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It has emerged today that both Home Office staff and drivers on East Midlands Trains plan to go on strike this summer, despite and indeed most likely because of, the likely disruption to the Olympic Games transport infrastructure, although of course long border queues and delayed trains are hardly something us Brits only associate with strike days!
I must admit my views are split right down the middle on this one, well, I say they are, if I had to put it into one simple statement I’d say; “they shouldn’t go on strike”. However my motivations for that are not informed particularly by the fact that any disruption will make London/The UK look bad. The reality is that we no longer live in the pre-Thatcherite world in which strikes were generally supported by the nation, ours is a tumultuous time in which Thatcher and those who’ve followed her on both sides of the political spectrum have succeeded in shifting the sense of ‘Us vs Them’ away from ‘Government vs The workers’ towards ‘Public Sector Vs Private Sector’.
Essentially most people now seem to take the view that if they have been lumped with terrible pension pots and low job security then those in the public sector have no right to complain when their remuneration packages are brought in line with ‘the rest of us’. This is fundamentally wrong, we shouldn’t be calling for universal poor treatment but collectivly sitting up and asking just why it is that having a secure future both in work and once we’re out of it is such a terrible thing to strive for as a society. I might add that the reason we are forced to suffer such terrible conditions is because of the power of big business and its’ insatiable appetite for profit, however in the increasingly right wing world in which we live to speak in these terms now leads people to deem others as cluelessly idealistic and out of touch as a result. It seems we have convinced ourselves the fall of the berlin wall was nothing short of a definitive answer to the question of “socialism or capitalism, which is better?”. Indeed it now seems that the idea of capitalism with a friendly face, something of a contradiction in terms you might say, has been entirely done away with beyond superficial policies which do little to help those in need.
Now, despite all of this stands one uncomfortable truth which leads me to argue that ultimately these strikes should not take place. If the public and the media don’t support it, it is doomed to failure before it has even begun. As a result of the reasons stated above, i.e, the change in the nature of ‘Us vs Them’ I would say it is fairly likely a strike of this nature will only gain negative publicity, for a strike to be effective the support of the public or rather, the media, is what is needed. Making us look like fools to the rest of the world is not how to achieve this aim. I must stress however that this is not a status quo with which I agree, the exact opposite is true. The cuts to government funding, although not entirely unwarranted, have been handled in a shambolic fashion which has left thousands of people both out of work and in need where previously they were citizens who could take a sense of pride from their contribution to the economic and social welfare of our nation. Those at the Home Office in particular have reason to be angry as staff numbers were first cut back and then hastily replenished as the Olympics approached. Sadly I fear this fact is unlikely to be well publisised if border staff go on strike and leave thousands of passengers angry a day before the Olympics, the news will simply be full of clips of tired tourists demanding to know why exactly they should be the ones to be inconvenienced. The Unions should wake up to this fact, and fast.
What do you think? Post a comment bellow.
Questions over the decision to accept the sponsorship of the Olympic Stadium ‘wrap around’ from Dow Chemical were brought back into the spotlight yesterday as Meredith Alexander head of policy at ‘ActionAid’ resigned from her role as board member of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 live on Newsnight.
Her resignation came in protest at the involvement of Dow chemical as an Olympic sponsor despite the companies links to the Bhopal Disaster of 1984. It should be said that Dow Chemical itself played no part in the disaster, however having purchased Union Carbide the company responsible for the Bhopal plant in 1984 Alexander felt that ;
“they got the good stuff, they got the assets they got the shares, they also got any debts and any liabilities”
Alexander feels “liabilities” includes compensation for the many thousands of victims and family members of thise who have died in the years following the disaster. An out of court settlement of $470 million was reached in 1989 and Dow Chemical stands by the assertion that this settlement was full and final; many argue this fund has been inadequate however and that victims were not fully consulted over the agreement.
I cannot hope to have a full understanding of the disaster and am in no place to point fingers. However it seems clear that awarding the deal to Dow was a pretty poor decision by LOCOG; it was only ever going to generate negative publicity. Perhaps this could have been avoided had another sponsor been chosen, however the prospect of a Nike or Mcdonalds wrap seems pretty horrible too.
Lets not forget, Dow certainly did manufacture Agent Orange and Napalm, two of the most destructive and morally questionable chemical weapons to have been used in the wars of the recent past. Giving Dow a chance to rebrand itself in the form of an environmentally sustainable wrap (open to interpretation I’m sure) is not something I want to see associated with the Olympic Games, and I wonder how any Vietnamese or Indian fans and athletes are likely to feel about entering a stadium that to them may serve as a distasteful reminder of the past.
Yesterday was, as you may be forgiven for having missed, an auspicious day.
Why? Yet another Olympic milestone was passed as it was 200 days before the start of the Olympics, marked by what will no doubt be an extravagent and impressive Opening Ceremony.
The white elephant in the room?
The Olympics are starting to look a little out of place amid unrest in the middle east, Government cut backs closer to home and sluggish economic forecasts.
So, have the Olympics become an uncomfortable reminder of the boom before the bust? You tell me.
Last Thursday, 20/10/2011, Fran, Charlie, Bianca, Claudia, Kaspian and I were lucky enough to visit the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, a beautiful town on the edge of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. This post was written towards the end of a wonderful day.
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Today has been something of a whirlwind; up at 3:30 am, on the plane for 6:45 am and on a private tour of the museum by 10:30. The Olympic Museum has been open for eighteen years now, which almost seems like quite a short amount of time considering the hundreds of years of history that is encapsulated within the spiraling four walls of the building which also hosts the International Olympic Committee whenever they convene.
