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The AIH Transcript for July 31, 2017

Host: Piya Chattopadhyay and Karen Gordon

STORIES FROM THIS EPISODE

Prologue

PIYA CHATTOPADHYAY : Hello. I'm Piya Chattopadhyay sitting in for Carol off.

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

[Music: Theme]

KG: Tonight.

PC: That don't impress me, Mooch. After a tumultuous and surprisingly profane week and a half as the White House communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, is out.

KG: Pulls apart the result of yesterday's controversial vote in Venezuela is being called a sham by Washington and now the U.S. has placed new sanctions on the country's president.

PC: Family man. The late playwright Sam Shepard helped invent a new kind of American theater by exploring one of the oldest subjects of all the tangled and torture's relationships between blood relations.

KG: Freeing a captive audience. After years trapped in a zoo in Aleppo Syria, amid bombings and crossfire, thirteen animals are rescued and transported to Turkey for care.

PC: Look who's Taco-ing. We knew he could eat revolting amounts of asparagus, brotwust, hard boiled eggs and hot dogs, but this weekend eating champion, Joey Chestnut, tucked into a truly terrifying number of stuffed tortillas.

KG: And a thing of snooty is a joy forever. At least that's the reasoning of a Florida man who wants to replace a local monument to Confederate soldiers with a monument to a late beloved manatee named Snooty. As It Happens the Monday edition. Radio that assumes it'll be carved out of wood so passers by can say: “Oh! The humanity!”

[Music: Theme]

Back To Top »

Part 1: The Mooch is out, Sam Shepard obit, Snooty statute

The Mootch is out

Guest: Donald Baer

KG: 10 days after being brought in, as White House communications director, Anthony Scaramucci is out. Mr. Scaramucci, also known as The Mooch, managed to make a big splash in that time. After a relatively genial first session with the press, he threatened to fire every person on his communications team, called former chief of staff, Ryan's Priebus, a paranoid schizophrenic and made extremely vulgar comments to a New Yorker reporter about President Trump's strategist Steve Bannon. Donald Baer was a White House communications director under President Bill Clinton. We reached him in New York City.

PC: Mr. Baer, how would you describe Anthony Scaramucci 10 day stint as White House communications director?

DONALD BAER: Short and troubled and largely unqualified. So I just think that he was the wrong person for the job from the beginning and was put in the job only by the president, who I suspect doesn't fully understand what the right role of the communications director in the White House is anyway.

PC: So, were you surprised?

DB: That he was fired or let go?

PC: In such a short time?

DB: After his interview with The New Yorker last week that was pretty far out there. In fact, so far out there I can't remember ever having seen something like that, coming out of a White House official. After that, it wasn't surprising especially in light of the fact of course that a new White House chief of staff started today. General Kelly, who is coming over from the Department of Homeland Security, a former Marine who I don't think is the kind of person who's going to tolerate the lack of discipline, shall we say, that Anthony Scaramucci had already demonstrated.

PC: Today the White House said that it felt Scaramucci comments to The New Yorker reporter were inappropriate for a person in that position. You said you thought Mr. Scaramucci was unqualified for the job, as well, what do you mean by that?

DB: He's never worked in communications. He's never been a communications strategist for any organization, any enterprise for it, perhaps for the Anthony Scaramucci image campaign, but never in any way whatsoever in any official or formal way, in politics or out of politics. He's never worked in the corporate sector in this field. He's never worked in a major firm or agency in the private sector in this field. He's never worked in government. He's never worked in politics, ever in communications. He's a guy who speaks well and somewhat glibly. He certainly had a passion, or as he called it a great love, for Donald Trump and for what Donald Trump's sense of himself and the image that he wants to project to the country is, but it's not as though he actually had any understanding of the tools of the trade as it were.

PC: Arguably the current president might say that using Twitter is as important as the speeches he gives. And hours before the news about Anthony Scaramucci broke, Donald Trump tweeted that there was no chaos in the White House. Does that sound accurate to you?

DB: Yes. So, I mean, look we are living in a time where there are many different and new ways to reach people. That said, the president, there's been more heat than light, if you will, to his use of Twitter as well as to his use of any number of other communications tools. He has not actually done anything in a sustained way that is designed to drive people in the direction of, or attract them to, his agenda and to supporting what he's doing. If he had, he would have been in a much better position with regard to health care than he has been able to do. But he hasn't really worked to build public opinion to support his agenda.

PC: There is a vacancy at the White House right now for the director of communications. If someone were to call you up and say: “Mr. Baer, what do I got to do in this job, under this current president?” What would you tell him, or her?

