tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post5007167200448933585..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: The Cost of the OlympicsIain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-75940243533379819182007-02-26T17:29:00.000+00:002007-02-26T17:29:00.000+00:00I fully support taxation funding of the Olympics.I...I fully support taxation funding of the Olympics.<BR/><BR/>I also fully support banning all private political donations and 100% funding of all poltical parties through taxation.<BR/><BR/>I also fully support ALL cost overruns on Gov't projects to be firstly paid out of the Government's share of political funding....<BR/><BR/>Suddenly cost overruns would stop imoMadasafishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109237198481955714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-78060220897357301712007-02-26T16:00:00.000+00:002007-02-26T16:00:00.000+00:00jaofcjVerity,I knw it's late in the day for this t...jaofcjVerity,<BR/><BR/>I knw it's late in the day for this thread, but, "Hear, hear!"<BR/><BR/>When asked to give examples of an oxymoron--a contradicion in terms--I always reach for 'military intelligence' and 'sports personality' as the two classics.<BR/><BR/>In my experience, sport is what people do who can't do anything that involves using the brain.<BR/><BR/>And, Remittance Man, that especially applied to people who would go on a, "... luxury, two-week hunting package available only to extremely rich people." What an utter bore!<BR/><BR/>(I'm not anti-blood-sports. I just don't give a damn, either way.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-28746575659754264412007-02-26T01:16:00.000+00:002007-02-26T01:16:00.000+00:00Mr/Ms famous Anonimo - 10:29 PM.So? Who gives a c...Mr/Ms famous Anonimo - 10:29 PM.<BR/><BR/>So? Who gives a crap about their "dedication, commitment and sheer bloody hard work that they have to display". They are pursuing a minority interest. It's their hobby. Who cares? I wouldn't want to sponsor a stamp collector or a harmonica player, both of whom feel strongly about their avocation.<BR/><BR/>Why are these deeply boring people the responsibility of taxpayers all over the planet? <BR/><BR/>Why not let them finance themselves and their own parades and their own venues so anyone who gives a shit can attend and leave innocent, salary-earning taxpayers out of the scenario? <BR/><BR/>"Dedication, commitment and sheer bloody hard work" are also defining characteristics of specialist surgeons and lawyers and entrepreneurs all over the world. So who's financing them these days?<BR/><BR/>Outraged Anonymous invites me to share the athlete's experience, which I have avoided, with great cunning, all my life: "If she/it has the energy left to breathe, let alone type the opinionated crud she spouts, then she's welcome to continue."<BR/><BR/>Over-laden Anonymous Testosterone Sweetie, I think I'm welcome to continue anyway, as this isn't your blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-25406125272139211842007-02-25T22:29:00.000+00:002007-02-25T22:29:00.000+00:00I happen to agree that the idea of financing the o...I happen to agree that the idea of financing the olympics with public money is a millenium dome style waste of money, but:<BR/><BR/>"Everyone competing in the Olympics also has a gigantic ego..."<BR/><BR/>Is this 'Verity' lunatic a deliberate stalking horse of Iain's? Having spent some time with athletes, I can confidently state that, however useful - or not - their contribution to society is, the dedication, commitment and sheer bloody hard work that they have to display makes a fat arsed blogging knobber's opinions on anything pale into insignificance. I would be happy to arrange for the Verity avatar to join in a month in the life of an olympian athelete. If she/it has the energy left to breathe, let alone type the opinionated crud she spouts, then she's welcome to continue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-18699797515356779652007-02-25T14:30:00.000+00:002007-02-25T14:30:00.000+00:00ps. I've just been talking to a hunting outfitter ...ps. I've just been talking to a hunting outfitter chum of mine. her is of a like mind regarding the Olympics. We reckon that there will be a big enough market (well a small one, but a very rich one) that shares our views on this whole Olympic waste of time thing.<BR/><BR/>Therefore we are in the very early planning stages of arranging a luxury, two-week hunting package available only to extremely rich people. The only condition being that should anyone mention anything even vaguely Olympic around the campfire, they will be shot, skinned and butchered for use as predator bait for the next day's hunting.