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Live From...
Multiple al Qaeda-Friendly Sites Being Dropped
Aired May 13, 2004 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The videotaped beheading of Nicholas Berg is a disturbing example of how terrorists are using the Internet to spread their message and recruit new members. Joining me now from London to talk about that, Paul Eedle, a media executive and journalist who tracks extremist Web sites. Good to see you, Paul.
PAUL EEDLE, OUTTHERENEWS.COM: Good evening.
PHILLIPS: Well, first of all, when you and I were talking earlier, there were a number of these Web sites. But you say a number of them have been shut down. Explain this.
EEDLE: A number of al Qaeda related Web sites have been shut down since the beheading video was posted. We don't know whether this was action by security services or simply complaints being made to the web companies hosting them. But several of the most important of them have disappeared in the last 48 hours.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk about this one Web site. Muntada al-Ansar, the one that had the decapitation of Nick Berg. What do you know about this Web site and has it been a ongoing platform for terrorists?
EEDLE: Muntada al-Ansar has been one of the main message boards where supporters of al Qaeda have posted messages. In point of fact, the ghastly video was not actually hosted by Muntada al-Ansar, it was on a site called "Farouk" which we know to be one of the main Web sites that has been putting out al Qaeda material.
But al-Ansar was the way in which this message reached the world. Somebody posted the message to say this is where to find this video. And within hours it had been spread around the world.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk about why terrorists are taking advantage of Web sites like this and using it as a tool to disseminate their causes. We could call it Web warfare. Why have they latched on to this and how are they so much more advanced than we are when it comes to Web work?
EEDLE: Why are they using the Internet? Because the real battle here is for American opinion. Al Qaeda's aim is to break America's will to stay in Iraq. And it knows that by killing one American and filming it and putting it on the Internet, it can have more impact than a hundred hit and run attacks on American convoys.
Why are they better at it than Western governments? I think because al Qaeda lives in the world of the Internet. These are 20- something people, young people who use e-mail, message boards, voice chat, instant messaging as a matter of course. This is how they run their lives.
But I'm afraid that the bureaucrats who run security and intelligence services don't live in this world. It is their kids who live in this world.
PHILLIPS: So, Paul, should these Web sites be censored? Is it possible that these Web sites could even be censored?
EEDLE: It's an academic question. The Web sites can't be censored. They'll be taken down, but they'll pop up again. We've seen this repeatedly over the past two years. I think Western governments need to find a strategy that accepts that these Web sites will exist and works out how to deal with them.
PHILLIPS: Have you decided to put the videotape on your Web site of the decapitation, yes or no? And if not, why?
EEDLE: No, I wouldn't distribute this. It's the most appalling piece of video I've ever been forced to watch. And I don't think there's any virtue in disseminating it further.
PHILLIPS: Paul Eedle, thank you for your input today.
In the wake of the Iraq prisoner abuse revelations, there's one question on the minds of many: is this scandal going to cost Donald Rumsfeld his job? Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider says, don't hold your breath.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): There's a reason why President Bush would find it difficult to fire Donald Rumsfeld. You could hear in it the question posed to Rumsfeld by a Democratic senator.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: How do you answer the question you posed last October? Your question was again are we capturing, killing or dissuading more terrorists every day in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) clerics or recruiting, training and deploying against us? How would you answer that today?
SCHNEIDER: You can hear it in Bush's statement about the dangerous implications about the prisoner abuse scandal.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It has given some to question our cause and to cast doubt on our motives.
SCHNEIDER: You could hear it in Senator Kennedy's call for Rumsfeld's firing.
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I think we need a new secretary of defense. My own preference would be Secretary Colin Powell. He knows how to win a war in Iraq. Our Iraqi policy is a disaster. SCHNEIDER: Just like a former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara was once identified with the war in Vietnam, Donald Rumsfeld is totally identified with the war in Iraq. And President Bush cannot afford to have that war seen as a failure.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: There should be no doubt that if force is to be used, and that decision has not been made, that the coalition forces will prevail and that it will be a very large coalition.
SCHNEIDER: Back then, in March of last year, he dismissed talk of a quagmire in Iraq.
RUMSFELD: I can almost promise you that someone in this room will say it's a quagmire quite apart from the facts.
