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President Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize; Evander Holyfield Speaks Out

Aired October 09, 2009 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: One world, two mind-sets, ours and theirs. Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was hurting so bad.

SANCHEZ: Humiliated by men physically and mentally, all she wants is her day in court.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After you're brutally raped, you should not put someone and imprison them in a trailer, so that they can't bring awareness to situations.

SANCHEZ: This senator slams contractor KBR for denying her, her day in court.

Firefighters on fire, and they don't seem to know it. And reporters were invited to watch it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're on fire, chief. Let's get a hose line.

SANCHEZ: Oops. You have got to see this one.

And Evander Holyfield pulls no punches and joins me live on set for your national conversation for Friday, October 9, 2009.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Boy, we have a lot to get to get to you today. Our president, as you heard, has received the Nobel Peace Prize. And what is our reaction? For most Americans, it wasn't a burst of pride. It wasn't a celebration. It wasn't triumph. It was really more like, really?

That was the general reaction. And, yes, that includes me. But in many ways, it went even further. The president of the United States gets the Nobel Peace Prize. Let me repeat. The president of the United States, the United States, like, the home team. And this is how it was generally reported as you flipped through channels this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS POLITICAL DIRECTOR: When you read the citation, it's clearly a decision by the Nobel Committee to endorse the president's foreign policy. It really is an endorsement of what they think he might be able to do, rather than an award for anything that he has done.

JOE SCARBOROUGH, MSNBC: I guarantee you Marisa Tomei did more to win the Academy Award in "My Cousin Vinny."

Is that what she won in for?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I stand corrected.

SCARBOROUGH: OK -- than Barack Obama has done to win a Nobel Peace Prize.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. You know what? This is hypocritical to criticize the people who said hah, hah, hah about Chicago. And now you're saying it's not right that the president won the Nobel Peace Prize. We should be happy for our president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This really did catch them blind side, the White House. I spoke to two key White House aides who got the word earlier this morning. Both thought they were being punked. In fact, one said, it not April 1, is it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All right, that's certainly not all of it, but you start to get the picture. Now let's look at the reaction around the world.

Listen to the surprise in some of the voices as you watch this, starting with our very own CNN NEWSROOM. This is in London, by the way, and this is London just as the decision started to come in. Let's take you back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's Obama. Oh, my gosh. Now what do we do?

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is crazy. I can't believe that.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what to do now. I guess we call -- well, do we call the White House? What do we do?

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Less than nine months since taking office, Barack Obama has been awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. The U.S. president said he was humbled by the decision. The announcement came as a surprise to many. And there's been mixed reaction to it from various parts of the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The committee praised what it called his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy.

MOHAMED ELBARADEI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: But I'm full of joy. I could not think of anybody who is more deserving for the Nobel Prize this year than Barack Obama. In a few months, he brought about absolutely radical change to the way we see ourselves and the way we interact with each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: It's amazing to watch the reaction.

Brooke Baldwin is joining us now. She's been following this story.

And, really, I think the most fascinating part of this story is the reaction as it's been coming in moment to moment, it's clear to most who watched it throughout the day, from the morning when we woke up and heard the announcement that the American press has been for the most part either stunned or almost doubtful of why he got it, while the global press has been much more accepting of it.

How do you see it?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's an important distinction, but I think, though, what really sort of tells the story is the reaction when you heard the announcement in Oslo this morning. And you hear -- you hear a gasp.

SANCHEZ: Right.

BALDWIN: And in both languages, the gasp continues. There's definitely a massive element of surprise I think globally and also domestically here in the United States. I think the question that was really posed internationally is that did you hear the president won the Nobel Peace Prize. And then the question is, for what?

There is -- we should emphasize, though, there is definite optimism today praising the president. But still there's vagueness over whether or not he warrants the award and also just for whether or not it's premature.

SANCHEZ: You got some tape. Or we going to go to the Obama tape first?

BALDWIN: Let's go to the Obama tape first.

