Jobs For All!

One of the benefits of the London 2012 Olympics, so we were told, was that it was meant to provide jobs in the less wealthy part of London where the games are to be staged.

Taken literally, that is true. However, the actualite is not quite so inspiring.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has revealed that 828 workers out of the total 6,277 workers on the Olympic site are Britons who live locally.

This revelation did not come voluntarily, but was made as a result of a Freedom of Information request (made 6 months ago).

Was it not Gordon Brown who promised that the Olympics would deliver "British jobs for British workers"?

A fatuous and divisive promise, the globalisation of the economy and the fact that we belong to the EU means that large projects such as this will always attract migrant labour (just as British workers go abroad for similar projects).

The foolishness was making the promise in the first place.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Brown's Bankrupt Britain

Gordon Brown, now so desperate to cling to power, has tagged on to the Olympics bandwagon in the hope of salvaging his reputation.

Brown took the Cabinet on an "away day" to the offices of a building contractor at the 2012 Olympic Games site.

Brown claims that:

"Thanks to the Olympics, thousands of jobs are being created and protected in some of the industries worst hit by the recession - and in some of Britain's most deprived areas."

1 The Olympics "budget" now stands at £12BN (including £2BN running costs), the original budget was around £3BN. A monument to Labour's inability to manage projects and costs.

2 Many of the jobs being created are short term construction jobs, which employ non British short term immigrants. Yet was it not Brown who came up with that absurd phrase "British jobs for British people?"

The legacy will be a deficit to be funded by the taxpayer.

Brown will have left office long before the games begin.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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The Kiss of Death

The Prime Minister Gordon Brown has publicly backed Tess Jowell, the beleagured minister for the 2012 Olympic Games, in the face of the four and a half year conviction of her estranged husband for accepting a $600K bribe from Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi.

"Tessa Jowell is minister for the Olympics. She's doing a very good job, and I have confidence in her ability to continue doing that job".

Berlusconi told the press that he was "100 percent certain" that Mills would be acquitted on appeal.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Bad Karma

Gordon Brown, Britain's Prime Minister, finally made it to Beijing to watch the tail end of the games and to attend the closing ceremony.

Needless to say, given Brown's penchant for attracting bad luck, some wags have pointed out that his arrival will herald the end of Britain's better than expected performance at the games.

The Prime Minister's presence at sporting events to watch home teams compete has invariably resulted in defeat.

Olympic Medals Won

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Olympics On Budget

Gordon Brown has promised that the London 2012 Games will be on time and on budget.

Brown made the promise whilst visiting East London.

Brown said:

"I think that what people do want to know is that it is on budget and on time.

We already started building this stadium three months ahead of schedule. It is plain that people such as the Olympic Delivery Authority (in charge of Olympic venue and infrastructure) are determined to come in on budget and on time."

Fine!

Except for the fact that the London games are already over the original budget.

I assume that if you keep revising the budget upwards then, by Brown's definition, the games will never be over budget.

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Wasting Our Money

It is reassuring to know that, despite the lousy state of the government's finances and the ongoing credit crunch, Gordon Brown and his minions are prepared to use our money to treat visiting Olympics officials in a manner akin to royalty.

The Times reports that organisers of the 2012 London Olympics have booked 1,925 rooms in London's best hotels for international delegates and their spouses at a cost of £10M.

The top officials will be staying in 345 suites costing up to £3,000 a night.

Half of this bill will be settled by London 2012, the Games organiser.

Apparently it is the most expensive block booking in Olympic history.

Even the International Olympic Committee (IOC), used to sitting in the very best seats of the Olympic gravy train, is surprised at Gordon Brown's generosity.

Oddly enough the details about the costs of these hotel rooms etc have been edited out of the online bid document, that is on the official 2012 website.

I wonder why?

It is apparent that no one is actually in charge of the budget for these absurd and unwanted games.

This fiasco will blow back on both the government (politically), and on the taxpayer (financially).

Now is the time to be seriously consideirng pulling out of the games.

The London Olympics is now completely out of control.

Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Brown Decides

Gordon Brown has finally decided, or rather, finally effectively communicated his decision about his attendance at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

He will not attend the opening ceremony, but will attend the closing ceremony where the handover to London will occur.

