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The AIH Transcript for December 3, 2018

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: Glut for punishment. With cheap oil flooding the market, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley issues an order to cut production -- her biggest opponent opposition leader Jason Kenney tells us why he's a big supporter of the move.

JD: Rain check. Former Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman says we owe a debt of gratitude to the late U.S. President George H.W. Bush for his action on the environment in particular on acid rain.

CO: Vested interest. The once-peaceful 'yellow vest' protests over fuel taxes exploded into violence on the weekend. Our guest says this the first true test of Emmanuel Macron's presidency.

JD: Unmarking their territory. After a big donation a San Francisco hospital was renamed after Mark Zuckerberg. But after several Facebook scandals a local politician says it's time for a rebranding.

CO: The podium is the message. She was cheated out of medals twice but after revelations of doping -- Canadian weightlifter Christine Girard was finally awarded Olympic gold today.

JD: And... it's a pit much. Our guest looked into the abyss and what looked back at her was a newly discovered cave which may be the largest in Canada. As It Happens. The Monday edition. Radio that finds she is actually pretty happy about being down in the mouth.

[Music: Theme]

Part 1: Oil production in Alberta

Alberta oil: Kenney

Guest: Jason Kenney

JD: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says in order to get oil prices back up, production has to slow down. Yesterday with more pipeline capacity far in the distance and supplies of cheap oil piling up -- Ms. Notley announced a mandatory 8.7 percent cut in the amount of oil the province is pumping out. Here is the premier speaking during a cabinet meeting today.

SOUNDCLIP

RACHEL NOTLEY: We are in a crisis. The crisis that is not of our making but it is up to us to fix. People are frustrated that failure after failure of successive federal governments to get pipelines have put us into this position. This is a time for unity and for resolve. And I specially want to stress this to Ottawa -- we need them to toss the half-hearted statements away. We don't actually need Ottawa's sympathy. We need Ottawa's full attention. We need them to step up and help us bring an end to this crisis.

JD: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley explaining her decision to cut oil production in an attempt to bring up oil prices. Jason Kenney is a leader of the province's opposition United Conservative Party. We reached Mr. Kenney in Edmonton.

CO: Mr. Kenney you have called for an even larger mandatory oil production cut than the NDP. Are we living in strange times when Conservative Party calls for government intervention in the marketplace?

JASON KENNEY: Well we are, although the power for the government to limit production has existed in Alberta since the oil industry began in the late 40s -- it was used for most of our history by Social Credit and PC governments. And really we are in an extraordinary moment. Right now we're giving our oil away. It costs more to produce and ship it than it's worth. And most of our energy companies are burning cash. They can't raise equity. If we don't start to get some kind of decent price, there could be tens of thousands of layoffs.

CO: Okay I want to get into some of those issues in a moment but just to stay on this -- we know conservatives are just by nature suspicious of regulation and intrusion into business. And we've heard from the industry from people who say that -- this is one from CEO Rich Kruger who said that this sends a negative message to investors doing business in Alberta that the government would intervene in the marketplace. What do you say to them?

JK: Well you're right that we are naturally skeptical about government intervention in markets -- and when energy industry advocates began asking for government to curtail production at first I was sceptical -- I called upon them to do so voluntarily but it was clear that three large companies, one of which was Mr. Kruger's Imperial were not going to reduce production because they make very good profits by selling cheap Canadian oil to their refineries in the US -- where we get no royalty but their shareholders get a big markup.

CO: So now we're seeing something I thought I would never see -- you and Rachel Notley working together but you're not exactly comfortable bedfellows are you? You're still blaming her.

JK: Our view is that we're in this mess because of the campaign to landlocked Canadian energy which involved opposing you know Prime Minister Trudeau's vetoing of the approved Northern Gateway pipeline. His killing Energy East through additional regulations. His bills -- C-69. What I call the 'no more pipelines act' bill C-48 -- the northern B.C. coast tanker ban. And other policies have created this situation where we're giving Canadian oil away for less -- you know at fire sale prices. The NDP in Alberta -- I have tremendous regard for Premier Notley, she is a very capable and intelligent leader, but I think that they have made some real mistakes -- they supported vetoing Northern Gateway, they didn't object to the federal regulations that killed Energy East, they opposed Keystone XL. And so they helped to create the situation.

CO: I just want to get to something else. You mentioned the Northern Gateway and Energy East, I think you mentioned. I mean these are pipelines that Indigenous people have opposed, the provinces have opposed, we've seen other players opposing, we've seen the court say 'hey you haven't done due diligence on this.' They have rejected these pipelines. They have sent them back to the drawing board. Can you blame all of that on the federal government when it seems that federal courts and Indigenous players and people in British Columbia to Quebec are saying we don't want your pipeline?

JK: Yes you can blame the federal government for vetoing Northern Gateway -- it had been approved after years of exhaustive review by the National Energy Board which approved it with conditions. The Federal Court said the Crown should go back and do some limited additional Aboriginal consultations. I myself as a federal minister spent a week speaking with Aboriginal leaders in northern B.C. about that project. The vast majority of them supported it. So the story is a little more complex. On the First Nations for example on Trans Mountain, the vast majority support it.

CO: But look again at another pipeline -- at Trans Mountain I mean haven't Canadians paid 4.5-billion dollars to buy Trans Mountain pipeline. Doesn't that show a commitment on the part of the federal government and Canadians to see you get your oil to market?

JK: Well we accepted that as a necessary evil. The problem is that we chased a multinational company out of the country that was willing to invest and risk 5 billion of its own shareholders dollars on that project. So we still hope that the Trans Mountain pipeline will be built. But I think the federal government could demonstrate greater commitment to that by having appealed the federal court decision to the Supreme Court of Canada accelerating the current Aboriginal consultations and making it clear to the government of British Columbia that it will not tolerate obstructionism that would seek to unconstitutionally block the export of Canada's largest export product.

CO: We heard Rachel Notley in the beginning -- she mentioned failure after failure of federal 'governments,' plural, to get pipelines built. You were part of the federal government for 10 years. How many pipelines has Stephen Harper's government build?

JK: Four -- that were built by the private sector that were approved during the Harper administration that increased oil shipment by 1.72-million barrels per day --doubling shipment capacity, and a fifth that was approved Northern Gateway which was opposed by the NDP and subsequently vetoed by Justin Trudeau. That was the only coastal pipeline that came before the Harper cabinet.

