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Don Lemon Tonight
Big Sugar and America's Health; Lewinsky's Article Examined; Discussing Case of Kidnapped Nigerian School Girls
Aired May 07, 2014 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL WEIR, CNN: I'm Bill Weir. Welcome to CNN tonight. A crusading journalist and familiar TV face takes on a big business that is making Americans sick by the millions. No, not big tobacco, but this one may be even more hazardous to your health. It is big sugar. And Katie Couric is fed up with the industry's big lie. She says it is making of millions of Americans, especially kids, obese and diabetic and could be shortening their lives.
Tonight she tells us who is in big sugar's back pocket and what you can do about it. Meanwhile the desperate cry still rings out around the world. Bring back our girls. And now for the first time the parents of one of the hundreds of kidnapped school girls speak out as the terrorist who took them unleash another brutal attack.
Also Woodward and Bernstein were to Watergate, Michael Isikoff was to Monicagate. So what does he think about the reemergence of President Clinton's one time paramour and in the pages of Vanity Fair. He'll be here to tell me tonight.
And also Vladimir Putin backs down or does he? How popping bees thought America a valuable lesson in the last Cold War and how it might save us from another. But let us begin with Katie Couric's crusade against the major hazard to American's health, the obesity epidemic.
Most of us assume that mixing in a few more salads and few more sit- ups is the key to getting back into those skinny jeans. And if a kid is obese, well, that's just too many video games and not enough self control. But the new film Fed Up says that everything you think about food and exercise is dead wrong including Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The epidemic here is worse than previously estimated, much worse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The message has been pushed on us. It's your fault you're fat.
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It shouldn't be so hard to get them to run around and play, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have voracious appetites so they don't exercise enough. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's about how active our kids are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forget about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEIR: This is strong stuff. Fed Up is narrated, executive produced by Katie Couric. You all know her and she joins me now on with along with the renowned public health expert Dr. Mark Hyman. He's featured in the film. His new book the Blood Sugar Solution, ten day detox diet. It'll be probably what your 8h best seller or something?
MARK HYMAN, AUTHOR: Yes.
WEIR: Welcome to both of you. Good to meet you. Great to see you again.
COURIC: Thank you Bill. Nice to see you as well.
WEIR: This is a brave film. It's not everybody who calls out Michelle Obama and Sarah Palin and Pepsi and Level Debby. Didyou get any blowback? What's the response?
COURIC: Well I think you know the film is coming out on Friday night so we'll see about that. But, you know, I mean, think it's a little bit of a misrepresentation to say that we take on Michelle Obama. I think were -- we question sort of the message behind her campaign. Initially we give her great credit for taking this issue on. And certainly she has gotten many things accomplished simply by bringing attention to the problem.
This fall I think soda, Coca-Cola and Pepsi and all kinds of soda's are going to be taking out a vending machine in school all across the country. We applaud that. Some of our exports though contend that she formed I guess you'd called it unholy alliance with some major food companies. And it's very hard to institute change when you're working with various companies that really want to protect the status quo.
WEIR: Right. We're going to get to that. I'm going to save that for the next segment because it's fascinating the tug of war between big business and government and public health. But let's start at the beginning with the premise -- you start the film with the idea that, you know, if you need to get back in your skinny jeans you just need to get on the treadmill more. And if a child is obese then that is culture or genetics or the Xbox.
HYMAN: Yes.
WEIR: Wrong you say.
HYMAN: It is wrong, you know. We know that the message is--the food industry reports to tell us that if we just exercise more and eat less we'll lose weight. That exercise is the solution. That their mantra. But you have to walk four and half miles to burn off 120 ounce of soda. You have to run four miles everyday for a week to burn off one super sized meal.
So, we have to look at what's really driving it. And what's driving it is sugar. We know from the science that sugar is really the fact that is causing this abdominal fat that's causing so much of the diabetes and obesity that we see today. And that was really called that out. And it's really an additive substance that is driving this process.
BILL WEIR: And the history is fascinating. Back in glorious days of disco we realized -- science realized fat is bad so that was taken all out and replaced with?
COURIC: That's right with sugar. In 1977, the McGovern report said that the American diet was too high in saturated fat and too high in sugar and the meat, poultry, dairy and egg industries were very nervous that that would mean that people are going to buy fewer of their products. So, that was when the low fat craze happened. But when you extract fat from many of these products they taste as Robert (inaudible) said in our film like cardboard. So they have to pump in the sugar. And so, I think one of top most telling images in our film is when we show ranch dressing with half the fat and double the sugar.
WEIR: Right.
COURIC: And I think people are surprised but I don't know about you Bill. But for me when I go to the grocery store I'm always buying low fat everything thinking that it's healthier and better for you. And I didn't realize until I helped make this film that it meant sugar even in things like tomato sauce--
HYMAN: Right.
