July 13, 2010

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Whole Show Blow-by-Blow

Today's guest host was Jim Brown.

It's Tuesday, July 13th.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy appeared on television last night responding to allegations that his campaign treasurer accepted 190-thousand dollars in illegal campaign donations from the heiress of the l'Oreal makeup fortune.

Currently, his advisors say it's the first time they've ever seen him blush.

This is The Current.

Google Maps - Stefan Geens

We started this segment with a clip from Sachin Pilot, India's Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications and Technology. And this is one problem Google probably didn't anticipate when it launched Google Maps.

About a year ago, the Google Map of India that you see if you use Google India ... it got a lot smaller. Specifically, the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh was suddenly represented as being part of China.

As you might imagine, that didn't impress the Indian Government. And it has also sparked a lot of confusion about the accuracy of maps, the future of map-making and the power of Google. Stefan Geens joined us this morning to help explain. He's a blogger who's been covering this story from his home in Beijing.

Google Maps - Michael Frank Goodchild

For a sense of how Google Maps is re-shaping the worlds of mapping and - even geo-politics - we were joined by Michael Frank Goodchild. He's a Professor of Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara but today he was in London, England.

We requested an interview with Google. No one was available this morning. But we do hope to speak to someone from the company in the near future.

PART TWO

Tragedy at Sea (Repeat Doc)

Forty-one years ago, the crew of the HMCS Kootenay were in the middle of sea trials off the coast of England. Then, as one sailor put it, "all bedlam broke loose." An explosion and a fire ripped through the ship, killing nine people and injuring 50.

It was the worst peacetime disaster in the history of the Canadian Navy. It happened at a time when soldiers didn't talk much about their feelings. So the survivors moved on with their lives, with little or no contact with one another.

But that changed last year, when some of them reunited in Plymouth, England for the 40th anniversary of the disaster. Plymouth was where the disabled Kootenay was towed and where many of the sailors were treated for burns and smoke inhalation.

Some of the sailors spoke for the first time about what happened aboard the Kootenay. The CBC's Sandra Bartlett and Susanne Reber produced a documentary about their experiences. It's called Tragedy at Sea and it was first broadcast on The Current in October. In it, you'll hear the voices of four sailors -- Russell Saunders, John Montague, Cyril Johnston and Alan Dinger-Bell.

The Kootenay disaster prompted significant changes. At the time of the disaster, it was policy that Canadian soldiers who were killed in the line of duty were buried where they died. That meant the Kootenay victims were either buried at sea or in England. And that was often difficult for surviving family members. These days, soldiers killed abroad are returned to Canada for burial.

As well, there have been improvements to the location and availability of firefighting equipment aboard ships. Ships have been redesigned so that every area now has two exits. Ships' ladders -- which were made of aluminum and melted in the Kootenay fire -- are now made of fire-resistant steel. And every new Canadian sailor learns about what happened aboard the Kootenay as part of their fire-fighting training.

Music Bridge

Artist: Thievery Corporation
Cd: Asia Lounge: 3rd Floor
Cut: # 2, Une Simple Histoire
Label: Audiopharm
Spine: SPV 80000524

Last Word - Google Song

Since we started the program with a story about Google's influence on world politics, we thought we'd end it with a song about Google's power over love. One of the first things people often do when they start dating is Google their prospective partner. That inspired Japanese singer Sputniko to write The Google Song. She makes music, movies and electronic devices that explore themes of technology, gender and pop culture. We give her the last word this morning.