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The Andromeda Strain
Scientists race to find the...
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Brief Synopsis
Scientists race to find the cure for a deadly space virus.
After a space satellite launched by the United States as part of a top-secret biological research project code-named SCOOP crashes near the small town of Piedmont, New Mexico, two military recovery technicians arrive. When the men report their discovery of two dead bodies to Vandenburg Air Force Base mission control, they are ordered to return immediately, but the controllers then lose contact with the men. A reconnaissance photography flight over Piedmont reveals dead bodies scattered throughout the small town, prompting duty officer Maj. Arthur Manchek to declare a state of emergency and summon a special scientific investigative team that includes pathologist Dr. Charles Dutton, microbiologist Dr. Ruth Leavitt and surgeon and blood chemistry expert Dr. Mark Hall, led by Nobel Prize-winning biologist Dr. Jeremy Stone. Stone is privately briefed on SCOOP, created by the army's Biological Research Division to collect organisms existing in outer space that could be used as potential biological weapons. The morning after the satellite crash, Stone and Hall, wearing protective gear, are flown by helicopter to Piedmont. Examining several bodies, they conclude that some victims died quickly while others appeared to have had mental breakdowns before dying. As the pair proceeds through the town, Hall notices a car accident victim whose injuries did not bleed. The men track the satellite to the town doctor's office, where Stone is indignant to find the capsule has been opened. Hall then inspects the dead physician and when he cuts the man's arm, powdered blood pours out, revealing clotting throughout the entire system. Recognizing that whatever infected the citizens of Piedmont is not from Earth, the men prepare to depart with the satellite when they are startled by a sound. At a nearby house they find a live baby crying lustily. Urged on by their protective suits' dwindling oxygen supply, Stone summons the helicopter, which air-lifts the baby aboard. Hall is then nearly attacked by an old man brandishing a cleaver but when the man collapses on the ground writhing in pain, he is also taken aboard the helicopter. Stone contacts Manchek to request that Piedmont be "neutralized" by a thermonuclear blast to prevent the spread of the mysterious infection. While Stone, Hall and, separately, the baby, old man and satellite are transferred to a secret location, Manchek requests authorization to destroy Piedmont. Science advisor Dr. Robertson immediately agrees, but political advisor Grimes insists on a more cautious approach. A little later, Manchek receives a call from the President telling him to delay the destruction of Piedmont for twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Stone and Hall then meet Dutton and Leavitt in a remote desert area near Flatrock, Nevada where a nondescript government agricultural station masks the entrance to Wildfire, a five-level, underground biological crisis laboratory designed in part by Stone two years earlier. Stone is puzzled to learn from the communications center that there has been no message from the White House regarding Piedmont, but with the others, begins a sixteen-hour decontamination procedure that takes them through each level of Wildfire until they meet on the lowest, safest level to study the two survivors and the satellite. Using a special key, Stone arms the laboratory's nuclear device, which would destroy the facility should contamination threaten to break out of Wildfire. Stone then presents Hall with a similar key, explaining that as a single male, Hall is the "odd man" selected to carry the only key that can stop the nuclear detonation, which is on a five-minute delay after being triggered. After the long decontamination procedure is completed, Stone and the team go over their objective: to confirm there is an entity, uncover its structure, then contain and control it. While Hall visits the two survivors, Stone and Dutton examine the satellite using robotic hands, which allows them to work from the safe confines of their sealed lab. When live test rats and a monkey exposed to the satellite die shortly thereafter, Stone and Dutton conclude that the organism is transmitted by air. Joined by medical technician Karen Anson, Hall uses a protective body sleeve that shields him from direct contact with his patients and examines the baby and old man. Meanwhile, Leavitt joins Stone to conduct high-magnification scans on the outside and inside of the capsule. Blood tests from the old man, who has revived momentarily to identify himself as Jackson, indicate that he is anemic and has a high level of acidosis. Jackson admits he drinks the alcoholic fuel sterno to quell the pain from a bleeding ulcer, which further confounds Hall. Dutton's autopsy and test results on the lab animals demonstrate that the organism is inhaled, clotting blood in the lungs before spreading outward into the rest of the body. Later, Stone and Leavitt's scans reveal a tiny indention made by a grain of sand that is covered with green patches. Under high magnification, Stone and Leavitt are startled to see the green patches move and grow. Back at Vandenburg mission control, Manchek learns that an Air Force training mission jet crashed near the Utah and New Mexico state lines and the pilot's last frantic transmission declared that all the rubber in the craft was dissolving. Frustrated at not having heard from Stone about the delay to destroy Piedmont, Manchek and several experts visit the crash site and conclude that an organism that consumes synthetic rubber destroyed several parts of the plane. Back at Wildfire, after running