The 2010 Winter Olympics has escalated the homelessness crisis in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and the Greater Vancouver area. Since the Olympic bid, homelessness has nearly tripled in the GVRD, while real estate and condominium development in the Downtown Eastside is outpacing social housing by a rate of 3:1. Meanwhile, a heightened police presence has further criminalized those living in extreme material poverty in the poorest postal code in Canada.

Less than a week away from the gongshow that will be the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. Chris ‘Okibi’ will be in the midst of the protests, hopefully bringing back some valuable footage and insights. For more information on Olympic resistance checkout the No 2010 website.

Sorry about the hiatus, Coast Media Collective has been busy behind the scenes on a number of projects. Expect a lot more fresh and exciting content to be up soon. In the mean time, be sure to check out the first episode of the Collective Voice Podcast, a collaborative new project with Union Sound System. Chris ‘Okibi’ was fortunate enough to be able to sit down for an intimate chat with Toronto house legend, DJ JELO, when he came through Victoria near the end of last year. We may transcribe …

As I type this, leaders from the biggest industrialized nations are meeting in Copenhagen to discuss a possible treaty to diminish worldwide carbon emissions. As reported last month, it is already known that no deal will be reached during these talks. Many scientists say time is running out and others say it’s too late. Meanwhile in Canada, the forces of capitalism and industry are moving full force to extract the last bits of oil from the Alberta tar sands. The insanity of this project perfectly exemplifies Premise 10 from Derrick …

Hip-hop artist, Cody the Catch, and two others were assaulted by Calgary Transit police while shooting a video on a station platform. The incident was caught on film. Cody faces a number of serious charges, but many Calgary citizens are banding together in resisting police brutality. Please share this video.

Pigeon Pilfer is Michael Stevenson’s stop-motion animated student film from San Francisco State University. It was completed in four months with sixty pounds of clay, a digital SLR camera, and one tiny hot room.

For the first installment of our new Video of the Week segment I thought I’d share a wicked music video showcasing the new Hecq and Exillion tune, Sphere of Fury. If you’re into hardcore, amen-breaking dub vibes, don’t sleep on this. From filmmakers Tim Brown and Christopher Hewitt.

Stimulator, the brains behind subMedia and END:CIV, has released a new episode of his It’s the End of the World as We Know It and I Feel Fine web series. It features coverage of insurrectionary activity around the globe, most notably at home on the West Coast.