Olympics
 

Am i the only one who thinks that the London 2012 Olympics are a complete waste of money in the current economic climate? I actually think the only reason we were awarded the Olympics was because the worldwide recession was completely forecasted back in 2005 hence Tony Blairs decision to stand aside before it hit the fan. As for the legacy, we are left with a football stadium for either West Ham, Spurs or Orient which will be funded to the tune of 20 million pounds a year of taxpayers money. Imagine how many nurses, policemen, teachers, hospitals and other public services could have benefited from the money spent on this glorified sportsday...A complete waste of money imho.

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No, you aren't the only one who thinks this.
It is indeed a total waste of money.

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I agree

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Did you see the TV programme (maybe 12 months ago) about the Olympic Committee's demands from a host country? Was a real eye-opener. Complete tax breaks, huge payments to people you've never heard of, shunning the needs of the masses to allow IOC members/sponsors/diplomats better access to the games. The list went on...

Wasting a bit of money to showcase our country to the world isn't a bad idea in itself. But adhering to the rules and financial demands they put down was a travesty. How a small group of fat cats can bully a different country into submission every four years is beyond me. It's the same with FIFA World Cups too.

Both the IOC and FIFA seem to be nigh on dictatorships - if they were countries, we'd probably have 'liberated' them by now.

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Most of the money wasted on the Olympics is from the lottery. This has had a massive effect on local community groups being able to secure lottery funding to improve the areas we live in. This is my main objection to the Olympics.

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No groove i also think its a terrible waste of cash,even more so in this climate, in fact most people i know think that.

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The thing I'm waiting to see, is the traffic chaos which will be caused by the introduction of special lanes just to ferry people to the venue, ya and it is a waste of money

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Complete waste of money!

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£27 million pounds to turn the Olympic Stadium back in to a field with some sheep for one night. Obscene waste of money

BBC News - London 2012: Olympics opening ceremony details revealed

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A complete waste of our money.

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Completely disgraceful!

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There have already been 157 cast rehearsals and Boyle added: "I've been astounded by the selfless dedication of the volunteers"

"a menagerie of 70 sheep, 12 horses, three cows, two goats, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, nine geese and three sheepdogs"

Wonder if this lot of volunteers will also end up sleeping under London bridge in fear of getting their Job Seekers allowance stopped :D

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But Dave its "ART" :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: and don't forget the games are coming in "UNDER" budget:eek::eek::eek:

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It should be hilarious watching the animals crap on worldwide TV coverage.

No doubt there will be unpaid labourers on hand to shovel the sh............

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They are volunteers Margaret;)

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But no swine. I wonder why? Would some people be offended by a pair of pigs? If so, who are they?

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If you are thinking 'muslims', think again - jews

They will use the anthem 'Jerusalem'
The zion olympics

PS I have shown in another thread - Rothschild is in charge of governments - (Murdoch is small fry). To know the real power 'follow the money'

Re: Olympics
 

Well the BBC's video of the set model shows a couple of pigs...

BBC News - A look at the Olympics 'countryside' opening ceremony

What offends me is - no Morris dancers? They've got a cricket match and maypoles so why not include these quintessentially English characters?

Seriously, if people want to see the countryside why can't they just go out and look at it? We could have something far more imaginative on opening night. All these animals will be wanting to go to sleep by 9pm!

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[quote=susie123;997428]Well the BBC's video of the set model shows a couple of pigs...

BBC News - A look at the Olympics 'countryside' opening ceremony

quote]

The BBC are wrong, as usual. However, the latest rumour here in London is that the pigs may be back in providing the sheep can be ritually slaughtered at the end of the show.

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[quote=Tealeaf;997435]LOL, but why are the BBC wrong? The model came via Danny Boyle not the BBC. Or do you mean the original post about the opening ceremony, which also came from the BBC, is wrong?

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(sigh) I can't piggin' wait!

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How incredibly embarrassing:o

Olympics opening ceremony suit "like something out of an Elvis tribute band" - Olympics - Sport - The Independent

"Their opening ceremony parade suits, which will not be revealed until the day itself, according to one team member who has been kitted out this week at the TeamGB preparation camp at Loughborough, "look like something out of an Elvis tribute band."

White, with a lot of gold, is apparently the motif of the Next-designed suits"

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No expense spared for our lads and lasses:D

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It get more like the Royal Its a Knockout every time a bit of info is leaked.

It promotes the concept of multinationalist world government when they seem intent on making us be ashamed to be british.

