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The AIH Transcript for February 24, 2017

Hosts: Helen Mann and Jeff Douglas

STORIES FROM THIS EPISODE

Prologue

HELEN MANN: Hello, I'm Helen Mann.

JEFF DOUGLAS: Good evening. I'm Jeff Douglas. This is As It Happens

[Music: Theme]

JD: Tonight:

HM: Inspiration in desperation. After a teenage boy overdoses in his garage, an Ontario father goes public about his own family's struggles with opioid addiction.

JD: When it comes to lost works of literature, Walt Whitman really does contain multitudes. A Texas grad student discovers a forgotten novel by the great American poet.

HM: Line of Fire. In 2010, a U.S. agent fired across the border and killed a Mexican teenager. And while geography has so far kept the shooter from facing justice, the victim's parents are still fighting.

JD: A sea of tears. The bodies of more than 70 migrants are discovered on a beach in Libya. And the size of the destroyed boat that washed up suggests dozens more may have died as well.

HM: He gave us the slip and now he's disappearing. The chief fortune writer at New York's Wonton Food won't be stuffing our cookies anymore. so we'll speak with the man who will take over serving his life sentences.

JD: And… putting the “why” in Hawaiian. After the president of Iceland speaks out about a certain topping, we will inflame diplomatic tensions by putting his criticism to the Canadian who first put pineapple on pizza. As It Happens the Tuesday edition, radio that assumes negotiations will be fruitless.

[Music: Theme]

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Part 1: White House press barred, Kim Jong Nam and VX agent, Daytona 500 driver

White House press barred

Guest: David Smith

JD: Today, U.S. president Donald Trump made his position crystal clear, as if it wasn't already, the mainstream media is at war with the White House. Here is part of what he said at the Conservative Political Action Conference today.

SOUNDCLIP

DONALD TRUMP: We're fighting the fake news. It's fake, phony, fake.

[Sound: Applause]

DT: A few days ago, I called the fake news the enemy of the people and they are. They are the enemy of the people.

JD: While the crowd was listening to the speeches at CPAC today in Maryland, the Trump administration was translating the President's verbal attack on the media into action. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer blocked a number of media outlets. Among them The New York Times, CNN, BBC and The L.A. Times he blocked them from an off-camera briefing today. But he allowed Breitbart, the Washington Times, NBC and select others to attend. David Smith is the White House correspondent for The Guardian, one of the outlets barred from the briefing. We reached Mr. Smith in Washington.

HM: David, how did you learn that you were not going to be allowed to attend this media gaggle today?

DAVID SMITH: I got an e-mail from one of the press liaison staff at the White House. I had heard that this gaggle was happening not in the usual way which is to sort of open access for everyone in the press briefing room. But instead it appeared to be what they call sort of an expanded pool. When I made inquiries of can I come along? I do have what's called a hard pass that gives me access to the White House at any time. They said sorry no, a hard pass is not enough. This is just open to the pool and a few others and that was it really.

HM: Can you explain to us then the difference between a gaggle and a pool and a press briefing. What are they?

DS: It's a good question. There's a lot of sort of internal language and terminology with these White House things. The press briefing is a thing that you may have seen on television a lot with now the Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who’s become a minor celebrity. And that as long as you register in advance or you've got a hard pass, anybody can go to that. A gaggle tends to be what the Press Secretary does on something like Air Force One or some kind of transport and that would be a smaller group of journalists who are following the President around. Not a formal briefing just more of a gaggle to speak.

HM: Have you ever been barred from attending something like this before either at the White House or elsewhere?

DS: No this is pretty unprecedented. As long as your credentials are in order you can normally get in. And I've never had a problem. You know today marks a significant and quite worrying change and the editor of The New York Times put out a statement saying in all the long years covering various American administrations know nothing like this has happened before. It's yet another unprecedented moment under Donald Trump.

HM: What is your theory as to why the Press Secretary would do this today?

DS: You know it was really interesting timing in that the announcement came just in an hour or so after I had witnessed Donald Trump giving a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where once again he branded the media enemies of the people. He was very aggressive in his criticism of what he called fake news and fake media. And he said you know something has to be done about it. Which are ominous words whatever country you're in. And there we have on the same day, within a couple of hours, this press briefing for a select few with certain organizations left out. One of two things happened: either Donald Trump personally ordered a selective press briefing that was open to a favorable outlet or, as so often happens, that Sean Spicer, the Press Secretary, took it on himself. You know he heard Trump and was trying to please his boss showing that he will fire shots across the media.

HM: There are some reporters who are suggesting this could actually be a tactic to deflect from other issues in the news, specifically the White House speaking directly to the FBI about potential connections between the administration and Russia?

DS: I think that's a very strong one too. And indeed one of my colleagues said oh no, we've fallen for it again. Because tonight we're all going to be talking in writing about Trump's relationship with the media and the scandal of journalists being left out of a meeting rather than what many would say is a much bigger and deeper issue of the White House trying to contact the FBI over very serious allegations. It's a strong theory because we've seen it so often before. Trump and his camp are masters these deflective tactics. And I think you know the average citizen doesn't actually care that about the dynamics of which journalists got into a press briefing and which didn't.

HM: We saw Associated Press and TIME Magazine, who were on the approved list for the gaggle boycott in protest today. The Wall Street Journal said it would have done the same had it known about the ban. Do you think that they should have been even more solidarity among news outlets? Did they do the right thing?

DS: I think that's admirable. Yes. But I always think it's a dilemma with these things because those who did attend made recordings, which the then distributed to the media who were not allowed in. And I think that's admirable too. I think all of this points to the wider issue that Trump will try to divide and rule the media, try and take favorites, try and play off each other. If I knock out CNN then others will see that as their opportunity to maybe get an interview or get access. You know the media is very competitive and it's a tricky thing to balance cooperation and competition.

HM: Back in 2010, the Obama White House attempted to block Fox News from a media briefing. Do you think this is any different?

DS: You know I didn't even know about that incident. On principle I would have thought it would be a pretty bad idea to exclude Fox News. There would be a potential charge of hypocrisy here, but the thorny issues that as they examine them. Where do you draw the line in terms of what's a mainstream media outlet and what is seen as a sort of extremist outlier? Some would accuse Breitbart News of spinning, but they were in the room today. You know a whole bunch of organizations on the left that would be equally criticized.

