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The AIH Transcript for November 27, 2018

Hosts: Susan Bonner and Jeff Douglas

Prologue

SUSAN BONNER: Hello I'm Susan Bonner, sitting in for Carol Off.

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

[Music: Theme]

JD: Tonight...

SB: After being grounded for so long, he finally feels grounded. After seven months stuck in a Malaysian airport, unable to fly out, Hassan Al Kontar has finally landed in Canada.

JD: Should oil acquaintance be forgot. With oil sands crude selling at deep discounts on the world market a Calgary CEO says he's shutting down his Canadian branches and moving those jobs south.

SB: He made his bet -- then lied in it. Paul Manafort is accused of lying repeatedly to authorities violating a plea deal he signed and now the deal and the gloves are off.

JD: Question Mark. That was the plan, anyway -- but when a Canadian MP flew to London as part of a multinational effort to interrogate Mark Zuckerberg the Facebook CEO failed to show.

SB: Big fish and a lot of small pawns. Every game in the World Chess Championship has ended in a draw which for the two best players on Earth means the start of a whole new checkmating dance.

JD: And... saved by the belsnickeler. Amid widespread confusion one listener has the photos to prove it was once a festive tradition in part of Nova Scotia to go door-to-door freaking out your neighbours with creepy masks. As It Happens. The Tuesday edition. Radio that guesses people really did enjoy some old fashioned Christmas stalking.

[Music: Theme]

Part 1: After months in an airport, then detention, Syrian refugee begins 'dream life' in Canada

Hassan Al Kontar

Guest: Hassan Al Kontar

JD: The last time we spoke with Hassan Al Kontar he was living in the Kuala Lumpur Airport. The Syrian man was stuck there. Malaysian authorities said his visa was expired. He had tried to go to Ecuador but was not allowed on the flight. And so in the airport he remained for seven months and then last month he was arrested by Malaysian authorities. The Canadians who were trying to bring him here feared he would be to deported to Syria. Here's what Laurie Cooper told As It Happens at the time.

SOUNDCLIP

LAURIE COOPER: He could die. It's very real. It is so outside of our daily existence you know. I'm a Canadian mom -- never thought that I would be in a position where I'm fighting for someone's life. I'm just begging the Canadian government to step in.

JD: Well last night Hassan Al Kontar landed in Vancouver. He is staying with Laurie Cooper -- the volunteer who has helped him for months in Whistler, and that is where we reached him.

SB: Hassan, welcome to Canada.

HASSAN AL KONTAR: Thank you very much.

SB: How are you doing here? How's the first hours in this country?

HK: Overwhelming. And for the first time I realized that sometimes that real life is more beautiful than the dream itself. I miss the feeling of being safe and legal and it all come back to me now and it's overwhelming and it's a very nice feeling actually.

SB: When that plane that brought you here, last night arrived in Vancouver, what was going through your mind?

HK: I could not believe it for a second. It was a very difficult journey for the last eight years and with the help of the group of volunteers -- Ms. Laurie Cooper and Mr. Andrew, the lawyer, they made it. And I felt that I can relax now -- to be free, to walk in the roads every morning, and to just have some fresh air -- it's things I was missing the most. And since yesterday I did not sleep yet and I just went outside like ten times.

SB: You were living in that airport for seven months. For the last two months you've been held in detention. Did you have any sense after being taken from that airport, put into detention, of what was in store for you?

HK: In the detention it was difficult because I was in dark -- no one was telling me anything but I got the feeling that the people I relied on Canada they are absolutely doing whatever they can. But thoughts will come to you because you had nothing to do but thinking and you need to think of the worst but deep inside I knew that I would make it.

SB: How were you treated in detention?

HK: In general it's the most difficult hard punishment you would give someone just to put them in a room. And [exhales] it's hard. And I'm trying just to keep positive --not to think of it too much because it was not only my story -- you will come to know other people, powerless people, from other countries and you will know that you are not the only person who is suffering. And somehow you will realise that you are lucky. I am lucky to have a group of supporters and volunteers because my problem will be solved but their problems will be more difficult.

SB: Those supporters and volunteers were worried that you might be deported back to Syria. What were you thinking about that?

HK: They were more worried than me because they were aware of what's going on. I was not aware that much. I knew that there was some threat of deporting me but I knew that they were doing their best to bring me here so I did not thought of that much.

SB: Where does your optimism come from Hassan? After everything you've been through, how did you maintain that optimism?

HK: It's a hard question because it's something you feel but you cannot find the words to explain it. I think -- believe in what you are doing as a human. I was asking for my minimum human rights to be legal and safe. That was what I was asking for. So I believed in what I'm doing. And for the first time I become in love with what I am doing -- just trying to explain the refugee crisis all over the world, not only my situation. So the harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.

SB: When you were in the airport for all those months you were documenting your life on social media. You did it with such humour. You showed the world your knitting projects. We saw you cutting your own hair in the bathroom. We saw you dancing to Drake in the airport corridor. But there was also sadness and frustration in those posts. Why did you want to share all of that?

HK: People they have their own life and they all have their own problems. So I did not want to be an additional worry or additional sad story. I was trying to explain, not to complain. So people will get to understand what's going on really with refugees and with the international law and international system in general and how it failed us. There was a lot of sad moments but I was trying not to show it.

SB: Can you briefly tell us what was going on? How is it that you were stranded in an airport for all of those months?

HK: It's a story with two faces. Both will lead you to the same conclusion that personal face and the general one. I'm holding a piece of document says that I am a Syrian -- and for that the international law and community was judging me and other Syrians not because of our own crimes and mistakes. I was working in UAE from 2006 until I lost my work permit after the Syrian war started. So in 2017 they deport me to Malaysia -- again I could not have a work permit in Malaysia. I was trying to go to Ecuador -- Turkish Airlines and didn't allow me to board. Then I tried to go to Cambodia. Cambodia sent me back to Malaysia and I could not enter Malaysia again. And there was literally no other country accept me without visa. So I got stuck there.

SB: This whole time there was a Canadian woman, Laurie Cooper, who was trying to help you. In April you told As It Happens that Laurie Cooper made you believe in humanity again so I'm wondering what it was like when you finally met her in person last night?

HK: When people speak about hope they speak about feelings but they never had a photo for it. Now when I speak about hope I get a photo of Laurie in my mind. So she become, with other volunteers and the lawyer, the face of hope. She is an incredible woman.

SB: You're living with her now.

HK: Yes. And we have had our first cup of coffee this morning and we both can't believe that we finally met and sitting together. So things are still a little bit crazy. I could not sleep. Secretly I blamed here for that because it was a very warm and comfortable and clean bed. I need to get used to that again because the last nine months I was sleeping on the floor. So I blame the bed she prepared for me. She's my Canadian mother and I truly feel that.

