Olympic Resistance Movement

[BoulderDawg]

I like the idea of international sports competition however the cost in both money and human suffering has become too great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoLQ6ThezTk

If you're in Vancouver join my brothers and sisters in the streets to protest the assualt and intrusion on native lands.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Are you saying that the natives got nothing for these exchange ?

[BoulderDawg]

Are you saying that the natives got nothing for these exchange ?

Kick in the pants maybe, higher employment, being moved off land they've had for centuries to build olympic venues. The indigious people had no say about this and thousands are suffering now.

[Lucas]

they should just hold the olympics at mount olympus on the mountain for winter games, at the base for summer every year. let the gods be pleased!

[sanjuro_ronin]

they should just hold the olympics at mount olympus on the mountain for winter games, at the base for summer every year. let the gods be pleased!

I do agree I must say, hold it back in Greece every 4 years.

[1bad65]

Are you saying that the natives got nothing for these exchange ?

Who knows what in the world he is saying. All he knows about Native Americans is what his wife-beating, plagiarizing fake-Indian buddy told him. And about 99% of that is made up by said plagiarist.

[solo1]

Natives got nothing? how about land? how about, free health care, how about tax free status of the casinos? how about a nation sick of being spoon fed a guilt complex that no longer holds water?

[BoulderDawg]

Land? How could anyone give them land? It was theirs to begin with.

Before we go any further please explain why the "Guilt complex" does not hold water?

[Drake]

Maybe the British should protest the colonization by the Romans, or the Spartans by the Greeks, or the Egyptians by the Hittites? Historically speaking, every civilization has survived by subduing a neighbor. You conveniently forget that Natives warred with each other as well, for hunting and territorial disputes (their lack of understanding of land ownership apparently didn't stop this).

Be aware that every society ran someone else off before moving in.

[Drake]

BD, if the natives didn't believe in land ownership, then how was it stolen from them? Natives themselves say it doesn't belong to them. They are victims of their own philosophy.

[Lucas]

the philosophy may be one of non ownership, (which is true anyway, cant take it when you die, you own nothing in the grand picture), but thats not to say in todays modern world this is still the case. true the natives warred amongst each other, and did so for a very long time without destroying their way of living, it was a balance. however a foreign occupier came and disrupted their balance, destroyed their way of life through oppresion, and 'awarded' tribal reservations.

the argument that 'should england ***** yadayada' is null. simply because the times have changed, this is the modern world. we cannot hold ourselvs to the standards of yesterday, or we will never move toward tomorrow. thats a lesson everyone should know by now. its the timing of it all, the development of the United States and the evolution into the 'modern world' all happened very quickly, and as such as well as the position the United States claimes to stand in this world dictate that that old way of thinking is not correct, nor is it in line with our 'mission' as a country.

the USA is pretty young, the genocides and slavery situations that occured in our history are not part of the 'old world' they happened during the first steps of our modern world, and as such should be approached with a modern mindset.

the united states, in more ways than one, is a laughable hipocracy.

put it this way, if Russia came and took alaska tomorrow, would you just say "well its all fair, we cant ***** cuz everyone gets conquered"

well, not anymore they dont. that world is over.

IMO its all history, but people dont need to act like the native peoples of these great americas did not suffer at the hands of oppressors. regardless of what was 'given' to the conqured, morallly we all know that is a way of the past and has no place being defened in the present. at the same time, its in the past, we cant change that. natives as well just need to get on with it and move forward, which many do, but also many do not and still harbor ill feelings. reasonable, but past time to let go.

[1bad65]

Excellent points Drake. I'm betting he will not address them. :rolleyes:

[Lucas]

They are victims of their own philosophy.

No. They are victims of those that inacted any atrocities against their peoples, for their own purposes and intentions, some people just so happen to use that particualr philosophy as a scape goat. their philosphies just enabled them to be taken advantage of easily.

I dont believe I 'own' my left arm, but if you come and take it from my posession, it doesnt make it any less atrocious of an act.

In hindsight however, the current population of natives understand NOW the implications of ownership and what it means. This aspect is a cultural point. The two parties were not playing by the same rules. Why do you think they fight so hard to keep what they've got and to get more of what was lost? They adapted to the occupiers rules. Thats how its done right? Conform or die?

[Drake]

No. They are victims of those that inacted any atrocities against their peoples, for their own purposes and intentions, some people just so happen to use that particualr philosophy as a scape goat. thier philosphies just enabled them to be taken advantage of easily.

I dont believe I 'own' my left arm, but if you come and take it from my posession, it doesnt make it any less atrocious of an act.

