We know from the way that Nurse Bloomberg mauled math, statistics and science to justify his smoking ban, that New York City’s billionaire mayor has an, uh, flexible way with figures. Now he’s at it again. In today’s New York Times he’s reported as claiming that “the vast majority of New Yorkers by every poll want the games to be here.”

Well, Nurse, that’s not altogether true is it? Yes, one recent poll, the Quinnipiac University Poll, did find that 67 percent of New York City voters said they supported the city’s bid to host the summer games (25 percent were opposed), but there’s a catch: 55 percent said they would not approve of holding the 2012 Olympics in the city if tax revenues were used (and only 37 percent were in favour). Look at the figure for Manhattan, and the opposition rises still further – to 64 percent.

Send the Olympics where they belong – Paris 2012!