Olympics 20:12

[Horsetan]

... the world would be a much better place if even a fraction of the energy that went into whinging, went into something more positive...

Yes, the Iranians could do with a bit of help in the nuclear power department.

[richard]

As you have a problem with the concept of "being positive", it does not include abusive comments to forum members, and sarcastic attempts to pick a fight with the site owner.

[PinzaC55]

Sorry I didn't realise that opposing the "party line" would count as "whinging". I'll pop off and get myself a plastic Union Jack flag and bowler hat then fill one of the empty seats!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympi ... QandA.html

[richard]

Opposing the party line is fine - free country and all that, but I find it amusing that those claiming apathy are rather vocal about it - you see it on the BBC news comments too.

From those overseas, a lot of the complaining does come across whinging. E.g. the assumptions about Chinese-made Union Flags. If everyone feels the same (and of course a lot claim they do) then it sounds like a huge business opportunity to me! That is a positive approach.

[PinzaC55]

Opposing the party line is fine - free country and all that, but I find it amusing that those claiming apathy are rather vocal about it - you see it on the BBC news comments too.

From those overseas, a lot of the complaining does come across whinging. E.g. the assumptions about Chinese-made Union Flags. If everyone feels the same (and of course a lot claim they do) then it sounds like a huge business opportunity to me! That is a positive approach.

" but I find it amusing that those claiming apathy are rather vocal about it ". Personally I don't possess apathy towards the olympics, I possess antipathy. As an earlier poster put it, it is a squandering of money by a bankrupt country.

I don't care how my antipathy comes across to those overseas. The "assumption" about the Uniion Jack flags being made in China is absolutely valid - I suggest anyone in the UK checks the labels on a random selection of things in their home - the vast majority will be made in Japan, China or Korea. If those countries suddenly disappeared from the map we wouldn't be able to clothe ourselves as we have no manufacturing base worth speaking of.

" If everyone feels the same (and of course a lot claim they do) then it sounds like a huge business opportunity to me! That is a positive approach." It is an unrealistic approach. Similar goods made in the UK would be far more expensive because British people have to be paid a minimum wage and have decent working conditions. The "patriotism" of the flag wavers would evaporate if they had to pay more.

[S.A.C. Martin]

Just been to the Fencing - brilliant atmosphere, great fun, no empty seats anywhere to be seen. Sat with Egyptians, Italians, Germans, French and Ukrainian visitors along with my Maltese girlfriend and a good load of Brits. Real party atmosphere and was great fun. I shan't be complaining that it was a waste of my money; I came for the spectacle of sport and I got it in spades.

[richard]

A lot of that money actually comes from the sponsors, TV rights, etc,etc and there is an additional economic boost from all the visitors, etc. Not really the huge cost to the taxpayer that it is being portrayed by some as. And *some* of the facilities will survive (sure, history says that the initial bid will be optimistic in what does survive!)
In fact in tightened economic times, a country should be spending *more* money. This is the clearest macro economic lesson from the US and Europe during the past century. The money that has been spent with the Olympics has gone into boosting the economy. This is why you are hearing talk that Cameron's austerity measures are cutting too deep. Spend now to boost the economy, and then pay down the debt when times are good (which Thatcher, Blair/Brown, and dubya Bush alas did not - hence some of the debt problems).

I don't doubt that most of the flags are coming from the Far East (I doubt many are made in Japan actually), but the original comment was still an assumption - not much different from the tabloid assumptions we sadly see too many of. UK-made flags could easily command a higher price. It is basic business marketing. If the patriotism evaporates as you suggest (and I accept it could, although I think you might be surprised what a bit of clever marketing can do), then that sounds very much like whinging in my book. We are only talking about a few pence more for people to put their money where their mouths are. People buy British when it comes to things like fruit, so why not flags?

[strang steel]

Actually, I watched the archery on iPlayer this morning because the weather here was dull and miserable, and I found the competition to be tense and exciting at times.

It looks to be quite a decent sport and I wouldn't mind having a go myself.

[richard]

I don't think I've touched a bow since PGL...

I missed the instructor and my classmates, so I can't have been too bad! (or is that "not good enough"?)

[52D]

I don't think I've touched a bow since PGL...

I missed the instructor and my classmates, so I can't have been too bad! (or is that "not good enough"?)

Surely you mean you have not touched a bow since your days in Sherwood Forest

[richard]

That was actually Boreatton on the old Welsh border - so guarding the English border against any potential invasions from the west!

[Autocar Publicity]

I missed the instructor and my classmates, so I can't have been too bad! (or is that "not good enough"?)

Surely, that depends what you were aiming at?

Give my regards to your missus and her sister...

[PinzaC55]

I think it best if I leave this thread here. See you all on the railway related threads.

[strang steel]

I don't understand why people feel the need to leave a thread just because others have a different opinion to theirs?

Whatever happened to tolerance and good manners?

I agree with the sentiments expressed about manufacturing, but it is not a new phenomenon. The train sets I had as a child may have been made in the UK, but many of the cheaper toys we were given as children were made in Asia even then.

Can anything be done? We have higher living costs than many Asian countries, and no one in this country is going to make plastic flags all day for 50p an hour (or whatever the going rate is in China or India).

I think we just have to accept that we are going to be net importers of many consumer products, but our chances to expand exports will be in developing new technological equipment which assists those Asian producers in the manufacturing processors - toolmakers, software engineers and designers.

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Not really into sports that much,but I do like my cricket, and the Olympics when they do come along, but from the financial point of view (I'll keep it brief) the UK put in a bid, before the greedy got greedier and everything crashed, but I wouldn't mind betting, you make a profit out of the Olympics, when everything is said and done, with the extra tourists, and day-trippers coming to see what all the fuss is about.

Sydney didn't seem to do to bad out of there Olympics, 12 years ago, and the 90's weren't the best of times here in Australia, for the average Joe.

manna