uzbekistan has long been known as one of the world's leading violators of human rights.ut a new report by human rights watch paints a picture of a regime that regularly tortures its citizens in pre-trial detention with extreme violence. the report adds that the u.s. and european union have been turning a blind eye to the systematic abuses in the nation it considers an ally and friend. >> protests in brussels earlier this year, the uzbekistan president was a guest of the european union, a visit aangered many. activists say such visitations give legitimacy to the role of the dictator. now the organization human rights watch has gathered evidence of what it says are systematic abuses. it spoke to relatives of prisoners subjected to torture. the reported family members being subjected to beatings with the electric shocks. >> there are political prisoners in uzbekistan, and there's no independent judiciary. lawyers are not allowed access to their clients. uzbekistan is one of the few remaining dictatorships in the world. >> why does the west remain silent? human rights watch

cain is a man who believes it's appropriate to refer to a former satellite as uzbekistan- stan and hasever met a question he couldn't answer with 9-9-9. i host a comedy program and don't like working hard. so we belong together. when i look at him i don't see a presidential candidate, i see... (laughing) all right. let's get to it. >> i would ask that you give a very enthusiastic welcome to my good friend and professional do-er, mr. herman cain. ( applause ) ♪ >> jon: who does that? there's a herman cain you don't know if they planned this or if he was late. (beep) they just said my name! gas it. seriously who plans something like that. like, hey, i've got an idea. you introduce me. i won't be there. i'll be on my (beep) bus. i'm sure the crowd is like, they said his name and then in the great distance we heard him roar. then we saw it. his bus. >> as of today with a lot of prayer and soul searching, i am suspending my presidential campaign. (crowd booing) (daily show crowd cheering). >> jon: did you hear his crowd? his supporters are like, oh, boo. oh, no. i mean the guy just wowed yo

. >> this was hillary clinton on a recent trip to uzbekistan. this president used to be regarded as a pariah ya in washington, but they have lifted a ban against them. >> why the u.s. is doing it because they are pretty scared. 2014 is quickly approaches. they not only need to get a lot of material into afghanistan, but they need to get a lot of troops and equipment out. they clearly don't feel they have all the routes they need. >> president obama's priority is to he said the war and get these soldiers home. but deals made along the way could have a lasting impact on this troubled region. "bbc news". >> now to a recent arrival in scotland causing quite a stir. last week, the first giant pandas to lift in britain for nearly two decades came in from china. today they were supposed to be showing off for the cameras, but as lorna reports, they are taking a rather different approach. >> he is one-half to what is hoped will become a famous panda pairing. he was eating and occasionally walking around his new home. sweetie is a little more camera shy,

we have basing rights in uzbekistan and lots of other places in and around the area and from there, we will probably continue to conduct some kind of military and/or military support operations inside iraq. you know, it's not exactly going to quiet down when we leave and we've already seen signs of continued and maybe increasing sunni unrest in the country. i think that's going to increase over time, just as we leave, and the iraqis are going to require some american support. >> you know, as we watch these live pictures, this is sort of the procedural part of it. we'll hear speeches, most notably by secretary of defense leon panetta. a lot of people, the world, in fact, will be watching what he has to say about where we are leaving iraq, the vulnerabilities that may be exposed that you touched on. what do you think would be the state of iraq is and whether or not now is the right time? >> well, it's not going to be anything at all like that which secretary panetta is going to discuss. i mean, he's going to guild it as well as he possibly can. the administration's decision is to remove

but this is in uzbekistan. yeah. it's not -- whoa. oh, boy. watch it. these go up.oy. >> that's great. >> again, a mass of technology. and they couldn't figure it out. >> people in uzbekistan, get rid of that. >> the one i fought for, 5-year-old twins, justin and jeremy, getting their particular groove on. it's the black eyed peas, "pump it." they're dancing to the wii. they're 3 years old, i might add. so, then, check it out. give us a little superbass. ♪ and it's a house favorite. ♪ >> there you go. >> bring it down. >> oh, yes. >>> coming up, justin bieber, plastic surgery. >>> healthy gifts for the holidays, brought to you by phillip's son care. holiday eating can lead to holiday weight gain. give the gift of exercise because on average, americans tend to put on how many pounds of holiday weight? go now to goodmorningamerica.com on ya hoar for the answer. what was that? save yourself... run... it's the monster. ahh, ah, no ♪ so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked abo

this is in a shopping center in uzbekistan. shoppers have a tough time stepping onto the escalator. one after another, the shoppers kept falling down the moving staircase. fortunately, shoppers were able to pull the emergency stop button before anyone was seriously injured. that could be quite an experience if you've never seen one before. they are corn-fusing. >> we tend to take stuff like that for granted in our own country. it's the first time for many people. >> we are going to get a check on our weather. outside, it's 50 degrees, and it is still december, we promise you. feels nice and mild. for more, let's go to meteorologist tom kierein to find out more. >> and there's no snow. good morning. weather and traffic on the ones at 6:11. >>> temperatures in the upper 40s to around 50 degrees all around the region now. 49 at reagan national. from mt. pleasant to bladensburg, laurel, springfield, laytonsville, it's cloudy. we do have a few sprinkles where you see the areas of green in southern maryland, parts of charles, st. mary's, calvert, and across the potomac farther west at fre