more tests, Stone, Dutton and Leavitt are astonished to find that the green substance resembles plastic, and although it contains no amino acids, proteins or enzymes, it still grows. Working well into the third day, Leavitt begins monitoring cultures of the organism to search for growth patterns. Unknown to the others, Leavitt suffers from epilepsy, and when a computer message flashes in red indicating growth, the blinking sends the scientist into an epileptic trance. When Leavitt revives nearly half an hour later, the testing cycle has ended and she realizes that she has missed several results. Meeting at the start of the fourth day, Hall reveals Jackson has identified the baby as Manuel Rios and said the infant cried continually. Stone then messages central control to inform them an organism has been isolated and an automatic response sends back the assigned name for the life form as "Andromeda Strain." Standing by the teletype machine, Hall glances at older messages and excitedly shows Stone the original message from Manchek regarding the postponement of the destruction directive. Unaware that a sliver of paper had prevented the message alarm bell from ringing for Manchek's priority messages, Stone angrily contacts the White House to demand action be taken at Piedmont. Grimes defends the President's caution and Robertson asks what the team thinks of the jet crash. Energized by the information from the crash, Stone sends the others back to work and within hours they determine that the organism's structure is crystalline. Leavitt reports that Andromeda grows well in oxygen, but grows best in pure carbon dioxide and hydrogen. With a shock, the scientists suddenly realize that these results mean that a thermonuclear explosion would allow Andromeda to multiply at a fantastic rate, destroying the entire planet. Stone frantically contacts the White House to insist the destruction of Piedmont be called off. Relieved, the scientists return to their study and are mystified when Andromeda's dividing and mutations continue to occur, overloading the computer. As Hall and Karen continue to wonder what protected Manuel and Jackson against Andromeda, a yellow alert sounds, indicating that contamination has broken out in a localized area. Hall meets Leavitt in the hallway and as they rush to the main lab, the flashing lights set off a major epileptic seizure in Leavitt. Hall immediately recognizes the symptoms, but technicians and nurses, fearful that Leavitt has been infected by Andromeda, flee in fright. Eventually, Karen provides Hall with an injection for Leavitt. Hall then meets Stone in the main lab to discover that Dutton's pathology lab is contaminated. Terrified, Dutton sits panting heavily, monitored by Stone and Hall. Hall recognizes abruptly that labored breathing changes blood chemistry, which would occur in a crying baby and the agitated, drug-addled Jackson. Baffled when Jackson and Manuel's blood tests do not show exact opposite readings as they should, Hall orders Stone to cut the oxygen to Dutton's lab and tells the pathologist to keep breathing hard. Certain that Andromeda must experience a period of no growth, Hall begins running the growth results, reminding Stone that Leavitt may have had an epileptic blackout while monitoring the readings. The scientists then notice a test rat in Dutton's lab has gotten loose but shows no effect of Andromeda and conclude that the organism has mutated to a non-lethal form. At that moment, alarms sound and the computer warns that Andromeda has infected the ventilator shaft, where it is destroying the plastic. Moments later, Wildfire's protective nuclear device is triggered. Horrified, Stone and Hall race to the hallway, but automatic emergency procedures seal access to the safety station and the elevator to the next level. Stone urges Hall to take the ladder in the central core up to the next level before it is contaminated. Knowing that gas and lasers protect the core, Stone rushes to the computer room monitor to help guide Hall up the ladder. In the core, Hall evades several laser shots but is stunned by a grazing shot to his cheek and hand. Dulled by the pain, Hall reaches level four too late, as it has already been contaminated and its safety station sealed. With Stone's encouragement, Hall finally reaches the safety station on level three with nine seconds before detonation. Hall revives the following day and Stone, Dutton and the recovered Leavitt explain that the now-benign Andromeda has continued to grow into a super colony, but is being infused with silver iodine which will force it into the ocean where the heavy alkaline will destroy it. Two months later in Washington, D.C. at a closed hearing of the Senate Committee on Space Sciences, Stone details the events surrounding the discovery of the Andromeda Strain but asks what will happen when the next biological crisis occurs.
Cast & Crew
Additional Details
|MPAA Ratings:
|Premiere Info:
|World premiere in New York: 21 Mar 1971; Los Angeles opening: 30 Mar 1971
|Release Date:
|Production Date:
A Robert Wise Production
AFI-DVD; AFI Library VHS
2 disks
|Color (Technicolor)
|Distributions Co:
|Universal Pictures
|70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System), Mono (35 mm prints)
|Production Co:
|Universal Pictures
|121, 127 or 130-131
|United States
|not available
|not available
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andromeda strain
kevin sellers 2015-12-15
After reading Jeff's review I REALLY wanna see this movie! MORE>
MY favorite Sci-Fi
Richard 2015-10-05
My favorite SCI-FI movie. I will say no more than that. MORE>
May be too intense for younger viewers
Gerry 2015-09-28
This film is certainly provocative enough to be given a G-rating (taken into account that some scenes, particularly the stills of all those dead people in... MORE>