DB: I would tell him, or her, that he or she needs to understand what the real message and what the real agenda of the person they are to serve, that is to say the president, is and how to work across many different offices with many different voices to try to bring some coherence to that. And I'd suggest that you're better off avoiding too many interviews, like this one, until you have a better sense of what you're trying to accomplish. Go inside and really work to bring some discipline but also some new ideas and thinking to what's happening there.

PC: Do you think this president is a particular challenge to the things that you're outlying there for a director of coms to do?

DB: You think, really? Yes. Of course. This is a president who's not used to being disciplined, not used to actually having to work within any context of a strategy and thinks he knows better than everyone around him ,so he's not actually going to submit himself very much to any expertise that's around. But we'll see. He has a new chief of staff who's a former Marine general, who I suspect has different views about these things and we'll see how. Of course President Trump is the person who appointed him. So we have to assume, perhaps, that he does want more discipline and rigor among those people who are working for him.

PC: And do you think General Kelly, the new chief of staff that you just talked about, he has a clean slate that he needs. Do you think he'll be able to be successful if he chooses to bring some order to the White House?

DB: It's so hard to predict. I think he's got a chance. I mean I do think there's still support for some of the things that Donald Trump has said he wants to do, but we'll see whether he can pull it. Of course, General Kelley has also not himself ever worked in the civilian side of government, at this level. He was secretary of Homeland Security. He's never actually had to work in anything like this much of a political situation that requires the ability to build coalitions, in a very fractious environment and for a president who doesn't really think in those terms. And so, we'll see whether he's able to make progress there.

PC: Donald Baer, thank you for doing this interview. Appreciate it.

DB: Thank you so much. Appreciate being on.

PC: Bye bye.

DB: Take care.

KG: Donald Baer was White House communications director under President Bill Clinton. We reached him in New York City.

[Music: Theme]

Sam Shepard obit

Guest: Oren Jacoby

KG: “The greatest American playwright of his generation”. That's how New York Magazine once described Sam Shepard. The Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and Oscar nominated actor died last week at his home, in Kentucky. He was 73 years old. Mr. Shepard's career spanned decades. His dozens of plays included: True West Fool for Love, and his 1978 work, Barry child which won him the Pulitzer. And beginning in the early 80s, he began a serious career as a film actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in the movie The Right Stuff. In the 90s, director Oren Jacoby made a documentary about the reclusive Mr. Shepard called Sam Shepard Stalking Himself. We reached Oren Jacoby in New York.

PC: Mr. Jacoby, that's just a bit of your film and in it, Sam Shepard isn't your typical actor or playwright doesn't cell phone does do press junkets. So, why was he one of the greats of film and stage?

OREN JACOBY: Well, he was an amazing amalgam of American culture, of high culture and low culture. He was a poet and he was a movie star and he had kind of consumed all of these aspects of what it means to be born, grow up in America and then was able to turn that into the characters in his play and the character that he made for himself, the image that he made for himself, as an artist. You know when you met Sam it was like the first thing was he was very cool. He was like the cool kid in the class. He had that charisma that when, you know, a star just has something about them that you want to look at them, you want to hear what they have to say. They seem larger than life and you sort of can't believe when they have a kind of aura about them and the culture that he has had over the long career he had. And then, they're still very very real and down to earth. And in a way, resent the iconography that has come up to surround him. I mean, he was always trying to escape from the notion that people had of him, as a movie star.

PC: And as you say, he had a long career. According to NBC, Sam Shepard planned on becoming a veterinarian. How did he even get his start in the theater scene?

OJ: Well, he was a teenager, in this little town in California, about a half an hour 40 minutes outside of L.A., great desolate area, a remote area. He ran away from home, instead of joining the circus he joined a theater crew. There was a theater program for young kids where they were recruited kids to be in a theater company that traveled on a bus around America, in small towns and did performances. And he joined it, as a way to get out of town. It was just an escape route that turned into the way he found to express themselves, first as an actor and then, as soon as he got to New York, he started writing plays and finding places to perform his plays and get them produced in New York.

PC: And on this day, where you're thinking about Sam Shepard, as many others are, what memory stands out for you today?

