live in cuba today. at the beginning of his very interesting and educational peace on the blogosphere, he says this, "on the islands the blogosphere is an incident present an outside invisible. though it causes controversy worldwide, cuban bloggers are virtually unknown here. with internet access restricted to a few, the internet functions as a sort of guerrilla underground. the work as independent agents whose existence heralds a reactivation that will modulates the revolutions realpolitik, or is that raul politik?" check out his blog. one is photography, and the other is what is going on on the ground in cuba. essentially, what i have laid out for you are a couple of different models for you to understand the internet and cuba. the first model you could say is the blogosphere, for you: the democratization model. in other words, -- or in other words you could collin the democratization model. now it is a kind of roman senate. the difference between them is they say the blogostroika is a grass-roots phen

be used to destabilize cuba.raise security concerns and may lose the negotiations and the bureaucratic debates. with the united states, and we have seen this over the past few years, but back in the early 99 -- early 1990's, there were negotiations to try to get cuba hooked up to the world wide web. this was successful. the problem has been cuba's being reticent to connect to fiber-optic line. some sectors in the united states desire to keep them from being connected. so that dance continues now with the obama administration reaching out, trying to allow that to happen, but the cuban government is still being it isn't. they say, hey, we have other options and that is venezuela. they have constantly said in 2010. we will see a 2010 brings a connection with venezuela. the final thing i will say in- couple of minutes is to sketch out of bed about the history of internacion igriega. let me talk about history and then i will talk about the project. you can break up her blogged to six stages. i will -- her blog into si

center of cuba. in other words, it's not a beachside resort frequented by canadian and european tourists. placentas is also the home of this couple, the home of cuban political prisoner and pro-democracy leader jorge luis garcia antunas, generally known as antunas. on march 15, 1990, a then-25-year-old antunas stood at the center square of placentas, listening to the government's official radio transmission, calling for the fourth congress of the communist party. he spontaneously began to shout shout -- quote -- "what we want and what we need are like the ones performed in eastern europe." immediately, he was beaten by state security agents, charged with oral enemy propaganda and imprisoned. mr. president, that would begin a 17-year prison term which is about half of his current life that he has spent in prison. his crime: saying we need the type of changes that took place in eastern europe. for that, 17 years in prison. he was not released until 2007. he is now 45 years old. hopefully with an entire

, the center of cuba. in other words, it isn't a beachside resort by canadian and european tourists. it is also the home of this couple, the home of cuban political prisoner and pro-democracy leader jorge luis garcia generally known as antunez. 19901025-year-old antunez stood at the center square listening to the government official radio transmission calling for the fourth congress of the communist party. he spontaneously began to shout, quote, what we've launched and what we need our reforms like the ones performed in eastern europe. immediately he was beaten by state security agents, charged with oral enemy propaganda and imprisoned. mr. president, that what began a 17 year prison term which is about half of his current life he spent in prison. his crime? saying we need the type of changes that took place in eastern europe. for that, 17 years in prison. he was not released until 2007. he's now 45-years-old hopefully with an entire life ahead of him. the castro regime would love for mr. antunez and his w

. >> your outlook on cue cuba. >> oh, cuba. well, i certainly wouldn't claim to be an expert on cuba, but i have read about it. i think that the the united states has played a great part in preserving the regime in aspic. the point be i made earlier about engagement leading to change within communist systems surely would have applied to cuba. cuba would have liberalized years before if there would have been a lot of interaction between the united states, people going to and fro, economic relationships, so i think the united states has played an enormous part in sustaining the castro regime. by saying they'll do nothing to help castro, they've added weight to the diminishing appeal of communism in cuba. already i think we see some signs of a change under president obama, and i'm sure it's not at the top of his agenda, and he's got enough problems without devoting too much time to cuba at the moment, but i think if that continues, surely there'll be liberalization in cuba. i could hardly think of a more counterproductive policy.

we believe that, except we say in cuba we don't believe it.e restrict the right of the american people to travel to cuba, which is slapping around the rights of the american people in order to poke the finger in the eye of fidel castro, i guess. we do other things that make no sense. my colleagues, who -- who have raised these issues mostly have actually won on one issue that kind of bothers me. i also put an amendment in a piece of legislation that i understand now has been emasculated and let me describe what that was. people -- most people don't know this, we have airplanes flying over cuba or in -- over international waters broadcasting television signals to cube aism i was able to get that shot down in an amendment, we're broadcasting to cuba to tell them how great freedom is, but we're broadcasting television signals being broadcast by an airplane and the signals are signals that the cuban people can't see. isn't that interesting? not only interesting, but kind of disgusting when you think about it. tv marti it's called. here is what tv

