Anti - Olympic Protestors.

[Bretty]

Its funny because you are quoting something you obviously have no understanding of.

It's funny because you are doing the exact same thing. =D Vancouver was in a bad state before the Olympics. It had no business taking any of those risks or extra debt. Try harder.

Also, I believe you missed the part where you already lost.

Also, I looked up something. Your little Olympic effect thing was pure bullshit. Only one city has completely made back what it spent on the Olympics, and only two others even came close. All the others got screwed.

Good game. Go home.

Actually I am sorry to say but at then end of the day you lose.

Vancouver held a referendum and the PEOPLE voted for the games. So regardless whether you understand finance at all, which I think you dont. The People of Vancouver wanted the games and the people got it.

And I am sorry but the people of Vancouver no more about this than you do. So jog on...

 

[e2density]

Damn lugers.

Get it, because it sounds like loser, hahah...Too early?

 

[lacktheknack]

Maybe it's because the Olympics cost tax money.

So does EVERY OTHER POINTLESS BIT OF CRAP THE PEOPLE WANT THE GOVERNMENT TO DO.

Besides, this is Canada, with the tax dollars flowing into every area, why not here? It changes nothing. Just because we don't hold the Olympics doesn't mean that we spend the money properly.

Why are people protesting against the olympics?

Perhaps because it costs millions. I mean, millions that could be spent on people dying or animals suffering but is instead spent on a bunch of sports which are becoming increasingly about politics rather than being a celebration.

And therein lies the rub. Could be =/= Would be.

 

[Dys]

The amount of tax money going into the olympics is absurd. And as others have said "It's just a bunch of jocks playing games". So to recap: the government is pouring millions into sports, rather than, oh I don't know, paving the streets of Vancouver with fucking gold while feeding all of Africa for a year.

The amount of money injected into the economy due to the Olympics being hosted makes that tax money look insignificant, so that's not really a valid reason to protest, unless of course you protest without bothering to learn any of the facts first....oh right, I see how this works.

 

[Bretty]

Nope, sorry. Already lost.

What, because people voted for it, it's automatically right?

People voted for Bush, sir. Just because a majority of people agree on something and vote for it doesn't mean it's good. Your logic is flawed. GG.

Are you 5? At this point I am not even going to argue with you. Your points are so flawed that it truly makes me beleive you have no maturity at all.

"You already lost"? Huh? Troll on.

 

[Irishhoodlum]

The amount of tax money going into the olympics is absurd. And as others have said "It's just a bunch of jocks playing games". So to recap: the government is pouring millions into sports, rather than, oh I don't know, paving the streets of Vancouver with fucking gold while feeding all of Africa for a year.

Except the Olympics are a buisness that provide entertainment for the masses. The same could be said about people who pay to make/develop new video games as opposed to putting all their money into finding a cure for cancer.

The Olympics can afford to spend millions because they MAKE millions from TV contracts, merchandise etc. not to mention what Vancouver is undoubedtly racking in from tourism right now. It's not like all this money is being pulled out of thin air (or their asses, like half these retarded comments).

They are for ENTERTAINMENT. Yes I suppose I spent close to $1000 on a gaming computer when I could have instead thrown it in a random charity that would "help the world" and so could you whenever you buy a new TV or a video game; but you DON'T. The people in Vancouver chose to host the Olmypics so let them. If you don't like it and you're in the minority deal with it or move cause that's how democracy works.

Myself I think the Olympics are fun to watch.

 

[Arkzism]

same thing i told the protesters of the Chinese games. STFU!!!!!!!! just deal with it the games are ment to promote peace between nations, im sorry if you're a native who's being repressed i know this next comment wont make me friends but god damn we won its our land now

 

[Erja_Perttu]

Anti-Olympics? What's the justification?

It doesn't do any damage, it's harmless fun. I mean, I'm not interested much, and I don't know anyone who is, but I can't see why people are opposed to it.

Mind you, these days it seems people are opposed to anything, just for fun.

Well, not so harmless considering someone died this tear on a test run.