OJ: Well, I remember two things. One is, I remember a moment where we were filming him doing a season of plays in New York and was collaborating with different directors. And one of them was Joe Chaikin, who had been somebody that he really admired and learned a lot from in his early days as a playwright, who ran the open theater and had a had a style of acting in the style of bringing out a certain kind of incantatory theater that Sam loved. And he really respected Joe Chaikin who, when they were working together, when we were making the film, Joe Chaikin had recently suffered a stroke and had aphasia, and didn't have the same language that he'd had as a younger man when they'd work together. And to see how Sam was very protective of Chaikin, and kind of loved him and respected him and wanted to help him still be able to work, even though he'd been through this illness. And it was just a very tender moment, watching them working together. And another great moment I remember with Sam was just we were in a rehearsal room and there was a upright piano in a corner and, in a break in the rehearsal, he just went over and started pounding out this amazing kind of jazz blues on the piano like Albert Amman's, or one of the 1920s Harlem piano players, and he perfected the technique. Really, you know, he'd found another outlet for his expressiveness and it just seemed very appropriate for Shepherded to have done this.

PC: You know, on the one hand, Sam Shepard seems like he was a fun guy with that sort of movie star presence, but he also had a lot of demons and was very private. So, how did those demons come out in Sam Shepard's work?

OJ: Well, I think, you know, he'd had a difficult but very impactful relationship with his father. His father had been a veteran of World War 2 and had you know done all these bombing missions. And I think had a kind of PTSD which, you know, nobody diagnosed at that time. And Sam talked about this when I interviewed him and described how his father medicated himself basically with alcohol. That had a big impact on him and his life and the nature of the family that he grew up in. And so, he was always in his plays wrestling I think with what it means to be in a family and how you inherit these things, and they're part of you. The same way he wrote about America, something that was partisan, whether you like it or not, you're part of a culture, you're part of a family. And that was always something that he was tapping into, as a playwright.

PC: You are a documentary filmmaker, but you have also directed for the stage. Which of Sam Shepard's works has had the largest impact on you?

OJ: Well, the one that I experienced I think had the most impact when I first saw it, was A Lie of the Mind. And what I love about that play, is what I really appreciate about many of Sam's works, is his ability to combine different strains of legacy of American playwriting and English playwriting. The things that influenced him that, you know, he was writing a play about American families the way Eugene O'Neill wrote about American families. And also trying to be poetic, the way that Tennessee Williams really was a poet, as much as he was a playwright, I think that's true of Sam, also. And through the work he also had this constant awareness of music and American pop culture, and was able to get those things to come out through his characters because we're all kind of created and influenced by pop culture and it's part of our identity. And he did it through his own kind of interesting lens. So, it didn't come out like he was parodying it or just mirroring it. He was showing how it affects us and it's expressed in each of us. And so, I think that's something that I tried to tie into and, you know, see how music and the pop culture around us is part of who we are.

PC: Mr. Jacoby, thank you for helping us remember Sam Shepard today.

OJ: Happy to talk to you. Thanks.

PC: Bye bye.

OJ: Bye.

KG: That was Oren Jacoby, the director of Sam Shepard: Stalking Himself, a documentary made for PBS Great Performances and the BBC in the late 90s about Sam Shepard. The playwright and actor has died at the age of 73. For more on thi,s go to our website cbc.ca/aih

[Music]

Snooty statute

Guest: Anthony Pusateri

KG: The small city of Bradenton. in West Florida is still in mourning. One of its most famous residents has died. And now after all the tributes have poured in. Some people are looking for a way to immortalize the late lamented Snooty the Manatee. Manatees mean a lot to Bradenton. It's located in Manatee County, on the shores of the Manatee River. Snooty, in particular, meant a lot. Which is why Anthony Pusateri started a petition to have a statue of Snoopy built and to have it replaced Bradenton’s Confederate monument. We reached Mr. Pusateri, in Bradenton, Florida.

PC: Mr. Pusateri, I understand you and your fiancé were actually planning to get married at the local museum, where Snooty lived, so that you could have him attend your wedding. Why are you so attached to this manatee?

ANTHONY PUSATERI: He was a staple in my childhood, ever since I was you know a toddler. I would always go to the museum to visit my great aunt, who was a volunteer there. But one of the biggest parts of going to visit her, was I also got to go see Snooty. And then you know years later, after my fiancé and I got engaged, we were looking at local venues to have our wedding. And I figured, well, the museum has this beautiful courtyard and they also have a window that you can look in to see the manatees. So, I figured well this is two and one. How many people can say that they have had that.

PC: And it wasn't just that Snooty died. It's that Snooty died in an accident at the aquarium where he lived, just the day after he turned 69, I believe. He was the oldest living manatee on record. How is the community reacting to the news of Snooty's death?

