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NEWS STREAM
The Dangers of Sugar; U.S. Increases Airstrikes Against ISIS; Interview with Humans of New York Creator Brandon Stanton; Leading Women: Cristeta Comerford; Scottish Independence Vote Less Than Two Days Away; Peshmerga Retake Strategic Bridge Near Mosul; Ukrainian Parliament Gives Special States To Donetsk, Luhansk
Aired September 16, 2014 - 8:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRISTIE LU SOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.
Now Peshmerga forces fight back against ISIS as U.S. launches more airstrikes on the militant group.
Studies show how dangerous sugar can be in your diet. We look at all the foods that have far more sugar than you think.
And documenting humanity through social media: the photographer behind Humans of New York goes on a world tour.
Ramping up its aerial bombing campaign and closing in on ISIS, now the U.S. military says it targeted an ISIS fighting position on Monday that was
firing on Iraqi security forces near Baghdad. This was apparently the closest airstrike yet to the Iraqi capital.
Now U.S. officials say this is the beginning of a new aggressive phase in the fight against ISIS.
Now the United States has carried out more than 160 airstrikes since August.
In Northern Iraq, Kurdish Peshmerga forces are fighting ISIS militants as they try to reclaim a strategic bridge linking the cities of Mosul and
Irbil, all while U.S. fighter jets circle from above. Anna Coren has more from near the frontline.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are near the township of Hassan Sham, about 30 kilometers east of Mosul in northern Iraq. And as
you can see from the black plumes of smoke behind me, it is being the scene of an intense battle between the Peshmerga and ISIS militants. Now just
before dawn, the Kurdish forces launched a ground offensive to clear out five townships under the control of the Islamic extremists. ??
In regaining this territory, the Peshmerga are pushing closer to a strategic bridge that's blown up by ISIS a month ago. Now it's a vital link
between Irbil, the capital of Kurdistan, and Mosul, Iraq's second largest city which has been an ISIS stronghold since June. So the Peshmerga need to
take back control of this area, rebuild the bridge in preparation for the next phase of the operation, the battle for Mosul. ??
Well, U.S. airstrikes have been critical in today's operation. For hours they circle the skies above us before hitting enemy targets and
vehicles. The U.S. is refusing to make direct hits on towns and villages, fearing civilian casualties. However the Peshmerga tells us the local
population has fled, and that only ISIS militants are here. ??
Earlier we saw the remnants of a suicide bombing in an oil tank attached with explosives driving towards the Peshmerga, but before he could
reach them, he was hit by an RPG causing a huge plume of smoke. ??
Well, according to Kurdish forces in these towns and villages, ISIS is using snipers, they're laying explosives and IEDs, plus using suicide
bombers in an attempt to slow down the Peshmerga advance. ??
Anna Coren, Hassan Sham, northern Iraq. ??
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now ISIS has gained control of most of Iraq's Sunni Arab regions, but one town north of Baghdad is standing strong. Now the
question is how long can it defend itself.
Now Jomana Karadsheh reports on how residents there are now issuing a plea to the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a battle for survival, young tribesman on the frontlines against ISIS and it's been
going on for three months now while some of Iraq's main Sunni Arab cities have fallen to ISIS with little if any resistance, the Sunni town of
Dhuluiya (ph) north of Baghdad, surrounded by ISIS since June, stands strong.
"We're fighting for our dignity, with our blood," this fighter says.
But the fighting has taken its toll on this town D homes destroyed, and with no hospital a school turned into a makeshift clinic.
Local fighters patrol its waters, but that didn't stop a suicide bomber in a boat last week from striking this wooden bridge, the last route
in or out of Dhuluiya (ph).
Its only lifeline now, four boats transporting people out and bringing military and other supplies in from a Shia town nearby.
Military reinforcements have been arriving slowly to back up local police and tribesmen.
As ISIS advanced across northern Iraq in June, it moved into Dhuluiyah (ph), but that lasted only three days. Residents say they discovered it
was just an old enemy returning.
In 2006 and '07, Dhuluiya , like most Sunni Arab areas, was brutally ruled by al Qaeda in Iraq, its main tribe, al Jibour (ph) was part of the
awakening movement recruited by the U.S. military in 2007 to fight al Qaeda.
