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The AIH Transcript for August 09, 2019

Hosts: Piya Chattopadhyay and Chris Howden

PIYA CHATTOPADHYAY: Hello, I’m Piya Chattopadhyay, sitting in for Carol Off

CHRIS HOWDEN: Good evening, I'm Chris Howden. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

Prologue

CH: Tonight:

PC: Tales of misadventure. A Canadian man who was detained in Syria last December after travelling there on a tourist visa is finally released — and his long-time friend says that frightening experience confirmed his own pre-trip misgivings.

CH: All over the map. German cancer researcher Fiona Kolbinger is the first female winner ever of the Transcontinental — a race that takes cyclists thousands of kilometres through several European countries, without directions.

PC: It was no place like home. A Detroit man had never even been to Iraq before American authorities deported him there — and this week, he died there, alone.

CH: The surprisingly sweet smell of success. Gas station toilets are notoriously nightmarish — but one Alberta Shell station could win Canada's Best Bathroom.

PC: Atlas of shrugs. The man who translated a French "Dictionary of Gestures" explains what it means when we do this, this, and this — and if he seems cool, we'll even ask him about this.

CH: And...arms to the teeth. A Washington woman tries to win a photo contest in time-honoured fashion — by putting a live octopus on her face — but her stunt goes sideways when the creature becomes extremely attached to her.

CH: As It Happens, the Friday edition. Radio that knows sometimes partnerships work -- and sometimes you get suckered.

[Music: Theme]

Part one: Detained Canadian released, Detroit man deported, gestures dictionary

Detained Canadian released

Guest: Dennis Schmock

CH: At a press conference today in Beirut, Kristian Lee Baxter let the tears flow. The Nanaimo, B.C. man was freed from detention in Syria more than eight months after he was first arrested, reportedly for violating Syrian law. Mr. Baxter is a life-long world traveller who went one to Syria last fall on a tourist visa. Here's what he said earlier today.

SOUNDCLIP

KRISTIAN LEE BAXTER: I would just like to thank [breaking down] the Canadian embasy for helping me get out. Sorry. And I'd like to thank the Lebanese for helping me get free. I thought it would be there forever. Honestly, I didn’t know if anyone knew I was alive.

CH: That’s Canadian man Kristian Lee Baxter, speaking in Lebanon today. Global Affairs Canada wouldn't release details of Mr. Baxter's case, but expressed, quote, "appreciation to the government of Lebanon for its assistance." Unquote. It's unclear when Mr. Baxter will be able to return to Canada. Dennis Schmock is a friend of Mr. Baxter's, and saw him right before he left for Syria last fall. We reached Mr. Schmock in Albertslund, Denmark.

PC: Mr. Schmock, what are you hearing when you listen to the emotion in your friend Kristian's voice today?

DENNIS SCHMOCK: Oh, such a relief. And it's like you know you could really hear it's the end of a nightmare or something like that. So yeah, I'm getting a bit emotional hearing it again. So yeah, it's really something.

PC: He said in that clip that we just played I thought I would be there forever.

DS: Yeah.

PC: Did part of you fear that you might never see this day, the day where he was released?

DS: You know since there was no news or anything, you had this feeling that you started losing not hope, but got worried that you might not see him again, yeah.

PC: When was the last time you saw Kristian?

DS: That was in the end of November. He was visiting me and my wife here in Denmark, just before he went to Syria. We had to do a reunion of friends who had met like 20 years ago, so we were here in Denmark having a great time and seeing him off to Syria — where he was going on this big adventure.

PC: Why did he want to go? What was he going to do there?

DS: So to really answer that question you need to understand that Kristian is a really an adventurous soul. He wants to travel the world. He wants to see stuff. He wants to experience people. He wants to find out how the world works. And he had this opportunity actually to go to Syria. He knew some people there who said well, this is safe, and you could go into the country with a tourist visa. So Syria, in total, that's a lot of zones that are really unsafe. But this Homs is a peaceful region. And also, it's billed as a World Heritage site just outside of the region he was in, and seeing those places, yeah.

PC: This is a country that has been ravaged by years of war. There are many terrorist groups operating an authoritarian government there. Did he understand the huge risks he was taking by going to Syria?

DS: He was aware that there’s big areas of Syria that extremely dangerous, but he didn't really see that part of Syria as being one of those. Syria is a big country. And basically, Damascus and Homs and those those regions are rebuilding after the war. It’s basically what you call a region under government control, so yeah.

PC: Were you concerned about his safety the risks he was taking? Did you talk to him about it?

