host: pamela constable. i want to show you a photograph from your book, "playing with fire," of a gentleman, the last picture in the book. tell us who he is and why that's in the book? guest: that's a photograph of abdul fatar edi, an extraordinary gentleman. he's in his 80's. he has a lovely majestic elderly demeanor. he is the founder of a private charity which provides free ambulance service to accidents, any sort of need. the edi ambulances go all over the country. that's what he's famous for but what's really interesting about him is that he's much more than a provider of charity. he's really a social revolutionary. he's someone who has spent the last three or four decades not trying to help the poor but to empower the poor and to bring dignity to the poor in a country that's very socially stratified and where people who are outcast because of poverty, because of problems they have, because of health problems, because of social status, really don't have much hope, and so he has personally taken on this

. >> pamela constable on q&a. >> this morning, robert rector from the heritage foundation looks at theveness of federal social programs. then daniel serwer from the john hopkins center discusses what the u.s. and european leaders are calling for the removal

. >> pamela constable tonight on c-span is q&a. >> monday, on washington journal, a fact check on some of the 2012 presidential candidates. after that, susan glasser of foreign policy magazine on the july and august series on the collapse of the soviet union and its relevance in today's time. and then a look at how medicare has changed over the past 45 years. that is live at 7:00 a.m. here on c-span. >> monday on c-span 2, a discussion on early education and the head start program. we will hear the article of their -- the author of a recent article on the early education program. hosted by the brookings institution, the discussion gets underway live at 9:00 a.m. eastern on c-span 2. next, the state of homeland security since 9/11. we hear from former and the current home and security, this is almost an hour. >> thank you very much. it is great to join you again. i want to thank the sponsors of the event. i want to thank the chamber for giving us an opportunity to reflect a little bit on where we were, what we have done, and where we need to go. that is the purpose of this engagement to

. >> "washington post" corresponded pamela constable sunday night on c-span "q&a." >> the july 20 united nations declaration of famine in the two regions of somalia was not made lightly and truly reflects the dire conditions of the people in somalia. it is based on nutrition and mortality service, data that has been verified by the cdc, and on the basis of that, we estimate that in the last 90 days, 29,000 somali children have died. this is nearly 4% of the children in southern somalia. our fear and the fear of the international community and governments in the horn of africa is that the famine conditions in the two regions of somalia will spread to encompass the entire eight regions of southern somalia. the next rains are september/october, and even if they are good, we could bear witness to another wave of mortality in the south do waterborne diseases. >> watch more from this senate hearing on line at the c-span video library -- online at the c-span video library. >> the white house asked agencies to propose ways to cut spending by 20% or more for the upcoming budget. this ahead of the

pamela constable, fascinating.t back. f! >>> live pictures right now of nassau, bahamas. that's hurricane irene whipped across that region, barreling down now on the eastern seaboard as well. here with the latest, bill karins. what is it looking like? >> it looks like we're going to get a direct hit. there's really no avoiding it now. the hopes that the storm would go peacefully out to sea and hook away is looking slim now. the storm is a large storm. you know how big the state of florida is and you can sitting right next to florida and all the bright red clouds are where the heavy rain is and the thunderstorms. florida for the most part will be spared, you're getting rain and wind in miami but nothing that will do any damage. these are the weather computers showing us where the storm will track. the yellow cone is the cone of uncertainty, you have a chance of the storm heading over you. the south carolina, georgia, florida, you appear to be safe. eastern north carolina is right in the midst of it along with our fr

pamela constable son tonight -- sunday night.kelvin sewell and -- how unlikely allies got together to try to change the school system. it the complete "book tv" at booktv.org. this week the obama administration delayed new roles that would prevent exhaustion in airline pilots. randolph babbitt spoke for 15 minutes. >> thank you. thank you for that introduction. it is great to see you here tonight. it is always great to be back here. i came straight from the airport. i was in the mexico this morning talking about safety issues, and we had a productive meeting. it is always great to come home, although i cannot say that of a lot places i speak, this is home for me, and it is great to be here with all of you. [applause] a lot of what i do now i do not get to go and see this many friendly faces, so it is for being ourhers allies on so many fronts, especially during the last trying four to six weeks. as most of you are aware, we have been through a very challenging time with our lapse in the reauthorization. that authorization failed

captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> next, q&a with pamela constable. then british prime minister david cameron and opposition leader ed miliband talk about the recent riots. after that, a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the berlin wall. [bells ringing] >> notice the color of the bourbon, that city amber color that you see. it is all coming from the char from the inside of the barrel. this charter is where bourbon gets all of its color and a lot of its flavor. currently, they discovered over two hundred chemical flavors just in the coke and the char from the barrel. >> this weekend, we highlight frankfort, ky on the tv and american history tv. throughout the history, look for the history and literary life of the kentucky state capital. american history tv, a visit to

. >> pamela constable, sunday night on c-span's "q&a." >> for politics and public affairs, nonfiction books, and american history, it is the c- span networks. all available on television, radio, and online, and social media sites. the surge, watch, and share all of our programs anytime with c- span that a video library. and we are on the road with the digital bus and the local content vehicles, bringing our resources to local communities and showing events from around the country. it is washington your way. the c-span networks -- created by cable and provided as a public service. once more video of the candidates, seem what political reporters are saying, and track the latest campaign contributions with c-span's web site for campaign 2012 -- easy to use, it helps you navigate the political landscape with twitter fees and facebook updates from the campaign, candidate bios, and the latest polling data, plus links to c- span media partners in the early primary and caucus states. all at c-span.org/campaign2012. august 16 marks the 34th anniversary of elvis presley's death and this week an

. >> washington post correspondent pamela constable on c-span's q&a. >> last month current and former members of the house financial services committee attended did hosted by the u.s. capitol historical society. we will hear the keynote address from committee chairman michael oxley, republican from ohio. this is an hour. >> it worked! ladies and gentlemen, if i may have your attention please. please continue to eat and enjoy your coffee and dessert. good evening. i am the president of the u.s. capitol historical society and former member of congress from connecticut. our celebration of the financial services committee is possible because of the ongoing support of society members and generous additional support of several donors. they are listed near the end of your printed program. thank you for advancing the mission of the society. [applause] >> the committee has produced landmark legislation over the past 146 years. the o and class act, glass-steagall act, national housing act and so many more. the committee has been shared by members of congress whose names commonly appear in histo

. >> pamela constable sunday night on c-span's q&a. a [applause] >> remarks from former homeland security secretary tom ridge on the state of homeland security since 9/11 held by the chamber of commerce. this is about half an hour. >> thank you for your warm response. great to join you again. and take the sponsors of the event and faint the chamber for giving us an opportunity to reflect on where we were, what we have done and where we need to go. i am privileged to be part of this. frankly looking forward to the discussion -- i was privileged to serve in one capacity or another and look forward to that engagement as well. it is important that we continue the discussion of what we have experienced and learned and can still learn from september 11th, 2001. i appreciate the opportunity to share opening thoughts with all of you and look forward to secretary napolitano's comments. everybody remembers where they were and what they redoing the 9/11. you remember where you were when president kennedy was assassinated. neil armstrong walked on

host: pamela constable on c- span's "q&a."urch bell tolling] >> notice the color of the bourbon. that pretty amber color is all coming from the jar on the thebridge -- char on inside of the barrel. the char is where the birding gets all of its color and a lot of its letter. there are over 200 chemical flavors just in the coke and hcar from the barrel. the char of the barrel. >> we highlight frankfurt, kentucky on book tv. urban renewal. crawfish bottom. and the like of the calgary soldier. tv, a visit of public traced distillery, one of only four distilleries in operation during prohibition, for medicinal purposes of course. the old state capital. book tv and american history tv and frankfurt, kentucky next weekend on c-span3 in c-span2. >> watch more video of the candidates and track the latest campaign contributions with c- span website for campaign 2012. easy to use, it helps you navigate the political landscape with twitter feed and facebook updates from the campaigns, canada bair raese, an allegis polling day. plus links

