To think that the Olympics is a disgusting spectacle of thuggery and corporate whoredom

[MonkeysNuts]

The last one was in China where no-one would be surprised to hear about abuses done in the name of the spectacle.

It seems however we've imported this totalitarian state to the UK.

To wit, boy riding his bike assaulted by the Torch Guardians:

All the food vendors at the Olympics banned from selling chips, because McDonalds sell them:

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2172168/London-Olympics-2012-McDonalds-force-Olympics-bosses-ban-restaurants-selling-chips-unless-FISH.html

Ground-to-air missiles sited on blocks of flats

stoptheolympicmissiles.org/

13,500 troops deployed, more than in Afghanistan, thousands more, many unpaid, private security staff, attack dogs, sound torture device
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18042528

www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/10/london-olympics-lockdown-2012-games

All cashpoints shut down at Olympics sites if they take cards other than Visa, non-Visa cards banned for payment
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2153008/Visa-branded-cynical-bans-rival-cards-Olympics.html

Advertising exclusion zones around all the Olympic sites

www.london2012.com/business/advertising-and-trading-regulations/

£675m taken from charities to pay for it

www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/london-2012/9366935/London-2012-Olympics-Charities-who-lost-funding-to-pay-for-the-Games-wont-see-their-money-for-another-decade.html

Total fuck-up for central London for transport/living for weeks.

Tourist numbers massively down

www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/9311869/Third-of-London-hotel-rooms-empty-for-Olympics-as-normal-tourists-stay-away.html

Olympics sponsored by shit: McDonalds - shit foreign food; Heineken - shit foreign beer (all other beers banned, arrests likely for anyone trying to promote/sell them); Coca Cola - shit foreign drink.

The Olympic ideal was supposed to be pure athleticism, competing for nothing more than honour, instead basically we give our country over to a bunch of plutocrats who get their own Zil lanes to whisk them from Mayfair (they couldn't possibly demean themselves to stay in Stratford) to Stratford and around the country to other venues and to a few big corporations who, in return for putting up a tiny fraction of the cost of the Olympics, get to dictate what we can and can't do in our own country. Did we really want this? A militarised city, where the armed forces are there essentially at the behest of a foreign force, namely the IOC?

Mme Hollande has no impact on French tax rates at all and she and others like her are exempt tax in order that no decisions could lead to corruption allegations about loans refused etc. Her salary is not exactly very good and she'd get a far better deal in the private sector.

Couldn't agree more with the OP.

McDonalds are not putting millions into the Olympics. Well, not in London. They paid a load of money to the IOC, as did the other sponsors. They're also not paying any tax for the duration of the Olympics for the shite they pass off as 'food' sold at the site.

If you want proof Novack, I will, as usual, provide it. Unlike you I don't make unsubstantiated claims for my more contentious posts.

Reading this thread makes me realise why aussies call us whinging poms. And why I can't wait to emigrate from this island of malcontents moaners and chippy twisted bitter fucks next spring.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Ah my stalker on mumsnet appears.

Of Course they pay their sponsorship to the IOC as LOCOG are not the IOC and between the top tier sponsors that amounts to around 1 Billion Euros over the next 8 years. It is only the restaurants at the olympic venues that will not be paying some taxes and that is in line with most large sporting events like the World Cup, Euros etc. and these events have brought massive employment for their duration and for the last 6 years in construction.

It is no different to NBC usually getting to call the shots about games scheduling for TV to best fit in with the US audience times since they pay the bulk of the TV rights packages too.

There are always a tiny minority of misery guts who are against these events whether it be a cup final or jubilee celebration but the rest of us will enjoy our days out and be glad that we have the Olympics at home for once instead of in a far off country.

Sainsbury are the top tier partner for the paralympics so you can always boycott them too if you like.

Well other than my lovely friend who got to carry the torch, I couldn't give a damn!
We have paid out millions, went to London this week and there are signs everywhere, clearly cost a lot and for what? To have loads of tourist, rubbish and fights to sorry out.
Me and misdee are off camping the opening weekend, much more fun

YANBU x1000. The Olympics is a bollocking pile of shite.

Ah my stalker on mumsnet appears.

Care to prove that? Or any of your other specious rubbish? Perhaps with a link that proves you right. That would be lovely. Honest, I'd love you to defend yourself using cold, hard, facts rather than insults. They only make you look small.