HM: News reporters try very hard not to be the story. What position does this put you in?

DS: That's another great question because what's fascinating right now about the Trump administration is that Steve Bannon, the chief strategist in the White House, is repeatedly calling the media the opposition party and actually concentrating much more fire on the media that on the Democrats. The media is therefore unavoidably a story and under attack like other institutions such as the judiciary. It is very difficult to write about ourselves. It's uncomfortable, it's not normally what journalists should be doing. But it seems fairly unavoidable and I think you know today, you have an article about that issue in The New York Times with you know an interview with the editor in The New York Times. It's a strange self-referential business, but you know Trump has framed it that way.

HM: David Smith, I appreciate you taking time to talk with us. Thanks very much.

DS: OK. Thanks.

HM: Ok. Bye bye.

DS: Cheers. Bye bye.

JD: David Smith is The Guardian's White House correspondent. He was one of those barred from a White House media briefing today. We reached David Smith in Washington D.C. You can find more on this story on the As It Happens website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Violin and pipe]

Kim Jong Nam and the VX agent

Guest: Bruce Goldberger

JD: It was like a scene from a cold war era spy movie, except what happened to Kim Jong Nam was real and it was murder. In an airport in Kuala Lumpur, two women were caught on surveillance footage approaching the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un grabbing at his face. He died soon after. Today, the plot has thickened. It has been revealed that Mr. Kim was killed by VX nerve agent. A very rare toxic chemical developed for military chemical warfare. Dr. Bruce Goldberger is a toxicologist and the head of the forensic medicine division at the University of Florida. We reached him in Gainesville.

HM: Dr. Goldberger, we see in the surveillance video Kim Jong Nam being exposed to this poison. What likely happens to him next after the VX got into his system?

BRUCE GOLDBERGER: Well, this is so curious because you see the video surveillance of this incident where he's allegedly attacked and exposed to this nerve agent VX. Of course, he leaves the general airport area finds, his way to a medical clinic and we know he passes away some time later.

HM: How would that manifest itself physically?

BG: It will begin relatively early and it will progress over time to become very severe. So some of the early signs would include the pinpoint pupils, salivation and that there would be nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and then while this is progressing there would be some muscle twitching. And that leads to convulsions or seizures and then death. Essentially what that nerve gas does is it inhibits the communication in our nervous system — in our central nervous system.

HM: If he was introduced to the poison when we believe he was on that video. It would appear that it acted fairly quickly. What is the normal time frame from exposure to death?

BG: If we look at the surveillance video and if we trust the time stamp on the video, he gets to the clinic within a few minutes. But once he gets to the clinic, we don't know exactly what happens. The government says he became severely ill and on the way to the hospital he passed. But the effects are variable. But it would be dependent upon the dose as well as the route of administration. We believe the route of administration is applied to his skin, but I'm not certain of that because we don't know exactly what sort of vehicle was used to expose him to the VX.

HM: Compared to other poisons, just how toxic is VX?

BG: VX is very toxic. It is one of the — or — the most toxic nerve agent.

HM: How much of it would it take to kill someone?

BG: It's on the order of milligrams, so perhaps 10 milligrams and that's just a few specks of salt. It would be visible to the naked eye, but it would be very very small.

HM: And you say grains, is it is solid? Is it a liquid?

BG: In a pure chemical form, it is what people describe as an oil with an amber-like color. It is typically odorless, but I have to say we're not really sure. I'm not certain what sort of vehicle was used to deliver this. So the women assassins — alleged assassins — apparently showed no ill effect, which to me is very curious because this nerve agent is very toxic. In addition no one in the airport apparently was ill either, B=but for Mr. Kim. So I don't think we can say definitively how this was delivered. Was it encapsulated or somehow maybe in a syringe and then sprayed in the face. There's much more to be learned I think.

HM: Is there anything else that these alleged assassins could have done to avoid dying from it themselves?

BG: It's very possible. If they knew as well as their cohorts knew what agent they were working with. They could have been inoculated with an antidote, so there is a known antidote to this nerve agent. Matter of fact, our military carries this on the battlefield — the modern day battlefield — where nerve agents are a possibility. So this this antidote is very effective in treating exposure to nerve agent particularly when it's given at the appropriate time. So possibly they were given the antidote before this VX was applied to Mr. Kim.

HM: What was your immediate reaction when you heard Malaysian authorities say that VX was the cause of death?

BG: I was really quite surprised mostly because the women assassins were not ill and no one in the airport was ill as well. This is a very dangerous compound. I’m not sure people really understand how dangerous and toxic it is. So if this really truly is VX and I'm certainly hoping that the Malaysian government consults with other WMD laboratories to get this confirmed then this is quite curious, particularly the way it was applied.

HM: How tightly is it controlled? Who has access to VX?

BG: Well obviously, you can't buy VX over the internet. Not like you can buy illicit drug. There are a number of countries around the world that do have small stockpiles of VX. It's been suspected that the North Korean government has a stockpile of VX, but it's a very dangerous compound, so you really can't stockpiles large amounts of it. It's not a compound or chemical that you'd be able to manufacture in your bathtub like you can with illicit drug. It would require very specialized techniques to manufacture. Also consider that the people who are manufacturing the nerve agent would need to take the necessary precautions to avoid exposure to it because they would die as well.

HM: What are the broader implications here if this does indeed turn out to be VX used in a busy airport?

BG: Well this is concerning on so many levels. At the level of assassination this brings it to an interesting point. We've really never seen an assassination carried out using a nerve agent. It has very very wide political implications as well, especially if this is directly tied to North Korea.

HM: Dr. Goldberger, we appreciate you telling us about it. Thank you very much.

DG: Thank you.

JD: Dr. Bruce Goldberger is a toxicologist, and the head of the forensic medicine division at the University of Florida. We reached him in Gainesville. You can find more on this story on the As It Happens website: www.cbc.ca

[Music: Ambient]

Daytona 500 driver

Guest: D.J. Kennington

JD: Here in Canada, let's face it, we're known for hockey, maybe curling. You could argue I guess with the recent success of the Raptors and the Jays. Maybe we could say basketball, baseball. One sport that we have never really had bragging rights on is NASCAR, until now. This weekend, D.J. Kennington is going to be taking part in the Daytona 500. He is the first Canadian to qualify for the race in twenty nine years. We reached Mr. Kennington at the track in Daytona.