AP: Oh, everybody's heartbroken. Anybody who's grown up in Manatee County or Bradenton or even the surrounding cities, they've at least heard of Snooty. He was a very beloved figure in the community.

PC: And you want to keep this icon alive, so to speak. So how did you come up with this idea, first to build a statue of Snoopy and then the idea to have it actually replace the Confederate monument in downtown Bradenton?

AP: Well, I was scrolling through Facebook and I saw that Snooty had passed away. And a few days prior to that, I had seen an article about the fact that there was a Confederate monument in front of the courthouse and in downtown Bradenton. And I figured, well, why not suggest that we move the Confederate Memorial, then replace it with the most beloved figure in all of Manatee County, he was snooty the manatee. I figured out that would be a fitting replacement for a monument that has so many negative connotations and is tied to slavery and racism and divisiveness, something that we as a nation should strive to never honor or celebrate.

PC: Well, as you know, there's been a movement across parts of the American south to remove Confederate monuments, like the one you're talking about. And there are those who argue that it's part of history, even though it's an ugly part, and it shouldn't be erased. So, what do you say to those who would resist removing the Confederate statue in order to make room for a statue to Snooty?

AP: With my particular petition, I'm simply suggesting that it is moved to a more appropriate location, such as the Campbell plantation and Ellington, which is not far from Bradenton, the place that's teaming with Confederate and Southern heritage and history. I'm not saying for it to be destroyed. This is a part of American history, whether we like it or not. And I understand that it's also dedicated to veterans that fought in that war. All I'm saying is that, even though these people that fought in the Confederacy not all of them were slave owners, the underlying cause of the Confederacy was to defend slavery, was to perpetuate the idea that people of color are not equal to white people. And to me, that's just not something I want standing in my community in the center of downtown.

AP: And how much support have you received to get the statue of Snooty put where this Confederate monument now stands?

AP: Oh. I mean the support and the army of [unintelligible] have risen to the occasion is just...I'm speechless. Within a week, we've had over 12000 people signed the petition, people as far away as Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany. I've definitely seen more support than opposition.

PC: And have you started to imagine what a monument to Snooty might look like?

AP: I mean, as far as I'm concerned, I would say marble or metal statue of just him with a bushel of romaine lettuce in his mouth would be definitely a fitting memorial for him.

PC: [Laughs] Romaine lettuce, that's what he liked to eat, huh?

AP: Oh, he loved that stuff.

PC: And so, how does this project go forward? How do you get the green light?

AP: So, from here I'm going to submit the list of names and a letter to the county commissioners and see if we can get an audience with them, to get this on the agenda, or at least get them to talk about it. Because, to me, if the statue of Snooty is built and the Confederate memorial is moved to a more fitting location, I would definitely call that a victory and I see no problem with that.

PC: Mr. Pusateri, I'm sorry for the loss of Snooty, for you and for the people of Bradenton. Thank you for talking to us about him today.

AP: I appreciate your condolences and it was my pleasure. Thank you.

PC: Bye bye.

KG: Anthony Pusateri started a petition for a statue of Snooty the manatee to be built and installed in the place of an old monument to Confederate soldiers in downtown Bradenton, Florida. Snooty, a famous local manatee died last week. You can find more on this story on our website cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Theme]

Joey Chestnut Tacos

KG: There are stock answers that athletes and almost all sports give after a big game. We knew what we had to do. We just had to go up there and do it, or we just had to give a dig deep and give 110 percent and luckily we came away with that W. Or, it's gut check time. In one sport though, only that last phrase applies, because in that sport it's always gut check time before, during and after. Otherwise, competitors tend to be a little more specific in interviews about the struggles they faced. For example, after a match this past weekend the sport's top athlete said: “I wasn't burping or anything. The food was settling fast enough, but it worked out. “Those are the words of Joey Chestnut, the superstar who won the world's taco eating championship in Fresno, California on Saturday. Watching it is precisely as inspiring as you would imagine, and even more disgusting. Here's how it ended.

