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17 JANUARY 2011 at 12 H 00 (HE)
THE LINK - Monday, January 17, 2011
WEBSITE OFFERS CANADIAN HISTORY AND HERITAGE AT THE CLICK OF A MOUSE: The collections of dozens of Canadian libraries, museums and archives are now accessible online. The Canadiana Discovery Portal brings together all sorts of material of interest to any student of Canadian history and culture. We talk to Ron Walker, the executive director of Canadiana.org.
http://www2.canadiana.ca/en/home
SONG: My Shepherd
ARTIST: The New Pornographers
ALBUM: Together
BRAZIL REGROUPING AFTER DEVASTATING FLOODS AND LANDSLIDES: Brazil is struggling to recover from deadly floods that have triggered devastating landslides in the worst natural disaster ever to hit the South American nation. Hundreds of people are known to have died in the state of Rio de Janeiro but the death toll is expected to rise as rescuers find more victims in the mud. We talk to Montreal-based Brazilian diplomat Saulo DaSilva who's from one of the devastated cities, Nova Friburgo, where many of his siblings still live.
SONG: Long Johns
ARTIST: The Gumboots
ALBUM: Spirit of the North
ARE REUSABLE SHOPPING BAGS HAZARDOUS TO OUR HEALTH?: A lot of people think so, and many companies are recalling reusable bags they have sold to customers. Marc Montgomery speaks with Rod Muir, a waste campaigner with Sierra Club Canada, and with Randolph Yuen, an environmentalist who imports bags from China and sells them to Canadian retailers.
** CANADIAN JUKEBOX: Frank Rackow, The Link's man in Calgary, is also a musician and he joins us with his selections of some of the best new recordings by Canadian artists.
http://www.billbourne.com/ www.myspace.com/rebelemergencymusic www.kiranmusic.com
ARTIST: Kiran Ahluwalia
ALBUM: Aam Zameen
SPORTS SLAM: Ian Jones drops by with a look at sports. After much discussion about the sounds snow makes and the bitter cold of the day, Ian admits to making an aggravating error. He goes on to explain the insignificance of recent Australia/England cricket matches before introducing us to Ashish Bagai, the captain of the Canadian cricket team.
Hour 2...
SIDE-EFFECTS TO NATURAL HEALTH PRODUCTS RAISE CONCERNS: Health Canada is asking doctors and patients to be on the look-out for adverse reactions to natural health products. As reporter Lynn Desjardins tells us, in some cases these products may interact with other drugs and have unpredictable effects.
SONG: Arabesque
ARTIST: Khalid El Idrissi
ALBUM: Mauresque
LEBANON IN CRISIS: Lebanon's coalition government collapsed last week when Hezbollah politicians and their allies resigned. Marc Montgomery talks to McGill University Middle East expert Rex Brynen about why they pulled out and what the future may hold for Lebanon. He also discusses the troubled political situation in the North African county of Tunisia.
SONG: Marsa
ARTIST: Lynda Thalie
ALBUM: Lynda Thalie
CULTURE CORNER - HELPLESS BY CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD: Public and private property wrecked, residents threatened, and no action from authorities. Marc Montgomery speaks to veteran journalist and author, Christie Blatchford whose book "Helpless - Caledonia's Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy, and How the Law Failed All of Us" tells the story of the conflict in the town of Caledonia, Ontario in 2005.
SONG: Winter Samba
ARTIST: Rubim De Toledo
ALBUM: River
SPORTS SLAM: Ian Jones is back with more from the world of sport including more from Ashish Bagai, the captain of the Canadian cricket team.
Daily subjects
WEBSITE OFFERS CANADIAN HISTORY AND HERITAGE AT THE CLICK OF A MOUSE
The collections of dozens of Canadian libraries, museums and archives are now accessible online. The Canadiana Discovery Portal brings together all sorts of material of interest to any student of Canadian history and culture. We talk to Ron Walker, the executive director of Canadiana.org. ( Photo: www2.canadiana.ca )
BRAZIL REGROUPING AFTER DEVASTATING FLOODS AND LANDSLIDES
Brazil is struggling to recover from deadly floods that have triggered devastating landslides in the worst natural disaster ever to hit the South American nation. Hundreds of people are known to have died in the state of Rio de Janeiro but the death toll is expected to rise as rescuers find more victims in the mud. We talk to Montreal-based Brazilian diplomat Saulo DaSilva who's from one of the devastated cities, Nova Friburgo, where many of his siblings still live.( Photo: AP Photo/Felipe Dana )
LEBANON IN CRISIS
Lebanon's coalition government collapsed last week when Hezbollah politicians and their allies resigned. Marc Montgomery talks to McGill University Middle East expert Rex Brynen about why they pulled out and what the future may hold for Lebanon. He also discusses the troubled political situation in the North African county of Tunisia.( Photo: AP Photo/Bilal Hussein )
SIDE-EFFECTS TO NATURAL HEALTH PRODUCTS RAISE CONCERNS
Health Canada is asking doctors and patients to be on the look-out for adverse reactions to natural health products. As reporter Lynn Desjardins tells us, in some cases these products may interact with other drugs and have unpredictable effects.( Photo: Istockphoto )
ARE REUSABLE SHOPPING BAGS HAZARDOUS TO OUR HEALTH?
