Thieves snatch giant Olympic flag in Vancouver

A giant Olympic flag that fluttered in front of Vancouver's city hall was stolen Tuesday, just as officials from the International Olympic Committee arrived to evaluate the city's preparation for the 2010 Winter Games.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A giant Olympic flag that fluttered in front of Vancouver's city hall was stolen Tuesday, just as officials from the International Olympic Committee arrived to evaluate the city's preparation for the 2010 Winter Games.
    It was unclear if the act was a simple act of theft or a protest against Vancouver hosting the Olympics.
    ''Whoever did this represents either an individual or a very, very small group that is not in any way representative of the huge support in this city for the Games,'' said Renee Smith-Valade, a spokesperson for the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee.
    Michael Chambers, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee, was humiliated by the theft.
    ''It's frustrating to think that someone is so skewed in their view of all the good things the Olympics are about, they would go and do something like that which really, unfairly, scars the great history of the Olympics,'' said Chambers, who is attending the meetings as a member of VANOC's board of directors.
    Police said the thieves cut a cable which caused the flag to crash to the ground, damaging the pole. The flag was then ripped off the pole.
    The flag was not the one Mayor Sam Sullivan received last year during the closing ceremonies of the Torino Winter Olympics.
    Protesters last month threw eggs and paint-filled balloons as VANOC unveiled a huge clock to count down the days until the 2010 opening ceremonies. One man scrambled on the stage and shouted obscenities into a microphone before being dragged off by police.
    The IOC inspection team is holding three days of meetings in Vancouver. One of the issues expected to be discussed is where VANOC plans to house extra officials and the international media at Whistler, site of skiing and the sliding events.
    Television cameras were permitted to photograph the opening remarks between the IOC and VANOC officials, but reporters were not allowed.
    A coalition of anti-poverty advocates has protested the games, accusing the organizers of inadvertently dislodging hundreds of indigents and elderly people from their homes as a result of preparing for the games.
    Others have opposed the cost of the Winter Games, saying the money should be used to improve the city's notorious Downtown Eastside slum.
  
    — The Associated Press