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In fact (and here's a little fact I picked up from QI) it's was quite normal right up until even just a few decades ago, before nationalism really came to the fore, for Brits to use England and Britain interchangeably, so I'm not going to be too harsh on Americans for getting the terminology muddled:

To be honest,I sympathise with Americans and other foreigners who use 'England' when they mean 'Britain.We just don't make it easy for 'em (or for ourselves for that matter) with all these blasted names we use for our country ie. England,Britain,Great Britain,United Kingdom blah blah blah.Every other country seems to get by perfectly well with one name (or maybe two at the most) but not us.Yes,I do know the history behind it all but I think its high time we kicked 'Great Britain' or 'the United Kingdom' into the dustbin of history and just settled on calling ourselves 'Britain' .It's simple,dignified,uncomplicated and much less arrogant-sounding.To be honest,I'd really love to just talk about 'England' and the 'English' (being English myself) but I understand that the Scots and the Welsh would obviously not accept that so as long as we are all politically united in one nation, 'Britain' is fine,will be much simpler to use and should help cut down on all this unnecessary confusion of names we like to call ourselves!

Thus speaketh Mainad (just an Englishman and/or a Briton thanks!) B)

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London is the capital of Britain and is in England. But the Olympic games are not 'only' Englands. They are on behalf of the whole of Britain. Too many ignorant people, in the year 2010, are unable to understand that Britain is not England per se but made up of several countries and consequently the Olympics, whilst being staged in London (only 1 city can host) is a British Olympics. It's really annoying to read people still refer to Britain as only 'England'.

It's a bit like Moscow 1980 - whilst the games were staged in Moscow, the capital of Russia, the games were a games on behalf of the Soviet Union as that was the nature of the state - Russia wasn't solely the Soviet Union.

Ok just clarifying, Britain ≠ England right?

But London is the capital of England, Wikipedia says it, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London

I understand that Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh

And Cardiff is the capital of Wales http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff

However London is also the capital of Britain/United Kingdom, so the comment to which you got upset said English production, since London is in England, his comment would be accurate figuratively, but not literally. London 2012 is UK/Britain's Games, but just because you're being pedantic, you're jumping on him for saying English instead of British. Dude, lighten up don't be so angry.

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Ok just clarifying, Britain ≠ England right?

But London is the capital of England, Wikipedia says it, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London

I understand that Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh

And Cardiff is the capital of Wales http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff

However London is also the capital of Britain/United Kingdom, so the comment to which you got upset said English production, since London is in England, his comment would be accurate figuratively, but not literally. London 2012 is UK/Britain's Games, but just because you're being pedantic, you're jumping on him for saying English instead of British. Dude, lighten up don't be so angry.

So wishing people would correctly understand what Britain is and not just say England is Britain and use that interchangeably is being pedantic?

Too many people mistakenly use the term Britain to refer to just England and so the other British nations get ignored. Britain is an amalgamation of countries - Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales & England. And in terms of the Olympics, to call the Olympics an 'English' production is actually offensive since they are a British games. Can you not see that? That's why I get annoyed. Further, when people such as yourself, who are not British, then tell people who are to stop being so angry, it is a totally misplaced comment since it fails to see the genuine grievance that some Brits can have when only one country, i.e. England gets assumed to be British. That's all I'm saying.

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To be fair, plenty of Brits use Holland and the Netherlands interchangeably (I do when I'm not thinking) and wouldn't know the difference when asked. I'm not sure it's quite as big a mistake, or even if it really matters in their case anymore, but we're not always innocent of geographical ignorance.

In fact (and here's a little fact I picked up from QI) it's was quite normal right up until even just a few decades ago, before nationalism really came to the fore, for Brits to use England and Britain interchangeably, so I'm not going to be too harsh on Americans for getting the terminology muddled:

I'm aware that there are cultural precedents for the 'wrong' terminology. In the case of Britain, we ourselves used to interchangeably refer to England and Britain as one and the same as it was perceived that England was Britain given that everything, from political decisions to the monarchy was centralised there.

However, it is still wrong to say that and I'm not trying to be a pain in the arse to people, it's just so frustrating (as a British person) having to state the obvious which is that Britain and England are not interchangeable but actually Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland too stand with England in Britain and so a Staging of the Olympics in London, whilst being in England, is on behalf of Britain as a whole. That's why I alluded to the Soviet Union example of the 1980 Moscow Olympics which helps to cast light on our situation.