COURIC: There so much of 600,000 products in the grocery store. 80 percent of those have added sugar. And Americans double their consumption of sugar from 1977 to 2000. It decreased after 2000 but that was because of the prevalence of high fructose corn syrup.
WEIR: And not only does it taste good and it (inaudible) insulin which stores fat. But you cite this study where cocaine addicted rats which are really the worse kind of rats will prefer sugar water to more cocaine.
HYMAN: That's right and then they even have studies where they put rats on electric shock pad and they continued to consume sugar even while getting the electric shock. And that's exactly what happens to Americans. Even while the adverse effects of obesity and chronic disease and effects on their (inaudible) are happening they continue to consume sugar because it's so powerfully addictive. And human studies show the same thing even if people don't know what they're eating like the milkshake study by Dr. David Ludwig lit up the brain like cocaine in the high sugar milkshake even though they were the same calories, same fat and carbon protein grams.
So the message is not all calories are the same. It's much more complicated than calories in and calories out. Sugar calories make you fat. Fat calories it turns out increasingly aren't the ones into the problem despite what we thought for 30 years.
HYMAN: Right. And then comes the public struggle. You interview President Clinton. I want to play a clip of this asking about whether or not we should all get behind this, government effort. Here's a little look at that.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
COURIC: Do you think the government is behind when it comes to helping American reduce their sugar intake?
BILL CLINTON, FMR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, I do.
COURIC: Why? Why are they doing that?
CLINTON: I think that ...
COURIC: Or why aren't they doing more?
CLINTON. I can't answer that particular since corn has been turned into fructose and is a sweetener for soft drinks which I don't think is a good use of corn. But I think that America is still insufficiently alert to the damage we are doing long-term to our collective health by too much sugar intake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEIR: This is not unlike tobacco. The idea of education about that in the early days, wrestling with that and the lobby's that fight to keep that warning out of the public digestion.
COURIC: And I think one of the most effective parts of the film is really showing in many ways the food industry is mimicking the techniques that big tobacco took even though we knew that cigarette smoking was very hazardous to your health. They're denying that it can be harmful. They're saying that sugar sweetened beverages should just be part of your daily consumption of calories. And that again a calorie is a calorie. And as long as you exercise, as long as you make up for it in other areas it's perfectly fine when we know that it really can be quite damaging to your health.
HYMAN: That's true. I mean there's a scene in the movie where had the American beverage association is testifying before Congress and he says he rejects any notion that sodas are harmful. And yet we know that one can of soda increases the kids risk of being obese by 60 percent. That one soda increases a risk of a woman having Type 2 diabetes by 80 percent. We know that sugar sweetened beverages are the number one of cause of obesity in study after study after study. So for him to get in front of Congress and lie it's just stunning.
WEIR: And there's another great, great moment of journalism where you talk to this doctor who had taken two and half mil, you know, and said the study -- the science is still out. But let's get into politics, when we come back I want to talk about big foods fight against any sort of change here. And Mark and Katie stay with me. Also, when we come back one of the shocking facts in this film. We're going to have six-month-old babies in this country already obese, not an exaggeration to say this is a matter of life and death for our kids.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Between 1977 and 2000, American have doubled their daily intake of sugar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sugar is poison. The metabolic diseases that are associated with obesity, the diabetes, the heart disease, the lipid problems, the strokes, the cancer, those diseases are being driven by sugar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEIR: That from the new few film "Fed Up", Katie Couric, Executive Producer. Dr Mark Hyman is featured and both back with us live. So when people started to say "Let's fix this." We realize the problem there. The political fight is fascinating how big food rallied.
There was one effort to try to get pizza out of school lunches. This giant pizza maker in Minnesota has their Democratic senator try to convince us that pizza is a vegetable.
COURIC: I think big food also provides a lot of big jobs and a lot of small jobs from many people all across the country. And when Amy Klobuchar saw that they wanted to take pizza out of school cafeterias, the company that make 70 percent of the nation's pizza for schools is located in her state and so she wanted to protect those jobs understandably. And yet, you know, I think there's always this dichotomy between, you know, you want it feed our kids well but the schools get big pay back ...
WIER: Yes.
COURIC: ... from fast food restaurants. And, you know, 50 percent of the school's cafeteria in this country actually serve students. One of our experts, Dr. Bernal, I thought that it's why that schools have turned into 7/11's with books.
HYMAN: Yes, that's great one.
WEIR: And then Michelle Obama comes along and starts the Let's Move campaign starts growing carrots in the White House, a garden there. And so, big food had an interesting choice. They could push back or sort of embrace ...