Spoiler: snip

The amount of tax money going into the olympics is absurd. And as others have said "It's just a bunch of jocks playing games". So to recap: the government is pouring millions into sports, rather than, oh I don't know, paving the streets of Vancouver with fucking gold while feeding all of Africa for a year.

This,

Snip

Think of the amount of money that goes into what is essentially pointless.

this,

Maybe it's because the Olympics cost tax money.

this,

I'm amazed that not a single person is aware of why these people are protesting the Olympics - I suppose it really is a local issue.

Although I'm no expert on it, I do have a fairly good idea. As some of you may know, Vancouver has one of the WORST homeless problems in North America. The Downtown East side of the city is an extremely impoverished, drug-riddled area, and it's been like this for a long time. The idea that the government isn't doing enough to help this problem has long been a contested issue, but it's really been brought to the forefront in the years leading up to the Olympics. The city has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into projects being built PURELY FOR these two weeks in February, yet when it comes to helping people who actually LIVE in Vancouver, the government always seems strapped for cash.

There a number of other factors too - in a recent article, it was revealed that Vancouver has the most expensive housing market in the entire fucking world. With housing costs already at all-time highs, people are worried about the additional price increases the games may bring, not to mention the tax hikes which are likely to follow the games, considering the MONSTROUS debt the city has taken on. To give you an idea of how huge the debt is going to be, Montreal, who hosted the games in 1976, just finished paying off their Olympic debt two years ago. So yeah, as you can see, there are a shit load of reasons why people are against the games being here, and I personally feel the protestors are fully justified in their opposition.

and this.

Seriously, as a person who lives in BC (and grew up in northern BC for that matter) the amount of money shoveled into the Olympics utterly disgusts me. All those billions of dollars (the Vancouver Sun estimates that more than $6 billion, with $1 billion just for security and the new trade/convention centre EACH, will be the total cost) would have been better spent almost anywhere in the province (say, perhaps, in the north). Let's not forget that millions were paid to already-billion-dollar corporations for advertising. And the whole thing with Vancouver passing bylaws making it illegal to place any advertisements near the game venues that are anti-Olympic, then later altering that bylaw to simply make it illegal to "interfere with someone's enjoyment of Olympic entertainment".

Gross misspending of tax-payer money during economic recession.
More tax money given to billionaire private corporations.
Plans to recoup by cutting social programs, education, and jobs in the working class.
Infringing our freedom of speech.

Yep, nothing to protest at all.

tl;dr The four people quoted above know the score. Everyone else, apparently not.

[edit] And Akalabeth. Nice to see people that actually are at least semi-familiar with the situation are appearing in the topic now.

I can see where this is coming from. As someone living in the UK, host of the next olympics, it's really disheartening to see how deep the governments pockets are when it comes to a world sporting event, and yet when it comes to actually helping people, they just sit in their second houses, chortling into their caviar.

same thing i told the protesters of the Chinese games. STFU!!!!!!!! just deal with it the games are ment to promote peace between nations, im sorry if you're a native who's being repressed i know this next comment wont make me friends but god damn we won its our land now

Firstly, I think you need to think before you type, that spelling and grammar is awful. What are you, five?

Secondly, what most people are annoyed about is that tax money is being spent on sports and not the taxpayers, and that the olympics as a rule leaves its host with a massive debt after it's done. You should read before you type, moron.

 

[Endocrom]

We interupt this pissing match with an urgent bulletin:

I am in love with Madeleine Dupont of the Danish women's curling team.
May a google image search of her face bring peace to this thread.

Hurry Hard!

 

[Bat Vader]

Nope, sorry. Already lost.

What, because people voted for it, it's automatically right?

People voted for Bush, sir. Just because a majority of people agree on something and vote for it doesn't mean it's good. Your logic is flawed. GG.

Are you 5? At this point I am not even going to argue with you. Your points are so flawed that it truly makes me beleive you have no maturity at all.

"You already lost"? Huh? Troll on.

Let's see. You said that if the majority of people in Vancouver voted on it, it can't be wrong. I pointed out why this was flawed, using a well accepted example, aka Bush getting elected president. Twice.

