LENIN-MAO MOCK CANADA OLYMPICS
A few days before Christmas 2009, in Canada's third-largest city (Vancouver, currently hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics) an 8,000-pound statue of blood-thirsty Communist tyrants Lenin and Mao was erected on a vacant lot on the corner of a busy intersection. I compiled news at the time under the heading CANADA COMMIE LENIN-MA0 STATUE.
A month later I had occasion to go to Vancouver and, while there, drove out to the suburb near the airport to see the monstrosity with my own eyes.
While we were snapping photos, posing in front of the statues, a group arrived including a city councillor and news crews to interview him. I interviewed him too and asked why the city had allowed a statue of Communist mass murderers to be erected on public property. He said that when they gave the arts-group permission to display the exhibit they hadn't known it would be a statue of Lenin and Mao. I asked why they hadn't known and he said it was because they hadn't asked. I asked why they hadn't asked and he said it was because they didn't need to know what the exhibit would be, just whether or not to allow an exhibit. I told him it was unbelievable that they'd give permission without knowing what they were giving permission for. He said, belligerently, that it didn't matter what I believed and walked away. The words "slimy politician" came to mind and I had no desire to pursue the conversation.
There are Lenin statues all over Russia (and Stalin statues are making a comeback). So too are statues of Mao all over China and in former free nations taken-over by China, like Tibet for example.
Perhaps the LENIN-MAO statue was erected in that suburb because 50% of the population is Chinese, or because Vancouver's Chief of Police is Chinese, or because the Mayor, who's name is Gregor Bethune Robertson (after Norman Bethune) is a Leninist environmentalist - green on the outside and red on the inside. See CANADA'S TOP 100 CHINESE & LENIN BEHIND ENVIRONMENTALISM
Perhaps the statue is meant to give Russian and Chinese athletes a type of "at-home" advantage and throw Canadians, not Mao, off balance. And perhaps LENIN-MAO was erected to mock and insult North American athletes - and athletes from countries invaded and subjugated by China and Russia (like Czechoslovakia for example) - as a form of psychological warfare. Or maybe it's there to jinx our athletes (or the ice-cleaning machines at the Oval).
When we got home - after leaving Vancouver the next day - there was a story in the news about the dismantling of the LENIN-MAO statue. The president of the arts-group was interviewed saying a mistake had been made when the statue was erected. He said the stainless steel sections were lined up evenly instead of crookedly and this had caused it to not properly reflect the political commentary intended by its Chinese creators. He'd waited for "the dust to settle" before having it fixed and he hoped the alteration - although impossible to see - would change the public's disgust and demands for its removal. According to him (and he's backed up by corporations and politicians) the LENIN-MAO is here to stay for its two-year duration.
A day or so later there was a news story reporting the erection of another massive grotesque statue in the same part of town as the LENIN-MAO one and it was sponsored by the same art-group. It was actually being erected on the very day we were there. Had I known I'd have gone there too and taken a photo, although standing beside the gory thing would have been disturbing.
The bloody head's features are Anglo-Saxon (origin of the word "English") and its disembowelment and beheading is symbolic of the political commentary intended by the art-group exhibiting it, ie anti-Canadian, anti-American, anti-British, anti-European, anti-human and downright evil. Symbolically it's located under the overhead railway tracks of the Canada-Line sky-train station - built at the cost of billions to the taxpayer for the specific purpose of delivering athletes and spectators to the Olympic Oval, pride of Chinatown. Imagine the effect this will have on young children - growing up in a world where their parents don't have the guts, pardon the pun, to do anything about it.
I did a search on the art-group - its name is "Vancouver Biennale" - to see what they are about. The group is funded by corporations and government indirectly. They tout themselves as being an "open air museum" concerned with bringing "art" to Vancouverites "free of charge". It's not art - it's political pornography - and it's not free, we're paying for it. I wonder how much it cost to have the 8,000-pound stainless steel bust of their commie LENIN-MAO shipped here? And they probably got the steel from us. Lenin famously said, about we in America, "They'll sell us the rope with which we will hang them". USSR STEALING CANADA'S STEEL & RICH RUSSIANS LIKE LENIN
Another of the art-group's 30 exhibits - this time erected on Vancouver's most beautiful beach, ENGLISH BAY (looking out at the big ships coming in from China) - is statues of Chinese people laughing hysterically. It's symbolically named A-MAZING-LAUGHTER.