it chronicles my life from the time i left cuba at the age of 10 years old.ly the most dramatic point in my entire life, because of opportunity and the persecution my family felt in cuba at the time as a result of the revolution. they decided to leave cuba. you can imagine how difficult it is to leave your native country. you can imagine how difficult they had to feel the situation was, to leave all your material possessions behind and move to another country to get freedom and opportunity that you felt would be lacking in your own. when we got to the airport, my parents were told that at that point time, only my papers were correct, that only i could leave that day. the family had to make a choice, we could all stay behind or they could sendñrçó me a head and thn follow later in the papers or straightened out. my father made a courageous decision to send me a head. he called some friends of the family and told them to look after me, that it would be like a sleep over. it would be four years later before i would ever see my parents. i came to the u.s. at the

there were drinking street guys and there was hundred in cuba and it went worldwide. recently, just a couple of weeks ago, students decided to participate and complain about the quality of their food. it was a lengthy complaint of how can you go to school with the food they were given to rid -- were given. someone is out there filming and putting it on youtube in some way. i think that also shows the use. in this strong complaint, you can see other people taking pictures with phones. there was more than one person taking photographs or film of these. these are two other elements. even television, for example the concert of juarez was televised live in miami where there are so many cubans. it made a lot of people outside of the island share a moment of music and peace and reconciliation. the blotters, the youtube -- of the blotters -- bloggers , long way. thank you. >> thank you. it just a comment before we open it up to questions. the united states is trying to take this changing technological landscape into account. it is still not clear if we have the right mix. on

i thank you for your question, and we all hope in the not too distant future to see a democratic cuba, something that would be extraordinarily positive for our hemisphere. [applause] but the next question over here? >> yes, sir? >> [unintelligible] another question also -- i do not think you mentioned bolivia. you should also mention it. >> a thank you for raising this. we are concerned, too. speaking to a number of central american countries, they have reported to us large numbers of people being traffic into their countries -- particularly chinese but not exclusively chinese, and we do need to redouble our efforts to try to help our friends in central america deal with this. i was told in one country there is a large detention center, which has hundreds and hundreds of people who are there illegally from china, so this is a problem affecting a number of our friends, and we are working with them to try to provide more resources and support to help them deal with it, and as you point out, we have no problem with any country such as china engaging in economic activity -- business, comm

up 100 detainees from guantanamo bay, cuba, may be transferred there. the newshour continues always online. hari sreenivasan, in our newsroom, previews what's on our web site. hari? >> sreenivasan: on our web site tonight, watch our interview with secretary of education arne duncan about new ways to improve children's financial literacy. duncan also gives a progress report on the "race to the top program" where states are competing for stimulus dollars. find local reaction to today's announcement about moving some guantanamo detainees to an illinois prison. on paul solman's "making sense" page, our series on the economic year ahead continues. tonight, what will be most surprising in 2010? and there's an update on the drug war in mexico from a reporter who was embedded with the mexican military. that's part of our collaboration with global post, an international news web site. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. jeff? >> brown: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm jeffrey brown. >> lehrer: and i'm jim lehrer. we'll see you online,

because of heroes like these, the day of freedom of cuba, the day of freedom in cuba is approaching. speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. ms. kaptur of ohio. mr. burton of indiana. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida rise? without objection ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you so much, madam speaker. i rise to recognize the success of the miami-dade county memory walk sponsored by the alzheimer's association. this event called on volunteers of all ages to be champions in the fight against this terrible disease of alzheimer's which impacts more than five million americans and their families. over 2,200 people participated in the memory walk in my home county of miami-dade and their efforts raised over $130,000 for research and end to a cure. i was encouraged by the wonderful outpouring of support and participation from our community in south florida. i know from countless personal stories as well as from my own family just how deficient stattings this disease of alzheimer's is. my mom, amanda ross was diagnosed with alzheimer's a year ago. and while i'm blessed to hav

and these sites are largely filtered in cuba.ou can access -- access them, but generally you cannot. but they have taken them to the street. they have increasingly been more provocative, confrontational. you could even say they're starting to act like citizens, meaning that they are taking this complaint to the street. the thing that you mentioned about rinaldo, he said i want to have a verbal duel with the man who beat up my wife and he set up a meeting and we will talk. i do not believe in violence, but we do need to talk about this and get an explanation. and of course, that was met with violence. i think as they become more courageous, or stupid, and do things in the street, do things that are in public -- and they have done that over the past year, year and a half, increasingly more confronting at an event, asking questions, going to the debate, being involved in various public things. there is going to be a reaction i think that as part of this transition from a virtual to a public plaza, a virtual voice to a public voice.

