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The AIH Transcript for December 10, 2019

Hosts: Carol Off and Chris Howden

Prologue

CAROL OFF: Hello. I'm Carol Off.

CHRIS HOWDEN: Good evening. I'm Chris Howden. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

CH: Tonight...

CO: The damage done. The family of a Langley, BC teen wonders how his apparent overdose death in a stake park could have been overlooked after a video showing him in distress was shared online.

CH: Run on sentence. It's been a year since Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig was detained in China -- our guest says with each passing day, his admiration of his colleagues, resilience, and humor grows.

CO: Myanmar's once celebrated leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is in The Hague to defend her country against accusations of genocide -- and our guest, a Rohingya refugee, is watching.

CH: Air of hostility. Two men are banned from a regional airline in Newfoundland after they made racist remarks about Indigenous passengers -- but a former MP who was on that flight thinks the carrier should do more.

CO: Ember alert. In Sydney, Australia smoke from wildfires has peaked 11-times higher than levels deemed hazardous -- our guest got photos and video of a beach covered in black ash.

CH: And cerebral repercussions. A new study indicates that years of playing the drums can result in changes to the brain that may allow drummers to process information faster than their peers. As It Happens. The Tuesday Edition. Radio that has no trouble keeping up, although it sometimes gets a little offbeat.

[Music: Theme]

Part 1: Grandfather of teen who died of overdose in B.C. still looking for answers

Langley teen overdose family

Guest: Darrel Crimeni

CH: On the night of August 7th, a woman called 911. She told the dispatcher that her daughter had shown her a Snapchat photograph of a young man from Langley, BC at a skatepark who looked, quote, "out of it." Police officers did go there to check it out, but they didn't find anything. But the boy in that Snapchat photo -- 14-year-old Carson Crimeni -- was not too far away. And he died that night after suffering an apparent overdose. The case has raised serious questions about bullying and social media used by teens. Videos of Carson Crimeni in distress were shared online that day. Yesterday, BC's Independent Investigations Office released its report into the RCMP response that night. The report found that the officers who responded acted appropriately. Darrel Crimeni is Carson Crimeni's grandfather. We reached him in Langley.

CO: Darrel, first of all, how are you and your family holding up right now?

DARREL CRIMENI: Well, you know, it's still day to day. Even though it's been four months. We have good days. We have bad days. His father is struggling quite a bit.

CO: We have today this report of the investigation as to how police responded the night that your grandson died. What do you make of that report?

DC: It's what I expected. I think they put in as much effort as they saw that night. Apparently, they did look for 20 minutes. When the police got there, everybody had left that scene. It's been rumored that when they saw the police coming, they dragged Carson right beside the skate park -- there's a big community centre, and next door to that is a very very large high school. And next door to that is a big sports park with many baseball diamonds and soccer fields. And they had taken him in behind their community centre and behind the high school. It would have been hard to find him.

CO: And that's where he was two hours later, when they did find him again. That was where he was -- it was about 600 metres away. But buildings were in the way. Is it reasonable to say the police after 20 minutes couldn't find him or do you think that they could have?

DC: I don't think they would have found him. When I got to him, he had to be within 10 feet. He was in a pitch-black sports field. It's huge. It's a big big sports park. And he was lying up against the screen fence in a drainage ditch. You literally had to be 10 feet from him to see him.

CO: But the call came from this parent, this mother, that you've spoken with. Her daughter saw something on Snapchat that alerted her. How many other young people knew that Carson was in trouble at that point? How many other people were there filming, knowing, that could have called in, that could have helped him?

DC: There was 30 people at that skate park, while he was in distress, watching him. 30 young people. Well the oldest that I know of is about 20-years-old. So there were lots of people there. The police have conducted -- they told me -- 140 interviews with people.

CO: And it seems they knew enough to move him away from police arriving. So it would appear that they knew that they were doing something wrong. Is that your impression?

DC: Oh, absolutely. They knew they were doing something wrong. They killed him for entertainment in my mind. They purposely gave him huge amounts of drugs just to watch him and film him and mock him and laugh at him.

CO: How many videos were taken of Carson in that distress?

DC: I have four on my cell phone. I don't know how many there were. They were all taken off pretty quick.

CO: Darrel at what point did you get to Carson that night?

DC: At what point I got to Carson was at about 10:00. I got a call from his father saying that he's late asking if he was at my house. I said, no. But I'll phone him. I texted him. His father phoned him 11 times. So I hung up and I thought, I'll go look for him. There is an area of that park that has covered picnic tables --sometimes kids would sit after school there. So that's where I headed. He was in the middle of the park. When I got around past the picnic table, I saw red flashing lights come into the park. So I headed toward the red flashing lights. I got there within a minute, within seconds, after the police were there. The police were the first ones. And there were three skateboarders that saw Carson and phoned 911. Carson was basically unresponsive, having trouble breathing. Lying on his back. They tried to fit him with an oxygen bottle. But shortly after that, the ambulance did arrive and took him away. But he was basically pronounced dead at the hospital, but he basically died at the sports park.

CO: Darrel, I'm so sorry.

DC: It's been hard.

CO: You haven't had a toxicology report yet. What do you know of the drugs that he was given that night?

DC: It's all hearsay at this point. What I believe is he was given a huge amount of MDMA. In one of the videos, you can hear one of the kids laughing, saying he's "15 caps in."

CO: And who were the young people who did this? Do you have any idea?

DC: Well Carson called them his friends. But, you know, he just wanted to fit in. Who were they? I don't know. I've never met them obviously. They're older boys.

CO: Had he ever been bullied before?

DC: Not to my knowledge. But I've heard since that he was bullied in the last couple weeks at school. His father was unaware of it. I was unaware of it.

CO: Can you tell us a bit about Carson? What was he like?

DC: Carson was a joker. He just wanted to make friends. He really liked to play his video games. He was a good cook. He was very very outgoing. He did have ADHD, which I didn't know what to say to him. He had to work harder than most of the other kids to accomplish the same things. But he was a beautiful boy.

CO: And he lived with you for a while. So you had a pretty close relationship with Carson I guess.

DC: He lived with me for probably 11 years.

CO: Must leave a really big hole.

DC: Oh it's huge.

CO: But what about arrests? What about anyone being held accountable or responsible for this? Is that going to happen?

