Olympic countdown clock vandalized - For F**k sake

[vid]

Inuksuks.

Because, you know, THAT represents Vancouver!

[mr.x]

Olympic protestors promise more disruption and vandalism
Click here to find out more!
Wednesday, March 14 - 08:42:18 PM Reshmi Nair

Vancouver (NEWS1130) - Vancouver business leaders think the Olympic protests are getting out of hand, but the protesters say they're just getting started. The Anti Poverty Committee is promising to hit VANOC even harder.

The APC is being criticized for drowning out a children's choir at the flag lighting ceremony and generally just taking things too far.

David Cunningham with the APC said they'll do whatever it takes to bring attention to their cause and they went into the last protest with a plan. He said, "With a strategy of not fighting fire with fire, but fighting it with water. If we wanted to confront and overwhelm the police and take the stage, we could easily do that, but we go in with strategies into these type of events, to disrupt them along several different means."

He's promising more protests and expects vandals to follow as they plan to hit VANOC's offices soon. Police still have not arrested anyone for stealing the Olympic flag or spray-painting the Countdown Clock.

[squeezied]

has anyone seen the clock? im wondering how bad the vandalism was

[mr.x]

Downtown Vancouver BIA Calls for Civil Protests

VANCOUVER, March 14 /CNW/ - The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement

Association (DVBIA) is calling for Vancouverites to stand up and be counted
among the current silent majority that wants Vancouver to be a City that
welcomes peaceful protests, that encourages the civil expression of opinions
and that is safe for all citizens to get together to celebrate.

The DVBIA's call comes in reaction to recent criminal and disruptive behaviour at Olympic-related ceremonies.

"We want Vancouver, in particular downtown Vancouver, to be a beacon for citizens of all stripes to congregate peacefully," says Bill Rempel, President
of the DVBIA.

"This is a right for all Vancouverites and an illustration of our tolerance and acceptance of all ideas and people." Rempel says if local citizens don't feel safe enjoying a celebration of the coming 2010 Winter Games, for example, what hope do we have staging a Games that welcomes the world.

The DVBIA believes there are lawful ways to get your message heard that
are respectful of both people and property. "Vancouverites should not let the criminal behaviour of a few dampen their enthusiasm to celebrate in public," Rempel says. "In fact, we hope it encourages more people to do it more often."

The DVBIA advocates on behalf of all 8,000 businesses that own or lease
property within its 90-block area and champions for a vibrant, healthy and
diverse downtown. As the largest business improvement association in the
province, the DVBIA is the "Voice of Downtown Business." The 90-block DVBIA
area includes 2,490 properties, 884 owners, and a combined assessed property value of $5.6 billion.

[Nutterbug]

We should settle this issue once and for all with a referendum worded as follows:

Which do you want the fuck out of Vancouver?

[ ] The Olympics
[ ] The APC

[jchamoun79]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

The APC is being criticized for drowning out a children's choir at the flag lighting ceremony...

I know these guys probably don't care about the bad PR, but this is just stupid, and just shows that the APC has no class whatsoever.

[vitc]

Hmmm...to bad the fed Liberals help defeated the Anti-Terrisom bill - otherwise we could have labelled them a domestic terrioist and be done with the bunch...quick, easy and effective...

[Canadian Mind]

we still can, just have to have evidence this time around... please note the laws were never used even though we busted up that ring in toronto of... 17 people?

anyways, i'm sure calling for disruption, damage, etc. could be counted as terrorist threats.

[Distill3d]

Originally Posted by Canadian Mind

we still can, just have to have evidence this time around...anyways, i'm sure calling for disruption, damage, etc. could be counted as terrorist threats.

i'm going to have to agree with you on that one. plus they have a fancy FLQ-esque name "APC".

security aside, i could almost see these guys taking a few VANOC or IOC members hostage to get their point across

[mr.x]

we need Seargeant Pepper for the next protest! my hero! <3

[Canadian Mind]

Originally Posted by Distill3d

i'm going to have to agree with you on that one. plus they have a fancy FLQ-esque name "APC".

security aside, i could almost see these guys taking a few VANOC or IOC members hostage to get their point across

Thats kinda what was going through my head aswell, except include blowing up mailboxes, buses, and the train cars on the new RAV line.

[crazyjoeda]

The people protesting the Olympics are wasting they're time. The games are coming they had the chance to protest before Vancouver was awarded the games, they did and the city even had a vote on it (the games were supported by almost 70% or Vancouverites).

The actions of terrorist groups such as the Anit Poverty Committee only makes me angery at homeless people. They are hurting the cause in a big way. I try not to be influesced by the message of hate the Anit Poverty Committee sends out, the homeless problem needs to be addressed.

I think the solution is simple.

1. The goverment needs to open up more homeless shelters and run them as public institutions with standards.

2. Homeless shelters should be spread out through out the Lower Mainland. Why do we allow homeless drug users to congrigate in one area where they have developed a subculture of drug use, prostitution, vandalism and petty crime?

3. Hard drug users should be forced into drug treatment programs. Its a criminal offence, both drug users and society as a whole would benifit.


The bottom line is that any stupid attempts to ruin the Olympics by the Anti Poverty Committee only hurts the people they apparently want to protect. Evey time I hear something like the clock was vandalised or the flag was stolen a part of me is glad they have to suffer by sleeping on the streets.