HYMAN: Yes, they (inaudible) in the process. I mean she's trying to do the right thing and she's speaking out and she's declaring us an issue and motivating Americans to pay attention. And a lot of the things that's been part of us move (inaudible) improving nutrition schools, getting (inaudible), all great. And then she got caught by the food industry and said "Let's partner with you." We're going to take a trillion (inaudible) calories out of the food supply. What is that mean? It means (inaudible) of apple. It means 14 calories a day. WEIR: Right.
HYMAN: It's nothing and it sounds great but it actually subverts the process that it means they take an Oreo cookie from 100 calories to 90 calories.
WEIR: Let's show that. Here's a clip from the film, Michelle Obama in Big Food.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA: They've agreed to (ph) formulate their foods in a number of ways ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the food manufactures (inaudible) into a very long complicated intricate discussion about processed food. How we can make processed food better.
But whatever they do to process foods it will be used to sell us more processed food that we should probably eat. That's a beauty of a processed food. You can dial up the carbs, dial down the carbs, same with proteins, same with the sugars. All of these changes become marketing claims, designed to get you to buy more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEIR: And I know we don't want to beat up the First Lady on this but you do point out that her message moved from Let's Move toward out there foods to let's play more kick ball which as we talked about in the last segment ...
(CROSSTALK)
COURIC: No it's not but I mean I also don't want to say this is not an anti-exercise film, you know, I think everyone acknowledges the importance of exercise to your overall health.
I think all we're contending is that it's not - you're not going to be able to exercise yourselves out of the obesity epidemic in this country and for that matter around the world.
WEIR: What do you do in your homes? You got two daughters?
COURIC: I do.
WEIR: Did you -- where you ever junk food family or have you always have the ...
COURIC: You know, I mean, I would say moderate. I mean, I would try not to buy a lot of processed foods if I could. But, you know, I was guilty of buying low fat everything. I remember when Snackwells came out in the 1980s. I was like "Holla, I can eat cookies." And, you know, it's fine and they're not going to bad for me because they're low fat. And isn't this genius.
And, you know, it's still -- up until probably a few months ago, I always grab the low-fat peanut butter, the low-fat mayonnaise, the low-fat salad dressing. You know, because you think low fat, it's got to be better, but now I'm not doing that anymore because I realized it's just loaded with sugar.
WEIR: Lots of sugars.
COURIC: And I look at label so much differently. And I guess pretty well versed and I pay attention. But now I'm like "How much specifically added sugar is in there?" And I now that 4 grams equals 1 teaspoon, I know the American Heart Association said the safe amount to consume a (inaudible) for a woman ...
HYMAN: Maximum that you should ...
COURIC: Maximum amount. So, you know, safe. But I mean, you know, there's a threshold.
WEIR: But what's interesting it doesn't show the daily percentage.
COURIC: No, it doesn't.
WEIR: Sugar is the one ingredient ...
HYMAN: And there's no recommended dietary allowance of sugar.
WEIR: Yes.
HYMAN: It's, you know, it's a pleasurable substance. It's a recreational drug and we should use it as that, you know? We all maybe like have a glass of wine or tequila, that doesn't mean we should be dreaming (ph) all day and drinking all day.
WEIR: Right. Now, as a public health advocate and somebody who looks at policy, what do you think of like the Bloomberg show to ban which the (inaudible) is actually trying to appeal and bring back?
HYMAN: Well, I talk to Michael Bloomberg the other night because he actually try to initiate which is to get a test to see what would happen if we restricted the access of soda using food stamps. He couldn't get the USDA to approve a pile of study to restrict the access of soda with food stamps just to see what would happen.
That's craziness. The USDA spends $4 billion a year in food stamps paying for soda, that's $29 million servings of soda a day or $10 billion servings a year to the poor which they're paying in the front and then on the back and they're paying for Medicaid for obesity and diabetes rate of complications.
WEIR: And if you don't care about your own gut, I mean, you can't help and look at these kids. You have some beautiful children in this film and you make the case that there were in Type 2 diabetes, which is early adult onset diabetes, what used to be called, in 1980, zero cases.
HYMAN: Yes.
WEIR: In 2010 almost 60,000.
COURIC: I know. I think the statistics in the film are staggering. When you think about it, if we found (ph) this current trajectory in two decades, all Americans -- 95 percent rather of Americans will be overweight or obese. By 2050, one in three will have diabetes. And I think this is the saddest (ph) fact of all. This current generation of children is the first expected to have shorter live span than their parents.
Now, if that is an outrageous legacy, we're leaving to our children, I don't know what is. And if that doesn't make people at least pay more attention to this issue and get mad and get setup about it, I don't know what well.
WEIR: It will certainly start a conversation. This film is usually powerful. But before I let you go, and forgive me for talking shop in front of you here. Congrats on you Emmy.
COURIC: Thank you.
WEIR: Nomination.