DS: [laughs] Yeah, yeah, of course. When he wanted to go there, of course, saying are you sure this is a good idea? But he seemed like he had you know he had made as many arrangements as you could have. He had the right connections of you know someone picking up in the airport. He had done his homework with getting the right kind of papers you needed to have for getting into Syria — getting the tourist visa and such. But yeah, of course, we were worried. It's not like we were saying well, that is a great idea.

PC: What sort of communication — if any — did you have with him while he was in Syria?

DS: Facebook communication. We communicated on the Messenger on Facebook for a few days. He — when there — sent a few pictures back of the amazing Crusader castle that was not so far from that village, something from those villages, and really, really picturesque and amazing pictures. And he was like oh, everything is just great here. And they’re all so friendly and everything is good.

PC: And what have you learned since about how he was arrested and detained? What happened, as you know it?

DS: Yeah. What exactly happened when he went is I drove to the plane in Denmark. And he had to take the plane from Denmark to somewhere in Germany where he a connecting flight to Beirut — where he was going to be picked up by a driver who drove him to the border and getting his visa. But that plane was delayed. So he missed his connecting flight, basically. What happens when you miss your flight? You also miss your luggage, so his luggage was left behind. And the driver went back to Beirut to pick up those bags. And apparently, the driver got detained at the border. And Kristian went to the border to ask the border guards why is the driver detained? And apparently, they also detained him when he went there.

PC: And do you know why he was detained at that border?

DS: Not really. I think his mother said something about he usually carries around a metal detector because he likes to go to you know field and see if he can find old coins and such — usually just find old bottle caps. So I really can’t find an explanation for why they should detain the luggage and the driver, but it's something like that.

PC: So he traveled with a metal detector often?

DS: Well, he is a history buff. And he lied you know to go to a field and go around seeing if he finds you know old coins, old metal items. He's really, really interested in history, so yeah.

PC: We heard again in that clip him talking with a lot of emotion. And thinking he might never have gotten out of there or that anyone even knew that he was alive. What do you imagine these past eight months have been like for him?

DS: Basically, the one that strikes me the most is him talking about not knowing if people at home knew if he was alive or not. I think that must have been so hard. Not knowing does people know where I am? Does people know what happened to me? Is anyone actually helping me, and all that jazz. So that must have been so, so, so bad for him.

PC: And when you get the chance to first speak with him or send him a message, what will you say?

DS: I’ll say I'm so happy you’re okay.

PC: Mr. Schmock, thank you very much. I appreciate you telling us about your friend Kristian.

DS: Oh, you're welcome.

PC: Bye-bye.

DS: Yeah, bye.

CH: Dennis Schmock is a frend of Kristian Lee Baxter, a Canadian man who was released after more than eight months in Syrian detention.

[Music: World music]

Detroit man deported

Guest: Andy Levin

CH: He suffered from schizophrenia and diabetes. He had lived almost his whole life in the United States. And he did not speak Arabic. Nevertheless, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Jimmy Aldaoud of Detroit to Iraq two months ago. He'd never been to the country before. And earlier this week, he died alone in Baghdad. There were more injustices, too. Mr. Aldaoud was part of a persecuted Catholic minority in Iraq. His parents fled the country, and Mr. Aldaoud was born in Greece — which does not recognize birthright citizenship. Congressman Andy Levin represents Michigan's 9th district in the U.S. House of Representatives. That's the district where Mr. Aldaoud lived. Today, Mr. Levin announced that Mr. Aldaoud's body would be returned to the U.S. for a funeral. We reached Andy Levin in Brick Township, New Jersey.

PC: Mr. Levin, how is it that someone who was born in Greece, and lived nearly their entire life in the United States — who does not speak Arabic — end up getting deported to Iraq?

ANDY LEVIN: It doesn't make any sense, Piya. But technically, Jimmy Aldaoud’s parents were Iraqi citizens when he was born. They were refugees fleeing Saddam Hussein many, many years ago. His big sister was born in Iraq. He was born in a refugee camp in Greece, and then they came to the U.S. And he lived his whole life here. But he never was able to become a citizen — really because he had mental health problems from his teenage years. And then once Mr. Trump became president, he had it in for anybody who is not a citizen. And he's been deporting Iraqi nationals at a steady and horrifying clip.

PC: U.S. Immigration officials say the reason for Mr. Aldaoud’s deportation is that he had racked up 20 convictions over as many years — including: assault with a dangerous weapon domestic violence and home invasion. Is that your understanding?

