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CNN Live Today

Security Watch: Safe at Home

Aired August 05, 2005 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at what's happening now in the news. Operation Quick Strike is under way in Western Iraq. The anti-insurgency operation comes during an especially deadly week for U.S. military. It involves about 1,000 U.S. troops and Iraqi troops going after suspected insurgent positions in and around several western cities.
The U.S. Navy is racing two deep-sea rescue vehicles from San Diego to Russia's Pacific Coast, where a seven-man mini-sub is snagged on a fishing net more than 600 feet down. Right now, a rescue sub is being loaded at the North Island Naval Station. Any rescue attempt will have to happen very soon, since the Russian crew is expected to run out of air in about 18 hours.

Iranian officials are not commenting on a proposal by France, Britain and Germany aimed at dissuading Iran from making nuclear weapons. The deal offers European support for a nuclear energy program, as long as Iran does not pursue making warheads.

And in Orlando, an autopsy will try to determine why a 12-year- old girl from Virginia died yesterday at Typhoon Lagoon at Walt Disney World. The girl was lying in a shallow pool and told lifeguards she was fine. But when she stood up, she collapsed and later died at the hospital. She's the third child to die at one of Disney's Florida parks this summer.

CNN "Security Watch," federal agents are onboard a foreign freighter in Michigan today. Officials say the vessel failed to stop at three security checkpoints as it neared the Detroit River. Officials downplay any threat. They say the ship was inspected by the Canadians. They found nothing suspicious. The freighter, Jana (ph), is registered in Antigua. It carries crew members from Russia and Lithuania.

A Maryland paramedic has been arrested on charges of supporting a terrorist group. Authorities accuse Mahmoud Faruq Brent (ph) of providing support to a Pakistan-based Islamic militant group. That group is linked to terrorists attacks in India and the disputed region of Kashmir. According to a federal complaint, Brent attended a terrorist training camp in Pakistan and received martial arts training from a man arrested in May on terrorism charges.

If you always feel like someone might be watching you, could be the case. Surveillance cameras are a fact of everyday life. But are we sacrificing privacy in the name of security?

Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve takes a look in our series, "Safe at Home."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The medium truly is the message as a New York City subway surveillance camera captures an anti-surveillance protest action, an adaptation of George Orwell's "1984."

BILL BROWN, SURVEILLANCE CAMERA PLAYERS: It was a of brazenly asking people we should stop and think what kind of society do we live? And what kind of society do we want to live?

The first one is directly above us.

MESERVE: Bill Brown also gives guided tours of New York's surveillance cameras, which he has carefully mapped.

BROWN: Well, I would say that in Manhattan alone, there are probably 15,000.

MESERVE: With high powered binoculars, Brown demonstrates how much some cameras can see and talks about what they do.

BROWN: The problem is, is that they're not just looking at people who are ringing their bell, they could also be looking at anybody and everybody who is walking up and down the street.

MESERVE: Brown believes the cameras are ineffective security tools that put our rights and our governmental system at risk.

BROWN: I believe democracy is threatened by these cameras. They are installed secretively. They operate secretively. And that secrecy is the antithesis of democracy.

MESERVE: But the London bombings have triggered calls for more cameras and smarter cameras that can help stop crimes, not just help investigations.

(on camera): Proponents says, some of these technologies make security less intrusive not more so.

(voice-over): On Madrid's train system bombed by terrorists last year, a system is deployed that marries cameras with software that can be programmed to catch people going where they shouldn't go and doing what they shouldn't do.

ALAN LIPTON, OBJECT VIDEO: People leaving bags behind maybe on a railway platform, or a railway carriage or an airport. People stealing objects, vandalizing things.

MESERVE: Another system pairs cameras with facial recognition technology. In a demonstration, my picture is added to a watch list. When I join a simulated airport ticket line, I am picked out before I can pose threat.

JOEL SHAW, CRYPTOMETRICS INC.: It's proactive. It doesn't rely on post-event analysis. It's trying to anticipate. It's trying to get ahead of that.

MESERVE: Authorities are searching, of course, not just for dangerous people, but dangerous objects. Metal detectors can't find plastic explosives or some types of weapons or ammunition. But an X- ray technology called Back Scatter can see inside vehicles and under close. As you can see, this is very candid camera, though the manufacturer says the person operating the equipment, sees a less revealing picture.

