Enemies of Reason Poundshop potshots at the media moral maze.

Fish/barrel

I don't want to get all Asperger's about this, but... hijack a medal? Hijack...? A medal...? How on earth is 'Europe' going to do that? Is the entire continent of Europe (including Britain) going to be waiting at Heathrow Airport with a gun, waiting for the 'medals' to arrive through customs? Do Express headline writers actually know what words mean or do they just plump for the most evil-sounding things they can find? I guess 'HIJACK' fills the column out a little bit better than 'bumrape' or 'murder' would, so I imagine that's the only reason why they didn't use those words.

As you'd imagine, there's no substance whatsoever to the story, but that's not the point, is it? It's not about saying something that's going to be true; it's about saying something that confirms existing prejudices and scares the shit out of the goons who would rather buy the Sunday Express than a real newspaper. Once you've realised it's total bollocks and never going to happen, you should have hopefully bought the newspaper already. But having said that, you can guess what Express readers have said in online comments... they don't seem to have spotted that it's utter crud; they're happy enough to believe something with as little believability as this, if it substantiates the notion that evil McJudas has sold this country down the river, Lisbon, etc. Many Express folk on the boardsappear to be BNP or UKIP (BNP-lite, as I like to call it) fans, so I guess this chimes in nicely with them.

BRITAIN’S Olympic heroes could be forced to compete under the European flag at London 2012.

Could they, Jason Groves? Could they really?

As the Queen congratulated the team on Britain’s best Olympic performance in a century, it emerged that our athletes could even be asked to hand over their medals for display in the office of the EU President, a post currently held by French leader Nicolas Sarkozy.

Really?

The controversial plans have been drawn up by the Young European Federalists, a 35,000-strong organisation that has received hundreds
of thousands of pounds in grants from the EC.

The Brussels-based organisation argues that a single European team would lead the medals table and help people to feel more like European citizens.

Oh noes! Good sleuthing then, Groves. So all you need to do now is stand the story up. Could you provide us with evidence of where this group actually said this? And then could you put into context this group with how likely it really is that these things will ever be done? And then could you provide proof that Team GB's medals will be going to France? Open-and-shut case if you can...

But critics last night warned that patriotic Britons might refuse to take part. Shadow Europe Minister Mark Francois said: “Britain’s amazing athletes have shown us how Britain can be one of the best in sport.

No, that's just a Tory saying the EU is bad. Try again...

A Team GB official in Beijing said: “This is a very cruel thing to foist upon our wonderful athletes who have so proudly flown the flag here.

No that's just a 'team GB official' who wanted to remain anonymous, conveniently enough for the purposes of your story saying exactly what you wanted. Try again...

Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, said: “At the heart of all this is the simple fact that these people want to create a single country called Europe. Our Westminster politicians try to pretend otherwise, but ideas like this let the cat out of the bag.”

No, that's a UKIP man. Try again... oh, that's it. So no evidence that this has happened whatsoever; if it is true, no discussion of how likely it would ever be that this group would be able to convince every single country in the entire EU to do it; no putting anything into context; no proof about the 'medals going to France' story. Just the usual suspects getting hot under the collar about the evil EU, one fringe group allegedly saying something that sounds a bit bonkers and will never happen in a month of Sundays.

I'm sure Express readers can understand that this will never happen... oh.

BAN EU
24.08.08, 10:09am
I think NOT EU you and your ideas stink....
This EU pinch OUR medals...Do you intend to do this with other EU and up and coming EU countries?
What is the point if only a few countries (as it would be then) taking place?
All you so called up and coming stars stick together and say you are UK not Europe, sure this would work..
.We are too soft Brown and labout let Eu do anything they want with our country.Time to stand up for ourselves

Yes, BAN EU.

MEDALS
24.08.08, 10:00am
Britain has signed up to an integrated Europe,passed away many of our rights to an anonymous body.I am not surprised by this story.Give them the medals.They are an embarrassment to this entire country.Bought by Lottery money.Cash thrown at athletes to the detriment of every other good cause.£9.3 billion to be spent on the London Olympics is a staggering amount of money which could be used elsewhere to the real benefit of society.
Why not use Wembley and other venues around the country for the games,instead of the amounts being spent?
Level playing fields?Not in the Olympics.

Er, OK.

the quicker we leave the eu the better - this must never be allowed to happen the eu just wants everything goood about us and they give us the dregs. \\NO WAY. If this does happen I hope the athletes will decline. they should not be used politically - would they have been wanted if they had not won medals - I think not.

What?

Just ignore it . It won't happen . Our athletes won't want to be part of it . There would wholesale boycotting of the Games. It is just a diabolical plan thought up by the Aussies because we have more golds than them.

Well finally, a bit of sense and sarcasm. A collector's item on the Express messageboard, but there you go.

How can you take this newspaper seriously? It doesn't even know how to write news stories properly; and, if it does, it deliberately chooses not to. There's no context or balance; there's just an attempt to create the most scary-sounding situation possible, ignoring all evidence that might contradict this, meanwhile collecting the most aggressive red-faced comments possible from people who are bound to say what you've got them to say. It's infantile. It's ridiculous. Anyone involved with this shambles should be ashamed - but then, as ever, that presupposes there is any shame at all. I think when you walk through the front door at the Express you have to leave it behind.

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