SB: What are the first things that you're going to do in this new life?

HK: I need to walk a lot on the streets. I'm also exciting to start quickly in my new life and to show the Canadian people that I can pay them back by respect their traditions and way, methods, of life and to learn about your history and become a good member in this society and to show them they did the right choice. That's what my target now and I cannot wait to start working on that.

SB: You have a job offer?

HK: Yes it's an amazing. There was a period of my time where I was illegal, not safe, hiding with no work, with no financial support, and now I am safe, legal, and I have the job. So it is all what I was asking for and now I get the better package -- I have it all.

SB: Well Hassan a lot of people wish you the best of luck and thank you for sharing your incredible story with us.

HK: Thank you very much for your time. Thank you.

SB: Good bye.

HK: Bye bye.

JD: We reached Hassan Al Kontar in Whistler. For more on the story including our original conversation with Hassan back in April of this year go to our website cbc.ca/aih.

[Music]

Jerry Dias

JD: Union chief Jerry Dias says there is still a chance to change GM's mind about closing its plant in Oshawa. But doing that might take more stick than carrot. Mr. Dias spoke to reporters today after a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. And here is part of what he had to say.

SOUNDCLIP

JERRY DIAS: The argument today of the Prime Minister is this is not a time for us to believe that there is no options, because there is all kinds of options. I mean ultimately GM has to make a change of decision. A change of tact. The Prime Minister has spoken to the President of the United States -- and we are encouraging for Canada and the United States to get into one room to figure out how we're going to tackle the elephant in the room which is the low labour standards in Mexico. They have chosen, as they have historically, to ensure that they will build cars in Mexico to exploit their own employees. So we talked today about getting General Motors attention -- if I had it my way we would have mass actions in the GM assembly plants on both sides of the border. We have also said to the Prime Minister of what issues should raised with the President of the United States -- that if in fact GM does not modify their position then we should look at significant tariffs on export to GM vehicles from Mexico in order to get their attention. Because it's clear that General Motors would prefer to build cars in Mexico and ship them to United States and Canada than maintain a strong footprint in the United States and Canada.

JD: That was Unifor President Jerry Dias speaking to reporters today about the closure of the GM assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario.

[Music]

Manafort 'lies'

Guest: Mimi Rocah

JD: The deal for Paul Manafort is off the table. That is what U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is arguing this week -- accusing President Donald Trump's former campaign manager of lying repeatedly to federal prosecutors. In September of course Mr. Manafort signed a plea agreement and in that he agreed to cooperate with Mr. Mueller and pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges related to money he earned from consulting work on behalf of pro-Russia politicians in Ukraine. That plea deal was seen as a potential boon for Mr. Mueller who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election as well as possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. Well now that arrangement appears to have collapsed. Mimi Rocah is a former federal prosecutor. We reached her in New York City.

SB: Ms. Rocah just a couple of months ago Paul Manafort reached the best possible deal he could with Bob Mueller. Why would Mr. Manafort risk losing the only lifeline he had?

MIMI ROCAH: Well it's hard to know why people blow up these kind of deals but in my experience there's couple of different possibilities. The one here that I don't think is present in most cases is that he's hoping for some kind of pardon from the president and he thinks that by breaking out of this now maybe he's showing the president that you know he's not going to incriminate anybody assuming there are people he can incriminate that the president might care about. The second and this is something I saw pretty commonly as a prosecutor is that people who cooperate they're willing to come clean about everything. They understand -- come to terms with the fact that the government has more evidence on them than they thought they did. And so they are truthful. Some people however, and this is true more commonly I would say with people who commit fraud crimes which Manafort has done for most of his life, they still think that they can hold back on some things. 'If I tell the government most of what I did but not everything I can get away with it. I can explain it away.' That may be what's going on here and maybe he thinks he can get away with it still.

SB: Mr. Mueller's team uses some pretty tough language. It accuses Mr. Manafort of "crimes and lies in direct breach of the plea deal." Can you tell us how big these crimes and lies would have to be before the deal would be breached?

MR: The government doesn't help tear up a cooperation agreement just because someone makes mistakes or forgets things. The government does that when someone deliberately lies and usually about something pretty material to the investigation or more than one thing. And here you know they did use the plural so it sounds like more than one thing. I don't think Mueller and his team would accuse Manafort of this or go to this step if they couldn't really prove pretty definitively that these were lies because they will have to justify that likely to a court.

SB: So when Mr. Manafort's lawyers argue that he believes he's provided truthful information. How would you assess how the court will look on that?

MR: First of all you know this is not a subjective thing where one believes or doesn't believe. I mean if the government is saying he lied -- they likely have definitive proof of that, and Manafort's belief is irrelevant. And also what's interesting in that phrasing is it could be that he provided some truthful useful information. But it also could be that he hadn't in other areas and is holding back or lying about other things.

SB: With the plea deal off what is Paul Manafort facing now?

MR: He's facing decades in prison now whereas under the plea agreement the government [inaudible] agreed to ask for the sentences in the two cases to run concurrent -- meaning run at the same time. They're now under no obligation to do that. And he's possibly looking at additional time for crimes of lying, or at a minimum, the judge asking for some kind of enhancement to his sentence because of the lies.

SB: You mentioned the possibility that Mr. Manafort may be hoping for a presidential pardon. Would a presidential pardon get him off the hook?

MR: Not completely. There still are state crimes that he is implicated in and the assets that have been seized or forfeited from him, from the federal government, he would not get those back in any way.

SB: What about for Mr. Mueller is this a blow to his efforts? This was supposed to be a key witness -- a key collaborator. Has this hurt his investigation?

MR: There's no question that it's not a good thing for Mueller and his team in the sense that I don't think they would have taken the time and the effort and the energy to sign Manafort up as cooperator if they didn't want him as a cooperator. But we just don't know right now -- extent of Mueller's other evidence pertaining to whatever crimes Manafort was going to be helpful in providing information about. But again my sense is that Mueller's information and evidence independent of Manafort is better than anyone understands at this point because that is what is allowing them to definitively say Manafort lied. And for them to say it in such a strong way that they have -- so the government likes to have cooperators because it's nice to have a narrator, it's nice to have someone on the inside to explain things and tell the story, but that doesn't mean that there isn't evidence independent of that cooperator.

