Date: Dec 24, 2009 2:25 PM
Subject: Olympic Resistance Update
Body: * ORN General Meeting (open to all!) will now be every Sunday, beginning
in January 2010, 6pm @ Spartacus Books, 684 E. Hastings
* 2010 Welcoming Committee: Wed Dec 30 7:00 pm at SFU Harbour Centre, 515
W. Hastings. Meeting to plan a broad-based mobilization on Feb 12, 2010,
the day of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies.
ORN COMMUNITQUES:
1) Updated Speaking Tours in Jan (BC, Washington, California)
OLYMPIC TORCH DISRUPTIONS!
2) Release: Torch being Disrupted Across Canada!
3) Torch blocked at Six Nations (Interviews and Reports)
4) Video of Banner Drop in Kingston during Torch ceremonies
5) Toronto Disrupts the Torch (Video, Photos, Report back)
6) Blockade forces Torch to divert from Oneida First Nation
7) Updated ORN Callout to Extinguish the Olympic Torch
NATIONAL CALL TO ACTION AGAINST OLYMPIC SPONSORS
8) 2010 Olympic Sponsors: Blood on your hands
EVENTS (including other cities):
9) Kitchener: Series of events against the Olympic Torch Relay
10) Disrupt the Olympic Torch in Stratford!
11) Protest against Torch Relay Calgary
12) Anti Olympic Events in Portland
13) Disrupt the Torch in Guelph!
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* UPDATED SPEAKING TOUR INFORMATION *
No Olympics on Stolen Native Land Speaking Tour
British Columbia and US West Coast - Two tours during January 2010
Greetings,
As you may be aware, in February 2010, Vancouver BC, unceded Coast Salish
Territories, will be the host city for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The
effects of the upcoming Winter Games are increasingly apparent
expansion of sport tourism on Indigenous lands; increasing homelessness
across the province and especially in Vancouvers Downtown Eastside;
misdirected public spending and debt; vulnerable working conditions
especially for migrant labour; unprecedented destruction of the
environment; and unparalleled police and security spending.
Beginning in January 2010, we will travel down through so-called BC -
unceded Indigenous lands - as well as the west coast of the US to conduct
two separate speaking tours on resistance to the 2010 Olympics,
to share our experiences, and to promote the Feb 10-15 anti-colonial &
anti-capitalist convergence.
The purpose of this letter is to find people/groups in these areas to
assist in local organizing of speaking events for our tour. The events
will feature a speaker from the movement. We would also bring materials
such as leaflets and Tshirts to distribute and fundraise with, as well as
videos we have produced for screenings. A template poster will be provided
if you would like to use it. Specifically, you will have to secure a venue
for the event (community centre, university, union hall etc), provide
billeting, and put $100-$200 (flexible) towards overall travel costs. No
event is too small or meaningless for us!
1) BC TOUR INFO
In BC, we aim to arrive in towns and communities just prior to the arrival
of the Torch in these communities to help build local resistance to the
Torch relay. For more information on the torch route, check out the
interactive map found on
www.vancouver2010.com.
* Specifically we are looking to host the following events as part of our
speaking tour:
- Kelowna Jan 14
- Penticton Jan 15
- Nelson Jan 16
- Castlegar Jan 17
- Golden Jan 18
- Merritt, Kamloops, Salmon Arm or Vernon: Jan 19-20
- Nanaimo: Jan 22
- Comox Valley: Jan 23
- Powell River: Jan 24
* Day trips on any Saturday or Sunday in January:
- Squamish, Gibson, Lillooet, Abottsford, Mission, Chilliwack, Pemberton,
Sechelt, others.
2) US WESTCOAST TOUR INFO
In the US, we hope to confirm events in LA, Bay Area, San Diego, Santa
Cruz etc between Jan 19-25 (as close to Jan 19th as possible), starting in
San Francisco.
*** SUPPORT THE SPEAKING TOURS ***
If you can help out with this, please respond ASAP or by December 28th
latest so we can confirm final details. Thank you in advance and we look
forward to your response!
