February 01, 2007 ... Opportunities missed.

Instead of target-pistolling ourselves in the foot by mounting a successful bid for the London 2012 Olympic games to be held in London at a probable cost of £10-billion, the British government and its associates would have been better employed promoting the idea of permanently establishing the Olympic games in Athens, with upkeep and expansion of the Olympic facilities coming from monies generated by the international commercial interests associated with the games.

The IOC would , of course, complain bitterly about this interruption to their gravy-train, but this could be easily circumvented by abandoning their version of the Olympic games and reestablishing the Olympic games as the Athens-Olympics. ( Like the Australian Pink Floyd, for instance :-). And further encouragement to the Greeks to adopt this proposal could be had by agreeing to return the Elgin-Marbles and other historical artifacts too long held in our safe-keeping.

It is amazing to think that £10-billion can be so easily raised for the sake of the international cachet of the bread and circuses that is the Olympic games, but the money cannot be found to ensure sufficient troops and Chinook helicopters for the vitally important success of our Afghanistan campaign. Nor can the money be found to increase the safety of our ancient Hercules-C130 fleet with the necessary installation of fire suppression foam.