tv Erin Burnett Out Front CNN February 23, 2012 4:00pm-5:00pm PST
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what do we think? >> far from being a deal. they're working on it though. you did pretty well. i looked at some old clips when you were on the colbert report. >> he's always fun. good for us to get a little comedy break every now and then and get back to these very serious jobs. >> so serious. >> that's all for us tonight. come back tomorrow night right here and i'll see you on monday. erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. gas prices jump as iran's nuclear standoff with the west continues. one of iran's most outspoken critics is here with his plan to contain iran and the judge's decision in the honeymoon murder trial. did an alabama man murder his wife? and the united nations today accusing bashar al asaad of crimes against humanity. we're going to take a look inside the mind, the psychological, of syria's dictate ir. dictate ir. let's go "outfront." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com
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"outfront" tonight, iran taking a toll. gas prices overnight jumped 3.3 cents a gallon on fears iranian oil, the world's fourth biggest stash of crude, could be disrupted. if iran made good on its threats to halt oil supplies, which it's promised to do, it would hurt consumers around the world. the strike team says it would send the united states into another recession with gas prices possibly hitting $4.75 a gallon, but it would also devastate iran. 80% of the nation's economy is linked to oil and gas. will it come to this? rudy giuliani was mayor of new york city during 9/11 and he comes "outfront" tonight. good to see you. >> nice to be here. >> let me start with this issue of the rhetoric here. do you think it's going to get to the point where iran feels
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threatened enough to do something like shut off its crude oil supplies? >> i do. it does have a devastating impact on them. they're very good at threatening. the threat i think you have to take as a real one and as we ratchet up if pressure on them, they may very well take ta step to try to see what kind of pressure they can put on us and we're going to have to be ready for it. we have to look at the bigger picture. a much more dangerous, difficult situation from our economy, national security would be a nuclear capable iran. that would be a couple of decade long problem with nuclear weapons in the hands of irrational, crazy people, which was the nightmare of the people. >> they feel threatened. they say they're going to close the oil. you can see how this becomes sort of self-fulfilling, but is a lot of this still beating the drum? last election year, bomb, bomb,
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bomb iran, hillary clinton was talkinging tough. the president has been tough. the media has been talking apt it. the candidate. is is this really rhetoric? everyone's hot and bothered. >> it is and it's jacked up 20 degrees, 30 degrees, but it's also real. >> but it is real. >> if this were not an election year or next year when obama is the president or romney or santorum, the issue will still be there because this country is determined to become a nuclear power and they have made statements that independent they are crazy and irrational. they want to destroy israel. they set off a scheme to have an ambassador killed in washington. they've killed americans around the world. they've killed american soldiers in iraq. this is a truly dangerous regime. this is a real issue. >> how would we know how close iran is to getting a nuclear weapon? how do we even evaluate such a thing? intent is one thing. being on the process is a
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totally different thing. >> i don't think that's an 100% accurate science. i think it's a lot of intelligence. a lot of reliance on asaad, a lot of reliance on israeli intelligence. a lot of reliance on middle eastern intelligence. a lot of countries hate iran. you look at wikileaks and saudi arabia, they were going to kill the saudi arabian ambassador. we get a lot of information behind the scenes, so i think we have a good indication that they are nuclear capable. >> here's the question though because people are are looking back in washington an around the country, polls say americans don't want a nuclear iran. but it does feel in a lot of ways like iraq. people are saying they have this, they want to do this and we did, we went in last time on that. it was bad intelligence and a lot of americans think it was a huge mistake. so eventually, is the united
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states, the people, going to have to take it on faith that if america strikes, they strike without knowing what iran has? >> i think president obama has made this much more complicated being a weakling. he asked the ayatollah to talk to him. it's like writing a letter to hitler. nuts. instead, he should be convincing the iranian that he's serious. that if he had to, he'd bomb the hell out of him and they should believe this. in fact, the best way he's going to avoid bombing them is convincing them in their heads that he's capable of doing it. >> but say he did that. then iran looks at this. the trillion dollars being cut from the defense budget. the american people that are tired of war. a country that spent a trillion do dollars in the last decade. that's a country that doesn't have the will, perhaps to go in. >> maybe a president without a strategy. reagan wanted to destroy the soviet union.
