Within their ranks are several distinct strands, and styles, of dissent. A primer on their issues and demands.

By: By Geoff Dembicki, 2 February 2010, TheTyee.ca

Nobody saw them coming. Not event organizers. Not police. Certainly not the afternoon's emcee, Renee Smith-Valade, as she readied hundreds of cheering voices for a booming crescendo. Instead, "Fuck 2010!" exploded from mounted loudspeakers across the north lawn of the Vancouver Art Gallery. A startled Smith-Valade rocked from the physical impact of a hooded Olympics protester with a black bandana stretched across his face.

"Where are the police?" she wondered out loud. Cops grabbed the microphone-snatcher fast. They dragged away his comrade in the Detroit Tigers cap. Five more arrests followed. The event went on despite shouts and jeers from dozens of remaining protesters. A white veil dropped to reveal the cedar, glass and stainless steel Olympics clock, ticking down three years until Feb. 12, 2010. Police were shaken, and vowed to get tougher. A new, more aggressive era of Olympics protest had begun.

With the opening ceremonies of Vancouver's Games now less than two weeks away, a city waits and wonders. What will happen on downtown streets when home-grown activists, civil society crusaders, out-of-town idealists and native naysayers meet $900 million worth of security?

The Tyee recently chatted at length with four Olympics resistors, each the spokesperson for a unique culture of dissent. Conversations revealed a vibrant movement, nearly as diverse as the city it's tied to. The following is a 2010 protest primer.

Completearticle here.