Miscellaneous Topics

[Husky]

If you're about to eat something, then don't read this. It's not all... let's say "hygienic" (:great save





I recall some rich Indian woman whining some years back (not on IF, but in real life), about how she was "Soooooo Embarrassed" about the commonwealth games - which was then held in India - going downhill (as if it personally reflected on her). Turns out that it's been going down the *drain* in the UK Olympics this year.



And to think that a gutter inspector is actually needed on this case.

(Obviously I don't really care about this topic. It's only for settling the score.)





1. theaustralian.com.au/sport/london-games/sewage-forces-sailors-out-of-olympic-games-village/story-fne3b3ke-1226434563224

Sewage forces sailors out of Olympic Games village

From: AAP July 25, 2012 10:31AM



OLYMPIC sailors have been forced to temporarily abandon the athletes' village in southwest England after sewage came out of their showers.

Australian gold medal hopeful Nathan Outteridge was forced to spend a night in a hotel overnight after the foul-smelling effluent bubbled up into a bathroom area.



"On the second night there was some issue and there was s[*@!] coming out of the downstairs shower," he said.



"They did a good job and got us out of the village and put us in a hotel and they fixed it overnight.



"It was just a minor drama - it happens."

(Surprised he didn't just say "Shit happens" with a straight face. Literally true as seen in this case, after all.)



A number of other sailors were forced to temporarily abandon the village, which is a stone's throw from the Olympic sailing venue in Weymouth.



All have since been allowed back and the problem fully rectified.

[...]

AAP

Also at Sewage flows from Games athletes' showers





2. And if the athletes have had it bad, it's been even worse for the Olympic staff: "it looks like a prison camp" said a Spaniard on taking in the exterior. Another speaks with experience of the interiors: "It's like a slum inside".



Anyway, the grimy details - so we won't here lame Indians whine about "oh-my-gawd, what about:



dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2174034/London-2012-Olympics-10-room-1-shower-75-people-Inside-slum-camp-Olympic-cleaners.html

Ten to a room and one shower for 75 people: Inside the 'slum' camp for Olympic cleaners

They sleep in portable cabins, some of which have been leaking in the rain, at the campsite in East London

The bad weather has left the site flooded with stagnant water, forcing the cleaners to use abandoned crates as makeshift ‘stepping stones’

‘It is like a slum inside,’ says one worker from Hungary



By Katherine Faulkner

PUBLISHED: 22:23 GMT, 15 July 2012 | UPDATED: 20:07 GMT, 16 July 2012





Cleaners at the Olympic Park are being housed ten to a room at a huge temporary compound.

The campsite in East London, hidden from public view, has 25 people sharing each toilet and 75 to each shower.

They sleep in portable cabins, some of which have been leaking in the rain.





[Photo caption:] Grim: Cleaners at the Olympic Park are being housed ten to a room at a huge temporary compound, pictured. The campsite in East London, hidden from public view, has 25 people sharing each toilet and 75 to each shower



And the bad weather has left the site flooded with stagnant water, forcing them to use abandoned crates as makeshift ‘stepping stones’ to move around the site.

Hundreds have come from abroad to work at the Olympics despite promises that the jobs would go to Londoners.





On arrival, some were horrified to be told there was no work for two weeks. But despite this, they were made to pay the cleaning company £18 a day in ‘rent’ to sleep in the overcrowded metal cabins, which works out at more than £550 a month.



Others who had come to the UK desperate for the jobs turned back, describing the camp as ‘horrible’, with showers and toilets ‘filthy’ from over-use.





[Photo caption:] Poor conditions: The bad weather has left the site flooded with stagnant water, forcing the cleaners to use abandoned crates as makeshift 'stepping stones' to move around the site. This image shows how close the camp is to the Olympic Stadium



Andrea Murnoz, 21, a student from Madrid, said: ‘I couldn’t believe it when I saw the places people were sleeping.

‘When I first saw the metal gates and the tall tower in the middle, it reminded me of a prison camp. It looks horrible.



'I was thinking I would apply for a job, but I have changed my mind. My two friends signed up, but I think they are regretting it.’

Cleaners at the camp have signed gagging orders preventing them from talking to the Press and have been banned from having family and friends visit ‘for security reasons’.



One worker, from Hungary, said conditions were ‘very bad’ inside the camp but he had nowhere else to live. [color=color=blue]‘It is like a slum inside,’ the 24-year-old said.

‘The toilets are dirty and the space is very little.’



Another, also from Hungary, said: ‘When we saw the camp, we were shocked. When we came to England we thought accommodation would be much nicer.[/color]





[Photo caption:] Employment: Hundreds of people have come from abroad to work at the Olympic Park



‘Some of the cabins have been leaking and we have been told to fix them ourselves.



Two girls have left already because they did not want to sleep in a room with men they didn’t know.’