SHAALAN AL-JIBOURI, RESIDENT: If they come and enter inside Dhuluiya, they kill -- they will kill every people there: children, women, men,
everyone, because in their law all the people in Dhuluiya they are infidel.
KARADSHEH: We met with Shaalan al-Jibouri, father of four, in Baghdad. He left Dhuluiya on Sunday to take his 8-year-old son Ali to a
doctor. Ali's hearing has been impacted by the daily blasts. Earlier this month, a mortar missed Ali by a few meters.
I ask him if he will go to school after the holidays.
"If we go to school, they would shell us with mortars," Ali says.
With a deteriorating humanitarian situation and fears of a massacre, al Jibouri wants President Obama to save their town.
AL-JIBOURI: Mr. President, please help us and send your plane to bomb -- to attack these terrorists.
KARADSHEH: As they desperately wait for help, the people of Dhuluiya say they'll fight until the bitter end.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now Ukrainian lawmakers have voted to give the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, at least in Ukraine, special status, which could be a
potential compromise in the conflict with pro-Russia fighters.
Now one parliamentarian also says that separatist fighters, they will be offered amnesty.
Now CNN's Reza Sayah is following the developments from Ukraine. He joins me now live.
And Reza, what does this all mean, this deal? And could it quell the violence?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is possible. It is an indication that perhaps the government in Kiev is taking serious steps
to meet some of the concerns or the demands of the pro-Russian rebels in the east in an effort to strike some sort of compromise, which could
potentially de-escalate this conflict, which is what a lot of people in this region want.
This morning, the parliament in Kiev passing two laws that could be viewed as olive branches to the pro-Russian rebels. The first law gives
the rebel held regions in Donetsk and Luhansk in the east special status. Remember, one of the rebels' demands was autonomy, some in the east want
outright independence. This law gives them, quote, special status.
And that means several things. First off, it means that the rebels can use Russian as their official language. It means in December, they can
hold special elections, they can elect their own leaders, city councils, judges and prosecutors. The law means they can establish their own local
police force. The law also means that they can use money from the state budget for social and economic development in the region. That's one law.
The second law grants amnesty to anyone involved in the conflict in the east. That means if you're a civilian and you picked up a gun and
fought in the conflict, you can no longer be charged with a crime. This law does have some conditions. One of the conditions is that the rebels
now must disarm. They must lay down their weapons. The law also does not apply to anyone involved in the downing of the Malaysian airliner MH17.
A couple of things to keep in mind, we haven't heard an official response from the rebels. We don't know what kind of special status, what
kind of autonomy this special status gives the rebel-held region if it's not enough presumably the conflict is going to continue. We also haven't
heard from Moscow, of course, the Russians backing the rebels.
Another thing to point out that could undermine a compromise -- at the same time these laws were passed, both the Ukrainian parliament and the EU
parliament simultaneously passed a law ratifying Ukraine's association with the EU. That law would presumably integrate Ukraine with the EU
politically and economically. That's something Moscow will not like.
So, some mixed messages being sent from Kiev. But for the first time in a long time potentially the stage is set, depending on what happens in
the coming days, the stage is set for some sort of compromise, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yeah, mixed messages from Kiev, but this landmark pact being struck between Ukraine and EU is the Ukraine, after months of
bloodshed, inches closer to the west. Reza Sayah reporting live from Ukraine for us, thank you very much indeed for that.
You're watching News Stream. And still to come, Scottish voters are just two days away from deciding whether to break away from the United
Kingdom. We'll tell you what British leaders are promising Scotland as they call for a no-vote on independence.
Also ahead, Microsoft shells out $2.5 billion for Minecraft. And that hefty pricetag it buys more than just a popular game. We'll explain.
And high demand for Ali Baba. The Chinese eCommerce giant is on track for the largest IPO in history.
(COMMERCIALBREAK)
LU STOUT: Now Microsoft has bought the makers of the game Minecraft for $2.5 billion. It is a big price, but Minecraft is huge. A few months
ago, the game's developers called Mojang said 54 million copies had been sold.
And Minecraft is much more than just a game. Now Microsoft CEO said it best in a statement announcing the purchase, quote, "it is an open world
platform driven by this vibrant community."
And it's really this community that Microsoft is trying to tap into. Now Minecraft is often one of the most popular games on Twitch, the
videogame streaming site. At any given time, you'll find dozens of people broadcasting their games of Minecraft for others to watch live.