SB: I want to ask you about a report today in the Guardian newspaper -- CBC has not corroborated this independently. But the Guardian is reporting that Paul Manafort met with WikiLeaks' Julian Assange several times over the years. One of those meetings was in 2016 just before WikiLeaks published a trove of hacked documents from the DNC -- the Democratic National Committee. It was also around the time that Mr. Manafort joined the Trump campaign. Now Manafort has always denied having anything to do with that leak. How significant is this report?

MR: It's potentially very significant. If it's true, it's one of the first direct communications between someone in the Trump campaign and you know WikiLeaks which we now know through Mueller's other charges and filings was a direct conduit for the distribution of the hacked emails. So it sure sounds like something that is more than just a coincidence. And this obviously would be something that I'm sure the government would have wanted Manafort to be able to explain. But again just because he's not doing the explaining or not doing it truthfully doesn't mean they don't have other evidence to connect those dots. But I think we will learn. We know we'll learn more about it at a minimum through the sentencing of Manafort. My sense is that Mueller is going to want these facts to become public.

SB: Ms. Rocah thank you for your insight and your time today.

MR: Thank you.

SB: Good bye.

MR: Bye.

JD: Mimi Rocah is a former federal prosecutor. We reached her in New York City. And we have more on this story on our website cbc.ca/aih.

[Music]

Belsnickel memory

Guest: Anna Ritcey

JD: Last week we told you about the merry Nova Scotian tradition of Belsnickeling. We had to tell you about it -- as in inform you of its existence because despite its supposed status as a time honored tradition very few Nova Scotian, myself included, seem to have ever heard of it -- but Anna Ritcey has. She even has photographic evidence of Nova Scotian belsnickeling dating back to 1976 when she lived in Riverport. We reached Ms. Ritcey in Quebec City.

SB: Anna this program has cast aspersions on the popularity of belsnickeling in Nova Scotia, but you've seen it with your own eyes. Is that right?

ANNA RITCEY: That's right yes. I was listening to your podcast and I was quite shaken by your questioning of whether belsnickeling was really a true Nova Scotia tradition.

SB: You were shaken?

AR: I was in bed and I almost had to get up right away and look for the photographic evidence. But I did resist the temptation and waited till the next day.

SB: What was it that shook you so much? Why did you feel the need to defend this tradition?

AR: Well I guess [chuckles] what shook me was that how could it be that everybody didn't know about this, when I did. I guess the last time that my parents went belsnickeling, from the photo I found, was around 1976 -- but still I just thought everybody knew about it and when I heard you saying that maybe it didn't ever exist in Nova Scotia and this was either some mistake or something dreamed up on the internet -- I just thought how can it be? How can it be that people don't know about this?

SB: Tell me your memories of this tradition.

AR: Well my memories of the tradition was actually thinking my parents looked absolutely silly dressed up but it was just part of Christmas. I mean I grew up in a relatively small village where everybody knows everybody and so Christmas you go door-to-door to visit people and so this was just part of the tradition. You dress up, so people have to guess who you are. But the real idea is to just have a drink with some friends. But yeah it was just part of the tradition. I knew it was an older tradition -- when I was growing up not everybody did it, a few people did it. But it had been more prevalent before in generations before that.

SB: Okay. So you provided us with the proof -- you dug up the photo. Now it's interesting that you say it's just about visiting, going door-to-door, and you get a drink. I've seen this photo... it's a little bit more than that.

AR: I sent the picture to my brother to see if he remembered and he said that it was going to keep him from sleeping but...

SB: [Laughs] Okay so it's not just me.

AR: No no. I guess I didn't think of it as being spooky but I guess if you take it, yeah. I know who's behind the mask so I guess that's why I wasn't so taken aback. Maybe it was just that my parents weren't that all artistic in getting their disguise done up.

SB: Can you describe this photograph for us?

AR: Well this photograph -- first, it looks older than it is because it's black and white but that was because I was in photo club and I was developing and printing my own pictures. So I thought they were wearing pillowcases but it may be that they are scallop bags over their head with eyes cut out and...

SB: Scallop bags?

AR: Scallop bags -- so these are cotton bags that were used for scallops from the scalloped fishing industry. The village I come from was very active in scallop fishing at the time. And I think traditionally a belsnickel does wear fur so my mother is the one wearing the fur coat. And the others have coats. One of the friends of my parents just looks like wearing an old pair of pajamas over warm clothes. I don't know if there was any real dress code to belsnickeling or not.

SB: But you say you believe that there was fur involved.

AR: I think there was fur. I think traditionally if you look at what a belsnickel was -- which is a German mystical kind of creature. I think they were clad in fur.

SB: And we talk about the photo -- you took the photo?

AR: I took the photo. I was really interested in photography. I still am actually. So I was always taking pictures around the home. And this was certainly picture worthy. My parents didn't go necessarily every year so it was kind of an exceptional thing to see my parents dressed up like this.

SB: So you were capturing a rare moment in your family?

AR: Apparently rarer than I thought. See I thought that this was going on everywhere until I heard that Nova Scotians themselves were contesting whether this was a tradition. So that's what I guess surprised me the most that it was even questionable whether belsnickeling really had existed.

SB: When you found the photo and you sent it to your brother. What were his memories?

AR: Well he says, he's two years older than I am, and he remembered -- I said was that the only time they went? And he said no no no -- our parents went belsnickeling more often than that. And I didn't remember other people coming to our house. But he said that other people had come to our house. But I was younger so maybe I wasn't up for that.

SB: They put the young ones to bed. [Laughs]

AR: That's right. So he didn't know I had the picture and he says [chuckles] when he saw the picture he said it kind of was a little scary for him. [Laughs]

SB: Why do you think this tradition died out?

AR: Oh I think it might be possibly because now people have other things to do --television and other things to do. Maybe that neighbours don't know each other that well because that was part of it that you just drop in unannounced to people that maybe you don't do that so much.

SB: What do you think the chances are of a revival of this tradition? Are you interested?

AR: [Laughs] Oh no -- I live in Quebec City now so I guess I might get arrested if I try it here. I don't know -- it might get revived but I don't know you have to see what the younger generation are into these days. Maybe they're not going to really go for it.

SB: Well the picture's quite something. Thank you for sending it. Thanks for being in touch.

AR: No problem. I really enjoy your show so when I heard something about Nova Scotia something -- I knew something about it. Really piqued my interest.

SB: Thanks Anna.

AR: Okay no problem.

SB: Good bye.

AR: Bye bye.

JD: We reached Anna Ritcey in Quebec City and to see the photograph of her parents belsnickeling in the 70s you can go to our website cbc.ca/aih.

[Music]

Part 2: C.E.O. of Calgary's Total Energy Services says he's shutting down his Canadian branches, and moving those jobs south

Alberta oil: C.E.O.

