Post Olympic Reality From Swindle to Cheat
Some telling scenes of the simultaneous condo sale party and the social housing protest.
The promised social housing has been rescinded!
Oppressed people of the world take note. The promises of your politicians are nothing but lies. If they promise you anything positive that will come out of Expo and Olympic parties; it is a lie. Nothing will come out of it except debts and anything left over that can promise a profit, will be taken over by the banks in order to effect the profit by flipping real estate to generate more fictitious value as the standard form to rob the people of real value, such as housing they can live in. Instead it is to whoever is willing to risk the highest loan in the new world casino economy. Step right up if you want to bid your future on gambling futures; the new kid on the capitalist block. If you can't ante up on the mortgage, they might want to cut off your fingers, but more likely to turf you out on you ass while they assume your “toxic assets.” And toxic they are! In Vancouver, they cost over a billion dollars and are shoddily built. They are even built over old toxic industrial sites. There is no mention of how much money was spent on removing toxic muck and where it went as it contained heavy metal contamination. But toxins being what they are, are not so easily removed by scraping a few meters of topsoil away.
On May 15th, 2010, the former Olympic Village went on the Condo sales block after weeks of preparation. A huge party was set up to sell condos before the July 1, 2010 HST deadline. Before the 2010 Olympic games, the various levels of government promised 30 percent of the units as social housing. By May 15, 2010, the promise was broken as zero percent is now allocated for social housing for the poor, the working poor and the handicapped. All levels of government have lied and they planned this at the outset. The sale-auction is designed to recoup the losses that total 7.5 billion as the games made only 500 million. During the Olympic Village sell out protest, it was learned that some of the units went to the Vancouver Police for a job well done during the Olympics. Meanwhile, social housing that exists is being cut back. Vancouver seems primed for its own version of the sub-prime bust in the greed to satiate the bankers lust for interest on fast mortgages. It was also learned that the village is of sub standard construction, built outside of building codes and regulation. Vancouver has its large share of leaky condos due to deregulation. These ones are suggested to be good for 10 years before they fall apart.
Speakers at the rally said their piece before the march. One of the speakers pointed out that there is money for renovating the science center and a casino, but none for the poor and working poor, even though there is a $250 million slush fund collecting interest.
The march to the Olympic Village began after speeches, singing and a feed in. En route a huge party appeared to be going on, but it turned out that this tent city is set up for the Dragon Boat races that are going on. In the background was the goal, the stolen promise of social housing! To one side, the science world being renovated; a left over from the Expo '86'; a Socred Boondoggle.
After a brief stop, it was onto the goal and then storming the gates blocked by the Police, Vancouver Security and some of the want to be Olympic Village Condo owners. The protesters broke through the fence blockade and went on to occupy the central square of the Olympic Village.
Once inside the Olympic Village exclusion zone, the protesters march around the center and make the fact of the government betrayal loud and clear. They occupy the square in front of buyers, the media, police and security. They shout out their case and make their demands. We say: Forward to the general strike: Forward to social justice, decent housing for all, nutritious food for all, free medical care, free education and a planned economy! Make the rich pay for their crimes against humanity!