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The AIH Transcript for August 10, 2017

Hosts: Rosemary Barton and Robert Doane

STORIES FROM THIS EPISODE

Prologue

ROSEMARY BARTON: Hello, I'm Rosemary Barton.

ROBERT DOAN: Good evening, I'm Robert Doane. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

RD: Tonight:

RB: Making a provincial case out of it. B.C. Green Party leader Andrew Weaver backs his NDP power partners’ plan to join the legal fight against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

RD: Lost at sea. Dozens of migrants have drowned off the coast of Yemen this week, in two separate incidents. And in both cases, it's believed they were intentionally pushed off boats by human smugglers.

RB: He won't make the leaderboard, but he's a leader anyway. Calgary golfer Kyle Miller tees off at a PGA tournament in his hometown, becoming the first person with cerebral palsy ever to do so.

RD: Front page challenge. It took five 556 days to reach an agreement, but next Tuesday, some Halifax Chronicle Herald journalists will finally be heading back to work to newsroom where very little is the way they left it.

RB: Costume drama. It took a monstrous talent to bring an ornery giant lizard to life, especially from inside a suit that was hot, heavy and probably putrid. But the late Haruo Nakajima breathed life and fire into the role of Godzilla.

RD: And… everybody must not get stoned. In 1960s Vancouver, the late RCMP officer Abe Snidanko was on a mission to rid the streets of pot. And tonight, comedian Tommy Chong explains how he turned that real-life crusader into a fictional character. As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that salutes an officer who had 420/420 vision.

[Music: Theme]

Back To Top »

Part 1: Trans Mountain: Weaver, Abe Snidenko obit, Chronicle Herald vote

Trans Mountain: Weaver

Guest: Andrew Weaver

RD: British Columbia's new NDP government is heading to court. This morning, the province’s Environment Minister announced that the government had hired former Judge Thomas Berger, to find ways to help and intervene in a series of legal challenges to the Trans Mountain pipeline project. The plan is to expand the pipeline’s capacity to pump oil products from Alberta to the B.C. coast, and it's got that federal approval. But Andrew Weaver says that approval is not an insurmountable problem. Mr. Weaver is the leader of the B.C. Green Party. Blocking the expansion was a big part of his decision to enter into a power-sharing agreement with the NDP and we reached Andrew Weaver in Victoria.

RB: Mr. Weaver, you've said that you are pleased with today's announcement. Tell me why this is enough for you?

ANDREW WEAVER: Well, when we went into negotiations after the last election, we looked to have discussions with both the B.C. Liberals and the B.C. NDP about the fate of this Trans Mountain pipeline project. And it became very clear to us of the position of the B.C. NDP was very similar to ours that everything that's in the toolbox should be used to try to ensure that this project actually doesn't go ahead and that is because it is not in British Columbia’s interest. We did not like the way the previous administration handled it. And that was a central component of our what's called a Confidence and Supply Agreement. And, indeed, today I was delighted to see the strength of conviction that was displayed in that in the press conference upheld by Minister Eby and Minister Haymen and it shows Premier Horgan is true to his word. And he showed good leadership on this file, very good leadership.

RB: If that's true. If you believe that the NDP is committed to this, as you say. Why did they not then try and stop the environmental permits? That would have been the fastest way to try and stop this from going ahead would it not?

AW: Yeah, so there's a number of things that are going on. I was the only MLA who wasn't intervener in the National Energy Board assessment process. We spent an awful lot of time doing that. I was quite dismayed at the lack of intervention by the NDP for the last few years. Frankly, I think that they were shell-shocked after losing an election that everyone thought they win and they just weren't here on this file. when they saw that they were on the wrong side of this and we're disagreeing we're going to huge public support. They started to get on the right side of this and you know I'm just glad that they're here and so we're glad where we are.

RB: I get that, Dr. Weaver, but they are essentially — the government — is essentially saying we are going to tack ourselves on to an ongoing judicial process as an intervener, instead of using the powers that they have as a government to delay permits.

AW: So there is a couple of things. There is a court case where there's a judicial review. Squamish First Nation and City of Vancouver taking the province to court and the province has to defend itself. The province has hired a special counsel in Tom Berger, who will be there to assist in their defense of this particular issue. So the province has to defend itself that it's environmental assessment process actually put the interests of British Columbians front and center. I don't know how they're going to defend that because I was an interviewer in that process and, let me tell, you the whole thing was a sham. You know I’ll give you my best example, the entire oil spill response was predicated on the existence of 20 hours of sunlight in the sailor sea here for responders to operate in. Well, you can do a simple calculation to show that there is not a single latitude south of tuktoyaktuk in Canada that ever has 20 hours of sunlight. So you would think when I pose a question to the proponent of the project: could you could you give me a more realistic set of conditions for which you're developing an oil spill response? They'd respond. But no, the answer was: the NEB has enough information on which to make a decision. This was a rigged process. Anyone who participated in it felt that they were not heard, felt that the questions were answered and felt that Mr. Trudeau was playing games.

