Olympinonsense

[JohnSkelton]

Furthermore I believe it is not permissible to wear a BA gown with a shell suit.

It's not permissible to do all sorts of things these days http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLPVb...ature=youtu.be

[Lateralthinking1]

Erm, Lat, I can't be the only Oxbridge alumnus on these boards to be a little taken aback by this tirade - OK it was a while ago and things might have changed but I don't recognise this picture at all. I must have moved in different circles but seemed to come across remarkably few of these people. I do recall a group of Hoorays who probably do answer to your description who took to working in the Radcliffe Camera for about half a term until they were told off by the librarian for being noisy and clearly got bored and left - but they were a tiny minority.

Thank you for your comments Richard Tarleton. Allow me to clarify that I am consistent in any attacks I make, that is to say that they are not pre-emptive but always in response to unprovoked and unjustified attacks from other people.

- That has been the case in regard to the Olympian attack from the organisers of London 2012 on ordinary lives. Only this morning Chris Grayling has been touring the London radio stations to remind everyone who has been required to pay for it - and it has been everyone - why support from the Government for many on the breadline is now "unaffordable".

- It has been the case in regard to specific Scottish and Welsh athletes who have chosen to attack this country when they are enjoying the personal benefits of representing it. They are far from being wholly representative of opinion in their regions, as Anna has eloquently described, but they are symbolic of a substantial unacceptable strand of it.

- It has been the case in regard to multinational corporations which have deprived ordinary members of the public who did want to attend the Olympics from obtaining tickets.

- And it has also been the case in regard to quite a significant percentage of Oxbridge graduates in the public eye. The Bullingdon Club, which smashes up restaurants, included Johnson and Osborne. Burley loves a party with Nazi regalia and his woman friend has a history of swigging from champagne bottles while rolling around on the floor. Cameron has refused to say whether he was a user of Class A drugs, a highly unusual stance for anyone who has never used them. Mensch did use them. Those falling out of Annabels are in exactly the same state as many on a Saturday in Romford High Street.

That is the tip of the iceberg. It is important because it is precisely these people who are taking decisions that affect all of our lives directly. And I have to say that I am quite bemused by the reaction to my comments. I didn't say that they applied to all Oxbridge graduates. I therefore find the defence mechanisms being offered by you and other contributors a trifle odd. I live in a road of fifteen houses. If anyone were to say that those in the majority of them left a lot to be desired, I would agree. We might all be in roughly the same place as each other but, while I am one of the few who would still argue for community, not many of them in 2012 represent me, nor would I want them to. The same applies to where I was educated and indeed my wider family.

[Resurrection Man]

I very much doubt you could manage that.

Try me.

[amateur51]

It's not permissible to do all sorts of things these days http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLPVb...ature=youtu.be

"If you haven't done anything then you've got nothing to worry about, have you?"

How many times do we hear than on here

[Resurrection Man]

It's still a scandal that the seats were empty. Thousands of potential visitors to the Games were denied tickets (and probably gave up trying as a result) because of the IOC's bossy, demanding behaviour. They behave with the arrogance of a multinational and the Government has repeatedly rolled over to them.

I agree with you. My post was made purely because I find the hobby-horses continually being ridden by some here to be a bit too long in saddle. I respect reasoned argument. Not kneejerk hyperbole and cant.

[Petrushka]

"If you haven't done anything then you've got nothing to worry about, have you?"

How many times do we hear than on here

While walking along Whitehall on Friday morning I was stopped near the entrance to Horse Guards by a soldier in battledress but not armed and he (politely it must be said) demanded to know where I was going. Now never in a million years did I think we would be under martial law in our capital but there were more troops along Whitehall than I've seen on Remembrance Sunday and I later saw what seemed like a brigade coming along the South Kensington subway. London seemed to be on a war footing.

At various points in city there were checkpoints manned by people of mostly Asian origin from what I could see and all dressed in those high-vis jackets. I was curious to know what powers these people had to stop traffic and prevent vehicles from proceeding down a road that wasn't to be used for an Olympic event just yet. London seemed to be in lock-down all last week and no doubt will be more so over the next fortnight.

