The London 2012 Olympics: Current affairs discussion

Well I'm not going to get upset that the sound on the Ladies Weightlifting is poor.I can suck it up because it's perfectly clear who was outdoing everyone else and who won.Not something I'm going to rant about because with an event as large as the Olympics there are bound to be a few hiccups..It is simply not the end of the world as we know it..

As for the woman in red didn't anyone in the Indian team challenge her at all?

[gazzae]

Originally Posted by Russ

I can't believe how touchy some countries are being. First the Koreans about the flag mix-up. Now the Indians are demanding an apology. Some people really need to calm down.

Were you not complaining when a Welsh player was called English?

Originally Posted by danielf

So the North Koreans have no right to be upset about the flag of their arch enemy being shown? The Indians should be happy to have their party gate crashed? Presumably, the Irish should be content when the Union Flag is flown next to their name as well?

Well considering I don't think they should have been allowed to attend after blowing up that South Korean Naval ship for no good reason,no. I think they should be grateful that they are here on sufferance and put up with it.

[Gary L]

I think McCartney really ruined the end of the olympics opening.

Originally Posted by Maggy J

As for the woman in red didn't anyone in the Indian team challenge her at all?

Isn't that what all the security is supposed to do ?


As it turns out she was just a cast member

The woman who appeared in India's Olympic contingent in the opening ceremony was a cast member in the event, London 2012's Seb Coe has said.
She was a cast member who got "slightly over-excited", he told journalists at the daily Olympic news conference

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-19035583

[danielf]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

Well I'm not going to get upset that the sound on the Ladies Weightlifting is poor.I can suck it up because it's perfectly clear who was outdoing everyone else and who won.Not something I'm going to rant about because with an event as large as the Olympics there are bound to be a few hiccups..It is simply not the end of the world as we know it..

I think you'd do well to not get involved in a discussion of something you're not interested in as you've made it abundantly clear that you're in no position to judge the importance of events.

---------- Post added at 13:48 ---------- Previous post was at 13:47 ----------

Originally Posted by Maggy J

Well considering I don't think they should have been allowed to attend after blowing up that South Korean Naval ship for no good reason,no. I think they should be grateful that they are here on sufferance and put up with it.

And thankfully, you're not in a position to decide on it.

[Tezcatlipoca]

The inevitable Daily Mail rubbish about the opening ceremony...

http://botherer.org/2012/07/28/the-d...acism-is-fine/

Originally Posted by John Walker

UPDATE: That was quick. About five minutes after I posted, the Mail’s story was ninja edited, without acknowledgement, to remove the most outrageously racist lines. Where once it read:

“This was supposed to be a representation of modern life in England but it is likely to be a challenge for the organisers to find an educated white middle-aged mother and black father living together with a happy family in such a set-up.
Almost, if not every, shot in the next sequence included an ethnic minority performer. The BBC presenter Hazel Irvine gushed about the importance of grime music (a form of awful electronic music popular among black youths) to east London. This multicultural equality agenda was so staged it was painful to watch.�

It now reads:

“This was supposed to be a representation of modern life in England but such set-ups are simply not the ‘norm’ in any part of the country. So why was it portrayed like this and given such prominence? If it was intended to be something that we can celebrate, that two people with different colour skin and different cultural heritages can live harmoniously together, then it deserves praise.
But what will be disturbing to many people is top-down political manipulation – whether consciously or unthinkingly – at a major sporting event.�

It’s the most extraordinary change to the text, completely reversing the meaning the author originally intended, and completely incongruous to the paragraphs either side of it, which still endorse Aidan Burley’s “leftie multicultural crap� tweet.

You can see scans of the original article, before these changes were made, here: 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Original: I am very aware that getting cross with Daily Mail articles is like shouting about how the sun can be hot. However, my motivation is not to cry, “How dare they!�, but instead to say, “Please understand that they do.� I still meet many people who do not understand how the Daily Mail is not just another tabloid, not just as bad as the rest of them, but instead something far more despicable and dangerous. It’s one of the most popular papers in Britain, and when we say, “Just ignore it – they’re just trying to get hits,� I shudder. We do not ignore evil – we challenge it and get angry about it. We make more people aware. Some people reading won’t have realised. And others can maybe point someone this way when they ask what they’re getting so worked up about.