In hindsight however, the current population of natives understand NOW the implications of ownership and what it means. This aspect is a cultural point. The two parties were not playing by the same rules. Why do you think they fight so hard to keep what they've got and to get more of what was lost? They adapted to the occupiers rules. Thats how its done right? Conform or die?

Did you bother reading what they are protesting? Because I think you have it confused with something else entirely.

[Lucas]

well no, because there isnt any literary link to any thing here. im not exactly sure what you are talking about, and i cant view the youtube. all i see in this thread (and yes i read each post) are some of what seems to be standard generalizations about he occupation and acquisition of the land those people once populated. the term native or native american stretches from north to south america so thats a wide sweep of the word 'native'

also i dont mean to seem like im attacking anyone here in particular. im not. but the thread reads very weird to me.

[Drake]

well no, because there isnt any literary link to any thing here. im not exactly sure what you are talking about, and i cant view the youtube. all i see in this thread (and yes i read each post) are some of what seems to be standard generalizations about he occupation and acquisition of the land those people once populated. the term native or native american stretches from north to south america so thats a wide sweep of the word 'native'

also i dont mean to seem like im attacking anyone here in particular. im not. but the thread reads very weird to me.

They are debating the legality of Olympics because there's no record of the land being handed willingly to the colonists, unlike the other parts of N. America, which apparently were rightfully and properly swindled. It's not a protest about land rights in N. America in general. It's a group attacking athletes and generally making a ruckus, not so much to get land, but, get this, bring awareness to this "error" in history.

The group BD is hugging now has already knocked down the torchbearer once. Regardless of reason for protesting, attacking an athlete for the actions of a government is not right.

[1bad65]

No. They are victims of those that inacted any atrocities against their peoples, for their own purposes and intentions, some people just so happen to use that particualr philosophy as a scape goat. their philosphies just enabled them to be taken advantage of easily.

Again, as Drake pointed out, the natives were already engaging in atrocities amongst themselves. People tend to forget that. The Native Americans in Central and South America were actually practicing human sacrifice before the Europeans arrived. And those victims who were sacrificed were people captured through war. Now I'm not giving those who committed atrocities against the Native Americans a pass, but I am pointing out the Native Americans were not always these innocent, peaceful people some try to make them out to be.

[1bad65]

The group BD is hugging now has already knocked down the torchbearer once. Regardless of reason for protesting, attacking an athlete for the actions of a government is not right.

Whoa! Does this mean that BD advocates violence to achieve his goals?

Could this be yet another example of his hypocracy?

[Lucas]

native americans peacful? hardly, some i guess, but they were still people with the same vices as everyone else one of those being constant warfare and kidnaping.

and i agree dont attack the athletes, they are just doing their thing, thanks for clarifying the situation, i was under a completely different idea of what was being discussed...

i dont know enough about the situation to have one opinion or the other for the issue at hand, however, leave the olympians out of it.

[BoulderDawg]

The group BD is hugging now has already knocked down the torchbearer once. Regardless of reason for protesting, attacking an athlete for the actions of a government is not right.

Total BS. Does anyone here notice that statement is not backed up by any source material......and guess what? I ctually went looking for such an incident. Mayhap you can give us the low down when it happened.

Here's an article about the torch reply

http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/2949

....notice nothing in here about violence

However it you look at the video I linked at :53 you'll see police attacking ORM protestors.

[BoulderDawg]

Here's a really good website about the Olympic Resistance Network. Read and learn:

http://www.no2010.com/


Why We Resist 2010
March 13, 2007 - 13:40 — no2010
Why We Resist
the 2010 Winter Olympics

The Olympics are not about the human spirit & have little to do with athletic excellence; they are a multi-billion dollar industry backed by powerful elites, real estate, construction, hotel, tourism and television corporations, working hand in hand with their partners in crime: government officials & members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

10 Reasons to Resist 2010

1. Colonialism & Fascism
The modern Olympics have a long history of racism, from its early founding members (i.e., Pierre de Coubertin, a French Baron who advocated sports as a means of strengthening colonialism) to recent IOC presidents. The 1936 Berlin Olympics empowered Hitler’s Nazi regime. Both the 1988 Seoul and 2008 Beijing Summer Games helped legitimize authoritarian regimes in Asia. The 1968 Mexico City Olympics (where over 300 student protesters were massacred by soldiers, days before the Olympics began) also helped legitimize state terror. IOC President Avery Brundage, an infamous US racist and Nazi sympathizer, didn’t even acknowledge the massacre. But when two Black US athletes raised their fists in a Black power salute on the medal podium, he had them immediately stripped of their medals and ejected from the Games! Another well-known fascist IOC president was Juan Antonio Samaranch (IOC president from 1980-2001), a former government official in Franco’s fascist regime in Spain.