RB: I take your point, but I'm not sure you can say it's a rigged process. If the government itself recognized that the NEB process was not adequate, added on eight months of additional consultations. Is it the process wasn’t adequate or that you just don't like the outcome?

AW: No, this is the first such process in recent memory where there was no cross-examination. Anything that the proponents submitted we could not cross-examine them on. It's bizarre. Like we don't have any process where there's no cross-examination. Someone makes a statement and that's it, statement made. That's not how a process is supposed to go, so that was pulled out of it. We all know why this project was approved. Not because of anything other than the fact that there was horse trading going on. That Mr. Trudeau wanted to support Ms. Notley in Alberta and to get her support for his climate plan. Of course, he needed her to agree to a 15 bottles a ton and she's not going to agree to that unless there's something in it for Alberta.

RB: Two points: first of all, this is an expansion project. A twinning of a pipeline that already exists…

AW: That’s not a twinning. It's a 28 fold increase of tanker traffic the sailor sea.

RB: But it is what it is a project that already exists. And I would also point out, as does Trans Mountain, that they still have to comply to 157 conditions from the NEB. They are not allowed to just go off and do whatever they want. What else would you have them do? What else would you have the federal government do?

AW: Well, there's a couple of things that are incorrect with your assertion right off the bat. When the Trans Mountain pipeline was built, it was built to feed regular crude to the Chevron refinery in Burnaby, and other refiners in the area. There was never any intention of putting diluted bitumen in that pipeline. The environmental opposition has said you cannot put that diluted bitumen in tankers because you can't clean it up. I mean we’re not transporting jet fuel or diesel. We're transporting diluted bitumen.

RB: But isn't that why the government made an additional investment in the spill response on the west coast?

AW: Well again, there is no investment of any substance. That was an investment for all of Canada. And you can have a spill response, but you can't clean it up period.

RB: So tell me this. This is what the Premier has done so far. The commitment was to use all the tools in his tool kit. Do you think this is the beginning of the end… really?

AW: I cannot see Trans Mountain twinning ever get built. British Columbians are simply not going to accept a 28 fold increase of tanker traffic on our coast. You know Mr. Trudeau can invoke his constitutional issues that this is in national interest. But you know this would be a scandal far greater than the National Energy Policy scandal that his father brought to Canada. You have no idea the unrest that would be unleashed in Vancouver. And I think you know maybe a few people should come out here from Ontario and have a look at what's at stake here where the pipeline is going. Have a look at the Second Narrows Bridge and ask the question if you really should be having two tankers a day going under that bridge, where you have to shut down basically the harbor as these tankers go in and out. The whole thing is just ill planned and it's not in the benefit of British Columbians.

RB: Dr. Weaver, thanks for your time today.

AW: A pleasure. Thank you.

RD: Andrew Weaver is the leader of the British Columbia Green Party. We reached him in Victoria.

[Music: Electronica]

Abe Snidanko obit

Guest: Tommy Chong

RD: It was the 1960s in Vancouver. And if you were a long haired hippie with a penchant for weed, you knew about Abe Snidanko. And Abe was not a guy you wanted to mess with. Back then, Abe Snidanko was an undercover RCMP officer in Vancouver’s street policing crew. He raided after-hours bars, stopped traffic and busted drug users and dealers alike. Abe Snidanko died earlier this month at his home in Richmond. He was 79-years-old. At first, Officer Snidanko was only infamous in Vancouver, but then, he was immortalized by comedy duo Cheech & Chong. Tommy Chong, who grew up in Vancouver, created a character called Sargent Stedanko, a tough-talking, undercover cop. Today, Tommy Chong lives in L.A. And that's where we reached him.

RB: So Tommy, Abe Snidanko has been called a “hippie nemesis” because he was part of the war on drugs, or on weed in particular. How do you remember him?

TOMMY CHONG: Exactly that. He was the cop that would bust you for a seed or a joint or anything, you know? Abe was one of those guys, back in the day, that thought marijuana was the evilest drug on the planet. And he was bowed to stamp it out any way he could.

RB: And he became sort of the face of that in some ways in Vancouver at that time.