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Moderators: Three Stars, dagny, pfim, netwolf
Liverlips wrote:FYI, DirecTV subs, CI package details to be released on the 19th. Nothing like waiting till the last minute! Though I'm sure they'll give away the first week for free, like always.
Allegheny66 wrote:It should be 49.99 until the sneak ends. To do it just one day is BS. They also should give a code so you can get 1/2 a purchase on nhl.com.
Heck, the owners should be paying InDemand our share to make it cheaper.
MDion. wrote:Not sure that is up to date
In demand is not live games either.
Center Ice is currently 14.99 a month for 4 months, which is 40% off the regular price.
columbia wrote:ExpressVu
I wish Draftnik would come back.
DelPen wrote:Anyone have a promo code for gamecenter? been scouring the internets for one but can't find one.
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Call for Applicants: 2017-18 Husky Experience Student Advisory Council
Apply now to join the Husky Experience Student Advisory Council
Help advance the Husky Seed Fund, an award that brings to life innovative ideas by students that are inclusive, impactful, and inventive to the UW. Gain valuable experience advancing and managing a program that will impact thousands of students at UW.
What types of student-led efforts would improve the overall Husky Experience?
SAFS in the News: Decoding coral DNA could help save reefs from extinction
SAFS grad student James Dimond is featured on UPI Science News:
'Marine biologist Ruth Gates sat down in an oversize wooden rocking chair at an oceanside resort here last week to talk about the next frontier in coral science and a new hope for saving coral reefs reeling from climate change: genetic technology.
"There are hundreds of species of coral, all with complex biologies and physiological traits that vary based on their DNA and environment," Gates, director of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, said while seated on a sprawling lanai overlooking acres of coral reefs awash in turquoise waters.
SAFS in the News: The New York Times recognizes UW student policy recommendations
SAFS graduate student Eleni Petrou is featured in UW Today:
'In 2015, a harmful algal bloom damaged ecosystems, communities and economies across the U.S. West Coast. Fisheries essential to local economies faced long-term closures to protect human health. Marine life suffered mass die-offs. Climate change makes recurrent events likely, but there is little assurance that public policy will better support our communities and environment the next time.
Perform at the UW's 15th Annual Drag Show!
It is my great pleasure to introduce the 2017 QSC Drag Show! This year, we have an exciting new location in the HUB North Ballroom and on May 26th from 7:30-9:30, YOU could be performing!
This year, we are looking for drag performers of any skill, style, or sort who want to get involved. Newer to drag? Check out our offerings of Drag Education Events!
SAFS students honored with Husky 100 Award
Each year, the Husky 100 recognizes 100 UW undergraduate and graduate students from Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma in all areas of study who are making the most of their time at the UW.
In 2017, three SAFS students were honored with the Husky 100 award:
Jonathan (Jono) Grindall, undergraduate senior
Griffin Hoins, undergraduate senior
Daniel Hernandez, graduate (PhD)
Congratulations to Jonathan, Griffin, and Daniel!
SAFS in the News: Livable City Year
SAFS undergraduate student Ariel Delos Santos is featured on the UW website:
'Senior Ariel Delos Santos was one of the students in Born's fall class which looked at connectivity and community place-making in Auburn.
"Working with the LCY program brought a novel component to our educational experience. Instead of a standard classroom setting where our homework is only seen by the professor, our final products were intimately tied to the city and its community members – which greatly motivated us to do more work and be more attentive to those who will be affected," said Delos Santos, a senior double major in Community, Environment & Planning and Aquatic Fishery & Sciences.
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS – W.F. Thompson Award for Best Student Paper Published in 2015
W.F. Thompson Award for Best Student Paper
Published in 2015
Nominations are open for the W.F. Thompson Award, which will be given by the American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists (AIFRB) to recognize the best student paper in fisheries science published during 2015.
The award will consist of a check for up to $1000 as determined by the Board of Control, a certificate and a one-year membership in AIFRB at an appropriate level.
SAFS Student Voices: Surprise and discovery in Hakodate
Surprise and discovery in Hakodate
by John Trochta, SAFS graduate student
Heat and humidity were not new to me, especially coming from a Seattle summer, but it still surprised me in Hakodate. I suppose the actual surprise didn't occur until we arrived at the Japanese inn, where I eagerly expected the relief of air conditioning and didn't find it. My room on the fourth floor was small and almost entirely empty, except for a short end table and a bundled Japanese futon (completely different from the American furniture piece of the same name).
SAFS Student Voices: Summer course experience at Hokkaido University
Summer course experience at Hokkaido University in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan
by Rachel Manning, B.S. 2016
School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences
This past summer I received a full scholarship to participate in an incredible two-week course abroad with two other awesome SAFS students.
SAFS Student Voices: Snorkels and Seaweeds and Squid, Oh My!
Snorkels and Seaweeds and Squid, Oh My! Travels of a SAFS Student in Hakodate, Japan
by Grace Workman, SAFS undergraduate student
This summer, I got to experience life in Hakodate, Japan! Hokkaido, the northern part of Japan, is home to the city with delicious dairy, the freshest seafood imaginable, and our host, Hokkaido University. Our trip was only 2 weeks, but filled with adventures that I'll remember forever.


