Olympics

So the democratic process is bollocks?

I live some distance from the Olympic Games site. I’m on this board for debate rather than just agreeing with everyone. That sometimes means suggesting the contrary opinion in order to elicit conversation. I’m playing devils advocate in the hope that something interesting will be said as a consequence. In the real world, people see me as the easy-going, easy-to-laugh, but on here I feel I should challenge others ideas :wink:

A cynical idealist? I am a scientist so maybe that’s where it comes from.

I’m glad you like my name, jen_jen. My avatar shows my real name-if you can read Japanese!

Unfortunately I can’t read Japanese, so your name will remain a mystery! :lol: And I would never have guessed you were a scientist :wink: :lol:

Good luck in stimulating debate…for me, JC is a place where I can be light-hearted and silly, I go to other forums when I want seriousness and debate. However I far from agree with everyone, but sometimes I find it’s best to keep my opinions to myself!

As for the Olympic Games, I’m pretty ambivilent.
Yes it’s a lot of money, but some very rundown areas will be regenerated as a result. However, will those areas still get the money for the upkeep after the Games, or will the new facilities just became run-down over a period of lack of investment and become even more of a burden than what was there before? Only time will tell.

If it wasn’t for the Games, would the money be spent on other “more worthy” causes? Probably not…the money hasn’t been there for the cancer drugs, the charities haven’t had government funding and so on before we got the Games, so it’s unlikely that the money would have been put into those areas if we hadn’t won the bid.

Will the Games get people more interested in sport, thus helping to reduce the obesity crisis and other illnesses related to fitness? Yes for some, but the majority will just sit in front of the telly with their beer and crisps and pizzas and slob out wishing they were fitter but doing sod all about it.

Will some of us be here when it’s all over (assuming the world doesn’t come to its predicted end in 2012 :lol: ) and say well that was a waste of money wasn’t it? Undoubtedly!