The tour email is
ORN.tour@gmail.com.
Please forward all correspondence regarding the tour to that email
address. About Olympic Resistance Network:
http://olympicresistance.net
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OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY BEING DISRUPTED ACROSS CANADA!
Anti-Olympic Protesters bring their message of resistance across Canada;
Olympic Torch shamed.
Monday, December 21 2009, Vancouver Unceded Coast Salish Territories-
Protesters are bringing their anti-Olympic message with chants 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” across Canada. In
many instances, activists have successfully disrupted the Torch Relay,
forcing delays and route cancellations, with at least four arrests
associated with anti-Torch related actions.
Today, Six Nations community members have declared that the Olympic Torch
will not pass through their territory. A Declaration by the Onkwehonwe
(people) of the Grand River Territory states “This land is not conquered.
We are not Canadian… We hereby affirm our peaceful opposition to the entry
and progression of the 2010 Olympic torch into and through our territory.”
(Visit:
http://6nsolidarity.wordpress.com or
No2010@peaceculture.org for
media interviews). In the coming weeks, dissenters are also expected to
converge in Kitchener, Calgary, Edmonton, Stratford, and Guelph.
In Toronto over 250 people took to the streets on December 17, blocking
major intersections and forcing the cancellation of the Torch in parts of
downtown Toronto. A banner dropped directly across the stage read “Gego
Olympics Da-Te-Snoon Nishnaabe-Giing Ga-Gmooding” (“No Olympics on Stolen
Native Land” in Anishinaabemowin). (Visit
http://torontotorch.blogspot.com
or email
torchblock@gmail.com)
At least four communities in the province of Quebec have opposed the Torch
Relay: Sept-Iles, Montreal, Kanahwake First Nations, and Quebec City. In
Montreal, over 200 people converged and delayed the relay as well as the
main ceremonies and concert. (Visit:
http://www.amp-montreal.net). On
October 30, over 400 people gathered to oppose the Torch Relay launch in
Victoria. An Anti-Olympics Festival and Zombie March succeeded in
disrupting the relay. Security personnel were forced to extinguish the
torch, load it in a van, and reroute it. (Visit
http://no2010victoria.net
or
no2010victoria@gmail.com).
Actions have also occurred in cities as diverse as Comox Valley, Kingston,
Halifax, Ottawa, and St. John's. With the number of protesters equaling
or exceeding spectators, dissatisfaction to the 2010 Winter Olympics is
growing across Canada. According to a November 2009 Angus-Reid poll, over
30% of B.C. residents feel the Olympics will have a negative impact and
almost 40% of residents support protesters.
Protesters note that the Olympics are not simply about the athletes;
rather the corporate Games are leaving a legacy of displacement,
militarization, and repression. Public funds invested by all levels of
government are nearing $7 billion. According to the Olympic Resistance
Network, “While Olympic corporate sponsors are getting bailed out,
Indigenous lands are being stolen, people are becoming homeless, thousands
are losing their jobs and access to public services, the environment is
being destroyed, and civil liberties are being eroded with almost a
billion dollars sunk into surveillance. The negative Olympic legacy is
turning into an anti-Olympic legacy of resistance across the country.”
Social justice activists also believe that the Olympic Torch is a $25
million propaganda tool for corporate sponsors who have some of the worst
social and environmental practices. The Royal Bank of Canada has been
under fire for its financing of the environmentally devastating Alberta
Tar Sands, while Coca Cola has been responsible for massive depletion of
groundwater and toxic waste pollution in India.
