Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Bush Trip a Success?; Born Into Brothels

Aired February 25, 2005 - 13:30   ET

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

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


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Topping the news this hour on CNN, fishermen on partly frozen Lake Erie hooked themselves some trouble today. About 30 sturdy anglers fishing on a massive piece of ice could only watch it as it broke off and floated them off about a half a mile offshore. Ohio emergency crews and the Coast Guard combines efforts and are bringing the fishermen back to safety. Luckily no reports of any injuries.
The latest turn in the struggle swirling around brain-damaged Terri Schiavo. A court ordered stay on the removal of her feeding tube expires today. Her parents want it extended against her husband's wishes, and we expect an announcement later this afternoon. Today is the 15th anniversary of the heart attack that left Terri Schiavo in a vegetative set.

Central Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo -- United Nations troops on a peacekeeping patrol were ambushed today. Nine of them are dead, all from Bangladesh. The U.N. is now investigating.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The White House road trip came full circle last night with the president and Mrs. Bush arriving back in snowy D.C. after five days in Europe. No surprise that Iraq and Iran dominated his away-game agenda. But Washington insiders are mixed today as to whether the president met his objectives.

CNN's Kelly Wallace reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Didn't it seem like everyone was on their best behavior? Leaders reaching out, even when those handshakes didn't exactly look natural, downplaying differences and saying all the right things.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every time I meet with Jacques, he's got good advice.

WALLACE: And there were gestures, too. At a dinner with the French president, Mr. Bush announcing the return of French, not freedom fries. It was all part of issue one on President Bush's checklist in Europe, charming his critics.

PHILIPPE BOLOPION, RADIO FRANCE INTERNATIONALE: I think in some ways it's worked. Now, you know, basically what they did was they took the ugly dispute over Iraq, they put it in a little box, locked the box, put it under the bed and pretended it was not there. WALLACE: Issue two, getting help with Iraq. Mr. Bush got some, with NATO agreeing to a modest plan to train and equip Iraq's forces. Issue three, calming European concerns about Iran. The president seemed to do that with this.

BUSH: Iran is not Iraq. We just started the diplomatic efforts. And I want to thank our friends for taking the lead.

WALLACE: And issue four, putting pressure on the man he calls a friend, raising concerns over democratic restrictions in Russia.

BUSH: I think Vladimir heard me loud and clear, and he explained why he made the decisions he made.

WALLACE: It would be a stretch to say the president totally won over the Europeans, but analysts say it's a start.

MICHAEL CALINGAERT, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: The first step was to start talking to each other in a more gentlemanly serious way than we have in the past. So this step had to be taken. In itself, it does not resolve a great deal.

WALLACE: Because differences still remain over Iraq, Iran, the arms embargo on China. And that tension has not entirely gone away.

Asked if he would be inviting Mr. Chirac to his ranch, Mr. Bush would only say...

BUSH: I'm looking for a good cowboy.

WALLACE (on camera): Still, the President reacting to the realities of post-war Iraq appears to be trying to bring Europe along with him, instead of hoping Europe will follow.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, so the president gets a thumbs up in France for bagging the term "freedom fries." But in Germany, storm clouds are brewing, at least as far as one company is concerned.

OK, Kyra, help me here. Check out the logo on the side of the plane, Air Force One, right?

PHILLIPS: Right.

HARRIS: OK, right there on the side of the plane.

Now thanks to the presence of that plane over Germany, dozens of planes with this logo, "Lufthansaa," were grounded to protect presidential air space. Now a company spokesman told the BBC that resulting flight delays and cancellations cost the company millions of euros. Lufthansaa may actually sue the German federal agencies that gave the order to restrict airspace during Mr. Bush's visit. PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead, it's a story of poverty and prostitution, but also promise. After the break, I'll talk with one of the filmmakers behind the Oscar-nominated "Born in the Brothels." Find out how it allowed these children to put their lives on a different track.