. >> brown: then, terror spects from guantanamo bay in cuba ll be med to a prison in rural illinois. margaret wner reports. >> lrer: a showdown in copeagen between china and the u.s. ofighting global warming. ray suarez is at the cmate talks. >> bro: plus, a very unusual look aclimate change, seen from inse one of mount everest's aciers. >> lehrer: and paul solmanalks to economist a statesman george schultzwho believes no financial instition should ever bconsidered "too big to fail." >> there's an underlying principle here that has golost sight of, anthat's the importance of skin in the ga. when you have some of ur own money involved, yopay a lot more attention. lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's "pbs newshour." jor funding for the pb newshour is proved by: >> what the wod needs now is energy. the ener to get the econy mming again. the ergy to tackle challens like climate change. what if th energy came from an engy company? evy day, chevron invests $62 million ineople, in ideas-- seeking, teaching, blding. fueling growth around thworld to move usll ahead. this ithe power of human

just last week, we observed another human rights day without freedom in cuba. as to be expected, the regime had its thugs out in full force to attack all who dared to walk the streets in support of this important day and what it represents to the world community. for two days, the members of the peaceful ladies in white group were pursued and harassed by agents of the regime. marches and peaceful demonstrations in support of human rights and fundamental freedom came to an abrupt end as security forces rounded up, detained and brutally attacked some of the participants. the wife of a doctor was one of the many apprehended by the secret police on her way to one of the planned marches in havana. dr. ferrara is a civil rights leader currently imprisoned by the dictatorship. his crime? illegally purchasing materials to repair damages to his home. the truth, dr. ferrara has exposed the reality of the apartheid health care system and the disregard of fundamental freedoms and human rights. his life was threatened on this human rights day by the cuban dictatorship in an

the stars come out to watch the big games in cuba gooding junior. help me help you. great star for the bruins. >> marques: no rebounds, no rings. >> steve: and the lakers owner and the clippers general manager. your comment? >> marques: just for one year. we'll get him back. just for one year. >> steve: do you believe that shot he made the other day? unbelievable. >> marques: one foot running. game tying, game-winner. >> steve: he wheels it in. michael roll will be at the free-throw line. he's the senior. >> marques: we need it going on out here. michael roll is a candidate for that. nikola dragovic also. talking about reeves nelson back on the floor, our outstanding stat guy, great stat. when nelson was out for the six-minute stretch, ten straight second chance points for the kansas jayhawks. that's where ucla really missed the inside presence of the freshman as we focused on at the start with tyler honeycutt, freshman reeves nelson making an impact. >> steve: he's a bull. almost a steal. picked up by ku. taylor. got it. >> marques: that was a three ball. jerime and

takes care of air space and people are well aware how dangerous it is to fly over cuba.ther (art is, down there in by guantanamo that's covered by our navy and our air force, and being that this place in illinois is so much in open space, i liking it to what happened in new york. how long it took them to get in any type of sense out of a presidential plane flying over new york and not much able to be done about it. everybody was concerned about it. can you just imagine what will happen in m illinois with these wide open spaces. and perhaps, that they might try and make that place a target? and then the other thick the circus that will be created there in that little town. with all the media and everything else. it just seems so counter productive to our american way of life that what we have done as an ex-military person, what we have always done is the military takes care of the military and why are president would want to change that, it really gives you because. what's his purpose? what does he really want to do? host: we continue our discussion regarding moving guant

professor the shows it is possible to hel the most desperate of poor people in places like haiti, peru, cuba and russia. i won't tell you much about his new book, "strength in what remains," but the "new york times" wrote of it that mr.. has a casual mastery of complex topics in this book is perhaps as finest an examination of the nature human charity and good will. as the "baltimore sun" said, tracy kidder is a master of nonfiction narrative. please welcome tracy kidder. [applause] >> thank you. it is nice to be here. i am going to talk a while and readed little and then i'm going to show you some pictures. i am afraid that this story has already been told but i'm going to tell it again. a young medical student named deogratis merely survives the onset of civil war in his native country, this mali's central african nation of burgundy. he survived because he left the door to his room open and the men who would have killed him assumed he had already fled. he made a six month long escape from burundi, and then from the genocide in rwanda and back to burundi and by accident he got transported t

in other cases like cuba or nigeria, governments are able but unwilling to make the changes at their citizens deserve. there we must vigorously press leaders to in depression while supporting those within society's to a working for change. in cases where governments are both unwilling and unable, like the eastern congo, we must support the courageous individuals and organizations to try to protect people in battle against the odds. the challenges we face are diverse and complicated. there is not one approach or formula, documentary work. they can they apply. i want to outline for elements of the approach to putting our principles and to action and share with you some of the challenges we face. commitment to write star to the accountability. president obama issued an order prohibiting the use of torture by any u.s. officials and ordered the closure of guantanamo bay. next year, we will report on human trafficking as we do every year. this time, not only just on other countries but also on our own her we will participate through the united nations on their own human-rights record just