So, what makes it so compelling? Well, Minecraft has two modes: survival is more like a traditional game with an objective and enemies to
fight, but creative mode is more like a sandbox, it's an open world to play with as you please. And players have used it to build some remarkable
creations.
Now this is the world of Game of Thrones rebuild in Minecraft. Hundreds of players have been working on this for years. It's an example
of the passionate community that Microsoft now has access to.
Now they may not always agree on politics, but Britain's three main party leaders are united when it comes to Scotland. In a joint pledge
published in a Scottish newspaper today, they promise extra powers for Scotland if it stays in the UK.
Now that follows an urgent plea from the British Prime Minister David Cameron in Aberdeen on Monday. Now he asked voters in Scotland to reject
independence in this Thursday's referendum. He said people need to remember a breakaway vote would be forever.
Opinion polls suggest that the vote remains too close to call.
Now CNN's Max Foster is in Edinburgh. He joins us now live. And Max, what is the public mood there, this late stage in the campaign?
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think both sides are fairly entrenched in their views, the yes and the no. But you have got
this large contingent of undecided voters. The pollsters are struggling to identify how many they are, but one poll said 10 percent, another said 17
percent. So that's pretty substantial. And that's who everyone is focusing on in these campaigns at the moment.
And you mentioned that vow, the promise on the front of one of the tabloids here. And really the three party leaders in Westminster never
getting on so well, joining forces and offering an alternative to independence. That alternative is more power in Edinburgh, but within the
union, a try to appeal to the rational side of undecided voters.
And I've been out on the campaign trail with both sides of the campaign, try to identify where the undecided voters are and trying to
bring them onside. They keep flitting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: She won't be voting in the referendum, but her dad's decision will define the Scotland that she grows up in.
At this late stage in the campaign, it's about convincing the undecided voters.
TIA MCFARLANE, CAMPAIGNER, YES SCOTLAND: Hello, sir. Are you voting in the referendum?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Um, yes.
MCFARLANE: Do you know how you feel about it yet?
FOSTER: So, when people come along to the store, what typical sort of conversations do you have with them?
MCFARLANE: We get a lot of people that are already quite committed yes voters that want to pick up merchandise. So, you know, we have posters
and badges and stickers.
FOSTER: If there's someone that's wavering, how do you try to convince them?
MCFARLANE: Some people have a variety of reasons, other people might be very worried but want specific things. And sometimes there's specific
facts and figures that you can give back to them.
You know, they say, oh, I'm worried the oil will run, which is still here.
Even at this late stage, there's some people that their arguments against are so basic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the sister is an absolute yes.
FOSTER: Just up right the road in Glasgow's West End, the better together campaigners are pounding the Georgian streets with arguments for a
no vote.
KEVIN MCGINNIS, CAPAIGNER BETTER TOGETHER: I mean, we're trying to reach out to as many voters as possible and particularly undecided voters
as we go toward the election.
FOSTER: What's your sell with them once you know that they're undecided, you've got them on the doorstep?
MCGINNIS: Sure.
Well, our sell essentially is that we put some that we believe we'll get the best of both worlds in the United Kingdom. We've got a very strong
Scottish parliament with the prospect of more powers to come. But at the same time, the benefit for being part of the United Kingdom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was out with one of my oldest friends yesterday whom I haven't seen for several months. And he was explaining to me that
he and his wife are voting yes. And I was quite shocked.
FOSTER: So you're wavering all the time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am to some extent. And I was much clearer in my mind until yesterday.
FOSTER: Estimates for the number of undecided voters vary greatly. As many will be voting for the very first time.
But what's undisputed is there will be a very high turnout.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's such a very historically important time, because whatever happens Scotland and England things will never be the same
again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We cannot change it easily back again if we make the wrong decision. So people should get involved and vote.
FOSTER: In the early hours of the 19th of September, the results of the referendum will be announced here in Edinburgh. It'll define Scotland
and potentially redefine the whole of the UK, once the most powerful empire in the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: You know, Kristie, it's not easy for those undecided voters - - today, for example, you've got Nichola Sturgeon, the deputy first minister out for the yes campaign saying that independence will create
jobs. But at the same time, you've got Gordon Brown on the other campaign, former British prime minister saying actually it's going to be bad for
jobs.
And they're having to listen to both sides of the argument and make up their own minds and then go into those voting booths on Thursday.
