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Was Olympic security an issue in Beijing?
43 Answers
I know there were bad press issues with the Beijing Olympics, eg villagers being forced to move out of their homes so that the Bird's Nest could be built, the fake footprints fireworks, the lipsynching of the little girl singing, etc, but I don't remember anything mentioned about terrorist threats. Do you think the UK Olympics will have more bad press coverage than the last olympic games?
I have tickets for the hockey but all this talk of lack of security is giving me slight jitters.
I have tickets for the hockey but all this talk of lack of security is giving me slight jitters.
Answers
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as I understand it there will be more British troops in Stratford than in Afghanistan, so you ought to be reasonably safe.
I imagine half the Chinese army was patrolling the Beijing Olympics too; but as they had the sense not to hand the job to the private sector, they didn't need to agonise about it in public.
I imagine half the Chinese army was patrolling the Beijing Olympics too; but as they had the sense not to hand the job to the private sector, they didn't need to agonise about it in public.
I think the national, obsession with terrorism - fueled entirely by a hysterical media and equally histerical governments, means that it had to become an issue as the Games approached.
My own take on the terrorist threat is extremely simple - if anyone wishes to cvarry out a terrorist outrage here, or in the US, or indeed anywhere, they will, and no amount of screening and security is going to prevent that.
A far better use of time and resources would be to engae with those who see Western society as an abomination, and engage in dialogue to endevour to broaden out mutual understanding of each other. That is the way to erradicate a terrorist threat, not to simply adopt the national equivalent of panicing every time someone with a adrk complection steps on a tube train carrying a rucksack.
History hasd proved and continues to prove that our 'war on terror' (don't you just love the ringing meaninglessness of that phrase?) has singularly failed to protecyt us in any meaningful way.
Returning home from Montreal two weeks ago, I presented my passport and boarding pass eight individual times to officials, as well as being fingerprinted and photgraphed - queuing for several houirs for the pleasure.
I would have no objection to queuing a day and a night if i seriously believed that this contributed to national safety in any meaningful way - but patently it does not. If any terrorist threat was contained at a port or airport, the media would be all over it like a rash - but how often does it happen in proportion to the time money and effort spent in screening people?
The Olympics are an expensive farce - this is simply one more badly handled muddle-headed un-thought-through example of that - let's get it over with a.s.a.p. and get on with the serious matters in life - co-exksting with other nations who hate and fear us.
My own take on the terrorist threat is extremely simple - if anyone wishes to cvarry out a terrorist outrage here, or in the US, or indeed anywhere, they will, and no amount of screening and security is going to prevent that.
A far better use of time and resources would be to engae with those who see Western society as an abomination, and engage in dialogue to endevour to broaden out mutual understanding of each other. That is the way to erradicate a terrorist threat, not to simply adopt the national equivalent of panicing every time someone with a adrk complection steps on a tube train carrying a rucksack.
History hasd proved and continues to prove that our 'war on terror' (don't you just love the ringing meaninglessness of that phrase?) has singularly failed to protecyt us in any meaningful way.
Returning home from Montreal two weeks ago, I presented my passport and boarding pass eight individual times to officials, as well as being fingerprinted and photgraphed - queuing for several houirs for the pleasure.
I would have no objection to queuing a day and a night if i seriously believed that this contributed to national safety in any meaningful way - but patently it does not. If any terrorist threat was contained at a port or airport, the media would be all over it like a rash - but how often does it happen in proportion to the time money and effort spent in screening people?
The Olympics are an expensive farce - this is simply one more badly handled muddle-headed un-thought-through example of that - let's get it over with a.s.a.p. and get on with the serious matters in life - co-exksting with other nations who hate and fear us.
This may sound callous, but I honestly believe that I am more likely to die from cancer or dementia than I am from a terrorist's bomb. I lived through the IRA bombings in London in the 70s, and I'm fairly sure that there wasn't the level of hysteria that we see in the papers now.
In fact, you could argue that terrorists win where they can instill fear. That seems to be where we are right now.
In fact, you could argue that terrorists win where they can instill fear. That seems to be where we are right now.
Moonrocker - I understand that initial dialogue will be extremely difficult to set up, but what choice do we have - terrorism by them and invasion by us hasn't moved us forward on inch, so talking has to be the only alternatrive - and it doesn't cost money - or lives!
Our Olympics is a farce - it's an ego-trip for a one-time athlete who thinks everyone worshbips sport like he does, and that the nation will embrace sport for all after the Games has finished - wrong on both counts.
sp1814 - I entirely agree - the level of terrist activity compared to the paranoia it attracts is totally disproprtionate.
And i do not for one moment wish to appear to trivialise the deaths of those who have died in attrocities, or in the unwinable wars that have been our politicians' responses - but we have to acklnwledge that standing on opposite sides of the planet fearing and fighting each other is eslf-perpetuating, and someone has to make a start somewhere. It won't be them - so it has to be us - does it really matter?