How is this flawed? It proved you wrong. Just because a majority of people agree on something and vote for it, that doesn't make it right. That doesn't make it good for them. Your logic is flawed, and I destroyed it. As I have with all your other points.

You're the only troll here. So, if you'd like to give up and stop 'arguing' with me, then by all means. I accept your forfeit.

How about you both stop arguing and try to have a civil debate instead of insulting one another and calling each other a troll in every post. If you two have different opinions that is great just don't insult each other over the different opinions you two have.

On Topic: In my opinion I think that yes some countries and businesses spend to much on the Olympics. On the other hand though it is nice to see most of the countries in the world competing in good sportsman like conduct.

 

[AcacianLeaves]

It's been said before, but the Olympics tend to cost the host city some money and it usually costs taxpayers something to host it.

That being said, the huge influx of tourism is good for local businesses, it's an international event in which the nations of the world put aside their differences and play together with a good competitive spirit and mutual respect. I love the hell out of the Olympics, it's fun to hear all the stories of all the different athletes and watch the only truly international competition in the world.

Whether you like 'sports' or not, you shouldn't let some weird vendetta against 'jocks' stop you from enjoying some of these awesome events.

 

[Shapsters]

The amount of tax money going into the olympics is absurd. And as others have said "It's just a bunch of jocks playing games". So to recap: the government is pouring millions into sports, rather than, oh I don't know, paving the streets of Vancouver with fucking gold while feeding all of Africa for a year.

I hope you arent being serious?

The games are financed by Companies, McDonalds, Atos, VISA, to name but a few.

Before the games moved to Vancouver the people held a refurendum and overwhelmingly agreed to it.

The only tax money that went into the 2010 Winter games were used to create the tracks in Whistler, Cyprus and Richmond. Now why did they do this? Simple, Richmond now has a Multi Million dollar legacy stadium which all residents can use. It fits Two Olympic Size Ice rinks or 1 rink and 4 tournament size Basketball courts. Not to mention the 5 BLOODY HUGE gyms and rowing facilities in it. I work for VANOC and have seen it.

Oh, and the tracks? Well they can be used almost year round by the constant compititions. And guess what... this brings a shit load of money to these areas YEAR FUCKING ROUND.

Your opinion is so unvalid that it makes me feel sorry your inability to think for yourself.

The games provided not just me a job but 3000+ too. Not to mention the athletes villages which will now be used as cheaper housing for those that need it. How about all the homeless pefab shelters that will be given, from the games, to the city of Vancouver.

I understand the need for people to be free to protest. But when that protest prevents the vetarans a ceremony to show respect to those fighting (for us by the way) and those that have and those that have passed because of it; just makes me angry. Anti Social behaviour is all this was.

Clever people want the games to come to them. Stupid people dont.

Oh and by the way. VANOC just turned down $22million from the Canadian Govt. as they are now in the black (Oh and by the way, a'fucking'gain, any profit that VANOC makes is split evenly between the Cities of BC and the IOC)

I know what you are thinking..... god VANOC is evil... right?

Perhaps because it costs millions. I mean, millions that could be spent on people dying or animals suffering but is instead spent on a bunch of sports which are becoming increasingly about politics rather than being a celebration.

I wont even start on this childishness.

*bows* Oh sir, you are so wonderful, top wonderful for words in fact!

People protest the Olympics because of the economic state of Canada and the homelessness. Who the fuck are they kidding in thinking that if the Olympics weren't here anything would have been different? There would still be homeless people because most of them don't want to be helped and there would still be school/hospital etc closures because thats just the way the government is.

And has anyone ever heard the term, 'You gotta give a little to get a little'? When we put all the money into have OLYMPIC GRADE VENUES like the Richmond Oval and the tracks up in Whistler it brings in such a huge amount of money and infrastructure from athletes all around the world.

Olympic protesters *****, whine and moan. But when it comes down to it they end up enjoying the festivities just as much as anyone else.

