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CNN Saturday Morning News
Myanmar Releases Political Prisoner; Tax Cut Compromise Possible; University Students Protest in London; Men Avoiding Doctors; T.J.'s First Trip to the Doctor in 10 Years
Aired November 13, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TJ HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, SATURDAY MORNING: Good morning to you all. Welcome to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Top of the hour here, 8:00 Eastern time where I stand here in Atlanta, Georgia. Wherever you may be, glad you're here.
We need to start this morning with some breaking news out of southeast Asia. We've been keeping a close eye on this all morning and some have been keeping a close eye on it for some 20 years. The pictures you're seeing here are of the pro-democracy icon in Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been released - released from house detention where she has spent 15 of the past 21 years. This is a woman who has been the face and the voice of the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar for the past couple of decades as that country has been ruled by a military junta since 1962.
We have someone, it's very difficult for us, but we do have someone live, one of our correspondents in Myanmar. Myanmar did not allow international journalists in to cover this particular event or to cover the elections that they had on Sunday, which were the first elections they've had in some 20 years. But we do have a correspondent on the ground, but for security reasons, we will not be identifying that reporter for safety reasons. But I do want to say hello to that reporter who's on the line with me now. Please set the scene as we've been watching this now for the past couple of hours.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT (BY TELEPHONE): Hi, TJ. This all happened about two hours and 15 minutes ago, when police at her compound were kicking down barricades from getting to her house. She then emerged a couple of minutes later to a massive scene of people cheering.
Now, as she was standing at the gate to her house, she simply said that she was very happy to see all of these supporters who had come out, invited all of them to come to a speech that she's due to hold at midday tomorrow here in Burma where a lot of people believe that she will outline how she intends to move forward, how she intends to move the opposition forward.
But I can tell you, a lot of people have been waiting a very, very long time to hear her, to see her in this oppressive country. We've seen people out on the streets with T-shirts bearing her picture on it saying I support Aung San Suu Kyi. And people in America might not realize, that's something really bold for people to do here because expressing your political opinions if they're not aligned with those of the military dictators is a very, very difficult thing and dangerous thing to do, TJ.
HOLMES: That's a very good point for you to make. And again, thank you to our correspondent on the ground. We cannot identify because of security reasons. He talked about how repressive this government is. And any voice out there that possibly is in opposition to that government is usually shut down. There are many political prisoners there that people around the world have been calling on Myanmar, the military junta, the ruling military junta to release.
Now, her release today from house detention comes as President Obama tours the Asian continent. He's on that 10-day trip. Here's part of the official response from the White House. We got this just about an hour ago and I'm quoting here for you. While the Burmese regime has gone to extraordinary lengths to isolate and silence Aung Sun Suu Kyi, she has continued her brave fight for democracy, peace and change in Burma. She's a hero of mine and a source of inspiration for all who work to advance basic human rights in Burma and around the world. The United States welcomes her long overdue release.
Let me say as well, you heard us refer this to as Myanmar and also as Burma. Well, Myanmar is the name it currently officially is, changed by that military junta, but many people still refer to it by its other name, Burma which it was beforehand. Our Josh Levs keeping an eye on things for us as well online and also giving us some perspective on this moment, really, a moment in history people have been waiting on.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and people all over the world are celebrating this moment and hoping that it turns into something huge. And what I want all of you to understand is how big this is for this country and also how things got this bad. Let's first do this. Let's go to this Google map. I just want to point something out to you all about where it is in the world. And the reason for that is, you need to think about -- this part of Asia that Myanmar is in is right south of China. You have India over to the west and if you think about what's going on in that area, you have these booming economies in China -- large parts of China and India even though there are large impoverished areas.
Meanwhile, Myanmar basically completely closed off by this junta is now one of the poorest countries in the world. You have people struggling there, desperately. It's been under the rulership of this junta during that time. Government mismanagement has made this country incredibly impoverished. People are struggling, people are in desperate conditions. I want to go to some of this video we're getting. Today we are hearing a lot of references back to 1990. Well, the reason is -- and this is important -- that is when general elections were called by the junta. We're talking 20 years ago. And guess whose party won? Aung Sun Suu Kyi's party won easily, but the military refused to recognize that. They didn't hand over power. And there have been these efforts ever since then to get the junta to hear the voice of the people, to implement some democracy, to change the government. And you probably remember, I was reporting to you about this, we were reporting to you about this back in 2007, all these protests. There were more and more protests that were sparked after the government doubled petroleum prices. There was one point that soldiers used gunfire back then to break up this protest of monks. The population is 89 percent Buddhist there and there are a large number of monks in the country. We saw a military crackdown back in 2007 when people were standing up and saying we want democracy, we want our voice to be heard.
Now, if all that hasn't been tough enough, this country also keeps getting hit by natural disasters, a cyclone brought on devastation a few years ago. And earlier this year, you had more clashes, some between a rebel group and the army. Plus you had floods and landslides and you had a cyclone this year, as well. We're talking about a country that is paying so many prices in so many ways and has been looking for a sign of hope for a better future, for a new era, for the Burmese people and many hoping that this moment could begin that future.
But I'll tell you, a lot of people there and around the world also saying they're worried that the junta could be making this moment seem like it's about a change, but really is just a symbol and they still hold on to all the power and there isn't a change, there's no democracy. Folks, that's the context for what we're seeing today. People all over the world hoping that this begins a new era for the Burmese people. But everyone is obviously very wary about making that jump and deciding that it really will be one TJ.
HOLMES: Josh, thank you. And again to our viewers, we won't be going too far away from that story. We'll keep a close eye as we get more pictures and more developments come out of Myanmar.
Also, want to give you an update on some of the other stories we are keeping a close eye on. There's more and more criticism about those full body scanners. It's getting louder and louder. A grass roots movement going on right now. And some of these grass roots groups want people to refuse those scans and insist on a more time consuming and also more intrusive pat downs this Thanksgiving which of course, the busiest travel time of the year. That could cause all kinds of havoc at airports. Critics call those scanners and also the pat downs a huge invasion of privacy.
Also, we could know who won the Alaska senate race maybe by the end of the weekend. The incumbent, Lisa Murkowski there, she ran a write- in campaign after she lost to the GOP nominee Joe Miller who is also, of course, backed by the Tea Party. Miller is challenging ballots that were misspelled. Murkowski calls it an act of desperation and says he's trying to disenfranchise voters.