pamela constable sunday night on c-span's "q & a." >> next a panel of intelligence and national securityexperts looks at why the united states has not had a major terrorist attack since 9/11. this is an hour and 15 minutes. >> jamaica harmon, former member of congress, president of the woodrow wilson scholars, and last but not least, philip, who literally wrote the book on 9/11 as executive director of the 9/11 commission. you couldn't ask for a better panel. i am going to start right here with you to ask the most obvious question. some of these questions are going to be obvious, and some are not. the most obvious, and we will start here and go down, is this. it is almost 10 years since 9/11, and it happened again. why? >> joseph, i am single out four things just to help get the conversation going a little bit. number one, we came after their home sanctuary, broke it up and set them on the run. what this does is it did he graded their operational capability. 9/11 was actually the third intercontinental operation. we had operatives who are organized and trained on one continent, actually

. >> pamela constable sunday night on c-span. >> this week and, jerry schilling talks about events that led to his 1970 visit to the white house. we will also visit mount vernon where recent discoveries have shed new light on george washington, warriors statement and painter. it was his acquired love for painting in the portrait of his wife. give the complete we can schedule at c-span.org/his tory. >> t video political scholars debated how the changing demographics well change the political landscape. they take part. this is just over an hour. >> that afternoon. welcome. my name is carla. i am a senior one. they inaugurated this series of a debate on how much government is good government. government is to much. they faced off on whether social media destroyed thin strips. you can see all of these on the web site. the idea is to offer a simple question and bring them together to discuss it. i would like to salute my colleague. and kristin for working to make this a reality. and exciting to be moderating. -- i am excited to be moderating. there is another reason i am happy to be here. i

. >> "washington post" correspondent, pamela constable, sunday night on c-span's "q&a." here on c-span we are live at the american enterprise institute to hear from two political scholars debating how changing u.s. demographics are shifting the political landscape for 2012 and beyond. we are going to hear from ruy teixeira and michael barone of the american enterprise institute. it should get under way in a couple minutes. we'll have it live for you once it starts here on c-span. else where in washington today, the administration announcing calling for syrian president assad to step aside. the u.s. joining britain, france, germany, and the european union in a series of demands for the president, president assad to resign. president obama saying assad has lost all credibility as a leader. this ahead of the president heading on vacation to martha's vineyard. we asked our callers this morning, testimonyic callers on "washington journal" about the impact of the president's bus trip over the last couple of days. we'll show you some of those comments while we wait for this liv

. >> "washington post" correspondent pamela constable tonight on c-span's "q&a." watch more video of the candidates. see what political reporters are saying, and track the latest campaign contributions with c- span's web site for campaign 2012. easy to use, it helps you navigate the political landscape with twitter feet and facebook updates, as well as links to c- span media partners in the early primary and caucus states, all ad c-span.org/campaign2012. august 16 marked the 34th anniversary of elvis presley's death, and this week and on c- span3, jerry schilling talks about the king and events that led to his 1970 visit to the white house and his meeting with president nixon. we will also visit mount vernon where recent archaeological discoveries have shed new light on george washington -- the gardener, warrior, statement, president, painter. the talk about dwight eisenhower, has acquired look for painting, and his 1952 portrait of his wife. get the complete we can schedule at c-span.org/history -- the complete weekend schedule. >> "washington journal" continues.

