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Emotional Reactions to Mohammad Cartoon; Possible Bomb in Gaithersburg, Maryland; Conflicting Reports Of Survivors In Red Sea Ferry Disaster; Super Bowl Advertising

Aired February 03, 2006 - 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: From the Middle East, the Pacific rim, anger, threats and fear, louder and stronger than ever, over cartoons.
CNN's John Vause reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After Friday prayers came a flag-burning frenzy. Across the Islamic world, the protests have been angry, at times violent, and the message the same: Mohammad, the prophet, has suffered the ultimate insult, and the West is to blame.

"They put a time bomb on the head gear of our prophet Mohammad by which they want to establish that our prophet was a terrorist," says this Islamic leader in Bangladesh.

Pakistan's parliament unanimously condemned the Danish cartoons while thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in cities and towns, chanting, "Friends of Christians are traitors."

"The people of the West must take serious notice of this issue," says this religious leader. "They should realize the feelings of Muslims have been hurt. Muslims everywhere are very furious."

Some of the biggest protests have been in Gaza. Thousands holding up the Koran, chanting, "God is great." One Muslim cleric reportedly called for the severing of heads of those responsible for the cartoons.

Earlier, diplomats, international aid workers and news crews headed for Israel after a warning from gunmen they would be targets for kidnap if they didn't leave.

SARAH DE JONG, INTERNATIONAL NEWS SAFETY INST.: It's a bit tense. You get the sense that people are upset, they're angry.

VAUSE: In Jerusalem's Old City, Israeli border police clashed with Muslim worshippers. Men under 45 were banned from praying at the Al Aqsa Mosque because of fears they planned to protest. Stun grenades were used to clear the crowd.

One of the few voices of calm, though, came from the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. HAMID KARZAI, AFGHAN PRESIDENT: As much as we condemn this, we must have as Muslims the courage to forgive and not make it an issue of dispute between religions or cultures.

VAUSE (on camera): Eventually, the anger and outrage will most likely pass. But until then, this clash of religion and culture will do even more harm to the already strained relations between the Islamic world and the West.

John Vause, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: In southern Iraq, more than 4,000 people burned Danish and other Western flags. The cartoons first appeared in a Danish newspaper.

Iran, angry crowds form after Friday prayers chanting slogans and burning flags. No reports of arrests or injuries.

Indonesia, home of the world's largest Muslim population, more than 100 people stormed the Danish embassy. They don't get past the lobby, but do cause damage.

Bangladesh, a noisy but otherwise uneventful march by Islamic faithful as they chant "death to our enemies" and demand apologies.

And London, hundreds of Muslims march from a central mosque to the Danish embassy. Some carry signs demanding anyone who insults the Prophet Mohammad be killed.

The cartoon controversy swirls not just around religion, but also Arab culture and society. That's where most heroes are found in sacred writings, and where the comic book practice of giving superhuman powers to ordinary people is frowned upon.

Naif Al-Mutawa hopes to change that. He founded a media group in Kuwait that's about to unveil a series of comic books and a whole new type of superhero.

Great to have you with us, Naif.

NAIF AL-MUTAWA, CEO, TESHKEEL MEDIA GROUP: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, I want to first start by getting your reaction to the cartoon controversy. Is this not necessarily about the cartoon, but that it is, as Muslims say, blasphemous to the religion and to holy names?

AL-MUTAWA: I think, to quote a New York leader, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's reaction to having a portrait of Jesus Christ as a naked black woman in the museum here in Brooklyn, his words were that it was outrageous and disgusting. The same words can be used by depicting the prophet. I mean, A, because he's depicted, and that's anti- Islamic, but B because he was depicted with a bomb on his head, which is very, very insensitive and against everything we're taught should be happening.

PHILLIPS: So, do you think these cartoons are of ignorance more than anything else, and just a lack of understanding about the Prophet Mohammad and that you just don't do things like this when it comes to this type of figure?

AL-MUTAWA: I think it's a combination, a dangerous combination, of ignorance and arrogance. And I think we've been able to see that with different papers. The Belgian paper quoted a Belgian philosopher saying, you know, that we should be exposing these Muslims to a cartoon every week to get them used to it. Get them used to what exactly?

