the 8th 23rd
0 Comments Published by jamie February 23rd, 2010 in academia, activism, musings, vancouver.today is the 23rd of february. 2010. miss you, trish.
the past week an a half has blown by and i’m honoured to have spent all my time surrounded by such great people at such awesome events. i’m taking the next week off to write and prepare for the post production of our anth478 ethnographic film.
yesterday was amazing. i walked with the mourners at the 19th annual women’s memorial march and was so humbled by the families’ strength, unity and peaceful power. i can still hear the women’s warrior song repeating through my head. it was overwhelming to be walking in a memorial to the missing and murdered women that i have been researching the last four months, made even more so when eagles soared overhead. words can not describe…
after the memorial was over, i tried to catch a bus up main street to no avail. each one of them was full so i ended up walking which was pretty cool. i got to take a bunch of iphone shots. so far i have tried to steer clear of all the olympic mayhem but i took this opportunity to walk through the science world section of the seawall. it’s craziness, i tell you!! i am really disappointed by all the corporate sponsorship.
it’s like our city has been turned into a giant canvas for advertising and the people are allowing it- no, enjoying it. i have never seen so many people willingly advertising for corporations and blindly accepting that it is some sort of patriotism. i just don’t get it.
as soon as i left the olympic section of main street i walked past one of my favourite wall quotes in the city, painted on the side of the foundation restaurant.
ah, so all is not lost with the world. voices can be heard and people still have the ability to think critically and engage socially, if they so choose.
and then i got on the b-line. a man boarded at the cambie stop and i noticed that he had advertising in his hair. i said “do you know you are advertising for coke and the cbc?” he said “what?” i said, “you have COKE in your hair!!!” he said, “i know, but it looks like a canadian flag so i don’t mind”.
i stuck a sticker on the flag closest to me.
2010-welcoming-rally-0221
Originally uploaded by kk+.
what an awesome day for community building and free speech!
i had a blast filming the “stop the torch” event on the drive as well as the “take back our city” demonstration and march from the art gallery to bc place. i commend all of the dedicated activists who came together with such unity- it was an honour to be among the thousands!!!!
thanks to kk+ for snapping this photo of me at VAG
i’m off to film the torch relay on commercial drive at grandview park this morning and then the “Take Back Our City” demonstration at vancouver art gallery from 3-6pm.
let’s hope for peaceful demos where diversity and free speech reign!!
….couldn’t resist
From 2010welcoming.wordpress.com
‘Welcome’ the 2010 Olympic Torch with Free Games, Free Food and Free Speech!
* Friday, February 12, 2010, 3pm
* Vancouver Art Gallery (Georgia Street, between Howe and Hornby)
Join us in a public festival at the Vancouver Art Gallery at 3pm followed by a march to protest the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics at BC Place Stadium. As the Winter Games begin, we will show the world the negative impacts of the Olympic industry and celebrate our communities with our own games and entertainment.
* The 2010 Welcoming Committee supports the participation of parents and caregivers. Childcare arrangements and registration at: 2010welcoming.wordpress.com/details
While City and Olympic officials try to turn our city into a sanitized corporate image, we experience:
* Increasing homelessness, poverty, illegal evictions and rent increases,
* Union-busting and public services cutbacks with a $6 billion Olympic budget,
* Threats to civil liberties and crackdowns on visible poverty,
* At least 15,000 police, soldiers, spies and security forces and public video monitoring,
* Corporate sponsors engaged in arms manufacturing, human rights abuses, and the environmentally destructive Alberta Tar Sands,
* Exploitation of unceded Indigenous land and resources,
* Major environmental damage to build the ‘Green Games,’ and more …
Public space has been turned over to the Games but the community has fought back and preserved our rights to protest. Now is your chance to Stand Up, Be Counted and Take Back Our City!
Organized by the 2010 Welcoming Committee: community groups, service providers, activists and educators united by a social justice critique of the Games.
