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American Morning
Red Cross Readiness; Cyber Safety
Aired April 12, 2006 - 09:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hurricane season is upon us. The official start is June 1st, and this year in particular we wonder if the safety net of emergency services is really ready this time to respond to dire needs in a timely way. As the only congressionally chartered charity, the Red Cross plays a special role in all this, has a special responsibility as well, and during Katrina and some of the other storms, the charity did not always meet the challenges.
Joe Becker is senior vice president of preparedness and response for the Red Cross and joins us now from Orlando.
Mr. Becker, good to have you with us.
JOE BECKER, RED CROSS: Good morning.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about your plan. Specifically what you're talking about is spending upwards of $80 million to get things in order. What are you going to be doing?
BECKER: What we're trying to do is make sure that we can serve more people in more places more quickly, and when we went through Katrina last fall, with a lot of other folks, we learned when you have a disaster of 20, 15 times bigger than what you've ever handled before, what systems got stretched and what systems need to be more robust.
So we're spending money and effort to build our capacity to respond. We're increasing our call center capacity. We're increasing the amount of supplies that we're putting ahead of time into the potentially affected area. We want to have even more ability to respond quickly on the ground than we had last year.
M. O'BRIEN: You mentioned call centers. Call centers were one of the big problems. We found out some of the money that was raised through those call centers, instead of going to people in need were pocketed by people who are rather unscrupulous. As you ramp up and spend that kind of money, what are you doing to put in checks and balances to ensure the hard-earned money people give you ends up where it is supposed to go?
BECKER: We have a team of people that are looking at those controls and making sure that as we build new systems and expand the systems that we were using, we will have more appropriate controls in place there.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Among your goals are to serve one million meals a day in the aftermath of the disaster, shelter a half- million people a day in the aftermath of the disaster, triple the warehouse space, prestock a million debit cards, preposition communication systems and coordinate with state and emergency agencies. These sound like great goals, but a million meals in the day after a disaster. Is that something -- is that just a nice goal, or is that something you can really pull off?
BECKER: We want to have positioned ahead of time ready-to-eat meals for those earliest days before the supply chain, before the infrastructure is in place. On the fifth day after Katrina, we served about a million meals. That's when the demand reached that point. We want to have on the ground ahead of time the prepackaged meals, and then bring our kitchens up over the next couple of days to be able to feed even more people.
M. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this, there's got to be a quandary, though. When you say pre-positioning, We're Talking about hundreds and hundreds of miles of coastline that are susceptible and at risk here in the United States when it comes to hurricane season. How could you possibly be ready for such a large front, so to speak?
BECKER: That's the challenge, and every disaster is unique, and we wish we knew where they were going to hit. So we want to have an infrastructure of supplies positioned in the States that we know are at risk, but we want to be able to move them quickly from point A to point B to make sure we can respond as fast as we can.
M. O'BRIEN: How are you going to do that?
BECKER: Our chapters in the communities every day and they're there, and we have that infrastructure that we work from and we use. What we want to do is have a series of warehouses in each of the states in the potentially affected areas so that we've the supplies very close to what we think might be the affected areas.
M. O'BRIEN: God forbid you have a Katrina-level disaster of that proportion -- let's hope that doesn't happen -- can you really respond to that? Is there any agency that can respond to that level of disaster?
BECKER: When we have something that large, we know that it takes everybody to respond. It takes the agencies. It takes government. It takes a lot of partners. It takes that rural church down the country road to open its doors and welcome people in. It takes America to respond when we have something that big. The Red Cross will be demonstratively better than we were last year. Will we be where we need to be? That will just have to grow over time to maybe sure we're as good as we possibly can.
M. O'BRIEN: Joe Becker is with the Red Cross. Thanks for being with us -- Soledad.
BECKER: Thank you very much.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In the Internet age, keeping kids safe while they surf is a major concern for parents obviously, and the popular Web site myspace.com is taking steps to present kids from online predators.
AMERICAN MORNING's Dan Lothian is live for us about this in Boston.
Hey, Dan, good morning.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Well, myspace has really been under the media microscope as of late because of all of these concerns over predators possibly lurking on their site. Now myspace, which has about 70 million members, is trying to keep its cyber-playground safe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello?
