Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Vancouver 2010, The Olympic Scam

Canada.com and a number of other news agencies are reporting that Vancouver police pulled a shameless stunt in order to arrest an anti-poverty activist. Police posed as journalists from a free Vancouver paper, 24 Hours, to draw protester David Cunningham to a supposed interview in a sting operation. Upon arrival, the cops arrested Cunningham in order to issue a peace bond.

Cunningham allegedly uttered threats during a protest at the offices of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympics. The extent of his threat was to tell the protesters that the Anti-Poverty Committee "knew where the Olympic organizers lived and worked and that they would take their demonstration directly to them". Seems to me that isn't a threat at all. That's serving notice that the protests will continue. He didn't threaten their safety or their lives. That said, it was a poor choice of words and fat-arsed, greed merchants are prone to over reaction. After all, the rules are different for them than for the rest of us.

This is the same pack of Olympic class whores that have claimed ownership of large chunks of the English language. They've threatened (real threats) to sue the snot out of anyone that infringes on the laundry list of words that might somehow be connected to the games, however vaguely. What the police did was beyond the pale. It isn't out of bounds for the cops to assume false identities in order to arrest criminals, though those are the sorts of tactics that are generally reserved for the abduction of killers and serious villains. Even in those cases, the police just don't pretend to be journalists. That is a serious breach of ethics that impedes the ability of the press to perform its job. This damages the credibility of a legit paper that was in no way involved with this sting.

"Journalistic ethics expert Nick Russell said what police have inadvertently done is tarnished the role of the journalist.
"For journalists, they've really only got one product to sell for the community and that's trust and credibility," he said. "If they lose the trust of the audience, then the rest of their work is wasted."

I don't suppose the police would appreciate a reporter posing as a cop to get a story, in fact they would arrest that reporter. What this all boils down to is big cash money. There are millions of bucks at stake in the 2010 Olympic pimp festival. And no ethical barrier will be left untainted in the advancement and protection of the sacred cash cow. The Vancouver police owe a huge debt of apology to the journalistic profession. Whoever came up with this scam should be demoted. And the Olympic committee organizers should be ashamed of being such a pack of whinging cowards.

For my own part, I will be boycotting the Olympics. I won't be watching and I won't be buying their branded crap. The Olympic movement died a wasting death some time ago. The introduction of massive corporate sponsorships and the use of professional athletes has killed the games. They are no more. The Olympic spirit has dissipated into yet another corporate opportunity for exploitation. I feel badly for the legitimate athletes, the dedicated competitors and officials, whose passion for their sports and the integrity of competition has been used so poorly misused. Screw Vancouver 2010, I hope the bastards lose their shirts.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

holy cow, let er rip!

It's nice to see a contrasting opinion about the games.

Cheers to you.

John
Whistler Outfitters

http://www.whistleroutfitters.com

Lindsay Stewart said...

hey john, just to clarify, i mean no ill will to the local businesses. but i'd love to see the bureaucrats, poobahs and ioc flacks take a big hit. the olympics are supposed to bring out the very best of people in body and spirit. that goal has been corrupted by the vanoc goons and their enablers trampling the little guys to vacuum up all the dough.

here's to many feet of fresh powder for you and yours in 2007, 08, 09 and 2011.

cheers

Chimera said...

Unfortunately, it's not the Olympic committee bastards that will lose their shirts -- it's we taxpayers who are on the hook for it.

But I agree. It has become bread-and-circuses, and I will not only be boycotting, but I actually trash it every chance I get. I get all these wounded looks from the boosters...

The Seer said...

Let's not forget that it was Vancouver 2010 that killed Davinci's Inquest, perhaps the best series on North American television.

Lindsay Stewart said...

good point seer. makes me wonder what's going to happen to all my brothers and sisters in the vancouver film community as the city divests itself of colour and character to foster a so called image. new and improved bullshit, official sponsors of the 2010 winter olympics.

Rev.Paperboy said...

Seer said: "Let's not forget that it was Vancouver 2010 that killed Davinci's Inquest, perhaps the best series on North American television. "

WTF? Can you fill me in on a few details of this?

Paladiea said...

I hate the Olympics and it's betrayal of everything it used to stand for...

Alison said...

Go, PSA!

Here was my entry to VANOC's "Choose the 2010 mascot" competition.
Oddly enough I didn't win.

rabbit said...

Here's a quote from the reverred David Cunningham:

We have found where their offices are, we have found where their homes are. We’re going to go and we’re going to evict them from their offices like they’ve evicted hundreds of our brothers and sisters.


Apparantly David Cunningham's cause is so just that he is above the law and or common decency. Telling someone "I know where your home is" is a threat against their very family.

Cunningham is a first rate, grade A, asshole. I don't care what cause he pretends to represent.

Lindsay Stewart said...

well rabbit, he sure might be an asshole. he promised to protest the officials at their offices and at their homes. and since the folks he is angry with are rich and influential it is even more frightening, they actually have something to lose.

now look at things from the other side of the same coin. the olympic organizers know where the very poorest citizens of vancouver live. and they didn't just make threats, they actively enforced a policy of displacing those people from the only homes they know, humble and squalid though they might be. those are people with no power, no voice and no resources. they are for all intents and purposes being disappeared. so who is the greater villain?

rabbit said...

I feel sorry for the truly impoverished, and yes, sometimes they often get treated badly. I don't feel sorry for Cunningham, who uses other people's problems as an excuse to be a first class prick. He's a sociopath masquerading as a social activist.

And whether he would come in first or fifth in a "Biggest Douche in the Universe" contest doesn't much concern me.

Lindsay Stewart said...

okay rabbit, how is mr. cunningham's rhetoric more offensive than the organizer's acts? he is at best an annoying jerk. the committee has used the full weight of their position to actually screw the poorest of the poor. this isn't about first of fifth. he shot off his yap in an ill advised fit of temper. they coldly displaced the homeless. they may dress well and speak carefully, but they acted, he just spoke.

his words have collected him an arrest and a peace bond, the organizers get feted and praised as the upstanding picture of a fantasy community that doesn't exist. i sincerely doubt that his words would have caused such a harsh response had the big wigs not been so well connected. hell, they got the police to abandon their professional ethics and screw the entire journalistic community and one paper quite in particular. the organizers are quite happy to trample your rights and mine as regards free speech.

sure the guy's a loud mouth and might just be a prick. but his crime pales in comparison to the gross abuses being carried out in the name of the fucking olympics. get over your high horse and look at the shit being thrown from on high. those fuckers have the federal government legislating over reaching laws to shut down your right to a sizeable chunk of the english language.