DC: We don't know. My son Aaron -- Carson's father -- did a couple interviews yesterday where he said he was expecting charges. But expecting is probably the wrong word. Maybe anticipating, hoping for. If any charges come, it will still be at least three months away or four months away. We don't know.

CO: The people who did this to Carson know who they are. What would you say to them if you could speak to them?

DC: What were you thinking? Really? How could you do this? I don't know how they could do it. I think there's evil in the world.

CO: Darrel I just want to say I'm so sorry for your loss. And I appreciate that you would share your knowledge of Carson and tell us what he was like. Thank you.

DC: Wish I had all the answers.

CO: Well, you'll get some at some point, I'm sure.

DC: I hope so.

CO: Please take care.

DC: Thank you.

CH: That was Darrel Crimeni Cremating, the grandfather of Carson Crimeni. We reached him in Langley, British Columbia. For more on this story, visit our website: cbc.ca/aih.

[Music]

Michael Kovrig anniversary

Guest: Robert Malley

CH: It's now been a full year since Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained in China. The two Canadians were picked up after the Chinese Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver at the request of the United States. Chinese officials accused the Canadians of violating state secrecy laws. But as we go to air, no charges have been laid. Today, both Michaels remain detained with no end in sight. Robert Malley is the president and CEO of the International Crisis Group -- and Michael Kovrig's boss. We reached Mr. Malley in London, UK.

CO: Mr. Malley, after a year spent behind bars, do you think Chinese officials are any closer to releasing your colleague Michael Kovrig?

ROBERT MALLEY: I wish I could answer that question. First of all, thanks for having me. This is -- as you could imagine, a very difficult day for all of us at Crisis Group and mainly for Michael's family. We all know that Chinese authorities announced today that his case was being referred to prosecutor. But it's not as if China's justice system is one that is entirely transparent, to put it mildly. And so it's not clear what that means in terms of the pace at which his case might or might not be brought to trial, how long the trial would last, what parts of it would be made public. So at this point, all we can do is wait and see and hope for the best.

CO: You have not been able to visit your colleague, but you have been in touch with those -- he gets a half hour visit by the Canadian consular official each month. What do you understand about how he's doing so?

RM: You know, a lot of this is privacy matters that I think members of his family should decide whether they want to divulge or not. What I could say is that these are not good conditions -- these are pretty terrible conditions. First and foremost, because he knows that he's unjustly detained. He doesn't actually know why he was picked up. He has a pretty good sense of what was happening in Canada a week earlier when Ms. Meng was detained on extradition charges to the US. And so he knows he's a Canadian citizen and he knows that she was arrested a week before. And so I think it's pretty clear that that's why he's there. But he knows he did nothing wrong. He doesn't know how long he's going to be there. He doesn't know when he's going to see anyone that he loves or even a lawyer. And one could imagine what that's doing to his mental state. He's being held. He's being detained. He doesn't have the luxury to do any of the things that he would want to do. And when I say luxury, I mean just the normal ways of going about life. He can't do what he wants to do and he is subjected to pretty strict regimen. And that must put him through a very mental and physically very difficult hardship. But I would add -- and to the extent that I could comment on what I'm hearing about his conditions is that -- he is going through this with a sense of hope and of generosity and caring for others and thinking of others that leaves me in awe every time I hear about it. And so, yes, it's very tough as it would be for anyone. But he's doing about as well in terms of his own steadfastness, resilience, and courage, as I could imagine anyone would.

CO: I understand he also has a sense of humor -- or at least as best as one can. He is approaching that with when he has a sense of humor. Is that right?

RM: That's right. That's right. And that's another thing that never ceases to amaze me. You know nobody is prepared for this kind of fate. Nobody can prepare for this kind of fate. So I guess nobody really knows how he or she is going to fare under those conditions. But he's learned a lot about himself and about others. And as you say, he's kept a sense of humor. And I know that there's a world of good to the people who love him and who, when they hear that, think that despite all he's managed to maintain so much of what makes him such an exceptional human being.

CO: As you know, the Trudeau government is being criticized for not taking a tougher line with China. But I know you've written that that Michael's own work had been to bridge differences between China and the West. If you could consult Michael, what advice do you think he would give on how his detention should be handled?

RM: Well, you're right, he loved China. And the reason he joined Crisis Group after he was a Canadian diplomat stationed in China was he wanted to stay there and he couldn't if he had remained as a Canadian diplomat. So he stayed with us. And he loved everything about China. And his job with us was as I said to talk to Chinese officials and try to discuss with them what more could be done or what they could do to play a role as a constructive actor that would both help resolve and prevent any conflict, whether it occurs in Africa, in Sudan, in Zimbabwe or in the Korean Peninsula or in Afghanistan. That was what he wanted to do and that's what he was doing. I don't know what advice he would give us. It is a very good question. I haven't thought about it. I certainly don't know what advice he'd give us about how to deal with his case. I do think that he would still say, despite everything that happened to him, China is too important a country, China is a country that can play such a powerful role on the world stage, we need to continue to engage, talk, understand where China's coming from and try to explain to China what's happening in some of the countries that it's involved in and what it could do to promote peace, stability, security. I think that's what he would do. But we'll have to wait for when he gets out. And hopefully that will be soon enough for him to share his wisdom then.

CO: It sounds like he's the sort of person you need right now to do the diplomacy and give you the advice on how to proceed.

RM: That's absolutely correct.

CO: Mr. Malley, thank you.

RM: Thank you for having me. And really thank you for thinking of Michael and for making sure that people around all of those who listened to you think about him as well.

CH: Robert Malley is the president and CEO of the International Crisis Group. His employee, Michael Kovrig is one of two Canadians who've been detained in China since the arrest in Canada of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou one year ago. And we've posted more on this story on our website: cbc.ca/aih.

[Music]

Australia fires

Guest: Imogen Brennan

CH: Sydney, Australia is wrapped in a thick blanket of smoke. People in the city have been living with bushfire pollution, choking the air for weeks now. Smoke from fires burning around New South Wales. The smoke in the air is well above levels, considered hazardous and has even triggered fire alarms in some office buildings. And health officials have warned people against venturing outside. Imogen Brennan is a media consultant in the city. She went down to the waterfront and saw the effects there. We reached her in Sydney.

CO: Imogen can you just first of all, describe what you saw when you went down to the shore with your camera?