– 30 –
For media quotes visit:
http://olympicresistance.net/content/media
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TORCH BLOCKED FROM HEART OF GRAND RIVER TERRITORY, SIX NATIONS
* Independent media:
Activists Divert the Olympic Torch from the Heart of the Grand River
Territory, Six Nations (with photos):
http://6nsolidarity.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/diversion-of-olympic-torch-on-six-nations/
Olympic Torch Relay Stopped at Six Nations
http://toronto.mediacoop.ca/story/2383
* Videos:
Interview w Six Nations spokespersons Lyndsey Bomberry:
extinguish colonialism - i'll celebrate your torch 12/21/09 10:01AM, extinguish colonialism - i'll celebrate your torch 12/21/09 10:01AM dankellar on USTRE... (pt1)
Six Nations torch update 2, an interview with Six Nations Youth dankellar on USTREAM. Citizen Journalist (pt2)
Interview with youth activist Melissa Elliott
https://qik.com/dankellar
* Mainstream media:
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/torch/news/newsid=23376.html
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/windsor/story/2009/12/22/chatham-torch-relay-091222.html
Declaration of the Onkwehonwe of Grand River Territory on the 2010 olympic
torch relay
Sunday, December 13th, 2009
Being Onkwehonwe (people) of the Grand River Territory, we strive to
uphold our responsibilities as stewards of the land; and to the coming
faces. In accordance with our responsibilities we declare:
This land is not conquered. We are not canadian. Our ancestors have fought
for 500 years to ensure this. Therefore asserting our sovereignty we
declare that Canada and their Six Nations band council has no authority
over our territory. This authority rests with the Onkwehonwe (people).
On August 20th at a Six Nations Parks & Recreation department led
community meeting, Onkwehonwe present reached consensus that the torch was
not welcome through our territory. Canada has ignored the voice of the
Onkwehonwe, but this decision has not been forgotten.
As supporters of the people and with respect to all our relations we
hereby affirm our peaceful opposition to the entry and progression of the
2010 olympic torch into and through our territory. In accordance with the
Two-Row Wampum treaty we further invite any progression of the torch to
proceed around the boundaries of the heart of our Grand River territory.
The 2010 olympics and torch relay do not reflect the principles of the
Great Law of Peace; a law that prioritizes life and land. We honor Etinoha
(Mother Earth) because she gives us life and we are bound to sustaining
that life cycle. Due to the corporate and state led destruction of
indigenous lands and life, we acknowledge the impacts the 2010 olympics
are having on the Onkwehonwe (people). We honor the call for solidarity
with those Onkwehonwe (peoples) of the territories affected by the
olympics and the destructive legacy of manifest destiny.
This is not an attack on athleticism or sports; we feel that our legacy of
athleticism is not being honored, a legacy which has been rooted in our
traditions and spirituality for time immemorial. Onkwehonwe participation
in the olympic torch relay affirms Canada’s attempt to hide the negative
image they have in the international arena for their treatment of the
Onkwehonwe (peoples). This has been proven in Canada’s refusal to sign the
UN declaration of the rights of indigenous peoples, refusal to uphold our
treaties including the two row wampum, ongoing land claims, the effects of
the residential school legacy and the continuing issues of violence
against our women and children.
Through our opposition to the torch relay, we seek to enlighten and
educate others of the corruption created by this façade of peace and unity
with Onkwehonwe (peoples) that the olympics exhibit. We recognize that the
benefit of any participation in these olympics is temporary, however the
impacts will be long lasting and destructive.
In the spirit of peace and in honor of our Coming Faces,
Hoskanigetah (Men’s Fire), Ahgongweh (Women’s Fire), Grand River
Onkwehonwe youth & other concerned people
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Video of Kingston Banner Drop
Video of banner drop during torch ceremony in Kingston:
at
Contact:
kingstontorch@gmail.com
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TORONTO DISRUPTS THE TORCH!
VIDEO:
PHOTOS://everyoneisdoomed.org/?p=458
MAINSTREAM MEDIA:
http://olympics.thestar.com/2010/article/739641--toronto-heats-up-as-torch-reaches-downtown
http://www.citytv.com/toronto/cityn...e/66074--protesters-block-olympic-torch-relay
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/12/17/toornto-torch.html
* REPORTBACK from
http://torontotorch.blogspot.com/
Over 250 people took to the streets Thursday night to welcome the Olympic
Torch with a resounding: “No Olympics on Stolen Native Land”
Enthusiastic folks met up at 5:15 at College & University, gathering
around a 15 foot homemade torch of our own, banners reading “Resist 2010
for the land”, “No 2010 Torch” and sharing in some homemade food.