[G-Man]

While I do think that the Olympics are good for the city of Vancouver and I doubt that there will be serious cost overruns that cannot be justified when one looks at the legacies, I do think that this thread is perhaps as full of closed minded comments as those that many of you are criticizing.

The police officer that sprayed pepper spray at protesters is not someone who should be celebrated, his tactics even less so. Also referring to opponents in sexually derogatory comments does nothing for any argument you have against their POV.

As for graffitti of any kind, I find it abhorrent. People should respect anyones property. If you cannot express your self in a way that is not destructive then you end up undermining the very values you are trying to put forward.

[Baro]

This is one of the worst threads I've ever read. Some jerk vandalised some silly clock and suddenly people are calling for martial law, murder, and making the most ridiculously bigotted statements about increadibly broad groups of people.

Anyone who doesn't like the Olympics is a drugged up street person who wants to destroy our entire socieity and they should be rounded up and put in camps!

Anyone who supports the Olympics is a jack-booted right wing elitist who wants to take all our public funding away to give to frivilous entertainment for the rich!

Come on you guys, get a little perspective.. or at least get back on your meds.

[Nutterbug]

VANOC and the various levels of government also have their own set of promises and side of the bargain to live up to, don't they?

http://www.vancouver2010.com/en/Sustainability

Of particular note,

http://www.vancouver2010.com/en/Sust...ityCommitments

To ensure residents of these areas not only participate in the Games but also benefit from them, we will:

*
Make free or affordable tickets available to Vancouver’s low-income residents, especially at-risk youth and children.
*
Protect rental-housing stock to ensure no residents are displaced, evicted, made homeless or face unreasonable increases in rent as a result of the Games.
*
Ensure inner-city residents are able to use new sport facilities – and that inner-city community recreation centres have access to surplus sporting equipment and an improved infrastructure for delivering sports programs – after the Games. We have also made financial guarantees to ensure these programs can be operated and maintained into the future.
*
Create training and job opportunities specifically for inner-city residents.
*
Develop opportunities for local inner-city businesses and artisans to promote their goods and services.
*
Showcase the diverse cultures and cultural activities of inner-city residents.
*
Follow environmental “best practices” in inner-city neighbourhoods, and minimize potentially harmful Games transportation routes on inner-city residents.

[SpongeG]

did anyone see the "riot" that occurred downtown on thursday?

global reported is as a "riot" on the news today at noon

the other night it was reported as a "protest march"

anyway 3 of the oens arrested - 1 had just arrived from Quebec a couple weeks ago, the other girl was a resident of Denman island

so that just shows these people are just there to create problems and misbehave as they have no attachement to the DTES and as they interviwed a few DTES regulars - the one old guy was like i have never seen any of them before - they are not helping us doing what they are doing

[crazyjoeda]

^ You make an excellent point. First alot of people living on the DTES come from other parts of Canada, our climate which is quite mild compared to the rest of Canada makes Vancouver the dumping ground for rift-raft from outside of BC. Most of the women that squated in the finance ministers office were new to the province.

People need to know where the problem is coming from, I should add 4th suggestion to my earlier list. It should be illiegal to be homeless in Vancouver if you weren't born here or if you have never held a legitimate job here. We should have enough shelters to house our own people but not people from eastern provinces. If a person is found living on the streets in BC they should be sent back to there home province or put in a shelter here but at the expence of taxpayers in their home province.

If we had enough shelters for every homeless person than we would attract even more homeless people. At a certain point people need to be held accountable to them selves. Tax payers already do enough as far as I am concerned.

[Policy Wonk]

A simple offer needs to be made to the vagrants in Vancouver, leave town and don't come back or be prosecuted for everything!

These lowlifes commit a significant number of crimes just in their day to day lives, put them all together and you can keep individual bums in jail for a long time.

[SpongeG]

they estimated it cost $30,000 for policing on thursdays event and $35,000 for the flag thing

thats $75,000 in costs tax payers have to absorb for a handful of hooligans who are fighting for money

kind of ironic almost

[renthefinn]

Originally Posted by crazyjoeda

^ You make an excellent point. First alot of people living on the DTES come from other parts of Canada, our climate which is quite mild compared to the rest of Canada makes Vancouver the dumping ground for rift-raft from outside of BC. Most of the women that squated in the finance ministers office were new to the province.

People need to know where the problem is coming from, I should add 4th suggestion to my earlier list. It should be illiegal to be homeless in Vancouver if you weren't born here or if you have never held a legitimate job here. We should have enough shelters to house our own people but not people from eastern provinces. If a person is found living on the streets in BC they should be sent back to there home province or put in a shelter here but at the expence of taxpayers in their home province.

If we had enough shelters for every homeless person than we would attract even more homeless people. At a certain point people need to be held accountable to them selves. Tax payers already do enough as far as I am concerned.

I'm not entirely sure I agree with your assertation. Victoria has a huge homeless problem as well. It was generally accepted that most or at least a slim majority were from out of town. A census was conducted for the homeless population last year and found that on 25-30% were from out of town (Including other parts of BC) everyone else was from the CRD (greater Victoria area). So this begs the question, how can we produce so many homeless, is it the cost of living, our west coast attitude, lack of support from the feds, this I don't have an answer to, but we need to stop assuming that most of our homeless come from back east. We definately have way more from back there then they probably have of ours but, homelessness is not just an issue that they brought to us, it's been around for a while, and it will be for some time, unless there's a miracle on the horizon!