SCHNEIDER: The public already thinks things are going badly in Iraq.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We risk losing public support for this conflict. As Americans turned away from the Vietnam War, they may turn away from this one.
SCHNEIDER: That hasn't quite happened. Most Americans do not believe it was a mistake to go to war in Iraq. But by the same margin, they don't think the war was worth it, implying the cost is too high.
If President Bush were to fire Rumsfeld, it would hand opponents an argument, it shows that the administration's Iraq policy has failed.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I called for Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation months ago because of the degree to which he miscalculated Iraq. They miscalculated what it would take to win the peace, they miscalculated the numbers of troops, they miscalculated in their strategy, they miscalculated in the weapons of mass destruction. Why do we reward that?
SCHNEIDER (on camera): The perception that Iraq is a failure could very well doom President Bush's re-election. Firing Rumsfeld would feed that perception.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: In our next hour of LIVE FROM..., we'll introduce to you the newest group of Army interrogators. They're just wrapping up training preparing for real life encounters.
And read those labels carefully. Millions of people suffer from food allergies these days.
Two plus two equals -- too many? Why smart students can't get the classes they want. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Researchers with NASA and the National Science Foundation says that they have found a huge impact crater 100 miles off the northwest coast of Australia. They believe a meteor four to seven miles across created the crater when it hit 250 million years ago. At that time, the area was dry land. Even though it was long before the dinosaurs lived, the Earth was teeming with life. The researchers say that the impact caused the greatest extinction in the history of Earth known as the Great Dying.
In health news, researchers say a less invasive form of colon cancer surgery has proven just as effective as the conventional procedure. Keyhole or laparoscopic surgery involves small incisions and a tiny video camera.
In conventional colon cancer surgery, doctors make an eight inch cut down the abdomen. A ten-year study compared survival rates, tumor recurrence and surgical complications. Researchers found identical success rates. And patients who had laparoscopic surgery had less pain and shorter hospital days.
For millions of people with food allergies, reading package labels isn't just about checking carbs or calories, it about life and death. What's behind light threatening food allergies? Could it just be our immune systems getting bored? Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When 11-year-old Sam Gilman reach for a snack, he knows what to do.
SAM GILMAN, FOOD ALLERGY SUFFERER: Basically you have to read it from bottom to top and backwards, because that way you concentrate word for word.
GUPTA: And not miss even a trace amount of anything, because that could be deadly. You see, Sam has food allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and poppy seeds and shellfish.
GILMAN: I go into Anaphylaxis shock, and worst-case scenario, I could die.
GUPTA: Like others with life-threaten allergies, Sam has lots of an antibody called IEG. If he is even remotely exposed to an allergen, chemicals are released in the body that cause a frightening reaction.
ANNE MUOOZ-FURLONG, FOOD ALLERGY AND ANAPHYLAXIS NETWORK: Difficulty breathing, swelling of the lips or the tongue, the throat. You can hit the gastrointestinal system with vomiting, cramping, diarrhea. You can have hives on your arm or all over your body. In severe reactions, it can cause a drop in blood pressure, loss of consciousness and death.
GUPTA: Sam is not alone. According to the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, five million Americans suffered from food allergies five years ago. Today it exceeds 11 million. It's unclear why.
MUOOZ-FURLONG: One of the theories is that perhaps we've changed the way we live, our homes are cleaner, our immune system doesn't have anything to do. And for some people, it's developing allergies.
GUPTA: For those with food allergies, avoidance is currently the only option.
GILMAN: This is OK.
GUPTA: But avoiding allergens is not always easy. Sometimes it also involves learning a new language.
For example, lactoglobulin encasen (ph) equals milk. Spout ensaten (ph), that equals wheat.
REP. NITA LOWEY (D), NEW YORK, CO-SPONSOR OF BILL: A language they use, instead of talking English, they talk this fancy science talk.
GUPTA: So confusing that in March, legislation passed the Senate to force food manufacturers to more clearly label their products. The bill goes to the House next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you just tell me what's in the artichoke salad?
GUPTA: Like many people, Sam and his family first learned about his allergies when he almost died as an infant. Today they take no chances.
ANDY GILMAN, FATHER OF FOOD ALLERGY SUFFERER: We've been lucky that we haven't had another incident like the first one where we've had to. But that doesn't mean you can relax your guard.
