| matt soltys
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65
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01-03-2008 11:48 PM ET (US)
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No Olympics on Stolen Land! Great Lakes & East Coast Speaking Tour
With Kanahus Pellkey from the Native Youth Movement and Dustin Johnson
With the 2010 Winter Olympics scheduled to occur on unceded Coast Salish, St’at’imc and Squamish territory in two years, the spectacle surrounding them continues to wreak havoc on Indigenous people, poor people, and the Earth. In the spirit of resistance to colonialism, with the 2010 Olympics as a main target, Kanahus Pellkey of the Native Youth Movement and Native youth Dustin Johnson are touring throughout the Great Lakes and East Coast in January and February 2008.
“By them choosing to have the Olympics here, it’s opening up our land, our sacred sites, our medicine grounds,” says Kanahus Pellkey. “We want investors to know our land is not for sale.” Pre-Olympic fever occupies the province of BC, and the economic excitement has massively accelerated gentrification and the building of highways, resorts, and condos. The construction of infrastructure for the 2010 Olympics itself is adding to extensive destruction of traditional homelands of the local Indigenous peoples.
In October 2007, more than 1500 Indigenous people representing communities across this hemisphere held the Gathering of the Indigenous Peoples of America, on Yaqui territory in Vicam, Sonora, Mexico. They stated in their final declaration, “We reject the 2010 Winter Olympics on sacred and stolen territory of Turtle Island–Vancouver, Canada.” This speaking tour is strengthened by this momentum, and by the knowledge that hundreds, if not thousands of Indigenous people now plan to attend the Olympic Games, not in celebration, but in resistance to the danger the Olympics poses to Indigenous lands, identity, culture, health, livelihoods, and to future generations.
The Native Youth Movement is a Movement of Native youth that works to revive traditional knowledge and inspire Native youth to defend their Peoples and Territories.
Kanahus Pellkey is a Secwepemc and Ktnuxa Warrior and a spokesperson
for the Secwepemc chapter of the NYM. She has been jailed before for fighting against the illegal occupation and theft of Secwepemc Lands for the Sun Peaks ski-resort, and is active in opposing the 2010 Olympics.
Dustin Johnson is a member of the Ts'mkiyen nation and is active in organizing anti-colonial resistance to the 2010 Olympics.
The Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement-Guelph did much of the core organizing of the tour. IPSM-Guelph works in solidarity with Indigenous struggles for self-determination and control of their traditional territories.
To get involved, help out, or ask questions, contact healingtheearth@resist.ca.
Tour Dates:
Windsor Saturday January 19
Guelph Sunday January 20
Six Nations Monday January 21
Toronto Tuesday January 22
Hamilton Wednesday January 23
Six Nations Thursday January 24
Peterborough Friday January 25
Tyendinaga Saturday January 26
Sharbot Lake Sunday January 27
Kingston Monday January 28
Akwesasne Tuesday January 29
Kahnawake Wednesday January 30
Kahnasatake Thursday January 31
Ottawa Friday February 1
Montreal Saturday February 2
Penobscot Sunday February 3
Portland Monday February 4
Boston Tuesday February 5
Binghamton Wednesday February 6
Ithaca Thursday February 7
More information:
The Olympic organizers operate with a budget of almost $2 billion, and other costs to government surpass $6 billion. Despite all the Olympic-related mega development, Vancouver is now home to North America’s fastest growing homelessness crisis. Indigenous people account for 30% of this homeless population, despite making up only 2% of the total population in the province.
Dozens of low-income hotels and apartment buildings are being converted to unaffordable condominiums. As thousands of people are forced from their homes, they are then criminalized for being homeless. Private security firms are hired by the city to further police the streets, long-running squats are shut down, and social services are more stressed and threatened than ever. The solution of the municipal and provincial governments and the police is to ignore the root cause, and instead pay people to leave Vancouver and repress those who stay.