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Erm, it was Great Britain's production. Good God, your geography is beyond terrible. First you claim that Morocco is in Europe and now you claim that the British handover ceremony was an "English production" instead of British. I'll leave it you to google what Britain is but you clearly don't understand that it is more than one country. Anyhoo.........

Please consult an atlas for future posts.

P.S. It is spelled 'wanker' but I'm sure you're familiar with the word. :D

...excuse my ignorance, but a red doubledecker bus, Jimmy Page, Amy Winehouse, and David Beckham...aren't they all English?..

...just what in that handover ceremony would lead anybody outside of "Britian" to believe that it was anything BUT an English production? Maybe they should have included the Loch Ness Monster. Or how about a HUGE plate of Haggis. The Bay City Rollers. Men in skirts, I mean kilts. Jesus, there wasn't even one bagpiper. Seems like the English chaps that produced the show REALLY dissed their fellow Brits. Maybe you should be pissed at them instead of ignorant blokes like me...

...and since when has a REAL Scotsman ever tried to ACTUALLY align himself with the English? You should be ashamed of yourself, you are an embarrassment to you country, or is it an embarrassment to your Kingdom? :P

...right wanker

..

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...excuse my ignorance, but a red doubledecker bus, Jimmy Page, Amy Winehouse, and David Beckham...aren't they all English?..

...just what in that handover ceremony would lead anybody outside of "Britian" to believe that it was anything BUT an English production? Maybe they should have included the Loch Ness Monster. Or how about a HUGE plate of Haggis. The Bay City Rollers. Men in skirts, I mean kilts. Jesus, there wasn't even one bagpiper. Seems like the English chaps that produced the show REALLY dissed their fellow Brits. Maybe you should be pissed at them instead of ignorant blokes like me...

...and since when has a REAL Scotsman ever tried to ACTUALLY align himself with the English? You should be ashamed of yourself, you are an embarrassment to you country, or is it an embarrassment to your Kingdom? :P

...right wanker

...yeah,yeah...Leona Lewis not Amy Winehouse...

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...excuse my ignorance, but a red doubledecker bus, Jimmy Page, Amy Winehouse, and David Beckham...aren't they all English?..

...just what in that handover ceremony would lead anybody outside of "Britian" to believe that it was anything BUT an English production? Maybe they should have included the Loch Ness Monster. Or how about a HUGE plate of Haggis. The Bay City Rollers. Men in skirts, I mean kilts. Jesus, there wasn't even one bagpiper. Seems like the English chaps that produced the show REALLY dissed their fellow Brits. Maybe you should be pissed at them instead of ignorant blokes like me...

...and since when has a REAL Scotsman ever tried to ACTUALLY align himself with the English? You should be ashamed of yourself, you are an embarrassment to you country, or is it an embarrassment to your Kingdom? :P

...right wanker

..

The fact of the matter is that the 2012 Olympics are a British Olympics. Not merely 'England's'. That's the point I was making.

Regarding the ceremony in Beijing, well, in 8 minutes it is hard to fit so much in so clichéd stereotypes of London, the immediate city and host, were used. You could argue it was a slight against Britain and many have, but the real measure of such thinking will be be seen come the actual opening ceremony in 2012 and is such a display is repeated then it will be seen as a slight.

P.S. Sweetheart, Amy Winehouse was not at the ceremony in 2008 so your eyes must be playing tricks on you (It was Leona lewis). Oh, and well done for stating the obvious which everyone already knows - your and ignorant bloke! :lol:

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I'm aware that there are cultural precedents for the 'wrong' terminology. In the case of Britain, we ourselves used to interchangeably refer to England and Britain as one and the same as it was perceived that England was Britain given that everything, from political decisions to the monarchy was centralised there.

However, it is still wrong to say that and I'm not trying to be a pain in the arse to people, it's just so frustrating (as a British person) having to state the obvious which is that Britain and England are not interchangeable but actually Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland too stand with England in Britain and so a Staging of the Olympics in London, whilst being in England, is on behalf of Britain as a whole. That's why I alluded to the Soviet Union example of the 1980 Moscow Olympics which helps to cast light on our situation.

...and how many people refer to people from the USA as "Americans". You get all bent out of shape when someone uses "wrong terminolgy" to describe an island off of Europe...yet people from all over the world (including the USA) automatically assume an "American" is from the USA...America is not an island off of Europe, America is TWO whole continents...your island could fit into many of our states...don't be so anal...