As I write this, the Olympics are almost over. It's been the best Olympics ever for we Canadian spectators. Our awe-inspiring athletes are once again making us proud to be Canadian and giving us an outlet to express it. Their personal stories, their trials and tribulations, their feats of endurance, their grace under pressure, their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strength, their kindness and compassion have been on display for us this past two weeks. THEY are Canada's true works of art.
Our Olympians never let us down - every Olympics just gets better - and it's got nothing to do with gold, silver or bronze (although we're almost topping the most gold medals won). But I think WE are letting THEM down if we don't fight to defend our country, the way they fight to defend their titles. We, as Canadians, have allowed a statue of the head of the nation that is their greatest foe on the game field - the Russians - to be erected on our home turf. Right there - at the Olympic Oval - is the lab where every athlete must go to give a sample of their blood for drug testing. And on the way they can't help but see the LENIN-MAO statue, although I've heard no mention of it in the non-stop media coverage.
As mentioned earlier, the Russians and Chinese probably pay homage to the statue and laugh behind our backs (especially with many of their athletes being trained here in Canada by Canadian coaches). I thought perhaps they'd get a psychological advantage from it but it seems it hasn't helped - they're losing to Canadians, Americans and Europeans for the podium.
In their main events - figure skating and hockey - the Russians are being beaten and aren't taking it kindly. When their gold-medal hope, Evgeni Plushenko lost to the American, Evan Lyasek, he was verbally venomous toward him, and accused the judges of cheating (even though Russia is the indisputable winner when it comes to cheating: think 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City). Russia's Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin (Lenin's namesake) added his voice to Plushenko's - sending a telegram saying "your silver is worth gold". See MEDAL SLUMP PANICS RUSSIANS & RUSSIA-CHINA SKATING CONSPIRACY
News coverage in the Russian press has been insulting to Canada, accusing us of, among other things, being a nation of "cowardly, incompetent war criminals not fit to host the Winter Olympics". You'd think they'd be kinder to their host nation, especially one that honoured their Communist leader with a statue, and let them use our magnificant Expo 86 dome as their Olympic Pavilion. See RUSSIA IN CANADA'S SCIENCE WORLD
Seeing Plushenko and Putin in the news this week, it struck me how much they look like the Lenin statue. I got a bit creative with my photos to demonstrate:
*LENIN'S HEAD in Canada on YouTube, by Gao Brothers
Gao brothers, in China, pose alongside their sculpture
CANADA COMMIE LENIN-MAO STATUE
GOUZENKO OUTED TRUDEAU SPIES
HONOUR TERRY FOX NOT LENIN-MAO
Nixon-Mao opera takes grand scale, Straight, Mar 4, 2010
...The show, he stresses, is much more than a dry chronicling of the historic visit between Nixon and Mao Zedong (sung by baritone Robert Orth and heldentenor Alan Woodrow, respectively) and the opening of the Far East. Yes, the opera depicts actual events: the arrival of Nixon and his cortege, the first uncomfortable meeting in Mao’s study and the huge banquet that followed it, as well as Pat Nixon’s tour of rural China. But it is just as much about the personalities and personal histories of the main players, not just Richard and Pat Nixon and Mao and his wife Chiang Ch’ing, but their advisers Henry Kissinger and Zhou Enlai....
Vancouver Opera general manager James Wright admits it’s a big investment to commission a new production—not to mention one that has a chorus of 40. But Nixon in China, he says, seemed perfect for this city at this time, with the world gathered here. “It’s about internationalism; it’s about cultures moving closer together,†says Wright, whose team is hosting an entire speaker series around the opera and Canada-China relations in the weeks before opening. “Then there is the fact that Beijing had hosted the 2008 Olympics, and the fact that Vancouver is seen as the North American centre for Asia.†Michael Cavanagh, the acclaimed Toronto-based director Wright brought in to create the major new production, could not agree more. In fact, sitting in the rehearsal hall at the downtown Holy Rosary Cathedral, where right outside the doors people are decked out in flag gear and heading to a hockey game, he can’t help but make direct parallels with the Olympic Games....