SOUNDCLIP

[Sond: Music]

VOICE: [Counting down in Spanish] 10... 9… 8... 7… 6… 5… 4… 3…3 …2 …1

[Sound: Audience cheering]

VOICE: Let’s cut the music, DJ! There is no taco! World Taco Eating Championship! We [unintelligible] two tacos to his name: Joey Chestnut! [Loud Cheering and Clapping]

KG: It was yet another victory for Joey Jose Chestnut, who took home $4000, the sense of well-being that comes with success and also probably the sense of unwell-being that comes with consuming 92 Carne Asada soft tacos, in eight minutes. Mr. Chestnut is the number one ranked major league eater. Like all athletes who dominate their sports, he does serious preparation and gives post-game interviews. Unlike other athletes, his prep is food specific and his post-game interviews are vivid. For example, in addition to his insistence that he wasn't burping or anything, he told the Fresno Bee: “I had a little deep cough, where it came out a little bit”. And he also said that he fell short of his goal of 100 tacos because he hadn't known they would be seasoned. That's the biggest thing in practice, he said. It makes it easier to find a rhythm and digest it. Well, congrats to Joey Chestnut and thanks for the revealing interview answers, sort of. I guess for better or for worse, professional eaters are more likely to spill their guts.

Back To Top »

Part 2: Venezuela vote, Aleppo zoo

Venezuela vote

Guest: Will Grant

KG: Today Washington announced it was hitting Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, with financial sanctions. The move is in response to yesterday's controversial vote for a new constituent assembly in Venezuela, a vote the U.S. government calls a sham. The results are still highly contested but what's clear is that the leftist government and the opposition are as far apart as ever and the violent unrest is costing lives. Fourteen people were killed yesterday as protests against the government of President Maduro continue. Will Grant is a correspondent with the BBC. We've reached him in Venezuela's capital Caracas.

PC: Will, the government of Venezuela is calling yesterday's vote for a Constituent Assembly a total victory. The opposition is calling it a total sham. What can you tell us about the results of the vote?

WILL GRANT: Well, it is so hard to say exactly the real number because the administration of President Nicolas Maduro claims that Chavez's has recovered its sort of historic strength in numbers. Of course, eight million votes just doesn't seem to tally what people were saying at the polling booths themselves. And it doesn't seem to tally with the reality that people are hearing on the street, with the constant demonstrations and things. And I think if there was to be a presidential election tomorrow; the indication is that Mr. Maduro wouldn't win. So, it seems a total to suggest that you could have done quite so well on this particular issue, the idea of building a new constituent assembly which is something that most Venezuelans I've spoken to seem to want.

PC: And if that constituent assembly does come about, if Maduro gets his way, what powers will it have?

WG: Well, it appears to be challenged with the idea of completely rewriting the Venezuelan constitution, in order to override the existing national assembly, will in essence absorb the powers of existing power. It is an extremely complicated situation because, of course, most ordinary people would be looking to a new body like this. They would expect the institutions of the state to continue to function. And if you talk to the young people manning the barricades, throwing Molotov cocktails and so on, they're basically saying they're not going to leave the streets until they affect change, essentially until Mr. Maduro steps down.

PC: Last week, well as you know, the U.S. slapped sanctions on members of the Maduro government, calling it a dictatorship. Today, new financial sanctions were announced by the U.S. against President Maduro himself. What effect might those sanctions have?

WG: It won't be huge, except on a personal level perhaps to some of these people. I don't know what kinds of assets they hold in the United States and certainly when these thirteen members of the administration were hit with sanctions from the U.S., they sort of wore it as a badge of honor. [Unintelligible] seems to be ashamed of. [Unintelligible] one took a selfie shaking the finger at the United States. So, it is a tactic that is traditionally been used against leaderships that are considered corrupt and so on. But the real question is whether or not the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Treasury Department decide to impose economic and energy sanctions on the oil producing nations. That really could have a major effect. And that also is very very complex because most people say it would hurt the poor of this nation rather than the country's leadership, that those who would end up being hurt most are those who need the most help.

PC: The Canadian government has also taken a strong position against Maduro's government and its plans for a Constituent Assembly. Will, what role could a country like Canada play in helping to resolve the conflict in Venezuela?

WG: Most of all just adding to the growing number of [unintelligible] in the international community, urging the common street and dialogue behind the scenes and maybe helping to broker that dialogue. Honestly, Canada played a role, a very important role, when it came to the U.S. reaching a new diplomatic relationship with Cuba. So, they have some recent experience in that regard because, in this sense, we're talking about internal Venezuelan politics. We are talking about an apparent minority who hold power that they [unintelligible] claim that still the majority and a large number of people, who opposed them and certainly control the national assembly, appear to control swathes of the big cities, now. And before that, [unintelligible] out of control than it already has. It does need kind of calm aheads to prevail. Canada could absolutely be one of those.

PC: At this point, it appears the American and Canadian governments are taking aim at the Venezuelan government. But what about the opposition? Should there be concerns in Ottawa, in Washington about that side in the Venezuelan conflict, as well?

