QuickTidal, on 26 July 2012 - 08:10 PM, said:
Miss Savage, on 26 July 2012 - 07:49 PM, said:
Olympics 2012 (maybe I'll get sued for saying this): Army troops to ensure safety and security, constant air surveillance over East London with Police helicopters and just recently with what looks suspiciously like Army helicopters made up with the Olympic Logo paintwork, missile defense during the Games- more reminiscent of last year's riots really, and that's not a pleasant memory. Where do I misunderstand theOlympic spirit?
In this day and age, such is the price of safety at a world event where ne'er do-well's would seek the crowds to cause havoc. This is nothing new and has been around for years of Olympics. Not sure why you are only seeing it now. Perhaps because it's in your city?
For me it's the unattended missile stations being set up on the roofs of blocks of flats with a three mile range and which require Prime Ministerial permission to launch which will either not come fast enough or reduce any incoming threat (or perfectly innocent misidentified flight) to burning scraps of metal falling over populated areas, combined with the ability to just talk yourself into the construction site without papers or ID or a gear check, combined with the £284 million contract to G4S for 10,000 security staff and having only a fraction of them actually available so (hopefully G4S but more likely) the taxpayer has to fork out £8 mil for at least 5000 soldiers to cover the gaps and barely trained new G4S recruits (oh, and guess who's a major shareholder for G4S? Sebastian Coe! What a surprise!) combined with the use of the old kind of security checkpoints that have large queues and masses of people all holding signs saying 'Don't bother trying to get it, just set the bombs off right here in this huge crowd' that have been phased out of use in recent times, that's what's concerning me about Olympic safety.
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Plus a long long list of other needless inconveniences which are going to disrupt the routine of at least 2 million people who travel daily into the city for work such as impact on public transport, delays for deliveries...
Sorry, but to me this is kind of nitpicky and flies in the face of your first complaint about Olympic spirit. To be honest, the Olympics is going to bring in A LOT of revenue to your city and country...that's No. 1, and No. 2 is for a couple of weeks you have to suck it up and deal with the increased traffic, delays, people ect. It's the Olympics, you've known for like 4 years that it's coming...did you expect it to be hovering above you the whole time and not disrupting life? It's what? Two weeks? That's not a lot to ask for a community to show some spirit...meanwhile all the Brits I know (including members of my own family) are doing little but complaining.
I dunno, seems like so much sour grapes to me.
Were the Olympics to come to Toronto, I'd be seriously proud and I'd deal with the transit, traffic, people hiccups...simply because of the nature of the event is meant to be about unity. It can't help the fact that it is such a huge draw, and such a mind-blowingly complex organizational nightmare. That's just its nature.
Not to get on your case. Sorry.
The way the Games have been going has been a particular topic of interest to me, and this
Vice Guide to the Olympics four part video series I've literally just found (took a break from this post to watch part 1, will watch the rest after) is a fantastic summary and a really interesting look into the kind of things going on in London. (edit: watched the whole thing, the last one is a bit NSFW but save a few silly bits it's an excellent watch)
There are so many terrible things happening around the Olympics:
The bill increasing from £2 billion to £9 billion
The implementation of specific Olympic athlete staff and sponsor only traffic lanes throughout London which incur a £130 fine (more than doing 40 in a 30 zone or drink driving) if you go in them during the games without being an emergency vehicle with and only with the blues and twos going
These lanes along with bus lanes filling up any of the many two lane roads there and in the first day of them becoming official causing a 32 mile jam even before the Games proper
The prevention of anyone wearing non-sponsor company clothing - if you wear a Nike shirt you will be kicked out of the Olympic zones, if you walk in with a Burger King meal you'll be thrown out etc
Being banned from using the words Olympic, Games, 2012, Summer, Sport and some others in connection, also the Olympic colours in order
A website showing a countdown to the start of the new four Summer and Winter Games showing London's as 'the capital of England' due to, and I quote, 'legal threats'
McDonalds banning the purchase of any chips anywhere in the Olympic zones unless they're with fish (and recently due to outcry they deigned to allow pie and chips as well) or McDonalds meal
Free water fountains which will have enormous queues and the largest container of water allowed is 100ml (eg under a third of a can of Coke)
People being evicted from their homes both by greedy landlords after guests for the games and as covered in that link earlier the actual London authorities in an attempt to gentrify the area by the games
Construction of a cable car connecting two areas with far less foot traffic then would justify transport between except they're both near Games venues, oh and taxpayer funded again
Over half of tickets being given exclusively to sponsors with barely any left to be sold to members of the public
Sponsors promising to only let employees with a history of assisting in social areas carry the torch around the UK and then letting people do so regardless of position or history and hiding their backgrounds from the official site
London having the lowest number of incoming tourists and booked rooms in years, starting even before the shitty weather, in order to avoid the city during the Games
Facilities constructed for the games not being close enough to possible users to be cost effective enough to keep open afterwards with the exception of one swimming pool
Oh god there's so much more I can't even remember
There are cool things about the games, there was a nice story about I think the Rwandan team enjoying hanging around in a town somewhere and getting a hero's welcome, and the actual events themselves will be good to watch. But there is much dodgy and terrible stuff happening around them which is going to completely overshadow it and the whole thing will be a total disaster. It just makes me angry, you know?
This post has been edited by Illuyankas: 27 July 2012 - 01:47 PM
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