So, dollar cost of the Olympics would feed how many?

[EnemyPartyII]

I'll be a devil's advocate here and mention that the money spent on things like the Olympics does have ancillary benefits. For example, the 1996 Olympics helped revitalize my home of Atlanta, and the economic growth has helped both the rich and poor here.

and if Atlanta had spent the same it spent on the Olympics directly on social programs?

 

[Eudaimonist]

and if Atlanta had spent the same it spent on the Olympics directly on social programs?

Then perhaps the situation would have been worse. Social programs do not necessarily contribute to economic growth. Perhaps those people would simply have been mired in dependence on the government.

I will perhaps partially agree with you in that I think that taxes should be cut and the Olympics should rely far more on private funding.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Eudaimonist]

Could the Nobel prize not achieve the same thing

No, not for as many people. More people watch the Olympics than follow and care about the Nobel prizes. Agreed?

I approve of both the Olympics and the Nobel prizes, and think that both should exist.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[lawtonfogle]

I'm serious dude! Its a ****ing orgy of money spent to idolise and revere a super select group of individuals who ultimately contribute nothing to society.

I don't give a rat's who wins the 100metre sprint... how many malaria prone children will that provide with quinine, know whaat I mean?

Great, so some guy can run fast. Do we need a multi million dollar event to treat him like he's bigger than Jesus?

Who one any medal in any of the last 5 Olympics? I have no clue. I don't care.

 

[EnemyPartyII]

No, not for as many people. More people watch the Olympics than follow and care about the Nobel prizes. Agreed?

I approve of both the Olympics and the Nobel prizes, and think that both should exist.


eudaimonia,

Mark

I'm not saying the Olympics should exist, I'm saying its a silly thing to lavish so much money and respect on

 

[flicka]

I'm not one of those people who thinks we shouldn't spend money on anything until everyone is taken care of because that will never happen. I like the Olympics and what they stand for and agree that they can help revitalize a community. The costs are astronomical because the cost of everything is astronomical.

The mistake is thinking the money earmarked for the Olympics or any other "nonessentials" could somehow be used to fund social programes instead. In reality it doesn't work that way because the money wouldn't be there.

 

[Verv]

The problem with this, though, is that the money would never go to feeding the poor. Rather, the money would go to trying to improve economic conditions in China (which the Olympics may do in a roundabout way)...

When governments have surplus money they do not send it to Africa all the time, guys.

 

[keith99]

But hey, look on the bright side - at least your country didn't win, and consequently feel obliged to spend £12bn...

When Los Angeles wins a bid we make a profit! Two times now and since our first hosting few others have even broken even.

Oh and I got some sweet seats. Right behing the Yugoslovian bench for a Basketball semifinal, and for a prelim game a block of 8 that presented a minor problem. The arena was setup for Basketball and Ice Hockey. That meant soem seats at both ends were removable. There was a rail the end of the permanent seats. My seats were at the same end as athelete seating. Turns out only 2 rows in front of that rail were general population, the rest were for athletes wanting to watch.

But the best was the volleyball finals. U.S. won and may of the U.S. team were local. They stepped over the rails and went into the stand to friends and family. Gave the security guys fits.

One thing I think L.A. Did right that I suspect other have not is to make a good judgement about ticket prices. I don't mean being 'fair' but figuring out what the traffic will bear. Plenty of truely cheap tickets, jut not for finals.

 

[keith99]

In a couple of weeks I will be going over to Catalina for an olde boys Rugby festival. We will finish third again this year. I know this. For the first few years they palyed for first and second and everyone else finished third. Now everyone finishes third.

The point? I have some issues with the olympics and soem points from Rugby and Cricket server well to point them out. The Barbarians have a motto (not sure if it is official) sport for sports sake. The Olympics has a motto Higher, Farther, Faster. See the difference? In one Olympics 2 interesting things happened. Same Olympics. Either one I could have lived with , but both became a problem. Bonny Adair finished second to a Chinese swimmer who had improved remarkably in the last year and had all the signs of steriod use. Bony refused to shake her hand. The press crucified Bonny. Same Olympcis a track weight man (I think Al Orter in the Discus) embraced a German in his event who passed another American on his last throw. The German in Question was his training partner. The press crucified him.

We will not get past this next Olympics without some technical protest. I do not mean something of substance or fairness, I mean an attempt to win because some other team filled out paperwork wrong or late. But I promise we will not see anything like Adam Gilchrist walking off the Cricket pitch after being called safe and saying 'No, I was out'.

 

[Caitlin.ann]

If we really put our money where it should go the world would be near perfect and well what would the fun of that be? I agree, the Olympics are way over done. We're spending tons of money on the games and not enough money on those in poverty..definitely something wrong there.