IMOGEN BRENNAN: It was really shocking, Carol. On the weekend I went to Balmoral Beach in Sydney for a swim. I swim laps there several times a week. And as I was walking towards the water, I initially thought the dark mass along the shore line was seaweed because it sometimes washes in from the ocean. But as I got closer, I noticed it was ash and chunks of charcoal. But not only on the shore, it was throughout the water. And it was so thick that while I was attempting to swim, I couldn't see my hands in front of my face under the water. So it was really shocking to see. And it's important to say that ash washing up on beaches is the least of what's happened in these bushfire disaster. We've had six people killed and more than 600 homes destroyed so far.

CO: And I understands that it is a bit better today with a bit of a breeze. But just Sydney has been choked with smoke. All the images we are getting you can hardly see (what's) in front of you for the haze. What's it been like in the past days and weeks?

IB: It's horrific. Yesterday was the worst day so far. So we've had thick smoke in the sky and hazardous air quality for weeks now in New South Wales. The sun has been pink, so you can look at it directly in the afternoon because there's so much smoke. The moon at night is orange. And the air is often orange or gray with smoke. So yesterday, Sydney recorded its air quality at 11-times the hazardous level. You could not see a building 100 metres in front of you. Sydney is usually pristine. So it's shocking to see.

CO: There are large swaths of your country that are on fire. New South Wales has about 100 fires going. And it's barely started summer. What are you expecting to happen?

IB: So that's the thing that people are really concerned about at the moment. Many people I've spoken to, and not just young people, are feeling incredibly anxious about our environment and our climate at the moment because our federal government is doing nothing to address this bushfire disaster. And the scary thing is that this is just the beginning of our fire season and it's already been the worst yet. Our rural fire commissioner said just yesterday that the worst is yet to come. And it's unimaginable, to be honest, to consider that we've already lost lives, we've lost homes, we've lost more than 2 million hectares of land of bush. So how bad can it get before there's some action taken?

CO: You're saying yesterday was so bad. And your prime minister, Scott Morrison, held a press conference in Sydney -- where the images we had that you couldn't see in front of you -- what did he say about the conditions?

IB: Very little. He said very little about the bushfires. And in fact, it took a long time for journalists at that press conference to actually ask about the bushfire crisis, despite as you say, he was standing in Sydney on its smokiest-most-hazardous-day yet. So Prime Minister Scott Morrison is receiving wide criticism from the Australian public. People on social media and in opinion pieces have said he's missing in action on this crisis. I know there's a big protest about his lack of response due in Sydney this afternoon. And thousands of people are expected to go to that. But frankly, I've been a political advisor, and the optics are not good for him. You know, usually politicians use disasters to improve their personal brand and increase votes by getting out there and meeting victims and giving funds. But he certainly hasn't done that. And he's been criticised for responding better to the New Zealand disaster with the volcano than he has to his own disaster in his own backyard.

CO: But to acknowledge this disaster in your own backyard, does he not have to recognize that this is the result -- well, it is believed to be the result of climate change?

IB: That's right. So just yesterday, our state environment minister, Matt Kean, made that acknowledgement and said that climate change has caused these bushfires. Science backs that up. You know, last year was the hottest year on record in New South Wales. And this year is due to be the second hottest year on record. Scientists have told us climate change will bring hotter days, less rain, and more extreme conditions. And we've certainly seen that at the moment with longer and more intense bushfire seasons. It's quite concerning.

CO: So black ash and soot and charcoal are washing up on your beaches. Children are having problems breathing. You're choking on smoke. You have water rations because there's a water shortage. What is the government going to do? What should it do?

IB: You know, I live in Sydney and I feel deeply anxious about the lack of water. It hasn't rained here in weeks, in months, properly -- a heavy downpour. I can't imagine how anxious and affected the people out in the bush, on the land, are feeling about the lack of water. And the state the environment -- our farmers have been given significant loans and funding from our government to help with the drought crisis, but when you get to the heart of that drought -- scientists say climate change is the contributing factor to the intensity and the length of that drought season. And the intensity in the light of this bushfire season. So our government really needs to start doing something in terms of reducing emissions on climate change.

CO: Imogen we will be following the events there and the fires. I appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.

IB: Thank you.

CH: Imogen Brennan is a media consultant who took photos and video of black ash on a Sydney beach. We reached her in Sydney, Australia. And you can check our Twitter feed, which is @CBCAsItHappens to see some of the images.

[Music]

Drummers

SOUNDCLIP

[Rush - "Tom Sawyer"]

CH: Nuts! Sorry. That's Rush with "Tom Sawyer." Forgot I left my mic on. You could totally hear me goofing up the desk-lamp parts. I mean, the cymbal parts. I just can't drum. And you know what they say -- "if you lack drumming splendor, it's because the fibers joining the hemispheres of your brain are too slender." Yes, they do say that. Because of a new study led by two German scientists just published in the journal Brain and Behavior. The scientists put 20 professional drummers who'd been playing for an average of 17 years each in an MRI machine. Not at the same time. They also got MRI's of 24 non-drummers. And the results suggest that years of drumming experience physically change the brain. Our brain hemispheres are joined by something called the corpus callosum. And the study found that, to quote from Science Daily, "drummers had fewer but thicker fibers in this important connecting tract between the brain hemispheres." Now that may allow information to pass back and forth faster in the brains of pro-drummers, which might be what enables them to do two different motor activities with two different hands. And it seems like their brains develop that way over years of practice. Apparently you have to spend a lot of time to be able to keep time.

[Music]

Part 2: Rohingya at International Court of Justice

Rohingya at International Court of Justice

Guest: Yasmin Ullah

CH: 28 years ago today, Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, received a Nobel Peace Prize for promoting democracy and embracing nonviolence. Now she is defending her country against accusations of genocide. Ms. Suu Kyi is in The Hague for hearings at the International Court of Justice where Gambia has filed a case against Myanmar on behalf of dozens of other Muslim countries. She is expected to address the court tomorrow. Today, the judges heard from Gambia's Attorney General and Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou.

SOUNDCLIP

ABUBACARR TAMBADOU: Every day of inaction means that more people are being killed. More women are being raped. And more children are being burnt alive. For what crime? Only because they were born different. Born of a different race, and to a different religion from those who kill and rape them. And for this honorable judges, they have been made to pay the ultimate price: genocide.

CH: Abubacarr Tambadou is the Attorney General of Gambia and the man at the forefront of his country's case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice. Yasmin Ullah was at the court today. She's a Rohingya refugee who was born in Rakhine state and fled to Thailand before coming to Canada as a teenager. Now she is the president of the Rohingya Human Rights Network. We reached her in The Hague.