WG: The opposition in Venezuela traditionally been very fractured and have searched for very non democratic means to getting what they wanted. On the 2002 coup attempt against Hugo Chavez was a scorned lady on the history, the recent history, of this country. And there are individuals involved, still, in the opposition who are very very closely linked to certain decisions around those few chaotic days, in April 2002. Nevertheless, I think they have a sort of ace up their sleeve, at the moment, in the sense that they did so very well at the legislative elections a couple of years ago. And that the government simply isn't countenancing the idea of any further elections on this one they've had themselves, which was on their terms. So, they used to have a recall referendum. It looks like they're pushing back any regional elections, will they then go on to have another presidential election. And that's I think another one of the fears that's due to come up next year. It is one of the fears about this constituent assembly, that it will become just a rubber stamp organization, for whatever the whims of the Maduro administration are. And if he says he's not having an election in 2018, well, then there won't be an election.

PC: Just briefly, Will, at least 120 people have been killed in the past few months. What hope do you think people in Venezuela have that this conflict will be resolved and that the violence can come to an end?

WG: Almost all Venezuelans, on both sides of the aisle, if you like, or whatever political colors they wear, are very realistic about the fact that he still has a way to go. Things are extremely likely to get worse before they get better. The oil prices is showing no sign of lifting Venezuela's economy, built on an oil exporting market. The cues continue to snake around the block for basic goods. Inflation is through the roof. Crime continues to spiral. If you now add political violence on top of that, which has been the case at least for the past three months, then it is an extremely elusive combination and it really does have the potential to get a lot lot worse.

PC: Will Grant, appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

WG: Very welcome.

KG: Will Grant is a correspondent with the BBC. We reached him in Venezuela's capital, Caracas.

[Music: Theme]

Tim Raines

KG: On Sunday Tim Raines, who played 13 seasons with the late lamented Montreal Expos, was finally inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was a sunny day in Cooperstown and there was an air of celebration. But if you watch the video of Mr. Raines’s speech, you'll see one man in tears; shoulder shaking, T-shirt dabbing tears. That was Jonah Keri. The sports journalist grew up in Montreal cheering for the Expos. Who was his favorite player when he was small? Tim Raines. And who kept being ignored, when the Hall of Fame balloting took place? Tim Raines. So Jonah Keri began a campaign. He made it his mission to get Tim Raines into Cooperstown. He wrote a book. He did interviews. He poured through Tim Raines a stats for obscure but an arguable proof of just how winning he was. And how did Tim Raines thank Jonah Keri on Sunday? By reducing him to tears with these words.

SOUNDCLIP

TIM RAINES: You know the one guy I wanted to talk about, who was inspirational for me, especially in the past three or four years, in my candidacy into the Hall of Fame. And that guy Jonah Keri. This was a kid that grew up watching Tim Raines play. I remember seeing a picture of us, I think he had to be about six or seven, and I was in my Montreal uniform, and he told me: “This was me.” I mean, Jonah is about 30 some now. I say: “No way!” He said: “Yes, this is me. Back in the day you were my favorite player.” He said: “I watched your every move as a player.” And today I want to thank him so very much, for his support, and for him getting that name out there. And you know, there's a lot of things that I was able to do that I didn't even know myself. This guy told me about stacks that I'm like: “Did I do that?” You know, and not only that, you know, we become really great friends. You know, and again, thank you Dana.

KG: That was Expo star Tim Raines being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, on Sunday. He was speaking about the journalist who campaigned to put him there, Jonah Keri.

[Music]

Aleppo zoo

Guest: Dr. Amir Khalil

KG: It took six weeks of careful planning and two separate trips to get them all out. 13 animals including lions and bears have been rescued from an abandoned zoo, near Aleppo. They've been trapped there as the Syrian war raged around them. They were only able to survive through the conflict because some of the residents of the city sacrificed some of their own meager supplies to keep them alive. Dr. Amir Khalil is a veterinarian who led the animals evacuation from Syria. He's also with the animal charity group Four Paws International. We reached him via Skype in Karacbey, Turkey.

PC: Dr. Khalil, you're in Karacbey, Turkey right now. How far is that from Aleppo, Syria?

DR. AMIR KHALIL: Over one thousand two hundred kilometer.

PC: So the animals and you have been on a journey for more than 1000 kilometers. How are they doing?

AK: At this moment, they are fine. It was a very long trip for them. They were exhausted when we get them, dehydrated. And now they are doing better, after they get the needed medicine and food and water.