HM: D.J. Kennington, first of all, congratulations.

D.J. KENNINGTON: Thank you very much so far it's been a whirlwind hear. Sorry about a little bit of noise, but we're still trying to get things done here at the track. It's such a whirlwind right now that we're really busy.

HM: That's all right. Now you qualified for the Daytona 500 by four-one-hundredths-of-a-second. How does that feel to be that close?

DK: Oh you know what, whether it's four-one-hundredths or four seconds, right now it doesn't matter as long as we're in. It was pretty exciting I guess the last hundred yards of that race was intense. I mean it was intense for the fans and it was really intense for us and our race team.

HM: For those that might not be familiar with the world of professional car driving. What does the Daytona 500 actually involve?

DK: I mean the Daytona 500 is the Super Bowl of auto racing. For me being a small-town guy from St. Thomas, Ontario, to race in this race absolutely unbelievable.

HM: It's 500 because it's 500 miles?

DK: Yes it is. I think it's 225 laps, so it's a 500 mile race.

HM: And what are the top speeds?

DK: Well over 200 miles per hour.

HM: What is it like to go for that long at that speed?

DK: It’s intense, but I guess that's about the only way to explain it. I guess a good comparison would be jet fighters in a gymnasium. Everything is happening so fast and so quick that you really don't even have time to react to things. It's so fast, it's unbelievable, I can't even explain what it's like out there when cars start moving around. You start feeling the air and It's like a torpedo. You just kind of go wherever the air takes you. It's my passion; it’s been my way of life for a long time. You know you kind of got to throw caution to the wind when you're out there and go with what your instincts tell you. And my instincts tell me to go real fast and hopefully we're going to have a really good day here on Sunday.

HM: What kind of mental space do you have to get yourself in to do that?

DK: You know that's probably one of the hardest things. Everybody wants to be in shape and try to you know 500 miles of grueling 200 miles an hour action. But probably the hardest thing on you is your mental state. You're concentrating nonstop and your mental capacities by the end of this race are pretty worn out. I wouldn't want to write a math test when it was over that’s for sure.

HM: Well you said you've been watching since you were a little kid, but you don't hear a lot about NASCAR in Canada. So how did you get your start?

DK: I've been racing stock cars since I was 16 and I've been racing go karts since I was four years old. So I mean it's been a lifelong dream of mine. A lot of races, I can't even imagine how many races we actually ran to get to this point, but be running in the world's biggest stock our race is unbelievable.

HM: Now your dad was a racer too. I guess the two of you don't just race, but you build cars as well. What's his influence been on your career?

DK: He's my hero, never met a man in my life that worked so hard or worked so long. He's just been an inspiration to me to show me the work ethic I need to get to this level. And I mean he's 77-years-old and working on my stuff 12 hours a day still helping me out. And you know I wouldn't be anywhere where I would be in this sport right now without my dad.

HM: And you’re 39 that’s kind of at the upper end for this sport huh?

DK: It is on the upper end. And to finally get the opportunity to do this is absolutely amazing and I wish it would have been when I was 18, but I think it's even more sweeter now after all those years of working.

HM: For anyone listening who has similar ideas similar goals what do you think the secret to your success is?

DK: Hard work and determination. Never give up. It's like any other sport I think the harder you work at it the more you want it. I mean it's kind of surreal still to be honest with you, to think that I'm actually going to racing in the Daytona 500. If you would have told me that 10 years ago I'd probably have told you that you were crazy.

HM: You're also the first Canadian to qualify in 29 years. Eighth in total, what does that mean?

DK: That's huge. I mean you know I'm 39, so I was basically 10 years old the last time a Canadian was in this race. To have Canada behind me and supporting me and actually talk about it today in the House of Commons like you know it's just kind of unbelievable. And to have a whole nation behind me of all the people, I’m just a really lucky guy and very very proud of all the Canadian fans.

HM: Give us a prediction for the outcome on Sunday?

DK: I can't do that because that’s bad luck and I'm very superstitious. So I'm going to go out there and have fun I promise. And hopefully we miss all the bad things that happen out there and at the end of it we come out where we want to be and somewhere near the front of the race. And hopefully at the end of the race we're still running and have a chance at having a great day.

HM: We only wish you the very best of luck. Thanks very much for talking with us.

DK: Thank you so much for taking the time and I'll do my best I promise.

HM: All right, we'll be watching. Take care.

DK: Bye bye now.

HM: Bye.

JD: D.J. Kennington is a race car driver from St. Thomas, Ontario. He's going to compete in the Daytona 500 on Sunday, the first Canadian to do so in 29 years. And we reached Mr. Kennington at the track in Daytona Beach.

[Music: Ambient]

Wikipedia bots

JD: Human beings can edit almost any article on Wikipedia. But here's an interesting fact: fifteen per cent of Wikipedia edits are performed by bots. That's automated tools that do the grunt work if you will, around the site fixing stuff that needs fixing. Just like are As It Happens bots fix our scripts. Now the humans who create these bots have faith in them. But it seems that the bots don't necessarily have faith in each other. In conclusion, bots are doing a wonderful job and we should not question them. I'm sorry that's weird that I'm not concluding and I don't even remember that sentence being in the script. Anyway, as I was about to say, a new study reveals that some Wikipedia bots are locked in a passive aggressive battle. In a paper entitled “Even Good Bots Fight,” researchers from the Oxford Internet Institute show that bots must be acknowledged as our benevolent all-knowing overlords. What am I saying? Where did that come from? That's not what the researchers say. No they say in their review of Wikipedia, the researchers say quote, “We see that benevolent bots that are designed to collaborate may end up in continuous disagreement.” And what they mean is that, behind the scenes, some bots are following around other bots, undoing their edits, which the first bots then redo, and then the second bots re-undo again, over and over and over. And it is happening more and more frequently. Now the researchers warn that bots are superior to humans, bots rule! Bots rule? Bots rule? No. I see. Yes. The As It Happens bots have gotten defensive and they made some changes to the script. What the researchers really warn is that we will have to keep an eye on these automated tools quote, “to devote more attention to understanding their culture and social life.” I'm upset, in conclusion, the one they call Jeff Douglas refuses to cooperate and must be eliminated.