Organizers from Six Nations read the Declaration of the Onkwehonwe of
Grand River Territory on the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, Doreen Silversmith
also from Six Nations spoke about how the attacks on women are attacks on
the land and Mark C. from ARA spoke of Indigenous Youth rising up and
taking power. Messages of Solidarity were delivered by No One Is
Illegal-Toronto, No Games Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo’s own Torch
Welcoming Committee.
Grounding the crowd in the reasons we were here: to decry Canada’s
colonial violence and expose the lies of Olympics Circus, chants began
that would ring through Toronto all night. While the cold seeped, our MC
got the crowd jumping and amped to go meet the torch.
Anticipating the torch taking a lil’ streetcar ride, people took to
College Street. The first line of bike cops at College and Elizabeth set
up as we began a fluid game of cat and mouse. Our people took some
surprise routes towards Yonge and Gerrard where we regrouped and faced a
row of riots cops, holding the intersection. We gathered at the line of
cops and turned back suddenly, going North, walking up Yonge St. to meet
the Torch. At Yonge and College we ran into the crowds there to cheer on
the Torch some of whom started booing and hissing. We handed out thousands
of pieces of ORN and No2010 literature and some people even joined our
action. One onlooker pushed over our speaker. The horses arrived and tried
to split us in two but that failed. Then a small group stayed back at
Yonge and College, while the rest of the street party walked North,
slowing to regroup and coming closer to the Torch. At Yonge and Maitland,
we decided to stop and hold it, as people from the back rushed to join us.
With messages streaming in that the media were reporting we had blocked
the Torch and having chased the torch around the city for nearly two hours
(it was now 7:30), we euphorically declared victory! We had forced VANOC
to split the Torch in to two, and brought our message right to the centre
of the Olympic Circus.
While all of this was going on, the March in Honour of Harriet Nahanee,
led by indigenous women, had split off to follow the torch into Nathan
Phillips Square, where a climber free climbed an arch directly opposite
the stage and hung a banner reading “Gego Olympics Da-Te-Snoon
Nishnaabe-Giing Ga-Gmooding” (No Olympics on Stolen Native Land in
Anishinaabemowin). Our people had infiltrated the crowd, holding up
banners and handing out flyers, and booing the flame as it left Nathan
Phillips Square around 9:30pm. The banner stayed up till the end of the
festivities and the climber only got a $100 ticket.
Two arrests were made when two protesters ran alongside the Torch
following the disruption at Yonge and Maitland. They were released later
that night.
We stole the Torch’s thunder, with CTV, NDNTV, APTN, City, the Globe, the
Star, the Sun, Now Magazine and some Ryerson folks reporting on the
disruption and relaying the message that we took to the streets demanding
justice for indigenous peoples, an end to corporate domination and the
truth about “Canada’s” ongoing policies and practices of colonialism.
Though there has been a serious damper being put on the size and effect of
our actions, everyone on the streets of Toronto heard us last night.
This protest was organized by an autonomous group of people coming
together for this occasion, and showcased a broad spectrum of Toronto’s
resistance. As we head into 2010, we urge folks to support Six Nations as
they stand up and block the Torch from entering their territory on
December 21st, to head to Kitchener-Waterloo on December 27th, to converge
on Vancouver from February 10-15th, and to start thinking about your plans
for the G8/G20 meetings in June. Overheard during the street party: “Man,
the G20’s coming here, and we can’t even handle this!”, cop.
‘See you in the streets.
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Blockade forces Torch to divert from Oneida First Nation
LONDON, Ont. — For the second day in a row the Olympic torch relay was
forced to take a detour around a native reserve due to safety concerns.
A road blockade was set up by protesters leading up to the Oneida of the
Thames reserve, an Oneida First Nation near London, Ont., where the flame
was to make its 10th community appearance of the day.
“We will not visit Oneida as a faction of the community has pledged to
disrupt the relay and prohibit us from entering the community,” the
Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games said in a
news release.