Guest: Dan Halyk

JD: GM may be all over the news these days. But the carmaker is not the only company reconsidering the future of its business in Canada. In Calgary, Total Energy Services is closing five of its Canadian branches. The oilfield services firm blames a poor outlook for the Canadian industry brought on by oversupply and a lack of pipelines to get the stuff to market. Meanwhile the company is making fresh investments in the United States. Dan Halyk is the CEO of Total Energy Services. We reached Mr. Halyk in Calgary.

SB: Mr. Halyk when a company like yours starts closing branches what does that say about the state of the oil industry in this country?

DAN HALYK: Well I think it tells you there's deep fundamental problems. We've been around 22 years. We pride ourselves on not being quitters but at some point the various factors and headwinds are overwhelming.

SB: You say that you're not quitters but there will be people who are saying you're bailing out at a tough time.

DH: Well it's either closed five branches or close them all.

SB: It's that bad?

DH: It's that bad.

SB: When you start closing branches, what does that mean for the employees who actually do a lot of the work getting Alberta crude out of the ground?

DH: So in the most extreme case it means you lose a job and you're looking for work. In many cases we are relocating employees to the United States and in some cases Australia. And these are one way relocations and these are highly skilled typically more management positions that are leaving this country not just from our business but from the entire industry. And it is happening at an increasing and alarming rate and these people are relocating families. And chances are when you take root in another country you're probably not going to come back. You know and there's all the collateral damage Susan. You know every rig employs directly roughly 25 to 30 people. You know where did those people buy their trucks? Where does our company buy our trucks? Where do we buy our pipe? Where do I buy our accessories? Where do they stay? Where do they eat? Where did their kids go to school? You know it has a very widespread impact. And you know there's estimates that north of 100,000 private sector jobs have been lost in Alberta. I don't think anyone really knows the true number. And it's not just Alberta - it's B.C., northeast B.C., Saskatchewan. These smaller communities including Calgary are being devastated.

SB: You are a businessman and you've made that clear. But you're also a Canadian. What's it like for you to be moving those jobs south?

DH: As a Canadian first and foremost it makes me sick to see what's happening. Not just with our company -- but in essence Susan what we're witnessing today is a massive transfer of wealth from Canadians to U.S. refiners and U.S. energy consumers. We're also witnessing a massive transfer of wealth from Canadians to foreign oil and natural gas suppliers. We are selling our production in Canada at 30 cents on the dollar and we're just selling because we have one customer who will dictate the price as long as we have no options. Meanwhile eastern Canada is paying -- estimates are 50 to 70 million dollars Canadian every day more for imported foreign oil and natural gas. And both of that when you think about it is quite incredible and foolish. That's the Canadian citizen perspective. As a business person -- at the end of the day I need to go where the work is. And so for me to get on my soapbox and try and change hearts and minds in Canada you know that's a tall task it's not what I'm paid to do. I'm happy that the press like you are interested now but really at the end of the day my job is to put our equipment people to work. And so economic gravity prevails over time and what we're witnessing right now is a huge pull south and a huge pull internationally and unfortunately that pull is getting stronger and stronger every day.

SB: This is because of the structural issues. So how do you account for those? There's a glut and there's no way to move the product because of a lack of pipelines in this country.

DH: So first of all we foresaw rising production particularly in oil five years ago. But expectations were that reasonable rules which are in place for the construction and development of infrastructure pipelines are in place and I think every fair minded reasonable balanced person expected pipelines to get built. I don't think anyone would have foreseen the extreme difficulties we have in this country in constructing that infrastructure. And so industry invested in good faith on the premise that reasonableness would prevail. And that's certainly not what's happened and the end result is production particularly in the case of larger projects which take years to develop has now come on stream. What hasn't progressed is the construction of infrastructure and that's a huge problem and it's not a industry problem in the sense that industry was ready willing and able to invest and proceed. It's been the political side that has failed.

SB: Where is the political failure in your view?

DH: Well at the end of the day I think I'm commenting on the process -- and the process seems fixated on why we shouldn't as opposed to why we could and why is this good. And like I said it comes down to political leadership. I'm not going to point at one government, one politician, but I simply look at what other jurisdictions are doing. You know in Texas I was down there 3-4 weeks ago. You know they need pipelines, they build it. You know in Australia I was there this summer. They're building, they are drilling. And for some reason this country we have become paralyzed and so I don't think blaming any one person or politician or group is going to accomplish. I think as Canadians we have to make a decision, do we want to sell our resources for pennies on the dollar? If we do, don't construct infrastructure. If we don't, we need to build infrastructure.

SB: If the pipelines are not built and the U.S. shale boom continues to flood the market there, what kind of future do you see for provinces like Alberta and to some extent B.C. and Saskatchewan?

DH: Well first of all I think it's negative for Canada. On an annual basis Alberta contributes net 20 billion dollars of tax revenue to the federation. You know that's going to hurt other provinces. You know the energy sector is one of the largest if not the largest direct contributors to GDP. Ask the bankers. Ask the steel suppliers. The auto manufacturers. Who supply the trucks, the equipment, the steel, the pipe. This is a Canadian problem it's not an Alberta or Saskatchewan or B.C. problem.

SB: Mr. Halyk thank you very much.

DH: Thank you for your interest Susan.

SB: Bye bye.

DH: Bye now.

JD: Dan Halyk is the CEO of Total Energy Services. We reached Mr. Halyk in Calgary.

[Music]

Boris Johnson

JD: A new BBC series 'Inside The Foreign Office' takes the viewer inside one of the UK's busiest departments. And the latest episode really takes you behind the curtain. The episode follows Boris Johnson in Lisbon. And at the time of filming Mr. Johnson was still serving as the UK's Foreign Secretary. He is glad handing, smiling for the camera, putting on the charm offensive. And at one point he takes a quick break to film a promotional videos selling the UK's strong ties to Portugal. Now Mr. Johnson's office did eventually post a video to Twitter but the BBC captured the rough cut. The very rough cut. Here's a clip.

SOUNDCLIP

NARRATOR: Before meeting up with the economy minister -- the foreign secretary has to do a quick bit of filming his official Twitter feed.

BORIS JOHNSON: Okay yup. Hi folks Boris Johnson, foreign secretary -- I'm here in Lisbon, in Portugal to celebrate what is the oldest alliance and friendship in diplomatic history going back to 1386. Going forward through the Napoleonic Wars through to the Second World War. Well of course this was a place that was... [makes mistake and laughs] [Starts again] Hi folks I'm Boris Johnson. I'm the foreign secretary. I'm here in Lisbon. Portugal is our fourth biggest trading partner.

