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Merchant of Death's Day in Court; Wi-Fi to be Banned on Planes?; 300 Fetuses Found in Thai Buddhist Temple; Violence Stemming from Cholera Outbreak in Haiti; The Dangers of Four Loco; Georgia Tech Working on Humanoid Robot
Aired November 17, 2010 - 12:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, my friend. You have a great afternoon, Tony. I'm Ali Velshi for the next two hours today and every week day. I'll guide you through the maze of information coming your way.
Together we'll learn what's going on at home and around the world. I'll give you access to folks who can best explain what it means today and the impact beyond today.
I'll also show case the best ideas in innovation, philanthropy and public education. My mission is to help you figure out how what is going on around you fits into your life. Let's start right now. Here's what I've got on the run down.
He is known as the "Merchant of Death" an alleged Russian arms dealer extradited from Thailand to the United States going on trial for conspiring to kill Americans.
Plus, the new buzz on those so-called energy drinks loaded with caffeine and alcohol. The FDA just moments ago out with a statement saying, they're dangerous and they could be seized. I'll give you the latest on that. And we'll meet some real-life humanoid robots, check that out, ready to step up and be noticed in today's Big I.
We begin with a revealing controversy in every sense of the word as Americans prepare for the busiest air travel time of the year. The folks in charge of keeping flyers safe are defending their procedures against a noisy and indignant backlash. Everyone wants to be safe but it's pretty clear that we all have our private boundaries when it comes to scanning and touching. You've seen this viral video from San Diego. A pat-down that turned into a standoff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED TSA AGENT: Also we're going to be doing a groin check. That means I'm going to place my hand on your hip, my other hand on your inner thigh and slowly go up and slide down.
PASSENGER: OK.
TSA AGENT: We are going to do that two times in the front and two times in the back.
PASSENGER: Alright.
TSA AGENT: And if you would like a private screening we can make that available for you also.
PASSENGER: We can do that out here but if you touch my junk I'm going to have you arrested.
TSA AGENT: Actually we're going to have a supervisor here because of your statement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Now, that would be passenger who recorded that walked out on the search and for that he faces a possible $11,000 fine. It does say at the airport you are welcome not to be searched but once the process has started you are now not welcome to leave. He left and faces a fine quite possibly.
But most flyers skip or are spared the hands-on approach in favor of machines. If you fly out of any of these airports you'll go through advanced imaging that raises its own set of privacy concerns. You've seen those pictures. These are the airports that use that not to mention health concerns - some people are concerned about radiation.
Now already we've seen lawsuits against Homeland Security and TSA and then there's the opt-out campaign urging folks to protest so- called virtual strip searches by not flying at all over Thanksgiving or if you do, insist on the pat-downs because they take longer and can tie up the lines. Through it all, most of us claim to be just fine with body scans.
A recent CBS poll, though, shows 81 percent of Americans believe airports should use the state of the art scanners. Only 15 percent disagree. So this may not be the ground swell movement that some people are making it up to be.
For the second day in a row the head of the Transportation Security Administration is facing lawmakers who seem genuinely sympathetic to his position which could be summed up as "damned if you do and damned if you don't." Our Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve tells us more about it. Jeanne --
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Ali, John Pistole was in front of a Senate committee today and gave absolutely no indication that these policies are going to change any time soon. Travelers can expect to use either these advanced imaging machines or if there is some anomaly when they go through those or through a metal detector they will be subjected to these enhanced pat-downs.
Now, members of Congress had a lot of questions for him. They asked repeatedly, have you gone too far? Here is one exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MIKE JOHANNS (R), NEBRASKA: I've often wondered as this has kind of developed over time, at what point there is a tipping point with the American public. You know, take off your belt, take off your coat, take off your shoes, take out your liquids on and on. And now advanced imaging and as you acknowledge, very intrusive pat-down if you choose not to do that.
Does that worry you that maybe we're at a point here where this is not a vocal minority? That people just think you've over stepped?
JOHN PISTOLE, TSA ADMINISTRATOR: I am sensitive to that, Senator. I know the threats are real and so what it comes down to is how do we balance? And what I believe is that reasonable people can disagree as to the balance between privacy and security. So we all agree that everybody wants to be secure on that flight where we don't necessarily agree is what is the proper balance between that security and privacy?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Pistole said he made this change because a number of different reports by Inspector Generals and others indicated that the old pat-down procedure wasn't good enough, wasn't catching threats. He said that he, the Homeland Security Secretary, and other top officials have all had this enhanced pat-down. He acknowledged it's intrusive but said it's what's necessary. Ali?
VELSHI: Terrorism is intrusive, too.
