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February 24, 2003
ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny: Now more than ever!
It is almost 4:30 a.m. I have been up since 3:00 a.m.,
trying to reach Ernst's attorney, Rocco Galati, with an important message.
It seems that Ernst's enemies are really rushing it to get him out of Canada
before he can document his legitimate claims - and last days' snowstorms
seems to be on their side. A supporter had to drive hours with a rented
four-wheel truck through mountains of snow to retrieve these documents, and
they are now in the possession of an officer to be handed to Ernst or his
attorney before an important immigration hearing begins this morning. I want
to put on record that we have secured these documents, in case his enemies
pull another fast one and lie through their teeth they don't exist!
Another supporter wrote this:
[START]
Ingrid,
Here is a text I prepared for you, to show you the fallout
from what you'd done during 13-minutes of air-time. Use it as you see fit.
I've copied this to Mark Weber and the [name deleted] in
Hamilton, dear old friends of Ernst and Mark.
=====================================
The Peter Warren Show broadcasts from the Vancouver studio
of CKNW radio, on Saturday and Sunday, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. It may be
reached via the Internet:
http://www.cknw.com/home/index.cfm
Talk-show host, Peter Warren, is a kind of edgy populist,
with an irascible streak, reminiscent at times of the late Gordon Sinclair.
For example, in December 1998, Warren insulted a caller, a
self-described "born-again" Christian, saying he held such
Christians to be "the scum of the earth."
On Saturday, February 22, Warren included his usual
15-minute "Weekender" Question of the Day: Should Ernst Zundel be
afforded refugee status in Canada? Quickie responses were solicited. Nine of
11 callers telephoned the show to say Zundel should not be allowed to remain
in Canada, whereas two callers said he should at least be afforded due
process.
Before this segment, Warren had heavily promoted Ingrid
Zundel's appearance on his show. It was obvious he considered this to be
something of a coup. He referred to it as "an exclusive."
In the 3rd hour of the show, she was able to read a prepared
text. This, along with the introduction, took just under 10 minutes. She
then answered several questions put to her by Warren; questions about
launching a formal appeal to the federal government, paying for legal help
to defend Ernst Zundel and so on. Her text was a well-written overview of
the Zundel case and delivered with a quaver of emotion. It would be the
subject of phone-in calls in the next part of the show.
Warren, who invited calls "on any topic under the
sun," began by dismissing Ingrid Zundel's call for a "global
debate" on the Holocaust story as being both "incredible" and
"unbelievable" propaganda.
While the on-air calls were being arranged for, the
talk-show host read two emails. The first, from a Dorothy in Hamilton,
deplored the continued "persecution" of Ernst Zundel, coupled with
the wasted millions spent to force him through legal hurdles. Then Nellie of
Qualicum Beach weighed in with email that opined Zundel should be "put
away for life."
The first caller up was Joe from Saskatoon. He asked whether
Warren was aware that there was no forensic evidence to prove the existence
of the gas chambers. Warren dismissed him with a "you're full of
crap" retort.
The second caller, Doug from Victoria, argued on behalf of
due process and rule of law applying to Zundel the same as anyone else.
Holly in Edmonton expressed appreciation for having been
able to hear about the Zundel case from Ingrid and was critical of the
one-sided opinion-makers and decision-makers who slanted the story to suit
themselves.
Ernie in Victoria recalled witnessing the Kristallnacht and
said "creeps like Zundel should be sent to Germany, pronto!"
Stan in London, Ontario, compared Ingrid Zundel to Dr
Goebbels, and deplored how "a couple of your callers" seemed to
have "bought in" to her POV.
Don in Three Hills (Alberta) advocated that Zundel be punted
back to Germany; and suggested same for Ingrid, too.
David, a Scotsman with a brogue, then weighed in, wondering
if Nazis would have given Jewish refugees the consideration of due process
in a court of law.
