BCers less enthusiastic about Games than rest of Canada

[HeresyLives]

Support for the 2010 Olympics is more tepid in British Columbia than elsewhere in Canada — and our ambivalence about the Games appears to be growing rather than declining as we get closer to the arrival of the Olympic torch in Vancouver, according to an Angus Reid public opinion survey.

The online poll found that 50 per cent of British Columbians believe the Winter Olympics will have a mostly positive impact on the province compared to 73 per cent of all Canadians who think B.C. will benefit. A similar poll by Angus Reid in November found that 57 per cent of B.C. residents expected the Olympics would be a boon for the province.

“The most striking thing in the poll is that as the Olympics get closer, British Columbians are less likely to see the Games as having a positive impact on B.C. and Vancouver,” said Hamish Marshall, research director for Angus Reid. “Conventional wisdom was that as we got closer to the Olympics, people here would get more excited and more supportive.”

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/British+Columbians+less+enthusiastic+about+Games+than+rest+Canada/2466061/story.html

Cold feet? Wassup?

[Spazito]

1. I think some of it has to do with a fear of being left to pay off a massive...

debt if the Games are not, at the very least, deficit neutral. Another part of their luke-warm support could be because they are seeing how disruptive having the Games can be even before they actually start.

It could be they don't trust the harper and Campbell governments to get it right and, in that, I certainly don't blame them, lol.

[daleo]

2. Among other things, this Olympics has been over-hyped

Intelligent people know that spells trouble.

It seems like the Globe and Mail has been devoting half its resources to the Olympic torch run for the past six months. I don't watch CTV, but I can just imagine the hype on that network.

Then there's Harper shutting down Parliament, to squeeze the most political mileage he can out of the alleged feel-good factor.

Lots of hype means lots of scam artists. The current plan to auction off Whistler in the middle of the games is the icing on the cake.

[HeresyLives]

3. I'm just surprised there is very little excitement this time.

Hard to know it's even going to take place.

[Zavulon]

4. Perhaps they remember Montreal needong about 30 years to pay off the '76 Summer Games and

heard what a massive clusterfuck those games were for the local citizenry.

I lived just outside of Montreal (Laval) in 1976 and was living in Lake Placid during the 1980 Games when my parents were separated. I'm 46, so I'm old enough to remember both clusterfucks very well. I can tell you that I NEVER again want to live anywhere where the Olympics are being held.

My friends in BC are telling me that the Games are already a pain in their ass.

Better them than me, as bad as I feel saying that...and to add to the fun, one buddy of mine from Coquitlam is coming to stay with me and my girlfriend while the Games are taking place in Vancouver because he wants no part of it. The "less desirable element" is being taken off of East Hastings and farmed out to places like Coquitlam. Big surprise, given that we do the same shit down here in the States for every Super Bowl. Just sweep the most vulnerable and disenfranchised under the rug...

[gula]

5. Montreal 1976

I lived right downtown and I fled to Alaska during the games.

[Zavulon]

6. Good call.

Wish I had the same option when Lake Placid was going down, but I was a teen.

[MorknMindy]

7. The ‘war on terrorism’ and the countdown to the 2010 Olympics

The ‘war on terrorism’ and the countdown to the 2010 Olympics

Online Journal

The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics will be the largest security operation in Canadian history. It will include more than 15,000 Canadian Forces, private security personnel, along with the RCMP and other police agencies. The U.S. will also provide security and support for the Games.

With the Olympics fast approaching, the fear of terrorism is back in the public’s psyche. Although there has been no specific threats to the Games, more than anything, it is the danger of terrorism which is used to justify the huge security operation. This is further advancing the militarization of North America and U.S.-Canada military and security integration. The Olympics will take binational security cooperation to a whole new level.

In the aftermath of the failed Christmas day bombing attempt, once again terrorism is being used to create a climate of fear and insecurity.

Whether or not you buy into the whole “war on terrorism,” it is being used to launch wars of aggression and further expand the American empire. It is also very much intertwined with the whole process of deep North American integration and plans for a continental security perimeter. The threat level for the upcoming Olympics remains low, but some are warning that the proroguing of Canada’s Parliament, along with the huge security apparatus being assembled for the Games might be setting the stage for a possible false flag terror event. This could be used to pass more anti-terrorist and other draconian pieces of legislation. It could also lead to a martial law scenario with American troops occupying parts of Canada.

full article
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_5504.shtml