From corporate news story:
http://www.canada.com/sports/Torch+...+heads+deeper+into+Ontario/2372146/story.html
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UPDATED CALL FOR CROSS-CANADA MOBILIZING: EXTINGUISH THE OLYMPIC TORCH!
From October 31 2009 - February 12 2010, the Olympic Torch Relay "A Path
of Northern Lights" will be traveling across Canada. The Olympic
Resistance Network, based in Vancouver Unceded Coast Salish Territories,
is calling on and encouraging our allies to coordinate efforts in over
2000 communities to oppose and resist the Torch Relay.
WHY ORGANIZE AGAINST THE TORCH?
The Olympic torch is a propaganda tool that promotes gentrification,
repression and environmental destruction. The origins of the Torch Relay
lie in the dark history of the 1936 Games in Berlin, where it was devised
as a means to spread Nazi fascism and to promote the Third Reich. (See
Globe and Mail article here:
http://no2010.com/node/1113)
The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay is a $25 million publicity stunt to promote
the Olympic Brand, particularly its top sponsors. The Royal Bank of Canada
and Coca Cola are the main sponsors of the 2010 Torch relay. RBC is the
top financier of the environmentally devastating Alberta Tar Sands, while
Coca Cola has been responsible for health degradation as part of the junk
food industry, massive depletion of groundwater and toxic waste pollution
in India, and involved in hiring paramilitary groups to violently repress
union organizers in Colombia.
It is becoming increasingly evident that far from being simply about
sport, the 2010 Olympics is rooted in displacement, corporate greed,
militarization, and repression. While Olympic corporate sponsors are
getting bailed out, Indigenous lands are being stolen, more people are
becoming homeless, thousands are losing their jobs and access to public
services, the environment is being destroyed, and civil liberties are
being eroded as over a billion dollars are being sunk into security and
surveillance measures. While people suffer consequences, the public money
invested by the city of Vancouver, the city of Whistler, the B.C.
government and the Canadian government is now nearing $7 billion.
WHAT CAN I DO?
This Torch Relay will be the longest in-country relay in Olympic history,
giving us the chance to make some anti-Olympic history! You might be
opposing the Torch due to the rally call No Olympics on Stolen Native
Land! Remember the Torch does not represent a sacred fire, it is a
destructive force. Or you might be protesting the Torch because of the
impacts of its corporate sponsors on your community, such as the link
between the RBC and Alberta Tar Sands. Or you are generally concerned
about the overall negative impacts of the Games such as homelessness,
misdirected public spending, attacks on civil liberties, and the general
oppression and repression it represents.
There are many reasons and many ways to oppose the Torch, so whatever your
reason might be, get out there and be visible! Create a leaflet and make
some placards, and you and your group can protest along the Torch route
and hand out information to those along the sidelines. You can lead a
march to disrupt and detour the relay, as Victoria organizers successfully
did without arrests. Setup a blockade through your community and stop the
torch from going through and spreading its false propaganda. Hold
educational events prior to and after the Torch going through to spread
awareness about the impacts of the Olympics (you can contact
olympicresistance@riseup.net for educational materials to assist in this).
Do whatever makes the most sense for your context; most important is that
you organize something!
==> If you are organizing an event or action in your city, town, or
community please email us the details at
olympicresistance@riseup.net so
we can compile the information and build strength and unity in our efforts
by having this information available on our website.
Basic torch route
Dec 12, 2009 - Jan 4, 2010: through Ontario: Ottawa, Pikwàkanagàn,
Akwesasne, Kingston, Tyendinaga, Peterborough, Toronto, Hamilton, St.
Catharines, Six Nations, Brantford, Oneida, Leamington, Windsor, Sarnia,
London, Stratford, Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, Barrie, Huntsville,
Temiskaming, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Red Rock FN, Kenora, and others.
Jan 5 - Jan 20, 2010: through Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta:
Winnipeg, Sioux Valley Dakota, Regina, Moose Jaw, Swift Current,
Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Moosomin FN, Edmonton, Wetaskiwin, Red Deer,
Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Calgary, Canada Olympic Park, Stoney Nation, and
more.