SANCHEZ: All right. Let's go to the Obama -- this is the president as he came out earlier today and talked for the very first time about this. Some people were saying maybe he will ignore it altogether. Other people were saying, well, the first thing he should do is say, I reject this award; I don't deserve it; give it to somebody else.

Let's see what he did say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is not how I expected to wake up this morning.

After I received the news, Malia walked in and said, "Daddy, you won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it is Bo's birthday."

And then Sasha added, "Plus, we have a three-day weekend coming up."

So it's -- it's good to have kids to keep things in perspective.

I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee.

Let me be clear, I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.

OBAMA: To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize, men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women and all Americans want to build, a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents.

And I know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

OBAMA: And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.

Now, these challenges can't be met by any one leader or any one nation. And that's why my administration's worked to establish a new era of engagement in which all nations must take responsibility for the world we seek.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: So, there's the president's speech earlier today, very matter of fact. What's interesting about is, he's not the first American to get this award, right?

BALDWIN: Yes, third sitting president, fourth president overall.

SANCHEZ: Wilson, Roosevelt, Carter and now Obama.

BALDWIN: You got it.

SANCHEZ: Carter after he was out of office.

BALDWIN: You got it, 2002, I believe. It was 1906, 1919 and then 2000 -- 2002.

SANCHEZ: The interesting thing about this story is that he's getting something not for what he's done, but for what they think he could do. They're setting the table for him.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I think the committee was talking about specifically about a vision, change. And a lot of people have likened this to when Mikhail Gorbachev won back in 1990, a lot of the excitement around him reforming, the last leader of the Soviet Union, exciting words like perestroika.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: There is an analysis -- there is a comparison between this and giving it to not Ronald Reagan, but Mikhail Gorbachev, which many people in this country criticized, by the way.

BALDWIN: Right.

SANCHEZ: What's interesting here is -- and I think you probably -- I will ask you about this because you have been looking at the international reaction all day long. Was this as much a rebuke of the Bush years as it is a praise of the potential of the Obama years?

BALDWIN: I think that's a question that we will start to see the answer perhaps unfolding.

There was this great write -- And if I can, Rick, just for a second read something that -- let's see, where is it? -- that "Newsweek," and they sort of -- the entire thing is entitled, "Thanks For Not Being Bush."

And the line I want to point out for you, it says, "Leaders abroad haven't forgotten that Obama is still largely engaged in cleaning up the Augean stables worth of disaster that Bush left him, support when it came to letting the Taliban return in Afghanistan."

SANCHEZ: And who is this from? Who is this from?

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: This is from "Newsweek."

SANCHEZ: OK.

BALDWIN: "And allowing Wall Street to run amok. That's probably the main reason why he won the Nobel Prize."

So, that's one author saying that, and I have heard a lot of other people saying, hey, at least it's not George Bush.

SANCHEZ: No, no, that's the sentiment that I think a lot of Americans probably expect. It probably puts an explanation on the thing.

BALDWIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: You're going to stick around and you're going to be working on getting reaction throughout the show, including reaction from some of the people who have been talking to us all day long. And it is a heated conversation on Twitter, MySpace, Facebook.

BALDWIN: Yes, lots of people talking.

SANCHEZ: All right, thanks a lot, Brooke. We appreciate it. .

BALDWIN: OK.

SANCHEZ: Then there's the political side of it -- quote -- "What has President Obama actually accomplished?" That question from the chairman of the Republican Party, Michael Steele, who's obviously no fan of the president.

We're going to tackle the politics of this Peace Prize announcement and plug you into the national conversation with some special guests as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. AL FRANKEN (D), MINNESOTA: She was raped, gang-raped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That's Senator Al Franken talking about an American woman who was working in Iraq. She was raped. She was also drugged, and the people who did it to her were her fellow workers.

And then she was told to shut up about it. This is about defense contractors, this is about the law, and this is about a woman's four- year struggle. We will have it for you.

Also, the after-show right here at 4:00. We look forward to seeing you. And we have got something special for you toward the end of the show. We have got some visitors coming in that we want you to meet. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: All right, here we go. We got comments coming in, as you might expect on this.

