Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, April McNeil, Saje Fitzgerald, Ezili Danto, Janine Bandcroft Nov. 22, 2010

This Week: April McNeil has been working with local African organizations like: Camosun College's African Awareness Committee, the UVic-based, African Partnerships Network, and now Congo Rising, and Saje Fitgerald is a Master's Candidate for Interdisciplinary Studies – University of Victoria Women's Studies, International Law and Human Rights, and she is founder of Shaker Jewel Film Productions.

April McNeil and Saje Fitzgerald and Congo Rising in the first half.

And; Ezili Danto is a Haitian-American playwright, performance poet, and author. She's also a social and political activist and commentator, and human rights attorney. She is the founder and president of the Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network and serves as managing editor of the on-line journal, Haitian Perspectives. She also publishes the Ezili Danto Newsletter.

Ezili Danto and Haiti's time of cholera in the second half.

And; Victoria Street Newz publisher and CFUV broadcaster, Janine Bandcroft will be here at the bottom of the hour to recap some of the stories emanating Victoria's streetz and beyond at the bottom of the hour. But first, April McNeil and Saje Fitzgerald.

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Monday, 5-6pm Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, 104.3 cable, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.uvic.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://GorillaRadioBlog.blogspot.com

Ape Goes to David Barsamian November 18, 2010

Esteemed radio man, David Barsamian came out for a CFUV Radio fundraiser at the University of Victoria’s David Lam Auditorium tonight, speaking with passion and eloquence on a range of topics spanning the globe and his thirty years of political and intellectual engangement.

He appeared earlier this week on Gorilla Radio, where I introduced him thusly.

David Barsamian is the multi-award winning director of Alternative Radio, which airs weekly across North America and beyond, (including right here at CFUV every Wednesday afternoon at 1:00pm pacific time) and remains an entirely independent voice of reason and humanity, an island of sanity in a toss’d sea of shlock jocks, puerile morning “mad men,” and aspiring dime store mass media demagogues.

That interview is here:
http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/7360-gorilla-radio-with-chris-cook-david-barsamian-janine-bandcroft-nov-15-2010.html

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, David Barsamian, Janine Bandcroft Nov. 15, 2010

This week on GR: David Barsamian is the multi-award winning director of Alternative Radio, which airs weekly across North America and beyond, (including right here at CFUV every Wednesday afternoon at 1:00pm pacific time) and remains an entirely independent voice of reason and humanity, an island of sanity in a toss’d sea of shlock jocks, puerile morning “mad men,” and aspiring dime store mass media demagogues. He is co-author of numerous books, his collaborators some of the foremost thinkers and social justice activists of our time; like: Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Arundhati Roy, Edward Said, Tariq Ali, and more. His latest books are ‘What We Say Goes,’ and Targeting Iran.’

David Barsamian in the first half.

And; the week past marked the observance of Remembrance Day here in Victoria, (Veteran’s Day south of the 49th) and I went down to the memorial to the MacKenzie-Papineau Brigade, located off the main grounds of the Legislature, to remember those Canadians killed fighting the fascists in Spain during that country’s calamitous civil war.

Ape at the Mac.-Pap. memorial in the second half.

And; Victoria Street Newz publisher and CFUV broadcaster, Janine Bandcroft will join us at the bottom of the hour to bring us newz from the city’s streets, and a follow-up on the attack on the mayor’s house and property and that attack’s aftermath.

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Monday, 5-6pm Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, 104.3 cable, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.uvic.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://GorillaRadioBlog.blogspot.com

Ape Goes to Armistice Day

November 11th at Victoria’s MacKenzie-Papineau Brigade memorial near the B.C. Legislature Buildings around fifty peace stalwarts met as they do every year to wish Canada take another course, and move away from militarism and its attendant destruction.

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Ken Wu, Helen Landsdowne, Janine Bandcroft Nov. 8, 2010

This week: Chinese journalist and dissident writer, Dai Qing will be here (7:30pm at the University of Victoria’s Law Faculty, in the Fraser Building) to present ‘China’s Three Gorges Dam: The most environmentally and socially destructive project in the world,’ a lecture detailing her decades-long efforts to bring sober second thought to the planning and building of the Three Gorges Dam project.

