Don’t let Usain Bolt’s brilliance dissuade you from breaking your own sweat August 9, 2012 ACCORDING to one tradition that has come down to us from antiquity, the Greek philosopher Plato was also a victor at the ancient Olympic Games – for wrestling. Another anecdote adds that his real name was Aristocles. “Plato”, as we know him today, is just a nickname referring to his broad, well-muscled shoulders. That the [...]
Why Boris owes me £90,000 for Olympic damage August 9, 2012 I HAVE hand-delivered a bill for £90,000 to the mayor of London. This is – give or take a few hundred pounds – what the Olympic Games have cost me in turnover since they began. And I have asked Boris Johnson to pay the bill personally, not from the seemingly limitless coffers that supported London [...]
After its biggest medal haul since 1908, is it important for the UK to do better in Rio 2016? August 9, 2012 YES Kevin Tyler London 2012 is about inspiring a generation and, for athletics, our inspiring moment came when over 16m people tuned in to watch Jess Ennis, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford win Olympic gold. Our biggest challenge is to ensure that this historic event inspires the next generation of talent – not only kids [...]
RAPID RESPONSES August 9, 2012 Enabling growth [Re: Only radical reform can pull us out of a growing economic quagmire, yesterday] To truly get the economy out of its current frailty, we need more than a radical economic reform agenda – largely involving the state getting out the way. Britain’s government needs to engineer the enabling environment for business to [...]
Only radical reform can pull us out of a growing economic quagmire August 8, 2012 OLYMPIC mania seems unable to prevent the coalition from entering a new crisis phase. The latest nail in the coffin was the Bank of England revising down its UK growth forecast for 2012 to zero, which heaped more pressure on a government already beset by political problems. The abandonment of House of Lords reform has [...]
Romney can mobilise the Tea Party without Sarah Palin’s divisive favours August 8, 2012 FOUR years after she was plucked from Juneau, Alaska, in an ill-fated attempt to save John McCain’s presidential campaign, Sarah Palin continues to confound. Books, Tea Party rallies and appearances on Fox News have provided her with a powerful soapbox. In this year’s Republican Senate primaries, just one of the five candidates she has endorsed [...]
For the love of the Games: London’s Olympics heroes August 8, 2012 THE country’s heroic athletes may have grabbed all the headlines, but they are far from the only Britons to have risen to the challenge of making the London 2012 Olympics such an overwhelming, mood-boosting success. There is another group of people, which has brought every bit as much sunshine into the lives of Londoners, and [...]
As Manchester United nears its share listing, is the club likely to prosper by going public? August 8, 2012 YES Tom Cannon Manchester United’s listing raises issues at the heart of football finance. This listing values United almost 50 per cent greater than the £1.5bn it is quoted at elsewhere. But there are three ways it can be justified. First, the club has potential, especially if it can monetise its Asian fan base. Secondly, [...]
RAPID RESPONSES August 8, 2012 Anti-British bias [Re: Standard Chartered is the victim of US warfare against British banking, yesterday] John Mann is correct. US regulatory pressure is unfair, excessive, and unbalanced, and solely seeks to protect US self-interests. The UK government should protect British interests unequivocably. We shouldn’t fear the loss of the strategic partnership, especially if it is [...]
Standard Chartered is the victim of US warfare against British banking August 7, 2012 STANDARD Chartered, one of the few British banks hitherto left untainted by allegations of misconduct, saw its share price nosedive yesterday, after accusations by a New York regulator that it had violated sanctions against Iran. I’m now left more convinced than ever that US politicians and regulators have a hidden objective in exposing the wrong-doings [...]