At first sight it may appear that Brown has taken on board (albeit late in the day) the calls by some to boycott the opening ceremony. I would note that many of those who call for a boycott seem happy enough to buy Chinese products (clothes, consumer electronics etc).

The reality about Brown's announcement is not quite so straightforward. In truth he was never going to both the opening and closing ceremony, it takes 20 hours round trip to fly to Beijing; the closing ceremony for Britain is far more important, as that is when the games are handed over.

Therefore Brown had long ago made his mind up to only go to the closing ceremony.

The question that remains unanswered is this:

Why did he take so long to communicate this?

The "Green" Games

Gordon Brown's credibility as a "green PM", not for the first time, is being undermined by the IOC.

Indeed the credibility of London's "Green" 2012 Olympics, which in theory was to be "car free", is being undermined by the IOC.

The pampered and well paid members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are not inclined to mix with the masses when they attend the London Games.

Heaven forfend that they use our shambolic public transport system!

As such they have demanded that there be over 3,000 chauffeur-driven cars placed at the disposal of dignitaries, officials and corporate sponsors.

The IOC fleet will have access to a network of dedicated lanes, which will be closed to other traffic for up to two months. Up to 3,000 sets of traffic lights will also be adjusted to ensure that the IOC's fleet has fast access to all venues.

What a sham these Games and the people in charge of them are!

Seemingly the IOC "great and the good" includes; 110 IOC members, 400 presidents and secretary-generals from the Olympic committees of the 200 competing nations and 450 senior executives from corporate sponsors. The 10,500 athletes will travel on a dedicated fleet of coaches.

The ordinary man in the street is forbidden from using his own car, because the Games venues will have only a small number of disabled parking spaces.

The actual contract for the IOC fleet is a secret, and those officials allowed to read it must first sign a contract agreeing not to reveal what they have read.

What a farce!

They are taking the piss!

A Catalyst For Change?

Gordon Brown and the Olympics organisers are displaying an unhealthy amount of hubris, and congratulating themselves about the job enhancing prospects of the 2012 London Olympics.

Brown claims that the London 2012 Olympics are a "catalyst for change".

Seemingly 10% of the current workforce of 2,275, who are preparing the East London site for the construction of the venues, was previously unemployed. There is a long-term target of 7% of jobs being filled by those who had been unemployed.

That's all very well, but what happens when the Games are over?

What will be the tangible legacy of the 2012 Games?

Darling's Doubts Over Olympics

It seems that the new Chancellor of The Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has some doubts over the London Olympics 2012.

Darling has been outed as a long-term doubter of the Olympics.

Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former spin doctor, has revealed in his diaries that Darling was a "very clear no", when the Cabinet was discussing in 2003 the prospect of an Olympic bid.

Darling raised concerns about the cost of the Games at the time, when the bill was only expected to be £2.6BN. The current budget has now ballooned to a staggering £12BN, and is likely to continue to grow.

The Treasury claim that Darling now no longer has any doubts.

Quite how this change of mind, given the fact that the budget is now more than four times the amount that caused Darling to reject the bid, came about is beyond mere human understanding.

Doubtless Darling's conversion was a "road to Damascus" moment.

Brown Robs Bank Accounts To Fund Olympics

The budget row over the London 2012 Olympic Games has escalated, as Gordon Brown has been accused of robbing dormant bak accounts to pay for the ever spiralling costs of the London games.

Ed Balls, Brown's Economic Secretary, was questioned by MPs on the all party Treasury select committee about how money in dormant bank and building society accounts for 15 years or more will be used when transferred to a new unclaimed assets fund.

Balls said that the estimated £400M, expected to be raised, had two key priorities which are to improve youth services and financial inclusion.

However, Tory MP Michael Fallon said that these causes should in fact receive grants from the National Lottery. Instead the National Lottery is having to provide an extra £675M towards the cost of the London Olympics.

Fallon said:

"In essence minister, you are robbing people's private accounts to pay for Olympic mismanagement."

The budget for the Games has ballooned to £12BN, and is likely to continue to rise.

Jowell Jubilant

Tessa Jowell was quick to congratulate herself, and the London Olympics Organising Committee, on the back of the report from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Jowell, The Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport, said that the IOC's evaluation committee had examined 17 elements of the plans for the 2012 Games.

Their report was "apparently the best report they've ever given a city".

