Althouse: "Prized Olympic tickets entrusted to foreign delegations are being openly sold by touts on the streets of Britain..."

July 30, 2012

"Prized Olympic tickets entrusted to foreign delegations are being openly sold by touts on the streets of Britain..."

"The revelation came as a row raged over embarrassing scenes of banks of empty seating at many Games venues – including last night’s swimming finals."

Why, that's... you could almost say... that's... excuse my extreme language... disconcerting.

27 comments:

cassandra lite said...: Crony capitalism.; 7/30/12, 9:02 AM
edutcher said...: Took the words right out of my mouth.

The big c communists in Blighty and the trolls here are about to see a lot of similar headlines vindicating someone who knows how to put on the Games.; 7/30/12, 9:07 AM
Bob Ellison said...: "touts"? Is English disaggregating?

Touting is highly, variously, and stupidly regulated by state laws. In Arizona, where it's officially carefully regulated, everyone (especially touters) assumes it's legal.

I like touting! It's the free market at work.; 7/30/12, 9:12 AM
David said...: You have to remember that London is Wall Street, Washington, Hollywood and the United Nations, all wrapped up into one. Selflessness and integrity are not high on the list of values which lead to success in such places.; 7/30/12, 9:12 AM
traditionalguy said...: Hey! No more that dissing the concert.

Our suddenly beloved Brits are easily offended by Yanks who pretend to think for themselves, as if thy are worthy of having an opinion. God save the Queen.; 7/30/12, 9:19 AM
Icepick said...: Disconcerted? Holy shit!; 7/30/12, 9:24 AM
john said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/30/12, 9:34 AM
john said...: One would think that the NHS could help fill those seats. They certainly owe the LOC a favor.; 7/30/12, 9:35 AM
MadisonMan said...: I was wondering why all the good seats were empty, and now I know. Lots of people up in the nosebleed sections.

They showed the view from Missy Franklin's parents' seats yesterday. Binoculars required.; 7/30/12, 9:36 AM
Wince said...: "Money for nothin' and your tix for free."; 7/30/12, 9:45 AM
Anonymous said...: I used to really, really love the Olympics. My first real memory is of our family watching the '72 games on an old black and white TV at my grandparents shore house. I would start to get excited in the third year of the old Olympic cycle (when the winter and summer games were in the same year).

Now, I think the whole thing is appalling and should be shut down.; 7/30/12, 9:50 AM
Tim said...: john said...

"One would think that the NHS could help fill those seats. They certainly owe the LOC a favor."

Indeed. After seeing the vignette saluting the virtue of the UK's state health care, I decided the London Olympics should fail.

What a grubby, pedestrian vision Socialists offer us; I felt like I was watching a broadcast of the People's Army's Opera saluting the Long March.

Ugh.; 7/30/12, 9:52 AM
john said...: What's the difference between a "Lord" and a "Sir" over there? I thought Lord meant "pompous ass" while Sir meant "lousy singing voice", but there seems to be a bit of overlap.; 7/30/12, 10:06 AM
CWJ said...: I noticed and commented to my wife about the banks of empty seats at this olympics. Apparently, I guessed right as to the reason.

Europe hardly invented it, but they surely perfected the class system. And no one claims their perks and ego stroking more fiercely than the grandees of the Olympic movement.

Just as they used to have game wardens to arrest commoners for poaching the King's deer, I wonder if they have seat wardens to arrest any commoner for poaching the King's seats.; 7/30/12, 10:15 AM
William said...: Could it be that there's a finite number of people in the world who want to watch a badminton match between Slovenia and Thailand?; 7/30/12, 10:18 AM
CWJ said...: William, Agreed but even those few would be consigned to the nose-bleed seats, because of the uncaring arrogance of the VIP's; 7/30/12, 10:24 AM
Known Unknown said...: I filed this under "Who cares."; 7/30/12, 10:28 AM
TWM said...: "Could it be that there's a finite number of people in the world who want to watch a badminton match between Slovenia and Thailand?"

Good point. Except the swimming, diving, and gymastics have also been half-empty.; 7/30/12, 10:36 AM
Cedarford said...: The "Great Romney Gaffe" appears to be becoming a case of a man who knows how to organize an Olympics telling the polite truth...

And Obama's prancing dressage horses here in the US and in the old Lefty Brit tabloids responding to the slightest touch of Axelrod at the reins....

