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The AIH Transcript for July 10, 2017

Hosts: Laura Lynch and Karen Gordon

STORIES FROM THIS EPISODE

Prologue

LAURA LYNCH: Hello, I'm Laura Lynch.

KAREN GORDON: Good evening, I'm Karen Gordon sitting in for Jeff Douglas. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

KG: Tonight:

LL: A ball of fire right around us. A British Columbia woman describes fleeing two different communities on the weekend, to escape from the fire that's blazing through the surrounding forests.

KG: Something old, something new and lightning out of the blue. New Brunswick man is hit by a thunderbolt, as he delivers a speech at his daughter's wedding.

LL: Raincheck. A Chinese umbrella sharing company could take a soaking, after customers decided to hold on to nearly 300,000 of their rentals for they can only hope is a rainy day.

KG: Demonic possession. North Vancouver becomes the latest community to be hoaxed by an online fraud featuring movie stars like Matt Damon saying nice things about people's home towns.

LL: Blowing the race. An American watchdog group warns that more and more greyhound racing dogs are testing positive for cocaine.

KG: And… falling to Rhesus. A Florida man knew family's new house would bring them all to live close to nature. What he didn't expect was to have the property overrun by dozens of Rhesus monkeys. As It Happens, the Monday edition. Radio that invites you to come right in and ape yourself at home.

[Music: Theme]

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Part 1: British Columbia fire, cocaine greyhounds, father of the bride lightnig

British Columbia fire

Guest: Laura Meechan

KG: Over 10,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in British Columbia as more than two hundred wildfires rage across BC’s interior. The province has declared a state of emergency. Reinforcements are on their way from around the country, but some still feel they're being left to fend for themselves. Laura Meechan had to flee her home and 108 Mile Ranch with her four dogs and her horses. We reached her in Sheriden Lake, BC earlier today.

LL: Laura, I understand that you've had a stressful 24 hours. How are you holding up now.

LAURA MEECHAN: We don't know how we feel right now. We're at the cabin here at Sheriden Lake. We got evacuated from the 108 with the horses. We had to get the horses out. We’ve got four dogs here. Right now it's very smoky; there's no wind here. We're getting ashes all over the cabin and in the cars here right now. We can't get in and out; Highway 24 is closed due to fire. Highway 97 to Cache Creek is closed due to a fire Highway 97 going north to Prince George's is closed due to the fire. So we're kind of trapped in here.

LL: I was just going to say you sound trapped.

LM: Yeah, we are. It’s just a ball of fire right around us.

LL: When did you realize that you had to leave your home at 108 Mile Ranch?

LM: Well, I saw the fire at start, and I thought well OK, it’s probably just a small fire and it grew. By the next day, we woke up, it was blue sky there was nothing, I was like oh, this is fantastic! It has moved on. Within two hours, the wind picked up and the smoke just came flying at us. There were 22 horses on the green belt. They all had to get moved. A few people came up and got some horses. Horses were trapped. Our horses were in there. There was nobody who came to our door. We had no warning; no alert. Nobody came to the door to warn us to get out. We just had to take upon ourselves to get the horses out. The last two horses would not load. So a girlfriend of mine, she decided to ride one of the horses and pulled the other horse eight miles to 100 Mile. It was unbelievable! So we got packed up and got there. We stayed friends. We had nowhere to go. My husband was in Yellowknife at the time and so was I handling this all on my own. And so now we're at Sheridan Lake at a friend's cabin. Thank God we had someplace to go.

LL: Can you describe the scene though as you left?

LM: Oh, it was just billowing smoke. I've got pictures of it. The smoke was just coming right over towards the waterway. Right to where the pasture is. We got to the highway; it was bumper to bumper all the way to 100 Mile and to the rodeo grounds. It was so hot; it was like 39 degrees in the smoke. It was just horrible, horrible. Nobody knew where to go. Nobody knew what was going on. I got a picture on my security cameras before they went out at our home. We saw an RCMP officer running to the neighbors at 5:30; we left at 1:00 o'clock. That was them trying to tell people to get out. It was too late by that it was all around us, right?

LL: You didn't just have the horses to get out; you also have four dogs. Did you just put them in the car and got all crowded in there and drove out?

LM: Yeah, they all just freaked out. We just got them all in the car and just drove 100 Mile to meet up with the horses. We moved the horses out to Lac la Hache, but then the fire started. Then we had to move them out to Forest Grove, where they are right now. But now we can't get into Forest Grove because that highway is now closed due to fire.