Boy, I will tell you, we have been getting them all day long. There is a huge national conversation going on out there today among Americans, many of which say, yes, this guy deserved it, and others who are saying, what he's done? Couldn't they have waited a little while?

Let's listen to some of those right now. As a matter of fact, let's go over to MySpace, if we possibly can. MySpace is the one right there with the background in the orange.

It says: "I congratulate the president. It is interesting that he is respected more internationally than he is here in the United States."

And then let's go over to the other side there, get the Twitter board. And the Twitter board says: "For the first time, I really think Obama is a true leader in the world, not only in the U.S. He can bring hope to all nations."

I should tell you, even though I just happened to read you two of the positive comments there about the president, there have also been a lot of comments from people who are saying just the opposite, who are saying, look, even if I like this guy, I have got to tell you, too much too soon. What he's done?

I mean, that's been the constant refrain, "What's he done?" all day long on all sides of the media. So, we're going to be drilling down on that as well.

In fact, while I say that, let me tell you this, that I'm thinking about it. Democrats are generally saying that this president has done a lot. You have heard that before, that he does deserve in fact the Nobel Peace Prize.

Republicans are saying, in large measure, that he does not deserve it yet, and that they should have waited until he actually did something. Those are two very distinct points of view. We have got two of the smartest people around, one from each side. They're going to be joining us in just a little bit. There's Jade and there is Maru.

They're back by popular demand, and, man, have they got something to say about this.

This is probably not what the fire chief had in mind when he sent his men to perform a demonstration and invited everybody in the media to come and look at it. Yes, the firefighters are on fire.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez here in the world headquarters of CNN. Always good to be with you during this national conversation, especially when it's Friday.

We have been hearing these comments coming and going all day. There is a passionate discourse in this country today about the president of the United States. I mean, there really has been a discourse about this president since he was elected.

But to leaders of nations all over the world, some of them with praise, some of them with skepticism, some of them with disbelief, some of them with optimism, with outrage, with confusion, and just about everything in between, but we're hearing it because you're saying it, you're shouting it.

And President Barack Obama's unexpected honor today is the topic numero uno in our national conversation.

And we decided that we would bring in two of the best and smartest voices on this that we have had in the past, one from the left, one from the right, Jade, who's back with us again, Jade Morey, who used to lead the Georgia Association of Teen Republicans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: College and Teen Republicans.

SANCHEZ: Calling Republicans. Thank you very much.

Also, Maru Gonzalez of the Young Democrats of Georgia.

Maru, good to see you again.

MARU GONZALEZ, YOUNG DEMOCRATS OF GEORGIA: It is good to see you again, too. I'm sorry I couldn't be there in the studio with you today.

SANCHEZ: Hey, what do you make of the fact that this guy has won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it came as generally a surprise to most Americans, including many of my colleagues in the media?

GONZALEZ: Well, I have to say that I was one of those Americans that was quite surprised that he won the Nobel Peace Prize. And I think it is a little bit premature.

But I have to say I think it's a really proud day for America, because it sets the precedent for the promise of what America can accomplish. And I think it falls on us as Americans to really rally behind the president and offer him support as we face the challenges of the 21st century.

SANCHEZ: Does he deserve it?

GONZALEZ: I think so. I mean, I think that it -- he's really set the foundation and changed the dialogue around the world.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: But what has he done? What -- is that what he's done? He's changed the dialogue? He's changed the conversation around the world?

GONZALEZ: Right. Right. So, I think Barack Obama expressed this very well in his speech this morning, that this isn't necessarily about what he's accomplished, but the potential for what he can accomplish in really restoring our moral standing in the world, and hopefully, you know, gaining global support behind some initiatives like climate change, like nuclear nonproliferation.

(CROSSTALK)

GONZALEZ: And, if that happens, then I think it's a good thing.

SANCHEZ: But it's interesting because, as we listen to Maru, Maru obviously is a supporter of Barack Obama, a Democrat, has been for a long time. She's still talking in the future, in the future text about what he can do, what he might do.

I bet you're going to tell me that that's all well and good, but why would he get an award for something he hasn't yet done, right?