VOICE 1: [Correcting Mr. Johnson] We are Portugal's fourth largest. Portugal is not our fourth largest.

BORIS JOHNSON: [Bleep] Okay dokey. Hi folks Boris Johnson, I'm here in Lisbon. James Bond himself was said to have been born in Estoril and today...

VOICE 1: [Correcting Mr. Johnson] James Bond? See he wasn't born. No I know -- The idea James Bond was born...

BORIS JOHNSON: [Starts again] It is a great friendship. It's a great partnership. It's built on shared values and we are going to take...

NARRATOR: The tyranny of the Twitter feed is relentless.

BORIS JOHNSON: Hi folk Boris Johnson here I mean Paris which is of course our closest European... ah start again.

JD: Folks that was Boris Johnson, former UK foreign secretary, filming several takes for promotional videos in Lisbon and Paris. Those takes were captured by BBC camera people for a new television series called 'Inside the Foreign Office.'

[Music]

Chess tournament

Guest: Maurice Ashley

JD: If you think it's boring when a soccer game ends in a tie -- don't get into chess. At the ongoing World Chess Championship between American Fabiano Caruana and Norwegian Magnus Carlsen -- all 12 games have ended in draws. The last match was yesterday and it caused much consternation in the chess world. Most observers thought that Mr. Carlsen was clearly winning when he made the offer of a draw. The whole shebang is now going to be decided tomorrow in the final match between the two -- culminating in a series of tiebreakers and a game type known, not at all dramatically as Armageddon. Maurice Ashley is a chess grandmaster and play-by-play announcer. We reached him in St. Louis.

SB: Maurice Ashley before we begin. I want to play you a clip of how you reacted when Magnus Carlsen offered a draw at yesterday's match.

SOUNDCLIP

MAURICE ASHLEY: Appears to have agreed to a draw. What!?

SB: [Chuckles] Maurice that is you saying 'What!?' So what was going through your head at that moment?

MAURICE ASHLEY: Well I have to say the game was very exciting. Magnus had gotten a real advantage in the position. He also had a very big advantage on the clock. So when we heard that it had just been agreed on as a draw by the players we were all very stunned by it.

SB: I know that even Garry Kasparov called what Carlsen did here -- a shocking draw. Why was it such a shock? So unexpected?

MA: Imagine you're playing this one game for the world championship title and you get an advantage that is serious. And you could look at it and see that he was the one with all the fighting possibilities to make all the punches. His opponent was fully on the defensive. And when you have that kind of advantage where you can think as much as you want -- your opponent is just suffering and squirming and begging for some kind of relief. And suddenly you just give him the lifeline and say 'hey would you like a draw?' I mean that seems stunning. And although Carlsen knows that he has an advantage in the tiebreak, that it is going to be easier for him to play because he's so good at playing quicker chess, it just seems stunning that he would give away that kind of advantage.

SB: So as you say he's seen to be an expert at rapid chess, so could this have been a strategic move on his part to get there?

MA: It clearly is. I mean that's what he wanted. He just wanted to get to a rapid chess where it is only 25 minutes per side on the clock and he's incredibly instinctive. And Fabiano is not known to be good at that. He's more of a thinker. He needs to analyze the various possibilities -- take his time.

SB: So you don't buy the argument that he just lost his nerve?

MA: I think he lost his objectivity. You know whether or not that's related to nerve -- I don't know, but I think he came in with one set plan in mind and it was to draw the game -- not to lose, winning is irrelevant, just draw the game, walk out of there with an equal score so you could get to where he had an advantage. It's hard for me. I'm befuddled as everyone else that the greatest player of our generation could have a situation that normally he would spank whoever he was sitting across from and he decided to back down.

SB: [Laughs] I'd pay to see that chess game. Was it an honourable move do you think?

MA: It was a practical one. Total pragmatism on his part and I think it's a kind of chess that is a sign of the times. And you have a situation where a lot of players -- you look back in the past Kasparov or Kramnik or Tal -- the famous gladiators of the past who -- or Bobby Fischer especially you put a position in front of a guy like Fischer he wants to kill you no matter what. He doesn't care about any competitive situation. He would be way ahead of people and say 'I'm going to destroy you even more. I only need a draw to win -- but I want to win.' You know it makes it feel like chess has lost something -- a little bit of the shine. You can't just keep having draws in championships. It is not just this one, the last championship between Carlsen and Karjakin -- there were 10 draws out of 12 games. So to see 2 wins out of 24 games in the world championship that's really not satisfying for a fan.

SB: I was just about to ask you what it's been like for you to watch this world championship.

MA: You know I'm a commentator. I'm commenting on the event live so I have to make it fun for the fans along with my colleagues we we're trying to keep everyone engaged. There have been some exciting games but... we need wins. [Laughs] People want to see some wins. And it's very hard to every day keep convincing folks that yes this draw was really exciting and you should come back and watch tomorrow.

SB: Okay let's look ahead to tomorrow and all the excitement. I understand that it's going to be through a series of faster and faster games, this championship. And it ends in what's called an Armageddon. Can you decipher that for all of us?

MA: Well it may never get to that. So we start off with four rapid games -- it's 25 minutes on the clock for each side. Now let's say each side wins two games, or the way they've been going draw all four, then they then go to blitz. Blitz is five minutes on the clock for each side. Now that's super fast. You're playing solely on instinct and some calculation. It's a blur. You just got to play and play. Mistakes will get made there. But if they're tied again, they do that again five times. We'll be there forever watching these guys punch each other in the face or at least try to. And then if they finally -- like go through all of that which -- then we go to what's called Armageddon where White gets five minutes Black gets four minutes because White goes first -- White theoretically had an advantage and practically has an advantage in chess. But White must win the game. If it's a draw then Black wins the championship. That's the end. That's why it's Armageddon.

SB: You've got me. I'm hooked. I've so enjoyed our conversation. Thank you so much.

MA: Thank you.

JD: Maurice Ashley is a chess grandmaster we reached him in St. Louis.

Robert Craig Davis

[Music: James Bond theme]

JD: That music is probably how he felt -- like a one man combination of James Bond and Q with a fancy high tech cloaking device. But now Robert Craig Davis probably feels like this.

SOUNDCLIP

[James Bond theme played on Kazoo]

JD: Enough. This past summer a couple of drivers on the Dolphin Expressway toll road in Florida noticed something about the minivan in front of them. When it passed under the toll cameras its license plate was covered and then later it was uncovered. So they kept following the minivan and started taking video.

SOUNDCLIP

VOICE 1: See. See. See.

VOICE 2: Yes. Holy [Bleep]

VOICE 1: I knew I saw something going up.