Also, an auction going on today. You could get a fly watch, 10 carat diamond ring, some velveteen slippers, also a pair and unused boxers. Who would want this stuff? Well some people do want this stuff, but it goes to a good cause. This stuff belonged to Bernie Madoff. It's all up for auction today. Madoff's Ponzi scheme bilked investors out of some $65 billion. This auction is sponsored by the marshal's service and it's going to go to help compensate some of those victims.
Turning back to President Obama now. He is winding up his 10-day trip to Asia. He's got face-to-face meetings going on, one of those face-to-face meetings with an important ally, Australia. The president told the prime minister the U.S. does not have a closer or better ally than Australia. He said both countries will work together to expand trade. And he also met with Japan's prime minister at the Asia/Pacific economic conference there in Japan, APEC as it's called. Of course, the big focus of all these meetings the president's been having over the past 10 days, jobs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I make no apologies for doing whatever I can to bring those jobs and industries to America. But what I've also said throughout this trip is that in the 21st century, there is no need to view trade, commerce or economic growth as zero sum games where one country always has to prosper at the expense of another. If we work together and act together, strengthening our economic ties can be a win/win for all of our nations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And the president's going to be heading home tomorrow.
Well, we'll take you a live picture now of one spot if you are having to fly through this major hub today, you're going to have a few problems. This is Minneapolis we're talking about. It's still dark, but it is cold and it is going to be a bit snowy. We'll give you the updates. Stay with us here, it's nine minutes past the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Look at that beautiful thing. That's a 74-footer. What is that a spruce? This is the tree that's going to be in the Rockefeller Center. This was donated by a New York City firefighter and his wife. I think it's made its way to where it's going to be. They're going to put this sucker up and going to light it I think November 30th. That's always a big deal. Let me bring in Bonnie Schneider here though with the weather. The Christmas tree, it puts you in the mood for Christmas necessarily, but the weather in New York has done the exact opposite.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: The wonderful summer city of Chicago -- no, some people deal with the cold better than I do. But a beautiful shot. A little gloomy there as we look out at the windy city this morning.
A lot of people around the country as we move on here are looking for a job right now. We've got some 15 million folks in this country without one. You might want to check the health care sector. Experts predict that jobs in this industry will explode over the next decade. Our Christine Romans explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tanneke Burns enjoys her job drawing blood for a Boston-area blood bank. But over the past couple of years, she's watched her hours shrink. Seven or eight-hour blood drives now last just five.
TANNEKE BURNS, STUDENT, BUNKER HILL COMMUNITY COLLEGE: : As long as you have a job in health care, you're pretty much set.
ROMANS: So Tanneke, a mother of five is pursuing a more secure career in nursing. She goes to class at night and works during the day.
BURNS: I don't consider myself to be a risk taker, but I guess on some level this is.
ROMANS: A risk that will likely pay off. The population is aging as an estimated 50 million Americans enter the health care system when reform kicks in in 2014.
ANDREW RUBIN, NYU LANGONE MEDICAL CENTER: They're going to need hospitals and doctors and nurses to take care of them, demand for health care services equals demand for good jobs.
ROMANS: Where are the jobs in health care? It's not just nursing. It's all up and down the spectrum.
RUBIN: It's up and down the spectrum. It's a big field. Any health care profession is a big field when you have all levels of people within there. And the jobs, quite frankly, are going to be found in all those levels.
ROMANS: There's already a shortage of health care IT professionals, medical coders and medical assistants. The government estimates hundreds of thousands of home health aides and personal aides will be needed over the next decade. Often those jobs come with on-the-job training, but low pay. Median wages for registered nurses however is $66,530. Tanneke Burns is hopeful. There will be student loans to pay off, but she's confident she's made the right choice.
BURNS: I always told my children, you need to go to school, get an education. But I felt like if I haven't gone to college, how can I expect them to do something I haven't done myself?
ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. 21 minutes past the hour, bring in Josh here. This is one that everybody got to talking about. Can I slam my boss on Facebook?
LEVS: And the thing is, because of something that just happened, a lot of people are starting to think that they can. And sometimes you can, but I don't want everyone to get excited about it.
HOLMES: I would never do that, by the way.
LEVS: We have no reason to.
HOLMES: We work with different people, clearly. I'm teasing, I'm teasing.
LEVS: Let's go take a look at this. Here's what happened at the National Labor Relations Board filed this complaint, iIssued a complaint against a Connecticut company after they fired someone for basically posting comments about her boss on Facebook. This Federal agency came along and said the termination was illegal because they said Facebook counts as protected speech. We had an expert on "American Morning" who said this is really surprising.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL CALLAN, PROF. OF MEDIA HALL, SETON HALL UNIVERSITY: Most workers probably look in their manuals and they will see they are prohibited from making postings on Facebook or other social networking sites, violation of company policy. You can't wear a company outfit and post a picture. And these rules have thought to be sacred in the past. Now the NLRB says if you are discussing work conditions on Facebook and other workers are participating, it's legal conduct and it can't be prohibited.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: This is very interesting. I talked to you all a lot about -- everyone having to figure out the new realities of the Internet and Facebook. But it's important to understand that what you just heard, as this expert went on to say, it only applies to certain workers in unions. And this is just one stage even in that battle. In the end the position of that Federal agency might ultimately lose. So cnn.com, this group of people interviewed experts about what are good rules of thumb to avoid Facebook firings. You want to talk about maybe your boss but you don't want to get fired. Here are some that I think are great. First of all, imagine your comments in the newspaper. I really like that one. I've heard in the past some people have said to me anything you put on Facebook, don't put it there if you wouldn't want your mom to see it because ultimately someone else can share it. When you're talking about the boss, imagine that it appears in the newspaper the next day how you would feel, how the boss would feel because someone out there shares it, boom, it's out.
All right, next one. Post on your own time and your own computer. This is critical. Because sometimes it's not just the context of what you write or the actual words, but someone can come along and say should say obviously you shouldn't be doing it on company time. (INAUDIBLE) impropriety because of the time or the computer. Two more quick ones. Learn your privacy settings. I know it's really complicated, but I'll show you in a second where I post information for you on that. They keep changing it and they say they're trying to make it simpler, learn those settings. And the last one to know about, learn your employee rights, those handbooks that your businesses and your offices make you say, make you say you've read. Acutally read them because in there there's language about your rights that could come into play if at some point you are making a comment to a friend and putting it on Facebook or on Twitter and you say something that could upset the boss. Here's were I posted a lot of this information for you. It's at my Facebook and Twitter pages, Josh Levs, CNN. I have the article for you. And if you scroll down, you'll see some of the past things we have posted for you about how to keep those privacy settings in place. So, TJ, short version here, people out there should be careful, but it also does seem that there's some basis for saying it's protected speech. In some cases, you can't lose your job.
