[van-announce] Fw: Peace Voices Needed for CBC

[Paul Browning]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Jef Keighley 
To: keighley at caw.ca 
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2003 10:12 PM
Subject: FW: Peace Voices Needed for CBC


Strong Peace Voices Needed to Contact CBC to balance pro-war views   


  ******************************************* 
  From: "Bruna Nota" <bruna.nota at utoronto.ca> 
  Subject: Calling on people to make their voice heard on CBC 
  Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 08:51:27 -0500






    
  SENT BY JANIS ALTON 
  ACTION NEEDED IMMEDIATELY   PLEASE CALL OR WRITE  NOW AND SEND TO ALL YOUR 
  LISTS


  IT SOUNDS LIKE THE  PRO WAR,  ALLIANCE PARTY AND  RALPH KLEIN'S ALBERTANS 
  ARE ON AN ORGANIZED THE CAMPAIGN TO CHANGE CANADIAN POLICY AND IT MUST BE 
  STOPPED.


  To: peace at pej.ca 
  Sent: Monday, March 24, 2003 12:04 PM 
  Subject: Peace.ca-- CBC Radio Coverage


  We have just had a note from Peggy Mason (former Cnd Ambassador for 
  Disarmament at the UN)  who requests people call CBC radio and speak out 
  about the situation in Iraq. Her note says:


  "...the CBC national radio talkback messages are overwhelmingly pro-war. I 
  am particularly horrified by the number of women phoning in making the 
  same argument - how ashamed they are of Canada and Chretien for letting 
  down our USA allies, secure in the knowledge that we can always hide 
  behind American coattails. The arguments are strikingly hostile in tone 
  and equally ill-argued. But they need to be countered if the CBC is to 
  stay on an even keel with respect to its coverage which I believe has 
  become much more independent of the Bushite propaganda since the war 
  began."


  Apparently the toll-free number is not working well, but the As it Happens 
  number in Toronto works: 1-416-205-3331. Alternatively, they have an email 
  address, iraqonradio at cbc.ca.


  Thanks, 
  Sarah Estabrooks 
  Program Associate 
  Project Ploughshares


  Thanks to Peggy and to those who take the time to call in,


  Sarah Estabrooks 
  Program Associate 
  Project Ploughshares 
  o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 
  Rycroft & Pringle, Sunshine Communications.ca 
  Canada 250.592-8307 phone/fax 
  Box 8307, Victoria, BC, V8W 3R9 
  rycroft at SunshineCommunications.ca 
  kealey at SunshineCommunications.ca 
  http://SunshineCommunications.ca


  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
  Activist News, Links and Toolkit at http://pej.ca 
  Peace, Earth & Justice Week (April 22 to May 1) 
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
  To Whom it May Concern,


  I recently got a message urging people to encourage the CBC to give a peace perspective on its coverage of war. Apparently there are many, many calls coming in to the CBC urging it to promote Canada's involvement in the war.


  I am surprised. To tell the truth, one reason why I have not tried more to participate in Cross-Country Check-up, for instance, is because I find Rex Murphy's domination of the call-in, the way he manages to shift the focus from "how do we promote peace?" to "what should we do in the face of the horrible terrorism "they" threaten "us" with?", is too disheartening for me.


  But I am not so surprised. I have written LOTS of letters-to-the-editor in my time, but I find that now I am not so inspired. I realize that many pro-war people would not be moved by what I have to say; they would not even read it.


  So, I count on others to do the work. I do hope the CBC can help. One suggestion I have is that you get beyond just "pro" vs. "con" arguments. As Doris Lessing pointed out in the Massey lectures years ago, people tend to want to divide themselves and ideas into opposite "camps". This is one of the root causes of war, actually.


  We need to get people involved in more thoughtful discussion and interview a wider variety of people. Instead of asking questions that amount to: "Are you in favour of this war?" we should be asking people to talk about how they work for peace in their lives, to talk of their experiences, to share stories of success and failure and what they have learned.... (I am lucky enough to be participating in a discussion group of this sort. A local university student is doing research and has gathered together a group of 6 people to talk about "How do we live the change [the peace] we wish for the world?")


  As for suggestions of widening the range of voices we hear from, here is a list:


  The student I mentioned above, Christina Phipps, can be reached at (250) 653-2413 or <phippsc at uvic.ca>.


  Sue Riordon, whose husband Terry, died of Gulf War syndrome, and who has had much experience dealing with the military, the government and veterans in general, can be reached at <busters at ns.sympatico.ca>.


  Will Thomas, who trained as a pilot with the US military until his opposition to the Viet Nam war caused him to resign (and then he found out he was wanted by the FBI for doing so and encouraging others to do likewise so he moved up to Canada) can be reached at <willthomas at telus.net>. Will and a friend went to Kuwait at the time of the 1991 Gulf War and helped document the effects of the war and worked to save fauna there. [Since both Sue Riordon and Will Thomas are not, a priori, antipathetic to the military perspective, I think they can speak to "pro-war" people in a way that many anti-war people cannot.]


  ... It occurs to me that most people who support this war would have distanced themselves so much from the consequences of this war that this is what allows them to maintain a pro-war perspective. I think it is of vital importance that the media not contribute to this distancing!


  If you wanted to engage people in a thoughtful discussion about the war, I would like to make two suggestions for participants. Both people support the use of non-violence to overcome situations of injustice and both have much experience.Bruna Nota is past president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and is currently president of Conscience Canada. she has much experience in organizing workplaces and NGOs to facilitate democratic participation and is a very inspiring speaker. She can be reached at <bruna.nota at utoronto.ca> or (416) 203-1402. Len Desroches is an author of 2 highly valued books on non-violence and has been involved in non-violent direct actions for peace and justice for many years. His vision is informed by his faith. He does not have e-mail but he can be reached at (416) 975-4897. I would suggest inviting these people to engage in a discussion with thoughtful commentators who believe that war is sometimes a necessary option, possibly also this war.


  I know many other people who can offer varied perspectives (e.g. native, feminist, local community organizers, people able to link peace issues with other issues such as corporate globalization and environmental concerns, etc.  One person I know was being trained as part of Hitler's SS at the end of WW II and is now working on peace-building with the Non-Violent Peace Force, (with a particular focus on Israel/Palestine; he has researched unarmed defence & peace-making for many years: Hans Sinn <hansinn at superaje.com>, (613) 264-8833) I would be happy to provide other leads if they would be useful.


  Sincerely, Jan Slakov, 135 Deer Park Rd. Salt Spring Island, BC V8K 1P5 
  (250) 537-5251



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