Acer asked to withdraw as Sponsor of Vancouver 2010 Olympics while Persecution of Bloggers and Computer-Users by City of Vancouver Remains Unresolved

Photo: William Simpson, a homeless man punished by City of

Vancouver for being linked to this blog

When agreeing to sponsor Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Olympics, Acer, a marketer of laptop and netbook computers,would have been aware of well publicized complaints against the City of Vancouver of human rights abuses targeting computer users and bloggers. Acer has therefore been asked to pull out as a sponsor. The request was made in July to Acer’s public relations representives Stella Chou and Henry Chang in their “Branding Division”, and to Andrew Chang in the Shareholders Division, by an advocate for a member of the City’s Carnegie Community Center in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. There is documented evidence that City bureacrats overseeing Carnegie Center, just a few blocks east of the 2010 Olympics media center, are persecuting bloggers and users of public computers.

By entering into a sponsorship agreement essentially endorsing the City of Vancouver and it’s Olympic Organizing Committee [VANOC], says the Carnegie member, Acer is contradicting it’s advertising claims: “Empowering People….Our long-term mission is breaking the barriers between people and technology….” Under two successive City managers — Judy Rogers who was both City Manager and the City’s representative on VANOC, and Penny Ballem who is the current City manager and VANOC representative — the City of Vancouver has been accused of "maliciously" creating barriers between residents of the low income Downtown Eastside and technology.

These barriers, including banning homeless William Simpson from the City's Carnegie Centre for daring to be linked to this blog, have been reported on numerous posts on this blog.