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he didn't reduce the military by 20%. he increased it. he convinced the russians and soviets that he might bomb them and pointed missiles at them. then leaks little statements like make my day, you know, and you look at the biographies of that day. even goran chwho said reagan sp into on live yan. those people had no idea what reagan was going to do. he had the ultimate leverage. this president has given away all leverage by begging to negotiate. four years ago who predicted this? hillary clinton at the debate when he said i'll talk to him, irresponsible, immature and dangerous. >> see if you can explain a little on the president's changing tone in iran? in november, i was in iran. there was a big story -- we've asked for it back -- he was widely criticized.
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>> please give us back the drone, mr. eyayatollah, please give me the drone back. >> here at the super bowl. >> we're not going to take any options off the table, a nuclear armes race in a volatile region. >> here's the words that come out of his mouth. magic words and if i have to, i'm prepared to bomb them. never said that. options on the table. you can't say the word bomb them. we need a wo p president who can say the word bomb them and can protect us from becoming a nuclear power and most importantly, they have to believe our president will do that to them. all of a sudden, that will change. we are the largest military in the world. they are a small, tiny little military power compared to us.
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it is ridiculous they're pushing us around this way. it's because we have a president that has no idea how to exercise leadership. >> but could they later -- some might say it's irresponsible to talk about bombing in other county tris. >> i'm using their administration. they have the case in washington in which the iranian government paid money to have the saudi arabian ambassador killed. i don't how they can say saudi arabia is a rational actor in light of that. i can't understand. >> he did say they were rational actor. >> they deny the holocaust. they want to destroy israel, attack us. they kill our soldiers and want to kill the saudi arabian ambassador in the middle of our capital. how about we take them at their word. they're crazy. they also held american hostages. this is already escalated. >> you don't think sanctions will work? by all accounts, i was in iran a year ago, were complaining that food prices were going up
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because the government couldn't afford subsidies because of the sanctions. >> in the history of diplomat kic affairs, they've worked and not works. if sanctions were backed up by the credible possibility, the sanctions would become more effective. >> final question. what about just letting them get a nuke? we become obserssed over this line in the sand. >> the irrational part we told you about. iran's propensity for supporting terrorism. they don't have to attack us. they can hand off the nuclear material to terrorists. they could arrange more effectively what they tried to do in d.c. except it could be a nuclear weapon and then set it off in london, paris, new york. they're killing israelis right now and lying about it, so they are supplying terrorists with weapons. these people now have nuclear
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stuff and they can give that to terrorists and lie their way out of it because america needs proof beyond every reasonable act because we have a president who can't act. they become a very dangerous force. >> were you endorsed by the election? >> like a lot of other republicans, i like some things, not others, but i will, eventually, yes. >> you're a pro choice republican. he's someone who says not even in the case of rape or incest. >> i support rick. he supported me when i ran for mayor. i understand how to put that where it belongs. i like rick's approach to foreign policy. i like rick's approach to the economy. we have big differences on social issues. that's why i'm a moderate republican. that's why i couldn't get nominated if i ran. >> are you concerned that that's a problem for the republican party? opening the window for real third party to come in? >> absolutely. i'm concerned about how do we
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get back to northeast as a voting block when we seem to be not moderate enough? >> chris christie, take him on gun control. nationally, that's a problem. >> i think the biggest problem now, i think abortion you can work out. i don't like abortion. i like to reduce the number of abortions. i think a woman has a right. i think the gay rights issue is a more current one. >> yes. >> and i think beyond all the religious and social parts, it makes the party look like it isn't a modern party. it doesn't understand the modern world that we live in. >> so should they say it's up to individuals and stop saying you're against gay marriage. >> how about the states. we're a state's rights party. let states decide what they want and different states will have different conclusions about this. >> thank you so much. good to see you, sir.
