Olympics London 2012 - Drug Festival? Sporting Event? Major Military Exercise ?

[C. Flower]

Judge said that residents' fear of a terrorist attack was not credible.

No need for the missiles then.

*bangs head off desk*

And of course, if they did let them off, they would land on Acton.

[fluffybiscuits]

Judge said that residents' fear of a terrorist attack was not credible.

No need for the missiles then.

There is missiles on the roofs of the houses. Why does the judge think the missiles are there? In the event that Syria or Malta attacks or something like that? There is no credible evidence to support the evidence that there is going to be a terrorist attack therefore no evidence to support the need for missiles. The judge must not have been strong on reason and logic to come to a descision like that. The Huffington reports on concerns that locals have and quite credibly too...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1664653.html

"We have always believed that an Englishman's home was his castle, not a forward operating base," said attorney David Enright.

"The clear implication of today's judgment is that the Ministry of Defense now has the power to militarize the private homes of any person in Britain, so long as they can demonstrate that there is, in their view, a matter of national security."

[C. Flower]

There is missiles on the roofs of the houses. Why does the judge think the missiles are there? In the event that Syria or Malta attacks or something like that? There is no credible evidence to support the evidence that there is going to be a terrorist attack therefore no evidence to support the need for missiles. The judge must not have been strong on reason and logic to come to a descision like that. The Huffington reports on concerns that locals have and quite credibly too...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1664653.html

This is very serious. It's the biggest military exercise in the UK since World War 2 and half a billion is being spent on it.

You can be sure that the military is using it as a major civilian population control 'coup' exercise.

The move brings the total number of military personnel including reservists protecting the games to 17,000 — dwarfing the 9,500 troops Britain has in Afghanistan, and at a time when the armed forces are coping with thousands of job cuts.
The substantial security operation for the Olympics also will feature 12,000 police, 3,000 volunteers, Typhoon fighter jets, helicopters, two warships and bomb disposal experts.

http://blog.syracuse.com/sports/2012...troops_ad.html

[C. Flower]

Olympic lane meets bus lane leaving nowhere for cars to go. Don't even ask about bikes. One of many such spots in London. Via Faisal Islam on twitter.

[bormotello]

aerial view of the Fred Wigg building in east London where the British military are installing a missile battery on top of it as part of the defenses for the London 2012 Olympic summer games Friday, July, 13, 2012.




An aerial view of a British military missile battery next to a reservoir on the Lea Valley in east London, part of the defenses for the London 2012 Olympic summer games Friday, July 13, 2012.


An aerial view of a British military missile battery on Blackheath common in south London, which is part of the defences for the London 2012 Olympic summer games Friday, July, 13, 2012.


An aerial view of a British military missile position on top of the Lexington Building in east London, part of the defenses for the London 2012 Olympic summer games Friday, July 13, 2012.

[C. Flower]

Great pictures, @bormotello.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/poli...cs-threat.html

Len McCluskey has called for strikes and protests during the Olympics, to defend public services :In the interview with The Guardian, Mr McCluskey was asked whether his union had discussed the possibility of strikes during the Olympics.
He replied: "Absolutely, yes.
"The attacks that are being launched on public sector workers at the moment are so deep and ideological that the idea the world should arrive in London and have these wonderful Olympic Games as though everything is nice and rosy in the garden is unthinkable. Our very way of life is being attacked.
"I believe the unions, and the general community, have got every right to be out protesting. If the Olympics provide us with an opportunity, then that's exactly one that we should be looking at."
Mr McCluskey said his union had not yet discussed "the specifics" of how workers could target the Olympics, but said that London bus drivers would be "examining what leverage points we have, and the Olympics will clearly come into play".
He added: "Now nobody has made any decisions yet and, of course, it would be nice if we were able not to disrupt such a prestigious event as the Olympics.
"But by the same token, people have to understand that we are fighting for our heritage here.
"Our parents and our grandparents, having defeated fascism in Europe, came back determined to build a land fit for heroes. They gave us the welfare state, the National Health Service, universal education.
"All of that is being attacked. I, for one, am not prepared to stand by and have my children or grandchildren say to me, 'What did you do when this was being taken away from us?'
"When you say what can we do, and the likes of the Olympics, I'm calling upon the general public to engage in civil disobedience."

[bormotello]

Great pictures, @bormotello.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/poli...cs-threat.html

"Our parents and our grandparents, having defeated fascism in Europe, came back determined to build a land fit for heroes. They gave us the welfare state, the National Health Service, universal education.

and they(parents) left economy ruined by decades of left wing populism

[C. Flower]

and they(parents) left economy ruined by decades of left wing populism

Efficent, profit-making capitalism (in so far as possible at all) would put both parents and children onto the bread line, permanently.

Britain's 'problems' include loss of imperial power and colonies, the shift of manufacturing to the east, and the global flat lining of rates of profit as a result of over-production of capital. The luxury of a democratic form of capitalism was at the expense of theft from colonies, so now they have progressive erosion of civil rights, as with appalling new "secret justice" laws.

