Let the Games begin!

The official Olympic schedule so far :

"General Electric's entire board of directors, led by CEO Jeff Immelt, is making a long-planned trip to Vancouver for the first weekend of the games, after first stopping off in Alberta's oil sands to do some business.

Vancouver-based investment bank Canaccord Financial has at least one corporate hospitality suite booked for all the hockey games, as does Goldcorp Inc., which is hosting out-of town mining types and some employees from its global operations.

Teck Resources Ltd. plans a huge bash on the top floor of its ocean-side offices for the first Canadian athlete to win gold on home soil.

Bell Canada ... is feting clients with ... Vancouver singer Sarah McLachlan

Hudson's Bay Co. ... opened a retreat for the families of Olympic athletes the night before the Games, with a bash that drew Liberal Party Leader Michael Ignatieff "

More exciting Owelympic events to come ...

P.S. VANOC and the International Luge Federation pronounce death by steel girder of Georgian luger due to athlete error.
Despite their joint statement that there was "no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track", changes to the ice profile, higher walls, and a later start to slow down speeds have been implemented anyway because the show (see above) must go on.
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The greenest Olympic Games evah!

Somehow I don't think this is what Olympic organizers meant when they promised the greenest Games ever. Temperature today at Vancouver airport - a snow-sizzling 13°C

A week from now Cypress Mountain will begin hosting the freestyle ski and snowboard events on snow delivered via helicopter and a fleet of trucks from Manning Park 200 kilometres away.
It's an international news story now.

And although VANOC CEO John Furlong assures us that trucking snow always happens at every winter Olympic Games, personally I'm holding out for the South Park episode.
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The Olympic boondoggle : Blackmail and bailouts

The Canadian government emphatically and categorically denied today that it is currently negotiating a $90-million payment to the Wall Street hedge fund Fortress Investment Group to bail out Intrawest in time for the Olympics. Fortress is the parent company of Intrawest which operates Whistler Blackcomb.

The NY Post has been floating stories about a possible Canadian government bailout since December, most recently reporting on Saturday that Fortress is ready to sue if it is not paid off prior to the start of the Games :

"Fortress says it is negotiating with the Canadian government, which it says promised to make it whole for the time Whistler/Blackcomb Mountain is used for the Olympics. Intrawest is trying to get roughly $90 million, and wants to be paid before the Games start on Feb. 12, a source said.

If it does not get paid, Fortress plans to start legal proceedings, the source added. It is unclear if that could disrupt the Winter Olympics. "

In a 2002 agreement between VANOC and Intrawest, VANOC agreed to compensate Whistler-Blackcomb for revenue lost due to the Games, estimated at between $5 million to $30 million.

After Fortress failed in December to make the final payment on a $1.7-billion loan used to buy Intrawest in 2006, Fortress' lenders announced in ads in US papers in January that they will auction off equity in Intrawest on Feb. 19th, one week into the Games.

In a secret meeting on Oct. 8th 2008, the City of Vancouver took over the $1 billion price tag for financing the Athletes' Village after Fortress ceased payments on its construction. Not counting the new $885-million convention centre, the multi-billion Sea-to-Sky Highway improvements, or the new rapid transit line, Ottawa has invested at least $1.23-billion in the Games while BC has spent $765-million. Security is currently hovering around $1-billion.

Touchingly, Owelympic supporters continue to insist that all this is really about jumping and sliding really fast.

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Olympics - Going for the gold in bullying

An enthusiastic supporter of the Beijing Olympics who posted his photos online at Flickr under a creative commons licence - which allows anyone to use them for free with attribution - received a cease and desist letter from International Olympic Committee lawyers :

"Images of the Games taken by you may not be used for any purposes other than private, which does not include licensing of the pictures to third parties ...

In addition, please be advised that the Olympic identifications such as the Olympic rings, the emblems and mascots of the Olympic Games, the word `Olympic' and images of the Olympic Games belong to the IOC and cannot be used without its prior written consent."

Even the "O" word can't be used now without prior written IOC consent?

I knew words like "winter" and "gold" and "Vancouver" were off-limits -- but, somewhat inconsistantly, not words like : boondoggle, evictions, SROs, homelessness, or cost over-runs.