JD: Yes. And what the couple were seeing was a black cover sliding down over the license plate as the van approached another set of toll cameras. And then after the cameras were safely behind, the cover would slide back up. They sent their video to Florida police. But it wasn't until ten days ago that an off duty officer actually witnessed the same thing himself and called his on duty colleagues who pulled Robert Craig Davis over and inside his van they found a remote controlled gizmo that operated the license cover. Now you might wonder why they hadn't already traced the license plate? Well they tried but the plate in the words of the Miami CBS affiliate "came back to an address where Davis did not live." So allegedly Mr. Davis didn't just cover his plate but also his tracks and his bases. According to the Florida police he is just one of many using this kind of technology to avoid paying tolls. And if you're caught there's an automatic fine plus you may have to pay all the tolls you got out of paying in one go. So it may feel brilliantly cloak and dagger to try to evade detection with a fancy plate hiding gadget, but slick as you think you are you are not James Bond. So someone is going to blow your undercover operation.

[Music]

Candace Derksen

JD: It was 1984. 13-year-old Candace Derksen was walking home from school and she disappeared. It would be more than six weeks before her body was found in a shed near her home. This week, 34 years after her death, a space called 'Candace House' had its grand opening in Winnipeg. It is described as a day refuge. A home with a kitchen, couches, blankets, books, and plants -- where victims and survivors of crime can spend time while they are going through the justice system. The courthouse is nearby. Wilma Derksen is Candace's mother and she spoke with CBC reporter Marianne Klowak at Candace House yesterday about the opening,.

SOUNDCLIP

VOICE 1: It's beauty. It's sorrow. It's remembering all of the grief that we went through. It's just also the -- I think I'm grieving the old friends that I had and families survivors of homicide where we were together in the beginning and we needed this place. We were in dark church basements meeting together and we shuffled around like refugees within the system. And this is such a place that just would have filled our needs so beautifully. Just...

VOICE 2: And now it's a reality.

VOICE 1: [Chuckles] I know. I can't believe it. I go around and just amazed. I think it's a miracle to me. It's a miracle that there's a place that exists like that, that was in my dreams. I didn't even know what my dream really looked like. So now I know and it's just overwhelming.

VOICE 2: Is there more coming after this or is this it?

VOICE 1: Well this itself is a pilot project that we don't know of whether it exists anywhere else in the world. And we've looked and I've looked and I've been keeping my eyes open because it is a unique, very unique, pilot project that you know very adapted to the needs and very carefully thought through -- years of thinking it through. Years of taking notes. 'Okay this is what victims need at this time and at this time and at this time.' And watching our own selves going through it. So I think it's only the first phase.

VOICE 2: Do you sense Candace's presence?

VOICE 1: Oh yeah. Yeah yeah. Oh yeah I do. It's always interesting to hear what other people feel. But yes very much. Candace loved people. And so the very first thing that we did as a board was to say we want to incorporate Candace's spirit because she had the right spirit. She could talk to anybody. She could love everybody. Even as a four year old and we'd move into a community and we didn't know anybody in the community -- she would take all the pots and pans out of the house, she would put them on the front step and she'd bang them. And I [laughs] had to running and I say, Candace what are you doing? And she'd say, wait mom. Then all the kids would come out. So at 4 years old she had that instinct and that unusual love for people.

JD: That was Wilma Derksen speaking with CBC Winnipeg's Marianna Klowak.

[Music]

Part 3: Canadian democracy at 'mercy' of Facebook manipulation, Tory MP warns during inquiry

Facebook: Bob Zimmer

Guest: Bob Zimmer

JD: Today elected representatives from nine countries gathered at the UK Parliament. They were there to question Mark Zuckerberg about the way his network is being used to undermine democracies around the world. Mr. Zuckerberg however didn't show. An empty chair was left out as a symbol of the Facebook CEO's absence. And one of Facebook's vice presidents, Richard Allan, took the questions instead. And here is Mr. Allan responding to the suggestion that he was deflecting criticism instead of assuming responsibility for his company's impact on our democratic institutions.

SOUNDCLIP

VOICE 1: I don't accept that characterization. Just to be clear we have told our investors, we've told the market, that we are making significant investments in infrastructure and people. We now have I think 30,000 people work on safety and security.

VOICE 2: We just saw 115 pages in the midterm elections in the U.S. that you still have to pull down. My question is how long did they have an influence on that election? It was pulled down two days before the election actually happened. There was two media reports of Cambridge Analytica, this is the group that is supposed to be banned that Facebook, still ran ads under that banner for two weeks and it wasn't caught by the 30 billion dollar quarterly company that's Facebook. How do you answer those questions? Without just another apology.

VOICE 1: We're making those investments. But I think again this goes to the heart of the problem. We now have I think a world leading security team who are finding and catching those people and taking them down. And if we tell you about it you say well how did they get on that? Well they get on that because they are cunning and clever and we need to stay ahead of them.

JD: That was Facebook VP Richard Allan responding to questions from Canadian Conservative MP Bob Zimmer this afternoon in the UK Parliament. We reached Bob Zimmer in London earlier today.

SB: Mr. Zimmer how satisfied are you with the responses that you and your fellow elected representatives got from Facebook?

BOB ZIMMER: Yeah not very. You know I was impressed that Mr. Allan actually showed up today. It's a lot more that Mr. Zuckerberg chose to do, so I appreciate his taking it on the chin for the team -- for the Facebook team. But I think the amount of questions he wasn't able to answer that only people like Mark Zuckerberg and Ms. Sandberg can answer just again confirmed that Mr. Zuckerberg should have been in that chair.

SB: Well let me ask you about that. Why are you so disappointed that Mark Zuckerberg did not show up? He's a busy man. You don't have the power to subpoena him in that committee. Why so disappointed? He sent his vice president.

BZ: I guess for -- you know when Damian and I originally signed our original request, this is after we've already asked them in our particular countries before this, so we thought collectively we're going to represent almost 100 million people that that would be enough to have him sit in a chair for a couple of hours. And now today when we represent over 400 million people as elected officials again it's not just us sitting in that room -- we represent the populations of our communities in our countries. And if it's not important for him enough to just sit there and answer some basic questions for us I don't know what is.

SB: Mr. Allan told you that he agreed that it didn't look great that Mr. Zuckerberg did not show up. Do you think Facebook is rethinking its strategy?

