Here are the Olympic-related links we’ve been looking at over the last week from July 23rd through July 24th:
- Louisville’s Além International Management serves as backbone of Olympic torch run – Boulder Daily Camera – “We wanted to make sure the route chosen by the London Organizing Committee not only showcased the biggest population base of the U.K. but also gave sponsors, such as Lloyds, the chance to showcase their operations and employees,” said Steve McCarthy, the company’s chief executive and founder. “And we made sure the families of the torch bearers knew where they started from and where they finished and how they could get on the side of the road to cheer them on.”
- Brand wars gather pace on streets of London | Olympics 2012- It is not the rules themselves that have irked some Londoners but their stringent enforcement and phrases such as “absurd” and “police state” – often used jokingly but with a shade of resentment – frequently crop up in conversation.”It’s mad. It just seems… that corporations are being looked after but not the people,” said Lewis Parrin, 22, who runs a stall selling jewellery and watches in London’s eastern district of Stratford where the main Olympic venues are located.
“It’s quite scary, really. It’s like a police state.”
Another vendor nearby, when asked about a display of Olympic mascots on his makeshift stall, choked on his sandwich and removed them hastily. “I am glad you reminded me,” he said.
- How I was busted by the O—— Advertisement Enforcement Office | Stewart Lee | Comment is free | The Observer- I packed a bag and said goodbye to my children. Leslie had explained the official questioning process might take some days. “I don’t understand,” said my son through his tears. “Am I allowed to say ‘Olympics’ or not?”"Yes,” I told him. “I think you are allowed to say ‘Olympics’. But I’m not sure that I’m allowed to quote you saying the word ‘Olympics’ in a piece I might write for money. It’s all very confusing.”
- The truth about policing during the Olympics. | POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG – We are not managing to provide any kind of response service at all at the moment. We can just about turn up, stay for long enough to do the very basics and then shoot off again to the next call. This is how mistakes are made. Suspects go free unless they are waiting when we get there, because we simply cannot spend the time looking for them, since the calls would stack up to unmanageable levels. We can spend the first half of our shift catching up with unanswered calls from the last one. If we get more than one serious incident at a time, we fall over.
- Why most police officers HATE the Olympics. | POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG – Police officers HATE the London 2012 Olympics for three main reasons: 1. Summer leave has been cancelled so we can’t spend time with our children, time we don’t usually get because we work shifts. 2. The language and content of the training has been patronising, Orwellian and short on serious content. We have been treated like fools in the briefings, with most of the emphasis on political correctness and how to smile a lot. This pisses people off more than you can know! 3. The London 2012 period from 27th July to 9th Sept is being used to mess our lives about on an unprecedented scale, while senior officers and non-operational staff continue on as if nothing is happening. * The new farce with G4S failing to turn up all over the country has further depleted our frontline teams.