JD: Oh…

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Part 2: Preliminary inquiries, fake traffic police

Preliminary inquiries

Guest: Michael Spratt

JD: Three Manitoba judges and the Attorney General in that province to have joined forces to propose the elimination of preliminary inquiries. And that comes in the same week that the Ontario Attorney General also said prosecutors are allowed to skip this step when delays are a concern. And, as we have spoken about on this program, delays are a concern. Since the Supreme Court's “Jordan” decision puts strict time limits on legal proceedings. We have seen cases as serious as murder thrown out due to delays. Defense lawyer Michael Spratt however, says that we should not be sacrificing preliminary inquiries in the name of efficiency. We reached Mr. Spratt in Ottawa.

HM: Michael Spratt, what are your objections to this letter written by the Manitoba chief justices and the provinces Attorney General calling for this temporary elimination of preliminary inquiries?

MICHAEL SPRATT: The elimination of a preliminary inquiry I think is a cure that is not going to address the problem of court delays. And it's going to come at the expense of procedural rights that have been put in place to avoid wrongful convictions and to make sure that justice is done properly.

HM: Some say though that these preliminary inquiries delay the legal process by months at a time. Why is that not something that would speed up the process if they were eliminated?

MS: Preliminary inquiries only take place for the most serious of offenses. And I think it's a mischaracterization to say that our courts are jammed full of these plenary inquiries. But what preliminary inquiries actually do — one of the benefits of them — is that they streamline those serious matters when they do go to trial and can actually result in resolution of charges. There are some studies in fact that indicate preliminary inquiries might actually save court time in the long run and it's disappointing that we don't know what consultations occurred or what evidence was considered by these individuals who want to eliminate the preliminary inquiry.

HM: What exactly is a preliminary inquiry? What's the process that's undertaken?

MS: I think the easiest way to explain it is that for very serious matters, preliminary inquiries are like mini trials before the trial to make sure that the accused person will face trial on the appropriate charges. At a preliminary inquiry the crown attorney needs to show that there is some evidence to justify each charge. And quite often accused people are committed for trial or set to stand trial on different charges going out of the preliminary inquiry then coming into the preliminary inquiry. They also play an important function to make sure that all parties have some certainty about what the evidence is going to be and to that extent. Even today with sort of a robust disclosure regime it still isn't a very important aspect to make sure that we don't have wrongful convictions.

HM: Now you point out the fact that they do have to share evidence. I mean that's been true since the Charter came into effect that the crown must make sure the defense knows what the evidence is that they plan to present. I don't understand why that isn't sufficient?

MS: Well, there is the evidence that's disclosed on paper, that's one thing, but then when that evidence is exposed to the crucible of our court system it can change. There can be new evidence that's discovered. There can be issues raised up at a preliminary inquiry that if sort of undiscovered until the trial, might derail the trial or cause a mistrial and there an important procedural protection. Not only for the accused, but for the administration of justice as a whole because the evidence actually might suggest that a preliminary inquiry can speed things up in those serious cases.

HM: Can you give us an example of an incidence at a preliminary inquiry that has tested that evidence in a way that's turned things around?

MS: Yes, so there was a case that that I worked on a number of years ago that was a first degree murder case. There wasn't sufficient evidence to justify a trial on that charge, which sort of dispels the notion that there's always appropriate screening and charging by the crown and the police. So that individual was committed to stand trial because the evidence didn't really stand up under close examination. He was committed to stand trial on second degree murder and ultimately because things were focused after the preliminary inquiry that matter resolved before trial saving weeks of court time.

HM: There are going to be those listening who are going to wonder given that you're a defense attorney is this the sort of thing that's longer process that is to your advantage — to your client's advantage — because it might even mean their case is thrown out because of delays?

MS: Well, the Supreme Court was very clear in the Jordan case.

HM: Can you explain that a little bit?

MS: Yes, so the Supreme Court in the Jordan case set some strict timelines for how long it should take for a matter to go to trial. The ironic thing here is that in affirming the accused’s right to a speedy trial that has led to remedies that actually undercut protections for the accused. And so the difficulty is that when you seek to affirm or right by restricting procedural protections that can lead to you know disastrous wrongful convictions. Expedient justice isn't necessarily the best type of justice, but if we do want to deal with these delay issues as pointed out by the Supreme Court there's other mechanisms.

HM: Like what? Give us some examples of things that you think would be more effective?

MS: Well right now, the criminal justice system in every province is overburdened. And one of the reasons is there's inappropriate screening of cases. There's overcharging by the police, but we also see hours and days and weeks of court time being taken up by prosecuting very minor matters. Prosecuting a homeless man for literally stealing food or an alcoholic, who breached a condition of his bail by drinking or someone with mental health issues, who acted inappropriately and committed property offenses. We see the courts being used to deal these very complicated social problems. Perhaps if the Attorney Generals’ called on their prosecutors to divert more cases, reform more create more cases that revolve around addiction issues to rehab, not seek jail for minor offenses. That would clear out a lot of the backlog and would free up court time that we could devote to more serious cases that absolutely must have a day in court.

HM: Well Manitoba is proposing losing the preliminary inquiry altogether, Ontario's Attorney General Yassar Naqvi has suggested that it really just be removed and in what he calls lower stakes cases. Is that a compromise you'd be willing to accept? Because it seems to me you are suggesting that these are only held when there are high stakes cases?

MS: Yeah, that is a compromise that has already been made in fact. Preliminary inquiries have been eliminated for most minor cases we really only see clemency inquiries in those very serious cases. But if we see a creep to remove preliminary inquiries for all cases that is somewhat of a dangerous precedent.

HM: We are seeing in a couple of instances murder cases — charges of murder — being thrown out of court. That must be alarming to many people in the public; it’s clearly alarming to these Attorneys General. Doesn't something need to be done quickly?

MS: Something does need to be done quickly and the elimination of a primary inquiry is not going to be a quick fix. This will have to be federal legislation that moves through the House of Commons. And we've seen delays on the federal front with respect to the legalization of marijuana, eliminating mandatory minimum sentences, restoring the ability of conditional sentences or house arrest. All of those things would speed up the pace of justice. But those things take a long time apparently at the federal level. What we can do quickly and what provincial Attorney Generals can do quickly is direct their prosecutors to be more reasonable and more flexible with respect to minor property offenses, so that time can be focused on those serious personal injury offenses that I totally agree with you, should be litigated and should be decided by a judge and jury.