Plans for the accommodation were backed by London 2012 organiser Locog and waved through by the local council, Newham, even though environmental health officers said the toilet and shower facilities were ‘unlikely to be adequate’, while landscape architects said the sleeping arrangements were ‘cramped’.



But councillors decided that because the camp would be only temporary, concerns about the housing and welfare of the workers were not ‘justifiable reasons for refusing planning permission’.

Any accommodation where more than two adults have to share a room is considered ‘overcrowded’ under housing laws. Health and safety guidelines state that employers should provide at least five toilets and five washbasins for every 100 people.



Craig Lovett, of Spotless International Services which runs the camp, said the number of toilets and showers per person exceeded requirements for temporary accommodation and that there were internet, medical and entertainment facilities on-site.



He said shift patterns would reduce pressure on the facilities.

He said unexpected heavy rain had been a ‘pain’ but the company was working tirelessly to sort things out.



[Photo caption:] Messy: Some who had come to the UK desperate for the jobs turned back, describing the camp as 'horrible', with showers and toilets 'filthy' from over-use



He added: ‘This is not a prison. Nobody is forced to stay there. Many of our staff have come from areas where there is extremely high unemployment and are very happy to be working in the Games.

‘There will always be a couple of disgruntled people on site, but it’s a shame they didn’t come to talk to us to air their grievances because there are certainly processes in place for them to do that.’



A Locog spokesman said: ‘Cleanevent [part of Spotless] have assured us that the accommodation they are providing their workers is of a suitable standard.’





[More photo captions:]

+ Plush: The conditions at the cleaners' camp are in stark contrast to the Olympic Village where the athletes will stay

(You mean the one where "sh-- was coming out of the showers"??? Uh... paaassssss.)

+ Luxurious: Athletes in the Olympic Village will have access to a nice bar area complete with comfy armchairs and games

+ Workers fit out the container city in Hainault Forest with mattresses ready for the contract Olympic staff

+ Machinery is used to lift the heavy bedding to the upper level of the container housing so the rooms can be kitted out

3. The above also contains the following news clipping:







4. And so we get round to how it's more than just the plumbing and staff housing that's been falling apart:



afp.com/en/news/topstories/british-security-firm-quizzed-over-olympic-shambles

British security firm quizzed over Olympic 'shambles'





[Photo caption:] ...The head of private security giant G4S has agreed under questioning by British lawmakers that the firm's failure to provide enough security guards for the Olympics was "a humiliating shambles".



LONDON (AFP)



The head of private security giant G4S agreed under questioning by British lawmakers Tuesday that the firm's failure to provide enough security guards for the Olympics was "a humiliating shambles".



Chief executive Nick Buckles said he expected the company would eventually be able to supply 7,000 of the 10,000 staff it had promised. An extra 3,500 troops have already been drafted in by the British government to plug the gap.



But he insisted that he would not resign over the scandal and said that G4S, one of the world's biggest security firms, would still claim its £57-million ($88-million, 72-million-euro) management fee for the Olympics contract.



Asked by one member of parliament's Home Affairs Select Committee whether it was a "humiliating shambles" for G4S, with the Olympics just 10 days away, Buckles replied "I cannot disagree with you".



He also admitted that the firm had taken on the Olympics contract to boost its reputation rather than for profit, but agreed when the committee suggested that reputation was now "in tatters".



Amid mounting pressure for him to quit his £830,000-a-year job, Buckles insisted he was the best person to see the contract through.

(But note that for the olympics he's to be paid £57 million, see next post. Not surprising that he refuses to resign despite the clamour for it.)



The staffing shortfall only came to his attention on July 3, Buckles said, adding: "Day by day we started to realise that the pipeline and the people we thought we were going to be able to deliver we couldn't."



He said G4S only raised it with the government on July 11 when it was sure it would not be able to fulfil the contract.



"We have a significant manpower shortage against the plan. Clearly that shortage is going to manifest itself from this day forward until the Games," he said.



Buckles said G4S currently had 4,200 people working and that the "minimum we can deliver" by the start of the Games on July 27 was 7,000. But when asked whether he could guarantee they would all turn up he said "I can't, no".



G4S shares slid 1.85 percent to 249.90 pence in early morning trade on Tuesday, after suffering heavy falls on Monday.



It emerged Monday that in addition to the military support at least eight police forces have had to deploy extra officers at Olympic venues across Britain -- reportedly after employees of G4S failed to turn up to work.



The company, which is set to lose up to £50 million for failing to meet the obligations of its £284 million Olympics contract, has insisted that extra police should only be needed for a few days.



Britain's interior minister Theresa May denied on Monday that ministers knew last year that there would be a shortfall.



The extra troops pledged by the government last week brings to 17,000 the total number of military personnel lined up for Games security.



The government came under further pressure Tuesday as a report said that the Border Agency -- which has been under fire in recent weeks over hours-long immigration queues at London's Heathrow airport -- has cut too many employees.



Over 1,000 staff more than initially planned have lost their jobs in the last year and the Border Agency has now been forced to hire extra people to deal with the workload, the National Audit Office said.