LL: So just for our listeners, Lac la Hache is another community nearby, and you're saying fire came toward Lac la Hache and they move on again?

LM: Yeah, we had to get them out of there and then move them back towards 100 Mile out east towards Forest Grove, where they are right now. And now, we can't even get in there because that road is closed due to fire also.

LL: So you are now in Sheridan Lake, but you're telling me that you are surrounded by fire.

LM: Yeah, we're surrounded by fire. We can't get out because all the highways are closed. Cache Creek and Ashcroft is burned right to the ground. The highway is closed there. All the highways here we cannot get in and out. We can get out from Little Fort, but nobody can get back in. But we're unsure of that either? Right now, we have no TV here and the radio at 100 Mile went off here. We're just stuck in the middle and we just don't know what to do anymore? We're just waiting for an evacuation here. If that happens then we don't know what to do? We don't know where to go?

LL: How is your husband doing?

LM: He has asthma; he's having a problem even breathing with this smoke.

LL: Why don't you try to leave?

LM: Where we are right now is a lonely area, right? It's just outside 100 Mile. We haven't got any alerts yet. So this is the only place we've got to go with the dogs. We can't even go to Kamloops because there's nowhere to go there. Everybody's taken up all the hotels. We don't have travel trailer. We just have a car and a truck and our dogs. We’ve lost everything. We didn't even know. Nobody even told us about if the fire out in The 180. We had to find this out to strangers and hearsay. We don't even know?

LL: Laura, I can hear how hard this is for you. And I'm really sorry for what's happening to you. But you're also telling me that you don't have any way of finding out if there is an evacuation alert?

LM: No, we don't know. And the thing I don't understand is why there aren’t more bombers here? Why are there Mars bombers sitting down in Victoria at Sprout Lake when we could be using them here?

LL: The water bombers to get at the fire.

LM: The water bomber, the big one. Why can't they bring this up here? You know what? We're losing all our forestry. That’s our main industry here in 100 Mile. We're saving the mills, but what's the point of the mills if we have no timber?

LL: Do you have supplies with you?

LM: We were lucky enough to get in town yesterday and we've got food for a few days here.

LL: So you're just going to sit tight for now?

LM: Yeah, we’re just going to sit tight for now until we hear something about the evacuation, and then we'll just pack up, get in our cars and we really don't know where we're going to go?

LL: What state do you expect your home to be in when you do go back?

LM: Well, I have heard that our house is still standing. Our neighbor's house is still standing. Just across the greenbelt, not very far from our house, there have been 10 houses lost up on Block Drive.

LL: Well, I hope for your sake, obviously, that the house still survives all of this when you do get back home, Laura. I'm really sorry you're going through this. Please take care of yourself and your husband and the dogs.

LM: OK, we will. Thank you very much for calling. Thank you.

LL: Take care.

LM: Can I say something else?

LL: Of course, of course.

LM: Our little town of 100 Mile, we have just been holding it together. It's a great little community. We want to keep our community together and we just need some help. I'm sorry. OK, thank you very much.

LL: Laura, take care.

LM: Bye bye.

LL: Bye bye.

KG: We reached Laura Meechan in Sheridan Lake BC earlier today. We checked back in with Laura later in the day. She now has access to a TV and a radio, so she can find out if there is an evacuation order. Ms. Meechan sent us some photos from the fires. You can find them on our website: www.cbc.ca/aih. The caribou Region District is posting updates on the fire on their website: www.cariboord.ca. And that's “caribou” with two o’s, and also on their Facebook page, which is CRDEmergencyOperations.

[Music: Sad piano]

Cocaine greyhounds

Guest: Carey Theil

KG: Yet another sport has been engulfed in a doping scandal. But instead of steroids, it involves cocaine. And instead of humans, it involves greyhounds. Carrie Theil is the executive director of GREY2K USA, an organization that monitors the greyhound racing industry. We reached him in Arlington, Massachusetts.

LL: Mr. Theil, why is cocaine turning up in the urine samples of these racing dogs?

CAREY THEIL: Well, we don't know? Unfortunately, the state is not investigating these cases to determine how the dogs are ingesting cocaine? What we do know, definitively, is that since 2008, 62 greyhounds in Florida have tested positive for cocaine. In this most recent case, there were 18 greyhound cocaine positives over a short period of time a couple of months at one track in North Florida.

LL: And just to be clear, 18 tests or 18 dogs?