Wayne in Vancouver asked what Zundel was charged with, and
Warren replied that he "faces a whole pile of charges, including
spreading hate." He mentioned that Germany had formally asked for
Zundel's extradition "last night." Wayne then went on to suggest
we should get past this case, that we had "bigger fish to fry" and
that "we should give people their rights back." Warren's response:
"You're full of it."
Graham in Burnaby asked if Zundel was charged in Germany
with killing people during the war. Warren replied that Zundel was only
"8 years old" at the time, but "saw" what happened. The
caller then wondered why Zundel was being made to endure the persecution he
saw happening to him.
An exasperated Peter Warren cut him off, the same as he had
the others who expressed sympathy for Zundel.
February 23:
The Sunday program featured some fallout from Warren's
decision to give to Ingrid Zundel an opportunity to read her text on air.
Warren was clear that the listener reaction to Ingrid's appearance on his
show had been strong, coming in the form of emails, faxes, and recorded
telephone messages. One such message was replayed over the air.
Sound quality was poor. Listeners had to cock an ear to
catch what was the caller was saying. He called Ingrid's speech "an
infomercial" and deplored the decision Peter Warren made to air the
speech. The recorded call lasted over 4 minutes and was played in its
entirety. The caller deplored the platform that the "Nazis" were
given to engage in "Holocaust denial" and went on at length by
invoking anaglies. Toward the end, he became rather repetitive.
Warren alluded to "massive feedback" on the Ingrid
speech and interview, and reminded listeners that only a select portion of a
few email submissions could be read on air. Here is the gist what each said:
Helmut said that Zundel was merely a self-sufficient fellow
exercising a right to present his POV on history. Warren suggested he visit
the Zundelsite where it was evident donations were being solicited (as if
this was wrong somehow).
Dale in Winnipeg found it hugely ironic the Zundels should
protest treatment to be meted out to them, inasmuch as such treatment
(arbitrary arrest) had been what the Nazis has done to the Jews, before
murdering 6 million of them.
Manfred in Edmonton noted that Zundel was being persecuted
for simply saying how he viewed history, And that, moreover, his life in
Canada had been free of any criminal taint.
Matt in southern Alberta suggested that Warren had to
"toe the party line" on the Holocaust and professed sympathy for
his having to behave in a blinkered fashion and skirt round the topic in the
guise of a true-believer. But Warren insisted that he laboured under no such
constraints, often defending himself in the courts, he said, for having had
the temerity to speak his mind.
Klaus, a wartime German, recalled having to greet the
teachers with a "Heil Hitler" and asked Warren to phone him back.
Hans emailed Warren to deplore his lack of support for
Zundel's right to free speech.
Another Hans regretted that the right to free speech was
abused by Zundel and his ilk. He had seen boxcars full of Jews, he said,
"headed for Germany" during the war.
The next emailer - Jamie in Vancouver - recommended that
Warren view the documentary "Mr Death" to watch the story of
Zundel's public discrediting.
Steve's email expressed the wish that Zundel "rots in
hell" and thanked Warren for his "show-making" savvy.
This "show-making" phrase recalled an observation
the late Doug Collins made about how sex and Nazis were the two topics
guaranteed to sell newspapers. I have to think that Warren understands this
very well indeed, having been in the newsbiz all over the world for several
decades now.
Toward the end of the Sunday program, there were a few calls
regarding the Holocaust in the open-line segment.
A German-sounding caller called to argue away the Holocaust
via statistics -- only to dismissed and cut off.
A cell-phone caller in a vehicle in northern Alberta
wondered why the Jews and the Holocaust were made into a kind of historical
fetish, as if other peoples had not had terrible things to endure. Warren
replied that Jews had been "singled out" and been
"stereotyped" and, hence, fell into a different category than the
soldiers. As if the hundreds of thousands who died in Dresden were not
killed because in fact they were Germans, as if Allied wartime propaganda
had not stereotyped the Germans...
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