COURIC: Thank you so much.
WEIR: And your show is one and down in the summer?
COURIC: Yeah. We're going to finish taping in the middle of June. And I'm sad because I have the greatest stuff on the planet. I love the people I worked with, and I want to doing -- I'm starting already, I've done a number of interviews for Yahoo News, and I'll continue to do that. I'm very excited because I think it's going to be incredibly liberating to get out as we were talking about to be able to get back out in the field and have more flexibility in terms of some of the topics, I'm interested in covering and excited about it.
WEIR: You miss morning TV ever?
COURIC: Sometimes. Yeah, I miss the gang, you know, I had a wonderful 15 year (inaudible) show..
WEIR: Yeah.
COURIC: You know, I'm still in touch with them. So if -- you know, they'll always have a special place in my heart.
WEIR: Even at 3:30 in the morning, when the alarm goes off, you sleep through that?
COURIC: The dirty little secret is I never got up at bed early, I got up at like 5:30 and they feel like is she coming in today?
WEIR: Would you ever go back?
COURIC: I don't think so. No, no.
WEIR: OK. What always said, one major anchor, one day is going to be the first digital anchor and Yahoo snapped you up, and so congrats on that.
COURIC: Thank you.
WEIR: And the film. And it's great meeting both of you guys.
COURIC: Thank you Bill.
WEIR: Fed Up.
COURIC: Thank you for you interest in the movie. And we're really hoping -- you know, I don't want to be in the position that I'm telling people what to eat and what not to eat, I just want them to be armed with the information they deserve so they can make educated choices for themselves and their families.
WEIR: Right. Kate Couric, Dr. Mark Hyman, thank you. Fed Up, opens Friday. See it people and change the way you eat.
And coming up next, back in the late 90s, if you said that Monica Lewinsky would become poignant sympathetic figure by 2014 they might have thrown (inaudible) over here. She writes in Vanity Fair that the media "we're able to brand here". Let's find out what Michael Isikoff, thanks to that, he's wrote the book on the scam literally (inaudible) next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WEIR: And now, a new point of view from a familiar name on a story is old as politics, powerful men have been coupling with vulnerable women since the days of Caesar. But the first huge scandal of the internet age was hands down interngate. But now that intern is 40 years old and after a long time shutting a spotlight, Monica Lewinsky, wants us to reevaluate the definition of her as a vulnerable woman. She is using the pages of Vanity Fair to "burn the beret and bury the blue dress" and take back her story.
And people know that story better than Michael Isikoff. He is the one man Woodward and Bernstein of Interngate, the author of "Uncovering Clinton, A Reporter's Story, join us from D.C. Michael, thanks for being here.
MICHAEL ISIKOFF, AUTHOR: Good to be with you, Bill.
WEIR: As the guy who, you know, had Linda Tripp in his ear and was right there as all of these was fully (ph), I'm just so curious what your reaction was reading today's full article in Vanity Fair?
ISIKOFF: Well, look. It is sad and poignant that Monica Lewinsky has had such trouble getting beyond her imprisonment by the scandal and she details how her difficulties in getting a job and dating, and moving on. But that said, I thought she made a couple of interesting points. And probably the most significant one worth pointing out here is to the extent this peace was triggered by events. There were two things that happened in the last few months. Rand Paul talked about her -- about Bill Clinton's predatory behavior and said that ought to be considered in Hillary Clinton's candidacy for the presidency. And secondly, the release of those papers from Clinton library in which Hillary Clinton talking to her late close friend, Diane Blair, described Monica as narcissistic loony toon. And what Monica says in this article, first of all on Rand Paul comments predatory behavior, look, make no mistake this was a consensual relationship that she had with Bill Clinton that of course is something she had said and made clear many times before.
But on the other point, reacting to Hillary Clinton sort of the raise of comments about her, she remind us about the -- what may have been the most critical moment in this whole scandal and that was January 16th, 1988 when Starr's prosecutors and FBI agents confront her at the Pentagon Mall and take her up to hotel room threatened her with multiple federal felonies for perjury, obstruction of justice, saying as she could go to jail for years if she didn't cooperate and the become an informant for them in trying to -- in their investigation of Bill Clinton trying to prove that Clinton and Vernon Jordan is close friend and associate, were involve in some sort of obstruction.
Monica refused to go along. She refused to cooperate. And that was a pretty courageous thing for a young woman in that circumstance to do. She had a lot of pressure on her and there were threats (inaudible), she refused to go along. And in some ways it was the turning point ...
WEIR: Yeah.
ISIKOFF: ... in the whole scandal, even though the scandal hadn't broken yet.
WEIR: Right.
