11/23/24
March 19, 2007
Daughter of Olympian turns in skis for activism: "Whenever former Olympian Jim Hunter gets a phone call to his Calgary home with the '604' or '250' area code in his caller display he worries his activist daughter is in trouble. 'I fear for my daughter every day,' said Hunter."
Who put this lame-ass story up? I'm pretty sure there are much worse things to protest than the Olympics. Marching against poverty, aye? Just think how annoying this women would be if she lived here in ole capitalist America vs. socialist Canada. People like her are so mis-guided, they have good intentions but no brains, maybe that hippie style of activism works in Canada, but it doesnt work here in America anymore.
posted by dezznutz at 12:06 PM on March 20, 2007
dezz, I don't even know where to start with you. I read the article, and found it very interesting. I was a child when Jungle Jim and his skiing brethern were careening down the slopes of Europe and North America, getting some of the biggest cheers from fans of all nationalities for their passion, skill and daring style. He was of course a member of the original 'Crazy Canucks'. That being said, I feel the Olympics are a bloated, gross spectacle that has very little to do with sport. The billions, yes, I said billions, with a 'B' that the City of Vancouver, Province of British Columbia, and the Government of Canada are spending on this could be much better used to inprove the housing and health of Canadians in both Lower British Columbia and across our great nation. I consider myself to be about as conservative in my politics as anyone I know, but I admire the passion and convictions of this young woman. I defend her right to protest anything she wants, so long as she does not harm anyone in her fight. Any activism is good activism, as it gets people discussing events and issues. To refer to Canada as socialist shows your ignorance. Canada is one of the most democratic, capitalistic societies on this planet. We do tend to look after our poorer, weaker members of our society in a more compassionate way than our neighbours to the south. However, that hardly makes us socialist. The political party in power federally in Canada is about as right wing as if not moreso, than the one in Washington D.C. I am not a parent, but am a proud uncle of some politically active nieces and nephews, and I hope they are as passionate and committed to their convictions as Anna Hunter seems to be with hers. As far as who put this 'lame ass story' up, that would be Amateur, you'll see that at the bottom of the fpp. I'd like to thank Amateur as I would most likely never have found this article, and I think I've enjoyed every fpp he's ever done here. Cheers Amateur, I hope you have the best of success in Beijing.
posted by tommybiden at 01:22 PM on March 20, 2007
Who put this lame-ass story up? I'm pretty sure there are much worse things to protest than the Olympics. Marching against poverty, aye? Just think how annoying this women would be if she lived here in ole capitalist America vs. socialist Canada. People like her are so mis-guided, they have good intentions but no brains, maybe that hippie style of activism works in Canada, but it doesnt work here in America anymore. You sir, are a credit to your school system. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go smoke a big joint, drink a litre of maple syrup, put on some denim, grab my big gay husband/wife and head on over to the hospital. Why? BECAUSE I CAN - That's why! (hums the national anthem)
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 01:27 PM on March 20, 2007
Weedy, Are you planning to do those in that precise order?
posted by ajaffe at 01:41 PM on March 20, 2007
I love Canadians. I just hate their goddamn arctic air masses. btw, Amateur, I liked the article too -- it was great reading about one of the Crazy Canucks, a bunch that I much admired, and also to see a former Olympian with a real sense of perspective. Hunter was an Olympian during the era when the Winter games, at least, were small-town, and I'll bet he's not too revved either about what they have become since.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 01:46 PM on March 20, 2007
Weedy, I take offence at the word 'big', I prefer 'bear' or 'cuddly'. And, maple syrup shooters all around! l_b_b, I think those air masses originate in Alaska, at least that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. Personally, I've always been more fond of Mexican highs than Canadian lows.
posted by tommybiden at 02:36 PM on March 20, 2007
I hear ya! tommytrump!! especially your comment about the billions spent that could be put to better use for soooo many more people. lbb, i with ya on those artic air masses! I remember my older brother talking about those "Crazy Canucks". And tommy, i commend you on your taste in beer.
posted by steelergirl at 06:13 PM on March 20, 2007
After a good toke, I could def. see ya downing a litre of maple syrup, do you ever race like they did in Super Troopers? touche, but I didnt go to public school, so I tend to say what I mean and believe what I say, wasnt trying to insult any ya'll Canadians, (You do have socialist medicine!) hell I worked for one for four years...he played pro hockey and his daughter smoked like a champ, Oooops there I go again with my labeling, theres more to Canadians than that, right? PS Trump according to the article she was being harmful, thats usually why someone gets arrested. I'm sorry if I think your country is more socialist than mine is, but that is the cold hard truth, how does that make me ignorant? quit crying about Americans, I saw one of your leaders on C-Span talk once and he actually took time out of his speech to complain about America and how we supposedly ignore you...
posted by dezznutz at 01:51 AM on March 21, 2007
Oooops there I go again with my labeling Stop trying to be cute. There is an edit feature on SpoFi, not to mention the Preview button. Anything that appears in SpoFi under your name is there because you wanted to say it, so own it. PS Trump according to the article she was being harmful, thats usually why someone gets arrested. In the context of a protest, it's a lot less "usual" than in, say, street crime that those arrested are being harmful (unless you're counting harm to the status quo). quit crying about Americans, I saw one of your leaders on C-Span talk once and he actually took time out of his speech to complain about America and how we supposedly ignore you... Yeah? I saw one of our (read: USA) leaders on TV last night, and he actually took time to say that he would allow his staffers to testify in a very important matter concerning whether the White House and the Republican Party had attempted to influence the course of justice via intimidation of federal prosecutors...only he wouldn't agree to let them testify under oath. If you're going to have a contest of national leaders who say things that are embarrassing to their nation, I think we've got Canada beat. Now, say it with me, dezznutz: USA! USA! USA! USA! There, doesn't that feel better?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:10 AM on March 21, 2007
quit crying about Americans, I saw one of your leaders on C-Span talk once and he actually took time out of his speech to complain about America and how we supposedly ignore you... Yes, by all means - please ignore us. Nothing to see up here... Nothing at all... Move along... Hey! Look out! Mexicans! (runs away) I for one am glad to have the Hunters of the world running around passionate about issues. It's good. We need them. Too many of us are simply passionate about our Playstations. That's why I have a XboX. I'm all counterculture and shit.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 11:19 AM on March 21, 2007
Damn, dude, you roll hardcore. /dials 9-1-, waits...