AL: No, Mr. Aldaoud was mentally ill and a drug addict from his teenage years. And he got in trouble with the law repeatedly. He was homeless most of the time. He was you know someone who was admittedly deeply, deeply troubled. But he was really a homeless person is the best description of him. So that's the state of our country. We're deporting people like that. He really had no chance to survive. It was a death sentence. Deporting Jimmy Aldaoud was a death sentence.

PC: Tell me what sense you have of what his life was like for him in Iraq prior to his death?

AL: Well, his family found out about the deportation when they got WhatsApp calls, if you want to call them that from a strange number. And when they finally answered one, it was Jimmy crying and screaming on the other end, saying that he'd been deported. And then they calmed him down and got him to give the phone to the person whose phone it was. And it was a security guard in the Najaf airport. And he said what am I supposed to do with this guy? Why is he here? Why did they send him here? He has no documents. He has no money. He has no clothes. What can I do with him? And you know let's take a moment and appreciate the goodness of regular Iraqis and regular Americans, not the government. This guy kept him protected inside the airport until his family could get someone from Baghdad to go get him. And then after that, he lived in hiding, Piya, essentially because he didn't have any documents that allowed him to move about. And this is the one area where I wish the Iraqi government would do something differently. They should not accept any person for deportation unless and until they have an Iraqi identity paper that you know like a national I.D., a passport, or a driver's license that’ll allow them to live normally in Iraq. So he was sort of in hiding. He was desperately ill because of his diabetes. And he lacked insulin after just a few days. He was throwing up. When he died, he was in a room by himself. He was on the floor with a plate that had fallen and broken. He was trying to get something to eat, and he collapsed. So he died alone, very ill. We've got to stop this from happening.

PC: Who do you hold responsible for his death?

AL: Donald J. Trump is responsible for his death. Let me give your listeners a broader context. There have been Iraqi nationals who came to our country and got in some form of trouble for many decades. And you know my congressional district has more Iraqi-born people than any other of the 435 congressional districts. So I know a lot of these cases intimately. Someone may have had a drug problem or they may have gotten in a fistfight. They may have served time in jail. But now they're like a middle-aged guy — almost all of them are men — raising a family, working, paying taxes — many of them have their own businesses — and now, all of a sudden, Donald Trump wants to deport all these people deport all these people. George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and Barack Obama all faced a situation where they had Iraqi nationals in the country who had done something wrong, but then you know tried to make a new life for themselves. None of those Republican or Democratic presidents tried to deport these people. And Donald Trump is doing so, and it's ongoing. You know I've proposed bipartisan legislation to stop this. We just want every one of these Iraqi nationals to have their day in court. And I don't think that's too much to ask. And we continue to reach out to President Trump, Vice President Pence, and their staff to stop it administratively, which they certainly could.

PC: You announced today that Mr. Aldaoud’s body will be returned to Michigan for a Catholic funeral service — to have the religious service that he and his family were members of that faith. What will this mean for his family? Have you talked to them about this?

AL: Oh yeah, I talk to them every day. [breaking down] Excuse me. You know they didn't even feel like they could ask for this. And you know my feeling was well, I said well just let me check things out. And the leadership of their community said you know that they would make it possible financially. So when I was able to say to the family well look, just you know if it could happen, and they said of course. And his sister said that he loved his mom so much she wanted him to be buried next to his mom. So that's what’ll happen, I guess.

PC: Mr. Levin, thank you for joining me today.

AL: Thanks, Piya. Thanks for your interest.

PC: Okay. Take good care. Bye-bye.

AL: All right. You too. Bye-bye.

CH: Congressman Andy Levin represents Michigan's 9th district in the U.S. House of Representatives. We reached him in Brick Township, New Jersey.

[Music: Ambient]

Gestures dictionary

Guest: Chris Clarke

CH: If I were to pinch two fingers together, pass them in a horizontal line in front of my lips, and then pretend to zip them shut, chances are you'd know I meant my lips are sealed. If I crossed my heart, you'd know I was — you know, crossing my heart — and, potentially, hoping to die. There's also a thing drivers do when they stick their middle finger up at me after one of my trademark surprise lane changes, but I don't know what that one means. The point is, gestures are a huge part of how we communicate. And they're often universal. But they're often not — thus, the "Dictionary of Gestures". Originally published in French in 2005, Francois Caradec's book has been translated into English by Canadian-born Chris Clarke. We reached Mr. Clarke in Woodstock, Vermont.

PC: Mr. Clarke, describe this book for me. What exactly is a Dictionary of Gestures?

CHRIS CLARKE: What Caradec has put together here has numbered entries in this case — each one accompanied by an illustration. He's decided to organize it by the part of the body that is used to make the gesture. So there are 37 chapters. And he starts with the head, the temples, the ear, and the forehead, and works his way down to the groin, the genitals, the thighs, the knees, the legs, and the feet.

