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February 27, 2010 - No. 43 Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics A Modern Canadian Identity for the 21st Century  Vancouver, February 12, 2010: Mass demonstration at opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. (Photos: TML, kk+ -- Flickr) • A Modern
Canadian Identity for the 21st Century - Sandra L. Smith For Your Information From the Party Press A Modern Canadian Identity for the 21st Century"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] A salient feature of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver is the personality said to be Canadian promoted by official circles. From Canada's Prime Minister on down to the broadcasters and sportscasters working for CTV a performance-based Canadian personality is being pushed. The personality must be aggressive, competitive and unapologetic: "We are winners," "We are No. 1," "We stand second to none." This is the same idea thrown at the workers across the country day in and day out so that they make concessions which permit the monopolies to be "competitive on the world markets." Those who do not perform to expectations can expect to be losers and be cast aside like scrap. The mission statement of the Olympics speaks of "building a peaceful and better world in the Olympic Spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play." Over and over, the official circles speak in the name of these high ideals and emphasize that the Olympics are not "political." But what Canadians are experiencing with these Olympics shows that the financial oligarchy, its political representatives and the privileged International Olympics Committee (IOC) elite use the games for their own narrow aims thereby blocking the development of a human-centred Olympics movement. This is what Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed when he addressed the BC Legislature on the eve of the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics: "[...] Patriotism, ladies and gentlemen, patriotism as Canadians should not make us feel the least bit shy or embarrassed. I know that thoughts of grandeur and boisterous displays of nationalism we tend to associate with others. And, over the centuries, things have been done around the world in the name of national pride or love of country that would have been better left undone. Yet, we should never cast aside our pride in a country so wonderful in a land we are so fortunate to call home, merely because the notion has sometimes been abused.
"There is nothing wrong, and there is much that is right, in celebrating together when our fellow citizens, perceiving some splendid star high above us willingly pay the cost and take the chance to stretch forth their hands to try to touch it for that one shining moment. For, no good thing is without risk, no ideal can be reached without sacrifice. Ask any Olympian who wears the Maple Leaf. But that Maple Leaf, we must remember, symbolizes more than just the athletes who wear it[, it] symbolizes the country we love. [...] "So let us hold our flag high at our embassies and our aid bases, our outposts and our vessels, our stadiums and our venues, even our homes, during these Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Games. But not just for these Games, also for the G-8, the G-20, the North American Leaders' Summit, the visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and any other great occasion, not only as a symbol of how appreciative we are for all we have, but also as a sign of welcome to the world. "Let it be a cheerful red and white reminder of a quiet and humble patriotism that, while making no claims on its neighbours, is ever ready to stand on guard for itself. "We will ask the world to forgive us this uncharacteristic outburst of patriotism, of our pride, to be part of a country that is strong, confident and tall among the nations. "And we will let our flag wave here in British Columbia -- Beautiful British Columbia -- over the podium of the 2010 Winter Games. This truly is British Columbia's Golden Moment. And it is also Canada's time to shine. "Thank you, and God bless Canada." This is self-righteous indeed coming from a government whose main feature is its abuse of power and running roughshod over what its citizens say they want, especially as concerns a guaranteed livelihood, equality and their right to health care, education, social security and a healthy social and natural environment, as well as opposition to the use of force in sorting out conflicts on the international stage. The patriotism of the working class differentiates
itself from the patriotism of the ruling elites by clearly establishing
that patriotism is not the be-all and end-all. The be-all and end-all
for the working class is its own emancipation and the emancipation of
all humanity. If the working class were to get
caught up in the chauvinist web of bourgeois patriotism, which is
thrown at it from time to time whenever it suits the interests of the
ruling class, the workers would never be able to support the national
struggles that are just, such as the struggles of the peoples of Iraq,
Afghanistan, Palestine, Haiti, all of Africa, Asia, Latin America
and the Caribbean, etc., or fight for their own independent interests
as they are doing at this time against the vicious nation-wrecking
agenda of the monopolies and governments at the federal and provincial
levels. The working class is presently engaged in an all-out fight to put weight behind its own demands. This includes a clear message to the Canadian ruling class that it is against annexation, foreign domination and wars of aggression and occupation. It not only opposes the plunder of Canada's resources but also the merciless plunder of the resources of others and exploitation of their labour. In other words, the working class is putting forward its own demands and those of the nation. In this manner, it is taking measures to constitute itself the nation. The bourgeoisie has no interest to establish a truly independent state. The working class must raise the banner of the nation but not as if this is the be all and end all but because it must fight for its own emancipation and the emancipation of all humanity on a new modern basis. It cannot agree to have Canada subservient to the interests of foreign monopolies or for Canada to be used as a base for occupation and aggression abroad. It would be funny if it were not so tragic to see the muddle in which Canada's ruling class finds itself. Canada as a country was constituted to stop the British North American dominions being annexed by the United States. Thus, the Canadian identity has a definite material basis: we are not American. Now that we are being fully integrated into U.S. wars and fully annexed and the ruling class has totally deprived itself of the only nation-building project it had it wants to brand us with the aggressive characteristics associated with our neighbours to the south. On this basis it claims Canadians are not Americans! It is a pursuit made all the more desperate for being hollow. Speaking strictly according to the conditions prevailing at this time, who really is going to hoist the banner of the nation in the true sense of the word? It is only the working class. The working class can only emancipate itself within the framework of the nation. This does not mean that the working class must be insular because it operates within the framework of the nation. On the contrary, its internationalism lies in defending the working class of other countries hoisting their banners and supporting the struggle for their emancipation within the framework of their own nations. Note1. Sandra L. Smith, from the Report to the 7th Congress of CPC(M-L), March 28-31, 1998 * Sandra L. Smith is the First
Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Canada
(Marxist-Leninist). 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) 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 whole concept of "owning the podium" is completely lacking in a modern spirit of friendship of the peoples of the world and a welcome to the athletes from all over the world who have come to compete. What is going on here? Why does the Harper government and the financial oligarchy want to invite the world to come to Canada and then declare Canada "the best country in the world," instead of promoting the spirit of friendship, solidarity, respect and appreciation of all peoples and their right to be? Canadians have to ask themselves why the Vancouver Olympics are being used to promote such a chauvinist and backward outlook. It is tragic to hear incredibly talented youth who have given their all speak of how they have let down their country if they finished a fraction of a second behind those who won a medal. What happened to the idea that participating in the Olympics is itself a huge achievement. How could any of the athletes be considered "losers"? The display from the monopoly media is not fitting of a host country either. Prior to the amazing performance of Canada's gold medalists in pairs ice dancing, the CTV commentator, referring to the U.S. and Canadians skaters who actually train together, stated that "there are no friends here tonight." Of course the level of culture of the athletes did not mirror this boorish comment, but this is the outlook which is being pushed at every turn. Of course Canadians are passionate about their hockey and many other sports. Of course Canadians are rooting for their team and their athletes. But what is taking place here is something quite different. As well, some athletes have been selected by a private entity, B2ten, for support and funding on the basis that they are "winners." B2ten, seems to follow the model of "making Canadian monopolies internationally competitive" -- in other words that the state mobilizes the resources of the society behind the monopolies that can be winners internationally and shut out the competition. It picks the athletes it considers the "winners" and provides the funding and resources so that they can become the winners internationally. The noose of monopoly right to decide everything has been tightened. Even before the games are finished, the Harper government has announced that its funding of athletes is finished. The B2ten organization which funded 24 athletes of its choosing for the 2010 games is now the name of the game. Does this mean that from now on, corporate sponsorship will determine which athletes get funding and a whole apparatus dedicated to their "success in the international market" and which do not? Such developments, all in the name of high ideals should be of concern to Canadians. Canadians need to seriously discuss how Harper and the rich are using the Olympics and the enthusiasm of Canadians for their youth who are competing in the games. What agenda is being pursued? Historically, when the rich push base chauvinism, it goes hand in hand with preparation for war. The push for Canada to "own the podium" and Harper's obscene boasts that the large presence of Canadian troops in Haiti shows that "Canada is a major actor" is a comparison that needs serious consideration. The Need for a Modern Definition of Olympic SportsThe 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. From 1952 to 1972, the IOC was led by a U.S.ian, Avery
Brundage. Brundage first gained a seat on the IOC after the sitting
American representative was expelled for urging athletes to boycott the
Berlin games in 1936. This is the only time any member of the IOC has
been expelled. The 1936 Olympics
saw the Nazification of sport in Germany, and the use of the Olympics
to promote fascism, chauvinism and revanchism. Joseph Goebbels,
Hitler's Minister of Propaganda stated: "German sport has only one
task: to strengthen the character of the German people, imbuing it with
the fighting spirit and steadfast camaraderie
necessary in the struggle for its existence." It was these Olympics in
which the torch relay was first held, carrying the torch from Olympia
in Greece to Berlin. The official circles portray Brundage as a defender of high ideals who fought to maintain the Olympics strictly as a contest of the greatest athletes, without any "political overtones." His opposition to the 1936 boycott was ostensibly on the basis of these high ideals. In reality, Brundage was pro-Nazi, a virulent anti-Communist and anti-Semite who believed that there was a "Jewish-Communist conspiracy" that
From 1980 to 2001, the IOC was headed by an overt fascist, Juan Antonio Samaranch, a supporter of Franco. Under Samaranch, the IOC was known for corruption, scandal, bribery, and the obscenely enormous expenditures incurred on his own behalf and that of IOC officials. Samaranch insisted on being referred to as "excellency" as though he were a head of state. Under Samaranch, global sponsorship schemes and broadcasting arrangements worth vast sums were put in place and the international financial oligarchy further tightened its grip on the Olympics. The likes of Brundage and Samaranch, overt supporters of Hitler, Mussolini and Franco have passed from the scene of history. But greed and the self-serving interests of the monopolies to make a killing on the games, and to use them for their narrow aims has not departed with them. This domination of the financial oligarchy is threatening to strangle everything positive, showing their moribund character and the need for the working class and its allies to restrict these monopolies and not permit their domination of sports and culture and to fight for a human-centred Olympics movement.