JADE MOREY, FORMER GEORGIA TEEN REPUBLICANS STATE CHAIR: Well, you know, too soon. What was it two weeks before they nominated him for this? And I think it definitely shows that they're leaning on his rhetoric. For them to say that this is not a political issue, I don't even know if that -- if you can argue that point.

Looking back in history, they gave it to Gorbachev, but not Reagan. And they gave it to Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, but not Bill Clinton. I'm interested to know how Bill Clinton's feeling today.

SANCHEZ: But let me ask you this question. As an American, shouldn't we all take pride in the fact that the United States is recognizing our guy as the person to nominate such a prestigious, if not the most important award?

MOREY: It is great that our sitting president would get this award. But I don't think it's good a thing for the committee to come out and say it's because of his extraordinary efforts.

I think they need to preface that a little differently. Don't claim that it's because of his efforts, but in fact tell the truth in realizing that this is a political thing.

SANCHEZ: But because it's political, does it look bad when his opposition is essentially criticizing him for getting it.

MOREY: Absolutely not.

SANCHEZ: Does it make it even more political?

MOREY: Because they have got a good argument. No, I don't think it makes it more political. This needs to be addressed, because this something that has been going on for years. In giving it to Carter and people like Gore, this is their attempt to try to influence policy for -- with Barack Obama.

SANCHEZ: They're setting the table for him.

Maru, do you agree?

GONZALEZ: No, actually, I disagree.

I think Paul Krugman probably said it best the other day in his op-ed article, when he said, if something is good for President Obama, Republicans are going to be against it, even if it's good for the country.

And I think that this is good for the country, as I said before, in creating that dialogue and restoring our moral standing. The fact that Michael Steele and others have come out in criticism of Barack Obama really shows that they are bitterly partisan.

SANCHEZ: Has this president, given what he's done so far, already changed the direction of the United States, much in the way that Mikhail Gorbachev, for example, changed the way of the former Soviet Union? Could you make that argument, as some in the international community have made?

GONZALEZ: Well, I think that what Barack Obama has done is really set the foundation for -- for change by stressing diplomacy, for instance.

But I do think there's still a lot more to be done. And I think that, by virtue of winning this award, at least I hope that he really will step up. And this will serve as a call to action, because I'm a progressive and I think that he should have his feet held to the fire, and he needs to do more in terms of ending the war in Iraq, climate change, and, also, here at home, too, in repealing don't ask, don't tell, for instance, and DOMA.

And, so, I think that there's still a lot that he needs to do, because empty rhetoric simply isn't enough. But I think what he has done is change the tone and set the foundation for change.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: But let me tell you what I heard this morning when I woke up this morning and I started watching television and hearing this and turning up the volume with my wife and kids as we were having breakfast.

I heard people saying things like, this is ridiculous. He doesn't deserve it. You heard that one clip that we said with some host comparing him to Marisa Tomei in a movie. There was some pretty strong rhetoric, really almost heated anti-Obama rhetoric?

As a Republican, what do you make of that?

MOREY: Well, even as a Republican, I am proud that an American would get this award.

But I kind of feel bad for President Obama. He did cite in his press conference this morning that it's not because of his accomplishments. It's because of what might come. And I feel bad for the pressure that this puts on him. He's got to be Gandhi after this to live up to this award.

(LAUGHTER)

MOREY: This makes Jimmy Carter look very accomplished. He's got a lot of pressure on him.

SANCHEZ: He's got to be Gandhi to live up to this.

Can I use that quote in the future?

MOREY: You can use that quote, yes.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much. Always appreciate you guys coming by. Let's do it again.

Jade, Maru in L.A., my thanks to both of you.

GONZALEZ: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: The car plunges into the water in Florida. No one is hurt, but there's an important lesson here that I'm going to share be you. This is part of "Fotos." And it's all caught on camera.