<BR/><BR/>I shall also be contacting a yacht charter chum of mine with an idea for an Olympic free game fishing and sailing package.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-65628202149401681472007-02-25T14:09:00.000+00:002007-02-25T14:09:00.000+00:00The Olympics will be enjoyed by everyone in the co...The Olympics will be enjoyed by everyone in the country? Pull the other one, Iain.<BR/><BR/>Even assuming that all 60 million odd Brits are fanatics for watching people running about, jumping and throwing things, a very small minority will ever manage to get to see them doing so in person.<BR/><BR/>Most Brits, like most people the world over, will ignore the whole bloody thing (as much as they can with their capital taken over by hordes of foreigners, sporting teams and tv crews). And the vast majority who do like watching that sort of stuff will do so on telly. Just as they would if the games were in Athens, Atlanta or Timbuktou.<BR/><BR/>Personally I'm all for every country that is part of the Olympic "Family" to chip in a once off sum and for a permanent home to be built for the games.<BR/><BR/>I'd be even happier if the permenant home were somewhere far away from where I am. Personally, I like the idea of Siberia. Especially if the entire Olympic bureaucracy were forced to live there full-time.<BR/><BR/>Me? I'm planning to take a couple of rifles and go hunting in the bush for two weeks. No radios, no tv's, no Olympics.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-67405804814200335312007-02-25T12:32:00.000+00:002007-02-25T12:32:00.000+00:00I'm afraid I'm also with the consensus on here. Wh...I'm afraid I'm also with the consensus on here. What's worse I live in London; Ken tells me I can turn a profit by letting my spare room out to an Albanian weightlifter for three weeks but this is a poor justification for an unwarranted and unwanted surcharge on my Council Tax for God knows how many years.<BR/><BR/>Yes, tell the IOC now that we don't want it. Or just give 24ct gold medals to every entrant and don't actually have any games at all - in the manner of nuLab Education 'achievements'.Raedwaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11699610899843349594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-33450883828805819392007-02-25T10:46:00.000+00:002007-02-25T10:46:00.000+00:00rush is right - Ok I signed it - now everyone else...rush is right - Ok I signed it - now everyone else.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-16234810781985735222007-02-25T10:38:00.000+00:002007-02-25T10:38:00.000+00:00Here's a wonderful quote from the Department for C...Here's a wonderful quote from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, following a leak to the effect that the total cost could be as much as £9 billion:<BR/><BR/>"This is just the latest of many different figures to be quoted by the media in the last few months, claiming to be the cost of the 2012 games."<BR/><BR/>How's that for a non-denial denial?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-61207728381781136842007-02-25T01:56:00.000+00:002007-02-25T01:56:00.000+00:00I like PJ's post. "How about the fiasco proceeds ...I like PJ's post. "How about the fiasco proceeds but only in line with the original 2 billion estimate? No contingencies, no top ups. If Gordon forgot to mention the VAT that's tough for him he should have said at the time."<BR/><BR/>Sensible. Except it would be snuck in somewhere else in one of Gordette's shambles. But PJ, I agree with your thinking.<BR/><BR/>Gordon Brown has been a wreck of a Chancellor. Tony Blair's mad premiership has been a wreck.<BR/><BR/>Has there ever been more of a cultural yob than Toni Blair?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-81475480841852594592007-02-25T00:08:00.000+00:002007-02-25T00:08:00.000+00:00The consensus here and likely across the country i...The consensus here and likely across the country in general is that the Olympics are a mistake.<BR/>What to do about it?