CT: It was 18 positive tests in 12 dogs. One dog tested positive for cocaine on six different occasions. Her name is W.W. Flicka. And one thing that does concern us is the track, Orange Park, has so far refused to disclose where that dog is. We do have concerns about that dog in particular.

LL: She's missing?

CT: Well, the track says she's safe, they will not say where she is. She hasn't raced in in about five weeks now, which is unusual for a racing greyhound. We don't know if she's still at the track, if she's gone to another track, if she has been given to an adoption group? At this point, the industry has refused to disclose that information.

LL: Why would they do that? Why wouldn't they tell you where she is?

CT: That's a very good question. You know this case is incredible in so many ways, and that's certainly one of the aspects that make this case particularly troubling. I honestly don't know why the industry is refusing to disclose where Flicka is? I think they would make everyone, including the local community feel a lot better if they would let the media see her and determine that she's OK. But again, you know to have so many greyhound cocaine positives. There's no doubt this is the largest greyhound drug case in American history. It's one of the largest greyhound drug cases worldwide that we've seen. We have seen cocaine positives in other countries like Australia as well, but nothing on this scale. And add to that to have some of the individuals connected to the case be very high-profile members of the greyhound industry I think makes the case even more notable. Ten of the 12 dogs were owned by a woman named Julia Ward, who is the current sitting president of the National Greyhound Association, the national body that that represents the greyhound industry. And the kennel owner where the dogs were racing is a board member of the National Greyhound Association and a politically-connected Greyhound kennel owner from West Virginia with ties to the governor of West Virginia. So I think that this case for us is staggering in its scope. It's staggering in terms of the individuals involved.

LL: I just want to go back to Flicka for a moment.

CT: Sure.

LL: She tested positive half-a-dozen times as you said over the last year. Did the cocaine enhance her performance?

CT: Well, that's one of the things that is disturbing about this case. I mean Flicka has 169 career races, and the two fastest races of her career are races in which she tested positive for cocaine. So that certainly suggests that this is a race-fixing case. As the media has covered this issue and looked at it over the years, there's always been the question are these attempts to fix races? Or are these some kind of human transference effect where you know a trainer is smoking crack in the kennel compound, or using cocaine, has cocaine on his hands and gets into the food? And we've never known the answer to that because unfortunately the state simply doesn't do thorough investigations to find out. But in this case, when you have the two fastest races of Flicka’s career be the races in which she tested positive for cocaine. To have a number of the other dogs have some of the fastest races of their career be races in which they taught tested positive for cocaine. It wasn't just Flicka; there were several dogs that we saw similar findings with. To have one dog test positive for cocaine six times, it's hard to look at that set of facts and come to any conclusion other than this appears to be a race-fixing case.

LL: Well, if we do presume then that it is a performance enhancing drug for the greyhounds, what damage can it do to the Greyhound?

CT: Well unfortunately, there isn't a lot of research on that. The initial reporter who broke this story spoke to experts at UC Davis, which is one of the top veterinary universities in the country and does a lot of drug testing for the racing industry, both horse and dog. And they indicated that there are no studies that are directly on point. I think anyone would know that this is a very serious narcotic. It's a dangerous stimulant and to have dogs test positive for cocaine certainly compromises the health and welfare of those dogs.

LL: Is there any risk that that animal welfare authorities might to shut this whole business down?

CT: Well, there is a move in the U.S. to end greyhound racing completely. Greyhound racing is illegal in 40 states. It's legal and operational now in only six states. The industry has been significantly reduced from its peak. At its peak, there were more than 60 operational dog tracks in 19 states. So this industry is in a catastrophic decline. The amount gambled is declining. From our perspective, it really is a Depression-era a relic of an industry that happens to still exist today and is really only hanging on because of these bizarre state laws that actually require the greyhound racing continue in order for these facilities to have other types of gambling. So the humane community across the board is opposed to greyhound racing. And we're fighting to both reform this industry, but also phase it out altogether. And I'm confident that will happen. I don't think there's any doubt we're going to see greyhound racing end in the United States. The question is how long is it going to take and how many dogs are going to suffer in the meantime?

LL: Mr. Theil, please keep us up to date on the welfare of W.W. Flicka, and thanks for talking to us today.

CT: Thank you very much. Take care.

LL: Bye bye.