MESERVE: Yes. That's his point. That the bottom line is...
VELSHI: I hope he says it more loudly because I'm not quite hearing that as clearly as I think we should. I mean, I have a lot of people sending things on Facebook and Twitter saying we might be overstating the ground swell movement. That new poll indicates 80 percent of people think they do need to use techniques and I think we all agree we need to keep safe.
It is an interesting discussion. He is more polite than I would be I suspect if I were involved in that testimony.
MESERVE: Well, he is a very moderate, cool, calm guy.
VELSHI: Yes.
MESERVE: But what he kept trying to underline is this is about security. This is about keeping aviation safe.
VELSHI: Yes.
MESERVE: And by the way, you mentioned in the intro the threat of possible fines against John Tyner, the guy who recorded that interaction with the TSA screener. Pistole said today that that is still under review but there were strong hints he is not going to be fined. He said the only people who have been fined thus far are people who were actually trying to smuggle things through...
VELSHI: Right. MESERVE: ...through security checkpoints.
VELSHI: Right. I don't think the fine was meant to prove a point. He was making a statement. I'm not sure he sort of fits the intent that that fine was designed for. Oh, well. Alright, thanks for this. This conversation is not going to end any time soon as long as we still have the threat of terrorism. Jeanne Meserve thanks so much.
MESERVE: You bet.
VELSHI: There are new concerns over cargo obviously on airports and that has prompted new precautions that could spell a quick end to something I enjoy a great deal given how much I travel - Wi-Fi on airplanes. Now, it's by no means certain but some experts fear that airborne Wi-Fi could help terrorists detonate bombs.
My next guest is an expert who almost took the reins of the TSA. Errol Southers withdrew his nomination back in January after months in partisan limbo. He is now the Associate Director of the National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events, and an Adjunct Professor of Homeland Security and Public Policy at USC.
He joins me now from Los Angeles. Errol, thanks very much for being here. I was saddened on a very personal level that someone might say we're going to take the Wi-Fi away in the plane but it's kind of like the pat-downs.
I travel a lot and I think the priority has to be on staying safe. Just walk us through why Wi-Fi on an airplane might now be a problem.
ERROL SOUTHERS, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL CENTER FOR RISK AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF TERRORISM EVENTS: Well, Ali, Wi-Fi gives the bomber the capability to either detonate that device on the plane, using a cell phone or using a computer, or, in fact, to -- through voice over internet protocol, perhaps detonate a device or device you saw in the multiple planes while in flight.
And that's been a concern since the beginning. But needless to say, as a result of last month's cargo bomb threat, we realize that internet or Wi-Fi is not necessarily required.
VELSHI: Right. Is this one of those things where the Wi-Fi that's offered to you on a plane, the technology there, are they able to sort of limit what you might be able to do or is the fact that you got internet connectivity on an airplane now worrying us that somebody could actually do something that you just need the internet to trigger?
SOUTHER: Well, there is a worry but it's not a new worry. And I know that one airline that does offer Wi-Fi has stated that voice over internet protocol or voice over IP is not possible on the aircraft so that certainly can limit it. But as I mentioned earlier, this really is a concern that's not new. We saw in 1995 there was a plot called "Operation Bojinka" and Ramzi Yousef who should sound familiar as he was the 1993 World Trade Center bomber had a shoe bomb that he got on a plane and successfully detonated it on a Philippine Airlines jet which killed a passenger.
That evolved until six years later we saw Richard Reid again with a shoe bomb and then last year with Abdulmutallab transporting a device in an underwear garment. So what's important to note here is that there is an evolution. There is an evolution in bomb technology, there's an evolution in attack path protocol and more importantly a human element that we have to pay attention to. It is the human factor that is the most important in the counterterrorism equation.
VELSHI: Errol, you just saw Mr. Pistole testifying before congress and I know you're not in the business of critiquing what he might have done but I was sort of saying to Jeanne Meserve, you know, could he have, could they be doing a better job of marketing what they're doing and perhaps taking a stronger position against people who think that they're getting you their personal space while trying to keep flyers safe?
SOUTHER: Well I think you've actually nailed the real issue here. The better job comes through education and, Ali, you fly a lot as do I. And I've spoken to people that plan to travel in the next two weeks, the highest peak travel season of the year. And they're concerned about going to the airport. That concern, which elevates to a level of fear if you will, can be easily mitigated through education.
The Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano had an op-ed out on Monday in the "USA Today" and it spoke to the things that people might expect or be subjected to. I think that's the beginning of a discussion. I think that we have to have the United States traveling public part of the security system.
VELSHI: Right. You'd agree that it's not really the most productive thing to do to call for some kind of a boycott or slowdown on Thanksgiving, though, for the travel as some people are doing?