TC: Well yeah, he was always trying to bust people for pot smoking. A couple of friends of mine were like gangsters in Vancouver — the Beer Brothers — Georgie Beer and Eddie Beer. Well, Giorgie Beer gave Abe Snidanko and his partner a nickname: Batman and Robin. But when they tried to bust him, they were at a Jewish deli in the bathroom snorting coke and Snidanko busted in on them. But Georgie managed to flush it down the toilet. But in retaliation, Georgie told Snidanko we’re taking your nicknames away. You're no longer Batman and Robin.

RB: He seemed almost fearless. I mean you're talking about your gangster friends, but he seems to be fearless and on a mission in some way?

TC: Well he's a fighter. He was a boxer — a Golden Gloves boxer — and he’s Ukrainian that's a combination right there. A Ukrainian boxer, they’re the toughest people on the planet.

RB: Take us back to the 60s in Vancouver because some of us maybe weren't alive yet. When hippy culture was strong, when marijuana was on the scene, what was it like then?

TC: It kind of eased in and it kind of eased in overnight. Like the look, at one time, everybody was short hair and shaved and just the weirdoes had long hair. But overnight, marijuana and LSD got introduced. Everything changed, except the cops and the cops were still back in the 50s. And so Abe was the suit and tie, you know? The short hair and the narc, he was an arc. He made a point of busting hippies.

RB: He never got you though?

TC: He came close, but never got me. He came very close.

RB: How close did he come?

TC: Well, before Cheech and I.

RB: Yes.

TC: I had two clubs going: we had the Elegant Parlor and we had the Shanghai Junk. Well, when we were putting the club together, we're working away and next thing I know, we've got a couple well-built, young white couple came up and they were dressed kind of like hippies. And they wanted to know if I needed some help. And I said yeah, of course, I'd love some help. Well, apparently, they were undercover cops from right out of the Regina school of the narcs. And it took me a while before I realized it. And the way I caught them was that I asked them we had a break and were sitting around talking. I said have you ever done LSD? And they said yeah. I said well, tell me about your first trip and I think it was the guy who said oh, I don't remember.

[Sound: RB and TC laugh because everyone remembers their first acid trip]

RB: That would be a good clue.

TC: You will remember your first acid trip. So I didn't have to go to the bathroom, but I had to go jump around somewhere. I do a little dance saying they’re narcs, they’re narcs! I put them to work. Man, they scrubbed that place. I was like a drill sergeant. And Snidanko was part of that whole set up, you know? He was always trying to bust us. And so, when we needed a character you know… Abe Snidanko, I loved the name and so I just used Stedanko as a character in our record. And then, when “Up in Smoke” came out, Stacy Keach was a perfect Stedanko.

RB: Do you think that he knew… I mean he must've known that you had done that?

TC: Oh, he knew. He knew. He knew. And the thing is because I made him so famous, the narcs from Vancouver called me up one time, they had a retirement party and they thought it would be the greatest thing if I sent them a poster a signed poster from Cheech & Chong to Abe Snidanko, congratulations on your retirement.

RB: Can I go back to Cheech & Chong? What was behind your decision to create this character that you called Sargent Stedanko, who is inspired, of course, by the real life Abe Snidanko?

TC: The Stedanko I played was an imbecile. Abe was far from being stupid, but he was driven. And he was like an evangelist cock. No, my whole intent was to make Stedanko famous.

RB: Let me end on this, Tommy because I don’t want to keep you all day. But you know so Abe Snidanko, this was obviously his mission in life, but he has now died and he has died just really about a year before the Canadian government plans to make marijuana legal in this country.

TC: Yeah.

RB: What do you think he would have made of that and the way society has sort of changed and come around to I guess more your way of thinking about marijuana than his way of thinking?

TC: I knew Abe, but I didn't know him in a very personal level. I imagine he would have said you know whatever. I think that was his thing, whatever. Because we're the same age, Abe and I we're the same age. I'm 79; he’s 79. And so my entire life and Abe’s entire life, pot has always been illegal. It's only the last few years that that you know states are starting to make it legal and recognizing it as a medicine. So Abe and I, we were like twins, you know? I was on the I was on the one side, he was on the other side. And I really respected him. I really respect Abe because he was true to his craft, you know? No one was a better narc than Abe. Abe was the narc of the narcs.

RB: Tommy Chong, what a pleasure to talk to you and thanks for reminiscing with me. I appreciate it.

TC: Well, you got my number. If you need anything else, give me a call.

RB: You might regret saying that.

TC: I don't think so.

RB: You're a peach. Thanks.

TC: Thank you.

RB: Take care. Bye bye.