KG: Carey Theil is the executive director of GREY2K USA, an anti-greyhound racing group. He was in Arlington, Massachusetts. You can find that interview on our website: wwwcbc.ca/aih. In our interview, Mr. Theil said 10 of the 12 dogs that tested positive are owned by Julia Ward, head of the National Greyhound Association. We reached out to Ms. Ward and she sent us a statement which reads, in part, quote: “Opponents of the greyhound industry have attempted to defame myself and others by circulating facts known by them to be false. While a few of the grounds in question may have been owned by me and leased to the kennel or previously owned by me, I do not have any direct contact or input as to the daily operation of the kennel in which these greyhounds raced. I certainly do not condone this type of activity, be it in my kennels or for greyhounds in anyone else's care. And would obviously take necessary action should these allegations prove true.” Unquote.

[Music: Elevator music]

Father-of-the-bride lightning

Guest: J.P. Nadeau

KG: J.P. Nadeau was expecting his daughter's wedding to be an electrifying day. But I think it's safe to say the event far exceeded his expectations. To tell us what happened, we reached Mr. Nadeau at his home in Woodstock, New Brunswick.

LL: Mr. Nadeau, before we get into it, congratulations on your daughter's wedding.

J.P. NADEAU: Thank you so much.

LL: Now can you set the scene for us? Where was the wedding?

JN: We have an apple orchard behind the house and it's old, old, ancient trees. And anyway I keep it clear and keep it clean. And we even enlarged the area. And we had the wedding ceremony inside the orchard.

LL: But it was outside?

JN: But it was outside, yes.

LL: So what was the weather like that day?

JN: It was sunny, it was OK. There was really no problem. It was a really hot day. You know it was a bit overcast, but it was still not foreboding or anything. So it was it was a great day. You know when we had the ceremony starting at 2:00 o'clock, and we got all the way through that without any problem at all.

LL: And then after the ceremony, I understand you got quite the shock. Tell us what happened?

JN: Well at 3 o'clock, the father-of-the-groom Tom Kimbel, he got up and said something and then it was my turn. And I got the mic from him and I started speaking and at one point, I said well, Adam, you are some a lucky guy. And as soon as I said that, my daughter was looking at me and she just like popped right out because all of a sudden there was this lightning flash that hit right behind me. The power went into the sound booth and came back through the mic board. I was looking at my hand and it lit up. It was like I had a bolt of lightning in my hand, you know? I must have jumped because I felt a major shock. But after that, I was kind of OK. and I even continued speaking and the people in the sound booth are yelling at me to bring back the mic. So I just brought the mic over. You'd think that would have thrown it, but no.

LL: No kidding. I am amazed that you just carried on from there! Was the microphone even working?

JN: Well, I don't know because I did bring it back; I didn't say anything else. But then, as soon as that lightning bolt struck, the skies opened up. The people, as well as watching me, they were watching behind me because there was this wall of rain that was moving across the field towards where I was.

LL: You said that your daughter's eyes popped out. How did the people around you react?

JN: Well, they were kind of shocked too. The wind and the rain came on too, but they all were stunned as well. I mean I didn't see it; they saw it. So that's the great thing about getting hit by lightning is if you've got witnesses because a lot of times you've got nothing to say about it, right?

LL: I can't believe you're laughing about this.

JN: Yeah, I know.

LL: So I've always wanted to ask someone this: what does it feel like to get hit by lightning?

JN: Well, it was a it was a sudden shock, I got to tell you. It just ran right through me like this was crazy. But it was my hand that I was worried about because when my hand lit up and you know because I was holding a microphone. That's what was worrying me because I'm a piano man, you know? So I didn't want to have you know any physical damage because I want to keep playing, you know?

LL: And has there been any damage?

JN: No, not at all. I think my knee is working better. So it's quite all right, you know? I didn't feel anything, and everyone is amazed that I'm alive.

LL: Did you go to see the doctor?

JN: No, maybe I'll go. I don't know? Maybe when he sees I'm famous. I’m OK, there's really nothing at all. No inconsistency or anything, you know?

LL: Did you laugh this much before you got hit by lightning?

JN: Oh yeah, I'm out of control. I got to tell you, I work on cruise ships, right? And this guy comes to me with his wife and he says what is it with you anyway? Every time I see you, you're always laughing. And I said hey, I can't help it if you're funny looking.

LL: So the party just carried on, did it?

JN: Yeah, well we all huddled under a huge tent that we had set up for the meal and all that stuff. And we just stayed there and partied in there until it stopped raining about a half-an-hour half hour to 45 minutes later. It was really a fun thing.

LL: And how did you feel the next day?

JN: The same. Just tired — awfully tired — and you got to do all the clean up too, hey?

LL: Have you spoken to anybody who might know about these things? Who could tell you a reason why you managed to just walk away from this?