CO: Wasn't it Northern Gateway -- there were 200 conditions put on that by the Harper government and the federal court overturned.

JK: It didn't overturn it, it suspended it and asked for limited additional consultations which could have been satisfied in a few months according to the court.

CO: You know we just watched what happened in Ontario where General Motors announced that the future is in electric cars and that we expect the other car companies, car manufacturers, to do the same. The Alberta economy as we've seen is taking a beating because of your dependence on oil. Doesn't this indicate -- aren't there signals writing on the wall that says Alberta needs to diversify?

JK: Alberta has diversified. Oil and gas has shrunk by one third as a share of our economy in the last three decades. But the writing on the wall is massive capital expansion in the global oil and gas industry. The Texas economy, North Dakota, Colorado, and countries around the world that have been the beneficiaries of capital moving from the Canadian oil and gas industry to their jurisdictions. The International Energy Agency estimates that there will be growing global demand for oil and gas through at least the year 2040. The only question is whether Canada with the highest global standards will be able to satisfy some of that demand or whether we abandon those global energy markets to some of the world's worst regimes.

CO: When are we going to see the United Conservatives announce their plan on climate change?

JK: In the platform it will probably involve a levy on major emitters, to support research and development, to continue reducing the carbon intensity of heavy industry including the oil and gas industry. Tell you the single biggest thing Canada could do though would be to ship our liquefied natural gas to China and other Asian markets so they can convert from coal fired electricity to much much cleaner natural gas power. So I think those are the kinds of things we need to do that actually will make a meaningful difference in global emissions.

CO: We will leave it there. Mr. Kenney thank you.

JK: My pleasure.

JD: Jason Kenney is a leader of Alberta's United Conservative Party. We reached him in Edmonton.

[Music]

Paris protests

Guest: Sophie Pedder

JD: The voice of a protester in Paris this weekend dropping to her knees and pleading with French police. For weeks demonstrators have been marching in Paris wearing yellow vests known in French as 'gilets jaunes' to protest France's carbon tax. On Saturday the protests turned violent -- police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as protesters burned cars and vandalized buildings. Sophie Pedder is the Paris bureau chief for The Economist. We reached her in Paris.

CO: Sophie have you ever seen protests like this in Paris before?

SOPHIE PEDDER: I've not seen them right in the centre of Paris. I mean one has to remember that about just over a decade ago there were riots in the French sort of outer suburbs -- the housing projects around the city of Paris and so there was a lot of car burning at that time, a lot of street violence, and there was rioting. What's different this time is it has come right into the city centre and that's what's made a lot of Parisians very afraid -- you know scenes of cars burning literally on sort of the avenues of Paris and right in front of some of the landmarks. So it's that sense of it being very close to the centre of sort of power and wealth that has made people feel really wake up and take notice.

CO: Is Paris recovering at this point?

SP: It is. I mean you know it clearly was extreme and it was something that was far more violent than most protests but don't forget that Paris is not un-used to seeing violence including running battles with police, tear gas, water cannons. These things do happen during protests. They just don't generally tend to happen on you know Champs-Elysees which is sort of most iconic I suppose tourist boulevard of Paris where there's cobblestones and it's wide sweep all the way up to the Arc de Triomphe. And especially the graffiti that was sprayed on to the Arc de Triomphe which is the home of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier so for a lot of French people it's a place of respect. This morning the Champs- Elysees in Paris -- there were tourists there, cars were back on up and down the streets. And Paris [inaudible] have an ability to pick itself up and move on after a lot of street violence -- even though this was a very extreme day.

CO: As you pointed out politics in the street is something that is right in the fabric of France -- and we have been watching the protests for some weeks, hundreds of thousands of people turning out. What happened here? What's the theories as to why this has become so violent now?

SP: It's a combination of factors. One of them is there is a protest movement that has been started by these people wearing their high visibility jackets -- the yellow vests. This has got the backing of public opinion and I think that has given kind of confidence to the movement to keep coming back Saturday after Saturday to hold these protests. But what has also happened has been the kind of hijacking of that protest movement by much more violent groups -- people who are either from the ultra-left -- so you know some kind of anarchist, anti-capitalist -- but also neo-nazi, fascist groups on the far-right of the spectrum, who have tried to kind of infiltrate and hijack these movements. But it's this sort of blurring and coming together of these two elements that I think has given rise to this sort of mob mentality.

CO: You mentioned these protesters were wearing reflective yellow vests or 'gilets jaunes' they've been demonstrating for weeks now. What are they protesting? How did these protests begin?

SP: It's very interesting because it started off as a protest against a rise in tax on diesel and fuel -- so people filling up their tanks with their cars. And this was a rise that was introduced in order to -- as a sort of green, an ecological measure, environmental measure, part of -- you know Macron said 'let's help make our planet great again.' But this was seen by those who live in rural areas, who drive long distances to work, was seen as a form of punishment. It's an environmental tax and that's seen as a concern for those who live in smart-fashionable neighborhoods of Paris and they might go to work on a bicycle. And that's all very well for them with the environmental taxes but these are people who are struggling to make ends meet. The petrol price going up just push them over the edge and that's how it all began. But it began very very recently -- really over the last three weeks and it sort of seemed to come from nowhere.

CO: And coming from nowhere but doesn't seem to have leaders, what do you make of that?

SP: It's something that makes it very difficult for the government to deal with because in the past -- you know France is very used to having street protests. You have union and organized demonstrations regularly against them. With the gilets jaunes and the yellow vest, there is no leader. There are few sort of appointed spokespeople who've emerged -- but the government therefore doesn't have clear people to talk to nor really anyone who can explain what the demands of the yellow vest are because although it started as a protest against the rise in petrol prices it has broadened out into something much bigger than that. You know it's all about Macron -- discontent at the way he has run the presidency and at the way he seems to treat ordinary people with what they feel is a form of contempt.

CO: It's unusual also for I guess for president Macron because he was elected -- we understood he was elected because he was not part of the old guard that he was supposed to bring a kind of a new idea into politics. And yet he is being accused of being out of touch -- of being an elitist. Has this come as a surprise to him?

SP: I think that there were the warning signs about the perception of Macron as a leader who was remote and had a sort of condescending tone towards the French on occasion -- it was something that has been brewing for a while now. But it's an awkward one because when he came to power one of the things he wanted to do was to restore what he saw as a loss of dignity in the French presidency and he came after a president who had tried to be a normal president, who has tried not to govern from on high. And the French didn't like that either because they wanted a president who could restore a sense of grandeur to France and almost [inaudible] way, so Macron was coming in with the idea of making the presidency a grander figure but in doing so, he somewhat along the line lost that connection with people.

