Countdown clock vandalized...again

[mr.x]

Olympic countdown clock vandalized
Vancouver/CKNW(AM98)

8/28/2008

Vandals have hit Vancouver’s Olympic countdown clock...again.

A clean-up crew was called in just before nine this morning after white paint was poured all over the clock...located outside the Vancouver art gallery.

Luis --who doesn't want his last name released-- says the culprits were caught --white-handed.

He says he doesn't know exactly how many vandals were involved, but it was more than one.

Vancouver police still have to confirm how many people were taken into custody.






again???? how original. what is this, the third time now right?

At least they got caught.

[D J M K]

maybe we should place the clock into a designated protest zone (ie park) and not let anybody near it. and those who dare enter this protest clock park zone must then go through 7 years of "re-education" hard labour.

[mr.x]

maybe we should place the clock into a designated protest zone (ie park) and not let anybody near it. and those who dare enter this protest clock park zone must then go through 7 years of "re-education" hard labour.

Even better, why not just make the art gallery's square a banned protest zone.

[D J M K]

mmmm... i wonder where ravman was last night.

[nova9]

i'd install sentries loaded with automatic rifles to guard it. screw headshots, just spray these protestors with justice. haha.

okay, i'm getting scary now. but seriously, what is this need to vandalize things in this part of the world? if they were at least clever or pleasing in its design but graffitti here just seems to be "f#$% _____"

[G5man]

Or you could always have police stationed there and if anybody even makes a threat lock them up for good. That is what we do in the United States at major events.

[mr.x]

Or you could always have police stationed there and if anybody even makes a threat lock them up for good. That is what we do in the United States at major events.

I agree.

We're really a bunch of pussies up here when it comes to that. When Vancouver hosted APEC at the University of British Columbia, student protesters blocked the access road that the leaders motorcade were gonna leave through in a few minutes. They refused to leave even after requests by the RCMP. The Chretien government then ordered the RCMP to remove the protesters by force, and so the RCMP took out the pepper spray.

IMO, it was the right thing to do...but the RCMP and the government took a lot of flack for doing that. Only here in Canada.....

And now, at the UBC Student Union Building there are banners by the student association that glorify the students that protested.

Unbelievable really.

[dleung]

At least in Beijing the would-be protestors had legit human rights causes... here it's "we want more free housing"

[Yellow Fever]

mmmm... i wonder where ravman was last night.

He must be too busy celebrating the NDP is now ahead of the Liberals.:D

Seriously, they should put some landmines around the clock area and blow the !@#$% out of their ass!:nuts:

[Rhino]

why dont they take these people drive them about 4 hours up the frazer canyon and drop them off , with out cell phones. No access to roads , take them in by chopper in stead and leave them there. F*cking hippie ass holes.

[Xelebes]

maybe we should place the clock into a designated protest zone (ie park) and not let anybody near it. and those who dare enter this protest clock park zone must then go through 7 years of "re-education" hard labour.

And in the park, all that can be seen is people just playing street hockey.

[mr.x]

It appears that the damage on the clock is permanent to an extent, until they fix it. A simple paint wash isn't gonna do the trick this time:


CLOCK VANDALIZED
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2008/08/28/bc-080828-olympic-clock-vandalized.jpg




AFTER CLEANING CREW MAKES REPAIRS, still damaged
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3264/2809432416_0f8900acbc_o.jpg

[mr.x]

IAN BAILEY
From Friday's Globe and Mail

August 29, 2008 at 4:47 AM EDT

VANCOUVER — Maryke Bruin and Jelle Groot, tourists from Holland, were taking a few holiday snaps of the Vancouver 2010 Countdown Clock yesterday, and figuring the timepiece on the north side of the Vancouver Art Gallery looked pretty good.

Then they walked around the steel, glass and red-cedar structure that is counting down the days to the start of the Games - and stared in astonishment.

There were streaks of white paint across the steel of the six-metre-high structure, which weighs in at 1,170 kilograms and was donated to the city by Omega, the official timekeeper of the Games. A workman was using a hose to attack the paint with jets of scalding hot water to counter the latest attack of vandalism on one of the most visible icons of the coming Games.

"It's so crazy," said Ms. Bruin, shaking her head at the damage. Mr. Groot agreed, calling it "stupid" to damage a symbol of an event deemed as being for all people.

Just after midnight yesterday, Vancouver police received a call that three people had doused the clock with white paint. Police arrested two 19-year-old men and a 20-year-old woman blocks away. Their clothes and hands were covered with paint, said Constable Jana McGuinness of the Vancouver Police Department.

Mischief charges are pending against the three, she said.

While this isn't the first time the clock has been vandalized, Constable McGuinness said it was too early to say if the trio were linked to organized protest. The clock has been the focus of trouble from its debut, with Olympic organizers reporting at least five previous cases of notable vandalism. Protesters armed with rocks and paint balloons crashed its unveiling in February, 2007. Eight people were arrested for mischief and assault.

But Renée Smith-Valade, communications vice-president for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, said yesterday they are sticking by the showpiece device.

"We chose that location because it's central; it's easily accessible. It's highly visible," she said. "We still believe it's the best permanent home for the clock, but inevitably when you put anything - a piece of sculpture, a countdown clock - in a public place, you take a certain amount of risk, so the best you can do is manage that."

The clock is no longer protected 24-7 by guards on site, but "there is surveillance on the clock 24-7," she said, declining to be specific.

Ms. Smith-Valade said other areas of the gallery's property were damaged by paint yesterday. The spokesman for the gallery did not respond by deadline to calls seeking comment.





A worker removes paint Thursday from the Vancouver 2010 Countdown Clock. The six-metre steel structure weighs 1,170 kilograms. (Lyle Stafford for The Globe and Mail)
http://images.theglobeandmail.com/archives/RTGAM/images/20080829/wbcolympicclock29/0829clock500big.jpg

[Overground]

I reckon the cctv cameras have those morons on tape. There is one atop the gallery iirc?

Perhaps they should just move this to another location or build a high enough gate around and away from it. I suppose they could still throw paint from a distance but it could prevent them from easily stepping right up to it and dousing it.

[Yellow Fever]

^^ That's a good idea!

[deasine]

Perhaps they should just move this to another location or build a high enough gate around and away from it. I suppose they could still throw paint from a distance but it could prevent them from easily stepping right up to it and dousing it.

That's what I'm hoping. I want a few more 2010 clocks around Vancouver, perhaps for the future celebration sites/plazas. One in Whistler would be nice too =)

[DrT]

I reckon the cctv cameras have those morons on tape. There is one atop the gallery iirc?

Perhaps they should just move this to another location or build a high enough gate around and away from it. I suppose they could still throw paint from a distance but it could prevent them from easily stepping right up to it and dousing it.

No, I think it is a good trap to catch goons with faulty synapse connections and put them away for a long time so that they don't disrupt the real Olympics.