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Are Chinese drugs and chemicals safe?

October 31, 2007 6:48 PM

Beijing-based producer Beth Loyd blogs:

There are an estimated 80,000 chemical companies in China. Many of these companies manufacture ingredients for drugs and export these chemicals to more than 150 countries. And many are not regulated at all by the Chinese government.

In 2006, a government-run trading company, CNSC Fortune Way, exported bad chemicals from one of these unlicensed plants to Panama. The chemical was put in cough medicine and killed or disabled 138 people. That was more than a year ago. When we called the company today to ask what procedures they employ to guarantee the safety of the products they export, they told us, “We are a state-run company. We don’t give interviews.”

More recently, several Chinese chemical companies have been caught exporting counterfeit drugs and chemicals that were used to make steroids.

So, what steps have been put in place to prevent other such occurrences? Who is responsible for overseeing these companies? The answer is a hard to come by. We called every agency in Beijing, hoping that someone could shed some light.

Continue reading "Are Chinese drugs and chemicals safe?"

October 31, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Can Candidates Ignore Colbert?

October 29, 2007 5:51 PM

ABC’s Senior Political Reporter and author of the The Note Rick Klein blogs that they do so at their own peril:

With his sponsorship by Doritos, “zero-point-no million dollars” in the bank and his promise to consider Sen. Larry Craig as a running mate, Stephen Colbert’s candidacy is hard to take seriously.

But for the real presidential candidates -- particularly the Democrats, whose voters overlap more with his viewers than the Republicans -- the “truthiness” of the matter is that Colbert is ignored at their own peril.

It’s not that Colbert is a real threat to win the South Carolina primary; he isn’t, and he won’t come close. But interest in Colbert’s candidacy is already drawing valuable media coverage away from second-tier candidates, who have struggled to have their messages heard at a critical time.

And in a close election, every vote matters, even for the frontrunners. Colbert has a dedicated television audience, and he could also receive the support of disaffected or disenchanted voters, who could view a vote for Colbert as a vote for Mickey Mouse -- a quiet protest that could nonetheless have real consequences.

Some Democrats seemed to recognize Colbert’s cachet among primary voters even before he became a candidate. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., quoted him on the campaign trail Oct. 10.

“To paraphrase Stephen Colbert, that great philosopher, this administration doesn't make decisions based on facts, it makes facts based on decisions,” the Democratic frontrunner said to laughter.

So far, the Democrats have taken a joking attitude toward Colbert’s candidacy. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., on Monday said that he’d be vying for the endorsement of Jon Stewart, host of “The Daily Show,” the program where Colbert first developed his character.

And over the weekend, when The State newspaper in South Carolina printed a graphic comparing its two native-son candidates -- Colbert and former senator John Edwards -- the Edwards campaign issued a mock-serious press release slamming Colbert for smearing Edwards with his claim that Edwards fled South Carolina when he was 1 year old.

“FACT: Edwards was born in South Carolina, learned to walk in South Carolina, learned to talk to in South Carolina, and will kick Stephen Colbert's New York City butt in South Carolina,” the press release read.

October 29, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

From Beyond the Grave

October 28, 2007 9:09 PM

Senior National Correspondent Jake Tapper and Political Punch author blogs:

It's rare that presidents speak from beyond the grave, much less to make a political endorsement. For that reason, perhaps it's understandable that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani hasn't had a response to the surprise announcement made in today's New York Daily News by the late President Gerald Ford.

"I think Giuliani is an electrifying guy," Ford told Daily News Washington bureau chief Tom DeFrank in May 2006. "He's a great speaker. He's had a good record of winning in New York City, and he can be tough."

Asked for a prediction as to who would be the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, Ford smiled and said, "Well, if they want to win, Giuliani. He's really good, he's articulate -- he's just a leader."

The comments were included in DeFrank's new book "Write It When I'm Gone," a collection of interviews with Ford conducted with the understanding they would be published posthumously. Ford died in December 2006.

Unelected to both the vice presidency and the presidency, Ford was the last Republican president to have supported abortion rights. Giuliani aspires to be the next.