I mean, it's -- there needs to be guidelines. Just because someone can do something doesn't mean that someone should do something. And it's a matter of taste. I mean, I didn't see a newspaper in Denmark publishing pictures of the queen in pornographic situations, for example. You know, because that would be tasteless. This is tasteless, and it offended a lot of people.

PHILLIPS: Now, you mentioned Christ, and I'm just trying to think of -- kind of going through my head to think of cartoons where I remember seeing the cross or the Crucifixion or Jesus Christ. I know I've seen maybe some humorous cartoons, but nothing really hardcore, as hardcore as what we're seeing here.

Is it possible, as the world is becoming more knowledgeable about Islam and Prophet Mohammad, that this might eventually weave itself into the culture, but maybe not in such a nasty way?

AL-MUTAWA: You know, Islam for a long time, the main form of art was calligraphy. And the reason for that is that there was a problem with -- the problem -- the reason why they don't want the prophet depicted or Allah depicted is because that brings you back to the days of idols or statue worship. And that's something that Islam shies away from.

Now, it doesn't mean that all art and all statues are not kosher. So, for example, when the Muslims invaded Egypt and Iraq and Iran and spread Islam, a lot of the statues were left intact and not harmed because they weren't being used as idols anymore. Same is true of the prophet's wife Ayasha (ph). She had dolls when she was a child during Islam. So as long as the purpose of that doll or piece of art is not for worship, then it's OK.

But when you have the prophet depicted, and he's somebody who was against this to begin with because he did not want to be worshipped as a person, then it kind of crosses one of the main tenets of Islam. So I don't think that's a negotiable cultural artifact. I think it is what it is. This is what they believe.

And sometimes the best form of free speech is knowing that you have the option to speak. But sometimes restraining yourself works also. Just because you want to say -- when we got caught in the fight between the Danes and the Islamists, the Danish paper saying well, we have a right, and Islamists saying no, you don't. Then you're really coming down to two groups of fundamentalists, neither of them wanting to actually bend and accept the reality.

PHILLIPS: Point well made. Point very well made. I want to talk now -- I want to move into your comic book. It's called "The 99." Tell me your purpose here and what you are trying to achieve.

AL-MUTAWA: Sure, basically my background before this business is I work as a psychologist here at Bellevue (ph) with survivors of torture. I worked back home in Kuwait with former prisoners of war. My background has been war trauma. And I decided I wanted to get into the business of creating heroes for the Islamic world. You know, we have cultural figures that we argue and quibble about, but we don't have any modern day popular culture heroes.

And that was the focus of the business. I went around two and a half years ago, I raised money from 50 investors in eight countries, both in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, a huge Muslim presence. Basically, I went to them and I showed them clippings of what was out there for the children. Because of fears of globalization, Westernization, the amount of literature out there for children was not of quality of the stuff that promoted universal things that Islam is based on, things like generosity, strength, wisdom. Things that had to do with tolerance weren't there.

PHILLIPS: Well, my...

AL-MUTAWA: All that was there -- I'm sorry.

PHILLIPS: My favorite is Nora, because she sees truth. We look forward to "The 99." They're coming out in September. Naif Al- Mutawa, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.

AL-MUTAWA: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: We're going to get straight to Betty Nguyen now in the news room, working a story for us that's developing -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Kyra, we want to take you to Gaithersburg, Maryland where fire and rescue teams are on the scene of what is believed to be a suspected bomb. Now, this was found around 12:30 this afternoon in a park, located near a residential section of Gaithersburg.

Here's what we know so far. Fire investigators did find the suspected bomb and then called for additional help. Now, they have brought in HAZMAT teams, a bomb squad unit, also local police are on the scene.

And they have used a robot to take a closer look at what they believe to be a bomb, and after looking at that, they have decided to evacuate a local school, a local church, and a day care, so again, they are on the scene of what is believed to be a bomb.

They are using a robot to look a little bit deeper into this suspicious package and hopefully diffuse it, if indeed that's the case. So far evacuations have been made, and this is still an active scene in Gaithersburg, Maryland -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Betty Nguyen, thank you so much.

Well, most people complain about all the commercials interrupting their favorite programs, but that will change on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Air freshener, $1.29 on debit MasterCard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Coming up, a preview of Super Bowl super ads when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We are finally getting some pictures into CNN. You know, we have been talking about this story since this morning, this ferry that sank in the Red Sea. This is actual videotape of some of the boats that were dispatched off that sinking ferry. You can see some of the survivors in those lifeboats.