Jan 21 - Feb 11, 2010: through BC: Golden, Cranbrook, Nelson, Trail,
Osoyoos FN, Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon, Revelstoke, Salmon Arm, Kamloops,
100 Mile House, Williams Lake, Prince George, Smithers, Gitanmaax, Fort
St. John, Terrace, Bella Bella, Powell River, Sechelt, Squamish, Whistler,
Lil'wat, Merritt, Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland and others.
* Full route information:
Complete listing by day:
http://www.vancouver2010.com/dl/00/68/42/-/68420/prop=data/119u8t6/68420.pdf
Interactive Map:
http://www.vancouver2010.com/en/tor...te/interactive-map/-/58040/17ckajb/index.html
Provincial and Territorial Routes:
http://www.vancouver2010.com/en/tor...-territorial-routes/-/58046/wk4d42/index.html
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*The 2010 Corporate Campaign*
In the lead up to the 2010 Winter Games, host communities have been
organizing to expose the impact of the Games on indigenous communities,
low-income and homeless populations, public services, and the environment.
While we continue to expose the impact of the Games themselves, anti-Olympic
organizers in Vancouver want to make sure that the spotlight is directed at
the social and environmental crimes of the corporate sponsors as well.
http://2010campaign.wordpress.com/
We have just completed several posters highlighting the crimes of
various
2010 Olympic Sponsors. Please see our website for posters that you can put
up in your city! Look out General Electric, CTV, Dow and Coke- were
onto
you.
We have also completed the flyers against Hudsons Bay Company and
Royal Bank of Canada. We encourage you to print off the flyer, fold them
in half and sneak copies into clothes at the Bay. We encourage you to
keep distributing flyers outside the Royal Bank in the
lead up to the Games.
You can download all the materials at:
http://2010campaign.wordpress.com/
Please join us as we continue to mobilize against Olympic sponsors in an
effort to build awareness and mobilize people in the lead up to the Games.
Keep in touch and let us know where you take action:
2010corporatecampaign@gmail.com
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"No Olympics on Stolen Native Land"
* **A** **public mobilization against the Olympic Torch Relay ***
AW@L and friends from across the region are sending an open invitation for
a participatory public event to coincide with the arrival of the 2010
Olympic Torch Relay in *Kitchener on Sunday, December 27.*
WHAT: A family friendly rally, march and demonstration against the 2010
Vancouver-Whistler Olympics. We intend to create a festive atmosphere that
is safe and inviting for activists as well as families. Our goal is to
educate and to deliver a message. We will start with interactive events,
free hot coffee and food at a rally at the entrance to Victoria Park in
downtown Kitchener featuring speakers from the Olympic Resistance
Network-Ontario (ORNO) as well as prominent Six Nations youth activists.
Then we will all march to City Hall for a public demonstration during the
Olympic Torch Celebration.
WHEN: Sunday December 27, 4-8pm.
WHERE: Rally at the Victoria Park Clock Tower, downtown Kitchener, off
Gaukel Street.
WHY: In response to callouts from the Olympic Resistance Network (ORN)
and the Native Youth Movement (NYM), AW@L—a community-based direct action
group, along with some of our allies are teaming up to co-host a peaceful
rally during the Olympic Torch Celebration. We invite all of our friends
and allies from across the region to converge in Kitchener in order to
send the message to VANOC and to Canada that they can neither whitewash
the ongoing colonization of First Nations, nor can they greenwash this
country’s abysmal environmental record. We will use their Olympic circus
as an opportunity to shine the international spotlight where it belongs,
on the truth.
We are calling for this gathering because VANOC, Canada and the Olympics’
sponsors are trying to use the Olympics and the world media spotlight they
bring to cast Canada’s international image in a certain light; as a
“post-apology” country where the State’s relationship with First Nations
is positive and progressive. But this official presentation is a tragic
farce. The truth is that this country’s relationship with Indigenous
Peoples is shameful. Canada is one of only three countries that has not
signed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission collapsed. Our
land claims process is so backed up that at the current rate active claims
will not be solved for more than another two centuries. Canada and the
provinces have repeatedly and endemically violated treaty after treaty.
