iste

Doug Collins

Contributing Coli

me nist

A chap I knew well —
David Levi — was for
many years the CBC's
correspondent in
Moscow. I sometimes
used his stuff when [
was editing a page in
the Vancourer Stin and
he told me how
Isvestia and Pravda

managed the news.

= Mostly,” he said, “it's
old stutf that has been gone
over with a fine-teoth comb
by dic bosses. Either that,
or they make it up or have a
story two days ahead of it
actually happening. They
then let the presses roll
when the time comes.”

I never thought that the
same sort of thing, could
ever happen here. But it
does, especially with regard
to “hare” and other potiti-
cally correct fictions dealt
with by big-time media tike
the CBC.

They assume they know
the story in advance, so all
they have to do is fill ina
few bits on the day.

That’s what happened to
me fast March in Oliver.

You may remember the
case. Sol Littman of the
“Nazi-hunting” Simon
Wiesenthal Centre had
described Oliver as the “hate
capital of Canada” on
account of stuff going out
on the Internet Fom there
that he didn’t like.

I had never seen the
material, but knew that the
Littmans of this world want
to control the Internct. So I

French
program
upgraded

Catherine Sarr
Contributing Writer

A report on French
immession at West
Vancouver schools
looks favourably on
recommendations pro-

pesed by school board
staff.

°

A team of five looked at
ways to define goals and con-
sider changes thac could be
made to the French immer-
sion programs currently
taught at Psuline Johnson
elementary and Sentinel sec-
ondary schools.

Director of curriculum
Geoif Jopsdn reported that
the external review sharcd
many of.the recommenda-
tions from an internal review
that was completed carlier
this year. He advised that the
recommendations, as sug-
gested, should proceed as
quickly as possible.

The strategies to be imple-
mented this year include sev-
eral measures designed tc
make the progrants more visi-
ble and more effective for the
students involved.

They would include the
establishment of a French
Immersion Advisory
Committee, possible teacher
exchanges between the two
schools and an increase in “en
Francais” activities and eacur-
sions.

ra ites ence

d tales

agreed to speak there in
defence of treedom of
speech. The event got
national coverage. Sort of.

While I was speaking, an
hysterical woman started
screaming about “this free
speech bullshit.” For Terry
Milewski of CBC-TV, that
was just what the doctor
ordered, In his report,
shown several times nation-
ally, he said:

“She's talking about
Doug Collins, who says the
Holocaust is jewish propa-
ganda.”

In fact, the little sweet-
heart in question had not
even mentioned my name.
Moreover, people watching
the TV item would have
thought I had just made
such a remark. But I had
made no reference to the
Holocaust. Nor had I ever
stated in my columns or
speeches that the Holocaust
itself was Jewish propagan-
da, in other words, 2 com-
plete lie. I write what I
think, and such a thought
has never been in my bead.

I have questioned the
numbers, and said that the
never-ending stream of

from the tube

monies and PV features
coming out of Hollywood
were propaganda, Which ts a
much different thing, so 1
complained to CBC
Ombudsman Mr. David
Bavay.

“Nowhere did f state
that the Holocause ttself was
Jewish propaganda.” TP told
hin. * There is a work! of
difference between that and
saving that Jews are the
main influence in
Hollvwood, as was shown
on tre recent CBC-TV fea-
ture “Hollywoodism.”

Also, Milewski had asked
me on video tape whether I
thought the Holocaust was 2
joke. f repiicd, emphatically,
that it was not, and invited
the Ombudsman to examine
the “outs” (tape or tlm not
used} as proot.

The complaint was
passed on to the CBC-TV
news ehiefs, who rejected it,
as was to be expected. |
rejected their rejection, as
was also to be expected. The
Ombudsman then began his
own investigation which
took tive months.

In their hunt for gold,
CBC News delved into
every nook and cranny of
my writing and speeches,
going back to the 1980s —
assisted, I have no doubr, by
the usual suspects. But they
couldn’t produce what they
wanted,

The Ombudsman stated
in his decision:

“While CBC News has
pointed out many contro-
versial things you have said,
the CBC has not come up
with an example where in so
many words you say that
“the Holocaust is Jewish

propaganda” and FP can oniy
conclude, therefore, that
your complaint is justified.”

Pur that down with many
of the other media moun
tains Phave chmbed in
recent years, so far without
falling oft a chitf

Astor Mitewski, he knew
haw he was Being to report
the story even betore he
went to Oliver. My speech
dida‘t tit his avenda so he
reported not a word of it.
The interview dida’t fit
either.

As far as he was con
cerned the occasion was
organized by the politically
incorrect, and what they
actually had co say didn’t
count.

The Oliver event was a
prime example of what a lor
of reporting is like these
davs, for many af the other
media didn’t do much bet-
ter.

Burt Milewski gets the
Nobel Prize for the most
slanted reporting of the
year.

— Dang Coilins retired bis
regular North Shore News col-
umn in September 1997, He
will contribute eccasional
picees to the newspaper's Other
Voices fea lure.

The North Shore News req-
ularly allocates space far read-
er input on a wide range of
community issues in the form
of quest celsius.

If you have a colusn please
send tt c/o The Editor, North
Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale
Ave., North Vancouver, V7M
2H4 or via e-mail to tren-
shaw@direct.ca. Submissions
anust be typewritten and
should be approximately 500

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