2. No Olympics on Stolen Land
BC remains largely unceded and non-surrendered Indigenous territories. According to Canadian law, BC has neither the legal nor moral right to exist, let alone claim land and govern over Native peoples. Despite this, and a fraudulent treaty process now underway, the government continues to sell, lease and ‘develop’ Native land for the benefit of corporations, including mining, logging, oil & gas, and ski resorts. Meanwhile, Indigenous peoples suffer the highest rates of poverty, unemployment, imprisonment, police violence, disease, suicides, etc.

3. Ecological Destruction
Despite claims to be the “greenest Olympics” ever, and PR statements about ‘sustainability’, the 2010 Olympics will be among the most environmentally destructive in history, with tens of thousands of trees cut down & mountainsides blasted for Olympic venues in the Callaghan Valley (near Whistler) & the Sea-to-Sky Highway expansion. In the summer of 2007, a record number of black bears were hit on the Sea-to-Sky Highway, with at least 11 dying (attributed to loss of habitat). Massive amounts of concrete used in construction have also caused millions of Salmon to die in the Fraser River, where tons of gravel are being mined to make concrete.

4. Homelessness
Since winning the 2010 Winter Games in 2003, Vancouver has lost over 850 units of low-income housing; during the same period, homelessness has increased from 1,000 to over 2,500. It is estimated by 2010, the number of homeless may be as high as 6,000. Since the 1980s, Olympic Games have caused the displacement of over 2 million people (Fair Play for Housing Rights report, 2007). In Seoul 1988, some 750,000 poor were displaced, in Atlanta 1996, over 30,000, and for Beijing in 2008, an estimated 1.5 million have been displaced. Yet still today Olympic officials talk about ‘sustainability’ and ‘Olympic legacies’!

5. Criminalization of the Poor
To ‘clean out’ the poor and undesirables, Olympic host cities routinely begin a campaign to criminalize the poor. In Vancouver, the city has launched Project Civil City and new by-laws to criminalize begging for money, sleeping outdoors, etc. It has also included hundreds of thousands of dollars for increased private security (i.e., the Downtown Ambassadors). New garbage canisters on streets make it more difficult for the poor to gather recyclables, and new benches make it impossible to lay down. These measures fit with government plans to remove poor downtown residents to mental institutions, “detox centers” on former military bases, and the ‘fly-back’ scheme by police to return persons wanted on warrants in other provinces. This is nothing less than a process of social cleansing!

6. Impact on Women
Events such as the Olympics draw hundreds of thousands of spectators and cause large increases in prostitution and trafficking of women. In Vancouver, over 68 women are missing and/or murdered. Many were Native, and many were reportedly involved in the sex trade. In 2007, the trial of William Pickton occurred for six of these murders, and he is to be tried for an additional 20 more. In northern BC, over 30 young women, mostly Native, are missing and/or murdered along Highway 16. The 2010 Olympics and its invasion of tourists and corporations will only increase this violence against women.

7. 2010 Police State
Some 12,500 police, military and security personnel are to be deployed for 2010, including Emergency Response Teams, riot cops, helicopters, armoured vehicles, etc. The RCMP plan on erecting 40 km of crowd-control fencing along with CCTV video surveillance cameras. Special security zones will be established to control entry near Olympic venues. For 3 weeks, Vancouver will be an occupied Police State! And once the Olympics are over, there is no guarantee many of these security measures will not remain (i.e., CCTV).
Repression also involves attacks on anti-Olympic groups & individuals, including arrests of protesters, raids of offices, surveillance, media smear campaigns, cuts to funding programs, etc., all in an effort to undermine anti-2010 resistance. This repression has already been used against anti-poverty & housing groups, environmentalists and Natives, in Vancouver.

8. Public Debt
VANOC and government officials claim the 2010 Games will cost some $2 billion. However, this amount doesn’t include the Sea-to-Sky Highway expansion, the Canada Line Skytrain to the airport, the Vancouver Convention Center, or the lower mainland Gateway Project. Including these costs, since they were necessary to win the bid and had to be completed by 2010, makes the true cost of the Games some $6 billion, which must be paid for through public debt, money that could’ve been spent on social services, housing, drug treatment, healthcare, etc.

9. Olympic Corruption
The modern Olympics are well known for their corruption, including both top IOC officials involved in bribery scandals (i.e. Salt Lake City 2002) or athletes found to be using performance-enhancing drugs (such as steroids). Yet the IOC still claims the youth need an inspiration and a “model” of good sportsmanship! Despite published reports of bribery scandals involving IOC members and host cities (i.e., The New Lords of the Rings, by Andrew Jennings), the Olympics continue to be seen as an honorable & noble enterprise, thanks to the corporate media.