PC: Well, tell me more about the animals. What kinds of animals that you have rescued? And what kinds of treatments they may need?

AK: The history of this zoo in Aleppo, it was many hundreds of animal before, but due to the war in the last six years and intensive war in the last two years around Aleppo, we were able to rescue the last 13 animals from there. There are five lions, two tigers, two bears, two hyena and two dogs.

PC: And as you say, they're doing better now. But what condition were they in when you saw them, when you first saw them?

AK: All of them were really emancipated, due to malnutrition or no food, nearly. It was no medical care or veterinary care. No medicine is available there, at this region for the animal. Some of the animal really have wounds on the skin. We find out that the Hyena have kidney diseases. The kidney is really very bad. One of the other one, is blind. The tigers have a heart problem. The majority of them have parasitic infection. Also the situation of their hygienic is not the best.

PC: And like the people of Syria, Dr. Khalil, these animals have endured more than seven years of civil war. Do you think any of them have any sense of the conflict, the war that was happening around them?

AK: It is very sad. A human being, minimum, can understand. A human being could be evacuated. Animals don't have this option. They are in a tiny cages in a small place. It's very difficult to explain because it cannot explain what… They don't understand this is a war. They are not part of the war or of the conflict.

PC: And so, as you said about trying to get these last 13 animals safely out of Aleppo, how did you even do it? What were the challenges of getting them safely transported out of Syria?

AK: It's like mission impossible [Chuckles].

PC: [Chuckles].

AK: In fact we have to prepare many weeks, and we have to follow the situation on ground on daily basis. Because you have to take considerations animal in a place where really different group or rebels are fighting together; Tahrir Al Sham, Ahrar Al Sham, Gabhet Al Nasra… And even if you succeed to get out of this location of the zoo, from very radical groups, the other zones are also radical guys and they are fighting. If you go with convoy with wild animals, there is snipers on both sides of the roads. Even if you succeed to pass all this, we were aware that a big convoy with wild animal. Military planes can bomb them because they might think we are smuggling weapons. So, it was very risky, very dangerous need a lot of preparation. And the first trials we were very lucky to rescue the first nine animals. This was few days ago. And before two days, we were able to rescue the rest, which are for animals. So for me, and for the team, it was a very difficult mission. We have to work with many groups on ground. We have to have cooperation with the Turkey government; they assisted us on this, to open the border for us. And this was a great help from the Turkey government, to allow the animal to pass through their border.

PC: And so, Dr. Khalil, who cared for them, in Aleppo? I mean this was a war zone. People had very little for themselves, had to take care of their own safety. Who took care of them and what motivated people to help the animals?

AK: I think animal give hope for people. Animal give a lot for Humankind. A kind of person should be kind for animals and for human. We cannot see kindness is just for human. A kind person should be also kind to animals. Kindness should not be divided. And this is the reason why we find that a lot of persons, even in the war zones, they have heart and care. And we have some volunteers who were able to deliver the food to the animal. We find a nice local vet who really was able to help us. And the minimum with our instruction which type of medicine is needed to improve the condition of the animal, that they are able to be transported and translocated to the border.

PC: And now that the animals are safe in Turkey, where do they go from here, Dr. Khalil?

AK: In the last week, our team were a busy medical examination to have really a medical record for all the animal, to give them any vaccination, also micro chipped, to repair all the necessary documents. And I hope in the coming days the animal will go to a species appropriate place in Jordan. It's a sanctuary. The sanctuary belongs to Four Paws International, and the two tigers we plan to relocate them in a sanctuary in Holland, also belong to Four Paws.

PC: And you expect all the animals to survive?

AK: Yes. I hope because we work so hard that they deserve really a better future, no need to hear missiles or bombs. And I think they are ambassadors for peace and a small dedicated team from Four Paws were able, with help of volunteer, to rescue this animal. I believe it's a clear message for many persons that with little effort peace could be also in Syria. And I wish for a human also there to have peace like this animal and to have a better life.

PC: And how do you feel, knowing that you played a role in bringing these animals to safety and, as you say, a better life?

AK: First, I feel proud on the team, which done really mission impossible. The team are exhausted, as well as myself, we are very tired. We have many nights with sleep. The journey is not over yet. I will be very glad, in the coming days, to release the animal and to touch the grass, first time in their life. The lions, the tigers they can swim and have a better life.

PC: Dr. Khalil, thank you so much and good work. Appreciate your time.

AK: Thank you. Have a good day. Bye

PC: Yes. Take care.