The ninth annual Media Democracy Day event drew hundreds of journalists of both the “new” and “old” variety to take in lectures and take part in workshops and interactive panels focused on critical analysis of media and media policy in Canada. One of the panels I attended was ‘Spinning the Environment, Greenwashing the Message’ with Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance.

And Victoria Street Newz publisher and CFUV broadcaster, Janine Bandcroft will be here at the bottom of the hour to bring us up to speed with what has been an eventful week past for both the city’s unhoused and the politicians charged with addressing that issue. But first, Dai Qing and “the most environmentally and socially destructive project in the world.”

Ape Goes to Media Democracy Day Vancouver 2010 – Fox News North

Saturday, November 6th marked Media Democracy Day 2010 in Vancouver. A variety of speakers gathered at the architecturally resplendent Vancouver Public Library. This discussion of the current and possible future media landscape in Canada called, ‘Fox News or Democratic Communication? Media at the Crossroads’ featured Senior Executive Director of the America’s for Al Jazeera English, Tony Burman, Adjunct Professor of Communications at Simon Fraser University, Donald Gutstein, and Chair of the Department of Communication Studies at York University, David Skinner.

Ape Goes to the Media Democracy Day Vancouver 2010 – Greenwashing

Saturday, November 6th marked Media Democracy Day 2010 in Vancouver. A variety of speakers gathered at the architecturally resplendent Vancouver Public Library. The lecture panel featured here was ‘Spinning the Environment, Greenwashing the Message’ with Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance, independent environment and alternative energy journalist Colleen Kimmet, and author Richard Littlemore.

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Carmen Cheung, Janine Bandcroft Nov. 1, 2010

Carmen Cheung is a lawyer with the BCCLA, where she works on litigation and legal reform. She is the author of the BCCLA’s just released report: ‘The UN Security Council’s 1267 Regime and the Rule of Law in Canada.’

Listen. Hear.

Carmen Cheung and the UN’s rule beyond the law in the first half.

And; Victoria Street Newz publisher and CFUV broadcaster, Janine Bandcroft will join us at the bottom of the hour to bring us up to speed with goings on happening among Victoria’s unhoused community, who this weekend saw the City Hll end funding to some of the familiar shelters in Victoria. Is the homeless problem here then solved? Not exactly. Janine and a turning down of the city’s shelter beds at the half.

But first; Carmen Cheung on Canadian justice and the UN’s 1267 Regime.

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Monday, 5-6pm Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, 104.3 cable, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.uvic.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://GorillaRadioBlog.blogspot.com

Ape Goes to Razan Zuayter Oct. 26, 2010

I went down to hear Razan Zuayter, the president and founder of The Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN) give a presentation on the destruction of Palestinian farms and orchards, and assorted other atrocities. The Amman-based APN organization is behind the ‘One Million Trees Campaign,’ an attempt to replace trees destroyed or removed by Israel in Palestine. Ms. Zuayter is currently on the cross-Canada ‘One Woman, One Million Trees’ tour to raise awareness of the issues and garner support.

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Steve Anderson, Razan Zuayter, Terry Wolfwood Oct. 25, 2010

This week: Steve Anderson is National Coordinator, OpenMedia.ca, and is a contributing author of ‘Censored 2008’ and ‘Battleground: The Media.’ He’s written for Toronto Star, Epoch Times, Common Ground, Rabble.ca and Adbusters.

A piece published by the online paper, The Tyee caught my eye recently. ‘TV versus the Internet’ exposes the undermining of the open Internet by Canada’s monolithic telecom corporations, and reveals a government that is either unwilling, or unequal to the task of defending that openness in the interest of a free Canadian cyberscape. Steve Anderson in the first half.

Razan Zuayter is the president and founder of The Arab Group for the Protection of Nature, or APN. Exiled from her native Palestine, she now coordinates an ambitious campaign to plant a million trees in Palestine to replace those destroyed and removed by Israeli settlers and their military supporters. Razan is currently on a cross-Canada tour to promote awareness of her and the APN’s effort, and will be speaking tomorrow night in Victoria on making Palestine and adopted home, Jordan greener.

‘One Woman, One Million Trees’ is scheduled for this Tuesday night at 8pm at the BCGEU Auditorium at 2994 Douglas (near Finlayson). I spoke to Razan Zuayter yesterday from Montreal, where she addressed an international BDS, or Boycott, Divestment, & Sanctions conference there. Razan Zuayter and planting the seeds of a more verdant future in Palestine in the second half.