HOLMES: You shouldn't be dogging your boss publicly. You just shouldn't do that. You want to work for this guy, go into the office, look him in the eye like a man and say I've got a problem with you. That sounds easy doesn't it.? I wouldn't do it either. Josh, we appreciate you.
Coming up, people. You're out there, you're going to buy a vehicle. They have all kinds of dealer incentives, no money down, no credit check, whatever it may be. How about this as an offer? Buy a car, you get a free gun. We'll tell you where this is happening and if anybody's taking them up on that offer.
Also, take a listen to this -- he is telling a story with his fingers. We'll listen in next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. This is what you'll find, this is in Iowa City. That's Chase Garrett. His hope is to bring back the blues. I didn't know it was gone. But I'm from the Memphis area. But they have the first annual blues and boogie woogie stomp is what they're calling it. We can listen in a little more here, but he's hoping as we said to telll a story. This dude's getting down. I like this guy. Oh, that's awesome. He's been performing professionally for the past four years or so. And again, he's trying to tell a story with his -- without using words I should say. But again, trying to bring the blues back.
LEVS: Maybe it's gone from Iowa. Is that where he is?
HOLMES: I don't know who's over there. No offense, but I don't spend a lot of time in Iowa. More of my time is spent on Blue Street -
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Beale Street in Memphis.
HOLMES: Home of the blues in Memphis. We got another one here. I don't know if you guys are in the market for a vehicle. All kinds of incentives kind of suck you in. I don't know what you all are going for these days, but if you're in the market for a gun.
SCHNEIDER: Not lately. HOLMES: Not lately, but before you have been.
SCHNEIDER: I've never used a gun.
HOLMES: Buy a truck, you don't just get a gun. You're not getting a revolver -- you're getting an AK-47. This is Nation's Trucks in Stanford, this is in Florida, kicked of this promotion on vets day in honor of those they say who fought for the right to bear arms. Anybody buying a truck get a $400 voucher for a gun dealer. But if you want a gun -- if you don't want the gun, you can actually take the cash, but they are giving you vouchers for this. We've seen these over the years, actually.
They say that it's been successful. But some of the veterans are saying, hey, you could have given us a flag. That would work.
LEVS: So you can take $400 in cash or you can get $400 off a gun?
HOLMES: The voucher for it. Those are the options. There might be a market for that quite frankly, but an AK, seriously?
LEVS: Whatever gets people in the door.
HOLMES: What are you hunting with an AK-47, maybe terrorists? I don't know.
Let's turn to a bar in Ohio now. We see these every now and again. You see what's happening in this picture here? A deer crashes through the window of Luke's Bar and Grill. This is in Bluffton, Ohio causing quite a stir as you can see in the place. It's having a hard time with its footing. I don't know if it was a patron of the bar. And I'm not sure what the thing is doing here. It's knocking over tables doing its thing. You see somebody running out.
SCHNEIDER: (INAUDIBLE) that door, but the customers were thinking they were seeing things.
HOLMES: We see these every now and again. It's so amazing to see. What is she doing?
LEVS: Is she getting away from the deer? Is she chasing it? That looks like high-speed video before.
HOLMES: That's a heck of a crash. It looks like it has a mission of some sort but can't quite get its footing.
SCHNEIDER: They also have a sign up, but it said no hunting. So keep that in mind indoors.
LEVS: Maybe they were making a statement.
HOLMES: We've got quite a mix for you today on that one. Also, something we want to tell you about. We told you about the ban on happy meal toys. Well, toys that go in the meals at fast food restaurants. Well, one city is a step closer to making the proposal a law, but the mayor is pushing back. We'll have the latest on this back and forth.
Also the students tearing up London? Why? That's coming up; we're at the bottom of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hello again, everybody. Welcome back to the CNN SATURDAY MORNING; bottom of the hour here now. I'm T.J. Holmes to give you a look at some of the stories we are keeping a close eye on.
Fifteen years under house arrest, but the activist, the pro-democracy activist in Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi is finally free. The Nobel Peace Prize winner was released around 5:30 Eastern Time this morning. She emerged from her house to a crowd of supporters that you see. We're keeping a close eye on that story.
Also Ariel Sharon is home temporarily. The former Israeli prime minister has been in a coma since suffering a stroke back in 2006. No change in his condition, but Sharon will be taken to his ranch for weekends as part of a plan to transition him for a permanent return home.
Also, San Francisco's Mayor Gavin Newsom has vetoed that city's ban on toys in kid's meals. But the ban is likely to still become law in San Francisco. The board of advisors -- supervisors I should say -- passed the ordnance with a veto-proof majority.
City officials expect legal challenge from McDonald's. McDonald's declined to comment. And again, I should clear up here. They didn't just ban all toys and kids meals, those meals that do have toys have to meet certain nutritional standards. So we'll see what happens down the road.
Also, back to politics here now; tax breaks for everybody, for anybody. Anybody but the rich some are saying. And that's one of the big issues the lame duck Congress will be tackling next week. The Bush era tax cuts will expire at the end of this year; President Obama still standing pretty firm against extending those cuts to the wealthy as they say.
Here is what he said yesterday at a press conference after the G-20 meeting in Seoul, South Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to make sure that taxes don't go up for middle class families starting on January 1st. That's my number one priority, for those families and for our economy.
I also believe that it would be fiscally irresponsible for us to permanently extend the high-income tax cuts. I think that would be a mistake. Particularly when we've got our Republican friends saying that their number one priority is making sure that we deal with our debt and our deficit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right, let's bring in our deputy political director and friend of our show here on CNN SATURDAY and SUNDAY MORNING, Paul Steinhauser. Paul good to see you as always, joining us from Washington. Is there some wiggle room now? Does it not have to be all or nothing? There might be some compromise in here.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: That's what they're trying to find and we'll soon know. Because as you said, T.J., the president's back this week, you've got the lame duck Congress coming back this week. This is going to topic number one. I mean it was topic number just about in the -- in the midterm elections.
The whole idea here is kind of a decoupling or coupling of the two -- of the two brackets here. The president and Democrats in Congress want to decouple. They basically want to break apart the wealthiest Americans from families making $250,000 or less and they want to make, you know, treat each differently. They want to extend permanently the tax cuts for middle-class Americans, now, anybody making under $250,000 or less. And then they're talking about maybe compromising and extending the wealthiest tax cuts -- the tax cuts for the wealthiest for a year or two.