CO: So does this appear to be a rather watershed moment for President Macron?

SP: I think this is a key moment. He hasn't really faced a political crisis of this scale before. It's very difficult for him to resolve this. He clearly wants to be seen as a president who doesn't give into the street but at some point he also runs the risk of not listening to people or that people feel he's indifferent to their concerns. So he will need to find some kind of gestures -- something to tell people that he is still able to listen and continue governing. But it's going to be very very difficult for him.

CO: Alright we'll be watching. Sophie thank you.

SP: Thanks very much indeed.

JD: Sophie Pedder is the Paris bureau chief for The Economist. We reached her in Paris.

[Music]

A taste of Inuktitut

JD: Across the north of this country if you turn on CBC TV or CBC Radio there's a very good chance that you will hear a story in Inuktitut or in another of the region's many indigenous languages. But tonight the entire country is going to get a taste of Inuktitut -- CBC TV's 'The National' will be airing an entire story in the language with English subtitles. The story was filed by reporter Jordan Konek -- it is about the issue of polar bear protection in Nunavut. Here's a clip.

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[Report in Inuktitut]

JD: Just a short clip of reporter Jordan Konek story which can be seen in full on The National tonight and heard in Inuktitut with English subtitles.

[Music]

B.C. cave

Guest: Catherine Hickson

JD: They were flying over British Columbia's Well Gray Provincial Park surveying caribou populations for the government when they saw a massive deep pit. A member of that crew ended up calling geologist Catherine Hickson. She has since gone to see it with her own eyes and she says that pit could be one of the biggest caves in Canada. We reach Catherine Hickson in Vancouver.

CO: Ms. Hickson take us back to a day when you went to visit this cave. What was the sensation you had as you stood at the opening and looked in?

CATHERINE HICKSON: It was one of incredible awe-wonder. You know we had been looking at pictures of the cave for the last few months but to actually be there on the ground was incredible. And just everything that we had imagined it would be, it was that and more.

CO: How big is it?

CH: Well numerically it's a hundred metres by sixty metres -- that's the opening. And that's actually about the size of a CFL football field or a soccer field. So that's how big the opening is. And then it goes down at least 135 metres -- so if you're the goalpost and looking down at the other end that's how deep it goes. And it goes farther. That's the only how far you can see it.

CO: What does it look like?

CH: It is this incredible vertical pit. Very large, rocky, steep, vertical wall, you can see snow in the bottom, you can see a waterfall going into it, and you can see all this mist roiling in this black abyss at the bottom.

CO: Can you actually go into it?

CH: Well one of our team, Lee Hollis, did descend into -- well he descended 100 metres. But we were not equipped and not prepared for particularly the amount of water that was entering the cave. We knew it would be technically challenging. So the point of what we did was to do a reconnaissance to see in fact how deep was it because the only pictures that we had it was filled with snow. So now we were able to confirm, yes it is a very deep cave. It is a very technically challenging cave and it will need a very well-equipped and experienced team to actually get much farther than what Lee was able to get into.

CO: You say there's a lot of water, where the water coming from and where is it going?

CH: Well the water is coming from the melting of glaciers and snow that are up slope from where the cave is. And we do know where it comes out -- at least we know one spot and that's a couple of kilometres away and 500 metres down topographically below the opening of the cave. So we know that at least some of that water is exiting down there. But what the pathway looks like between the opening and the exit we have no idea.

CO: The assumption is this is possibly the biggest cave in Canada, at least one of the biggest. Why did it go unnoticed for so long?

CH: Well it has gone unnoticed for a long time because of its remoteness. It is not in a place which is travelled. And it would not have been travelled by hunters or fishermen or First Nations because it's tucked away in a side valley and the terrain is so rugged that you know if you were hunting or something like that you would likely go somewhere else. So it may have been seen in the past but certainly -- the consultation that Parks is doing with First Nations and we have also done with local people, climbers and avid outdoor people who know well it's great -- no one has any recollection of seeing this or any inclination like in an oral history of the presence of this cave.

CO: You're still in those consultations though so it's possible that some First Nation or Indigenous people will know of some history of it or some knowledge of it?

CH: Absolutely. So one of the reasons why the cave is yet unnamed is because those consultations with First Nations are underway. It was dubbed, nicknamed, however you want to call it -- Sarlacc's Pit by the discovery group back in the spring.

CO: What does that mean?

CH: Sarlacc's Pit is from Star Wars. So it's a creature [chuckles] that lives in a very deep-very large pit. So it's actually quite an apt name but it is not the official name and certainly not the formal name so that process is awaiting additional consultation. And one of the things about getting the news out there if someone in fact has seen it we hope that they will come forward and tell us you know when they saw it and what they saw because understanding the history of the cave over time is also very important part of the cave itself.

CO: You say it's of national significance, why is that? What's important about this cave?

CH: Well caves are very interesting -- you know they are very interesting features. From a geological perspective, they're interesting because they're rare -- you don't get caves everywhere so when they form it's interesting to understand that process of formation. It's a very large cave and as a result it will likely have some kind of a unique ecosystem but what that ecosystem will look like or be you know we will await additional investigation.

CO: Very exciting, we will leave it there. Thank you very much Ms. Hickson.

CH: Thank you. Thank you. I just want to add -- the last time I was on As It Happens was 35, while not quite 35 years ago, 37 years ago -- I was at Mt. St. Helens, I was an eyewitness.

CO: Well there you go, you're part of our history now.

CH: [Laughs] Anyway I'm an avid fan and listener.

CO: Thank you. Take care.

CH: Okay bye bye.

CO: Bye bye.

JD: That was geologist Catherine Hickson in Vancouver and as Ms. Hickson mentioned there -- she has been on As It Happens way back in 1980 when she spoke to guest host June Callwood. And so here she is speaking about witnessing the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State.

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CATHERINE HICKSON: We just couldn't believe that we were actually that close. We had never ever expected to get as close as we did. We stood and watched for probably a minute. And there was a very deep river valley between us and the peak. And when the cloud of ash and whatever steam was halfway down the mountain, we decided that we weren't in a good spot. So we jumped into the car. We have our two dogs with us as well. So we had them in the front seat with us which was rather crowded because they are very large and just speed off down the mountain. It was very gusty -- there was ash in air, all around.

