columbia
GRITtv: S. C. Tea Party: Previews of 2012?
Michele Bachmann and Nikki Haley joined a Tea Party crowd in Columbia, South Carolina to talk politics--and a Democratic consultant was in the crowd, talking to rally attendees.
Email this pageGRITtv: April 25, 2011
"The real issue is who was actually at Guantanamo, how were they treated, and this revelation gives us another chance to look at that," says Vince Warren of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who joins Laura in studio to discuss the latest disclosures from WikiLeaks--nearly 800 files on the detainees at the infamous Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Though President Obama promised to close the prison when he was elected, it remains open and 172 people remain imprisoned there, Warren notes, and argues that this disclosure could be another opportunity to rethink that policy. Shirin Ebadi was the first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first woman to serve as a Chief Justice in her native Iran--a right taken away from her with the 1979 Islamic revolution. Since then, she has fought for human rights, particularly those of women and children, and has campaigned to restore the rights of women in Iran. While visiting New York, Ms. Ebadi took time out to sit down with Laura and discuss the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, the struggle for civil rights in Iran, and why the revolutions will be incomplete without democracy and rights for women. Michele Bachmann and Nikki Haley joined a Tea Party crowd in Columbia, South Carolina to talk politics--and a Democratic consultant was in the crowd, talking to rally attendees. And finally, Laura points out some differences between US and overseas media coverage of the WikiLeaks Guantanamo documents--and why it matters, even if the complete documents are available online for all to see. Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: Dec. 14, 2010
This weekend, the Personal Democracy Forum convened a symposium on WikiLeaks and the Internet. GRITtv was there as well, and today we bring you excerpts from that event, with journalists, academics, activists, and others talking about the impact of the leaks site on our political and technological systems."The sources are voting with their leaks," notes Jay Rosen of New York University's school of journalism. If the watchdog press was doing its job, wouldn't leakers be going to mainstream news outlets like the New York Times and the Guardian directly, instead of to WikiLeaks first? Meanwhile, Emily Bell, formerly of the Guardian and now at Columbia University's journalism school, says that whether we like it or not, WikiLeaks is the new face of journalism."We do not have the Internet we think we have," says Douglas Rushkoff, author of Program or Be Programmed. What we think of as a free and open Web is actually highly controlled by corporations and cash flow. We saw one example of this when WikiLeaks found itself without server space or fundraising ability when Internet service providers, including Amazon.com, cancelled their services and PayPal and MasterCard and Visa refused to process their transactions.And what can we do about that Internet? CUNY professor Jeff Jarvis proposes one solution: an Internet bill of rights.While we talk about the consequences for journalism and the Internet from the WikiLeaks releases, it's important not to forget what's actually in the cables that are causing a stir. Former British diplomat Carne Ross discusses the contents of the cables and what they mean for those watching--and those mentioned therein.Then, documentary filmmaker Charles Ferguson discusses government secrecy and why it's become a problem, reminding us all of the national security letters enabled by the PATRIOT Act and still being used under the Obama administration."The breakdown of trust in all institutions--political, financial, media--is at the center of what we're all dealing with," Arianna Huffington notes the connection between the failures of all of our major institutions and the rise of WikiLeaks as an alternative to traditional news. When the traditional media is too close to the political and financial elites they are supposed to cover, who do we turn to for the truth?Finally, Laura wraps up the conversation--while we focus on DDoS attacks and the Internet, let's not forget the people being hurt by the events disclosed by WikiLeaks.
GRITtv: Personal Democracy Forum: Is Watchdog Press Dead?
"The sources are voting with their leaks," notes Jay Rosen of New York University's school of journalism. If the watchdog press was doing its job, wouldn't leakers be going to mainstream news outlets like the New York Times and the Guardian directly, instead of to WikiLeaks first? Meanwhile, Emily Bell, formerly of the Guardian and now at Columbia University's journalism school, says that whether we like it or not, WikiLeaks is the new face of journalism. Rosen and Bell were part of a symposium this past weekend, hosted by the Personal Democracy Forum, on WikiLeaks and Internet freedom. GRITtv was there as well, and today we bring you excerpts from that event, with journalists, academics, activists, and others talking about the impact of the leaks site on our political and technological systems. Distributed by Tubemogul.
Global Report: Mar. 24-30 2010: The New Guantanamo
Among this week's news: An Afghan prison is to become the new Guantanamo; the US is considering a new base and more troops in Iraq; the Indonesian Army is implicated in the recent 'Activists' assassinations; a Colombian journalist was shot and killed; Kyrgyzstan unveils a new US military base plan; doubts grow about a Somali offensive; the Monarch Butterfly population is down 50-60% this year; the ACLU sues the Govt. over killer drones; Israel conducted air strikes in the Gaza strip; Coca-Cola is asked to pay millions for pollution in India; a Sudan rights lawyer is killed in the UK; the govt. rewarded bank auditors with big bonuses; tens of thousands march for immigration reform in Washington DC; NYT admits getting duped on its coverage of ACORN; most power plants still spew toxic mercury; experts say that militaries are preparing for climate doomsday; and the UN rejects a ban on Bluefin Tuna export. "The Global Report" is a weekly news show dedicated to covering news underreported by mainstream media.
GRITtv: Public Housing and the American Dream
To rethink public housing, one must rethink the idea of public. That's according to Reinhold Martin, Columbia professor of Architecture and author of "The Organizational Complex: Architecture, Media, and Corporate Space." Martin joined us in the studio for a fascinating discussion of public housing, urban and rural living, and the fact that many "public" provisions that do not carry a stigma.
GRITtv: Dec. 16, 2009
Breaking News: Citigroup is getting more tax breaks, and Ben Bernanke is Time’s Person of the Year. The recession's over! Not so fast. Are we just returning to pre-recession levels, or something better--or worse? Nicole Gelinas and Max Fraad Wolff talk about regulation, government and private industry and where to go from here. Reinhold Martin discusses housing, urban and rural living. Jennifer Utz files a video report on Cole Miller, who founded No More Victims to support children in Iraq wounded by the war and without access to basic health care. Kambale Musavuli of Friends of the Congo stopped by to remind us of the situation in Congo and our responsibilities there. Plus Brave New Films' "Rethink Afghanistan" and Bob Dylan's Christmas album for charity.
