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2012 London Olympic Games
July 11, 2012 - 5:04am
2012 London Olympic Games...
London 2012: Olympic Missile Tenants in Terrorist Fear
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18765062
"Council tenants have argued a plan to place surface-to-air missiles on their tower block during the Olympics could make them a terrorist target. The Ministry of Defence rejected the claim, saying missile deployment as part of security measures for the Games was legitimate and proportionate..."
This could spawn a new Olympic event.
In all seriousness, the placing of these missiles and the courts refusal to provide relief is criminal at best.
'The Savages' Olympics' 1904
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2171686/The-Savages-Olympics-Its...
"...The hapless competitors - or 'savages', as the white American organisers preferred, were Native Americans adn ethnic tribesmen shipped in from places as far away as Africa, South America, the Middle East, the Philipines and the far north of Japan. One Congolese pygmy, with sharpened teeth, was simply described in the official games report as a 'cannibal'.
They had been conscripted as Olympic athletes in a shocking racial experiment designed to prove their natural athleticism was inferior to that of 'civilized' white Americans.
It was devised by 1904 games director James Edward Sullivan, a bigoted Irish New Yorker who decided the tribesmen should be pitted against one another over two days in August 1904, as a prelude to the main Games..."
CBC showed photos of the missiles in residential areas. Looks like something from an 'end of the world' movie still. Insane.
There are Olympic Games this year?
I've heard rumours to that effect, yes.
Ten to a room and one shower for 75 people: Inside the 'slum' camp for Olympic cleaners [Daily Mail warning, anti-immigrant sentiment at the link]
There was also problems with the company contracted to provide security - the PM had to call on the Army to fill the gaps.
Last year I read a book on the London 1948 games. Quite the feel while rationing was still taking place.
Saw a photo on CBC this week of England's largest warship in the Thames on patrol - a monster aircraft carrier loaded with helicopters for the Games. (and maybe fighter jets below deck?)
Saw this comment on Facebook (condensed):
"Everywhere the Olympics go, they become a burden on taxpayers, while corporate sponsors get filthy rich. And the only beer sold during Games events and venues in London is Heineken - none of that lovely British beer at all. And the city becomes a police state for the duration."
Why on earth do cities agree to sponsor the Olympics at all?
http://songwriters.ca/news/324/20120629olympics.aspx
That G4S contract is huge. I imagine that they won't be paid in full given that they couldn't produce the services promised.
Olympics Disaster - by Andy Worthington
http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2012/07/16/olympics-disaster-the-g4s-se...
"...The Olympics site has become the world's newest temporary tax haven.."
TSA Security Agents To Be Deployed in UK Airports for Olympics
http://www.rt.com/news/london-olympics-security-tsa-agents-337/
"..Now the UK government has called in an extra 3,500 troops to guard the events, in addition to the 7,500 troops already scheduled to provide security at some 100 sensitive sites.."
a complete unmitigated fiasco..
@laine: according to the Grauniad this morning, they're still expecting a 50+ million pound "management fee" even though they admit it's been a "shambles" and their reputation is in "tatters." Y'see, they've been "managing" for two years now, shitty job notwithstanding. They gots to get paid!
Who is Getting Excited Just Days to Go Till the Olympics (vid)
http://youtu.be/FP41mXPQuNE
Artist Taxi-Driver rant: 'The Olympic Dream...'
(* warning * highly offensive, profanity, etc )
The Police State 2012 Olympics - by Patrick Martin
http://wsws.org/articles/2012/jul2012/pers-j16.shtml#
"...The British government announced Thursday that it would mobilize an additional 3,500 troops for security duty at the Olympics, bringing the total number of soldiers, airmen and military police deployed for the event to a staggering 17,000, far more than are currently deployed in the imperialist war in Afghanistan.
The combined total of 49,000 uniformed personnel - 17,000 troops, 12,000 police and 20,000 or more security guards - exceeds the size of the expeditionary force Britain contributed to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. It is the largest single mobilization of British security forces since the Suez Crisis of 1956.
Despite the nonstop barrage in the British and American media over the threat of terrorism, the police state atmosphere surrounding the London Olympics has far more to do with the increasingly tense state of class relations in Britain and the increasing resort by the imperial powers to military violence around the world..."
PETITION: Demand environmentally friendly Olympic medals
In My Mother's Arms - by Layla Anwar (and vid)
http://arabwomanblues.blogspot.it/2012/07/in-my-mothers-arms_28.html
"My Twitter timeline was full of garbage today..not that it usually isn't but today it was extraordinarily so...a dazzling spectacle of people swooning over the 'Olympics' with endless identical tweets...So in between those nauseating tweets, I tried focusing on the realities of the Empire, the White one...the British American one, the Western one..."
I watched the second half of the opening ceremonies, and these are my comments: 1) The Queen looked incredibly bored with it all. 2) The performance of "Abide With Me" - a great hymn - was awful. 3) Paul McCartney butchered "Hey Jude" - not surprising, considering he first sang it, what, 40 years ago???
You should have watched the first half. Mike Oldfield playing during a tribute to the National Health Service and childrens literature done by volunteers from the NHS and James Bond(Daniel Craig) and the Queen jumped out of a helicopter over the stadium. I don't blame her for being bored after doing that... ;)
I didn't like the accompanying choreo, but I thought "Abide With Me" was performed beautifully. That Scottish singer is stunning.
I'm inclined to agree with pookie on this one, but judge for yourselves:
Emeli Sandé - Abide With Me
(Sorry if it takes a while to download on dialup, Boom Boom...)
ETA: This is a studio version - anyone have a link to the live London performance?
The Queen/James Bond bit was cute and I laughed loudly at the whole Rowan Atkinson one note skit to Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire" score.
We made the mistake of watching CTV's coverage. It felt like they had no advance copy of presentation notes and offered next to nothing in terms of some background information.
The Neo-Liberal Games: Who are the Real Winners?
http://www.zcommunications.org/the-neoliberal-games-who-are-the-real-win...
"The London Olympics is merely the grandest expression of neoliberalism's unhealthy involvement in sport..."
London 2012: Welcome to the Idiot Games
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/403-sports/12672-focus-london-20...
"Limo wars, flag wars, logo wars - Britain is playing host to one great sports day for the world's most powerful people..."
Lefties and the Olympics (and vid)
http://youtu.be/bMpWiPIaIYQ
Artist taxi-driver rant
An Open Letter to Danny Boyle- John Robb
'Criminal Sponsor Leaves Toxic Stain on London Olympics' (and vid)
http://www.presstv.com/detail/2012/07/31/253685/criminal-sponsor-taints-...
Despite dropping two early and weak goals to the Swedes, the Canadian Women's Football team qualifies for the quarter-finals with a 2-2 draw.
Canadian Women came 5th in the Women's Team Gymnastics final earlier today. They wern't expected to win a medal, but then they wern't expected to make it to the final in the first place. They seemed pleased with their result. Gold went to the Americans, Silver to the Russians, and Bronze to the Romanians. The American last won gold in the Women's Team Gymnastics in 1996. The Romanians have placed on the podium in Women's Team Gymnastics in every Olympics since 1976. The Chinese were in third place after the first half, but the Romanians passed them in the second half to take the Bronze.
Tom Daley Gets Unnecessarily Censored
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/tom-daley-gets-unnecessarily-censored
Vaguely NSFW..depending on your workplace, perhaps. ;)