JN: No, actually no. I said a lot of lesser men would have perished. But I don't know how it happened that I could walk away scot-free. My brother has totaled his car three times and walked away from that. So I figure maybe it's genetic.

LL: Something about your family. Well, Mr. Nadeau, I am very, very glad that you managed to survive this and you lived to tell us the tale. Thanks a lot.

JN: My pleasure. Thank you very much, Laura.

LL: Bye bye.

JN: Bye bye.

KG: That was J.P. Nadeau in Woodstock, New Brunswick. To see some pictures of his daughter's wedding visit our website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Electronica]

Umbrella sharing

KG: A Chinese company has become a case study on the clash between the sharing economy and that older business model: theft. Sharing E Umbrella was supposed to work like a bike share scheme, but for brollies. Racks and racks of umbrellas were rolled out on street corners across China. When storm clouds rolled in, customers were invited to borrow one for a small hourly fee. Then when the rain ended, they could simply deposit the umbrella at whatever Sharing E rack was nearby. It seemed like a guaranteed money maker, a disruptive technology that replaced the mad scramble to buy yet another bloody umbrella just because the weather forecast was wrong. As Sharing E founder Zhao Shuping put it, “Everything on the street can now be shared.” But it turns out that different people have different ideas about what sharing actually means. By last week, the company had released a total of 300,000 umbrellas and almost all of them had disappeared. But Mr. Zhao says he isn't worried. He told the website Thepaper.cn quote, “Umbrella's are different from bikes. Bikes can be parked anywhere, but with an umbrella you need railings or a fence to hang it on.” He insists that if people have taken his umbrella's home, that's probably for the best. At least that way they'll be safe. Mr Zhao does not say, however, when he expects his umbrella's to be returned from safekeeping, so that his profits can pour in.

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Part 2: Seoul resident, monkey invasion

Seoul resident

Guest: Sangmin Shim

KG: This month, North Korea conducted their first successful intercontinental ballistic missile. The test marks a significant development in the Rogue States arsenal. Chinese and Russian leaders have joined President Trump in condemning the test. But it's South Korea that faces the greatest threat because any military intervention in the north would almost certainly lead to death and destruction in the south. Sangmin Shim is a professor of International Law at the Korean National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul. and that's where we reached him.

LL: Professor Shim, North Korea has been rattling its saber this month. What is the mood in South Korea right now?

SANGMIN SHIM: Well, strangely the people living in Seoul and South Korea don't really feel differently even after the tests of these ballistic missiles, probably because they were so used to living under pressure. The North Koreans had been firing ballistic missiles and conducted nuclear tests for a while, and the Korean people have been so used to those scary situations developing. So people are acting just if they had been in the past, although probably inside their minds they may be so worried about the situation escalating into another crisis.

LL: Now how is the South Korean government responding to this test?

SS: Well, the South Korean government issued a stern warning to the North Korean regime basically saying that their reliance on nuclear programs and ballistic missile programs will lead them to a much worse situation. And in response to that ballistic missile test, the South Korean military also did military exercises, firing some middle-range missiles into the air just to show that the Korean military will strike back if the Korean nation is going to be attacked.

LL: Now, this was a test of sorts for President Moon; he's so new in the job. Are people satisfied by his response?

SS: I believe most Korean people are satisfied by his stern reaction. Some concern was placed on his inclination towards the North Korean regime because he was considered to be a liberal, and he was considered a person who would continue the sunshine policy in the previous liberal administrations, but seeing his stern reaction to the North Korean nuclear test and ballistic missile tests satisfied people that he would be more credible if the situations escalate.

LL: When you say sunshine policies are you essentially talking about appeasement?

SS: Yes, I'm talking about the appeasement policy pursued by your former Kim Dae-jung administration. That didn't seem to work in deterring North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

LL: U.S. President Trump said he is considering some quote, “pretty severe things,” unquote, in response to North Korea's quote, “very, very bad behavior,” unquote. What do you make of how the United States is handling North Korea?

SS: I believe the United States is quite angry and concerned at the same time. This type of new ICBM missile is a new threat to security in the United States. This theoretically could reach some parts of United States soil. But putting that issue aside, I believe there are only limited options that the U.S. government can take. And it is much more limited in terms of the military options, although President Trump didn’t really rule out military options. I believe one large-scale scale military exercise would be a possibility around the Korean Peninsula. But other than that, even a small-scale surgical attack on the North Korean soil would definitely escalate things to a much broader conflict between South and North Korea, and things could easily get out of control. So I don't know if the United States is willing to take that risk? It would lead to civilian casualties in South Korea.