BZ: I don't know. I think from the New York Times article 'the denied the deflect' article that I was referring to in my testimony. It seems to be a culture within the company as to just -- a Canadian term rag the puck long enough so people get tired and they just continue to do what they've always done without changing much. So it seems to be the corporate attitude that's what they seem to want to do. Combined with an attitude as Mark Zuckerberg said when we talked about -- again my biggest concern is the fact that democracies around the globe to have him say -- look we don't really think or I don't really think we've had that big of an effect. Mr. Allan actually affirming that today by saying well you know there's a whole bunch of other actors that are much more influential than just our platform. I don't think they really get it.

SB: What are you worried about that might still be out there for us to find out about Facebook?

BZ: Well there are some documents in the UK that we're privy to that I can't speak to right now just about one of their apps that was allowed on their platform. And again it's just more and more evidence that's really being stacked up against Facebook and its practices.

SB: Have you seen the documents?

BZ: I have.

SB: How concerned should people be based on what you've seen in the documents?

BZ: Based on all of the testimony, based on everything that we've heard, I think people have to be concerned in a few ways -- I guess personal data being one. Maybe it's a new reality that we're accepting is that they have access to our data -- but the manipulation of people and democracies around the world and the susceptibility to being manipulated it is the concern -- because we even in Canada we are susceptible to it, the Americans were susceptible to it in the midterms just a month ago. So that's my big concern is that we're still -- it hasn't been fixed. We're still at its mercy.

SB: How vulnerable do you think Canada is to the kind of electoral manipulation that we've seen evidence of in the last two U.S. elections and the allegations about the Brexit campaign -- how vulnerable is Canada?

BZ: Well I use the example of Bob Zimmer and that's me. In northern riding if somebody around the globe doesn't like a particular policy, and the example I use may be a pro-resource policy, and if you're the Americans who are our biggest competitor or maybe Russia or whatever and they can individually target MPs like myself. Run ads that look like they're from my next door neighbour in Dawson Creek. It looks like somebody that's legitimate but really the Azerbaijan paid for either in the U.S. or Russia. And that still can happen today. And they have the ability to do it on a massive scale and I think with algorithms it is not just you know the odd little ad -- they can dump millions of dollars into political campaigns, in Canada specifically, to have a certain result spit out the other end of October 21st. So I think we have a lot of work to do in Canada just in what kind of rules and regulations we need to have to really curb this because again it was said by Ms. Denham, information commissioner for Britain, is that the time for self-policing is over. So now it's up to us.

SB: Do you think Mr. Zimmer that lawmakers dropped the ball on this and let it get too far out of control before you turned your attention to it?

BZ: Yeah I think so. I think we didn't fully understand. You know I was elected in 2011. I don't think we fully understood the ability of them to weaponize, and that's the term that I have used and many others. I don't think we fully understood the ability and the scale at which they could weaponize the platform. I made the comment today again if there was only good people in the world we wouldn't be having this conversation. But the fact of the matter is there's bad people in the world that will misuse a platform like Facebook for their ends.

SB: Charlie Angus your colleague in Parliament thinks that Facebook should be dismantled -- that's the solution. Do you agree?

BZ: Well I think he didn't specifically -- what Charlie is talking to it's not necessarily dismantle. What he's saying is the anti-trust should -- a provisions should not allow them to keep building the monopoly that Facebook like adding Instagram to their portfolio and then all these other so because there isn't many options for the regular citizen that Facebook isn't a place they feel safe -- the next platform they may pick is also ran and operated by Facebook. So that's what Charlie was getting at is that they're getting so big that there is no alternatives for people anymore. And that's a concern.

SB: Mr. Zimmer thank you for your time today.

BZ: Thank you. Have a good night. Thanks for the privilege.

SB: Thanks bye bye.

BZ: Bye.

JD: Bob Zimmer is a Canadian Conservative MP. We reached him on the streets of London town earlier today. And for more on this story go to our website cbc.ca/aih or you can look for it on our... Facebook feed.

[Music]

Elon Musk

JD: Billionaire Elon Musk has had his share of earthly problems recently. There was that single tweet that led to a 20 million dollar fine from the Securities and Exchange Commission. And then there was the lawsuit from a British cave diver who Mr. Musk casually suggests it may be a child abuser -- with no apparent evidence. But that is all okay because Mr. Musk is already planning his escape. He says there is a very real possibility he will be moving to Mars. Here's part of an interview that Elon Musk gave to the HBO series 'Axios.'.

SOUNDCLIP

VOICE 1: You're 47. What is the likelihood that you personally will go to Mars?

ELON MUSK: 70 percent. I'm talking about moving there. So it's like -- you get the prize of ticket maybe around a couple hundred thousand dollars.

VOICE 1: This could be an escape hatch for rich people.

ELON MUSK: No. Your probability of dying on Mars is much higher than Earth. Really the act of going to Mars would be like Shackleton's [inaudible] going to Antarctic -- it's going to be hard. Has a good chance of death. Going in a little can through deep space. 'We think you can come back but we're not sure.' Now does that sound like an escape hatch for rich people?

VOICE 1: And yet you wouldn't hesitatingly go.

ELON MUSK: You know there's lots of people who climb mountains, and you know why they climb mountains because people die on Mount Everest all the time -- they like doing it for the challenge.

JD: Billionaire Elon Musk speaking to the HBO show 'Axios.'.

[Music]

Irish peat bogs

Guest: Tony Lowes

JD: It is celebrated in song and has fueled homes in Ireland for decades. But peat -- harvested from bogs -- is a terrible polluter. When burnt for fuel it generates less energy and produces more carbon emissions than coal. So when the major peat-harvesting company in Ireland recently announced it was closing down its bogs people applauded the decision. But many environmental groups are not so convinced of the virtue of the company's actions. Tony Lowes is one of the directors of Friends of the Irish Environment. We reached him in Eyeries, Ireland.

SB: Mr. Lowes, just how significant is it to see dozens of peat bogs in Ireland slated to close in the coming years?

TONY LOWES: It's very significant but it's only the tip of the iceberg. The industrial extraction in Ireland's bogs is very extensive. Thousands of acres are under active extraction not only by the state Bord na Mona for this fueling of power plants but also for horticulture and for mushroom composting. So this is a much welcomed beginning but it is only a beginning.

SB: Why is harvesting or turf cutting as it's also known so important to Irish history and culture?

TL: It's deeply embedded in the culture. I think at times when there wasn't much in Ireland -- when there was famines, when there were adverse weather events -- all the problems that rural economy can have at least to the people could go to their bogs and cut turf and stay warm. And of course that's an enormous advantage. And as the fire forms the heart of the family home it became part of the music and part of the poetry as well.

SB: You have been campaigning to shut down bogs for about a decade now. What kind of resistance have you met?