It's just been a nightmare there for rescue crews right now because of weather conditions, but the rescue mission is still going forward. We are told now, according to the transportation minister there in Egypt, 263 survivors of about 1,400 people that were on board.

We were reporting 100 people had been killed so far, had died in this shipwreck. The transportation minister said that he only knew of three. So we've got some conflicting numbers on that account, but we are going with the 263 survivors right now as we continue to get this video in of rescue efforts.

We're told the Egyptian Navy and the Saudi Arabia Navy -- that's according to Egypt's transportation minister -- are involved in this rescue effort using helicopters to pluck those survivors out of the water after that ferry sank in the Red Sea. We'll continue to follow the pictures as they come in.

Now is the time of year that advertisers like most, Super Bowl Sunday. In fact, about a quarter of the people watching the big game say they really tune in for the commercials. Those ads don't come cheap either. This year's average cost for 30 seconds is $2.5 million. So what memorable, funny or risque commercials will get people talking before, after, and even during the football game?

Let's talk to Rob Baiocco. He's executive creative director of Grey Worldwide. Great to have you with us, Rob. I'm curious, $2.5 million for 30 seconds -- have you ever been under that kind of pressure? And what goes through your mind when you have to actually come up with a winner?

ROB BAIOCCO, EXEC. CREATIVE DIR., GREY WORLDWIDE: Well, it is not an easy thing. I think that is a lot of pressure because, you know, it's kind of like going back to high school. You know, you want to be most popular, and that's the most important thing about a Super Bowl commercial that you are the most popular.

You know, we spend a lot of money in advertising, testing commercials, to make sure the commercials are effective and that they work. But when it comes to Super Bowl Sunday, you want to be the most popular, bottom line.

PHILLIPS: So, Rob, do you sit around at a table sort of like we do in our news meeting, and just try to enterprise great ideas? And once something sticks or everybody sort of says yes, that sounds good, is that how you go forward and test it?

BAIOCCO: No, the best advertising does not come by committee around the table. That's the way you create the worst advertising.

PHILLIPS: That's old school.

BAIOCCO: You create them -- exactly -- by an art director and a writer sitting in a room, coming up with the great ideas. But then certainly, at that point, it goes in front of lots of other people to look at it and make sure that what the agency is putting forth is, you know, as brilliant as it can be for Super Bowl Sunday because, again, the stakes are so high.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, a number of important things in these ads. Of course humor is always a great one. Let's take look at one that is going to be airing this weekend, the McGyver ad. I want to ask you about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Air freshener, $1.29 on debit MasterCard. Tube socks, $4. Paper clip, ball point pen, rubber band, tweezers, nasal-spray, and a turkey baster, $14. The little things that get you through the day, priceless. There are some things money can't buy. For every day stuff, there's debit MasterCard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: What do you think? Is it a winner?

BAIOCCO: Yes, I think that's a very good commercial. I mean, MasterCard is one of my favorite campaigns, and that's hard to say because it comes from one of our competing agencies. But what they did is -- you know, this is a campaign that's been running 100 commercials.

And they came up with a way, in the Super Bowl, to do something really funny, really clever by bringing back a character like McGyver. And I think that's really clever and really funny, and the campaign is very -- you know, it's just a classic, great advertising campaign.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's interesting because you see these successful commercials with people that you have never even seen before. Suddenly they become famous. But then you have the commercials with all the little cameos like McGyver. Let's take a look at the mobile ESPN ad. Let me see what you think of this one. BAIOCCO: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Every guy's dream to see their favorite athletes, right?

BAIOCCO: Yes, I mean, this is, you know, brilliant because it is right in the Super Bowl. This is exactly what, you know, the market wants. This is like target marketing, which the Super Bowl never is, but everybody watching that game is a huge sports fan. This is every guy's dream. The Super Bowl, this is sports heaven, this commercial is sports heaven. And, you know, it's ESPN. They know what they are doing.

PHILLIPS: No, they do. They've got some great writers. They have got some pretty funny commercials that run just normally as well. All right, you said, yes, this can be every guy's dream, but hey, sex and women, right? Sex sells. And if we look back to last year and godaddy.com, that was quite a hit, wasn't it?

