No-Fly Lists, Underwear Bombs and the 'War on Terror'
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Five hundred American citizens are on the FBI's No-Fly list, without explanation or any way to appeal. On this archived edition of To the Point, we hear about the latest in high-tech terrorist technology and the denial of Constitutional rights. Also, the oil embargo takes effect in Iran. On Reporter's Notebook, with information technology, masses of data are now available at the touch of a button, but is it harder than ever to find what we really need?
Banner image: American Airlines customers wait in line to check in for flights at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Making News
Oil Embargo Takes Effect in Iran ()
The New York Times has reported a stealthy buildup of US military forces in the Persian Gulf, at the same time tough new sanctions are being imposed on Iran's oil exports. It's escalation of the Obama Administration's so-called "two track" policy to force Iran to abandon nuclear enrichment. How does it look from inside Iran itself? Thomas Erdbrink is Tehran Bureau Chief for the Times.
Guests:
- Thomas Erdbrink: New York Times, @ThomasErdbrink
Main Topic
Terrorism, Civil Rights and the No-Fly List ()
Underwear bombs are just one example of why the FBI has maintained the No-Fly List in instituted in 2003. But it includes some 500 American citizens who can't find out why they're on the list or how to get off it. On this archived edition of To the Point, first broadcast on May 15, we talk about that with a former Marine. Like 14 others who've gone to court, he says he has no terrorist ties and that the FBI won't present him with evidence or tell him how to appeal. Is airborne terrorism so dangerous that it justifies suspension of Constitutional rights?
Guests:
- Ibraheim "Abe" Mashal: plaintiff in the ACLU's no-fly list case
- Hina Shamsi: American Civil Liberties Union, @hinashamsi
- Paul Rosenzweig: Heritage Foundation
- Bruce Hoffman: Georgetown University
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Reporter's Notebook
When Did 'Information' Become Just a Bunch of 1's and 0's? ()
With the Library of Congress now collecting not just every book but every tweet, are we losing track of what really matters? Science writer James Gleick has written The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood, a new book about the challenges of the Information Age.
Guests:
- James Gleick: journalist and author, @jamesgleick
Underwriters
Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which supports study and research into policy issues of the Los Angeles region.
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