Up in Ontario

Olympics' Darker Side

Two stories popped up on my radar today about the summer olympic games in Athens. The stories both seem out of step with the mythology of the games; the glory of competition (whose balloon of folly can be punctured another time), the purity of the motto (Swifter, Higher, Stronger), the infectious images of tribal nationalism (symbols devouring meaning and history). Both stories seem more aligned with a centralized and secretive cabal pulling the strings behind scenes, off camera.

Therefore I present the darker side of the olympics:

From New Scientist: Colossal surveillance network shields Olympics

Some 7000 armed security personnel will patrol Athens during the games, bolstering security at the entrance to each event. Access to other areas, like the athletes' living quarters and media centres within the "Olympic village" will require a biometric ID card containing a digital copy of the holder's fingerprint. There will be seven security personnel for each athlete competing at the games...

An enormous surveillance system, developed by a consortium led by US company Science Applications International at a cost of roughly $312 million, will act as overseeing pairs of eyes and ears at the games...

This network collects and processes images and audio from more than 1000 high-resolution and infrared cameras installed at different venues and on street corners. Calls made from mobile and landline phones in the area will be recorded and processed by the system.

Using software provided by UK company Autonomy, conversations can be converted into text and scanned for phrases that could be linked to terrorist activity. Autonomy says the system is conversant in Greek, English, Arabic and Farsi, as well as other major European languages.

From the IOC, via Boing Boing: "We have to protect official sponsors who have paid millions to make the Olympics happen."

In 2010 the winter olympics come to Vancouver. If this is all part of the bargain, what happens after the two weeks of competition? Does the system get dismantled, the data discarded, the records cleaned? Likely, no.

I suppose this is another instance of the classic way that new technologies are sold, focused on the benefits with no mention of the costs. This puts me in a gloomy mood and reminds me how we seem so predisposed to repeat our past mistakes. I remember reading somewhere that the original ancient Greek olympics were cancelled because the games became too competitive and cheating and bridery were rife. I'll see if I can track down where I read that.

In the meantime, have a great weekend. And remember our goal around here: 20 percent swimming.