Vancouver Opera Nixon in China, Command Opera, Mar 2, 2010...Literary Lunch with Margaret MacMillan and Alexandre Trudeau. Tuesday, March 16th 12:30pm – 2:30pm. Seasons at Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver. Tickets: $50 through the VO Box Office: 604-683-0222.... An intimate encounter with acclaimed Canadian historian Margaret MacMillan and journalist and filmmaker Alexandre Trudeau (son of Pierre Ellliott Trudeau) as they take us behind the headlines of history. Hosted by Hal Wake, Artistic Director of Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival. Presented in partnership with Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival.
...Former US Ambassador to the UN to Attend Nixon in China: At the invitation of the US Consul General in Vancouver and Vancouver Opera, former US Ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte, whose early career included working at the National Security Council with Henry Kissinger in the early 1970s, will visit Vancouver to attend private functions and the Canadian premiere of Nixon in China....
USA stages 'Nixon in China' opera (portrays Kissinger as sex-crazed sadist)Canada opera brings in Mao & Nixon (PM Trudeau in China before Pres Nixon) & Nixon-Kissinger 1972 visit to China-Mao (build a bridge across 16,000 miles) & Kissinger urges USA respect China interests (speech in Beijing under personal invitation). VanSun/LA/Wiki/Xinhua, Mar 16, 2010. Go to KISSINGER ZIONISM IN AMERICA & CANADA'S RED TRUDEAU & CANADA'S KISSINGER & TRUDEAU & 7.Systems & 35.BB Brotherhood
Canada's golden Games, Globe Mail, Feb 28, 2010 (These were indeed the best Games ever - at least if the measure is Team Canada's medal haul. Thanks to a remarkable final few days of competition, Canadian athletes won 14 gold medals in Vancouver - twice as many as the team won in Turin, and more than any nation has ever won at a Winter Olympics...)
Games visitors cast their eye over Lenin/Mao
Richmond News, Feb 26, 2010
The Lenin/Miss Mao statue caused a bit of furor when it was erected in Richmond earlier this year, provoking scores of e-mails of derision and support for the controversial work of art. The Vancouver Biennale installation -- titled Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin's Head -- prompted its detractors to worry about what Olympic visitors might think of our city when they see a statue of two former communist leaders in the city centre. News reporter Alan Campbell went out to find out what visitors had to say about our now infamous statue.
JANET MEDENDORP, HOLLAND: Medendorp said she doesn't think any worse of Canada after seeing the Lenin statue. "No, not at all, why would I? It did seem out of place here, but we had a Lenin statue in Holland as part of an East German exhibition at a museum and I wasn't offended by that. I do prefer the aboriginal art I've seen."
KERRIE KINDRAT, VANCOUVER: Kindrat had heard about the controversy surrounding the Lenin/Mao statue. "I know a lot of Chinese people were upset because of Lenin's history, but looking at it, I think it's kind of hard to be offended by it. "At the end of the day it's art and everyone sees it differently."
CORINNE DE LANG, HOLLAND: De Lange was using the statue for different reasons. "We had been using it as a guide as to where the nearest pub was. When I found out who it was of, I thought 'why is that here?' "It didn't make much sense, it seemed strange to see this in Canada. But it looks very nice."
LAURA KINDRAT, KITCHENER, ON: Kindrat couldn't work out why people were offended by the statue. "I wasn't sure what it was to start with. When I found out I thought 'yeah, this is OK.' It's art I suppose, but I didn't see the breasts on top. I think that probably changes the meaning of it a bit."
