From your link: -

"The programme also criticized FIFA for allegedly requiring World Cup host bidding nations to agree to implement special laws for the World Cup, including blanket tax exemption for FIFA and sponsors, and limitation of workers' rights. It alleged that governments of bidding nations are required to keep the details of the required laws confidential during the bidding process; but that they were revealed by the Dutch government, which refused to agree to them, as a result of which it was told by FIFA that its bid could be adversely affected."

Nice bit of blackmail, don't you think?
How many of the sponsors lobbied FIFA for that?
Qatar proves that

From your link: -

"The programme also criticized FIFA for allegedly requiring World Cup host bidding nations to agree to implement special laws for the World Cup, including blanket tax exemption for FIFA and sponsors, and limitation of workers' rights. It alleged that governments of bidding nations are required to keep the details of the required laws confidential during the bidding process; but that they were revealed by the Dutch government, which refused to agree to them, as a result of which it was told by FIFA that its bid could be adversely affected."

Nice bit of blackmail, don't you think?
How many of the sponsors lobbied FIFA for that?
Qatar proves that

What the ...
Tax exemption for sponsors?
That's mean we taxpayer pay those b****ds.

Limitation of worker's rights when construncting sports arenas seem to be common now.
Russia: OS Sochi and WC Moscow.
Quatar: every building and arena in that country are built by "guest" workers.

So you think the daily mail got it wrong? Okay.

So how about this? Not a Waily Fail in sight

"It is an estimate of the money that should not have been paid out because it was not used in accordance with the legislation concerned. Typical errors include payments for beneficiaries or projects that were ineligible or for purchases of services, goods or investments without proper application of public purchasing rules."

Okay, I'll hold my hand up, my comments were as bad as the Waily Fail's. However, all I see are those attacking the poster for "his" views rather than the substance of the reports.

This is the European Commission itself, so has some authority to say that the EU is "wasting" funds - they cannot come out & say there's fiddling going on now can they?

From link giving: http://www.goal.com/en/news/745/fifa/2015/05/06/11474162/fifa-to-discuss-palestines-israel-ban-plea

The Palestinian FA claims that Israel has prevented its players from moving between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, while also blocking the import of sports equipment into Palestinian territories. There is a further claim that foreign teams have also been blocked - a clear breach of Fifa’s laws.

And that EU is wasting funds are well known.
The link http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_ECA-13-36_en.htm has nothing to do with sports events.
Our King Karl XVI Gustav gets EU funds for a farm he owns!

To avoid a double post I added a brief edit to janneseti. If you look back to my previous post you will see it. I thought this thread was predominantly meant to be about Europe so kept mention to off topic subjects brief.

Well. Israel is a member of the EBU:)

Sorry, only just saw that edit, so edited mine :-)

Is this the start of the end of both the Euro & the EU?

Ditching the Euro

Is this the start of the end of both the Euro & the EU?

Ditching the Euro

The glee of the multinational knows no bounds.

---

It seems the pressure is beginning to tell & I bet he's wishing that the coalition was still in force :-)

Europe gives Greece another £2billion

Osborne warns Britain must be prepared for the worst

Cameron leaning towards Autumn 2016 EU referendum

Sturgeon demands consultation on Cameron's (note: NOT Britain's) Brussels reforms

EU upsets professional photographers

The paragraph that's causing the upset...

"On the “freedom of panorama” principle, such as the right to create and share images and photographs of public buildings, the text cautions that the commercial use of such reproductions should require authorization from the rightholder."

...so all those holiday snaps you took, sell some of them, have you obtained the authorisation from the building owner?

Also, the regulations the EU/EC/EP bring in are well worth reading. The wording is most important :-)

A little "birdie" told me that a possible/potential change to the dCPC could occur within the next couple of years - exams at the end of the course. However, as informed by that little "birdie", it is possible & legal to do another 5x 7hr modules whenever you wish as long as the 35hrs are completed before the expiry of the current DQC.

I've booked one module for August & from what I've seen from various providers, will be doing a further 3x 7hr modules in London. Very surprised to see that the providers here in carrot crunching land do not do them.

Courses available in London: -
Safe Urban Driving
Congestion Busting
Fire Safety Awareness/First Aid-Emergency Treatment

Leaving one 7hr module to complete the 35hr dCPC course which by doing so, will take my DQC to 2024.

By then, I won't give a ... for it's renewal as I'll have retired :-)

Thanks EU (About the only good thing you've done).

EU upsets professional photographers

The paragraph that's causing the upset...

"On the “freedom of panorama” principle, such as the right to create and share images and photographs of public buildings, the text cautions that the commercial use of such reproductions should require authorization from the rightholder."

