canaDn: I suspect the Old Bill has better things to do than confiscate water-bottles in 2012 too.

This is London. The place that has guys drive around in vans with an antenna to see if you have an un-taxed TV in your home.

DrBenway: On what basis will they be entering homes to seize posters? Are they in the process of developing an elite squad of poster snitches? WTF?

You're talking about the "CCTV Nation." I'm sure that if a camera spots a window with a poster or a fan with a non-approved corporate product in hand that does not meet the exacting standards of the IOC, well, the police will be only too happy to march in and remove it. I'm sure there will be an anonymous tip line to help out the poor, over-worked police.

On the bright side, Americans can sit and gloat - we're still fighting back against having things like firearms removed by the police. Once you cough up the ability to form organized resistance, well, you're screwed.

I hear letter writing is all the rage, though.

lajimi: Police will have powers to enter private homes and seize posters
"I think there will be lots of people doing things completely innocently who are going to be caught by this, and some people will be prosecuted,

So....How's that strong gun control thing working out for ya? Your civil rights secure? Well, you can always use strong language, I suppose.

Oh yeah, if you're ever faced with a dictatorship a trusty handgun will sort that real quick like.



I think the real problem is more that the UK doesn't have a set constitution. For all the many faults of that system, it at least hinders governments in their drive to extend their power.

lajimi: So....How's that strong gun control thing working out for ya? Your civil rights secure? Well, you can always use strong language, I suppose.

Wait a minute. I'm all about the right to own guns and rifles and protecting the rights of gun owners.

But how would owning a gun have anything but a negative effect on some bullsh*t like this? Some cops come into your house because you have a f*cking poster they don't like. It's shady as hell, but you don't really want to KILL somebody over it, no?

lajimi: If you are unwilling or unable to defend your own home against invaders NO MATTER WHAT UNIFORM THEY WEAR you may as well take the doors off the hinges.

The English have a fine history of beating the ever loving crap out of people. And the few they couldn't beat? Got assimilated. The Vikings ditched their own customs in terms social strata and adopted the traditional English model. And this was 1,000 years plus ago.

If you're constantly worried about enemies, perhaps you should start to wonder why you have so many.

Kublai Khan: it at least hinders governments in their drive to extend their power.

Plus England goes back and forth with government stuff over time. Things have swung back and forth quite a few times.

snuff3r: lajimi: So....How's that strong gun control thing working out for ya? Your civil rights secure? Well, you can always use strong language, I suppose.

This is the dumbest thing i have ever read in a Fark thread. Absolutely, nuclear-grade retarded Palin-American.

Fixed for truth and accuracy.

You know, one of the things that the colonists rebelled against was the British barging into our homes unannounced, and forcing them to let the soldiers sleep in their homes as well. Didn't the UK catch onto that and ban it too, or do they still think that's a great idea?

lajimi: So....How's that strong gun control thing working out for ya? Your civil rights secure? Well, you can always use strong language, I suppose.

Yeah because you're likely to round up Jeb and the boys with their shotguns because a cop told you that you couldn't bring your PowerAde into the 100m qualifiers.

Still, this is ridiculous on an epic scale. Note to advertisers: If people are bringing in "non sanctioned brands" to events, you bring more light on this fact, and more ill will onto yourselves, by trying to stop it, than if you'd have just ignored it. Have to agree with the FP here: If GoDaddy or someone tries to pull some kind of Guerrilla marketing campaign by spreading flyers or paying hundreds of people to walk around with GoDaddy t-shirts, yeah, something will probably be done, but I really doubt you have to live in fear of being arrested because you dare to eat the wrong candy bar.

Organisers of the 2012 Olympics will be hoping to emulate the street-party atmosphere of Vancouver
Police will have powers to enter private homes and seize posters, and will be able to stop people carrying non-sponsor items to sporting events.

Epic fail

CtrlAltDelete: lajimi: So....How's that strong gun control thing working out for ya? Your civil rights secure? Well, you can always use strong language, I suppose.

Wait a minute. I'm all about the right to own guns and rifles and protecting the rights of gun owners.

But how would owning a gun have anything but a negative effect on some bullsh*t like this? Some cops come into your house because you have a f*cking poster they don't like. It's shady as hell, but you don't really want to KILL somebody over it, no?

No...but a serious maiming sure sends your point home.

Seriously though...citizens NEED to bear arms...whether you believe in gun control or not, governments LOVE anti-gun nuts. They'd like nothing more than to have a bunch of unarmed putzes running around like sheep.

Besides, everyone knows gun control only keeps legit buyers from getting what they want. Criminals will always have guns...

Weaver95: I wonder if the 1936 Olympics were this restrictive and invasive?

Waiting for Gil 'The Mega-Douche' LeBreton to weigh in.

Kublai Khan: h yeah, if you're ever faced with a dictatorship a trusty handgun will sort that real quick like.

It's better than nothing, at least. And personal firearms are certainly worked well in various rebellions across the world for the last few hundred years.

I think the real problem is more that the UK doesn't have a set constitution.