The particular piece that’s riled me this evening is elegantly titled, “The NHS did not deserve to be so disgracefully glorified in this bonanza of left-wing propaganda“. That the Mail would write a piece arguing that the NHS is a bad thing, and should have had no part in the Olympic opening ceremony, is not a surprise. They’re a vicious and spiteful paper, and their agenda against the poor and needy is over a hundred years old. The NHS is the antithesis of everything they stand for, a socialist blight on our nation they’d rather do without. And while there are a thousand reasons to get cross about that, it’s not the issue with this piece. The issue is what’s smuggled in there.

This is why the Mail is so insidious, and so dangerous. It’s written in a very particular way, designed to sweep readers up in a froth of anger, before then slipping in various suggestions of what else they should think. Although written as, “And here’s what you already think, of course.� While I have strong issues with many other newspapers, from the hypocrisy of the Murdoch press, to the near fascistic support for anything “left� in the Guardian, nothing upsets me nor fills me with fear as much as the prose style of the Mail.

(big snip)

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by Matt D

The inevitable Daily Mail rubbish about the opening ceremony...

But you do have to admit that they do go out of their way to get ethnic minorities into these kind of things. such as leaflets and literature.

not that it's a bad thing. but you can clearly see that they had to physically go out there and hand pick them if you like.

I'm not bothered either way. but you have to wonder whether it's sort of patronising to those who are hand picked.

With regards to the black and white couple. that was obviously a concious decision. which really imho was a bit pathetic.

The Daily Mail are just annoyed we didn't apologise for any remotely socialist part of Britain and that we didn't white wash the entire ceremony. They can go suck on a lemon.

Anyway I went to the Olympic Park today to watch the Hockey and go up the Orbit. The Olympic Park is HUGE! It takes a good amount of time to walk around the whole thing. We really built something nice there and I really hope they maintain what they can of it. A permeant sporting village. The Hockey area is clearly temporary, but the velodrome, the swimming pool, the stadium and maybe the basketball arena can all stay. We should really try hard to find a way to keep it's status after the games because it's too nice an area to throw it away.

The security is effective but strict. The army are do a fantastic job from what I have seen yesterday at Wimbledon and today at the Olympic Park. We're moving though security fast but it's airport level security (x-rays for bags/coats, metal detectors and sometimes the pat down).

Originally Posted by Gary L

But you do have to admit that they do go out of their way to get ethnic minorities into these kind of things. such as leaflets and literature.

not that it's a bad thing. but you can clearly see that they had to physically go out there and hand pick them if you like.

I'm not bothered either way. but you have to wonder whether it's sort of patronising to those who are hand picked.

or the organisers could have simply asked for 50 performers to act in a sequence for the opening ceremony and some just happened to be from ethnic backgrounds which is hardly surprising given that even people from ethnic backgrounds may quite like the performing arts and even (and this may be a revelation to you so hang on to your britches) take part in them

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by martyh

or the organisers could have simply asked for 50 performers to act in a sequence for the opening ceremony and some just happened to be from ethnic backgrounds which is hardly surprising given that even people from ethnic backgrounds may quite like the performing arts and even (and this may be a revelation to you so hang on to your britches) take part in them

Could be, but not for leaflets and literature.

Originally Posted by Gary L

Could be, but not for leaflets and literature.

why?

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by martyh

why?

Because you don't ask for volunteers. you have to pick them.

Funny thing.My husband loves the cycling and managed to watch yesterday and is watching today with no effort required to understand what is happening..But then I guess he's another person who knows nothing about a the sport

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

Funny thing.My husband loves the cycling and managed to watch yesterday and is watching today with no effort required to understand what is happening..But then I guess he's another person who knows nothing about a the sport

I watched a bit of the archery this morning. the women were all getting 9 and 10's, and the stupid British woman only went and got a 4 taking them out.