...yeah, I did forget to mention Northern Ireland...I figure that I had better correct this fact before you get all anal again...

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The fact of the matter is that the 2012 Olympics are a British Olympics. Not merely 'England's'. That's the point I was making.

Regarding the ceremony in Beijing, well, in 8 minutes it is hard to fit so much in so clichéd stereotypes of London, the immediate city and host, were used. You could argue it was a slight against Britain and many have, but the real measure of such thinking will be be seen come the actual opening ceremony in 2012 and is such a display is repeated then it will be seen as a slight.

P.S. Sweetheart, Amy Winehouse was not at the ceremony in 2008 so your eyes must be playing tricks on you (It was Leona lewis). Oh, and well done for stating the obvious which everyone already knows - your and ignorant bloke! :lol:

...hey Haggis for brains...I ALREADY corrected that mistake BEFORE you did...

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...and how many people refer to people from the USA as "Americans". You get all bent out of shape when someone uses "wrong terminolgy" to describe an island off of Europe...yet people from all over the world (including the USA) automatically assume an "American" is from the USA...America is not an island off of Europe, America is TWO whole continents...your island could fit into many of our states...don't be so anal...

...yeah, I did forget to mention Northern Ireland...I figure that I had better correct this fact before you get all anal again...

Well, we are not discussing that particular example so it is misplaced here. However, if someone uses a term like that which you find offensive or wrong, then you should raise the issue. Trying to uphold the truth regarding defining correctly what Britain is, is not being anal.

So Killmainham, you have learned a lot recently (give yourself a pat on the back):

1. You now know why Europe has more representation than the US in the Olympic committee.

2. You now know that Morocco is not in Europe, but rather in North Africa (a completely different continent)

3. You now know that Britain is more than one country, your former colonial master, England and is an amalgamation of nations.

4. And you now know that Amy Winehouse is not Leona Lewis.

:lol:

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The fact of the matter is that the 2012 Olympics are a British Olympics. Not merely 'England's'. That's the point I was making.

Regarding the ceremony in Beijing, well, in 8 minutes it is hard to fit so much in so clichéd stereotypes of London, the immediate city and host, were used. You could argue it was a slight against Britain and many have, but the real measure of such thinking will be be seen come the actual opening ceremony in 2012 and is such a display is repeated then it will be seen as a slight.

P.S. Sweetheart, Amy Winehouse was not at the ceremony in 2008 so your eyes must be playing tricks on you (It was Leona lewis). Oh, and well done for stating the obvious which everyone already knows - your and ignorant bloke! :lol:

...99% of the world's population will view the 2012 Olympics as English regardless of what happens in the opening ceremony...get over it...life is unfair.

...only ONE thing could change that fact...SEAN CONNERY...now that's the ticket, when people think of Sean Connery they think of Scot,err...oh ****, when people think of Sean Connery they think of an English spy. Oh well I tried. If only we could capture Nessie and bring her to London in 2012.

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...99% of the world's population will view the 2012 Olympics as English regardless of what happens in the opening ceremony...get over it...life is unfair.

...only ONE thing could change that fact...SEAN CONNERY...now that's the ticket, when people think of Sean Connery they think of Scot,err...oh ****, when people think of Sean Connery they think of an English spy. Oh well I tried. If only we could capture Nessie and bring her to London in 2012.

I'm not trying to control people's perceptions. But facts are facts and it is a FACT that the games are 'Britain's and thus London is the recipient of them on behalf of the whole of Britain.Not merely England. If people cannot understand this simple fact then too bad.

Anyway, your racism has been reported. There's simply no need for it.

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Well, we are not discussing that particular example so it is misplaced here. However, if someone uses a term like that which you find offensive or wrong, then you should raise the issue. Trying to uphold the truth regarding defining correctly what Britain is, is not being anal.

So Killmainham, you have learned a lot recently (give yourself a pat on the back):

1. You now know why Europe has more representation than the US in the Olympic committee.

2. You now know that Morocco is not in Europe, but rather in North Africa (a completely different continent)

3. You now know that Britain is more than one country, your former colonial master, England and is an amalgamation of nations.

4. And you now know that Amy Winehouse is not Leona Lewis.

:lol:

1) I already knew that Europe has more representation in the IOC (EOC)...still don't know WHY. Still don't know why Europe has more representation that North America, South America, and Asia combined. But life is unfair and I'll get over it.