I think it's going to go right up to the wire.
LU STOUT: And more about that full page pledge from Cameron, Milliband and Clegg, how is the yes campaign reacting to this pledge to
devolve more powers?
FOSTER: Well, the yes campaign all along has said if you -- this is a nation and too many decisions are being made in London and Westminster.
And over the course of recent austerity measures, there have been cutbacks in national services here in Scotland held very dear. And it's all because
we don't have control here in Edinburgh. If you brought it here, we'd have control over our own destiny. So the only solution is to bring power back
to Scotland so we can make our own decisions. It's the same arguments they've had all along.
And this has been going on for two years, you have to remember, Kristie. So people here are used to the arguments. Certainly now they're
really having to make up their minds decisively.
LU STOUT: All right, Max Foster joining us live from Edinburgh, thank you, Max.
You're watching News Stream. And still ahead on the program, a look at the ways that sugar could be hiding in your diet. For example, does
Raisin Bran or Frosted Flakes have more sugar? The answer might surprise you. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.
And you're looking at a visual version of all the stories we've got in the show today. We've already told you about the fighting in Iraq. A
little bit later, we'll look at the impact of Ali Baba on one Chinese retailer days ahead of its big debut on the U.S. stock market.
But now, I want to tell you about a controversy involving Israel's elite technology intelligence unit. Now Israel's unit 8200, it's
frequently compared to the U.S. National Intelligence Agency, or Britain GCHQ.
Now dozens of the unit's current and former members have written to the Israeli prime minister refusing to spy on Palestinians. Ben Wedeman
has more on their revelations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Every move you make, every breath you take, we've been watching you. That's the message 43
reservists from the Israeli army's top surveillance outfit, unit 8200, have for Palestinians under Israeli rule, revealed in an explosive letter
published last week.
The letter announced the reservists refusal to take part in the state's actions against Palestinians, claiming "the Palestinian population
under military rule is completely exposed to espionage and surveillance by Israeli intelligence."
Their faces hidden to conceal their identities, some of these so- called refuseniks from unit 8200 appear on Israeli television. They say the unit is running a massive eavesdropping operation in the communications
of ordinary Palestinians, using the information to blackmail the innocent, forcing them to serve as collaborators and spies.
"If you're a homosexual who knows someone who knows a wanted person, Israel will make your life miserable," this unidentified man tells Israeli
Channel 10. "Even if you're innocent, you can be blackmailed."
"The army," says another, "can control the Palestinian people, penetrate into every aspect of life."
Israel rules over more than 2 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and keeps a very close eye on around 1.8
million in the Gaza Strip.
One of the refuseniks had his epiphany when he watched a movie about the notorious East German spy agency, the Stasi, and concluded unit 8200
was doing the same thing against the Palestinians.
The unit is reportedly the largest in the Israeli army and has been likened to the U.S. National Security Agency, the NSA.
Jointly with the NSA, it reportedly developed the Stuxnet virus that partially disabled Iran's nuclear program. Israeli officials claim it is a
central pillar of the defense establishment.
Reaction in Israel to the allegations has been swift, with calls for harsh punishment, including legal action, against the refuseniks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at a cyber security conference, said the voicing of baseless accusations is unacceptable. The
IDF, in all of its units, is the most moral army in the world. His advice to unit 8200, carry on.
For Palestinians, however, it all serves to confirm their long-held suspicions that Big Brother is watching.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And up next, Ali Baba is on its way to a recordbreaking IPO. We take a look at how the eCommerce giant
is serving as a launchpad for budding Chinese retailers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.
Now the Taliban have claimed responsibility for a suicide blast in Kabul. The bomber drove a car full of explosives into a NATO convoy
killing three foreign soldiers. Now their names and nationalities have not been released. More than a dozen Afghan civilians were also wounded in the
attack.
Ukraine's parliament has voted to give special status to the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, that's according to a member of parliament.
Now separately Ukrainian lawmakers also ratified a landmark EU pact set to move the country closer to the west and away from Russian influence.
Now the European parliament has also approved it. You will recall, the association agreement had been rejected by former president Viktor
Yanukovych in November, setting off unrest that led to his ouster.
The U.S. is stepping up its air campaign against ISIS. Now U.S. warplanes have attacked an ISIS position near Baghdad that was reportedly
firing on Iraqi security forces. Now this was the closest U.S. airstrike to the Iraqi capital since the bombing campaign began.