RD: Call me. Snidanko’s self-described twin, Tommy Chong, of Cheech & Chong, speaking to us from Los Angeles. He was telling us about his memories of Abe Snidanko, a former undercover RCMP officer in Vancouver. Mr. Snidanko died earlier this month at the age of 79. And for more on the story, go to our website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Industrial]

Chronicle Herald vote

Guest: Pam Sword

RD: 566 Days after it began, the Halifax Chronicle Herald strike is over. Today, the vast majority of the unionized newsroom staff voted in favor of the agreement, which was brokered over the weekend. Pam Sword is one of the strikers who will be heading back to work next week. She was also the editor of the strike publication Local Express, which will now be shuttered. And we reached Pam sword in Halifax.

RB: Pam, you spent 19 months on the picket line, how are you feeling today?

PAM SWORD: It's a real mixed bag of things and I think that is probably true for the other 52 people who are affected by this. There is some happiness there, relief, a big bucket of sad goes in there too because half the people that I've been involved in the strike with won't be going back. So it's kind of like losing half your work family, so there's that too. And there's also for those of us going back, people have used the word acrimonious strike and it's going to be a big question mark on the re-entry for sure.

RB: Well, and you have to go back into the newsroom and work alongside some of the people that were there replacing you while you were picketing. How are you feeling about that?

PS: I'm not going to really think about that until it happens because we were obviously angry at them while we were on strike. And you know I'm sure they didn't like us or they wouldn't have been replacing us or whatever they feel. But we're professionals and we're just going to have to work through it.

RB: What can you tell us about what was in the deal? I mean it took so long to get here and it was obviously sort of pushed by the province for you guys to sit down and get the mediation. So what's in it?

PS: Apparently, the mediator — our bargaining committee — can't disclose the exact details of what went on during these two days of mediation, other than to say that it was rather intense and that the mediator pushed both sides very hard. All along we were expecting a pay cut, which we got. So we'll be getting about 5 per cent less, our work week is a little longer, we're losing our defined benefit pension plan and moving to a union pension plan. So that would be like a 30 per cent hit on our pension going forward. We didn't make any gains at all. And, like I said, we started it with over 60 people when we went out on strike on January 23^rd, 2016 and there's just 25 of those going back.

RB: Yeah, given that you made no gains, it certainly doesn't sound like it. Do you really feel good about going back? I mean is this the way you wanted to go back?

PS: I'm a single mom, so I've been living off strike pay. I'll be making… I'll have an income now again. So I mean you know for some people like single moms, there's about five of us, you know it means we can buy things. Being on strike is really like being in limbo. If maybe you are laid off from your job, you know you're laid off and you can go forward and you can look for another job or go back to school or something like that. But this was kind of 19 months in in limbo.

RB: Do you think that the paper will ever be the same after such a long labor dispute?

PS: I think we will have to work hard to help rebuild the reputation. And I think the people going back have to be committed to that. You know we decided to go back. I think the Herald's reputation did take a hit. You know they weren't doing as much journalism, obviously, the quality wasn't as good as it could have been. So I don't know? It would depend on you know if the company wants to maybe invest more money in journalism, but you know I don't know what's going to happen really? I just have to go in with an open mind, work hard and try and rebuild things.

RB: You are committed though, obviously, I mean you said you're a single mom and you want to get off the picket line and I get that. But you also are clearly committed to journalism and you want to tell these stories again.

PS: Oh yeah, for sure. I've been a journalist for over 30 years and it's just kind of in my DNA. So that's one of the reasons we started this strike paper was from day one, people that went on the picket line.. like our city hall reporter at the time, used to live blog city council meetings. And even though there was no platform to put it on.

RB: It’s hard to give up.

PS: I mean there's some people that are just you know, you're probably one of them too, there’s people that are just journalists, it’s just part of them. That was hard too because you know, obviously, on a strike, the other side is trying to pressure you and that was kind of like one of the pressures they could exert on us was to kind of take away we who we were. So having the strike paper some people have said that's kind of what saved their sanity was to be able to do on a daily basis or some people just occasionally be able to do the stuff that they still love to do.

RB: What was it like to say goodbye to the people that you knew didn't want to come back or couldn't come back?

PS: Oh God, sad, but happy because they're going to move on. And you know hopefully they can find something else that they can put their passions into. But you know there's some fine writers that maybe will never write again. There will be some fine photographers won't be doing news photos anymore. You know maybe they'll end up doing other kinds of photography or something like that. But it's sad all the talent that was lost today. But you know I guess we just have to go forward.

RB: All right and you start Tuesday. I hope there's some free donuts or something on that day back.

PS: We had so many free doughnuts on the picket. People were very generous to us who I should probably thing for all their support we had so much support from organized labour in Atlantic Canada and all across Canada and even the U.S.

RB: All right. Well Pam, good luck when you get back on Tuesday. I hope it goes well, we'll be reading.