Very well, have it your way. "Owelympics" it is then from now on.

Out here in BC at Owelympics Central, we've moved up from criminalizing 2010 Five Ring Circus protest in public places and stalking nursing students on campus who happen to know somebody who doesn't support the Owelympics.

Now the BC government wants to remove signs and graffiti from inside your home even without your consent: (h/t Waterbaby by email for Bill 13):

Bill 13 Part 9 - Enforcement of bylaws in relation to signs

32 (1) Subject to this section and section 34, an officer or employee of a specified municipality [Vancouver, Richmond, Whistler] or a person authorized by the council of a specified municipality has the authority to enter on property, and to enter into property, without the consent of the owner or occupier for the purpose of enforcing, in accordance with subsection (4), the specified municipality's bylaws in relation to signs.

(2) Except in the case of a significant risk to the health or safety of persons or property, a person
(a) may only exercise the authority in subsection (1) at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner, and
(b) must take reasonable steps to advise the owner or occupier before entering the property.

Now note the following wording : "if any of the following applies"

(3) A person may only exercise the authority in subsection (1) to enter into a place that is occupied as a private dwelling if any of the following applies:
(a) the occupier consents;
(b) the specified municipality has given the occupier at least 24 hours' written notice of the entry and the reasons for it;
(c) the entry is made under the authority of a warrant under this or another Act;
(d) the person exercising the authority has reasonable grounds for believing that failure to enter may result in a significant risk to the health or safety of the occupier or other persons.

(4) A person who has entered on property, or entered into property, in accordance with this section has the authority to enforce the specified municipality's bylaws in relation to signs by removing, covering or altering the sign that is in contravention of these bylaws.

Ditto for "graffiti", covered in section 33.

34 The powers in sections 32 and 33 may be exercised only during the period of February 1, 2010 to March 31, 2010.

CBC : "City officials have said the law is intended to clamp down on so-called ambush marketing, and it includes an exception for celebratory signs, which are defined as those that celebrate the 2010 Winter Games and create or add to the festive atmosphere."

For the rest of us "uncelebratory" types, there's the prospect of a $10,000-a-day fine and six months in jail if we don't keep our little heads down from Feb 1 to March 31.

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And if, as spun by city officials, they were only worried about "businesses trying to exploit the games logo", why also make a separate provision for busting graffiti?

Answering questions about Olympic security back in June, city manager Penny Ballem told the Vancouver council. "The city has no accountability in terms of the role and policies of the 2010 Integrated Security Unit. We are only able to ask questions."

A week ago I heard BC Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Kash Heed give the same excuse on CBC radio about the stalking of the nursing student : "There's nothing we can do. It's a global thing," he said.

Fun fact : Two of the RCMP who presided over the tasering and killing of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver airport two years ago - Monty Robinson and Bill Bentley - have been reassigned to Owelympic detail.

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Monday night update : # of comments under CBC story above : 881 !

That's 881 comments under a story now three days old and still going strong.

Commenter "Defeated" at 10:36 tonight :

"The problem with the people of B.C. is that we rarely do much other than bitch,and even that is usually after the fact!

Unfortunately, those we choose to elect after they have offered up a bunch of feel-good freebee's, understand that all too well.

In essence, they buy our votes and loyalty with handouts right before an election.

Works everytime, and our politicians know that too.

We know the promises are rarely kept, but still, we fall for it every time, even with a government we KNOW is rotten to the core.

The evil we know is always easier than the evil we don't know, if you are afraid of having your safe little world rocked.

What is taking place in B.C. with social cuts,the HST,and the Olympic embarrassment,etc.etc.could have been stopped, or at least altered to where it would at least be tolerable.

Our politicians are controllable and we do have the power to make them listen and act accordingly.

Now, when they take away our right to free speech, still we do nothing.

They knew we wouldn't do anything, except bitch.

We see the examples of waste, and indeed,the scamming of our tax dollars by government contractors, civil servants, and probably by a few politicians as well.

We see the apparent government control over the media and even over our justice system, according what suits the needs of those we elect.

We sit back in our safe little worlds and watch them bury their own dirt,right under our noses. Still we do nothing.

Where are the protests?