CO: Ms. Ullah what stands out to you about the testimony you heard today at the International Court of Justice?

YASMIN ULLAH: It's mixed emotion for sure. For us to hear the reiteration of all of the stories from various different places -- we've heard it all before. And my family lives in Buthidaung currently -- and it happened to them. So it's not new, but it helps to have an emphasis and have a platform like this at the International Court of Justice. I am now Canadian. And so I'm very grateful for the fact that I'm able to to afford this and be able to use my passport to be with my brothers and sisters and witness this monumental occasion.

CO: What was the mood like in court when Aung San Suu Kyi arrived?

YU: People were quite interested. The cameras were rolling. You know, obviously she didn't turn to us. She didn't engage or do anything at all. She just sat there, looked at the front very stoically. And we sort of looked for the reaction. I guess we tried to see if there was anything that she would react to because all these allegations were laid out by Gambia's legal team. But, yeah, I didn't quite see anything that came out from her part.

CO: Because there were many people expressing their support for her. Why do you think there's so much support for this position and what's happening to Rohingya? What do you make of that?

YU: Well, when we talk about the problems of the elite society ruling people who live below the poverty line -- it's very easy to motivate people to believe that there is a folks devil. That there is a group of people they need to hate. And that this group of people are supposedly the source of all evil. And they instill in schools, in monastery, in various different institutions of the country to preach those kind of hate. And so a few decades later, obviously, they're successful because they're hoarding all those wealth. And the people find it very frustrating, of course. And so it's just much easier to blame the people rather than the system.

CO: What do you expect to hear from Aung San Suu Kyi when she testifies tomorrow?

YU: I expect to hear denial. Denial that anything had ever happened or whitewashing of the fact that Rohingya had undergone genocide and are still at the risk of being wiped out from the face of Burma.

CO: And you know that there is speculation that this is actually boosting her popularity in Myanmar by appearing at The Hague. She's getting even more support for her position. What do you make of that?

YU: It's actually not a rumor. There were billboards that went up. There were people who were praying at the temples. There were rallies of people who were trying to pray for her success at the ICJ. And then there were, you know, prayers that are held in churches that her ministers actually went to, you know, to join for her success, to pray for the international communities to fail to bully a small country like Burma. That's the narrative. That's the narrative that is being repeated over and over in the country. And so she's walking into something, knowing and planning, you know, obviously well ahead of the time in order to be here. She knows exactly what she's doing. But also, she's actually raising the prominence of this case by being here, which I think is quite interesting in this case.

CO: This case was brought forward by Gambia, as we've mentioned. What role do you think Canada should be playing?

YU: Well, I think Canada has a lot to offer in this case. I know that there was a statement, a joint statement, by Netherlands and Canada that it would seek to support Gambia in every way possible. I'm still looking forward to hear more about this. And I really wish and urge the Canadian government to actually look into joining Gambia, you know, not just supporting financially, because it would send a message to Myanmar as a state that there are people watching them. This is a matter of being on the right side of the history.

CO: The International Court of Justice -- well the wheels turn very slowly in that court and it could be a very long time before, it could be years, before you have anything. Meanwhile, as you know, there are Rohingya Muslims in exile who are suffering and there are some still in the country. Reports are that they are still going through a great deal of abuse. Is there anything that could be done in this court that could at least help those who need the help right now?

YU: So what happened today is basically the provisional measure hearing, which is basically a request to ask the court to order the state of Myanmar to stop any sort of violence against Rohingya and stop the destroying of the evidence. And that it allows the investigation to take place. So we're hoping that this would at least halt any plans or any strategic movement or developments that would come out of Myanmar. As the election is closing in for next year in Myanmar that the violence and the abuses and the atrocities against Rohingya would stop.

CO: Ms. Ullah I appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.

YU: Thank you so much.

CH: Yasmin Ullah is a Rohingya refugee and the president of the Rohingya Human Rights Network. We reached her in The Hague.

[Music]

Crystal Jones

CH: Nobody likes to be left out of the joke. Certainly not Crystal Jones. So when the Edmonton woman saw her social media was abuzz about a viral ad produced by Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds -- she wanted to know what was so funny. The ad for Reynolds' Aviation Gin features three women sitting at a bar, sipping martinis, and chatting. It's actually a satirical comment on the controversial ad for Peloton stationary bikes -- that we told you about last week. But for Ms. Jones, just seeing the commercial wasn't enough because she's deaf. Without knowing what the actors were saying, she couldn't understand the ad. So Crystal Jones decided to send a tweet to Ryan Reynolds. And then she spoke with Mark Connolly, host of CBCs" Edmonton AM" about what happened next.

SOUNDCLIP

CRYSTAL JONES: I explained to him that there's a lot of deaf and hard of hearing people who don't get to have that same experience as hearing people. It'll likely be that we're not going to know what the video is about. Can you please caption your video?

MARK CONNOLLY: And how long did it take to hear back from him?

CRYSTAL JONES: I'd say probably two or three hours at most. I didn't expect him to reply. I just went about my day. I opened up my phone and "Oh, my God! There is a tweet from Ryan."

MARK CONNOLLY: Did he tweet to you?

CRYSTAL JONES: He tweeted to me. [Laughter]

MARK CONNOLLY: How did that feel?

CRYSTAL JONES: Surreal. Amazing. I felt gratitude mostly because celebrities don't really engage with fans. So it's like, "wow." He took the time.

MARK CONNOLLY: And he captioned the video, right?

CRYSTAL JONES: He captioned the video. Oh, my God. I finally understand what everybody is talking about because a lot of people were being very sarcastic about the bike ad. And the gin as well. Now I understand what the whole hoopla is about.

CH: That's Crystal Jones speaking on Edmonton AM this morning.

[Music]

Newfoundland racism flight

Guest: Peter Penashue

CH: Airline flights are rarely comfortable. But what passengers on a PAL Airlines flight from Happy Valley Goose Bay to St. John's experienced yesterday went way beyond discomfort. They're still reeling after two men made racist remarks about Indigenous travelers aboard. The two men, described as drunk and loud, have today been banned by the airline. But some passengers think PAL Airlines could be doing more. Among them is Peter Penashue, who was on the flight. He's a former Conservative MP and the first Innu cabinet minister in Canadian history. We reached Mr. Penashue in St. John's.