The first athletes and Games visitors began arriving at Heathrow on Monday and the Olympic Village opened in Stratford, east London.



Meanwhile nearly half of the British population believe their country is inadequately prepared for the Olympics while many have concerns over security at the Games, a Comres poll suggested.



Of the 2,000 people questioned, 45 percent said they felt that Britain seemed poorly prepared for the Olympics while almost 40 percent said the fact that the government had been forced to provide extra troops made them more concerned about spectator safety.



London mayor Boris Johnson admitted on Tuesday that there would be "imperfections and things going wrong" in the coming weeks, adding that it was a "ginormous" task to stage the Games.

5. And to round it all off:

couriermail.com.au/sport/london-olympics/olympic-briefs-poll-finds-british-public-unhappy-with-preparations-for-london-games/story-fn9di2lk-1226428630622

Olympic briefs: Poll finds British public unhappy with preparations for London Games

Lucy Carne in London From:

News Limited newspapers July 18, 2012



ALMOST half of Britain believes Olympic preparations are a shambles, a poll has found.

The last-minute scramble to deploy troops to fill a shortage of security guards has raised public concern over Olympic safety, according to a Comres poll.



Of the 2000 people questioned last weekend, 45 per cent believed Britain was “poorly prepared” for the event that opens next Friday.



Almost 40 per cent also feared for the safety of Olympic spectators because of the gap in protection.



Harriet Harman, the Labour deputy leader, accused the British Government of being “dangerously incompetent” with security.



Mayor of London Boris Johnson admitted on Tuesday there would be "imperfections and things going wrong" in the lead up to the Games, saying it was a “ginormous” task.







THE embattled boss of security firm G4S has apologised for the Olympic security staffing crisis.



During a grilling from Britain’s MPs on Tuesday, chief executive Nick Buckles said he was “deeply sorry” and admitted the company’s reputation is “in tatters” after the government was forced to bring in an extra 3500 soldiers and police to compensate.



But Mr Buckles insisted the company would still pocket its AUD$86.5m (£57m) “management fee” for the contract.



Asked by the home affairs committee, chairman Keith Vaz, why the global security giant wanted to still claim its fee, Mr Buckles said: "We've managed the contract and we've had management on the ground for two years. We still expect to deliver a significant number of staff.”



Mr Vaz replied: "I find that astonishing.”



G4S will also pay all military and police costs caused by its failure as well as any accommodation costs incurred, Mr Buckles said.





OLYMPIC football venues have been scaled back to avoid the sight of empty seats as organisers failed to sell enough tickets.



Organisers abandoned hopes of filling the venues, with up to 500,000 tickets to soccer matches withdrawn from public sale.



The London Olympic Organising Committee (LOCOG) admitted it had sold about half of the 2 million available football tickets.



A further 150,000 tickets were given away to school kids.



About 250,000 football tickets are still on sale with a further 200,000 to come online.



Organisers are still yet to sell 50,000 tickets to other sports and 250,000 will be released from a contingency pile this week, including seats to beach volleyball, fencing, table tennis, taekwondo, judo and volleyball.



LOCOG chairman Seb Coe said: “It’s always a challenge; you’ve got lots of venues and lots of matches and you don’t know until late on who is going to be playing.”





WEAR your wellies – that's the message from Olympic organisers to spectators heading to London’s washed-out Games.



People heading to the equestrian and rowing events have been warned to take their wellington boots as Britain’s worst summer in living memory continues to turn outdoor venues into a sodden mess.



LOCOG chairman Seb Coe said that the Eton Dorney rowing lake and the Greenwich Park equestrian venues were waterlogged.



Coe said resurfacing was underway to accommodate crowds, but warned spectators to dress for the weather.



“This is proving quite a challenge to us,” he said. “We've got waterlogged sites, we've got resurfacing taking place, particularly in some of our more sensitive sites, our more rural sites.



"At the risk of sounding like a father about to usher their kids off on an Outward Bound trip, let me make the obvious point that we are a northern European country and people do need to be wearing the right footwear and the right rainproof clothing.”



LOCOG director of communications Jackie Brock-Doyle said: “For the more rural venues people should bring wellies.”

What was that about slumdogs and millionaires again?



(By the way: remember the mass number of slums still around in Britain in... was it the 1920s or 1930s? Post WWI, pre WWII, in any case. The British govt didn't know what to do with them. And the slums multiplied further under the massive unemployment at the time. Pity they didn't make a movie about that. But it's been recorded in history books at any rate, and even been briefly referred to in some novels and movies.)





Security at this year's Olimpings *is* a bit of a worry. The UK police already caught some 7 or so pakis bringing in weaponry to blow people up for allah, scheduled to take place around this time. But I don't think - more importantly the British govt doesn't seem to think - it's caught all the jihadis intent on mischief at the games yet. And then there's this whole mess with the hired security firm. Not very reassuring...