4,500 troops + 5,000 cops = One Stupid Party
(*banner seen in Victoria during the launch of the Olympic Torch Relay)

Whistler feels more like Kandahar these days than a posh ski resort.

Since the summer, military helicopters of all shades, shapes and sizes have taken over our peaceful skies, and army troops can be seen walking around town. It's virtually impossible to ignore them.

Visitors and residents can now mingle with the over 1,000 Canadian army troops, who recently erected a camp south of Whistler in the Cal-Cheak area. On the town's north end, residents of the new Rainbow neighbourhood were recently informed that they would be co-habitating with 1,600 private security personnel for the next three months.