2) I already knew that Morocco is in Africa. Been to Morocco in 1989, day trip from Spain. What I didn't know was that we now have an entirely NEW continent, NORTH AFRICA. Those are YOUR OWN WORDS. See I can twist your words too.

3) England WAS indeed our former master. We resolved that problem awhile back. You know, George Washington, Valley Forge, Declaration of Independence, etc. What I DID learn from you is that you still consider yourself part of Great Britain and not your OWN master. Maybe you can resurrect William Wallace to fix your problem.

4) Again, I corrected my mistake before you did.

5) You are an extremely bitter and anal Scotsman. If you want to gain REAL independence from England maybe ask us Yanks for some help.

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1) I already knew that Europe has more representation in the IOC (EOC)...still don't know WHY. Still don't know why Europe has more representation that North America, South America, and Asia combined. But life is unfair and I'll get over it.

2) I already knew that Morocco is in Africa. Been to Morocco in 1989, day trip from Spain. What I didn't know was that we now have an entirely NEW continent, NORTH AFRICA. Those are YOUR OWN WORDS. See I can twist your words too.

3) England WAS indeed our former master. We resolved that problem awhile back. You know, George Washington, Valley Forge, Declaration of Independence, etc. What I DID learn from you is that you still consider yourself part of Great Britain and not your OWN master. Maybe you can resurrect William Wallace to fix your problem.

4) Again, I corrected my mistake before you did.

5) You are an extremely bitter and anal Scotsman. If you want to gain REAL independence from England maybe ask us Yanks for some help.

Morocco, being in North Africa is in the continent of Africa and thus not Europe. Hence, your list of European OC member voters, which listed Morocco alongside Europe and made no distinction between the two, absolutely demonstrated that you probably thought Morocco was in Europe. But this little mistake pales in comparison with your racism which alone have spouted.

Only a bigot like yourself, who starts a thread with racist connotations, laments myself for correcting someone on their misuse of the term England to mean Britain, makes racist remarks about my Scottish heritage,can justify their own words. Think about it - you are being racist towards me for stating the truth regarding Britain. How silly is that?

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I'm not trying to control people's perceptions. But facts are facts and it is a FACT that the games are 'Britain's and thus London is the recipient of them on behalf of the whole of Britain.Not merely England. If people cannot understand this simple fact then too bad.

Anyway, your racism has been reported. There's simply no need for it.

..

.you are such a pathetic excuse of a human. Fight back . Call me a NOOB, TWAT, WANKER (oh, you already did). Did William Wallace run and report the English atrocities to his Mommy? NO, he stood up and defend himself against the evil English King.

...you are anal and have NO sense of humor. Pity. :( I actually feel sorry for you. You need a vacation. I heard of this great NEW continent called North Africa. You might actually be the first European to visit.

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..

.you are such a pathetic excuse of a human. Fight back . Call me a NOOB, TWAT, WANKER (oh, you already did). Did William Wallace run and report the English atrocities to his Mommy? NO, he stood up and defend himself against the evil English King.

...you are anal and have NO sense of humor. Pity. :( I actually feel sorry for you. You need a vacation. I heard of this great NEW continent called North Africa. You might actually be the first European to visit.

This is a discussion forum. Can you understand this?

Stop trying to instigate trouble. Anyone can do that hiding behind a monitor - sorry but your tough guy act is not very convincing. Racist remarks are not funny but your lack of geography is. If you want to discuss things civilly then please do so. If not, then I'm sure several other will be reporting you aswell since you seem very antagonistic. Your hardly Mr popular on this forum.

P.S. William Wallace, whilst a great man and hero, has nothing to do with Gamesbids forums. Further, NOOB is not a British slur word, it is KNOB. Google what it means.

regards.

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Morocco, being in North Africa is in the continent of Africa and thus not Europe. Hence, your list of European OC member voters, which listed Morocco alongside Europe and made no distinction between the two, absolutely demonstrated that you probably thought Morocco was in Europe. But this little mistake pales in comparison with your racism which alone have spouted.

Only a bigot like yourself, who starts a thread with racist connotations, laments myself for correcting someone on their misuse of the term England to mean Britain, makes racist remarks about my Scottish heritage,can justify their own words. Think about it - you are being racist towards me for stating the truth regarding Britain. How silly is that?

...racist..lol. Scottish heritage??? You were just trying crash the English Olympic party by completely DISOWNING your Scottish heritage. Now suddenly you are "Scottish". What an embarrassment to your "Scottish heritage"..