JUNE CALLWOOD: Did you see other people trying to get away?

CH: We managed to get out with the help of two other cars who were local people who knew the area and with them we tried two other routes -- one of which was rained on my walnut sized pumice pieces so that the route was blocked. And another one -- the bridge was wiped out by a wave of mud that had gone down and wiped out the bridges. But we managed to get back across -- going to another gravel logging road.

JD: That is Catherine Hickson from the last time she spoke to this program in May of 1980.

[Music]

Part 2: George H.W. Bush remembered in Canada for tackling acid rain

Bush obit: acid rain

Guest: Henry Waxman

JD: President George H.W. Bush is being remembered today as the president who saw his country through the end of the Cold War. But in Canada one of the biggest impacts of his time in office was environmental. For years Ottawa had been pressing for action from Washington on acid rain. And for years there was little but stonewalling. And then President Bush took over and things changed drastically. In 1990 he signed an update to The Clean Air Act. That was a turning point. Here is President George H.W. Bush at the signing ceremony.

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PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH: There's an old saying -- we don't inherit the earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children. We have succeeded today because of a sense, a common sense, of global stewardship. A sense that it is the earth that endures and that all of us are simply holding a sacred trust left for future generations.

JD: Henry Waxman was at that event in 1990. He was a Democratic congressman who had been pushing for environmental action for years. We reached the former congressman today in Washington D.C.

CO: Mr. Waxman how would you describe President Bush's environmental legacy?

HENRY WAXMAN: Without his leadership we would not have been able to pass the landmark additions to the American Clean Air Act including regulation of acid rain under a cap and trade program. He felt very strongly about it. He broke the logjam where we were stalemated in the Congress and when he provided that leadership we were able to work together on a bipartisan basis and pass the law practically unanimously.

CO: It's interesting we heard just over the weekend from our own former prime minister Brian Mulroney who says much of the same thing that he had been pushing for some kind of controls over acid rain which was affecting Canada a lot. And no response from President Reagan. But right away President Bush was involved in that. Do you remember that relationship between Canada and the U.S. on this issue?

HW: I do recall that Prime Minister Mulroney was a good friend to President Bush -- in that both of them cared about the acid rain problem. Canada was a victim area as well as parts of the United States including the state of Maine where President Bush had his own property in Kennebunkport where he could see the damage that was being done to the trees and to the streams and to the ponds as a result of acid rain. President Bush said he wanted to be the environmental president. In his comments that we heard earlier he talked about the stewardship that we have that we owe to future generations to protect our environment. What an amazing statement that is compared to President Trump who has nothing near the sense of obligation that President Bush had and that President Obama and President Clinton had about protecting the environment. President Trump simply acts like climate change is something he just doesn't believe in as if these environmental damages require a belief rather than an observation of the consequences of that pollution.

CO: So take it back to the 1980s because those of us who were around at that time remember what an extraordinary thing the effects of acid rain were. We talked about acid rain and pollution in a way that people talk about climate change now -- something that was quite terrifying. Can you describe how big the problem was at that time? What we were observing?

HW: The problem was not as big as climate change but a specific emission of pollution from the Midwestern power plants in the United States were being pushed through tall stacks and carried long distances even thousands of miles from the Ohio area to the northeastern part of the United States and Canada. And well those of us who wanted to do something about it had fought for ten years to a stalemate where we just couldn't get anything passed until we had President Bush making it a high priority. And that allowed us to pass what was called a cap and trade way of using the private sector of the economy in order to limit the pollution so that we could stop the consequences of acid rain. We passed it and it's worked. And we are able to do something that a lot of people said 'well there's nothing you can do about it.' Particularly the utilities that caused the pollution made that comment -- we owe a deep debt of gratitude to President Bush for his leadership. And I'm a Democrat but we worked together and that's what the American people would like to see us do today.

CO: And this bipartisan approach that you had at this time -- part about not just the changes for acid rain but also The Clean Air Act amendment which was bipartisan which went beyond just dealing with acid rain. It was dealing with smog. It was dealing with industrial toxins. How are things different because of this initiative on the part of President Bush? How was our environment different on this continent?

HW: I come from Los Angeles, California which has a reputation justly of being the worst polluted city in the country -- as a result of The Clean Air Act we saw the smog being cleaned up, we avoided the problems of toxic pollutants coming from chemical plants. I remember going to West Virginia [inaudible] valley they had one chemical plant after another and people were telling us how they had to sleep on slanted boards otherwise their lungs would get filled up with liquid. When we asked the people of West Virginia, why didn't you do anything about it? They said we were threatened by the industry that if we tried to regulate the toxic pollutants they would just move their companies to other states. Well that's why we needed a federal law to stop that sort of thing from driving us to the lowest common denominator and letting the industry play one state after another to be able to pollute more and more. But we've learned as a result of The Clean Air Act cleaning up pollution made the industry more competitive and more efficient. And it's all a win for the environment and a win for the economy.

CO: We heard in that clip from President H.W. Bush at the beginning he spoke of the stewardship he said that we don't inherit the earth, we borrow it from our children. What could those currently in Washington, not just President Trump, but what could Washington learn from President Bush?

HW: I think we all can learn that issues change but we have responsibilities to make sure that the changes are for the better not the worse. We don't just protect the environment for ourselves but protecting the environment is for the next generation and that generation after us.

CO: We'll leave it there. Mr. Waxman I appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.

HW: Thank you. Bye bye.

JD: Henry Waxman is a former Democratic congressman. We reached him in Washington D.C. Earlier today Sir David Attenborough addressed the U.N. sponsored climate talks in Poland. Here's part of what Sir David had to say.

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SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: Right now we're facing a manmade disaster of global scale -- our greatest threat thousands of years, climate change. If we don't take action the collapse of our civilizations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon. The United Nations provides a unique platform that can unite the whole world. And as the Paris agreement proved, together we can make real change happen. At this crucial moment the United Nations has invited the world's people to have their voice heard by giving them a seat, the people's seat. The people's seat gives an opportunity for everyone to join us here today virtually and speak directly to you, to you, the decision makers. In the last two weeks the world's people have taken part in building this address, answering polls, sending video messages, and voicing the opinions. I am only here to represent the voice of the people -- to deliver our collective thoughts, concerns, ideas, and suggestions. The world's people have spoken. Their message is clear...time is running out.