Republicans don't want to do that decoupling, T.J. They want to keep it together, they want to make sure it's all or nothing and they want all, obviously. They want tax cuts extended for everybody and not just families making under $250,000.
This is kind of like a political game of chicken and the clock is ticking because as you said and as the president just said, these tax cuts sunset at the end of the year. So you know, we've only got a few weeks left here.
HOLMES: All right, so we know what the politicians think about this. What do Americans think about these tax cuts?
STEINHAUSER: I'm glad you asked. Check this out, brand new numbers from the Pew -- Pew poll.
HOLMES: All right.
STEINHAUSER: Take a look at this. This was done just after the election November 4th through 7th. And again, Americans it seems are divided on this issue. Look at the top there, about a third of Americans say you know what -- keep the tax cuts for everybody, the wealthiest two percent, everybody. About three in 10 say you know what -- repeal them for the wealthy but keep them for everybody else and 28 percent say repeal them for everybody, we can't afford these.
Just go on to the next screen here. It's interesting when you break it down by party here, you can see there is a big partisan divide. Republicans say keep those Bush tax cuts for everybody, for the wealthiest, for everybody; independents only about a third of them feel that way; and only 15 percent of Democrats think that the wealthiest Americans deserve to keep those tax cuts, T.J.
So obviously Democrats, Republicans, not seeing eye to eye.
HOLMES: And got to get this done. This thing expires at the end of the year. If they don't get something done, everybody's taxes are going to be going up at the beginning of the year.
Paul Steinhauser, buddy good to see you as always. We're going to be chatting with you again this morning.
Well, Wal-Mart is upping the ante in the holiday shopping world -- wars, I should say. This is the world's largest retailer. They've announced now free online shipping on 60,000 holiday items. Don't have to have any minimum purchase here. This offer is available now through December 20th on Wal-Mart.com. Wal-Mart says shipping surcharges may still apply in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, however.
Nissan recalling more than 600,000 vehicles in North America, about 50 -- 515,000 of them are here in the U.S. They're trying to fix a problem with steering columns and battery cables. The vehicles included are the Frontier, the XTerra SUVs, also the Sentra sedans. Nissan said it will begin notifying owners early next month.
Also, I got a new electric car that's coming out in 2012 from French automaker Renault it's called the Zoe. It sounds simple enough, go Zoe from Renault. But it upset two families. Both their children named Zoe, Renault. This is a true story and the attorney now for the two families argued that calling the car the Zoe was a breach of privacy.
The judge ruled against the families, they were actually arguing that this could cause some kind of trauma to the children, psychological trauma down the road. Seriously, folks, I didn't make that up.
Well, students are trashing London. Why? I got to find out what all this protesting is about.
Also it sure pays to be funny and especially if you can make Oprah Winfrey laugh.
It's 37 minutes past the hour.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, it's about 20 minutes to the top of the hour.
The first single from the "King of Pop" since his death; it is going to be released early Monday. The song is called "Hold My Hand." It's a duet with Michael Jackson and Akon. It was recorded back in 2007. Epic Records chose this song after they found the handwritten note from Michael Jackson indicating he wanted it to be the first single for his highly-anticipated album. Jackson's album contains new unheard music, it's the first time in nine years.
Also, Oprah Winfrey, she appreciates a good laugh. The "New York Post" reported the talk show queen slipped a panhandler $100 in New York because he told her a joke and it made her laugh.
Now, you all tell me if you think this is funny. Why is it good to date a homeless man, Nadia? Because when you're done with him, you can drop him off anywhere.
You like that? She handed him five $20 bills, but he got her to laugh and she appreciated it.
Also, some friends get lucky at a Michigan porn shop. I should probably expound on that a little bit. They got lucky because they bought a winning Powerball ticket at that porn shop. Mike Greer is one in this picture I'll point him out when I see him again. He claimed the $128.6 million prize for the group -- a group of them bought it. He claimed it on Friday.
At the same time, another Michigan man hit a bigger mega-millions jackpot $141 million. Greer and his friends plan to give some of the money that they won after buying a ticket at the porn shop to a local church. Hey, they don't mind where the money comes from, right?
Let me bring in Nadia Bilchik here once again for our "Morning Passport". We were talking, we we're seeing these pictures of students, right? Young people, these are students in London. Some say even tearing up the city in some ways. Why?
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Well, let's put it all in context. Up until the late '90s, British people did not pay at all for university. So there was no fee. Then in around 1998, they put it up to around 1,500 pounds, around $2,500. In 2006 they increased those rates to around $3,000 -- 3,000 pounds, about $4,500.
HOLMES: Man, look at these -- these pictures.
BILCHIK: And look at these pictures and these are people who are protesting what has happened now, which is an increase up to times three. So it's the hike that they are actually protesting.
HOLMES: Why does it keep going up? Just like anything else we're seeing around --
BILCHIK: Time to slash the budget deficit. So imagine that you go from no fee to 9,000 pounds.
HOLMES: And good morning, Scottie, you can go ahead walk through. It's one of our guys here in the studio.
BILCHIK: He's probably about the age of the students who are protesting.
HOLMES: Yes, he was just a part of the whole story we were telling here.
BILCHIK: And -- and about his age, if you speak to people in their 30s who went to school in London, they probably didn't pay at all.
HOLMES: Yes. BILCHIK: So it's really the increase that they are protesting. But it's the way it was done.
HOLMES: Ok. But is it a done deal? I mean, they -- they can protest all they want, but has it on -- already gone through? Or did you tell me it's still a proposal right now?
BILCHIK: Well, it's proposed, but it looks like the British government has no choice.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: How are they going to survive if they don't increase these because the budget deficit is so enormous? And you know, the youth in Britain are very disappointed. So this is a combination of many things. It's the fact that the unemployment rate is so high.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: Most students -- they say up to 50 percent will not get a job. House risers have increased. So it was -- the protests that happened, the fact that there were 40,000 to 50,000 students, the police were not prepared.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: And then a small element turned violent. And what's always sad in these scenarios; instead of it being peaceful protest, what are we going to focus on? We're focusing on, what we are seeing right now, the smashing of the windows.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: A fire extinguishers getting thrown at a police person, ceilings being torn up in the Tory (ph) building, desks being torn up. So this is the result. But let's look at the bigger picture of what they are protesting.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: But that gets lost in the whole big scenario.
HOLMES: It does unfortunately. And we have covered here in this country, as well, big increases in California, Florida, really all across the country, big increases in tuition.
Nadia, we appreciate you, but good to put it in perspective here exactly what they're upset about and not just seeing these pictures. Thank you so much. We'll chat with Nadia again throughout the morning.