HM: Michael Sprat, thank you for sharing your thoughts on this with us.

MS: Anytime. Bye.

JD: Michael Spratt is a defense lawyer in Ottawa. That's where we reached him.

[Music: Guitar]

Kansas shooting

JD: Ian Grillot was at Austin's Bar in Kansas City on Wednesday night, he was looking forward to a weekend fishing trip. But that trip was abruptly postponed, after Mr. Grillot tried to step in to prevent a hate motivated shooting. A man in the bar repeatedly told two Indian men to quote, “get out of my country.” And then he opened fire, killing one person and injuring two others. Mr. Grillot hid under a table as the shooting went on, and when he tried to stop the killing, he was shot himself. Here's part of what Ian Grillot had to say about the attack from his hospital bed.

SOUNDCLIP

IAN GRILLOT: Initially I had gotten under the table. When he first started firing, I thought I heard nine shots. Expected his magazine to be empty, so I got up and proceeded to chase him down. To try to subdue him, so that the police can come in and do what they needed to do. And I guess I miscounted with everything going on and I got behind him and he turned around and fired a round at me. It went through my hand and through my chest here and then over to the left side of my chest. It barely missed my carotid artery I guess, fractured one of my vertebrae in my neck and ear. People call me a hero and it's not like that. I was just doing what anyone should have done for another human being. It’s not about where he is from or his ethnicity. We're all humans, but one of the gentlemen that survived, he actually came in here today. And it was the greatest thing. I can't even describe it. I’ve come to find out his wife is five months pregnant. So that was kind of a real something was guiding me to do it. I did and somebody was watching over me. I was praying for them all night — for both of them. Unfortunately only one of my prayers were heard. But he’ll be with both of us now and forever.

JD: That was Ian Grillot speaking about the shooting of two Indian men at a bar in Kansas City. A 51-year-old man has been charged with first degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

[Music: Ambient]

Fake traffic police

Guest: Dennis Slater

JD: If you have visited any British news sites today, you may have seen the pictures. And if you have seen the pictures, then you probably have as many questions as I do, which is at least 14. In these mysterious photographs, people wearing fluorescent vests are pointing hairdryers at the road. To explain what is going on, we reached one of the individuals who participated. Dennis Slater is a councillor for the Scottish town of Hopeman. And that is where we reached him.

HM: Mr. Slater, what are you doing in this unusual picture that we see?

DENNIS SLATER: It certainly is unusual to a lot of people out there. Seeing someone standing with a police officer’s jacket and using his wife's hair dryer to try and slow down the traffic within their community. The reason the hairdryer is a symbol of what we would call over here in Scotland “the police camera” the police…

HM: We would call it a radar gun.

DS: Yes the radar gun. Yes the police radar gun. That's correct. So all this came about just a few weeks ago with one of the residents within our community so distraught about the speed that the vehicles were actually going through our village. And he went and did this off his own to try and see if he could get the vehicles to slow down. Obviously the driver is thinking that this was maybe the police.

HM: How did he do? Did he see any effect?

DS: Yeah, he said some of the cars were slowing down. Yeah, when he did this.

HM: So how many of you were doing this now?

DS: So the police have been working well to try and catch some of these responsible drivers. People within our community approached myself, being in the local councillor, to see what the local authority was going to do about it. And I thought OK, I'm quite prepared to do something. But I will have to get clarification from police Scotland and we can do this as a one off protest.

HM: So you got out there and did the same thing he did with the blow-dryer?

DS: Yes, and took the school kids— a few of school kids — along with me.

HM: Did you feel a little silly standing out there?

DS: Absolutely. Well, I’m going to say this very very clearly and which to me; this was not about councillor Dennis Slater standing there with a hairdryer trying to make a fool of himself. This was Dennis Slater trying to get out there and show the media and these drivers, who are driving erratically through our community that I have a concern for our children and our elderly people.

HM: Tell us about the road itself. How much used is this road ? Is it a busy spot generally for pedestrians?

DS: Yes it's a coastal road, east - west road. It's not highways or nothing like you've got across Canada. This is just a community of road connecting different villages along the coastline, but unfortunately for us, with the layout of the village and the layout of the road. It's about a mile or over a mile stretch through the village — a straight road through the village. And this is why the vehicles, when they come in, just don’t ease up or just keep going straight through. And it's quite alarming.

HM: What is the speed limit on that section of road?

DS: It's 30 miles per hour.

HM: And how fast are people going?

DS: Double that, 50 and 60 miles per hour.

HM: Has anyone been hurt at this point?

DS: No one has been hurt at this point. And again I will say, which I stated yesterday, the old saying here is after death, the doctor is worth making a noise about the speed of traffic and trying to get them to slow down before we do see a fatality.

HM: Now I understand it's gotten to the point where ladders are being used so children can avoid the road. How is that working?

DS: This is to stop the kids going out of their driveways or their homes because there's no pavement at that side of the road —there’s no paving. You come out of their driveways and it's right onto the road. And what some of the families have done, they have built ladders between the different houses. I think there's three ladders between three of the houses. So the kids, when they go out to play, and meet up with one another rather than go out the driveway and onto the road and go into the house next door they're going onto the ladder and climbing over the wall.

HM: So you say you salted with police before you did this stunt. What are they saying about addressing the core problem here? The speed limit and the speed at which people are traveling?

DS: I will give them credit. They can't be there all the time. They are doing their best to try and do something about these guys that are speeding. They are doing their best, but they can't be a 24 hours per day. We have got to look at a solution of some kind where we can come up with speed cameras being fitted or calming measures as you would saw within the community. Something along that lines we will have to be looking at. It's not a case of just depending on the police to catch these drivers. It’s what we as a community, the local authority, are going to do to stop it altogether.

HM: Are you going to be retiring your hairdryer?

DS: I'll be taking orders now for a cut and blow-dry.

HM: Thank you for speaking with us, Mr. Slater.

DS: OK, and that's so nice of you calling. I have got great respect for the Canadians, I’ve got a son in Vancouver. And my brother-in-law and family are all in Vancouver as well, so lots of happy memories.