AK: Good bye.

KG: That was Dr. Amir Khalil, a veterinarian with the organization Four Paws International. We reached him in Karacbey, Turkey. And if you want to read more of that story and see pictures of those animals head to our website cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Theme]

KG: The cliche is that life is a mountain. You go up, reach the top and then go down. To me, life is going up until you're burned by flames. That's how actress Jeanne Moreau described the human experience to the New York Times, in 2001. She was one of French cinema's biggest stars and Ms. Moreau's fiery approach to life is captured throughout her decades long career in film. In front of and behind the camera, Ms. Moreau worked with a who's who of cinema. But she was best known for her role in François Truffaut's 1962 film Jules and Jim. Her earliest directors deemed her photogenic, but Ms Moreau, the character she played, went on to define the French New Wave movement of the 50s and 60s. Jeanne Moreau died today, at her home in Paris. She was 89 years old. In a statement, French president Emmanuel Macron said: “Her whole work was precisely about never freezing her art into a mythology and never locking herself into the respectable status of the great actress. She had in her eye sparkle that deflected deference and inspired insolence, freedom, the turbulence of life that she liked so much and that she will long make us like.” In 1984, Ms. Moreau spoke to Vicki Gabereau, the host of CBC's Variety Tonight, about her approach to acting and directing. Here's a clip from that interview.

SOUNDCLIP

JEANNE MOREAU: It was a period in the history of cinema when there were rules.

VICKI GABEREAU: Yes.

JEANNE MOREAU: For our cinematographers, and now there are no rules anymore. When you don't have to worry about makeup, it gives you such freedom to give birth to life. I never look at myself in a mirror, on the stage. And when I direct, I don't like actors to be concerned too much about their looks. I like them to be, not to pretend to be.

VICKI GABEREAU: How is it when the camera comes in so close? There must be, maybe no, a sense of invasion?

JEANNE MOREAU: No. The sense of invasion you can have if there is a press conference and people are taking pictures around you.

VICKI GABEREAU: Yes.

JEANNE MOREAU: But when you're on the set filming, there's such a concentration that this machine coming close to you, it comes close to you because of the determination of the director.

VICKI GABEREAU: Yes.

JEANNE MOREAU: So the concentration is so strong on the set, the silence, and the camera comes close to you. It's provocative. You have to bring out something from very very deep inside.

VICKI GABEREAU: And that is the rare gift, the ability to expose that?

JEANNE MOREAU: That's God's gift.

VICKI GABEREAU: Yes.

JEANNE MOREAU: I believe in God, so, I say it's God's gift.

VICKI GABEREAU: Do you find that when you working on a picture, I'm sure it's quite different directing, the kind of energy involved, but do you feel detached from the rest of the world when you're working?

JEANNE MOREAU: Oh yes.

VICKI GABEREAU: Hmm. You lose yourself in the particular part or just in the system?

JEANNE MOREAU: In any organization. It's like a magic circle, you know.

VICKI GABEREAU: Yes. It's an instant family of sorts, isn't it?

JEANNE MOREAU: Yes. That's why some relationships are born. Immediately, it takes two days and another situation would take two years, or two months.

VICKI GABEREAU: Right.

JEANNE MOREAU: And these very violent relationship, when the film is finished it is finished.

VICKI GABEREAU: That must be wrenching. All of a sudden they're gone. On to the next thing.

JEANNE MOREAU: Yes.

VICKI GABEREAU: There must be a period of recovery.

JEANNE MOREAU: That is very right, what you say. It's like coming out of a sort of illness.

VICKI GABEREAU: Yes. [Chuckles] Do you try to space your movies, so that you have a recovery period?

JEANNE MOREAU: I don't need to act all the time. I don't need to work all the time. I didn't… I never planned anything, in fact.

VICKI GABEREAU: Hmm. You just go with the wind?

JEANNE MOREAU: Yes. I go with the wind. I go with the little river. You know, Auguste Renoir, the painter, said that people think that they decide everything in their life but in fact they don't. They're just like corks floating on the stream, you know. That's what I am a cork.

VICKI GABEREAU: A little cork.

JEANNE MOREAU: Yes.

VICKI GABEREAU: A little cork to a bottle of very pretty good French wine, then.

JEANNE MOREAU: [Laughs].

KG: From our archives that was CBC host Vicki Gabereau, in conversation with French New Wave actress Jeanne Moraux, in 1984. Today, Ms. Moreau died at her home, in Paris. She was 89 years old.

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July 31, 2017 Full Episode Transcript

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