Olympic 2012  teething problems

25/07/2012

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In less than 48 hours the London 2012 Olympics will be underway. Teething problems still dog the Games so will it be "alright on the night?" Hopefully it will but here are the latest range of problems hitting the Games before they even begin.

Olympic Lanes

In London lanes of traffic have been designated as Olympic Lanes. Veer into one of these at your peril, If you choose to drive in the Olympic Lanes without the necessary authority expect a £130 fine. In order to "test drive" the Olympic Lanes they were opened today, causing traffic chaos. As the lanes remained empty, road users became stuck in gridlocked traffic.

Olympic Bans

The number of Olympic athletes has dwindled slghtly due to participants banned for doping and one for a racist tweet. Nine Olympic athletes have been suspended from the Games today by the World Olympic Authority, accused of doping. Triple jumper Voula Papachristou has been dropped by the Greek Olympic team over a racist tweet on twitter. She has since gone online offering heartfelt apologies for what she claims was a tastless joke. Others viewed it as offensive and she has paid the price.

Korean Flag mix up

Today, July 25, 2012, the North Korean Women's football squad walked off the pitch in protest when the South Korean flag was shown in error on a pitch screen at Hampden. Whoops. Apologies all around and eventually the game kicked off, albeit one hour late.

Underground problems.

On Monday July 23 there was a dress rehearsal of the opening ceremony. Wth 60,000 people enjoying the preview the logistics of crowds in London was tested. Whoops again. A fault on an underground line caused major disruotion and delays.It is expected that the underground or Tube will transport a huge amount of passengers during the Games.

Let the Games Begin?

Ready or not the Games opening ceremony takes place on Friday July 27, 2012. After security issues and more people have been working hard to make sure that London 2012 goes off without a hitch. It may still be fingers crossed but we will get there in the end. We always do.
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Olympic missile siting legal challenge refused

10/07/2012

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The London 2012 Olympics is due to start in less than three weeks. Preparations are almost complete and the huge cost of the Olympics has yet to be revealed. In the 21st Century one extreme cost will be the price of security. However it seems that for London 2012 there could be a human and personal cost too.

Residents in a tower block of flats in London learned that the UK military were planning to site surface to air missiles on top of the flats for the duration of the Olympics. Imagine. A letter drops through your door to tell that you are going to be a sitting target during the Olympics. Perhaps some tenants of the Fred Wigg council flats found out at the last minute. Who knows?

There will be six locations used by the miltary during the Olympics. Notably none are on the roofs of homes of politicians, Parliament or the aristocracy. Who would believe we were living in the 21st Century? In so many ways the UK is beginning to go backward.

Obviously the tenants were far from happy at the news that they and their homes had no value. Pretty it up however you like but that is the fact plain and simple. Yesterday it was revealed that they were to try and launch a judicial review.

Today July 10, 2012, the latest news is that has been refused. What a surprise, we don't think.

The MoD claim that positioning the missiles on the 17 storey flats would be appropriate and proportionate. The residents insist they would make the flats a potential terrorist target.

Justice Haddon-Cave took the side of the MoD. He said the tenants did not have a reason for a legal challenge and that they were under a misapprehension as to the sort of missiles to be used. 

There has been talk that perhaps the flats will be a decoy with missiles stationed elsewhere or just a ploy with no missiles used. In any case the tenants could be under threat. Perhaps Justice Haddon-Cave would like to move into the Tower block for the duration of the Olympics in order to put his money where his mouth is. Philip Hammond, UK Defence Secretary, and MoD officials could join him.

The location of the six sites is public knowledge as the image below shows. The Judge congratulated the MoD on the way it had behaved when consulting the tenants of Fred Wigg House. Ah where but the UK?

According to the BBC, the decision was signed off by the prime minister, deputy prime minister, home secretary and defence secretary in "defence of the realm". The tenants maintain that siting the missiles on their homes, breaches Article 8 and Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Of course in the Uk the authorities only seem able to uphold the rights of foreign nationals and not its own UK citizens.