Hurricane Odile has weakened to a tropical storm after tearing through Mexico's Baja, California. It left fallen trees, washed out roads, and
trapped tourists in its wake.
Now the winds have died down, but the storm still poses a flood threat as it moves north toward the U.S.
Now with the population of more than 1.3 billion people, the Chinese market holds enormous potential for retailers, but gaining access to this
consumer base isn't always easy, especially for small businesses and that is exactly where the eCommerce giant Ali Baba has come to fill the gap.
David McKenzie visits one Chinese company that is capitalizing on Ali Baba's reach.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A Brazilian model who is big in China, pushing streetwear for young Chinese women, fast
fashion trends for a virtual megastore.
7gege operates entirely on Ali Baba's online sales platforms, Taobao and Timor (ph).
By launching on Taobao, they saved capital and instantly accessed more than 100 million potential customers.
JONNA JIA, MARKETING DIRECTOR, 7GEGE (through translator): China is a vast country rich in both goods and resources. But many shop owners and
brands didn't have a platform to showcase our products to places across China. However, there's no limits and boundaries on the Internet.
MCKENZIE: They started five years ago with just five employees, now 7gege makes around $80 million of revenue every year. On their biggest
sale day of the year, they can pull in $8 million.
7gege is a fashion megabrand in China and it's all made possible by Ali Baba.
Ali Baba provides the market, the payment system and customer service. But 7gege still needed an edge to succeed. Their designers take
inspiration from the latest street fashions in Seoul, Paris and New York, give it a twist, and move them online.
Fast fashion isn't new. Companies like Zara and H&M rush couture from catwalk to clothes rack. 7gege is just faster fashion with a core brand
value.
JIA (through translator): We aim to be different from the start and encourage girls to be independent, brave to try out combinations and
confident in picking their own clothes.
MCKENZIE: 7gege manufactures a small run of new designs and then lets user demand lead production just like the multitude of eTailors in China,
concepts live or die online.
David McKenzie, CNN, Hangzhou, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now Hurricane Odile is now tropical storm, but it leaves behind much devastation in its wake. Samantha Moore joins us now for more
on the aftermath. She joins us from the World Weather Center -- Samantha.
SAMANTHA MOORE, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kristie.
Boy, things have really improved in terms of the size and magnitude of Odile, now a tropical storm with those max sustained winds at 95, gusts to
120. Still moving to the west/northwest at 16 kilometers per hour. And you can see it's worked its way way up the Baja.
But you know it was the strongest hurricane to ever hit this part of the world, southern tip of the Baja, and look what it did. It actually
tied Ophelia back in 1967. So they were both almost a category 4 upon landfall, flipping planes over at the airport in Cabo, taking down power
lines, some of those lines falling on top of vehicles, some of the vehicles even overturned. And unfortunately, as a result of this, looting for a
time here. Fortunately, some police came in and stopped the theft from some of these businesses here. Always hate to see that as an after effect.
You can see what's happening now to Odile, moving on up the Baja peninsula over those warm waters of the Gulf of California, also called the
Gulf of the Baja, and a lot of this tropical moisture is going to get sucked in here as it heads to the next couple of days.
So, flood watches already hoisted across Southern California, Nevada, parts of Utah, Arizona, Four Corners region, over into West Texas, so five
states currently have flood watches in place because of the moisture moving into the desert Southwest.
Last week, you may remember, Phoenix here in Central Arizona had their all-time record rainfall in one day, half of their annual rain in just 24
hours. And high surf working its way back up into Southern California once again.
We've got our other activity in the western Pacific, so we're going to the other side of the Pacific now with Typhoon Kalmaegi. Some of the
rainfall amounts impressive here as well. 232 millimeters and wind gusts of 159.
So we saw images like this video that came in showing the rough seas here. In fact, 12 Chinese soldiers -- sailors, excuse me -- had to be
rescued by helicopter by the coast guard off the Guangdong province with those very strong winds. They have 160 kilometer per hour winds that pass
south of Hong Kong, 500 flights in Hong Kong were canceled. And over 90,000 people had to be evacuated from Hainan as it came onshore.
