In an effort to make the javelin throw more interesting this year, the Olympic committee have approved some eyebrow-raising amendments. Rather then using the conventional javelin, athletes will instead use high velocity surface to air missiles. Well I say athletes, but they do not have the technical know-how to handle such a sophisticated system. So they naturally will be replaced by soldiers. Also seeing as the Olympic stadium will not be large enough to hold such an event, several new locations have been selected. One of which is the roof of the Bow Quarter residential complex shown below.
The Bow Quarter residential complex (The Guardian)
700 residence of an East London estate were left stunned and confused when they received a leaflet informing them that a high power missile launcher was to be placed on the roof of the above water tower. But it’s not hard to understand why the Londoners were upset. Well excusing the impersonal way in which they were told that deadly weapons would be placed on their roof, it was also the first time such missiles have been deployed in the capital since the end of WWII.
“There was no consultation, no-one knocked on the door,” Brian Whelan, a Dublin-born journalist, told Reuters. “You just wake up one morning, there’s a leaflet telling you they are going to put missiles on the roof.” (RTE.ie)
The British Ministry of Defence backed up their decision to place missiles on the roof of the residential complex by saying that the missiles would only be used to:
 ”counter threats from very high performance, low-flying aircraft” and that the location was chosen because it’s relatively close to the Olympic Park.
But are they going too far? Not only are they placing missile bases around London, but they have released an extensive plan for the cities defence which includes fighter jets, warships, attack helicopters and even snipers. The plan is being dubbed ‘The Olympic Ring Of Steel’ and has the capability to defend the prestigious games from all conceivable threats. That is to say if there are any? Below is a detailed illustration describing all the elements involved in the The Olympic Ring Of Steel.
The Olympic Ring Of Steel (The Mail Online)
It all seems a bit excessive right?Are the British still living in the shadows of the 7/7 terrorist attack which left 52 people dead and over 700 injured. The proposed defensive plans will cost the state over one billion pounds, and that’s not including the cost of hosting the games. Be there a real threat or not, it seems like a very high price to pay for peace of mind.
Related articles
- East London residents warned of surface-to-air missiles sited on their roofs for the Olympics (boingboing.net)
- London apartment block to host Olympic missiles (abc.net.au)
- Missiles at residential flats during Olympics? (itv.com)
- ‘It’s rather surreal’ … residents react to plan for roof rockets during Olympics (guardian.co.uk)
- ‘We will form a human barricade to keep missiles off our homes’ (thisislondon.co.uk)
- London rooftops to carry missiles during Olympic Games (guardian.co.uk)
- Missiles next door: Rooftop London bases to protect Olympics (EndtheLie.com)
- Missiles on my apartment? London resident balks at Olympics security measures (worldnews.msnbc.msn.com)
- UK puts missiles on London rooftop to guard Olympics – Reuters (reuters.com)
- Defense at UK Olympics: Apartment Roof Missiles? (foxnews.com)
- London Olympics To Be Protected By Rooftop Missile Launchers [The Olympics] (deadspin.com)
- Londoners told missiles could be placed on their roofs (ctv.ca)
Reblogged this on Keelan Foley.
The people of the UK live in some kind of bizarre Orwellian nightmare, where they are under manned camera surveillance any time they set foot in their city. Planting surface to air missiles is obviously the next logical step. I wonder if they’ll stay there after the Olympics to counter terrorism, never mind that the London bombings were carried out with home made bombs by university students radicalized in the universities. Big sister is watching you.
‘And the gold medal for overreacting goes to…’
James, you might like this article… http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/its-not-just-big-brother-even-his-toys-are-watching-20120519-1yxj3.html
That’s an absolutely amazing piece, stu, and the writer sums up far more eloquently my feelings on the modern state of affairs than I’ve ever been able to. The author is right to identify that we’re living in a post liberal democracy, and that there are a myriad of minor causes:
“But the first and most important task in responding to an event is to recognise that it has happened, that what looks like a thousand small defeats is one big disaster.”
Yep cos if a man is running towards the Olympic Village wearing a suicide vest or carrying a gun, what better defence than to level the entire district with Typhoon Fighters and long-range amphibious assault ships