West Ham Stadium Deal Collapse to Cost Taxpayers Millions


Tax-payers will now find themselves paying a multi-million pound bill, as West Ham’s plans to buy the Olympic Stadium in Stratford have fallen through.

West Ham were in line to purchase the stadium after the 2012 Games, with the support of a £40 million fund from Newham Council. However, rival bidders Tottenham Hotspur argued that the fund was an ‘unfair advantage’ and claimed that West Ham were receiving ‘illegal state aid’, sparking a legal battle between the two teams.  Challenges from Leyton Orient football club and an anonymous complaint to the European Commission also created a great deal of uncertainty around the deal. As a result Newham Council has now said they no longer want to proceed.

‘…the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) received a letter from Newham Council yesterday saying because of the uncertainty that they no longer wanted to proceed’

The stadium is now to be state-owned instead and will be rented out to football clubs, rather that sold. Boris Johnson and ministers are claiming that this is the best solution, with the greatest long-term results for taxpayers:

”…We’ve come up with a very good solution to keep it in public hands and rent it to football clubs… that will be a very good deal”

Yet, taxpayers will now have to meet the contribution that would have be made by West Ham and Newham Council towards the conversion of the stadium, resulting in a multi-million pound bill. They may also find themselves paying for any annual losses that the stadium makes – a fate that has been met at previous Olympic sites.

Some experts say it will turn out to be the most expensive venue of its kind in the world- more debt Legacy.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company will now have to begin looking for a new tenant to rent the stadium. It has been confirmed that West Ham will be bidding again, but it is yet to be made clear whether renting the stadium will turn out to be a better deal for the East London football team.

 

 

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Do the business, secretary!

A new video has recently surfaced on youtube which gives a great summary of the problems surrounding the redevelopment of the Hampton Court site.
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The video makes the point that urbanisation of the south bank of the river Thames will not  only mean destruction of a historic view of Hampton Court Palace, but will also make some people and companies very rich.
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Hampton Court Palace lies in business secretary Vince Cable’s constituency of Twickenham. Mr Cable opposed the plans whilst in opposition, but since coming to power he seems to have lost his voice on the subject.

The video makes one point that should give us all cause for concern. The application itself is opposed by many factions, including Hampton Court. If Hampton Court is unable to oppose an inappropriate planning application then there is no hope for us commoners.

 

Here it is:

 

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“the whole essence of the movement is to reject the game’s rules as it is being played” – Occupy Wall Street defined!

Occupy Wall Street is a movement in response to a system of society where wealth is concentrated in the hands of the few.

Yet its methods are uncommon. Peter Marcuse offers the following explanation:

“It makes 4 points:

1.       Occupy Wall Street doesn’t make specific demands. Understandably. There is a difference between immediate demands and claims of rights, and the Occupy movement is about targeting claims of rights.

2.       This is not only for strategic reasons – it’s not their role – but also on principle; its supporters don’t want to get into the game, they want to change its unfair rules.

3.       They do not seek consensus but understand the inevitably of conflict. They wish to stand with the 99% and recognize that this means losses for the 1%,  but not losses that would seriously impinge on their needs.

4.       The space they have chosen to organize their protest is not classic public space, but space in the heart of the territory in which the activities and forces they target operate. It is both a physically and a symbolically well-chosen space for their purpose.”

Peter further expands on these points in the following blog article, where he also details his personal experience of Occupy Wall Street’s Oct 5th march:

Peter Marcuse’s Blog – Occupy WallStreet – For What? For Whom? Where? Why?

 

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“Ten Hours for Ten Years” – A demonstration for Shaker Aamer, Trafalgar Square – Sat 8 Oct

Coinciding with tomorrow’s Anti-war Mass Assembly in Trafalgar Square tomorrow, there will be a demonstration marking Shaker Aamer’s 10 year incarceration in Guantanamo.

“Ten Hours for Ten Years”  – Demonstration for Shaker Aamer will be staged by The Save Shaker Aamer Campaign’s (SSAC) where a Guantanamo cage will be set up for ten hours from 10am to 8pm in the south-west corner of Trafalgar Square.