it is to fly over cuba. is down there by guantanamo, covered by our navy and air force. illinois is so much an open space, i liken it to what happened in new york, how long it took them to get any sense out of a presidential plane flying over new york without much able to be done by it. everyone was concerned about it. can you just imagine what will happen in illinois with wide open spaces? and perhaps they might try and make the best place a target. the other thing is the circus that will create their in that little town, with all the media and everything else. it just seems so counterproductive to our american way of life that what we have always done is the military takes care of the military. and why our president wants to change depth --v that, what is his purpose? what is he trying to do? host: we are continuing our discussion. the president is wrapping up discussions in copenhagen regarding climate change. the "new york post" this headline, hot air, and this is how it looks in this morning's "wall str

and moved to cuba or france or anywhere else.d does not work in this country and other countries. host: what to the french doctors think about our health care? guest: they shake their head and askbhy we can live in such a savage system? we mention that we create great drugs. host: in the last paragraph of your piece, you look at the health care issue. are we better off today in terms of health policy than 15 years ago? would we focus more on waiting times abroad or in the usa? guest: when i see french people here, they say americans complain that if we pass obamacare that you can choose your own doctor and there will be waiting times. the fact is, that is have already is in america. when i go back to france every year, i engaged with doctors to talk about comparative things. the comparison is not all apple pie and ice cream here and males and rocks. there are many parts about that do not work well in france and weigdoctors sometimes which it s better birdlike the competitive nature of america and where that leaves you in new medi

at the time as a result of the revolution i decided to leave cuba. you can see how difficult it is to leave your data country. they have to feel the situation was to the ballyard material possessions behind and move to another country to get freedom and opportunity that you felt would be lacking in your own. except when we got to the airport to my parents were told that at that point in time only my papers were correct. that only i could leave that day and the family had to make a choice. we could all stay behind or they could send me a hat and then follow later when the papers were straightened out. my father made a very courageous decision to send me a head. he called some friends of the family and told them to look after me that it was going to be like a sleepover. they would be following soon thereafter and then it would be four years later before i would ever see my parents. so i came to the u.s. at the age of time by myself without speaking the language, without any family here. and those were different call times. a couple took me and. also im

they know it is not a trip to cuba, it is death.e the young man and the rest of the flying population on the aircraft did, they stopped this thing from going any further. that's a good thing. that plus the ballistic barrier between the pilots' area and the general population will stop everything i think from now on. >> larry: thank you all very much. see you again, hope on better circumstances. every time we see harry, something terrible happens. more from one of flight 253's heroes and what he witnessed in 60 seconds. without interrupting what you're doing ? does it alert you without interrupting what you're doing so you can continue to, say, send a video to someone ? holding your messages till you're ready to view them ? droid does. the notification panel-- your own personal gatekeeper. in a world of doesn't... >> larry: as we've reported a dutch terrorist, jasper schuringa is being called a hero for courageous actions he took. here is more of the account of what happened in his exclusive interview with cnn. >> when we heard the f

it is a gift that as we saw some years ago and mother from cuba to occur little five-year-old son, get on a little boat, get on and enter to, rated 90 miles of shore infested water for the privilege of coming to this great free country. we know what we have is precious, don't we? its precious. 233 years ago it was purchased for us so that we could stand here today and hold up don't tread on me flags. that's our gift. [cheers and applause] that's our gift, freedom is our gift. but it's a gift that is sent free. and as we are coming to this wonderful time of the holiday season, whether you are celebrating the gift of flights with, cut or whether you're celebrating merry christmas, as our family will be celebrating in our home -- [cheers and applause] and by the way, this is a federal official wishing you a merry christmas! [cheers and applause] it's about coming to a time of peace come a time of reconciliation, and a time yes, that gives us the greatest freedom and peace of mind that anyone could possibly have. and so that's what we wish. that is our wish for our fellow citizens here in

the aware flying public has stopped every incident since 9/11 because they know it's not a trip to cuba. it's death. so just like this young man and the rest of the flying population on the aircraft did, they stopped this thing from going any further. that's a good thing. that, plus the ballistic barrier between the pilots' area and the general population will stop everything i think from now on. >> larry: thank you all very much. good to see you again. every time we see harry, trouble happens. more from one of flight 253's heroes and what he witnessed in 60 seconds. >> larry: as we've reported, dutch tourist jasper schuringa is being called a hero for quick, courageous aks he took christmas day aboard flight 253 from amsterdam. here is more of the account of what happened in his exclusive interview with cnn. >> when we heard the first explosion people were looking around, okay, this is not good. what's going on? then the first person shouted "fire." i got to my senses. okay, this is not good. first it was a pop. 30 seconds later the smoke started to fill up on the left side beneath thi

