CONVERGENCE FEB 2010: ALL OUT AGAINST THE 2010 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES!

CONVERGENCE FEB 2010: ALL OUT AGAINST THE 2010 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES!
Promo Video: http://submedia.tv/stimulator/2010/01/10/all-out-against-the-2010-winter...
The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver & Whistler, on unceded Indigenous land, from February 12-28 2010. We call on all anti-capitalist, Indigenous, housing rights, labour, migrant justice, environmental, anti-war, community-loving, anti-poverty, civil libertarian, and anti colonial activists to come together to confront this two-week circus and the oppression it represents. We are organizing towards a global anti-capitalist and anti-colonial convergence against the 2010 Olympic Games.

BASIC SCHEDULE:

The basic plan thus far is:

- Conference and People's Summit on Wed Feb 10- Thurs Feb 11

- Fri Feb 12: Take Back Our City! “Welcome” the 2010 Olympic Torch with
Free Games, Free Speech, and Free Food! Beginning with a festival at the
Vancouver Art Gallery at 3 pm, followed by a parade and protest to BC
Place Stadium. Details, including childcare arrangements, at:
http://2010welcoming.wordpress.com/

- Autonomous days of action on Sat Feb 13 and Mon Feb 15 including
anti-corporate actions, rallies to oppose militarization, and more.

- On Sun Feb 14th, we will be standing with the 19th Annual Women's
Memorial March to honour all the missing and murdered and women in the
DTES (this is not an anti-Olympic protest). Details at:
http://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/

We will also be updating our website with additional anti-Olympic events
occurring during the month of February:
http://olympicresistance.net or http://no2010.com

LOGISTICAL INFORMATION:

We are working to coordinate the logistics to host this convergence. For
information on billeting (whether you are in need of billeting or can
provide billeting), travel and border information, legal updates, food and
childcare arrangements, community spaces, welcome package, and more,
please check http://olympicresistance.net frequently for updates.

SUPPORT THE CONVERGENCE AND GET INVOLVED!

1) Sign-up for our low-traffic list (1-2 emails per week) to stay updated
on upcoming events, meetings, and actions. Please email
olympicresistance [at] riseup.net and ask to be added to our announcement list.

2) If you are part of another group (artist, activist, community, union,
campus etc) and are planning any kind of activity or event to oppose the
Games during Jan-Feb 2010, please do let us know so we can stay in touch.

3) Host an anti-Olympic educational on your campus or at your next
conference. Or invite a speaker to your next meeting to discuss what your
group can do. We are able to provide educational materials including
films, tshirts, comics, buttons, stickers and more!

4) Get involved in the Olympic Resistance Network or other anti-Olympic
groups in your neighbourhood or campus. The ORN has regular General
Meetings on Sundays as well as many committees.

5) Spread the word about the convergence! Forward this notice to your
contacts, join our facebook group
(http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22399134613&ref=ts), download
posters and flyers about the convergence from our website and pass them
on!

6) Please donate! Hosting this convergence requires significant funds,
including legal defence funds. You can donate securely through PayPal on
our website: http://olympicresistance.net/content/send-us-money or cheques
can be made out to Olympic Resistance Network and mailed to ORN, 6 - 1857
Kitchener St, Vancouver, BC, V5L 2W5. Email ornfundraise [at] riseup.net to
arrange direct deposits or other queries.

WHY OPPOSE THE GAMES:

The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place on unceded Indigenous land. Far
from being simply about sport, the history of the Olympics is one rooted
in displacement, corporate greed, and repression. As Olympic promoters and
sponsors seek to present their sanitized corporate brand image to the
world, the real impacts of the Games are apparent to everyone:

* Expansion of sport tourism on Indigenous lands
* Increasing homelessness across the province and especially in
Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
* Misdirected public spending and debt totaling $6 billion while funding
for the arts, educations, and health care are suffering cutbacks
* Corporate bailouts and corporate profits for companies with some of the
worst social and environmental records.
* Threats to basic civil liberties and free speech
* Union-busting and vulnerable working conditions for migrant labour
* Unprecedented destruction of the environment
* Unparalleled $1 billion police and security spending that is turning our
city into a militarized zone.

Watch: Eight Reasons to Oppose the 2010 Winter Olympics:
http://vimeo.com/4872922

ABOUT US:

The Olympics Resistance Network is primarily based in Vancouver, Coast
Salish Territories and exists as a space to coordinate anti-2010 Olympics
efforts.

The ORN supports the international resolution passed by over 1500
Indigenous delegates at the Intercontinental Indigenous Peoples Gathering
in Sonora, Mexico to “boycott the 2010 Olympic Games” based on Resolution
#2 of the Gathering which states “We reject the 2010 Winter Olympics on
sacred and stolen territory of Turtle Island–Vancouver, Canada”.

Based on this call, our organizing as natives and non-natives alike is
largely being done under the slogan of "No Olympics on Stolen Native
Land". In doing so, we act in solidarity with other communities across
'BC' - particularly indigenous communities who have been defending their
land against the onslaught of the Olympics since the bid itself.

We look forward to working together across our experiences and movements,
while sharing a common understanding including an anti-colonial and
anti-capitalist analysis; respect for diversity of tactics and strategies;
an anti-oppression understanding and solidarity with those most directly
affected; and organizational philosophy based on decentralization within a
coordinated and accountable structure.

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WEBSITE: olympicresistance.net
EMAIL: olympicresistance [at] riseup.net