<BR/>A commentator above mentioned submitting a referendum on the No 10 website. OK we know how much notice the government will take of it, which on recent experience is none whatsoever, but the publicity of a million or more signatures will be hard to ignore (and we all want to give the Bliar another shot at our e-mail addresses don't we :0p)<BR/>How about the fiasco proceeds but only in line with the original 2 billion estimate? No contingencies, no top ups. If Gordon forgot to mention the VAT that's tough for him he should have said at the time. If the contractors don't want to go along on that basis that's their problem. No compensation and demand reimbursement of monies already received. They knew how big the pot was when they took the job on. If it wasn't enough they shouldn't have signed the contracts. If they've got a problem with that let 'em sue Seb Coe and the rest of the Olympic glee club. Just for once lets see those responsible for the f**k-up catch the blame.bfljAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-68833690976913709442007-02-24T23:39:00.000+00:002007-02-24T23:39:00.000+00:00http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/London-Olympics/http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/London-Olympics/Rush-is-Righthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12860467341217977185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-18555679301750246992007-02-24T23:13:00.000+00:002007-02-24T23:13:00.000+00:00There are several anti-Olympics petitions on the N...There are several anti-Olympics petitions on the No. 10 website. May I suggest we concentrate on the most succint - <BR/>We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to call for the cancellation of the London Olympics.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-52969179239438953542007-02-24T23:09:00.000+00:002007-02-24T23:09:00.000+00:00From where I live (Leeds), the Olympic Games could...From where I live (Leeds), the Olympic Games could be in Dublin, Amsterdam or Brussels just as conveniently as in London: they're about as easy to get to (not that I shall want to anyway). Indeed, these days I visit Paris rather more often than I visit London. So whom are you kidding?<BR/><BR/>Herbert GlobsquirtleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-17820076984316330042007-02-24T22:31:00.000+00:002007-02-24T22:31:00.000+00:00Absolute bollocks Iain!If your Tunbridge Wells pol...Absolute bollocks Iain!<BR/><BR/>If your Tunbridge Wells poll tax goes up three times, as mine would, you'd be screeching on this blog like a ton of bricks!<BR/><BR/>The Olympics are being squeezed by the 'consultants' so beloved by this stupid government. They couldn't see it coming, but the landowners in the area could!<BR/><BR/>Please get real - this is a commercial deal, not a piss-poor local authority squabble.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-24370998346593565552007-02-24T22:11:00.000+00:002007-02-24T22:11:00.000+00:00Jonathan S: you think Londoners should pay for the...Jonathan S: you think Londoners should pay for the Olympics? why? no-one asked us if we wanted them, no-one asked us if we would be willing to pay for them, and so far, I don't know anyone with a foot in the real world who wants the bloody shambles here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-43154795776355640212007-02-24T22:10:00.000+00:002007-02-24T22:10:00.000+00:00Jonathan Sheppard said...I think its great that Lo...<I>Jonathan Sheppard said...<BR/>I think its great that London won the Olympics - but I also think that London should pay. I too dont see how the rest of the country will benefit. Will investment come to Nottinghamshire? Will we be left with sporting stadia here in Nottinghamshire? Will any events be held here? </I><BR/><BR/>Well, they are going to hold the water sports at Holmepierrpoint, and the Shooting in Radford Road. <BR/>Boom boom!Rush-is-Righthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12860467341217977185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-9319817996137233722007-02-24T22:05:00.000+00:002007-02-24T22:05:00.000+00:00Chuck Unsworth - I agree. Why is anyone giving an...Chuck Unsworth - I agree. Why is anyone giving any credibility to the £9bn figure?<BR/><BR/>And most of the so-called 'regeneration' in Sydney remains unused to this day, according to a poster above.<BR/><BR/>It's another case of the Emperor's new clothes so beloved of the left. Like global warming. It's just not true that the Olympics benefit any city, but they get enough momentum behind these one-worlder myths and then they're unstoppable. Multiculturalism was another one.<BR/><BR/>What are the Olympics actually for? What is the damn point of watching someone doing sommersaults on steel bars? And the athletes aren't even nice to look at. They all have sickening shapes with overdeveloped, out-of-proportion muscles and giant veins in their necks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-172456861748090732007-02-24T21:11:00.001+00:002007-02-24T21:11:00.001+00:00£9 billion? Why is this figure any more credible ...