government was more than willing in the 1960's to perform a false attack to get us into a war with cuba. host: you still with me? caller: yes, sir. host: in "the washington post" you mentioned copenhagen and they mentioned after hard in copenhagen and harder in the senate julian writes although many senators, especially and the aftermath of the health debate it's clear that the the enacting -- is essential to delivering on the pledges that obama made to other world leaders. your thoughts on this. caller: cap and trade is nothing but a shell game and whatever treaty obama signs, yes, it does have to be ratified then approved by the senate. but he's trying to do an end run around that by to the tune of 5 1/2 pounds a day. they are trying to declare that have carbon mo knocks i'd may be a pollute. but carbon die ox i'd is not. this is all a scheme to tax what we have and to to tax anyone making 250,000 or less. families making $250,000 or wills. he promise that had and all these extra taxes are coming in from the world bodies that we have no control over like when obama violates will to ha

whether the rights of individuals are violated in the soviet union or in iran or cuba or south africaand democrats in a freak legislative body to stand up and speak out against these our ages. -- again seized outrages. >> a big delegation came from the state department warning my husband if he goes through with this invitation, we would totally be disrupting american foreign policy initiatives and the state department put a tremendous pressure on him to stop it. but of course, the congress is an independent body. basically my husband could tell the entire state department delegation to go fly a kite. that is what he did. human-rights leaders are one of the most valuable members of the human community. many of them are pursuing their very important missions unseen and alone and unrewarded. our goal is to bring these people to the attention of the world and when the recognition and inspire young people to follow in their footsteps. if we want this world to be a better place, we have to see to it that everybody participates and everybody has an opportunity to a decent way of life. this i

. >> sreenivasan: president obama's plan to close the prison at guantanamo bay, cuba has run into neways. "the new york times" and others reported today the site for terror detainees may not close until 2011, at the earliest. it could be april before congress approves money to buy a state prison in illinois. and it will take more months to upgrade the prison. the president originally wanted guantanamo closed within his first year in office. the u.s. anti-drug effort in afghanistan is failing. that verdict came today from the state department's inspector general. his report said the nearly $2 billion program suffers from poor oversight and rampant corruption among afghan officials. also today, there was word a british soldier died tuesday in helmand province, in a roadside bombing. new violence erupted in iran today. security forces confronted supporters of the late grand ayatollah hossein ali montazeri, the country's most senior dissident cleric. we have more from jonathan rugman of "independent television news." >> reporter: these photographs of iranian riot police in isfahan appeare

harvard professor who shows that it is possible to help the most separate of poor people in haiti, peru, cuba, and russia. i won't tell you much about our new book. but "the new york times" wrote of it that mr. kidder has a mast industry of complex topics. this book is at its finest the examination of the nature of human charity and goodwill. tracy kidder is a master of nonfiction knavetives. please welcome with tracy kidder. [applause] >> thank you. it's nice to be here. i'm going to talk a while and read a little, and i'm going to show you some pictures. i prayed that the story has not been told, i'm going to tell it again. a young medical student theirly survived the onset of the native war of burundi. he survives because he left the door to his room open and the men who would have killed him assumed he had already fled. he made a 6-month long on escape and then from the genocide in rwanda and then back to burundi and almost by accident he got transported to new york city. he arrived at jfk with $200, no english, a visa obtained under false pretenses, although that has been fixed. no frien

dorgan: well, i say the senator from iowa, and cigars from cuba, we have a special embargo with cuba. i don't think there is a legal product that the american consumer cannot access anywhere else in the world. this is about giving the american consumer the freedom that the global economy should offer everybody. the big shots have got. it how about the american people having the opportunity to shop around the world for the same product and pay a fraction of the prices for what's imposed on them here in the united states. mr. grassley: i'd like to thank the senator from north dakota. i'd like t -- ms. klobuchar: i'm trying to figure out the order of who's speaking next. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the next speaker is to be the senator from minnesota, followed by the senator from delaware. mr. grassley: unanimous consent to be able to speak now, if i could. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. kaufman: how long -- mr. grassley: 15 minutes. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: i believe our speech is about 10 minutes and if the s

and rounding out the shameful top three, cuba suffers perhaps the greatest per capita levels of press repression. even though it has only 1/12 the population of china, the cuban regime imprisons roughly the same number of journalists. just last month state security agents detained and beat cuban bloggers, as they were on their way to peaceful march in havana. what a sad irony that is. to help address these and other outrages, the bill before us today would beef up press related reporting in the state department annual country report on human rights practices. among other issues the expanded reports would describe the extent to which foreign governments are complicit in attacks on press freedoms and what steps are being taken to protect the media and to prosecute those who attack and murder journalists. this new reporting will help focus the sunlight of public scrutiny even more powerfully on these violators of basic rights. i want to thank again mr. schiff and mr. pence for bringing forward this important legislation which deserves our unanimous support and with that, mr. speaker, i r