Of course, the posthumous endorsement Giuliani would really crave would be Ronald Reagan's. No word on that yet.

Read more of Jake's entries and comment on this one at the Political Punch blog.

October 28, 2007 | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Diplomats Ordered Into War Zone

October 26, 2007 10:17 PM

State Department Producer Kirit Radia blogs:

UPDATED Oct 31 @ 8:46p ET

Tonight, the State Department will announce that it is ORDERING diplomats to fill 42 open positions in Iraq. The change in policy is being made because there aren't enough Foreign Service volunteers.

Such a move is considered very rare -- though it's been done before: During Vietnam and on a smaller scale in Africa in the 1970s and 80s.

Until now, positions in Iraq have been filled like any other post -- Foreign Service officers competed for them. However, despite personal appeals from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice herself, many openings remain. (At left, the new U.S. embassy in Baghdad under construction in May. Seen from across the Tigris River, the complex will be two-thirds the size of Washington's National Mall.)

On Monday, the Department will begin notifying several hundred "prime candidates" with relevant skills (language, experience, etc) that they have been identified as such. Those diplomats will then present a case to a review board either volunteering to go to Iraq or presenting a case why they should not go.

Those selected can appeal the board's decision, though if the appeal is denied and they still resist, "appropriate disciplinary action will be pursued." Essentially, if they are healthy and free of extraordinary obligations, diplomats unwilling to go to Iraq will have little way out of the Iraq assignment.

Members of the Foreign Service are unionized, and one senior union official says that Rice probably has the authority to do this because they committed to "worldwide availability."

Officials are quick to note that the Foreign Service is not wimping out and that they're in a difficult position -- having sustained the largest diplomatic presence in the world in a war zone for 5 years UNARMED.

UPDATED Oct 31 @ 8:46p ET: At a town meeting of State Department employees today, hundreds of diplomats objected to the possibility they could be ordered to serve in Baghdad. Listen to a portion of the meeting here. (MP3)

October 26, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)

First Impressions: New Delhi

October 25, 2007 10:26 AM

Nick Schifrin, part of our recent expansion of reporters stationed around the globe, blogs:

New Delhi, India:

• Has wonderful, cheap food;
• Has the friendliest taxi drivers in the world who, despite their kindness, use their horns as writers use commas;
• Is filled with generous and kind locals disposed toward helping others, especially foreigners;
• Is filled with many, many, many poor people, some of whom beg at your windows, some who live without complaint;
• Smells like peanut sulfur.

I have just moved to New Delhi for 2 years as part of an attempt by ABC News to send producers around the world to cover cities and countries without staff correspondents. My lot: northern India.

The very first impression anyone from the U.S. or Europe might have here is the overwhelming desire to shut their eyes while in traffic. It’s not so much that there are no rules of the road here, which there aren’t. It’s that every turn seems destined to end in disaster: a meandering pedestrian thumped by a manual rickshaw; a manual rickshaw run off the road by a mechanical rickshaw; a mechanical rickshaw destroyed by a taxi; a taxi hit by a car or a bus or a truck, etc. Remarkably, such accidents seem rare, and the taxi drivers seem nonplussed by the excitement. Perhaps it’s because there actually is one automotive rule: the bigger car (or person or bike or cow) has the right of way.

My brief stay so far has been dominated by the usual requirements of an international move (apartment search, visa worries, cell phone haggling) but also by a charitable middle aged Sikh named Balbir Kalsi, my 50-something-year-old taxi driver. He would say his English is not very good, but it took his car breaking down for two days and my needing to find random drivers to teach me how effective his language was -- and how lucky I was to have found him.

On my first day he was patient as he explained how in Delhi, visitors can hire drivers for the day, not just for one trip. He was patient and informative as I asked him where I should go next (he took me to 5 phone shops and two places to eat). And he was generous (too generous) when it came to the charge.