The Shaker Aamer Campaign urges the UK Government to demand the immediate release of British Resident Shaker Aamer to the UK as a matter of great urgency. Shaker is a UK resident and was originally cleared for release in 2007.

Shaker Aamer is the last British Resident still held in Guantanamo without charge or trial – a victim of US aggression following 9/11.

For more details on Shaker Aamer and the demonstration, visit the SSAC’s website and their Facebook page.

For more information on the Anti-war Mass Assembly please visit the Stop the War Coalition’s website and/or the Anti War Mass Assembly’s dedicated site.

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Julian Assange to speak at Anti-war Mass Assembly in London – Saturday 8 October

The Anti-war Mass Assembly, marking 10 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq will start at 12 noon in Trafalgar Square, London tomorrow 8th October.

It will be officially opened by Joe Glenton, the ex-soldier who was jailed for refusing to fight in Afghanistan alongside Grace McCann, who in 2010 attempted a citizen’s arrest on Tony Blair.

Supporting Glenton and the assembly will be high profile figures such as Noam Chomsky, Julian Assange, Jemima Khan and Tony Benn.

For more information including a list of who will be attending, a complete timetable and for the chance to sign the pledge to attend please click on the Stop the War Coalition’s website and/or the Anti War Mass Assembly’s dedicated site.

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Olympian battle to get London’s transport fit for the Games…

A guaranteed budget of £6.5bn has been set aside to get London’s transport network up to speed in time for the Olympic Games next year. Thanks to the Games, this budget is also protected during present austerity measures.

With an estimated eight million visitors expected in London during July and August 2012, Graham Stephens, the co-ordination manager for the Olympics for Transport for London said that transport was marked as a potential problem right from the start: “The first advisers for the London bid helped us a lot when they stressed right at the beginning of the process that transportation was a major issue.”

Speaking about the legacy, Stephens pointed out that the transport system after the Olympics will be “significantly reinvigorated.” In the meantime, Londoners continue to face delays and line closures while the transport system goes through its upgrade.

For the full article click here

 

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Battersea Power Station: a new home for Chelsea FC?

Roman Abramovich is looking to relocate Chelsea FC from Stamford Bridge to the disused Battersea Power Station (BPS). The current site only has capacity for 41,800 spectators and hence it is unable to host an anticipated 60,000. Therefore the Russian oligarch has recently injected a huge sum of money into researching alternative venues.

Apart from BPS, Earls Court & Olympia, White City and Imperial Wharf are all potential sites currently under consideration. However, BPS seems to be most sensible choice due to its convenient size and availability, The Guardian writes.

The final “yes” or “no” is not only up to the Russian as once again Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO) are exercising their contractual rights. 12,000 shareholders are legally entitled to the name Chelsea Football Club and if it moves elsewhere, Abramovich needs the CPO’s permission to use this well-known trade name. In order to get them on his side, the oligarch made an offer to CPO on Tuesday promising to give perks of priority rights to purchase season tickets and a roll of honor at the new stadium.

It might be worth mentioning that the US Embassy’s future offices could be right next to Chelsea FC’s new stadium in Battersea and one may wonder if anyone asked the American diplomats for their opinion on rubbing shoulders with football fans…

 

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London community requests FOI to protect Greenwich Park from ‘pruning’

London local campaign group, NoGOE (No to Greenwich Olympic Equestrian Events), has addressed a Freedom of Information Act request to Greenwich Council with a regard to tree 1253 in Greenwich Park.

 

Tree 1253 Not chopped down- just pruned

 

NoGOE discovered that in spite of London 2012 Organizing Committee (LOCOG) promises being made on not cutting down the trees and returning the park to its current condition after the Games are to be broken. Now, they seek to find out “how and why and by whom, and on whose authority, tree 1253 has been cut down.”

Residents fear Greenwich Park, being the oldest Royal Park, as well as listed Grade 1 UNESCO World Heritage Site, will be “wrecked” after the Olympic Games. This is due to 72 trees planned to be further “pruned” to allow a 11-foot clearance for horses, in addition to other serious damage to the plants in the park.