i'm from cuba and i understand what the communists -- how it works. but my question is more about how -- i mean, i think it's safe for -- it makes sense from a rational point of view for the united states and their finances, their financiers not to change their behavior because the world eventually would like the americans to keep consuming the way they are. and they kind of like the idea and it has been for -- you said it, the united states has been the engine of the entire world's economy. >> so it made sense for people with bernie madoff to find more investors in the fund because as long as the ponzi scheme worked it worked well for everyone. i'm not suggesting our entire economy is a ponzi scheme but i am suggesting. [laughter] >> that we better find out on our own terms not to live at the behest of our foreign creditors. >> i understand you're an economist and not a sociologist. >> and i'm not a ph.d. so i better not call myself any of this. yeah. >> but how is it that you can convince americans who for so long have been used to the whole -- the

it is not very often that leaders from countries as diverse as cuba in the pacific, ghana and africa, brazil, and the united states of america come together to fight and succeeded a common cause. it is not often that they come to a table to speak with you to seek a collective solution to a common challenge. today, ladies and gentleman, represents one of these unique occurrences. the entire world, including my own tiny island, grenada, and the rest of the nation's come together to find solutions to a common climate problem. we must do so in a cooperative and it is of the tory manner, chipping away toward a solution that we need -- and up anticipatory -- participatory manner, chipping away toward a solution that we on it. we must act because there are millions of people depending on us to provide them with the assurances that their homes, their livelihoods, their communities, and their countries will not be swept away in the coming wave -- the coming wave of climate change. they are providing -- they are depending on us to provide that the at the systems are preserved for this and futur

in other cases, like cuba or nigeria, governments are able but i'm willing to make the changes that their -- but i'm willing unwilling to make the changes. in the cases where they are not willing or able, places like eastern congo, we have to support those courageous individuals that try to protect people. these are complicated issues. i want to outline four elements of the obama's administration approach to put our principles into action and share with you some of the challenges that we face. first, a commitment to human rights starts with universal standards and holding everyone accountable to those standards including ourselves. the president obama issued an executive order prohibiting the use of torture or officials cruelty by any u.s. official and ordered the closure of guantanamo bay. next year, we will report on human trafficking as we do every year but this time not only on just the other countries but also on our own. we will participate through the u.n. in the you know -- through the periodic review of our own record just as we encourage other nations to do. by holding ourselves

one being the example in cuba where we put in an embargo there and ever since then the castro regimeas been able to blame everything that has gone wrong in cuba, including tropical storms and hurricanes, on the u.s. embargo. it has helped that regime stay in power. we see the same effect happening in gaza. i've been there a couple of times. the fact that we've got an embargo there and a block aid has caused many in gazza to rally around the flag -- gaza to rally around the flag in this case, hamas, and that has helped them. that's the -- that's the effect this bill will have in iran. we have watched very closely. this past week tens of thousands of students in iran in the green revolution have come to oppose and call for the ousting of ahmadinejad and his regime. what this will do, however, is this will undermine that opposition. this bill is focused on cutting off gasoline supply to the poor, to the working class, to the middle class families, the very he people who are supporting the revolutionary movement there to get rid of ahmadinejad. we are in a way, i think, substituting a pl

guest: i tried to go live in cuba and didn't work out -- it's not socialist, communist.ved in central europe for eight years and i saw, unlike a lot of people who throw around such accusations, i have seen the wreckage that communism can cause. i'm not saying we should do the french health care system. if you are going to oppose obamacare because i do oppose, if you don't break the link between employment and insurance. when you have these state by state regulations that we have, you artificial choke off what should be a free or fiscal year market in health care and therefore you don't have the provision of choice and competitive pressure on prices. what i'm saying is we should not become like cuba or france or anywhere else, i recognize what works and doesn't work. host: what do the french doctors and the medical system think about our health care? guest: they say how can you live in a savage system and they say but there is a great new drug you have come up with. host: in your piece -- host: can you expand on that? guest: they say like, americans are complaining if we

of course, gitmo down there in cuba, it's getting a new zip code, we're moving it to the united states and putting in it illinois. the country has seen we prosecuted our navy seals and given rights to terrorists. what an odd year it's been. it is the arrogance of power that says government is the answer to everything. our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor have been turned over to government on for -- opportunists. reagan said government is the problem, not the answer, and i agree with him. but mr. speaker, not all is gloom, doom, and despair. there is great hope. the american people are not fooled. people now fear the government and people are mad. people are involved. and even though the d.c. crowd pays no attention to them, i've got news for the elites. think people are not going away in the darkness of the night. they will not give up without a fight because the american cause is righteous and the people's actions are just. government should in the underestimate the american soul and the american spirit. they are a force to be reckoned with. mr. speaker, the people want thei