Russia whines about cowardly Canada, Toronto Star, Feb 25, 2010
Vladimir Putin weighs into figure skating debateTelegraph, Feb 19, 2010
Starting another cold war through ice-skating, You Tube (shows Plushenko driving car past statue of Lenin in St Petersburg)
Never fear, the Zamboni is hereCBC, Feb 17, 2010
If you have been watching long-track speedskating in the last few days, one image probably comes to mind: Angry coaches wildly gesticulating at arena officials as broken ice resurfacers sit lazily on a speedskating track that is quickly turning into a Slip 'N Slide. Yes, electric Olympia resurfacers have taken centre stage at the Richmond Olympic Oval, for all the wrong reasons. The first two days of competition at the Oval were highlighted not by thrilling races, but by machine breakdowns. On Sunday, one resurfacer malfunctioned while flooding the ice during a break in the women's 3,000 metres. It continued to flood the finish line, creating a rough patch and causing a delay in the race. But if you thought that was bad, Machine Malfunction 2: The Revenge, was worse. It happened Monday night during the men's 500 metres. One resurfacer broke down during a flood. Crews frantically started up a second one to continue flooding while repairs were done on the first one. And that's when the second one broke down. Cue angry gesticulating coaches. Meanwhile, a third resurfacer (seriously) arrived on the scene to finish flooding the ice, which was now looking more and more like it was the site of a mountaineer's parade, spiked boots and all. After an hour and a half, frustrated speedskaters finally got back on the ice to finish the race. It was a scene that the New York Times aptly called Keystone Kops on Ice. But have no fear! The Zamboni is here! Here comes the cavalry Fed up themselves with the malfunctions, VANOC called in the heavy artillery Tuesday, bringing in a Zamboni from Calgary via flatbed truck (which I'm assuming was escorted by F-16s and Humvees) to do the rest of the flooding for the speedskating events at the Oval. "I realize they wanted to make a green Games [with the Olympia models] ... but Zambonis in the past have worked for years and years and years," Canadian speedskater Kyle Parrott told The Canadian Press. And they have become a quintessential part of the entire hockey rink experience! So much so, in fact, that Zamboni had to issue a press release after the ice resurfacer breakdowns to clear its good name: "This past weekend, the ice resurfacing equipment at one of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games apparently malfunctioned and was unable to perform its resurfacing task. These machines were not manufactured by the Zamboni Co. "A few media outlets have published inaccurate information regarding those machines, associating the Zamboni brand name with the malfunctioning ice resurfacers." Looks like some people seem to have forgotten one unwavering fact: Zambonis don't break down. People do.
A short history of Olympic cheating, CBC, Feb 11, 2010
Russia taking over Canada Science World (will be "Sochi World" during Vancouver Olympics)by Bob Mackin, 24-Hours, March 27, 2009
The Russians are taking over Science World. The CEO of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics organizing committee revealed Thursday that the city's [Vancouver's] hands-on science museum will be used next February to promote Russia and the 2014 Games. The landmark geodesic-domed facility at the east end of False Creek, which opened a year before Expo 86, is receiving $10.5 million in B.C. taxpayer-funded renovations. Russia staged extravagant hospitality displays at recent Olympics. In Beijing last August, it rented a large, lakefront restaurant in the Houhai nightclub district. Russia House at the Torino Games featured a rooftop ice rink. RICH RUSSIANS LIKE LENIN & RUSSIA IS HELL'S INFERNO
MAO: THE UNKNOWN STORY & THE MAO CULT
MASSIVE MAO MOUNTS TIBET
Czechs send record team to Olympics, Prague Post, Feb 10, 2010 (With the Winter Olympics opening Feb. 12, this year's Czech squad boasts 92 members, a record high, along with 96 others who will travel with the team as support staff.... President Vacláv Klaus and Foreign Affairs Minister Jan Kohout have declined to attend the games as a result of a Canada's decision to re-impose visas on Czech citizens...)
Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia and the crushing of the Prague Spring, Radio Praque (It has been thirty-five years since Soviet troops began entering Czechoslovakia late on August 20th, 1968 and early August 21st in a carefully orchestrated invasion designed to crush the period of political and economic reforms known as the Prague Spring...). See GOOD KING WENCELAS PLEASE LOOK OUT
Vancouver: Russia is ready, Pravda, Feb 11, 2010 (The Russian flag is hoisted in Vancouver ready for the opening of the Winter Olympic Games, where Russia's 175 athletes will hope to improve on the haul of 22 medals from Turin, 2006.... In an opinion poll carried out by the Levada Center, over 40 per cent of those who took part consider that the judges will be biased against Russia in the Games, after International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge declared on Monday that the IOC was "concerned" about a number of doping cases among Russian athletes. Vice President of the IOC Arne Ljungqvist declared the following day that the doping problem in Russia is particularly acute since Russia is hosting the 2014 Sochi Olympics....)
