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The AIH Transcript for May 22, 2019

Hosts: Carol Off and Jeff Douglas

Prologue

CAROL OFF: Hello I'm Carol Off.

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

[Music: Theme]

JD: Tonight...

CO: Safety for numbers. The Mayor of Slave Lake, Alberta, tells us how his town is welcoming this sudden influx of hundreds of people fleeing an out of control wildfire.

JD: Lest they forget. Family of Canadian Forces members killed in Afghanistan are stunned to learn the government held a ceremony to unveil the Afghanistan War Memorial in Ottawa and didn't invite them.

CO: Arches enemies. As the "MeToo" movement shifts to the fast food industry, a former McDonald's employee tells us about the harassment she faced -- and the apparent indifference she faced after reporting it.

JD: A ringer that's gone through one. A centuries old bell with a serious crack in it will fetch an impressive sum when it goes up for auction because it was in the home shared by Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen.

CO: The extremely little engines that could. Vandals thoughtlessly destroyed a model train show in England before generous donors including Rod Stewart helped collectors rebuild.

JD: And hot and bothered. A replica of a Doctor Who styled Dalek -- a creepy, cyborg villain -- faces extermination in England after a complaint about the shed in which it is housed. As It Happens. The Wednesday Edition. Radio that finds the replica tall, Dalek, and handsome.

[Music: Theme]

Part 1: This woman is taking on McDonald's in the Me Too era — and she's not alone

Alberta Fires Slave Lake

Guest: Tyler Warman

JD: As firefighters continue to battle the blaze near High Level in northern Alberta, about 700 people have sought shelter and services in the town of Slave Lake -- five hours south. Slave Lake has set up an emergency reception centre, and it's housing its new guests in hotels and wherever else officials can find space. For Slave Lake mayor, Tyler Warman, devastating fires are all too familiar. In 2011, a fire destroyed about 40 percent of the town. Mr. Warman is not just the mayor -- he's also a former firefighter. We reached Mayor Warman in Slave Lake.

CO: Mayor Warman how are you holding up?

TYLER WARMAN: I'm doing good. I got a little sleep last night so I feel a little bit better today. Community is doing well. I'm really proud of them so far and everything that's been going on. And they're just dealing with evacuees and you know trying to deal with the needs that they have. And you know so far things have been going very well and I am happy to be doing that.

CO: Now I want to ask you about how you deal with that because Slave Lake is a town of less than 7000 people. Now you have hundreds of the evacuees from the fires who have arrived. How are you coping with that? How are you accommodating them?

TW: So far it's been good. You know we were contacted Monday with people coming in and evacuees coming down and so it's always very worrisome because we have no idea what to expect how many people and what time they'll come and they can't give us any information whatsoever -- and so you kind of prepare for whatever you can. We were able to house all the people in hotel rooms the first night, and were successful there. Last night, we did start to run into a little bit of a pinch there where we had more people looking for hotel rooms than we had rooms. So there was another reception centre in High Prairie which is about an hour west of us so we're sending some people that way. But yeah that's kind of what's going on.

CO: Are you expecting more people?

TW: It's hard to say. You know what happens obviously is people migrate a little bit over time and so we're seeing some of the people that were farther north moving south now in some of the communities that were up there -- La Crete and Fort Vermilion -- they're coming down this way. And so those individuals don't always tell ahead what they're doing. I don't think we are going to see any mass exoduses by any means -- unless the fire behaviour changes up there. So hopefully this just kind of stays the course.

CO: We spoke with a woman yesterday who was describing her departure and she was prepared because she says you have to be. And she said that she's not seeing much panic -- people are not sort of reacting in that way. I am just wondering when people do arrive, what state are they in? Especially the kids. How are they reacting to all of this?

TW: People have been extremely calm -- it's been crazy actually -- very understanding, very patient, very actually supportive, and helpful, and happy, and thankful. And it's been great to watch. It's great to watch people that need to be helped and are thankful for it by people who want to help them and need to do that as well. So it's been a good combination.

CO: How are the children?

TW: Good. You know we organized some activities for kids and we opened up some of our facilities -- pools, and our walking tracks, and our indoor playgrounds, outdoor playgrounds -- because we want to keep people's minds and body busy while they're waiting. And you know that's kind of the goal as we move forward here over the next day or two.

CO: And you know about what it's like to be in this situation because in Slave Lake people know all about fire, don't they? Back in 2011 almost half the town was destroyed. You lost so many houses, people were homeless, billion dollars in damage. What memories is this bringing up for you as you deal with this fire and help these people?

TW: It's been crazy -- obviously mixed emotions for everyone that lives here. You know everyone had a different experience for sure. That being said for myself you know when there's smoke on the horizon definitely you're tuned into it a little bit more than you used to be -- and when things are happening around you plan ahead a little bit more. But I will tell you that you know we learn from our experience. One of the things that I find in with the people of Slave Lake is they don't want to take that knowledge and lose it or waste it -- and so there's just this overwhelming drive of people to help out, to reach out, to be supportive here and do whatever they can, and it's just this overwhelming drive to pay it forward and it's just fantastic to see it in our community.

CO: When you say knowledge -- you don't want to lose that knowledge -- what is that knowledge? What do you know from that experience that you're sharing with these people?

TW: We know that you don't take Mother Nature for granted. You need to be prepared. We know communication is important. We know that training -- thinking you're prepared and training to be prepared and training to do something, those are all different things for sure. We know that when we put up things like fire bands and being cautious with you know campfires and that sort of stuff that people take it seriously. And we know that as a community when you need help that you ask for it and you ask for it lots of times you know before you need it not after.

CO: You're not just the Mayor of Slave Lake, you are also a firefighter. And you were there in the middle of the fires in Fort McMurray in 2016 as well. And so you've seen this a lot. You've seen what effect this is having. What's the most difficult part for people when they're dealing with these fires?

TW: So I'm not a firefighter anymore but yeah I did fight fires in 2011 and did help out in 2016. But you know what's the message I would send to people? I think patience. You know? I think in life patience is one of the most difficult things. I was talking to a group of evacuees today actually that you know they just want to know when they can go home. And I said you know I had a hard time being a town councillor at the time I was a firefighter -- my own wife and children were evacuated and every day my wife would say like I'm ready to come home, I want to come home -- we'll just hang out with you. But it's tough you know. And more people come I said like what happens if our kid breaks his finger, cuts his finger -- like there's no doctors, there's no hospital. And you know if we have got to call 911 and the phones aren't working. So people say well I just want to help -- we will come help do it faster. Well, where are you going to sleep at night? How are we going to feed you? What are we going to do with the garbage? What do we do with laundry? And there's a lot of logistics that go into this. You know the gas lines if you left your house and you had the stove on and you forgot to turn it off and with the pressure all the gas lines your house blows up -- definitely not a good scenario either. And so obviously those are extremes but they are very real things that can happen. And so you know there's a lot of preparation and thought that goes into making sure that things make sense and that they're safe. And when you're on the other side and you aren't part of that planning process it can totally get frustrating. So you know the thing that I would say is you know patience and trust in the people who know what they're doing. I think Crystal (McAteer) and them are doing a fantastic job up there in High Level -- and Rodney and his team. And always got to trust that they know what they're doing and they're making it safe and ready for them to go back.

