Express Mortgages Express Loans Bingo Lose Weight Franchising Dating Shopping Book Shop Find Spare Parts Cut Your Bills Wine Shop Legal Store FlatShare Cruises

HAVE YOUR SAY

HAS THE OLYMPIC TEAM DONE BRITAIN PROUD?

Triple gold medallist Chris Hoy at Heathrow airport

Tuesday August 26,2008

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(20)

BRITAIN'S Olympic stars flew home yesterday to a heroes’ welcome and an emotional reunion with their families.

There were tears and cheers as our triumphant athletes arrived back after making history in Beijing with the nation’s most successful Games for 100 years.

The team jetted into Heathrow shortly after 3pm on a special British Airways Boeing 747, which had been fitted with a gold-coloured nose cone for the occasion.

Among the precious cargo was Team GB’s incredible haul of 47 medals, including 19 golds, which meant the return flight was carrying an extra 44lb in medals alone.

*** WERE YOU GLUED TO THE OLYMPICS? ARE YOU PROUD OF OUR ATHLETES?

*** CAN WE DO BETTER IN LONDON 2012?

*** HAVE YOUR SAY NOW!

GREAT JOB!

14.09.08, 9:32am

Being a british person living in Japan the last few years I was excited with team GB's achevements in China. Whatever might be wrong or unfair with the system, the athletes made us proud.

I think people do make good points abou acccess to training etc, and I can't say much about that because I don't know myself and don't have experience of that. But whatever your opinion, it doesn't mean the athletes who did so well can't be congratulated for a job really well done. If you think there is unfairness, do something about it! There is going to be a good spirit as they head towards 2012 since the team did so well, so I think we can do even better. Inessa Carrick Kyoc;'[

<:<'p

• Posted by: inckyocera • Report Comment

COCKLES

02.09.08, 2:15pm

"I actually agree with a few points you made believe it or not......however, I beg to differ about britain being one of the richest and most powerful nations in the world. You couldnt be further from the truth, britain is bankrupt it is depending on credit from other countries and is in debt to them, this is one of the reasons for really nonsensical fines and too high taxes the british taxpayer is paying and it will get worse. As for one of the most powerful nations in the world...that is no more. Britain can only go so far, as it is harnessed by Brussels."

--well, lets deal with these points, and shake some facts in there, shall we?

1. "however, I beg to differ about britain being one of the richest and most powerful nations in the world. You couldnt be further from the truth, britain is bankrupt it is depending on credit from other countries and is in debt to them,"

--britain is the fourth largest economy in the world (up from 8th when labour first got into power). there is not a lading industrial economy around (outside communist china) that does not run a deficit. our deficit paels in comparison to that of the united states. it is perfectly normal for countries to be indebted to other countries, it is called globalisation, and debt is part and parcel of the basis of the capitalist economy... heck, 'money' itself it technichally a form of debt. the switch from coins to paper currency is testament to this. a currency note is actually a promisary note... a promise to pay the bearer in the future. the invention of notes was actually a way of doubling the size of the treasury by the invention of fictitious capital. and that is what all capitalist countries run on, fictious capital.

2. norway example.
--norway is a country of five million people sitting on top of a vast north sea oil reserve. their resource-based economy is not in any way comparable to a 62 million strong (post) industrial nation. I would also note that norway is run very much on socialist, strong government lines.
Now i have no idea where you live (i do note it is not here though, and that you are likely spending your british pension and earnings in another country), however, the running of a small resource-based country is totally different from running a large nation like the UK.

3. brussels and powerlessness. If brussles is so all powerful, why is it we are involved in a war in which they did not approve of? (a war, by the way, which is largely responsible for the debt imbalance we do have)

• Posted by: LeFinDuMonde • Report Comment

YES, BUT ARE THEY TRULY REPRESENTATIVE OF GREAT BRITAIN?

