Quote of the Week - Guardian on Khodorkovsky



Chuck and Vlad - men of influence
"It [the legal proceedings against Mikhail Khodorkovsky] has become a persecution and Khodorkovsky has entered the ranks of politically repressed. As such, whenever he is released, he will be a magnet for all the other injustices suffered under this regime. No one will believe President Medvedev when he talks about the rule of law in Russia. With Khodorkovsky

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Human Rights - The Gulf Version



Two out of three banned in most Gulf states
Bridging The Gulf, a European Commission- and Dutch Foreign Ministry-funded body that aims to promote “understanding about the Gulf region in Europe”, has analysed the Arab Charter on Human Rights that was adopted in 2008 by ten Arab states, including 2022 World Cup host Qatar.
“The Charter’s significance lies in the fact that it is an instrument from

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Connecting Football With Politics

Former UK ambassador to Moscow, Anthony Brenton, writes pragmatically here about the human rights situation in Russia, in a week where the judicial verdict on multi-billionaire oil tycoon Mikhail Khodordovsky has provoked a far greater outcry from the European Union than, say, the severe beating of journalist Oleg Sulkin last month.
“On human rights issues we should not expect to make an early

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Brazil Shows Qatar The Way On Gay Rights



Rio beach boy may arouse Qatari interest
When Brazil hosts the 2014 World Cup, they will surely welcome a sizeable delegation from Qatar to large it up in fancy hotels, enjoy the best free seats at the biggest games, and generally whore around to embark on a serious fact-finding mission on the best way to host an international football tournament, while ensuring that their behaviour

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Merry Xmas From FIFA! With Conditions Attached…

The FIFA Media Department this week sent out a Christmas e-mail to journalists, addressing us as “friends” and wishing us all “a happy festive season”. We were deeply touched, and wept enough to drown or irreparably damage several keyboards.  Even better, they are looking forward to working with us again in 2011. Provided, no doubt, we don’t ask them too many questions about corrupt members of

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Qatar Hosts Human Rights Convention. Good Job!

Those concerned about human rights in Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup need not worry. The Gulf Times reports that Doha this week hosted a two-day convention of Gulf state delegates on the subject, and although there was little concrete information about what was discussed, it seems certain that all present agreed on the immediate need to de-criminalise homosexuality, promote equal rights for

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FIFA Quote of the Day - No Soul, No Sellout

"The problem with FIFA was that it had no interest in extracting human-rights concessions from its hosts. Qatar had monstrous amounts of cash to offer, and FIFA could pretend that its choice had an ambassadorial quality, taking the great fellowship of soccer into the Middle East, where the Olympic Committee still fears to tread. It would, however, be unfair to accuse [FIFA President Sepp] Blatter

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Blatter Should Apologise A Little Bit Harder



Deaf, or just plain dumb?
What are we to make of FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s apology late last week to anybody who “feels that they have been hurt” by his remarks that gay people who might want to visit the 2022 World Cup should “refrain from any sexual activities” while in Qatar?
 The Associated Press reported that Blatter told hacks in Abu Dhabi on Friday he was sorry if anyone was offended

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Rio Gets Ready For Slum Clearance



Fair Play for the favelas?




German weekly Die Zeit reports from Rio de Janeiro on the likely measures the city will take to clean up its favelas – the slum areas notorious for poverty, drugs and gang warfare – ahead of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.  



Ricardo Teixeira, FIFA Executive Committee member, head of the Brazilian Football Association, and a man accused last month by

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Liberals To Blame For Neo-Nazi Attacks, Claims Kremlin Chief

The football fan protests in Moscow last weekend that led to random racist attacks in public by neo-Nazis and ultra-nationalists are apparently the fault of liberals wanting more freedom, according to the Kremlin’s chief ideologist, Vladislav Surkov. He told the pro-government daily Izvestia yesterday that, "Moscow and Russia need a civil peace. It’s actually our 'liberal' public that is

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Quote of the Month – Ban Ki-Moon Sets Sepp An Example

"Violence will end only when we confront prejudice. Stigma and discrimination will end only when we agree to speak out. That requires all of us to do our part; to speak out at home, at work, in our schools and communities." United Nations Secretary General Ban  Ki-moon calls for an end to violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons on Human Rights Day (Dec.

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Press Freedom League Table - Brazil Moves Up, Qatar and Russia Lying Low

Reporters Without Borders has published its Press Freedom Index for 2010, and it's not particularly  happy reading for journalists working in FIFA's World Cup host countries. 
Best of the bunch is Brazil, up 12 places to 58th on the index, thanks to some "favourable legislative changes", says the organisation. Qatar has slipped down the charts to 121st place, from an already unimpressive 94th in

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Quote Of The Day - Slapping Blatter Down

“We are talking about a very basic human right that is being violated. This is not a joke, this is a matter of life and death to people. Qatar and more than 70 other countries in the world still criminalize individuals for homosexual relationships, and some countries even punish them by death sentence.
“It’s disappointing to see that an organization [FIFA] that is promoting the game, which in its

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Blatter Can't Bluff When It Comes To Sexual Politics

FIFA President Sepp Blatter was caught short yesterday when asked to comment on how gay fans could expect to visit the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, given that homosexuality is banned in the country. As always when asked to venture beyond political platitudes, the intellectually starved Blatter had no clue how to respond, so attempted a joke by saying that "they should refrain from sexual activities".

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Russian journalist describes beating as "assassination attempt"

In yesterday's New York Times, Russian journalist Oleg Sulkin described how he was attacked and beaten in Moscow by two unknown assailants armed with steel rods. The attack took place a few feet from the entrance to Sulkin's house, a ten-minute walk from the Kremlin. One month later, he is still in hospital with an amputated finger, a broken leg, and a double-break to his jaw. He will not be able

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Vila x Chácara.


A diretoria do Juventus Futebol Clube, na pessoa de seu presidente o Prof. Rodinei, vem através deste convidar todos os amigos e colaboradores do clube para participar da nossa tradicionalíssima festa de encerramento anual.
Local: Sede.
Dia: 19 de Dezembro.
Horário: A partir das 8:00h.

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Essa é fenomenal.

Muito obrigado ao nosso amigo Juventino ELI MOREIRA, pela ajuda no resgate da história do nosso amado Juventus F.C. Essa foto tem nada mais nada menos que 48 anos.
A nação Juventina agradece o empenho do amigo.

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Não tão antiga.

Não é tão antiga assim, mas vale o registro, essa foto é de 10/10/1999, quando os Veteranos do Juventus foram jogar na inauguração do novo campo da SERCOS.
Em pé: Darci Silva, Nino, Cesar, Miguel,
Onorino, Capra e Zecão.
Agachados: Maurinho, Leque, Edu, Keke, Luizinho e Edvaldo.

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