It took only one more day to realize how rare he was -- and how colorful Indian culture is. After I bought him lunch we began talking about Dussehra, a Hindu holiday marking the day when an ancient god/king defeated a demon. It is celebrated not with dinners or parties but with festivals where 60-foot-tall statues of the demon and his family are filled with hundreds of fireworks and set on fire, as if they were funeral pyres. The result is deafening, searing to stand near, and can be seen for miles. Statues built with great care and placed all over the city, including in the poor neighborhoods, are burned in about 15 seconds and collapse violently into a pile of embers. Thousands of Indians bring their entire families and cheer along. The day is supposed to represent good triumphing over evil, and the remains of the demon statues, believed to fend off evil spirits, are picked up by dancing children.

Hours before Balbir stood next to me as I videotaped 6-story effigies going up in smoke, he returned the favor of my lunch purchase by offering me tea in his home. It was a generous offer and I immediately accepted. Looking back, I don’t think I had any idea what I would see.

Continue reading "First Impressions: New Delhi"

October 25, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Bomb Iran?

October 24, 2007 4:34 PM

Senior National Security Correspondent Jonathan Karl blogs about the U.S. request for bunker-buster bombs:

Tucked inside the White House's $196 billion emergency funding request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is an item that has some people wondering whether the administration is preparing for military action against Iran.

The item: $88 million to modify B-2 stealth bombers so they can carry a newly developed 30,000-pound bomb called the massive ordnance penetrator, or, in military-speak, the MOP.

The MOP is the the military's largest conventional bomb, a super "bunker-buster" capable of destroying hardened targets deep underground. The one-line explanation for the request said it is in response to "an urgent operational need from theater commanders."

What urgent need? The Pentagon referred questions on this to Central Command.

ABC News called CENTCOM to ask what the "urgent operational need" is. CENTCOM spokesman Maj. Todd White said he would look into it, but, so far, no answer.

Continue reading "Bomb Iran?"

October 24, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

California Burning

October 23, 2007 4:19 PM

VIDEOBLOG: Fire Fight
Charles Gibson reports from above the wildfires in San Diego County.

[WATCH]

October 23, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Illegal to water lawn, wash car?

October 22, 2007 1:09 PM

Correspondent Steve Osunsami blogs about the Georgia drought:

The water restrictions in Georgia are about to get crazy. Currently, it’s against the law to water your lawn or wash your car yourself -- all outdoor watering is banned. This week, we’re expecting that the drought will force Georgia officials to take the next step. It seems likely that businesses that use large amounts of water will be forced to cut back or else be forced to close. State residents are also expecting some sort of water rationing, where the water police, who are now out feeling-up lawns, will move their attention to water meters -- possibly even handing out expensive citations to residents they catch using too much.

Part of the problem has a bit to do with geography and growth. The majority of Georgia’s residents live in the part of the state that cannot depend on well water as a source of drinking water. It’s a huge metro population. According to figures put together by citymayors.com, Atlanta metro is bigger than Boston, Houston, San Francisco and Washington D.C. And of the fastest growing urban areas, Atlanta ranks third in the country, behind Las Vegas and Austin. That said, there are great deal of people here who need water.

Without wells, Atlanta metro depends on two main sources of drinking water. Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona, both controlled by dams that are operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Thanks to the drought, both of the lakes are down more than a dozen feet. And by the state’s estimate, Lake Lanier has just 80 days until the water is so low, the water levels will actually fall below the point where intake pipes draw drinking water into the city.

A huge complaint, in Georgia, is the critters downstream. By law, the U.S. Army Corps is required to release a great deal of water, everyday, to keep endangered species of mussels and sturgeon in Florida alive. Georgia is fighting this vigorously, most recently filing suit against the federal government. The support for this fight, from state residents, is downright overwhelming.

Georgia is still waiting for the White House to respond.

Check out the Governor of Alabama's letter to President Bush about water here. (PDF)

October 22, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

First Impressions: Dubai

October 18, 2007 6:11 PM

Lara Setrakian, part of our recent expansion of reporters stationed around the globe, blogs:

Miami with minarets. That's what Dubai looked like to me on my first day in the city -- beautiful blue water and a skyline of glass and metallic high-rise buildings.