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Annual Report - Glasshouse Crops Research Institute
The Institute., 1981 - Horticulture
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The Glasshouse Crops Research Institute
Directors Report
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acid activity Agaricus bisporus Agricultural Research Annual Report aphids applied B.Sc Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria biological control brassicae breeding bromide bulbs carnation cells chrysanthemums commercial compost concentration Crop Science Crops Research Institute cucumber cultivars disease effect Encarsia formosa enzyme ethylene experiments flower fungi Fusarium genes gibberellin glasshouse Glasshouse Crops Research growers grown growth H. D. Burges Horticultural increased infected inoculated isolates larvae leaf leaves lettuce levels light litre-1 M.I.Biol method methyl bromide mushroom nitrogen nutrient nutrient-film culture Nutrition pathogens peat pests Ph.D photosynthesis phytochrome Plant Physiology Plant Physiology Department potassium predators production programme Report for 1979 resistance ripening root samples sciarid shoots soil solution species spores spray stage stem strains studies substrate sucrose symptoms technique temperature tests thuringiensis tion tissue tomato tomato fruit tomato plants treatments trials truss uptake Verticillium Verticillium lecanii virus virus-free viruses weeks whitefly wilt Winsor yield


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Administrative Boundaries, Sydney, Australia, 1990
- Author(s):
- Angel, Shlomo, Parent, Jason, Civco, Daniel L., and Blei, Alejandro M
- Description:
- This polygon layer establishes the administrative boundaries of Sydney, North South Wales, Australia, otherwise known as the study area. These data are part of the Atlas of Urban Expansion.The Atlas of Urban Expansion provides the geographic and quantitative dimensions of urban expansion and its key attributes in cities the world over. The data and images are available for free downloading, for scholars, public officials, planners, those engaged in international development, and concerned citizens. The global empirical evidence presented here is critical for an intelligent discussion of plans and policies to manage urban expansion everywhere. This resource provides both the conceptual framework and, for the first time, the basic empirical data and quantitative dimensions of past, present, and future urban expansion in cities around the world that are necessary for making minimal preparations for the massive urban growth expected in the coming decades.
- Publisher:
- Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
- Place(s):
- Sydney (N.S.W.)
- Subject(s):
- Urbanization, Metropolitan areas, Cities and towns, Land use, Society, and Imagery and Base Maps
- Format(s):
- Shapefile
- Year(s):
- 1990-2000
- Held by:
- Stanford
- Preservation record:
- http://purl.stanford.edu/zb832ks0619
|Click object on map to see data values


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Benoit Guenard (left) and Eli Sarnat collect ants from a rotting log in a coastal forest in North Carolina.
Yuko Ulrich
Evolutionary biologist Yuko Ulrich examines an experiment tracking division of labor in different size colonies of the clonal raider ant, Ooceraea biroi. The Rockefeller University, New York, USA.
Eli Sarnat examines a vial of ants in North Carolina.
Benoit Guenard, an expert on the ant fauna of North Carolina, peers at a collection of live Aphaenogaster destined for phylogenetic study by other myrmecologists.
Myrmecologist Ricardo ("Bob") Solar ponders the sharp mandibles of an Atta laevigata soldier, the world's largest leafcutter ant.
Carrancas, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Andrea Walker (University of Illinois) collecting specimens at Ant Course 2012 in Uganda.
Rodrigo Feitosa, a myrmecologist at São Paulo's Zoology Museum, holds the drawer containing the Martialis heureka holotype specimen.
São Paulo, Brazil
Jack Longino (University of Utah) gives an evening lecture on ant ecology at Ant Course 2012 in Uganda.
Christian Rabeling excavates a nest of fungus-growing ants in Texas.
Flavia Esteves (Universidade de São Paulo) breaks up rainforest soil to look for rare species at Ant Course 2012 in Uganda.
Phil Barden
Ant paleontologist examines a piece of amber at NJIT.
Andy Suarez (University of Illinois) and Corrie Moreau (Field Museum) use aspirators to collect ants from a leaf litter sample. Ant Course 2012, Uganda.
Myrmecologist Júlio Chaul sorts ponerine ants at the collection in Viçosa, Minas Gerais. Natural history collections are vital repositories of information.
Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Mathematical ecologist Felipe Neves, a graduate student at the Universidade Federal do Paraná, demonstrates the use of an aspirator to collect ants.
Morretes, Paraná, Brazil
Moses Olotu examines ants under the microscope at Ant Course 2012 in Uganda.
Lori Lach
Myrmecologist Lori Lach and the horror of the yellow crazy ant invasion of tropical Queensland, Australia.
Scott Powell peers into the nest entrance of Cephalotes rohweri turtle ants.
Scott Powell examines ants collected from the nectaries of a barrell cactus in southern Arizona.
Scott Powell in the Sonoran Desert where he studies Cephalotes rohweri turtle ants.
Myrmecologist Andrea Lucky photographing insects on an invasive thistle at Paynes Prairie State Park. Lucky is an expert on the evolution and taxonomy of Australia's charming spider ants.
Gainesville, Florida, USA
Paraponera clavata
Biologist Erica Parra examines a bullet ant at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica.
Biologist Yajaira Bautista volunteers herself as pincushion for an ant sting photo shoot. La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica.
Corrie Moreau and Andy Suarez talk ants at a conference at Chicago's Field Museum.
Christian Rabeling and Ted Schultz, both experts on attine ants, examine specimens in the Chicago Field Museum.
Jack Longino and Phil Ward examine ant specimens at the Chicago Field Museum.
Jo-anne Holley conducts fight trials of Linepithema to determine colony boundaries in Ecuador.
Myrmecologist Jo-anne Holley marks an unconscious ant with a unique pattern of paint for laboratory study.
Your intrepid photographer: Alex Wild's self-portrait in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Phil Ward collects insects beaten from vegetation onto a sheet.
Bonnie Blaimer uses an aspirator to collect Crematogaster for phylogenetic study.
As the sun sets over a grazed cerrado remnant, Júlio Chaul looks for ants nesting in disturbed soil.
Carrancas, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Simon Garnier
How do complex social swarms operate? NJIT's Simon Garnier studies ants, slime molds, and herding mammals to answer this question.
Chris Schmidt, an expert on ponerine ants, crosses a stream in southern Arizona.
Benoit Guenard dissembles a rotting log to look for ants, North Carolina.
Andy Suarez watches Myrmecia bull ants scale a tree near Brisbane, Australia.
Andy Suarez and Leanne Alonso share notes at a conference. Note the standard myrmecologist's laptop, complete with little ants and a Darwin sticker.
Jack Longino & friends in the field in northern California.
Daniel Kronauer
Evolutionary biologist Daniel Kronauer examines an experiment tracking division of labor in different size colonies of the clonal raider ant, Ooceraea biroi. The Rockefeller University, New York, USA.
Retired USDA myrmecologist Lloyd Davis surveys a large Solenopsis invicta red imported fire ant mound at Paynes Prairie State Park.
Gainesville, Florida, USA
Moses Olotumyrmecologistmicroscopescience