And our Oscar watch continues the next hour with a look at why this year's awards show has already made history, even before it aired.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, Jamie Foxx hopes "Ray" will bring him an Oscar glory, and Leo DiCaprio wants to fly high with "The Aviator," and Clint Eastwood wants to strike gold with "Million Dollar Baby." But there's One film nominated for an Oscar this weekend that has already transformed the lives of the people involved, whether they win or not. We're talking about the children of Calcutta, India, born into brothels. Sounds like a dead end, doesn't it? Well, two filmmakers decided it wasn't, for at least eight incredible little children.

Joining us now from our Los Angeles newsroom one of the filmmakers, an Oscar nominee, Ross Kauffman.

Ross, great to have you with us today.

ROSS KAUFFMAN, DIRECTOR, "BORN INTO BROTHELS": Thanks for having me.

PHILLIPS: All right, so you and your partner, you get to India. You decide, you notice these kids that are born into these brothels, you want to give them a camera. How did you get the access? How did the idea come to you two?

KAUFFMAN: Well, you know, Zanna (ph) had been photographing women's issues in India for years, starting in 1995. And then in '97, someone on a fluke took her to Calcutta. She went to the red light district, not even intending to work there and take pictures there, and she was blown away by the place. And she took pictures of the women. She actually took two years to get access, just to basically live in the brothels. And at that point she was living there, the women befriended her, the children just loved her, and they wanted to learn how to take pictures. And she said, well, I need to do something for somebody here, and she started teaching them photography.

PHILLIPS: Unbelievable.

KAUFFMAN: Yes, and then about a year later, we started making the film, and four years later I'm sitting here in front of you today.

PHILLIPS: It's incredible. And hopefully going to receive an Oscar. We're all rooting for you.

I want to get straight to the kids, Ross, OK. I want to talk about -- there are eight kids that you obviously profile in this film. I want to talk about Kochi (ph), an we have a little bit of sound of her from your trailer. Let's listen to her for just a second. It's coming, I promise.

KAUFFMAN: She's so cute.

PHILLIPS: I know, she's adorable.

(VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Interesting. She talks about joining the line. This child, so grown up already, tell us about joining the line.

KAUFFMAN: Well, Kochi was, basically, a virtual slave in the brothel. And she worked from morning till night. And it was just a matter of time for her. She's a very shy, demure kid. And through the photo classes she really came into her own and learned how to express herself. And she, in the end, made a decision to stay in the school that Zana (ph) set her up in. And it was a tough decision for her. But because I think of the classes she really learned how to stick up for herself. And she wants a better life for herself. And she's doing great now.

PHILLIPS: And I want to ask you about that, about what she's doing now. But she -- when I was looking at all the pictures that she took, she took a lot of pictures of the kids. And there was this one picture that she took, in particular, of this one little boy that was sort of -- that was chained to some type of door. What did she tell about this picture and why she took this picture?

KAUFFMAN: You know, that little boy -- for her, that's daily life. And it is not cruelty, per se. And it's the way people have to deal with taking care of their kids. And it's horrible the kid -- that particular kid actually lived right next to the stairs on the top floor. And for his mother, that's how she gets by. And Kochi understands that.

This is a kid with great awareness. She also really loved to take pictures of beauty and she liked to escape through her photography as well. All the kids have individual styles. It was really incredible.

PHILLIPS: Which leads me to Obijit (ph). This boy just cracked me up with some of the things that he to say. He's adorable. Here he is. I love his self-portrait, one of the pictures he takes is of himself. It is so cute.

Now, he wants to be an artist. He's very creative. He captured a lot of the living conditions, I noticed, in his pictures. He was very creative in his shots. And he also used a lot of color. This one is great where he's pouring the water and he takes a shot. But there's a picture also of a light in a bottle. What's the significance behind the little bottle with the light?

KAUFFMAN: You know, for Obijit, he's a true artist. This kid paints, he takes photos. And Zana had told me about him when I was in New York and I was hearing these stories about this kid Obijit who was a genius. And you hear the word genius bantered around quite a bit. I actually went and saw him and saw how he takes photos and saw how he paints. And it's in the film and he's incredible. For him...

