VANOC losing at olympic trials

seems like VANOC is failing at everything except being liars.

what with a budget overrun on security, and a budget overrun on the olympic village that has a credit problem. throw in the key venue whistler/ blackcomb being 1.7 billion in debt.

and VANOC is about as charming as a dog pissing on your leg with its copyright arrogance.

not to mention native land claims, the human rights complaint sent to the UN, the failure to build the level of housing that they promised, and the ‘spirit train’ flop.

so it shouldn’t be too hard to answer the question; why resist 2010?

Vancouver 2010 security secrecy

JEFF LEE, Canwest News Service

Published: Tuesday, October 14

Police planners for the 2010 Winter Games are asking permission to ignore requests for information made under the federal Access to Information Act until at least 2012, saying such requests could pose a threat to security.

In the recommendations section, Graham suggested “special (access to information) exemption should be sought to defer requests to at least two years after the 2010 Games. The temporary exemption would help to ensure that the integrity of Games security was maintained.”

Information commissioner Robert Marleau said this week he doesn’t believe the RCMP needs any special exemption since the Access to Information Act already allows for sensitive information to be redacted for national security purposes.

Agencies like the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Department of National Defence have equally sensitive issues, but comply with the act.

“If CSIS can live with this, and national defence can live with this and we are in a campaign in Afghanistan … why should there be a special exemption for the Olympics?” he asked.

Spirit Train blockaded

October 12, 2008

Activists Blockade of CP Rail Tracks Successfully Disrupted Olympic Spirit Train
Rail blockade backs up trains across the country in an escalation of resistance to the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Olympic games

Toronto, Ontario – A group of activists from Toronto, Waterloo, London, Kitchener, Guelph, and 6 Nations ended a blockade on Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway’s train tracks in opposition to the Spirit Train.

Activist locked themselves down to the tracks at 5:00pm and hung banners off of the rail overpass on highway 27 near Elder Mills. The protest was organized in solidarity with the Olympics Resistance Network (ORN) and their call to disrupt CP’s “Spirit Train” that is traveling across Canada.

“Today we shed light on what the Olympics really stands for; capitalist greed and colonialist theft of Indigenous lands” said Winnie Small. She continued, “In stark contrast to Canada’s cherished reputation as a human rights advocate, our First Nations live in abject poverty; casualties of Canada’s apartheid policies, and its refusal to respect Indigenous rights to their own land.”

The activists successfully negotiated a peaceful dispersal after more than three hours. No arrests were made and the activists were able to leave the area without incident. CP Police Officer told the activists’ liaison that trains had been backed up “across the country” and that the delay cost the company “millions of dollars.”

The “Spirit Train” was launched Sunday Sept. 21, 2008, in Port Moody, B.C. where activists from the ORN, Anti-Poverty Committee, and the Native Youth Movement successfully disrupted it. To the embarrassment of its corporate sponsors, the Spirit Train, still rolling across the country, has been disrupted at several locations with protesters often outnumbering supporters.

Repent VANOC

Corporate media whore the Vancouver Sun now reports:

The cost of securing the 2010 Olympic Games will be more than double the original estimate.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said Thursday the original estimate of $175 million was “drastically low” and that the cost of keeping the Games safe will be more than $400 million but less than $1 billion. 

So now they will admit it will cost double, but you know, it could be quintuple +.  how the hell does is that allowed? 

Day gave a hint of at least one reason why costs have jumped — air security.

“Security costs money. And when you talk about the aviation security alone monitoring the airspace, you can get an idea of the kind of dollars we are talking about,” the minister said.

I guess they are afraid of the NO2010 East Van Air Force.