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Calvin's centers and institutes provide the time and space for scholars to pursue robust study and research in their fields. These centers for learning further the mission of the college and contribute to local, national, and global conversations on a variety of issues from preaching to politics.
Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship (CCCS)
Calvin Center for Faith and Writing (CCFW)
Calvin Center for Innovation in Business
Center for Social Research (CSR)
H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies
Van Lunen Center: Executive Management in Christian Schools
Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW)
Clean Water Institute of Calvin College (CWICC)
Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning
Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity
Paul B. Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics


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|Jay Haysey/ www.globalshots.co.uk
|Jay Haysey / www.globalshots.co.uk
At first I wasn't exactly excited by the prospect of heading home but when I started writing my following months feature for Boardseeker based on the UK I started to remember what it was all about. So far it hasn't disappointed either; OK so maybe its not been quite as windy in September as the last two years but still its been pretty good. The first stop after Vass was the National Windsurfing Festival (NWF) Together with Colin "Whippy" Dixon we had a quick stop over at my house before rushing down there the following morning. It truly was another EPIC event, it was great to see so many windsurfers around and on the water. Its events like this we need to keep our sport going/growing and a massive thanks has to go out to the man behind it all Allan Cross.
Unfortunately I couldn't retain my title of the night tow-in champion at NWF and was pipped to a close 2nd by good friend Adam Sims. As for the main event we didn't quite get enough wind in our allocated time slot to get a planing competition finished. It was a hectic weekend for me as along with the competing I was also commentating/ Interviewing for the Live Streaming side of the event. Again I was paired up with Colin "Whippy" Dixon for this one and we really had a great time doing it.
|Pic by Dave White.
Check out my top UK spots in this Months Boardseeker feature- http://www.boardseekermag.com/features/windsurfing-action/the-ultimate-year-september.html
|Jay Haysey / www.globalshots.co.uk
I've been sailing at West Wittering four times in the last week in preparation for the 5th stop of the UKWA freestyle tour that will head there next weekend. After that I'm off to Sylt for the final PWA event of the season, fingers crossed for some wind this year. I worked out a funny statistic the other day that out the 21 days I've spent there in the last two years I've only sailed 1 heat with a total time on the water of 12 minutes!!!


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heres some pics of my first car design
Join our new Facebook page - Search for Ruff Gaming over at Facebook and hit the Like button! Simples!!
Don't forget to follow us on Twitter - @RuffGaming
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Join our Forza Horizon 2 Car Club on the Xbox One! Full details below in our forum section - Clubs and Clans


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Saturday PM Session
On Saturday evening we had the privilege of once again hearing from Ray Hughes. And of course, Klaus and his team led worship — which has been fantastic. Klaus has a sensitivity to the spirit and a dynamic worship style that fits in so well with Aglow. It feels like he's been doing Aglow conferences for years.
No Two Raindrops
Ray's message once again centered on the them of sound. He shared with us that no two raindrops sound alike. And that rain in one part of the country sounds differently than rain in another. This is because of many factors, such as the salt content in the water. A very special moment during the evening was when Ray asked us all to start snapping our fingers — not in unison, but randomly. The effect was very similar to the sound of rain. He had us close our eyes and imagine that all the "stuff" from our past was being washed away and that we were being made new. As my eyes were closed it seemed to me that the sound was growing — like the rain was pouring harder. It was a powerful time.
Anointed Cherib
Ray shared that Satan was called the "anointed cherib that covers the throne of God." When he was kicked out of Heaven, the throne of God was no longer covered. God then created a people that would worship Him and provide that covering once again. That's why the Word says that God is enthroned on the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). It's also why the enemy has always directed his attacks to music in the church.
Another point that Ray made: "To whatever degree we worship God, so shall He give us His heart."
End of the Famine
Ray's final point: The sound God is creating will break a blight of the hearing of the Word of the Lord in the land.
"The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD,
"when I will send a famine through the land—
not a famine of food or a thirst for water,
but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.
Amos 8:11