whether the rights of individuals are violated in the soviet union or in iran or cuba or south africa republicans and democrats in a freak legislative body to stand up and speak out against these our ages. -- again seized outrages. >> a big delegation came from the state department warning my husband if he goes through with this invitation, we would totally be disrupting american foreign policy initiatives and the state department put a tremendous pressure on him to stop it. but of course, the congress is an independent body. basically my husband could tell the entire state department delegation to go fly a kite. that is what he did. human-rights leaders are one of the most valuable members of the human community. many of them are pursuing their very important missions unseen and alone and unrewarded. our goal is to bring these people to the attention of the world and when the recognition and inspire young people to follow in their footsteps. if we want this world to be a better place, we have to see to it that everybody participates and everybody has an opportunity to a decent way of

of the most contentious moments at the end, with a handful of countries including venezuela, sudan, cubao objected to the very weak accord that countries were agreed to in terms of addressing climate change internationally. there are a number of reasons for that, including the fact that a number of those countries are oil producers, so they would stand to lose from a global cap on greenhouse gas emissions. several of these nations who are opposed to what the united states does -- hugo chavez from venezuela basically compared bush -- compared obama to bush in his speech and implied that obama was as much as the devil as bush was. so i do the know to what extent the administration will be able to bring those countries into the fold. it underscores the challenge you have when you are working internationally trying to get a consensus agreement with 193 countries. that is a hard thing to do. host: what does on the agenda for 2010? is there another level meeting? guest: -- is there another global meeting? guest: there is another meeting. that is really going to be one of the top issues, and in

obama's first executive orders calls for the closing of the guantanamo bay conduct -- detention camp in cubanel of legal analyst discusses where the nearly 300 treat detainees should be transferred. hosted by all library of congress, this is about one hour and 45 minutes. he would be president as america entered the commuter age, the space age, the television age. all of this in one lifetime. well, they say that modern times distingui diminishes uniqueness and it does leave it not so personal. instead of knowing the people that you -- who govern you or by a radio, television and the internet. modern times invalidates old ways of thinking and the constant q >> out like to thank you -- all like to welcome you to the second discussion on major issues of domestic and foreign policy political developments. since the presentation is our second, i like to invite all of you to our next event which is just one month from today, which is featuring a number of congressmen and ambassadors. it will talk about the legal -- the legal implications of nato expansion. our main mission here is the timely, inno

coordination with any state or locality receiving detainees held at naval station guantanamo bay, cuba, on or after january 20, 2009. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? >> i move to suspend the rules and pass resolution 894. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the rizz lesion. the clerk: resolution 894, resolution honoring the 50th anniversary of the recording of the album "kind of blue" and reaffirming jazz as a national treasure. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. >> i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. conyers: today we honor miles davis, the trumpet player, and his sextet, recognizing the 50th year of the repording of one of the ledge dare jazz tunes, one

the following summer, the cuba crisis come up, and that was more.tacted the company, and they said, "you just want to go home." three weeks later, she died. if you think that did not tell me up, you are mistaken. -- did not tear me up, you are mistaken. oh, i hated that captain so bad. they tried to put me on a medical discharge, and i fought my way out of that, thank god, and got my honorable discharge. what i really want to bring up is the fact that after that, there was a general smacking people in the face for being cowards, but at any rate, i did not feel that way about myself. i had great medical care until the late 1990's from the va. then they started to bring the indian people in, and if you explain to of foreign person how the american way of life is, it is impossible. they cannot understand it to start with. then they outlaw the one medication i had for years, and i got married and had kids and was a success in big industry. and so here i sit, and i've lost my home to to all this mess -- i bought my home on the gi bill in 1970, and i paid

we come in behind cuba. we come in behind singapore. we come in behind south korea. twenty-ninth in the world on infant mortality because people don't have good insurance or they don't have any insurance. 52% of women, 52% of women don't think the health care they need. they either put it off or they never get it because they may not be insured or they're afraid of the co-pays, they're afraid of what it would cost. it may have limits on their policies and we need to change it. and the u.s. spends twice as much on health care than most other industrialized nations. so what message here? we spend a huge amount, we're not doing very well in outcomes. by the way, i think were 24th in life expectancy in the world. twenty-fourth, we must do better. i want to share with my colleagues some of the letters and e-mails that have been sent to me from californians that personalize the statistics i just showed you. mr. william robinson wrote, i'm about to be laid off from the job i've had for 19 years. my biggest fear is not being employed, but being able to find and get affordabl