BC Speech from the Throne: Words and Deeds  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. In an exaggerated and celebratory manner, Gordon
Campbell's Liberal government heads the first section, "Our Olympic
Opportunity." It reads: "The Olympic Flame connects us in celebration
of Canada, and of all the Olympic Spirit it represents. Canada stands
as a testament to the power of the human
spirit, partnership and enterprise. We are a nation of promise. This is
our Canada. This is our British Columbia. And this is our Olympic
moment!" A sober look at the deeds of government tells a different story. On the eve of the Olympic Games, the BC government cut $10 million from the Children and Families budget, affecting the most vulnerable of the province's poor which BC has in abundance! It has the largest number of impoverished children in the country, the lowest welfare rates, the lowest minimum wage and, for the majority of British Columbians living in the Lower Mainland, the highest cost of living. Shortly before the Games, the government announced it was cutting grants to the arts and, believe it of not, amateur sports in BC! Thus, while BC hosts the Winter Olympics, school budgets are tightened, physical education programs are squeezed and the scandal of mass youth obesity and diabetes in Canada agonizes health professionals.
In the Speech from the Throne we read: "These Games are Canada's Games! The federal government has been our greatest partner on every step along this Olympic path....For the first time ever, every Olympic venue was completed a year ahead of schedule and on budget." Not quite! The Olympic Village on Vancouver's False Creek was completed weeks before opening. The near financial collapse of the Village contractor was staved off by the City of Vancouver secretly underwriting the New York financier a hundred million dollars, a scandal that unseated the former Non-Partisan Association (NPA) council. The new Vision council had to "bite the bullet" since Olympics are always underwritten by the host city. There was also the scandal of the new Convention Centre, now hosting the international media, which over-ran its budget from $400 million to $800 million, a debt held by the province. This is to say nothing of the Sea-to-Sky highway which has opened a gold mine for real estate developers along the way to Whistler but has cost taxpayers undisclosed millions. Ironically, the Speech also heralds the "first time ever Four Host First Nations." These four nations did indeed host the Olympic Opening Ceremony sitting behind Canada's Governor General Michaëlle Jean and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Aboriginal dancers played a significant role in the ceremonies, and there is a popular Aboriginal Pavilion in Vancouver. Ironic, because on February 24, 2007, Squamish Elder Harriet Nahanee
In the practical world of sustaining Native cultural workers, while there are long line-ups to gain entry into the Hudson's Bay Co. to purchase $10 mittens and other flamboyant red "Go Canada Go" paraphernalia, the exhibits of Native art work have gone virtually unannounced by Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC) or the Aboriginal Pavilion organizers. The discrepancy between words and deeds -- a very big problem indeed. Unceded "British Columbia"
Vancouver is situated in the traditional territories of Coast Salish First Nations, specifically the Skwxwú7mesh, Xwméthkwyiem and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. This land has never been surrendered. According to the Royal Proclamation of 1763, it is the "hunting grounds" "reserved" for the "Indians" where they "should not be molested or disturbed." The same unceded status holds for Whistler. "Because we have no treaty with Canada, the imposition and encroachment of Whistler -- their hydro lines, their highways, their railroad, in fact all infrastructure development for the 2010 Games -- in our territory is illegal," said James Louie of the Interior Salish St'at'imc Nation, in a press package put out by the Olympics Resistance Network. Out of these contradictions, a slogan arose: "No Olympics on stolen native land!" The Olympic Games is "an energy grab, it's a land grab, and it disrespects inherent Aboriginal rights and title to the land and water," Mel Bazil of the Wet'suwet'en and Gitxsan nations told The Dominion. Vancouver is named after the British seafarer Captain George Vancouver whose cartography, according to University of St. Andrews professor Dan Clayton, helped lay the foundation for the settlement and colonization of BC. "Colonization is as much an ongoing, arbitrary and vacuously conceived process of inscription as it is a process of physical occupation, resettlement, and domination," wrote Clayton in his book Islands of Truth: The Imperial Fashioning of Vancouver Island. Contact disrupted Indigenous lifeways and trade with Europeans became dominant. "Native-Western interaction was circumscribed by the capitalist logic of creative destruction," wrote Clayton. Later, securing land for the outnumbered colonialists was prioritized by Vancouver Island Governor James Douglas. In the early 1850s, he entered into 14 treaties with First Nations, where land was sold to "the white people for ever" for cash, blankets and clothing. Subsequent to the Douglas Treaties, Treaty 8 in northeastern BC, the Nisga'a treaty, and Tsawwassen First Nation treaty have been concluded. Officially, 60 First Nations are said to be negotiating land claims in the BC Treaty