SOUTHER: I do not -- I don't agree with that. And I think it's counterproductive. What happens is we have limited resources, how abundant as it may seem to the traveling public, with the numbers of people working for TSA, we want the TSA officers to focus on risk. If the focus has to be a person who is intent on disrupting the system because they don't agree with the policies or procedures, now the focus of attention and the focus of the countermeasures is on a population that doesn't need it.
And we have another set of the population that's not intent on going along because they believe that they have been wronged or they believe that it's not appropriate. That's undue. So I don't think an opt-out is a necessary option here. I think we need to work with the TSA, work with the people that are screening, so we can then focus on the people in line who really should be going to secondary and deserving the more erroneous, I should say exigent protocol. VELSHI: Yep. Very well said, Errol, thanks very much. We'll talk to you in another hour we'll get a little deeper into what we can actually do because the concerns of Americans are real. Let's see if we can fix them. Errol Southers will join me again in an hour.
Alright, staying on the topic of terror he is known as the Merchant of Death. An alleged Russian arms dealer charged with trying to kill Americans is now in a U.S. jail. I'll have a live report and tell you what this is all about right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: You may not have heard this guy's name but U.S. officials have been fighting hard to get their hands on alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for years now. I thought that I did a good job saying his name. Now they have him. He is behind bars in New York. Bout arrived on a special DEA plane last night after Thailand agreed to extradite him. He is expected to appear in federal court today.
Here is what we know about the man often called the Merchant of Death. He is a former Soviet Air Force Officer, the son of a bookkeeper and an auto mechanic. He speaks six languages. His alleged arms network includes Africa, Afghanistan, and South America. One U.S. official calls him the Bin Laden of the clandestine arms trade. Alright, Susan Candiotti has been following this story. Susan, what's the story here?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well they finally got their hands on him after a very long struggle but right now as we speak he is in court making his very first appearance before a federal judge. And Viktor Bout is someone that authorities say they were able to nail through an undercover operation that they called "Operation Relentless." And here is what happened.
Back in 2007, part of 2008, some undercover or rather confidential sources for the DEA worked in meetings, several meetings with Viktor Bout. According to the charges, he agreed to sell them all kinds of ammunition and explosives and rocket launchers and AK- 47s, surface-to-air missiles, this kind of thing, in order to kill FARC -- or rather, U.S. officials and (ph) FARC that were fighting...
VELSHI: Right.
CANDIOTTI: ... the rebels in Colombia. And so part of this undercover deal, they arranged to sell all this material in this undercover operation. Now, the U.S. attorney held a news conference a little while ago, and he kind of summed things up about their case against Viktor Bout.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRETT BHARARA, U.S. ATTORNEY: In a series of recorded meetings and telephone calls in South America, in Europe and in Asia, Bout and his associate allegedly made clear that they were ready, willing and able to provide a substantial arsenal to the FARC for use against the United States. According to unsealed documents, here is just some of the deadly arsenal that Viktor Bout allegedly offered up -- more than 700 surface-to-air missiles, 5,000 AK-47 assault rifles, anti- personnel land mines, C-4 explosives, and literally millions of rounds of ammunition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now, as part of the investigations arsenal, the U.S. government says it already has accepted a guilty plea from someone who was acting, they say, as an intermediary for Viktor Bout...
VELSHI: OK.
CANDIOTTI: (INAUDIBLE) So they've got him, they say, in their back pocket. Obviously, this is someone who will be poised to testify against Viktor Bout.
VELSHI: Do we think Viktor Bout's staying in the U.S.?
CANDIOTTI: Oh, he's staying here for now. He is in U.S. custody right now. He's got to go through the system. Russia...
VELSHI: Not happy about this.
CANDIOTTI: ... not happy about this.
VELSHI: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: That's right. They're protesting it. They're saying that the extradition was illegal. They're calling this deplorable. And it really calls into question the future relations between the U.S. and Russia...
VELSHI: Right.
CANDIOTTI: ... on many different levels...
VELSHI: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: ... the war in Afghanistan...
VELSHI: Right.
CANDIOTTI: ... the drug war they've been helping with, nuclear arms treaties and the like, meetings coming up between the -- between Russia, rather...
VELSHI: Right.
CANDIOTTI: ... and the U.S. government. So...
VELSHI: But it does -- it does make you think about the Soviet Union and that because that was the last time...
CANDIOTTI: Right.
VELSHI: ... we were having tough relationships with Russia. We'll keep a close eye on that. Susan, thanks very much.
CANDIOTTI: You're welcome.