Ms Jowell added that the 15 inspectors were "even more fulsome" during private conversations with her.

Quote:

"They regard us as doing better than any city. We're ahead of other cities, and on every single measure that they've applied to us we're doing precisely what they want, and precisely what they expect.

That could hardly have been better.

I think the inspectors kind of warmed to that sense of commitment, because they all believe in the benefit, if you like the magic, that the Olympic Games can bring to a city.

I spent quite a lot of time with them. They didn't say anything to me privately that was not reflected in what they said publicly.

In fact, they were even more fulsome privately in the discussions I had with them than they were publicly."

The IOC, in slightly less gushing terms, said that it was "satisfied we don't have any areas of concern" at the end of its visit.

Jowell is of course concerned over here future, once Gordon Brown takes over from Tony Blair.

Pride comes before a fall!

London Logo Farce - The Farce Continues III

The row over the "Lisa Simpson Giving Head" London Olympics logo continues, with Gordon Brown bringing his great big "clunking fist" into the argument.

Brown, during a reception for sports journalists in Number 11 Downing Street, joked that the reason his guests were standing on a wooden floor rather than a carpet was because "all the money has gone on the Olympic logo".

It now transpires that the London Olympic organising committee hired the company that designed the logo, Wolff Olins, without ever looking at any of its designs.

Given that this little exercise cost the tax payer £400K, you would have thought that some form of professional tendering process would have been carried out...wouldn't you?

The words "piss up" and "brewery" spring to mind!

Undeterred the organisers will be merchandising all sorts of stuff that contain the design. Seemingly we will soon be able to buy curtains and wallpaper with the logo.

Words fail me.

However, there is no need to despair, Wolff Olins is understood to be delighted at the high levels of "brand recognition" caused by the negative publicity over the design.

So that's alright then!

It also appears that the design is not yet finished, and that there will be further additions to the blank spaces in the blocks as the years pass by.

Many of the images used to "infill" the shapes will be created by the public, who will be encouraged to enter competitions held every six months, with the winner chosen by online votes.

Given that the logo is "unfinished", and that the public will be roped in to "finish it", why has the £400K been handed over to Wolff Olins?

2012 Ministry

As noted a few days ago on this site, Tessa Jowell's position of running the 2012 London Olympic Games now looks to be untenable.

The BBC reports that Gordon Brown is actively considering setting up a ministry for the 2012 Olympics.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), under Tessa Jowell, currently has responsibility for the Games.

Brown seemingly wants a heavyweight to take charge of the Olympics, given the ongoing shambles over the budget this is hardly surprising.

Brown Targets Jowell

Given the ongoing fiasco over the London 2102 Olympics budget (now standing at a whopping £12BN), and the impending coronation of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, it should come as no surprise to learn that the position of Tessa Jowell (who allegedly is in charge of the Olympics 2012) is under threat.

Brown is reportedly considering three options:

• The 2012 Games would remain under the control of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), but with culture secretary and Olympics minister Tessa Jowell and her sports minister, Richard Caborn, replaced after six years in the job.



• Responsibility for the Olympics to be removed from the DCMS and placed in another Whitehall department, such as the Cabinet Office or Ruth Kelly's Department for Communities and Local Government.



• DCMS to be broken up, and responsibility for the Olympics to be given to the Cabinet Office.

Whatever option Brown chooses, it would seem that Jowell will not be attending the 2012 Games in an official capacity.

The Olympics Black Hole

The London 2012 Olympics continues to cause controversy. It has been revealed that ministers covered up a £1BN black hole in the cost of the London Olympics, when they made the bid to host the Games.

Minutes of a meeting in November 2005 (that was the year in which London was awarded the games), attended by Treasury officials and accountants, show that ministerial aides had been warned of the additional £1BN a year earlier.

This revelation puts further pressure on embattled Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, who has been accused of massively under-estimating the burden on taxpayers.

The original bid showed a cost of £3.4BN, the latest budget for staging the Games is £9.3BN; the reality will in fact be at least £12BN.

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said:

"It turns out that Gordon Brown knew all along that the published Olympic budget was wrong, and he's spent the last year trying to cover his tracks."

As I have noted many times before, never ever entrust politicians with organising and running a long term project such as the Olympics. They are not capable.