Process. Traditionally, Coast Salish peoples inhabited an area extending from the N'ch-i~wana (Columbia River) in Oregon to Bute Inlet in BC that includes the important waterways of the Salish Sea (Juan de Fuca Strait, Georgia Strait, and Puget Sound). Whistler is in the Coast Mountains range, 125 km north of Vancouver -- the traditional territory of the Lil'wat Nation (an Interior Salish people). The Skwxwú7mesh, Xwméthkwyiem, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, along with the Lil'wat Nation, comprise the Four Host First Nations for the 2010 Olympics. This casts the appearance of a First Nations welcome for the 2010 Olympics. Indigenous rights activist, Elder Harriet Nahanee of the Pacheenaht Nation on southeast Vancouver Island, fought that appearance. In February, 2007, Nahanee, aged 71, died one week after she was released from prison for protesting the destruction of Eagleridge Bluffs, an area considered unique in biodiversity. The bluffs were being clear cut for the Olympics related expansion of the Sea-to-Sky highway, which connects Vancouver to Whistler. "The Four Host Nations is a corporate body made up primarily of government-funded Indian Act band council chiefs, not hereditary chieftainships," stated Lil'wat Elder, Seislom, in a press package provided by the Olympics Resistance Network. "An overwhelming number of Indigenous people in these territories and in the interior are opposed to the Olympics because of the long-term impact including destruction of the land, commodification of Native art and culture, and the creation of long-term poverty once the few token jobs are gone," he continued. "We're raising the issue of colonialism and lack of legal jurisdiction by the government in addition to the issue of land and exploitation of Indigenous culture," Gord Hill of the Kwakwakwak'w nation told The Dominion. Hill pointed to 2010 Olympics sponsor Hudson's Bay Company's recent decision to refuse a bid from the Quw'utsun' First Nation, a Coast Salish people on lower Vancouver Island, who founded and have made the famous Cowichan sweaters for over a century. Instead the Olympic sweater will be made in China. The Quw'utsun' were upset over the loss of jobs and an allegedly mock sweater. Quw'utsun' Chief Lydia Hwitsum said the Cowichan sweater is a registered trademark. HBC in a press release claims its sweater design is an original. "It is the reality of strong opposition to the Olympic Games by Native peoples that has forced VANOC to desperately try and create the perception of Native support for the Olympics by throwing a lot of money to a few select people," according to Native 2010 Resistance. * With files from Dawn Paley. Kim Peterson is the Original Peoples editor for The Dominion. Vocal Native Artist Removed From Olympic Artisan Village For Refusing CensorshipA Local Aboriginal art producer, critical of the Olympics' Aboriginal Licensing and Merchandising Program has been informed he cannot participate in the Olympic Artisan Village unless he allows approval of his communications regarding the Olympics. "One week before we were meant to open shop they blindsided us with a contract stating we would submit for approval any communications, including publications, press releases, website copy or collateral material, produced referencing the 2010 Winter Games," said Shain Jackson, a former Aboriginal rights lawyer and owner of Spirit Works Limited, a company making Native jewelry and bentwood boxes. Jackson has been calling on the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic games to stop using the term "Authentic Aboriginal Products" to mean their licensed products with Aboriginal graphics on them, but supplied by non-Aboriginal companies and made overseas. "First they divert business away from some of the most impoverished communities in the country with their disingenuous marketing techniques, and when we complain about it, they take away the only limited opportunity the Olympics did offer us" says Jackson. "We feel this to be a severe infringement of our right to freedom of expression. Although it appears the Olympics feels otherwise, in this country we take it very seriously when these types of tactics are used to silence our opinions." Jackson states that he and his five First Nation employees have been preparing for months toward this opportunity but will shoulder the blow in order to protect a value they hold dear. For more information contact: Shain Jackson, Spirit Works, 604-727-0018 Letters to the EditorThe Other Side of the Medal
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. According to the report on the poll, respondents are more likely to refer to the Vancouver Winter Olympics as an event that is being staged for the benefit of politicians (84%), the elites (82%), and athletes and their families (79%). Fewer respondents think the Games are being staged for the benefit of sports fans (67%), children (34%) or people like them (26%). Furthermore, "despite recent assurances that the Games will break even, most respondents in Metro Vancouver and the Sea-to-Sky corridor, including Whistler, (63%) foresee a considerable deficit at the end of the Vancouver Winter Olympics." All of this despite the hype to sell the idea that all of Canada is represented by the Vancouver Olympics. A reader in Montreal MilitarizationInstead of real political, economic and military
sovereignty and nation-building, these Olympics are being used to
promote a pseudo-cultural nationalism and militarization of life.