Richmond celebrates sculpture, Olympics and Chinese New Year
CTV, Feb 9, 2010
Not far from where the Olympic cauldron will be lit Tuesday in Richmond, B.C., sits a large, stainless steel sculpture of Vladimir Lenin's head. On top of the communist leader`s noggin is a small Mao Zedong with breasts. The provocative sculpture, "Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin's Head", has literally stopped traffic at a busy intersection in this Olympic host city, where almost half the population is Chinese-Canadian.... The Mao sculpture is a bold statement in a city where the latest census figures show 44 per cent of the population is of Chinese origin. There are two large Asian malls in the city and, in more than a few stores, if you don`t speak Mandarin or Cantonese and haven't gone with a translator, you won't get what you're looking for. Chinese newcomers to the area seem to have no problem cramming on the new Canada line train between the Vancouver International Airport and Vancouver, while Westerners still have a few issues trying to keep their personal space. Richmond, home to the Olympic speed-skating oval, has been a draw for Chinese migrants to Canada for more than a century. Derek Dang's grandfather paid a $500 head tax to get into Canada in 1912, and the Richmond city councillor has the certificate framed on his wall. Dang said three waves of migrants came to Vancouver, first after the British colony of Hong Kong was given back to the Chinese, then when a second wave of Taiwanese moved, and finally when a third wave came from China.
For the Chinese many things are about luck, and they believe there will be added luck for the Winter Games because Chinese New Year falls on Valentines Day, just two days into the Olympic Games. "In many respects, it's more reason to celebrate", Dang said. The Olympic and Lunar celebrations will be blended in Richmond, where two giant Chinese dragons will be circulating through the crowd at the so-called OZone, where Richmond hosts a party for the entire Olympic Games. Richmond is proud to host athletes at its skating oval, Dang said. "It's a unifying factor", he added. But when the questions turned to the Lenin/Mao statue, Dang could only say "Oh dear". Everyone has an opinion about it, he said. "I think we have to demonstrate that we're an open society, that is not going to sensor people and their thoughts", he said.
More Giant Heads Appear in Richmond, Vancourver Biennale, Feb 2, 2010 (In the afterglow of the excellent public debate surrounding the Gao Brothers’ amazing public sculpture entitled ‘Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself Atop Lenin’s Head’ the Vancouver Biennale has installed a new piece at the Lansdowne Canada Line Station.
Will three big heads be better than one?
(Hot on the heels of the Lenin/Mao controversy, 3 more arrive)
by Nelson Bennett, Richmond News, Jan 29, 2010
The fourth of six large public art pieces planned for Richmond as part of the Vancouver Biennale exhibition was installed near the Lansdowne Canada Line station Wednesday, prompting this common reaction from passersby: "What the hell is it?" The question came with a craning of the head, followed by sudden recognition of a giant human head standing upside down or sideways. The sculptures by Mexican artist Javier Marin feature three large human heads made from resin and iron. Evocative of classical figures found in the ruins of some ancient civilization, the three heads are called Cabeza Vanilla, Cordoba and Chiapas. Located under the guideway just north of the Lansdowne Canada Line station, the sculptures are the latest to be installed. Richmond is getting a total of six pieces in the 30-plus piece exhibition. The rest are being installed in Vancouver. Three of the six pieces that Richmond is getting are already in place: Wind Waves at Garry Point Park, Arriving Home at Vancouver International Airport, and the now infamous Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin's Head statue on Elmbridge and Alderbridge Way.... One installation that was earlier announced was Mao's Jacket. That piece will not be coming to Richmond after all. The first Biennale was held two years ago. Like the Mao-Lenin piece that has sparked so much debate in Richmond, the previous exhibition also generated some controversy. One of the more controversial pieces was an upside down church at English Bay, which the City of Calgary bought. The exhibition, which features internationally renowned artists, typically stay in place for up to two years, and are then sold through Christie's Fine Art Auctions.
Lenin blows his top, Biennale admits assembly error
by Alan Campbell, Richmond News, Jan 29, 2010
Much to the dismay of its army of objectors, Richmond's Lenin/Miss Mao had not been decapitated and is not being run out of town. There was something of a rumble in the jungle Wednesday morning when passers-by witnessed workmen slicing Miss Mao off Lenin's head and then a crane and cables being hooked onto the famous former Communist leader's giant chrome bust. Several onlookers at the Elmbridge and Alderbridge ways intersection site paused from their daily routine, believing the City of Richmond and organizers of the Biennale temporary public art exhibition had bowed to public pressure to remove the controversial artwork. The truth was very much to the contrary.