Contact: 2010welcoming@resist.ca
Visit: 2010welcoming.wordpress.com
The 2010 Welcoming Committee is endorsed by:
2010 Watch, Alliance for People’s Health, Anti-Poverty Committee, Bridgeview Community Action Group, Building Bridges Human Rights – Vancouver, Bus Riders’ Union, Check your Head, Citywide Housing Coalition, Colour Connected Against Racism – UBC, Co-op Radio Bulland Awaaz, Co-op Radio The Rational, Community Olympics Watch, Council of Canadians – National, Council of Canadians – Delta/Richmond Chapter, Council of Canadians- Vancouver/Burnaby Chapter, Council of Senior Citizens Organizations – Sunshine Coast Chapter, DTES Community Arts Network, DTES Power of Women Group, East Van Abolitionists, Ethical Environmental Consulting, Federation of Iranian Refugees, Food not Bombs – Vancouver, Freedom Socialist Party, Friends of Women in the Middle East Society, GatewaySucks.org, Impact of the Olympics on Communities Coalition, Indigenous Action Movement, Industrial Workers of the World, Iran Solidarity, Justicia 4 Migrant Workers, Latin America Connexions Collective, no2010.com, No 2010 Victoria, No One Is Illegal – Vancouver, OilSandsTruth.org, Olympic Resistance Network, Pink Resistance, Poverty Olympics, Progressive Nepali Forum in Americas, Siraat Collective, Progressive Nepali Forum in Americas, Simon Fraser University Public Research Interest Group, Social Justice Centre – UBC, Solidarity Notes Labour Choir, StopWar.ca, Streams of Justice, Student Christian Movement – UBC, subMedia, Surrey Urban Youth Project, Teaching Support Staff Union Social Justice Committee, UBC Network of Sri Lankan Law Students, Vancouver Action, Vancouver Status of Women, VANDU Womyn’s Group, Warrior Publications, West End Wild Animal Alliance, Whister Watch, Workers Communist Party of Iran, and Work Less Party.
action packed
0 Comments Published by jamie February 8th, 2010 in activism, events, informed choices, vancouver.happy monday!
this weekend was very busy for me, starting with a quick trip to seattle to see alice in chains play at the paramount theatre. followed by a day walking around the beautiful city, browsing pike place, and taking in the works at seattle art museum (thanks for the student discount!!).
saturday evening i had the honour of attending the vancouver media coop’s fundraiser at the hd lab- wow!! i was humbled to be in the presence fo so many amazing artists and activists who are not only very talented but also passionate about people, justice, and the earth. right on!!
sunday was also action-packed: it started with the poverty olympics which i have to say was the highlight of my weekend! it was so amazing to see the intense community and creative spirit in the DTES. community members staged a theatrical event aimed at shaming the feds, province, civic governments as well as big business. what a success!! my favourite parts were the hockey game (pigeon park vs. vanoc predators) and “wrestling for our community” (mr. con dough takes on four of the cutest little kids who represent the community). Also, the poverty olympics anthem is rad:
Oh Canada
Our home on Native land.
A billion for security,
Instead of building homes.
Olympic spending has gone sky high
While thousands sleep outside.From far and wide
Oh Canada
Invite the world to see
A quarter million souls,
Poor and freezing cold.
Oh Canada, where is e-qual-i-ty?
Oh Canada, we are ashamed of thee.
after leaving that event to have coffee with a couple friends, one of them pointed out a fresh piece of graffiti beneath our feet: a power-washed stencil aimed at sex-tourists. what an awesome idea!! although i don’t really agree with all of the points of this campaign, i do appreciate these messages on the sidewalks of vancouver!
after that, i did a little more research for my ethnographic film and i’d have to say that this weekend was a success!!
looking forward to the week ahead….
as the city gets all geared up for the circus, the reality of it is hitting me. this is actually happening. bus routes are all disrupted. it takes me an average of fifteen minutes longer per trip taking transit (this morning my commute was lengthened by 45 mins). tomorrow all the drivers of van city will have nowhere to park their shiny city-dwelling suvs.
enough ranting. how ’bout some good news?
totally LOVED this article in the Georgia Strait! nice to see the diversity in coverage. along side the calendars for pro-olympic events, they posted the anti-olympic events online!!
in other news… good ol’ BUD was yapping again. when speaking about terrorist threats, he mentions the olympic resistance network…
security. sigh.
