Tuesday, July 21 2009

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Tuesday, July 21, 2009

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Escalating Violence in Afghanistan

Taliban attacks today rocked two eastern cities in Afghanistan. In the city of Gardez, Taliban militants dressed as women in burqas tried to set off explosives but were shot before they could do so. The AP reports that 13 Taliban militants and Afghan security forces have died in the attacks. The Takeaway talks to Jill McGivering, a BBC reporter in London.

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Reforming Afghanistan's Bagram Prison

The Pentagon is restructuring the war effort in Afghanistan, flooding the country with more than 20,000 troops. Now the Pentagon is revamping its detention policies in Afghanistan with lessons learned from Iraq. Among the changes: separating extremists from the rest of the Bagram prison population; focusing on education; offering classes on a moderate form of Islam. Is this move good for detainees, or just for the public relations of the U.S. military? To help answer that question The Takeaway talks to Jonathan Hafetz. He is an attorney in the National Security Project at the ACLU who has represented detainees from Iraq and Bagram and Guantanamo.

Taxi to the Darkside is a 2007 documentary about the death of an Afghani taxi driver detained at Bagram:

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Taking the Pulse of America's Community Banks

Large banks like Goldman Sachs posted record gains recently. Many smaller regional banks will release their earnings with much less fanfare this week. The Takeaway looks at the state of American banking with Mike Menzies, the president and CEO of Easton Bank and Trust in Easton, Maryland.

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Deciphering the Health Care Numbers

A large part of the health care debate is about the numbers. How much will health care legislation cost the federal government? Will you be paying more or less? To help figure out what health care would cost for both the average citizen and the U.S. government, The Takeaway talks to David Herzenhorn, congressional reporter for The New York Times.

"The President keeps calling in group after group — the American Medical Association and doctors, the hospitals, the nurses — trying to work out a deal. Every one of these compromises serves to weaken the bill to some degree by pulling it one direction or another."
—David Herzenhorn of The New York Times on the health care reform bill

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Bernanke on the Economy: Is the Recession Over?

Today, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will give lawmakers an update on the economy. Will he say that the recession is coming to an end? Joining The Takeaway with a preview is Dan Gross, columnist for Newsweek and Slate.com.

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Around the World, Phony Drugs Infiltrate Pharmacies

The World Health Organization reports that one in four pharmaceuticals are fake. The problem hits home in the developing world, where scant regulation lets useless and sometimes dangerous medicine land on store shelves. Some of the drugs most commonly faked are malaria medications. Such scamming can lead to drug resistance, scary side effects, and even death. Here to talk about his job using chemistry to ID fake pharmaceuticals is Facundo M. Fernandez, a Chemistry Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology.

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The Politics of Selling Obama's Health Care Plan

President Obama wants Congress to agree to at least the outlines of a health care plan before the August recess. But Republicans hope to delay action until the Fall, figuring public opposition to Obama's plan will increase. We get an update on the health care debate with Takeaway Correspondent Todd Zwillich. Also joining the discussion is Representative Bart Stupak from Michigan’s First District.

"Today is the day they're going to twist arms to get people like me and the blue dogs to just go along with the program. And quite frankly, I just don't think it's going to happen."
—Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan on the health care reform bill

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Harry Potter and the Staggering Profits

"Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" premiered last Wednesday. By Sunday, the film had raked in approximately $160 million—$20 million more than the previous Potter film. To deconstruct the Harry Potter juggernaut, The Takeaway talks to Susan Gunelius, president and CEO of KeySplash Creative, a marketing agency, and author of the book Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon. We're also joined by Ben Maynard, a 17-year-old die-hard Harry Potter fan.

"It seemed like the marketing was being pushed at us using 'push' marketing strategies, but in reality it was 'pull' marketing — consumers demanding more from the brand."
—Susan Gunelius of KeySplash Creative, on marketing Harry Potter


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Texting While Driving? You Might as Well Drive Drunk

A study says that if you're using your cell phone while driving, you're just as likely to crash as someone who has been drinking. But most states don't ban texting while driving. And no state has banned driving while talking on the phone. The New York Times reports that federal agencies withheld studies showing how dangerous texting while driving actually is. Joining The Takeaway is Adam Bryant, New York Times Deputy Business Editor.

"Collectively, we're making all these small little decisions, but across the country I think it's pretty clear that adds up to a safety risk."
—Adam Bryant of The New York Times on texting while driving

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A New Anti-Drug Strategy in Afghanistan

The U.S. government is deploying dozens of Drug Enforcement Administration agents to Afghanistan in a new kind of anti-drug surge. It's the biggest expansion in DEA history, but will it help? Joining The Takeaway is Gretchen Peters, former Afghanistan and Pakistan correspondent for ABC and author of Seeds of Terror: How Heroin Is Bankrolling the Taliban and al Qaeda.

"I have seen video of parents exhaling opium smoke into the mouths of their infants because they don't have any other medicine to give them."
—Gretchen Peters on drug use in Afghanistan

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We Have Liftoff: When Apollo 11 Left the Lunar Surface

This week marks the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing. We've heard about the trip to the moon, the landing, the first footsteps. But one of the biggest challenges that NASA scientists faced was the liftoff from the lunar surface—something they had never been able to practice. On The Takeaway to talk about the intricacies of lunar liftoffs is Dan Durda, a planetary scientist and "almost" astronaut.

Here is video of the Apollo 17 taking off from the moon.

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No 'Card Check' in the New Labor Union Bill

Labor leaders had pinned their hopes on a new bill in Congress called the Employee Free Choice Act. They hoped something called a "card check" would be part of that bill, which would have made it much easier for employees to unionize. But it looks as though Congress will pass the bill without the card check provision. To talk about what labor unions will do without the card check is Anya Kamenetz, writer for Fast Company Magazine. We've also got Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, one of the largest unions in the U.S.

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How California Closed Its Budget Gap

California leaders reached a deal late last night to close its $26 billion budget deficit. The deal would end months of political wrangling, but what got cut? To update The Takeaway on the details of the deal is John Myers, the Sacramento Bureau Chief for KQED public radio.

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Governors Meet to Talk Health Care Reform

The next two weeks may determine whether President Obama's health care reform plans go through. As the health care battle has gone to the states, many of the nation's governors (who are attending the National Governors Association this weekend) say they worry that Congress will force states to pick up extra health care expenses. Joining The Takeaway this morning with the current status of the bill is Todd Zwillich. And also joining the discussion is the new Chairman of the National Governors Associations, Jim Douglas, the Republican Governor of Vermont.

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