Olympic protest brings violence, vandalism to downtown Vancouver

if these apes had a real cause they believed in so much as to destroy property like that, they should show their faces. cowards and scum.... lock them up

ok, this baffles me. I need someone who is for these protests to come on this venue and explain a) Why you are against the 2010 games being in Vancouver and b) Why these protests are helping you in whatever goal you are trying to achieve. Seriously. Someone intelligent step up to the plate and explain. I promise I am willing to listen.

In Seattle at the 1999 WTO protests, some of the smashing activity was done by police agent provocateurs dressed as black block members. Something similar recently happened in Quebec, but with a fake assault on police by undercover police; caught on video with all the supposed black block members wearing police issue footwear.

So maybe this was real protesters, and maybe it was cops. Maybe it was a couple of cops egging some dumb kids on to do the actual damage.

Do you know for sure?

Useless unproductive (nay, destructive) idiots.

So, can anyone tell me why they are protesting? I just can't seem to grasp the reason

Please keep in mind this is a small number of protesters - it is not the 3000 who were out last night [Friday] that was a peaceful protest. There is no such a thing as a convenient protest, protests are meant to shake things up and make people think. There are all kinds of protest mostly peaceful a small number are not. To answer why, I can give you $6 billion reasons why !!!

basically the olympics are a 2 week party for the rich and well connected but everyone in this province including the very poor who cannot even afford to put a roof over there heads have to pay for, only the well heeled can afford olympic ticket prices (and freeloading politician who despite their huge salaries are getting free tickets courtesy of the tax payers)
how can you justify spending billions of dollars so that a few morons can run or jump or ski for there own benefit - a total waste of money , i hope the protests increase

Not cool at all. My compassion for the poor is at its lowest point. Thanks to these punks who claim to be fighting for them.

@Adam sink - These people causing the destruction represent a very small minority of the people who have been peacefully protesting in Vancouver, but violence always gets more media than peace.
The main concern people in B.C. have about the Olympics is the cost: $6 Billion. Yes, that's a 'B'. It is estimated that the revenue made as a result of the Olympics will only be $1 Billion, leaving the taxpayers with a hell of a bill. This gross disparity is partly a result of the economic downturn, but it is mostly due to financial mismanagement and political ineptitude.
Yes, it was a pretty show last night. Yes, these athletes have worked very hard for this. For many of us it is just hard to embrace these Olympics knowing that after the athletes leave, the dignitaries go home, and the last journalist goes to find a new story, the people of Metro Vancouver and the entire province are left with more than 1000 teachers being laid off, libraries and community centres having to reduce hours or close altogether, delayed surgeries and hospital beds being closed because there's no money to pay nurses, and arts & culture groups having to scramble to make up for the 90% cut in government funding that was announced 6 months ago.
I hope this answers some of your questions. Don't let the actions of masked hooligans influence your thoughts on the legitimate concerns of peaceful protesters. And be careful when interpreting the way these events are being presented by the media. With 6,000 extra cops in the city for the Olympics (at a cost of $1 billion), I'm not sure how the actions of 200 people could be described as a "riot."

well..... there are many different angles, here's just one:

We hear often that the Olympics will spur massive investment in Vancouver as the world admires our city. It is too often taken as a given that this is a good thing, but is it? Many would say not - including people from vancouver who would like to be able to afford to live in their own city.

Both rent and home prices are out of control - it will only get worse in Vancouver - much worse - with a "successful" Olympics.

That's one way to answer your questions, Adam.