LOTHIAN (voice-over): Fourteen-year-old Stacy Yanofsky's mother pulled 9 plug on the popular social networking site myspace.com, even though nothing bad had happened to her.
STACY YANOFSKY, FORMER MYSPACE MEMBER: I really didn't think about the dangers of being -- of posting something online.
CINDY YANOFSKY, PARENT: That's the fear of every parent, that your kid will get in trouble, because they are too innocent.
LOTHIAN: Photos, sometimes provocative, and personal details are often shared on the site and others like it.
Now in the wake of assault and rape allegations across the country, stemming from meetings in myspace, and amid growing concerns that some teen sites are becoming a playground for predators, myspace has hired a former federal prosecutor-turned Internet safety expert to keep a tight grip on security. It has also posted this public service announcement banner on its site. It warns, "One in five kids online is sexually solicited. Online predators know what they're doing. Do you? Don't believe the type." That is part of a campaign created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Ad Council.
ERNIE ALLEN, NATL. CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: What we seeking to do was, one, to inform parents and urge them, challenge them to get more involved in their kids' lives, and, secondly, to say to kids, when you're online, you're in public. You need to be careful.
LOTHIAN: To help crack down on criminal activity, myspace says it has also created a team assigned to work with law enforcement. There's an 800 hotline for investigators, and a handbook to help guide police through the network.
But still, parents and educators who blocked access to the site on school computers, worried criminals are slipping through and preying on minors. Child safety advocates say a lot more can be done. ALLEN: We think these provider, myspace and the other social networking companies, need to do more to ensure that young kids are kept off of the sites, and that those people who are misusing their services for unlawful purposes are identified and prosecuted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LOTHIAN: Everyone agrees that there's no way to make these sites 100 percent safe, but myspace says that education is key, that parents should treat the cyberworld much like they do the real world, that is to instruct their children not to talk to strangers and not to give out any personal information -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, thanks for the update. Appreciate it.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Andy is "Minding Your Business." This morning he's become a bit of a gearhead. Just where is he?
S. O'BRIEN: He's in a Mercedes is where he is.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Hey, guys! I'm down at the auto show here and I'm having a blast, and we have found some unbelievably cool concept cars. We're going to show you those, as well as this really smooth Mercedes S-class, costs a lot of money. Might be worth it, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: It's a car show. And Andy managed to scam his way out of the building, hopped in a cab...
S. O'BRIEN: And into a Mercedes.
M. O'BRIEN: And then from the cab to the S-class. I mean, what can I say? What can you say?
S. O'BRIEN: And fast.
SERWER: Yes. Know, someone has to sit in a Mercedes all morning. It might as well be me, you guys. Now this is a really fab car. We're going to tell you all about the S-class, which is going to be coming out the end of summer.
But before we do that, we went around the show and found some really awesome concept cars. We want to get to those.
First of all, let's talk about the Chrysler Imperial. It's an old name, but it's got a new look here, as you can see. Look at these suicide doors, and it looks a little bit like the 300, the Chrysler 300, which is kind of neat, too. How would you like to drive that around the neighborhood?
Do we have the Toyotas coming up here? We've got a couple of Toyotas. This is the Toyota F-3R, a hybrid minivan, also with suicide doors, and again, you know, a lot of times they don't make these concept cars, but they're really good for show.
On to the Toyota Fine T, which has -- look at these multidirectional wheels, the Delorean-style door, and the steering wheel, check that out. It's got right-hand drive because it's made for Tokyo at this point, but I just love looking at these things.
And then finally, we're on to the Nissan Urge. This is being described as the fast and furious set. I don't know if we got this one. It's got a video console. Anyway very, very cool.
But let's go come back and check out this Mercedes S-class.
M. O'BRIEN: Wait a minute, Andy, Andy, Andy, it has a video game console in the car? It sounds dangerous.
SERWER: Yes, you know, something the drivers can do while he's parked, right? Presumably.
M. O'BRIEN: Just checking.
What about this thing?
SERWER: Let's check out this Mercedes. This is really cool. What we want to feature here, this is the new S-class that's going to be coming out this summer, is this infrared nightvision system that you can actually see on the screen. Ordinarily it's just a speedometer, but this actually works at night, so you can see 500 feet out into the dark, avoiding obstacles. You want to see if a parking slot safe when you're getting out.