Dubai is one of seven principalities that make up the United Arab Emirates. Some would consider it the crown jewel, for being so shiny and beautiful. Dubai has successfully branded itself as a safe, fun and luxurious winner of a city. If Cairo is the Arab street, Dubai is the Arab superhighway.

I can see some downsides to life here already; most notably heavy traffic and extremely pricey apartment rents (never thought I'd miss New York City on those two fronts). But just days into my life as a foreign reporter I’m already afflicted with some admiration for the ruling Maktoum family, notably Sheikh Mohammed (known warmly here as “Sheikh Mo”). Within a decade he turned a stretch of sand into dozens of skyscrapers, among them Burj Dubai, billed as the world's tallest building. The Middle East is not a part of the world where change comes quickly, yet in five years Dubai has had an extreme makeover from sleepy town to a financial, commercial and cultural hub.

There’s a lot an American would find familiar here. Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks are predictably everywhere. Apparently inspired by America’s Safeway supermarkets, Dubai has a grocery chain called Safestway. I went to a shopping mall in Abu Dhabi, the emirate next door to Dubai and found some things similar and some very different from what you’d see in my hometown mall of Paramus, N.J. (At left and below, photos from an Abu Dhabi shopping mall).

Dubai is a society marked by Arab and Islamic tradition. The weekend here is Friday and Saturday, since Friday is the Muslim day of worship. Non-Muslims adapt to that schedule -- Christians, for example, go to church on Friday here instead of Sunday. Many foreigners in Dubai, myself included, end up working both shifts -- interacting with Western bosses on Friday and Arab colleagues Sunday.

Many women here cover up in headscarves, though they still find ways to be fashion-forward with designer sunglasses and impeccable makeup. Men here dress traditionally as well -- I learned the names for pieces of Arab dress by studying the form in my hotel room for laundry service: There’s the abaya (black overdress worn my women to obscure the shape of the body), the dishdash (the white shirt-like robe worn by men), and the ghutra (the Arab men’s headdress traditionally worn to beat the heat of the desert sun).

Even with non-Muslim women there is less skin to be seen. There’s an apparent censorship, whether voluntary or by law, that leaves no sexy billboards or racy images around town. But the standard is not always evenly applied. One newsstand covered the bikini-clad body of Cheryl Crow on SHAPE magazine but freely displayed Nicole Kidman and Erica Durance in brassieres on the covers of Vanity Fair and Maxim, respectively. Women tend to dress modestly on Arabic television programs, but with cultural variations that reflect the spectrum of Middle Eastern countries. The Saudi Arabian channel shows verses of the Koran and anchormen in traditional Arab dress. The Lebanese channel shows women TV presenters with blond highlights and tight, trendy outfits.

Because Dubai is so Western-oriented it’s easy to settle in -- but that doesn’t make it any easier to figure out. Most people speak English, but there is a dense diversity of cultures. There’s a strong Indian and Pakistani contingent, a strong British presence, and a new wave of Lebanese professionals, to name a few. My ABC colleague Steve Alperin compares Dubai to the Star Wars cantina: people of all kinds gathered around the watering hole. Only here it’s a desert oasis.

October 18, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

First Impressions: Mumbai

October 18, 2007 5:38 PM

Karen Russo, part of our recent expansion of reporters stationed around the globe, blogs:

I've been in Mumbai for a little over two weeks and am still adjusting. I figure it'll take another year or so. It's an overwhelming place. The smells -- raw sewage mixed with burning trash with hints of jasmine. The sights -- a family of three balanced on the back of a moped including a mother in bright pink sari cradling a baby. And the sounds -- I suspect the sounds will take the most adjusting to. I've lived in Manhattan for eight years where the garbage trucks and the weekend parters have kept me awake all night, but this is different. Frighteningly, thrillingly, wonderfully different. In Mumbai, the noise level is, simply, insane. The sound of car horns dominates the city. The honking is endless, the soundtrack of the city.

Much of that tireless honking is the work of the city’s crazy taxis. Each time I step outside the temperature-controlled cocoon of my hotel I wonder "Will this cab driver actually take me to my destination?" I have to ask because one recently dumped me in the middle of the road for asking him to use the meter. (At left, a Mumbai taxi.)