And then the story we're following for you today that I really want you to watch. Senator Franken takes on a military contractor, KBR, in defense of this woman. She is a victim who says that she was brutally gang-raped by employees and then denied recourse. And he, yes, takes on that guy you just saw right there on camera, I mean in no uncertain ways. It really is an event -- in many ways, it's a horrible story, but it's also an important story. And his defense of her seems -- well, you decide. We will let you see it for yourself.

Stay right there. I will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Mark Twain popularized a phrase about the use of numbers to bolster a bad argument. The quote is actually pretty well-known. There are three types of lies, there's lies, there's damn lies, and there are statistics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: Presumably, if they -- as far as you know, if she had gotten $50, that would have counted under your 63 percent. And would she also prevail if she got $50 and that the price of that was her silence?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That 63 percent he's talking about is the number of cases that oftentimes end up with a win for people who take on their employers under something that's called binding arbitration. Well, Franken goes on to make his point in a much more dramatic way. In fact, this becomes downright confrontational.

The victim is there, watching, explaining her plight, explaining her gang-rape. So is Franken, taking on the guy who made her stay silent. It's one heck of a television moment. And you're going to see it when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, I'm Rick Sanchez. This next story is about binding arbitration. I know, it sounds boring. Please do not change the channel or you're going to miss something that is very powerful.

What it means is this. When you have a problem with a company, you give up the right to have your case heard by a jury of your peers through binding arbitration, you must go to an arbitrator and live with, in many ways, whatever decision that that arbitrator comes up with.

Now, imagine having a binding arbitration agreement with your boss buried in your employment contract and they pull it out after you've been gang raped by fellow employees. Well, that's the charge.

Halliburton says that Jamie Leigh Jones signed such a contract when she went to work for Kellogg, Brown and Root. She was stationed at Baghdad's Camp Hope, which for her became "Camp Horror". When she claims that she was - well, when she says, not claims. When she says that she was drugged, raped, imprisoned and threatened by at least seven men -

It's not something you hear every day, and not often on CNN because we usually don't identify alleged rape victims. But, in this case, it's Mrs. Jones who has become so angry that she's come forward and wants her story told. She's even willing to testify before Congress - as you see here - because for four years, she says she was hushed about what allegedly happened to her and she says she couldn't take it anymore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE LEIGH JONES, ALLEGES CO-WORKERS RAPED HER IN IRAQ: I went down and met some of my co-workers because it was just the fourth night (ph) and I hadn't met many of them, and one guy offered me a drink. After two drinks, I went blank. I don't remember anything after that.

I woke up and I had a severe disfigurement in my chest, I had bruises in my inner thighs, bruises on my stomach and wrists, and I was hurting so bad. And KBR Security took me to the (INAUDIBLE), the army hospital, and they confirmed that I was raped in more ways than one.

From the hospital, they took me to a place that was a container and they put two armed guards outside my door that would not let me leave, so basically they imprisoned me. They didn't offer me food or drink and they didn't offer me to call my parents or anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: For four years, she's been fighting with KBR. Her case inspired Senator Al Franken of Minnesota to introduce an amendment barring defense contractors from denying workers their day in court when their case is about sexual assault.

This week, Franken faced-off with the head of the coalition of big companies who was testifying to the Judicial Committee - Judiciary Committee, I should say. He was testifying or making the argument that binding arbitration creates a better workplace.

I want you to listen to this. As Franken grills his witness - the witness who's trying to say that arbitration is better than going to court because the statistics say more often than not they win something (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. AL FRANKEN (D). MINNESOTA: Do you consider if Jamie Leigh had gotten a settlement of $50 that she would have prevailed under this definition? Please answer yes or no, sir.

MARK DE BERNARDO, COUNCIL FOR EMPLOYMENT LAW EQUITY: No. I mean that is - Let me just say...

FRANKEN: Please answer yes or no, sir. Do you say no.

DE BERNARDO: I say no (ph).

FRANKEN: So - so, in other words, the statistics on who prevailed, who didn't prevail -- what - what would she have needed to have gotten, $100? Would she have prevailed if she had gotten $100?

DE BERNARDO: You know, I think there's a distinction without (ph) a difference. What we're talking about...