CO: And they are safe with all of you in Slave Lake which is a good thing.

TW: It is. We're happy to keep them that way.

CO: Mayor Warman I appreciate speaking with you thank you.

TW: Thank you.

JD: Tyler Warman is the Mayor of Slave Lake Alberta. That is where we reached him.

[Music]

McDonald's #MeToo

Guests: Ivelisse Rodriguez & Emma Roth

JD: The MeToo movement has made waves in Hollywood and in other high profile industries. Now, it is taking on a somewhat less glamorous workplace: fast food. The Times Up Legal Defense Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union have filed 23 complaints against McDonald's -- alleging rampant discrimination on sexual harassment in the workplace. Some of those complaints are civil rights lawsuits. Most, however, are filings with the U.S. Employment Opportunity Commission which investigates workplace discrimination cases. Ivelisse Rodriguez is a former worker at McDonald's in Connecticut who made one of the complaints. Emma Roth is her lawyer. We reached Ms. Rodriguez in New Haven, Connecticut -- and Ms. Roth in New York City.

CO: Ms. Rodriguez and Ms. Roth hello to you both.

[Both say Hello]

CO: I want to start with you Ms. Rodriguez. What made you want to come forward with these allegations of sexual harassment at McDonald's?

IVELISSE RODRIGUEZ: I am sharing my story because I want to make a difference. I want to be that voice for all the women that are afraid of speaking up.

CO: You have cited a number of things that happened to you at this McDonald's that you worked at in East Haven, Connecticut. This is starting in 2017. And the first was involving your male supervisor. Can you tell us some of the things that he did to you and other female employees?

IR: He would come visit the store on a regular basis and he started telling me and other co-workers that the only way to move up in the company, to grow in the company, was to perform sexual favors -- and that he knew for sure that that's how some of store managers got their position.

CO: He told you that that was the experience that other women who were working there were actually advancing in their jobs and careers because they were performing sexual favors for male members of the staff?

IR: Correct. Yes.

CO: He hugged you and touched you. Is that right?

IR: Yes. He would get close to me. He would pat me in the back. I felt him patting down my bra -- it felt like a free feel. I was nervous. I was scared. I didn't know how he would react. It was toxic. His behavior was toxic. And when I decided to report it to the owner-operator, I was told to trust solely in them -- that they will take care of the issue, that he will no longer be allowed to be in the store and that I had nothing to worry about. Now that still didn't fit very well with me because in my heart and my mind I knew that that still gave him the opportunity to harass other women in other stores -- women that were actually afraid to speak up and say something.

CO: You were also harassed by another man. This is the second incident that you're alleging. You said you complained about his behaviour as well. What did you tell McDonald's that he was doing?

IR: Yes. I put a meeting together with the owner-operator and our new female supervisor and also the store manager. And you know I brought it to their attention that this manager was spreading sex based rumors about me to other co-workers and customers in the store. When we had the meeting they decided that it was best if they changed my schedule around so that I wouldn't come in contact with this person. But even though they changed my schedule around to a less desirable schedule, this person was still finding a way to come in contact with me. He would come into the store five or six times a day when he was off his shift. Just tried to get my attention or to see me -- to be in touch with him. He would call my phone up to 20 times a day. And the store manager actually advised me that for my own safety -- I would have my boyfriend walk me into my job in the morning just to make sure that nothing bad was going to happen.

CO: All your efforts to try and deal with this -- and this as you say it was just creating this toxic environment for you. You decided you were trying to push back, trying to get McDonald's to do something about it. Eventually it led to you having to leave your job. Is that right?

IR: That's right sadly. It was overwhelming. I mean the thought of giving up my job of three years and me being unable to deal with the harassment, and the shame, the loss of confidence -- I felt helplessness, sadness, and not being able to provide for my family. It was all just too much. I started suffering from anxiety, depression, and I couldn't hang on any longer. I had to meet a physician for my health and my safety and security. And I was left no choice but to leave my job of three years.

CO: I want to turn to your lawyer Emma Roth. Hello.

EMMA ROTH: Hi there.

CO: Now we've just heard from Ms. Rodriguez. This is just one of 23 cases filed in the United States against McDonald's. How typical is her story of what you've heard from other workers?

ER: I wish I could say that Ms. Rodriguez's story was an isolated incident, but unfortunately as all of the charges that we filed this week demonstrate this issue is really pervasive. Our charges are filed on behalf of McDonald's workers in 20 different cities. They represent a broad range of horrific experiences and some of our clients are as young as 16-years-old. And so we see that this is unfortunately a very very widespread problem that McDonald's can't afford to continue ignoring.

CO: And we'll point out that this story of Ms. Rodriguez and the ones you are talking about these are still allegations yet to be proven in court. But I'll just point out what McDonald's is saying -- the CEO says -- that the company is taking action, is trying to improve its policies on harassment. It's improved training. It sent posters out to the restaurants to tell people -- warn people -- of this behaviour. It's created a hotline that workers can call. Are not these things mitigating factors in these suits?

ER: Unfortunately we think these recent announcements from McDonald's this week are nothing but a publicity stunt. This is actually the third round of charges filed against McDonald's in the last few years and we haven't seen any actual changes on the ground despite the fact that McDonald's claim they're releasing this new policy -- all of our clients haven't heard a word about it and many of our charges happened within the last year when this policy was allegedly rolled out.

CO: Just want to go back to Ms. Rodriguez to end this interview. You have these kids that you're supporting, you are trying to support yourself -- you're a single mom. What's happening to you? Have you been able to get another job?

ER: Not yet. I haven't been able to find a good paying job yet. I am looking -- I'm working very hard trying to get employed again. It has been very tough. I had a choice whether you know to keep up with the bills or provide for my daughter and be able to feed my daughter so I had to choose. I've lost a lot of my self-esteem -- my self-confidence. I feel really nervous about starting to work again because of everything that I dealt with in this company for the last three years. And you know it's a working process. I am slowly trying to build myself up. And it's been five months -- I lost my job in mid-Christmas -- like three days before Christmas, a few days before Christmas, and it's been really tough for myself and my family.

CO: Well I'll say that what you're doing takes a lot of courage. So whatever fear, weakness, you feel you're seeing in yourself, it's difficult to do what you're doing and admirable. And I appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.