VELSHI: Susan Candiotti on the story of Viktor Bout.
All right, inflation hits a record low. Sounds good, right? So why are economists so worried? I'll tell you about it. "YOUR $$$$$" coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Let me bring you up to speed with some of the top stories we're following here at CNN. New numbers on the scope of unemployment in this country. CNNmoney.com has added it up, and unemployed Americans have collected $319 billion in jobless benefits over the past three years. Benefits are scheduled to run out at the end of the month for about two million people if Congress doesn't approve another emergency extension.
Haiti's worsening cholera outbreak has jumped the border into the Dominican Republic now. Dominican health officials confirmed their first case and issued a maximum health alert. Moments ago, we got word from the Florida Department of Health that a woman who recently traveled to Haiti has been diagnosed with cholera in Florida. The outbreak in Haiti has killed more than a thousand people so far.
And strong storms ripped through the Baltimore area, leaving behind a trail of debris. Numerous homes were badly damaged, including an apartment building that had the roof torn off. There were some injuries, but none of them were considered serious. Around 20,000 people, however, were left without power.
This day and age, prosthetic limbs have come a long way. Last week, we showed you a remarkable story of a paralyzed woman who was testing out robotic legs. Now similar technology is helping four- legged friends get around. We'll show you after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Fido goes robo. A British veterinarian is giving some pets prosthetic limbs with technology that rivals what's used on humans. Rob Marciano explains in today's "Edge of Discovery."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mitzi Davis is walking again. After being trampled by a horse in June, her owner was left with a tough decision.
VIV DAVIS, MITZI'S OWNER: Her options were three legs, euthanasia, or give her the chance to walk. And we had to give her the chance to walk.
MARCIANO: Mitzi is one of just a few dogs in the world that can be labeled bionic. On this day, Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick is taking off Mitzi's bulky leg brace and replacing it with a sleek, permanent prosthetic foot. He did this using a revolutionary device called an ITAP, a custom-built metal rod placed inside Mitzi's leg.
DR. NOEL FITZPATRICK, FITZPATRICK REFERRALS: It's a permanent fixture. It's part of the dog's body. The dog just gets on with life.
Before ITAP came into being, there was no way to give an animal a prosthesis.
MARCIANO: ITAP technology has also been tested on humans. Fitzpatrick says traditional prosthetic devices for humans can sometimes be painful and difficult to use. He says ITAP could be a remarkable alternative for people and their pets.
FITZPATRICK: If what I do by helping my patients in their needs help other patients that are animals or human, excellent. I think it is the future, yes.
MARCIANO: Rob Marciano, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Man, that is a good story!
All right, the FDA ready to can those caffeinated alcoholic drinks that are popular on college campuses. I'll have the latest buzz after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right. I want to bring you up to speed with some news we have from the FDA. They have warned four companies that their caffeinated alcoholic beverages were unsafe and could be seized under a federal law. Now, you probably have been following this story. We were talking about a caffeinated drink that ended up sending a bunch of college kids to the hospital. It was called Four Loko, caffeinated alcoholic beverages. The maker of that drink preempted the FDA yesterday by saying that it is removing the caffeine and the guarana (ph) and the taurine -- these are all stimulants -- from the drink. Dozens of other products, however, are likely to be targeted by the FDA.
Let's bring in Elizabeth. Let me give you a couple -- Elizabeth's there, but can I just show you some of the names of these things, Elizabeth, that are probably going to be targeted? These are the ones that the FDA -- OK, I don't have the names of them, but I'll tell you, they're called charge (ph) beverages. That's the maker of a drink named Core (ph), New Century Brewing, maker of Moon Shot (ph), Fusion Project, which is the maker of Four Loko, and United Brands Company, which is the maker of Joose and Max (ph). Joose is J-O-O-S- E.
Let's bring Elizabeth in to tell us about these issues. Elizabeth, these are caffeine and alcohol and other stimulants, independently not always the problem that they are when you put them together. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Lots of caffeine, lots of alcohol. And what happens is that people were drinking these things, Ali, and not realizing how drunk they were. Usually, when you drink a lot of alcohol, you pass out. That's actually your body's way of keeping you from drinking even more. But when you heavily caffeinate yourself, guess what? You can stay awake and keep drinking. You don't get that nasty alcohol headache, either.
So that was the issue. And as you said, these kids in Washington state ended up in the hospital. Kids have ended up at the hospital elsewhere. And sometimes officials get confused and think they're actually drugged. That's how drunk they are.
VELSHI: What's the manifestation of this? They're drunk and they're really awake and then they kind of crash because the caffeine runs out before the alcohol effect? What ends up happening to these kids?