JD: That was Sir David Attenborough, the British broadcaster and naturalist, holding the people's seat. He was speaking today at the U.N. sponsored climate talks in Poland.

[Music]

Michael Ignatieff

JD: It wanted to keep offering the programs in Budapest, Hungary but it was forced out. That was the announcement from the Central European University or CEU in a news release today. The CEU confirmed that beginning next year new students in the school's U.S. accredited degree programs would be taught in Vienna, Austria. It is the latest development in a long running dispute between the CEU and Hungary. The university was founded by liberal philanthropist George Soros who has been a target of Hungarian leader Viktor Orban's government. Former liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is the president and director of CEU. Here is some of what he had to say at a news conference today.

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MICHAEL IGNATIEFF: In this press conference I'm not going to answer any questions about the Hungarian government's motives or intentions. I'm not going to waste time trying to figure out what is in the mind of the man who runs this country. Just go ask him. Don't ask me. What I will say is this, Hungarians should ask themselves who benefits here. Does it benefit Budapest to chase an institution out of the country? Does it benefit Hungary? Does it benefit Hungarian higher education in science?Who does it benefit? It doesn't benefit us. It imposes huge new burdens on the university which we will make. But basically this is a dark day for freedom in Hungary. It's a dark day for academic freedom because the simple fact is and this is the fact you need to hold onto, the Hungarian government has forbidden an American institution to issue US degrees in this country after January 1st, 2019 as the fact of the matter. And if that isn't an attack on a US institution and if that isn't an attack on academic freedom, I don't know what is.

JD: Michael Ignatieff speaking today.

[Music]

Zuckerberg hospital

Guest: Aaron Peskin

JD: Donate the money -- get the naming rights. That is how it often works with large endowments awarded to public institutions like schools or museums or hospitals. But one San Francisco politician wants his city to rethink that practice and he wants to begin with Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Mr. Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have their names emblazoned on the San Francisco General Hospital after donating 75 million dollars to it. We reached supervisor Aaron Peskin in San Francisco.

CO: Mr. Peskin you have said that it is 'unbecoming to have Mark Zuckerberg's name on your city's general hospital.' What do you mean by that?

AARON PESKIN: So there have been a number of revelations about the Facebook organization which is under the leadership of Mr. Zuckerberg -- it is a San Francisco headquartered corporation. Obviously we are all aware of the Cambridge Analytica revelations -- the misuse of some 87 million Facebook users private information and manipulation of national elections in the United States of America. And then the last straw was the recent revelations about Facebook's hiring of opposition researchers to smear critics of the organization who has been asking legitimate questions around the issues of privacy and election manipulation. To me that was a last straw. And so I have asked the city attorney of San Francisco to look into, whether or not or how, the city could go about removing Mr. Zuckerberg's name from our prized public health hospital. And I don't think it's a good look for San Francisco to name it after an individual whose behavior does not appear to be in the best interests of the public.

CO: I just want to expand a bit on what you said about this public relations firm that was hired by Facebook -- the PR firm was spreading conspiracy theories about philanthropist George Soros and suggesting that somehow he was part of some conspiracy to undermine Facebook. Is that what you're referring to?

AP: So that is exactly what I'm referring to. The irony is thick and so far as Facebook itself was hiring opposition researchers to spread these kind of untrue conspiracy theories that frankly are anti-Semitic on their own platform is troubling and ironic.

CO: Lots of people are having problems with Facebook. There's a whole movement to unplug Facebook, cancel it, get rid of it, have nothing more to do with it. But here's the thing as you know it -- your hospital, Mr. Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have donated 75 million dollars to the San Francisco General Hospital and that's why their name is on the building. So doesn't that count for something?

AP: That is a drop in the bucket compared to the almost one billion dollars that are being paid for by each and every taxpayer in San Francisco for the next 30 years for the [inaudible] that were sold to build that institution -- the taxpayers of San Francisco are the ones that pay for its operation and maintenance every year. And while we certainly appreciate the 75 million dollars it was characterized as a charitable contribution not as a naming rights by to validate the actions of Mr. Zuckerberg's behavior. And there are provisions in many of these agreements that when a donor does things that are unbecoming an institution such as the city and county of San Francisco can consider removal of that name. Remember Mr. Zuckerberg got a 75 million dollar tax write off for that. And then finally this is an interesting thing that we're looking into. It is unclear at this time but we will resolve this in the days ahead as to whether or not the city actually received the entire 75 million dollars. But we'll get to the bottom of that in the days ahead.

CO: Alright that's another investigation. But now just one thing about this donation is it is made also in the name of Mr. Zukerberg's wife, Priscilla Chan. And she trained as a pediatrician at that hospital. And so the gesture was in part because of her relationship with that hospital. So does that change things at all that it is a donation representing her personal interest in the hospital?

AP: So you're raising a profoundly important issue. It is absolutely true that Ms. Chan who I have met in the past was a pediatrician at our public health hospital. And one thing that some of my constituents have suggested would be to keep her name on and take his name off -- to acknowledge both of those sentiments.

CO: Would you go along with that?

AP: It's certainly worth exploring. I mean if we want to sell off naming rights to public buildings and institutions and if that's the policy decision that we want to make we should talk about whether or not that should be done in a competitive bidding environment so that San Francisco gets the highest dollar. Personally I believe that institutions that are paid for by the taxpayer should not be bought by corporations or individuals. But I think we do need to go about adopting a uniform naming policy that makes sense.

CO: But we've heard from the CEO of the San Francisco General Hospital who says that naming is an important convention in philanthropy that encourages additional donors. It seems that the movement is to keep this name on so what's the likelihood that a year from now for you and I were to talk -- might still be looking at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center on the side of your building?

AP: Only time will tell -- in the next few weeks we should be getting a written opinion from the city attorney and we will take that under advisement, understand what our financial liabilities may be and we will proceed accordingly. But as I said earlier I think that we have elevated this conversation about privacy and Facebook's business model and Mr. Zuckerberg's role in all of this. And that's the conversation that I want to start.

CO: Alright we'll leave it there. Mr. Peskin thank you.

AP: Thank you Ms.Off take good care.

JD: Aaron Peskin is a San Francisco city supervisor. We reached him San Francisco. And we do have more on the story on our website cbc.ca/aih.

[Music]

Christine Girard

SOUNDCLIP

VOICE: Representing Canada, gold medalist and Olympic champion in the women's 63-kg weightlifting event at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Christine Girard.