You can see that it still has 130 kilometer per hour winds with gusts up to 160 moving to the west/northwest at a great pace, taking it into
Vietnam so the folks in Vietnam, heads up, it is heading in as we speak and it will be bringing in those gusty winds, but also it's going to be
bringing in the heavy rainfall as we head into the next 24 hours.
So we'll see more of these scenes coming out of the East Asia of all the rainfall that people are going to be dealing with as this storm makes
its way to the west, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yeah, it was a very big storm, it virtually shut down the city this morning. And it is on the move.
Samantha Moore, joining us live. Thank you so much and take care.
Now, new nutritional studies are putting a harsh spotlight on sugar. Now for decades, fat was the villain, but experts say the focus on low fat
often hid the fact that sweet stuff was being added to packaged foods.
Now you might be surprised about apple juice, for example. Nutritional data shows that this 15 ounce bottle has about the same amount
of sugar as 10 Oreo cookies. Even a glass of skim milk has around 11 grams of sugar.
Now I want to bring in Robert Lustig now. He's the author of Fat Chance: Rethinking Sugar and Investment Into Global Food. Thank you so
much for joining us.
ROBERT LUSTIG, AUTHOR: Oh, my pleasure, Kristie.
LU STOUT: We have some items here on display. I just want to ask you, first, like over the years sugar has really crept into our diet in a
big way. I mean, this is something -- I think I'm a pretty health conscious person -- yogurt. I eat this virtually every day. How much
sugar is creeping into our diet? And what kind of effect is it having?
LUSTIG: Well, the problem is that you can't tell what's part of the indigenous, or the natural sugar, the milk sugar, which is called lactose,
which is perfectly fine and not dangerous in any way shape or form, versus the added sugar that the food industry specifically uses to sweeten the
product to get you to buy more.
So, plain yogurt if perfectly fine. It's got seven grams of sugar, all lactose. But that fruit flavored yogurt has 19 grams of sugar. So
that's like eating a plain yogurt plus a bowl of Frosted Flakes.
LU STOUT: And can you contextualize ketchup for us? When we're using that popular condiment every day--
LUSTIG: That's right.
LU STOUT: How much sugar are we taking in?
LUSTIG: Quite a bit. In fact, it's the first ingredient on the ingredients label.
So, we've basically abdicated rational nutrition when we went to processed foods. And the reason is because we took the fat out of food.
And when you take the fat out of food, the food tastes like cardboard. The food industry knew that they had to do something to make the foot
palatable. Processed food has all sorts of negative aspects that can all be covered up by the addition of sugar.
So, sugar was the hook that the food industry used to get us to buy more. And we now know that sugar is addictive just like alcohol.
LU STOUT: And you said this in your studies over the years, since the early 1980s fat has been taken out of our diet and yet obesity rates have
gone up because more sugar has been introduced.
Earlier in the program I asked our viewers worldwide which they believe has more sugar between these two cereal boxes, is it Raisin Bran or
is it Frosted Flakes? Give us the answer?
LUSTIG: So, it's actually a double-sided question. The Raisin Bran has more total sugar. It's got 19 grams, the Frosted Flakes only has 13
grams. But the raisins are perfectly fine. The raisins are 11 grams of sugar and it's indigenous and it's not a problem. The problem is that the
raisins are dipped in added sugar to make them sweeter.
So, eight grams of added sugar for the Raisin Bran, 13 grams of added sugar for the Frosted Flakes. The Frosted Flakes are still worse. But you
couldn't tell from the label.
LU STOUT: Yeah.
Coca-Cola, you've said that there is a conspiracy about Coca-Cola and sugar. What is the conspiracy?
LUSTIG: Well, it's all soda. So what's in soda? Caffeine -- so, caffeine is a mild stimulant, but it's also a diuretic, it makes you
urinate free water. What else is in soda? Salt, about 55 milligrams. So what happens when you take on salt and excrete water, you get thirstier.
So why is there so much sugar in soda? Answer, to hide the salt.
So, they know what they're going. And this is very specific, because they have basically made it so that you will buy more. This is their
business strategy.
LU STOUT: Now Robert, you made headlines when you called sugar a poison. Is sugar really a poison like cocaine, like tobacco, and should we
go on a sugar rehab?
LUSTIG: So, a little is OK and a lot is not. We have a limited capacity to metabolize sugar in our livers. We can usually consume
somewhere between six to nine teaspoons of added sugar per day. The World Health Organization just came out and said 24 grams, six teaspoons of sugar
per day. The problem is, in America we are consuming 22 teaspoons of added sugar per day.
