Can you bloody believe this? MUST READ

[aZooZa]

The world-famous Red Arrows have been banned from appearing at the
2012 London Olympics because they are deemed 'too British'.

Organisers of the event say that the Arrows military background
might be 'offensive' to other countries taking part in the Games.

The display team have performed at more than 4000 events worldwide,
but the Department of Culture, Media and Sport have deemed the
display team 'too militaristically British'.

Red Arrows pilots were said to be 'outraged', as they had hoped to
put on a truly world class display for the Games, something which
had never been seen before.

Being axed from a British-based event for being 'too British' is an
insult - the Arrows are a symbol of Britain .

The Red Arrows have been excellent ambassadors for British overseas
trade, as they display their British-built Hawk aircraft all over
the world.

The Arrows performed a short flypast in 2005 when the winning bid
was announced, but their flypast at the Games was to have been truly
spectacular.

It is to be hoped that common sense prevails, so if you disagree
with this decision, please sign the petition on the link.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/RedArrows2012/?ref=redArrows2012

 

[Sound]

It was a hoax started by the Sun Newspaper last year here is the reply from RAF

There has been a lot of speculation recently both in the media and online regarding whether we have been banned from displaying at the 2012 Olympics, and we are getting an increasingly large amount of enquiries from people wondering whether or not to sign online petitions. We are very happy to tell you that the story is complete rubbish! It’s far too early for either us or the organising committee of London 2012 to discuss any participation by the Red Arrows in the celebrations. We plan our display season one year in advance and so we’re currently busy trying to organise our 2008 display season. We would like to thank everyone for their support – but hope that the truth behind this story will put everyone’s concerns to rest.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/reds/teamnews/index.cfm?storyid=66845B01-1143-EC82-2E376B2F89D95041

 

[aZooZa]

It was a hoax started by the Sun Newspaper last year here is the reply from RAF

There has been a lot of speculation recently both in the media and online regarding whether we have been banned from displaying at the 2012 Olympics, and we are getting an increasingly large amount of enquiries from people wondering whether or not to sign online petitions. We are very happy to tell you that the story is complete rubbish! It’s far too early for either us or the organising committee of London 2012 to discuss any participation by the Red Arrows in the celebrations. We plan our display season one year in advance and so we’re currently busy trying to organise our 2008 display season. We would like to thank everyone for their support – but hope that the truth behind this story will put everyone’s concerns to rest.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/reds/teamnews/index.cfm?storyid=66845B01-1143-EC82-2E376B2F89D95041

Well, that's as may be.

The official "Golden Brown" site (at URL in my post) portrays it slightly differently:

"The e-petition asking the Prime Minister to "to Allow the Red Arrows to Fly at the 2012 Olympics" is ongoing. This is a response in advance of the closing date from the Government

This allegation is not true. The Government has not banned the Red Arrows from the London 2012 Olympic Games. The organising committee of London 2012 will decide what to include in the Opening Ceremony and other celebrations - but with almost five years to go, decisions are yet to be made on what these will look like.

And of course the Red Arrows played a memorable role in the celebrations for 2012, when they flew over Trafalgar Square to mark London winning the Games."

Spinmeisters.

 

[Close Proximity]

Our country is so spineless, too worried about who we might offend, to carry out British traditions.

 

[denchomsky]

I think we should let all countries involved fly their fighter jet's above the stadium and have a big dogfight!..

The winning team could win a gold medal for their country....

It would make for a spectacular display and a great day out for the kids.

 

[GreyWing]

Our country is so spineless, too worried about who we might offend, to carry out British traditions.

It isn't mate, what you will find if you look at it closely, it's all down to 1 or 2 white people who work in government departments thinking about what would offend them if they were an ethnic. No ethnic ever complains about Christmas or the flying of the flags or indeed the red arrows.

It's always one or 2 white do gooders who would be sacked for incompetance if they were working in the private sector.

But it could be the Government spinning the story, making them look like they are able to fix something. I imagine that the story had some merit of truth to it at some point, before someone with common sense goit involved.