London Mayor Boris Johnson brands Olympics 2012 ticketing process ‘an oddity’ Locog gives itself until 24 June to inform successful applicantsThis article titled “London Olympic organisers defend ‘peculiar’ ticket payment process” was written by Owen Gibson, for The Guardian on Wednesday 18th May 2011 16.51 UTCLondon Olympic organisers including Lord Coe have been forced to defend their ticketing process in the wake of criticism from consumer groups and after the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, called it “peculiar”.Consumer groups including Which? have criticised the fact that money started coming out of applicant’s accounts this week but Locog has given itself until 24 June to inform them which tickets they have received, if any.Coe denied the policy was an attempt to avoid a scenario where customers may cancel their orders if they had only received tickets for less popular events. He argued instead it was an attempt to create the breathing space to solve any problems with payments.“The important thing here is, let’s not be coy or naive about, we want to make sure that people have the funds to be able to do this. We’re talking £500m here, this is not chopped liver,” said Coe. “We want to make sure people have funds available. In the event they don’t, we don’t want to rip up that application on the first day.”Which? has said the ordering process forced people to take “a gamble with their finances”. Johnson told a parliamentary committee that taking payment before emailing successful applicants was “a bit peculiar” and “an administrative oddity”, though he added it was “not the end of the world”.Locog’s head of ticketing, Paul Williamson, said up to 25% of ticket payments may not go through first time due to lost cards, technical problems or because there were insufficient funds, adding an extra layer of complexity to a system that had 6.6 million tickets on sale across 648 sessions at five price points and numerous venues. He said the ticketing process had been well trailed and that he had no regrets about the strategy.“We can’t tell people what tickets they’ve got until we’ve charged their card. We need to make sure it’s a fully paid for order before we inform people. That’s sensible business practice,” said Williamson. “The second reason is the sheer scale of this enterprise. More than 1.8 million applied and more than 20 million tickets were applied for. The sheer scale of it is why it takes time. If we told people the day after their credit card went through, we’d be telling people across three or four weeks. You might be told and your next door neighbour wouldn’t.”He said that by the middle of next week Locog expected to have charged well over half of all payments. The emails to inform applicants whether they were successful will all go out on the same day.“We’re trying to be fair to people. No one is going to be allocated a ticket they haven’t applied for. On average, people have applied for 12 tickets worth a total of £500. People are applying for tickets they’ve chosen,” said Williamson.He also defended the fact that Locog has not informed buyers where they will be sitting, effectively asking them to take on trust that more expensive tickets will have better views.“The higher price points are closer to the action and more central, the lower price points are further away and higher up. That’s quite normal in major events where you’re selling tickets a year beforehand,” said Williamson, drawing comparison with other events such as Wimbledon and the FA Cup final that sold tickets in price bands.In June, anyone who didn’t get any tickets at all will get “first bite at the second chance cherry”, said Williamson, followed by those who didn’t get everything they applied for. All the remaining tickets will go back on general sale in November. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogLondon Olympic organisers defend ‘peculiar’ ticket payment processRelated posts:London Olympics organisers appeal to protesters not to disrupt flame routeWill the 2012 Olympics be a sell out?London 2012: Ten best of the web
-
I posted to distributedresearch.net
London Olympic organisers defend ‘peculiar’ ticket payment process
- Tags:
- London
- Boris Johnson
- 2012 Olympics
- The Guardian
- News
- Sport
- Article
- Owen Gibson
- strategy
- committee
- Olympic
- Olympic Games 2012
- london mayor
- lord coe
- ticket
- News & features
- Organisers
- Sebastian Coe
- olympics
- olympics 2012
- tickets
- locog
- FA Cup
- mayor of london
- ticket payments
May 18 2011, 11:55am | Comments »
-
I posted to distributedresearch.net
Catalan independence boost after Barcelona vote
http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/04/11/catalan-independence-boost-after-barcelona-vote
Nine out of 10 of voters in Barcelona backed independence for Catalonia.
This article titled “Catalan independence boost after Barcelona vote” was written by Giles Tremlett in Madrid, for The Guardian on Monday 11th April 2011 17.08 UTC Campaigners for Catalan independence claim they have made significant advances after one in five people in the region’s capital city, Barcelona, backed a call for a separate state in Sunday’s unofficial referendum. Although the vote was organised by volunteers and had no legal standing, organisers said it had pushed the issue of independence further into mainstream political debate in this wealthy and populous north-eastern Spanish region. Alfred Bosch, spokesman for the organising committee, was happy with the 21% turnout. “We could never, even in our wildest dreams, have imagined a turnout like this,” he said. Nine out of 10 of those who took part backed a separate state, reflecting an overall 20% support for independence seen in similar votes held in hundreds of Catalan towns and villages over the past 18 months. Among key politicians reported to have voted in favour of independence was the regional prime minister, Artur Mas, of the nationalist Convergence and Union coalition. “This marks a change in the political cycle,” Felip Puig, a senior member of Mas’s government, told the Catalan language newspaper Ara. Critics accused Mas of being a “Sunday separatist” as his party has indicated it would not back a vote calling for independence in the Catalan regional parliament on Wednesday. Some observers claimed Mas was using the referendum to put pressure on the central Spanish government of Socialist prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero amid a bruising battle over funding of the Catalan government. The regional government, which is in charge of major services such as education, health and policing, must cut spending to help Spain meet its deficit reduction targets this year. Mas has vowed to negotiate a new and exclusive fiscal deal with Madrid. Anti-Madrid sentiment has been on the increase in Catalonia ever since the constitutional court last year struck out parts of a new autonomy charter for the region that had been approved at a legal referendum. Non-separatists pointed out that the weekend referendum in Barcelona showed the vast majority of Catalans were not interested enough in independence to take part. Spain’s constitution does not allow for the independence of any of the 17 regions into which it is divided. Constitutional change requires the approval of two-thirds of the deputies in the Spanish parliament and two-thirds of the people at a national referendum. Both of Spain’s two largest parties, the governing socialists and the opposition People’s party, oppose the independence of Catalonia. They jointly account for 323 of the 350 votes in parliament.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.
Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogCatalan independence boost after Barcelona vote
Related posts:Will anyone vote for AV in the electoral reform referendum? to Wikiversity or not to Wikiversity? Vote now. St George in England and Spain
- Tags:
- spain
- politics
- Europe
- city
- The Guardian
- News
- Article
- Main section
- Campaign
- World news
- Giles Tremlett
- International
- Language
- socialist
- committee
- constitution
- Barcelona
- Regional
- Madrid
- deficit reduction
- majority
- Turnout
- spanish government
- josé luis rodríguez zapatero
- socialist prime minister
- Alfred Bosch
- autonomy
- catalan government
- Catalonia
- convergence
- political debate
- referendum
- region
- regional parliament
April 11 2011, 12:16pm | Comments »
-
I posted to distributedresearch.net
Iran claims London 2012 Olympics logo spells ‘Zion’
http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/02/28/iran-claims-london-2012-olympics-logo-spells-zion
Well this seems a bit crazy but the London 2012 Olympics logo has been controversial from the start.
This article titled “Iran claims London 2012 Olympics logo spells ‘Zion’” was written by Julian Borger, diplomatic editor, for guardian.co.uk on Monday 28th February 2011 14.29 UTC Iran has threatened to boycott the London Olympics unless the organisers replace the official logo, which Tehran claims spells out the word “Zion”. The logo, a jagged representation of the year 2012, has been said by its critics to resemble many things, from a swastika to a sexual act, but the Iranian government argues it represents a veiled pro-Israeli conspiracy. In a formal complaint to the International Olympic Committee, Tehran has called for the graphic to be replaced and its designers “confronted”, warning that Iranian athletes might otherwise be ordered to stay away from the London Games. According to the state-backed Iranian Students News Agency, which is frequently used to convey official pronouncements, the letter says: “As internet documents have proved, using the word Zion in the logo of the 2012 Olympic Games is a disgracing action and against the Olympics’ valuable mottos. There is no doubt that negligence of the issue from your side may affect the presence of some countries in the Games, especially Iran which abides by commitment to the values and principles.” The letter, from the country’s national Olympic committee, leaves unclear what “internet documents” it is referring to. Amid the popular uproar that accompanied the unveiling of the logo in 2007, there were some claims, particularly on conspiracy-oriented websites, that its constituent shapes could be rearranged to make the world “Zion” and some animations were posted on YouTube showing how to do it. An IOC official confirmed that the Iranian letter had been received but said: “The London 2012 logo represents the figure 2012, nothing else.” A spokesman for the London Olympic organising committee added: “It was launched in 2007 following testing and consultation. We are surprised that this complaint has been made now.”
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.
Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogIran claims London 2012 Olympics logo spells ‘Zion’
Related posts:Iran jams BBC’s Persian TV service Big fire near Stratford, East London Olympic 2012 site Olympics Anish Kapoor tower hopes to attract 1m visitors a year
- Tags:
- London
- East London
- Stratford
- 2012 Olympics
- UK news
- Middle East
- News
- Sport
- Article
- Iran
- Tehran
- Orbit
- World news
- International
- committee
- complaint
- conspiracy
- International Olympic Committee
- Julian Borger
- negligence
- Olympic
- Olympic Games 2012
- Olympic Park
February 28 2011, 8:43am | Comments »
-
I posted to distributedresearch.net
Egypt’s generals unveil reform package
http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/02/27/egypts-generals-unveil-reform-package
The reform package being offered by the Egyptian army in power falls way short of the list of demands put forward in the peoples communique number 1 from the organising committee of protesters from January 25th
This article titled “Egypt’s generals unveil reform package” was written by Jack Shenker in Cairo, for The Guardian on Sunday 27th February 2011 15.56 UTC Egypt’s ruling generals have unveiled a package of far-reaching constitutional reforms, following mounting criticism of the way in which the military is handling the country’s post-Mubarak transition period. A committee of legal experts appointed by the interim government has proposed changes to eight articles of the Egyptian constitution, which will be put to a national referendum next month. The amendments would create new term limits on the presidency, make it easier for Egyptians to run for president, ensure stronger judicial oversight of elections, and restrict the government’s power to maintain emergency laws – all ahead of a general election expected later this year. Committee member Sobhi Saleh, a lawyer who has previously represented the banned Muslim Brotherhood movement in parliament, described the amendments as a historic achievement. “I am very satisfied,” he said. The announcement comes at a critical time for the armed forces, following violent street clashes between soldiers and pro-change demonstrators in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Peaceful protests calling for the resignation of interim prime minister Ahmed Shafiq, who was a cabinet member under Mubarak and is closely associated with the old regime, were met with a brutal response by military police who used tasers and batons to attack those rallying in the capital. Senior generals later offered a semi-apology for the assault, insisting the aggression was “unintentional”, but that has done little to reassure protesters, some of whom are now comparing the military to Mubarak’s much-hated central security forces. “The army and the police are one,” claimed one activist, deliberately inverting a popular protest chant during the anti-Mubarak uprising that declared “the army and the people are one.” The military remains a popular institution in Egypt for its role in defending the nation during wars in 1956 and 1973, and bound emotionally to many families through a policy of national conscription. Yet with an emerging body of evidence suggesting that the army has been complicit in torture and other human rights abuses during the past month’s unrest, plus the supreme military council’s growing intolerance of strikes and apparent unwillingness to confront lasting remnants of the Mubarak regime, many of those who initially welcomed the generals’ takeover following Mubarak’s downfall are now having second thoughts. “I’m not sure how long the general Egyptian public can maintain the bizarre idea that the army is so great,” said Issandr El Amrani, a political analyst and blogger based in Egypt. “This is the army that took power in a coup in 1952 and ended political pluralism, lost tonnes of wars after that and continued to justify its predation on the national budget despite not having had to fight anyone since 1973.” The process of amending the constitution has been criticised by many of the pro-change protesters who helped end Mubarak’s three-decade rule and who wish to see a new constitution written from scratch. Such a move has been resisted so far by the armed forces, but in an attempt to appease its critics the supreme military council has said that parliament will be formally mandated to draft a completely new constitution following the next election. “What is needed now is to scrap the existing constitution and not to amend it,” said Bahieddin Hassan, director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, who has warned that Egypt is in danger of falling prey to “neo-Mubarakism”. “No amendments, however extensive, would be enough to salvage it because the philosophy and spirit of the constitution are diametrically opposed to democratic values and human rights. The present constitution can only encourage despotism.” El Amrani agrees: “Although the amendments may signal some great improvements … it will also deliver the interim military government a clear public mandate. You can expect millions of Egyptians voting overwhelmingly in favour of the amended constitution, delivering a clear sign of public support for the transition model chosen by the military. It will be difficult for opposition groups to then challenge the army, which can point to this popular mandate as the source of its legitimacy.”
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.
Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogEgypt’s generals unveil reform package
Related posts:Army and protesters disagree over Egypt’s path to democracy Fury in Egypt as Mubarak refuses to leave How will Libya’s protests play out?
- Tags:
- politics
- Minister
- The Guardian
- Middle East
- News
- Egypt
- Article
- Main section
- Cairo
- Military
- peoples communique
- Tahrir Square
- World news
- democracy
- Top stories
- Mubarak
- Demonstrators
- activist
- Ahmed Shafiq
- announcement
- committee
- constitution
- council
- despotism
- Jack Shenker
- legitimacy
- package
- parliament
- presidency
- president
- security
February 27 2011, 12:00pm | Comments »
1