PHILLIPS: And he wants to go to art school now, right? He wants to go to...

KAUFFMAN: He wants to go to art school. And for him, anything is worth exploring in terms of its artistic value. And that lamp was just one of the things that he sees.

PHILLIPS: Well, Gore (ph) saw a lot of things, too. Another amazing little boy captured a lot of emotion in his pictures. He got this one shot of -- well, they're very emotional. There's a black and white, I remember, of a young girl up against a car. You can just -- I mean, so much by her eyes. And he captures the outside of where they live. But there's this one picture of this little child dancing in a hallway. What was the significance behind this shot here?

KAUFFMAN: Gore is amazing, I mean, he's an incredible kid. He's a real activist. And for him, he wants to show not only what's terrible in his situation but also what is beautiful. He really understands that this is a terrible place. He has this very interesting outlook on a life outside the brothels which I don't know how he has. He's never been outside the brothels. But he knows, he knows there's a life out there for him and his friends.

PHILLIPS: Well, Ross, this movie is just unbelievable. "Born into Brothels" is the name of it. You also have a Web site. I want to make sure folks go online and look at this Web site where they can actually order the kids' pictures. And the money goes toward their education and their livelihood, right?

KAUFFMAN: One hundred percent of the proceeds goes towards their education and livelihood. And so far this year, I mean, we've raised over $100,000 through the sale of their photos alone. And all that money goes directly to their education.

PHILLIPS: Well, good luck on the Academy Award.

KAUFFMAN: Thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: I'm telling you right now, we're all rooting for you. And also, I know you'll be on tonight again, 8:00 p.m., on Paula Zahn's show. Ross Kauffman, tremendous effort. Thanks so much for your time today.

KAUFFMAN: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: And keep it where you've got it for the most important part of Oscar night. Of course, all our Oscar expertise, yes, "Hollywood's Gold Rush," Sunday night, 7 p.m. Eastern. You don't want to miss it.

HARRIS: And a Florida man in need of a kidney transplant finds a willing donor. But a Tampa transplant institute says the patient's actions on the Internet are forcing them to deny the transplant. Find out why next.

Plus, want to protect your food when you eat out? Be nice to your waiter. That story still to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, this is a troubling story that calls in medical ethics and a little known rule about donating organs. It's about a Florida man with kidney failure. He wanted and waited for a donor, found one, then the disappointing development that forced doctors to say no.

Our Susan Candiotti is in Miami.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the first time in a long time, Alex Crionas had reason to celebrate. He needed a kidney, and after one friend backed out of an offer to help...

ALEX CRIONAS: I knew that those things could happen.

CANDIOTTI: Just last month, another friend, professional comedian Patrick Garrity, stepped in.

PATRICK GARRITY, FRIEND: If I was in that situation, I would want a friend to be able to help me out.

CANDIOTTI: Not only was he willing to help out, he could.

CRIONAS: He was tissue type and found to be compatible with me, so we were a match.

CANDIOTTI: But little did Alex Crionas know that a Web site he set up nearly two years ago would come back to haunt him. On the Web site, he wrote about his disease and his need for a donor.

CRIONAS: People aren't really interested in statistics, they're touched by personal stories, and I had a story to tell.

CANDIOTTI: A story about being on dialysis at least three times a week, four hours a day. He says he did not offer to buy a kidney.

CRIONAS: I don't have any money, especially to pay for an organ.

CANDIOTTI: And, in fact, he met Garrity through friends, not the Internet. But when a Tampa transplant institute, LifeLink, discovered the Web site, it sent a letter to Crionas saying that he would not be allowed a new kidney, even his friend's kidney, because of his Internet activities. The letter stated that the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and LifeLink are strongly opposed to the solicitation of organ donors through Web sites.

CRIONAS: I had to reread it, and I was numb.

CANDIOTTI: LifeLink said that the Web site gave Crionas an unfair advantage over others.