LL: What do you think when you hear the U.S. president, who we know has a reputation for being unpredictable, not ruling out military intervention?

SS: Yes, that's quite a situation nobody can expect anything from. And we Koreans are hopeful President Trump will continue to provide accurate information and intelligence reports by the U.S. government people. Enabling him to make an objective assessment of how the situation might evolve, and that would be the only hope that the Korean people have for the Trump administration. We don't want him to act erratically just as he did in the past.

LL: What would be the consequences of that?

SS: Well, if he chose to take some military options then, as I mentioned, the situation could get easily out of control. And probably the North Korean people, if attacked by the United States military force, would retaliate by attacking some areas of South Korea, including the city of Seoul where more than 10 million people reside in. And we would have to be ready for a massive-scale of civilian casualties and also large-scale destruction of facilities and the Korean economy. That would be too much of a cost to bear.

LL: Let's end then where we began, and that is what the people who live in South Korea. I know you said that they seem to be calm about this latest test. But for those of us who don't live there, it seems rather remarkable that they can be so calm when they live with this tension day after day after day. How do they do that?

SS: Well, some psychologists have some explanations for that kind of behavior. Let's say that we are living in the San Francisco Bay area, where the risk of having a massive-scale earthquake is always constant. But people just live their lives as if they don't expect anything happening anytime soon because inside their minds, they already know that there’s no way they could do anything about the possibility of an earthquake. So they just live as if there is nothing to worry about. Probably the same thing is happening in the minds of the South Korean people. Even though we are angry and concerned with the North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile threats, we know that there is not much we can do about it. So we just put that idea aside and just live our life as we are.

LL: Professor Shim, thank you for your time.

SS: Thank you for having me.

LL: Goodbye.

SS: Bye.

KG: Sangmin Shim is a professor of International Law at the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. He was in Seoul, South Korea.

[Music: Jazz]

From Our Archives: Birmingham Six

KG: “My heartfelt sympathies to all of you for a terrible tragic loss that you've been put through.” That's part of an apology Michael Christopher Hayes issued today to the families and the victims of the Birmingham pub bombings. It's the first time the former IRA member has commented on his role in the blasts that killed 21 people in 1974. Speaking to the BBC, Mr. Hayes says he takes quote, “collective responsibility” for the bombings, but he refused to comment on who planted the explosives. It's another wrinkle in the unsolved case known as one of the deadliest attacks of the Troubles. In 1993, As It Happens spoke to Paddy Hill, one of the Birmingham Six, a group of six Irishmen were wrongly convicted and jailed for the bombing until an appeal court concluded that police falsified evidence. From our archives, here's former host Michael Enright in conversation with Mr Hill, after a British court threw out the case against the three police officers accused of framing them.

SOUNDCLIP

MICHAEL ENRIGHT: Mr. Hill, what was your reaction when you heard that the judge had stayed prosecution against these three detectives?

PADDY HIIL: Well, my first reaction, I was very angry and disgusted with the way it came about, you know? But, nonetheless, I wasn't surprised. After what I've been through, like nothing surprised me what these people do. The system is so rotten and corrupt and evil and perverted, it’s just beyond belief.

ME: Mr. Justice Garland said that the three detectives because of the publicity surrounding the case would not be able to get a fair trial. What do you think of when you hear that?

PH: That's complete and utter rubbish. I'd like to let your listeners know that we were quite willing to place our faith in 12 English people. That was very, very heavily battled by the government. These were hand-picked jurors, and we were quite willing to place our faith in them. Yet, these police officers weren't prepared to place their faith in their own system. In fact, this system was not prepared to let it go to trial because if it had of, I have no doubts with the evidence that we have. If the evidence was presented before any court, we would have convictions.

ME: Are you saying there was never any intention by the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute these cops?

PH: None whatsoever. They never had any intensions in getting the conviction. In fact, the opposite, this is the way they wanted it because they don't want the truth to come out.

ME: Is there anything now that can be done to bring these policemen to trial? Or is the book closed on the Birmingham Six?

PH: I don't really know at the moment because we're waiting on the judge's ruling, which will take place next Thursday morning, and we will be there for that, you know? But it's very interesting because at our trial, the trial judge, Judge Briggs, laid down quite clearly to the jury that there was gross perjury on one side or the other. Either that the six of us were telling lies and conspired with each other to fabricate evidence against the police. Or that the police were telling lies and were involved in a grand conspiracy to subvert the course of justice against us. In fact, the court today has more evidence to prove that we are innocent and that we were framed, and the evidence against us was falsified than they ever have to put us in prison in 1975.

