The 2010 Olympics in Vancouver are threatening human well-being and self-determination as well as ecological devastation in many of the same ways as the tar sands gigaproject. The corporate sponsors include many of the same, from Royal Bank of Canada through to TransCanada Pipelines. The unprecedented expansion of the tar sands gigaproject as well as the 2010 Games are both building infrastructure with temporary foreign worker labour and under the auspices of un-democratic trade agreements from the Security and Prosperity Partnership [SPP] and the Trade, Investment & Labour Mobility Agreement [TILMA]. Both projects have directly and indirectly been tied historically and in the present to the ability of larger nation-states to wage war.
Environmental leader attacks Greenpeace climate appointment
By Andrew MacLeod
February 26, 2010 // The Tyee
http://bit.ly/a4bTKv
A prominent British Columbia environmentalist has written a letter to Greenpeace International criticizing the recent appointment of Tzeporah Berman to a position heading the organization's climate and energy campaign.
Greenpeace Greenwash
Greenpeace International hires torchbearer Tzeporah Berman as chief
climate campaigner
by Macdonald Stainsby →2010 Olympics
As the world turned their attention to the spectacle of the 2010
Olympics, Greenpeace International played another kind of game,
appointing Tzeporah Berman as their new energy and climate campaign
director. As a result, she may gain undue influence over the “Stop the
Tar Sands” campaign in Canada and take responsibility for 110 Greenpeace
climate campaigners in 28 countries. In the last few years Berman has been
Rick George is also one of the main architects of the NACC (North American Competitiveness Council) that, among many things, authored the now-defunct Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and has been one of the leading voices in 'helping' to deliver the Olympic corporate farce to Vancouver for February, 2010. When PetroCanada was bought out by Suncor, Rick George became the president and CEO of the principle energy supplier to the Games.
From: Arthur Manuel
Subject: RE: Olympic Torch in Kahnawake, QC URGENT
The Olympic Torch Should Be Put Out
Canada is using the Olympic Torch Relay to hide their terrible human rights
record in regard to Indigenous Peoples here in Canada and Internationally.
Canada voted against the United Nations Declaration on Rights of the
Indigenous Peoples on June 26, 2006 at the Human Rights Council and in
September 13, 2007 before United Nations General Assembly.
143 State Governments voted in favour of the Declaration of the Rights of
Suncor planning to grow oilsands business
By MARKUS ERMISCH, SUN MEDIA
Last Updated: 3rd December 2009
Investors need not fear Suncor Energy is moving away from being an oilsands-dominated company after merging with Petro-Canada, an executive told an energy conference in Miami yesterday.
Prior to its merger with Petro-Canada, Suncor's business consisted of 80% oilsands and 20% of what John Rogers called "other stuff," such as natural gas and downstream operations.
Oil exports to Asia drive expansion plans at B.C. ports in Vancouver and Kitimat
Dredging First and Second Narrows in Burrard Inlet to allow passage of larger ships is already on the agenda
By Don Whiteley, Special to The Sun
December 1, 2009
VANCOUVER — In the past six months, the concept of Canada shipping crude oil to Asian markets has warmed considerably, with major Chinese and Korean investments in Alberta’s oilsands developments and the impending announcement of serious backers (likely Asian) for a new crude-oil pipeline to Kitimat stoking the fires.
This project was originally led by Petro Canada, the official energy supplier to the 2010 Olympic Games, until the entire company was recently bought up by Suncor Energy.
Sadly, industry representatives continue to show their wonderful even handed nature and behaviour towards anyone and anything that may (or, may not) be the slightest bit deviant from their basic line of total production everywhere, at all times, and intimidate and harass those who defy it. As such, the article below was removed from this site after a series of bizarre threats for posting the article.
The 2010 Plan to Crush Our Freedoms
Olympics security overkill: Why so afraid of protest?
By Rafe Mair
20 Jul 2009,
TheTyee.ca
Less than two weeks ago, Bud Mercer, head of the Vancouver 2010 Integrated
Security Unit looking after security for the 2010 Olympics, raised with
Vancouver City Council the specter of the violent clashes that rocked World
Trade Organization meetings in Seattle and Quebec City.
To combat these forecasted dangers, the taxpayer is spending one billion
dollars, at last count, and using 16,000 police and armed forces personnel!
RCMP seek input on providing culturally sensitive security during 2010 Games
By Charlie Smith - Publish Date: July 19, 2009
Olympic security officials have approached a local multicultural organization for help in providing culturally sensitive security during the 2010 Games.
On behalf of Sukhvinder Vinning, vice president of the Multifaith Action Society, former Vancouver city councillor Nancy Chiavario has sent an e-mail announcing an opportunity for people to discuss issues pertinent to their faiths with an RCMP officer.
Defenders of the Land, Private Property Abolitionists-- By Shiri Pasternak
Indigenous peoples in Canada have marked the geographical limits of
capitalist expansion through more than five centuries of permanent
resistance. Due to the geography of residual Aboriginal lands, they form a
final frontier of capitalist penetration for natural resource extraction,
agribusiness, and urban/suburban development. While much of the focus of
the economic crisis has centred on foreclosures and job losses in the
manufacturing and service sectors, a renewed push for resources – e.g. tar