ROBERT POSTLE, AMERICAN SCIENCE & ENGINEERING INC: And what you'll see, is very much an outline of the person's image with no detail of anatomy what so ever with the threat images superimposed on that outline. So in my view, the privacy issue has been completely taken care of.

MESERVE: The body is very indistinct when another system is used. Millimeter wave technology, adapted from space telescopes, can be programmed to differentiate between the human body and objects like the 357 magnum tucked in my waist band.

BRIAN ANDREWS, BRIJOT IMAGING SYSTEMS INC: We don't physically have to do search you. We don't have to touch you or do anything. We don't racial profile.

MESERVE: A Fortune 500 retailer has just bought a millimeter wave system to screen large numbers of people quickly, calling it a big boon to security.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's fast. It's quick. It's a minimal amount of manpower and staffing for it.

MESERVE: But all of these technologies have limitations. With a hat and glasses I stumped the facial recognition program. Software programmed to recognize anticipated threats and scenarios won't recognize new innovations. Neither back scatter nor millimeter wave can see through flesh to detect something hidden under an arm or in a body cavity.

POSTLE: There is no one solution that solves every problem. And therefore, the more different interdictions and interrogations you can provide, the better your security is.

MESERVE: The prospect of more surveillance and interlocking systems puts privacy experts on edge. They worry about whether information and some of those intimate images will be recorded, archived, searched and shared.

A. MICHAEL FROOMKIN, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI LAW SCHOOL: Are those tapes ever going to leak? How secure are they going to be? Are they going to be encrypted? Who's going to have access to the tapes? Are they going to be passing them around for office parties?

MESERVE: Some of these technologies, like the back scatter van, can be used covertly.

POSTLE: If you were to see it on the street, you probably wouldn't think any differently of it than any other on the street. And many of the government agencies use it in that capacity.

MESERVE: That means our belongings can be searched, our bodies stripped, without our ever being aware.

Privacy advocates say current law is inadequate and needs to keep pace with technology.

But some Americans are perfectly willing to sacrifice some privacy for more security and convenience. To participate in a trusted traveler program and bypass long security lines, Robert Brown is having his iris scanned, his finger prints taken. And will undergo a government background check.

ROBERT BROWN, TRAVELER: I have nothing to hide, nothing to hide.

MESERVE: But there are trade offs between security and privacy.

POSTLE: The more you want to give to the privacy side of the ledger, the more you're likely to miss a threat. So, there's a balance, a very difficult balance.

MESERVE: But are we striking that balance? Or are we at risk of creating a society where we are safe but sorry?

For CNN's America bureau, Jeanne Meserve, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: You can see the entire safe at home series tonight on CNN. Tune in to "PAULA ZAHN NOW" at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.

CNN's Security Watch keeps you up to date on safety. Stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

So I asked you a couple minutes ago a quiz question, have you been thinking about it? Wine or beer? For Americans, which one are we drinking more? We'll have a taste test just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Really get your nose right in there, really.

That's citrus.

Some strawberry.

Passion fruit.

There's just like the faintest sussol (ph) of, like, asparagus, and there's just a flutter of like a nutty even cheese.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Wow. Strawberries, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Good. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Strawberries.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Not the cheese.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Who could forget that strange trip through California wine country? It's the Oscar-winning movie "Sideways," helping to make wine sales sparkle. Consider some of these numbers now. Americans drank 21 billion glasses of wine in 2004. Sales are booming, up an incredible 63 percent since the early '90s. And for the first time since Gallup began checking these things, more Americans, 39 percent, say they prefer wine over beer or liquor.

There's a new book out. It's called "The Emperor of Wine," and it tells the story of wine critic Robert M. Parker. Author and wine expert Elin McCoy joins me from Time Warner Center in New York. Elin, good morning.

ELIN MCCOY, AUTHOR, "THE EMPEROR OF WINE": Oh, good morning, Daryn. It's so nice to be here.

KAGAN: It's nice to have you here. First, let's talk about this love affair Americans seem to be having with wine. What do you think this is about?

MCCOY: Well, I think that it's an accumulation of things over a period of 25 years. And now we just seem to be so excited about wine. It's helped by movies like "Sideways."

KAGAN: Well, and you've written a book called "The Emperor of Wine." The character, the main character, a real man, sounds like he came out of Falcon Crest or something. Like, you couldn't make him up. Robert M. Parker, Jr. Who is he and how did he become so powerful?