A friend is in town writing a story about the city's food and it's good to know I'm not the only one shocked by the scene. We tried to cross a small street the other day and he asked if I was taking sedatives because how else could I handle the stress of the traffic? I swear. The drivers are so aggressive that my real estate agent/overprotective adopted mother who invites me to dinner in her home insists that her driver bring me to my hotel if it's after dark; she doesn't trust the cab drivers to deliver me safely. I'm not sure I understand the logic (presumably the taxi drivers will get into accidents night and day), but I appreciate her air conditioned car and the haggle-free ride.

Starting a life alone in a new country is full of challenges I can't control -- finding an apartment, making new friends, accessing the Internet, crossing the street -- but I know it will all work out. In the meantime, I am focusing on the enjoyable challenges like what to have for lunch. Yesterday, my real estate agent's son, Anand, brought my friend and I to Trishna, one of the best seafood restaurants in Mumbai. Anand is a large, former rugby player who looks like Ali-G, speaks with an Indian/English/Canadian accent and is a self-described foodie. We asked him to order a large selection of his favorites. But before making any decisions, he viewed the selection of fresh fish -- foot-wide king crabs, giant prawns, lobsters, pomfret fish -- brought to the table by the waiters. (At right, Anand and I.)

The ordering process went something like this:

Anand to me: “Do you like mussels?”
Me to Anand: “Will I get hepatitis?”
Anand to me: “Do you want the experience or not?”
Me: (nods meekly)
Annad to the waiter: “The Teesri Mussels. Any sand and I send them back.”
Anand back to me: “You like crabs, right?”

The sybaritic gluttony began with mushrooms in a chili garlic sauce. Then the small, bright orange prawns that tasted like buttery, oily delicious pillows of fat. I think cellulite developed as I swallowed them. Next was the Bombay Duck -- my new favorite -- which looks like fried plantains but is savory and dissolves in your mouth like cotton candy. By the time we'd gotten to the kingfish, I should have been full. Really, I should have. But I just kept eating. The mussels arrived. I didn't notice any sand. The waiter gently dropped about a dozen onto my plate. Click click, clickety-click -- they sounded like checkers landing on a board. I looked at the small pile of them in a brown coconut sauce, wondering how to eat them.

"You know what?" Anand said, leaning in to me. "The dirtier you get, the better. Always use your hands. It tastes better.”

Fortunately, the butter naan had just arrived so I dipped it into the mussel sauce, then used it to scoop up the butter garlic crab. I don't remember if there was more food after that, but I know I finished my glass of beer. And when we stepped outside two hours later, I felt a calm I hadn't experienced since I'd arrived. The horns were still honking but I didn't notice them as much.

October 18, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Just Another Friday in World News Research... or Not

October 15, 2007 4:13 PM

Brian Wheeler, World News Researcher

One of the myriad requests this past Friday to the World News Research department involved locating precisely where in Scotland real estate mogul Donald Trump planned to build his new golf course, The Trump International Golf Links.

Demands such as this are made frequently by our graphics department: they want to know exactly where a train derailed or a hurricane came ashore or a contested golf course is being planned, in order to make an accurate map.

The Donald is building his latest golf course (he has five others) near Aberdeen, Scotland and has recently been embroiled in a fight with his new neighbor, Michael Forbes, a local salmon fisherman. Mr. Trump has offered him $750,000 for the property, which includes a farmhouse, but Mr. Forbes has so far refused to sell, saying his family has been there for generations.

In my pursuit I made a number of phone calls to Mr. Trump’s offices in New York. I realized I’d gotten pretty close to the man himself after my phone rang and a voice said "Brian I have Mr. Trump on the phone for you."

"Hello Brian," said The Donald.

"Hi Mr. Trump, how are you sir?" I said, probably too loudly.

"I just got back from Toronto. Building, always building," he said.

I think I said something to the effect of, "Ah, that’s terrific."