[Crowd cheering]

JD: Christine Girard earned that gold medal in London in 2012. But that tape of her being awarded that gold is from today in Ottawa. Earlier this year the International Olympic Committee revealed that both of the women who had finished ahead of Ms. Girard in 2012 had tested positive for banned substances. And with the Russian and Kazakh athletes stripped of their medals, Ms. Girard became Canada's first ever Olympic champion in weightlifting. Well back in April when she learned that she would be finally getting the gold that she deserved six years after her London performance, Ms. Girard spoke to As It Happens guest host Susan Bonner. Here's part of that conversation from our archives.

SOUNDCLIP

CHRISTINE GIRARD: The only thing I can say is that it feels really great to be recognized even years later for what I've done as a clean athlete. And receiving that gold medal will mean a lot to me. And I think it should mean a lot for Canadian because it's the win our values. And within our country we believe in true sport. So it's a huge win for all of us. And it means more to me now than it would back then.

SUSAN BONNER: How do you feel about the athletes who cheated you out of your gold medal in 2012?

CG: Actually I feel bad for them because as we can tell -- I'm pretty sure it wasn't their decision but it was their country decision and it is just so sad that they had to go through that and that they damaged their body for a really long time. And it makes me so proud to be Canadian because I never got offered anything and I started to be tested when I was 14. I'm just so glad to come from our country. It makes me really really proud to be Canadian.

JD: Olympic champion Christine Girard to As It Happens back in April. Today the weightlifter was finally given two reallocated Olympic medals: a bronze from Beijing in 2008, and a gold from London 2012.

[Music]

Part 3: Bone Button Borscht: A seasonal reading by Barbara Budd

Nairobi 'matatu' minibus ban

Guest: Winnie Adhiambo

JD: In Nairobi today thousands of commuters arrived at work on foot exhausted, frustrated, and in many cases more than a little late. They were forced to walk to work today because of a new ban on the city's public minibuses. City authorities in Nairobi have ruled that all minibuses, known as 'matatus,' have to pick up and drop off passengers outside the city's central business district. They say the move is meant to ease congestion in the city where some 20,000 minibuses are said to operate. Winnie Adhiambo is a student at the University of Nairobi and a regular commuter. We reached Ms. Adhiambo in Nairobi.

CO: Winnie for anyone who has been in Nairobi they know about the matatus, those minibuses. Can you describe them for us?

WINNIE ADHIAMBO: Okay so matatus generally are our public means of transport. So they can hold up to 32 passengers. They are mostly used by literally we can say every citizen. We use them to commute from our home to walk to school to the town -- and they are the cheapest means of transport as compared to taxis and Ubers.

CO: And there's just thousands of them right?

WA: Yes it basically is our means a place. Apart from the railways it is the only means of transport that we mostly use.

CO: Can you describe what Nairobi has decided to do with these matatus?

WA: So currently they impose a ban on the matatus -- simply because they want to decongest the CBD, Central Business District of Nairobi, so they have banned the matatus from coming into the CBD. So they put specific areas where the matatus will be stopping and from that point commuters are now supposed to walk all the way to the CBD. For example where I come from we stop at a place called Ngara -- from Ngara you have to walk all the way to the CBD -- around 1.5 1.5 kilometres. So it's even harder for someone who is working across the town where they now have to get another matatu to get to another place of work.

CO: Nairobi is a huge city. There are so many millions of people working there. So basically what they've done is shut down public transportation in the centre of the city right?

WA: Yes yes.

CO: And the bus, the matatus, can only go to these transit points -- to the terminus and drop everybody off. What's the scene there? They started this today. Do you have any idea how many people are having to get out of the buses at these terminus?

WA: Yes it is very chaotic compared to when the matatus would get to the CBD because you can imagine an instance where one matatu carries around 32 to 45 people and they are right around 10 to 20 of them alighting at the same time --every passenger is stopping and they are all heading to the CBD. Our walkways are not designed to -- they are not accommodating to the commuters. So you find most people are struggling to get through the pathways, they're struggling to pass through the bridges, it is very chaotic. People are struggling and people are squeezed -- you can't even breathe. It is so chaotic.

CO: And they're arriving -- they're carrying things they need, parcels, baggage, they have children, there's elderly, everybody right?

WA: Yes yes. I don't think they put into consideration of people who are disabled. They haven't put into consideration pregnant women, people who are carrying baggage. I think the only people who are favored with this ban is the private users, the people who have their own vehicle -- because they are able to get to the CBD without any problems, without any traffic, but to the rest of us we are not looking to favour because with this ban comes a lot of insecurity. There are a lot of pickpockets and there are no street lights -- most of the street lights do not work at night. There is zero security us.

CO: And did they consult at all with the people in Nairobi before they decided to do this?

WA: This was the thing, there was zero consultation or public participation. We were not asked what alternatives we should get. What other means of transport we could be provided with so that we can get to the CBD on time. There was zero to minimum participation.

CO: I guess to add to it all we heard today the governor of Nairobi, Mike Sonko. He says that, this is a quote from him, "many people don't go to the gym. So this ban will help people get more exercise." What do you say to him?

WA: It is really not wise of him to say that because there is more to it than just going to the gym because the main point is to decongest Nairobi. But are we really decongesting Nairobi if we are only making the congestion move to another side of town? Because the issue has not yet been solved if there's no congestion to the bus terminal -- people cannot even move, they can't walk. So is it really trying to solve anything apart from the going to the gym and trying to keep fit?

CO: Winnie you have to go to school tomorrow, you are going to have to get to the centre of town, what's that going to be like for you? How different will it be tomorrow when you had off and when you come home?

WA: Tomorrow I'll be doing a lot of walking. My classes take place at around 5:30 in the evening and they go all the way to 8:30 in the evening, so I will have to be walking -- I'll have to be walking at 8:30 p.m. at night 1.5 km to get to my [inaudible] where there are no street lights, there are no walkways -- you can be robbed, you can be mugged, you can be pickpocketed, anything can happen. And I am strongly hoping that tomorrow will be better. I am just going to gather up with my fellow classmates or anybody who is around me that I trust them, so we can go to the terminal together.

CO: Winnie it sounds like a terrible state of affairs for all of you. I appreciate you talking to us tonight and I hope you're safe tomorrow.

WA: I hope too.

CO: Alright take care.

WA: Yeah thank you so much.

JD: Winnie Adhiambo is a student at the University of Nairobi and we reached her in Nairobi, Kenya.