Suggestion: Perhaps the missiles are needed. So let the government draw up a contract with those involved. One that pays for other accommodation for them during the Olympics. One that pays an additional sum of money for the inconvenience of leaving their home. One that guarantees to pay for any damage or loss of goods and home should an attack happen.

Then, and only then should they ask the residents if they will agree. The UK a free country? Is it?

Tags: where but the UK, London 2012, siting of Olympic  missiles, UK free country, Fred Wigg House, London council tenants, Judge Haddon-Cave
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UK counter terrorism arrests

07/07/2012

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UK authorities are working hard to keep the UK free from terrorist attacks. 2012 has been a busy time in the UK, what with the Diamond Jubilee and the forthcoming Olympics. Undercover officers and a huge security operation will ensure the safety of UK citizens and tourists during the busy time to come. This week anti-terror arrests have taken place, which of course means that the UK like all Western countries is under constant threat.

During the early hours of today, Saturday July 7, 2012, a 22-year-old woman was arrested at a house in Hackney, London, as part of the ongoing counter-terrorism operation. The official line is that she is "being held on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism."

This is not the first arrest this week. Earlier in the week six people were arrested as part of the same operation. Whilst officials maintained that those arrests were not linked to the Olympics they obviously raise safety concerns.

The six earlier arrests were all made in London and the individuals aged between 18 and 30. Three of the men are brothers, one even working as a community police officer in London in the past. Police have stated that he did not have direct connection with "sensitive information and the like", but he may still have information useful to a terrorist group.

As yet though there have been no formal charges made. Police investigating have until July 12 to formally charge those arrested or release them. Searches of related homes and one business in London have taken place.

The six are said to be part of an extremist Muslim group. Muslim convert Richard Dart, now called Salahuddin al Britani, was amongst the arrests. He posted a youtube video criticising the British Royal Family and Western involvement in conflicts in Muslim countries. That though means nothing. Similar views could be shared by many in the UK.

The Metropolitan Police continue to maintain that the arrests are not related to the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. The West is, as we already stated, under constant threat.

Tags: counter terrorism arrests in UK, UK anti terror arrests, terrorism in UK, Metropolitan police, Olympics 2012, paralympics
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British army Olympic missile plans 

29/04/2012

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UK security forces along with the government are considering various means of counteracting potential threats during the upcoming London 2012 Olympics. Border agency staff have been tightening up and a massive increase in emergency and security personnel will flood London.

Whilst we would all applaud this forward planning, apart from the added cost of course, the latest announcement is viewed as a step in the wrong direction.

Yesterday, April 28, 2012, 700 residents of a block of flats in Bow in east London received a strange leaflet through their doors. Initially it appeared to be a joke or hoax but in fact it was an official correspondence.The leaflet said that the army is planning to position soldiers and surface-to-air missiles on top of a tower which adjoins the flats. The leaflet went on to say that the missiles would only be fires as a last resort. Well whoop de doo.

One resident Brian Whelan told SkyNews, "They are going to have a test run next week, putting high velocity missiles on the roof just above our apartment and on the back of it they're stationing police and military in the tower of the building for two months. "It's a private, gated community with an old watch tower which is now a lift shaft.  "We have an MoD leaflet saying the building is the only suitable place in the area.  "It says there will be 10 officers plus police present 24/7. I'm not sure if they are going to live in the building.  "We have a gym and a pool and people have seen them there so it makes you think it will be some sort of Army base - it's not ideal."

Apparently the leaflets were handed out by the company that owns the flats who seem to view the whole fiasco as great news. Other sites across residential areas of London have also been identified. For security reasons obviously most of the information is not freely available. Now that this one block of flats has been identified presumably it will not be a possibility. After all it will be a prime target now.

Opinion: Security is important but these measures show the usual disregard for citizens so evident by the authorities in the UK. Listen to David Cameron being interviewed showing his arrogance time and time again and it is easy to see how we are going wrong. This blogger suggests that as we are "all in this together", according to Dave Cameron, we deploy a few surface to air missiles in Downing Street, Westminster, Canary Wharf and Buckingham Palace. That will be a good start.

Tags: surface to air missiles, tower block, London 2012, Olympic security, deploy missiles

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