Check this out, the scrolling here on the navigation system is just, you know, by hand. It gets you right down block by block, or you can go all way out into a national picture just like that. And this car is supposed to have a sticker somewhere around $180,000, they're saying.
And I'm not sure if I can get one as a loaner, but...
M. O'BRIEN: Wow, I like that.
SERWER: I know that I don't have $180,000. It's a beautiful car.
M. O'BRIEN: You'd be driving around looking at that screen. That doesn't sound like a wonderful idea, what do you think? It's just -- when it's so dark.
SERWER: It's interesting. Right, I talked to them about that. And what you're actually supposed to do is glance at it and use it sort of like a third set of mirrors. It actually sees farther, they say, than headlights do, in the dark. And again, you know, a parking lot kind of thing, you want to see who's out there. It's really clearer than nightvision goggles that soldiers would use in Iraq, the Mercedes people tell me. So pretty amazing stuff. M. O'BRIEN: You know, what they need is a head-up display like on a fighter, you know, that's Projecting on the windshield. I think some...
S. O'BRIEN: That wouldn't be distracting at all while driving. What are you talking about?
SERWER: How about just a helmet with this thing.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Andy. Well, enjoy your little trip down fantasy lane there.
SERWER: I will. I'm having a ball.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.
"CNN LIVE TODAY" is coming up. Daryn, what are you working on? Good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, this is the perfect transition because we're talking about high gas prices. Yes! And if they have you moping and you need better miles per gallon, well, the sign of the times calls for cutting your pump costs. Our personal finance editor Gerri Willis will be here with a few tips on that, and you'll meet a remarkable 12-year-old girl. She decided she needed to help folks in hospice care. Inspired, she's won an award, the Butterfly Award, named after Alex Scott. You might remember her from Alex's lemonades stand. We'll have Alex's mother, Liz Scott, and this nice young lady, (INAUDIBLE), ahead on "CNN LIVE TODAY."
S. O'BRIEN: Well, good, looking forward to that. That's nice. That's good for her.
All right, Daryn, thank you.
KAGAN: Sure.
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, we've got an etiquette guide of sorts. Can you see that there? from our friends at the fashion and style Web site, dailycandy.com. Kind of a guide to living large, being hip. Danielle Romano is back. She tells us just how to pull it off. That's up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: In Alexandria, Virginia, as we speak, the cockpit voice recording tapes of United Airlines Flight 93 from 9/11 are being played.
Carol Costello joining us with more.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, they just started to play right now and they're sure to be emotional. These tapes run 30 to 35 minutes long. And we understand that jurors just heard somebody say there's a bomb on the plane. We would assume that was from one of the hijackers. And you heard a sense of panic on board the plane.
Lots of other emotional things due to come out of that, of course pup know. Of course, you know, the one thing everybody is probably waiting to hear is Todd Beamer saying, "Let's roll."
And, of course, the jurors are deciding if Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the 9/11 attacks in the United States, will be put to death. As that tape plays on and we hear anything else from inside the courtroom, of course, we'll pass it along to you.
Back to you, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Carol Costello. Thank you very much. Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: We're going to take a short break. We're back in just a moment with the latest from DailyCandy. It's a guide from A to Z, literally how to be hip and cool and stylish. We're back in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: For DailyCandy, first it was the daily e-mails and the Web site, all filled with the latest in fashion and food and style. And now their first book. It's called "DailyCandy From A to Z: An Insiders Guide to the Sweet Life."
Editor-at-large Dannielle Romano is back and joins us. Nice to see you. Congratulations on the book.
DANNIELLE ROMANO, "DAILYCANDY A TO Z": Good morning. Thank you so much.
S. O'BRIEN: Very, very exciting.
ROMANO: It's a labor of love. And you know, we're know-it-alls. A hundred and fifty words in daily e-mail is not enough, so we went on for every letter of the alphabet.
S. O'BRIEN: It is so funny. We've been laughing all morning.
ROMANO: Thank you!
S. O'BRIEN: It's really an etiquette guide for the modern day.
ROMANO: It is. It's -- that's sort of -- it's not about buy this, do this. You know, style isn't about these hard and fast rules. It's about the little things in life that make it just more enjoyable, easier. So just sort of the fundamentals of living a good, sweet life.
