So it begins. I don't wish to be killjoy, and I hope that millions of people worldwide will take much enjoyment from the coming Olympics, but in truth, the way these games have been organised has sickened me. The main reason is the continued official endorsement of uber sponsors 'Dow Chemicals', the toxic company which took over from Union Carbide in 2001. They inherit the responsibility for the the Bhopal Chemical Disaster which killed over 20,000 people in India. The company has never faced up to its horrific legacy. It has never cleaned up or faced proper legal redress. Tens of thousands still live with the after effects of the largest chemical leak in history.
The Olympics organising committee has continued to endorse the company line that Dow has no legal responsibility, even after Meridith Alexander shock resignation as 'Ethics Tsar' for the Olympics over the matter earlier in the year.
Dow's involvement with the games is a toxic legacy, which the London Olympics will always be associated with.
The matter sharply highlights the fact the Olympics is now an over bloated affair which is more concerned about money than sport. Corporate sponsors have almost completely high jacked the endeavours made by the athletes who take part. The politics behind the Olympic site, the Torch sponsorship, the G4S scandal are all part of a world far away from the ideals that the games purport to represent.
The Olympics can now only serve one purpose, as a stark reminder that we as a society must protect ourselves from the self serving greed and power of the corporations and their apologists.
Enjoy the games, but lets not for forget the bigger prize, a world driven by compassion, not the corporate ambitions of sick companies such a Dow Chemicals.
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