[Resurrection Man]

.... Allow me to clarify that I am consistent in any attacks I make, that is to say that they are not pre-emptive but always in response to unprovoked and unjustified attacks from other people.

......

Oh please. Spare us the 'poor little me' act. You posted

That there are more chavs in Oxbridge than on all of the council estates put together; that their artistic vision, such as it is, is often far more of a hell hole than the worst living conditions in Dickensian London; that most of them are still spoilt little rich kids, entirely remote from the general public and blase about anyone's welfare along with their own; that the Prime Minister has a strange choice of friends, many of whom arguably have already helped to destabilise the country; that a number are a danger to our treasured institutions; and that the woman in question could bear more than a passing resemblance to the lovely Samantha.

That there are more chavs in Oxbridge than on all of the council estates put together; On what do you base that 'statistic' ? Maybe we should change the name of the forum to 'GeneralisationsRUs'?

You then retrospectively seek to justify this diatribe with random quotes in italics but no indication of where they came from. Are they yours? Extracts from others? What exactly?

[Lateralthinking1]

The latest Newspeak from Sebastian Coe - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19034653.

Assuming that describing the reverse of the truth as the truth is still the last resort, and admittedly that is now questionable, one might see his comments as the first indication of bungling over the general ticket allocation. Perhaps it wasn't just the freeloaders not bothering to turn up after all.

Now that the rubber has hit the road, Coe has another favourite phrase. On three occasions, something has been "stuffed to the gunnels", albeit only in his imagination.

Speaking of invisible people, Dave was apparently in The Mall for the cycling until he realised that Cavendish wasn't winning. He then disappeared faster than Usain Bolt. Thank the lord we were all at least spared further cynical early electioneering.

[Anna]

When I saw the headline: London Venues Stuffed - Lord Coe I thought initially he meant "stuffed" as in, well you know what I mean! As to the ticketing fiasco and empty seats, on a previous thread when the tickets went on sale several people here admitted they had given up due to a) only being permitted to pay via Visa (a Sponsor), and b) the website crashing constantly and frustrating their attempts . In fact we don't really know if these seats are empty because the 'Olympic Family' ticket holders cannot be asked to turn up or whether it's a result of the incompetence of those in charge of ticket sales in the beginning. I suspect the latter (as does Lat) as there were 1,000 empty seats at the gymnastics and 500 at the swimming (one of the events reportedly an instant sell out) That's an awful lot of tickets given away for free isn't it? Like the G4S shambles it seems someone, somewhere, has mightily messed up and there will no doubt be a mighty cover up.

[Lateralthinking1]

Oh please. Spare us the 'poor little me' act. You posted

That there are more chavs in Oxbridge than on all of the council estates put together; On what do you base that 'statistic' ? Maybe we should change the name of the forum to 'GeneralisationsRUs'?

You then retrospectively seek to justify this diatribe with random quotes in italics but no indication of where they came from. Are they yours? Extracts from others? What exactly?

Of course they are my comments. There is much in your wording that reinforces everything I think. The words - "diatribe", "cant", "poor little me act" - appear to indicate that some really do reside on an imaginary mountain. At the same time, one senses a fear in them of shrinkage without some old badge staying pinned to their lapels.

It concerns me greatly that people so narrowly skilled should be churned through our hallowed institutions. One does not expect of everyone the ability for self-critique but there is much to be said for questioning immediate environment. I find it staggering how you are choosing to interpret the application of my comments as universal, even when I have explained that they are not. If that inability to see shades of grey is widespread, no wonder a Burley has such an acute focus on black and white.

I find your interpretation of my comments as "poor little me" particularly revealing. That emphasis on a "me" is all yours and precisely what I expect from an ivory tower. While I frequently write about my own position, there is always a wider context of concern for the general public. Ordinary people do exist as well.

Two more points. That suggestion of plagiarism, laughable as it is, could almost imply that a few sentences thrown together moderately effectively could only emanate from Oxford or Cambridge. Please tell me that I am wrong in that interpretation.

I sense that you want a battle as again befits that background, otherwise you would have accepted some of the nuances I outlined. It is also evident elsewhere in your contributions. "Enough" you said to me and that was quite the cherry on the cake. Regrettably, I am not so easily ordered, although it would be wonderful to live life happily compliant. The problem with Britain is that few are permitted it, not having much to respect. Thanks for depicting the core issue in a nutshell.

