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Surface-To-Air Missiles At London Olympics
First time accepted submitter TheGift73 writes "I have to admit, when I first read about this I thought it was a hoax, but unfortunately it's true. The UK government is considering placing surface-to-air missiles on residential buildings in London for the duration of the London Olympics. From the article: 'The Ministry of Defence is considering placing surface-to-air missiles on residential flats during the Olympics.
An east London estate, where 700 people live, has received leaflets saying a "Higher Velocity Missile system" could be placed on a water tower.
A spokesman said the MoD had not yet decided whether to deploy ground based air defence systems during the event.'"
London missile defense
...why we bother having the Olympics. We should all just have a big war instead. The winner gets a gold medal.
"UK government uses civilian residents as human shields to protect their missile sites".
It'll make the terrorists think twice before blowing up those flats to eliminate the SAM batteries.
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
IOC needs to protect its copyrights somehow.
I mean, we DO have to protect Airstrip 1, after all.
... are in an ultralight air craft.
That's one advertisement you will not see during this year's olymics!
120 characters ought to be enough for anyone
Dunno, an air burst explosion would almost always be preferable to an explosion directly on the ground. You'd have to have a pretty serious misfire situation to make things worse. There's also the deterrent factor, just having the visible defense will disenchant some who might think of piloting a small aircraft into the games.
And... it creates loads of jobs just making the missiles, installing them, maintaining them, covering them in the press....
Of course, if it convinces the terrorists to switch from a lightweight high-profile flying assault to a simple Oklahoma City style ground delivered Big Bomb, that could be a turn for the worse...
Hey, it's London, bombs go off all the time anyway, or at least they did 20 years ago when I used to travel there.
No no, for the Olympics they'll be using... wait for it... wait for it... Javelins!
Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
I know! It'd be the bomb! (...especially if manufactured on Friday).
If I have seen further it is by stealing the Intellectual Property of giants.
... when Daleks invade. Again.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
A curious Olympic Games. The only winning move is not to play
"You call it a new way of thinking; I call it regression to ignorance!" -- Operation Ivy
This is just getting ridiculous.
I would agree. Cutting off the first letter of a quote 'he Ministry of Defence...' is something I would do while hurriedly posting quotes into MSN, not something an editor should do on a widely read website. Just ridiculous.
When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem
PULL! Should also make Discus and interesting event.
For the past Olympic games, the hosting country just made do with fireworks....
To step up to actual missiles, now that is going to take a lot of effort to top for future hosting countries !!
You wouldn't be. I have the misfortune to own a place with a great view over a convention center often used for various government meetings. Since two of my balconies overlook their terraces and hall windows from above, every fucking time they have some diminutive French, Italian or Russian head of state I have to remove my flowers and my telescope tripods from the balcony, keep the windows closed, get a badge from the security scum that infests the stairwell, endure their cheap cigarette smoke, bad breath, awful manners, atrocious looks and general incompetence.
The worst was when the wife of the first black president came over a few months ago, they even ordered us to remove our cars from the parking lot in front of the place. I don't get it, I heard she was really brave dodging bullets in Bosnia back in her days with the military.
So far we have been lucky not to have an expensive weapon system mounted on the rooftop, but I don't even want to contemplate what that would mean. And they never, ever compensate you for the trouble.
To sum it up, having to deal with a security implement in your building sucks major ass, and should be avoided at all costs and complained against loudly at every opportunity.
Not to mention, if I was a terrorist, those surface to air missiles, already conveniently placed, would be the ideal target.
Hey, it's London, bombs go off all the time anyway, or at least they did 20 years ago when I used to travel there.
I take it you're Irish?
My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
I think that somebody has secured the tinfoil hat to his head with too many elastic bands.
Australia basically lucked out in having the last truly successful Olympics. Since then computers, the internet and the drive for participation over sucked in by marketing passivity is taking over.
Whiny, it's not lying it's acting product promoting, athletes and their lawyers, as just so yesterday, last millennium in fact. Olympic gold medal winners are promoting crappier and crappier products, it's getting so bad, using the reduces the appearance value of a product rather than enhancing it.
I stopped taking the Olympics seriously when McDonalds became a sponsor.
OK, that's not true, I stopped taking the Olympics seriously when Roy and HG got involved.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
"No one died" times 7.5 is still not much.
Unless their exclusion zone is measured in a circle at least 100km wide (are we going to shut down Heathrow, then?) [...]
We don't need an exclusion zone to shut down Heathrow for the duration of the Olympics. We've got immigration officials to do that for us!
"Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"