RUTH BELL, LIFELINK: Not everyone has access or the means to own a computer. Ethically speaking, how does that then impact those patients, who may or may not be just as sick, on the waiting list?

RUTH BELL, LIFELINK: If they had said to me, Listen, you have a Web site, and we can't proceed unless you take it down, I would have taken it down. I'm not going to sacrifice my life for my personal beliefs.

CANDIOTTI: But for now, LifeLink has not changed its position, and Alex Crionas will have to keep on waiting.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, diners beware -- the wrath of a waiter scorned. After the break, little ways that your wait staff can exact revenge for bad manners on all you tight wads that don't tip.

HARRIS: Hey, hey, hey.

PHILLIPS: I know you tip. I know you tip.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Are you planning to go out to eat this weekend? Better be nice to your server, or you may wind up having your character shredded on the Internet, or end up consuming something you didn't order.

CNN's Jeanne Moos with some tips on tipping and other ways to avoid your waiter's wrath.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ever wonder what the smiling wait staff is really thinking?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I come back and they're like, "can we have anymore bread please?" You don't need anymore bread than that.

MOOS: Pardon the pan, excuse the strainer. We're hiding the identity of waiters ready to dish the dirt on what can happen when a customer isn't nice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually watched the waiter drop their steak on the floor and step on it, and then put it back in the box and take it back to the table and hand it to them.

MOOS: Like in the movie "Birdcage."

These days, you can read all about bad behavior and sweet revenge on Web sites like BitterWaitress, StainedApron, WaiterRant and ShamelessRestaurants. Speaking of shameless, don't ever provoke a lactating waitress. And don't shake up the bartender.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can put Visine in somebody's drink and give them terrible diarrhea, too. One drop of Visine in somebody's drink will send them to the bathroom for the rest of the night.

MOOS: And talk about crappy. BitterWaitress lists bad tippers by name. An entry about Omarosa from "The Apprentice" asked, "is this woman even human?," for allegedly tipping 15 cents.

J.Lo supposedly complained, "waiter, this water is too cold. Make it warmer." And then, there's the war story about someone leaving $2 and a coupon for cranberry juice. No wonder BitterWaitress sells shirts plastered with the preferred tip.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's also the verbal tip. That's my favorite. When at the end of the meal you get, the oh, I loved you, it was wonderful.

MOOS: Praise, but a lousy tip. New York City servers point out that without tips, they make only about $3 an hour.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The way that people in Israel have to go into the Army, I think that everybody in America should have to waitress.

MOOS: But even Jack Nicholson's restaurant run-in...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want me to hold the chicken, huh?

NICHOLSON: I want you to hold it between your knees.

MOOS: Doesn't compare with the Sizzler waiter who got in a fight with an Atkins dieter. She wanted to substitute vegetables for potatoes. The server followed the family home and covered their house in toilet paper, syrup, flower, you name it.

(on camera): Now, are there things that people ask for that really get on your nerves?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think every waiter in the world hates people who order tea.

MOOS (voice-over): For a cheap-o beverage, you have to get a saucer, a teabag, a teapot, pour scolding water, get lemon, milk, more sweetener.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They open it up and they wrinkle it into those little bowls and they stuff it back into the sugar caddy, like that's going to be OK.

MOOS: Got tea? Get your waitress teed off.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: I was a waiter for a long time.

PHILLIPS: I was a waitress. That's how I paid for college.

HARRIS: Exactly. So I never did anything like that, I just want to clear the record. But -- and part of the reason is you don't want the karma to come back on you.

PHILLIPS: Yes, that's true. That's right. It's a bummer.

HARRIS: It is. It is.

PHILLIPS: Not that you and I ever got a bad tip.

All right, coming up in the second hour of LIVE FROM -- I guess we could keep going on and on, right? How many of have you had that problem? Anyway we're going to be talking about the Academy Awards and why the key word for this year's show is diversity.

