Vancouver Courier, Friday, January 29, 2010

On Feb. 12, an assortment of groups calling themselves the 2010 Welcoming Committee will hold an anti-Olympics rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery at the same time as the opening ceremonies. Here are some of the protestors:

Name: Robert Ages, 56, Birth place: Ottawa, Residence: Ladner
Day job: independent economic and financial consultant. Education: undergrad in economics from York university, finance MBA from University of Toronto.
Groups: national treasurer for the Council of Canadians, a group founded in 1985 to oppose the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.
Reason for protesting Olympics: “The involvement of a number of corporations as Olympic sponsors who are exactly the same corporations [the Council of Canadians] is opposing every day, whether in regard to the tar sands or privatization of water–they’re the same people.”
Interesting fact: first protest was at age 13 for student rights.

» click here to continue reading

Am Johal, Jan 29th, 2010, Vancouver Observer

Welcome to Vancouver Olympic Economics 101. As cities around the world fall all over themselves to bid to become the host city, civic elites bombard the public with tales of rosy financial projections. As the logic goes, to oppose the Olympics is to stand in the way of economic development. Armchair newspaper columnists misframe social critics and advance the Olympic project. In reality, the economy of a host city goes on steroids. Construction costs double, real estate speculation heats up, impacting affordability. Public money gets diverted for speed skating ovals and luge tracks. No one wants to talk about the principle of “opportunity cost.” Cost overruns are classified as contributions to the GDP. We need to make our city look pretty for Bob Costas and NBC.

» click here to continue reading

By Arthur Manuel, Georgia Straight

The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics will happen, and very little attention has been given to Canada’s dismal human rights record on indigenous peoples. This has to be contrasted with how Tibet human rights issues were raised during the 2008 Summer Olympics in China. Canada decided to do its torch relay inside Canada and used the Four Host First Nations to divide and rule over indigenous peoples in Canada. It is important not to pick on the Four Host First Nations, because it is Canada that is the real culprit in this human rights travesty. The economic initiatives accepted by the Four Host First Nations cannot override the human rights of indigenous peoples. In fact, the preparatory meeting for the 2008 session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues acknowledged Canada’s unprecedented involvement of indigenous peoples in the 2010 Winter Olympics but also said this did not absolve Canada from responsibility for its violations of the human rights of indigenous peoples.

» click here to continue reading

Video with full panel: http://www.workingtv.com/2010/zirin.html

no one is illegal presents…
VOICES FROM AN ILLEGAL NATION

Saturday January 30th @ Rhizome Cafe – 317 East Broadway. Doors at 8:00 & Show at 8:30. $5 – 20 by donation, no one turned away. All proceeds go to anti-Olympic convergence legal defense.

Join us for a night of rhymes and resistance in preparation for the anti-olympics convergence in Feb 2010. Be inspired by some of the most powerful hip hop artists from Seattle and Vancouver who will be providing a soundtrack of real music and conscious words for our collective struggle.

» click here to continue reading