The Olympics, a PR disaster for BA (and others) waiting to happen?
#16
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#19
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What I will not be doing - emergencies excepted, of course - is going any closer to central London than my local railway station.
I suspect that many, many others are adopting similar contingency plans. Nonetheless, I fervently hope and pray that irmster's prognostications will prevail.
#20
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Apart from the fact that it makes a massive terror target, for every business that makes some short term gain, others will suffer terminal damage.
<snip>
a serious disaster with major fatalities must be more likely. Anyone planning on coming to London for the Olympics should recognise that they putting themselves at serious personal risk.
<snip>
a serious disaster with major fatalities must be more likely. Anyone planning on coming to London for the Olympics should recognise that they putting themselves at serious personal risk.
People will die because of this Olympics and whilst the IOC and LOCOG are doing a good job of covering up how poorly prepared things are now, when people start dying they will not be able to muzzle the media in the way they could in say, China?
I think BA have been really naďve allowing themselves to be so associated with the event as, when the long term implications are realised, any brand that has sponsored the event that caused the bloodshed will be recognised as pariahs.
Doubtless many will respond to this post suggesting I am exaggerating
Based on my company’s first-hand experience LOCOG could not even successfully organise a meeting to brief 100 businesses on the impact of the Olympics, it had to be cancelled as they were so badly prepared.
But I am off to New York for the whole of the Olympics as given the current level of lack of preparation I fear it is not if there will be a disaster, but how big it will be.
#21
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Oh, fair dos … T5 is modern, and iconic, and designed by a knight. Or a Lord. Or an idiot.
It's cramped, dysfunctional cr@p unless you can find your way to BA Lounge through the shops. And inbound it's congested cr@p. In fact, it's all broadly speaking cr@p.
The Olympics will be better, because they're International cr@p. The multi-cultural opening ceremony, which will be vomit-worthy and involve loads of children preforming ineptly, will soon be forgotten. Then foreign people will win many more medals than the Host Nation … although we may have a small stranglehold on minority sports that nobody else really bothers about.
I feel sorry for Her Majesty, who will undoubtedly be given a script to read saying how absolutely wonderful it all is.
Perhaps she could publicly hang Blair as part of the Opening Ceremony to cheer us up?
It's cramped, dysfunctional cr@p unless you can find your way to BA Lounge through the shops. And inbound it's congested cr@p. In fact, it's all broadly speaking cr@p.
The Olympics will be better, because they're International cr@p. The multi-cultural opening ceremony, which will be vomit-worthy and involve loads of children preforming ineptly, will soon be forgotten. Then foreign people will win many more medals than the Host Nation … although we may have a small stranglehold on minority sports that nobody else really bothers about.
I feel sorry for Her Majesty, who will undoubtedly be given a script to read saying how absolutely wonderful it all is.
Perhaps she could publicly hang Blair as part of the Opening Ceremony to cheer us up?
#22
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It's the British disease of always wanting turn something they should be proud of into the usual doom and gloom.....I blame the weather.
#23
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We English are not negative by nature, but a millennium or so living next door to Scotland and Wales, and indeed France, has disturbed our equilibrium and leads us down darker paths.
#24
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well, my company has placed a ban on travel from a week before the start of the Olympics until a week after the final of the Para- Olympics. We have also had 'contingency' planning tests a few weeks ago for London based staff to ensure we could work from home during that period.
I suspect many other companies will also being doing that where possible.
I suspect many other companies will also being doing that where possible.
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#26
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#27
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The comment about the internet collapsing gave me the biggest giggle.
I'm heavily involved in that industry and can assure you that insurance companies haven't got a clue about how networks are run (or how to insure them properly for that matter).
Biggest load of garbage propaganda that has ever been posted on FT, though quite well written it seems like the OP only BAified it so it would vaguely fit on this forum.
I'll be able to access OMNI in about 2 weeks, if this is the kind of stuff posted on there, I probably won't bother!
I'm all for free speech and everything, but this is utter garbage!
Ambulance drivers are not going to sit in traffic with a dying person on board if there is a free lane there that they can use and police wont stop them either.
I'm heavily involved in that industry and can assure you that insurance companies haven't got a clue about how networks are run (or how to insure them properly for that matter).
Biggest load of garbage propaganda that has ever been posted on FT, though quite well written it seems like the OP only BAified it so it would vaguely fit on this forum.
I'll be able to access OMNI in about 2 weeks, if this is the kind of stuff posted on there, I probably won't bother!
I'm all for free speech and everything, but this is utter garbage!
Ambulance drivers are not going to sit in traffic with a dying person on board if there is a free lane there that they can use and police wont stop them either.
#28
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But surely that is good planning and sensible in a number of ways, not only for cost savings and maintaining productivity?
Either is not indicative of a catastrophe, merely common sense!
Either is not indicative of a catastrophe, merely common sense!
#29
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Companies have been known to run before the internet. Some companies, I know this is strange, have been known to run before computers.
Anyway, most people will be watching the olympics from their home, not looking for porn.
If all the porn is turned off, would the interent run faster.
Anyway, most people will be watching the olympics from their home, not looking for porn.
If all the porn is turned off, would the interent run faster.