[Mikhail Liebenstein]

Trenton Oldfield is the man alleged to have swum into the path of the Oxford boat during the 2012 boat race. We are told the media should not give publicity to the causes espoused by nut jobs, but I like many quite enjoy hearing these different philosophies - even if they are barking mad.
From the media it appears Mr Oldfield is a spoilt Aussie rich kid/intellectual snob with some views on economic tyranny by the elite and urban planning. I've just taken a look at his page: http://elitismleadst...quarespace.com/ and to me this reads more like a follower of Alex Jones , i.e. concern about a type of elitist tyranny taking holding.

On this basis, oit would appear Mr Oldfield has completely missed his target. The boat race is not an elitist conspiracy, it’s just a bunch of very fit athletes engaging in one of the few high profile University level sports we have in this country (compare this with US college football). I will declare an interest; I am an ex-rower and did attend one of the universities that took part yesterday. I can therefore assure Mr Oldfield that neither the Oxford or Cambridge University Boat Clubs are some sort Knights Templar conspiracy.

What I do think that Mr Oldfield and many other are however protesting about, even if they don’t know it, is the financial repression being faced by the 99%; this is where the real tyranny is to be found. At its root is the low interest rate subsidy given to the banks which is in turn due to the “too big to fail” mantra. Couple this with greedy, immoral and in many cases criminal behaviour by CEOs and it is easy to understand the rise of protests.

My solution is to come down on global, tax dodging companies and individuals and make sure they pay their taxes, whilst at the same time fracturing firms that get too big for their boots with anti-monopoly legislation. We also need to ensure justice be served and where CEOs and politicians commit fraud or engage in back room deals we need to make sure the full weight of the law is applied and that they are made examples of.

[Bloo Loo]

Is the Thames so narrow that the pilots of the boats ( who had no more legal right to be on the river than the swimmer) not steer round, as per maritime law?

[nmarks]

Mikhail Liebenstein, on 08 April 2012 - 08:19 AM, said:

We are told the media should not give publicity to the causes espoused by nut jobs,

The DM actively promotes them.

[lulu]

Bloo Loo, on 08 April 2012 - 08:25 AM, said:

Is the Thames so narrow that the pilots of the boats ( who had no more legal right to be on the river than the swimmer) not steer round, as per maritime law?

They should have just kept going and ignored the guy. The two crews could have just started up again where they were and one of the flotilla boats picked the guy up. Instead the race turned into a farce (I only turned on when I heard on the radio of the disruption).

[R K]

Trentonnnnnn!!

looking fwd to the spoof videos

[Grrrr I'm a tiger]

Mikhail Liebenstein, on 08 April 2012 - 08:19 AM, said:

Trenton Oldfield is the man alleged to have swum into the path of the Oxford boat during the 2012 boat race. We are told the media should not give publicity to the causes espoused by nut jobs, but I like many quite enjoy hearing these different philosophies - even if they are barking mad.
From the media it appears Mr Oldfield is a spoilt Aussie rich kid/intellectual snob with some views on economic tyranny by the elite and urban planning. I've just taken a look at his page: http://elitismleadst...quarespace.com/ and to me this reads more like a follower of Alex Jones , i.e. concern about a type of elitist tyranny taking holding.

On this basis, oit would appear Mr Oldfield has completely missed his target. The boat race is not an elitist conspiracy, it's just a bunch of very fit athletes engaging in one of the few high profile University level sports we have in this country (compare this with US college football). I will declare an interest; I am an ex-rower and did attend one of the universities that took part yesterday. I can therefore assure Mr Oldfield that neither the Oxford or Cambridge University Boat Clubs are some sort Knights Templar conspiracy.

What I do think that Mr Oldfield and many other are however protesting about, even if they don't know it, is the financial repression being faced by the 99%; this is where the real tyranny is to be found. At its root is the low interest rate subsidy given to the banks which is in turn due to the "too big to fail" mantra. Couple this with greedy, immoral and in many cases criminal behaviour by CEOs and it is easy to understand the rise of protests.

My solution is to come down on global, tax dodging companies and individuals and make sure they pay their taxes, whilst at the same time fracturing firms that get too big for their boots with anti-monopoly legislation. We also need to ensure justice be served and where CEOs and politicians commit fraud or engage in back room deals we need to make sure the full weight of the law is applied and that they are made examples of.

I don't mind a couple of unis having their own little amateur race. What I really object to is the coverage given over by the BBC.

I can only think there are two camps at the Beeb happy to see this state of affairs...

1. The Old Boy network.

2. The commies who are happy to see them make themselves into items of hatred and derision.

[jaspers]

Remains the case that for the majority of pupils and teachers in the UK there is no understanding of the life enhancing opportunity it is to study at Oxbridge. For the minority of privately educated pupils and their teachers this is fully understood, encouraged, expected and protected.

[Karelian Pine]

hedgefunded, on 08 April 2012 - 08:39 AM, said:

One misguided Aussie will do nothing I'm afraid.

Only armed revolution by millions will change anything. Trouble is the millions don't give a toss because they've never been educated enough to care.

Indeed. At least the guy drew lots of attention to his cause: front page on a number of the Sunday papers.

What do the rest of us do? - sigh, shrug our shoulders and continue to bite the pillow...

[Executive Sadman]

Or he's just someone who wanted his 15 minutes, or was tanked up...

[tonytramcar]

hedgefunded, on 08 April 2012 - 08:39 AM, said:

One misguided Aussie will do nothing I'm afraid.

Only armed revolution by millions will change anything. Trouble is the millions don't give a toss because they've never been educated enough to care.