 

[cantata]

The problem with this, though, is that the money would never go to feeding the poor. Rather, the money would go to trying to improve economic conditions in China (which the Olympics may do in a roundabout way)...

When governments have surplus money they do not send it to Africa all the time, guys.

I'm not suggesting that the money could or should have gone overseas. There are plenty of projects in London and the UK that could have been helped out by that money (which is why I mentioned the London arts budget as an example of who's lost out).

I might even have been proud that London will host the Olympics, if I could be sure that the government would their arses in gear and budget it properly. But, as anyone who reads Private Eye will tell you, the whole thing has been a complete shambles. It would have been nice if they hadn't spent £400,000 on a hideous logo that gives epileptic people seizures (no, really), for example (especially when the logo for the London Olympic bid was actually really nice).

 

[SallyNow]

I'm serious dude! Its a ****ing orgy of money spent to idolise and revere a super select group of individuals who ultimately contribute nothing to society.

I don't give a rat's who wins the 100metre sprint... how many malaria prone children will that provide with quinine, know whaat I mean?

Great, so some guy can run fast. Do we need a multi million dollar event to treat him like he's bigger than Jesus?

It's true that professional athletes are treated with much more awe than they are worth.

But the Olympics athletes are rarely professionals. Many go on to normal careers after their athletic careers. Some have normal careers, or are normal students, much of the time.

The Olympics could certainly be scaled back. The opening and closing ceremonies could go back to being times to celebrate actual local artistic culture, not pop icons.

The Olympics could be a place of healthy compitition rather than healthy profit margins for advertisers and sponsors. The events could be over a longer period of time so that the community hosting them isn't so overwhelmed. The training could be scaled back so it was less about profitable sports paraphenilia and more about the athletic competition and good oldfashioned hard work.

The whole torch relay could be scrapped altogether, or it could be turned into an actual charity relay.

I think sports and art play an important role in a healthy society and they should not be scrapped. But they can both be done in more sustainable, grassroots ways.

 

[EnemyPartyII]

It's true that professional athletes are treated with much more awe than they are worth.

But the Olympics athletes are rarely professionals. Many go on to normal careers after their athletic careers. Some have normal careers, or are normal students, much of the time.

The Olympics could certainly be scaled back. The opening and closing ceremonies could go back to being times to celebrate actual local artistic culture, not pop icons.

The Olympics could be a place of healthy compitition rather than healthy profit margins for advertisers and sponsors. The events could be over a longer period of time so that the community hosting them isn't so overwhelmed. The training could be scaled back so it was less about profitable sports paraphenilia and more about the athletic competition and good oldfashioned hard work.

The whole torch relay could be scrapped altogether, or it could be turned into an actual charity relay.

I think sports and art play an important role in a healthy society and they should not be scrapped. But they can both be done in more sustainable, grassroots ways.

The torch relay is the thing that really astonishes me... I mean, at the risk of going all Godwins here... you guys know it WAS invented by Hitler and Leni Riefenstahl for the 1936 Berlin games?

 

[keith99]

It's true that professional athletes are treated with much more awe than they are worth.

But the Olympics athletes are rarely professionals. Many go on to normal careers after their athletic careers. Some have normal careers, or are normal students, much of the time.

The Olympics could certainly be scaled back. The opening and closing ceremonies could go back to being times to celebrate actual local artistic culture, not pop icons.

The Olympics could be a place of healthy compitition rather than healthy profit margins for advertisers and sponsors. The events could be over a longer period of time so that the community hosting them isn't so overwhelmed. The training could be scaled back so it was less about profitable sports paraphenilia and more about the athletic competition and good oldfashioned hard work.

The whole torch relay could be scrapped altogether, or it could be turned into an actual charity relay.

I think sports and art play an important role in a healthy society and they should not be scrapped. But they can both be done in more sustainable, grassroots ways.

What world are you living in?

 

[SallyNow]

The torch relay is the thing that really astonishes me... I mean, at the risk of going all Godwins here... you guys know it WAS invented by Hitler and Leni Riefenstahl for the 1936 Berlin games?

I've studied European history and, yah, that fact astonishes me. People complain about "eVILution" being to blame for Hitler (it wasn't) or Catholisism (it wasn't) or that we shouldn't give food stamps to the poor because that's a socialist thing and the Nazi's had socialism in their name (even though they were NOT socialist at all)

But when the Torch relay is brought up... the Hitler comments go silent. When restricting women's rights comes up... the Hitler comments go silent. When GLBT rights come up... the Hitler comments go silent. Yet Hitler repressed the rights of the German people by taking away basic rights to women and homosexuals (among millions of others).