ISIKOFF: You know, one can only imagine what would have happened if she did become an informant for star, if she did allow herself to be wired in conversation with Vernon Jordan, and Starr's prosecutors could have might have gotten some of the evidence they were looking that really could have made their prosecution of Clinton state.
WEIR: Right.
ISIKOFF: She didn't do it. And as a result, you could say, in some ways, she saved the Clinton dynasty ...
WEIR: Saved the Clinton dynasty.
ISIKOFF: ... in that moment ...
WEIR: Yes, they threatened her with 27 years in jail and she says "Courageous or foolish maybe but narcissistic loon." I don't know. I wonder ...
ISIKOFF: Exactly.
WEIR: ... given your sense you're down in Little Rock and getting a sense from Clinton's enemies and friends a like of their sense of control. This is a theory that was just floated I guess by Lynne Cheney on Fox. Well, let's listen to this and she what she say.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
LYNNE CHENEY, WIFE OF FMR. VP DICK CHENEY: I really wonder if this isn't an effort on the Clintons' part to get that story out of the way. Would Vanity Fair publish anything about Monica Lewinsky that Hillary Clinton didn't want in Vanity Fair?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's very interesting. I love this theory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEIR: I don't know. I think any magazine would take the story after all these years.
ISIKOFF: Right.
WEIR: What do you think about that?
ISIKOFF: I got to say, I've been pretty surprised that just how much coverage and attention this has gotten because after all the basic facts are about as well-known as any political scandal in American history. This thing is been litigated, re-litigated. We have the Starr report. Monica herself had written a book, everybody involved including myself, have written books about this. It's hard -- you know, there really aren't a lot of new facts here.
WEIR: Right.
ISIKOFF: But ...
WEIR: But let me ask you about the ...
ISIKOFF: ... war shock (ph) has for people and, you know ...
WEIR: Exactly.
ISIKOFF: ... annually debated especially with Hillary Clinton running for president.
WEIR: And we're going to get into that a little bit in the next segment in terms of the right and the left and the perception of this. But the mete (ph) of this, is this someone who says I was the most humiliated person in the world for a long time. It scarred me. She's sort of lashing out ...
ISIKOFF: Right.
WEIR: ... in a cynical way against this culture of shame, this gleeful shame or we have --while you're in it and reporting it, did you have -- what were your sentiments towards her? I mean, Linda Tripp seems to be the villain of the story. Did you see her as on winning (ph), you know, behave (ph) in the woods?
ISIKOFF: Yes. But look, as a reporter, on the story at the time it wasn't really about Monica, it was ... WEIR: Yes.
ISIKOFF: ... first about Bill Clinton and his behavior and what he said under oath or didn't say. And secondly about Ken Starr and his decision to make this a criminal case and that was the debate that the country was having. And sort of -- Monica was sort of obviously the central figure in the middle of it but she wasn't who people were debating about.
WEIR: Right.
ISIKOFF: It was the behavior of the president and the special prosecutor. And so, look, she has a justifiable grievance with the world.
WEIR: Yes.
ISIKOFF: Because she clearly as -- you know, she says almost became sort of incidental road kill in this.
WEIR: Well (inaudible).
ISIKOFF: But there is something a little -- there's a contradiction here. She says she wants to move on. She says time to bury the beret. Yet at the same time, she says, she -- having sort of not succeeded in the other career paths, wants to be a spokesperson for people who have been shamed and humiliated on the internet and you can raise a question whether if you want to move on and get beyond this whether that's the exact best career path for her at this point.
WEIR: Michael Isikoff, the man who wrote the book on the story, if you're planning (ph) to go back and catch up once again we appreciate it. Thanks.
ISIKOFF: Thank you.
WEIR: When we come back some more theories about her return. A one woman who doesn't buy any of what he's just talked about as her mission, and whether this could be good for Hillary Clinton, we'll a take a look next.
(COMMERICAL BREAK)
(VIDEO CLIP START)
BARBARA WALTERS, BROADCAST JOURNALIST: There's a lot of story because they're going to attack Hillary. Hillary has behaved with the greatest dignity. She has not talked about it. But whatever the Republican Party does, if they want to dredge this up to Hillary, that's a different story.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But her timing had nothing to do. Monica had nothing to do with ...
WALTERS: He did not do this now because she's trying to help or hurt, Hillary. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WEIR: That is Barbara Walters and the company on The View. Today, lots of speculation about the return of Monica Lewinsky and what it could mean for the Clintons. Joining me now, Amy Holmes, Anchor at the Hot List of TheBlaze.com and CNN political commentator Marc Lamont Hill.
Great to have you both here.
AMY HOLMES, ANCHOR, HOT LIST: Thank you.
WEIR: So I'm interested in your take. You're a bit skeptical of her intentions here? You don't think this is pure (ph)?
