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Olympics

Mayor Gregor Robertson Welcomes Prince Edward to the 2010 Paralympic Games

“The Prince is coming,” the photographer said, focusing her camera and moving closer in towards the curb.  “Prince William?” a tall grey-haired woman carrying a large bundle of flowers, asked...

Prime Minister Stephen Harper Congratulates Lauren Woolstencroft on Paralympic Alpine Gold Medal Win

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today congratulated Lauren Woolstencroft, whose outstanding performance in the women’s giant slalom standing alpine skiing event was rewarded with a gold medal at the...

How VPD Secured City During 2010 Olympic Games Without Repressing It

A successful police story unfolded during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.

Small, Local Shops Saw Little Profit During Olympics

Beyond the area around Robson Square and Granville Street, it was business as unusual---unusually slow, except for the occasional exception like The Umbrella Shop on Granville Island.

The Paralympics: That’s How the Light Gets In

Things get broken—limbs, hearts, hope, minds, promises—it’s all really the same, but of course we can’t have an Olympics for everything. Can we? Imagine a broken-hearted Olympics for those who’ve loved and lost. What would they compete at? Getting out of bed every day, Sisyphus-like, and facing another day?

The Second Class Games? Apathy and Nonchalance Haunt Vancouver's Paralympics

The Paralympic Games deserve an equal amount of public attention. Why so much apathy?

Apologies for the Olympics and Paralympics

Betty and Rolly Fox, parents of Terry Fox, carry the torch into opening ceremonies for the 2010 Paralympic Games.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Paralympic Photo Album Opens with a Chat with Canada Paralympic Ambassador Sam Sullivan

Prime Minister Stephen Harper posed for photos yesterday before the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Paralympic Games.  Here he is shown with  Sir Philip Craven, President of the...

Clean Up of LiveCity Site at David Lam Park Underway

The City will sod and restore hills in an effort to bring David Lam Park back to its pre-Olympic state.

American Journalist's Article Compares Canada to Nazi Germany

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I have decided to stick with love.  Hate is too great a burden to bear.” I need to remember this because I’ve just read the most unbelievable, non-apologetic...

Democracy Now Reports on the Dissenting Voices of the Vancouver 2010 Games: An Interview with Reporter Aaron Maté

Democracy Now's Aaron Maté  discusses his report on the Olympics, titled "In the Shadow of the Olympic Flame: A Report from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, the Poorest Neighbourhood in...

Vancouver's Post Olympic Community

We live in the age of cynicism. And there are a lot of things in this world to be cynical about. But Vancouver's Olympics should not be one of them.

Women Partied and Were Called Bad Girls. A Man Partied and Was Called Hot. Why?

It can't be easy being Marie-Philip Poulin. Female athletes can't just be.  Not without  so many of us passing judgement on their choices, actions and ultimately, their legitimacy....

When worlds cooperate

On the last day of the Olympics, in the heart of downtown Vancouver, an honouring ceremony was held for Native elder and activist Harriet Nahanee, who died after serving jail time for her role in the...

Miga to Collect Employment Insurance?

Thank God for Canada's social safety net...

On the Streets a Near Mob, in Sears an Arrest, in the Canada Line... Flags and Sponatenous Outbrusts of National Anthem

Pandemonium followed Canada's win of the Olympic men's hockey game final yesterday, but it never spilled over into the riot it could have become.

Security Fences Come Down

This worker in this photograph was taking down an Olympics security fence around Trout Lake. The southwest corner of Trout Lake park has been inaccessible since before the Olympics.

Vancouver Freaks Out After Canada Wins Gold Medal Against U.S. in Olympic Hockey

Wooooo! Honk honk honk! Yeahhhhhhhhhhh! Even 20 minutes after Canada beat the U.S. 3 – 2 in overtime – the freaking out continued. On Twitter, a woman reported her husband's tears were dripping into his beer.

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics: We Owned It

Fans Celebrating Down Main Street in Vancouver after Team Canada beat the USA in Men's ice hockey to end the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Crosby's game-winning overtime goal resulted in Canada breaking the all-time record for gold medals for any country in the world...Oh Ca-na-da!

What We Saw at the Closing Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games

The mistakes of the Opening Ceremony seemed irrelevant after 14 gold medals, and tonight's Closing Ceremonies were about celebration and fun.

Looking for a Cool Canada Lovefest? Watch Hockey or Closing Ceremonies for Free at Rio Theatre Tonight

Watching hockey at the RIO Theatre off Commercial Drive was a fun and free alternative to going to a pub.

The Cultural Olympiad

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Cultural Olympiad continues during the Paralympic Games with daring dance, thoughtful theatre and awesome art.
Raphael Saadiq dishes about his youth, music and video games.
Winnipeg curator provokes a closer look at the environmental, social costs of our collective appetite.

Olympic Round Up

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Were the Olympics worth it for Vancouver?  The morning-after effects of the 17-day events have funneled our city into a blend of anxiety about the legacy of Vancouver 2010, hope for a tourism...

Olympics Updates for Locals Only

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I was fortunate enough yesterday to attend the dress rehearsal of the Opening Ceremonies and thought that I would pass on a few tips on entering BC Place for those who are planning to attend either...
Richmond - The city of Richmond is converting a huge area stretching from City Hall to Minorou Park into a giant outdoor mall called the O Zone.  The area is only a few blocks from the new...

Olympics Retort

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The costs of the Olympics were absurdly higher than VANOC or any level of government was ready to admit. The final number will come in north of $8 billion. How much north we may never know due to a...
I don't much like my country these days, indeed haven't for the last week or so.  Is it simply a case of me being an anti-Olympic no-fun grinch?  Maybe.   Or maybe it’s something else...
The question is not whether opposing elements will meet in the streets. The question is what happens when they do?
Here's the final installment of the District of North Vancouver's response to me about why Olympic corporate sponsors could use Distirct property to promote themselves.  Dr. Shaw: Sorry for the...
We learned this week that Fortress, the company that acquired Whistler-Blackcomb from a bankrupt Intrawest, is now in default to its creditors. The news sparked speculation that the resort might...

Unauthorized

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 One of these days, and I look forward to it, we're going to think about the fact that the torch relay began as Nazi propoganda. Sure, we have a new line to the airport, and I bet it plays well...
The Australian team, who are now in the Athletes Village, unfurled a flag of a Kangaroo with boxing gloves from their balcony. But it's not an official flag of the Olympics! Team spirit at an...
Dave Zirin is a rare animal indeed, and a bit of a shit disturber. He's a "political" sports writer who isn't willing to let sports off the hook for it's potential leadership role in bringing social...