detention
GRITtv: Vince Warren: WikiLeaks Exposes Guantanamo Truth
"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.
GRITtv: 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: Feb. 7, 2011
"The negotiations really are just a form of propaganda to the international community to give the regime some sort of cover for their desire to hold on to power," says Philip Rizk of talks between Mubarak and so-called opposition forces. He notes that scaremongering continues over the Muslim Brotherhood's role in the talks, but that the protesters that continue to occupy Tahrir Square are opposed to talks and mostly do not support the Brotherhood.All the people of Egypt want, Philip notes, is true democracy--structural change in their government. He checks in with us via phone from Cairo, where he continues to cover the situation despite threats to journalists."I think the myth is shattering in front of us," Eugene Jarecki says of Ronald Reagan. Conservatives have tried for so long to "engineer Reagan into our drinking water," he notes, but it's an illusory Reagan, a Reagan who stands for whatever program those people want to pass, whatever agenda they're promoting. The real Reagan was quite different from what we hear about--and this week we're hearing a lot about Reagan, as it's the 100th anniversary of his death.Eugene Jarecki joins Laura in studio to set the record straight. He's the director of a new HBO documentary on Reagan, premiering Monday at 9 and available this week on that channel.One of the biggest stories of the past few weeks has been the story of Americans discovering Al-Jazeera English. ; It shouldn't have been so hard.
GRITtv: The F Word: Media Miss the Al Jazeera Story
One of the biggest stories of the past few weeks has been the story of Americans discovering Al Jazeera English. It shouldn't have been so hard. As the protest movement in Egypt grew, Americans found that Al Jazeera had what no US network has any more: fully staffed reporting teams working round the clock in Cairo. But other than in a handful of pockets across the U.S. -- including Ohio, Vermont and Washington, D.C. -- cable viewers couldn't watch Al Jazeera. Some cable operators have blamed political pressure. Others have said they had little time for it. Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: Feb. 4, 2011
"As long as you say there is no hope, then there will be no hope, but if you go down and take a stance, then there will be hope." ; Those are the words of Asmaa Mahfouz, one of the founders of the April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt, who took to the Internet to spread her message in the days leading up to the protests, which have spread across her country and led to President Mubarak announcing he will not run for reelection. As the protesters continue their fight to get Mubarak out sooner rather than later, we bring you Asmaa's words to remember how all of this got started."Just as we would argue about cinema or theater or dance, progressives sometimes only see the bad and not the good," in sports, says Nation sports columnist and Edge of Sports radio host Dave Zirin.
GRITtv: The F Word: Army Mental Health Care Failed Manning
The uprisings in Egypt have inspired all sorts of people, including Private Bradley Manning, the young man being held in solitary confinement in Quantico, accused of being the source for Wikileaks. Manning's friend David House, tweeted after visiting him this week, "Bradley's mood and mind soared" at the news from Egypt. Manning's mental health has been the subject of much debate, the putative explanation for his isolation and extreme treatment, but a new report on an Army investigation finds that a mental health specialist recommended Manning not be deployed to Iraq in the first place. Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: Feb. 3, 2011
"I want my kids to be proud of their country," says Raina Fahmy, of Egypt. "I don't want them feeling that living here is at best a compromise and at worst a sacrifice." Images of violence from today's protests were all over the news, but Raina, on the phone from Cairo, tells us that she felt very safe at the protests, and explains to us why it matters for her to go out and join them, and to bring her family along. "We've been playing defense too long," says Sady Doyle, founder of Tigerbeatdown.com and one of the architects of a new Twitter campaign to pressure Congress to shut down a new bill in the House that would further limit women's access to abortion. The #dearjohn campaign, along with other actions, helped convince Republican Chris Smith that he should take controversial language around "forcible" rape out of the bill, but the activists aren't backing down. Sady and health care advocate Eesha Pandit join Laura in studio to discuss H.R. 3, the Republicans' skewed sense of priorities, the Democrats who are complicit, and why it's time to go on the offensive over abortion. This week would have marked Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday, and the obsessive coverage is only just beginning. Some conservatives have even claimed that Reagan would've handled the situation in Egypt better than Obama has. While we have no idea what Reagan would do now, we know what he did do--in Iran-Contra, on women's right to choose, and most importantly, on planting the seeds of the hatred of government that we've now seen in full flower in the Tea Party movement. Thomas Frank joined Laura via Skype to talk revolution, recession, and Reagan, and also to tell us a little about an experiment he and Harper's conducted, asking real-life Mad Men in advertising to come up with an ad to sell government to Americans--during that most American of events, the Super Bowl. Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: Dec. 7, 2010
"This is about crushing the power of working people, we should be very clear," says Bill Fletcher, Jr. of the attacks on federal workers' pay. Freezing their wages isn't enough; some, like Rand Paul, say they should actually be cut. It's all more proof, Bill notes, that no compromise will be enough for Republicans, whether it's tax cuts or pay freezes or any other supposed economic recovery or deficit reduction tactics.What can progressives do to fight back? Bill joins us from Washington, D.C. via Skype to talk organizing beyond elections, the fiction of bipartisanship, and whether a primary challenge to Obama would do any good."We have to build one movement, so that Obama either acts like the progressive president we thought we elected in 2008, or we get someone else to run against him." Robert Kuttner, co-founder of the American Prospect isn't pulling any punches with his disappointment in Obama and his advisers. "It's his own temperamental desire to build bridges complimented with bad advice."Kuttner joins Laura in studio to discuss the wrong-headedness of the deficit commission, the ongoing jobs crisis, and why Democrats might have to find a progressive primary challenger for Obama in 2012.If the Bush tax cuts were a comic book, what would they look like? Who's the superhero, and who's the zombie? Our friends at Brave New Films put together this video to look at the situation facing Congressional Democrats as the tax cuts for millionaires are set to expire.Finally, Julian Assange of WikiLeaks has been arrested on rape charges. Isn't it nice to know that Interpol cares so much about women? Laura has some thoughts.
GRITtv: The F Word: When Interpol Cares about Sexual Assault
Julian Assange turned himself in Tuesday -- he's been arrested and is being held without bail in London ahead of a hearing on extradition to Sweden. The head of the "stateless" news-leak organization WikiLeaks is accused of sexual assault --and let's be clear, he should face the charges. But since when is Interpol [the investigative arm of the International Criminal Court at The Hague] so vigilant about violence against women? If women's security is suddenly Interpol's priority -- that's big news! Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: The F Word: Immigrant Deaths Covered Up
Jan. 11 marks eight years since the Bush administration transferred the first prisoners to the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Ever since, human rights groups have pushed for the closure of Guantanamo, and they're pushing harder now for the Obama administration to implement its plans to transfer or release detainees and shut the place. Close Guantanamo and we'll restore the rule of law and American standing in the world, some human rights advocates say. Unfortunately, it won't be that easy. Prolonged detention in criminal conditions is not only happening in Gitmo. It's happening in our immigration system … Immigration detention centers exist all over the country. Which local reporters are going to dig into this where they are? Let's hope it doesn't take eight years. -- Laura Flanders