 

[Arkzism]

same thing i told the protesters of the Chinese games. STFU!!!!!!!! just deal with it the games are ment to promote peace between nations, im sorry if you're a native who's being repressed i know this next comment wont make me friends but god damn we won its our land now

eh oh well...

 

[Good morning blues]

Yup, I live in Vancouver, and I've been all over the city during the Olympics. If anybody has any questions, I'd be glad to answer them.

The main question that I will anticipate:

Why are people protesting the Olympics?

There are a number of reasons. Probably the biggest reason is because Canada is a first world country, which leads to a lot of left-wing protestor types that just want a forum that will get them a lot of media exposure. The god damned Olympics get a lot of worldwide media exposure, in case you were unaware.

The other reason is because the Olympics are genuinely a risky commitment for Vancouver, and are not all that popular amongst the lower mainland's residents. Several billion tax dollars are going into the Olympics, despite the fact that a net profit is not guaranteed and that there are a number of staggeringly important social issues - primarily the problem of the Downtown East Side, the poorest neighborhood in Canada and, as far as I know, North America - that could use some public money. I'll emphasize that the Olympics are not that popular; I haven't seen any polls, but, as a Vancouverite university student, I can tell you that there are an awful lot of left-wing "change agents" that really don't like the Olympics, and that Vancouver is about as hippy-dip a wealthy urban area as you're likely to find in the world.

That said, I'm having a fucking awesome time in town these couple of weeks. The Olympics have forced my university to give us a Spring Break for once, and the entire city is a big party. So far I've been to three free concerts, and I intend on hitting up a hell of a lot more during the second week.

 

[Bretty]

*bows* Oh sir, you are so wonderful, top wonderful for words in fact!

People protest the Olympics because of the economic state of Canada and the homelessness. Who the fuck are they kidding in thinking that if the Olympics weren't here anything would have been different? There would still be homeless people because most of them don't want to be helped and there would still be school/hospital etc closures because thats just the way the government is.

And has anyone ever heard the term, 'You gotta give a little to get a little'? When we put all the money into have OLYMPIC GRADE VENUES like the Richmond Oval and the tracks up in Whistler it brings in such a huge amount of money and infrastructure from athletes all around the world.

Olympic protesters *****, whine and moan. But when it comes down to it they end up enjoying the festivities just as much as anyone else.

Well said brother.

Several billion tax dollars are going into the Olympics

But again... Tax money has only gone into two things these games Infrastructure and the Villages.

1) Villages

The city owns this and will sell at the end of the games as individual housing. Since you live in Vancouver you know how pricey housing is these days. It is a no brainer that they will make a profit with these.

2) Infrastructure

Canada Line, road improvements etc. All of these improvements have been on Vancouvers lists of stuff to do for ages now. VANOC gave the city a huge amount of money to get this stuff done.

Have you used the Canada Line yet? It was desperatly needed.

I love the games, will be going to work in the London games next year to. This past few weeks have been crazy, I have never had so much fun and I am even working through most of it! lol.

 

[Good morning blues]

But again... Tax money has only gone into two things these games Infrastructure and the Villages.

1) Villages

The city owns this and will sell at the end of the games as individual housing. Since you live in Vancouver you know how pricey housing is these days. It is a no brainer that they will make a profit with these.

2) Infrastructure

Canada Line, road improvements etc. All of these improvements have been on Vancouvers lists of stuff to do for ages now. VANOC gave the city a huge amount of money to get this stuff done.

Have you used the Canada Line yet? It was desperatly needed.

I love the games, will be going to work in the London games next year to. This past few weeks have been crazy, I have never had so much fun and I am even working through most of it! lol.

As far as I know, most of these statements are absolutely true; I especially agree about the Canada Line. I really don't think they're painting an accurate picture of the issue, though. I am abundantly aware of how expensive housing is in Vancouver, and if you think that the Olympic Village is going to help that, you're deluded. The problem isn't that there isn't any housing, the problem is that there isn't any affordable housing. If you think that low-income people are going to be able to afford to live in the former Olympic village, you are simply wrong. It's like arguing that the sky is green.