PC: Okay, so if I think of 37 body parts, what are some of the more unusual body parts where one gestures from that might not come to mind?

CC: Well, I mean the forehead, the eyebrows, and the eyelashes. You wouldn't think that we use these to communicate, but evidently, we do. The teeth [PC laughs] the elbow, the fingernails.

PC: Okay, give me an example. I'm trying to gesture with my fingernails, and well nothing’s coming to mind.

CC: I think mind one that comes to mind… here we are to make a popping noise by placing one's thumbnail below the teeth of the upper jaw and snapping it with a quick movement indicates threat, anger, and provocation in the Mediterranean.

PC: Okay, I’m doing it right now. Well, I'm not the Mediterranean, so no one's taken that queue.

CC: Yeah. Well, if I can't see it, then it's not an insult.

PC: [PC and CC laugh] Fair enough. What are some of your personal favourite gestures as defined by Caradec?

CC: To me, there was two different kinds that were very interesting. The first was evidence of a gesture that was tied to something that we no longer use or no longer do. So, for instance, if we were doing this interview at a cafe and then we arranged that he would call me later. As I got up, I would make that little rotary dial with my finger, and I would be saying you know I'll call you or you'll call me. But you could make that gesture to a 14-year-old who's never seen a rotary phone, and they would know what you mean. But I mean when is the last time either of us used a rotary?

PC: So now we’ve replaced that putting like kind of the handset with an old fashioned handset up to our ear, right? Call me. That'll put your thumb at your ear and your pinky at your mouth.

CC: Yeah, but you would never know press cell phone buttons with your thumb or swipe your screen imaginatively. The other ones that were very interesting were ones that have almost opposite or antithetical meanings in different places. So a gesture that to us means halt or stop. And…

PC: That's placing the palm towards whoever your gesturing towards?

CC: The palm face out, exactly. And there's also an Arab greeting. So we had American GIs who were telling people coming up to a checkpoint stop, stop, stop. And the people thought they were being greeted and waved on. And so they just kept coming. And there were shootings.

PC: Oh wow!

CC: So there's definitely that's why one of three reviewers said you know this book can save your life, which is clearly a bit of hyperbole. But, at the same time, you want to know the differences when you're traveling in certain cases.

PC: There is something so intriguing about the idea of translating a book that's about gestures, which at least to some extent seem to transcend spoken or written language. What was the process like translating this book?

CC: I mean the gestures themselves are described in a fairly consistent language. And so it was just a matter of making sure that it was consistent and throughout the book. But on top of that, Caradec — like any good dictionary — digs into literature to find examples of certain gestures that he had come across right back to 16th century literature. So he has a long passage from Rabelais that was written entirely in gesture. So that was a second process that was a little more research-based. And then Caradec himself, he was a very funny man, and had a very quirky sense of humour. So there's a fair bit of wordplay — especially at the beginning of each chapter, where he uses an expression tied to a part a part of the body. The problem being that they don't always line up between French and English. To take one on chin, for example. So there was a bit of rewriting involved in that process, where I had to find substitutes or equivalents.

PC: I guess sort of the modern-day equivalent if we you know live on our phones so much as we do or on a screen is we express our gestures in the online world through emojis. Do you see a relationship between gestures and emojis, which of course have become such a huge part of how so many of us communicate with one another.

CC: I think so. I think they're an add-on too to add some sentiment or to add emotion to what you're saying in an email or in a text message that otherwise can't convey things like irony and sarcasm. I think that we use gestures in the same way. I could tell you how angry I am with you, but I might instinctively make that very clear through certain gestures instead of just using my words. So it can kind of convey an emotion or a nuance that isn't necessarily there in verbal communication.

PC: Well Mr. Clarke, I've got my hands pressed against one another holding them up to the microphone because I'm a kid of Indian immigrants, and that's how we say thank you. So thank you very much.

CC: Thank you very much. I'm waving goodbye.

PC: [PC and CC laughing] Bye-bye. Me too. Take good care.

CH: Chris Clarke is the English translator of Francois Caradec's "Dictionary of Gestures" — originally published in French in 2005. We reached Mr. Clarke in Woodstock, Vermont.

