i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. >> protesters calling for the closure of guantanamo have entered fourth day of a hunger fast and washington read the activists from witness against torture planned a protest outside the supreme court on friday. the 11th anniversary of the opening of the military prison read today we turn to our part two of our exclusive interview with sami al-hajj, the al jazeera journalist who was held without charge at guantanamo for six years. on tuesday, he described being arrested in december 2001 and pakistan was traveling to afghanistan on a work assignment. he was then transferred u.s. custody. he was first held at u.s. prisons in kandahar and bagram. six months later he was taken to guantanamo bay. in u.s. detention, he says he was repeatedly beaten and tortured. dogs attacked him and he was prevented from sleeping for days. >> an january 2007, sami al- hajj began a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment. it continued for 438 days until his release in may 2008. when we were in doha for the climate change summit, at a changchance to conduct a rare interv

i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. we're going to talk about john brennan.sident obama is nominee to become the next chief of the cia. the news agency reuters is reporting that brennan had detailed information on the agency's torture program was serving their under president george w. bush. official records apparently show brennan received regular internal cia updates about the progress of torture techniques including waterboarding. it is not clear if he raised any objections at the time he was made aware. brennan's confirmation hearing will be february 7. in 2006 to give an interview with frontline on pbs where he said it was right for the bush administration to "take off the gloves" after the 9/11 attacks. >> the campaign against terrorism will be a long one. the opposition, whether be al qaeda or iraq, it does not play by the queen's three rules. therefore, the u.s. has to take off the gloves. i think it is appropriate. we do have to take off the gloves in some areas, but in the right way and for the right reason. and with full understanding of what the c

i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh.> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. after much drama, the so-called fiscal cliff has come to an end. for now. late tuesday night, the republican-led house voted to approve the deal. that came after the democratic- led senate voted early tuesday to pass the measure. the move came nearly 24 hours after a decade's worth of tax cuts expired with the stroke of the new year. technically raising taxes by more than $500 billion in 2013. shortly after last night's vote, president obama described the deal. >> under this law, more than 98% of americans and 97% of small businesses will not see their income taxes go up. millions of families will continue to receive tax credits to help raise their kids and send them to college. companies will continue to receive tax credits for the research they do, the investments they make, and the clean energy jobs they create. 2 million americans who were out of work, but out there looking, pounding the paveme

i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. >> one month after the sandy hook elementary school shooting weurn now to a growing debate over what type of security measures should be taken in schools to prevent future tragedies. the nra has just launched a new campaign called stand up and fight as part of its push to place armed officers in every school. the nra issued this new ad criticizing president obama on tuesday. >> are the president's kids more important than yours? then why is skeptical about putting armed security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school? mr. obama demands the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes. just another elitist hypocrite when it comes to a fair share of security. protection for their kids, gun- free zones for hours. >> the nra chief executive wayne lapierre first made the call for armed guards in u.s. schools last month during a press conference. >> the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. i call on congress today to act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police offi