Where is the general strike that would end the HST tax grab and hopefully this government.

Where is the mass protests on the lawns of the legislature in Victoria, that would go a long way to making this government begin listen...or at the very least,turf out the guy behind this crap...Gordon Campbell!

Sheep."

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Swooshy new Olympic hockey jerseys

The new Olympic hockey jerseys for the 2010 Five Ring Circus, featuring a nearly invisible "aboriginal design in the centre of the Maple Leaf ".

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The International Olympic Committee objected to the old jersey design because it carried the Hockey Canada logo and the "IOC has banned national sports federations from carrying their logos on athlete uniforms".
Quite right too. The Olympics is all about amateur sport, not a venue for promoting professional sports branding.

I must say the Nike swoosh shows up very nicely though.

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Related Olympic designs : The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Toke

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Olympic Athletes Village, developing...

The $1-billion, 1,100-unit Olympic Athletes Village being built by Millenium Development and financed by Fortress Investment Group, a New York-based hedge fund and private-equity company, featured rather controversially in Vancouver civic politics news of late when we learned that city council had secretly voted to loan the project $100-million.

In October, city of Vancouver's real-estate director Michael Flanigan assured us that in the case of a default by Millennium, Fortress has said it has the resources to complete the project :

"They have their profit out front, their equity in the deal, their entire corporate guarantees on the line, personal guarantees on the line," he said. "All this will be exhausted before the taxpayer will ever be exposed for a dime. We don't see there is a risk with taxpayers."

"It's believed Fortress Credit has advanced only about half the value of the loan to this point."

NY Times, Dec. 3 : Fortress, the Hedge Fund, Is Crumbling

"Cracks are spreading throughout the Fortress Investment group, once a leading player in the worlds of hedge funds and leveraged buyouts. On Wednesday, Fortress’s shares fell 25 percent to $1.87. The once-celebrated company has lost 89 percent of its market value over the last year."

Arthur Griffiths, the prominent Vancouver businessman who helped bring the Olympics to Vancouver, remains cheery : "There isn't a city in North America that wouldn't kill to be in the position Vancouver is, having the Olympics here in 2010, during the current economic crisis."

Developing, as they say...

Stay classy, NaPo

The National Post, a rightwing mouthpiece which has yet to make it into the black, pitches the leak of the proposed $100-million taxpayer bail-out to Millenium to build $1.2-billion Olympic Village condos as "Dirty tricks in Vancouver Mayoral race".

OK, so who are the candidates in this dirty tricks race?
According to NaPo, the choice is either "a left-leaning juice and soup maker", or "a right-leaning council member" who isn't "kowtowing to the local poverty industry".

Kowtowing to the local poverty industry? What's that about?
NaPo : "such radical measures as preventing the closure of rental apartment buildings and low-rent hotel rooms, and forcing repairs at the owners' expense, if necessary."

Stay classy, NaPo.

Update : Hi, NaPo. Thanks for dropping by.
Could I have my link back now, please?

Lo and behold: the $100M Olympic Village bail-out

In a secret meeting on October 14, Vancouver council voted unanimously to lend $100-million to Millennium Development, the private corporation building the $1.1-billion 2010 Olympic Village, for cost over-runs.

Vancouver's Director of Finance, Estelle Lo, who reportedly had concerns about the city's involvement in the Olympic athletes' village and who was stripped of her control over financing decisions related to the athletes' village in April, was not at the meeting.

Ms Lo reportedly resigned on Oct 29.

That's quite a lot of "reportedly"s and no word from the city.

Millenium is also leaking a $65-million cost overrun on its 176 unit Evelyn Drive project above Park Royal in West Van and in danger of default on a 170 room hotel contract in Nanaimo. h/t Bill Tieleman

One of Millenium's backers is private-equity and hedge-fund manager Fortress Investment Group.

G&M :

"Donald Trump is tied up in a legal fight over a Chicago skyscraper that is now worth less at completion than the total value of the loans it took to build it.
The shortfall is about $100-million. Interestingly, one of the lenders in this case is Fortress Investment Group, the primary lender in the athletes' village project."

Ross is on the details of this with a half a dozen posts.

