{"id":13491,"date":"2012-08-14T14:42:00","date_gmt":"2012-08-14T12:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/08\/update-1-nobel-laureates-call-for-end-to-tvs-stars-earn-stripes\/"},"modified":"2012-08-14T14:42:00","modified_gmt":"2012-08-14T12:42:00","slug":"update-1-nobel-laureates-call-for-end-to-tvs-stars-earn-stripes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/update-1-nobel-laureates-call-for-end-to-tvs-stars-earn-stripes\/","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE 1-Nobel laureates call for end to TV’s ‘Stars Earn Stripes’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

(Adds comment from NBC)<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES<\/span> Aug 13 (Reuters) – Nine Nobel Peace laureates,
\nincluding retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, o n
\nMo nday called on television network NBC to cancel its “Stars
\nEarn Stripes” reality show, calling it a bid to “sanitize war by
\nlikening it to an athletic competition.”<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The competition show, due to air for the first time on
\nM onday evening, puts eight celebrities such as singer Nick
\nLachey and politician Sarah Palin’s husband Todd, through
\nmilitary-style training, including helicopter drops and
\nlong-range weapons firing.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The celebrities are paired with former members of the U.S.
\nMarines, Green Berets and other forces to compete for a cash
\nprize that would go to a charity of their choice. Producers say
\nthe show, hosted by retired U.S. General Wesley Clark, will “pay
\nhomage to the men and women who serve in the U.S. armed forces.”<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

In an open letter to NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob
\nGreenblatt, the Nobel Prize winners said that “preparing for war
\nis neither amusing nor entertaining.”<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

“It is our belief that this program pays homage to no one
\nanywhere and continues and expands on an inglorious tradition of
\nglorifying war and armed violence.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

“Real war is down in the dirt deadly. People – military and
\ncivilians – die in ways that are anything but entertaining,” the
\nletter said.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The Nobel-winning signatories called on NBC to “stop airing
\nthis program.”<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

NBC rejected the assertion that “Stars Earn Stripes”
\nglorifies war. “‘Stars Earn Stripes’ is about thanking the young
\nAmericans who are in harm’s way every day. This show is not a
\nglorification of war but a glorification of service,” the
\nnetwork said in a statement.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Tutu, 80, won his Nobel in 1984 for efforts to end apartheid
\nin South Africa. He was joined in the letter by American
\nanti-landmines campaigner Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire and
\nBetty Williams of Northern Ireland, former East Timor President
\nJose Manuel Ramos-Horta, Argentine artist Adolfo Perez Esquivel,
\nRigoberta Menchu Tum of Guatemala and Iranian lawyer Dr. Shirin
\nEbadi.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to Palin and Lachey, the show’s contestants
\ninclude actors Dean Cain and Terry Crews, wrestler Eve Torres,
\ntelevision fitness trainer Dolvett Quince, former Olympic skier
\nPicabo Street and boxer Laila Ali, daughter of former champion
\nMuhammad Ali.<\/p>\n

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte, Dan
\nGrebler and Bill Trott)<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Adds comment from NBC) LOS ANGELES Aug 13 (Reuters) – Nine Nobel Peace laureates, including retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, o n Mo nday called on television network NBC to cancel its “Stars Earn Stripes” reality show, calling it a bid to “sanitize war by likening it to an athletic competition.” The competition show, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[830,2370,183],"class_list":{"0":"post-13491","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-news","8":"tag-reuters","9":"tag-south-africa-2","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13491\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}