Initially, the LOCOG planning application for Greenwich Park did not included the tree survey, but NoGOE managed to obtain a tree schedule under FOI from Greenwich Council. It clearly shows a handful of trees located alongside the proposed route of the cross-country course, and these are 1254, 1256 and 279. Some of them are ancient and veterans, as NoGOE points out.

The planning application also shows information about the grassland being re-opened as late as in November 2015, which enhances the conflict between  NoGOE and LOCOG even more.

NoGOE members, and among them the FOI request issuer Rachel Mawhood, believe the Olympic Equestrian events in 2012 should not be held at Greenwich Park, as it is not a suitable site for this mega event.

Will Connell, Performance Director of the British Equestrian Team, said: “LOCOG has no intention of cutting down trees or closing the park for a year, and I think that local residents should be proud that such an exciting Olympic sport will be on their doorstep in 2012.”

LOCOG in its planning application for the venue announced:

The entire park will only be closed for a four week period from 6th July to 3rd August in 2012;
The children’s playground and the majority of the flower garden within the park will remain open throughout this four week period with the exception of cross country day;
There are no planned residential road closures, and no trees will be cut down;
After the Games, the park will be returned to the condition in which it was received.

NoGOE fear they cannot trust LOCOG, as one tree has already been cut down with no prior warning.

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USA Congress to vote for “outside the law” detainees to remain in Guantanamo forever

USA Amnesty International  calls for action to stop Guantanamo detention centers being open permanently. This is a response to the US Congress having to decide soon whether the rights of those kept in custody in Guantanamo would be yet again weakened significantly. Now congress will vote for “outside the law” detainees to be forever denied freedom and kept in indefinite detention.

This Human Rights organization asks American citizens to either sign their online petition or directly call congress representatives, and to help in doing so Amnesty International provides detailed instructions.  Among them there are such steps to follow as:

* I am calling to urge the Senator to oppose provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 (H.R. 1540) that would keep Guantanamo open.
* The Guantanamo detention facility must be closed. Indefinite detention and military commissions must end.
* Detainees must either be charged and fairly tried in US federal courts, or be released to countries where their human rights will be respected.
* I don’t want our government to sacrifice human rights in the name of security.

In its online petition Amnesty International says: “Indefinite detention, denial of due process and the unfair military commissions are violations of human rights and contravene international law. There is a better way to ensure justice and security for all of us.”

Amnesty International puts forward a solution for US Congress, which could release the detainees to countries which respect human rights or charge and try those individuals in US federal court.

The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is far and wide known for abusing human rights of “prisoners” from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Human rights organizations claim that those centers resemble concentration camps. This is because of the interrogation techniques used on prisoners, such as “stress positions”, “sleep deprivation” and other.

Spectacle is running a series of projects on Guantanamo detention centers, and you can find them in Guantanamo section on Spectacle’s blog. Also, you can order “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantanamo” documentary also produced by Spectacle, by visiting Projects section on Spectacle’s website.

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Guantanamo: If The Light Goes Out, Letters to Omar

‘When you are suspended by a rope you can recover but every time I see a rope I remember. If the light goes out
unexpectedly in a room, I am back in my cell.’

Binyam Mohamed, Prisoner #1458

Photographer Edmund Clark, author of ‘Guantanamo: If the Light Goes Out, Letters to Omar’, has been awarded the Hood Medal by the Royal Photographic Society and been shortlisted for Photographer of the Year at the International Photographic Awards/The Lucies.

‘If the Light Goes Out…’, a collection of photographs, essays and letters including texts by former Guantanamo detainee Omar Deghayes, has also been awarded Best Book Award at the International Photographic Awards/The Lucies and the New York Photo Awards, a Nomination for Best Books of the Year at the International Photobook Festival, Kassel, and Best Personal Work from PDN Annual.

Described as a ‘study of home’, Clark looks at the lives of both the American community on the naval base and detainees during and after incarceration to illustrate the different ideas of ‘home’ existing at Guantanamo Bay.

For more information about the project click here.
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