Also Auburn University quarterback Cam Newton, he is now being investigated by the FBI. How is the school, though, the students there, how are they taking the news?
Yes, they still love their Heisman hopeful. Plus this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whenever you feel like you're about 17 or 20.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, folks, I had not -- and I'm embarrassed to admit this -- had not gotten a physical in over ten years. Don't shake your head at me. A lot of men are just like that. A lot of women out there know their men are just like that. We're trying to all do something about it this morning.
Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, five of the hottest sports topics, 30 seconds each.
Auburn's star quarterback Cam Newton under investigation. NFL ratings up, so are blackout games, and who cares about tonight's welterweight championship fight with Manny Pacquiao? Did you even know there was a fight tonight?
Well, our Rick Horrow knew about it. He knows about all things sport related. We've got five topics, 30 seconds each.
Pretty Ricky, good to see you. Let's start the clock on this young fellow.
I've been wanting to put you on the clock for years now.
But let's start with Cam Newton.
RICK HORROW, CNN BUSINESS SPORTS ANALYST: Hurry up then. Hurry.
HOLMES: -- the Heisman hopeful, is he still the front-runner for the Heisman?
HORROW: Well, you know Auburn's not talking about it, but here's the NCAA regulation, I'll read quick. I don't have a lot of time.
The solicitation of cash or benefits by a perspective student athlete or another individual on his or her behalf is not allowed under NCAA rules. We don't know the facts. Bodog.com took him off the betting line for the Heisman, by the way, 19 of 23 voters say we're not sure what we're going to do. We have to see all the facts.
Reggie Bush had his trophy taken away, remember, after the fact. It's going to be a long three weeks for Cam Newton.
HOLMES: All right.
Turn to the next topic. We turn to the NFL now. Sounds like they're having a pretty good year -- Ratings up.
HORROW: Yes. The ratings are up, and they're pretty significant. By the way, when you look at it, it's also a situation of 6 percent increase over the same time last year and 22 percent over the year before. And the bottom line is since the season started, the last 13 highest-rating programs in all of television, NFL games.
That's why ESPN is starting to renegotiate their Monday Night Football deal. What's the starting price? $1.1 billion a year. Hey, we would hope that because of this incentive they have a reason to play next year, not stop work.
Under the buzzer.
HOLMES: You like that, don't you? We'll turn to topic number three here still with the NFL. These blackouts -- people living in the towns where the games are blacked out hate it, but why are so many happening?
HORROW: By the way, do your questions count against my time?
HOLMES: They do not.
HORROW: All right. Here we go.
HOLMES: Start talking.
HORROW: The reason why, by the way -- I will -- the reason why, by the way is just as we heard before. People want to watch these games on television. And there are 11 markets in jeopardy of blackouts this year, including ones that have already happened in San Diego, in Detroit, in Tampa Bay.
The bottom line, though, is winning like anything else. The Oakland Raiders, 11 straight blacked out games. They're starting to win; they sold out last week on TV. We're seeing it.
"Just win, baby," Al Davis says. That cures everything.
HOLMES: Just win, baby, win. Boxing, Manny Pacquiao -- we turn to him -- he's really the only draw these days maybe -- well, not Mayweather Jr. He's got some other issues right now. Does anybody care, even know that the Pacman is fighting tonight?
HORROW: Who? What?
HOLMES: Yes.
Horrow: Yes, they do care. The bottom line is, this is going to be a big fight. The promoter Bob Arum says they'll break the attendance record inside Cowboys' Stadium of 60,000 and why not, Hispanic market, big time deal. And Margarito, the first time he's fighting since January '09 when he was suspended. He had plaster hidden in his gloves -- they alleged.
So that's a big deal. And Pacquiao, a Philippine legend -- History Channel, Tecate coming together for eclectic sponsorship, raising over $1 million in sponsorship, plus the attendance, it will be a big deal.
HOLMES: And the last one here, New Orleans, the Hornets, NBA had a pretty good start to the season. They're going to be a good case for them to keep that team in that city?
HORROW: Yes, they will. And the bottom line is winning like we said about the Oakland Raiders. They've been winning. But the other issue, by the way, T.J., is ownership change. George Shinn owned the franchise since its inception in Charlotte, moved it to New Orleans. He's selling to Gary Chouest, the New Orleans businessman, had 35 percent; he's now going to have more.
The state's going to kick in, as well. Ironically the idea of the Saints winning the Super Bowl helps the Hornets. Why? Because it proves how important sports is to post-Katrina economic recovery.
HOLMES: All right. Let me turn, of course, it's a football Saturday; a lot of people watching a lot of big games.
Bonnie, what have you got for us?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I've got a lot for you T.J. Let's get right to it.
Most of the places are looking at good weather for this Saturday for college football. In California, for example, Berkeley, we're looking at nice weather for tonight's game, temperature of 53 degrees.
Auburn/Alabama, Reynolds Wolf -- hey, that's why he's not here today, that's his team. That's his alma mater. Seventy-two looking good.
And, of course, Arkansas, we always talk about T.J.'s school -- well, the weather's not so great. Well, we've got some storms in the forecast, unfortunately, T.J.
Penn State looking good, 67 degrees in Columbus, Ohio; plus we have Mississippi versus Alabama in Tuscaloosa. That's tonight at 7:15. Also, nice conditions there, temperatures will be pleasant in the 50s.
So with one exception, T.J., Arkansas, most places are looking at fantastic weather for this Saturday.
HOLMES: It's Fayetteville in the winter time.
Bonnie, we appreciate you. Rick, good to see you as always, as well buddy.
Quick break here; we're right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Taking a look now at some stories making headlines.
Pro-democracy activist, Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest after some 15 years. This is picture you're seeing from this morning in Myanmar. The Nobel Peace Prize winner emerged from her house. The crowds of supporters -- this was just about an hour or so ago. The president calls her, quote, "a hero of his and a source of inspiration for all who worked to advance basic human rights".
And also cholera spreading at an alarming rate in Haiti; the United Nations warning this is the most severe outbreak of cholera in the past 100 years. The death toll, more than 800 people; more than 12,000 people have gotten sick. The U.N. says the entire nation at risk.
Also pilot and passenger groups won't travel to protest full body scans and intrusive pat-downs at airports. Federal officials have increased security with the busy holiday season coming up. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano met with travel industry leaders to talk about where to draw the line between security and privacy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All up in the legs. Should've done this first.