PS: Thank you very much, Rosemary.

RB: Ok. Bye bye.

PS: Nice talking to you. Thank you, bye.

RD: Pam Sword is an editor with the Chronicle Herald. We reached her in Halifax. And I should mention that the Canadian Media Guild, which represents most employees of the CBC, belongs to the same parent union as the Chronicle Harold’s Halifax Typographical Union. And to read more about the strike, go to our website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Folk rock]

Mating sharks

RD: If you're a great white shark looking for love, throw out all your brochures for singles cruises and tropical paradises and head to Nova Scotia. Scientists don't know much about the mating patterns of these sharks. But recent tracking data indicates that there could be serious romance happening in maritime waters. Researchers have been tracking the endangered great whites to try and better understand their mysterious ways and it looks like more and more of them are showing up near Nova Scotia. The going theory is that these waters are the go-to spot for mating. So if you're planning a swim off the coast of Nova Scotia, you may find the water looks a little choppy and that's because of a gathering of amorous sharks who are making waves with scientists by literally making waves with each other.

Back To Top »

Part 2: Migrant deaths, Kyle Miller

Migrant deaths

Guest: Laurent de Boeck

RD: Today, at least seven migrants from Somalia and Ethiopia drowned off the coast of Yemen. But this is not a story of people drowning by accident. It's a story of people being drowned on purpose. The migrants were forced off the boat by human smugglers. It's the second such incident in two days. The International Organization for Migration, or I OM, says that yesterday, a group of 50 migrants were deliberately drowned by smugglers in the same area. Laurent de Boeck is the IMO’s Chief of Mission in Yemen. Today we reached Mr. de Boeck in Brussels.

RB: Mr. de Boeck, how did your colleagues in Yemen first begin to understand that something really terrible had happened to this group of migrants earlier today?

LAURENT DE BOECK: Well, it was simple. We have actually patrolling teams every day on the beach in Yemen, looking at the situation of the incoming migrants and basically found a group in terrible shape in a very traumatized situation. So they started asking questions on what happened to them and they discovered what was the exact situation.

RB: And what the migrants tell them?

LDB: Well, basically, they repeat indeed what we already did before. But the fact that they were using the services of smugglers coming through Yemen. But instead of being brought to the coast, they were requested to basically jump into the sea a certain distance from the country.

RB: And why would the smugglers have told them to do that?

LDB: This is something we are still wondering because it's a new modus operandi actually. It repeats what happened the day before, but it's new to us. Generally, the smugglers are bringing them to the country and not necessarily dropping them at the sea. We don't really understand there was no reference to any panic because of surveillance by any military boat. So there was no obvious reason for doing it today.

RB: And yesterday, was it same situation? Or yesterday was there a threat to the smugglers and so this is how they reacted?

LDB: Exactly. So yes, they indeed referred to the fact that the smugglers saw a boat, which they believe was a surveillance police boat and they panicked and asked all the migrants to jump.

RB: Obviously, some people survived. Give me an idea of how many people have died over the past couple of days?

LDB: There were an estimated number of 300 people on those two boats. We have 160 who survived. The rest either we found their bodies and some were buried by other survivors and some are still missing. So we are still patrolling all day and receiving bodies that were brought to beach by the sea.

RB: The migrants would not have expected to be left in the water. They would have thought they were being brought to land?

LDB: Yeah, that's generally what happens. And it's a route which is quite known to actually reach the Arab Peninsula, so they know that they can go and reach Yemen. They don't know really where they go because Yemen is in a war and they are not necessarily informed. But what is amazing and bizarre in this situation is the fact that normally it's quite organized with the smugglers at sea. And then, all the smugglers are waiting at the beaches and taking care of them to help them crossing the country. And this time it's different, so that there was no smuggler waiting for them. So there was no continuity in this smuggling process.

RB: And that leads you to believe what? Or what kind of questions do you have then, given that this is quite irregular?

LDB: It might just be a person or group of persons who are operating differently. We hope that the sufferance of the people already trough this smuggling mechanism is tremendous, it’s huge. And this is just adding to what those people — those very young people — are going through.

RB: Just remind us who are these migrants that are so desperate that they will make this journey and that they will make this journey to, as you said, Yemen, which is itself a war zone?

LDB: The vast majority are from Ethiopia, 90-95 per cent, followed immediately with the Somalis and you may have some other African nationals. They are generally extremely young, between 12 to 25, so the average is 16, which was the case in those last two boats. And we have to understand their journey by basically being requested by their parents to go and travel to find better opportunities to support the family.

RB: So what can you do? Other than monitor for the situation and hope that it doesn't happen again?