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we're going to have more on that in a moment. and a dramatic end to the trial of a man accused of murdering his wife on their honeymoon and the president blasting the republicans and yes, a very angry chris christie today. >> i used to be a prosecutorer. i'm not going to be cross examined by you this morning.
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we have breaking news. the maryland state senate just approving a bill to allow gay marriage. it is the eighth state to do so. obviously, very relevant. john avlon joins us now, the former adviser to giuliani. david frum and jonathan cowen. great to have you with us. let me start with you, david frum. the quote here from rudy giuliani. issues like gay marriage make the republican party look like it isn't a modern party. let the states decide. >> he's right about his fears and they are especially powerful in these past ten days where republicans have wasted so much time in this debate over
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contraception. the contraception argument is maybe more painful and not just because of the threat it expresses toward the liberty of people and women especially, but if the polls are right, about 30% of young americans have postponed having a child they want because of these hard times. so it's not that people are using contraception in order to have a party. they're using contraception because they face a bleak economic future and they want children and are postponing them and republicans are debating not the bleak economic future that causes children to be postponed, but the contraception they use to postpone. >> contraception is a key point. i wanted to play this. governor christie this morning on "morning joe" tangling with "washington post" columnist, jonathan capehart. this is pretty good. >> the president and justice department have made it clear that they believe the so-called defense of marriage act is
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unconstitution unconstitutional. they're not supporting it in any of the cases going through the court system. would you support that? >> he's told his lawyers -- >> hold on -- >> first of all, i used to be a prosecutor. i'm not going to be cross examined by you this morning. >> i'm having fun trying. >> you're going to lose. >> i would love for you to answer the question. >> here's the answer to the question. have the president of the united states show some courage. come on this program and state his position. he won't. because he wants to have it both ways. i vetoed the bill. >> jonathan, does chris christie have a point? the president said originally, marriage was between a man and a woman. now, he says his views are evolving. >> no. governor christie has a lot of great things about him, but in this instance, it's ridiculous. first of all, the president of the united states has made very clear he supports repeal of doe ma and that's a huge deal.
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secondly, he said my position is evolving because he understands what giuliani said earlier on the show, that americans want to allow gay couples to make the same commitment that every other couple makes. that's the modern position and it's one both parties should take. governor christie -- >> it is different than the term, marriage. >> the president's been clear about this. he said i support repeal of doma, which is a huge deal and a major step in the road towards getting marriage in this country, but he doesn't currently support marriage. the president and governor christie are wrong about that, but governor cuomo, governor o'malley and others are right about it. the future of this country, governor, mayor giuliani, the future of this country is going to be that we are on a journey where most states if not all ultimately have marriage for gay couples. that's because allowing people to make that commitment is exactly the right thing to do.