IR: Thank you.

CO: And Emma Roth thank you.

ER: Thank you for having us.

JD: We reached former McDonald's worker Ivelisse Rodriguez in New Haven, Connecticut. And Emma Roth in New York City. We did request comment from McDonald's -- in an email the company said it would not comment on the specific case of Ms. Rodriguez, but did attach a letter outlining the steps it says it has taken to address sexual harassment in the workplace. You can read that full letter, and more on this story, on our website: cbc.ca/aih.

[Music]

Dalek Builder

Guest: Neil Cole

JD: Now to the north of England, where a battle for survival is underway. On one side is this guy.

SOUNDCLIP

ALLENDALEK: Attention all visiting humanoids -- this area is now under Dalek control. As subjects of the Dalek empire you are required to pay tribute for the supreme Dalek -- the emperor.

JD: Science fiction fans of course will recognise that as a Dalek -- one of the mutant extraterrestrials from Doctor Who. But that isn't just any Dalek -- that is the Allendalek which stands outside the Museum of classic sci-fi and Allendale in northeast England. Both the museum and the Allendalek are the work of a local art teacher by the name of Neil Cole. Mr. Cole says the Allendalek now faces extermination -- and that is because the regional council has warned that the shed where it lives is out of keeping with the historic location. We reached Neil Cole at his home above the museum in Allendale, Northumberland.

CO: Neil how is your Dalek dealing with all this stress?

NEIL COLE: My Dalek -- he's guarded into his shed at the minute, although he has lots of very very friendly passersby. He's a very well loved Dalek for a universal dictator. He's actually pretty good. He knows the villagers are out to protect him.

CO: Now for people who have never met your Allendalek or for that matter any cyborg alien what would they actually see as they approach the museum?

NC: As they approach the museum you'd see a Georgian townhouse. And then if you look down just at the ground floor just beside the stone steps you'd see a small wooden shed most of time it would closed but if it was open you'd see inside a rather wonderful silver robotic creature I guess with an eyestalk -- they don't have any legs. And it's an iconic British sci-fi design. It's got this sort of nostalgia about it. There's something very attractive in a strange kind of way about a Dalek.

CO: And of course it's Doctor Who's arch nemesis -- in fact is an arch nemesis for all of us humanoids, isn't it? I mean the Dalek is really quite extraordinary character in this country too for people watch Doctor Who.

NC: And they're really just quite a simple thing. They're based around a man in a chair because they were very very revolutionary at the time when they came out because you couldn't see the feet. And then you put that voice. The voice and this rather unusual shape -- and its incredible voice and it is a sci-fi icon.

CO: Very sinister. Okay now is the regional council of Allendale -- is their problem is that they are afraid of having a cyborg alien in their neighbourhood or what's the deal here?

NC: I think what it is is initially it's what we would call a little bit of perhaps snobbishness about science fiction. I have built a very very detailed science fiction museum in a cellar of my listed building -- listed means protected over here -- and I think one of the residents particularly did not like the idea of a Dalek or science fiction was going to be in this old house. Had it been like a bad waxwork of Emily Bronte sort of stuffed into the shed [laughter] they might have liked it. But it's such a popular thing as you know. I mean like Marvel at the minute is massive. And science fiction is just huge. And I knew -- we are in a remote little area, we are very near the Roman Wall -- and we need to get people in to keep our settlement going, you know to keep people coming to Allendale. It's a beautiful place but most people haven't heard of it. And science fiction is a great thing for attracting people in. And it attracts lovely people. You know science fiction fans -- they are great. You know it's nice knowing that their families are film buffs, book readers. It's not like a riotous rabble. But this person complained -- and even though the rest of the village is build Dalek in protest. If you had come in a few months ago you would have come around a village where literally it was Dalek everywhere -- the local school drew Daleks on the yard, people dressed up as Daleks, people cooking Dalek dinners and Dalek dishes and putting them on the Save The Dalek page on Facebook. It was absolutely incredible. I mean for me it was amazing because you know my wife and I were a bit down because we put all this time -- five years -- in the building, this little museum, and to see the village pull like that was incredible.

CO: But in fact when you mentioned the children -- it was local children who actually helped you make the Dalek in the first place, right?

NC: Yeah yeah. I'm an art teacher -- I've taught for 20 years, and I've run a Doctor Who club for 20 years. And that Doctor Who club, we build things -- and we build a couple of Daleks because they're quite magical as I say and then you build one full site. I remember we took the first one down into the school dinner hall -- we put somebody in it and it drove down through the student hall and it stopped in their -- you know this Dalek moving through. And this Dalek here is the last one we made at school -- we just didn't have room at school anymore, and I thought ah brilliant! We'll put him outside here. What a great thing. And it's just fun. You know adults, children, just love it.

CO: But now you've built a shed to hold the Dalek. And so is it because you have an alien or is it because of your shed?

NC: No -- I'll tell you what it is. I think on the one hand, the complaint would have never been made if as I say if it had been an Emily Bronte waxworks stalking with Wuthering Heights or whatever. But they basically said the shed itself is not in keeping with a Georgian row houses. But it's not a tidy row of houses that we live in. It's a very so working village. And the irony is they can't stop us having the Dalek outside. But you know we have to keep it safe. And when we put a tarpaulin over it, it just looked horrible. So we thought for everybody -- our neighbours -- we thought oh that looks tacky you know. So we'll build a really neat little shed. And that's what they're complaining about. And it's boggling because in Britain at the minute we're having -- you know finances are tight. My son is autistic and had a bit of a fright with him last year and we took him to hospital or tried to because he was having difficulty breathing and the hospital emergency service had been shut in our nearest hospital and we had to travel miles away. And there's lots of cuts going on and one of the things that I think has annoyed people is, how it is that this local council can spend all this money chasing up a Dalek in a shed when hospital emergency services are shutting -- and all these important things are going by and it seems to have picked on me and this shed. And yet we've brought in 1400 visitors to our little village since October. Believe you me where we are, it's quite something.

CO: Now of course you know very well that the Dalek demands total conformity to its will. So is anyone comparing the town council -- is there an irony that has not been lost here?

NC: It is quite amusing that they're being so heavy handed against the Dalek. There is sort of an irony in there and it is quite funny and absurd. I mean here I am talking to you and to Canada which is fantastic -- and thank you for having me and listening to me. It's incredible. I would never have had these sort of opportunities. But ultimately I just want to get on with me museum really.

CO: Well you've probably attracted far more people to the Allendalek than the council could have imagined.

NC: Yes. I think it has absolutely blown up. There's even talk of a feature film being made about it at the minute which you can imagine with the villagers all rallying building Daleks out of sauce pans and goodness knows what. My wife and I we didn't ask for any of this publicity at all. It just started off when the county council sent us a pretty short letter saying they were going to remove the Dalek in a couple of weeks and we just posted online sayings is anybody know help? You know has anybody got any advice? And that was that. It suddenly went whoosh! Incredible really.