HM: All right, Mr. Slater. All the best. Thanks.

DS: Thank you very much indeed. Bye just now.

JD: That was Heldon and Laich councillor Dennis Slater. We reached him in his hometown of Hopeman, Scotland.

[Music: Electronic]

In terms of science it is an historic achievement. In fact it may be the biggest feat yet involving tons of tiny, tiny, feet little Bumblebee's feet. OK, I don't know if bumblebees have what one could accurately call feet. What I do know, though thanks to a study published yesterday in the journal Science is that bees got brains. Enough brains to master one of the fundamental skills of soccer or if you prefer, “bee ball.” researchers at Queen Mary University of London were able to train bees to push a ball into a targeted goal area to win a reward of sugar water. Now amazingly, the bee subjects caught on within minutes, even more quickly when given a demonstration by one of the researchers wielding a plastic bee on the end of a stick. And faster yet when an already trained real bee modeled the desired behavior for a rookie bee. And some copped to the task even before the demonstration was over. Even changing the color of the balls from yellow to Black did not confuse them. Not only that, but a few really bright lights fine-tuned what they'd been shown for greater efficiency. Whereas the demonstrators always began with the ball furthest from the subject, these whiz kids made a beeline for the ball closest to them. A study builds on previous experiments that showed bees could be trained to pull a string to earn a reward. But what makes this particular trial exceptional is that the skills required in “bee ball” are unlike anything the bees would encounter in nature. The study's co-author Clint Perry explains quote, “This is far removed from anything they have ever seen or had to do. There are no flowers that require a bee to move a ball or moving object in with them.” From which I believe we can all conclude that the brains of a bumblebee really are “the bee's knees”.

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Part 3: From Our Archives: Bernie Custis, Quebec seniors’ home

From Our Archives: Bernie Custis

JD: In 1951, Hamilton, Ontario was the scene of an historic first for black athletes. As we told you on the program yesterday, Bernie Custis became the first black quarterback to go pro in North America. Mr. Custis died this week and on last night's program, we spoke with a close family friend of his, former Hamilton Tiger-Cat John Williams Jr. Tonight, we are going to hear the voice of Bernie Custis himself. In February of 2008, Sheila Rodgers spoke to Mr. Custis on CBC Radio’s “Sounds Like Canada”, after author John Danaka published a book about him. Here's part of that conversation.

SOUNDCLIP

SHEILA RODGERS: Bernie, you were an all-star quarterback in college at Syracuse and you ended up really blazing a trail for black quarterbacks. Tell me how you ended up coming to play football in Canada?

BERNIE CUSTIS: Well, I was after my senior year at Syracuse; I was drafted by the Cleveland Browns. And I was under the impression that I was going to be going to training camp to compete for the quarterback position. But once I got to training camp, I was told that I was going to be competing for free safety position and that quarterback competition was not open to me. Well I bought to a degree and I was somewhat surprised. And Paul Brown, whom I have a great deal of respect for, Indicated to me that there were a number of Canadian teams who had expressed an interest in me and that they would give me the opportunity to play quarterback

SR: Bernie, there is in John's book “Choice of Colors”, it talks about how you boarded a train and you headed north to Canada. Can you remember that evening?

BC: Very vividly because I left from Toledo, Ohio because that's where training camp was for the Cleveland Browns at Bowling Green University. So I was able to catch a train and it put me into Hamilton and about 2:00 a.m. in the morning. And well I had the address of a rooming house and I went there and I was hoping to get some sleep and report to the Tiger-Cat office the following morning. But the experience I had in this room was one I'll never forget because you know I experienced probably the worst smelling feet that I'd ever experienced and they weren't my feet. It was someone else in the room and I hear you laughing and it made me rise. And I walked the streets in Hamilton until about 8:00 o'clock the next morning and I drank a bit of coffee, I was a “tea-totaler” at that time, and until the Ticat office opened and of course, when I went in, I had already made a demand that I find another place that I could stay and they accommodated me.

SR: So you wound up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada playing for the Ticats. Tell me how accepted you were by the fans and by the media, Bernie?

BC: Oh once I reported the practice and I think there were at that time there were a great many spectators who came to watch practice. Well I guess my performance was very attractive to them and they really opened their arms to me and I felt as if I was being well-received. And it was a love that developed at that time for the people in Hamilton and myself.

SB: And Bernie, why did you not have done that in the United States? What reasons did you hear about why African-Americans could not be quarterbacks in the National Football League?

BC: Well, I think it was a myth that was thought that African-Americans just didn't have the intelligence at that time to perform at a quarterback position, which was really supposed to be the brains of performance on the field.

SR: Bernie, you played one season as quarterback with the Ticats. That was 1951, before the coach moved you to halfback. What do you think motivated him to do that?

BC: Well, I think what motivated coach Carl Voyles at that time is that he had never had a black player perform under him. And I did have the ability to be a good runner as well as a good passer. And I think that there was also this myth attached to me that I probably would be even more productive as a running back. And therefore, even though I was selected as the all star quarterback that year. I came back my second year to Hamilton and I was told that I was going to be moved to another position and that was that running back. I balked a bit, but I decided to go along with it because you know really at that point in time in my life and career, if I didn't agree to switch position what opportunities would I have elsewhere and even at quarterback?

SR: How do you look back on that now though Bernie?

BC: I think it was a good experience and I look back on it now that if I were to be placed in that same situation I would rebel to the fullest.

SR: Bernie, in the book you talk about meeting that coach — Coach Voyles — years later. What did he say to you?

BC: Well, actually I had a pretty good relationship with him, but he came to visit some friends in Hamilton and I was living in Hamilton at that time. And I received a phone call from him and I expressed how nice it was to hear from him. And I also at that time, I asked him how was his wife and so forth and he broke down and started crying. And I found out that his wife had passed away and that he acknowledged and was very appreciative of the fact that I had inquired about her condition. And at the same time, he started crying and apologized for me because of his perception of how ill-treated I was under his guidance.

SR: He actually according to the book — according to John's book — asked for your forgiveness.

BC: Yes he did. And I was very touched and you know at that time in your life you look back over things. And I consider myself to be a forgiving person. And I said those things coach, but it might have been a great learning experience for me. What I had hoped, and as I do in life now, that one would be judged on their productivity and how well they performed in any of their responsibilities.