Meanwhile, over in the UK :

"Government ministers have delayed a taxpayer bail-out for the £1bn athletes' village at the London 2012 Olympics until the beginning of next year at the earliest.
The scheme hit trouble when the developer Lend Lease could not raise finance and the possible resale value of the flats slumped. Also at the meeting was John Armitt, the Olympic Delivery Authority chairman, who has said taxpayers might have to bail out the entire £1bn cost."

So. Could it happen here?

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Wednesday night update : G&M :

"Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan asked the police Wednesday to investigate the "theft" of documents from city hall that revealed that city council had authorized a loan of up to $100-million to the financially strapped developer of the 2010 Olympics athletes village."

Yeah, Sammy, coz that's the really important issue here.

VANOC trademarks "with glowing hearts"

G&M : "Earlier this month, VANOC quietly applied to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office for trademark rights to the phrase "with glowing hearts," part of the well-known refrain in O Canada: "With glowing hearts we see thee rise, the true North strong and free."

Presumably the phrase will be added to their previously trademarked "winter, gold, silver, bronze, sponsor, Vancouver, Whistler, 2010, tenth, medals, and games", all of which are off-limits to businesses which have not paid for the privilege of becoming a Five Ring Circus sponsor.

So if you were just about to launch "Laundry Bleach With Glowing Hearts", or "With Glowing Hearts Diesel Fuel", or "Dietary Supplements With Glowing Hearts and Edible Fats", you're shit out of luck.
Ditto : "With Glowing Hearts Beer Blogs and Bathrobes"

I'm already starting to regret missing out on that last one.

Steve and Kory and Fucking Young People

Yes. After whipping their base up into a regular santorum over funding for swears and lefties and rock stars, the government program that supported "Young People Fucking" is still intact, but $40M of moneys to promote Canadian arts and culture has been transferred to fund 2010 Five Ring Circus sports events like the $24.5 million torch relay.

Well you couldn't really see Steve cutting a ribbon to open YPF, could you?

Kudos to Kady and Jennifer at Runesmith for their excellent research.

G&M : Ottawa aims to put its stamp on 2010 Games

Memo from David Emerson to Canadian Heritage, Feb 5 :

"The Minister has recently confirmed with VANOC in writing that the Department of Canadian Heritage intends to invest $20-million toward the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games in order to ensure that the event adequately reflects the priorities of the Government and helps to achieve its domestic and international branding goals."

Ensure...priorities of the Government?

Domestic and international branding goals?

Talk about painting the town blue.

For an insider's take on this : Beijing York

How would you rank your interest in the Olympics?

Interesting poll results at Maclean's so far, not that they'll be reflected in the coming deluge of Olympic media saturation.

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NBC announced yesterday it has raked in more than $1 billion in advertising revenue for the event so far, coincidentally the same amount it will be spending to secure the rights to the 2010 Games in Vancouver.

The biggest bestest Surveillance Games evah!

NattyPost : "Canadian security agencies are planning to use planes, tanks, ships and thousands of military and police personnel to secure the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games and will consider their job a success if the public hardly notices their presence.

"It must be understood that the V2010 Games are a sporting event, not a security one," wrote Chief of Defence Staff General Rick Hillier

Military planners say it will be the largest security operation in Canadian history and, if they do it right, Canadians will hardly notice."

Meanwhile CSIS is keeping its ever watchful eye on Olympic protesters. A March 2007 document entitled CSIS Threat Assessment names the Native Youth Movement and "a Vancouver-based special interest group comprised of members of the groups No One is Illegal, the Anti-Poverty Coalition, and the Downtown Eastside Residents Association" as being of particular concern.

Why, no, this isn't the picture that accompanied the original NP article. Why do you ask?

Great moments in journalism

Headline : MacKay won't rule out boycott of Beijing Olympics

Lead : "The Conservative government has not ruled out a boycott of the Olympic Games in Beijing, says Defence Minister Peter MacKay.
The issue has yet to be raised at the federal cabinet table, and until that happens, no decisions can be made, MacKay said Monday outside the House of Commons."

Way, way down the page : "MacKay's director of communications, Dan Dugas, later said the issue would not be discussed at cabinet."