So, what can be taken away from today?
First and foremost today has confirmed to me that the Olympics can be a force for change and not only can they be, they should be for it is these principles and others like them upon which the modern Olympics are based. Equally it is clear that the Olympics past and present are full of contradictions. Avery Brundage, an American athlete and President of the IOC from 1952-1972 ,outlined his vision of the games;
“The Olympic Games must not be an end in itself, they must be a means of creating vast programme of physical education and sports competitions for all young people.” Avery Brundage
A vision which holds true to this day, we won the games in part because of the focus that was placed on the inclusion of young people. Yet Brundage was vehemently opposed to female competitors saying “I am fed up to the ears with women as track and field competitors… her charms sink to something less than zero.”
Clearly two views which don’t tally up with each other in 2011 but the fact that the Olympic Museum , run by the IOC is perfectly happy to expose its own failings was a real breath of fresh air. In the same room as Usain Bolt’s 100m final jersey is an entire wall dedicated to the issue of doping and the games. To me this seems to be a clear message from the IOC to the countries it gives the games to; everybody makes mistakes, including the IOC and host countries, what’s important is that we face up to these mistakes whilst celebrating our triumphs. Sentiments that some would do well to take note of.
The Tate modern art gallery has announced it’s chosen artist for the turbine hall during the Olympics will be Tino Sehgal. Whilst the exhibition will be running from April to October of 2012 the fact that the Olympics take place during that time is key as the work heads up the Tate’s offering to the ‘London 2012 festival’ which will run from June of 2012.
Alongside this will be the first major UK retrospective of British artist Damien Hirst’s work. Perhaps it would’ve been nicer if the Tate had really gone out on a limb for it’s 2012 programming, I’d of loved it if they had decided to fill the spaces with up and coming British artists rather than the works of a multimillionaire artist who has arguably passed the high point of his celebrity and popularity.
I know it may not necessarily be the Tate’s style to put on anything other than shows of well established artists and styles, often leaving out the more controversial pieces even within those collections. But is a retrospective really the sort of art which embodies the Olympic spirit? I’m not so sure.
On Wednesday last week the rest of the SMJ’s, some of the guys from A New Direction, Chris Skinner , Benji Lanyado and I were lucky enough to go on a tour of the Olympic park, private mini-bus and all! I had a flipcam with me, however the good old British weather and bumpy road surface combined led to some pretty shaky footage which I had assumed I wasn’t going to use. What I’m trying to say is that it’s no masterpiece but it gives a good feel of how far along the park is and some nice facts I picked up on during the tour which was narrated wonderfully by our tour guide Andy.
The Olympics aren’t without controversy and so far 2012 has been no exception. This however is one of the stranger stories, in a letter from the NOC (Iran’s Olympic Committee) to the IOC states that the Logo is “racist” because it contains the word “Zion” which is a biblical term for Jerusalem. Whilst encouraging other Islamic countries to boycott the games alongside Iran if the logo isn’t changed.
It’s not the first time that the logo has come in for criticism, you may remember it caused epileptic fits in some people who viewed a flashing version of the logo when it was first released, and many say that they just plain don’t like it’s design.
Whilst the likelihood is that this complaint will be rejected, it does highlight the difficult position which the Olympics find themselves in. Often on a tightrope between sports, politics, religion and race both the IOC and games hosts must do all they can to at least quell the fears of those with concerns whilst accepting that pleasing a majority is perhaps the best they can hope for.
The Olympic Logo- Not Without Controversy
Top 5 Olympic tickets as Channel 4 see it
[EDIT: It seems that I may have to be using my inexperience, youthful enthusiasm and the resulting lack of good journalistic research which should have accompanied this story as an excuse for my rather embarrassing discovery that whilst Johnson may have described the feat in rather strange terms, they did ACTUALLY wipe rhubarb onto the wood which sweeps around my favourite Olympic venue. Although one assumes the process was at least a little more scientific than a quick ‘wipe’ with a few sticks of rhubarb , it is rather lovely that such a strange sounding thing is actually true]
I am afraid that this little nugget of craziness only Boris Johnson could come up with is as usual not a fake, even if it is quite funny.
At the opening of the Velodrome on Tuesday the 22nd when speaking about the cladding around the stadium he said:
“The secret to that rosy hue is that it is achieved by rubbing it with rhubarb. It is lovingly rubbed with rhubarb. Therefore it creates jobs for the British rhubarb industry and also helped to create a new craft — that of English rhubarb rubbing, that will go on and on, So it represents a fantastic investment for sport and society.”
Perhaps I’ve got my facts wrong and they really did rub rhubarb into the wood, in which case I can only wonder at what he said next in an attempt to out do the unbelievable reality in someway.
Olympic Velodrome (source: "mmmlovley")
A whole host of exciting pieces of Olympic news have been reported in the last couple of weeks, which I could have blogged on a little better.
First came the announcement on the 11th of February that West Ham’s bid for use of the main stadium after the games had been given approval by the OPLC (Olympic Park Legacy Company) , and with approval from Boris Johnson and the Government considered something of a formality. Personally I’m really happy with way things have gone, West Ham far outstripped Tottenham on legacy by keeping the running track in place.
On the 14th of February the Olympic schedule was announced , with the opening ceremony on the 27th of July and the closing ceremony on the 12th. The Paralympic schedule is due to be announced later this year.
The Velodrome became the first venue in the Olympic Park to be opened on the 22nd of February (click trough the link to see some images, certainly my favourite venue so far) it joins Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour (Sailing) and Broxborne (Canoeing and Kayaking) in the list of completed Olympic venues.
The Jake Report 