HOLMES: I'm not skeptical of her intentions. In fact, she said, that where she implicitly acknowledges that she had her life on hold for the last 8 to 10 years and she refuses to continue. I think that she dodges the question, however, whether or not it's appropriate to ask Hillary Clinton about Hillary's own conducts and whether or not Bill's conduct if she gets near the White House again should be a topic for a campaign question.
WEIR: What do you mean questions about Hillary's own conduct?
HOLMES: Well, it certainly -- yes, it's Monica herself reports and as we know at the time that Hillary Clinton ...
WEIR: Blaming herself?
HOLMES: Yes. She was basically saying she was a deranged stalker, and then in the note that came out that were taken between Hillary and her friend Diane that she was this narcissistic loony toon. Hillary Clinton had a very active, vicious, and ruthless campaign to delegitimize and take away Monica Lewinsky's credibility, but of course all that changed with the blue GAP (ph) (inaudible) dress.
WEIR: The blue, yes, that's right. I forget it was on the GAP (ph). I'm sure it will be (inaudible) pie for you. Marc Lamont, you get a sympathetic vibe from here? I mean, I read this today ...
MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'm very sympathetic.
WEIR: ... and thought -- you know, I actually compared it to V. Stiviano. We could go off on ...
(CROSSTALK)
MARC LAMONT HILL: No. No. Absolutely. Absolutely not.
WEIR: No, I mean in terms of how society jumps on ...
HILL: Absolutely, look ...
WEIR: ... a character in the moment.
HILL: Yes. Yes.
WEIR: And burns them in the towns -- Virtual Town Square.
HILL: Right. And we tend to do it women more than men. We have a culture in politics of shaming that happens to women in this. Bill Clinton was rehabilitated. Bill Clinton is still an international hero. He's an icon. In some places even a moral leader guy for a bit. But she's the one who's had to be in hiding since 1998. She's the one who's been splotching. She's the one whose essentially been attacked for a mutually conceptual affair.
WEIR: Right.
HOLMES: But I wouldn't say that she had to be in hiding. And one of the problems that was she ...
HILL: What else is she going to do?
HOLMES: One of the problems of this piece was first of all is at first personal. So you better have a pretty rich interior life which was not on display in this piece. And she could have done so many things in her life beyond wallowing in the scandal that was her tryst with Bill Clinton.
HILL: But really ...
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: She didn't.
HILL: She got a master's degree.
HOLMES: She said that she couldn't get a job that she's been depending on the support of friends ...
HILL: But if you walk down the street everyday and knew that every one was looking at you and judging you based on something you did when you were 20 (ph).
HOLMES: She was not writing a piece about my year in the South of Sudan (ph) where I learned the real meaning of survival and suffering. When she's talking about how she's suffered by seeing her name in Google searches ...
HILL: No, not just that and also not being able to get a job. She's talking about one job ...
HOLMES: ... me, me, me.
HILL: Yes, that's what question pieces do. They talk about me, me, me.
HOLMES: That is the peril.
HILL: But she has a right to tell her story. We decided that because of whatever happened by her and Bill Clinton is she doesn't have the right to be in public space. She has been shamed and out in a way that is almost unprecedented for men. And hold on one second. And here's the thing she -- hold on let me finish what I started. She said that she attempted to get jobs for the last -- over a decade. She hasn't been able to get a job because people have shamed her. They're scared of what'll happen with the Clinton's.
One job asked her to get a letter of indemnification from the Clinton's before she could get a job because they were worried that Hillary would be the next president back in 2008. That's a life that none of us can fully appreciate. I have sympathy for her. I encourage her to tell her story.
HOLMES: I have sympathy for her infamy. But she talks about the job that she's seeking they're all in PR. Well, I'm here to tell you there's more to do than going to PR or what seems to be the other offer which she did turned down which was porn. She could have gone into the Peace Corp. She could have worked at her local soup kitchen. There's so many thing she could do.
HILL: Really?
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: She was a White House intern you want her out in like Uzbekistan, you know, building mosquito nets?
HOLMES: For her own ...
HILL: I mean, come on like ...
HOLMES: It's like for her own personal growth. Monica is ...
HILL: Well, why are we so concerned with her personal growth? No one is talking about Bill Clinton's personal growth.
HOLMES: She is the one writing about it.
HILL: This is the sexist part. We're talking about her--we do a moral inventory of Monica Lewinsky.
HOLMES: The Vanity Fair (inaudible).
HILL: We talk about her emotional and social and moral growth. We don't do that with Bill Clinton. We let him off the hook. We make jokes about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't let him off the hook.
HILL: And the White House corresponds. And just last week, Joe McKenna is making cigar (ph) jokes. You know, we made a joke out of Bill Clinton. We don't care what he does. We do (inaudible) for men and for women. We shame them. That's the problem.