FRANKEN: Answer yes or no, please, sir.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: The witness finally did concede that he didn't know if $50 or $100 would count as a win for the worker, which would be part of that 63 percent. Jamie Leigh Jones also testified. She says it's imperative that what happened to her is heard in open court.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: Ms. Jones, in your foundation you've heard from other women who were raped, is that not true?

JONES: Yes, sir, I have.

FRANKEN: And - and women who under arbitration...

JONES: Yes, sir

FRANKEN: ... were - were told to keep silent, is that right?

JONES: Exactly.

FRANKEN: And because of that silence, you didn't know about anything like this, did you?

JONES: Exactly. I didn't know. It was not public knowledge, unfortunately. I think it was a very big injustice for it not to be public knowledge. It was an injustice for me and all future mothers, wives, daughters, sisters who want to go to Iraq that don't know about all of the crimes that have occurred overseas because it's been in secret arbitration. It's a big injustice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: That is binding arbitration, in case you didn't know. Senator Franken's amendment passed the Senate this week. Jamie Leigh Jones is still fighting, though, for her day in court.

This guy is the Culture Minister of France. Take a look at him. He defends Roman Polanski - Roman Polaski, the director/child rapist. Guess what I've learned the Culture Minister of France has done with young boys? I'm going to tell you. Also, should there be any doubt that he's going to be on Polanski's side? We'll let you hear what he says for himself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I want to share another story with you now. You're not going to believe what I'm about to share with you. In fact, remember last week when I told you about people who come up with defenses or rationalizations for Roman Polanski? It was the big blitz in the news cycle last week. Those are the ones who sometimes skirt the issue that he raped and drugged and sodomized a 13-year-old who girl who was obviously star struck by him.

For reasons beyond me, these people are angry at the United States, many of them at the US government for getting the Swiss government to arrest Polanski who just happened to make the mistake of stepping out of France, which has been protecting Polanski for the most part for 30 years.

With that said, I want you now to listen to the French Culture Minister. He is one of Polanski's leading defenders, and here he is, speaking this week on French television and he's asked by French television about his own sex life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDERIC MITTERRAND, FRENCH CULTURE MINISTER (through translator): Yes, I had relations with boys. This is known. I am not hiding anything. But we must not confuse, or else we'll be living in the Stone Age. We must not confuse pedophilia and homosexuality.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: That, again, was the French Culture Minister. His name is Frederic Mitterrand, and, yes, he happens to be nephew of the former prime minister.

Now, unless I heard him wrong, and maybe you heard him wrong, the French Culture Minister, a defender of child rapist Roman Polanski, just said, "I have had relations with boys." "I have had relations with boys." In fact, let's listen again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDERIC MITTERRAND, FRENCH CULTURE MINISTER (through translator): Yes, I had relations with boys. This is known. I am not hiding anything. But we must not confuse, or else we'll be living in the Stone Age. We must not confuse pedophilia and homosexuality.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Mitterrand goes on to say that when he uses the word boys, he means it loosely - in other words, he might mean men.

I'll tell you more about that in a second, but first, I want you to know this. This was Mitterrand's response to the arrest of Roman Polanski at the behest of the US government. I'll read it to you. Quote, he says, "Just as there's an America which is generous and which we like, there's an America which is frightening, and that is the America which has just revealed its face." That is what he said. That's what he said after the US government helped to engineer Polanski's arrest for drugging and raping a minor then fleeing to Europe and living on the lam for 30 years in France.

Believe it or not, it gets even more disturbing after this. Let me read you now a quote from Frederic Mitterrand's autobiography. And, by the way, he now says the book is, well, half real, half dream. This is the French Culture Minister. He's writing in his travels about Asia. "I got into the habit of paying for boys, all these rituals of the market for youths, the slave market excited me enormously. The abundance of very attractive and immediately available young boys put me in a state of desire."

So we need to get this straight - this is the French Culture Minister writing of taking part in a sex slavery trade, and he is condemning the United States for wanting Roman Polanski finally brought to justice for raping a 13-year-old. What could possibly be left to say? You tell me.