The last time I was in McDs was December 2010. Well, I had to have a dump, and shitting in public is frowned upon. I don't drink Heineken, it's insipid piss for people who don't like beer. I will continue to buy teabags from Sainsbury's as the value ones are bostin'.

Again, link to something that supports your argument. I DARE you.

Nicholas what facts are you looking for? That you follow me from thread to thread on here and your post are usually full of expletives are often passive aggressive in there tone.

I've told you before I have no desire to interact with you in anyway at all and yet you still appear on most threads I post on goading me for a comment.

I repeat I do not want to interact with you so leave me alone.

NicholasTeakozy, it might be bedtime now?

Ahem

Yes I'm Richard Littlejohn.

"You really think people are voicing objections because of television scheduling"

Yes, of course they are. Its the only impact the olympics will have on their sorry little lives.

You doint think people actually believe the shite they write about MacDonalds do you? They are BigMac stuffers. Its why they are so fat.

I think £12 BILLION gives us the right to feel peeved. That's quite a bill.

The benefit to the economy is estimated at £16.5bn naysayers.

This thread has got surprisingly nasty. I lived in Australia during their Olympics - Aussies did their fair share of whinging, had their fair share of olympic fuck ups too. Most people who had the option left the country to avoid it. My office was empty.

There are people who enjoy massive sporting events and there are people who don't....it's not a crime to be less than pleased that the massive sporting event is on your back door - it doesn't make you less of a citizen.

So if you like the Olympics and you find people being negative about your beloved contest you don't have to read what they say but one things for sure - your barracking of them will not increase their love of the event one little bit.

Well, I haven't been to McD's for about 6 years which was when dd developed a bit of a palate and decided that she preferred to go elsewhere.

We don't watch soaps and have never done so except for a short period in the early 2000s when a friend of ours became a regular in EE so we watched out of loyalty, but had to give up after a month or so; simply couldn't bear it.

We are not into big sporting events. We are not happy that a lot of money is being squandered - and a lot of people are making a lot of money without paying tax - at a time when rather a lot of perfectly normal people are having to rely on food banks.

We went to a concert which was part of the Cultural Olympics, new works commissioned specially. It was cringingly awful. These new works were tedious, derivative, uninspired and uninspiring from talentless jobbing journeymen.

It is this sort of thing which annoys me particularly. We have an incredibly rich musical culture, from Purcell, Britten, et al to the Stones, Beatles Lloyd-Webber et al. I am not remotely bothered about tv scheduling.

TalkinPeace

LOCOG Staff Do pay tax

Lies like that discredit your campaign

Exactly what I said upthread Jamie, of course LOCOG staff pay tax.

Unfortunately people enjoy peddling rumour and half truths, rather than establish the facts.

New tax rules ushered in as part of the winning Team GB bid include ?a temporary exemption from UK Corporation Tax and UK Income Tax for certain non-resident companies?. (1)

The legislation is written to include ?partner? organisations such as McDonald?s and Visa. Both, along with other ?partners?, look set to make a tax-free fortune. The former will a monopoly on vending branded food and the latter a total monopoly on venue and ticket payment methods.

The HMRC says ?For the purpose of this exemption a London 2012 Partner is an organisation (known as a Commercial Delivery Partner) that is supplying services to LOCOG in return for the right to market and advertise themselves or their products for commercial purposes by reference to their association with the Games. It includes a company connected with the Commercial Delivery Partner.? (1)

The new legislation also exempts all foreign nationals working on the games in the UK from paying income tax on any earnings. Thousands will be exempt from taxation from competitors to media workers (including journalists, technicians and producers) to representatives of official Games bodies and technical officials (including judges, referees and classifiers) along with the athletes themselves.

Even arch capitalists, such as the credit rating agency Moody?s, have stated that ?Overall, we think the Games are unlikely to provide a substantial macro-economic boost to the UK during 2012. However, a number of individual sectors and creditors [banks] look well placed to benefit from the short-term fillip that the Games should provide.? Their report goes on to say that those who will benefit most from the games are the corporate sponsors. This is hardly surprising given the tax breaks they will enjoy. (4)

www.ethicalconsumer.org/commentanalysis/corporatewatch/thegreatolympictaxswindle.aspx

Yes, but LOCOG employees pay tax