WOMBLES - Olympics

Rio de Janeiro: Control of the poor seen as crucial for the 2016 Olympics

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:54:17 +0000

via no2010, 9 February 2010: "The prospect of the FIFA World Cup in 2014 followed by the Olympic Games in 2016 has reignited the debate about public security in a country where there is an undeclared war taking place in the favelas between the military police, paramilitary groups, and drug traffickers, but where the principal victims are the poor..." more

Vancouver 2010: Anti-Olympic Resistance unleashed!

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:43:08 +0000

from mostly water, 3 February 2010: Over the past three years, the Olympic Resistance Network has coordinated anti-Olympics efforts in Vancouver and across the country. Due to a growing and vibrant movement to oppose the Olympic Games, VANOC and government officials are no longer able to host large public Olympic events in Vancouver without being shamed. During the RBC and Coca-Cola sponsored Olympic Torch relay, protesters in over thirty cities, towns, and Indigenous communities brought forward their message of “No Olympics on Stolen Native Land”, “Get your torch off our land, we don’t want your Olympic scam” and “2010 Homes not 2010 Games”..." more

Convergence February 2010: All Out Against the 2010 Winter Olympic Games!

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:57:58 +0000

via mostlywater, 9 January 2010: "The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver & Whistler, on unceded Indigenous land, from February 12-28, 2010. We call on all anti-capitalist, Indigenous, housing rights, labour, migrant justice, environmental, anti-war, community-loving, anti-poverty, civil libertarian, and anti colonial activists to come together to confront this two-week circus and the oppression it represents. We are organizing towards a global anti-capitalist and anti-colonial convergence against the 2010 Olympic Games..." more

Vancouver groups statements opposing 2010 Winter Olympic Games

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:10:10 +0000

from noii-vancouver, 17 December 2009: "Statement by No One Is Illegal: While the 2010 Olympics are still a short time away, many are well aware of the devastating impact they are having on our communities. From traditional Indigenous territories to the impoverished Downtown Eastside (DTES), and from migrant workers to low-income families, thousands are being evicted, displaced, and exploited. It is undeniable that the Olympics is causing the devastation of the environment, creating homelessness, perpetuating the theft of Indigenous lands, exploiting migrant labour, forcing greater privatization, accruing massive public debt, and resulting in increased state criminalization..." more

How much does an anarchist cost? Repression and resistance to the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:23:40 +0000

from mw, 22 November 2009: "In the week leading up to the Olympic Torch Relay kick-off in Victoria, numerous people, who oppose the Olympics, were harassed by RCMP officers of the Vancouver 2010 Joint Intelligence Group (JIG) – an arm of Olympic Security. This same group of RCMP is likely following the torch across the country. Resistance sympathizers in other locations may face similar police tactics..." more

Council of Canadians: 2010 Olympics will leave legacy of social & environmental destruction

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:23:48 +0000

via mostly water, 9 October 2009: "We at the Council of Canadians understand and appreciate the pleasure and enjoyment so many around the world share in the spectacle and achievements of the Olympic Games. However, with less than half a year until the 2010 Games begin, we are gravely concerned by the increasing evidence that these worthy aspects are being overwhelmed, if not totally supplanted, by an “Olympic industry” focused on real-estate development and massive corporate marketing opportunities..." more

Call out for anti-2010 Olympics solidarity! October 29th-31st 2009

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:29:42 +0000

from anarchistnews.org, 6 October 2009: “Our struggles come from before 2010 and will reach beyond!” This is a call out for direct action and solidarity. At the end of October, the Olympic Torch will come from Greece to Canada..." more

Newswires: Olympics

Sat, 17 Mar 2007 13:30:08 +0000

Updated daiy: Articles from external newswires about the Olympic Games; 2008 Beijing, 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, London 2012. Filtered for keywords: Olympic, VANOC, Vancouver, Beijing... more

London's 2012 Olympics: gentrification, corporate interest and resistance, 4pm @ RTF 5

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:28:55 +0000

from email, 3 September 2009: "It is now under 3 years until the London Olympics. Construction of the site is already well underway, with social displacement, gentrification and privatisation the inevitable outcomes... Although it is generally accepted that we do not have the capacity to stop the Olympics, the question nevertheless remains as to how to organise effective resistance to the Olympic project, using the spectacle of the Games to both strengthen existing networks and create alternative structures... more

Free speech not welcome at 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:42:54 +0000

from mostlywater, 6 July 2009: "British Columbia Civil Liberties Association - "In the wake of the [University of British Columbia] forbidding students from posting signs and posters on dorm buildings or in dorm windows “visible from the Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre” and the [Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Olympics Organizing Committee] urging cities to prohibit political leafleting or signs during the Olympic torch run, the BCCLA has come to the troubling conclusion that free speech is not welcome at the Olympics..." more

Olympic Dream or Workers' Nightmare? - IWW report on working conditions at the London 2012 Olympics site

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:54:50 +0000

from hsn, 29 June 2009: "This report documents and critically analyses the working conditions of construction workers on the Stratford City development site of the 2012 Olympic Games. We base our findings entirely on the accounts of anonymous IWW and non-IWW construction workers employed there. The report documents widespread mismanagement and a lack of resources devoted to ensuring that health and safety standards are maintained. Police intimidation of workers and harassment union activists is also documented..." more

Chicago Insurgent Network's first strikes at the City Of Chicago and the IOC

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 11:55:58 +0000

from anarchistnews.org, 18 April 2009: "There has been a recent spark of sabotage among Chicago's residents in regards to the coming Olympic bid, the economy, and gentrification in general. An Olympics 2016 "Imagine" billboard was altered near the intersection of Diversey and Elston Aves last night.

The buildboard now reads a truer sentiment: "Imagine (A) Social War". To give them a taste of what we meant, 30 parking meters and 2 ATMs were disabled; later in the night, the locks were glued shut on a Chipotle and a T-Mobile store..." more

ORN statement: Solidarity & unity in opposing the 2010 Vancouver Olympics

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:46:31 +0000

from ORN via MW, 2 February 2009: "The Olympics Resistance Network is based in Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories and exists as a space to coordinate anti-colonial and anti-capitalist efforts against the 2010 Games. Our organizing is based on the recognition that the Olympics is taking place on unceded Native land, and exists to create a movement for all anti capitalist, Indigenous, anti poverty, labour, migrant justice, housing, environmental justice, civil libertarian, anti war, and anti colonial activists to join forces..." more

Winter Olympics 2010: Vancouver's billion-dollar debt

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:41:59 +0000

from mw, 13 January 2009: "The Olympic village is a billion-dollar project, and the city taxpayers are on the hook for all of it." — Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. What’s that sucking sound? Oh, that’s everyone in Vancouver gasping for air before they scream themselves hoarse. Earlier concerns about a secret $100 million Olympic loan were eclipsed today by the mayor’s announcement that the secret deal actually leaves taxpayers responsible for at least one billion dollars in Olympic spending. (Not counting the security budget — more about that below. more

London 2012 Olympics: What will be left when the Circus leaves town?

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:04:59 +0000

from email, updated 3 January 2008: "There will be a talk in Stratford on the 8th of January 2009 which will discuss the realities of Olympic jobs, gentrification and policing. Hear speakers, watch film and debate the Olympics at an event on Thursday the 8th of January 2009, 6.30 – 8pm at Stratford Circus, Stratford Circus, Theatre Square, Stratford (opposite Pizza Express)..." more