COHEN: Right. That's basically it. I mean, they become so drunk that sometimes, they're driving around and don't know where they are. They wake up in strange places. I mean, they call it a blackout in a can. They basically end up blacking out.
We actually went on line, Ali. There is truly a Web site for everything. There is a Web site called FourLokostories.com, where people are leaving the stories of what happened to them when they drank Four Loko. Now, I'll say this is a blog, so we can't confirm the identity or any of these stories. But it's worth hearing about a couple of them, especially if you're not a big Four Loko drinker.
One person said, "Four Loko caused me to jump out of a two-story window and grind strawberry cake into the hardwood foyer of a friend's house" -- two bad things, I guess.
Deep into my blacked out state -- this is another one -- I began running through campus in my underwear making death threats to anyone around me.
And, I tried to light a cigarette on a gas stove -- this is another writer. Instead I lit my hair on fire. Then I cried because I thought everyone was making fun of me. Which they probably were.
So these apparently are the kinds of things that happen when you combine alcohol and caffeine in these large amounts.
VELSHI: All right. So this company that makes Four Loko, Fusion Projects and the other companies, if they take out the caffeine and the Taurine and other stimulants, what's the other one we're talking about -- Guarana. So now you've got alcoholic drinks that are beverages, they're sort of sweet-tasting alcoholic drinks.
Where do they fall?
COHEN: Well, they're just still considered alcoholic beverages. But I think what's important for people to know is that there's a ton of alcohol in these. They are 12 percent. I have a couple in front of me here. They're 12 percent alcohol by volume. Beer is like around five percent alcohol by volume. So you can see there's a big difference.
Plus, see these bright colors? These are fruit punch flavor and green apple and blue raspberry and lemon lime. And from what I'm told from people who drink them is that you don't really feel like you're drinking alcohol. You feel like you're drinking juice and it's carbonated and feels kind of like a juice or a soda. And so people are chugging them, and as you can see they're large, they're 24 ounces and possibly not realizing just how drunk they're getting.
VELSHI: Let me ask you. Where does the FDA or the government get the authority to come in and do this? Because can I drink a whole lot of rum and a whole lot of coke and a whole lot of coffee?
I mean, why is there government regulation of this?
COHEN: You can. I've had several people tell me today, Elizabeth, what's wrong with the FDA? Why are they taking this away? I mean, after all you can just get an Irish coffee at a bar or you can get a rum and coke.
A couple things going on here. One, this is one product that contains both of them that apparently has led to some problems. And number two, rum and coke isn't necessarily going to have as much alcohol and as much caffeine as these things are going to have. And you don't chug those necessarily the way that people tend to be chugging these.
So the amount of alcohol, the amount of caffeine in here, it can be a little bit hard to replicate in these large volumes. And that's why the FDA said, you know what, as a product we don't consider this safe.
VELSHI: Interesting. Elizabeth, thanks very much for this. We'll continue to follow this story to see what happens with that FDA ruling.
COHEN: Thanks.
VELSHI: All right. It was an overwhelming smell that led police to a temple in Thailand. What they found was shocking. That story coming up next in Globe Trekking.
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VELSHI: Time now for Globe Trekking. First stop, Bangkok, Thailand. A disturbing discovery at a Buddhist temple. Police were called to the site because neighbors complained of an overwhelming smell. Hidden in the temple were the remains of more than 300 human fetuses. Police say they came from illegal abortion clinics. The remains were wrapped in plastic bags and newspaper and placed in mortuary storage areas. Six morticians have been detained for questioning. It is common for Thai temples to have morticians who prepare bodies for cremation. Abortion is illegal in Thailand except when the pregnancy endangers the life of the mother or is as result of rape.
Going now to Haiti, the U.N. is making an urgent appeal for calm, warning that riots triggered by the cholera outbreak are seriously hampering international relief efforts.
These pictures sent to us by CNN's Ivan Watson and his crew vividly tell the story. Rioters have placed burning barricades in the streets of the northern city of Cape Haitien. The only way Watson could get into town was to ride on the back of a motorcycle. The U.N. says aid flights -- all aid flights have been canceled. Water purification and training projects have been cut back.
Demonstrators also looted and burned a World Food Programme warehouse destroying 500 tons of food aid. The U.N. says at least one protester was killed by a peacekeeper acting in self-defense. Many Haitians blame U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal for the cholera outbreak. The U.N. says all peacekeepers have been tested and all results were negative. So far cholera has killed more than 1,100 people and has now spread to the neighboring Dominican Republic.
We just had a report a short time ago that Florida health officials announced a woman who recently returned to Florida from Haiti has been diagnosed with cholera. We're going to keep you updated on this as more information becomes available.