Are we literally killing ourselves?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes, yes. But we can do something about it with prevention. And the first step of prevention is right up under your shoes. You're at the doctor's office and that's the first step to prevention.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Men, when was the last time you went to the doctor for a check-up? Women, how long have you been trying to get your man to go to the doctor for a check-up?
If it isn't bleeding, it isn't broken, we aren't going. Men just often times will not go to the doctor. And in the meantime, we could literally be walking around killing ourselves and not even know it.
Welcome back, everybody.
I'm T.J. Holmes. And I'm guilty too. I had not been to the doctor for a check-up in more than ten years.
This hour, you'll hear what it took to finally get me to go to the doctor. You'll see my physical. And we're going to try to get you to go to the doctor, as well.
According to the CDC -- listen to this -- someone in this country dies every minute from heart disease. For some, the first sign of heart disease is sudden death. But it doesn't have to get to that. You can -- you can find the early signs by simply going to the doctor. And as you'll now see from my visit, it's not always pleasant to go to the doctor. The alternative, however, is much worse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Syndicated radio host Tom Joyner is 60 years old, but you'd never know it. Look at him.
It's not just a song, it's a mantra for Joyner who credits his career longevity to regular doctors visits. He wants his radio family to hear that message.
TOM JOYNER, RADIO HOST, "TOM JOYNER MORNING SHOW": If we've got you laughing, we've got you listening. If we've got you listening, we can feed you some information.
HOLMES: Joyner's "Take a Loved One to the Doctor" initiative is aimed at African-Americans who are genetically at risk, but like me, usually avoid the doctor.
JOYNER: We are disproportionately affected by heart disease and diabetes and the list just goes on and on and on.
HOLMES: And that's where I come in. It's been more than 10 years since my last physical. So Tom Joyner is taking me to the doctor. We're at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas where Joyner himself is a regular patient.
JOYNER: So how are you doing?
HOLMES (on camera): To be quite honest, I haven't done this in so long.
JOYNER: I heard.
HOLMES: It's scary.
(voice-over): And with that, on to my first meeting with Dr. Tyler Cooper.
DR. TYLER COOPER, M.D., UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, SAN ANTONIO: Do you sleep well?
HOLMES (on camera): I sleep well, not a lot.
COOPER: Are you allergic to any medications?
HOLMES: Not that I know of.
COOPER: Have you had a tetanus shot in the last 10 years?
HOLMES: I don't know. When - what occasion would I have done that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything back here is benign.
HOLMES (voice-over): A head to toe physical exam. Lab work, hearing, vision, lung and stress tests. I'm seeing a dermatologist, a nutrition counselor, and even an exercise consultant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on in.
HOLMES: Right off the bat, my blood pressure concerned the doctor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little high. 138/85. We'll get several others.
HOLMES: It's an alarming statistic, close to 45 percent of African- Americans suffer from high blood pressure, and more than twice as many African-Americans will die from hypertension when compared to white patients.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just breathe normally now.
HOLMES: My heart sounds healthy, so it's off to the next exam room where a periscope checks my vocal cords.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "American Idol" needs you.
HOLMES: Next, the eye exam.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you see the black dot?
HOLMES (on camera): Yes, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Out of the corner.
HOLMES: Yes, ma'am.
(voice-over): And clearly, Joyner is the only person here enjoying my physical.
JOYNER: How many fingers?
HOLMES (on camera): I'm glad you're enjoying this. When's the last time you did one of these?
JOYNER: Last year. I'm scheduled to come in this year.
HOLMES: Yes, I'm coming back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to pinch the muscle and pinch again.
HOLMES (voice-over): But Joyner didn't have anything to make fun of during my body fat analysis.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All done, 7.1.
HOLMES (on camera): You like that?
JOYNER: I hate that. I can't wait for you to get fat.
HOLMES: When does that start?
(voice-over): So far, so good. But I hadn't gotten to the part I'd been warned about. The infamous and all important stress test.
(on camera): Do people fail it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody fails.
HOLMES: Let's do this, man. (voice-over): But I'm not just worried about failing for all to see. After avoiding the doctor for more than a decade, I'm nervous about what my results might say about my overall health.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And let me bring in now the one who took me to the doctor, Tom Joyner joining me - I know you're still laughing about this whole thing, Tom. Good morning to you. Good to see you. Let me say thank you for taking me to the doctor. But am I the prime example of the problem?
JOYNER: Oh, yes, you are. Yes, you are. You're African-American male. Men don't want to go to the doctor, period. African-American men, not at all. Disproportionately, African-Americans are - are affected by all these health issues. And hypertension, high blood pressure is just one of them, diabetes, stroke.
The list just goes on and on and on. And it's men who won't go to the doctor. And it's women like your wife who make our men go to the doctor. Did your wife make you go?
HOLMES: Well, I don't want to say made me. She strongly suggested.
JOYNER: Yes.
HOLMES: Also, it was two women in my life. It was my wife certainly but also my executive producer that you know, as well, these two were screaming at me about it. So we decided to do something here and to take me to a physical and try to get this message out. But what are some of those excuses? You've had this initiative going for some time. You say black men don't go, what are the excuses you keep hearing?
JOYNER: Oh, I don't need to go to the doctor, I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm fine. You know, that swelling. That's just a swelling, it'll go away, it'll go away, you know. Yes, I'm having a hard time breathing when I go upstairs, but you know, that's just because of my age and everything. I'm fine. I'm fine.
It's just stupid. It's just stupid. And our women tell us all the time, "Go to the doctor, stupid. Why don't you go to the doctor?" So we couldn't come up with a name like stupid, go to the doctor, or women, take your stupid man to the doctor. We came up with Take a Loved One to the doctor. It's more marketable.
HOLMES: Now what are some of and I know you've got some stories, as well. But people who have done this with you over the years, they go to the doctor for the first time and then they end up in the emergency room.
JOYNER: Yes. Emergency room, operating room. We have every year - every year we have cases - because we do - we do health screenings all over the country on this one particular day. And it's so many cases where people go from health screening to bypass surgery, just that serious. HOLMES: And why do we not focus enough? And this was something else. You were standing there when this happened, but we don't know our family history. The doctor was standing there, you're in the room with me, as well. He asked me about a family history of heart disease or high blood pressure, and I was like, oh, really? I don't know, I don't think so. Picked up the phone, call my dad. He was like, "yes, I got it. Your mom got it. Your uncle got diabetes."
They went through all this. Why aren't we educated enough about our own family history?
JOYNER: I don't know. Tell me. Because I was surprised that you didn't know your family medical history that you had - that you had high blood pressure and all these black man diseases in your family history. Why didn't you know?
HOLMES: Hey, I'm asking the questions here this morning, Tom.
