A modern Canadian identity for the 21st century

By SANDRA L. SMITH*, TML Daily, February 27, 2010

“At this time, the modern personality cannot be defined in the old way, where the worth of individuals is determined by their ownership of property. On the contrary, the modern personality will be defined on the basis of the flourishing of all members of society. Modern society will create its own modern personality in such a way that it will have everyone as the player and the producer, the script writer, the director and the technician, the promoter, the spectator and the critic, all making up one indivisible whole. All human beings will be brought to centre-stage, instead of being cast into the wings or thrown off the stage as unworthy members of the cast.” [1]

Own the Podium – a negation of the spirit of friendship and solidarity

Vancouver, February 12, 2010: Mass demonstration at opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. (Photo: kk+ — Flickr)

By PEGGY MORTON, TML Daily, February 27, 2010

MANY people are asking why Canada came into these games with the slogan “own the podium.” Why is this put as the aim of the games and the measure of success or failure? After all, Canada’s population is only 33 million, while the U.S. has almost ten times that number of people, the Russian Federation more than four times our population. Germany has more than 81 million people while China’s population is more than one billion greater than that of Canada.

The need for a modern definition of Olympic sports

By PEGGY MORTON, TML Daily, February 27, 2010

THE self-serving domination of the rich who use the Olympics for their own ends has a sordid history which shows how the domination of finance capital and the most reactionary elements is blocking a human-centred approach. While everyone speaks in the name of high ideals, the fact is that those who control the Olympics have used this control for the most anti-social aims. For more than 40 years of the post-World War II period, that is, following the defeat of fascism by the world’s people and the achievements which came from that victory, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) was actually led by pro-fascist elements.

BC Speech from the Throne: words and deeds

By CHARLES BOYLAN, TML Daily, February 27, 2010

Vancouver, February 12, 2010: Mass demonstration at opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics

ON February 9, 2010, just three days before the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony, Governor General of British Columbia, former Kwantlan Chief Xwe li qwel tel, known by his colonial name Steven L. Point, read the BC Speech from the Throne.

The other side of the medal

Letters to the Editor, TML Daily, 27 February, 2010

(Photos: kk+ — Flickr)

OLYMPIC gold, silver and bronze don’t come cheap for Canadians. Four-in-five respondents to a poll in British Columbia believe the games are being staged for the benefit of politicians and the elites, an online survey of a representative sample of 493 adult Canadians revealed. “Residents of the Winter Olympics host city are concerned about cost overruns and feel that the event is being staged for the benefit of politicians and the elites,” the Angus Reid Public Opinion poll found.

VANOC: Own the hokum

Never mind the money, the greed, the lies, the censorship – the most offensive aspect of the Vancouver Winter Olympics is the profound lack of sportsmanship Canada is displaying to the whole world. BRIAN JONES*, The Telegram

(February 19, 2010) – In Olympia, Greece, you can walk onto the field where – long before the era of corporate sponsorships and high-tech cheating – races were held during the original, ancient Olympics.

Unceded “British Columbia”

By KIM PETERSEN*, The Dominion, February 17, 2010

Montreal, December 10, 2009

ON 2 July, 2003, a gathering of the International Olympic Committee in Prague awarded the 2010 Winter Olympics to Vancouver-Whistler. The Canadian entry beat out competing bids from Salzburg, Austria and Pyeongchang, South Korea. The IOC decision has provided a venue for international attention on sovereignty in “British Columbia.”

Montreal: Fee increases for recreation, sports, cultural, community facilities

By SERGE LACHAPELLE

AFTER reducing investments in parks, culture, sports and recreation, and road transport by $335 million, Montreal Gerard Mayor Tremblay’s office has announced increases in access fees for city facilities.

At the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, sports organizations and federations face an increase of $160 per hour for access to the tracks and an increase of $70 per hour for the double gym. The fee for the artificial outdoor soccer fields will increase by $120 per game. There is talk that the fee for using the swimming pool will increase by $100, or an increase of 20 per cent for 2010.

Canada group makes medals its business

By KEVIN HELLIKER and GEOFFREY A. FOWLER, Wall Street Journal

(February 12, 2010) – Canada’s drive to win Olympic gold at home, a goal that eluded it in two prior Games, has a secret weapon this time.

It is a reclusive group of business leaders that provides a select group of Olympic hopefuls with special assistance, from the latest equipment to sports psychologists. B2ten it is called.

How you spend your money: Let us together fight for human-centred sporting events!

TML Daily, February 12, 2010

THE character of a person and state is revealed by how they spend their money. The spending of the state on big events dominated by the international financial oligarchy such as the Olympics reflects the capital-centred character of the Canadian state. In contrast, the spending of a human-centred state would concentrate first on its social responsibilities to increase spending on social programs, public services and the socialized economy on which all Canadians depend.