Let me bring you up to speed on some of the top stories we're following right now.
The head of the TSA, you see him there, he admitted to concerns over airline passenger pat-downs during a hearing on Capitol Hill this morning, but says they are necessary to keep travelers safe. John Pistole says the pat-downs are more invasive than in the past. He even admits being uncomfortable when he was patted down by a TSA screener. But, he says, screeners are always expected to treat people with dignity and respect.
Thursday's planned sit down between GOP leaders and President Obama has been postponed due to scheduling conflicts with the Republicans. The so-called Slurpee Summit will now be held on November the 30th. President Obama and congressional leaders plan to discuss the future of key issues following the Republican victory in the midterm elections.
General Motors' trek into profitability takes a major step forward with the first stock IPO since emerging from bankruptcy. The company expects to sell around $20 billion in stock in what could be the biggest IPO in history. As a result the federal government's stake in GM will drop from 60 percent to just a third. Taxpayers could recoup more than $11 billion.
In just two minutes we're going to show you video of the president of the United States and some robots. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: We love robots on this show and it seems President Obama does, too. Check out this video of the president checking out a couple robots this past weekend in Japan. He attended the APEC Summit in Yokohama. APEC is short for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. He checked out the humanoid robot called HRP-4C whose video went viral when the robot sang and danced last month.
The president was also seen riding on some sort of robotic chair that apparently goes really fast. He even got a bit of a surprise when the device wobbled a bit. Check it out. Yes, there you see? The robot chair is a concept car from Toyota. It's called iReel.
Coming up in just over 60 seconds we'll introduce you to a new humanoid robot that is super strong and super stable.
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VELSHI: You know how much we love robots on this show and we have the good fortune, particularly when we're in Atlanta to have the folks from Georgia Tech come over from time to time and introduce us to some of the robots that we've got. Now there's a humanoid robot they're working on at Georgia Tech.
Mike Stilman is joining me now from Georgia Tech. He's there in the studio.
Tell me about this, mike. What is this robot all about?
MIKE STILMAN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, GEORGIA TECH: Thank you very much, Ali. The robot is called Golem Crane. It's a humanoid robot developed by Georgia Tech in collaboration with SCHUNK. And the robot has super human ability to think about the world and be able to help humans by thinking about it.
VELSHI: Tell me -- give me the back story on this. How does it understand what people are thinking?
STILMAN: Well, it doesn't understand what people are thinking. It understands about its environment and about its own body so that it can actually take advantage of these skills and be able to use them to help people.
VELSHI: How would we use him? Give me some examples.
STILMAN: One example that comes to mind is if you have a search- and-rescue situation, so, for example, something like what happened in Haiti, and it actually has to interact, it has to go in there and take apart the environment and move rubble out of the way, then it can actually use its whole body in order to leverage the dynamics of its own system in order to be able to do this effectively and quickly.
VELSHI: All right. So the issue here, and tell me what the science is in making this robot, which by the way looking at it I wouldn't think it's all that stable but it's strong and stable.
How does that sort of compare to what we know humanoid robots to be like so far? STILMAN: Well, so typically what we think about with stability is static stability. So something like a bridge or something where the robot is basically standing there and it's actually less stable than you think because if you push on it, it will tip over and fall. Whereas with dynamic stability kind of like a Segway. If you push on it, it'll actually move out of the way and be able to support that push.
So the same thing happens when you interact with the environment or you're pushing on objects. Then you can use your whole body to interact with it, so kind of put your back into it, and be able to still maintain the stability of the whole interaction.
VELSHI: So what's the -- tell me what the big gain is. Let's talk about it whether it's a rescue or something. Now this robot is not something I have to be careful of or position a certain way. This is now a real helper.
STILMAN: Yes, this is a real helper because he can move around fairly freely. He can interact with the world and you don't have to worry so much about, OK, what happens if he gets pushed? What happens? Because fundamentally in the end, he's just going to move and then adapt to that and come back.
VELSHI: What, tell me where this is in development. Who's likely to use it?
STILMAN: So at the moment this is in the early stages of development. So right now we're testing the algorithms that make the robot think about the world, think about how it's use its body.
And later on, we're actually going to refine the mechanisms and refine the brain of the robot in order to actually make it useable both in search-and-rescue scenarios as well as for certain people who want to try this out in their homes. For example to do moving, lift their couch.
VELSHI: And would it be hard to teach this humanoid robot what to do, Golem?
STILMAN: Well, at the moment it's quite difficult to teach any robot what to do, including Golem, but this is precisely what we're working on in our lab.
VELSHI: That's why guys like you are around. That's why this isn't left to people like us.