CO: Great story -- worthy of Doctor Who. Neil it's good to talk to you. Thank you.

NC: You're welcome. Thanks very much.

JD: Neil Cole is the owner-operator of the Museum of Classic Sci-Fi in Allendale, England. And that is where we reached him.

[Music]

Part 2: 25 years in the making, model train display destroyed by vandals

Afghanistan Memorial

Guest: Raynald Bouthillier

JD: Earlier this month the Afghanistan War Memorial was unveiled in Ottawa. The marble and slate structure was first built in Kandahar, and now stands in the Department of National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa. Some key people were missing from the ceremony. No family members of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan were invited to the event -- only department staff were present, and military leadership. If family members want to see the memorial they will have to schedule a private appointment. Members of the public are not permitted to see it at all. Raynald Bouthillier is the father of Trooper Jack Bouthillier, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in 2009. We reached Mr. Bouthillier in Hearst, Ontario.

CO: Raynald how did you react when you learned that this ceremony had been held to honour your son and others who were killed in Afghanistan but that you were not invited to it?

RAYNALD BOUTHILLIER: No -- we were not invited there. I think it's disappointing to see that they did that without you know telling us. Like if I had been invited, I would have find the time to go there because pretty much anytime when they do something for our boys and girls there, I'm taking the time to go. So I don't really know why they did that. But I think our boys and girls you know they deserve better than that.

CO: The Department of National Defence says that they didn't intend to offend anyone. They said -- this is a quote -- a humble internal event to have proper reverence for those who are there. Does that help at all -- that answer?

RB: I think the department have very poor judgment. Maybe they did that because it was not that important for them -- not it is like for us. I know some people could be very insulted for that. I see it in Kandahar because I did the trip there to Kandahar with the other families so I've seen it there -- I seen it in Ottawa when it was at the parliament. So I was not feeling insulted but disappointed.

CO: What you're describing -- what you have seen already seen -- is this cenotaph that had been built and it was installed in Kandahar. It was there for the duration of the war. And when people were killed -- personnel were killed -- they were memorialized there. This cenotaph has travelled in Canada's -- it came back after Canada left the conflict. This event that we're talking about was on May 13th and they unveiled the cenotaph in this place in the Department of National Defense Building in Ottawa. But it's behind security so you have to actually make arrangements to go in there to see it -- it's not accessible to the public. Is that your understanding of what it is that they opened on May 13th?

RB: Yes -- and again there you know you do something to put a homage to those men and women who would give their life for their country and you cannot see it -- wow -- and when I'm going to feel to go and visit it, I'm going to have to make an appointment to go and visit. And for the general public -- why do you put that memorial there?

CO: What are your theories? What do you think is the reason why they have put it behind security?

RB: There could be a few reason. Ignorance for one. Money for another one. Combination of both. I don't know.

CO: I want to just describe for people -- there is a plaque for each of the soldiers who -- and personnel -- who were under Canadian command in Afghanistan. There's 190 of these plaques for those fallen -- 158 of those are Canadians, and among them is your son Jack. What was that like for you to see your son on that plaque?

RB: It's always a moment of sadness you know because Jack is in my head there every day. You know when you love someone so much and when they die like that having to have to live with that every day of my life that's the price I have got to pay because I loved him so much and I'm okay with that. I don't mind to pay that price. And when I see my son there on those plaques I know Jack was a real soldier, he was a volunteer. I had many talks with him -- I tried to talk him out of that career -- it's not a bad career -- it's because it's a dangerous one. And there was nothing I can do or say to have him change his mind, so I was proud of what he did you know because serving your country it's a great deal. And I you know I still am very happy for what life give me with my son like you know I had the privilege to be with him for 20 years which was not long but it's just to tell you that I'm a very proud father. That's why I'm disappointed in the way they do that. Maybe there is no bad meaning but they should explain their selves a lot better than that.

CO: Just to remind people we're talking about Trooper Jack Bouthillier -- your son -- killed in a roadside bomb in 2009 in Afghanistan. And his face, his image, is etched on one of these plaques. You said earlier that it wasn't just for you to see it -- and for families to see it --but for all of us to be able to see these plaques, to see Jack. Why do you think it's important for all of us to be able to see these plaques?

RB: Well you know over the last 10 years after my son died -- I do drive truck you know to make a living -- and on my truck I put a picture of him, pretty big picture of him, the name of 158 men and women who died here in Afghanistan -- it was like a memorial. And everywhere I would go I had a lot of common people taking picture, talking about me, telling me that they were proud of those men and women you know. So you've seen so much respect not only for my son but for all the people who is doing that job. They were paying respect to that because for many Canadians you want to do that -- they want to honour them, they want to go there, visit, see, think you know it should be like. You know when you're going into the war museum, it's not top secret -- why they do that with that memorial? Well I don't know. But it should be open to the public because I know public would like to go and see that.

CO: Well Raynald I really appreciate speaking with you. And thank you for telling us about your son Jack.

RB: Anytime. It's always my pleasure to talk about my son.

CO: Take care.

RB: Thank you. Bye bye.

JD: Raynald Bouthillier is the father of Trooper Jack Bouthillier who was killed in 2009 by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. We reached Mr. Bouthillier in Hearst, Ontario.

[Music]

Steve Baker

JD: British Prime Minister Theresa May may be struggling with a Brexit plan. But her ministers don't seem to have any trouble leaving. Today, Andrea Leadsom, leader of the House of Commons resigned from the government. She is the 36th minister to do so under Ms. May's leadership. The move comes alongside backlash from other members of her Conservative party who are angry over Ms. May's recent attempts to woo the votes of opposition Labour MPs with the prospect of a second referendum. Steve Baker is a British Conservative Party politician and a former minister. He spoke to the BBC about why he thinks Ms. May should resign.

SOUNDCLIP

STEVE BAKER: I think at this point the reality is that -- certainly judging by the mood upstairs -- the centre of the Conservative party that's relatively agnostic about the EU issue I think has moved now, and I think the Prime Minister will know that she must...

REPORTER: One said to me it's not just about Brexit anymore, it is about her as the leader. And whatever deal came forward lots of people feel that people just simply aren't listening to what she's saying.

STEVE BAKER: Well when David Davis, Boris Johnson, and I resigned after Chequers last year we were very clear that it was about the policy not the person. I'm afraid it is now about both and there's no getting away from it. But it is also about the policy. The fundamental reason for the problem we have is the policy. The crucial thing everybody's going to need to understand in here in Parliament every single Member of Parliament and the Conservative party and in the DUP is going to matter in a historic way like perhaps no one's ever appreciated before because unless we reassemble a governing coalition one willing to stand resolute and firm to take us out of the European Union then the government in there in the end will fall and the Conservative party will be obliterated I think we can safely say as a governing force if we don't take this country out of the EU.