[Music]

David Saint-Jacques

JD: This morning Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques left Earth in a rocket ship.

SOUNDCLIP

[Engine sound]

VOICE: Engines have started and are now at the preliminary thrust level -- throttling up.

[Rocket lift out]

VOICE: And liftoff. We have liftoff -- of Anne McClain, David Saint-Jacques, and Oleg Kononenko blasting through Kazakhstan to the International Space Station.

JD: That David Saint-Jacques along with two other astronauts. They have since arrived safely at the International Space Station. It took them nearly eight hours in that tiny Soyuz rocket capsule before they made it to the ISS, where they will now spend the next six months. Mr. Saint-Jacques is the first Canadian in space since 2013 when a fellow by the name of Chris Hadfield was there. David Gentille has been friends with Mr. Saint-Jacques since they were kids. A Radio Canada reporter watched the lift off from the Canadian Space Agency in Longueuil, Quebec and he spoke to CBC Montreal 'Daybreak' host Mike Finnerty about watching his friend take off.

SOUNDCLIP

DAVID GENTILLE: Well incredible feeling to see our high school friend in that rocket you know [chuckles] just to tell it plainly and simply, it's you know an incredible feeling. First and foremost we were really relieved when we realized that he was finally in orbit because let's face it the first phase is kind of risky. So great relief and great pride to see this great guy, great Montrealer, great Canadian into space.

MIKE FINNERTY: David I'm told that you and he have kids around the same age.

DG: Yes.

MF: I mean Soyuz is a dependable aircraft but, a spacecraft I should say, but even the Soyuz has had problems. In fact the most recent launch had to be aborted and this one was moved up. Were you able to identify the two of you with each other and then the whole kind of stress of leaving your young family behind as you go off on an adventure like this?

DG: Yeah. There's a picture that our colleague took from Russia a few days ago of him wishing goodbye to his son through a window. Very very touching pictures. So you know he told me yes I'm going to miss them, but on the other hand he was so focused on his mission and on making the best out of it -- we did not discuss the risk factor. It was not a proper time for that. We just focused on what was feasible. He told me that he had confidence in the Russian engineers despite what happened. And I could sense that it was not bs. He was fully confident that the whole thing would unfold as expected.

MF: Six months, it's a long time. What was he looking forward to?

DG: The main symbolism I think he wants to bring up there is to prove that through that mission to prove that human beings of different nations can work together. In these times of conflict and tensions all over the globe that's what he told me for when we had that supper. I mean he told me I want to contribute to some kind of feeling of togetherness as a human being. So he wants to work as a good teammate and he wants to be part of the human experience, a global experience. I think those are Canadian values and I'm kind of sure we'll be really proud of what he's going to be accomplishing up there.

JD: That was David Gentille lifelong friend of Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques. He was speaking on the CBC Montreal morning show 'Daybreak' with host Mike Finnerty today.

[Music]

Reading: Bone Button Borscht

JD: Last night marked the beginning of the Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah. It also means that tonight is the first night of our holiday readings here on As It Happens. And so we are ladling up a story about buttons, borscht, and miracles. Here is former As It Happens co-host Barbara Budd reading Bone Button Borscht written by Aubrey Davis.

SOUNDCLIP

BARBARA BUDD: One dark winter's night, a ragged little beggar hobbled along a lonely road. It was snowy and bitter cold, but in his head it was warm and rosy. He saw a blazing fireplace and a table loaded with bowls of borscht, noodle pudding, roast chicken, fruit, nuts and a jug of wine. And his host was saying ‘more chicken Mr. Beggar’ And he was saying ‘oh no I couldn't eat another bite.’ There's nothing like being a beggar he thought, such good it brings out in people. They share, they give. And me I get a little something too, it's perfect. The beggar reached the crest of a hill. He peered out through the driving snow into the night. “So where's the town?” He asked himself. “There should be a town at the bottom of this hill I can't see it.” As he walked downhill small, shadowy houses slowly took shape on his left and on his right. “That’s fine,” he said. “Now I see the town, but where are the lights, where are the people?” He knocked on a door. “Please, a little food for a poor starving beggar?” he cried. A face appeared in the frosty window and then vanished. There were footsteps and then silence. The beggar went to another house and knocked. “Please help me. I'm hungry and cold.”

“Go away,” called a voice from within.

“No, just let me in for a few minutes even?”

“No, go away.”

So the beggar moved on from house to house and door to door. But no one would help him. “What is wrong with these people?” he wondered. He trudged further down the road. Suddenly he spotted a thin line of light in the snow. He followed it to a crack in a doorway, pushed the door open and went inside. It was a synagogue. “Oh, thank God for synagogues he cried,” and rushed inside. As he warmed himself by the stove he looked around the room and suddenly he spotted a man in the shadows. It was the synagogue caretaker the shamas. “Shalom aleichem, peace be with you,” called the beggar the shamas did not answer. That’s strange thought the beggar. A glimmer crept into his eye and the corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly, he had an idea. He grabbed one of the bone buttons on his coat and tugged, off came the button. Off came two more and another and another. But still the shamas did not speak, but now he was looking at the beggar, now he was curious. The beggar counted the buttons. There were five. “If only I had one more button,” he said. The Shamas said nothing. “If only I had one more button.” Still, the shamas was silent. “Oh, if lonely I had one more button,” finally the shamas spoke. “Look, mister I won't give you a button. Nobody in this town will give you a button.”

“Why not?” Asked the beggar.

“Because we’re poor Mr. beggar, we don't give to each other anymore. So why should we give even a button to a stranger?”

“Why?” Asked the beggar. “Because with one more button I could make us a soup. I could make a nice hot borscht.”

“That's ridiculous,” scoffed the shamas. “Impossible, nobody makes borscht from buttons.”

“Mr. Shamas,” said the beggar. “I'm shocked. Haven't you ever heard of bone button borscht?”

“Bone button borscht?” Asked the shamas.

“Let me explain.” Said the beggar. These buttons in my hand are very special. With just one more button from you, I can make bone button borscht for the whole town. I can make for you a miracle. Mr. shamas.”

Well, naturally the shamas was very curious.

“All right,” he cried, “I’ll get the button.” And he ran to the door. “Wait,” called the beggar. “I'll need bowls and cups and a knife and a ladle and a spoon. Oh, and a pot, maybe?” The shamas sped down the road to the tailor's door and knocked.

“Mendel, Mendel give me a bone baton,” he called.

“No, go away,” shouted Mendel.