posted by The_Black_Hand at 05:34 PM on March 21, 2007
dezznutz said: so I tend to say what I mean and believe what I say, wasnt trying to insult any ya'll Canadians, (You do have socialist medicine!) Fact: what Canada has is socialized medicine, NOT socialist medicine. dezznutz said: PS Trump according to the article she was being harmful, thats usually why someone gets arrested. Fact: She couldn't have been too harmful, though as 'according to the article' as you put it, though having been arrested several times, she has NEVER been charged. I'm thinking not too much basis in the arrests then. As an aside to l_b_b, and weedy, thanks for covering for me, I've been at work for the last 10 hours and unable to reply, oh, weedy, I'm still playing my Atari 2600 with the single joy stick, wanna come over and have a tourney?
posted by tommybiden at 09:01 PM on March 21, 2007
No worries, tommy -- I grew up in a border state, so my knowledge of (and appreciation of) Canada is based on something other than what I see on Fox News. I have very conflicted feelings about the Olympics. On the one hand...I love 'em. I love the sports, and yeah, I love the spectacle too. On the other hand, in some ways they have become a combination of too much and not enough. A hundred-meter dash is a hundred-meter dash wherever you have it, and so arguably the Olympic hundred-meter dash is the premier hundred-meter dash (or at least, it has that potential). But in some other sports, such as my personal fave ski racing, the Olympic courses are actually somewhat dummied down from what you find in World Cup competition. Because it is the Olympics, there are different and less rigorous criteria for participation, so they have to use tamer courses in order to keep people from getting killed. It ain't the greatest race, period. And, on the "too much" side of things, there's an insane amount of hype and peripheral activities. Many excellent athletes have come to the Olympics, from a situation of training off in the woods somewhere where nobody knew or cared who they were, and found themselves surrounded by a level of brouhaha that has taken them completely off their game. Anna Hunter is protesting what she sees as misplaced priorities, and despite my emotional attachment to the Olympics, I have a hard time finding a logical flaw in her reasoning. I'd hate to see the Games go away, but I'd probably hate it more if they keep going in their current, rather farcical direction.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:20 AM on March 22, 2007
I have no problem with the athletes. I really enjoy watching the competions. l_b_b, it's the spectacle, the excess, the unnecessary spending on pagent, bribes, and construction that bothers me. As a Canadian, I say thank you for appreciating us. I know I appreciate the fact that our two countries are neighbours. It is the longest undefended border in the world for a reason. I am so proud to be Canadian, and there's nowhere else I'd rather live ( except in February when it's -29c) but there is no other country I'd rather live next to than yours.
posted by tommybiden at 09:38 AM on March 22, 2007
Interesting discussion going on here. I really don't know much about the economics of the olympics so I would appreciate some enlightenment here. I have always thought that a city put so much money out for the olympics because they were going to make that back plus with the increase in tourism. Maybe I am really being niave here and if I am someone will definately tell me because that is what sportsfilter is all about for me - enlightenment.
posted by skydivemom at 01:13 PM on March 22, 2007
Well SDM - I think that's the general idea, but I don't think that's often the way it works out. I seem to recall that very few of the Olympic games have been profitable for the host cities recently - though I believe Sydney was an exception. I'd do some research, but I'm.... ah... well.... (what's the word...).... Oh yeah - Lazy.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 04:05 PM on March 22, 2007
Me too!
posted by skydivemom at 06:51 PM on March 22, 2007
IIRC, Montreal was the first big white elephant. The city went heavily into debt and then couldn't effectively recoup its losses as the venues just didn't bring in that much money after the games. Supposedly the Montreal Games were $2 billion in the hole.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:49 PM on March 22, 2007
li'l brown bat- < yeah? i saw of our (read: usa) leaders tv last night, and he actually took time to say that he would allow his staffers to testify in a very important matter concerning whether the white house and the republican party had attempted to influence the course of justice via intimidation of federal prosecutors...only he wouldn't agree to let them testify under oath. if you're going to have a contest of national leaders who say things that are embarrassing to their nation, i think we've got canada beat. now, say it with me, dezznutz: usa! usa! usa! usa! there, doesn't that feel better?>> Perhaps you don't know it but Bill Clinton fired 93 federal attorneys when he assumed power in 1993. Although those he fired were from the opposition party, the Republican. The Bush administration fired those that wouldn't accept their orders. And by the way they all were from the same party Republicans, not Democrats. But you know, you have to hand it to Slick Willy, he fired the attorneys BEFORE he began his long and twisted reign of power abuse and fraud. Oh well. Maybe Bush has something to learn after all.
posted by jurasicfred at 04:00 PM on March 24, 2007
As for the theme of this thread. Good for the daughter. I think the Olympics are ridiculous. It has turned into a mega touchy-feely freak show. Too bad the days of the Iron Curtain are over. I kind of got turned on by the east German female steroid enhanced athletes. LOL
posted by jurasicfred at 04:03 PM on March 24, 2007
0 of 15...
posted by lil_brown_bat at 05:32 PM on March 24, 2007
Damn tree hugger.