Outgoing Fifa president Sepp Blatter says he is moving forward with a "comprehensive programme of reform" for world football's governing body.

It comes after a tumultuous nine days for his organisation, amid claims of "systemic and deep-rooted" corruption.

Seven Fifa officials were held in a dawn raid last week in Zurich as they gathered for a congress which saw Mr Blatter re-elected for a fifth term.

Four days later, Mr Blatter announced he would step down early from the post.

He said he would remain at work until Fifa had chosen his successor in the coming months.

The law locks up the man or woman

Who steals the goose off the common

But leaves the greater villain loose

FOUR HORSEMEN is an award winning independent feature documentary which lifts the lid on how the world really works.

As we will never return to 'business as usual' 23 international thinkers, government advisors and Wall Street money-men break their silence and explain how to establish a moral and just society.

NSW taxpayers are forking out millions to a global corporation to provide an environmental impact report into a controversial toll road. The same company is then going to help build it. Wendy and Luke Bacon investigate.

Australia should hold fire on interest-rate cuts to avoid further inflaming property prices that are at risk of "a sharp correction," the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said.

"The net gains from further monetary expansion in the near term are finely balanced," the OECD said in Paris on Wednesday.

from Crikey …..

In the month of May anti-Muslim fervour increased its hold in Australia through the opportunism of War on Terror rhetoric.

The longtime legislator is one of America's most hawkish politicians, and will be running almost solely on a foreign policy platform. The tenor of his campaign will be grim: "I'm running because I think the world is falling apart," he explained.

it is a quite ludicrous that in order to sell and validate religious beliefs, some Christians still try to claim sciences as their own, as if science was a daughter of Christianity — through "Christian" scientists. In fact, most of the work of scientific value was done by clever humans, despite the Church — as the reality of experiments and observations did not fit any of the religious teachings. 

a con-trick

First these pamphlets are sexist. They mention anyone can rid "himself"... "his" mental potential fully... Second the concept that we only use ten percent of our mental potential is bullshit. It's time that the Church of Scientology gave up this line — and gave up using Albert as a measuring stick to their neat "improvement" techniques of the self.

I am not disputing that the Church of Scientology can help some people develop some better mental ability, but this is not exclusive to this organisation — an organisation that could also suck you dry of your own will and implant a new willingness to part with some of your cash. Nothing new.

A specially appointed member of the Vatican's commission on child protection has accused Cardinal George Pell of being "almost sociopathic" in his treatment of victims.