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>> the challenge rudy set out was for the republican party to modernize. that's a challenge they should take seriously. the big question confronting them is are we going to advance the rhetoric every place except in people's personal lives? this is untenable. so it says look, whether it's rudy's state by state solution or rebuilding the big tent to allow for greater diversity within the republican party, that will connect to the generation and expand in the maps. >> he talks about losing the northeast. >> that's right. >> the president today mocked republicans. the president talking about his energy plan and mocking the republicans for making gas prices at the pump a campaign issue. >> last week, the lead story in one newspaper said, gasoline prices are on the rise and republicans are licking their
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chops. that's a quote. that was the lead. licking their chops. only in politics do people root for bad news. >> all right. here's president obama back in st. louis, missouri on june 11th, 2008, talking about his rival, john mccain. >> while we're paying more than $4 a gallon for gas, the man who rails against government spending wants to spend 1.2 billion on a tax break for exxon mobil. that isn't just irresponsible. it's outrageous. >> what do you say, jonathan? >> well, look. somebody in your team does excellent research in putting those clips together. >> yes, they do. >> i'm sure the white house doesn't love your research staff. every political party when ever gas prices are going up and they're the nonincumbent party, they try to make an issue of this and in the end, presidential elections aren't
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just decided on gas prices. for two reasons. it's one of many indicators about the state of the economy and secondly, traditionally, in the last decade, gas prices spike in the summer, but then start coming down in the fall, so there will almost certainly be a downward trend in gas prices talking them off the table. >> now, it's been more of the same. he wants more alternative energy. he's not in love with drilling. nothing quote unquote new in this plan. >> they're expanding a new process in the atlantic, a new deal with mexico. expanding permits for nuclear power. a step to we don't fight this war towards independence, but it's an important political issue because the ideal of energy independence, that's important especially independent voters. >> david, i was joking today that every energy plan in recent american history has been a
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munich plan. how many sound bites can you pull from reagan to carter to bush saying we're going to be independent and thend it never happens. >> energy brings out the worst in president obama. it's really the one of the places where he is both least most foggy in his thinking and most deceptive in his practice. the united states has made tremendous progress towards energy dependence. in 1995, americans used less oil than they did in 1978. there's a real decline in oil use over that period. oil use is sensitive to price. so for the president on the one hand to say, it's -- i -- me, i love low gasoline prices. and at the same time to say i want to move away from oil, the thing that moves you off oil is high prices and that is what the president's policy is. he pretends with government
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grants, he can deliver a majoric motor, cheapest fuel there is. oil and coal. those are the cheapest fuels. if you don't want to use them, you're going to have to pay more and having a carbon free economy, that means more. the president won't ever say that. he says the opposite. >> but to be fair, if he puts out manag something to encourage, right now, you're right. they're all more expensive than traditional fuels, but if you subsidize them now, they'll get cheaper and cheaper and one might end up winning. >> that may be true. it may be wrong and why the government, government makes a parable venture capitalist. here's what you do. you tax the stuff. you make people pay more and incur -- >> oh, no, more tax at the gas pump. >> the president's thinking on this is not foggy. it's crystal clear.
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there's more drilling going on now. he's articulate in all of the above strategy. they're made serious investments in clean energy, some of which are going to pay off in the long run. they set very high standards so we raised the miles per gallon. this has been a center piece of their administration. they've taken it head on. we made no progress under president bush for eight years on energy. we're now starting to move in the right direction. the president's thinking is spot-on. >> one of the signs that silly season is upon us is that they have presidential candidates saying they can return gas to 2.50. when there's that kind of naked pander to american people, it's predictable, also, absolutely, you can't back it up. so you're done. a naked pander bear. we should see through it. >> there are three things we want in energy policy. cheap energy, clean energy and
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secure energy. you can have any two, but no more than two. you can't have three. if the president is not foggy, then he's being deceptive. choose your two, your priorities and accept that means the third falls off the table. >> all right. thanks very much to all three of you. we appreciate it. we'll see what happens on this gay marriage issue. it will be more and more important as these candidates continue to go down the path. a surprise move by the judge in the trial of the man accused of killing his wife on their honey moon and the nfl isn't responsible for the suicide of a former player. his family says yes. they're "outfront" in an exclusive interview tonight. er- that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently.