In fact, Lenin and Miss Mao are here to stay (until next year at least) -- it just so happens that the artwork wasn't quite installed as its creators, the Gao brothers, intended. And it was a mistake that the Biennale actually realized three weeks ago, but wanted to wait until the dust had settled before rectifying the oversight. "I got back from a trip a few weeks ago and when I arrived here to see it I knew straight away something wasn't quite right," said Biennale founder and president Barrie Mowatt, as he rushed from his car to speak to the News at the site. "We looked at the pictures of the artwork again and it seems each section of Lenin's head needed to be offset a little from each other. "That's why Miss Mao is supposed to be having so much trouble balancing on Lenin's head." The changes, although only noticeable when close up, may alter some of the objectors' opinions of the artwork, many of whom have flooded local media with letters and calls of protest and disgust at their interpretation of Lenin and a breasted Mao being "glorified" or "celebrated." "It is possible that the way the artwork was (wrongly put together) may have led to some misinterpretation," Mowatt said. "The whole thing is supposed to be about Miss Mao balancing on top of Lenin and having trouble doing it because Lenin's head is all over the place." More vandalism -- in the form of round indentations -- can be seen on the bust of Lenin. Mowatt said he was disappointed to see that the artwork had suffered further minor vandalism, on top of that reported by the News two weeks ago. "The red tape wrapped around was quite artistic I thought. But the rest is just pure vandalism, nothing more," Mowatt said. Overall, however, Mowatt said he's been very pleased with the reaction to Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin's Head. The News reported earlier this month how the vandalism of the Lenin/Miss Mao artwork was the first time in the Biennale's history that one of its installations has been deliberately damaged by the public. Despite growing calls for the artwork to be removed, the Biennale and the City of Richmond have said Lenin/Miss Mao will remain at its location until the end of its 18-month stay, which runs out in the spring of 2011. The Chinese brothers who created the piece have said that their artwork is not intended to celebrate either of the two controversial figures from the past.
Lenin Mao statue dismantled, Richmond News, Jan 27, 2010
It's survived eggs, dirt and crude vandalism, but on Wednesday morning the city's most controversial public art appeared as though its opponents finally won. A truck-mounted crane carefully lifted Miss Mao off Lenin's head, placing it on a flatbed truck parked on the vacant lot across from Rona on Elmbridge Way. Some have called Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin's Head great public art and a win for freedom of speech. Others have blasted it as an eyesore exalting communist dictators. The Chinese Consultate has requested the Vancouver Biennale, which installed the piece, to remove it. "For the Olympics," shrugged one onlooker watching crews dismantle the sculpture with mild surprise.
But Lenin and Mao aren't leaving town just yet. Artists Zhen and Qiang Gao are having their work reconfigured to reflect their original design. The larger-than-life bust of Lenin is composed of several stainless steel sections, and the pieces were installed perfectly aligned to form a crisp, clear image of Lenin. The Beijing-based artists, however, intended the pieces to be slightly offset. "We are literally making sure that the installation is done according to the exact specifications of the artists, which is to show Lenin's head as fragmented," said Miriam Blume, spokesperson of the Vancouver Biennale. The statue could be reassembled as soon as later today. That may cause some people to change their opinions of the artwork, which shows a feminized Mao Zedong balancing on top of Vladimir Lenin. Blume isn't sure if opinions will change, but said the sculpture will now "properly reflect the political commentary" of the artists." Said Blume: "How people take that is for people to determine."
Russian liberals renew calls to bury Lenin
Russia Novosti, Jan 21, 2010
Russian politicians and activists used the 86th anniversary of Vladimir Lenin's death to renew calls to bury the architect of the 1917 Russian Revolution. Lenin died on January 21, 1924, following a series of strokes. His continuing presence in the heart of Moscow has been an ongoing source of controversy since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the dispute traditionally heats up on the days of Lenin's birth and death. Russian Communists will gather later on Thursday to lay wreaths at the Mausoleum on Red Square, where Lenin's embalmed body is displayed in a glass case. See ORWELL DIED DAY LENIN DIED
Vancouver Biennale responds to Miss Mao controversy
January 11, 2010
One of the new sculptures in Vancouver’s Biennale public art installation, Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself Atop Lenin’s Head, has been generating some controversy. The Biennale has responded with a press release saying, Hey, we’re not a bunch of comsymps. Far from celebrating the political figures, the sculpture, by internationally renown Chinese artists Gao Zhen and Gao Qiang, uses satire in its depiction of a diminutive and feminized Mao acting as a trapeze artist trying to balance herself on top of Lenin’s giant head. Those who suggest that this memorializes the men ought to take another look. In a statement the Gao Brothers provided to the Vancouver Biennale, they explain, "The communist system broke up in Russia in 1991, but in China, Miss Mao, the mutation of the Russian communist system, is still trying to keep balance in the communist nightmare. We hope our artwork could let people remember the history and actuality of Communism and that the piece will let people recall the great human misery and suffering the Communism caused."