HARRIS: LIVE FROM's hour of power -- the hour of power begins after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired February 25, 2005 - 13:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Topping the news this hour on CNN, fishermen on partly frozen Lake Erie hooked themselves some trouble today. About 30 sturdy anglers fishing on a massive piece of ice could only watch it as it broke off and floated them off about a half a mile offshore. Ohio emergency crews and the Coast Guard combines efforts and are bringing the fishermen back to safety. Luckily no reports of any injuries.
The latest turn in the struggle swirling around brain-damaged Terri Schiavo. A court ordered stay on the removal of her feeding tube expires today. Her parents want it extended against her husband's wishes, and we expect an announcement later this afternoon. Today is the 15th anniversary of the heart attack that left Terri Schiavo in a vegetative set.

Central Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo -- United Nations troops on a peacekeeping patrol were ambushed today. Nine of them are dead, all from Bangladesh. The U.N. is now investigating.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The White House road trip came full circle last night with the president and Mrs. Bush arriving back in snowy D.C. after five days in Europe. No surprise that Iraq and Iran dominated his away-game agenda. But Washington insiders are mixed today as to whether the president met his objectives.

CNN's Kelly Wallace reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Didn't it seem like everyone was on their best behavior? Leaders reaching out, even when those handshakes didn't exactly look natural, downplaying differences and saying all the right things.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every time I meet with Jacques, he's got good advice.

WALLACE: And there were gestures, too. At a dinner with the French president, Mr. Bush announcing the return of French, not freedom fries. It was all part of issue one on President Bush's checklist in Europe, charming his critics.

PHILIPPE BOLOPION, RADIO FRANCE INTERNATIONALE: I think in some ways it's worked. Now, you know, basically what they did was they took the ugly dispute over Iraq, they put it in a little box, locked the box, put it under the bed and pretended it was not there. WALLACE: Issue two, getting help with Iraq. Mr. Bush got some, with NATO agreeing to a modest plan to train and equip Iraq's forces. Issue three, calming European concerns about Iran. The president seemed to do that with this.

BUSH: Iran is not Iraq. We just started the diplomatic efforts. And I want to thank our friends for taking the lead.

WALLACE: And issue four, putting pressure on the man he calls a friend, raising concerns over democratic restrictions in Russia.

BUSH: I think Vladimir heard me loud and clear, and he explained why he made the decisions he made.

WALLACE: It would be a stretch to say the president totally won over the Europeans, but analysts say it's a start.

MICHAEL CALINGAERT, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: The first step was to start talking to each other in a more gentlemanly serious way than we have in the past. So this step had to be taken. In itself, it does not resolve a great deal.

WALLACE: Because differences still remain over Iraq, Iran, the arms embargo on China. And that tension has not entirely gone away.

Asked if he would be inviting Mr. Chirac to his ranch, Mr. Bush would only say...

BUSH: I'm looking for a good cowboy.

WALLACE (on camera): Still, the President reacting to the realities of post-war Iraq appears to be trying to bring Europe along with him, instead of hoping Europe will follow.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, so the president gets a thumbs up in France for bagging the term "freedom fries." But in Germany, storm clouds are brewing, at least as far as one company is concerned.

OK, Kyra, help me here. Check out the logo on the side of the plane, Air Force One, right?

PHILLIPS: Right.

HARRIS: OK, right there on the side of the plane.

Now thanks to the presence of that plane over Germany, dozens of planes with this logo, "Lufthansaa," were grounded to protect presidential air space. Now a company spokesman told the BBC that resulting flight delays and cancellations cost the company millions of euros. Lufthansaa may actually sue the German federal agencies that gave the order to restrict airspace during Mr. Bush's visit. PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead, it's a story of poverty and prostitution, but also promise. After the break, I'll talk with one of the filmmakers behind the Oscar-nominated "Born in the Brothels." Find out how it allowed these children to put their lives on a different track.