ME: Mr. Hill, have you been able to return to any kind of a normal life since your release?

PH: No, not really. Of course, we had no help to do so either. We were just thrown out in the street.

ME: This decision by the judge isn't going to help you to return to a normal life, is it? This is going to be hanging over your head.

PH: Well yes, because we have more than enough evidence. We have an abundance of evidence to prove that we're innocent. Yet, we’re not allowed to go into court now and prove it. We are quite willing to go into court with the evidence that we have and place our faith and trust after all that we have been through in 12 English jurors. Yet, the people who represent the system and the system themselves are not prepared to go into court and put their faith in the jury.

ME: What do you think of the system tonight, Mr. Hill?

PH: The system over here is rotten. It is evil, corrupt and perverted. They haven't got the intelligence and most important of all, they haven't got the honesty to spell the word “justice”, never mind dispense it.

KG: From our archives, that was Paddy Hill, one of the Birmingham Six, speaking with former As It Happens host Michel Enright in October of 1993. Today, former IRA member Michael Christopher Hayes spoke for the first time about his role in the 1974 bombings and apologized to the families of the victims. Mr. Hayes told the BBC he takes quote “collective responsibility” for the bombings. He added that he would have preferred to die than inform police about who planted the bombs, even though such information could have freed the Birmingham Six.

[Music: Bluegrass]

Matt Damon hoax

KG: Matt Damon is driving in North Vancouver. That's when the A-list movie star runs into some car trouble. He pulls over to the side of the road. And soon enough, some British Columbians come to the rescue. Someone helps him get the tow truck. Another person takes Matt Damon for some food while his vehicle is being repaired. Afterwards, he speaks to a radio station and praises the kind people of North Vancouver. That's the heartwarming story some of you may have come across online, maybe even shared. But it turns out, the story isn't true. It was posted on a site called KFL 3 news which, according to its disclaimer page, is a satirical news website that likes to, quote, “poke fun at our celebrity obsessed cultures.” Unquote. It also turns out that the untrue story is unoriginal. A quick search online reveals that tons of similar stories exist where celebrities praise people from a certain town after running into car trouble. There's one about Adam Sandler in Sudbury, Ontario. Or another one about Matthew McConaughey in Hickory, North Carolina, that's just to name a couple. Some news outlets have taken note of the recurring story. Last year, USA Today posted an article called “Sorry, Matt Damon didn't get a flat tire in Salisbury.” The author points to a fact-checking website called Snopes.com, which has a page dedicated to these celebrity car-trouble stories. So before you share that bad luck celebrity story about your city or town, take a moment to consider if the feel-good tale feels too good to be true.

[Music: Jazz]

Monkey invasion

Guest: Brian Pritchard

KG: When Brian Pritchard purchased property beside a Florida state park, he knew he would be living near nature. He and his family were excited to see deer, so he set up a deer feeder and cameras to take pictures. But when Mr. Pritchard went to check… he found photos of a different kind of visitor. We reached Brian Pritchard in Ocala, Florida.

LL: Mr. Pritchard, what happened when you went to check on your deer feeder last week?

BRIAN PRITCHARD: Went to check on the deer feeder, and pulled my game cam, check pictures and realized that I had 1,100 pictures of monkeys.

LL: 1,100 pictures of monkeys. Can you describe some of the photos?

BP: They were just on the deer feeder, feeding and climbing all over it. There was a bunch of them, there was upwards of 50 in there at one time.

LL: Did they look like they were having a good time?

BP: Absolutely. When you got that much feed in your face, anybody would have a good time.

LL: So at 1,100 photos, how many monkeys have you seen?

BP: That was over a three day span. I mean there were 40 to 50 every time. But you know there's a time span of like a two minute delay in between each picture snaps. I mean it for three days it took pictures morning and evening.

LL: And no deer I take it?

BP: None. No deer; they've officially scared my deer away.

LL: You knew when you moved there that there were going to be monkeys. You're not just seeing them on a camera, are you? You can see them when you look outside?

BP: No, I've seen a one time in person. They're actually very skittish. The ones at the park, which is down the road, they're used to shame people. So they get fed all the time. They see people every day. They hang around. The ones at my place, they see any kind of movement and they leave, they head for the hills. My wife bought me a deer feeder for Father's Day because I got a bunch of deer and the kids love watching the deer out there. So put the deer feeder up, filled it all up, got it set, put a camera on it and within 12 hours, I had 1,500 monkeys on it.