The hundreds of millions of dollars that were poured into making sure that people who are really good at skating in a circle really fast would be comfortable before vacating the premises so that rich people could buy them up likely let most of them lay vacant could really have been better spent housing the 3000 homeless people in the Downtown Eastside - or at least offering enough support to low income people so that the number of homeless people in Vancouver hadn't tripled since 2006.

I'm sure that the Olympic Village will turn a profit, but you make it sound like the Olympics will turn a profit overall due to the Athlete's Village scheme. I'm not sure if it's what you meant, but that is clearly not true.

I'm having the time of my life at these Olympics, but we can't ignore the fact that billions were spent on a big party for foreign roid monkeys and rich people while two thousand people in our own city went homeless.

 

[Bretty]

As far as I know, most of these statements are absolutely true; I especially agree about the Canada Line. I really don't think they're painting an accurate picture of the issue, though. I am abundantly aware of how expensive housing is in Vancouver, and if you think that the Olympic Village is going to help that, you're deluded. The problem isn't that there isn't any housing, the problem is that there isn't any affordable housing. If you think that low-income people are going to be able to afford to live in the former Olympic village, you are simply wrong. It's like arguing that the sky is green.

The hundreds of millions of dollars that were poured into making sure that people who are really good at skating in a circle really fast would be comfortable before vacating the premises so that rich people could buy them up likely let most of them lay vacant could really have been better spent housing the 3000 homeless people in the Downtown Eastside - or at least offering enough support to low income people so that the number of homeless people in Vancouver hadn't tripled since 2006.

I'm sure that the Olympic Village will turn a profit, but you make it sound like the Olympics will turn a profit overall due to the Athlete's Village scheme. I'm not sure if it's what you meant, but that is clearly not true.

I'm having the time of my life at these Olympics, but we can't ignore the fact that billions were spent on a big party for foreign roid monkeys and rich people while two thousand people in our own city went homeless.

Yeah no you miss my points. The money invested into the Villages was a gamble made by the city so that they can sell them after for a profit. It is not for affordable housing but will be sold to people that have the money. No they are actually donating a ton of the prefab buildngs to the east side for the Homeless etc. This will supposedly be good for up to 1000 of them, but who knows how that will work out.

And just to reiterate the huge investers in the Olympics are not the local Gov't but companies like McDonalds etc. They are the ones who foot the bill for this. Because of this local cities get huge bonuses, the Richmond Oval for one. The City paid for this, Richmond City, and after the games it will belong to them. But because of the games it was designed by an award winning architect and will remain a huge legacy site for the City. I shouldnt need to explain to the benifits of this to you.

You also need to know that VANOC is a non-profit organization. All the money is either given to a charity or to the city.

The people who profit out of this is us. I have been provided a job for nearly a year now, aswell as over 3000 other Vancouverites. We know have the Canada line and Highway 1 all the way to Whistler. We now have over 6 venues that can now host world events every year.

Not to mention the boost in local commercial trade brought to the games. Could you imagine how well the pubs and clubs around Robson are doing? Can you really say this will not end well for us?

He lack of affordable housing is a huge issue here, but this is the price for living in Vancouver. But look on the bright side for someone that has lived on 3+ Continents. Your Mortgage rates are awesome and you only need 5% down!!!! I mean come on!!!! Sure things are inflated now, but they will drop, they always do.

And sure the East side is messed up. But I have lived in London and Atlanta... You think the east side is bad? Cities always have these problems. No Olympics could solve this, I dont think anything will.

I look forward to the Rio Games, they lose control of half their city every other month to drug gangs.

The Olympics bring light to a really dark world. They improve our cities infrastructure and increase tourism and trade. I just dont see how anyone can see this as fundamentally bad?

But if you disagree, that is your right. Just like it is mine to beleive all above. But to call people wrong (look in previous posts) or just stupid for believing this is just immature and naive at best.

All I want people to do is think for themselves and not just project what others have told them. There is a wealth of information out there for what the games are bringing to this city, some good and bad, but decide for yourselves.