LDB: The ideal situation is that they don't actually even think of leaving. So our offices in Ethiopia and Somalia, as well as in Djibouti or other places in Africa, are developing programs to answer to the root causes of their migration. Of course, the amplitude of the problem is so big that we can’t respond to all the problems that explains why the people are simply leaving. So another program or activities we do is prevention explaining the situation where they go. Obviously, the impact is extremely difficult to measure and we can see it because a lot of people do not necessarily know that they are entering in such difficulties. Or in some cases, they are aware of it. But the social pressure or the request of the family is stronger. Then there is a preventive measures trough law enforcement agencies, which basically reinforce capacities of states to do border management. This is not necessarily working. It's not easy for countries like Yemen or Somalia or all those who are facing immense humanitarian issues in their country to actually consider investing in border management.

RB: Let me end on this: would news of these deaths and missing people over the past 24 hours, would it make its way back to these countries and would it be itself a deterrent? Or is that not even something that would be considered?

LDB: This is it something we actually discussed with the governments indeed. I'm heading tomorrow morning to Kenya, where we are meeting with members of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia. So we encourage discussion and edification of joint solutions. That takes time, but there is a political will because it's touching citizens of each of those countries and life of people.

RB: Laurent de Boeck, thanks for making the time for us.

LDB: Thank you.

RB: Thank you. Bye bye.

LDB: Bye.

RD: Laurent de Boeck is The International Organization for Migration Chief of Mission in Yemen. Today, we reached Mr. De Boeck in Brussels.

[Music: Sad folk]

Stephen McGowan

RD: He was held hostage by al Qaeda for nearly six years. And when Steven McGowan was finally told he was free to leave, he thought it was a joke. Earlier today, Mr. McGowan spoke out for the first time since his release in late July. He was kidnapped in 2011, from a hotel in Timbuktu, along with two others. Mr. McGowan, who has South African and UK citizenship, says his captors did not know what nationality he was, but they wanted him to be British because British captives were more valuable to them. Mr. McGowan converted to Islam from Christianity while being held. And he focused on staying positive because he did not want to come home a mess. He says he was never given a reason why he was freed. But during a press conference today, he recounted how it happened.

SOUNDCLIP

STEPHEN MCGOWAN: On the 21st of July, a call came in and this is usual business. They stared started talking to the amir. They then call me over and he said well, you may not know, but your fellow prisoner he's now being released, he's gone back to Sweden. And hopefully, hopefully, you'll be going home soon. So I've heard this story many times over the 5-years-eight-months. So I was all right, well this sounds positive. What is a possibility? Is this for certain? And he came out well, maybe 60 per cent. I was like thank you; I’ve heard this story before. Don’t worry; I'm going back to my hut. This is not important. But then they said no, we are not taking you away with us. You'll go away with us in the car. This is a big thing, so I picked up my stuff. They say take what's important and take what you don't want to leave behind, which implied to me you may not be going home. We're going to try, but things might go wrong and you may end up staying here. But anyway, I got in the car, a lot of driving, a lot of driving, a lot of driving, a lot of car changes and this was for two days. And then ended up in another place very far from where I was. Business as usual, breakfast, lunch, supper, everything's pretty normal. But then, some cars came past and then we basically drove out with one of these cars. A car came past, we jumped out behind them and we drove out. And we drove for half a day. We had some airplanes — surveillance airplanes — doing laps above us so we tried to hide a bit. And then, with that, the driver in my car turned to me and said you are free, you can go. So I was like yeah, ok. He said if you don't believe me you can walk, you can go. And then this sort of it actually came through like well, maybe you know just pulling my leg and joking with me. And then another car came and I got in there and I drove out. And once I hit the road and crossed over the bridge, then I realized that well, if they try to take me back, I'm going to jump out of the car and run. That said, they’re not going to get me back into the desert. So then I realized that I must be free now.

RD: That was Stephen McGowan, who was held captive by al Qaeda for almost six years, speaking at a press conference today.

[Music: Cultural]

Kyle Miller

Guest: Kyle Miller

RD: Kyle Miller plays golf. He's been playing golf for around 20 years. And today, the Canadian golfer is playing in the ATB Financial Classic Tournament in his hometown of Calgary. Now, that's exciting on its own, of course, but it's not remarkable for a golfer to golf. What is remarkable though is that Mr. Miller has just become the first player with cerebral palsy ever to compete in a tournament sanctioned by the PGA Tour. And we reached Kyle Miller earlier today, before he teed off.

RB: Kyle, how are you feeling about today?

KYLE MILLER: Yeah, everything is good. I'm looking forward to today.

RB: Are you nervous at all?