JD: That is British Conservative Party politician and former minister Steve Baker speaking today with the BBC.

[Music]

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

JD: Quentin Tarantino's new movie is making a splash at Cannes. "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" is set in the '60s and tells the story of a fading actor and his stunt double. The tale folds real life elements into the fiction -- director Roman Polanski and his wife Sharon Tate, as well as Ms. Tate's murderers, the Manson family, make appearances. The movie is already getting some pretty good reviews. But there was one moment of tension at the press conference at the film festival -- a kind of uncomfortable question for the director and for the actor who plays Sharon Tate.

SOUNDCLIP

INTERVIEWER: Quentin you have put Margot Robbie a very talented actress -- actor -- in your film. She with Leonardo in Wolf of Wall Street. I, Tonya. This is you know a person with a great deal of acting talent, and yet you haven't really given her many lines in the movie I guess that was a deliberate choice on your part. And I just wanted to know why that was that we don't hear her actually speaking very much. And Margot I wanted you to also comment about being in the film in this part.

QUENTIN TARANTINO: Well I just reject your hypothesis.

MARGOT ROBBIE: I always at the character and what the character is supposed to serve to the story. I think the moments that I got on screen gave an opportunity to honour Sharon and the lightness. I don't think it was intended to delve deeper then -- like Brad also mentioned -- I think the tragedy ultimately was the loss of innocence and to really show those wonderful sides of her, I think could be adequately done without speaking. I did feel like I got a lot of time to explore the character even without dialogue specifically which is an interesting thing because I often do look to the interaction with other characters to inform me on my character. Rarely do I get an opportunity to spend so much time on my own as a character, going through a day-to-day existence, that was actually an interesting thing for me to do as an actor. I actually really appreciated the exercise and felt that I could deliver what I wanted to onscreen.

JD: Margot Robbie in Cannes answering a reporter's question about her role in Quentin Tarantino's new film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood -- and the director not.

[Music]

Model Train Set

Guest: Peter Davies

JD: "A scene of absolute devastation." That is how the Market Deeping Model Railway Club has described an act of vandalism that wiped out the elaborate model train sets on display for its annual exhibition. One exhibitor said he had incurred 34,000 dollars worth of damage to his gear. This year's event which has been held in Stamford, England, for the past 12 years is now cancelled. Police have arrested four people they say caused the damage. And now club members are starting to rebuild and their efforts have been boosted by the generosity of fans of miniature train sets from all over the world. Peter Davies is the chairman of the Market Deeping Railway Club. He was one of the first to witness the wreckage this weekend. We reached Mr. Davies in Northborough, England.

CO: Peter how would you describe the public reaction and support you've been getting since this incident?

PETER DAVIES: It's absolutely amazing. We've never encountered anything like it. But then, there's never been a disaster quite like it. The public response has been wonderful and honestly truly humbling.

CO: How much has been donated so far?

PD: The public donations are somewhere of the order of 86,000 pounds. But in addition to that, people have offered us model railway layouts, rolling stock of all sorts, skills, time. It's just been amazingly wonderful.

CO: You said you've never seen a reaction of support like this but you've never seen such a disaster before -- can you describe what you saw of this vandalism?

PD: Well the best thing I can suggest to you is is that if you stand at the door of your main living room and you look around at all the lovely things around you -- you've got pictures, you've got ornaments, you've got furniture, but instead of it being where it's in its place -- it's matchwood and glass bits. Well that sort of feeling is what it was like because what I saw was total devastation. Everything had been attacked by hammers. People had been kicking things around. The layouts had all been jumbled up and broken. They are a total write off.

CO: Before this happened -- maybe just describe for people what it looked like, what the display was that was vandalized?

PD: Well five layouts. One of them was a old gauge layout called Helmthwaite. And that was something of the order of seven to eight metres long maybe a little bit longer. And about half a metre wide beautifully decorated with wonderful village scenes and so on. Lots of stock, lots of locomotives, and wagons, and so on ready ready to roll the next morning. [Inaudible] -- which is a layout we built specifically for young people to operate in the exhibition so they can get a feel for operating a model railway and entice them into the hobby. Another layout -- Woodcraft -- we had was turned upside down and walked on. I mean it's just too horrific to talk about really.

CO: And for people who don't know what these model railway displays look like I mean these are extremely elaborate detailed installations, aren't they?

PD: Yes. We're talking miniature worlds really. If you can imagine anything in the real thing, we will miniature-ize it and there you have it. So the locomotives all work -- they are electrically powered -- all the signalling, all the detail of stations, and station halts, of villages. For example on the layout I was working on we had a village scene with a church and a wedding and the balloon seller, kids in the school yard doing maypole dancing -- all of it is just trashed...just trashed.

CO: And how long did it take -- would it have taken -- the people who created these scenes to to have actually constructed them?

PD: Yeah. One of the layout had taken 25 years. Another one was 26 years old and had been worked on to bring it back into condition and been added to only in the last six to nine months. These things take an enormous amount of time to create. My own model railway which I have in the house has taken 10 years and I haven't even started on the serious scenic bits yet. You know there's only so many hours in a week that you can do these things because we've all got other lives.

CO: When we talk about this in terms of years or the hours put into them that's only part of the story, isn't it? It's the the love and the passion and the detail -- all of those things that the people who created these had invested in them, isn't it?

PD: Absolutely. You know there's a lot of imagination that goes into creating the scenes in the first place -- a lot of planning and then a lot of building. Absolutely nothing -- bits of paper, bits of card, bits of plastic, it's just mind blowingly horrible.

CO: All of this smashed to smithereens. And now I understand four youths have been detained. What could have motivated them to do this? Any sense?

PD: I have no idea whatsoever. And as far as I'm concerned the people who have been arrested and since released on conditional bail will have to follow due process of law. That's not for me to comment on. We don't want to compromise any potential criminal prosecution or anything else that might be going on.

CO: The money that's been donated so far by people most of whom you don't even know. Rod Stewart, the pop star, being one of them. Do you have any idea why he is providing funds?

PD: He's a railway model man. He has a huge model railway of his own. He spent many many years building it and he like the rest of us loves model railways -- you know creating these little model worlds and seeing them operate is something very special. You put a lot of dedication into making it work. And when it works, there's quite a thrill in it. Some people might not understand that but that's the way it works.

CO: So with this money which amounts to well over 150,000 Canadian -- when you describe the time it takes it, 25 years of investment in one case, these people who've been doing this for years some of them are older people, they're retired -- how can they start again? How can they rebuild these?