Also file under Great moments in Con accountability

IOC goes for the gold in the Darfur and Tibet events

The Star : "European Union sports ministers and Olympic committees said yesterday that they would not support calls for a boycott because they're not effective and that sports and politics should not be linked, a position echoed by the Canadian Olympic Committee's top official.

"I think particularly to use the athletes who have made so many sacrifices, to use them as pawns in a game that is politically, idealistically and socially very complicated would be unfortunate," said Chris Rudge, CEO of the COC. "I don't think we can ask one constituency, which are a force for good, to stand up and act on everyone's behalf."

Yes, it would be terrible if athletes were used as pawns, wouldn't it, Chris?

Because as we all know, the Olympics is all about running and skipping and jumping, and not at all about Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Adidas, and General Electric putting up millions to increase their market share in China.

Well, you know what they say : You can catch more flies with money than with vinegar.

A protest of olympian proportions

Thousands of Canadians filled the streets across the country today to mark the upcoming five-year anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq and to protest Canada's continuing involvement in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and....

hello, those five rings look very familiar...

From the desk of the Chief

SPP : TOPOFF 5 and the 2010 Olympics

24 Hours : "Canada, U.S. and Mexico are planning a massive joint military exercise in April 2009 "to focus on terrorist events that could affect [the] 2010 Olympics," according to Public Safety Canada documents released to 2010 Watch via access to information.

The rehearsal, led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is code-named TOPOFF 5. Canadian troops were among the 15,000 participants involved in last October's TOPOFF 4 in Portland, Ore., Phoenix, Ariz. and Guam.

"Exercises provide unique training opportunities to strengthen our ability to deal with potential emergencies," said Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day in an e-mail statement responding to 24 hours' interview request. "They are important tools to strengthen Canada's ability to deal with real incidents."

An undated Public Safety Canada report said up to $22.8 million was needed to fund emergency management, counter-terrorism, cyber security and critical infrastructure protection exercises, "leading to a trilateral full-scale exercise prior to the Vancouver Olympic Games in 2010, as outlined under the Security and Prosperity Partnership."

Now because I'm just not used to finding groundbreaking information about 'deep integration' military wargames in a free newspaper blowing around a bus shelter, I looked on the Public Safety Canada website. Unsurprisingly they don't mention it but the always frighteningly helpful US Dept of Homeland Security website does. Their National Exercise Program (NEP) page has a five year calendar and the June and July 2009 boxes read:
"National Level Exercise 09 Terrorism
TOPOFF 5 (Olympics Prep)."
The lavender colour coding indicates it is "Tier 1: White House directed, U.S. Government-wide Strategy and Policy Focus, Full Participation".


These TOPOFF exercises occur every two years and if this next one is going to take place in Canada around the Olympics, it might explain this news item from a couple of weeks ago :

Canada, US agree to share troops in civil emergencies
"Canada and the U.S. have signed an agreement that paves the way for the militaries from either nation to send troops across each other's borders during an emergency".

I wonder what qualifies as a "civil emergency".

Havril does HelloKitty

Although we are still miffed that VANOC declined our own brilliant submission above for the What-a-Colossal-Waste-of-Freakin-Money™ mascot contest, we are pleased to see that, as promised, Havril has a provided an alternate set for a completely unrelated event, along with the following disclaimer :

"The phrases "Olympic", "Games", "2010", "Winter", "Cold", "Snow", "Snow Bunny", and "Baby Jesus" are, we think, registered trademarks of VANOC. So are, we assume, the phrases "We've Trademarked Everything So You Can't Say Anything", "Colossal Waste of $$$$$", and "Why, Yes, $580 Million Would Feed a Lot of Hungry Kids". Until Tuesday, we thought the phrases "Pokemon" and "Hello Kitty" weren't, but now we aren't so sure."

Heh, heh. Go.

And while some of us are in the business of direct-to-landfill marketing to children, still others are hoping to make a yuletide buck off the $500K misfortunes of others. We are only disappointed it doesn't come in a thong.

Well, HelloooooKitty!

Yesterday the folks over at What-a-Colossal-Waste-of-Freakin-$$$$$™ unveiled their above official mascots who apparently hail from Pokemon Prefecture. Yes, this is really them.