Mr. Trump went on to say he just wanted to be sure that ABC News was aware that Mr. Forbes’ property was not in play and that there were several other "out-parcels" on what would be the golf course, but none of those were an obstruction either. Mr. Trump was perfectly fine, he insisted, with Mr. Forbes staying where he was, though he would prefer it if Mr. Forbes cleaned up a little.

I needed to ask at least one question of substance, even though I was not prepared for this conversation in the slightest, so I asked if the construction would still be on schedule despite the problem with Mr. Forbes.

Mr. Trump said everything was on schedule and remarked on what a beautiful piece of land it was, and then again said Mr Forbes’ farm was not in play.

This was really the point of Donald Trump’s call to an unknown entity working for a well-known news organization: Make sure the public knows that no matter what, this farm is not in the way of your tee shot.

October 15, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

School Safety

October 11, 2007 6:30 PM

Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas and Polling Director Gary Langer offer these statistics:

The National Center for Education Statistics conducted a survey on safety measures at the nation's schools for the school year 2003-2004. Parents might be disturbed to know:

• Only 1% of the schools surveyed required visitors to pass through metal detectors.
• Only 1% require students to pass through metal detectors.
• 64% of schools do not control access to school grounds during school hours.
• 53% of schools do not require the staff and faculty to wear picture id or badges.
• 64% of schools did not have security cameras to monitor their buildings or campus.

The one bit of sort-of good news: 83% of schools control access to their buildings. It’s unclear though, what that means in terms of specific security measures.

We don't see direct measures of whether most parents would desire this kind of security in their schools. Other recent data reveals 75% of parents do not fear for their kids' safety at school, and 90 to 95% rate their schools as very or somewhat safe.

Note: The NCES survey cited above was conducted in "regular" public schools; “non-regular” public schools such as special education, vocational, and other alternative schools -- presumably including schools like Success Tech -- were not in the sample. Religious and other private schools were also excluded.

October 11, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

In (blank) We Trust

October 09, 2007 12:45 PM

Senior political correspondent Jake Tapper blogs:

A conservative cause is emerging on Capitol Hill with House Republicans calling for the termination of Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers.

The issue: Can the certificates members of Congress write for constituents to accompany flags flown above the Capitol include the word "God"?

The kafuffle began after Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, requested a certificate for 17-year-old Eagle Scout Andrew Larochelle, stating: “This flag was flown in honor of Marcel Larochelle, my grandfather, for his dedication and love of God, Country, and family.”

Continue reading on Jake's Political Punch blog.

October 9, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Yosemite Facelift

October 08, 2007 12:09 PM

ABC's David Muir blogs about this week’s Key to Success:

It is rare a reporting assignment offers a front row seat to a view as breathtaking as the one we experienced during our recent trip to Yosemite National Park. Producer Wonbo Woo and I found ourselves in the passenger seats of a small plane as our crew photographed the sun rising over Yosemite Valley and as our pilot circled above the storied El Capitan. It is no surprise the largest granite monolith in the world draws more than three million visitors to the park every year.

As part of our series Key to Success, we visited Yosemite to take a closer look at one accomplished climber’s biggest challenge yet and it had nothing to do with the next cliff he’ll climb.

His name is Ken Yager and he’s been coming here since 1972. The park’s beauty and countless cliffs have kept him coming for decades, but during that time it has been impossible for Ken to ignore something else.

Yager has been disappointed and frustrated with the growing human footprint left on the park by the three million plus visitors every year.

He began what is now called the “Yosemite Facelift.” Over one long September weekend this fall, nearly 3,000 volunteers collected 42,000 pounds of garbage from 13 miles of roadways and 80 miles of trails, corridors and riverways. What they found was remarkable.

Through word of mouth, Ken’s work has drawn larger crowds every year and ours was a mission to learn more about how a premise so simple could have an impact so grand on America’s third most visited national park.

UPDATED Oct 09 @ 1:00p ET: We shared your comments with David and he tells us he is not related to John Muir.

October 8, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Into the Wild -- With the Best Guide

October 03, 2007 6:51 PM

ABC's Neal Karlinsky blogs:

It was about the time that the wheels of my ATV were no longer on the ground and I was being pushed down Alaska’s raging Teklanika River that I knew I was really having an unusual adventure.