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The Steelers hoped that they could survive this week's visit to the Browns without Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown so that they could take on the Ravens next week for a shot oat part of the AFC North lead.
If they do, it will only be because the Ravens lost to the Chargers. The Steelers turned the ball over eight times and scored just seven points on offense in a 20-14 loss to the Browns. It's the first time the Browns have beaten the Steelers since 2009 and the victory leaves a team called the Cleveland Browns in position to pull off their first season sweep of the Steelers for the first time since 1988.
They can thank the Steelers for delivering a good portion of what they needed to win the game. Cleveland turned the turnovers into 17 points and the Steelers turned the ball over on two of their final three possessions to allow the Browns to hold on for the victory. All four Steelers running backs — Jonathan Dwyer, Rashard Mendenhall, Chris Rainey and Isaac Redman — lost fumbles and Charlie Batch threw three interceptions as part of an effort that resulted in just 231 offensive yards for Pittsburgh. The injured players can't back soon enough for the Steelers, who have two touchdowns in two-plus games since Roethlisberger got hurt.
The Browns won't get to enjoy the win without any concerns for the future. Quarterback Brandon Weeden left the game with a head injury and is being evaluated for a concussion. Colt McCoy replaced him, but just handed the ball off to Trent Richardson to kill the clock. One of those carries almost resulted in a disaster for Cleveland as the Steelers appeared to yank the ball away before Richardson was down. The officials ruled his forward progress had been stopped, a call that is not reviewable via instant replay.
The Steelers couldn't have called for one anyway, they were out of timeouts, and the Browns were able to run the clock out on the win.


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MIDDLEBURY — Porter Medical Center's combined total of around 130 nurses could vote as soon as next month on whether to form a union.
"I am confident it has a good chance," Porter Hospital RN Alice Leo, one of the union organizers, said on Monday. "Nurses are feeling good about this, that it is the right thing to do."
Leo cited staffing concerns as the motivating factor behind the union drive. She said many nurses are concerned that some units are shorthanded.


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Sins of a Dark Age is a 'Hero and Commander Strategy' Game. In short, you will join an online team consisting of one Commander and a small group of Heroes who work together to accomplish a specific scenario goal. Your team will go head-to-head against an enemy team in a short, fast-paced multiplayer match or you'll work cooperatively against the AI in custom scenarios. You can earn rewards for yourself and your clan, climb the ranks, and watch and share your most glorious replays online. You'll be able to choose from an ever-growing pool of heroes, commanders and factions each of which supports unique capabilities.
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.


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So far this summer, I've honored my vow not to unload any zucchini on friends and coworkers, especially those who have never done me wrong.
But it's not easy.
I've never grown zucchini before and I'm not entirely sure why I did it this year. I know only too well — as the grudging recipient of several hundred pounds of zucchini each summer — that the number of zucchini eaten annually by the average American family is three, yet the yield of a single zucchini plant is 30 times that. So far. The season's not over.


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Get ready to see just how classy a sentient element can be! DAViS throws you into a world where anything can happen -- including a suit-wearing nuclear reaction solving physics puzzles. When atoms mix crazy stuff happens. Get ready for the psychedelic action, adventure and puzzle game of the 21st century.
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.
One of the games most common robot types.
Art by Zach Strand


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Environmental Ethics
Environmental Ethics is the study of the values and moral status of human-environment interactions. Ethicists in the field have several goals; a)to challenge human-centered ways of thinking; b)to explore eco-feminism and social ecology; c)to integrate traditional philosophical models with current environmental issues; and d)to promote an ethical (or at least thoughtful) approach to the environment.
Environmental Ethics is a relatively young field. Since around the 1930's, scientists and other observant people began to seriously worry about the impacts of human activities on the Earth. Interest in these issues became widespread in the 1960's, and in the '70's, Environmental Ethics emerged as an academic field. This is why it's relatively difficult to find an academic program devoted exclusively to Environmental Ethics. Many environmental degree programs, however, offer (or require) classes in the field.
Environmental Ethics is important because its study forces people to consider how their actions affect others and the environment. When people realize their effect, they are more likely to take steps to change uncomfortable behaviors; for instance, they may decide to recycle, to be compassionate towards animals, or to be an advocate for wilderness preservation.
The Academic Requirements
Environmental Ethics is usually a certificate or study area within another academic program, rather than a stand-alone degree. It is usually interdisciplinary in nature, seeking to unify a diversity of viewpoints about environmental issues that involve competing values. An important aspect of your studies would be devoted to defining and defending these values. Students also learn to create solutions that are agreeable to people with different values.
Graduates of Ethics programs should be able to identify and succinctly argue topics in Environmental Ethics; to interpret and criticize the arguments of others; and to analyze problems in the environmental field and be able to propose solutions. Programs in Environmental Ethics usually involve a good deal of writing, editing and reading. Good communications skills are important, as are mediation skills.
Here are some courses that we've seen:
- Introduction to Environmental Philosophy
- Ecofeminism: Women's Studies and Environmental Ethics
- Comparative Environmental Ethics
- Western Religion and the Environment
- Ecological Values
- Environmental Economics
- Environmental and Public Health Law
- Cultural Ecology
- Ecological Basis of Environmental Issues
- Environmental Policy
- Environmental Dispute Resolution
- Conservation Ecology and Resource Management
- American Environmental History
Professional Outlook
Knowledge of environmental ethics issues can be useful in many fields. Academia is one area where it is especially useful. Other job possibilities include being an author, an editor, a journalist, or an activist. Environmental ethics is important for planners, scientists, and politicians, too. Anyone who influences environmental policy or the implementation of environmental programs should have an understanding of the field.
Here are some job titles that we've seen, including some of the organizations that offer them, all of which included a requirement for experience in Environmental Ethics:
- Environmental Education Grants Manager (The Environmental Education Fund)
- Natural Areas Director (Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest)
- Director of Conservation (The Appalachian Trail Confrence)
- Development Coordinator (The Center for Food Safety)
- Environment Now (Coastal Program Director)
- Associate International Counsel (Defenders of Wildlife)
- Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy (Dalhouse University)
- Brennan, Andrew and Yeuk-Sze Lo. "Environmental Ethics," The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2002.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Jobs in Postsecondary Education
- Center for Environmental Philosophy, "Environmental Ethics"
- Eco Jobs
- Ecospheric Ethics
- EnviroLink, "Environmental Ethics"
- Harvard Divinity School, Environmental Ethics & Public Policy Program
- International Association for Environmental Policy
- International Society for Environmental Ethics
- Lancaster University, MA in Values and the Environment
- University of Georgia, Environmental Ethics Certificate Program
- University of North Texas, Graduate Program in Environmental Ethics


