wbur.org
support wbur today!
Listen to this story
The Prisoners of Guantanamo

Fifty accused terrorists have been transported to a prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Several of the former members of al Qaeda and the Taliban have vowed to kill Americans before they leave the naval base, according to a Marine general. But although the prisoners being shipped to Cuba are considered extremely dangerous, the U.S. is under pressure to ensure these prisoners are not denied all of their rights. Human rights groups and some British politicians have expressed concern about how the prisoners are being treated. There are British citizens among those being detained. The U.S. is not calling the detainees “prisoners of war,” which means they are not granted the rights listed in the Geneva Conventions. But what rights do the men accused of being part of the worst terrorist group in history have? And could the U.S.’s treatment of the prisoners strain the international coalition against terror?

Guests:

Stephen Neff, Senior lecturer in International Law in Edinburgh

expert on international human rights law;
Menzies Campbell, Shadow Foreign Secretary, British Liberal Democrat Party;
Kim Gordon Bates, press officer, International Red Cross

 
 

Comments are closed.

Recent Shows
Poker: America’s Game
Thursday, November 19, 2009 image

Poker and American history. How the game of presidents, cowboys, gangsters, and online gamblers helped shape America.

Comments [10]
 
Google vs. Murdoch
Thursday, November 19, 2009 image

Rupert Murdoch wants to block the search giant from scooping free content from his newspapers. We’ll look at the staredown.

Comments [138]
On Point Blog
Michael Wolff and Jeff Jarvis on Murdoch v. Google

We had a rousing discussion about Google vs. Murdoch, and what it says about the whole future of news, with Michael Wolff, Jeff Jarvis, and Steven Brill. Here’s what Wolff and Jarvis had to say about the delusions of both Murdoch and Google.

More » | Comments [21]
 
Video: Google CEO Eric Schmidt

Last week, host Tom Ashbrook was on stage with Google CEO Eric Schmidt, asking him about some of the biggest technology and business issues of our time.
It was part of an MIT event held on Thursday, Nov. 5, to commemorate computer science professor Michael Hammer, who died last year. Here’s video of the full interview, courtesy of WBUR.org:

Among other things, Schmidt said the possibilities [...]

More » | Comments [4]
 
California, here we come! And we need your questions!

On Point is headed west!
No, no. Not for good. Only for one show. But it’s a very special show!  The NPR station in Thousand Oaks, California – KCLU – is celebrating their 15th anniversary. We’re lucky to have been on their airwaves for nearly seven years, and they invited us out west to host a live [...]

More » | Comments [10]