On Tuesday night I got the call from New York to get on a plane and re-trace the famous steps of Chris McCandless and his journey, “Into the Wild.” And I had a feeling the people on the other end of the phone didn’t fully comprehend the difficulty of that task. Fortunately, they did manage to hook us up with the best guide in the business -- hands down.

His name is Coke Wallace, a steely eyed “master guide” to the Alaskan bush who also guided Sean Penn as he set out to begin production of his film.  Coke sees the world divided into two camps -- predators and prey, and he brought along his favorite hunting rifle and a lifetime of experience to keep us from turning into the latter.

The 23 mile journey to the famous bus where McCandless died traverses the Stampede Trail on a notch of state land surrounded by the Denali National Forest. For more than five hours, we traversed raging rivers, deep flooded streams, steep muddy hills and thick gooey Tundra as treacherous as quick sand.

Sure enough I got stuck a few times and had to change socks twice after getting wet -- and that is a fairly unpleasant thing on a 30-degree day in the middle of nowhere. Coke kept yelling at me, “Trees and traction, they both start with T!” which means run over the trees and you won’t get stuck. “The throttle is your friend! The throttle is your friend!” was another helpful hint as I nearly floated downstream traversing a river. And then there was “Four wheel drive means four wheel stuck!” which meant only switch into four wheel drive to get out of a bad situation. Thanks to Coke, a fine set of outdoor gear, and an ample supply of beef jerky, we made it.

If you’ve never read the best selling book “Into the Wild,” trust me, it’s powerful. Whatever you think of McCandless, when you step inside the bus where he died it’s like entering a shrine. Messages from McCandless’s family and strangers from around the world are everywhere. And they are very moving. It is a story that has clearly affected a great many people to their very cores.

Our day of ATV-ing through the Alaskan bush took about 12 hours and was one of the great adventures I’ve encountered in a career filled with them. The story of Chris McCandless will probably always be with me as a result. He had no ATV, no guide, no happy ending. As for me, at least I now have some understanding of the great adventure he lived and loved -- right up to the bitter end.

October 3, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Finding Solutions for America's Woes

October 01, 2007 4:51 PM

"World News" Executive Producer Jon Banner blogs:

For the second time anyone here at “World News” can remember, we’re beginning another fantastic opportunity to provide our audience with more news and more content thanks to a lot of hard work and creativity on the part of our sales team.  Tonight and for the next three Mondays, we’ll have approximately 5 extra minutes of program time thanks to a single sponsor.

Last time with “Key to the World,” we asked Bill Weir to travel the globe to find stories that highlight problems the world faces. It was an amazing series and Bill and his producers Drew Millhon and Wonbo Woo saw parts of the world most of us only see in magazines.

This time we wanted to concentrate a little closer to home.  Our series is called “Key to Success” and it will  examine innovative (and sometimes controversial) solutions to entrenched problems in this country, including drug addiction, education reform, the increasing divorce rate, and wildlife preservation.   

In part one of our series airing tonight, Bill and Drew traveled to Montana, which is at the forefront in the battle against methamphetamine abuse. Compared to other drugs, meth is cheap, available, highly addictive, and incredibly destructive. Enter Tom Siebel, the software billionaire and part-time Montana rancher, who used millions of dollars of his own money on a graphic ad campaign, blanketing the state with gritty, raw images of meth use.  (To watch the videos click here)

It’s called the Montana Meth Project and the tactics are proving to be highly effective in fighting teenage abuse of the drug.  Weir, with cameraman Rob Weller and sound man Mike Curtiss, traveled all over the Big Sky state (and have beautiful pictures to prove it) interviewing members of Montana’s Drug Task Force, former meth addicts and their families, and the state attorney general who reports that other states are now copying the Montana Meth Project’s blueprint.

We hope you find this series interesting and informative. We also hope you find the extra time for news a pleasant surprise. As always, your feedback is appreciated, please share your thoughts here on this blog. 

October 1, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)