STILMAN: That's the job.
VELSHI: Just don't teach him how to do my job.
STILMAN: So basically, right now what's going on with Golem is we're developing the brain. The idea behind it is that we have some certain algorithms we've developed where the robots can actually think about the world and decide. For example, let's say you were going to the kitchen and there was a chair in the doorway. Currently, robots can't actually make the decision to grab that chair and move it out of the way in order to get to the kitchen. Our robot can. So it can actually pick up a chair, move it out of the way, and then be able to get to where it needs to go.
So the robot can actually make these decisions for itself and then be able to proceed with whatever task you give it. So these are the kinds of brain activities, the kinds of functions that this robot will be able to do autonomously, on its own, as it is interacting with the environment.
VELSHI: I like that. I like it. When that's available let me know, Mike, because I want to try and get that to clean up my place.
Mike Stilman, assistant professor at Georgia Tech. He's a robotics expert, part of the Humanoid Robotics Lab at Georgia Tech and he introduced us to Golem. To check out Golem and other research from the Humanoid Robotics Lab in Georgia Tech head to my blog, CNN.com/Ali, and I will link you where you need to go.
Sarah Palin now answering the question on just about everybody's mind. The answer is ahead in your CNN political update.
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VELSHI: Answering the question of who should get tax cuts tops our look at the latest political news this hour. CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joins me now from Washington.
Hello, Paul. Who should get tax cuts?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, Ali, let's ask the American people. I have brand new CNN/Opinion Corporation Research poll numbers. Check this out, these are the top issues in front of the lame-duck Congress.
You mentioned it, tax cuts. Well, 35 percent, just over one in three say all Americans should continue to get these tax cuts. Remember, these Bush-era tax cuts expire at the end of the year unless Congress takes action. Forty-nine percent say only families making $250,000 or less should get them. And 15 percent say, you know what, nobody should get these tax cuts anymore. It's just too much money, we can't afford it.
Another big issue in front of Congress, gays in the military "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Look at our poll numbers, 72 percent of those we questioned say they favor allowing openly gay people serving in the military. "Don't Ask, Don't tell" may come up for a vote, repealing it may come up for a vote in this lame-duck session.
And one last thing, the START Treaty with Russia. Should the Senate pass this treaty, that is a big question mark. There's some push-back from Republican members of Congress on this. The president just said he was going to get it passed. Look at that, according to our poll numbers, 73 percent say the Senate should ratify that nuclear treaty with Russia, only 23 percent say no.
Ali, something else I want to tell you about, it is brand new on the CNN Political Ticker just a few minutes ago. And I'm going to ask our cameraman, Mark Yoda (ph), to zoom right in here to the CNN Political Ticker. A hundred and fifteen million dollars was spent on anti-Obama campaign ads by the Republicans during the midterm cycle.
That is a record for a midterm election year. Brand new numbers from the Campaign Media Analysis Group, Ali, and you can find it, of course, on the CNN Political Ticker.
VELSHI: Paul, I thought you were going to tell me who you thought should pay more taxes. Don't go down that road.
STEINHAUSER: Doesn't matter what I think.
VELSHI: Good to see you, my friend. I always care what you think.
Paul Steinhauser, my good friend and deputy political editor.
CNN, of course, committed to keeping you informed on all the important political news whether or not there is an election around the corner. Your next update is just one hour away.
For over a decade Jay-Z has been a hero for his big beats and clever word play. Now he's moving into a new medium. From writing rhymes to writing books, he'll tell us about his new autobiography coming up next.
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VELSHI: Even if you're not into hip-hop, you've likely heard of Jay-Z, he's into everything. Besides music, he's a philanthropist and political activist and very big business man. Tight with folks like Warren Buffett. They are shoulder to shoulder on the cover of September's "Forbes." Jay-Z is not on their richest list yet, but with an estimated worth of $450 million, I would say he's doing OK growing up in the projects dealing drugs.
He talks about that in his new book "Decoded." Poppy Harlow, our senior hip-hop correspondent got a preview.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: That's about the best title, senior hip-hop correspondent about.
VELSHI: I think you're really versatile and do a lot of things, but when I saw the Poppy Harlow/Jay-Z thing, I had to have you on.
HARLOW: Threw you for a loop? What, what, what is she doing?
We sat down with Jay-Z, we've been trying to talk to him for a while. And he's talking because he has this new book out, it's called "Decoded," and what he does is he breaks down the lyrics of 36 of his songs. But what's interesting it they truly tell his life story, rising from living in the projects to being a multimillionaire, a huge business icon around the world.