[Count Bobulescu]

If not a drug festival, how about a sex festival?

SPORTS BLINK - "Will you still medal in the morning? The real games in the Olympic Village will not be televised," by Sam Alipour, ESPN The Magazine: "Popping up once every two years, the Olympic Village is a boisterous city within a city: chock-full of condos, midrises and houses as well as cafés, barbershops, arcades, discos and TV lounges. ... [A] the 2000 Sydney Games, 70,000 condoms wasn't enough, prompting a second order of 20,000 and a new standing order of 100,000 condoms per Olympics. ... Olympians are young, supremely healthy people who've been training with the intensity of combat troops for years. Suddenly they're released into a cocoon where prying reporters and overprotective parents aren't allowed. Pre-competition testosterone is running high. Many Olympians are in tapering mode, full of excess energy because they're maintaining a training diet of up to 9,000 calories per day while not actually training as hard. ...
"The soccer girls? 'All hot, and they dress like rock stars,' one male swimmer says. ... Some swear off sex until their events are done; others make it part of their pre-event routine. ... Many on-the-prowl athletes maintain that they're driven by a simple human need: intimacy, if only for a moment or three. For most Olympians, the ramp-up to the Games is lonely. Not unlike movie stars on a far-flung movie shoot, the Olympics present the perfect opportunity to find a partner who understands where they're coming from. ... The athlete compound soon becomes the site of an uneasy dance between jocks on a post-competition bender and those who have yet to compete." http://es.pn/MsWHh8

[20 yards of linen=1 coat]

This is very serious. It's the biggest military exercise in the UK since World War 2 and half a billion is being spent on it.

You can be sure that the military is using it as a major civilian population control 'coup' exercise.

Yep.

I had very little idea this was happening. Someone mentioned the 17000 security personel the other day but I didn't realise that meant army. There were only 16000 police available for the riots last year! It's all very ******* scary.

If not a drug festival, how about a sex festival?

SPORTS BLINK - "Will you still medal in the morning? The real games in the Olympic Village will not be televised," by Sam Alipour, ESPN The Magazine: "Popping up once every two years, the Olympic Village is a boisterous city within a city: chock-full of condos, midrises and houses as well as cafés, barbershops, arcades, discos and TV lounges. ... [A] the 2000 Sydney Games, 70,000 condoms wasn't enough, prompting a second order of 20,000 and a new standing order of 100,000 condoms per Olympics. ... Olympians are young, supremely healthy people who've been training with the intensity of combat troops for years. Suddenly they're released into a cocoon where prying reporters and overprotective parents aren't allowed. Pre-competition testosterone is running high. Many Olympians are in tapering mode, full of excess energy because they're maintaining a training diet of up to 9,000 calories per day while not actually training as hard. ...
"The soccer girls? 'All hot, and they dress like rock stars,' one male swimmer says. ... Some swear off sex until their events are done; others make it part of their pre-event routine. ... Many on-the-prowl athletes maintain that they're driven by a simple human need: intimacy, if only for a moment or three. For most Olympians, the ramp-up to the Games is lonely. Not unlike movie stars on a far-flung movie shoot, the Olympics present the perfect opportunity to find a partner who understands where they're coming from. ... The athlete compound soon becomes the site of an uneasy dance between jocks on a post-competition bender and those who have yet to compete." http://es.pn/MsWHh8

Haha sounds great!

[C. Flower]

 As the Olympic torch made its way along the Romford road in Newham on 21 July – preceded by the Coca-Cola, Samsung and Lloyds buses – it was difficult not to be cynical, especially when it passed the Atherton Leisure Centre (Have a bit of pride, Blair tells critics of £9bn Olympic cost, 26 July). This is the nearest sports centre to the Olympic park, last year it was used by 240,000 people in one of the poorest and least active boroughs in the nation. In January, the council closed the pools and in December the entire centre will shut down. So much for the promised legacy, of a step change in sporting participation.
Simon Shaw
London

[5intheface]

There's a rumour that QEII will light the Olympic flame.

You'd think someone would remember what happened the last time she had her own box of matches!

[5intheface]

Britain appears to be launching the Olympics through the medium of disco-dancing Abraham Lincolns.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTN6Du3MCgI"]Electric Six - "Gay Bar" (Hi Res) - YouTube[/ame]

[Spectabilis]

Dare I confess that I am impressed with the epic scale of their depiction of the destruction of a pastoral Britain, and the emergence of the industrial Britain and the capitalists, (who look like Abraham Lincoln) with hordes of workers recruited. Kenneth Branagh as Isambard Kingdom Brunel symbolising the change and the idealisation of industry and profit was a great idea.

A fairly political take on history for an Olympics opening night, imho.

[Spectabilis]

I am trying to imagine an HSE equivalent to the celebration of the NHS. Dicey Reilly, Mary Harney. Drumm and others dancing around people on trolleys in an Olympian A&E. It's not working