GUPTA: Good advice, because although researchers are working on an immunization, no cure exists as of yet.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: You know the old saying. It has a good beat and you can dance to it. Lately you could say that about video games. We'll show you the latest trend in cross marketing.
Watch where you point your cell phone. Congress is cracking down on camera phones.
Tough lesson in supply and demand for America's college students. Why there's no room in the classroom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: With the high cost of higher education, more and more Americans are enrolling in community colleges. But with this tidal wave of students comes an increasing squeeze on state budgets. Casey Wian takes us into the halls of one school in Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pierce College in Los Angeles is a typical community college. Students who either can't afford or don't have the grades to attend a four-year school, adults training for new careers or learning a new skill, like English.
While demand for its services grows, the Los Angeles community college district cut 1,000 classes in the past year because of California's budget crunch.
PETER LANDSBERGER, CHANCELLOR, L.A. COMMUNITY COLLEGE DIST.: It is very painful for faculty to tell students that they cannot get admission to their classes. And sometimes I have seen situations where students were literally sitting on the floor hoping that one of the other students in the class would drop and make room for that student.
WIAN: California plans a 3 percent reduction in per pupil spending next year and a sharp tuition increase of nearly 240 percent over last year's rate.
SHANNON STOKES, PIERCE COLLEGE STUDENT: My family can't afford it. I work almost fulltime and I'm almost a fulltime student. Even with that, I can't afford it.
WIAN (on camera): What are you going to do?
STOKES: I might have to drop out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead of being a fulltime student, I would probably take a couple classes.
WIAN (voice-over): Now California community colleges are being required to accept up to 8,000 additional students frozen out of state universities by budget cuts.
California ranks 45th nationally in per pupil spending. Is it an extreme example of a nationwide problem. While state spending is down, enrollment is soaring, up 18 percent in 2002 alone.
GEORGE BOGGS, CEO, AMERICAN ASSN. OF COMM. COLLEGES: Whenever we see an economic downturn, more people go back to school. The other reason is we're seeing this tip of tidal wave of students headed toward higher education. Community colleges are taking a lot of these students, especially with tuition costs going up in four-year schools..
WIAN (on camera): Federal funding for community college students appears to be safe. And President Bush has proposed a $250 million job retraining program that would involve community colleges. Both the president and Senator Kerry have made campaign speeches at community colleges in recent weeks to draw attention to their critical role in the U.S. economy.
Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: It's a crisis affecting thousands of people. You've likely never heard of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The babies are the most vulnerable. This little boy is 22 days old, his parents say. And yet he's not growing. His hands are shriveled, his face that f an old man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Christiane Amanpour takes you inside a heart breaking disaster made by human hands.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All of a sudden we appear.
Remember playing Pac-Man? Remember that music from Pac-Man? It went boing, boing, boing. Did I get it right, Jason?
Video game soundtracks are lot more sophisticated now. Gamers can play to their favorite musicians. It is actually helping the recording industry, too. Jen Rogers explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEN ROGERS, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It`s hard to imagine this tune climbing the charts. Video game music has certainly come a long way since Mario, attracting artists as varied as Linkin Park, Snoop Dogg and Lenny Kravitz. For musicians fighting slumping sales, video games have become one more way to sell music. Deejay Rob Swift of the X-Ecutioners is hoping for a bump in CD sales thanks to visibility from video games.
ROB SWIFT, X-ECUTIONERS: It increases your popularity. Someone that is playing a video game and hears our music in the background will be more inclined to buy our album when they see it on the shelf at a store.
ROGERS: In fact, a 2003 study by Electric Artist showed 40 percent of video game users had purchased a CD after hearing a song they liked while playing a game.
KEITH BOESKY, VIDEO GAME AGENT: There are certainly bands who have had songs on games just like there are bands that have had songs in advertising campaigns or theme songs for television shows, where because the song is out there, it drives sales.
ROGERS: And it`s not just album sales but ticket sales, as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We never envisioned that we were going to be playing video game music.
ROGERS: This month, music from "Final Fantasy" was played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to a sold-out crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been playing the game for years and I just love their music.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The composing of the music is just phenomenal.
ROGERS: From the symphony to the studio, this game`s just getting started.
