U.N. REPORT CONDEMNS TREATMENT OF GUANTANAMO PRISONERS; COSTA MESA POLICE AND IMMIGRATION; HOW SAFE ARE ADHD DRUGS?; UNRAVELING THE MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE’S HIDDEN DIMENSIONS
U.N. REPORT CONDEMNS TREATMENT OF GUANTANAMO PRISONERS
The Los Angeles Times obtained a draft of a United Nations report condemning the US treatment of detainees in Guantanamo. Calling the treatment a violation of prisoners’ rights to physical and mental health, in some cases constituting torture, the report urges the United States to close the military prison in Cuba and bring the captives to trial on U.S. territory and charges that Washington's justification for the continued detention is a distortion of international law. The report was compiled by five U.N. envoys who interviewed former prisoners, detainees' lawyers and families, and U.S. officials. The envoys did not interview prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Larry Mantle talks with guests regarding the charges against the US related to prisoners at Guantanamo.
COSTA MESA POLICE AND IMMIGRATION
The Orange County City of Costa Mesa is moving forward with plans to train police officers to help enforce immigration laws. This move has angered immigrant rights groups and pitted them against Mayor Mansoor and other supporters of the move. Larry talks to experts and asks what the role of local police should be when it comes to immigration laws.
HOW SAFE ARE ADHD DRUGS?
Concerned about the risk of sudden death or serious injury associated with Ritalin and other stimulants used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a federal advisory panel says the drugs should carry the most serious type of warning label. In an 8 to 7 vote the panel proposed a ``black box'' warn-ing that would inform doctors, patients and parents of the uncertainty regarding the risk the drugs may pose to the cardiovascular system. The warnings could be rescinded if future studies fail to definitely establish any risk, officials said. The surprise recommendation has caught the Food and Drug Administration off guard. The regulatory agency isn't obliged to follow the advice of its outside panels of experts but it generally does. Government figures show that as many as 4 million Americans take the medication and about 10% of all 10 year-old boys in the US are using the drugs. Larry Mantle talks with experts about the risks of using these medications and the proliferation of their use.
UNRAVELING THE MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE’S HIDDEN DIMENSIONS
Leading theoretical physicist Lisa Randall joins Larry Mantle to talk about the theoretical underpinnings of string and super-symmetry theory, purported to explain all the forces in the subatomic and the cosmic universes. In her new book Warped Passages, Randall uses creative analogies to tackle the incredibly complex concept of additional spatial dimensions along with other hard to grasp ideas including parallel universes, warped geometry, and three dimensional sink-holes. Randall takes us to the incredible world of hidden dimensions that underlie the universe we live in, and describes how we might prove their existence, how string theory may be tested and what questions regarding the theory remain unanswered.