[Music: Ambient]

Owl cam

CH: At first, you're shocked, then scared, then embarrassed, remembering all the weird things you did when you thought no one was watching. Finally, you're furious. And if that's how humans feel when they discover someone's put a camera in their house, why would burrowing owls feel any different? I mean, you think they don't have enough going on? They have to find an existing hole. If they can't find one, they have to dig one. Because they nest in the ground, they have to constantly stay alert for predators. And they have to collect dung to put around their nests, to attract insects to eat. They have to collect it in their owl mouths. So the last thing burrowing owls need is to discover some curious human dork has set up a hidden camera to record their every move. Last week, the Hawk Conservancy Trust in Andover, Hampshire, England, tweeted, "When you try to get some 'hidden camera' footage but your Burrowing Owls immediately find your camera." Attached was a short video. It opens with an extreme close-up of an angry-looking owl — although, admittedly, they really only have the one expression. First owl screeches to a second owl, in the background. First one walks off, still complaining. Second stares right at the so-called "hidden" camera. Leaps up, runs toward it. And — well, you'll hear it.

SOUNDCLIP

[Sound: An owl angrily makes a call as another one responds — seemingly calm — in turn. At the end of the clip, a loud crash is heard.]

CH: When it ends, the camera is pointing, uselessly, at the sky — knocked over by an indignant owl that is not here for our entertainment. So pay attention, scientists. You may think you're just calmly setting up some standard surveillance — and then owl hell breaks loose.

[Music: Piano]

Part two: Transcontinental cyclist winner, octopus face, gas station toilet

Transcontinental cyclist winner

Guest: Fiona Kolbinger

CH: "I could have gone harder. I could have slept less." That's something I might say if I had spent a couple of days trying to watch all of the Marvel movies in order, but passed out halfway through the aptly-titled "Infinity War". But it's something 24-year-old German cancer researcher and cyclist Fiona Kolbinger actually said after winning a 4000-kilometre cycling event called the "Transcontinental Race". She went from Bulgaria to France in ten days, two hours, and forty-eight minutes. She's the first woman ever to win the race. We reached Fiona Kolbinger in Brest, France.

PC: Ms. Kolbinger, first of all, congratulations on your win.

FIONA KOLBINGERL: Mmmm hmm, thanks a lot.

PC: And so before you set out on this race, where did you think you'd end up? Like middle of the pack, front of the pack? What were you kind of thinking where you may place?

FK: I have a good friend who had already raced TCR, and who I had the pleasure to train with. He kept telling me that I'm pretty strong, and that I might end up on the women's podium if I try hard. And so I thought that maybe I would end up in the top 30 to top 50 somewhere overall. But I would have never guessed that I might end up in the top ten overall or even like I'm on the overall podium.

PC: Yeah, you didn't end up at the top ten. You ended up as number one.

FK: Yeah, it looks like it, huh? [PC and FK laugh]

PC: It sure does. It sure does. Now, this is not your typical cycling race. Many of which — the typical ones — are difficult at the best of times. For those who were not familiar with TCR — The Transcontinental Race — just give us an overview of the rules. How are racers expected to get from Bulgaria to France?

FK: So, in principle, there is a start point and there is a finish line, which was Bulgaria at the Black Sea coast. And at the finish point that was Brest on the very northwest coast of France. So the distance in between is approximately 4,000 kilometres. So riders should pass four check points in between, which were located the first one in Bulgaria. The second one in South Serbia. Then there was a long stretch into Italy. Then the fourth checkpoint was in France. We were required to pass those four checkpoints. And around those checkpoints, the team had set up things which included scenic climbs, for example. Or a bit of a more challenging route, for example, for point two, it was 80 kilometres of gravel climbing that was mandatory route. And the rest of the route, so about 90 per cent of the route were not set at all. And riders are required to make their own one.

PC: And where did you sleep?

FK: So I spent ten nights on this TCR. And out of those ten nights, I slept two nights in hotels. And the other eight nights, I bedded on the roadside somewhere.

PC: And how long did you sleep those nights?

FK: So usually I slept for three to four hours. In the hotels, I think I slept more. Fiveish hours, but it was just because of the comfort of the bed that I wanted to make of. [slight chuckle]

PC: And so after those three to five hours of sleep, how much would you cycle? I know it was different every day, but approximately how much would you cycle? How far would you cycle every day?

FK: So it took me ten days for my distance of approximately 4,100 kilometres. So I had days of about 410 to 420 kilometres on average. [PC and FK laugh] Yeah, it's ridiculous distances, huh?

PC: And for you, what were the biggest challenges on this race?

FK: It sounds really weird, but I mean looking at all the countries I passed, out of all those countries, I had the biggest problems in France — meaning finding food on a Sunday in France is really not that easy because most gas stations are unmanned. And I couldn't find in a supermarket that was open. So I actually had to check in to fast food restaurants all the time, and spend an enormous amount of money in those fast food restaurants, which was really annoying on that Sunday. So that was really a challenge on that day.