. >> pamela constable tonight on c-span's "q & a." >> a 12 member panel is charged with cutting $1 trillionn spending over the next 10 years. this is 1 hour and 20 minutes. >> the biggest surprise to me has been this committee and how we dealt with our debt ceiling in this most recent iteration. here is how we will proceed. i will give a brief description. i will be brief and leave a lot out. there are all kinds of things that make it difficult. i specialize in simplicity and that is what you are going to get. after i describe the deal, we will turn to sarah binder, a senior fellow here at brookings. she is an expert on congress and legislative politics. she will talk about the history of supercommittees. whenever congress cannot make a decision or force is up to do the right thing, they appoint a committee or a commission. sarah will describe that and talk about this particular committee and how it will operate. then we will turn to bill gale. he works with the tax policy center. he is the author of several versions of the deficit and 10 year projections. he can produce projections faster

. >> washington post correspondent pamela constable sunday night on "q.&.a.". >> now, republican presidentialw mexico governor gary johnson speaks at the national press club in washington. mr. johnson did not participate in the iowa straw poll and did not receive any votes. this weekend, he begins a nine-day campaign tour of new hampshire which is scheduled to hold a primary in february, 2012. this is one hour. >> good afternoon and welcome to the national press club. i'm mark hambrick with associated press, the 104th president of the national press club. we are the leading professional organization for journalists and are committed through our programming such as this to foster a free press worldwide. >> for more information about the national press club, we invite you to visit our web site. to donate to our programs, please visit the web site at www.press.org/library. so,on behalf of our members worldwide, i would like to welcome our speaker, as well as those of you attending today's event. our head table includes guests of the speaker as well as working journalists who are club members, so

. >> pamela constable sunday night. >> here is the key. we were stunned. the law is so clear. if the scheduled benefits cannot be paid, they will give only the cable benefits. that may sound like garbage. that is a real gut grandeur. that is the one that will hit in 2037. last may there is less coming in than going out. you get to this point. you would get payable benefits and not scheduled benefits. you can sue. you can own. you can treat. it will not do you a lot of good. that is a few feet to me. we went to the aarp and said we think you ought to help. their magazine has really picked up. sex over 50 is the cover. now it's a sex over 60. the ads are about how to get something and not have to pay for it. medicare will pay for it. repaid the aarp magazine. it is a marketing instrument. are there any patriots and here are just marketers' fact that is a harsh statement. i intended to be that. they have not helped one bit. they say we have two things we can suggest. they are still waiting. >> we're looking for more. >> two political scholars debate how this will affect the polit

. >> pamela constable, sunday night, on c-span. washington journal took a look at the economies with three separate guest. this is about an hour and 15 minutes. the first of three economies around the globe doing better in this global economy, the first is focusing on china. our guest is yukon huang, a senior associate at the carnegie endowment asia program. he will be with us for the next 20 or 25 minutes. we will get you involved in this discussion about china possibly economy. this week when the vice president joe biden is there to help shore up the economic relations between our two countries. it was a snapshot. what is the state of china's economy? guest: it country growing at 10% a year worries more about inflation than doubled it recession. rather than dealing with high unemployment, it actually cannot find enough workers because the economy is booming, exports surging. the real concern is how to maintain double-digit growth for the next decade. host: where is the investment money coming from? guest: they generate a lot of s

after that, a question and answer with pamela constable. the examine some statements of the 2012 presidential candidates. susan speaks of the collapse of the soviet union and why it matters. we begin a week-long talks on medicare. we're looking at the major changes to the program for the last 45 years. "washington journal" live at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> see what political reporters are saying and check the latest campaign contribution was c- span's website for 2012. it helps you navigate the political landscape with facebook updates from the campaign. plus of dade city media partners. >> he took part across the midwest. president obama is reportedly preparing to outline several new jobs initiatives and his plan for the economy. this meeting is one hour and 10 minutes. >> please welcome the president of the united states. >> thank you. thank you so much. it is good to be back. it is good to be back. i just came from the county fair. i want to of knowledge a few people. ray lahood this analysiis in th. i did not know you were here either. ever