I asked him why did you write the book right now? Forty years old, why was it the right time? Interestingly, it tied in with President Obama.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAY-Z, ENTERTAINER & ENTREPRENEUR: I wanted to make the case that rap is poetry for one. And some of the decisions we made, to give those decisions context -- why these songs are the way they are, why there is this certain gangsta rap, why this is taking place in America, and it felt like the perfect time to write it.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: You've said President Obama had the courage to tell the press that he had your songs on his iPod. You've been a big supporter of his the entire way through.
Has he followed through on the hope that he promised?
JAY-Z: I think he has, he's on his way to delivering that. But it is impossible for someone to take eight years of our last administration and turn them around in two years. It is very difficult to deliver on everything, you know.
I think he is moving in the right direction, yes.
HARLOW: You spent hours meeting with him, and you write in the book about that meeting and you say, I wish could I remember one thing. But it was more what President Obama represents for you, the people you grew up with, black children, black adults across this country.
JAY-Z: Yes, and which means all children across this country. That, you know, us first, because it gives us another face. The hope of, OK, maybe I can be president of the United States. It takes for someone to do it for you to believe that you can achieve such lofty goals.
HARLOW: You insist that rap is poetry and you wrote, Chuck D famously called hip hop the CNN of the ghetto. Does hip hop and rap have a responsibility to report and not just entertain? To take it one step further?
JAY-Z: Yes, of course. You can entertain. It's everything. Rap is, you know, it's entertaining, it's informative, it is provocative, it is funny, it's silly. It is all of these things. So absolutely.
HARLOW: What is your advice to other people coming up who are trying to make it and trying to become moguls in and of their own right? What is your advice to them?
JAY-Z: My advice is to do things that are true to you. Most of things that I'm involved with are an extension of being creative. Rocco Wear is a clothing company, you know, it's part of who you are in hip hop is your attitude and what you're trying to express how you dress.
So I would just say, get involved in things that you love and also, have a standard for yourself and have some sort of integrity and try to, you know, find some sort of truth in what you're doing.
HARLOW: What did you learn on the street? Because you talk about being 13 and selling crack. Did that teach you something of how to be a successful businessman? How we all are common --
JAY-Z: All the things that you apply in business, you know, they say that he has great instincts. You know, well, while on the streets, having great instincts can be the difference between life and death, not just losing a deal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: He did follow that up with saying, look, I don't condone life on the street, but that was my reality. Selling drugs at 13 years old, that was my reality, and he learned instinct. He learned that you follow your gut to be a good businessman. It's paid off.
VELSHI: Did you ask him the obvious question?
HARLOW: What?
VELSHI: About Beyonce, his wife.
HARLOW: No. You would.
VELSHI: His married to Beyonce.
You didn't have to ask his name because you know that he wasn't baptized Jay-Z.
HARLOW: Right, Sean Carter.
VELSHI: Sean Carter. He's from Brooklyn, he's 40 years old, remarkably successful, married to Beyonce.
What's your sense of him -- because it must be hard, you're in there in an interview that is largely dominated by people in the entertainment industry.
HARLOW: Yes.
VELSHI: Now as a business reporter in you, what was your sense of him as a businessman? He is clearly very successful.
HARLOW: He's very successful. He owns his own clothing line. He made a $150 million deal with Live Nation to own his own production and record company and touring company. That's paid off very handsomely for him.
What's interesting is he ties himself to big corporations -- Coca-Cola, Reebok, Budweiser and HP -- but Ali, you know what he doesn't do? He just doesn't lend his name out. He's very involved in the creative process. And I asked him, why is that so important to you? He said it's my life. It's my name. I built this brand. I can't just give my name out there.
VELSHI: Does he draw -- in the book, does he draw a line between his drug dealing and success in business?
HARLOW: Absolutely, because it's there on the street and he said this later in the interview he learned how important trust was. You look the person in the eye you're doing whatever deal with and you trust them. Again, he doesn't condone what he did, but look, even President Obama met with him, for hours they met.
VELSHI: He's certainly influential, no question. He understands the music world, but he's influential.
HARLOW: He's very rich, but guess what. He said his most valuable possession is still his words, his lyrics.
His mother bought him a three-ring binder when he was a young kid. He would write his lyrics down in that, he hid it under his bed because he was afraid people would steal it. I said, so is that still your most valuable possession? He said absolutely. It was lyrics and music that brought me up, brought me out. Without that, he thinks he would have been incarcerated just like his friend was that it was in the same position as he was.
VELSHI: Interesting. Great interview. Poppy, thanks so much..
You're going to be on the GM stuff tomorrow?
HARLOW: Yes, tomorrow big day.
VELSHI: GM IPO comes out. We'll be talking about that.