JOYNER: But you are the typical person. You are the typical person. So many of us really don't know what our family history is, and our family - our family medical history is what determines what we are - it's in our genes. We're going to have high blood pressure problems, we're going to have diabetes and glaucoma and all those things. We're going to have it, it's in our DNA.
And if you know that, you can do something about preventing that. Because it's in our genes doesn't mean it has to happen. You can change that with nutrition. You can change that with exercise. It starts - it starts with prevention.
HOLMES: I don't think a lot of us have gotten the message. But besides continuing the fight that you're doing and the initiative you have and trying to get the message out, does it really take a loved one to stay in our ear and maybe that's one of the best weapons to get people. Whether it's man, woman, whoever it might be to get people to the doctor, the people who care about you need to force you into that doctor's office?
JOYNER: Yes, yes, and thank you for Tanisia (ph), your executive producer and your wife for getting your - getting your exam done nine years since your last one, really. Seriously?
HOLMES: OK. All right. I feel guilty enough, but you're right, I should be embarrassed about it. But you set a good example, you go every year and you're in great shape. Tom, really, I know we had fun doing this, but I learned a lot, as well. I want to say thank you, as well, for taking me up and taking me to the doctor. I do appreciate it. All right. Good to see you, buddy.
JOYNER: Thank you for being a fan of the show and being a part of Taking A Loved One to the Doctor.
HOLMES: No worries at all. Thank you so much.
But to our viewers, we're not done yet. You only saw the first part of my physical. The all-important stress test is coming up. Check out my heart. Also, the results you're going to hear, as well. And some stuff that the doctor wants me to do differently now to keep me from having problems down the road, the same for you. You're going to see it and also hear from my doctor. He'll be with us live. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, at 11 minutes past the hour now. On the topic of men and men going to the doctor, a study in 2009 found that so-called macho men, defined as men who have high standards of masculinity were 50 percent less likely to get routine medical care as other guys.
I want to take you now to the next phase though of my physical. You saw the first part of it. But this all-important stress test is important because it helps determine what kind of shape your heart is in and your risk of heart disease. You're about to see just how tough it is, of course, but you're also going to hear what I learned about it, about my genetics and my current behavior that actually puts me at risk down the road.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grab a seat there. Feet on that stool. Get a couple blood pressures on you.
HOLMES (voice-over): Time for the dreaded stress test. The electrodes on my hips and legs monitor my heart rate looking for any warning signs. The radio host Tom Joyner is still at my side and he's still got jokes.
JOYNER: It's a treadmill. You're not going to be running, you're going to be walking. The problem is you're going to be like Lionel Ritchie, walking on the ceiling. After a while this thing is going to raise so high.
HOLMES: Joyner jokes, but he's very serious when it comes to making an impact on health.
JOYNER: Every year after we do Take a Loved One to the Doctor, we get testimonials from people who say that I went to one of your events and I went straight to the hospital and had bypass surgery. Yes. It's working.
HOLMES (on camera): Am I the exact problem you're trying to get at? A 33-year-old young man who hadn't been to the doctor in 10 years for any kind of physical?
JOYNER: Yes.
HOLMES: Why won't we go to the doctor?
JOYNER: Well, number one, we're stupid. OK. Let's face that. We think we know everything, but we're very stupid. And we're very - OK. We're wimps. You hated getting your blood work -
HOLMES: It wasn't that bad. JOYNER: Because you've got a little boo boo now. Why didn't you get the Dora the Explorer? But you really didn't like it.
It's very tough, especially in the African-American community. I don't need to go to no doctor. Everything's fine, I feel just great. Say, man -
HOLMES: Are we literally killing ourselves?
JOYNER: Yes, yes, yes. But we can do something about it with prevention.
HOLMES (voice-over): It's hard to argue with Joyner on that.
JOYNER: You'll be all right.
HOLMES: So it's finally time. This EKG machine will monitor my heart during the exercise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Let's do this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this is a maximal test. I want you to push yourself as hard as you can. Let's speed you up to 3.3 miles per hour. Here we go. We're off.
HOLMES (on camera): Your treadmill's faster than mine.
(voice-over): I'm told to keep walking as long as I can while the incline rises every minute.
HOLMES (on camera): Piece of cake. So far, so good, but we're only three minutes in. Whose idea was this? All up in the legs. Should've done this first.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whenever you feel like you're about 17 to 20 on there or feel like you've got about a minute left in you, let me know.
HOLMES: Call them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ready?
HOLMES: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One more blood pressure on you and we'll let you go as long as you can.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: T.J., keep working up the hill there. Any chest pain or anything like that?
HOLMES: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want you to go as long as you can. HOLMES: If you don't stop, I won't stop.
(voice-over): 22 minutes and eight seconds later I'm tapped out and I'm worried as Dr. Cooper sat me down for my results.
COOPER: Exercise wise, you're doing OK. Your time on the treadmill had you in the good category as compared to men your age. Your blood pressures today were a little high. They were consistently in the 130s to 140s over 80s and 90s, which is too high but other than that your risk of heart disease at this point appears to be very low.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And let me bring in my doctor now, Dr. Tyler Cooper. He is joining me now via Skype from Dallas. He is the co-author of the book "Start Strong, Finish Strong." Doc, good to see you this morning. We just showed our viewers kind of really an extensive, the gold standard physical. But a lot of people watching out there right now, a lot of men, especially, what should they go into the doctor - maybe it's not as extensive as what I just got, but what should they walk into the doctor and ask for specifically as far as just being kind of checked out generally from head to toe?
COOPER: Well, good morning, T.J., and I'm glad to be here. That's a great question. And I think the first thing a patient really needs to understand about their health is that it's their responsibility. And so when you go into the doctor and you truly need to be proactive. And along those lines to the question that you asked, you need to first of all know your numbers.
You should know what your cholesterol is, your blood pressure, your glucose, and what's your ideal weight. Those are some of the key things you should start with. And then like you and Tom were talking about earlier, you really need to know your family history. What are your genetics? Are you predisposed for a certain risk of any type of problems that could cause you issues later on?
HOLMES: And explain, as well, for younger folks. And I say younger, maybe 25 to 35, that age range thinks "OK, we're healthy, we're fine, no problems." But why is it important to know those numbers at those earlier ages? Because you need to compare those down the road to see what you may be doing to affect those numbers as you get older.
COOPER: That's exactly right. Chronic disease is chronic by definition that it starts when you're younger. And the problem is that people only want to go the doctor when they don't feel well. Well, chronic disease really doesn't give you that feeling of not well until later on in life when it's too late. So when you start going early like you did you and you see that your blood pressure's already a little high, we can address that pretty easily right now and avoid those more serious problems later on in your life.