And our Oscar watch continues the next hour with a look at why this year's awards show has already made history, even before it aired.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, Jamie Foxx hopes "Ray" will bring him an Oscar glory, and Leo DiCaprio wants to fly high with "The Aviator," and Clint Eastwood wants to strike gold with "Million Dollar Baby." But there's One film nominated for an Oscar this weekend that has already transformed the lives of the people involved, whether they win or not. We're talking about the children of Calcutta, India, born into brothels. Sounds like a dead end, doesn't it? Well, two filmmakers decided it wasn't, for at least eight incredible little children.

Joining us now from our Los Angeles newsroom one of the filmmakers, an Oscar nominee, Ross Kauffman.

Ross, great to have you with us today.

ROSS KAUFFMAN, DIRECTOR, "BORN INTO BROTHELS": Thanks for having me.

PHILLIPS: All right, so you and your partner, you get to India. You decide, you notice these kids that are born into these brothels, you want to give them a camera. How did you get the access? How did the idea come to you two?

KAUFFMAN: Well, you know, Zanna (ph) had been photographing women's issues in India for years, starting in 1995. And then in '97, someone on a fluke took her to Calcutta. She went to the red light district, not even intending to work there and take pictures there, and she was blown away by the place. And she took pictures of the women. She actually took two years to get access, just to basically live in the brothels. And at that point she was living there, the women befriended her, the children just loved her, and they wanted to learn how to take pictures. And she said, well, I need to do something for somebody here, and she started teaching them photography.

PHILLIPS: Unbelievable.

KAUFFMAN: Yes, and then about a year later, we started making the film, and four years later I'm sitting here in front of you today.

PHILLIPS: It's incredible. And hopefully going to receive an Oscar. We're all rooting for you.

I want to get straight to the kids, Ross, OK. I want to talk about -- there are eight kids that you obviously profile in this film. I want to talk about Kochi (ph), an we have a little bit of sound of her from your trailer. Let's listen to her for just a second. It's coming, I promise.

KAUFFMAN: She's so cute.

PHILLIPS: I know, she's adorable.

(VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Interesting. She talks about joining the line. This child, so grown up already, tell us about joining the line.

KAUFFMAN: Well, Kochi was, basically, a virtual slave in the brothel. And she worked from morning till night. And it was just a matter of time for her. She's a very shy, demure kid. And through the photo classes she really came into her own and learned how to express herself. And she, in the end, made a decision to stay in the school that Zana (ph) set her up in. And it was a tough decision for her. But because I think of the classes she really learned how to stick up for herself. And she wants a better life for herself. And she's doing great now.

PHILLIPS: And I want to ask you about that, about what she's doing now. But she -- when I was looking at all the pictures that she took, she took a lot of pictures of the kids. And there was this one picture that she took, in particular, of this one little boy that was sort of -- that was chained to some type of door. What did she tell about this picture and why she took this picture?

KAUFFMAN: You know, that little boy -- for her, that's daily life. And it is not cruelty, per se. And it's the way people have to deal with taking care of their kids. And it's horrible the kid -- that particular kid actually lived right next to the stairs on the top floor. And for his mother, that's how she gets by. And Kochi understands that.

This is a kid with great awareness. She also really loved to take pictures of beauty and she liked to escape through her photography as well. All the kids have individual styles. It was really incredible.

PHILLIPS: Which leads me to Obijit (ph). This boy just cracked me up with some of the things that he to say. He's adorable. Here he is. I love his self-portrait, one of the pictures he takes is of himself. It is so cute.

Now, he wants to be an artist. He's very creative. He captured a lot of the living conditions, I noticed, in his pictures. He was very creative in his shots. And he also used a lot of color. This one is great where he's pouring the water and he takes a shot. But there's a picture also of a light in a bottle. What's the significance behind the little bottle with the light?

KAUFFMAN: You know, for Obijit, he's a true artist. This kid paints, he takes photos. And Zana had told me about him when I was in New York and I was hearing these stories about this kid Obijit who was a genius. And you hear the word genius bantered around quite a bit. I actually went and saw him and saw how he takes photos and saw how he paints. And it's in the film and he's incredible. For him...