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Monday, 5-6pm Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, 104.3 cable, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.uvic.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://GorillaRadioBlog.blogspot.com

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Razan Zuayter Oct. 24, 2010 II

Razan Zuayter is the president and founder of The Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN), the Amman-based organization behind the 'One Million Trees Campaign,' an attempt to replace trees destroyed or removed by Israel in Palestine. Ms. Zuayter is currently on the cross-Canada 'One Woman, One Million Trees' tour to raise awareness of the issues and garner support.

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Yes Lab w Andy Bichlbaum, Janine Bandcroft Oct. 18, 2010

Tonight’s show is a flying attempt to cover last minute holes in the show’s scheduled programme. First, connections to Ala Jaradat of Adameer in Palestine were blocked, then James Clarke of Defend Free Speech lost his voice.

Happily enough, Andy Bichlbaum was in town last week, up here at UVic’s SUB, with Yes Lab.

And; Victoria Street Newz publisher and CFUV broadcaster, Janine Bandcroft did show up, and previews a song off Tempest Grace Gale’s posthumous tribute album.

Ape Goes to Yes Lab with Andy Bichlbaum ll Oct. 13, 2010

Went down to see Andy’s workshop/presentation (entertaining despite its best efforts) Yes Lab. Here’s the second half of the evening.

Here’s their spiel.

The Yes Lab is a series of brainstorms and trainings to help activist groups carry out Yes-Men-style projects on their own.

There are several Yes Lab projects already in production, and a couple have already been completed! With your help, there could be a lot more. (And we’ll thank you with some really weird goodies.)

to help the Yes Lab get going—and get some
weird goodies (or maybe a grab-bag of them) as thanks

Why now?

We Yes Men have been doing our thing for about 12 years. Many of our best projects have been in collaboration with activist groups—our BBC announcement on behalf of Dow Chemical came out of a collaboration with Greenpeace, for example.

Last fall, we collaborated with a coalition of groups to release a much-improved “climate edition” of Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post, and to launch an assault on the U.N. by sea (“Balls Across America”). Also in collaboration with activists, we visited our nation’s capital to re-brand the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, then headed to Copenhagen to successfully embarrass Canada about its terrible climate policies.

In part because of these successes, we’ve realized it’s high time for us to get systematic about helping activist groups highlight life-or-death issues—with or without the Yes Men’s participation. That’s what the Yes Lab is all about.

How will the Yes Lab work?

In a typical Yes Lab project, an activist organization will come to the Yes Lab with a target—e.g. Monsanto, or war profiteers, or one of those “too big to fail” banks, or greedy health insurance companies, or a bad government policy—as well as a goal: to affect public debate, push for legislation, embarrass an evildoer, etc. Depending on ability, they will pay a fee to help the Yes Lab keep going.

We’ll work with the group to develop the smartest, most effective plan to accomplish it. We’ll help assemble the team from within the group as well as our mailing list, we’ll train folks as necessary, and we’ll check in on the project until it’s successful.

Why does the Yes Lab need $50,000?

With proper staffing, we believe the Yes Lab could generate a steady stream of disruptive, productive media events keeping the public reminded of what’s wrong, what could be right, and what’s in store if we don’t change our ways. But there’s the hitch: we’ll need proper staffing, because these sorts of projects take a whole lot of work. More specifically, we’ll need:

1. A main organizer, who will go after projects, work with organizations to figure out how projects can fit into their ongoing campaigns, and help follow projects through to completion.
2. An administrator who will also serve as primary fundraiser and manager.
3. An online guru who will develop our extensive list and put it at the service of projects.
4. Possibly, extra space beyond our teeny-tiny Manhattan office.

$50,000 will enable us to do that for an initial period of six months, from September 2010 to March 2011.

And what about after that?

With the momentum that six months will bring, we’re confident that more permanent support will come in—from institutions, foundations, and from organizations themselves.

Want to participate in the Yes Lab?

Great! If you’re an individual, sign up and we’ll let you know when projects are happening near you. If you’re with an organization, please send us an email at yeslab at theyesmen.org or use our contact form. It might take us a while to build our capacity, but we’d still love to hear about your interest in collaborating.

Now about those goodies….