A lot of people think so, and many companies are recalling reusable bags they have sold to customers. Marc Montgomery speaks with Rod Muir, a waste campaigner with Sierra Club Canada, and with Randolph Yuen, an environmentalist who imports bags from China and sells them to Canadian retailers.( Photo: Istockphoto )
WHAT FUTURE HOLDS FOR SOUTH SUDAN?
We hear from three Sudanese-Canadians who explain how they envision the soon-to-be new independent state of South Sudan and what role they intend to play there. Our guests today: Tag Elkhazin is the lead consultant at the Subsahara Centre in Ottawa; poet and writer Kuir Garang is a settlement worker with the Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth; and former Miss Sudan Canada Suraya (Issa) Yakoub is the founder of the Centre for Women's Advancement for a New Sudan and the author of the Southern Sudan's children's book, Adrogba's Legend. ( Photo:AP Photo/Pete Muller )
COMMENTAIRES
21 January 2011 - 19:45
I am surprised at the tenor of your interview with newspaper Op.Ed. columnist Christie Blatchford. Columnists offer opinions; they do not need to show both sides of an argument, or to support their views with fact; they rarely do. Ms Blatchford's many years opining rather than making defensible arguments make for entertaining reading, but hardly qualify her for objective authorship, which is what is suggested in the interview (you called her a journalist, which gives her more credit for objectivity than she has earned). She offered you reason to challenge her assertions: she excused herself for not including the viewpoint of the Grand River Six Nations people, or the long history of their dispute, by saying that she is not an expert in land claims, but rather in law and policing. It takes no expertise to know that land claims disputes are legal, and are argued by lawyers in a court of law. Policing is based on law. You chose not to question this flawed logic. Like many authors, she mentioned a researcher who worked for her. Researchers are able to check the history of land claims. It is so easy to ask why she chose not to have her researcher look up the land claim in dispute, or why she chose not to interview representatives of the protesters for their side of the story. Yet you chose not to challenge her when her book's main assertions are undermined by a few seconds of her words in the interview. The fact that the Six Nations may be legally entitled to the land means that perhaps centuries of denial of access to the land and the means of living from it would constitute great economic loss, just as she documents a few years of economic loss to the Caledonians from the occupation. Just as she documents a permanent injury to a Caledonian, I have no doubt that a researcher could produce instances of permanent physical injury sustained by members of the Six Nations in land disputes, despite the peaceful and successful history of living adjacent to European settlers and later Canadians. Her assertions in the interview are, foremost, that her book reveals facts suppressed by the media: that the First Nations people stole land legally belonging to a developer, that they callously disregarded the rights of the Caledonians, that they became drunk with power when the Province bought off the land for them for fear of another Ipperwash and commanded the police not to forcibly remove the protesters for the same reason, and that the Caledonians were held hostage, victimized physically and emotionally, and damaged economically as a result. Her outrage is surprising: none of that was suppressed. I recall that all of this was well-covered in the media at the time: the behaviour of the protesters, the OPP attacking and arresting the protesters followed by many more protesters arriving, the concerns of the residents, the blockades preventing residents from getting out of the town and back home, the questioning of McGuinty's decision to purchase the development, the questionable behaviour of Julian Fantino, the sometimes agressive actions of the protesters and the Caledonians, the attempts to avoid vitriol and make peace sometimes on both sides, the blocking of the railway elsewhere and other actions in support of the protesters, it was all covered well in various media. There was no suppression of the news of injuries physical, emotional and economical to the residents. What would be exciting and illuminating for a book? An historical build up of all the legal disputes and communites' relations leading up to the occupation (which the media ignored entirely), the legal issues on both sides as the tension mounted and dissipated, the emotions on all sides, and the current status of the land claim, the relations between the communities, how both sides and experts see the future of the communities, legally, politically, socially: that could be an exciting read, a fair re-telling, perhaps a cautionary tale. Instead we have a wild west story with bad-guy Indians riding into town to terrorize the innocent townsfolk, with no sheriff or posse to defeat the bad Indians. There is no illumination, no fairness, no reason for the book, except to feed the ignorant rage of White Supremacists. The book should do well, thanks to unthinking support from unthinking interviewers, such as you.
Sent by Mary Jo Winkler-Callighen, London, Canada19 January 2011 - 06:55
I would really like to read "Helpless". I felt an immense sense of urgency to learn more about this issue when listening to your interview. I can understand why I personally had never heard of this story (as I was living overseas for the past 7 years) but was amazed to hear that the story was also not widely publicized in Canada. Do I really know my country?
Sent by Alana Farrell, Toronto, Canada18 January 2011 - 12:58
Hi Mark, Love your show. I would very much like to read Ms. Blatchford's HELPLESS......-Mostly for her articulate and insightful prose. I can only imagine where she takes her reader in this offering. My suspicion is that the author will address topics that dare not utter their names in this political climate. I anticipate this book will tackle timely values and will provoke my considerations on the topic- therefore my desire to read her newest. Thank-you
Sent by JANET HANNAFORD, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada18 January 2011 - 07:32
I followed the story of Caledonia as it unfolded, but was left feeling I did not I did not get the whole picture. I would very much like to read Christine Blatchford's book "Helpless - Caledonia's Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy, and How the Law Failed All of Us" to help me fill in the blanks.
Sent by Terry Hume, Sparwood, B.C., CanadaPlease comment on this article
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