The Senate Intelligence Committee has released its controversial report on CIA practices in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Also, if you’re planning to travel during a peak time of the year, like Christmas or Labor Day, you might have to cough up a little extra for airline fees. Then, the message is clear from Google to all major automakers: The future of the automobile is autonomous.
Senate Committee: CIA torture in wake of 9/11 was ineffective and illegal
Today, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) blamed CIA headquarters, analysts and contractors for the illegal use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" (EITs) used on al-Qaeda detainees in the aftermath of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. Feinstein said the CIA's program amounted to "indefinite secret detention and the use of brutal interrogation techniques in violation of U.S. law, treaty obligations and our values."
The Central Intelligence Agency issued a response that in many ways is in direct contradiction of today's report. The CIA statement says, " [R]eviews indicate that the program, including interrogations of detainees on whom EITs were used, did produce valuable and unique intelligence that helped thwart attack plans, capture terrorists and save lives." Feinstein went into exacting detail of the EITs that included days of sleep deprivation, violent abuse, and promises that the detainees would not leave CIA confinement alive.
What is your reaction to the findings and the CIA response?
Guests:
Rachel VanLandingham, Lt. Colonel (U.S. Air Force, ret.); Former U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate (2000-2012); From 2006-2010, legal advisor for international law at Headquarters, U.S. Central Command, where she advised on operational and international legal issues related to the armed conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq; Associate Professor, Southwestern Law School in LA
Jeffrey Addicott, Lt. Colonel (U.S. Army, ret.); Professor of Law at St. Mary's School of Law in San Antonio, where he is the director of the Center for Terrorism Law; Addicott's a 20 year JAG officer and was senior legal counsel to the Green Berets
Will Garcetti’s earthquake plan mean even higher rents in Los Angeles?
The owners of a common type of wood frame building vulnerable to collapse in an earthquake would have five years to shore up those structures under a mandatory retrofit plan unveiled by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Monday.
There are about 16,000 of these buildings in Los Angeles, and without money from the city to do the necessary retrofitting, it’s unclear who would pay for this. Right now, only 50 percent of the cost of major apartment rehabilitation projects can be passed on to tenants. So will the cost be largely passed on to renters? The report also recommends a voluntary rating system to determine how secure a building would be in an earthquake. Some are concerned that a voluntary rating system will result in only the most secure buildings displaying their ratings, while the ones that are structurally less fit, won’t.
Guests:
Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles
Dr. Lucy Jones, Chief Scientist, Multi-Hazards Project, U.S. Geological Survey and Mayor Garcetti's Science Advisor for Seismic Safety
James B. Clarke, Executive Vice President, Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
For some airlines, fees take off during holiday season
If you’re planning to travel during a peak time of the year, like Christmas or Labor Day, you might have to cough up a little extra for airline fees.
A report out from the consulting firm IdeaWorks Co. predicts that airlines will start hiking up ancillary fees on things like carry-on bags during the most heavily-traveled times of the year. The report forecasts that the airline industry worldwide will generate $50 billion from ancillary fees.
Spirit Airlines, based in Florida, has already started doing just this. They are charging an extra $2 for checked bags on flights between December 18th and January 5th. Their website says that the reason for the fee hike is to encourage customers to pack lighter so that there’s room for more bags.
Over the course of the next two years, the report says that other airlines will also start hiking up fees during peak travel times on things like early boarding, checked luggage, and seat upgrades.
Guest:
Mark Murphy, owner of Travel Pulse, an online resource for the travel industry
TIME’s Person of the Year finalists, including Taylor Swift as the sole female contender
Tomorrow, the editors of TIME magazine will reveal their choice for the 2014 Person of the Year. The shortlist of finalists unveiled last night lists eight contenders: the Ferguson protesters, the Ebola caregivers, Russian President Vladimir Putin, pop star Taylor Swift, Alibaba CEO Jack Ma, openly gay Apple CEO Tim Cook, Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
In a sense, the list is a popularity contest, but focused on influence rather than who is most liked. The last time TIME selected a standalone woman was 1986 with Filipino leader Corazon Aquino. Who would be your choice among the finalists?
UPDATE: TIME Editors selected "The Ebola Fighters" as Person of the Year.
GUEST:
Ben Goldberger, Nation Editor, TIME #TIMEPOY
The next frontier for computer hackers: Your car
The message is clear from Google to all major automakers: The future of the automobile is autonomous. The year 2020 is when several car manufacturers plan to offer self-driving cars to the masses. But how safe are they from a hacking standpoint? It’s a question that those in the automobile and security industries are increasingly focused on.
Even now, cars are technologically sophisticated machines, where computer chips control multiple features--some more obvious than others. As internet connectivity in automobiles become a common feature, hackers are seeing opportunities. Security experts like Chris Valasek have hacked into cars to control the brakes, start the windshield wipers, and even cut the engine.
How “hackable” are our cars? What are automakers doing about the problem? What can consumers do to decrease risk?
Guests:
Paul F. Roberts, Editor in Chief, The Security Ledger, a publication covering all things cyber security in Boston
Chris Valasek, Director of Vehicle Security Research at IOActive, a security cybersecurity consultancy. Valasek co-authored a report with Twitter’s security engineer Charlie Miller on the most “hackable” cars in the market. That paper was presented in this year’s Black Hat security conference