‘I was at WOMAD last Friday when the £27 million Olympics Opening Ceremony took place, but a screen had been set up especially for the occasion, and I managed to catch everything from the 800 nurses celebrating the NHS, through the tour of Britain’s modern musical history, to the start of the athletes’ processions.

The disorientation I felt initially has not gone away — a celebration of the NHS taking place while the current government, largely unopposed by the British people, has begun the process of destroying it, pushing through dreadful legislation despite the opposition of a majority of healthcare professionals, with the sole purpose of forcing the NHS to be prised open for private companies to profit as much as possible from it, while, over time, cutting the universal provision of services, especially to those who have little or no money.’

‘Extra staff have been hired, opening hours extended and the streets decked in Union Jacks – but the Olympic tourism boom has failed to materialise.

Attractions, retailers, restaurants and theatres are reporting a disastrous drop in custom. Normally the summer holidays would see long queues outside sites such as the Tower of London, Madame Tussauds, the London Dungeon and the London Eye.’

(Source: )

kennbrix:

Yup, the money holds the power - follow the money :-/

(Source: anonymousmarxist, via fuckcapitalism)

randomness-from-thisoldguy:

Mike Thompson on the purity of the Olympic Spirit

(via political-cartoons)

‘McDonald’s restaurants are the very epitome of poor health, with their McNuggets most notably containing chemicals used in breast implants and silly putty, so why have the Olympic games officials adopted the restaurant chain as their official restaurant of the Olympics? Considering the Olympic games represent some of the most conditioned athletes across the globe, it seems quite bizarre that the face of the entire event would be that of Ronald McDonald.’

‘It took just 72 hours after the Olympics began for it to become clear that a calamitous error had been made and that London had turned into a ghost city.

The truth is that the much-trumpeted economic boost from the Olympics seems to be a mirage. How different the reality is from Tony Blair’s bombastic declaration in 2005 that this would be ‘a once-in-an-era opportunity for British tourism’.

In panic, Mr Johnson ordered the traffic warnings to be turned off and most of the Zil lanes to be opened to all traffic. But the damage had already been done. Boris and his Transport for London colleagues, though, are not solely responsible for this sabotage of Britain’s economic engine room. Despite the worst economic crisis for generations, cosseted Whitehall civil servants have been allowed to work from home for six weeks so the poor lambs don’t suffer any travel disruption during the Olympics.’

‘Scores of British peace campaigners have held a protest rally in London against former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, calling him a “war criminal” for his bloody legacy of war in Iraq.

Blair was greeted by chants of “Tony Blair, terrorist” as he appeared at a forum on Religion in Public Life alongside Archbishop of Canterbury Roman Williams at Methodist Central Hall of Westminster in central London. The Stop the War Coalition, which organized the protest rally, said they want Blair to face war crime charges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.’

‘The London Olympics are fast taking on the appearance and tone of a full-scale land, sea and air military operation rather than an international sporting event. With surface-to-air missiles stationed on top of residential apartment blocks, Royal Navy battleships on alert and Royal Air Force fighter jets and helicopters patrolling the skies over Britain’s capital there is a foreboding sense of a nation at war instead of an occasion of internationalist fraternity that the ancient Games are supposed to embody.’

‘London is more militarized than at any time since WW II. A previous article covered it and what’s really going on. It’s not about foiling terror attacks. An earlier one discussed Olympism profiteering, exploitation and corruption.

There’s little clean and wholesome about Olympic sport. Claiming it is a mirage. It conceals its dark side. Together with militarized preparedness, London is repressively occupied.’

‘G4S, the firm at the center of the debacle over security for the London 2012 Olympics, is helping Israel secure facilities where Palestinian children are imprisoned and severly abused.

Defence for Children-Palestine (DCI-Palestine) has released an urgent appeal to end the practice of holding Palestinian children from the West Bank in solitary confinement in facilities in Israel. The organization has documented 53 such cases since 2008.

The children have been held in solitary confinement mainly in Al Jalame and Petah Tikva interrogation centers. The security systems for Al Jalame detention facilities were provided by G4S Israel, according to a March 2011 report on the firm by Who Profits.’