KM: Yeah, maybe a little bit. But everything's in a good place and I'm looking forward to it.

RB: It's taken you a long time to get here. You've been rejected from other events. Why is this one different? What happened here?

KM: You know I think over the last few years, I've put in quite a bit of work to you know really appreciate how to get to this level. And, ultimately, persistence and resilience would be the biggest reason I got here.

RB: You had a sponsor's exemption too. I wouldn't imagine like I can get one of those, you still have to know what you're doing, right?

KM: Yeah, yeah, very much so. I mean these are players that you know playing golf for a living and I mean I am a golf professional just like any of the other 155 players in the field.

RB: Yeah. No you're top of the game. But you do have cerebral palsy, so tell me how that is physically different? How does it make playing golf physically different than it would for some of your competitors?

KM: Probably my self-awareness is higher than most golfers or most individuals. I think the biggest thing that you know I keep working on is to keep my left side active and you keep blood moving through my body there on that side so I can move. But yeah, I mean, ultimately, at this point in the game, I’ve played so much golf I very much have the same process to any other professional. I just apply what I need to do for my left side.

RB: Because the left side is the one that is weaker or numb or what? How would you describe it?

KM: Yeah, a little bit of both.

RB: A little bit of both. So does that make your swing different? I mean it wouldn't be different for you. But if I was looking at you on the screen, what would the swing look like?

KM: A tough grip. You know that's probably the biggest thing is a really strong left hand grip because of my cerebral palsy. That's probably the two big pieces I mean. But as far as position wise, I mean it's relatively similar. You know it's a relatively stable golf swing for what I have to work with.

RB: You've had lots of surgeries over the years. Was there ever a moment where you thought well, I'm going through all of this, I'm not going to struggle to be a professional golfer too?

KM: Yeah, you know I mean no. I have never even really thought of anything not working out or anything changing to that matter. I always knew things are going to work out. I mean I'm probably the only person that did know that though, you know?

RB: why?

KM: Oh, because I knew that I had so much passion for it. I mean to help people believe in themselves. The whole reason I've done anything with golf is you know help people realize where the head space comes from as far as you know just believing in themselves.

RB: You said you said people didn't always believe in you the way you believe in yourself. What do you mean by that?

KM: You know when people look at the odds of me making it to this level or you know achieving my goals, they would more so look at all of the things that I had to hurdle with. Whereas I just looked at that the end goal is constantly going to happen. And I mean it's never changed. I think that's the biggest thing. My goals and aspirations haven't changed since I was like six or seven years old. I mean most people go through life and it all has to change for them.

RB: You wanted to play golf when you were six or seven?

KM: Yeah.

RB: Why did you want to play golf?

KM: Well, I think the fact of golf being addicting to me is because trying other sports where there is a teammates with my disability I didn't have as much support typically. Whereas golf, I had to earn everything I was going to get. Nobody was ever going to hand it out to me. And I knew that if I was able to obtain success in golf, no matter what people thought of me, they couldn't take it away. I mean nobody can take away this week. Doesn't matter what they thought about me my whole life or career.

RB: You have said your family wasn't very supportive?

KM: Yeah, I mean I think you know my birth mother and you know they just didn't appreciate it to the full extent. I mean I'm very fortunate. You know I had a mom in Calgary and a dad in Calgary that was you know very good to me and has been good to me through my life and into my adulthood. I think that the ups and downs through my childhood probably helped me in the long run.

RB: Yeah, I mean you sound… I think you said off the top you are resilient. You sound resilient.

KM: Yeah, I'm one of the wealthiest men in the world as far as resilience bank goes. And I think that's a big asset to have. I mean eventually, ultimately, you know I'm a firm believer that if you're going to chase your passion and your dreams hard enough that I mean the rest of this success of logistics or any of that stuff is just a piece of the puzzle. If I look at it, I've just been creating wealth and resilience. So I mean that's a big asset to have. Not a lot of people have even a bank account started in that aspect.

RB: Do you think you're going to make the cut and get to the next round? What are your chances?

KM: I mean if I play golf and I handle myself properly, I think that there's also take care of themselves. I'm going to have to get a lot out of you know what my golf game has to offer. But in the same breath, I am playing well and you know I have a player that I coach that’s caddying for me, so I think that it's going to be a good blend as far as to help me through that aspect. I'm fairly confident in my abilities.

RB: What do you hit? What's your score?

KM: You know around par.

RB: So that's pretty good.

KM: Yeah, most definitely. I’ve played quite a bit of golf this year. You know I've played probably like 75-76 around somewhere in there.

RB: Wow.

KM: So yeah, I mean the activity level I would call it as far as playing golf wise has been pretty high this year, which is solid, which helps everything.