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get a free quote today. we start the second half of our show with stories we care about where we focus on our own reporting, do the work and find the "outfront 5." first, iran. former new york mayor rudy giuliani joined us. he's been critical of the obama administration's handling of iran and just a short time ago said the rhetoric has increased, but it's justified. >> it is rhetoric and it's jacked up 20 degrees, 30 degrees, but it's real. not an election year or next year when is the president, the issue will be, and they have
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made statements that indicate they are crazy and irrational. >> envoys met in beijing today. the negotiations have been extended into a second day. this is the first time since the death of kim jong-il. one of the topics discussed is food aid. gordon chang tells "outfront" north korea wants that aid and that's why talks have been extended. number three, hugo chavez's health is raising serious questions. chavez announced he's heading to cuba to undergo surge ary to remove a growth. he said if chavez's health were to force him from power, the regime would be weakened and added if the opposition took power, they would restore
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relations with the united states. and the obama administration is -- pentagon counsel jay johnson defend ed the united states' actions citing a 2004 supreme court decision. i had the opportunity to ask defense secretary leon panetta about killing a terrorist, the american citizen killed by a drone in yemen who was an american citizen. >> if you're a terrorist, you're a terrorist and that means that we have the ability to go after those who would threaten to atact the united states and kill americans. there's no question. that the authority and the ability to go after a terrorist is there. >> it has been 202 days since the united states lost its top credit rating. what are we doing to get it back? jobless claims were unchanged today at 351,000, but the four-week moving average is the
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lowest level since march 2008. the family of david durson filed a lawsuit for his shocking suicide last year. he shot himself in the chest and just before he took his life, he sent a text message to his ex-wife asking her to donate his brain to science. the lawsuit allegations that the league knew about the serious body blows he suffered while playing for teams like the bears, giants and cardinals, led to the brain damage which ultimately led to his death. a helmet maker is also in the suit. his son said what the doctors found proves the link between his father's death and the injuries he received while playing in the nfl. he and his attorney are "outfront" tonight. thank you both for being with us and i wanted to start with you. the story about your father is a very disturbing story for everyone to hear.
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what did you find out about your father's brain? >> well, boston university provided the findings on the study of my dad's brain in about early may and concluded he had cte, which is caused by repetitive traumatic hits to the head. >> and had you seen in recent years, it affect his behavior, him complain about it? how did it change the person that he was? >> yeah, they -- they were able to conclude they think the disease took affect around the age of 40 and that there was a slow deterioration process. what we saw as a family is that his temper changed. he had trouble with short-term memory and had blurred vision problems as well as spelling issues. >> bill, the lawsuit against the
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nfl says quote alleges that the novel quote embarked on a propaganda scheme designed to mislead nfl players and retirees. what does that mean in english? >> beginning in 1994, the nfl created a committee. a committee of five physicians known as the mild traumatic brain injury committee and this committee from 1994 through really 2009, published and stated publicly that there is no linkage between hits that one takes during an nfl career and later life cognitive or mental health issues. this statement and scheme is directly contrary to absolutely everything that knowledgeable physicians were publishing on the topic and the nfl has been said to be engaging in a scheme similar to what the tobacco
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industry engaging in in saying that smoking does not cause lung cancer. for years and years and years, this misinformation campaign was absolutely blatantly wrong and as a result, dave duerson did not seek the appropriate medical care and counseling that candidly, would have saveded his life. >> seems like a lot of people are wondering if football is something where these kind of head injuries could be prevented. i want to know for viewers, we called the nfl. they said they hadn't seen the lawsuit yet, so they couldn't give us a comment, but you i know were a former football player. you played at notre dame. what's your feeling on that? that it goes with the game? >> right. i think the game is inherently dangerous and aggressive and
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that concussions are part of the game, but i think with the proper procedures and policies in place, we can reduce the amount of concussions and also reduce the amount of times that players hit their most vulnerable, that when they sustained a concussion in the past and did not give themselves enough time to heal before going back and returning to play and perhaps the sustaining another concussion, which leaves them vulnerable to developing the disease. >> that's just -- that's a by-product of this lawsuit, that hopefully, it will raise awareness to the millions of kids that play youth football. the millions of kids that play high school football. the hundred of thousands of kids that play college football and nfl players, that they need to take these injuries very, very seriously and allow their brains to recover before they continue to play. >> thanks very much to both of you. judges made a surprising move in the case of a man accused of killing his wife on their honeymoon. that's next.