PD: You can't. I'm 70 and I don't want to be but I am. [Chuckles] And you know you don't have those sorts of years. You just don't. I don't know yet how we will cope and what we will do. In my case we'll probably build something smaller that won't take as long and perhaps not be as exciting not be as interesting to observe. So I don't know yet. It's very very early days.

CO: Well Peter I'm so sorry this has happened but it's really encouraging to see the kind of support you're getting from the public and I really appreciate you speaking with us. Thank you.

PD: Thank you.

JD: Peter Davies is the chairman of the Market Deeping Model Railway Club. We reached him in Northborough, England. And we do have some photographs of the destruction on our website: cbc.ca/aih.

[Music]

Diablo Cody

JD: When the movie "Juno" came out in 2007 it was widely acclaimed. It starred Ellen Page of course in the title role as a pregnant high schooler. And it earned the writer Diablo Cody an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. In the year since, however, the film's depiction of Juno opting not to have an abortion has given its special significance for some anti-abortion activists. And Diablo Cody does not feel good about that. The writer and producer recently appeared on the podcast "Keep It." She was asked how she felt about that first film at a time when access to abortions is being restricted in several U.S. states.

SOUNDCLIP

DIABLO CODY: I don't even know if I would have written a movie like Juno if I had known that the world was going to spiral into this hellish alternate reality that we now seem to be stuck in. The Georgia thing is horrifying. It's honestly something that I've been thinking about kind of continuously in an endless dark feedback loop. It sucks so [bleep] bad. And I'm pleased to see -- you know it's so weird I'm like not on Twitter, I quit a few years ago and...

VOICE 1: By the way we miss you on Twitter.

DIABLO CODY: You know what, I still lurk but now I'm like input only. But it's been heartening to see at least to like observe that people are like fired up about it. I wish more guys were. I wish I had something clever to say about it but I'm just mad.

VOICE 1: When I think of you one of the first things I think what is like this sort of fable about how when you wrote Juno like you basically wrote it on a lark somebody told you like "Try writing a screenplay."

DIABLO CODY: I mean you know me like I'm a realist. I certainly never thought that the movie would be produced. I thought it would just be a nice calling card -- a little spec script I could take out and maybe become a writer.

VOICE 2: If you were to rewrite Juno tomorrow would she go to Atlanta and get an abortion?

DIABLO CODY: I mean if you want me to say yes -- I think I probably would've just told a different story in general. Like I would have just stayed away from...I have to admit when I wrote it I was not -- first of all I didn't think it would ever be a film. I didn't think it was ever going to get made. And secondly I wasn't thinking like you know as an activist -- I wasn't thinking politically at all. I mean the most horrifying thing that came out of that was me getting a letter from my Catholic high school thanking me for writing a pro-life movie. And I was like I [bleep] hate all of you. And I am as pro-choice as a person can possibly be.

JD: That was Diablo Cody on the "Keep It" podcast last week.

[Music]

Part 3: Somali Colonel Trial

Somali Colonel Trial

Guest: Farhan Warfaa

JD: Farhan Warfaa says that 31 years ago when he was still a teenager he was tortured by a high ranking Army officer during Somalia's civil war. Yesterday, a jury in Virginia and a civil court agreed. They found Yusuf Abdi Ali -- known as Colonel Tukeh -- responsible for torture, and awarded Mr. Warfaa half a million U.S. dollars. These allegations were first uncovered by the CBC's Fifth Estate in 1992 when the Colonel was living in Canada. From our documentary here he is being interviewed by reporter Victor Mahlarek.

SOUNDCLIP

VOICE 1: The story I've got is completely, entirely, perfectly, and absolutely partial. It's false -- totally baseless.

VOICE 2: We went to a town called -- a village called Gabiley -- people there, villagers there, told us that you and your men terrorized them, maim them, had executions taking place all over the place.

VOICE 1: All I can say to that -- I can't do that to my people. That's false. That's untrue. I have never did anything wrong to any Somali.

VOICE 2: A captain under your command in Gabiley said that he was with you when your men went up to a hillside and executed more than 100 people.

VOICE 1: Let him come to the court. That's false. I have never did that I tell you that. I have never did that. I've never did that. I'm innocent. And I am confident of myself. Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity.

JD: From the Fifth Estate documentary "Crimes Against Humanity" that was Yusuf Abdi Ali denying allegation of war crimes during Somalia's civil war. Kathy Roberts is Farhan Warfaa's lawyer, and a senior lawyer with the Centre for Justice and Accountability which brought the suit. We reached her in Los Angeles.

CO: Ms. Roberts how did your client react when this jury determined that the Somali colonel had in fact tortured him?

KATHY ROBERTS: It was a moment of great joy and happiness, but it was also a very somber moment in the courtroom. You know the court had -- the judge had just admonished everyone to no outbreaks, no you know sort of cries of joy or anything or anger. It was clear there was a lot of emotions running quite high in the courtroom actually for several days at that point. But Farhan was very very happy.

CO: And Farhan Warfaa -- this client has waited 31 years for some kind of justice. He is not living in the States-- you had him come all the way from Somaliland to this court in Virginia to be able to say what this colonel had done to him. Did he ever think he would have a chance to be in a court and be able to testify against this man?

KR: Yes I think he did. It's a little bit astonishing to believe that. But he really is a person who believes deeply in justice and he you know had such a relationship with us with the lawyers that he believed that he would eventually come.

CO: We heard in that clip we played from the CBC's Fifth Estate back in the 1990s. We heard Mr. Ali who is also known as Colonel Tukeh that all these things that he's accused of having done in Gabiley -- and this is during the time of course war under Mohamed Siad Barre. What did Mr. Warfaa say happened to him back in the 1980s at the hands of this Colonel?

KR: Well one morning in late 1987 Mr. Warfaa I was 17 years old. He was asleep just in front of his parents’ house. The defendant's soldiers came and woke him up with AK-47s. And you know they gathered him and several other people from his village -- other men from the village -- and said they were going to interrogate them about a missing water truck. And Mr. Warfaa was not worried about that. He didn't know anything about the missing water truck, but he'd always been raised to trust authority. You know his father worked for the government, and he didn't know anything so he assumed that he would be fine. Instead they held him for months, they tortured him almost nightly, they subjected him to some of the worst tortures that you can imagine -- particularly a torture called the "Mig" torture where his arms and legs were sort of tied together behind him so that his body would form a kind of U shape. He testified it was very very hard to breathe. It was extremely painful. He lost consciousness several times. They would revive him with water. The defendant was there present for that. This was right outside of his office. And one night or the last night that Farhan was there there was an attack from the sort of guerrilla army -- SNM -- that was engaging the Somali national army. And after the attack was over and Mr. Warfaa he was shackled and sitting on the floor -- Mr. Ali is running around you or the Colonel was running around giving orders during the battle. And the battle ended. And he just turned around and shot my client quite carelessly and told the soldiers to get rid of the body. Mr. Warfaa was just losing consciousness at that point and woke up finally in a truck -- in a military truck -- where the soldiers were taking him to his family for a bribe which they paid and that enabled them to finally get him to a hospital and save him from dying.