MCCOY: Well, Robert M. Parker, Jr. is the most powerful wine critic in the world. And more than that, he's the most powerful critic of any kind, because he really has changed the way we make wine, the way wine is marketed, the way wine is talked about.

KAGAN: How has he done that?

MCCOY: Well, the main way has been through his newsletter, which he started in 1978. It's called "The Wine Advocate." And in that newsletter, he rates wines from all over the world on a 100-point rating system. He was the first person to do that. And that rating system just captured people's imagination and really boosted the sales of any wine that got a really high rating.

KAGAN: And so some people think he and the system is brilliant. Some people can't stand this guy.

MCCOY: He is very controversial. And in my book, I tell all sorts of stories about death threats, lawsuits. Because real numbers, in the form of cash, are what the result of those numbers are. Somebody who gets a high score will sell out their wine and very quickly. And there are plenty of stories in my book about that. And people who don't get a high score are left sometimes with the warehouse full of wine.

KAGAN: The other thing that's interesting about him and his story is, he didn't grow up on a winery in the Napa Valley or in Loire Valley of France. He's probably the least likely person to grow into this powerful position, considering his background.

MCCOY: I agree. And frankly, that's part of what I find so compelling about his story. It's sort of in the all-American, Horatio Alger tradition that we love in America of somebody who comes nowhere, in his case rural Maryland, and then follows his passion. He went to France to follow his girlfriend, learned to love wine. And ended up a lawyer who threw it all over for his passion and succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.

KAGAN: You see that? You follow the girl, it will lead you to your dreams.

MCCOY: Absolutely.

KAGAN: There's the moral of your story, Elin. Thank you.

MCCOY: Thank you.

KAGAN: Elin McCoy. The story is "The Emperor of Wine," all about one of the most powerful men in the wine industry, Robert M. Parker, Jr. Thank you, Elin.

MCCOY: Thanks very much for having me.

KAGAN: And we're back after this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHANNON COOK, CNN.COM: We have our eye on entertainment today here at CNN.com with entertainment editor Todd Leopold. Todd, probably the most talked about film hitting theaters this weekend is "The Dukes of Hazzard."

TODD LEOPOLD, CNN ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: It has been talked about. Not all the talk has been good. The movie's based on the early-80s TV series that aired for many years. It stars Burt Reynolds as Boss Hog and Seann William Scott and Johnny Knoxville as Luke and Bo Duke, the two hellions who tear up Hazzard County, wherever the heck Hazzard County is.

COOK: It's really becoming quite a trend to turn TV films into movies, isn't it?

LEOPOLD: There have been dozens of TV shows into movies. We have a whole gallery devoted to some of the most notable in the last few years that have made the jump to the big screen.

There's a new movie with Bill Murray, directed by Jim Jarmusch. It's called "Broken Flowers." And he's a man who goes in search of ex-girlfriends, finding out who gave birth to his son.

COOK: And the muppets are coming to DVD?

LEOPOLD: Yes, they are. The first season of "The Muppet Show," complete with Statler and Waldorf, is going to be out on Tuesday.

COOK: That sounds fantastic. Todd Leopold, entertainment editor for CNN.com. Don't forget, you can check out entertainment news at CNN.com/showbiz. From the CNN.com newsdesk, I'm Shannon Cook.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Want to show you live pictures we're getting in from San Diego. This is the U.S. Navy loading the Scorpio, an unmanned submersible that they will be taking out to the Pacific coast of Russia, where there is a huge emergency going on. There's a mini sub, a mini rescue sub, with seven sailors on board, trapped about 600 feet below the surface. It's caught on some kind of wire and the Russians have asked for international help. So the U.S. Navy, loading equipment and heading out there. The time is of the essence, because they believe that this little mini sub only has enough oxygen to keep these men alive until about 6:00 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning.

Much more on that story just ahead. But now, a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Just a few minutes from now, Cleveland will honor Ohio's 16 fallen marines killed this week in Iraq. The city is holding a public memorial at the top of the hour. Continuing coverage this afternoon on CNN. Another memorial will be held Monday night at a convention center. 30,000 mourners are expected to attend that service.