BAIOCCO: Yes, I mean, it depends on who you ask, doesn't it? I think sexy stuff sells. The problem with sexy stuff is you've got to do it right, and you've got to do it at the right time.

I think the right way to do it is not to just have somebody's top drop down and say, you know, go daddy! That's when people get mad because it's kind of gratuitous and offensive. You know, commercials like Cindy Crawford, the old Pepsi commercial, that was very sexy, it was very well done and they had an idea. It was smart. And I think people, even women, liked those commercials. I think when it is just gratuitous sex, people get offended.

PHILLIPS: All right. Something with a different twist: the Dove ad. Let's take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING) Show me a smile. Don't be unhappy. Can't remember when I last saw you laughing. If this world makes you crazy --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: This one really kind of tugged at my heartstrings, just looking at self-image for young girls. Is this effective during the Super Bowl? Is this a good idea

BAIOCCO: I think we're going to see if that's effective or not, because the Super Bowl is known a lot more for drinking, I think, than it is for thinking. This is a commercial that's very thoughtful and it's trying to get people to think a little bit. Usually comedy is king in the Super Bowl. But I applaud these people for doing this commercial because I think it's very easy to fall into the trap of Super Bowl commercials are funny. The beer guys know how to do them. So somebody comes in, they try to be funny when they shouldn't. And Dove is not a funny brand. So I applaud them for staying true to who they are. I think the big danger is they are going to come into the festive situation and wreck all the fun and suddenly bring Debbie Downer to the Super Bowl party. I hope that doesn't happen, but that's always the danger.

PHILLIPS: It's going to get every dad thinking, ooh, I better pay attention to my daughter. Rob Baiocco, thanks for your time. Let's talk after the Super Bowl, see what the winners were.

BAIOCCO: Love to see it. Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Rob.

BAIOCCO: Bye!

PHILLIPS: More Super Bowl coverage straight ahead. We are LIVE FROM Detroit in the next hour of LIVE FROM. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: You're about to see a first in medical science. A breakthrough in brain power and what it might mean to the paralyzed, to people who have lost their ability to move, but not their ability to think. Welcome to the future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was one of the people that whenever anybody did something nice for me, I would send them a thank you card. Just the short things, just writing what's going on in our lives. And I can't do that anymore.

My family thought I was nuts, but I used to love going out and shoveling snow. It was just invigorating. And I do miss that. When I first was diagnosed, I thought I would start keeping a journal. I like to blog because I'm able to write my feelings down. And I like for people to see that life can be still lived with a disease such as mine.

Most times I have to use my left hand to move my right hand that's on the mouse. One of my concerns for the future is that I'm not going to be able to write my blog, because I won't have the function at all from my hands.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Rose Marie (ph) was diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease, about two years ago. Rapidly, she is losing the ability to move or even speak. But there's nothing wrong with her mind. What if she had the ability to write her blog, to control her computer, simply by thinking about it?

(voice-over): This man believes the future is now. Dr. Leigh Hochberg of Massachusetts General Hospital is one of the nation's top neurologists. His focus -- a mind-boggling clinical study is called BrainGate.

DR. LEE HOCHBERG, MASS. GENERAL HOSPITAL: The goal of the BrainGate neural interface system is to determine whether someone with paralysis is able to use their own thought or their own intention to move to at first control a computer cursor on a screen.

O'BRIEN: It all begins with this tiny chip. Attached to the part of the brain that controls movement, it detects electrical activity and sends those signals to an external device, a process which then interprets the brain waves and feeds them into a computer, literally turning thoughts into action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi there.

O'BRIEN: Twenty-six-year-old Matthew Nagel (ph) was the first person to participate in the BrainGate clinical trial. Paralyzed from the neck down, watch what he accomplished purely through the power of his mind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next we're going to turn on my television.

HOCHBERG: He was able to use that computer cursor to change the channel on his television set.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, channel down. Now I'm going to channel up.

HOCHBERG: To open and close simulated e-mail.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It says you are doing a great job.

HOCHBERG: He was also successful in opening and closing a prosthetic hand just by thinking about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Open, close. Not bad, man, not bad at all.

HOCHBERG: I'm very hopeful that these technologies will be able to help people with paralysis in the future, control their environment more directly. And I hope one day to be able to move again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The great majority of people live three to five years after diagnosis. Some people live ten years, there are some that live 20 years, which I plan on being one of those people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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