News Release

NBC Under Fire for Post-Olympics Transition to War Games

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Nine Nobel Peace Laureates issued an open letter to the Chairman of NBC Entertainment, as well as General Wesley Clark and others involved in the new “reality” show that premiered on NBC last night — “Stars Earn Stripes” — calling on them to walk away from the show immediately.

In the letter, the Laureates — who include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire and former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez — noted that “war isn’t entertainment” and challenged NBC’s promotional line that such a television program would be “pay[ing] homage to the men and women who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces and our first-line responder services.”

Meanwhile, a coalition of online groups continued with a petition drive calling on NBC to show the real human consequences of war. That petition — posted at www.StarsEarnStripes.org — has gathered tens of thousands of signatures. (For the latest, contact RootsAction.org campaign coordinator David Swanson, david at davidswanson.org)

Two Nobel Laureates are available for interviews:

JODY WILLIAMS, via Rachel Vincent, jwilliams at nobelwomensinitiative.org

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Williams is the Chair of the Nobel Women’s Initiative. She said today: “We are simply fed up with the subtle and not-so-subtle militarization of the US and other countries around the world. Too often American ‘entertainment’ is viewed around the world and others follow Hollywood’s lead on programming. Pretending that war and military training is comparable to athletic competition or any other violence-based ‘reality’ show is an affront to us all and especially those who experience war and its horrific impact.”

MAIREAD MAGUIRE, mairead.home at btinternet.com
Maguire, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in Ireland, said: “In many countries we see the increasing militarization of our societies and this indoctrination of our children to see violence, armies, and war as glorious and exciting.

”Instead of glorifying violence, militarism and war, as the human family we are all challenged to abolish these ways of death and destruction, and replace them with more civilized, nonviolent ways of solving our problems.”