“No, Mendel you don't understand. The button isn't for me,” said the shamas, “It's for the little beggar in the synagogue. He's going to make a miracle.”

“With my bone button?” asked Mendel. “What's he going to do raise it from the dead? Teach it to sing maybe?

“No Mendel, he needs it for the borscht, he's going to make borscht from buttons.”

“That's impossible,” scoffed Mendel. “Nobody can make borscht from buttons.”

“Listen, Mendel,” said the shamas, “Give me the button. What's it going to hurt? Maybe we'll have a miracle.”

“All right,” replied Mendel. “I'll give you the button, but I want to come too, I want to see this miracle.”

“So come,” said the shamas. They ran to the house next door and knocked.

“Leah, Leah give us a wooden spoon.” They cried.

“No,” she shouted. “Go away.”

“Leah, it's not for us, it's for the little beggar in the synagogue he's going to make a miracle.”

“With my spoon?” Asked Leah, “What's he going to do? Use it to part the Red Sea, teach it to dance maybe?”

“No Leah, he needs it for the borscht. He's going to make borscht from buttons.”

“That's impossible,” scoffed Leah.

“Look, Leah give us the spoon. What's it going to hurt? Maybe we'll have a miracle.”

“All right,” replied Leah. “But I want to come. I want to see this miracle.”

“So come,” said the shamas and the tailor.

“And my family too,” she added.

“So bring them,” they said. So Leah, her family, Mendel and the shamas marched down the street. They banged on doors. They begged and they borrowed cups and bowls, a ladle, a knife and a huge soup pot. Along with all these things, the crowd grew. As it trotted its way up the street towards the synagogue others came to their windows and doors.

“Where are you going? They asked. “What are you doing with that pot? And the people in the street replied. “There’s is some beggar in the synagogue who says he can make borscht from buttons.”

“That's impossible,” shouted the people in the houses, but they were curious. So they grabbed their hats and coats and they joined the others. By the time the shamas reached the synagogue the whole town was with him. The people crammed themselves inside. The beggar looked up and cried. “Shalom aleikhem, peace be with you.” And there was a long silence. Then someone called out.

“So Mr. Miracle Man, make us a miracle.”

“You want a miracle?” The beggar asked. “I'll give you a miracle. “Pot,” he cried. And they put the pot on the stove. “Water,” they poured in the water. “Button,” they gave him the button. Plunk, plunk, plunk, the beggar dropped in all the bone buttons. He picked up the wooden spoon and stirred. When the pot began to steam and bubble he spooned out some water and took a sniff. “Not bad,” he said. “But it could be better.”

“What could make it better?” asked the people.

“A little sugar, a little salt, a little pepper — that could make it better,” replied the beggar.

So they brought him sugar and salt and pepper he sprinkled them all into the pot and stirred. Then he took another sniff. “Not bad,” he said “But it could be better.”

“What could make it better?” Asked the people.

“Have you got any pickle juice that could make it better,” replied the beggar. So they brought him pickle juice and he poured into the pot. The beggar stirred and then he stopped. He looked at the people, he looked at the pot. He looked at the people again. Then he shook his head.

“You've got problems Mr. Beggar?” asked the shamas. The beggar frowned. “Wait,” said the shamas. And he ran to a cupboard and brought back a bulb of garlic. “Would this help Mr. Beggar? He Asked.

“Why not?” Laughed the beggar.

“Mister beggar, I've got some carrots,” someone said, “And I've got beets,” called another. “I've got onions.” “I've got beans would these help Mr. Beggar?” They asked.

“They wouldn’t hurt,” laughed the beggar.

So the people ran off and returned with their arms full of vegetables. The bigger sliced them all, he danced, he chopped, he shredded. Then he dumped them into the bubbling pot and he stirred that borscht round and round. “Do you know what we have here?” Asked the beggar, “We have a beautiful borscht. That's what we have, a very tasty borscht. Now some people say a little bit of cabbage really brings out the flavour, but I'd say keep it simple. Who needs cabbage for borscht?”

At the back of the synagogue a woman waved her arms. “Mr. Beggar you want cabbage? I've got cabbage Mr. Beggar.”

And before he could reply the woman was gone. She returned with a sack full of cabbages and handed it to the beggar. He looked at the cabbages. He looked at the people. Then he shrugged his shoulders and began to chop. He chopped until every last cabbage had been added to the borscht. The people watched the steam rise from the pot. They listened to the bubbling borscht, they smelled the rich sweet and sour aroma as it filled the synagogue. Bellies rumbled, mouths watered and everyone pressed in closer when the beggar finally ladled some borscht into a cup. It was deep red and thick with vegetables. He blew on it. He blessed it. Then he dipped in his spoon and he tasted it.

“So Mr. Beggar, how does it taste?

The beggar smiled, “Not bad. Who wants to try some?” Everyone in the room rushed forward. They snatched cups, they grabbed bowls. “Borscht, borscht, borscht,” they chanted. The beggar patiently ladled steaming hot borscht into every bowl and every cup. Soon everyone was sipping and slurping borscht. Then the people raised their arms. They rolled their eyes towards heaven and they cried out “Delicious, perfectly delicious. This is the best borscht we have ever tasted. The little beggar did it. He made borscht out of buttons. It's a miracle.”

And then, like magic bread appeared and boiled potatoes and roast chicken and wine. The people ate it and they laughed. They laughed and they ate. And then they brought out accordions and violins and they sang and they danced for hours after delightful hour. And when the last slurp of borscht was slurped, the last dance danced, and the last songs sung the shamas invited the beggar to spend the night at his house. The next night another family took him in, then another and another. One day the beggar gathered the townsfolk together to say goodbye. “Oh please don't go,” they begged.

“I must,” he said.

“But you buttons. How can we make borscht without your magic bone buttons?”

“And how can I fasten my coat without buttons?” Asked the beggar. “How can I keep warm without buttons? So they traded with the beggar. They gave him brass buttons for bone buttons and then the beggar left and they never saw him again.

The years passed. One by one the beggars bone buttons were lost. But it is a strange thing — a wonder perhaps — the townsfolk learned they didn't really need the buttons. They learned to make borscht without them, and they learned to help one another without borscht, even in hard times. And that was the real miracle the beggar left behind.

JD: That was my brilliant predecessor in this chair, Barbara Budd, reading Bone Button Borscht to mark the beginning of Hanukkah.

December 3, 2018 Episode Transcript

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