HOLMES: So Mark, here's the question since you are saying that we should have the same scrutiny on Bill Clinton's moral growth. Do you think that is ... HILL: Well, less scrutiny on either moral growth. Maybe it's a personal matter that doesn't have to do with her.
HOLMES: Do you think asking Hillary Clinton about her husband's behavior should he get near the White House again is a fair question to ask her if she runs for President of the United States?
HILL: I do think that's a fair question. I don't think it's something ...
HOLMES: Then you agree with Rand Paul?
HILL: I don't think it's some -- I agree with Rand Paul. Just 'cause Rand Paul said it doesn't mean it wrong. I think we absolutely should ask that question. We shouldn't obsess about it. But we should ask the question and get her answer and move on.
HOLMES: There you have it. (Inaudible) I think we should ask the question.
WEIR: We have and I'll ask her that she'll come here. And you guys can ...
HILL: And she will come here and you will.
WEIR: Yeah, I will, I hope so. I know this is going to continue on the elevator. Amy Holmes, Mark Lamont Hill, thank you both.
HILL: Pleasure.
HOLMES: Thank you.
WEIR: Great to have you here. Coming up, next these psychopaths who kidnapped nearly 300 school girls attack another village in Nigeria, is all these attention making them bolder in anyway and why cant the government save the girls? Good insight coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(START VIDEO CLIP)
MALALA YOUSAFZAI, PAKISTANI ACTIVIST: Back in Nigeria and my sisters, and it's my responsibility that I speak up for my sister, so I feel that I should speak up for them and I should raise my voice for their rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEIR: And of course, that's Malala Yousafzai interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour today. One of the Pakistan's Taliban shot her in the head in 20/12 because she had the audacity to defy their medieval beliefs by going to school. So, if you can relate to that hash tag, bring back our girls more than Malala. And it is a cry that is caught by around the world millions of people demanding a release, nearly 300 school girls, kidnapped by like-minded terrorists in Nigeria. First Lady Michelle Obama weighed in today via Twitter. But three weeks after they were taken from their beds in the middle of the night by a vicious Boko Haram, a terrorist, those girls of course are still missing. And disturbing details emerging tonight about what appears to be another attack by Boko Haram in a village where at least 150 people died.
Nigeria now offering a reward of about $310,000 for information leading to that girl's rescue, CNN Zain Asher is here with more. You have roots there. Your parents fled there.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN REPORTER: Right.
WEIR: You spent time there. Help us understand how the nation reacts. In some parts of that country, you know, misery is a way of life in a lot of ways. And violence is--has this captured the whole nation's attention and why can't they stop these guys?
ASHER: Well, it certainly captured the attention of people who live in Borno State. They live in a state of fear constantly. So Borno State is in the Northeastern part of Nigeria. That is where Boko Haram has their stronghold. In terms of the rest of the country I have to say Bill that Boko Haram has been around for 15 years.
Violence has re-escalated in past five years. So there is a sense that people are in a way used to violence from Boko Haram. It happens constantly. You see villages burnt down. You see people burnt. You see people beheaded. People killed. So there is a sort of feeling that Boko Haram can't be stopped by some Nigerians.
WEIR: And there was these eight more girls kidnapped on Sunday night. Is it the number, the sheer number that were taken at once that has awoken this fury?
ASHER: Yes, absolutely. So you have 300 girls taken from a boarding school. That really raises concerns for the international community. But this is not a one off. It was just a couple of months ago that 56 boys at a boarding school were also killed by Boko Haram. So I think with this case the international community is waking up because of the number. And then there's also outrage to the fact that Nigeria's President Good Luck Jonathan waited three weeks before saying anything. And, you know, he was out busy campaigning for re-election for 2015 as supposed to talking about these girls. The people are really shocked about that.
WEIR: Where are the police? Where's the military?
ASHER: In Nigeria there's this unfortunate divide between the Boko Haram and the military. Boko Haram, they get a lot of their funding from kidnapping and holding ransom. So you have the situation where Boko Haram are more armed, better armed, better funded, better equipped than the Nigerian military. Some might even say that the Nigerian soldiers might even be afraid of Boko Haram. So it's a terrifying situation for anyone who lives in the Northeast ...
WEIR: Are they paying off cops as well? Is there a corruption that's ...
ASHER: There's certainly corruption in Nigeria ...
WEIR: Yes.
ASHER: ... that is right and that is certainly part of it.
WEIR: Here's Hillary Clinton today specifically addressing the Nigerian government. Let's listen to this.
(VIDEO CLIP START)
HILLARY CLINTON, US SENATOR and FMR. FIRST LADY: The government of Nigerian has been in my view somewhat derelict in its responsibility for protecting boys and girls, men and women in Northern Nigeria over the last years. They need to make it a priority to do everything they can to try to bring these girls home safely, and that, I believe, requires assistance from others including the United States.