And how exactly would armed revolution change anything ?

I assume you are proposing Communism. If there were to be such an uprising, leaders, cliques, and vested interests would emerge from the aftermath and take control, business as usual.




Democracy is our best bet, flawed as it may be.

[Mikhail Liebenstein]

hotairmail, on 08 April 2012 - 11:13 AM, said:

I don't mind a couple of unis having their own little amateur race. What I really object to is the coverage given over by the BBC.

I can only think there are two camps at the Beeb happy to see this state of affairs...

1. The Old Boy network.

2. The commies who are happy to see them make themselves into items of hatred and derision.

I don't agree here on the basis that I'd rather see more coverage of this sort of thing, ie coverage of other sports (other than football) and at different levels.
I'd be just as happy to see Manchster Uni versus Sheffield at Basket Ball, as the boat race.

I really detest the corporatist soccer diet we get fed - it would be better if the whole Premier league went bust and were returned to amateur status.

[stormymonday_2011]

Mikhail Liebenstein, on 08 April 2012 - 12:25 PM, said:

I don't agree here on the basis that I'd rather see more coverage of this sort of thing, ie coverage of other sports (other than football) and at different levels.
I'd be just as happy to see Manchster Uni versus Sheffield at Basket Ball, as the boat race.

I really detest the corporatist soccer diet we get fed - it would be better if the whole Premier league went bust and were returned to amateur status.

I would agree if the Boat Race was genuinely some sort of event that embodied the 'Corinthian' ideals of sport.

Sadly it is just another corporate jamboree. The Xchanging sponsors logo now appears on all the crews jerseys. In addition most of the participants are international oarsmen who while not paid directly are essentially professional sportsmen rather than gifted amateurs rowing as part of their studies. The average age of the crews is 25 and many are not undergraduates. Most are not even British

http://www.guardian..../06/sport.sport
http://m.theboatrace...announced-today
http://www.theboatrace.org/blue-boats

It is also very, very, very dull as a sporting event. Normally the result is decided early on as one crew takes a lead, often as a result of winning the toss and getting a favourable draw. The rest of the race is usually just a procession. You rarely see the close finishes that are quite common in normal international rowing over 2000 meter straight courses. The reason this years race is attracting so much in the way of headlines is because something actually happened (protest, broken oars, rower taken to hospital) and because it highlighted what is likely to happen during the Olympics if protestors try to make trouble. Otherwise it would just be one long 'zzzzzzzzzz'.

This post has been edited by stormymonday_2011: 08 April 2012 - 02:24 PM

[Grrrr I'm a tiger]

Mikhail Liebenstein, on 08 April 2012 - 12:25 PM, said:

I don't agree here on the basis that I'd rather see more coverage of this sort of thing, ie coverage of other sports (other than football) and at different levels.
I'd be just as happy to see Manchster Uni versus Sheffield at Basket Ball, as the boat race.

I really detest the corporatist soccer diet we get fed - it would be better if the whole Premier league went bust and were returned to amateur status.

It is not the fact that BBC covers another sport, nor the fact that it is (supposedly) amateur. They would be positively benefiical to my eyes - as Stormymonday mentions - the 'Corinthian' spirit.

But it is the fact it is just Oxbridge. And the fact it is not 'amateur' in any true sense of the word - yet seemingly pretends and trades on its past...much like the Olympics themselves. The only saving grace about the olympics is that it does actually let more people in than a couple of 'elite' masonic-like unis.

I can understand that your alma mater may possibly be impacting on your thought processes despite any protestations you may make. I don't for a minute think you would have any interest whatsoever in other uni races. They do exist you know. I believe there is a 'Roses' event too for instance. Have you tried to watch that?

This post has been edited by hotairmail: 08 April 2012 - 01:34 PM

[bkkandrew]

I have not read or researched what the swimmer's cause was, as I tend not to be swayed by publicity stunts.

However, I would support any action that reclaims common assets (The Thames) from the greedy elite. This is just the case here in Asia as it is in the UK.

[stormymonday_2011]

hotairmail, on 08 April 2012 - 01:26 PM, said:

It is not the fact that BBC covers another sport, nor the fact that it is (supposedly) amateur. They would be positively benefiical to my eyes - as Stormymonday mentions - the 'Corinthian' spirit.

But it is the fact it is just Oxbridge. And the fact it is not 'amateur' in any true sense of the word - yet seemingly pretends and trades on its past...much like the Olympics themselves. The only saving grace about the olympics is that it does actually let more people in than a couple of 'elite' masonic-like unis.

I can understand that your alma mater may possibly be impacting on your thought processes despite any protestations you may make. I don't for a minute think you would have any interest whatsoever in other uni races. They do exist you know. I believe there is a 'Roses' event too for instance. Have you tried to watch that?

I could forgive the Boat Race most of its faults if was a decent sporting spectacle. Unfortunately, it is usually as interesting as watching paint dry. Moreover, the event is deeply flawed in its course construction since the race is usually over as soon as the superior crew has seized control of the Surrey station and its in built draw advantage. Once that happens there is usually no way back for the opponents unless some catastrophe befalls the leaders. Many are not even contests for the first half mile simply because chance dictates the best crew win the best draw half the time simply from the toss of the coin. In those cases they dont even have to row that hard to get the advantage. This is why so many races are processions not contests. No amount of tradition can compensate for these flaws which is why I think televising Varsity cricket, Tennis or Croquet would make more sense than the Boat Race.

BTW it is telling that this is one sporting prize that Sky have not rushed to grab from the BBC's hands.

This post has been edited by stormymonday_2011: 08 April 2012 - 03:12 PM