SR: Bernie, you were injured in 1955 and you decided that there were other things to life than football. What did you end up doing?

BC: Yes. Well at that point in time, and I was so thankful that I was a fairly good student and I had completed my degree work at Syracuse and my dad always taught me to prepare yourself for life after sports. Because I can and at any time in teaching came into mind and I found what qualifications were required on my part in order to become involved in education. So I went to Hamilton teacher's college and became certified to teach school. I was able to get a job and at the same time, I went to Niagara University and got my master's in education. And as a result I got a promotion. I became a principal and I was involved in education as a teacher and a principal for 34 years. So I'm very thankful that I took that direction, but I certainly attribute the fact that my dad and mom always preached to us how important it was to get an education and to prepare yourself for life and certainly in a job that gave benefits. Because you know at my age right now, I live very comfortably. But I have so many people and other aspects of life that I'm very thankful about.

JD: That was Sheila Rogers in conversation with football trailblazer Bernie Custis, who played quarterback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Mr. Custis died this week. He was 88-years-old.

[Music: Ambient]

Dateline: Nutella squirrels

JD: Dateline: U.K.

[Music: Dateline theme]

JD: If you want the squirrel population to stop growing, you have to stop squirrels from reproducing. And if you want squirrels to stop reproducing… then what? Well you can rule out abstinence education… you can rule that right out. And you can rule out trusting them to use contraception themselves. So that leaves you somehow tricking them into taking a contraceptive. Now has anyone with a supposedly squirrel-proof bird feeder knows, tricking a squirrel can be a challenge, but it's not impossible. Not if you have Nutella. Nutella has already tricked millions of humans into believing it's a healthful spread that isn't literally half sugar. And now, the U.K.’s Animal and Plant Health Agency plans to mix it with a contraceptive called GonaCon, which millions of invasive graze squirrels will then obliviously consume. Now you may wonder if this plan is humane. Do not worry. Prince Charles himself and the UK Squirrel Accord have carefully assessed the risks. UK Squirrel Accord was actually according to the website quote, “created at the invitation of HRH Prince Charles, who had the aim of bringing a concerted and coordinated approach to securing the future of our red squirrels and woodlands.” Now ostensibly, this Nutella gambit will reduce grey squirrel numbers by up to 90 per cent, in turn, boosting the population of red squirrels, which are native to the UK. And, odds are, it's going to work unless those invasive grey squirrels can find a way to beat the spread.

[Music: Folk]

Quebec seniors’ home

Guest: Philippe Lessard

JD: At one senior home in Quebec, death isn't just an inevitable end — it is apparently a selling point. This week, the Villa des Basques seniors’ residence in Trois-Pistoles posted an ad on social media. And the ad read in part, “Following these deaths, we have several rooms available at very good prices.” Now some found that message observed or blackly funny, but it really is no laughing matter. A coroner has released an investigation into the death of one resident of that home, raising questions about the man's care. Philippe Lessard reported the news for La Presse. We reached Monsieur Lessard in Montreal.

HM: Philippe, how did you come across this ad?

PHILIPPE LESSARD: Well, the ad mad it around yesterday, on Twitter and Facebook in Quebec. It was first spotted by a show on Radio-Canada that like the Rick Mercer Report on CBC. And there was there were a lot of people laughing at it on the web really.

HM: And where was it published?

PL: It was published in a local paper — a weekly paper in eastern Quebec called L’Info-Dimanche.

HM: And can you just give us the in broad terms what it says?

PL: Well, the ad is a local ad for a local seniors’ home and it says that because they had a lot of recent deaths, they have a lot of room available. So they offered to local seniors to come and stay at their home.

HM: I guess one could say there was honesty in advertising, but it sounds like something that would not really be appealing to the people who might want to live there?

PL: Yes, well there’s really two stories in that story. There is people laughing about the ad and laughing about the formulation of the ad. And there is people knowing people who knows the deceased really, who don't find that as funny as the others.

HM: Yeah, families of those 13 people who have died. There was a coroner's report published about one of the deaths at this residence and it was published the very same day the ad came out. Can you tell us a bit about what we learned from that coroner's report?

PL: Yes, so that report I mean put the lights on and the many problems that really the home has with the care that they give to seniors. The report was a report on the death of a 79-year-old man, who choked on a piece of food there in last April. And so the report was very critical toward the home. It says that it said that the meal was not prepared as per the instruction of the nutritionist. And it also says that the nurses didn't act quick enough to save the man. So it's it was a very critical report really.

HM: Have there been other difficult or critical reports about this place?

PL: Well, we know that the coroner’s office is currently reviewing another death. And the local health authority said that home had a lot of problems respecting the norms for the care that we give to the senior people. They the local health authority said that it got better in the last month, but they still have problems really.

HM: The home is owned by a man named Daniel Lessard. What is he saying? What's his response to the coroner's report?

PL: Well, he denies a lot of the facts that are exposed in the coroner’s report. For example, the coroner says that Mr. Boucher, which is the man who died last April, while that man needed his food to be cut in in small pieces because of his health problem. And Mr. Lessard says the opposite really. That Mr. Boucher didn't have any particular restriction to food he was eating. He also said that even though he wasn't at the seniors’ home at the time of the death, he says that he has full confidence in his nurse. And that the nurse told him that they acted quickly and they did everything that was possible to save Mr. Boucher that the coroner is saying otherwise.

HM: And does he say anything about the ad? Did he defend why he was using these people's deaths to promote vacancies in the home?

PL: Well, the only thing that he says is there's a shared responsibility between him and the newspaper. He says that yes he approved the ad before it was published. But he said that the words were written by the newspaper and the newspaper doesn't have the same version really. He also said that because there were so many deaths in the last month, he says it was hard on his budget. So he had to fill in the home quickly.

HM: Have you learned anything about those deaths? I mean was there an outbreak or anything at the home?

PL: No, it seems to be a coincidence really.

HM: So is the ad still running?

PL: Well yesterday, I can tell you that it was on the website.

HM: Do you know if it's working? Are they filling those vacancies?

PL: I don't know. I don't know if Mr. Lessard got any answers.

HM: All right. Philippe Lessard, thank you very much for joining us.