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Plan for Your Network Evolution with Cisco Unified Access [Infographic]
Say you were on an advisory board for a city where population growth, traffic congestion, and demand for services (ambulances, police, & firefighters) presented major challenges, what actions would you suggest the city to take? Similarly, say you were managing IT operations for your company, what actions would you put in place to respond to the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend and the potential impact on your network as users flood it with tons of iPads, Ultrabooks and other personal devices?
Before you rush out of the door to take action, you may want to ask yourself two questions:
– Is my action plan going to deliver a consistent and high quality user experience?
– Is my action plan sustainable, given the demand, available IT headcount and budgetary resources?
The first question is all about your users – when they connect by LAN, wireless or remote access, they want to have the same application performance, the same video quality and the same user friendly experience. The second one is about you and your IT colleagues – your strategy should bring the highest IT efficiency, strongest security and maximized return on your investments to meet the business requirements, instead of a kneejerk reaction. As an example, just like building another highway may not be the best way to alleviate city traffic jams, merely installing some new wireless access points won't necessarily be enough to address the challenges you have. Consider this Gartner comment:
By 2015, 80% of newly installed wireless networks will be obsolete because of a lack of proper planning.
That 80% is not where you want to be.
Cisco Unified Access helps you get ready with a thorough game plan. The essence of the Cisco strategy is: One Policy, One Management, One Network.
One Policy across the entire network allows both end users and IT operations to benefit from policy consistency and efficiency. Cisco Identity Services Engine is the heart of Cisco One Policy.
One Management for wired and wireless means greater visibility, more effective troubleshooting and faster problem resolution. Cisco Prime Infrastructure makes this possible – if you haven't, you ought to take a good look.
One Network is a unified network architecture that brings Cisco Catalyst switching, wireless and remote access all together with unique functionalities that are shared across the entire Cisco product portfolio.
Take, for example, advanced security. Cisco has successfully implemented Security Group Access (SGA) for switches, routers and wireless, making it possible for you to deploy scalable and role-based SGA security end-to-end: from branch offices to campus to data center. Application Visibility and Control (AVC) helps you gain deep visibility into user behavior and network traffic, using tools such as Flexible NetFlow and Network Based Application Recognition. In the network resiliency area, Cisco Unified Access enables maximized network availability with stateful switch over and many other high-availability mechanisms with the fastest WLAN and LAN recovery times (sub-second). And with Cisco Smart Operations, you can use auto-install and configuration of Cisco Catalyst switches and wireless access points to simplify your IT operations and save on the overall total cost of ownership.
A more fun way to look at it is the Cisco Unified Access Infographic:
Visit the Cisco Unified Access website for additional information and new innovations in this space.
In an effort to keep conversations fresh, Cisco Blogs closes comments after 60 days. Please visit the Cisco Blogs hub page for the latest content.
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Thanks Dari for your comment!


