CRACKdown in Vancouver: Life Under Olympic Rule

I sure have enjoyed all of those human and civil rights and freedoms I've have up to this point. They've been steadily eroded over the past decade. With the monolithic beast that is the Olympics upon us, we're seeing a fast tracking of the decrease and it's happening in the most insidious and creeping ways. And I don't like it.

It actually pisses me off that the Olympics is being used to introduce this level of security and militarization of BC. I have the utmost respect and awe of athletes who work their butts off to excel in Sport, they work hard and sacrifice to do their best for Canada. So it burns me to see the corporatization, security, surveillance and decline of our rights and freedoms being part of the Olympics the way its happening. Excellence in Sport and Achievement, National Pride, as well as a Bombastic Global Party have been hijacked and its doing our Fair Province a disservice, because its a gift that keeps on giving - kind of like Herpes.

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Some City Bylaw Changes for Olympics 'may become permanent'

Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun. July 16, 2009.

Excerpt:

VANCOUVER — Vancouver city is about to enact sweeping temporary changes to its bylaws to allow the gritty, pointy end of the 2010 Winter Olympics to take place.

Everything, from allowing 24-hour commercial deliveries to to relaxing garbage pick-up times to allowing certain streets to be closed for pedestrian or security purposes, is being considered in hefty 90-page report going to council on Tuesday.

... prevent people from bringing megaphones or amplification equipment on to city property, allow security screening at the two Live Sites, and banning rolling or non-Olympic advertising vehicles on city streets.

The regulations would come into effect on Jan. 1 and end on March 31. But some of them, such as the prohibition on street-side advertising vehicles, could become permanent after the Games.

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You measure a democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists. - Abbie Hoffman