Jen Rogers, CNN Financial News, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 13, 2004 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The videotaped beheading of Nicholas Berg is a disturbing example of how terrorists are using the Internet to spread their message and recruit new members. Joining me now from London to talk about that, Paul Eedle, a media executive and journalist who tracks extremist Web sites. Good to see you, Paul.
PAUL EEDLE, OUTTHERENEWS.COM: Good evening.
PHILLIPS: Well, first of all, when you and I were talking earlier, there were a number of these Web sites. But you say a number of them have been shut down. Explain this.
EEDLE: A number of al Qaeda related Web sites have been shut down since the beheading video was posted. We don't know whether this was action by security services or simply complaints being made to the web companies hosting them. But several of the most important of them have disappeared in the last 48 hours.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk about this one Web site. Muntada al-Ansar, the one that had the decapitation of Nick Berg. What do you know about this Web site and has it been a ongoing platform for terrorists?
EEDLE: Muntada al-Ansar has been one of the main message boards where supporters of al Qaeda have posted messages. In point of fact, the ghastly video was not actually hosted by Muntada al-Ansar, it was on a site called "Farouk" which we know to be one of the main Web sites that has been putting out al Qaeda material.
But al-Ansar was the way in which this message reached the world. Somebody posted the message to say this is where to find this video. And within hours it had been spread around the world.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk about why terrorists are taking advantage of Web sites like this and using it as a tool to disseminate their causes. We could call it Web warfare. Why have they latched on to this and how are they so much more advanced than we are when it comes to Web work?
EEDLE: Why are they using the Internet? Because the real battle here is for American opinion. Al Qaeda's aim is to break America's will to stay in Iraq. And it knows that by killing one American and filming it and putting it on the Internet, it can have more impact than a hundred hit and run attacks on American convoys.
Why are they better at it than Western governments? I think because al Qaeda lives in the world of the Internet. These are 20- something people, young people who use e-mail, message boards, voice chat, instant messaging as a matter of course. This is how they run their lives.
But I'm afraid that the bureaucrats who run security and intelligence services don't live in this world. It is their kids who live in this world.
PHILLIPS: So, Paul, should these Web sites be censored? Is it possible that these Web sites could even be censored?
EEDLE: It's an academic question. The Web sites can't be censored. They'll be taken down, but they'll pop up again. We've seen this repeatedly over the past two years. I think Western governments need to find a strategy that accepts that these Web sites will exist and works out how to deal with them.
PHILLIPS: Have you decided to put the videotape on your Web site of the decapitation, yes or no? And if not, why?
EEDLE: No, I wouldn't distribute this. It's the most appalling piece of video I've ever been forced to watch. And I don't think there's any virtue in disseminating it further.
PHILLIPS: Paul Eedle, thank you for your input today.
In the wake of the Iraq prisoner abuse revelations, there's one question on the minds of many: is this scandal going to cost Donald Rumsfeld his job? Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider says, don't hold your breath.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): There's a reason why President Bush would find it difficult to fire Donald Rumsfeld. You could hear in it the question posed to Rumsfeld by a Democratic senator.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: How do you answer the question you posed last October? Your question was again are we capturing, killing or dissuading more terrorists every day in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) clerics or recruiting, training and deploying against us? How would you answer that today?
SCHNEIDER: You can hear it in Bush's statement about the dangerous implications about the prisoner abuse scandal.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It has given some to question our cause and to cast doubt on our motives.
SCHNEIDER: You could hear it in Senator Kennedy's call for Rumsfeld's firing.
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I think we need a new secretary of defense. My own preference would be Secretary Colin Powell. He knows how to win a war in Iraq. Our Iraqi policy is a disaster. SCHNEIDER: Just like a former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara was once identified with the war in Vietnam, Donald Rumsfeld is totally identified with the war in Iraq. And President Bush cannot afford to have that war seen as a failure.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: There should be no doubt that if force is to be used, and that decision has not been made, that the coalition forces will prevail and that it will be a very large coalition.
SCHNEIDER: Back then, in March of last year, he dismissed talk of a quagmire in Iraq.
RUMSFELD: I can almost promise you that someone in this room will say it's a quagmire quite apart from the facts.