The
Vancouver-Whistler 2010 Winter Olympic Games are taking place on unceded
Territories of the Coast Salish people. Kitchener is on the Haldimand
Tract, which is part of the Grand River Territory, which is Six Nations
Land. Kitchener-Waterloo, like Vancouver-Whistler, is stolen land.
VANOC, Canada and Olympics’ sponsors are trying to use the Olympics to
cast themselves as “green” global citizens, when in fact that is a sham.
Canada as well as the Royal Bank of Canada (one of the Olympics’ and the
Torch Relay’s primary sponsors) have been identified by major
Environmental NGO’s as among the world’s worst climate change offenders.
Canada has made the least progress of all developed countries on our Kyoto
Protocol commitments, and Canada has been one of the most disruptive and
uncooperative countries when it comes to international climate change
talks. Canada’s Tar Sands collectively comprise one of the most
environmentally destructive projects on earth, and RBC is the leading
financier of Tar Sands projects, which like many environmentally
destructive projects has a disproportionate impact on Indigenous
communities. In the Vancouver-Whistler corridor, the
environmental impact of the 2010 Games is incalculable.
VANOC, the City of Vancouver, Torch Relay host cities and Olympic sponsors
are trying to use the Olympics to make themselves appear socially
responsible to their constituent communities. This is yet another lie. In
Vancouver, in preparation for the 2010 Games, neighbourhoods have been
brutally gentrified, drastically increasing homelessness and the
marginalization of the urban poor. And to make matters worse, new bylaws
have been passed in Vancouver that essentially criminalize homelessness
and poverty. In Torch Relay host cities, as on the West Coast, public
funds are being diverted to pay for a corporate party; while in Kitchener
the City’s New Years eve budget is being redirected to pay for VANOC’s
Torch
Celebration at City Hall, in Vancouver over six billion dollars of tax
payer money is being used to pay for the 2010 Corporate Circus.
The 2010 Olympics are ushering in a new era of militarization and police
repression. Activists across the country have been routinely harassed by
CSIS and the RCMP in the lead up to the Olympic Games. During the games,
new high-tech weaponry has been purchased for use against protesters and
American military personnel are being brought in to help police the
crowds. The security budget for the games is going to total over 1 billion
dollars — during a financial crisis, no less.
So, as long as you are willing to abide by reasonable standards of “family
friendly” behaviour, we urge everyone to attend this educational and
festive public rally, march and demonstration against the 2010 Olympics.
Bring warm clothes and things like banners, placards, costumes, noise
makers, and oh yeah... lots of energy.
This event is less than a month a way, so there is much to do. If you
would like to help out in any way, please contact
No2010@peaceculture.org.
That’s the same email to query if you want more info. We will have point
people in Six Nations, Hamilton, Brantford, Guelph, Stratford, Toronto and
London to coordinate carpooling, so if you need a ride, or have room for
people in one, please let us know.
See you in the streets!
AW@L Olympic Resistance Committee
AW@L’s website is
http://peaceculture.org
Contact for more info:
No2010@peaceculture.org
For more info on the Olympics visit
No2010.com ..
OlympicResistance.net ..
No2010Victoria.net ..
Peaceculture.org ..
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Disrupt the Olympic Torch in Stratford!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
8:00am - 3:00pm
front steps of Stratford city hall
It takes a spark to start a praire fire
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Protest against Torch Relay!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Olympic Plaza, Calgary, AB
The organizing is starting now. If you want to get involved in Calgary
please contact me:
terisong@riseup.net. If you are organizing a seperate
event and want it listed via the email group you can contact myself or any
other organizer and I am sure they'd be willing to help.
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Anti Olympic Events in Portland
Jan 3, 2010
2010 Olympic Resistance
"Stolen lives, Stolen land"
January 3rd @ Portland State University
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Disrupt the Torch in Guelph!
Monday, December 28, 2009
7:00am - 10:30am
St. George's Square, Guelph
Bring banners, signs and anything else you can think of!