PC: Hold on a sec, you're biking 400 kilometres over ten days. And on a Sunday in France, nothing's open. So you basically go like to McDonald's, and order a Big Mac and fries?

FK: That's true, yeah, yeah. A lot of ice cream was involved too. [PC and FK laugh]

PC: you beat 200 men; you finished first. Did your male competitors take your win well?

FK: I mean actually I think everybody understands that this race is not down to testosterone levels in the end. Shorter distance races would be because I mean behind this race, there's so much planning. There is how much sleep deprivation can you take? Can you go one day? Do you have so bad saddles sores on your backside that you can't continue for longer? So there is really much more involved than just the physical ability to go fast on your bike. So I think in this community everybody understands that gender equality is really a thing, and that there is really no shame in being slower than a woman. So I think they are taking it pretty well, yes.

PC: Thank you very much for talking with me. I really appreciate. And I hope you get some much-deserved rest and relaxation now that you're off your bike.

FK: Thanks a lot. I'm sleeping a lot right now. [laughs]

PC: Thanks again. Bye-bye.

FK: Have a good day. Bye-bye.

CH: That was Fiona Kolbinger, winner of this year's gruelling Transcontinental Cycling Race. She's in Brest, France.

[Music: Ambient]

Chief Mark Saunders

CH: Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders says a majority of the city's recent gun violence is occurring within a, quote, "u-shaped area of the city". And that street gang activity is largely to blame. That assertion raised some eyebrows at a press conference this morning. And it raised questions about people like Aadil Nagori. Mr. Nagori was sitting in his Scarborough driveway last night watching a movie on his cell phone when a single shot grazed his chin, leaving him dazed and bloodied. Speaking to reporters about that incident, Chief Saunders admitted that no matter who is to blame for recent shootings, their bullets don't discriminate.

SOUNDCLIP

MARK SAUNDERS: We have had this year after year where in the crossfire, innocent people are getting shot. But I can still tell you that the vast majority of crimes are happening in a specific area at specific times between 10 p.m. 1 a.m. And we put our deployment in those areas with that hyper focus. But a bullet will not necessarily… they're unbiased. They will go anywhere. And my problem is I have members — predominantly members from street gangs — that are pulling guns out that are shooting. Whether they're doing shoot-ups in the air, or shooting at people or vehicles. And the stray bullets will, in fact, hit innocent people. And I'm very aware of that. So I'm not here to say that I don't think that innocent people are not going to be affected by this. And even if you're not shot, just the sound of gunshots becomes very bothersome.

CH: At today's press conference, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said officers have made several arrests connected to the past week's shootings. He also called on courts to be harder on repeat gun offenders — saying more than 300 people charged with firearms offences are currently out on bail in Toronto.

[Music: Sombre]

Octopus face

Guest: Jamie Biscelgia

CH: Looking back, Jamie Biscelgia can see what her mistake was. She really shouldn't have put an octopus on her face. We reached Ms. Biscelgia in Fox Island, Washington.

PC: Ms. Biscelgia, why did you put a live octopus on your face?

JAMIE BISCELGIA: It wasn't intentional. Well, it was, but it was a quick response to a picture for a photo contest in a derby that I was in South Sound.

PC: And so tell me more about the circumstances of this picture contest?

JB: Well, it was early in the afternoon still. I had launched my boat out of Fox Island — where I normally launch. And I had noticed that my friends that were in the derby with me, their motor wasn't working. So I put them into another spot. I towed them, so that they could jig fish. And while I was next to them, one of the guys on the boat had caught this Pacific giant octopus — a juvenile. And I decided that I told him that I wanted to keep it for dinner — don't let it go. So I got closer to the boat, and I grabbed it off the hook. And I said well, take my picture with the octopus. So I put it on my face very, very quickly. I had never touched an octopus in my life. I've only seen them at the aquariums. And then, all the sudden, while my friend was taking pictures, they all noticed that he captured the moment that its beak went into my chin.

PC: Tell me in as much detail as you can — and what you can remember — what that octopus felt like, including the bite when its beak went into your chin.

JB: Okay. Well it felt, at first, very you know it's fun and it's interesting and it's just playing. So I'm watching the guys take pictures. And then when its beak entered my chin, it was the most intense pain. It felt like I said a barbed hook. If I tried to release it off my face, I knew I was going to tear skin or flesh away. So I tried to let it settle, and if I did pull it away as a bit me again.

PC: Okay, so once you got this octopus off your face, and took some photos of it, and put it in your cooler. And you're in pain; you're bleeding, right?

