Le Socialiste
8th December 2011, 03:22
Some notable excerpts from article:
...with four years of austerity and the districts surrounding the Olympic site sinking into desperate hardship, and the eruption of riots this summer, the games are being approached based on the calculation that Britain is a country on the edge of mass social conflict.
The main Olympic site in Stratford East London is surrounded by 17 kilometres of electrified fencing, with up to 900 cameras 50 metres apart and patrols by attack and search dog teams. New software has integrated the entire CCTV network, enabling an individual to be followed across the whole of London. “Threat Assessment and Behavioural Analysis Software” is under development. The government is planning “exclusion zones” around key Olympic sites.
The Times reported that Section 44 of the Terrorism Act, which allows the police to stop and search without any cause or even suspicion, will be applied throughout Britain. This is combined with the Olympic Act, which gives the police the right to force their way into private property and remove protesters and banners. Limits on the powers of police have been lifted, and this has been extended to security staff contracted to the Olympic authorities.
According to government ministers, one option will be to station one of the new missile-equipped Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers on the Thames near the games.
Despite ministers describing all operations as “police-led,” the role of the military has expanded from police support operations off the coast of Weymouth to a broad involvement in all operations. This involves a number of deployments on the British mainland, involving “civilian” protection. The Ministry of Defence initially offered the London Olympic committee 3,000 soldiers, with a further 2,000 in reserve. This has now risen to more than 6,000.
A base for the elite Special Air Services (SAS) is under construction beneath the central stadium in Stratford. Locals have witnessed months of activities, from Chinook helicopters to live ammunition training as the equipment to construct the bunkers is flown in. An SAS riverside base is also under construction that will house water-borne attack vehicles. Military attack helicopters, armed with high-powered snipers, will patrol the airspace over the Olympic sites.
The military will be joined by 300 MI5 agents. The redeployment will close down almost half of its intelligence operations for the period of the games.
Fully 12,000 police will be joined by 20,000 security guards hired and trained by private firms such as G4 Security, twice the original estimate of 10,000.
US officials from the FBI Events Management Unit are to bring over 1,000 operatives to protect US “citizens.” It is still undecided whether they can openly carry weapons on British streets. According to numerous reports, FBI officials are demanding and influencing the entire security operation.
On top of this, each country will bring its own massed ranks of intelligence agents and security personnel. Sponsors at the games such as Coca Cola will also provide their own private security firms to protect their corporate guests. They will help police the suspension of the democratic right to protest and to enforce the commercial and advertising rights of major corporations such as McDonald’s.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/dec2011/olym-d07.shtml
There's more, but I just wanted to post the parts surrounding the game's security preparations. They're bringing in the military, ground-to-air missiles, FBI and MI5 agents, and foreign security forces. All to ensure no one disturbs or upsets the privileged layers of society attending the games and to keep corporate interests running smoothly.
...with four years of austerity and the districts surrounding the Olympic site sinking into desperate hardship, and the eruption of riots this summer, the games are being approached based on the calculation that Britain is a country on the edge of mass social conflict.
The main Olympic site in Stratford East London is surrounded by 17 kilometres of electrified fencing, with up to 900 cameras 50 metres apart and patrols by attack and search dog teams. New software has integrated the entire CCTV network, enabling an individual to be followed across the whole of London. “Threat Assessment and Behavioural Analysis Software” is under development. The government is planning “exclusion zones” around key Olympic sites.
The Times reported that Section 44 of the Terrorism Act, which allows the police to stop and search without any cause or even suspicion, will be applied throughout Britain. This is combined with the Olympic Act, which gives the police the right to force their way into private property and remove protesters and banners. Limits on the powers of police have been lifted, and this has been extended to security staff contracted to the Olympic authorities.
According to government ministers, one option will be to station one of the new missile-equipped Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers on the Thames near the games.
Despite ministers describing all operations as “police-led,” the role of the military has expanded from police support operations off the coast of Weymouth to a broad involvement in all operations. This involves a number of deployments on the British mainland, involving “civilian” protection. The Ministry of Defence initially offered the London Olympic committee 3,000 soldiers, with a further 2,000 in reserve. This has now risen to more than 6,000.
A base for the elite Special Air Services (SAS) is under construction beneath the central stadium in Stratford. Locals have witnessed months of activities, from Chinook helicopters to live ammunition training as the equipment to construct the bunkers is flown in. An SAS riverside base is also under construction that will house water-borne attack vehicles. Military attack helicopters, armed with high-powered snipers, will patrol the airspace over the Olympic sites.
The military will be joined by 300 MI5 agents. The redeployment will close down almost half of its intelligence operations for the period of the games.
Fully 12,000 police will be joined by 20,000 security guards hired and trained by private firms such as G4 Security, twice the original estimate of 10,000.
US officials from the FBI Events Management Unit are to bring over 1,000 operatives to protect US “citizens.” It is still undecided whether they can openly carry weapons on British streets. According to numerous reports, FBI officials are demanding and influencing the entire security operation.
On top of this, each country will bring its own massed ranks of intelligence agents and security personnel. Sponsors at the games such as Coca Cola will also provide their own private security firms to protect their corporate guests. They will help police the suspension of the democratic right to protest and to enforce the commercial and advertising rights of major corporations such as McDonald’s.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/dec2011/olym-d07.shtml
There's more, but I just wanted to post the parts surrounding the game's security preparations. They're bringing in the military, ground-to-air missiles, FBI and MI5 agents, and foreign security forces. All to ensure no one disturbs or upsets the privileged layers of society attending the games and to keep corporate interests running smoothly.