Replacing their right to be, the U.S. Empire tolerates its northern
colonized subjects and allows them their bare bones of cultural
recognition
summed up in what they are not: Canadians are not Americans, Aboriginal
Nations are not Canadian, the Quebec nation is neither Canada nor
Anglophone, and Canada is not the United States. This militarization
and pseudo-cultural autonomy are on full display at the Vancouver
Olympics. The opening ceremony caught
Canada in full annexed form and content. Outside, the city is
militarized. Inside during the opening ceremony, Canadians, Aboriginal
Nations and Quebec desperately tried to prove they are not like the
colonizer, pretending to be sovereign beings with a particular identity
when the political, economic and military
reality has negated that sovereign being. A reader in Vancouver ***Here in Vancouver in the epicentre of the national euphoria and chauvinism being promoted around the slogan "Own the Podium," several features of the dark side of the Olympic effects are beginning to emerge. The entire campaign is based on the "one nation politics" promoted by the BC Liberal government's Speech from the Throne in February. This speech contained a whole section called "Our Olympic Opportunity" which crowed about how Canada has "united us in pursuit of the highest goals," that "Canada stands as a testament to the power of the human spirit, partnership and enterprise." "These Games are Canada's Games!" And further, "The federal government has been our greatest partner on every step along this Olympic path. Provincial and territorial governments, sponsors and legions of selfless citizens have all contributed in this national endeavour." But who has profited from it? Only the financial oligarchy. It is disgraceful. A reader in Vancouver ***The broadcasters keep repeating how these games belong to all Canadians and scenes of the crowds at all the Olympic venues are supposed to prove the point. The media's euphoria and manipulation of national sentiment for national sovereignty is in my opinion a most dangerous feature of these games. Many things bring to mind the 1936 Olympics, and these are equally troubling times in terms of economic crisis, international tension and danger of major wars around the world. When the young Canadian ice dancers took the gold and the U.S. took silver, the sportscaster proclaimed them "the first North Americans" to drive the Russians off top spot. When Canada trounced Russia in hockey, the same jingoism was seen which has nothing to do with the pride Canadians take in their athletes. On the eve of the Olympics, the largest offensive of NATO was launched on a small town in Afghanistan. While Maple Leaf flags waved in Vancouver, Maple Leaf flags also stand behind the NATO missiles which killed nearly 30 Afghanistan civilians travelling in a bus convoy. Canadian soldiers joined in the butchery thousands of miles from home, but close to China's western frontiers and Russia's southern frontiers, one cannot miss the obvious geo-political significance of this deadly conflict now in its eighth year. Nor can Canadians forget the virtual militarization of
Vancouver and Whistler with 16,000 armed men and women, helicopters
flying overhead 24/7, spy cameras throughout downtown -- over 8 billion
dollars spent by government for "security" -- so that Canadians
can be trained to accept an
arrangement whereby police "make the rules." A reader in Vancouver Human Performance Has No LimitsIn all those Winter Olympics sports with scores that can be compared from year to year, athletes have achieved steady, sometimes dramatic improvements in results through most of the past century. For example, in March 1890, Oskar Fredriksen completed the 5,000 metre speedskating event in a record 9 minutes 19.8 seconds. In November 2007, Sven Kramer's record time for the same distance was 6 minutes 3.32 seconds, over 30% faster. Speedskating debuted as an event at the first Olympic Winter Games in 1924. New records can be traced mainly to better application of scientific laws for the improvement of equipment, technique, and training methods. For example, the modern "klapskate" was developed at Vrije University in Amsterdam in 1985 and used for the first time in competitive speed skating in South Holland during the 1996/1997 racing season. The klapskate is constructed so that the shoe part can hinge up away from the blade to free the heel. Its superiority is due to the location of the pivot point around which the foot rotates, namely the hinge under the ball of the foot. When tested, the klapskate allowed speedskaters to generate 12% more power and to go 5% faster. Some researchers claim that athletes are reaching the limits of human performance, a claim often brought up during the Olympics. It is part of the overall notion of "the end of" which the bourgeoisie wants to popularize, e.g., the "end of ideology," the "end of history," the "end of science," etc. The ideological purpose of "the end of" is to spread gloom and doom about the future in order to preserve the status quo and to suggest that human beings have reached their pinnacle within the present society and that no more significant progress can be made in any field, including athletic performance. On the contrary, human performance will always improve and new athletic records will continue to be set, as human society advances to higher and higher levels. The bogus claim that athletes are reaching their limits is both an attack on science, whose application is the main source of performance improvement, and a complete denial of the role of the human factor/social consciousness in bringing about human progress on any and all fronts. A reader in Edmonton Calendar of Events Games Over! Resistance Lives!
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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."
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Our struggles for justice as indigenous, migrant, poor, working class and queer communities existed before the games and will exist after. The games have also provided a spark that we hope will inspire all affected communities to bind together in our coming struggles to attain justice.
These were not the greenest games -- they were the corporate greenwash games. They were not the socially responsible games -- homelessness tripled as billions were spent on highways and convention centers for the rich. And these games occurred on unceded territories where the indigenous communities continue to be on the front lines defending lands from industrial expansion.
In the coming budget BC residents likely see massive cuts to healthcare, education, affordable housing, public transit, sports and recreation, and other priorities. While the IOC, VANOC and the games will be gone, we are still here!
*Solidarity & Unity! The resistance will continue! Join us and let's make some NOISE!*
For Your Information
Gold Doesn't Come Cheap
Athletes and B2ten make a business case for Olympic glory
It was the spring of 2007, early days for the elite, little-known band of amateur athletes known as B2ten. Barry Heck, a Calgary merchant banker, wasn't sure what to expect. He had, as requested, assembled a group of civic-minded Calgary business leaders to hear a pitch. The star at the breakfast meeting was Jennifer Heil of Spruce Grove, Alta., a gold medallist in mogul skiing at the Turin Olympics and, not insignificantly, a commerce student at McGill University. Also there was her coach and boyfriend, Dominick Gauthier, and J.D. Miller, a Montreal-based consultant in banking, mergers and acquisitions, and a friend and mentor to both. The three are the heart, soul and brains of B2ten, an organization they founded to shake up amateur sport funding by connecting Canadian business leaders with Olympic-level athletes -- not as sponsors but as donors and mentors. The "B" stands for a business approach to investing in performance. That day they gathered on behalf of Helen Upperton, a Calgary bobsled pilot with huge promise. Heck recalls Upperton was nervous, and then she began to speak.
