Olympic Oppression: London Games & Beijing Deja Vu?
The British Government in its appropriately sinister-sounding Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act are introducing a range of new powers for the police to ostensibly ensure security at the London Olympics next year, but which simply add to the increasingly intrusive arsenal of powers of surveillance and repression of political protest. The Independent newspaper published some details today.
Among other powers deemed essential to ensure athletes compete and corporate till ching to the sound of ticket price rip offs and assorted memorabilia scams, are - being able to enter private homes and remove political posters. As we know, posters are very threatening items in the wrong hands and someone displaying an anti- government poster in their home on a tourist route is frankly a clear and present danger to the national economic well-being. Suddenly aware of the Coalition Government's appalling record, some visitors may choose to not spend their cash - perhaps treason should be added as a potential charge to such subversive poster owners.
The laws will include a range of new methods for closing down protests like St Paul's and the one outside Parliament, where the late and much missed Brian Haw defied national and London authorities for years with his anti-war protest. Given that the camp in Parliament Square caused no issues during the Royal Wedding earlier this year, why are the Con Dems so concerned about a crackdown before the Olympics? Could it be because they know the economic news is going to be even worse by next spring?
It is chilling to read, on a day when Egyptian police have been trying to remove the camp in Tahrir Square, to read that the British administration is seeking to squash protest which in one report is deemed to be not only embarrassing to the authorities, but positively dangerous. But in our corporate-dominated world, sadly unsurprising.
The Olympics, a crackdown on political dissent on safety grounds....doesn't it sound rather familiar....?
Among other powers deemed essential to ensure athletes compete and corporate till ching to the sound of ticket price rip offs and assorted memorabilia scams, are - being able to enter private homes and remove political posters. As we know, posters are very threatening items in the wrong hands and someone displaying an anti- government poster in their home on a tourist route is frankly a clear and present danger to the national economic well-being. Suddenly aware of the Coalition Government's appalling record, some visitors may choose to not spend their cash - perhaps treason should be added as a potential charge to such subversive poster owners.
The laws will include a range of new methods for closing down protests like St Paul's and the one outside Parliament, where the late and much missed Brian Haw defied national and London authorities for years with his anti-war protest. Given that the camp in Parliament Square caused no issues during the Royal Wedding earlier this year, why are the Con Dems so concerned about a crackdown before the Olympics? Could it be because they know the economic news is going to be even worse by next spring?
It is chilling to read, on a day when Egyptian police have been trying to remove the camp in Tahrir Square, to read that the British administration is seeking to squash protest which in one report is deemed to be not only embarrassing to the authorities, but positively dangerous. But in our corporate-dominated world, sadly unsurprising.
The Olympics, a crackdown on political dissent on safety grounds....doesn't it sound rather familiar....?
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Labels: "Con Dem", "free speech", "London Olympics", "Occupy London", Olympics
posted by millerroberton at
10:36 AM
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