. >> let's start with uzbekistan. >> spell it. >> no. i'm from louisiana. i can't ever spell. can't even spell louisiana. >> ellen: all right. y'all have a staring contest. see who can stare at the other the longest and not blink. >> who are we staring at? >> you two can stare at each other and i'll stare at the camera. >> ellen: all right, all right. no blinking. >> y'all quit that. [laughter] >> ellen: all right. >> i just kind of -- >> ellen: go ahead. >> i just kind of got lost in faith hill's eyes. excuse me a minute. >> ellen: it's easy to happen. >> all right. i'm over. >> ellen: you all want some popcorn? it's a long show. give them some popcorn, luke. >> all right. popcorn on the way. >> ellen: put it in their hands. just grab it in your hands. we don't have any bags. >> well, i know -- i know where luke's hands have been. i've seen him on tour. >> ellen: all right. do y'all want some ellen underwear, or do you think you're pretty set on ellen underwear? >> yes, i want some. >> ellen: would you give faith some, please, luke? >> i thought she was wanting more popcorn.

uzbekist uzbekistan, then afghanistan, myanmar, number two, north korea.ntry in the world, somalia. >>> now back to iraq whereas you know, thousands of american troops will be leaving by the end of next month. one convoy, one soldier at a time. our own martin savidge is there. take a look. >> reporter: if the war in iraq has a finish line, then camp virginia is it. the last six weeks as many as 350 vehicles a day have been rolling into this remote base in the kuwaiti desert, delivering soldiers and equipment. >> no water, no mres. >> reporter: here teams workday and night guiding convoys through a series of stops. each one like an assembly line in reverse, taking off as as they say, downloading equipment accumulated over years of war. >> what sort of stuff are they getting out at this particular point? >> they're getting any kind of oil fuel, batteries, anything that was not issued to them or that they bought, they're downloading here. >> reporter: everything is sorted and collected. to be thrown out, recycled or put back in service. we brought to you this

so they're buying cheaper electricity from uzbekistan rather than run this multihundred-million-dollarlant that the united states taxpayer billed. i'm going to warn the stapt department. i'm not going to ignore the mistakes you're making in terms of sustainability of projects, but i want to get at this first because frankly i think this is a road we shouldn't go down with the military handling this kind of work. >> democratic senator claire mccaskill of missouri. of all the times i speak to you you never let me forget you that used to be the auditor of the state of month mop. >> there you go. >> i can hear it in your approach. >> that's exactly right. thank you, rachel. thanks. >> why did george w. bush and president barack obama make a joint appearance today? this is a good news story. it is a very, very good news story. that's coming up. >>> a woman named ginger white went very public on monday, alleging that she and republican presidential hopeful herman cain carried on a consensual sexual relationship for the past 13 years. today in manchester, new hampshire mr. cain continued to d

but out in uzbekistan they're getting it for the first time.ous video here. people struggling to use the escalator for the very first time. confusing to kids. >> because it's new. oh, my gosh. it could be so dangerous. >> confusing to kids and adults alike. these folks are struggling to just get on this thing and ride up to the other floor. they just for some reason couldn't keep their balance. couldn't quite understand what the point of this thing is. they just were having some difficulties out there. you know, modern technology. >> yeah. and the stop button. that's one thing everybody got. they're like let's just stop the whole thing. because it's too much. >> oh, the escalator. yes indeed. good luck out there. a few more years you'll have it down. >> the uzbekis will get it. >>> this i always find fascinating. sometimes my memory fades a little bit. >> everybody has some senior moments. >> there's been a new discovery that could lead to this memory-enhancing pill which used to be the fodder for science fiction. no more, apparently. a study b

but this is in uzbekistan. yeah. it's not -- whoa. oh, boy. watch it. these go up.t's great. >> again, a mass of technology. and they couldn't figure it out. >> people in uzbekistan, get rid of that. >> the one i fought for, 5-year-old twins, justin and jeremy, getting their particular groove on. it's the black eyed peas, "pump it." they're dancing to the wii. they're 3 years old, i might add. so, then, check it out. give us a little superbass. ♪ and it's a house favorite. ♪ >> there you go. >> bring it down. >> oh, yes. >>> coming up, justin bieber, plastic surgery. >>> healthy gifts for the holidays, brought to you by phillip's son care. holiday eating can lead to holiday weight gain. give the gift of exercise because on average, americans tend to put on how many pounds of holiday weight? go now to goodmorningamerica.com on ya hoar for the answer. what was that? save yourself... run... it's the monster. ahh, ah, no ♪ so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting