London calling.

• Author: Zirin, Dave
• Position: Edge of Sports - 2012 Olympics in London, England - Essay

Soon I will be flying to London with 1968 Olympian John Carlos. Officially, we are going there on a tour publicizing his memoir about his life of sports and protest. Unofficially, we're going to speak at community meetings around the country about the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

We hope to see for ourselves the effects of what the Olympic machine is doing to the United Kingdom. Certainly, there is reason to worry, since everywhere the Olympics go, they bring police repression and budget busting projects.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

So far, the reports from London are not encouraging.

In a time of vicious austerity, the price tag for the games has spiked from $3.7 billion to upward of $15 billion.

Then there's the issue of civil liberties. During the games, there will be 10,500 British troops in London policing the streets, more than are stationed in Afghanistan. At least 10,000 private guards and contractors will join them, and the esteemed Royal Navy's largest battleship will be docked in Greenwich--to safeguard the equestrian events, I suppose. Bomb-disposal units, helicopters, fighter jets, and surface-to-air missiles will all be on standby.

The question is whether the Inter national Olympic Committee (IOC) will itself demand an even more severe police crackdown.

"Security at the Olympic Games is a top priority for the IOC," says Andrew Mitchell, media relations manager of the IOC. "It is, however, directly handled by the local authorities, as they know best what is appropriate and proportionate. We are confident they will do a good job in this domain."

This assertion has left many rolling their eyes.

Chris Shaw, the author of Five Ring Circus: Myths and Realities of the Olympic Games, predicts that the harassment will only get worse. Relaying his experience covering the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, he notes that the Canadian constitution "went out the window for the duration of the games. People were followed and harassed. Reporters were deported."

From 2008 in Beijing to 1984 in Los Angeles, all Olympics share this shredding of basic civil liberties. It's practically an official event.

Len McCluskey, leader of Britain's largest union, Unite, has raised the specter of a...