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...racist..lol. Scottish heritage??? You were just trying crash the English Olympic party by completely DISOWNING your Scottish heritage. Now suddenly you are "Scottish". What an embarrassment to your "Scottish heritage"..

Only you have brought up this issue. It obviously says something about yourself. Again, the prejudice undertones of your words show you have no interest in these forums but instead are only interested in trying to cause trouble. Further, your obsession with me seems a bit strange aswell.

Sad little person. :lol:

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We've know for years that them there Americans ain't got none them patients for that there book learnin'.

...see, when faster makes a "racist" comment about my heritage, which you replied to with a smiley face, I didn't cry like a little schoolgirl. I told him he made a pretty funny comment. No hard feelings.

...but you...you seem to be suffering from an inferiority complex. Please seek help.

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...see, when faster makes a "racist" comment about my heritage, which you replied to with a smiley face, I didn't cry like a little schoolgirl. I told him he made a pretty funny comment. No hard feelings.

...but you...you seem to be suffering from an inferiority complex. Please seek help.

I replied to fasters comment as it was funny and mocked the fact that you created a thread about 'European arrogance' and proceeded to imply Morocco was part of Europe thus demonstrating your own lack of intelligence. Your original post was the justification for such a comment. However, without provocation, you have made racist remarks against Scottish people. That is the difference.

Anyway, your racism has been reported and it is now blatantly obvious that you are trying to create an argument. You are a troll who is trying to hijack threads.

Your posts offer nothing to the discussion at hand, are littered with bigoted comments, and are deliberately antagonistic.

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So wishing people would correctly understand what Britain is and not just say England is Britain and use that interchangeably is being pedantic?

Too many people mistakenly use the term Britain to refer to just England and so the other British nations get ignored. Britain is an amalgamation of countries - Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales & England. And in terms of the Olympics, to call the Olympics an 'English' production is actually offensive since they are a British games. Can you not see that? That's why I get annoyed. Further, when people such as yourself, who are not British, then tell people who are to stop being so angry, it is a totally misplaced comment since it fails to see the genuine grievance that some Brits can have when only one country, i.e. England gets assumed to be British. That's all I'm saying.

I understand, and I apologize that my remarks incited anger I didn't mean for it. I do believe a London Olympics should be a UK/Britain Celebration. I understand the cultural difference between the nations of Britain and I am fascinated by the work, and am very curious to learn about the SNP, Plaid Cymyru, and Sinn Féin. My sincerest apologies for further annoyance. Just as a side note, I love your dancing bear avatar, and I could stare at it for hours!

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I understand, and I apologize that my remarks incited anger I didn't mean for it. I do believe a London Olympics should be a UK/Britain Celebration. I understand the cultural difference between the nations of Britain and I am fascinated by the work, and am very curious to learn about the SNP, Plaid Cymyru, and Sinn Féin. My sincerest apologies for further annoyance. Just as a side note, I love your dancing bear avatar, and I could stare at it for hours!

Hey,

Please don't apologise. I absolutely understand that the world sometimes thinks that only England is Britain. Whilst this is wrong, it is a common mistake. Again, please don't apologise. I only commented on the subject as someone called the London handover ceremony ' an English production' and I felt compelled to correct this mistake just so that people understand correctly the nature of Britain and subsequently the 2012 games of which Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are part of too.

Anyway, I wasn't angry and you certainly don't have anything to apologise for to me. It's just one of those cultural 'misconceptions'.

P.S. The dancing bear is quite cool. I would like to say it is me in the bear suit but sadly it is not.

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1) I already knew that Europe has more representation in the IOC (EOC)...still don't know WHY. Still don't know why Europe has more representation that North America, South America, and Asia combined. But life is unfair and I'll get over it.

Well, Europe is the most involved in the Olympic movement. In Beijing, the 49 European countries (as defined by the IOC) sent over 5,000 athletes, which is more than North/South America and Asia (even though host China had by far the most) combined. Keep in mind, there are a lot of under-developed countries in Asia and the Americas (I'm thinking mostly of the Middle East and the Carribbean) that aren't as involved in the movement or international sport, nor have the capacity (or sometimes the desire) to.

On paper it looks unfair, but when you think about there's really not a whole lot to complain about. Of course Switzerland has more IOC members than Haiti, Dominica, Bahamas, Yemen, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Turkmeistan, and Pakistan combined!

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