CO: Mr. Penashue when did you first take note of these men onboard the flight yesterday?

PETER PENASHUE: Well, my wife and I got on the flight in Goose Bay around I guess 7 o'clock. And we sat on the back of these two gentlemen. And people were starting to come into the plane. And there was a gentlemen by the name of Tony Anderson, who was a very well respected leader of the NG, which is Nunatsiavut Government in northern Labrador. So he's coming up the aisle, and one of the gentlemen said, "Oh, here comes the Eskimo." So Tony walks by -- he was going to the back and the other guy says, "Did you smell him?"

CO: And so Mr. Anderson did not respond to that. He just kept going.

PP: Well, no -- he didn't even notice it. And the door was open, and the next thing you know, they said, you know "Close the doors. It is too cold here in 'igloo land.'"

CO: And these men, did anyone know them? Were they known to you? Had you seen them before or anything?

PP: No, I had not seen them before. They were older gentlemen. They are probably 65+ I would say. And they had been drinking. And they were, I will say, they were drunk. And they very courageous and confident in themselves by the way they spoke and always laughing and commentary.

CO: I understand there were also some other remarks that there was someone on a phone at one point speaking Innu language and they started talking, started imitating or mocking the sound of the language.

PP: Yeah. When we landed in Deer Lake, one of the Innu people were sitting behind us. And when we landed in the Deer Lake, she started calling someone and spoke in Innu. And the guy in front of us said, "What's that funny language?" And the other guys started mimicking Innu and pretending to sound out the language. And they all giggled and laughed and so forth. And so it was very uncomfortable. And another comment they made was [inaudible] lounge -- the lounge used to be a lounge back in the 70s or 80s that used to be open in Goose Bay and they were making comments about that. It was very uncomfortable, I might say.

CO: So this was a two hour flight. So this just went on and on. These kinds of remarks.

PP: Yes. And eventually they stopped serving the liquor to these gentlemen between Deer Lake and St. John's.

CO: Did you complain to the flight attendants while this was going on?

PP: I didn't complain, no. Because it seemed like we were right there behind these two gentlemen. So I didn't want to cause any unnecessary commotion between ourselves. That's the last thing we needed was some kind of arguments or fighting going on in mid-air.

CO: Did you feel at any time that they might be violent?

PP: I don't know what would have happened if I had said something to them and told them to back off. I don't know what would have happened. But I did not say anything. I just let it be.

CO: You can't walk away from something like this, can you? You're on a flight and strapped in.

PP: No. But the thing for me personally is that I've made a decision that racism -- I'm not going to let it go because it continues and it's hurtful. And if people are not challenged it is not going to change. And I know these gentlemen that are 65+ years old and they're probably not going to change and they're probably going to be continue with that type of behavior, you know, in their homes, in their families. But they should be mindful of, you know, what they say and do in public. And that's what bothers me. So this morning the airlines CEO called me and asked me what had happened so I explained. They were doing the investigation. And I said, you know there is two things. One is that they should be banned from getting on the flight ever again. And two, the airlines should consider banning alcohol on their flights because it serves no purpose. It just gives confidence to people who have that kind of behavior to espouse their views publicly and it's not safe.

CO: It's interesting that they felt so free to make these kinds of remarks. What do you make of that? That something unacceptable could be something that they felt at liberty to say and to act in this way. What do you make of that?

PP: Well, that's the part that's very concerning to me at this day and age in 2019, that they're able to make those comments publicly and quite openly. And that's very concerning. And so I hope this is not the trend that people are starting to target Indigenous groups in Canada. I hope that's not the case. And if it is, then we need to challenge it and we need to ask the right questions and make sure that we have the public discussion on these matters.

CO: Mr. Penashue it is very disturbing and I appreciate you telling us about it. Thank you.

PP: Thank you very much for your concern.

CH: Peter Penashue was a passenger on a recent PAL Airlines flight that resulted in two men being banned from the airline after making racist remarks. Mr. Penashue is a former Conservative MP. He spoke to us from St. John's, Newfoundland.

[Music]

Marie Fredriksson

CH: Marie Fredriksson's voice is unmistakable. You've heard it. Ms. Fredriksson was one half of the pop duo "Roxette." In the 80s and 90s, the Swedish band had a string of hits: "Listen To Your Heart" "The Look" and "It Must Have Been Love." Marie Fredriksson has died of complications from treatment for a brain tumor. She was 61. Roxette was formed when Ms. Fredriksson and Per Gessle joined forces in 1986. They soon became a sensation in their home country of Sweden. But despite recording in English, the duo had trouble getting airtime in America. And their break came in 1989. An exchange student from Minneapolis brought one of their CDs home from Sweden, took it to the local radio station, and badgered them to put it on the air. We're hoping to have an interview with that American student, Dean Cushman, tomorrow night. Roxette's success snowballed once Gary Marshall, the director of "Pretty Woman" decided to feature the single "It Must Have Been Love" in the movie. According to The Guardian newspaper, the pair eventually sold 75 million records worldwide. Ms. Fredriksson discovered she had a brain tumor in 2002 after having a seizure and cracking her skull. Her chances of survival were not high, but she did survive. Performing until just three years ago. In a statement following her death, her musical partner, Mr. Gessle, had this to say: "Thank you, Marie. Thank you for everything. You painted my black and white songs with the most beautiful colour."

[Music]

Adam Schiff

CH: Abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Those are the two articles of impeachment against US President Donald Trump -- unveiled today by top House Democrats. For months, committees have been investigating whether the president should be impeached. He's accused of promising a White House meeting and military aid to Ukraine on the condition that President Volodymyr Zelensky announce investigations that would benefit Mr. Trump politically. Adam Schiff is the chair of the House Intelligence Committee. Here's some of what he said during today's announcement of the articles of impeachment.