Vancouver: Hot Art: Laugh Out Loud (Yue Minjun's collection of statues at English Bay. When you’re out and about in the city, you’re bound to see the numerous public art installations that make up the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, on now until 2011. Stop by English Bay’s Morton Park to see "A-maze-ing Laughter" by Chinese artist Yue Minjun. The larger-than-life, cast-bronze statues depict Minjun’s own face in a state of hysterical laughter, encouraging the viewer to share in his joy. And let’s face it — every now and then, we all need a good chuckle.)
VANCOUVER BIENNALE (...a bi-annual public art exhibition that brings sculpturs, new media and performance works by celebrated and emerging international artists to Vancouver area public parks, beaches and urban plazas, transforming the city into an open air museum....completely free of charge for the entire community to enjoy throughout the seasons)
Vancouver Biennale 2009-2011 (Click on the markers in the map or in the list to the right for more ...)
Vancouver's giant steel statue of Lenin, Mao creates communal buzz, Vancouver Sun, Dec 27, 2009
ANGLO-SAXON (...The Anglo-Saxons were also responsible for the establishment of the English language and a pattern of settlement that became characteristic of the medieval period and in part still survives today....)
Apartment rental near Olympic Oval, Classified Ad (...for rent a stunning 1 year old condo in Richmond, Vancouver - directly across from the Richmond Olympic Skating Oval! Perfect for rowers, speed skaters etc for the Olympics! The apartment/condo itself is modern and stunning!.... The building is a modern high rise - just over 1 year old that features a full size gym (for your use), 9 hole putting green and a stunning waterfall feature. The condo is exactly 4 minutes walk to the doors of the Olympic Oval which is clearly visible directly from the balcony which is a great size and has it's own table and chairs....)
Richmond Olympic Oval (The Richmond Olympic Oval, with its ground-breaking design and "wood wave" rippling roof, first opened in 2008, costing $178 million to construct. Located at 6111 River Road, near the Fraser River and a few blocks away from the Lansdowne Mall Canada Line stop, in Richmond BC. The Oval will be the site of all the 2010 Olympics speed skating events, and has already been the location of numerous speed skating events in 2009. This will not be its only function; the Oval will also be the sight of the official 2010 Olympic anti-doping lab, and will thus serve as a very important facility to maintain the Games' athletic integrity. As such it stands as a high profile building for the Games, a pivotal icon in the city of Richmond, and the undisputed central new addition to the previous group of Vancouver-Richmond sporting complexes, such as BC Place, the Pacific Coliseum, and GM Place.)
Olympic Surveillance Cameras Causing Civil-Liberties Concern, YouTube. Go to OLYMPIC SECURITY ORWELLIAN GAMES
Mayor praises Vancouver police (Mayor Robertson joined Vancouver Police Department Chief Jim Chu at VPD headquarters on Wednesday, for a joint announcement on 2009 crime statistics. “The year-end results show that the men and women of the VPD are doing great work in keeping our city safe,†said the Mayor. “The numbers speak for themselves.â€...Chief Jim Chu credited a number of strategies for the drop in crime. These programs include Barwatch and Restaurant Watch, which aim to keep gangsters out of restaurants, bars and clubs; Con Air, which returns criminals to the province in which they are wanted for outstanding warrants; and Project Rebellion, an extensive undercover gang probe.)