Every American killed in Iraq leaves behind a family and a story. And so it was this week with Lance Corporal Timothy Bell, Jr. of Westchester, Ohio. He was 22 years old. He was still "Timmy" to his dad. Tim Bell, Sr., says his son was the last of the John Waynes, only tougher.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM BELL, FATHER OF SLAIN MARINE: He was truly an American hero. He is. He's a hero. And that's how I'm always going to remember my son, because that's -- he died doing exactly what he wanted to do, and that was out there for each and every one of us. And he wanted to be a Marine since he was six years old. The room in house was completely Marines. That was his life. He knew why he was there. He wasn't one of these kids that just went over on a whim. He knew why he was there. He knew what his job was from day one. And he went over there to do it, and he did it with tenacity. He did it with grace. He did it with style, and he did it to carry on the Bell name, which I'm proud to say, and saddened to say, that my son died for all of us.

SARAH BELL, SISTER OF SLAIN MARINE: My brother, he's a hero to me, too. You know, like, just for being my brother, because he was a real brother. Just like he was a real Marine. I love him.

BELL: The last time I saw Timmy is when I dropped him off before he left for Iraq. And as I turned away, he grabbed me and told me, hey, dad, hold on here a second, I want you to wear this ring, but I want it back when I get home. It's a Marine ring. So I guess I'll be wearing it, from now on. I wear it every day since he left anyway. I've had it on my finger every day since he left for Iraq. I guess I'll just be wearing it for the rest of my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: I want to go ahead and update our story again about the U.S. Navy coming to the rescue, helping in the rescue of a Russian Navy sub that is trapped about 600 feet below the surface of the ocean, just off the coast -- the Pacific Coast of Russia. Amy Fuller is with our affiliate KUSI, and she's at Coronado Island, just outside San Diego, about preparations -- talking about preparations that the Navy is making.

Aimee, hello.

AIMEE FULLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good day to you, Daryn.

You know, That 24-hour notice came at about 3:00 a.m. San Diego time, so it would be about 6:00 a.m. your time where you're at. And that means we're down to about hour 17. So it really is a life-or- death situation. Additionally, this craft that they were in was made to contain three crewmen, and as you say, seven are onboard. So it's getting very critical. Let's show you a map of where they're at. They're just off the Pacific Ocean on the ocean floor in their deep- sea diving vessel. The Russian government has called the U.S., it's former Cold War adversary, of course, for that help. North Island, here in San Diego, is home to the U.S. Navy's only deep-sea submersible equipment that's able to perform the rescue. It's called the Super Scorpio, and we do have a look at that for you, getting ready to be loaded onto an aircraft this morning.

Now the U.S. Navy is flying this remote-operated sub and a team to a Russian airfield. They're leaving from San Diego in about an hour and 45 minutes. The team will go to a Russian ship and operate the should be to help try and untangle the sub. It's an AS-26 vessel, which yesterday did, in fact, get snagged by a fishing net and some sort of cable, 625 feet from the surface, too far for the sailors to swim.

Now here's what's really interesting. It was just over a month ago, this very unit and the team that are heading from the U.S. were involved in a very intense NATO exercise meant to get them ready for such a time as this. It happened in late June in the Mediterranean off the coast of Italy. Sorbee Royale (ph), it was called. It was the largest, most challenging live submarine escape-and-rescue exercise ever conducted. Again, today, a call for help coming from Russia to our country, a life-or-death situation, and the team here in San Diego is answering their call. They leave in about an hour and 45 minutes.

I'm Aimee Fuller, live in San Diego.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Amy, have they given you an indication of how long it will take to get to the scene?

FULLER: They think it will be taking hours to get there. They're going to be landing in a Russian airfield, then taken over on a plane into the area. So they're hoping they can get to them in time. You know, they also called on the Japanese government for help. They've sent out a submarine, but it wouldn't get there until early next week, clearly far too late for these seven crewmen who are trapped at the bottom of the Pacific.

KAGAN: All right, Aimee Fuller with KUSI, just off the coast of San Diego and Coronado Island, thank you for the latest.

Of course we'll continue to update that story of the Russian submarine. The time that the deadline, is that they're looking at, 6:00 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning. That's how long they expect the oxygen to last onboard that mini-submarine. Seven Russian sailors onboard.

We continue to follow that story. A lot more going on as the day continues.

Your international news is coming your way at the top of the hour with Zain Verjee and Jim Clancy.

I'm Daryn Kagan. I will see you on Monday morning. Have a great weekend.

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