£9 billion? Why is this figure any more credible than those that have been trotted out before?<BR/><BR/>Is Harman going to be around to apologise for pissing our cash up against the wall for a two week extravaganza?<BR/><BR/>Are we going to get a return on this when all the hoo-hah of the Games has subsided - if so, how much?<BR/><BR/>How many of NuLab's friends (sorry, 'consultants') are in on the scam?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1520591711141229822007-02-24T21:11:00.000+00:002007-02-24T21:11:00.000+00:00I think its great that London won the Olympics - b...I think its great that London won the Olympics - but I also think that London should pay. I too dont see how the rest of the country will benefit. Will investment come to Nottinghamshire? Will we be left with sporting stadia here in Nottinghamshire? Will any events be held here? Will any improvements in public transport increase the value of houses ans businesses? Will there be any regeneration here? I think the answer is no - so to ask us to pay for it is really not on.Jonathan Sheppardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10238183487590130264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-73888851527282292462007-02-24T20:57:00.000+00:002007-02-24T20:57:00.000+00:00Iain, the balance of opinion (which I fully share)...Iain, the balance of opinion (which I fully share) is abundantly clear.<BR/><BR/>It seems to me that it's time to start an Olympics question on the Number 10 petition site.<BR/><BR/>Get this stupid idea nipped in the bud before its to late.Rush-is-Righthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12860467341217977185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-90999134145635086272007-02-24T20:50:00.000+00:002007-02-24T20:50:00.000+00:00There'll be nothing for the athletes to do any mor...There'll be nothing for the athletes to do any more after Beijing. All the events will have reached their maximum scores. They can't keep on jumping higher and running faster. I think we have reached the end of the road and I look forward to seeing the London event be a damp squid regarding records, but also organisational chaos. Run by the Oliver and Hardy of British politics: Tony Blair and Ken Livingstone. Ken: "This is another fine old mess you've got us into Tony."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-79821889676831130512007-02-24T20:17:00.000+00:002007-02-24T20:17:00.000+00:00Why exactly should the Olympics keep travelling ro...Why exactly should the Olympics keep travelling round, bankrupting one city after another? Montreal has only just finished paying for its self-indlugence thirty or so years ago. Athens was bailed out by the EU and is still bankrupt. Sydney has not been able to use any of the buildings ever again. And so on, and so on. Denver, of course, returned the honour, after the people of Colorado voted against any more money in a referendum. And now we have London, whose bid was completely ... well, how shall I put it .... inaccurate. I mean, what would you say if a builder produced an estimate, completely forgetting that there is VAT to be paid?<BR/><BR/>After Beijing, where the government can do anything it likes, let's give the Olympics to Athens in perpetuity. They already have to structures and the country is kept going by the EU, anyhow. Turkey will benefit, as all the tourists who might have gone to Greece, will go to Turkey as they did in 2004.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-78564322781996127902007-02-24T17:51:00.000+00:002007-02-24T17:51:00.000+00:00I have it on very good authority that when Tessa J...I have it on very good authority that when Tessa Jowell was at school (a private fee-paying school in Aberdeen, BTW) she was famous for her inablity to handle money or correctly perform simple arithmetic.<BR/><BR/>Some things don't change as one goes through life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-2382431875860251452007-02-24T17:45:00.000+00:002007-02-24T17:45:00.000+00:00House Price Crash - I doubt there are even 20% who...House Price Crash - I doubt there are even 20% who feel involved or pleased. People who don't live in London - most of the country - would have little interest as, if they care about athletics, they'll be watching it on TV anyway. I doubt that anyone who lives outside the Home Counties will have any emotional involvement in its taking place in London.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com