"I need a bobsled. I need a mechanic. I need runners," says Upperton, recalling her shopping list two years later. As a private equity guy, Heck is pitched business plans every day. "The first question I ask myself in any pitch," says Heck, "are these the right people? Check the box. Are they passionate? Check the box. What's the value proposition? Well, it's easy to see the value proposition here. [Upperton, sliding with an outdated sled, finished fourth at the Turin Games, 0.05 of a second off the podium.] Is there a chance of success? Can I make a difference?" Check, and check. The meeting lasted 40 minutes. "That's the pitch," says Miller. "You get a tax receipt, but nothing else in return. You don't get any rights. You're doing this because it's the right thing." Er, check -- and cheque.
The group gave a four-year commitment, and within weeks a top-notch sled from Monaco was en route to Calgary. Total cost in purchase and modifications: $100,000-plus. In such meetings across the country B2ten has raised $3 million, all of it spent to fund a pool of choice "invitees" -- athletes of great ability but specific unmet needs. "Canada is notorious for fair and equal treatment for all people," says Upperton. "In most cases that's a tremendous quality to have. In sport, do you want a whole bunch of people who can finish four to eight? Or do you want a couple of people who can stand on the podium?"
The idea was viewed suspiciously by the sports establishment: was B2ten out to grab Olympic glory by creaming off Canada's best and building a private-sector team? Most, though not all, doubters are now onside, says Gauthier. It's about complementing existing programs, he says. "Let's produce 35 medals and let's all take credit for it."
As a frustrated national team coach in 2002, he watched Heil miss an Olympic bronze in Salt Lake City by 0.01 of a point. The next four years were spent building an independent training program for Heil. The seed money was underwritten by a group of Edmonton business leaders, led by lawyer Doug Goss, a Heil family friend, and including Kevin Lowe, GM of the Oilers. J.D. Miller came on board gathering donors in Montreal, where Heil was training and attending university. Heil recalls feeling "100 per cent ready" in Turin. "That's incredibly powerful to be that confident," she says. And, for Canadians, all too rare.
Post-Games, she, Gauthier and Miller decided Team Heil should expand to B2ten. And so it has grown, slowly, to 23 invited athletes, an elite within an elite, representing a third or more of Canada's top medal hopefuls.
Just last week, a Toronto group, including Blue Jays interim CEO Paul Beeston, raised $80,000 for figure skating phenom Patrick Chan, to ease the cost of training with his Florida-based coach. Skater Joannie Rochette, world silver medallist this year, is another recipient. The list goes on: Alexandre Bilodeau, the men's world champion in moguls; Heil, of course; gifted freestyle aerialist Steve Omischl; and women's hockey goalie Kim St-Pierre. The donors -- believed to include such names as Desmarais and Bronfman -- tend to stay out of the sports headlines, though not out of the athletes' lives.
Bilodeau says the donors he's met have much in common with the athletes they support. "They're on top of the world at what they are doing, and we're on top of the world at what we're doing," he says. "In a certain way we're living the same dream." Miller recalls the confidence he felt as Heil launched downhill on her winning run in Turin. Like her, he knew nothing was left undone. "She did it all. She did it in a process-oriented manner," he says, ever the businessman. "The stars and the moon aligned for her that day." But even stars can use a nudge.
Canada Group Makes Medals Its Business
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.
Nobody owes it more than Jennifer Heil, the world's top-ranked mogul's skier, known as Canada's golden girl. For years, B2ten has supplied her with physicians, personal trainers, nutritionists and specialized coaches -- aid the 26-year-old credits with transforming her from an unknown to the top-ranked competitor. Preparing for the moguls competition Saturday night, Ms. Heil said, "Without B2ten, I wouldn't be competing at the level I am today."
The roughly two dozen donors to the group hail from some of Canada's wealthiest and most reclusive families, including the Bronfman and Desmarais clans. But don't look for them on the B2ten Web site. Just as cryptic as the group's name, which stands for Business 2010, is its management structure.
Experts say the group represents a new wrinkle in private funding of Olympic ventures.
The business group B2ten is backing Canadian athletes in hopes that they'll bring home gold at the Winter Games. Here's a list of some of those competitors:
* Alexandre Bilodeau -- Mogul Skiing
* Lacelles Brown -- Bobsleigh
* Patrick Chan -- Figure skating
* Alex Harvey -- Cross-country skiing
* Jennifer Heil -- Mogul skiing
* Michelle Kelly -- Skeleton
* Chris Lebihan -- Bobsleigh
* Denny Morrison -- Speed skating
* Heather Moyse -- Bobsleigh
* Christine Nesbitt -- Speed skating
* Steve Omischl -- Freestyle skiing, arials
* Jeff Pain -- Skeleton
* Joannie Rochette -- Figure skating
* Lyndon Rush -- Bobsleigh
* Kim St-Pierre -- Hockey (goalie)
* Francois-Louis Tremblay -- Short track speed skating
* Helen Upperton -- Bobsleigh
* Tessa Virtue -- Ice dancing
Source: B2ten
The site features lengthy profiles of B2ten-sponsored athletes but names neither donors nor officers. It doesn't mention that the Bronfman family accountant keeps books for the nonprofit. In keeping with an old-fashioned reverence for quiet money, gifts from B2ten don't result in the splashing of any names or logos on equipment or uniforms.