JB: Oh yeah. But I'm a strong-willed woman. I'm by myself on a boat. I've got five guys watching me. So I try not to act like anything major is going on. So I grab my towel as it's bleeding, and I just keep it held to my face and go on with fishing.

PC: So I might have gone to the hospital. Did you do that?

JB: Oh, I went to the hospital, but not that day, or not the next day. I had been preparing for this weekend for a long time. So I was in a derby back-to-back. Friday this happened. Saturday was another derby. And then I went home Saturday night after the derby, and woke up with a swollen face. My eyes were swollen; I couldn't see very well out of my left side. Underneath my chin was a large pus pocket. And then the left side of my face was completely paralyzed.

PC: So the octopus didn't just bite you, it is venomous. And I understand you are still recovering.

JB: Yes, I am actually at my favorite restaurant — O'Neill's Bar and Grill in Gig Harbor — and that I have to eat special food with no dairy so that I can take my medications. I'm on three different medications.

PC: This all sounds pretty awful.

JB: Oh yes. It wasn't a good idea. I'm telling everyone. I'm not here to you know try to make myself look good because I know I don't.

PC: Okay, so this all began with you saying there's a photo competition going on. The photo competition, you just wanted the best photo, right? The one that was going to win the competition is what your goal was. Did you enter the competition? Did you win the competition?

JB: They have not chosen the winner quite yet. Next week, the board of the company that put this derby on is going to get together, they're going to go over it, and see whose picture was the best. I'm hoping you know there's a silver lining here, and maybe I'll win something.

PC: Well, please do let us know if you do take the top prize at this photo competition. And I wish you a good recovery. Thank you very much for talking with me.

JB: Thank you. Have a great day.

PC: Bye-bye.

CH: Jamie Bischelgia no longer has an octopus on her face — just a few wounds. We reached her in Fox Island, Washington. And if you want to see photos of Ms. Bischelgia and the octopus, head to our website: www.cbc.ca/aih

[Music: Ambient]

FOA: MAID case

CH: Early last year, "As It Happens" brought you the story of an 83-year-old Vancouver man named Barry Hyman. With his family, Mr Hyman organised access to a medically assisted death. But because the nursing home where he lived — the Louis Brier Home and Hospital — opposes assisted dying on religious grounds, they had to keep their plans covert. Doctor Ellen Wiebe would eventually help Mr Hyman to die, in his room, in 2017. For that she faced a formal complaint. Here she is in January last year, responding to Carol's question about Mr. Hyman's family, who said they were at pains to maintain secrecy.

SOUNDCLIP

ELLEN WIEBE: I wasn't feeling that. I was feeling that that they wanted privacy, and they deserved privacy. So I would not scoff at the nurse's desk and chat to people before I went to the room. I just went straight to the room like I would be a family visitor.

CAROL OFF: Are you legally allowed to do that?

EW: Yes. In care homes, doctors can go see patients without having special privileges. In hospitals, they are not. So I am allowed to go into a care home.

CO: The nursing home itself, the CEO David Keselman, said that the staff found this traumatic. One moment, Mr. Hyman was alive. Next, he was dead. They didn't know why this had happened, who had arranged it, and that this was something — especially in a Jewish nursing home, as he points out where people have survived the Holocaust — that this kind of thing was emotional and traumatic for them. How do you respond to his suggestions?

EW: Well, first of all, the family wanted privacy at the time of the death. So nobody should be aware what was going on at the time. Secondly, care homes always had deaths going on. His medical conditions were such that he could have died at any moment. He'd already had one stroke. He could easily of had another one. So the idea he died suddenly you know should not cause any trauma in a care home which has sudden deaths all the time.

CO: How do you feel about facing a formal complaint with the regulatory board, with the College of Physicians and Surgeons?

EW: Well, I feel very grateful that our College of Physicians and Surgeons is run by peers, physicians who care about patients, that their main job is to protect patients’ rights, and I know that they support this issue that faith-based facilities should not be trampling on patients’ rights.

CH: That was Doctor Ellen Wiebe speaking to Carol on As It Happens in January 2018. This week, Dr. Wiebe was cleared of wrongdoing by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C, which now considers the matter closed. However, the nursing home can ask for a review by the Health Professions Review Board.