SCHNEIDER: The public already thinks things are going badly in Iraq.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We risk losing public support for this conflict. As Americans turned away from the Vietnam War, they may turn away from this one.
SCHNEIDER: That hasn't quite happened. Most Americans do not believe it was a mistake to go to war in Iraq. But by the same margin, they don't think the war was worth it, implying the cost is too high.
If President Bush were to fire Rumsfeld, it would hand opponents an argument, it shows that the administration's Iraq policy has failed.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I called for Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation months ago because of the degree to which he miscalculated Iraq. They miscalculated what it would take to win the peace, they miscalculated the numbers of troops, they miscalculated in their strategy, they miscalculated in the weapons of mass destruction. Why do we reward that?
SCHNEIDER (on camera): The perception that Iraq is a failure could very well doom President Bush's re-election. Firing Rumsfeld would feed that perception.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: In our next hour of LIVE FROM..., we'll introduce to you the newest group of Army interrogators. They're just wrapping up training preparing for real life encounters.
And read those labels carefully. Millions of people suffer from food allergies these days.
Two plus two equals -- too many? Why smart students can't get the classes they want. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Researchers with NASA and the National Science Foundation says that they have found a huge impact crater 100 miles off the northwest coast of Australia. They believe a meteor four to seven miles across created the crater when it hit 250 million years ago. At that time, the area was dry land. Even though it was long before the dinosaurs lived, the Earth was teeming with life. The researchers say that the impact caused the greatest extinction in the history of Earth known as the Great Dying.
In health news, researchers say a less invasive form of colon cancer surgery has proven just as effective as the conventional procedure. Keyhole or laparoscopic surgery involves small incisions and a tiny video camera.
In conventional colon cancer surgery, doctors make an eight inch cut down the abdomen. A ten-year study compared survival rates, tumor recurrence and surgical complications. Researchers found identical success rates. And patients who had laparoscopic surgery had less pain and shorter hospital days.
For millions of people with food allergies, reading package labels isn't just about checking carbs or calories, it about life and death. What's behind light threatening food allergies? Could it just be our immune systems getting bored? Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When 11-year-old Sam Gilman reach for a snack, he knows what to do.
SAM GILMAN, FOOD ALLERGY SUFFERER: Basically you have to read it from bottom to top and backwards, because that way you concentrate word for word.
GUPTA: And not miss even a trace amount of anything, because that could be deadly. You see, Sam has food allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and poppy seeds and shellfish.
GILMAN: I go into Anaphylaxis shock, and worst-case scenario, I could die.
GUPTA: Like others with life-threaten allergies, Sam has lots of an antibody called IEG. If he is even remotely exposed to an allergen, chemicals are released in the body that cause a frightening reaction.
ANNE MUOOZ-FURLONG, FOOD ALLERGY AND ANAPHYLAXIS NETWORK: Difficulty breathing, swelling of the lips or the tongue, the throat. You can hit the gastrointestinal system with vomiting, cramping, diarrhea. You can have hives on your arm or all over your body. In severe reactions, it can cause a drop in blood pressure, loss of consciousness and death.
GUPTA: Sam is not alone. According to the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, five million Americans suffered from food allergies five years ago. Today it exceeds 11 million. It's unclear why.
MUOOZ-FURLONG: One of the theories is that perhaps we've changed the way we live, our homes are cleaner, our immune system doesn't have anything to do. And for some people, it's developing allergies.
GUPTA: For those with food allergies, avoidance is currently the only option.
GILMAN: This is OK.
GUPTA: But avoiding allergens is not always easy. Sometimes it also involves learning a new language.
For example, lactoglobulin encasen (ph) equals milk. Spout ensaten (ph), that equals wheat.
REP. NITA LOWEY (D), NEW YORK, CO-SPONSOR OF BILL: A language they use, instead of talking English, they talk this fancy science talk.
GUPTA: So confusing that in March, legislation passed the Senate to force food manufacturers to more clearly label their products. The bill goes to the House next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you just tell me what's in the artichoke salad?
GUPTA: Like many people, Sam and his family first learned about his allergies when he almost died as an infant. Today they take no chances.
ANDY GILMAN, FATHER OF FOOD ALLERGY SUFFERER: We've been lucky that we haven't had another incident like the first one where we've had to. But that doesn't mean you can relax your guard.
