one of the world's most busiest straits, with strong wind, rough sea and with unpredictable weather nowadays - do you think the cost of construction will stay at US$13 billion?

Why is it that the Qatar and Bahrain governments can propose a bridge that is a bit longer than ours but four times cheaper than ours?

But I like one of the comments made for our bridge version. If our bridge version was ever built, the Indonesians will stay back in Indonesian to earn their own living owing to the much improved economy brought by the bridge. Therefore, this will decrease the number of Indonesians entering Malaysia illegally. Fantastic!
Tags: Qatar-Bahrain Friendship Causeway, China Eximbank, Malacca Straits Development, Malacca-Sumatera Bridge, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

Designated Decoy

Based on a true story -

Recently, a routine police patrol car parked outside a local neighbourhood pub.

Late in the evening the officer noticed a man leaving the bar so intoxicated that he could barely walk. The man stumbled around the car park for a few minutes, with the officer quietly observing.

After what seemed an eternity and trying his keys on five vehicles.

The man managed to find his car, which he fell into.

He was there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off. Finally he started the car, switched the wipers on and off (it was a fine dry night).

Then flicked the indicators on, then off, tooted the horn and then switched on the lights.

He moved the vehicle forward a few metres, reversed a little and then remained stationary for a few more minutes as some more vehicles left.

At last he pulled out of the car park and started to drive slowly down the road.

The police officer, having patiently waited all this time, now started up the patrol car, put on the flashing lights, promptly pulled the man over and carried out a random breathalyser test.

To his amazement the breathalyser indicated no evidence of the man's intoxication.

The police officer said "I'll have to ask you to accompany me to the police station as this breathalyser equipment must be broken.."

"I doubt it," said the man, "tonight I'm the designated decoy".
Tags: Designated Decoy, Police Officer, Patrol Car, Breathalyser Test

Who Invented English Language?

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
Then shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England .

We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes,
we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,
and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing,
grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend.
If you have a bunch of odds and ends
and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English
should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.
In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?

We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language
in which your house can burn up as it burns
down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out,
and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

And, in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother's not Mop?

And if people from Poland are called Poles
then people from Holland should be Holes
and the Germans, Germs
Tags: English Language, Crazy Language, Germans, Poles, Plural, Pronouns

Govt May Have Forgotten Its Promise

Just before the general election or any by-election, the federal government will go to their length to deliver what has not been delivered to the voters (non-voters are the lucky lot).

Even Felda settlers who weren't compensated for the last sixteen years can see the light at last due to a by-election. Otherwise, they may have to wait for the next member of parliament or state assemblyman to die first before getting their money ....... remember, it was their money and not a gift from the government as portrayed by some people.

I'm very frightened to read such lackadaisical attitude by the federal government. It took them sixteen years to make those money available. On the other hand, they can do miracles even after sixteen long years.

I hope that the prime minister hasn't forgotten his pledge - that he will undertake measures against those who had flout rules and regulations as found in the Auditor-General 2008 Report.

What has came out from that disappointment with the auditor-general's finding since then (since when you may ask - since 22 Oct 2009 as published in the prime minister's official website)?

I think the Auditor-General 2009 Report will report the same excesses and discrepancies and these had occured year in year out. What had been done? We don't need all those lucrative deals in our constituency or sky high promises. Just deal with those people involved in the respective government agencies or ministris that have been reported.

When I say deal, it's not just commencing the prosecution but deliver the right well deserved judgement in the end. We are not dumb!

Or is the annual auditor-general report just another public relation gimmick? Or you need sixteen years?
Tags: Auditor-General 2008 Report, Felda Settlers, Government Promises