(VIDEO CLIP END)
WEIR: Do you think all this attention, how is it affected both Goodluck Jonathan and Boko Haram has it (inaudible) into one and forced the other into action or vice versa?
ASHER: It's interesting. Nigeria is a country that has a lot of national pride. They pride themselves in that fact that Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa. They got a lot of natural resources. And so they see themselves as the heart of Africa.
So the idea of accepting help from outsiders, from the United States, a lot of politicians in Nigeria view that as a weakness. That is why they were so reluctant initially to accept outside help. But I think now of the three weeks, there was this acceptance that the United States can offer a lot that Nigeria can't. Nigeria is obviously a third world country.
WEIR: Right.
ASHER: The United States can bring surveillance abilities, technology tracking capabilities that Nigeria simply doesn't have.
WEIR: Even China is volunteering some satellite help as well. And do you think is a reward (ph) of 300,010 will make a difference, what that brings you?
ASHER: You know, honestly Bill, I don't know. This is the not the first time we've seen a reward for capturing ...
WEIR: Yes.
ASHER: ...Boko Haram or anything like that. Abubakar Shekau, the head of Boko Haram. He is the one of the most wanted man in Africa. And it really hasn't have difference because there was such so much fear especially of revenge killing. You capture Boko Haram, you kill the leader. What is going to happen in terms of revenge? Are there going to more girls kidnap more people who are killed.
WEIR: It such a gut-wrenching story and the idea that they may be across the border in other countries. But we'll keep on it.
ASHER: Absolutely.
WEIR: We really appreciate your insight and somebody who knows it so well. Well, when we come back, the most shocking thing Vladimir Putin has done in a very long time. Next.
(COMMERICAL BREAK)
WEIR: Vladimir Putin did something shocking today. He sounded reasonable. He sounded like a guy trying to calm things down. And after meeting with the president in Switzerland said he is pulling his troops away from the Ukrainian border and (inaudible) those masked and dangerous friends of Russian not to hold up yours (ph) Kiev vote on Sunday.
So is he sincere? Is he got low testosterone all of a sudden? Well, none of CCN's sources in Washington or the Pentagon think so but at least for tonight let's hope so. Here's why.
My kid was telling about a fire drill at her school recently, her name is Olivia, she's very funny especially in describing fire drills. But I have to tap here of course. I said, oh, that's very exciting. But when I was your age, we had duck-and-cover drills. Yes, we would get in a fetal position under our desk just in case the Russians decided to push a button that would Milwaukee into burnt marshmallow.
And just when I thought I had blown her little mind with my old tiny tales of existential dredge, she says, "Did you have lockdown drills, too?" Lockdown drills. "Yes, you know, in case of bad man shows up in the hallway with the gun." That's her cold war. She doesn't need another.
You see in my Red Dawn, the bad guys are rushing and her Red Dawn they're North Korean which makes it more of a comedy. But don't be surprised if Red Dawn 3 doesn't go back to the motherland.
Check this out. In 1983, 90 percent of Americans thought Russia was a serious threat. In 2002 it was way down 31 percent. But after Ukraine in recent months, it's back near 70. Of course, everyone agrees we should support Ukrainians financially, morally, spiritually, but let's save our vast reserves of fear because invariably that only makes things worst.
True story. In the mid-'70s, the CIA got numerous reports of a mysterious yellow rain falling in Southeast Asia. And after it fell, villagers said sickness and death would follow. So, the CIA took some samples, send them to a lab in Minnesota and sure enough it tested positive for pollen poison. Oh my God, they realized the communist had figured out how to weaponized pollen.
And in 1982, Ronald Reagan went before the UN and said there is conclusive evidence that the Soviet government has provided toxins for use in Laos and Cambodia. And before long, a factory in Arkansas was cranking out big-eye bombs designed to carry nerve gas. The U.S. hadn't made nerve gas in 20 years.
But during this freak out (ph), a few scientists in Harvard thought that whole poison and pollen theory was ludicrous. So, they went to Asia. They took some samples, did their own testing and discovered that yellow rain was really bee poop. Yes, poop of the honeybee almost turn the cold war hot.
See, even in Laos, bees hibernate and hold it all went along. In the spring (inaudible) constipated bees let fly (ph) it's called a cleansing flight. That lab in Minnesota had been wrong. The villagers were dying but probably from disease and hunger, and stress of endless war.
So when Vladimir Putin decides to get scary again which would happen tomorrow frankly, let's hope he's just full of bee poop. And for the sake of all the (inaudible) in both countries, let's hope we can all tell the difference.
I'm Bill Weir. Thanks for being here tonight. CNN Special Report, with Don Lemon, starts right now.