Yet the group could have a significant effect at these Games. Of the 206 Canadian Olympians in Vancouver, 18 belong in the B2ten stable. "We've got 7% of Canada's athletes going to the starting line," said J.D. Miller, a Montreal banking and mergers consultant who helped to launch B2ten several years ago. While not exactly making a prediction, he said, "How about if they won 25% of Canada's medals?"
B2ten is smaller and quieter than a government-run effort to boost Canada's performance. That program, called Own the Podium, has raised about $120 million to spend over several years in a bid to win the medal count in Vancouver, something Canada has never come close to achieving.
B2ten has been spending $1 million a year, although on far fewer athletes and, it says, with a total absence of administrative costs. "It's no secret that private enterprise is more efficient than government -- it has to be to survive," said Mr. Miller, adding that every cent of every B2ten dollar goes to help athletes.
Although a certain competitiveness exists between the two programs, together they represent a one-two punch that could give Canada an edge here. Over seven years, going back to when the British Columbia city won the 2010 Games, Own the Podium has sought to develop a large field of young athletes and provide them with upgraded facilities, coaching and equipment.
But in some cases, the potential and the particular needs of athletes have been overlooked amid that effort, and that's where B2ten steps in.
Without Own the Podium, teenager Patrick Chan might never have emerged as a top-level Canadian figure skater. But to reach his potential, Mr. Chan wanted services that Own the Podium couldn't or wouldn't provide: one special instructor to elevate his jumps, another to improve his spins and a third to analyze his dance movements.
An application to B2ten won him those teachers and more, including a retreat with sports psychologists who, he says, helped him overcome his fear. In the past year, Mr. Chan won several championships. He now ranks first among Canada's male figure skaters and ninth in the world. "I am so grateful to B2ten," he said.
Bobsledder Helen Upperton and her teammate ranked fourth after the 2007 season, which she felt was because of the poor quality of her sled. After B2ten bought her a new sled, along with other equipment and a full-time mechanic, she and her teammate reached the podium in five out of eight races the next winter, twice finishing first. "Thanks to B2ten, I'm going into the Olympics feeling that I have a chance," she said.
Another example is bobsledder Lyndon Rush. As driver of the third-ranked two-man team in Canada, he felt certain he could perform much better on a newer sled than the 1992 model the country's bobsled team had handed him. The two higher-ranked teams had newer sleds.
Mr. Rush applied to B2ten. It was like applying for a job, he said: "They asked a million questions and did a lot of research, particularly into my work ethic."
They also wanted assurance his new teammate, Lascelles Brown, would remain part of the team. Mr. Brown had won a silver medal at the 2006 Olympics.
After B2ten bought the two a new sled, for $70,000, they quickly rose to become the top-ranked Canadian team, and they enter the Vancouver Games ranked fifth in the world. "B2ten is why I have a chance at winning a medal at these Olympics," Mr. Rush said.
Experts say the group represents a new wrinkle in private funding of Olympic ventures in a private-enterprise system. There have always been so-called amateur-sport angels, such as the late Milwaukee philanthropist Jane Bradley Pettit, whose passion for speed skating led her to finance construction early last decade of a now-renowned arena in that city. An angel turned demon was John duPont, who used his share of the duPont fortune to support U.S. wrestling team until, inexplicably, he killed an Olympic wrestler in 1996, a crime for which he remains in prison.
As for groups, the 75-member board of trustees of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association raises or contributes millions a year for American Olympians on skis. But the list of those names is well publicized, and the board amounts to one of the most prestigious clubs in America. And only ski disciplines benefit. Investment banker Thomas Weisel, a trustee and former chairman of the association, says private enterprise hasn't sufficiently supported sports like bobsled, speed skating and biathlon, which he argues should receive greater contributions from government.
B2ten stands out for comprising a group of business leaders in support of Olympians of every kind, and in exchange for no publicity or sponsorship benefits. "Maybe there's a bit of a socialist or collective quality to it," said Stephen Bronfman, grandson of Samuel Bronfman, founder of Seagram Co.
"These are extraordinary human beings who happen to be athletes," he added.
"These relationships could lead to careers beyond the Olympics."
Said Harvey Schiller, former chief executive officer of the United States Olympic Committee, "I've never really heard of anything quite like this B2ten."
From the Party Press
A Modern Canadian Identity for the 21st Century
Sandra L. Smith, National Leader of CPC(M-L), was one of the guest speakers at the Conference on Geo-politics and Global Conflict organized on October 1-2, 1999 at the University of Windsor by the Windsor Peace Committee. Speaking at the October 1st noon-hour opening session on the topic A Modern Canadian Identity for the 21st Century, Sandra pointed out: "The topic of a modern Canadian personality for the 21st century is central to the issue of geo-politics and global conflict. It is the one which puts the people of Canada and the peoples of the world at the centre stage of the developments."