It's peace that's the objective, and that is worth fighting for, but not in a military sense - history and gravestones show us the futility of that course.
Our Olympics is a farce - it's an ego-trip for a one-time athlete who thinks everyone worshbips sport like he does, and that the nation will embrace sport for all after the Games has finished - wrong on both counts.
sp1814 - I entirely agree - the level of terrist activity compared to the paranoia it attracts is totally disproprtionate.
And i do not for one moment wish to appear to trivialise the deaths of those who have died in attrocities, or in the unwinable wars that have been our politicians' responses - but we have to acklnwledge that standing on opposite sides of the planet fearing and fighting each other is eslf-perpetuating, and someone has to make a start somewhere. It won't be them - so it has to be us - does it really matter?
It's peace that's the objective, and that is worth fighting for, but not in a military sense - history and gravestones show us the futility of that course.
Well Andy did you get a two for one deal for those pink specs of yours?
I think we have every cause to be concerned in the western world with terrorism, seeing that it has been proven to be a serious reality in the past.
If we were to take on board your extremely simple solutions, we would have no need for our security services, police, armed forces etc, etc, because whoever are thinking of attacking us will do so regardless of these services according to you.
What about all the high number of radicals that have been arrested, jailed and are no longer a threat to us, would you wish them to remain free to carry out their evil deeds unopposed?
What about those who were recently stopped and their car was found to have a number of armed weapons on board, would you wish for these weapons to have gone undiscovered and have been used on some innocent person?
On your trips overseas, would you wish to walk straight through airport control and straight onto your plane, without any checks whatsoever? Don't forget there may be fellow passengers who have very serious intentions.
Talk,Talk not War,War may be very commendable, if your opponent is of a similar nature to one's self, but one can not get round a table with extremists who are not afraid to give up their own lives in pursuant of their wish to impose their faith all over the world.
I think we have every cause to be concerned in the western world with terrorism, seeing that it has been proven to be a serious reality in the past.
If we were to take on board your extremely simple solutions, we would have no need for our security services, police, armed forces etc, etc, because whoever are thinking of attacking us will do so regardless of these services according to you.
What about all the high number of radicals that have been arrested, jailed and are no longer a threat to us, would you wish them to remain free to carry out their evil deeds unopposed?
What about those who were recently stopped and their car was found to have a number of armed weapons on board, would you wish for these weapons to have gone undiscovered and have been used on some innocent person?
On your trips overseas, would you wish to walk straight through airport control and straight onto your plane, without any checks whatsoever? Don't forget there may be fellow passengers who have very serious intentions.
Talk,Talk not War,War may be very commendable, if your opponent is of a similar nature to one's self, but one can not get round a table with extremists who are not afraid to give up their own lives in pursuant of their wish to impose their faith all over the world.
We've got a day at the olympics scheduled.
I think I'm happier with Service Personnel providing security than any collection G4S had managed to scoop up at the Job Centre and steer through some dodgy training.
It's a disgrace that such a huge contract was awarded to private contractors in the first place let alone mismanaged since. I think the Services would have been delighted to have been involved from the start especially with just some of that £280 million on offer to them.
What is aggravating some service people and their supporters is that they are being called in at the last minute to patch up a government and corporate shambles.
I think I'm happier with Service Personnel providing security than any collection G4S had managed to scoop up at the Job Centre and steer through some dodgy training.
It's a disgrace that such a huge contract was awarded to private contractors in the first place let alone mismanaged since. I think the Services would have been delighted to have been involved from the start especially with just some of that £280 million on offer to them.
What is aggravating some service people and their supporters is that they are being called in at the last minute to patch up a government and corporate shambles.
//Beijing now has a 150,000-strong security guard contingent plus 290,000 volunteer patrollers. During the Olympic Games, security guards directly serving the Games would number no less than 80,000//
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and at least half of them were looking to jump on anybody who even looked like they were about to say the word "Tibet"
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and at least half of them were looking to jump on anybody who even looked like they were about to say the word "Tibet"
andy # engage in dialogue to endevour to broaden out mutual understanding of each other. # etc.
Following WWW I The League of Nations was set up which adopted most of your proposals and non intervention was the order of the day as was demilitarisation .
Did it succeed ? For twenty years there was terrorism/freedom fighting throughout the world , numerous wars and finally WWW II which was succeeded by the UN where dialogue is an art form as it is in Syria today.
I've no doubt Kofi Annan would agree with you in principle but your
# broaden out mutual understanding of each other.# isn't working .
So what's your solution ?
Following WWW I The League of Nations was set up which adopted most of your proposals and non intervention was the order of the day as was demilitarisation .
Did it succeed ? For twenty years there was terrorism/freedom fighting throughout the world , numerous wars and finally WWW II which was succeeded by the UN where dialogue is an art form as it is in Syria today.
I've no doubt Kofi Annan would agree with you in principle but your
# broaden out mutual understanding of each other.# isn't working .
So what's your solution ?
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