Today, the eve of the second full year of the continued genocide in Gaza, we’re playing music from Palestine, for Palestine.
Today’s guests were to be Shatha Mahmoud and Foufou from the Palestinian Youth Movement in KW, but they were unavailable. We hope to have them back in the studio for February of 2026.
Bob Jonkman talks with Tamara Lorincz, who’s involved with a number of Peace and Social Justice organizations, and Stuart Ross from World Beyond War.
On last week’s CKMS Community Connections I spoke with Tamara and Stuart briefly at the “No F35 Fighter Jets” rally, but there was so much else to talk about that Tamara and Stuart came to the studio for a longer conversation.
Sign the Parliamentary petition to: Study the financial, climate, environmental, and social costs of the F35 fighter jets; Make public the results of that study; and Cancel the planned purchase of F35 fighter jets and invest in climate action and the well-being of Canadians: e-4217 : Petition to the House of Commons
An earlier Parliamentary petition endorsed by the No Fighter Jets Coalition was presented by the Hon. Bardish Chagger, MP for Waterloo: e-3821 (National defence and military operations) to which members of the government have responded.
Stuart Ross tells us how he became involved with World Beyond War. Tamara Lorincz tells us of several other organizations that promote peace and non-violence.
9m52s
Talking about the F35 fighter jet purchase by the Canadian government. Discussing the expense, the carbon emissions, other pollutants in the fuel, stolen Indigenous lands for airforce bases, and the trauma and chronic disease brought to these communities from the effects of fighter jet emissions. Militaries are responsible for a 5% of the total carbon emissions across the world, and the United States military is the largest consumer of fossil fuels on the planet. In Canada, the Department of National Defense accounts for 61% of all federal government emissions. There is no plan to offset the emissions from military vehicles and operations. We need to talk about demilitarization for decarbonization. The F35s are not defense armament, but attack fighters. And they are seriously flawed: They only have a range of 2,200km, they can’t fly across the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans, or even across Canada, without flying alongside a tanker. And so Canada will not just be purchasing fighter jets, they will also be purchasing a fleet of strategic tankers to supply these fighter jets. And also runways, hangars, and fuel tanks in the Arctic. Instead of this, Canadians need affordable housing, and health care, and education, and public transit. And yet, these F35s are well known to have many technical flaws, but Canada will not own any of the software or repair manuals.
Tamara gives some context for No To NATO, including the clips from speeches by veterans from the war in Afghanistan. Tamara encourages us to view the video on YouTube: “No NATO, No War”: U.S. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan Return War Medals at NATO Summit. Stuart recommends a film Soldiers Without Guns. Tamara provides background information on NATO, a U.S. let military alliance that has launched illegal wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Libya; its role in provoking the war in Ukraine, and its attempts at globalizing conflict in Asia. NATO is the greatest threat to peace in the world. Tamara explains the situation of Sweden, and especially Finland experiencing pressure to join NATO, even though Finnish citizens are opposed. Tamara says that if we want to succeed on peace, to succeed on the climate crisis and the Sustainable Development Goals then we need to work collaboratively and co-operatively with Russia and with China. Tamara urges people to read Stephen Cohen’s book War with Russia? The south-east region of Ukraine is the Donbas, a dominant Russian-speaking minority, who held a referendum to say they want to be part of Russia. NATO-backed forces have been shelling and killing Donbas civilians, yet this is something people don’t hear in the mainstream media. If NATO countries had respected the Minsk agreements, giving autonomy within Ukraine for the Donbas region to end the violence against the Russian speaking minority, then this Russia-Ukraine war would never have happened. Tamara wants to see political parties and elected officials to call for an inquiry, and to stop sending weapons, and to support peace and a political resolution.
47m40s
What can be done? People can find out what the peace movement is doing in Canada at https://peaceandjusticenetwork.ca/. They are planning an international weekend of action from 24-26 February 2023 to rally in the streets and public squares, to contact their elected representatives, and they will be holding webinars on true nature of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the F35 fighter jet purchase. Also check the World Beyond War website.
We need peace for a livable planet, and we need peace for a positive happy future for out children and future generations. Stuart hopes that the millions of peace and environmental organizations can get together and have a solid, large voice in stopping this war in Ukraine.
Today’s show is a mix of protest music, KWCon music by musicians from Waterloo Region, and some live reports from the #NoFighterJets protest rally outside MP Bardish Chagger’s office in Waterloo.
Bob Jonkman introduces the show, talks about the #NoFighterJets protest rally in Waterloo, lists the KWCon musicians in the playlist today, and introduces the first song.
Tamara Lorincz at the Hon. Bardish Chagger’s office
Protesters at the #NoFighterJets rally
Photos courtesy of Tamara Lorincz.
At @BardishKW's office in #Waterloo, Govt of #Canada shouldn't buy 16 F-35 fossil fuel-powered fighter jets for $7 billion that's $430 million/warplane, when homeless people are living in tents in our community & we need investments in healthcare & climate action. #DropTheF35Dealpic.twitter.com/aKOeFC7N7H
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Creative Commons Attribution Only license. Copy, re-use, and derivative works are allowed with attribution to Radio Waterloo and a link to this page. Music selections are copyright by the respective rights holders. The theme music is written and performed by Steven Todd.
https://www.demilitarize.ca/
https://vowpeace.org/
https://worldbeyondwar.org/
https://www.wilpf.org/
https://nofighterjets.ca/
https://peaceandjusticenetwork.ca/
Subscribe to the CKMS Community Connections podcast!
See all CKMS Community Connections shows!
Creative Commons Attribution Only
