London bus workers accept Olympics bonus offer [LINK].
The Unite union said its members voted to accept £577 in return for working during the Games period. If I was a bus driver I would feel huge shame is taking the extra cash, when (by the sounds of it) British troops are having to work there holidays with no extra pay and living for several weeks in cold, damp tents. This also applies to the train and underground drivers that I believe are expecting a bonus too. If I was them I would ask that there bonus goes to the troops. I presume that Sebastian coe and all others on the Olympic payroll will decline to be paid and request there wage goes to the troops. No one surly should be now expected to make money from this disaster. At least do the decent thing and decline your wage and instead have it given to the British Troops.
Other recent Olympic problems:
- Olympics opening ceremony slashed by half an hour over fears G4S security shambles could cause chaos for spectators [LINK].
- Peeping Tom caught in a toilet cubicle spying on Chinese womens’ Olympic swimming team [LINK].
- Germans laugh at ‘Olympic disaster’ as top magazine brands 2012 Games ‘one big, soggy mess’ [LINK].
‘Starting this week, the world’s biggest financial centre will be gripped by a special condition usually only seen in wartime,’ it reads.
‘Its 7.8million inhabitants are about to be joined by an average of 1million additional visitors per day.
‘The already overloaded public-transportation system will be burdened with an additional 3 million fares per day.
‘A total of 109 miles of the city’s streets will be closed off to normal traffic.
‘Almost twice as many soldiers as Britain has in Afghanistan, a helicopter carrier and special forces units armed to the teeth will make the city look like it’s under siege.’
It reads: ‘And then there’s England’s classic bad weather, which has some wondering whether the Summer Games will turn into a fiasco.
‘The weather has been cold, wet and gloomy since the spring, with last month proving to be the wettest June on record.
‘The meteorologists’ Olympic forecasts are nothing short of dismal: rain, rain and, yes, more rain. And it won’t just be falling on the athletes, but also on the most highest-priced seats in the Olympic Stadium.‘Optimistic planners decided not to cover those seats, unlike the rest of them.’
The long and rambling article takes aim at many features of British life, even making fun of child obesity.
‘And the children? They haven’t become athletes, either,’ it states.
‘On the contrary, the boys and girls of the British Isles are among the fattest in the European Union.
‘London’s poor East End now has an Olympic Park and the largest shopping centre in the EU — but it’s still poor.’
The article finishes: ‘Though London has many natural gifts, they aren’t of the kind that makes it ideal to host such a major event. ‘And because Great Britain is both a debt-ridden and democratic country, it wasn’t possible to radically reshape London for the event, as the Chinese did with Beijing in 2008.
‘The 2012 London Olympics will probably end up looking like the host city itself: a little chaotic, a little infuriating, never perfect, but with a lot of room for improvisation, charm and talent.
‘Those who live there will be delighted, of course, but only once it’s over.’
[LINK]
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