Meanwhile, the far more controversial statement of Romney (in return for Shelly Adelson and other mega rich Jewish banker and business mogul money) that Jerusalem is the Capital of Israel - is met with dutiful AIPAC-imposed silence in the US media.; 7/30/12, 11:16 AM
Anonymous said...: You're right Cedarford!

Except for those articles in the Washington Post and New York Times, the AP piece, and stories on Fox News, CNN, et al, every news source that I haven't had time to check has been cowed by AIPAC from covering Romney's statement that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.; 7/30/12, 11:26 AM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Cedarford is apparently more alarmed that Romney thinks Jerusalem is the capital of Israel than that Obama's press spokesman either doesn't know what the White House position is on the subject, or doesn't want to say it out loud in front of a bunch of journalists.

As to why AIPAC (!) would not want people to know where Romney thinks Israel's capital is, I'm clean out of tinfoil, sorry. And AIPAC is obviously losing its ultra-super powers, because (as t-man points out) the story was everywhere in the media yesterday. Heck, even you somehow got to hear of it.; 7/30/12, 11:53 AM
Carnifex said...: Edutcher gits it rightest firstest. The Mittens warned the Brits, and they stalked off in a snit. Eff 'em. Afer that horror show of an opening ceremony(how many old people died for that production anyway?) all I care about seeing is Ant Davis on the Basketball team. And maybe Romneys horse. Drudge has a headline and pic of soldiers being conscripted to be seat fillers. Had about 6 Tommies in a section all to themselves. Not the painted saints hinted at by Kipling, a right nice cush job though.; 7/30/12, 11:59 AM
Cedarford said...: t-man said...
You're right Cedarford!

Except for those articles in the Washington Post and New York Times, the AP piece, and stories on Fox News, CNN, et al, every news source that I haven't had time to check has been cowed by AIPAC from covering Romney's statement that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
=====================
Nice try....
They will cover his statement, but not criticise it as a departure from the Quartet position Clinton, Bush, and Obama followed that either the Jews or Palestinians declaring the place their capital was subject to final negotiations.

Obama's media puppets have decided to toe the line in an election year and not buck AIPAC and the jewish money machine by challanging the departure Romney wishes to make (as Shelly shoves suitcases full of money the Republican way...Obama still has many big bucks billionaire Jews in his donor camp that want the Dems to be silent); 7/30/12, 12:14 PM
tim said...: Yes, those hateful controlling Jews who kill you for being "other*."

*gay, American, Christian, buddhist, rape victim, woman who wants to read a book etc.

But, hey look, even when Romney gaffes he turns out to be right. How refreshing would that be to have that in DC?; 7/30/12, 1:38 PM
Anonymous said...: Nice goalpost moving C-ford! That's quite a trick.

Now, its not a news blackout, but a "context" blackout. And you are correct again, not one news outlet, except for the ones I looked at, explained any context behind Romney's statement. CNN:

In pledging to move the American embassy in Israel, Romney joins presidential candidates in the past that have made the same promise, including former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Neither made the move as commander in chief.

American policy has long been intentionally vague on the status of Jerusalem. A U.S. law passed in 1995 designates Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and stipulates the American embassy should move to the city from Tel Aviv. The past three presidents, however, have signed waivers suspending the law, citing security and diplomatic concerns.

Also, 5 seconds of digging found a clip of Obama campaigning in 2008 and stating that an undivided Jerusalem "will be the capital of Israel." Sure, he said, will be, and then tried to backtrack, but he was emphatic in his original statement.

Boy, AIPAC is really good at maintaiing a news blackout on the issue.; 7/30/12, 2:04 PM
Timotheus said...: Empty seats. British police arresting people for trying to sell unwanted tickets. Could there possibly be a connection?; 7/31/12, 8:47 AM
Fred Drinkwater said...: My initial reaction to the empty seats was "Tix must be way overpriced. Haven't these people heard about markets?"
Then I heard about the mass quantities of tix given away to various elite groups and clubs, and the light went on: It's socialist UK and the IOC, so of course the broken market is caused by underpricing, not overpricing. Giving away tickets implies they are valueless. I have a vision of various administrative assistants tossing out piles of "obviously valueless" tickets, while people with money to buy them are unable to.
But it's all OK, since everyone knows that markets are evil.; 7/31/12, 2:41 PM