[Nick Armstrong]

When I saw the headline: London Venues Stuffed - Lord Coe I thought initially he meant "stuffed" as in, well you know what I mean!

Is there any other way to read it?

(Reminds me of the moment on Xmas Day in our old house when my red-faced granny while dishing up lunch stuck her head through the serving hatch between kitchen and dining room and made all of us fall about by shouting "Who wants stuffing?!" )

As to the ticketing fiasco and empty seats, on a previous thread when the tickets went on sale several people here admitted they had given up due to a) only being permitted to pay via Visa (a Sponsor), and b) the website crashing constantly and frustrating their attempts.

I was one such - I finally got my order in but was allocated the square root of sweet Fanny Adams (she's one of the Canadian sprinters, by the way)

the 'Olympic Family' ticket holders cannot be asked to turn up

She's so genteel !!



(Bad tempered old thread this has turned into, hasn't it? )

[Anna]

Well, empty seats problem solved!! Locog have called in the Army:

Soldiers have been drafted in to fill empty seats at the London 2012 Olympics after prime blocks of seating at the Aquatics Centre and gymnastics arena went unused on the first day of competition.

Troops were despatched to the North Greenwich Arena this morning by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog), to take up seats left empty by accredited officials from Olympic and sporting federations, as well as some sponsors and members of the media. More troops, many of whom had their leave cancelled to provide emergency cover after the organisers failed to find enough security guards, will be issued with last-minute invites to take seats in venues when blocks of seats are found to be empty, the games organisers said this morning.

At Sunday's first session of the mens basketball at the 12,000 capacity basketball arena, 70% of the lower tier of seats – which includes those allocated to sponsors, Olympic officials and athletic federations – was empty. About 15% of the larger upper tier, sold to the public, was empty.

From The Guardian online, just now. Full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012...ats-locog-army

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I wonder whether this is just another example of one of the downsides of privatising the running of public events - i.e. that noone knows what anyone else is doing and therefore nothing gets done properly.

[tantris]

Is there a thread about the opening ceremony? Sorry, I'm too lazy and faint-hearted to trail through this hymn of misanthropy, sorry, thread, to check.

I thought, apart from the appalling Macca, that there was a huge amount to enjoy. The transformation from bucolic idyll to industrial pandemonium was particularly well done IMO.

[Lateralthinking1]

Well, empty seats problem solved!! Locog have called in the Army:

Soldiers have been drafted in to fill empty seats at the London 2012 Olympics after prime blocks of seating at the Aquatics Centre and gymnastics arena went unused on the first day of competition.

Troops were despatched to the North Greenwich Arena this morning by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog), to take up seats left empty by accredited officials from Olympic and sporting federations, as well as some sponsors and members of the media. More troops, many of whom had their leave cancelled to provide emergency cover after the organisers failed to find enough security guards, will be issued with last-minute invites to take seats in venues when blocks of seats are found to be empty, the games organisers said this morning.

At Sunday's first session of the mens basketball at the 12,000 capacity basketball arena, 70% of the lower tier of seats – which includes those allocated to sponsors, Olympic officials and athletic federations – was empty. About 15% of the larger upper tier, sold to the public, was empty.

From The Guardian online, just now. Full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012...ats-locog-army

Well that seals it. Viewed alongside Petrushka's comment earlier on, our dear leaders not only have all of the economic efficiency of a tinpot state. They have demonstrated an unprecedented instinct in a supposedly free country for martial law.

When it comes to misanthropy, a slapdash disdain for detail has been one of the most unfriendly aspects of the Olympic "arrangements". It has been of immense cost to the public. That though is nothing compared with the sheer hatred of democracy on display.

In less than two weeks, the latter has been brushed aside more often than Cabinet Ministers nonchalantly flick their hair. They are very firm of the handle while the bell is flying like a missile towards our heads.

So many lines have been crossed that it is very worrying what Britain will be like when this most sinister of carousels stops. Behind all the tinsel and wrapping paper, there is now less freedom here than in early 1945.