CO: He was 17 years old at that time.

KR: That's right.

CO: The jury in Virginia found Mr. Ali responsible for the torture but did not agree that he had attempted to murder your client. Why is that?

KR: Well I can't know way that is of course because the jury deliberated among themselves. To me it doesn't make sense but I'm sure that they had some good reason why they decided to parse the evidence in that way.

CO: And as far as how long this has taken -- the Fifth Estate the clip we just heard back in the 90s this is only some few years after what had happened to your client. But Mr. Ali was living in Canada at that time. Then he was thrown out of Canada after he was exposed. He was back in the United States, and when CNN caught up with him in 2016 -- then he'd worked in airport security. He was driving an Uber. How has he managed to stay outside of any kind of prosecution all this time do you think?

KR: Well I think that prosecution -- there's no criminal jurisdiction where he could be prosecuted. So it isn't that hard when you look at it from that perspective. In the United States there is a statute that allows for prosecution of foreign perpetrators of torture when they're in the US but that statute took effect in 1994. These allegations all took place before that date, right. And so there's no criminal jurisdiction here. There's no international tribunal for Somalia. The International Criminal Court can't hear any cases before the year 2002. And so there's no possibility of a prosecution. This civil case is I think the only option for justice against this man.

CO: And the compensation -- 400,000 in compensatory damages, 100,000 punitive damages. What now happens with your client? Has he gone back to Somalia?

KR: He will be back in Somalia or Somaliland depending on your political point of view -- we don't take a position -- he'll be back there in the next few days.

CO: And what happens to the Colonel?

KR: So nothing will happen to him. He'll have a judgment entered against him. The judge indicated that both sides have 14 days to provide a notice of appeal. I don't believe that he has a tremendous amount of assets so I'm not sure that there is going to be much to recover for Mr. Warfaa but as I mentioned in other contexts you know in a civil case the language of punishment is money damages and so that word is meaningful whether or not he's able to ultimately collect very much of it.

CO: Wow we will leave it there. And another chapter in this story that we have been following for so many years. Ms. Roberts I appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.

KR: Thank you.

JD: Kathy Roberts is a lawyer with the Center for Justice and Accountability. We reached her in Los Angeles.

[Music]

Paul Wynnyk

JD: The Canadian Forces has been trying to put a stop to sexual misconduct for four years now. And a Statistics Canada report released today indicates that the operation is not succeeding. The survey of military service members showed very little progress in stamping out sexual assault and harassment. There was only a small decline in the number of regular force members and reservists who said that they had been the victim of sexual assault. A total of 1200 victims. And the number of people who reported seeing or being targeted by misbehaviour was lower, but it was still at 70 percent. Here's what the Military's Second in Command Lieutenant General Paul Wynnyk said to reporters today in response.

SOUNDCLIP

PAUL WYNNYK: We've always known that this would be a long bumpy road and the survey results released today confirm this. Sexual misconduct continues to be a destructive problem within the Canadian Armed Forces and we have made a rather limited progress in eliminating it over the past two and a half years. The number of members of our military who have been affected remains unacceptable. We are particularly troubled by the persistence of sexual assault which causes the most harm to individuals into our institution. The survey results suggest we have made some headway in certain areas and that our efforts have had a positive effect on some workplace behaviors. But there is still much work to be done.

JD: Vice Chief of the Defence Staff Lieutenant General Paul Wynnyk speaking earlier today in Ottawa.

[Music]

Georgie Anne Geyer

JD: People used to ask Georgie Anne Geyer how she managed to conduct interviews with major world figures and not lose control of the conversation. She said her secret was, quote, "To know more about the subject than the other person does." Sounds simple enough on one level. But then again Ms. Geyer knew more than most people which was how she became a widely respected foreign correspondent and syndicated columnist. Georgie Anne Geyer died this week. She was 84-years-old. Ms. Geyer spent decades travelling the world covering wars and revolutions and interviewing tyrants including Fidel Castro. In 1995 she published a famously critical and gossipy biography of the Cuban dictator called Guerrilla Prince. So when Fidel Castro's daughter Alina Fernandez won political asylum in the United States in 1993 As It Happens reached out to Ms. Geyer for her analysis. Here she is speaking with former host Michael Enright.

SOUNDCLIP

MICHAEL ENRIGHT: And what can you tell us about Alina -- what kind of a person is she?

GEORGIE ANNE GEYER: Alina seems like a very troubled person -- we'll finally get to know more about her. I discovered her in the course of my book. I was the first one to write about her but of course I could never meet her because they'd never let me go to Cuba. Very troubled. She was a model. She wore very counterculture bizarre clothes. Married a Mexican against her father's wishes. Divorced the Mexican. Had a daughter by him. Seem to build her whole life in doing whatever would disturb her father most. And I mean really not only no love lost between them but seems to be a profound hatred. We'll see now what really is there.

MICHAEL ENRIGHT: Can she cause him problems now from her new home in Atlanta or wherever she plans to stay in the U.S.?

GEORGIE ANNE GEYER: Oh she can cause him a lot of problems because -- although I did seven years of research on Castro and went to every source around the world I mean Alina Fernandez -- his daughter -- knows a lot of things that even I could not get to. And she certainly seems to be the type of woman who will talk about it.

MICHAEL ENRIGHT: Well that's interesting because on that point is she likely to get involved with the expatriate Cuban community in south Florida or is she going to become a symbol of some kind or wind up on Oprah or what?

GEORGIE ANNE GEYER: I would kind of doubt that. You find even within the people who leave Cuba don't generally go over to -- the majority there are the wealthy ones are far-right and they don't tend to go over to them. I would doubt that. You never can tell. But I would think she probably would talk a lot about Fidel but would not take any active role. I could be wrong but that would be my judgment.

MICHAEL ENRIGHT: Knowing Fidel Castro the way you do and the size of the man's ego is he going to be -- I mean tonight, is he angry? Hurt? How would he take this?

GEORGIE ANNE GEYER: I think tonight Fidel Castro is in an absolute rage. He hates to be known. He hates to have anyone know anything about him. That's why my book and my research disturbed him so deeply.

JD: That was columnists Georgie Anne Geyer in 1993 speaking to former As It Happens host Michael Enright about the Castro family. Georgie Anne Geyer died this week. She was 84 years old.