Not at all. The real problem is simple, and is orthogonal to any written law: due to advances in technology and science, food became almost free in western countries. Why rebel when you aren't to the point of worrying if you'll have a meal tomorrow?

In the US we justify abuses with vague "interpretations" of the constitution. In the UK, they make vague appeals to history and social order. These are just tactics, and change to fit the situation.

As long as our stomachs are full, and we have a standard of living higher than most of history, we will be complacent enough to let any of this crap happen.

WhyteRaven74: The English have a fine history of beating the ever loving crap out of people.

And that's the thing - the abuses today are nothing compared to the abuses of even recent history (in most countries, not just the UK or US). Our standard of living has risen so much, that it's not worth it to rock the boat.

/"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore"

some people will be prosecuted, while others will be so angry about it that they will start complaining about civil liberties issues," Chadwick said.



No. Farking. Shiat.

as long as they don't take my Kyla Cole poster

The Brits, for all practical purposes, have NO civil rights, and no way to protect themselves from government abuse. Fact of life. They are subjects, property of the Crown. The police can do anything they want, they can pick you up and hold you in jail without trial, take and keep your DNA for any reason, even if you're never even charged with a crime, and so forth. They spy on you, invade your home whenever they want to, no warrant needed. They have no free speech, say the wrong thing in public, and the charge you with "Hate Crimes". The government monitors ALL communications. They take your children whenever they feel like it, and threaten to keep them permanently if you talk to the press about it. They're doing away with trial by jury, and so on....


So a Police State Olympics? What the hell else do you expect from Britain nowadays?

lajimi: Police will have powers to enter private homes and seize posters
"I think there will be lots of people doing things completely innocently who are going to be caught by this, and some people will be prosecuted,

So....How's that strong gun control thing working out for ya? Your civil rights secure? Well, you can always use strong language, I suppose.

No, I understand that gets people slapped with some sort of 'anti-social behaviour' citation or something, and it's apparently kinda serious.

So if you're not smiling as you do as you are told, then it's irons for you.

Not that it's much better over here, contempt of cop with no repercussions for the cops, right? Besides, if they're really intent on finding something, they can find something to charge someone with, and make it stick, because there are billionties of laws designed to trap us into servitude.

mark12a; The Brits, for all practical purposes, have NO civil rights, and no way to protect themselves from government abuse. Fact of life. They are subjects, property of the Crown. The police can do anything they want, they can pick you up and hold you in jail without trial, take and keep your DNA for any reason, even if you're never even charged with a crime, and so forth. They spy on you, invade your home whenever they want to, no warrant needed. They have no free speech, say the wrong thing in public, and the charge you with "Hate Crimes". The government monitors ALL communications. They take your children whenever they feel like it, and threaten to keep them permanently if you talk to the press about it. They're doing away with trial by jury, and so on...

2/10. Moar mispellling needid

For all the Surveiilance Society BS they have to put up with, Brits have far better media, far more freedom of speech, and more robust democratic institutions than a lot of countries.

Hell, they actually had Tony Blair testify before an inquiry concerning the leadup to the Iraq War. Sure, he weaseled and lied and hemmed and hawed, but that's Blair. At least they managed to get him there in the first place.

Brits seem to hold their elected officials to a higher standard than some, when they're not drunk or apathetic.

London also pledged it would provide efficiency, with the added commitment of delivering a legacy which would avoid the white elephants of some previous Games such as Athens.

Don't make me farking laugh.

They're going to spend millions building some temporary facilities that are going to be torn down 3 weeks after.

As a business model, the Olympics are very inefficient. Spend billions on a load of infrastructure and buildings, much of which will sit idle or will cost a load of money to adapt into something useful. Athens and Sydney have both shown that this will happen, neither yielded the supposed benefits (Athens found that the extra tourists simply displaced tourists who would have come anyway).

jayhawk88:
If GoDaddy or someone tries to pull some kind of Guerrilla marketing campaign by spreading flyers or paying hundreds of people to walk around with GoDaddy t-shirts, yeah, something will probably be done, but I really doubt you have to live in fear of being arrested because you dare to eat the wrong candy bar.

See, people always SAY that beforehand, and then when the rules are enforced exactly the way they're written and people find out they're not allowed to bring their non-Olympic-sponsor brand hat, jacket and digital camera into an Olympic event, everyone is outraged.

The Olympics are corporatism run amok on steroids (so to speak). The IOC exists purely to wring every cent of possible profit out of the efforts of others (athletes, volunteers, taxpayers of the host cities). They WILL abuse human rights all over the place if there's a gain in it, because they know people will still attend the Olympics. And governments' cooperation with this venture usually borders on fascism, but it usually happens between election cycles so they get away with it.

So yeah, fark the Olympics. The athletes I can admire, but the Games themselves can fark right off. I'm proud that the Olympic torch was knocked into a puddle by a protester as it passed through my city. It's a symbol of the worst aspects of capitalism.