TL: I think the problem is that it is so deeply embedded in the culture that it was almost impossible to explain to people the enormous damage that's done both by extracting the peat from the bogs and by burning it. And that in fact only has the consciousness about climate change has begun to increase in the last ten years have we found that we are beginning to make some progress.

SB: And so now that bogs are actually being shot down what are you worried about?

TL: The bogs that are being shut down aren't being shut down very quickly. And the way that they're continuing to use them for the next 10 years is by adding biomass to the actual burning material to the actual peat. But unfortunately there isn't much biomass lying around Ireland and that's creating a problem in itself as well as allowing them to continue to extract peat. Bord na Mona itself also has a very large horticultural division. They recently purchased a company in the United Kingdom in order to ensure that they would be able to supply that market after Brexit. So that it's almost a matter of good optics rather than the best practice.

SB: So Bord na Mona presenting itself as a climate champion doesn't wash with you?

TL: Well I think we have to commend what they are doing. There's no doubt about that. And it was not easy for them to do so. And the number of people in each of these rural communities that is dependent in one way or another on the activities of these traditional activities is enormous. It was greatly important to Ireland during the 1940s and 1950s that the source of fuel was here. But at that time of course we didn't know about either the biodiversity damage that was done or the enormous impact on climate change that it represents.

SB: What is the impact on climate change?

TL: It has a double impact because the bogs themselves are what they call 'Ireland's Amazon' and there are sinks where if left alone to thrive and to grow they will actually absorb carbon from the atmosphere. So when you go into them you are not only wrecking your sinks but you're creating emissions through the act of taking it out and then again when you burn it's actually three times as polluting as burning coal. It's one of the dirtiest fuels known to man.

SB: And you mentioned how so many people in Ireland have a connection to harvesting peat. What has that meant for you as you try to go out and stop this activity?

TL: We were absolutely amazed when we realised how difficult it was going to be. We made a series of site visits -- photographed what was going on and brought it to the attention of the authorities. And when we returned a year later to take more photographs and see what had happened we were met with signs like 'Friends of the Irish Environment keep out.' So we had to actually turn our methods to the air. We used to over flights then. And finally a satellite survey of the exposed peat lands which revealed the incredible extent of what was going on in the Midlands.

SB: Do you imagine a future when no one in Ireland burns peat at all?

TL: I do. This is one of the easy ways that we have to the path of decarbonization. It's going to be much more difficult to convince the farmers to cut back on their current expansion plans. It's going to be much more difficult to move our transport from its locked in private uses. This one is relatively easy because it's very clear and it's very simple and we can do it quite quickly.

SB: On the other hand it's reported that the peat industry only contributes a fraction of the greenhouse gases that Ireland emits each year. So is it fair to go after peat so aggressively?

TL: I think every sector says exactly that. I see the farmers will say this -- they say 'is it fair to come after us?' They say if we cease to have our grass fed cattle here all that will happen is cattle will come in from Brazil where there are no environmental controls. You can always think of a reason for not taking an action but you have to recognise that the problem that is confronting us is so great that it will always weigh the scales on the side of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

SB: Mr. Lowes thanks for your time.

TL: Thank you very much.

JD: Tony Lowes is one of the directors of Friends of the Irish Environment. We reached him in Eyeries, in Ireland's southwest.

[Music]

Fan moment

JD: Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman is used to being stopped by fans and autograph hunters on the streets of Toronto. But he was not expecting to find a super-fan on the freezing top of Signal Hill in St. John's Newfoundland. But that is exactly where Patrick Dove found him. And after he saw a tweet from Mr. Stroman saying that he was on his way to the city yesterday afternoon. Here are Mr. Dove and Mr. Stroman speaking to CBC's Lukas Wall.

SOUNDCLIP

PATRICK DOVE: Yeah I mean I figured if anyone is coming to St. John's just for trip like what's the one place you're going to go visit? What's the you like one spot? And Marcus is all about the views, all about the scenic. So like 'man this has got to be it.' So I drove up to Signal Hill. So I got out and I just walked out just have a look around. And like I was just kind of waiting around -- I didn't bombard him but then all of a sudden Mark just runs up, jumps on top of the stone -- kind of fencing there to take a picture. And I was like 'man you'll never believe this.' I just kind of like... I was like are you ready? I turned around and I kind of just ripped open my winter jacket and here was the Duke jersey. So I was like man there's no one else up here.

MARCUS STROMAN: We're in Toronto. We play for the Toronto Blue Jays. You almost think that you only play for one city but you're essentially playing for an entire country which is crazy. So the pride -- it's great. It is coast to coast. And I don't think people really understand that. You know what I mean? Cities in America you get one city and that's a team. This is a country so... pretty special to have moments like that.

JD: Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman and St. John's resident Patrick Dove talking about their meeting yesterday in St. John's.

[Music]

Gender reveal fire

JD: In this so-called 'gender reveal' video, a baseball contains blue or pink powder. But when the expectant mom pitches it to the expectant dad he swings and misses and then the dog gets the ball.

SOUNDCLIP

[Chatter and laughter]

JD: Oh that [chuckles] silly mutt won't give it up. Oh and in this one a guy puts a small watermelon in an alligator's jaws and when it bites down -- blue jello comes out.

SOUNDCLIP

VOICE: Oh my god!

[Yelling and laughter]

JD: [Laughs] Hey alligator you said a mouthful. Oh and in this one an off duty U.S. Border Patrol agent fires a gun into a target which explodes starting a fire that would eventually destroy 19,000 hectares. Here's an extremely condensed clip.

SOUNDCLIP

[Sounds from location]

VOICE: Start packing up! Start packing up!

JD: 'Start packing up!' [Chuckles] Actually that one is not funny in the least. Now if you're not familiar with 'gender reveal' videos they are videos in which couples have people over and then they pop something or they hit something or they shoot at something a blue or pink something comes out of the thing revealing the supposed gender of the child that they are expecting. Now not only does this relatively new tradition ignore everything that we now know about gender. It also frequently ignores the simplest and most basic rules of safety. For example in April of 2017 Dennis Dickie -- that off duty Border Patrol agent -- shot a target full of pink or blue powder for maximum visual impact. That target also contained an explosive substance called Tannerite. While last month Mr. Dickey pleaded guilty to causing the fire that ensued. And this week the U.S. Forest Service finally released the video of the fire ensuing. Mr. Dickey shoots at the target. It explodes and instantly all the dry grass in the area is ignited. It would burn for more than a week. It would require 800 firefighters to contain it. And do 8.2-million dollars worth of damage. So this seems like a good time to reconsider this whole misguided gender reveal thing because among other things the answer to your burning question could be actual burning.

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November 27, 2018 Episode Transcript

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