...so all those holiday snaps you took, sell some of them, have you obtained the authorisation from the building owner?

May or may not be the building owner who can grant it. The architect may be the person who ultimately owns the copyright. He may or may not have done the work "for hire."

Rights clearance is a very littered minefield.

Oh, and over on this side of the pond, better never take a real camera out inside a mall to take a snap. Mall security will throw you out so fast you will break the speed of sound. Copyright.

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Tomorrow morning, a new song for Europe...

The EU's "new" anthem

... :-)

Tomorrow morning, a new song for Europe...

The EU's "new" anthem

... :-)

Nice one Sirius....My feelings on this whole affair is that Brussels is not
sure on which way to turn now. Yet what ever they do it can only further harm
the common currency in the long run. The damage to that currency was done the
first day that they introduced it. The EU is starting to mirror the Balkan
states of the old USSR for it did not work out for Russia to combine countries
into one large state and it gradually appears that the same failure is going to happen
here with this United States of Europe dream.

---

The Kite Fliers

--------------------
Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

Well, the cracks are becoming fissures :-)

France presses to keep Greece in Eurozone

"The differences between the French and German stances on Greece reflect a fissure running through the EU, say correspondents."

An EU Minister's response: - "The Bavarian finance minister, Markus Soeder, has said he simply wants Greece out of the Eurozone."

Nice comment on the article.

"When the Euro was implemented, there were rules put in place supposedly to ensure the Greece situation could not occur. On paper the EU and the Euro is a great idea, but the reality is that trying to get different countries and cultures to work as a single state is sheer folly. We are all in Europe, all different, all get on and can trade with each other. Why create the EU? Political nonsense."

A chicken that has come home to roost.

If only they had listened to "dear old Maggie"

A chicken that has come home to roost.

If only they had listened to "dear old Maggie"

A quote from the article above, "dear old Magie"

"This is also a very sobering moment for Britain. Europe is our largest market, and the economic consequences for us will be desperate indeed as the eurozone enters a vortex of decline"

The consequences are not desperate but actually financially positive.
Not only do we have a trade deficit with the EU but we also pay the EU
£50 million a day for the privileged of having this deficit too. It should
be pretty obvious to all that the EU is not being built to create financial
success, for all of us who reside within, but a cover for something else.
So when the pro EU brigade preach about how our future financial stability
realise solely on staying in the EU people should now realise that this
statement is a load of bull ****. The pro EU brigade, Brussels included,
have only one reason for building up and maintaining the EU and the reason
is solely political. Peddling the line that the EU is good for all on the
grounds of financial strength for all who are members just does not stand
up to scrutiny and just does not hold water any more. Still, they'll keep
peddling this lie to cover for the true reason behind having the EU....
....to finally form the United States of Europe, whether the citizens like
it or not or even in so doing the majority of the citizens of Europe are
financially poorer because of it. The latter pretty dead certain to me, most
will become poorer, especially Greece, Spain, Italy and Ireland, possibly
France too...yes, all those who are part and parcel to the Euro currency....
....they must be mad - the lot of them, purely mad. Mad enough, some of them,
to get involved in two world wars then clearly capable of the madness of being
part of a ruinous common currency then too.

---

The Kite Fliers

--------------------
Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

Funny thing politics, it addles the brains of many.

For instance, there are many old fogeys out there who chastise the young for either being feckless or lack respect...

Old fogey imprisoned

...one does not need to look far to see the reasons.

Germany does have one thing that is sorely needed here in Britain:

Angela's Ashes

...a press that does not toady up to muppets in power!

That press worried even the Yanks:

Spiegel targeted by US Intelligence

Greece worries the Yanks even more.

---

The Kite Fliers

--------------------
Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

Greece worries the Yanks even more.

& here's why, but 1st, a little appetiser: -

Drachma, come home safe to me

The Last Post in Maastricht of all places - very apt

Greek crisis shaking IMF to its core

"By going public the IMF hoped it could swing the argument against the European creditors, in particular Germany who believed debt forgiveness was unacceptable."
So Germany, you won't mind if we cancel your haircut received in 1953 & demand you pay every $ back.

& this is why it worries the Yanks: -

"Make no mistake, this is designed as a replacement for the IMF - a whole new architecture designed to funnel investment into China's own markets and its own companies."

"The IMF's level of misjudgement here in Greece is of epic proportions. If you can't save Greece how can you save bigger problems when they come along? Like France. Because the real problem isn't Greece, it's the bigger ones further down the track."

It saddens me to say it, but the best thing any politician did for this country was to stay out of the Euro.

"We are sailing stormy waters" Trust a Jock to get it right :-)

The Last Post in Maastricht of all places - very apt

Fantastic rendition....

---

The Kite Fliers

--------------------
Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.