Ape Goes to Yes Lab with Andy Bichlbaum Oct. 13, 2010

Went down to see Andy’s workshop/presentation (entertaining despite its best efforts) Yes Lab. Here’s the first half of the evening.

Here’s their spiel.

The Yes Lab is a series of brainstorms and trainings to help activist groups carry out Yes-Men-style projects on their own.

There are several Yes Lab projects already in production, and a couple have already been completed! With your help, there could be a lot more. (And we’ll thank you with some really weird goodies.)

to help the Yes Lab get going—and get some
weird goodies (or maybe a grab-bag of them) as thanks

Why now?

We Yes Men have been doing our thing for about 12 years. Many of our best projects have been in collaboration with activist groups—our BBC announcement on behalf of Dow Chemical came out of a collaboration with Greenpeace, for example.

Last fall, we collaborated with a coalition of groups to release a much-improved “climate edition” of Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post, and to launch an assault on the U.N. by sea (“Balls Across America”). Also in collaboration with activists, we visited our nation’s capital to re-brand the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, then headed to Copenhagen to successfully embarrass Canada about its terrible climate policies.

In part because of these successes, we’ve realized it’s high time for us to get systematic about helping activist groups highlight life-or-death issues—with or without the Yes Men’s participation. That’s what the Yes Lab is all about.

How will the Yes Lab work?

In a typical Yes Lab project, an activist organization will come to the Yes Lab with a target—e.g. Monsanto, or war profiteers, or one of those “too big to fail” banks, or greedy health insurance companies, or a bad government policy—as well as a goal: to affect public debate, push for legislation, embarrass an evildoer, etc. Depending on ability, they will pay a fee to help the Yes Lab keep going.

We’ll work with the group to develop the smartest, most effective plan to accomplish it. We’ll help assemble the team from within the group as well as our mailing list, we’ll train folks as necessary, and we’ll check in on the project until it’s successful.

Why does the Yes Lab need $50,000?

With proper staffing, we believe the Yes Lab could generate a steady stream of disruptive, productive media events keeping the public reminded of what’s wrong, what could be right, and what’s in store if we don’t change our ways. But there’s the hitch: we’ll need proper staffing, because these sorts of projects take a whole lot of work. More specifically, we’ll need:

1. A main organizer, who will go after projects, work with organizations to figure out how projects can fit into their ongoing campaigns, and help follow projects through to completion.
2. An administrator who will also serve as primary fundraiser and manager.
3. An online guru who will develop our extensive list and put it at the service of projects.
4. Possibly, extra space beyond our teeny-tiny Manhattan office.

$50,000 will enable us to do that for an initial period of six months, from September 2010 to March 2011.

And what about after that?

With the momentum that six months will bring, we’re confident that more permanent support will come in—from institutions, foundations, and from organizations themselves.

Want to participate in the Yes Lab?

Great! If you’re an individual, sign up and we’ll let you know when projects are happening near you. If you’re with an organization, please send us an email at yeslab at theyesmen.org or use our contact form. It might take us a while to build our capacity, but we’d still love to hear about your interest in collaborating.

Now about those goodies….

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Damien Gillis, Ken OKeefe, Janine Bandcroft Oct. 11, 2010

This Week: Damien Gillis is an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker, environment defender, indefatigable investigator, and a deep thorn in the side of any who would threaten the survival of his native Pacific coast. Damien has just released his latest film, ‘Oil in Eden: The Battle to Protect Canada’s Pacific Coast.’ Common Sense Canadian, Damien Gillis in the first half.

Ken O’Keefe was here in Victoria speaking of his vision for a just resolution to the Israeli occupation of Gaza, and of his experience aboard the Turkish flagged cruise ship, the Mavi Marmara which was stormed by Israeli commandos May 31st of this year. That unprovoked attack resulted in the murder of nine peace activists, at least four of them executed as they lay wounded on the decks of the ill-fated ship. Ken O’Keefe and a survivor’s tale in the second half.

And; Victoria Street Newz publisher and CFUV broadcaster, Janine Bandcroft will be here at the bottom of the hour to bring us newz of Victoria’s street community giving thanks, and more. But first, Damien Gillis and ‘Oil in Eden: The Battle to Protect Canada’s Pacific Coast.’

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Monday, 5-6pm Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, 104.3 cable, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.uvic.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, www.pacificfreepress.com.

Check out the GR blog at: http://GorillaRadioBlog.blogspot.com