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REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the Five Seasons Brewery in Atlanta, they've been preparing for the perfect pour. They claim to be the first brewery in the world to serve a microbrewed green beer. Master brewer Crawford Moran gave me the honor of tapping the very first keg.

Not only does it make the beer better, but it's - it's a green oriented -

WOLF (on camera): When you think about green beer, most people think about that stuff you have on St. Patrick's Day or that six pack that you left in your car on a really hot day.

WOLF (voice-over): But here, the term takes on an entirely different meaning.

WOLF (on camera): Crawford, what does - what does green beer mean here.

CRAWFORD MORAN, MASTER BREWER, FIVE SEASONS BREWERY: It means something different than St. Paddy's Day stuff. It means beer that is made with pure, pristine rain water. We just harvest it straight out of the clouds and just the way Mother Nature intend it to be.

WOLF (voice-over): You heard hid right - the beer is made with pure rain water. Now the concept isn't new. People have been harvesting rain water for drinking, cooking and farming for centuries. But what is new is the brew pub has teamed up with rain water harvest systems to create a beer made from 100 percent rain water captured on site. RUSS JACKSON, RAIN HARVEST SYSTEMS: Basically, what you do is you put this big tank under your downspout. You're collecting water when it rains. The water comes off the roof, comes through the downspout, goes through a series of different filters and collects in the tank, and then from there we pump it through some more filtration into the brewery and that's where we start with the beer.

WOLF: The management here insists that the water is cleaner than city water, and it's softer too, one secret of making better beer.

MORAN: As brewers, we really like to see soft water, so not a lot of mineral content in there, and rain water, that's what it is.

WOLF: But don't just take his word for it.

MORAN: There you go.

WOLF: The proof is in the drinking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It definitely has a smooth taste to it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is actually very smooth, very mild in flavor, really tasty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The - the flavor of it is a little bit different. I actually like it a lot better.

WOLF: Now, beyond taste, there's a bonus in green beer for both the environment and the Five Seasons Brewery. They could be trucking in the water from a far off mountain spring. Now, that would pollute the air and cost more money, so they use nature's source rainwater that is local and free. It's what the customers and owners of the brewery agree is a green-green win-win.

Reynolds Wolf, CNN, Atlanta.

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Rick Sanchez, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, the twitter tour crowd is with us today, as a matter of fact, folks, go ahead, you can wave. I'm happy to have you over here - I'm glad you're here, by the way because we're going to involve you in this in just a moment. If you guys want to be a part of our twitter tour, you can join us here as well. I'll tell you how to do so in just a little bit.

First of all, "Fotos", any time you bomb anything, someone's going to protest, right? Does that even apply when it comes to something that's millions of miles away? Here comes "Fotos".

Here's the deal with this one, NASA wants to see if there's water on the moon or not. How do they go about it? Well, they do it by crashing a couple of rockets into it. A big crash, a big boom, and scientists have big results, but not everyone loved the idea though. Flogs were founded in there was even a U tube (ph) NASA not to bomb the moon but they did. No calamity ensued and in the words of one scientist on the project, this is cool.

We all overlook things. We have, you know, mental lapses, sometimes you lose your keys, sometimes you lose your car in a lake. It's Sarasota, Florida, no one was in this car when it goes into the lake hurt. Thank goodness. No one was hurt, it sinks under the surface either, no one has to use the Sanchez technique for getting out of a sinking car, but it is a great "Foto". So we share them.

And this is a drill, this is just a drill. All right. Let me take you through this. The fire chief decides he wants to show the media how it's done, how you put out a fire. So he has three of his best guys, actually go in to a fire and they try to put them out, but look what happens, the guys are on fire instead. Notice the guy out there, he's in the back of him when it flames, and he's holding the hose, so he doesn't even know that he's on fire. Finally the chief comes in and says, no, put him out. But wait, the guy on the right is still on fire, so the guy behind him is trying to tell him, you're on fire, you're on fire, give me the hose, I'll put you out and finally he does and he puts the fire out. And not all things work the way they're supposed to. That's Murphy's Law, folks. And this is "Fotos".