HOLMES: And you talked - something that really, really struck me when I was there in your office, Dr. Cooper. You said really the onus is on the patient. It is all of us to take care of ourselves but you also expressed disappointment at the medical industry, not putting enough emphasis on preventative care.
COOPER: You're absolutely right. And that's something that I think that just evolved out of the payer system and so forth. But as we as a community can really start focusing on prevention in our children and in our adults as a way to promote good health going forward, it's just good all around.
And so hopefully we'll start seeing more education for physical fitness in the schools, better diet in the schools, and even in the workplace, which we work at here at the Cooper Clinic so hard.
HOLMES: And you told me, as well, quite frankly there's not a lot of emphasis. And that's why we're losing so many primary care doctors because there's not a whole lot of money in keeping people healthy.
COOPER: You're absolutely right. The money is in treating these more complicated diseases and surgeries. And it's a good thing we have those abilities to do that. But it just makes logical sense. If we can prevent those problems through facilitating doctors and clinics to be able to treat them appropriately at these earlier stages, we can save the whole country a lot of money, but most importantly improve the health of Americans.
HOLMES: And something else, Dr. Cooper you hit on and I admit here, I'm certainly not a smoker at all, but I admitted you guys had me fill out some forms, I might smoke one cigar a month, on average. I mean that's if I'm going to a wedding or out in Vegas or whatever it may be. But you said even that one cigar a month - don't do that.
COOPER: Right. Tobacco is like this. If you're smoking a pack a day, you're certainly not at the same risk as smoking a cigar like you do occasionally. But you're also not at the same risk that I am and the fact that I don't touch tobacco. There's really nothing good about it for your health and we really hope that people will stop using it in all forms.
HOLMES: All right. And you all have something there at your clinic. You call it cooperizing and you've got several tips. And I want you to share those with some of our viewers.
COOPER: Absolutely. Well call it get "cooperized." What that means is just living a healthy lifestyle in moderation. Doing those things which we talked about. It's knowing your numbers, knowing your family history, being consistent with your exercise. And exercise really 30 minutes three times a week, just do that will significantly improve your long-term health. Watching your diet, eating in moderation, avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol.
Just good balance in your life is what we're talking about. I always joke that you don't have to eat like a rabbit and run a marathon to be healthy, you just have to make moderate changes and you can truly enjoy a long, healthy life. And most importantly, I talked to my patients in the concept of get "cooperized," "why do you want to be healthy?" It's because our studies here at the Cooper Institute show that if you just focus on these things we can actually improve the quality of your life. So not only the quantity, but the quality such that we preach about your square off the curve. You live a long, healthy life doing all those things that you want to do.
And some day many years from now you die in your sleep. And my father who started all this is a testimony to that as he just got back from Mt. Everest climbing around out there at age 79.
HOLMES: He looks amazing. I did get a chance to meet him when I was there as well. But great work you guys are doing there at the Cooper Clinic. Dr. Cooper, I can't thank you enough and everything you have done for me and getting this message out and certainly we're getting good response and maybe some guys will get into the doctor. Dr. Cooper, thank you so much.
COOPER: Thanks, T.J.. Hope to see you again.
HOLMES: Thank you so much. Not too soon, though, I hope. It wasn't all pleasant at that physical.
All right. Well, coming up, did you know people talk so much about breast cancer awareness month it's actually prostate awareness month this month, November. And they're doing something special right now to get the word out. We'll tell you what that is. 20 past the hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, our next guest here is Adam Garone. He is the CEO and co-founder of something called Movember. Have you heard of that? That is a movement out there that tackles what is - what we're in right now, which is prostate cancer awareness month. Let me bring in Adam.
Adam, hello to you. Explain to people the concept, the idea behind Movember.
ADAM GARONE, ERNST & YOUNG SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2008: Well, Movember is the month formally known as November where we challenge men to change the face of men's health like a mustache. (INAUDIBLE) like doing a run or a week for charity. We actually challenge men to grow a mustache for 30 days. And by doing that, that becomes a conversation starter about prostate cancer and about men's health. And we're getting men to change their attitude and get along to the doctor.
HOLMES: Do you find - you said this kind of start the conversation there. Do you find this is one of those topics that men just don't want to talk about?
GARONE: Well, absolutely. And when you've grown a mustache and you don't normally have one, it's amazing how many conversations are opened up socially at work, at Thanksgiving dinner. And when you have a mustache and you don't normally, people ask you what's going on. You go, "hey, I'm doing this for Movember and I'm doing it for prostate cancer awareness in men's health, and it's amazing where those conversations lead. And you learn about your family history and all sorts of things. HOLMES: We see some of the pictures here, some guys really having a fun time with this. But you all have been able to get some pretty good results. And by results, I mean raise a lot of money. This is something again, a lot of people may not have heard of. But you guys have been around collecting a lot of money for this cause.
GARONE: Well, yes, since 2003, the campaign has grown. We're in 10 countries now, and this year we're going to have over 400,000 men participating, growing mustache and raising awareness for men's health and prostate cancer. We'll probably raise in the order of $65 million. That makes Movember now the biggest fundraiser for prostate cancer research and support programs in the world.
HOLMES: What do we need to do? You have a movement called Movember. I think some people are aware it's prostate cancer awareness month, but you know, it doesn't get the same quite attention as breast cancer awareness month, which certainly the attention it gets is deservedly so. But it seems like not enough people, not a whole lot of people talk about this month.
GARONE: Well, it's sort of what inspired me to turn Movember to a campaign to raise awareness for prostate cancer is that 30 percent more men are diagnosed with prostate cancer than women are for breast cancer. There is just no real campaigns for this cause. So we created this campaign where we challenge men to grow a mustache, and if you head to movember.com, you can sign up and get involved, get engaged with men's health and raise a little bit of awareness for the cause.
HOLMES: And did I hear it right? Movember.com?
GARONE: Movember.com (INAUDIBLE) November. It's a conversation starter beyond raising funds.
HOLMES: Well, Adam Garone, the CEO and co-founder of Movember, so we appreciate you coming here. We appreciate (INAUDIBLE) you're rocking this morning and the words you're trying to get out. Thanks so much. You enjoy the rest of your Saturday.
GARONE: Thank you.
HOLMES: Thank you all for participating. Hopefully we could get some guys in the doctor with what you saw this half hour. "Your Bottom Line" with Stephanie Elam starting right after this.
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