PHILLIPS: And he wants to go to art school now, right? He wants to go to...

KAUFFMAN: He wants to go to art school. And for him, anything is worth exploring in terms of its artistic value. And that lamp was just one of the things that he sees.

PHILLIPS: Well, Gore (ph) saw a lot of things, too. Another amazing little boy captured a lot of emotion in his pictures. He got this one shot of -- well, they're very emotional. There's a black and white, I remember, of a young girl up against a car. You can just -- I mean, so much by her eyes. And he captures the outside of where they live. But there's this one picture of this little child dancing in a hallway. What was the significance behind this shot here?

KAUFFMAN: Gore is amazing, I mean, he's an incredible kid. He's a real activist. And for him, he wants to show not only what's terrible in his situation but also what is beautiful. He really understands that this is a terrible place. He has this very interesting outlook on a life outside the brothels which I don't know how he has. He's never been outside the brothels. But he knows, he knows there's a life out there for him and his friends.

PHILLIPS: Well, Ross, this movie is just unbelievable. "Born into Brothels" is the name of it. You also have a Web site. I want to make sure folks go online and look at this Web site where they can actually order the kids' pictures. And the money goes toward their education and their livelihood, right?

KAUFFMAN: One hundred percent of the proceeds goes towards their education and livelihood. And so far this year, I mean, we've raised over $100,000 through the sale of their photos alone. And all that money goes directly to their education.

PHILLIPS: Well, good luck on the Academy Award.

KAUFFMAN: Thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: I'm telling you right now, we're all rooting for you. And also, I know you'll be on tonight again, 8:00 p.m., on Paula Zahn's show. Ross Kauffman, tremendous effort. Thanks so much for your time today.

KAUFFMAN: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: And keep it where you've got it for the most important part of Oscar night. Of course, all our Oscar expertise, yes, "Hollywood's Gold Rush," Sunday night, 7 p.m. Eastern. You don't want to miss it.

HARRIS: And a Florida man in need of a kidney transplant finds a willing donor. But a Tampa transplant institute says the patient's actions on the Internet are forcing them to deny the transplant. Find out why next.

Plus, want to protect your food when you eat out? Be nice to your waiter. That story still to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, this is a troubling story that calls in medical ethics and a little known rule about donating organs. It's about a Florida man with kidney failure. He wanted and waited for a donor, found one, then the disappointing development that forced doctors to say no.

Our Susan Candiotti is in Miami.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the first time in a long time, Alex Crionas had reason to celebrate. He needed a kidney, and after one friend backed out of an offer to help...

ALEX CRIONAS: I knew that those things could happen.

CANDIOTTI: Just last month, another friend, professional comedian Patrick Garrity, stepped in.

PATRICK GARRITY, FRIEND: If I was in that situation, I would want a friend to be able to help me out.

CANDIOTTI: Not only was he willing to help out, he could.

CRIONAS: He was tissue type and found to be compatible with me, so we were a match.

CANDIOTTI: But little did Alex Crionas know that a Web site he set up nearly two years ago would come back to haunt him. On the Web site, he wrote about his disease and his need for a donor.

CRIONAS: People aren't really interested in statistics, they're touched by personal stories, and I had a story to tell.

CANDIOTTI: A story about being on dialysis at least three times a week, four hours a day. He says he did not offer to buy a kidney.

CRIONAS: I don't have any money, especially to pay for an organ.

CANDIOTTI: And, in fact, he met Garrity through friends, not the Internet. But when a Tampa transplant institute, LifeLink, discovered the Web site, it sent a letter to Crionas saying that he would not be allowed a new kidney, even his friend's kidney, because of his Internet activities. The letter stated that the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and LifeLink are strongly opposed to the solicitation of organ donors through Web sites.

CRIONAS: I had to reread it, and I was numb.

CANDIOTTI: LifeLink said that the Web site gave Crionas an unfair advantage over others.

