Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Indefinite Detention: Obama's Order?
The White House is preparing an Executive Order on indefinite detention according to ProPublica. The order allows for the possibility that detainees from countries like Yemen might be released if circumstances there change. Human Rights Watch's Andrea Prasow explains this Executive Order
Tea Party Becoming Civilized?!
The new congress is getting sworn in tomorrow...including a number of Tea Party elects. But are they going to stay true to the people who elected them. NY's Tea Party 365's Kellen Giuda explains what exactly they expect.
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Fighting to protect Julian Assange, WikiLeaks
As the WikiLeaks saga continues, the United States is preparing to indict WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for conspiring to violate the Espionage Act of 1917. Many believe the United States should protect Assange rather than punish him, including Rosenberg Fund for Children founder Robert Meeropol who is the son of famed convicted spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. He says under the constitution there is a line that is drawn between legitimate dissent and treason, the founders of our country decided that speech alone could never be considered treason. It would be a violation of the first amendment of our Constitution.
CrossTalk: UN-Necessary?
Does the world really need the United Nations? Peter Lavelle and his CrossTalk guests discuss whether the UN is still relevant. Should it be reformed, particularly the Security Council, or should it be abolished? At the end of the Cold War, many people hoped that the UN would finally realize its founders' dreams of world peace, security and freedom through international cooperation. But now many think it is weaker and more divided than ever. Is the UN broken? Can anything be done to fix it?
Enemy Within: Israeli Army in cyber war against skeletons in closet
Massive leaks of secret files have recently been shaking many governments, and Israel is no exception. But for the nation's army, the problem appears to come from its own ranks - with sodiers posting secrets on social networks. Paula Slier looks at the Israel Defence Force's struggle to keep its skeletons in the closet.
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'UN in auto 'Condemn Israel' mode as Palestinians still suffer'
Palestinian officials say they will ask the UN Security Council to approve a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Meanwhile, human rights group UN Watch is concerned that the world body is not playing fair with Israel. UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer says UN's condemnation of Israel does not help Palestinians.
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'Spy services feed info to whistleblowers to keep tabs on site visitors'
Cryptome.org was publishing classified and secret documents long before WikiLeaks made headlines. Cryptome co-founder John Young told RT such sites are allowed to stay online so that spy services might keep an eye on their visitors. There is no secrecy on the Internet, John Young warned.
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Dr. Atul Gawande: Solitary Confinement is Torture
The physical and psychological effects experienced by people held for extended periods in solitary confinement is a topic Dr. Atul Gawande has written extensively about. Yesterday, four prisoners in the supermax Ohio State Penitentiary launched a hunger strike to protest being held for more than 17 years years in solitary confinement. The alleged WikiLeaks whistleblower, U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning, has also been held in solitary confinement for much of the past seven months. "People experience solitary confinement as even more damaging than physical torture," says Dr. Gawande, who was interviewed on Democracy Now!
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