Today we live in a system which has within it its own profound contradictions that are sharpening by leaps and bounds, along with the contradictions inherent to the international situation, Sandra pointed out, adding: "This gives rise to the characteristic feature of this defining moment in history which is that no force in the world can act in the old way. The liquidationist pressure which characterizes the retreat of revolution is such that all forces must come to terms with the present-day reality and set their course by breaking with all encumbrances which come from the past."
"There comes a time in every historical epoch when it is not the continuation of the past into the present which guarantees the future," Sandra said. "On the contrary, it is the break with the past which ensures that the present created on this basis will guarantee the future."
She said that "when we speak about defining the modern personality, we have to keep in mind that there has to be something there in real life before you can see it reflected in terms of human beings, of a society, or anything else. The modern personality of a society, of an individual, of a collective has to first be established." She pointed out that because of its absence at this time, it is very difficult to define it. "Would you say the Prime Minister of Canada is a modern personality that you can aspire to emulate?" she asked. "Who would you wish to emulate?" She said that in her opinion, "you would have to pinpoint certain traits and characteristics you admire and then try to work out how to create a situation whereby these traits and characteristics can be generalized."
Sandra then dealt with a very serious problem facing the people, which is that they are presented with so much that is counterfeit that "it is a feat just to find one's bearings, let alone establish a line of march." She gave examples of this counterfeit.
"Ten years ago when the bi-polar division of the world ended and a lot of noise was made that democracy triumphed in Russia, great hopes were harboured on the world scale that now all the problems which existed in Russia would be sorted out. But did it happen? What are the features of the so-called free society, the democratic society, which replaced what previously existed in that country? Can we say that Boris Yeltsin personifies the modern personality? Before that, in a romantic sort of way, the personality of dissidents was created and they were said to represent the modern personality, but what are the features of such a personality, what was modern about it?"
Further elaborating the difficulties in establishing what constitutes the modern personality, Sandra gave the example of those who receive the Nobel Prize. She pointed to the scandal which arose in Italy a few years ago when it was revealed that some pharmaceutical companies had bribed those responsible for awarding the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In terms of the Peace Prize, she pointed out that "for years it has been awarded to cutthroats and gangsters. Henry Kissinger organized one of the greatest mass murders in the world. He was responsible for the carpet bombing of Cambodia; for napalm and defoliants which killed and maimed thousands of people, not to speak of the destruction of the environment and the attempt to force an entire people to submit to the dictate of the United States. So too in Viet Nam. Nonetheless, he retired as a Nobel Peace Prize winner. How is it possible?"
Other examples included the leader of Israel, Menachem Begin, responsible in the 1940s and after for the most brutal and vile activities against the Arab peoples. Finally he too died with a Nobel Peace Prize. In economics, Sandra pointed out, Nobel Prizes are given to learned professors, but the problems of the economy are not sorted out. In medicine, even those who are responsible for espousing the theories of the Nazis are given Nobel Prizes, she said.
Concluding these examples of how the people are presented with counterfeit, Sandra explained that the lack of credibility in the Nobel Peace Prize is such that today it is awarded to individuals from what they call "civil society" who are advocating issues which various governments are putting forward to get the peoples of the world to accept their agenda. She gave the example of the Canadian government's "human security agenda" which is in fact part of NATO's new strategic concept. The land mines treaty, she pointed out, is used to promote this agenda, and has been linked with the Nobel Peace Prize. "Playing on the deep concern of the people of Canada and the world for human security is used to further open the path for the imperialist concept that Might Makes Right," Sandra pointed out.
In other words, she said, "this is a period of debasement, a period where everything counterfeit is pushed to deprive the peoples of the world of the ability to affect changes which favour them." She concluded this portion of her presentation by giving her opinion that "During this period, it has to be recognized that without destruction, there can be no construction. How can one define the modern personality without reckoning, without coming to terms with all that exists that creates the personality we are presently saddled with?"
"What this means," Sandra said, "is that people have to participate in big changes and create a modern personality. Through their own deeds, they have to emerge as the creators of something new which is recognized by them and by the society as worth bringing into being and worth defending."
"The thesis I am presenting," Sandra said, "is that the modern personality, the modern identity for the 21st century, will be created by Canadians themselves as they affirm their right to participate in making decisions, setting the agenda for society and gaining support for that agenda. In other words, it is a nation-building project which must and will vest sovereignty in the people and give rise to new arrangements which put the people at the centre of all considerations. By working together, learning together so that the collectives of the people can indeed take up their social responsibility, we will make headway. A new situation will be created."
Sandra told the students, "In my estimation, working together as you have done to realize this Conference is what creates life, enthusiasm, gets you thinking. It may look too simple in the light of the grave problems facing Canada and the world, but it is actually the secret to success."
"We are mere mortals," Sandra said, "but life depends on us -- the production and reproduction of real life depends on us. It is high time we exercise control over our lives!"
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