So the question is what happens to all the extra? And the answer is your liver turns it into fat, it ends up mucking up the workings of the
liver, causes all of the chronic metabolic diseases we know about, type II diabetes, lipid problems, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer and
dementia.
So, a little is find. And sugar used to be a condiment. It used to be something you added to your coffee maybe, a teaspoon a day. Well, now
everyone is having six desserts a day in terms of the added sugar that's been placed in the food by the food industry for its own purposes. That's
where we have to fix the problem in the food that's processed itself.
LU STOUT: In the meantime, we should avoid packaged foods. We should read the labels and eat whole foods when we can.
LUSTIG: Well, that would be nice. The problem is that processed foods are number one ubiquitous, and number two they're cheaper. And
because they're cheaper, that's their business strategy, get you to buy more. They do it in volume.
The problem is real food works. Food should convey wellness, not illness. But today it's the opposite.
LU STOUT: Robert Lustig, we'll have to leave it at that. But thank you so much for joining us here on News Stream. Very, very illuminating
stuff.
LUSTIG: Thank you so much.
LU STOUT: Thank you.
Now still to come, you're watching News Stream. The photographer behind the popular social media project Humans of New York is on a world
tour. His name is Brandon Stanton and you'll listen to him right here next on News Stream. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back.
Now chef Cristeta Comerford is the first female White House executive chef in U.S. history. She has cooked for three first families and heads of
state. And today's Leading Woman speaks to CNN's Isha Sesay about what it takes to be the White House's culinary master.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She's whisked, mixed and chopped her way to the top.
She's Cristeta Comerford the White House executive chef.
Talk to me about what you do, what a typical day is like for you.
CRISTETA COMERFORD, WHITE HOUSE EXEUCTIVE CHEF: I guess you know like my role is as a leader is to make sure that you know like at the end of the
day I got all the things that I needed to get done done in a best capacity that I have. I have three talented sous chefs, a very talented pastry
chef, so I have to make sure that I tap into all of these resources that I have and orchestrate it into such a way that towards the end of a meal you
come with a very nice composition, a very well balanced, well cooked meal.
To be a White House chef it's really your temperance that really counts for a lot, because it's not just your knowledge and your skills and
the way you cook, it has to be the way you treat people, the way you delegate your work, the way you put your team as a cohesive force.
SESAY: Born in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, Chef Comerford immigrated to the U.S. when she was 23. She started her career
in the White House as a sous chef in 1995. After 10 years, she was appointed executive chef by then First Lady Laura Bush, making her the
first female and the first minority White House executive chef in U.S. history.
COMERFORD: It has been a very fascinating journey for me. You know, at any point in time that you cook for the first family and cook for the
president of the United States, it's such a humbling experience. And never in my life would I have thought that I'd be here today speaking to you as
executive chef of the White House.
SESAY: How did you get this current position. I mean, talk to me about just the application process. I can imagine it was really
competitive.
COMERFORD: From what I know, there were 450 applicants. So, of course, what they tried to do is dwindling it down to about maybe the top
20 of the applicants. And when I did apply, they did ask me to do kind of like a -- almost like a cookoff.
SESAY: She's fed three first families and created cuisine for visiting heads of state. But Chef Comerford says she hasn't reached the
height of her culinary career just yet.
COMERFORD: I think at any point in time in your career you shouldn't calling it a pinnacle, because when you call it a pinnacle, it means it's
downhill from there. So everything that you do at the moment should be considered a pinnacle.
SESAY: Did you ever doubt you could get to this peak?
COMERFORD: I know at the time if it's the right position for me, it will happen so I never let doubt kind of like hinder me from pushing
through.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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LU STOUT: Welcome back.
Now if you are on Facebook, you've probably heard of Humans of New York. Now the photoblog has nearly 10 million fans. It was created by
Brandon Stanton. He approaches strangers on the street and takes pictures of the people he meets. And now, Stanton is on a world tour with the
United Nations.
I caught up with him while he was in New Delhi and asked about the project.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRANDON STANTON, HUMANS OF NEW YORK PHOTOGRAPHER: We kind of sat down and we tossed around ideas, ways that we could promote these millennium
development goals. And one idea that we had is that I could go around the world and do Humans of New York-like work, which is just approaching
strangers on the streets, finding out their stories.