[Music]

Correction

JD: On the program last night we paid tribute to Dave "Bookie" Bookman. Mr. Bookman was a much loved supporter of the Canadian music scene and a mainstay of Toronto radio. He died yesterday at the young age of 58. And we played a short clip of Mr. Bookman introducing the Rheostatics at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1996. That clip was posted by Dave Bidini -- a founding member of the Rheostatics -- who we referred to as his "former" band. After which Mr. Bidini pointed out on Twitter that in fact Rheostatics are his current band. He says, quote, "Easy mistake I guess but we have a new album coming in the fall and shows this summer. Cheers and love." Dave thank you. And our apologies for our dumb dumb.

[Music]

Yo-Yo Champ

Guest: Harrison Lee

JD: There've been a lot of rises and falls in Harrison Lee's rise. Over the weekend, Mr. Lee won his third Canadian Yo-Yo championship which means that this summer he'll be walking the dog all the way to Cleveland for the World Championship. We reached Harrison Lee in Vancouver.

CO: Harrison big congratulations.

HARRISON LEE: Thank you so much Carol. I really appreciate it. And thank you so much for having me today.

CO: Now going into this competition what was the secret to the success this time do you think?

HL: It would definitely be the way that I constructed my routine and my performance for the competition. I tried putting on a different kind of performance. I wanted to bring something different from the Yo-Yo norm and put on a jazzy and entertaining performance instead of your typical electronic pop music.

CO: So normally you're doing your tricks to electronic pop music. What did you play for the routine?

HL: I played a song called "Sing, Sing, Sing" by Benny Goodman. So very typical dance -- ballroom dance -- song.

CO: Swing music?

HL: Swing music.

CO: Which is appropriate for a Yo-Yo right?

HL: Mm hmm. And it was quite appropriate too because the venue that I was playing at the Wise Hall bar and lounge was a jazz venue so it all lined up well.

CO: But now it's not just the music that that won you this championship, is it, it's the routine. And I watched you on YouTube. I don't know how you do that. You make it look so simple.

HL: Thank you so much Carol. I've had my fair share of not taking outing over the past couple of years and it's all about starting in a simple formation and then slowly and gradually building up into formations which are more complex. So a lot of muscle memory and yeah again a lot of time picking out knots. [Chuckles]

CO: Well you didn't have any knots to pick out this time. So tell us about the routine that you went in -- what about the different kinds of tricks that you did with your Yo-Yo?

HL: For sure -- matching to the music, I did tricks which were more flow-y, tricks which incorporated parts of my body like my arms and my neck, and doing tricks behind the back as well. I also relied on a lot of slack elements. So a slack element in Yo-Yoing is when you pinch the string and by pinching the string it forms a slack -- and so the Yo-Yo hangs instead of being held [inaudible] so that allows you to manipulate the Yo-Yo in a whole bunch of different ways in addition to your typical tricks.

CO: And what do you get judged on?

HL: So in a competition there are two main categories. So the component is how difficult your tricks are, the amplitude of your tricks, how many tricks you are doing in a short amount of time and then the performance component is your music use, your audience engagement, your showmanship that sort of thing.

CO: How did people react? What was the audience response to your routine with the swing music?

HL: I think they're quite surprised. I mean that was definitely the outcome that I was trying to get out of the audience because it's definitely different from the Yo-Yo competition norm. Generally players will choose an electronic or pop song and then they'll do very simple tricks to that music because it's really easy to the music. And so using a very different song kind of definitely brought a new element to the competition.

CO: The element of surprise.

HL: Element of surprise.

CO: You have been yo-yoing since you were 11 years old, right?

HL: Yes.

CO: How did you get started?

HL: So I first started yo-yoing about eight years ago I guess now and it was because one of my friends actually brought a yo-yo to school one day and he started playing with it during recess. I asked him if I could try and I instantly got hooked. And ever since that day I've been yo-yoing ever since.

CO: It's such a simple thing to yo-yo I mean it's just a simple object and do you find that all your friends are sitting in front of their computer screens while you're doing your routines?

HL: Yeah it's definitely a good de-stressor in between my academics and my schoolwork instead of going on my phone and instead standing up and yo-yoing for a bit.

CO: Is there any particular yo-yo trick that's really your best -- the one that you're really most proud of accomplishing?

HL: One of my favorite tricks is called the "Harrison Hurricane." And so the Harrison Hurricane is a horizontal trick so unlike your typical yo-yo trick which goes up and down and a vertical plane -- the yo-yo it goes off axis on a horizontal plane. And so because it goes off axis on a horizontal plane you can do some another whole new realm of tricks. And I think it looks pretty impressive.

CO: So now you're headed to the World Championships in August. Are you going to the Harrison Hurricane for that routine?

HL: The Harrison Hurricane is a trick that created a few years ago now. But I'm going to definitely -- I've been working on it and I've been adding a few new elements to it, changing it up a little bit, fixing it up, and hopefully by the time Worlds comes around I'll have a new updated version of the Harrison Hurricane to show off.

CO: And then people all around the world will be doing the Harrison Hurricane.

HL: Yep.

CO: That's your objective, isn't it?

HL: That is the objective.

CO: Harrison I wish you best of success in August. Thank you.

HL: Thank you so much.

JD: Harrison Lee is Canada's national yo-yo champion. We reached him in Vancouver.

[Music]

Leonard Cohen & Marianna Ihlen’s

SOUNDCLIP

[Music: Bird on a Wire - Leonard Cohen]

JD: Not hard to guess what image inspired Leonard Cohen's "Bird on a Wire." It was a bird on a wire. But the real inspiration was his partner at the time Marianne Ihlen -- who saw the bird on the wire from the window of their shared home on the Greek island of Hydra and suggested he write about it. The story of Marianne and Leonard is a long and complicated one and ultimately it lasted all their lives from 1960 when they met in Greece to 2016 when Mr. Cohen wrote a letter to Ms. Ihlen while she was on her deathbed. He wrote, "I've never forgotten your love and your beauty. But you know that. I don't have to say anymore. Safe travels old friend. See you down the road. Love and gratitude, Leonard." She died in July of 2016. He died that November. And now Christie's is about to auction off some of their letters to one another. The first is from September of 1960 when he wrote to her from Tel Aviv, quote, "It's hard to write you. The surf is too loud. The beach is too crowded. And you're too much in my heart to put anything down." The last is undated but from sometime after the turn of the 21st century: a postcard from Mr. Cohen written in red marker that simply reads, "Come to New York!" Anyone interested in their long relationship will find a lot to read among the dozens of pieces of correspondence. And there were two other items as well: Marianne Ihlen's handbag described as "iconic" -- and an antique bronze bell dated to the 15th or 16th century that sat in various places in their home in Hydra. A bell with a distinctive crack.

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May 22, 2019 Episode Transcript

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