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this is the trial of gabe watson, an alabama man accused of killing his wife while they were honeymooning, diving in australia. now, the case against him was thrown out today. the judge ruled there was lack of evidence. a high profile trial. we've been covering this on the show. judge said prosecution had no
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case. you feel vindicated, legally. >> i do because i said there was no case the last time we discussed it. the judge, tommy nail, tough former prosecutor. a lot of integrity. the prosecutor in this case never saw this coming, but the judge said hey, where's the motive? you're trying to introduce evidence of motive that doesn't exist. >> prosecution never has to prove it in a murder case. >> here's what they did. this was amazing. the prosecutor, the prosecutor tried to prove that watson took an engagement ring off the body of his wife in the funeral home. >> the judge said, wait a minute, i did is same with my grandmother. >> that's true, but here's the thing and why this is so remark bable, erin. these motions are prefunctionary. every time i ended my case, the defense attorney made that moeg.
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they are always denied, rarely granted. you've got to look at the evidence. during all the inferences in favor of the government. that's a very high standard. i think this case should have gone to the jury. that's our system. when you look at the prosecutor in this case, when you hear him, he's shell shocked because it never happens. >> what evidence was there to go to the jury. here are the two motives. >> forget motive. what would be -- >> there's no motive. the insurance policy, which was in the father's name. so then how does the accident take place? there are no eyewitnesses to it. they try to do a re-enactment, so where's the proof he did this? >> there were certainly a lot of rulings that weren't in favor of the government. >> where is the proof? >> there were diving experts who said that a person who is a
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diver, a rescue diver, should have known better. there were pictures. >> he severed time for that. >> and he admitted to negligence. in already admitted to taking part in her death. >> not to an intentional murder. >> thank you both very much. interesting end to a long saga. let's check in with anderson cooper. >> potential turning point in syria's war against its own people. sources telling cnn opposition forces are being armed by a number of countries. we'll talk it over with christiane amanpour and also, the mystery murder of or death i should say, of a reality show producer found dead on his hotel balcony in uganda. is one person who may have answers is in a coma, not able to talk. there was drug use found. those stories tonight at the top of the hour.
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>> thanks. see you in a couple of minutes and there are more than a hundred dead in syria today and the united nations has accused al asaad, the president, against crimes against humanity. and reed hoffman made almost 2 billion by investing in one company, then by investing in about 80 others. he said you can do it, too. no, sorry, i can't help you with that. i'm not authorized to access that transaction. that's not in our policy. i will transfer you now. my supervisor is currently not available. would you like to hold ? that department is currently closed. have i helped you with everything you needed ? if your bank doesn't give you knowledgeable customer service 24/7, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. so how much do we owe you? that'll be $973.42. ya know, your rates and fees aren't exactly competitive. who do you think i am, quicken loans? [ spokesman ] when you refinance your mortgage
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opposition groups are reporting over 100 people died in fighting today. security forces are are continuing their shelling on the city of homs. the units wrach etted up the pressure, crimes against humanity. one man suspected of being on the list is bashar al asaad. just who is that man? dr. post is considered a founding father in the field of political psychiatry. he started clinical personality profilie ining at the cia. bashar al assad ended up being the heir apparent to his father unexpectedly. his older brother died in a car accident. how did that play a role in who he is and how he's leading right now, do you think? >> well, he never expected to be the leader of iraq. he had in fact he was in post
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graduate train when his brother died and his father then summoned him back. his older brother with was this charismatic, macho person. loved cars. a womanizer. in contrast, bashar was a rather soft, gentleman and was widely, widely concerned with the fact of could he stand in his giant father's shoes? >> in a recent interview, bashar al assad said that the military force rs not his forces and that he doesn't own the country. a lot of people have dismissed that as complete and utter bs, but you're saying there could be some truth to it. >> yes. in many ways, it may be his younger brother who is much more like his older brother, basil, who is in fact directing the extent of the brutality against the syrian citizens.