You would never think that when a u.s. president is awarded the Nobel Prize that people in the United States would be very skeptical if not critical of him. But that is for the most part what has been going on today, and it's caused huge debates with smart comments coming from both sides. We have more reaction, because it's still pouring in, it has been our lead story throughout the day. And then later a man who nobody doubts won his championship. Heavy weight legend Evander Holyfield. He's going to be coming and going to be sitting right there. There's a chair right there, you can't see it right now, when the chair down, he's going to be here and he's be joining us in just little bit. Stay with us, we'll be right back.

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SANCHEZ: I want to bring back my trusted colleague Brooke Baldwin who has been working on the reaction because she's really is. After we learned that the president had won the Nobel Peace prize, one of the most interesting parts of the story has been following how people have reacted to it and what else have you learned?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: We have reactions from several major world leaders including Nicolas Sarkozy of France. I'm going to read a couple of them for you. He said, the prize marks America's return to the hearts of the people and to the world. Also hearing from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a spokesperson from him saying, we hope that this gives him the incentive to walk in the path to bring justice to the world order, and finally we're also hearing from terrorists. The Taliban has a pr Department apparently.

SANCHEZ: The Taliban has a pr Department?

BALDWIN: The Taliban spokesperson said, quote, "We have seen no change in his strategy for peace, he has done nothing for peace in Afghanistan." SANCHEZ: So the Taliban is opposed to his getting the Nobel Peace Prize.

BALDWIN: They are.

SANCHEZ: That's news, I suppose. Thank you, appreciate it.

BALDWIN: There you go, yes.

SANCHEZ: By and large Cubans love boxing. Certainly I'm no exception. My dad grew up telling me stories of all the great fights in the 40s and of course Joe Lewis is the, quote, "the greatest boxer who ever lived". The man who won the heavyweight championship more times than even Joe Lewis will be joining me here in just a little bit. He's got an amazingly important message. His name is Evander Holyfield.

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SANCHEZ: On Fridays we would like to bring in some of the folks who like to watch our show, and there they are. As a matter of fact, guys, happy to have you. This is cnn.com/tour. You can you go there if you want to be a part of our tour on Fridays. You can come in here and spend some time and be on TV. The number to call is 877- 4cnn-tour and I'm lucky you guys are lucky today because you get to see somebody who is a legitimate superstar. He's won more crowns than just about anybody else, Evander Holyfield. Champ, good to see you.

EVANDER HOLYFIELD, FORMER HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING CHAMPION: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Thanks for being with us. You have a quick question for him go ahead. You can ask it better than I can.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, champ, I was wondering, do you ever plan on fighting again?

HOLYFIELD: Yes, I should be fighting at the end of this year. My goal still is to be the undisputed heavyweight champ of the world again. I'll be 47 and still the head I go.

SANCHEZ: You're 47?

HOLYFIELD: Yes.

SANCHEZ: You look good.

HOLYFIELD: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: I guess you wouldn't be planning to fight if you didn't, right?

HOLYFIELD: Well, you're right.

SANCHEZ: Let me ask you a question. You're into something now, you're building a 40-acre solar energy farm on your property. Somehow I don't take you for a guy who would be not only a greenie but somebody who would be able to be passionate about something like this. Why?

HOLYFIELD: Well, I think the most important when you look -- when you look at the long haul, you say if I don't take care and do the right thing, then my grandkids and my kid's kids, they will suffer. So, you know, I was able to see Al Gore and I watched it and I realized that you know, that's real, you know. You cannot -- we own this earth as a whole, and when people take it for granted, you know, there's a reason things happen.

SANCHEZ: I want to ask you about some of the handlers in boxing. I want to ask you about a lot of the stuff including even some of the folks that I've gotten to know over the years, being Cuban and loving boxing as well. So, this is going to be good, I'm looking forward to it. Evander Holyfield with us for the after show. We're staying here. cnn.com/live. Stay there. We'll be in the conversation.

Right now, Wolf Blitzer, standing by in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Wolf, over to you.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Rick, thanks very much.