Thanks YVR Airport Authority for FINALLY making our international visitors more welcomed!
By artboomer on December 8, 2007 - 11:16am
YVR made sure last night that ALL local city newscasts and their global feeds reported on their much improved, much needed multi-language information kiosks, info screens, passenger list screens, and multi-language phones and signage while adding more security staff in custom areas. Well done.
Creating a permanent memorial for Robert Dziekanski was the politically correct thing to do. Bravo.
Now if we can only convince our RCMP in losing their happy gun slinging tasers...
The only way I will ever see that day is on the day we get to elect our city Police Chiefs and RCMP Commissioners! Is it not time that all our law enforcements were "accountable" to those they were hired to "serve and protect"?
"I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you.
Yes what a wonderful world"
(thanks Satchmo - thank you YVR)
I totally agree with you, that it's about time YVR handled our foreign visitors of ALL languages with more respect.
My first thought though, when I heard this news on CBC, was: nice diversion. The horrific and shameful treatment of Robert Dziekanski was not a result of "miscommunication," but rather a trigger happy, knee-jerk reaction by those RCMP officers. I think one of the major contributors of our ignorance-inducing media is the diversion from real issues.
Those officers did not use tasers as a last resort because they couldn't understand what the man was saying, but rather as a FIRST reaction to someone they thought was a threat (well, in my opinion tasering is all about instilling fear in everyone else by creating a scene and making an example of innocent people). Hello, Big Brother.
Your views on this matter are very much reflected in the contempt my Polish family, friends and colleagues are continuing to express in their ongoing disgust with our RCMP's unjustified abominable 4 on 1 "taser" take down that lead to the "untimely" death of Robert Dziekanski.
No doubt these officers overreacted and crossed the line even when referring back to their own "police take down procedures manual"... Or did they. None of these officers have been suspended or found guilty in any wrong doing in this matter. "Some still patrol the airport!" If the RCMP think this matter is going to go away any day soon - they better think again. The proposed Robert Dziekanski Airport Memorial will FOREVER reminds us of the fatal injustice caused by these 4 inept RCMP officers under the approved direction of the "government appointed" RCMP Commissioner!
I wonder why our infamous news media haven't pick up on the natural selection by the people to vote for their judicial enforcing leaders...i.e. "lead the charge!"
Complete disgrace, I know. This incident, directly following the sham protesters/police officers in Quebec incident, is really painting Canada in a sweeping stroke from east coast to west in a horrific light. If this event at YVR had occurred during the time the Olympic Committee was voting on which city to choose for the 2010 Winter Games, I highly doubt we'd be chosen again. Not that I completely advocate having the Olympics here (that's another topic), but it's for Vancouver's--and Canada's--global image that I fear.
"I think one of the major contributors of our ignorance-inducing media is the diversion from real issues."
Probably it's a combo of "spin-doctoring" and "managed news".
To get to the truth these days, you have to peel a very large onion...
and they're hoping your eyes will water too much and you'll give up
before you get into the middle of it where the facts are hiding.
Those "spin-doctors" almost never tell the truth if a good lie will do.
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Yeah, I guess WE have to have all our signs in all these languages eh?
Too bad the rest of the world doesn't feel that way.
Is everything in French when I travel around the world ?
NO.
This is Canada, official languages are English and French. If you haven't bothered learning basic skills in either, see comments from Bruce Allen.
Give me a BIG, BIG goddamn break !
Amazing how certain ppl talk about the blind media only showing part of the story. What about the CBSA evidence saying Dziekanski pulled an, at the time, unidentified object from his jacket moments before being tasered? What is was identified as later (a stapler) has no bearing, when you have an extremely agitated man who refuses to show basis signs of submission or compliance (hands up, lay down anyone??) suddenly go to pull something from his jacket, you have to act or leave you're life to a game of chance. I'd like to see you're response from the perspective of the wife or husband on an RCMP officer.
Translation services are good, but should be seen as a courtesy not a requirement. I'd love to know how Dziekanski got through CBSA after talking with a Polish-speaking member and still have not idea what to do and get as frustrated like he did, and what set him off. But there are thousands of languages in the world, you do not want to see the bill to pay for 24hr standby translators for every single language, or even the top 10% (you'd have to go that far to see something as rare as Polish come up my friend). Someone goes to a foreign country the onus is on THEM to be able to communicate. Period.