So we're not trying to show anything specific about any specific country, whether that's their problems or poverty or anything like that,
but we're trying to go to a variety of different places and just listen to people around the world and hear their stories as they tell them.
LU STOUT: Now your first stop on this UN sponsored journey was Iraq. And your photo of this little girl, we see her dressed in white, has nearly
830,000 likes on Facebook. Tell us who is she and what makes her so compelling.
STANTON: Right. Well, that was the very first post that I posted from the entire trip. So, you know, it's a special one. And it was in
Iraq. And so it's this little girl and she was so shy, she was running and hiding, and at the last moment her parents finally convinced her that the
big guy with the camera wasn't a threat and she kind of sat down and she smiled and let me take her photo. And then what her parents said about her
is they said that she's the smartest one in the family, because she can speak more languages than anyone else. And the reason that is is because
she plays with all the children on the street.
And so that is the photo that I kind of kicked off the tour with. And it obviously resonated with a lot of people, because it got up almost a
million likes.
LU STOUT: Now you've met many survivors of war on this journey. And one of your most heartbreaking photos is one that was taken in Jordan at
the Zaatari Refuge Camp.
STANTON: You know, one of the most powerful things for me is when I've gone to these refugee camps and found out the stories of the people in
these refugee camps. Because when I'm in New York, my interview process kind of aims to not be political. You know, it follows a path of questions
such as what was your happiest moment, what was your saddest moment.
And what I'm always aiming to do is find out a very personal story about the person. But when I was in these refugee camps, when I started to
ask these questions, I realized that these people's circumstances were so oppressive, the lack of security, the lack of shelter, was so oppressive
that they were unable to think in terms of normal life. They were unable to answer happiest moment or saddest moment. any kind of question outside
the context of their present circumstances.
So I realize these people really had no future and they had no past in their mind.
When I asked what her greatest hope was, and she couldn't even answer that. The only thing she could say, and this is the mother of the children
talking, is that we left our hopes back in Syria.
LU STOUT: The next photo we're going to talk about just really underscores the point you just made. It's a photo from Uganda. And in it
we see a man just staring down the camera. And he shares with you this incredible story of selflessness and love, how he's supporting an AIDS
orphan and his siblings.
How did you come across him?
STANTON: Yeah, that is definitely one of my most powerful experiences from the trip. I was back in my hotel, I was getting a meal at the hotel
bar, and I just strike up a conversation with the hotel bartender. And he starts telling me this unbelievable story about how when he was 9-years-old
rebels in northern Uganda had come through his house and killed his father in front of him. And so he was an orphan.
And as an orphan there was nothing more that he wanted to do than go to school. And now that's he's grown older and he works in the hotel
industry, he has met some boys from his village that want to go to school just as badly as he does. So he started an organization in his village
that made bricks out of clay just to scrape together a tiny amount of money to send these kids to school.
While I was talking to this man, and this man is telling me this amazing story of bravery and courage and devotion and self-sacrifice,
another wealthy man comes up beside me and says to that man get me a coffee and hurry up. That's all he said. And I was just, I just remember being
amazed by the senselessness and the uncaring nature of this wealthy man.
And this man who in my mind has the spirit of these men just being talked to like he was nobody.
LU STOUT: You know, I think that's the power of your images and your captions as well is how you're able to take someone who would be seemingly
anonymous, you know, someone that people would just pass by and ignore and dive into their story.
Do you find it difficult using just captions alone to adequately convey what they're going through?
STANTON: Well, you know, there's any challenge. And I always say I love biographies, you know. I'm a huge fan of biographies. And
biographies are 1,000 pages. And even in those 1,000 pages it is very difficult to convey the entire spirit of a person.
So obviously in these random interactions that I get on the street, you know, I am only going to be able to get a very small glimpse into the
lives of the person that I'm talking to. So I don't pretend to be portraying anything else. I don't pretend to be showing the whole person.
But what I want to do is give people a just small window into the lives of these people that they might pass by every single day and not even
think twice about.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Incredible human stories. As you heard, Brandon has been to some of the world's hotspots. His latest photos are of the Tibetan
community in Dharamshala, India. And you can find them Humans of New York.com.
And that is News Stream. But the news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.
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