2010 Olympic Torch Relay Tracker: Torch reroute in Downtown Eastside

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by whatnext

LOL CTV is promoting this as the "excitement and drama of the Olympic torch relay".

The only thing that could inject excitement and drama into something as riveting as watching paint dry would be protestors actually getting anywhere near the relay.

Loser.

[bulliver]

Yeah. It's one thing to stand on the road with your signs and chant your message...but to totally derail this thing and ruin it for those that want to participate. Just shameful and disgusting.

If any of these losers actually gave a rats ass about low income housing/homeless they would be building houses for Habitat for Humanity and volunteering at the food bank.

Selfish assholes....

[nova9]

It's the idea that for them, they don't want to merely protest and voice their charter rights-granted freedom of speech. but they actually want to impinge on the charter rights of those that support the olympics.

They're no better than the organization/people/system they protest against.

Stamping on someone else's rights to enforce yours does nothing to help any situation.

[agrant]

Some people are just bored.

[nova9]

From vancouver2010.com

Olympic Torch Relay update - rerouting
Oct 30, 2009

Victoria, British Columbia– As the relay comes to a conclusion after a highly successful first day at the second to last stop at Government House, a large group of protestors were observed by the security and public safety authorities and by the Torch Relay advance team at Government House. The Integrated Security Team implemented a rerouting contingency plan to ensure the safety of all participants. The torchbearers who were to run in the area of Government House carried the flame instead, at Mile Zero. All had the opportunity to carry the torch as planned.

This change resulted in a minor delay in the arrival of the flame at the Legislature Celebration site

So at the very least I am very happy that all chosen torch bearers still got to carry the torch and do their part rather than just having it cancelled. It really is a true re-routing rather than just quickly moving through that journey of the relay.

[WBC]

This reminds me of my childhood spent in communism when they organised a similar relay every year for our Great Leader's birthday. Instead of torch they carried some sort of hollow "stick" with a happy birthday message inside of it. The design of the stick was different every year and it was held secret until the few days before the relay, when it was unveiled on the national news. This thing was a really big deal with media coverage and everything, culminating in handing over of the said stick to the said Dear Leader in a giant stadium. I was 5 when the last of these events happened as the Dear Leader died. I always remember all those people on the stadium doing their dance routines and thinking - wow this is incredibly gay (well truly, I was 5 then and I did not know that phrase exactly - but that would be the closest equivalent).

[SpongeG]

am i the only one here who saw the 88 relay?

[mr.x]

^ i wasn't even born.

[bulliver]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

am i the only one here who saw the 88 relay?

I was 12 at the time. My dad took part in it, and ran with the torch through Kamloops, which is where we lived at the time...

Remember the groovy red and white tracksuits they gave all the relay participants?

[djmk]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

am i the only one here who saw the 88 relay?

i was 12 as well.

however, my most vivid memory was the olympic glasses from petro canada.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by mr.x

Loser.

What great debating skills you have.

Not everyone gets doe-eyed and weepy at the sight of a jogger with a stick. I wonder how much $$$ it cost us to have Gordo and Gregor hang around Greece for a few days?

[Yume-sama]

Originally Posted by whatnext

What great debating skills you have.

Not everyone gets doe-eyed and weepy at the sight of a jogger with a stick. I wonder how much $$$ it cost us to have Gordo and Gregor hang around Greece for a few days?

Maybe they'll attract people to come to Vancouver so we can have some decent Greek food downtown!

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by whatnext

What great debating skills you have.

Not everyone gets doe-eyed and weepy at the sight of a jogger with a stick. I wonder how much $$$ it cost us to have Gordo and Gregor hang around Greece for a few days?

What's there to debate about? As if it hasn't been debated to death before here in this forum.

[bulliver]

i was 12 as well.

however, my most vivid memory was the olympic glasses from petro canada.

Oh yeah...with the ring of faux gold around the rim. Pretty sure my mom still has a few in her cupboard.

[nova9]

Originally Posted by whatnext

What great debating skills you have.

Not everyone gets doe-eyed and weepy at the sight of a jogger with a stick. I wonder how much $$$ it cost us to have Gordo and Gregor hang around Greece for a few days?

Broken record. Not necessarily from you but it's nothing we haven't heard before.