[Music: Guitar]

Gas station bathroom

Guest: Mo Kabalan

CH: Here's a rundown of the good, bad, and ugly of the quintessential Canadian road trip. Good: chip trucks, carefully-curated playlists, the wind in your hair. Bad and ugly: having to stop at a gas station, to use what are sure to be horrifying facilities. But if you happen to be near the Beaver Hill Shell station in Lac La Biche, Alberta, there's no bad or ugly. This gas station toilet is...good. Actually so good, it was recently named a Top five finalist in the search to find Canada's Best Restroom. Mo Kabalan is the owner of the Beaver Hill Shell. We reached him in Lac La Biche.

PC: Mr. Kabalan, I — like many Canadians — have been in our fair share of gas station washrooms. And most of them are unremarkable at best. What do your restrooms look like?

MO KABALAN: They're pretty clean and fancy. They've got tiles from floor to the ceiling. They got granite sinks. We've got handmade wooden stalls on the doors for the toilets. And we have chandeliers from the ceiling.

PC: You have chandeliers in your gas station bathroom?

MK: Yeah. [PC and MO laugh]

PC: I guess you know the most important question is why? Why do this at your gas station washroom?

MK: Why not? I don’t know just that’s somewhere for the people to stop so they don't skip us. And then the same thing like I told other people, like my wife kind of we live in Fort McMurray, and it was a long drive to Edmonton, and we wouldn't stop anywhere till we got home. So that was a painful five-hour drive. [laughs]

PC: You wouldn't stop to go to the washroom on that long drive?

MK: No, she’d rather go on the side of the road than some of the washrooms that’s out there. [laughs]

PC: And so when people stop by your washroom, most people I think just perhaps kind of go. And they stop you know the next gas station on the road. They don't plan to stop at a specific gas station. So when they stop at yours, and they see chandeliers, and granite counters, and wooden doors, what kind of comments do they say to you?

MK: Well, I've seen people run out and get the people in their vehicle to come out a look at the bathroom. They’re like this is nicer than my house. And a couple guys commented, saying oh, you should have a soaker tub in there. [ laughs]

PC: So this is a real competition, and you are the only gas station washroom to be in the finals. All the others — as expected — are in restaurants, many of them higher-end restaurants. But Beaver Hill Shell is more than a gas station that provides a loo for us, right? You provide a deli as well.

MK: Yeah. We have thin crust pizza. We got sandwiches. Everything we make here is from scratch. So it's more than just a gas station, I'd say. Like it's like a one-stop rest stop, I say. You come here, get your coffee, your food, and you know kick your feet back up, relax for a minute, then hit the road.

PC: And so you said you and your wife used to live in Fort McMurray. And you lost your house in the wildfires I understand, right?

MK: Yeah, that was a few years back, yeah.

PC: And so as you and she commuted, or made the five-hour drive from Edmonton, you said look, my wife just said Honey, I'll hold. I'll hold till we get home. I'm not stopping at any of those gas stations. And you said like that's where the idea came from that you know gas station bathrooms don't have to be these dank, terrible places that they often are. It can be something more than that.

MK: Yeah, there's no reason I mean for that. I mean all it only just takes a little bit of effort to make sure the staff is on it. And I mean we opened a year and a half ago. You walk in there, it’s still like we opened yesterday. I mean I'm pretty sure they're all nice when they first open, but you got to keep up.

PC: Is this a point of pride for you? As you said, we offer pizza. I think you have gluten-free and thin crust at your deli. This isn't kind of a, quote/unquote, regular gas station pit stop.

MK: Yeah, I mean we try to offer as much as we can. And basically, we don't sell nothing here that we don't eat. You can come here for breakfast, lunch, dinner. We're open like from 5:00 in the morning until midnight, which is in a small little town like you know. So we put a lot of effort into it. It even took us like years to build this, right? Like before we even opened, we're here from ground zero, right? Like just building it up. And I spend more time in this place than I spend in my house kind of thing. And then the kids come over and hang out sometimes. And you know that they even work till sometimes. And they're only like from ten-year-old to a two-year-old, right?

PC: So if you win this contest — win the most votes — and are crowned Canada's Best Restroom, which I understand is next week when you may win these honours, do you get more than bragging rights?

MK: They give you 2,500 bucks to just keep up your bathroom. And I think you get a little trophy, so it'd been nice to have it up here.

PC: Put it up in the store.

MK: Yeah, put it up in the store.

PC: Well, we wish you the best of luck. And next time I'm out West, I’ll maybe stop by and take a selfie in your restroom at your gas station.

MK: That’s good I’ll buy you a pizza.

PC: Very good. I'll take you up on that. Thank you very much.

MK: No problem.

PC: Bye-bye.

MK: Bye.

CH: That was Mo Kabalan, the owner and operator of Beaver Hill Shell & Deli. We reached him in Lac la Biche, Alberta.

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August 09, 2019 episode transcript

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