We’re living today in Rachel Carson‘s fabled “tomorrow.”
Fifty-five years after her harbinger book, ‘Silent Spring’ warned of the inevitable end our industrial creation would bring to the natural world around us, the proofs of Carson’s prognostications are clear to all but the most obtuse, or willfully blind observors. But even these may notice the silence where birdsong used to be.
Su Rynard is an artist and filmmaker whose work has screened at festivals and in galleries in Canada, the US, and Europe. She’s the recipient of numerous awards for her documentaries and received the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize for her debut feature film, Kardia.
Her recent documentary, The Messenger is an environmental tour de force that like Rachel Carson’s work implores we see clearly now what we sacrifice before it disappears entirely.
Su Rynard in the first segment.
And; Catalonia president, and Catalan independence leader Carles Puigdemont addressed parliament Tuesday regarding his party’s plans for the future of Spain’s restive Catalunya region. Nearly two weeks after the referendum on separation deemed illegal by Madrid overwhelmingly endorsed leaving Spain Puigdemont, who had threatened to unilaterally declare the wealthiest of the country’s regions a new nation, backpedaled slightly, “suspending” for an unspecified time his promise to unilaterally declare independence to allow for negotiation.
When, where, what, and with whom he plans to negotiate was not made clear; so for now, Catalonia waits for Madrid. Dr. Pablo Ouziel is a Post-Doctoral fellow here at UVic,whose project in progress is, ‘Towards Democratic Responses to the Crisis of Democracy in Spain: Forms of Participatory and Representative Civic Engagement.’ He’s a Spanish national, and more poignantly, Catalan.
Pablo Ouziel and Catalunya waiting to exhale in the second segment.
And; is it possible to live unaware of our fellows’ suffering amid a holocaust? History tells us, not only is it possible, but that ignorance is the necessary condition for a fully-blown human cataclysm to take hold. My third guest asks, how many of us are aware right now of the “terror faced by people in South Sudan, Somalia, northeast Nigeria, northern Kenya and Yemen[?].”
Kathy Kelly is a long-time peace and justice activist, essayist, author, and recipient of numerous awards for her peace service, including multiple nominations for the Nobel Peace prize and many more.
Kelly is co-founder of Voices in the Wilderness and Voices for Creative Nonviolence, co-authored the book, ‘Prisoners on Purpose: a Peacemakers Guide to Jails and Prison,’ and wrote, ‘Other Lands Have Dreams: from Baghdad to Pekin Prison.’ In her latest article, ‘Great Hunger‘ Kelly reveals the current holocaust occurring beneath most of our screens.
Kathy Kelly and allowing the voices of the suffering to speak in the final segment.
And; Victoria activist and CFUV Radio broadcaster at-large, Janine Bandcroft will be here at the bottomish of the hour with the Left Coast Events bulletin. But first, Su Rynard and hearing The Messenger’s song.
Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live Thursdays, 11-Noon Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and streaming at: cfuv.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: gorillaradioblog.blogspot.ca/