By Dave Zirin - July 27, 2012

Mitt Romney is getting roasted across the British press and political establishment for arriving on the shores of the United Kingdom armed with a critique of London’s capacity to host the 2012 Olympic Games...Now newspapers and politicians from across the political spectrum are making Mitt Romney look less presidential and more like a well-coiffed punching bag. The last time an American has been beaten so badly by Brits, Bob Fitzsimmons was knocking the stuffing out of Jack Dempsey.

By Paul Stuart - 27 July 2012

The Royal Dock complex, adjacent to London’s financial district at Canary Wharf, is hosting up to one hundred super yachts, including twenty of the world’s most opulent, as the Olympic Games begin...Its transformation into a Monaco-style marina playground for the super rich is a telling rebuttal to all the official rhetoric about the “peoples’ games.”

By Dave Zirin - July 25, 2012

Smith and Carlos sacrificed privilege and glory, fame and fortune, for a larger cause — civil rights. As Carlos says, “A lot of the [black] athletes thought that winning [Olympic] medals would supersede or protect them from racism. But even if you won a medal, it ain’t going to save your momma. It ain’t going to save your sister or children. It might give you 15 minutes of fame, but what about the rest of your life?”

By John Pilger - July 23, 2012

On 11 July, a so-called Olympics evening...celebrated its "star guest" Tony Blair and his 2005 "gift" of the Games and "provided the perfect opportunity for Blair's return to frontline politics"...The organiser of this contrivance was Alistair Campbell, chief spinner of the bloodbath Blair and he gifted to the Iraqi people. And just as the victims of Dow Chemical are of no interest to the Olympic elite, so the epic criminality of Labour's star guest was unmentionable.

America's "war on terror" never ends. Neither does Britain's. After London was named host for this year's summer games, terrorist fears were stoked.

The Olympics are more about profiteering, exploitation, and cynicism than sport. Militarized London reflects something more.

By Wail Qasim - June 25, 2012

When what is meant to be the greatest show on earth is on your doorstep, it becomes terrifyingly clear that it presents more of a threat than an occasion to be enjoyed. Activists look to the U.S. and note the recent use of the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD)...knowing that this weapon will be deployed on the Thames River during the Olympics...[A]ctivists understand that, if such measures are quietly tolerated, it will be less likely that they will disappear once the games are over.

Olympism is more about profiteering, exploitation, and cynicism than sport.

By Dave Zirin - June 4, 2012

When Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their black-gloved fists at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, they were scorched with scorn across the sports media landscape...Amidst the angry denunciations, there was one column...that was particularly ugly. The journalist responsible has never deigned to comment or explain, let alone apologize, for why he decided upon the words he chose. The writer became an iconic broadcaster who now sits comfortably as the elder statesman of the sports world...His name is Brent Musburger.

By Dave Zirin - May 30, 2012

Upon returning to the United States after two weeks amidst London’s pre-Olympic terrain, I have some final thoughts that I hope the International Olympic Committee and the UK’s Tory Prime Minister David Cameron take to heart. I also hope that the Olympics’ lead corporate sponsors...take a time-out from devising the latest cutting edge trends in evil and listen as well. Your games are in trouble. Your games are in trouble because the people who actually have to live in London alongside the Olympiad are mad as hell. And it’s only May.

SchNEWS Issue 816 - 25th May 2012

Last month U.N Representative Raquel Roinik accused the Brazilian government of outright human rights violations – adding her voice to organizations such as International Amnesty and Action Aid. Their accusations focus on the unlawful and inhuman treatment of Brazil’s poor for the sake of the 2016 Olympics and the World Cup 2014.

By Jules Boykoff and Dave Zirin - May 21, 2012

To be in London, two months before the 2012 Summer Olympics, is to feel a bit like a fish in an aquarium, with people constantly poking at the glass. Cameras adorn nearly every street corner and police vehicles are more prevalent than double-decker buses. It’s easy to understand why many are saying enough is enough...On Saturday, July 28, protesters will be gathering in London to just say no to the priorities imposed by these most corporate of Olympic Games, and it’s hardly difficult to understand why.

By Robert Stevens - 15 May 2012

Tenants in east London are being evicted from their homes in the run-up to the London Olympics Games...In one case a woman told the BBC that she and her four house-mates had been evicted after being given just two weeks to leave. Another couple reported they had been given three weeks to get out...Seeking to cash in on the Olympics, some private landlords are letting their properties for 20 times the usual rental price during the games.

By Dave Zirin - May 14, 2012

It’s not just the costs or the incredible invasion into people’s privacy. It’s the powers being given to police under the 2006 “London Olympic Games Act,” which empowers not only the army and police but also private security forces to deal with “security issues” using physical force. These “security issues” have been broadly defined to include everything from “terrorism” to peaceful protesters, to labor unions, to people selling bootleg Olympic products on the streets...

By Richard Tyler - 9 May 2012

Billions of pounds are provided to the police, military and intelligence agencies to fund a mobilization of state forces on a scale never seen in London in peacetime. Once more, the “war on terror” is being used to accustom Londoners to seeing soldiers on the streets, warships on the Thames, and fighter aircraft in the skies.