GUPTA: Good advice, because although researchers are working on an immunization, no cure exists as of yet.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: You know the old saying. It has a good beat and you can dance to it. Lately you could say that about video games. We'll show you the latest trend in cross marketing.
Watch where you point your cell phone. Congress is cracking down on camera phones.
Tough lesson in supply and demand for America's college students. Why there's no room in the classroom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: With the high cost of higher education, more and more Americans are enrolling in community colleges. But with this tidal wave of students comes an increasing squeeze on state budgets. Casey Wian takes us into the halls of one school in Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pierce College in Los Angeles is a typical community college. Students who either can't afford or don't have the grades to attend a four-year school, adults training for new careers or learning a new skill, like English.
While demand for its services grows, the Los Angeles community college district cut 1,000 classes in the past year because of California's budget crunch.
PETER LANDSBERGER, CHANCELLOR, L.A. COMMUNITY COLLEGE DIST.: It is very painful for faculty to tell students that they cannot get admission to their classes. And sometimes I have seen situations where students were literally sitting on the floor hoping that one of the other students in the class would drop and make room for that student.
WIAN: California plans a 3 percent reduction in per pupil spending next year and a sharp tuition increase of nearly 240 percent over last year's rate.
SHANNON STOKES, PIERCE COLLEGE STUDENT: My family can't afford it. I work almost fulltime and I'm almost a fulltime student. Even with that, I can't afford it.
WIAN (on camera): What are you going to do?
STOKES: I might have to drop out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead of being a fulltime student, I would probably take a couple classes.
WIAN (voice-over): Now California community colleges are being required to accept up to 8,000 additional students frozen out of state universities by budget cuts.
California ranks 45th nationally in per pupil spending. Is it an extreme example of a nationwide problem. While state spending is down, enrollment is soaring, up 18 percent in 2002 alone.
GEORGE BOGGS, CEO, AMERICAN ASSN. OF COMM. COLLEGES: Whenever we see an economic downturn, more people go back to school. The other reason is we're seeing this tip of tidal wave of students headed toward higher education. Community colleges are taking a lot of these students, especially with tuition costs going up in four-year schools..
WIAN (on camera): Federal funding for community college students appears to be safe. And President Bush has proposed a $250 million job retraining program that would involve community colleges. Both the president and Senator Kerry have made campaign speeches at community colleges in recent weeks to draw attention to their critical role in the U.S. economy.
Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: It's a crisis affecting thousands of people. You've likely never heard of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The babies are the most vulnerable. This little boy is 22 days old, his parents say. And yet he's not growing. His hands are shriveled, his face that f an old man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Christiane Amanpour takes you inside a heart breaking disaster made by human hands.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All of a sudden we appear.
Remember playing Pac-Man? Remember that music from Pac-Man? It went boing, boing, boing. Did I get it right, Jason?
Video game soundtracks are lot more sophisticated now. Gamers can play to their favorite musicians. It is actually helping the recording industry, too. Jen Rogers explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEN ROGERS, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It`s hard to imagine this tune climbing the charts. Video game music has certainly come a long way since Mario, attracting artists as varied as Linkin Park, Snoop Dogg and Lenny Kravitz. For musicians fighting slumping sales, video games have become one more way to sell music. Deejay Rob Swift of the X-Ecutioners is hoping for a bump in CD sales thanks to visibility from video games.
ROB SWIFT, X-ECUTIONERS: It increases your popularity. Someone that is playing a video game and hears our music in the background will be more inclined to buy our album when they see it on the shelf at a store.
ROGERS: In fact, a 2003 study by Electric Artist showed 40 percent of video game users had purchased a CD after hearing a song they liked while playing a game.
KEITH BOESKY, VIDEO GAME AGENT: There are certainly bands who have had songs on games just like there are bands that have had songs in advertising campaigns or theme songs for television shows, where because the song is out there, it drives sales.
ROGERS: And it`s not just album sales but ticket sales, as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We never envisioned that we were going to be playing video game music.
ROGERS: This month, music from "Final Fantasy" was played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to a sold-out crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been playing the game for years and I just love their music.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The composing of the music is just phenomenal.
ROGERS: From the symphony to the studio, this game`s just getting started.
Jen Rogers, CNN Financial News, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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