Opinion
I love the Olympics. During the Games in Beijing, I watched for nine hours without a break until the commentator said: "And you have to say, that's a CRITICAL moment in the history of Algerian judo."
David Cameron is another fan, and he explained how excited he was about the
London Games. His reason, he said, was "the eyes of the world will be on Britain", providing "a chance for companies from across the globe to interact and do business in the UK". He might as well have added: "So thank Christ for that, because all the running and stuff bores me senseless."
One of these chances will come at a special business conference before the Games, with executives from, among others, Google, Goldman Sachs and Vodafone.
But we're missing out, because this conference shouldn't be before the Games, it should be an event in them, with commentators whispering: "What an atmosphere as we approach the final of the Freestyle Tax-Dodging. Can anyone challenge the mighty Vodafone, dominant in this field for so long. Oh, it's a false start, Goldman Sachs transferred two billion dollars to the Seychelles before the gun went off."
Cameron said critics should "stop grumbling". Presumably he means critics such as protesters in India, who are upset that one of the main sponsors is Dow Chemical, the company that, as Union Carbide, which Dow later bought, poisoned the town of Bhopal, killing several thousand people. But if you've been poisoned, instead of grumbling it's much more healthy to enjoy interacting companies sponsoring some weightlifting.