As for you gun-waving freaks, are you going to shoot at cops over something like this? I doubt it. Arms are the last line of defense against bad government, stop talking like they should be the first. If you weren't all so busy wacking off to your gun collections, you might not vote like assholes, and that IS the FIRST line of defense against bad government.

I don't get it. The headline was vague on what "posters" were, so I RTFA. That was no help. What do they mean by "posters"? I assume they're not talking about things you hang on a wall. Do they mean internet posters? Like, not message board stuff, but posting pirated video streams? And why weren't they more clear?

Also, the commercialization of the games is getting way out of hand. It's been bad for a while, but only fairly recently has it gotten so ridiculous as to make a cynic's job easy.

fta: The economic downturn scuppered its private and public partnership plans for two of the park's biggest projects, the Olympic Village and media centre, forcing the taxpayer to step in.

be glad your town didn't get the olympics, even though your local government was drooling at the prospect. it's always over budget, and the taxpayer always gets stuck with the tab. all that money that they tell you will be coming into the local economy? goes to the usual members of the local power structure, at the expense of everyone else, classic "trickle-down".

swahnhennessy: I don't get it. The headline was vague on what "posters" were, so I RTFA. That was no help. What do they mean by "posters"? I assume they're not talking about things you hang on a wall. Do they mean internet posters? Like, not message board stuff, but posting pirated video streams? And why weren't they more clear?

Also, the commercialization of the games is getting way out of hand. It's been bad for a while, but only fairly recently has it gotten so ridiculous as to make a cynic's job easy.

I'm going to have to take you down town for not mentioning Pepsi's cool, refreshing taste in this comment.

farkeruk:
As a business model, the Olympics are very inefficient... for the sponsors and the IOC. Taxpayers Spend billions on a load of infrastructure and buildings, much of which will sit idle or will cost taxpayers a load of money to adapt into something useful. Athens and Sydney have both shown that this will happen, neither yielded the supposed benefits (Athens found that the extra tourists simply displaced tourists who would have come anyway).

FTFY. To quote Propagandhi, "publicly subsidized, privately profitable". It's the best way to make a lot of money, these days.

CtrlAltDelete: ... Some cops come into your house because you have a f*cking poster they don't like. It's shady as hell, but you don't really want to KILL somebody over it, no?


I think that's a decision the police - or any other intruders - should make before they enter a home uninvited.

If even a few German jews had shot the first Brownshirt through the door, there never would have been a holocaust.

What farkeruk said!

This line of "logic" FTA really made me laugh...

London is "on budget and on time," according to organisers, but the cost is about three times the original estimate.

Barakku: I'm going to have to take you down town for not mentioning Pepsi's cool, refreshing taste in this comment.

Haha.

ihatedumbpeople:

Besides, everyone knows gun control only keeps legit buyers from getting what they want. Criminals will always have guns...

I think this whole "Only outlaws will have guns" thing may have been proven a bit of a fallacy based on the tizzy the British are in over knife crime.

I am watching Last of the Mohicans and I am getting a kick out of English Law.

Kublai Khan: ...
Oh yeah, if you're ever faced with a dictatorship a trusty handgun will sort that real quick like...

Of course poorly armed civilian militias don't stand a chance against powerful, well-equipped armies. That's why the US won so quickly in Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. That's why the Russians won in Afghanistan, too. It's why the British never lost control of their American colony. Why, I could go on and on.

jakomo002: For all the Surveiilance Society BS they have to put up with, Brits have far better media, far more freedom of speech, and more robust democratic institutions than a lot of countries.

better than ceausescu's romania. but not better than the u.s.a., or most of western europe.

Nothing creates more liberty like killing a few cops coming to your house. They won't bother you ever again after that, you can be sure.

London does not need to host the Olympics. It's an awful, awful idea.

What do you get for the billions spent, the residential neighbourhoods torn down, the impact on an already overburdened transport system, and development of sport facilities?

Nothing. Raise the profile of what already is the world's greatest city? Unnecessary. New construction? It's what the Olympics needs, not what the city needs? A great logo to be forever remembered? Yes, £400,000 for a bright pink Lisa Simpson giving a blowjob.

It will be nothing but a massive inconvenience for a few weeks for the people who live there. The ones who had to pay for it. It's a disgrace.

darkyn: ... Non-violent resistance is a better idea;...

Non-violent resistance didn't even work for Ghandi and Jesus. (Neither of them were personally violent, but their followers more than made up for it.)

's more like:
Ped-o-lympics

amirite?

/no one's yet mentioned the logo, right?
//*winks*

Oblio13

"Of course poorly armed civilian militias don't stand a chance against powerful, well-equipped armies. That's why the US won so quickly in Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. That's why the Russians won in Afghanistan, too. It's why the British never lost control of their American colony. Why, I could go on and on."

You could but your comments would undoubtedly continue to be largely incorrect. It's a beautiful Saturday and I'm out to enjoy the sun, but look up the following:
Chinese.Russian aid to N Vietnam in the 1960s.
Iranian aid to Iraqi resistance.
US supplies Stinger missiles to Afghan resistance.
French aid to US in Revolution.
French fleet at Yorktown.