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Bethune Robertson On Sustainability, YouTube. Go to LENIN BEHIND ENVIRONMENTALISTS
IN MEMORY OF NORMAN BETHUNE, Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung, Marxists.org (Comrade Norman Bethune, a member of the Communist Party of Canada, was around fifty when he was sent by the Communist Parties of Canada and the United States to China; he made light of travelling thousands of miles to help us in our War of Resistance Against Japan. He arrived in Yenan in the spring of last year, went to work in the Wutai Mountains, and to our great sorrow died a martyr at his post. What kind of spirit is this that makes a foreigner selflessly adopt the cause of the Chinese people's liberation as his own? It is the spirit of internationalism, the spirit of communism, from which every Chinese Communist must learn. Leninism teaches that the world revolution can only succeed if the proletariat of the capitalist countries supports the struggle for liberation of the colonial and semi-colonial peoples and if the proletariat of the colonies and semi-colonies supports that of the proletariat of the capitalist countries. Comrade Bethune put this Leninist line into practice. We Chinese Communists must also follow this line in our practice. We must unite with the proletariat of all the capitalist countries, with the proletariat of Japan, Britain, the United States, Germany, Italy and all other capitalist countries, for this is the only way to overthrow imperialism, to liberate our nation and people and to liberate the other nations and peoples of the world. This is our internationalism, the internationalism with which we oppose both narrow nationalism and narrow patriotism....)
MAYOR GREGOR BETHUNE ROBERTSON (In November 2008, the people of Vancouver chose Gregor Robertson as their new Mayor. He was elected on a platform of ending street homelessness in the City of Vancouver by 2015, and making Vancouver the greenest city in the world. Under Mayor Robertson’s leadership, Vancouver has taken swift action on becoming more sustainable by doubling the City’s bicycle infrastructure budget, setting the highest electric vehicle charging standards for new buildings in North America, and approving laneway housing. Since being elected, Vancouver City Council has also expanded the popular ‘car-free days’ throughout the city, doubled the number of pedicab licenses, created more community garden plots, and installed protected bicycle lanes on the Burrard Street bridge)
USSR STEALING CANADA'S STEEL & A NICKEL FOR YOUR KINGDOM & SELLING LENIN ROPE TO HANG US
A jinx, in popular superstition and folklore, is: A type of curse placed on a person that makes them prey to many minor misfortunes and other forms of bad luck; A person afflicted with a similar curse, who, while not directly subject to a series of misfortunes, seems to attract them to anyone in his vicinity. An object that brings bad luck. A common slang term used when two people say the same thing at the same time, said as a game among the young. The superstition can also be referenced when talking about a future event with too much confidence. A statement such as "We're sure to win the contest!" can be seen as a jinx because it tempts fate, thereby bringing bad luck. The event itself is referred to as "jinxed". The most dramatic historical example of this type of jinxing is the R.M.S. Titanic which was said to be unsinkable, then sunk on its maiden voyage. In a similar way, calling attention to good fortune – e.g. noting that a certain athlete is having a streak of particularly good fortune – is thought to "jinx" it. If the good fortune ends immediately afterward, the jinx is then blamed for the turn of events, if only jokingly...
GEORGE ORWELL ON SALVADOR DALI (...Dead faces, skulls, corpses of animals occur fairly frequently in his pictures, and the ants which devoured the dying bat make countless reappearances. One photograph shows an exhumed corpse, far gone in decomposition. Another shows the dead donkeys putrefying on top of grand pianos which formed part of the Surrealist film, Le Chien Andalou. Dali still looks back on these donkeys with great enthusiasm.... And finally there is the picture -- apparently some kind of faked photograph -- of 'Mannequin rotting in a taxicab.' Over the already somewhat bloated face and breast of the apparently dead girl, huge snails were crawling. In the caption below the picture Dali notes that these are Burgundy snails -- that is, the edible kind....)
Stalin statues going up again in Russia (the fruit of creeping re-Stalinization) & Stalin's revival in Russia (rehabilitating homicidal maniac) & Trotsky the firebrand (zeal for collectivizataion & terror; along with Lenin he created system Stalin used). NationalPost, Jan 20, 2010. Go to TROTSKY REVELLED IN SOVIET EVIL
CANADA COMMIE LENIN-MAO STATUELenin-Mao sculpture divides Canadian residents (4000-kilo/9000-lb chrome bust by Chinese artists) & MPs say give KGB agent freedom in Canada (gov't order deport; threatens national security). NationalPost/VanSun, Jan 20, 2010. Go to Systems & Big Brother Brotherhood & 2.Big Brother Is Watching You
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