31.08.08, 3:48pm

It's nice to see Britain doing well on the world's sporting stage but the money invested should have produced more gold - "across the sporting disciplines", without cycling the yield would have been average which shows that various sporting disciplines are losing out in the funding stakes. My main point... "Yes, But Are They Truly Representative Of Great Britain?" relates to the overwhelming majority of Olympians having been publicly educated? Which makes me think that Team GB is predominately made up of the middle classes and does not fully represent the a cross section of the country?, either middle cl**** parents have more time too support and pay for there children to participate in Olympic sports, which is then continued on into their adulthood through a private education (which often has the access and resources to fund students in sporting activities, that are 'predominately' Olympic sports), or on the other hand it could be that working cl**** parents don't care enough about developing their children’s sporting ability?. My personal opinion is that the majority of truly talented individuals in this country who have aspirations of becoming Olympians will never get the chance because they come from the wrong social cl****, it may be because of;

(A) Limited access to Olympic sports in working cl**** areas.
(B) Working cl**** parents cannot afford the financial support.
(C) Gr**** root Olympic sports in Great Britain are more accessible and geared towards middle cl**** children.
(D) The Olympic association is biased in its funding and promotion mechanisms at gr**** root and adult level.
(E) Olympic sports are promoted more within the private education system because they have more finances available than state funded education.
(F) Sporting facilities in private schools are superior to state funded schools.
(G) The government has continually sold off sports fields to private developers in huge quantities reducing participation in such sports by working cl**** children.
(H) Cl**** elitism is alive and well in GB.

It's a shame that the Olympic dream is not within reach of 'all children'.

• Posted by: Chris_Hickman • Report Comment

LEFIN: VERY INTERESTING...

30.08.08, 12:03am

I actually agree with a few points you made believe it or not......however, I beg to differ about britain being one of the richest and most powerful nations in the world. You couldnt be further from the truth, britain is bankrupt it is depending on credit from other countries and is in debt to them, this is one of the reasons for really nonsensical fines and too high taxes the british taxpayer is paying and it will get worse. As for one of the most powerful nations in the world...that is no more. Britain can only go so far, as it is harnessed by Brussels.
The medal winners I say again brings a nation together as does the World Cup, especially in times of trouble, it gives hope to the nation that we are once 'Great' again, and I am not saying thats a bad thing, but its only a temporary bringing together......thats why there are moans and groans of people who are dissatisfied with the way their country is going. As for comparing britain to other countries, I live in a country that owes nothing to other countries they paid off their national debt a few years ago, and funnily enough not by raising taxes. Norway is another country who owes nothing and actually gives back to the people when their country is in prosperity. The public services are much better you go to the doctors waiting room it is spotless and you dont worry about catching anything the same applies to their hospitals. Britian was like this years ago but not now. So while you might be content in living in britain as it is now, and thats your perogative just spare a thought for others who do not

• Posted by: cocklesandeels • Report Comment

COCKLESANDEELS

29.08.08, 1:58pm

"I wish I could have what you are taking that gives you that optimistic enthusiasm"

--i am no rabid optimist, however, the difference between me, and most of the people on here is that i read something else apart form tabloids, whose job it is to make money by providing very simplistic news, and bad news.

after all, bad news sells.

if you look at other sources of information that actually attempt to represent reality as much as possible, you will have seen over the last few years that we have been in a people of comparetively good income, lowering crime, rising standards of living, decreasing pollution, and improved public services.

the problem is that the readership of this paper have been so conditioned into the reactions moaning, complaining, and outrage, that even something as harmless as a good medal count for GB is somehow turned into a moanfest. In some individual cases, this paranoia and culture of complaint is almost pathological.

it is really very sad. we are lucky enough to live in one of the richest and most powerful nations in the world. in comparative terms with most other countries, people here have absolutely no idea what 'hard times' are.

and yet, what do they do? moan at every opportunity.

it can be likened to an evil virus... the 'woe is me, i have everything yet i feel as though i have nothing' virus.

now i could get all indignant, and say how shamefull it is that people who have had nothing but breaks all their lives in comparative terms can sit around and moan about how hard done by they are, but there is no point. the only people they really effect with thier virus are themselves, and the families around them.

• Posted by: LeFinDuMonde • Report Comment

NO POSTS HERE FOR OVER 12HRS. COME ALONG PEEPS, PUT YOUR RUNNING SHOES ON LOL!!

29.08.08, 7:56am

Everyone in the UK needs to be a trained athlete now - to escape from the army of Town Hall Freaks who will be watching your every move and all th@!!

Well done UK athletes.

• Posted by: ReubenMohawali • Report Comment