Olympics boss paid secret cash
West Ham United made payments totalling £20,000 into the bank account of Dionne Knight, director of the Olympic Park Legacy Company - Insight
The Olympics always were going to be a huge gravy train and I am sure there are many scandals still to come out. The mentaility of this country is now to get your snout into any trough that you get a sniff of. Our MPs led this stampede of greed.There now seems to be no shame associated with being found out. The contrary seems to be the case with "I'd have been daft not to have" or "Everyone was doing it" seeming to be the main lines of defence.
The problem is that this is corrosive of moral values especially in a time when the economy is in such dire straits.
Ian Whitlock, Surrey
Here we go again; soccer in the brown paper bag game yet again.
The best solution right now would be to have both individuals sacked forthwith but allow West Ham to keep its prize. The Tottenham bid would see the athletics track removed and for me this has always been an insult to the sport of athletics for which the stadium is the centrepiece of the 2012 Games and under the now revealed corruption scam, which, if proven correct would allow Tottenham to take over the stadium by default.
John Whetton, Notts
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Can we cancel the Olympics please? It is an entirely corrupt and corrupting process.
Patrick Heren, Canterbury
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Jeremy Clarkson: Look what that little DVD pirate is really doing
If we keep believing that theft is only theft if the item is tangible and expensive, Bruce Willis will be forced to hang up his vest - Comment
As a music producer I completely and wholeheartedly agree. However it does seem that ever-so-slowly the barest perception that this is theft and unacceptable does seem to be becoming more widespread. Let's hope things turn around before digital culture is strangled.
John Bitumen, London
I would download Top Gear but only if there was some way to edit out that annoying, giggling "hamster".
david harris, Fuengirola
As always, there's two sides of that coin.Release the blockbusters worldwide at the same time, and you will see the download rate go down. The internet has sped things up a lot, so why would anyone wait 6 months until it is showcased in local cinemas, and then another few weeks before it's available on DVD? And don't expect the nasty pirate to pay 15 quid every time for something that's already rotten, as it's been released months before in the US.
I'm watching Top Gear in Germany, and other than buying it on iTunes UK, there's no way for me to legally download it soon after it's been aired.
Wilmar Krein, Vordorf
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Rod Liddle’s Got Issues: Pensions
Public sector employees are marching to oppose cuts to their pensions — but why should private sector workers pay for their generous settlements? - Comment
Liddle seems to be maturing into an obese Frankie Howard. An appropriate end some might say.
michael kilbane, London
It's Frankie Howerd, not Howard. Get it right, dogbreath.
Rod Liddle, Sevenoaks
Rod Liddle = Genius...great videoclip and about time someone examined the hypocrisy of the public sector workers and their 'golden' pension privileges
jeff kehoe, Singapore
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The banners say 'Fair pensions for all'. That is exactly what this is all about, the cutting back of the manifestly unfair ones that the public sector currently receive. They will get what they can afford and pay for just the same as the private sector do
Karen Wood, Bourne
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Dominic Lawson: Teachers and nurses brandish a fake halo
It's not just wicked bankers paying for the pensions but those on minimum wage in the private sector with no pension provision at all - Comment
The essence of all of this discussed is that for a long time now our society has drifted into a greater degree of social inequality - and its not about being the good guy - it needs sorting out if we are ALL going to continue to prosper and not fall into a sort of dark ages, which could happen. If low paid are forced to work for less and less who will pay your high rents ? If low paid have to spent every penny paying for rent 4 to a room to have a roof like many illegal immigrants here now working for our large companies on less than minimum wage(they're happy to have no annual leave and save all their money to go home and buy a house - good for our economy or their boss ?) - who will buy your fancy goods ? What will Britain 'feel' like if this is the case - will the cream of the world still want to come and live here or even visit ? Will anyone but the desperate want to live in this brutal future ?
Socialism fell out of favour leaving the drift of society in the hands of people whose only goal is profit. They have think it is only their efforts keeping this country what it is. When everything else is gone tell me they were right.
jane coran, London
When someone attacks the writer personally it is always a clear sign that they cannot effectively attack his argument. We have some excellent examples of this in the comments received so far.
walter mears, Bournazel
The protesters in Greece and those on our streets this last week have to ask themselves a question: "Where does the money come from?" There is not a bottomless pit from which to fund perks for everyone, as nice as that would be.
tightlywoundballofhate, Woking
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India Knight: Say thank you when being lashed for bad manners
Manners are what hold society together. They are very, very important. They’re the one real indicator of class in the truest sense of the word - Comment
As neither Miss Withers nor Mrs Bourne have chosen to enlighten us further on the background to this e-mail - very wisely one feels - it is foolish for anyone outside the family circle to engage in supposition about what MIGHT have happened. I will say this however. I am the same age as Mrs Bourne (in fact I think I am slightly older) but I think it would be outrageous of me to utter such criticisms of a prospective in-law and in such a way. Unlike Mrs Bourne, I have no wish to invite unflattering comparisons with Hyacinth Bucket. Whatever Heidi Withers' sins may have been (and like Amin I incline to a lenient view) Carolyn Bourne has clearly demonstrated that she, too, is no lady. Good manners are not about observing formalities, good manners are about not inconveniencing people and helping those around you to feel comfortable and at ease. In this case I can't help but feel that both parties have failed.
Angela Barratt, New Malden
Spot on. A perfect comment on something -- good manners -- that we could once rely on in this country and now can not. All can be summed up in the words, "I'm more important than you are."
John Lynch, Oswestry
A fantastic, balanced article, India. As an age-old motto goes - "Manners maketh man" (and woman...).
Mr D M Finch, Walton On Thames
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