WikiLeaks: The World's Secrets Now Available Online
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WikiLeaks is said to be starting an age of "involuntary transparency." But as governments and businesses struggle to beef up cyber-security, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says they’re not dealing with hackers but leakers. Also, the White House’s debt commission releases “The Moment of Truth,” and the FDA gets new powers to protect food safety.
Banner image: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton answers a question about the release by WikiLeaks of confidential US documents, during a press briefing at the State Department in Washington, DC, on November 29, 2010. Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
Making News
White House Debt Commission Releases 'The Moment of Truth' ()
The co-chairs say it's the the "Moment of Truth," and it calls for sweeping changes in how the federal government collects and spends taxpayers' money. It's the report of the President's Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Damian Paletta reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Guests:
- Damian Paletta: Financial Reporter, Wall Street Journal, @damianpaletta
Main Topic
Can Anyone Keep a Secret Any More? ()
WikiLeaks' latest "mega-dump" of information has caused distress and embarrassment worldwide, especially at the US State Department where Secretary of State Clinton says they "allegedly" originated. Publication in five newspapers around the world has only begun, and staffs of reporters and checkers have been assigned to determine what's real and what's not. After shaking up international diplomacy, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says upcoming revelations might bring down a major American bank. Can Assange be stopped? Is WikiLeaks destroying the trust crucial to US diplomacy, or do documents leaked so far show State Department officials just doing their jobs? What about Hillary Clinton ordering diplomats to spy on their counterparts? Has WikiLeaks uncovered an unsavory kind of business as usual?
Guests:
- Gregor Peter Schmitz: Washington Correspondent, Der Spiegel
- Dave Clemente: Cyber Security Analyst, Chatham House
- Andy Greenberg: Staff Writer, Forbes magazine
- David Corn: Washington Bureau Chief, Mother Jones magazine, @DavidCornDC
- Marc Ambinder: White House Correspondent, National Journal
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Reporter's Notebook
Food Safety Bill Makes It through the Senate ()
Recent outbreaks of food poisoning from eggs, peanuts and spinach have killed more than a dozen people and sickened thousands more. Last year, the House voted vast new power for the Food and Drug Administration and yesterday the Senate followed suit, on a vote of 73 to 25, approving the biggest overhaul to FDA laws since the 1930's. What caused an unusual spasm of bipartisanship? What new powers will the agency have? Lyndsey Layton covers food safety for the Washington Post.
Guests:
- Lyndsey Layton: Reporter, Washington Post, @LyndseyLayton
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