RUTH BELL, LIFELINK: Not everyone has access or the means to own a computer. Ethically speaking, how does that then impact those patients, who may or may not be just as sick, on the waiting list?

RUTH BELL, LIFELINK: If they had said to me, Listen, you have a Web site, and we can't proceed unless you take it down, I would have taken it down. I'm not going to sacrifice my life for my personal beliefs.

CANDIOTTI: But for now, LifeLink has not changed its position, and Alex Crionas will have to keep on waiting.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, diners beware -- the wrath of a waiter scorned. After the break, little ways that your wait staff can exact revenge for bad manners on all you tight wads that don't tip.

HARRIS: Hey, hey, hey.

PHILLIPS: I know you tip. I know you tip.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Are you planning to go out to eat this weekend? Better be nice to your server, or you may wind up having your character shredded on the Internet, or end up consuming something you didn't order.

CNN's Jeanne Moos with some tips on tipping and other ways to avoid your waiter's wrath.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ever wonder what the smiling wait staff is really thinking?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I come back and they're like, "can we have anymore bread please?" You don't need anymore bread than that.

MOOS: Pardon the pan, excuse the strainer. We're hiding the identity of waiters ready to dish the dirt on what can happen when a customer isn't nice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually watched the waiter drop their steak on the floor and step on it, and then put it back in the box and take it back to the table and hand it to them.

MOOS: Like in the movie "Birdcage."

These days, you can read all about bad behavior and sweet revenge on Web sites like BitterWaitress, StainedApron, WaiterRant and ShamelessRestaurants. Speaking of shameless, don't ever provoke a lactating waitress. And don't shake up the bartender.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can put Visine in somebody's drink and give them terrible diarrhea, too. One drop of Visine in somebody's drink will send them to the bathroom for the rest of the night.

MOOS: And talk about crappy. BitterWaitress lists bad tippers by name. An entry about Omarosa from "The Apprentice" asked, "is this woman even human?," for allegedly tipping 15 cents.

J.Lo supposedly complained, "waiter, this water is too cold. Make it warmer." And then, there's the war story about someone leaving $2 and a coupon for cranberry juice. No wonder BitterWaitress sells shirts plastered with the preferred tip.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's also the verbal tip. That's my favorite. When at the end of the meal you get, the oh, I loved you, it was wonderful.

MOOS: Praise, but a lousy tip. New York City servers point out that without tips, they make only about $3 an hour.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The way that people in Israel have to go into the Army, I think that everybody in America should have to waitress.

MOOS: But even Jack Nicholson's restaurant run-in...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want me to hold the chicken, huh?

NICHOLSON: I want you to hold it between your knees.

MOOS: Doesn't compare with the Sizzler waiter who got in a fight with an Atkins dieter. She wanted to substitute vegetables for potatoes. The server followed the family home and covered their house in toilet paper, syrup, flower, you name it.

(on camera): Now, are there things that people ask for that really get on your nerves?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think every waiter in the world hates people who order tea.

MOOS (voice-over): For a cheap-o beverage, you have to get a saucer, a teabag, a teapot, pour scolding water, get lemon, milk, more sweetener.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They open it up and they wrinkle it into those little bowls and they stuff it back into the sugar caddy, like that's going to be OK.

MOOS: Got tea? Get your waitress teed off.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: I was a waiter for a long time.

PHILLIPS: I was a waitress. That's how I paid for college.

HARRIS: Exactly. So I never did anything like that, I just want to clear the record. But -- and part of the reason is you don't want the karma to come back on you.

PHILLIPS: Yes, that's true. That's right. It's a bummer.

HARRIS: It is. It is.

PHILLIPS: Not that you and I ever got a bad tip.

All right, coming up in the second hour of LIVE FROM -- I guess we could keep going on and on, right? How many of have you had that problem? Anyway we're going to be talking about the Academy Awards and why the key word for this year's show is diversity.

HARRIS: LIVE FROM's hour of power -- the hour of power begins after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com