SOUNDCLIP

ADAM SCHIFF: Now, some would argue, why don't you just wait? Why don't you just wait until you get these witnesses the White House refuses to produce? Why don't you just wait until you get the documents the White House refuses to turn over? And people should understand what that argument really means. It has taken us eight months to get a lower court ruling that Don McGahn has no absolute right to defy Congress. Eight months for one court decision. If it takes us another eight months to get a second court or maybe a Supreme Court decision people need to understand that is not the end of the process. It comes back to us and we ask questions because he no longer has absolute immunity. And then he claims something else. That his answers are privileged. And we have to go back to court for another eight or 16 months. The argument, why don't you just wait? Amounts to this. Why don't you just let him cheat in one more election? Why not let him cheat just one more time? Why not let him have foreign help just one more time?That is what that argument amounts to. The president's misconduct goes to the heart of whether we can conduct a free and fair election in 2020. It is bad enough for a candidate to invite foreign interference in our political process, but it is far more corrosive for a president to do so and to abuse his power to make it so. Despite everything we have uncovered, the president's misconduct continues to this day unapologetically and right now. As we saw when he stood on the White House lawn and he was asked, "what did you want in that July 25th call?" And he said the answer was a simple one. And not just a simple one on July 25th, but a simple one today -- and that is he still wants Ukraine to interfere in our election to help his campaign.

CH: That was US House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff speaking in Washington today.

[Music]

Part 3: North Dakota county refugees

North Dakota county refugees

Guest: Reuben Panchol

CH: A North Dakota county was poised to become the first in the US to bar refugees after an executive order from President Donald Trump made way for local bans in September. But last night, more than 500 people turned up at a meeting in the state capital of Bismarck. For four hours, residents on both sides of the debate made their case. And ultimately the Burleigh County Commission decided against a ban in a nail-bitingly close 3 to 2 vote. Reuben Panchol was among those who spoke. He talked about his own experience of arriving in North Dakota as a refugee from what is now South Sudan. We reached Mr. Panchol in Bismarck.

CO: Mr. Panchol what was the mood in the middle school cafeteria last night where this vote took place?

REUBEN PANCHOL: It was overwhelming. There were a lot of voices opposing. And some voices proposing. There were a lot of people that were like, we need those people here. They're nice people. They're not what you expect to be.

CO: And when you see "those people" you mean refugees?

RP: Yep, exactly right.

CO: What did you want people to know? What did you say?

RP: Basically what I said -- because there was a fear that the refugees that come here might cause chaos, they might drain economy. But what I told them is the fact that the people that come here, they just come here for the betterment of their life. They don't come here for trouble or anything of that kind. And besides that, they are an asset to this society because they pay taxes to this society. On top of that, I told the commissioners that this issue at hand is more political, but it's supposed to be of humanity rather than politics.

CO: Just to clarify something, this county -- Burleigh County -- where this vote about whether they would allow refugees to settle in their county. All of 24 refugees arrived in 2019. Is that right?

RP: That's what local social services said.

CO: But did anyone have evidence that any of these people who had come to your county had caused any trouble or costing them money? What did people actually know about with the people who had arrived in the county?

RP: Based on other people that were talking like law enforcement, they said that there's no problem associated with the refugees that come here. So basically, it's just a fear of unknown. And there were some people on the opposition side that say, okay here is the problem. And when you are trying to find the source of the problem, there is no evidence at all.

CO: What did they say? People who are opposed to having refugees come to your county, what arguments did they present?

RP: The argument that I hear from them is that if we want to help other people from other places, why can we start with our own like homeless people and veterans that are on the street? And majority of them, you know, they just keep saying, okay we don't want these people because if they are just scrambling in, they will drain us of our resources. Yet they don't even know how much these people are using. There's no specific number.

CO: There's a woman who had said that she has a business and she can't get enough people to work, that they need more people to come and work in your county. Are there jobs for people if they arrive?

RP: There are jobs. There are jobs available. And that's the one thing, across the entire North Dakota there's no shortage of jobs. Two years ago, there were some businesses that shut down because they couldn't even find people to work.

CO: So this motion or this decision was made that the county would allow refugees to settle in your area. And lots of people speculated that that wouldn't happen -- that there would be a ban on allowing newcomers to arrive. So what do you make of the fact that the vote sided in favor of having refugees come in a vote of 3 to 2?

RP: It was based on the support of the local people. And like one commissioner declared that he's going to vote against it -- or is going to vote against the motion because down the road it might affect his election. So that was politically driven. And that was not the fact in the ground or from the people that were in that hall at that time.

CO: But if he believed that it would affect his chances of getting re-elected, what does that say about the opinion in the county if he believes that people are against the idea of allowing newcomers to arrive?

RP: Based on the turnout yesterday and based on the testimonies, I think his position was completely out of assumption because even though he claimed that people in the county are against this, the turnout yesterday showed that people are really welcoming.

CO: What's your life like in North Dakota?

RP: My life is great. My life is great. I resettled here back in 2001. That's when I resettled in Fargo. And went to school there. And then after school, I moved to Bismarck to get a job. And I'm working. So I'm very comfortable. And people around me, actually, they are very supportive. I am making a good life for myself. And not only myself, but for the other people that I left behind -- that I give assistance to. So I'm very comfortable here regardless of what other people say.

CO: You were one of what they called "The Lost Boys of Sudan." That was a big story back in the late 1990s of you young fellows arriving and settling in the States. So do you feel that it has changed at all since you arrived? Some people say that Donald Trump's America is harder for newcomers to arrive in? Do you think it has changed?

RP: With North Dakota I think nothing has change. The people are still helpful like the way they were back in 2001 when I arrived. And they are still helpful up to now. So regardless of the political wave that's going across the United State, I think we are in good hands specially here in North Dakota. It will take a while before I [inaudible] saying, you know what -- I'm not feeling comfortable here anymore.

CO: We will leave it there, Mr. Panchol. Thank you.

RP: No problem. Thank you. I appreciate it.

CH: Reuben Panchol is a refugee from Sudan living in North Dakota. We reached him in Bismarck.

[Music]

Abiy Ahmed

CH: Today in Sweden, there were protests after the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Austrian author Peter Handke. Mr. Handke has repeatedly denied that a massacre took place during the Bosnian war. But in Oslo, Norway, there are celebrations. Abiy Ahmed, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, received the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the long war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. For 20 years, families were separated and tens of thousands were killed. Prime Minister Ahmed spoke about that conflict and warned about dangers facing the Horn of Africa.

SOUNDCLIP

ABIY AHMED: I would like to specially express that we should avoid the paths of extremism and division powered by politics of exclusion. The evangelists of hate and division are wreaking havoc in our society using social media. They are preaching the gospel of revenge on the airwaves. Together, we must neutralize the toxin of hatred by creating a civic culture of consensus based democracy, inclusivity, civility, and tolerance based on Medermer principles. The art of building peace is not just a process to change hearts and minds, beliefs and attitudes that never cease. It is like the work of struggling farmers in my beloved Ethiopia. They work the fields from dawn to dusk in good and bad weather. Before we can harvest peace dividends, we must plant seeds of love, forgiveness, and reconciliation in the hearts and minds of our citizens.