S. O'BRIEN: We'll get to F for fundamentals in just a moment.
ROMANO: I'm not rushing you.
S. O'BRIEN: You go A to Z. And we're not going to be able to go A to Z.
ROMANO: And we keep in it in alphabetical order so you don't have to.
S. O'BRIEN: Which is so helpful.
ROMANO: That's for Miles, actually.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's start with C, in fact, because you have charm. That's page 23, charm. What's charm, exactly?
ROMANO: Charm is, you know, one of those things that's like irony. I'll know it when I see it. It's that intangible thing that makes, you know, uptight librarians blush and makes the charming person get their way without anyone else knowing what they're up to.
S. O'BRIEN: How do you get charm?
ROMANO: I think it's important to remember to ask lots of questions. These are things that seem obvious, but so many of us are so busy and so, you know, distracted by work that we forget.
S. O'BRIEN: You have to listen to be charming.
ROMANO: Listen. Some charming gestures. You know? Don't stand there like a stick in the mud. What about never knowing what someone does for a living within five minutes of meeting them.
S. O'BRIEN: It's kind of a New York thing.
ROMANO: So often you get the expected, so what do you do? And that's actually horribly rude. You should be unexpected. Ask questions that they're not expecting, and carry a conversation piece. Whether it's a scar, a really gnarly tattoo or a funny-looking friend.
S. O'BRIEN: Something to talk about.
ROMANO: No better way to get people talking to you.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh. Don't talk about what you do.
ROMANO: Right, exactly.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the chapter that begins with E, which is edibles.
ROMANO: Edibles, yum! One of the sweetest thing about life is gobbling things down. And we put this funny -- you know, especially in New York and L.A., going out to eat is almost an art form. So much is not about the food, it's about the crazy people watching and the pretension of the restaurant.
S. O'BRIEN: It's all about the attitude.
ROMANO: We put a tongue in cheek guide to eating out in pretentious restaurant. And it's like, loudly demand a table by the window. If you don't get that, demand to be reseated. Once seated, boredly check your voice mails. And of course, it's all this horribly rude stuff. But it's just how to be -- a lot of this is really practical and really useful, and a lot of it is really ridiculous.
S. O'BRIEN: It's very, very funny. Fundamentals. Give us the really practical rules to live by. What are your favorites?
ROMANO: My favorites are remember to floss.
S. O'BRIEN: That's a good one!
ROMANO: That's a practical one. Some of the best three-word phrases are, "I love you." What are some -- I always forgot. The two best two word phrases, "I'm sorry." And just sort of like remembering...
S. O'BRIEN: Snow day.
ROMANO: Snow day! Those are the two best words. "I'm sorry" and "snow day." Two word phrases. And remembering just sort of what your moral compass is and remembering that sometimes, like any compass, it gets misadjusted. So whatever brings you back to your center, whether it's yoga or AA meetings, just sort of remember. What other funny fundamentals?
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, there's so many. It's such a cute -- it's totally, totally cute. A question for you. I want to talk about -- we're going to skip to S, which is score.
ROMANO: Score!
S. O'BRIEN: Score, which is also -- can be sample sales.
ROMANO: Sample sales.
S. O'BRIEN: Because a lot of that score chapter is about sample sales.
ROMANO: Yes. And we make the joke that Moses came down with not two tablets, but three. One of them which was lost was the sample sale Ten Commandments. Thou shalt nor bite, scratch or -- there's something else bad. Shoving might be OK.
S. O'BRIEN: Shoving is always OK at sample sales.
ROMANO: Remember to wear underwear, because there are never going to be dressing rooms.
S. O'BRIEN: You will be changing in public.
ROMANO: The most typical, like, female shopping behaviors come to the floor in sample sales, but it's usually worth it. Thou shalt covet when it comes to scoring.
S. O'BRIEN: Thou shalt save a lot of money on those designer duds if you go to the sample sale. ROMANO: Exactly.
S. O'BRIEN: Dannielle Romano, always nice to see you.
ROMANO: So much fun! Thank you!
S. O'BRIEN: Congratulations on the new book, which is called "DailyCandy from A to Z: An Insider's Guide to the Sweet Life."
We are back in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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