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You speak for yourself Margaret thats something nobody is going to make me feel, I'm British and proud of it:alright:

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I think you need to explore the difference between Judaism- a religion,
.....and Zionism - political ideology.

Zionism shelters from criticism by invoking allegations of antisemitism.

Many jews are aware that their religion is being misused.

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Margaret, you wrote Jews in bold. Now you change tatics.....
I stand by what i said.
So Zionism is no different that other fundelmentalists of this world, whether they are Muslim, Christan, Jewish or any other faith. So why oh why did you write Jews instead of fundelmentalist Zionism?

I have no issue with you or what you choose to believe, the power of the internet can change peoples views, not always for the better, however if i had radical views I would choose not to air them in public..
You have made a rather bad show posting that on here, then trying to cover it up. I am disapointed with you in this, we both have differing views regarding lots of subjects, but i have enjoyed debating them with you, however this is different. I will post no more on this, as is will lead nowhere.

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Sorry for the thread wander, but...

Lyrics by the well known Zionist William Blake???

No such thing as a Zionist idealogy, it's more a conglomerate of ideas from various factions. ( Something like the current coalition government, where nobody agrees on anything ;) )

Changing the goalposts? Are we talking about idealogies or religions?

I would argue that 'many' C of E or Catholics are aware that their religion is being misused, and that 'many' tories, liberals and labourites are aware that their idealogies are being misused.

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Um ya Liberals have become Labour Labour have become Tories and the Tories don't know where they are anymore:rolleyes:

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Up their own arses mostly ! :rolleyes: They certainly aren't living in the real world that's for sure, mind you I suppose that goes for them all really ! :mad:

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We its just suprising just what an impact MR ED has had as Labour Leader Dave, only yesterday on the good old BBC the newscaster reported that Labour Leader, David Milliband had.............:eek::eek::rolleyes:

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You mean they've got a talking Horse as a leader ? :eek: Usually it's just the horses arse ! My, my, a whole Horse eh ? How times have changed.

Still, whichever farmyard beast is in charge it doesn't detract from the waste of taxpayers money by bidding for & supporting this travesty, these so called "Games". I can't abide athletics & I'm damn sure the money could've been better invested in something worthwhile that'd benefit the whole Country.

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Ya but just think of the pleasure you'll get when we work it up the Germans Dave:jimbo: :D

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Oh I'm always partial to a bit of a gloat (okay a lot of gloat & insufferable smugness) whenever the English or anyone for that matter does the Germans, it gives me a warm glow & a feeling of up yours ya kraut barsteward, that'll teach ya for hogging all the sunbeds & deckchairs !

But athletics ? Really ? How very tiresome & tedious, endlessly plodding round a track for many a mile, why ? You end up back where you started & the scenery hasn't changed any. Chucking things away from you then padding after them to see how far you've chucked 'em ? Pointless, if you're after chucking it away use the bin ! :idunno:

Absolutely pointless pursuits.

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I take it athletics wasn't your first choice at school then Dave:rolleyes:

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Didn't even figure on the list as an option. :D Footy, Cricket for me with swimming grudgingly thrown in (literally, in the deep end the Barfturds ! Sink or swim or the underwater moon scuttle to the shallow bit) also a bit of gymnasties under duress as part of the curriculum. Did try Rugby once or twice, but having had it explained to me that it wasn't just about piling on & beating your opponents up & that there were rules ..... well, sort of lost its shine. :rolleyes:

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Glad to see this is gradually returning to thread - if I might be permitted to give it another gentle nudge in the right direction by mentioning the events of yesterday and today in Morecambe and Accrington, in other words the arrival of the Olympic flame in my present location and my home town...

This event has brought people out and given them something to cheer about. It has also given communities and individuals the opportunity to reward people for achievements and service by nominating them to carry the torch.

However much you may hate athletics Dave there is an equal number who despise football. If the World Cup had come to UK as it so nearly did I'm sure people would have been complaining about the waste of money in staging it. However all sport be it athletics, football or whatever has a role to play in giving people something to get involved in either competitively or behind the scenes or just as a leisure pursuit. Surely that cannot be a bad thing.

It's slightly unfortunate that the Olympics are always referred to by the name of the host city rather than country whereas the World Cup goes by the name of the host country. However I'm sure that London 2012 will have a far greater positive effect on the whole country than it does just on London, even if it's just in the memories of the folk who have seen the Olympic flame pass by. And it won't just be sport but tourism as well.

And to those who are complaining about blanket coverage on TV - it's a once in a lifetime event. I hate tennis but I have to put up with wall to wall Wimbledon for two weeks every year. :(:eek:

Re: Olympics
 

You'll have to put up with for longer this year as the Olympic tennis is coming from there too Sue!

Can't wait, myself. Bring on the players dressed in white, crack open the punnets of strawbs and its Pimms all round!:D

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The difference being Sue, UK already has many World class Stadia for football & we hosted the European Cup in 1996, extra tax payers money wasn't invested into a grand arena & "Football Village" to accommodate the teams unlike the Olympics.

Several places benefited by the football played at their grounds (Liverpool, Nottingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, London) & the locations where teams stayed usually accompanied by their supporters also received an important financial boost to their economies.

The cost to the Public purse is around 11 Billion, according to the attached report. I can't quite grasp such figures, but I'm pretty sure the return will most definitely not come close. So for me, despite all the trumpeting & drum banging the "Games" are in my view a wasteful squandering of a finite resource that could be better used.

As to the Legacy of the games that is also debatable, what isn't debatable is the huge bill which the tax payer will be picking up & paying for for a long time to come.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/co...ympics-report/

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Eleven billion is probably a drop in the ocean of public finances. I know there are a lot of whingers (Not counting you - you don't whinge!) but I prefer to look on the positive side - something to look forward to, be proud of for our country etc etc. No wonder our athletes struggle to do well when the attitude of some is so negative. We should be talking up our country and proud that it has been chosen to host this event.

Perhaps people would prefer that some of the money be spent on paying benefits to those who complained so loudly about the harsh treatment they received when they were given the opportunity of having a job at the Games.

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One thing that has just struck me about the torch relay cavalcade is that despite all the fuss about the Olympic rings being copyright or whatever and shops etc being banned from using them in displays, they were nowhere to be seen in yesterday's display. That is a shame because to most people they are the defining symbol of the Games. The Coca Cola vehicle had stripes in the colours of the rings bit that was about it. To me the rings should be everywhere, just like the Union flag for the jubilee or royal wedding, if only to get people interested.

On the bright side the London 2012 logo wasn't to be seen either!

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Two new aircraft carriers-7 billion pounds. Except we can't afford to modify one and we won't be able to finish the other-it will be mothballed. Neither will have any planes on it,we couldn't afford to run the ones we had and we won't get any more for a long while, if ever. Loss of jobs for sailors, support staff, etc- several thousand.
Tourism bookings for London down by 30%, cost to the economy-?
11 billion may be a drop in the ocean but we're told we ran out of that sort of drop in 2008.
I'm not against the Olympics, not really interested either but when they can spend 27 million pounds turning a new arena into a field for one day you have to wonder how wisely the rest of the 11 billions has been spent.

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This is a long video - an undercover investigative journalist, who has been employed by the security firm G4S who are responsible for olympic security, exposes what a sham it really is.

Well worth watching

Exclusive: Undercover Reporter Infiltrates Security Firm to Expose London Olympics -- BCFM 22.06.12 - YouTube!

...and if you have olympic tickets, you still have time to sell them on.:rolleyes:

Re: Olympics
 

Interesting Video, full of the usual things 'investigative journalists' are famous for. Intersting to find that Mr Hazeldean does not seem to be avaiable on the usual Freelance Journalist directories. Of course anyone can call themselves a journalist:rolleyes:
If all what he says is true, then yes it is alarming, however seeing the same inept organisation run security at several Major UK Airports and international ones, (anyone who has travelled abroad recently will know how petty security is these days), it is amazing that terrorists don't strike every week.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Still it makes a good story, just like all the others:rolleyes:

Re: Olympics
 

Thank you BG for putting my thoughts into words. A truly riveting (not) expose from a self confessed paranoid person (Mr Hazeldean).

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Whilst that 'reporter' is still employed by G4S it is reasonable to assume that he uses a pseudonym.

I find what he says to be credible in view of the notorious track record of Group 4, now renamed G4S.

Group 4: a history of blunders | UK news | guardian.co.uk

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Mind you anything is credible if its a conspiracy Margaret;)

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....only if you consider their bungling incompetence to be deliberate
(which is a possibility)

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Everythings possible in the mind of a conspirator theorist:rolleyes:

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The world would actually stop without them;)

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Don't get me wrong Margaret, i could not agree more at the joke that is G4S. However, I am one of the few people on here who deals with them day to day, as I said, if everything your 'undercover reporter' said is true, well it is the unthinkable. But and its a darn big but, he has got lots of publicity for what is a you tube video, no real evidence, hard cold evidence.

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In todays Torygraph, the effect the cost of the Olympics has on Charities due to the cost involved.


London 2012 Olympics: Charities who lost funding to pay for the Games 'won’t see their money for another decade' - Telegraph

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Are you convinced now?

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My wife works for G4S . They took over the contracts for everthing from cleaning to building maintainance on the Courts nationwide. That is Magistrates and Crown Courts. This was almost 12 months since. She has worked at the Magistrates Court in Accy for over 20 years as a cleaner.G4S issued her with a mountain of paperwork stating what should and shouldn't be done and how good a company it is to work for. Almost 12 months since and she has still not got her "uniform"

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Ya sounds like a great firm Frank, no wonder they couldn't get enough takers for the security at the games, they'd have got their uniforms next July:rolleyes:

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Fair enough Margaret, you were right.
Still you had to be sooner or later. Anyone fancy some Amero's:rolleyes:

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Here's how to spice up tv coverage of the games ... oops The Games;) ... an article in the "Guardian" the other day discussed sex in the Olympic Village. It seems that 100,000 condoms will be made available in the Village. And, no doubt, most athletes will bring thier own. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I suspect that there will be

Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On (1957) - YouTube

Why can't we have live coverage of the orgies:theband: That, and topless women's beach volleyball, would drive up the ratings big time:D

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Was listening to the useless incompetent cow Teresa May on the news, seems funny to me, they aint slagging G4S??? in fact none of this lot of tosspots are, perhaps they have contributed to Camerons pot?:rolleyes:

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I am utterly sick of the whole thing and it hasn't even started yet.

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I learned something today about the Olympic ritual (or 'ceremony', if you prefer that:rolleyes:).

It hasn't had much publicity so it might be news to you too.

http://festival.london2012.com/events/9000961496

"Friday 27 July 2012 will be no ordinary morning. At 8.12 AM on the first day of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, 'Work No.1197: All the bells in a country rung as quickly and as loudly as possible for three minutes' by Turner Prize-winning artist and musician Martin Creed, will be performed throughout the UK.
The nation is invited to ring thousands of bells at the same time, whether schools bells, church bells, town hall bells, bicycle bells or door bells.
To make this performance happen, the All the Bells team invites bell ringers and those interested in ringing bells to sign up and get involved in the performance, alongside thousands of people across the country.
By ringing any kind of bell – hand bell, church bell, bicycle bell, door bell – you will be part of the performance and involved in welcoming the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to the UK."


I recommend beeswax earplugs.

Sound is vibration, and since all physical matter(including you) is vibrating energy, such a ritual (sorry, ceremony:rolleyes:) is best avoided if you can manage to.

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I saw that this morning, think I'll keep my head under the pillows for an extra 3 minutes next Friday:D

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London shops are having reduced trade
BBC News - Olympics 'hits London retailers as shoppers stay away'

Roads, streets and the underground are almost empty.
Olympics London 2012: London visitor levels fall by two-thirds over fears of traffic chaos and high prices | Mail Online

Hotel rooms are cheap and empty
London's hotels and restaurants empty ahead of Olympics | Money | guardian.co.uk

Seats in the Olympic venues are empty
Soldiers and students to fill empty seats - FT.com

What an expensive fiasco!

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The Olympics are probably the best thing to have happened in post-war Britain.

They have cost £20billion. But a major part of east London has been regenerated and there are world class sporting facilities remaining for the community.

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The key words being East London:rolleyes:

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Agree with you on that mate

:) :do-one: :do-one: :do-one: :do-one: :)

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Shouldn't you be helping Nicola with the packing?

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Come on Wyn its nearly his bo bos time:rolleyes:

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I know, Jay, but I just like to indulge him in his little fantasy.

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Olympic News....

Team USA Arrived by Private Jet

Team Japan...Business Class

Team France by Euro-star

Teams Bangladesh.. Pakistan.. Afghanistan.. Sierra Leone.. Somalia Ghana.. Jamaica Kosovo Iran Iraq and Albania.

Arrived By Oyster Card.

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Did we count them all in, so we can count them all out again?

No doubt the Home Office has set up a reception centre for all those seeking asylum after Sunday's Closing Ceremony!

:(

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It's started.........

Cameroon athletes 'missing' from London 2012 Olympics amid asylum fears - Telegraph

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Yeh but these people may have a genuine claim? after all they are fleeing the "Olympics":D:D

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Maybe a football ref looking for somewhere to hide?

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There'll be no hiding place for one of them:D