Sumi - known affectionately as SueMe by anyone expecting to use the words "winter" or "Whistler" over the next two years.

Quatchi - a raggedy homeless sasquatch. No one ever really sees a sasquatch, making Quatchi the ideal representative for those made homeless by a surprising uptick in the recent boutique hotel renovation industry.

and finally, HelloKittyMiga, the singing and lap-dancing cabaret artist, seen here naked but for her boa and mouse ears, celebrating a huge expected increase in her business profile over the two week 2010 holidays.

Not pictured is MukMuk, some sort of rare rodent who will be making the occasional appearance at important events. I think they actually meant Muckety Muck.

Havril at [insert something clever] and I were discussing these lovable munchkins over a few electrons last night and he'll be back later with a preview of his own What-a-Colossal-Waste-of-Freakin-$$$$$™ mascots plus a rundown on the runners-up who didn't make the final cut.

Oh yah, indeed he will. Looking forward to it. Later.

Meantime here's an olympian knockout post from Pretty Shaved Ape.

Supernatural! Downtown Eastside!

United Nations envoy Miloon Kothari, on a tour of Canada to examine homelessness, said he visited Vancouver specifically to assess whether the Olympic bid's pledges "are being kept."
"Vancouver said, 'If we get the Games, we commit to leaving a positive legacy,' and we [at the UN] are taking that at face value," Kothari said. "So far in Vancouver, there aren't many results on the ground, but we still have some time to go."
Kothari said that "the resources generated by [the Olympics] should be used to improve the adverse housing situation in Vancouver."
He specified that excess funds should be spent on "people who need their lives improved" and "not go into the hands of a few individuals."

"But our mandate is to promote the development of sport in Canada, as governed by the Host City Contract and Multiparty Agreements," said Donna Wilson, Senior VP for VANOC *Human Resources* .
"It's already committed that our surplus will go towards amateur sport."

Wilson has previously enthused that "The road to 2010 is both long and wide, and there’s room for everyone."

That's nice, Donna, but what we're actually looking for here is rooms for everyone.

In other Olympics news...
Dan Rather is here filming : "A neighbourhood of abject poverty surrounded by the five-star hotels that will be booked solid during the Olympics"
[Ed.: No way he's gonna miss all those dead First Nations sex-trade workers, Donna]
and the UN Population Fund notes the Downtown Eastside is "a two-kilometre-square stretch of decaying rooming houses, with a hepatitis C rate of just below 70 % and an HIV prevalence rate the same as Botswana's."

Well, Donna, I'm guessing free hockey sticks and being assured of adequate practice time down at the rink is not only not a burning issue with the majority of our local world-class ghetto residents, but it isn't likely to be one with the international journalists filing Olympics human interest stories either.
Light an Olympic torch under someone's Tourism Canada ass, Linda - ya still got two years to turn this thing around.

Vancouver Boondoggle Centre expansion

Initial projected cost of Vancouver Trade and Convention Center expansion - $495 million
Current projected cost - $883.2 million
Is this the last and final increase - No

Reason for over-runs - Project was begun before design or budget was completed.
What's the big rush? - 2010 Olympics

Who was Chair of Convention Center Committee up till April - Ken Dobell
Who is he again? - Gordon Campbell's top advisor and former chief of staff, Mayor Sam Sullivan's contracted advisor on homelessness and cultural projects for the City of Vancouver, and Chair of Vancouver Organizing Committee for 2010 Olympics
What the fuck? - Yeah, he lobbies both governments on the same projects he's drawing a salary from both of them for. Under investigation.
And who has Dobell been replaced with? - David Podmore of Concert Properties who spearheaded the successful Yes campaign for the 2010 Olympics.

Where did the land for the Convention Centre expansion come from? - Marathon Realty, Premier Gordon Campbell's previous employer, sold the land to the province for $27.5 million in 2003.
But like the Sea-to-Sky Highway expansion to Whistler Village and the RAV line, this Convention Center expansion isn't being counted as an Olympic cost, is it? - Nope.

How's the original Convention Center doing? - Between 1997/98 and 2003/04, the convention delegate attendance declined 43%.

So who actually is benefitting from this expansion then?......Hello...... Hello?.....