RB: And you’re going to have a good time.

KM: Yeah, of course, I mean like 25 degrees out, how can I not?

RB: And it's your favorite thing in the world.

KM: Yeah, exactly.

RB: OK, well good luck.

KM: Yes. Thank you. Have a good day and thank you for having me.

RB: Well, thanks for talking to us. I appreciate it, Kyle. Nice to meet you.

KM: Yes. Take care.

RB: Bye Bye.

KM: Bye bye.

RD: That was Canadian golfer Kyle Miller, speaking earlier today before he started playing in the ATB Financial Classic. We reached him in Calgary.

[Music: Instrumental]

Haruo Nakajima obit

RD: From 1954 to 1972, Haruo Nakajima was the hottest star in the world. At times, upwards of 60 degrees Celsius, which is 130 Fahrenheit. He was so hot that he once said he could fill a bucket half-full by wringing out his shirt after spending time in his costume. Now, that costume apparently weighed 100 kilograms — that's 220 pounds. It was made out of the same kind of rubber they used in car tires, fortified with concrete. And somehow, Mr. Nakajima transformed that unbelievably, heavy unbelievably hot suit into a character… an angry, hungry, vengeful monster hell-bent on destroying Tokyo.

SOUNDCLIP

ANOUCER: Godzilla, King of the Monsters. Alive, surging up from the depths sea on a tidal wave of terror to wreak vengeance on mankind.

SCIENTIST: Godzilla, King of the Monsters, it’s alive!

ANOUNCER: A gigantic beast, dotting the earth, crushing all before it. In its iconic cavalcade of electrifying horror!

RD: Haruo Nakajima, who played Godzilla from inside a rubber suit in the first 12 Godzilla movies, died Monday. He was 88-years-old. Now, it would have been easy for Mr. Nakajima to complain about his life. I mean, after all, he was the central character in a bunch of global blockbusters, but no one ever saw his face. Plus, as I mentioned, every moment inside the suit was horrible. He was extremely proud of his work as Godzilla, and the former stunt man took the job seriously. When he was cast, he went to the zoo to study the movements of elephants, gorillas and even bears. And he attempted to replicate them inside that 100-kilo suit while wearing clunky wooden sandals, which was not easy. He told an interviewer, quote, “It was a very solitary feeling inside that suit. My thoughts were just focused on the next movement to make. It was pointless to think about anything else since the whole job came down to playing the part without toppling over from the weight.” Unquote. But he never complained. Not while shooting the first Godzilla movie or any of the next 11 because he knew all his hard work was worth it. Even after all the reboots, the different monsters and the advent of CGI, Haruo Nakajima knew he'd done something special. “I am the original, the real thing.” He once said. “My Godzilla was the best.”

[Music: Rock]

Lost snowboard

RD: When a Whistler man lost his brand-new snowboard in an avalanche six months ago, he had little hope of ever seeing it again. I mean it was an avalanche, right? But the semi-pro snowboarder, Brian Goodwin, posted a note in desperation anyway, describing his board and asking others in the area to keep an eye out. Vancouver's Louise Pick was one of the many people who saw the note. Not that she expected to see Mr. Goodwin’s board, and then — as she told CBC Vancouver — she went on a hike this past long weekend.

SOUNDCLIP

LOUISE PICK: So he left this note and someone had written right next to it: She's swimming now, bro. Like as if what are the chances anyone is going to find your snowboard, you know? And we weren't we weren't looking for it, it was just like you know you read the note, it’s in the back of your head and we were walking back and I was like oh, my God! It’s the snowboard. And I just got in the water and I got on my hands and knees and fished the board out of water. It was covered in rust, but the base is still perfect. There wasn't any like integral damage that we could see. And we’re like we got to take this thing for a ride, like test it out and make sure it's still in good shape. So we kind of wiped down the rest of the edges and took it for a couple of runs. It was really fun, I definitely took some good nails. But mostly lots of laughs. We we're so stoked on it, you know? Any time you can help people out like is awesome. He just said you're amazing and thanks so much and he's just happy that we found him and we made the effort to get back to him. It’s like a fairly decent hike to get to that area, so we debated what we were going to? But we stashed it in a really safe place out of the elements and he knows where it is. I don't want to say where it is, but we told him where it is. And I told him it's a beautiful place to hike in the summer. We had a fantastic weekend. So I said you should just hike up there yourself and go get it.

RD: Reunited! That's Vancouver's Louise Pick, who came across Brian Goodwin's lost snowboard while on a hike over the long weekend. Mr. Goodwin is apparently stoked to have his board back. He plans to ask Ms. Pick out for a beer.

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August 10, 2017 episode transcript

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