the following summer, the cuba crisis come up, and that was more.ds off. the following summer, my mom was sick again, and my priest and my dad contacted the company, and they said, "you just want to go home." three weeks later, she died. if you think that did not tell me up, you are mistaken. -- did not tear me up, you are mistaken. oh, i hated that captain so bad. they tried to put me on a medical discharge, and i fought my way out of that, thank god, and got my honorable discharge. what i really want to bring up is the fact that after that, there was a general smacking people in the face for being cowards, but at any rate, i did not feel that way about myself. i had great medical care until the late 1990's from the va. then they started to bring the indian people in, and if you explain to of foreign person how the american way of life is, it is impossible. they cannot understand it to start with. then they outlaw the one medication i had for years, and i got married and had kids and was a success in big industry. and so here i sit, and i've lost m

let's keep cuba. -- keep kyoto. let us agree which will include the political commitments. tomorrow altogether. we can adopt the agreement we have fleshed out. let's give ourselves six months after the conference in order to transform those political commitments into legal text. not a single one of us will succeed if we do not live up to the historic responsibility of copenhagen. that is a question for us to answer now, here, it is right now we need to start negotiating. let me tell you in any event that france and europe are prepared to negotiate. thank you very much. [applause] >> he was not an imposing figure. he was not a giant of his time but he emerged as a nominee at a time when the party was populated by

government was more than willing in the 1960's to perform a false attack to get us into a war with cubahost: you still with me? caller: yes, sir. host: in "the washington post" you mentioned copenhagen and they mentioned after hard in copenhagen and harder in the senate julian writes although many senators, especially and the aftermath of the health debate it's clear that the the enacting -- is essential to delivering on the pledges that obama made to other world leaders. your thoughts on this. caller: cap and trade is nothing but a shell game and whatever treaty obama signs, yes, it does have to be ratified then approved by the senate. but he's trying to do an end run around that by to the tune of 5 1/2 pounds a day. they are trying to declare that have carbon mo knocks i'd may be a pollute. but carbon die ox i'd is not. this is all a scheme to tax what we have and to to tax anyone making 250,000 or less. families making $250,000 or wills. he promise that had and all these extra taxes are coming in from the world bodies that we have no control over like when obama violates will to have

the following summer, the cuba crisis come up, and that was more. no fooling around, no weekends off. the following summer, my mom was sick again, and my priest and my dad contacted the company, and they said, "you just want to go home." three weeks later, she died. if you think that did not tell me up, you are mistaken. -- did not tear me up, you are mistaken. oh, i hated that captain so bad. they tried to put me on a medical discharge, and i fought my way out of that, thank god, and got my honorable discharge. what i really want to bring up is the fact that after that, there was a general smacking people in the face for being cowards, but at any rate, i did not feel that way about myself. i had great medical care until the late 1990's from the va. then they started to bring the indian people in, and if you explain to of foreign person how the american way of life is, it is impossible. they cannot understand it to start with. then they outlaw the one medication i had for years, and i got married and had kids and was a success in big industry. and s

and is revealed travelers from a dozen countries, including cuba and north korea, and that they are alwaysjected to extra screening. the security playbook that was prepared in 2008 is said to be out of date. they added in a statement that the procedures in place remain strong. but they never meant for this information to be public. each page says, this record contains sensitive security information. this cannot be disclosed without the need to know. they say this was improperly posted by the agency, with reaction. but bloggers were able to remove the blogging. >> some of the compromised -- the blocking. >> an allied officer may be cleared without undergoing screenings. for example, this is not required for wheelchairs and orthopedic shoes. they are investigating this because they take the failure seriously. with the known terrorist target being aviation, it is a little bit late to get serious. >> the only early christmas present that terrorists will get is the resolve of the men and women of the department of homeland security, the president of the united states, and the men and women of t

jeff sessions and lindsey graham grilling attorney general halderman, saying that these terrorists in cubahat they were guilty of participating in 911 -- in 9/11. well, if jeff sessions had been tortured every day for four years and was reported 180 times -- and waterboarded 180 times, he probably would have admitted to being involved in 9/11 also. host: thank you. you were referring to the attorney-general eric holder. there is a report about his deputy. stepping out in february. the individual involved is david ogden, who was also chairman of the administration posture justice department transition team. "he oversaw nearly every time sensitive issue in justice affairs. the attorney general and his staff expressed repeated of frustration when the matter is that popped up in mr. -- bogged up in mr. ogden's office." mike from san antonio, what is on your mind? caller: hello, thank you for c- span. i just want to make a comment on the power of words. the american people are always referred to as consumers. perhaps if we refer to ourselves as producers, it could become a true. thank you. host