http://www2.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=b3ebe7f5-0d6b-4bb3-9f32-556b645f7b96&p=2
 
Diverse population prepares to protest Olympics
Protester roster includes Kurdistan native, retired librarian
Vancouver Courier
Published: Friday, January 29, 2010
 
Naoibh O'Connor
 
On Feb. 12, an assortment of groups calling themselves the 2010 Welcoming
Committee will hold an anti-Olympics rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery at
the same time as the opening ceremonies. Here are some of the protestors:
 
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Robert Ages will protest during the Games.View Larger Image View Larger Image
Robert Ages will protest during the Games.
Dan Toulgoet
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Name: Robert Ages, 56
 
Birth place: Ottawa
 
Residence: Ladner
 
Day job: independent economic and financial consultant. Education:
undergrad in economics from York university, finance MBA from University
of Toronto.
 
Groups: national treasurer for the Council of Canadians, a group founded
in 1985 to oppose the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.
 
Reason for protesting Olympics: "The involvement of a number of
corporations as Olympic sponsors who are exactly the same corporations
[the Council of Canadians] is opposing every day, whether in regard to the
tar sands or privatization of water--they're the same people."
 
Interesting fact: first protest was at age 13 for student rights.
 
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Name: Lauren Gill, 21
 
Birth place: Vancouver
 
Residence: East Side
 
Day job: works in addiction services as an outreach worker. Education:
attends Douglas College working on a social work degree.
 
Groups: East Vancouver Abolitionists, which opposes prostitution and porn.
Gill worked with Community Advocates for Little Mountain and Citywide
Housing Coalition.
 
Reason for protesting Olympics: "My number one concern is the increase in
homelessness and poverty in Vancouver and the rent increases and illegal
evictions."
 
Interesting fact: camped out in front of the B.C. Housing relocation
office to protest the demolition of the Little Mountain housing complex.
 
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Name: Sozan Savehilaghi, 27.
 
Birth place: Kurdistan
 
Residence: Downtown Eastside
 
Day job: research assistant at UBC in the global health department.
Education: Studied sociology and women's studies at Simon Fraser
University.
 
Reason for protesting Olympics: "[The] sanitizing of the Downtown Eastside
for visitors, specifically the legislation that was proposed around
forcing homeless people to be sheltered before the Olympics and also
criminalizing homeless people by handing out jaywalking tickets and the
[increased] police presence and abuse around the Downtown Eastside."
 
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Name: Joseph Jones, "between 60 and 65"
 
Birth place: United States
 
Residence: East Side in Norquay Village
 
Day job: retired, librarian emeritus at UBC.
 
Education: Bachelors degree in French, master's degree in English.
University of Toronto
 
Groups: Norquay Village Neighbourhood Centre Working Group and the Olympic
Resistance Network.
 
Reason for protesting Olympics: "Jack Poole famously said in 2001--and he
[was] a major Vancouver real estate developer--that if the Olympics
weren't coming, we'd have to invent it. Large interests are out to
radically remake Vancouver for the rich and I have been struggling with
that in my own neighbourhood for about three years."
 
Interesting fact: Came to Canada in 1970 as a "draft resister" and married
a Vancouverite.
 
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Name: Gregory Williams, 20
 
Birth place: New Brunswick, New Jersey
 
Residence: Kitsilano
 
Day job: student. Education: UBC, history major
 
Groups: president of the Student Christian Movement at UBC.
 
Reason for protesting Olympics: "The police and the government are telling
us very, very strongly not to protest, therefore there is a democratic
need for everyone who even remotely aligns themselves with the
anti-Olympic movement to do just that so we preserve our right to
protest."
 
Interesting fact: coincidentally shares the same name as an associate of
Marc Emery who was arrested with the pot crusader.

Naoibh O'Connor, Vancouver Courier