LL: What was your reaction when you saw all the pictures of monkeys and no deer?

BP: I was a little stunned at first just by seeing that many at one time. I mean I'm used to them, I was born and raised here and I've seen them a thousand times at the parks and down the river. You can go down to the river and see them any given day. So you know it's not really a huge deal. And I had a feeling I'd probably get a couple of pictures, but never expected to get pictures of that many. But at the same time, it was kind of a neat calm and need experience in my book. I mean there are not many people that can say they got a whole herd of monkeys in their backyard.

LL: That's a very kind of you. Considering how much food they ate.

BP: Oh yeah, You know it's not their fault. Like I tell everyone else, they were there to eat. Free food is free food. Anybody’s going to eat free food, you know? I mean I'm not blaming them at all. They tore my feeder up and emptied it. They emptied 250 pounds of feed out of it. But you know life goes on. It’s a murder charge in my book. It's actually been a really neat little deal there because I just bought the property. Like I told my parents, it's kind of neat to have a bunch of monkeys in your yard if you ask me.

LL: But why did you buy a property when you knew… or maybe you didn't that it was so overrun with monkeys?

BP: Well, I didn't know it was run like that. But I bought land because I’m building a house there. That's where our house is in construction there now. You know there's always that chance when you live on a river. Our area on that particular river is... I mean there are a lot of them.

LL: But you were only expecting to see some deer wandering around?

BP: For the most part. I mean I figured at worst that I might have caught a few of the ones that I'd seen in person previous to that. But I figured it would probably take a little more time. And it was about 12 hours after I put that feeder up that they were there.

LL: These are actually Rhesus monkeys. What do you know about them?

BP: They can be vicious. They're very temperamental in my book. I mean I've had them jump in my boat going down the river. Obviously, that's the ones they get fed all the time. But, in my book, they're disgusting. They're absolutely nasty. They carry a herpes virus. I'm sure there are a few other things they carry. I keep my distance.

LL: You're living next to a park. Have you found out how many monkeys there are?

BP: Well, in the previous things I've read, they claim there was approximately 200ish in the park or whatever. But I would say probably closer to upwards of a thousand.

LL: A thousand!

BP: Realistically, yeah. I have a friend of mine that lives down the river probably I don't know a long ways from me. And he's had as many as 30 in his yard. And then I got 50 and mine. So you're telling me that we got half the population that they're claiming just in our two pieces not counting the other hundreds of miles of river that’s out there? There's too much land, too much water and too much property that is inaccessible to people, you know the state owns a lot of it. So there's a lot of untouched land out there that sits dormant and quiet for its whole life. Well, how many monkeys are actually out there?

LL: You must be tempted to try to get rid of them?

BP: I will if I have to. Until they cross that line, I'm not really concerned about them honestly. My wife is, but I'm an avid outdoorsman. I mean I hunt fish for a living. I run all over, so yes, I can control them if I have to.

LL: You would kill them?

BP: If I had to. I mean if some kind of incident happened or you know a monkey attack or they get out of control. Absolutely I would.

LL: That's the line that they would have to cross?

BP: Yes, they would they would have crossed a pretty serious line for me to start eradicating. Because, like I said, they don't bother me at this moment. I don't bother them. I'm not blaming them for doing what they did, you know? But if they do pull the aggression because they can be very aggressive, you know they're going to attack my kids or something. I mean then, obviously, other actions would be taken.

LL: Why don't you just move?

BP: Well, why should I move?

LL: Because you've got a bunch of monkeys in your back yard?

BP: If somebody wants to come buy my land I'll move. I'm not going to let a bunch of monkeys make me move.

LL: And you've taken the feeder down, so there's no more food for them to eat?

LL: Well, I hope that for your sake and your children's sake that you can find a way to peaceably live with all the monkeys around you.

BP: To me it is peaceful. I mean anybody could say that can walk around the back porch and a bunch of monkeys here and there while drinking a cup of coffee. I mean that seems kind of neat to me. I think once the house is done and all the noise is there, they might move their way down the river.

LL: Mr. Pritchard, good luck to you.

BP: Yes ma'am.

LL: Bye bye.

BP: Bye bye.

KG: That was Brian Pritchard. We reached him in Ocala, Florida. And if you want to see pictures of those monkeys, head to our website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

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July 10, 2017 episode transcript

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