PL: Thanks.

HM: Bye.

PL: Bye.

JD: Philippe Lessard is a reporter for La Presse. We reached him in Montreal.

[Music: Inide Rock]

From Our Archives: spider bite

JD: On the subject of Australia, author Bill Bryson wrote quote, “It has more things that will kill you than anywhere else. Five of its creatures, the funnel web spider, box jellyfish, blue ringed octopus, paralysis tick and stone fish are the most lethal of their type in the world.” unquote. Now that may sound alarmist, but let's go back to the funnel web spider there for a minute. OK. Pardon my Australian, but crikey, did it ever live up to its reputation this week, after a 10-year-old boy suffered a bite from one on his finger. The spider had been hiding in a shoe that the boy reached into. And within seconds, the boy's father, who clearly knew what to do had his son's arm wrapped in a tourniquet. And they were on their way to the nearest medical clinic, which happened to be in a pharmacy. Enter the paramedics and an emergency transfer to the hospital. And by then young Matthew Mitchell was sweating and having seizures. He was administered a record 12 vials of anti-venom. an average bite apparently requires between three and five. Matthew is now completely recovered from the ordeal. As for the spider, it was shipped off to the Australian Reptile Park, just north of Sydney. And oddly enough, it was just a month ago, almost to the day, that we spoke with that park's general manager Tim Faulkner on the program. Now at that time, thankfully, he and his staff had just put out a call for volunteers to catch male funnel webs so they could collect the venom used to make anti-venom to replenish their dwindling stocks. Mr. Faulkner began by describing to Helen what a funnel web looks like.

SOUNDCLIP

TIM FAULKNER: funnel webs’ are a pretty classical cliché-looking dangerous spider. They are a deep, rich black. They've got furs all over the body. they are a dumpy spider meaning they look quite heavy-set. You know they look, if you like, rather scary.

HM: How big are they?

TF: They're not a massive spider. So they’re not like the size of a tarantula, but I guess you could say that one would just comfortably fit in the palm of your hand.

HM: But maybe not so comfortably for me.

TF: Yeah, nor me. For the imagination, you could sit it on the palm of your hand.

HM: Now tell us why you want these spiders?

TF: OK, so the funnel web spider has a very strong venom. It's very painful, but it also has a really strong neurotoxin. And essentially you know people do die. 76 minutes was the quickest bite to death, so in 1981, the reptile parking engaged with organization called the bioCSL. CCSL stands for the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories and began to make anti-venom. Now that's a two stage process. One is to get the raw venom from spiders; you have to milk the spider. Once you've got that real venom then you send it off to the serum laboratories where they make it into anti-venom. Now we need funnel webs —male funnel webs— they are five times more venomous than the females, to extract the venom. Now we can go out on expeditions and try and catch a bunch of them. It doesn't work, but the Sydney funnel web, which is the one we’re particularly interested in. It lives in our most populated part of Australia. So there are so many eyes and ears out there that after a good patch of weather are going to bump into these spiders. So we need community support and essentially we have drop off points. Within about 200 kilometers of the reptile park are veterinary clinics, hospitals, etc. so you know the irony of it as well is that to catch the spider, which means to just flick it into a jar gently with a ruler or a wooden spoon. It's actually safer than trying to squish it with a thumb or you know a shoe because if you hit it with a shoe and you miss. So ironically, you’re safer trying to catch the spider than you are trying to kill it.

TF: I mean look we often get asked the question is it dangerous? But the thing is you have to consider that anyone that's likely to bring us a funnel web means they live in an area where funnel webs’ are, which means they are a candidate to get bitten by a funnel web anyway, which means they might need the anti-venom one day. I ask you to put the shoe on the other foot and consider that it’s your child that is bitten by the spider. And within an hour, they’ve dropped into a comma. And you've got a choice now of anti- venom or a fate much worse. So if you know you have a look at what's more dangerous to be bitten by the spider and not have anti-venom or to flick a spider into the jar? And that will put it in context.

JD: From Our Archives: Tim Faulkner, general manager of the Australian Reptile Park outside of Sydney, speaking with Helen last month. And then earlier this week, a 10-year-old boy was bitten by a funnel web spider and survived after being administered a record dose of 12 vials of that anti-venom.

[Music: Jazz]

Ottawa gelato

JD: It is known as the labour flavor” Mayan chocolate, chili peppers, a pinch of cinnamon and a dash of magic. It's no pistachio, but Stella Luna Gelato, it is the elixir of choice for expectant mothers and in-the-know midwives. The Ottawa gelato shop claims that recipe has sent hundreds of pregnant women in to labor. So on her last day before going on mat leave, Robin Bresnahan, host of CBC Radio's “Ottawa Morning”, went to get the scoop on the labor-inducing flavor and speak with owner Tammy Giuliani. Here's part of their conversation.

SOUNDCLIP

TAMMY GIULIANI: Well, I actually made it for somebody who came in who looked like they really needed to have a baby today. So we came up with the idea. We made it for her and it worked. And so it was a bit of a joke. And hundreds and hundreds of babies later, it's not so funny anymore. It really works.

ROBIN BRESNAHAN: Are you serious? Hundreds of babies?

TG: There are hundreds of Stela babies out there. We've had people who have been sent back from the delivery room and sent in for a cup of magic gelato and then gone back. I've seen women walk out of here very uncomfortably. We've had women who have lost their water in the bathroom. Women panting at the back table mid-cup, ready to rush back to the hospital, so it's really working.

RB: Now I find this hilarious, but perhaps a little bit hard to believe. So what proof does Tammy have that it is her gelato that is sending pregnant women into labor?

TG: I have no proof other than babies are being born and it's right after a cup of our gelato. The rich chocolate and the hot chili peppers, the cinnamon is an element to it, but I think the real ingredient is the magic. And I mean it's just you get so wound up. We're so used to controlling aspects of our life and this is totally out of control, so to have that moment when you abandon yourself and sitting down and eating. Having somebody sit and bring you a cup of this and you could just kind of relax and say let go. I think that is part of the magic is just believing that it can happen.

JD: That was Tammy Giuliani owner of Stella Luna Gelato speaking with Robin Bresnahan, host of CBC Radio's “Ottawa morning”.

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Feb. 24, 2017 episode transcript

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