Oct 28/10 - Pt 3: Letters

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Letters

We've been featuring your feedback all morning. And our Friday host, Gillian Findlay joined Ian Hanomansing from our Toronto studio to really plunge into the mail bag.

Silenced Scientists: The Canadian government employs tens of thousands of scientists. But we don't tend hear very much about the work they do. That might be because they're not allowed to talk publicly without getting permission from the ministry in which they work. And that permission is frequently denied. Tuesday on the program, we heard several views on the issue and then we heard from our listeners with their added comments on this discussion.

Inuit Elders & Climate Change: Last week we also took a look at climate change from the top of the high Arctic. The cold has been a constant in Inuit life, pretty much forever. But now that temperatures are warming, their lives are changing in ways the rest of us can barely imagine.

Zacharias Kunuk is an Inuit film director who won the Palme D'Or at Cannes for Atanarjuat - The Fast Runner. Now, he has teamed up with environmental scientist, Ian Mauro to make a documentary about what a warming world looks like to his Inuit elders. We spoke with them last week on the program, in advance of the premiere of their new film.

Omar Khadr: On Monday, Omar Khadr pleaded guilty to five war crimes, including murder and support of terrorism. The Guantanamo Bay Military Tribunal has now moved on to the sentencing process that is expected to end with Khadr serving eight more years, the last seven in Canada. Khadr's legal saga may be winding to a close but it continues to raise questions.

Among the most contentious issues is the fact that Khadr was just fifteen years old at the time of his admitted crimes. On last week's show we spoke with two child soldiers, who argued Khadr had more in common with them, than with a terrorist. And they condemned the Khadr trial.

Romeo Dallaire has been following Omar Khadr's story with a particular interest. He is now a Liberal Senator. In 1994 he was a General in the Canadian Forces and commanded the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda. He's written a new book called They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children. And if you'd like to hear more about it, tune in to CBC Radio's As It Happens on Monday night. Senator Romeo Dallaire was in Ottawa.

Music Bridge

Artist: Thievery Corporation
Cd: Psycho, Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture
Cut: 7, Honeymoon Suite
Label: Geffen
Spine: GESSD 25313

100 at 100 - Dr. Nigel Rusted

To close out today, we wanted to turn to our project about the country's demographics, Shift. We've been talking to centenarians -- people over the age of 100 -- all over Canada. Centenarians are one of the fastest growing demographics in Canada. And our goal is to meet 100 of them before our season is done.

This morning, we'd like to introduce you to Doctor Nigel Rusted. He's 103. And he's a retired physician. Next month, he plans to attend the sixth annual Nigel Rusted lecture in Medical Humanities at Memorial University. He still drives his prized blue Buick and lives in the Victorian home in St. John's where he and his wife Florence raised three children. There are a lot of momentos of his career in that house. And he agreed to show some of them to the CBC's Marie Wadden.

The sixth annual Nigel Rusted Lecture in Medical Humanities will take place at Memorial University in St. John's on November 19th.

Music Bridge

Artist: The Bills
Cd: Let Em Run
Cut: 5, When the Bucket Runs Dry
Label: Borealis
Spine: BCD 164