CH: That was Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize today for his efforts in ending decades of hostility with Eritrea. And we've got more on the controversy about the Nobel Literature Prize on our webpage: cbc.ca/aih.

[Music]

Saturn's moon

Guest: Doug Hemingway

CH: Saturn maybe billions of kilometers away. But scientists just got a little closer to understanding some of the big questions about that planet. Specifically about one of the tiny moons that orbits it. The moon is called Enceladus. And it's an ocean world covered by an icy crust that is constantly subject to eruptions. Scientists have not been able to determine why those eruptions occur and why they leave a pattern of marks on the surface. But now, thanks to new research published in Nature Astronomy, they have a pretty good hypothesis. Doug Hemingway is a planetary scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science, and one of the study's authors. We reached him in San Francisco.

CO: Doug, can you describe for us this little moon that's orbiting Saturn?

DOUG HEMINGWAY: Yes, Saturn's moon -- Enceladus -- is one of many moons of Saturn. It's a tiny one, though. It's only 500 kilometers across. But I would argue it's actually one of the most interesting places in the solar system. It's a ball of ice basically. Underneath the ice shell there's a liquid water ocean and beneath that there's some rock. But what's really interesting about Enceladus is that there's active eruptions spraying water ice out into space right now coming out of the South Pole of Enceladus.

CO: This is what has intrigued people like yourself, isn't it? And looking at the picture, it looks as though this moon -- people have been cross country skiing over. There's all these lines on it. So what are those lines?

DH: Well, there's all sorts of tectonic features just because there's been forces pushing and pulling on the ice show that will cause it to break up in many places. But in particular, we're interested in the series of the four most prominent of these fractures that are constructed at South Pole. And the reason we care about those fractures is because that's the places where these eruptions, all this ocean material is coming out.

CO: And what says ocean materials that's coming out of those...

DH: Water ice. We know that there is salts in it -- in the water -- and there's also organic molecules.

CO: Saturn is, what, the sixth furthest away from the sun. We are the third. So I'm guessing this moon is pretty cold. So how is it that water can be spewing out of it?

DH: Yeah. Great question. So the surface is very cold. It's about 75 Kelvin, which is about -200 degrees Celsius. But the interior of this moon is actually warmer because of gravitational interactions with Saturn. So every time it goes around Saturn, it gets a little bit squeezed and relaxed and squeezed and relaxed, and that warms up the interior. So from the surface temperature as you go down, it gets warmer and warmer. And eventually you get to the point where water melts.

CO: And then how does it get pushed out to the surface?

DH: So that's part of the research -- and part of this is based on some previous work. But if you have a way of making the first fracture open, once you have a fracture open the water will fill up 90 percent of that slot. And then it's essentially exposed to the vacuum above that. So there's no atmosphere on. Enceladus is just exposed to space. And at that point, the water starts to boil off because the pressure is basically zero.

CO: And so how are they parallel? How is the stripe created then?

DH: Right. Exactly. So the idea of the first fracture was around for a little while. But what was missing was how do you get a series of parallel fractures? And also why are they equally spaced at 35 kilometres apart? What is that telling us? So one of the things we thought about was when you have these eruptions going on you are spraying all of this water ice out into space. And a lot of it is raining back down or snowing back down. About 90 percent of it kind of ballistically falls back down. And that's going to pile up preferentially on the flanks of that newly open fissure. So you're essentially pushing on the ice just on the edge of the broken part. And since it's broken there, it can't support that. And so the whole ice shell is going to bend. And so if you have a long a ridge of this piled up material, then it's going to cause bending and that's going to cause the stresses to build at some distance away and then other fracture to form eventually. And is that going to work out to give you that 35 kilometre spacing? And it turns out it does for very reasonable assumptions about the elastic properties of the ice show.

CO: So they just keep repeating -- this pattern. Then it forms another fissure and then that starts spewing this ice and water and then it forces another one to open. And so you keep getting these parallel lines.

DH: Yeah, you're exactly right. You open up one by ripping it open through these bending stresses and then the eruptions continue. They pile up more. And then that creates more bending stresses further away. And so we think that the whole thing started right up the geographic South Pole because the first biggest fracture goes right through the South Pole. It's called Baghdad. And then you have a pair of symmetric pair 35 kilometres apart on either side called Cairo and Damascus. And then you get another one on either side of that and so on.

CO: And A,B,C,D,E. And so how long has this been going on?

DH: So, of course, we only have direct observations of these eruptions just for the last 15 years or so. But presumably they've been going on for a very long time. Well, timescales is a funny question, because when I say yes, a long time, I mean billions and billions of years or at least hundreds of millions of years. But we don't really know how long these things have been around. We can put some estimates on how long it would take for the material to pile up enough for those bending stresses to cause another set of fractures. And that's something like 100,000 to a million years.

CO: And you say you've known about this, I guess, since the Cassini mission flew through this area and saw this, right?

DH: Right. We knew that. And Enceladus was an interesting body, even back in the Voyager days in the 80s, just because it's the brightest object in the solar system. And we now understand that's because space because it's covered in its own fresh snow. But what we didn't know until we got there with the Cassini mission was we got these really detailed images of these fractures and then these nice backlit images that allow you to see that these eruptions, all this material, is actually spraying out from along those fractures. So that was 2006ish the first observation of that.

CO: How significant is it that you see a place that has this much water and ice on it?

DH: So, yeah, it's got the right ingredients for life. I'm not an astrobiologist, but it's certainly one of the reasons that we're so interested in these places that have these internal liquid water oceans/ and especially in Enceladus because not only is there an internal liquid water ocean, but you also have these ocean mature spraying out of the South Pole. So you don't even have to figure out how to land a spacecraft and drill through the ice. You can actually just scoop up the material that's being erupted and analyze it there to figure out whether there's biological organisms in it, for example.

CO: And so is that something that you will be able to discover, do you think, in your lifetime?

DH: I think it's very reasonable that we could hope to do that in the next couple of decades.

CO: Neat. That's good for you. Thanks Doug.

DH: Absolutely.

CH: Doug Hemingway is a planetary scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science, and the coauthor of a new study that's published in Nature Astronomy. We reached him in San Francisco.

