NationStates Jolt Archive


HARDLINE - Repeat Airing

Brazillico
18-02-2004, 20:41
OOC-Previously seen in the Football United Thread. Posting it again since TBF couldn't recognize quality investigative journalism if it bit him in the ass.

IC-
A ghastly piano solo flows through the television speakers as a flow of color appears on the screen. Some violins and trumpets chime in, but they deter nothing from the dreadfulness of the background music. Green and yellow lines spiral around on the screen on a blue background, and stop to form a circle, where at the time, the word “HARDLINE” appears in red letters, as if it had been stamped on.

Narrator: This is Hardline, with your host, Cliff Clemente.

A smartly dressed, well-groomed man appears standing in the center of a large studio. The same Hardline logo seen in the opening animation is projected onto the back wall.

Fox: This is Roberto Fox, Cliff Clemente will be gone for three weeks on vacation. *Pauses briefly* The World Cup Committee, the WCC, an organization we associate with truth, goodwill and integrity. Yes, the governing body which lays out the rules in Nationstates’ most popular sporting tournament and elects a host for every World Cup. We like to think that the WCC is doing an honourable job at governing the World Cup, but do some let private interests get in the way of members deciding what’s best for the cup and worse yet, are bribery and corruption rampant throughout the committee?

The same logo of green and yellow lines in a circular helix re-appears with the words VOTE BUYING IN THE WCC overlying the logo and slim, black letters

Fox: Over the past few years, with hosts consistently performing better in World Cups, the public began to ask themselves if some were pulling the strings and buying off referees to advance host teams. With two teams coming from below the top 20 and being vaulted into the semi-finals, the cause for questioning was definitely warranted. However, as we started to research for possible score-fixing, we stumbled upon larger problems that could shake the very foundation upon which the WCC is built.

The Belmore Family are nearly as widely renowned for their football success than their failure to win bids to host World Cups. At the time of this broadcast, it had been six in a row that The Belmore Family had lucked out on. Such heartbreak and disappointment can push a nation to great lengths, and in this case, TBF may well have been pushed off the brink.

Fox looks directly towards the camera We warn that you that the audio tape you are about to here contains some information you may not want to hear and a lot of information the WCC doesn’t want you to hear. This conversation is between Belmorian ambassador to football Alan Belmore and upper-ranking WCC representative, Steve Ribeiro.

Cut to a shot of a terribly ugly mustard yellow telephone from the 70s, with captions popping up below the screen on the screen
<Alan Belmore> Do you accept bribes for the WC13 vote?
<Steve Ribeiro> *laughs* no
< Steve Ribeiro > Why?
< Steve Ribeiro > I mean I'm not interested, but if I was, which I am not.. What might I expect to swing my vote?
<Alan Belmore> I dunno, I usually accept whatever they want
< Steve Ribeiro > Such as...
<Alan Belmore> usually RP help (in wars and the like). I once had to pay TnUI 100 trillion meeps
< Steve Ribeiro > So you've already bought off votes?
< Steve Ribeiro > Such as TnUI??
<Alan Belmore> ahem... officially, no, unofficially
<Alan Belmore> no, TnUI woz for something different
< Steve Ribeiro > I see
< Steve Ribeiro > We dont really partake in wars
< Steve Ribeiro > However a large *cough*cash donation may swing my vote
<Alan Belmore> how much
< Steve Ribeiro > I dont know... make me an offer
<Alan Belmore> I can go up to 6 trillion
< Steve Ribeiro > Half your national budget to ensure one vote?
<Alan Belmore> (Alans) 2 Alans to a pound
<Alan Belmore> hmmm... prob a bit
<Alan Belmore> 1 trillion is my starting offer
< Steve Ribeiro > How about two tril?
<Alan Belmore> sure
<Alan Belmore> deal
< Steve Ribeiro > Alright
< Steve Ribeiro > Pleasure doing business with you
<Alan Belmore> and the same to you

Fox: Shocking. However, as Alan Belmore implied there were more bribes. How many more? We don’t know. But we can be sure there has been a shocking undercurrent of greed and deceit going around in the once proud World Cup. Alan Belmore was very careful not to incriminate many of his bribees, however he did leave the name of one nation willing to take bribes, Total n Utter Insanity.

We contacted a TnUI representative, Rick Dudley, to ask why and what exactly was this bribe for.

The very same shot of that terribly ugly mustard yellow telephone pops up

<Roberto Fox> Hey Rick, you mind explaining why you took bribes from TBF?
<Rick Dudley> Took bribes to do what?
<Roberto Fox> The 100 trillion meeps bribe
<Rick Dudley> That wasn't a bribe

Fox: It became obvious that Dudley was not going to spill the beans on his nation’s backdoor shenanigans. We tried to contact Brazillico’s WCC Representative, Steve Ribeiro, to question him about accepting bribes, but a representative said he was over in Tahiti overseeing the construction of his ubervilla.

Most of the debate in the WCC of late has been based on downsizing the committee. However, with the shocking revelations revealed on this program today, perhaps closer attention needs to be paid towards snuffing out the corrupt. From buying off referees to placing mammoth amounts of collateral to ensure votes, this World Cup Committee is no longer the fair and just governing body it was in its beginning. Will the WCC ever recoup the black eye it has given itself and the soon to follow kick in the groin to come from the public? That remains to be seen. For everyone at Hardline, I’m Roberto Fox, good night.

The lights in the studio dim to the point where we can barely see the outline of Mr. Fox, walking back out towards the left of the studio. The camera zooms in on Hardline logo still projected on the back wall, where it remains for a few seconds until the show concludes.
The Belmore Family
18-02-2004, 20:49
Alan Belmore: I have never, nor will ever talk to any senior Brazillian government officials to bribe them. Even if we were to bribr anyone. That job would go to Jack Belmore, head of Sport. But of course we never bribed anyone.
Brazillico
18-02-2004, 21:10
A camera squares up on Steve Ribeiro, wearing a white double-breasted white Armani suit, with his freshly black-dyed hair slicked back. He sticks a fat cuban cigar in between his lips with his plump hands, adorned with golden rings with precious stones, then fishes in his pocket and pulls out a diamond-covered zippo. With his left hand, he pulls out a hundred Alan bill and open up the cap of his lighter to set the money ablaze. He then brings the flaming bill to the tip of the cigar, where he puffs on it and get his cuban to catch. Steve then procedes to throw the bill to the bill, re-adjust himself in his tall white leather chair and pull the cigar out of his mouth.

Yeah, I admit it. I took the bribe.

He presses his chocolate-brown cigar to his lips and takes a slight puff from it.

Trust me, you dont get this rich being a Minister of Sport and Culture. You dont get an ubervilla. Makes a large gesture with his hands to bring attention to the palace which surrounds him. You dont get the uberyacht, and you sure as hell don't get the money to buy Tahiti. But what can you do? Bring me to justice? I think not, I've already got the locals in my army and have made significant investments out of my two tri-tri-trillion Alan portfolio, towards building my navy. But I'm a man of my word, and come time for the WCC meetings, I shall vote for The Belmore Family. Ta-ta.

Steve brings his cigar towards his mouth yet again and takes a good, deep inhalation. He gazes out the window to his back, overlooking the tropical growth and turquoise-blue ocean, before blowing out a long, slow cloud of smoke.