The darker side of the 2010 Olympics is further apparent by examining how their sponsors and supporters are some of the most destructive companies on Turtle Island. These include:
• Petro-Canada, one of Canada’s largest producers of oil and gas,
• TransCanada, one of the continent’s largest transporters of oil and gas,
• Canadian Pacific Railway, long an integral tool of colonization,
• Hudson’s Bay Company, another company responsible for the colonization and theft of Indigenous land,
• General Electric, one of the world’s top three producers of military aircraft engines and major producer of nuclear power plants,
• General Motors, long a top contractor for the Canadian military and now the world’s largest automobile manufacturer,
• Dow Chemical, the world’s second largest chemical manufacturer and cause of the Bhopal, India disaster,
• Bell Canada, who’s CEO is one of the top corporate architects of the Security and Prosperity Partnership.
There is of course so much more that could be said. For further reading, see:
www.no2010.com
www.2010watch.com
www.harrietspirit.blogspot.com
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| Bruce DeVenne
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08-30-2007 12:52 PM ET (US)
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Where does it all end? We were successful in stopping Halifax's bidding on the Commonwealth Games but it goes on and on and on.
How many billions of Canadian tax dollars go into elitist international and national games annually? While doing research into the Commonwealth Games I discovered a list of competitions as long as your arm. The Summer and Winter Olympics, The Canada Summer and Winter games, The Commonwealth Games (summer but they are looking at adding winter games I've heard), The Pan Am games, The Paralympics, The International Children's Games, The Gay games, The Native games, The Acadian games, The Francophone Games, the University games and the recent FIFA cup series to mention a few that Canada is involved in. These games have one thing in common. The athletes are supported predominantly by our tax dollars. Either directly through grants and training allowances or indirectly through donations from companies who then write it off against their taxes. Listen to the sports news almost any day and somewhere in the world Canadian athletes are there is one competition or another. As well, staging these games is financed almost exclusively by the tax payer, building facilities, paying travel in some cases, feeding and housing the athletes and in many cases donating millions to training programs for other countries. A dozen accountants and their computers probably couldn't come up with even a close figure but the total cost has to be horrendous. Add to this the fact that the tax payer is now the banker who builds the facilities for many pro franchises and the total costs is that much greater.Look at London and China both over $20 billion USD for the next two Summer Olympics. Where does it end? Governments around the world have no problem finding cash to support these events while education, medical care all the basics of life are slipping in many countries and almost non-existent in many more. How did we get into this eternal games scenario and, more importantly how do we get out of it? Government has to get back to looking out for the basics, the every day needs of the population not financing what has become one eternal sporting event. Not since Nero's Rome has so much money been spent staging games for the population to sit and watch.
Bruce DeVenne
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| Larry01
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07-21-2007 09:23 PM ET (US)
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An Undying Call for Olympic Fanatics?
By Concerned Citizen of Canada
Let your mind be freed from queries. Let your voice be heard everywhere. Aren’t you sick and tired of what’s happening to our surroundings regarding the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics? Lobbying, rallying and boycotts may not be enough to get the attention of the VANOC officials and its elite groups and the greedy and unethical government officials of British Columbia. We have been continuously fooled by these people with their non-reliable and non-existing figures that they used to published in every corners of the mass media.
If you people of Canada are more concern of what will and may happen in the future. On what will and may be the effect to the majority, not only for those people living in the skidrow area of East Vancouver but also for those average families. We are asking you to voluntarily participate in a “MASS CONSCIOUSNESS BRIGADE“, the power of our mind is very effective to use as our weapon to fight this elite group back. The power of intent is a powerful tool to change the weather on 2010. Yes, Vancouver Olympics may happen but if we will join together by using our mind there maybe a huge mass disruption in the outdoor events. We will be having a mild weather in the Whistler area. With these, it will be a great failure to the VANOCs and its allies and a big humiliation to the whole world.
It is effective! This power of the mind has been proved in the year 1998 of July at Northeast of Florida when they were hit by a drought conditions. Upon using the Mass Consciousness they were able to have a downfall of rains. And it was a success!
So people of Canada, let’s give ourselves a chance. We can prove this to everybody. We can make a difference! We can do it!
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