[Music]

Word of the year 2019

CH: "They" came and "they" conquered. Today, Merriam Webster named the pronoun "they" as its word of the year. According to representatives with the US dictionary, searches for that word have more than tripled over the past year. Earlier this fall, there was another defining moment for the word. The US dictionary adopted its use of "they" to include a singular non-binary pronoun. At the time, Carol spoke with Emily Brewster. She's a senior editor at Merriam Webster. Here's part of that conversation from our archives.

SOUNDCLIP

EMILY BREWSTER: Well, as a lexicographer, it's my job to help make sure that the established members of the English language enter into the dictionary, and there is no doubt that this non-binary use of “they” is a fully established member of the language. It's a term that people have been talking about for a long time.

CO: Okay. And they talk about it not just grammatically but politically. But let's stick with the grammatical part first. Why are you including it is as a pronoun that can be used in a singular way? Just tell us a bit about that?

EB: Well, because that is the function that it has in the evidence that we've collected. And use of “they” as a singular pronoun dates, in fact, the late 13 hundreds. So that’s you know more than 600 years. But in the course of that time, it has mostly been used in constructions where it's not really noticeable. So, for example, no one has to use it if they don't want to. In that case, “they” is referring back to no one. No one takes a singular verb. No one has to. But the plural pronoun they is being used. that use Chaucer used. It’s in the King James version of the Bible. That use is very old and established. Grammatical sticklers have tended to object to it for about the past 200 years, but it's more and more frequently accepted. But this non-binary “they” in a sentence like here is my friend J, they are coming to dinner. Is a relatively new use. It's only been around for a couple decades. Well, we're not really sure how long it's been around. But it's certainly been increasing in frequency over the past couple decades.

CO: But on the political side of this, we are seeing — and we've had it on this program — the discussion about people saying no, we can't have these non-gendered pronouns. Are you getting the same kind of response?

EB: People are always uncomfortable with language change. But what we see over and over again in the history of the English language change occurs. And sometimes, it is a structural change that gets very marrow of the language. And eventually, the speakers adopt it, and it becomes at some point this kind of unremarkable feature that the language has.

CH: From our archives, that was Emily Brewster, a senior editor at Merriam Webster. Today, the US dictionary named "they" as a singular non-binary pronoun, its word of the year.

[Music]

Chicken Bone Liqueur

CH: People will line up for hours to get their hands on basketball shoes or the latest iPhone. But today in Fredericton, people lined up outside a liquor store to buy a bottle of Chicken Bone Liqueur. The liqueur is based on the New Brunswick treat called chicken bones. That is cinnamon flavored hard candy filled with chocolate. Last month, the first batch of Chicken Bone Liqueur sold out in two days. And this morning, the CBC's Shane Fowler spoke with some of the people lined up in hopes of buying a bottle this time around.

SOUNDCLIP

VOICE 1: My son and I drove by at 7 and saw this guy was here. So I went home and put on a little bit of makeup and came back and was third in line at 7:30.

SHANE FOWLER: When you first heard about this product, did you plan on lining up here with a couple hundred other people?

VOICE 1: I did because I said I did it for the Cabbage Patch Dolls back in the 80s. So I figured, yeah, I can do this.

SHANE FOWLER: Did you ever think there'd be that many people lined up front of a liquor store on a Tuesday morning?

VOICE 2: No, not at all.

SHANE FOWLER: And you would be part of it.

VOICE 2: No, I'm retired. And everybody says, if you don't mind, go to the store and get me a bottle. So I've collected bottles for a lot of people.

SHANE FOWLER: I was going say, how many bottles are you lining up here for?

VOICE 2: 14.

SHANE FOWLER: 14! What do have in your hand?

VOICE 3: I have my bottle of Chicken Bone Liqueur. Finally!

SHANE FOWLER: You haven't had it yet?

VOICE 3: No, I missed the first round. So we've been from Fredericton to St. John looking for this bottle.

SHANE FOWLER: Sold out. How lucky do you feel now?

VOICE 3: Very very. Chicken Bones has been a big thing in our family for generations. We don't go a Christmas without at least having Chicken Bones in the house. And this will be something nice in new.

CH: Those are hopeful Chicken Bone Liqueur customers speaking to CBC Fredericton this morning in a liquor store parking lot.

[Music]

Old Fashioned

CH: The story begins a long time ago. But not so long ago that you couldn't head over to a YouTube channel at the time where you'd find a mob of scalawags of one stripe or another trying to hornswoggle you. And into that mix appeared an earnest young woman in a series of short videos. Her name was JaNee Nyberg. She'd been hired by a startup called Mahalo.com to host tutorials on how to prepare cocktails. Of these videos the most notorious is how to mix an Old Fashioned because in it Ms. Nyberg is throwing contents together, all higgledy-piggledy. Here's a little taste.

SOUNDCLIP

[Upbeat music playing]

VOICE 1: Once everything's mashed up -- go ahead and put like two or maybe three dashes of your bitters. Fill it all the way up with ice. And then you're going to put three ounces of bourbon in it. So this is a pretty strong drink and not that many people order it anymore actually. It's kind of -- like it says an 'old fashioned.' It is something that was kind of from prior generations, but it actually is really good and it's similar to like a Manhattan. But, you know, the orange in it makes it even better, I think. So, of course, you want to make sure all those flavors get mixed up. So you are going to go -- pour back and forth. Make messes all over the place.

CH: Well, you get the picture. But in case you don't: do not try that at home. Ms. Nyberg, who was a bartender, insists she knew how to make an Old Fashioned, but she was hung out to dry by a bumbling production setup. In any case, since that video was first posted a decade ago, Mahalo has folded and JaNee Nyberg has moved on. She's now a high school teacher, not a bartender. But that viral video has continued to follow her. Bars have offered her guest gigs, but mostly as a joke. "It was as if they thought those videos were made with my genuine bartending skills and as though I would actually drink what I made," she says. Then came an offer that she did accept for a do-over from bourbon whiskey maker: Jim Beam.

SOUNDCLIP

VOICE 1: Hi, I'm JaNee. And I'm back to teach you how to make an Old Fashioned. But this time, let's do it properly.

CH: Spoiler alert. Her drink recipe razzmatazz is less-important than her own life lesson. It took ten years to prepare, but it's dead simple: go easy on the bitters, kids.

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December 10, 2019 Episode Transcript

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