 

[keith99]

I've studied European history and, yah, that fact astonishes me. People complain about "eVILution" being to blame for Hitler (it wasn't) or Catholisism (it wasn't) or that we shouldn't give food stamps to the poor because that's a socialist thing and the Nazi's had socialism in their name (even though they were NOT socialist at all)

But when the Torch relay is brought up... the Hitler comments go silent. When restricting women's rights comes up... the Hitler comments go silent. When GLBT rights come up... the Hitler comments go silent. Yet Hitler repressed the rights of the German people by taking away basic rights to women and homosexuals (among millions of others).

Tis interesting isn't it. I originally thought the torch relay being a Nazi creation was wrong. That is because I remember seeing clips of the torch being handed off and then the flame being lit for the 32 Los Angeles Games. But it turns out the idea of a relay where the flame goes form hand ot hand from Greece to the Games was a Nazi Creation. Now it is possibleto make too much of that as the flame itself started in the '28 games.

Oh and Hitler was not kind to the believing Christian Church. The CC was a target from before the 36 Games.

 

[FaithLikeARock]

Why is it that all the usual fundie ratbags are, as ever, banging on and on about how the relatively inoffensive actions of others are such terribly apostasy and abomination, like evolution and homosexuality, while a much bigger idolatry is occuring world wide?

You'll hear about conspiracies and homosexual agendas working in secret to promote evolution, when there is a blatant idolatrous movement right in front of everyone at the moment. Not a conspiracy, its internationally recognised and contributed to by the world's governments.

The Olympics, of course.

We have this event that is the very definition of idolatry... it takes people's worship away from God, it elevates athletes to demi-gods (I've even heard one promotion describe them as "the Gods of sport"), certainly promotes them a worship-worthy icons and even includes faux religious ceremonies and events. Seriously, tell me the torch lighting ceremony, relay, opening and closing ceremonies would not be labelled as idolatrous, or at the very least religious, if they were perfomred by any other group?

Now don't get me wrong, theres nothing wrong with sport, and healthy competition between individuals, but the Olympics elevates it to the level of idolatry. Its ridiculous. I pretty much consider sport to have lost the plot anytime anyone becomes a "professional athlete". Just what the heck do these people contribute? Nothing! And yet we support them utterly with massive pay, and revere them and dote on them, almost as if they were some form of priesthood. Surely sports are healthier when its friendly competition on weekends by volunteers with training after work, not with full time sports stars who spend literally inhuman amounts of time on training, to the exclusion of all else, including family and work. Thats just like a spiritual ascetic or hermit, right there!

Sorry to rant, it just bothers me the amount of money and reverence devoted to the Olympics when there are so many better things it could go on. The Olympics before 1936 were fine... countries putting together a few of their best amateur contenders in the spirit of friendly international rivalry. Does the current Olympics look anything like this? Indeed, I conted the ONLY possible positive to come out of the current Olympic hype is to highlight the plights of the oppressed in China... yet the media, Olympic organising agencies, and participating governments, seem bent to do their level best to reduce the heart felt, desperate protests of the oppressed and their advocates, to a tiny sidenote.

Would love to hear other people's thoughts.

As for myself, theres a 24/7 Simpsons marathon on for the duration of the games, thats what I'll be watching.

Sweet, really? I'll be watching that too.

 

[Futuwwa]

The cost of the 2012 Olympics in London is skyrocketing. The original estimate was £4bn - a ridiculous amount of money - but at the moment we're looking at a pricetag of over £12bn, and they tell us practically once a week that the cost has increased. That's a lot of money. And according to some critics, the cost of the land the stadium's being built on isn't being included in that figure.

Support for the arts in London has been drastically cut from £4.5m to £3.5m. That £1m has disappeared into a black hole. And that's not to mention the increase in council tax for Londoners, who are the very ones who will have to put up with the strain on infrastructure in their city. I can only imagine what could have been done for schools, hospitals, or even public transport for £12bn. Yes, part of the work being done for the Olympics will benefit Londoners in the longterm - but really only Londoners, beyond the economic benefits of tourism.

It makes me a bit cross.

And the revenue generated by the London Olympics?

 

[Futuwwa]

It would have been nice if they hadn't spent £400,000 on a hideous logo that gives epileptic people seizures (no, really), for example (especially when the logo for the London Olympic bid was actually really nice).

Is it just me, or does anyone else see the letters "SS", in the shape of runic lightning bolts, on that logo?

Godwin lives!

 

[Maxwell511]

I think people suffer under the delusion that "unnecessary" work is unnecessary.

The Olympics and the Simpsons are the same thing, "unnecessary" for reasons of necessity.

All that really matters is food and shelter, all other things are there because not everyone can produce their own food and shelter. They must trade "unnecessary" crap for those necessities.

Without the "unnecessary" stuff alot of people would die.