10. Corporate Invasion
Government’s and business use the Olympics as a means to attract corporate investment. In BC, the Liberal government has ‘streamlined’ application processes, cut taxes, and offered other incentives to increase certain industries such as mining, oil & gas drilling, and ski resorts. This includes large increases in transport systems, including new ports, bridges, expanded highways & rail-lines. This is all part of their Investment to 2010 Strategy. The results have been dramatic, record-breaking increases in these industries, resulting in greater environmental destruction and more corporate power & influence over our daily lives.

Many of the main corporate sponsors of the Olympics are themselves responsible for massive ecological destruction and human rights violations, including McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Petro-Canada, TransCanada, Dow, Teck Cominco, etc., while others are major arms manufacturers (General Electric & General Motors).

RESIST 2010

“What causes opponents to come of their own accord is the prospect of gain. What discourages opponents from coming is the prospect of harm.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War

[Drake]

Total BS. Does anyone here notice that statement is not backed up by any source material......and guess what? I ctually went looking for such an incident. Mayhap you can give us the low down when it happened.

Here's an article about the torch reply

http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/2949

....notice nothing in here about violence

However it you look at the video I linked at :53 you'll see police attacking ORM protestors.

How about you check the website of the organization you are supporting. Moron.

[BoulderDawg]

How about you check the website of the organization you are supporting. Moron.


What does that mean? No2010 IS the website of the movement.

Notice I asked for particulars about what happened and get nothing.

Once again No link, no source to these statements.

[1bad65]

Once again No link, no source to these statements.

LMAO at the king of unsubstantiated bs crying about others not sourcing.

[jdhowland]

...put it this way, if Russia came and took alaska tomorrow, would you just say "well its all fair, we cant ***** cuz everyone gets conquered"...

Russians tried to take Alaska in the past. It didn't work. They lost the battle of Kenai. Score one for the natives (Dena'ina Athabaskans, in this case). The Russians moved their headquarters to Sitka, but they couldn't grow wheat and potatoes there. So they sold a huge chunk of North America to the U.S., a land that they didn't "own" and had never explored to any great extent. Score one for the Russians.

Back on track, I never liked the idea of international sporting competitions that honor the heritage of a single nation. Let Greece have the Olympics. Here in Alaska we have "Native Olympics" and nobody but me seems to think the name is ridiculous. But then I'm a pedant.

[BoulderDawg]

Speaking of violence.....

It looks as if the Olympic gestapo means business....

http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/RecentUpdatesampArticles/Jan102010KevinAnnettassaultedinVancouver/tabid/116/Default.aspx

On wednesday Kevin Annett got the living S beat out of him for helping a lady move who was evicted out of her apartment.

By the way notice the link to this act of violence.

[1bad65]

Speaking of violence.....

It looks as if the Olympic gestapo means business....

http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/RecentUpdatesampArticles/Jan102010KevinAnnettassaultedinVancouver/tabid/116/Default.aspx

On wednesday Kevin Annett got the living S beat out of him for helping a lady who was evicted out of her apartment move.

That Annett clown's credability is on par with Ward Churchill's.

On March 17, 2008 the Squamish First Nation issued statements that Annett "is not a member of the Nation and has no association with the Nation whatsoever."

Gee, now you're nutriding another fake Indian.


By the way notice the link to this act of violence.

Miracles do happen.

[BoulderDawg]

Here's what happened during that so-called attack::rolleyes:


The incident occurred in front of about 1,000 children and parents who attended the festivities, police said in a release.

Simpson is part of an anti-racism protest group known as Kitchener-Waterloo Anti-Racism Action, gathered to protest the flame passing over native land and the continued poverty in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, according to protester Alex Hundert.

Hundert said the protest was meant to be peaceful and blamed the police for the incident.

“The RCMP people kind of freaked out and basically caused the person with the torch to stutter-step and then trip,” he said. “And then things got much worse, because as that person went down, they basically (started) . . . what sounds like a minor attack on the protesters.

"Basically, the relay team caused a disaster and the police decided they needed to arrest somebody."

A local reporter said it appeared the woman fell after bumping into a police officer.

“The 28-year-old Milton woman hit the ground hard ... seemingly tripping over the leg of a police officer who was struggling with protesters trying to interrupt Hansen’s Olympic moment in downtown Guelph,” Tony Saxon of the Guelph Mercury wrote.

Hmmm.......Funny thing is it always seems that police are around when there is violence....wonder why!:eek:

[sanjuro_ronin]

Sorry, but people from Waterloo need to get a beating.
http://xectrik.net/images/motivationalposters/practicaljoke-poster.jpg

[1bad65]

"Simpson is part of an anti-racism protest group known as Kitchener-Waterloo Anti-Racism Action,..."

Well if they are truly anti-racism, you better avoid them.