At this point, what's there to do about it? Raise awareness of social issues, sure, but don't bring up financial arguments because it is too late, oh well. Move on.

[mr.x]

Security can't prevent idiots from protesting
Why ruin other people's fun experiences?

By Michael Smyth, The Province
November 1, 2009

I took my wife and kids to see the Olympic torch relay and we got so close to the sacred flame that I swear I could have reached out grabbed the thing myself.

Not that I had any desire to be body-slammed by one of the hundreds of cops around, but I mention this to illustrate a point: If some anarchist knucklehead is determined to disrupt the torch relay, it's not exactly Mission Impossible.

Which makes me wonder if the overwhelming security apparatus attached to the relay is really worth it. There were hundreds of police officers assigned to the relay launch, a helicopter whirring overhead, a SWAT team assembled inside the legislature, bomb-sniffing dogs prowling the route and even those men-in-black types wearing earpieces and talking into their sleeves.

I think it was the most security I'd seen since the Vancouver APEC summit a decade ago. And they still couldn't stop the mob of usual suspects from partly spoiling the party.

About 100 anti-Olympic "zombies" -- their word, not mine -- decided their orderly protest wasn't enough and blocked a road near the lieutenant-governor's house Friday night. That forced the relay route to be juggled, ruining the event for hundreds of spectators and about six torch-bearers who settled for an abbreviated flame pass-along instead of running their promised 300-metre segments.

Very nice. Spoil someone's experience-of-a-lifetime to make some ill-defined point and get your selfish moment on TV. Some idiots even threw marbles at mounted police in an apparent effort to frighten or injure their horses.

Sadly, this is the kind of garbage that $1-billion worth of Olympic security won't stop -- though police hinted they're aware of larger threats.

"In past Olympic events, there has been terrorist activities," said Sgt. Grant Hamilton of Victoria city police. Still seems like overkill to me.

That said, don't let the heavy security or threat of protesting party-poopers stop you from getting out and experiencing the torch relay. My family had a great time connecting with friends and neighbours, waving little flags and joining an impromptu chorus of "O Canada."

This is what the Olympic experience is really about and it felt good. It struck me this was a genuine Canadian cultural celebration, not just the "two-week party" that critics like to trash.

Expensive? Yes, which is why scrutiny of the costs must continue. Will politicians milk it for all it's worth? Sure, Gordon Campbell is dreaming about his "Olympic bounce" in the polls.

But the 2010 Games should be judged on more than just profits, losses, ticket sales and tourism stats. As Syracuse University professor Rick Burton wrote: "Evaluations of the Olympic Games bidders and hosts should not be based solely on costs and cost overruns, but the holistic outcomes generated. Evaluations must go beyond dollars and scratch at what hosting the Games really does to a city."

That includes intangible benefits like increased volunteerism, inspiring kids to get active, greater awareness of disabled people and their strengths and plain old Canadian pride. Or, like I experienced, just watching the wonder in your children's eyes.

Get out and see the torch relay -- security, protesters and all -- before you decide if it's all really worth it.
© Copyright (c) The Province

[bulliver]

Originally Posted by whatnext

What great debating skills you have.

Not everyone gets doe-eyed and weepy at the sight of a jogger with a stick. I wonder how much $$$ it cost us to have Gordo and Gregor hang around Greece for a few days?

And how much does it cost us for security to keep these assholes from taking a dump over everything that the rest of us are trying to enjoy?

Oh wait...says right up top in the article: 1B$$$, more than a trip to Greece, ya!

[Metro-One]

however, my most vivid memory was the olympic glasses from petro canada.

Hehe, I still have 2 of those in my kitchen!

[Millennium2002]

I'm constantly annoyed at how some people want to stop everyone's fun. It's been done before with past Olympic-related events.

[SpongeG]

for the 88 relay i was in ft st john and in grade 11 they had a big ceremony at the hockey rink - lots of people showed up and a large chunk of people showed up late for school that day - when we got there the person who had to sign us in said i don't know why they didn't just give people the time off to go see it since so many were late that day - the ceremony was held at like 8 or 9 in the morning - my dad worked for PC so we sort of had to go and well a large amount of students parents worked for PC too so they all got to go - I remember getting a book and the olympic glasses which my mom had until she moved last week