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may be that his father had him as the civil face of the government in leaving the power with his younger brother. >> and his younger brother is the head of the republican guard, right? >> that's correct. that's correct. and it would be a historical analogy, his father, who is a brutal man, the extent of the violence where some 10,000 to 20,000 people were eliminated was probably carried out by his younger brother. there's a historical parallel. >> do you see similarities with bashar or ahmadinejad or kim jong-il or gadhafi? are there something they have in common? >> i don't see anything in common between bashar and the other dictator who is are brutal to extreme.
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what's interest iing with basha is the fact he had no other model. unlike these other individuals who really powers unto themselves, he had the family looking over his shoulder, he has the military looking over his shoulder and he has to keep proving himself as worthy of this position. >> all right. thank you very much, sir. appreciate it. well, the founder of linked in, the website you go to to make professional contacts, they got $1 million. tonight, he explains how to make bets like that. ew. seriously? so gross. ew. seriously? that is so gross. ew. seriously? dude that is so totally gross. so gross...i know.
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sears was once the biggest retailer in america. they have been around for 119 years. they lost $2.4 billion last quarter. american companies are not on the decline. facebook rumored to be valued at $100 million. that's one example. reid hoffman invest ed in facebook along with groupon, and linked in that netted him $1.7 billion when it went public. he wrote a book. in the second part of our interview, tonight he talks about how he picks his bets. >> it's never 100%, but you
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basically kind of go, okay, does this person have a vision? are they an entrepreneur you would back? they are persistent, aggressive, have an understanding of the product area and is this a need for hundreds of millions of peop people. if so, take the bet. >> the person matters. you are investing in the person. earliest stage, it's the person. >> 100 million people. >> yes. >> how the heck can you tell when something is going to be successful for that many people? >> is it an ecosystem for that will it be an essential piece of people's lives. if so, you take the bet. >> the game company, farmville,
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mafia wars, you are an investor. linked in, people want to get jobs online. category killer, you are there. facebook, you are an investor there. google plus is coming on strong. what else is left? i guess that's the point, who has a vision of coming up with another silo that no one thought of? what is it? >> last fall, i invested in social networks for k-12, students and teachers. i don't think linked in or facebook applies to it. it's a fundmental part of human existence. i can see how it would be good for every individual and make the bet. >> do you believe everything is global? linked in is obviously a very global company. when we talk hundreds of millions, this has to be something that works in the u.s. and china. >> if it's hundreds of millions,
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you can have hundreds of millions without china, twitter and facebook as prime examples. >> yes. >> but you have to be global. >> do you hit a glass ceiling without china? >> there's a lot of people in china. it's an interesting market. it's, you know, you hit a glass ceiling on the planet, too. you get to hundreds of millions. it's an ecosystem. i want to invest in that business any day of the week. >> is the united states the best place to find entrepreneurs with passion, ideas and drive? >> i believe so. >> u.s. more than anywhere else? >> u.s. more than anywhere else. there's great stuff happening in china and brazil. some great stuff happening in india. occasionally interesting stuff in europe. my last investment is out of stockholm. >> occasionally something comes out of europe.
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poor europe. they have had their challenges. back in the day, when did you first get into facebook? >> very first round. >> first round? >> yes. >> sean parker called me about it. i thought it was interesting. i thought peter should lead it. >> peter teal? >> yeah. i'll co-invest. >> what made you see that 80% person, 20% product, i'm in in that case back then? >> i hadn't met zuckerberg yet. part of the meeting was for me to get a sense of him myself. parker i knew and he had a good sense of consumer internet products. i was like okay, i love the product. the guy is good. i have heard other great things, let's do a meeting. it was an easy meeting. >> what do you think about where it is now? you are not going to talk about the pricing of the ipo. i would love to ask.
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