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AMANPOUR: This Week, a ticking time bomb. All eyes on the exploding national debt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Doing nothing on the deficit is just not an option.
AMANPOUR: And that looming threat which could force the United States government to default.
REP. JOHN A. BOEHNER, R-OHIO, HOUSE SPEAKER: There will not be an increase in the debt limit without something really, really big attached to it.
AMANPOUR: Tough questions for President Obama's point man on the economy, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
GEITHNER: The people who would take this to the edge, to the brink, they'll own responsibility.
AMANPOUR: And then the leading edge of the opposition, the Tea Party. Key members join us, 100 days after a revolution swept them into office. How far are they willing to push the president and their own party to fulfill their promise to balance America's checkbook?
And later.
DONALD TRUMP: We have to take our country back.
AMANPOUR: What to make of this surprise Republican frontrunner? Plus, Hillary Clinton warns the Arab spring may melt into a mirage in the desert. But will it? A special reporter's notebook from Terry Moran at the heart of the revolution that is still unfolding.
Welcome to our viewers here and around the world. President Obama hits the road this week on a mission to sell his brand of fiscal responsibility to the American people. This just days after House Republicans approved their dramatic plan to tackle the debt crisis. At issue: A national debt that has ballooned to more than $14 trillion. The United States is now borrowing $2 million a minute.
As for the plans, President Obama wants to end the Bush tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, and he's calling for spending cuts, including at the Pentagon, and cost-cutting reforms to Medicare and Medicaid. Republicans are demanding steep spending cuts, no tax hikes, and a massive restructuring of Medicare and Medicaid that would fundamentally transform two pillars of the American safety net.
The plans are worlds apart, and the clock is ticking. In a month, the United States will reach its borrowing limit. In order to borrow more money to meet obligations, Congress must vote to raise the debt ceiling, and getting Republicans on board may not be that easy. I spoke with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner about the showdown and the stakes.
AMANPOUR: Secretary Geithner, thank you for joining us.
GEITHNER: Nice to see you.
AMANPOUR: The debt ceiling is going to be the next big battle, it is the next big battle. Can you really spell out in plain English for our viewers what is the impact, if it's not raised, for the United States and for the average American?
GEITHNER: Well, I want to make it perfectly clear that Congress will raise the debt ceiling.
AMANPOUR: You're sure about that?
GEITHNER: Absolutely. And they recognize it, and they told the president that on Wednesday in the White House. And I sat there with them, and they said, we recognize we have to do this. And we're not going to play around with it. Because we know -- we know that the risk would be catastrophic.
And it's -- you know, it's not something you can too close to the edge.
AMANPOUR: So what they say in private is not quite what they say in public?
GEITHNER: Well, you know, they have said in public, too, that they recognize that America has to meet its obligations.
Again, you know, this is just about the basic trust and confidence in the United States. It's about the basic recognition that we made commitments, we have to meet our commitments. There's no alternative, and they recognize that.
AMANPOUR: What if it wasn't raised? What is the doomsday scenario?
GEITHNER: I'll be very direct about it, and people understand this. Again, anybody running a business or -- understands this. What will happen is that we'd have to stop making payments to our seniors -- Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. We'd have to stop paying veterans' benefits. We'd have to stop paying all the other payments on all the other things the government does. And then we would risk default on our interest payments. If we did that, we'd tip the U.S. economy and the world economy back into recession, depression. I think it would make the last crisis look like a tame, modest crisis. It would be much more dramatic. The cost of borrowing would go up for everybody, and it would have a permanent devastating damage on our credit rating as a country. And that's why there is no responsible person that would take any risk that we allow the world to start to fear that the U.S. would court that -- that tragedy.
Again, if you take it too close to the edge, then people will start to wonder, really, what are we doing, what are we thinking.
AMANPOUR: You seem to be confident. You're saying that they will vote to raise the debt ceiling. On the other hand, you're also leading quite a concerted campaign with Wall Street, with big bankers to try to persuade the Republicans -- those who may be doubting this -- that they have to do this. So you're not sure?
GEITHNER: Well, we're not -- we're not leading that, because the business community is -- wants to make sure that people up there understand. You know, remember, there's a lot of new people up there, and this is a hard vote for people. And you know, there's been a little bit of a tradition that people play politics with this. So the business community is doing what we'd expect to make sure people up there don't miscalculate. And again, the people who would take this to edge, to the brink, they'll own responsibility for calling it to question, our credit worthiness, and that would not be a responsible thing to do.
I'll tell you what -- what's the hard thing to do. The hard thing is not to raise the debt limit, because Congress will always do that, and they recognize that. The hard thing is to try to take advantage of this moment, and get Republicans and Democrats to come together and lock in some reforms that will reduce our long-term deficits.
That's -- that's going to be -- that's really important to do, because the world is watching now. And they want to know that Washington takes these things seriously, and is willing to get ahead of this problem.
You see the Republican leadership say, and you see the president of the United States say, and you've seen a bipartisan fiscal commission say, that we need to try to lock in reforms that will bring about -- about $4 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 to 12 years. When they all agree that we have to do it, they agree on the basic magnitude, the basic -- same basic timeframe, then we have a chance now to get Congress to lock in some concrete targets and concrete timelines. And then enforce them there, just to make sure it happens, and I think we can do that.
AMANPOUR: And yet, this week, when the president made his speech, certainly, many Republicans thought that they were sort of ambushed.
OBAMA: And I don't think there's anything courageous about asking for sacrifice from those who can least afford it and don't have any clout on Capitol Hill.
AMANPOUR: Is this the right tone, do you think, that will encourage people like Speaker Boehner to actually come together and, as you hope, get this thing passed?
GEITHNER: Look, we recognize, the president recognizes, and Republicans recognize, this is something we have to do and we have to do it in a bipartisan basis. Neither side has the votes to do this on their own, and you have to come together to do it.
AMANPOUR: What can you give to the Republicans ahead of this vote?
GEITHNER: Well, let me step back for one sec.
You know, we, in the years before this crisis, we were piling on a lot of debt. As a country now, we borrow about 40 cents for every dollar we spend. We're on an unsustainable path. And that -- again, that's why it's so constructive and so encouraging you see Republicans now and Democrats all saying this is an important commitment, and laying out the same basic order of magnitude cuts that are going to be necessary.
Now, we have very big disagreements on what the right balance is, but there are things we agree on and we can lock in today. The things we're going to disagree on for some time, we can take more time to resolve.
But what we think we can do is lock in some targets for deficit reduction, specific timeframe, ways to make sure those happen, that there are credible enforcing mechanisms, and we can agree on that now and still give us some room to debate and to disagree and to negotiate on composition of tax reform.
AMANPOUR: Now that we're talking about budget cuts and that's the whole conversation in Washington, is that going to damage the recovery?
GEITHNER: No, I don't -- I think we can do this -- and that's a very good point, I'm glad you raised it.
One of the reasons why you want to do this in a way that's balanced and has a medium-term plan, you know, it locks in changes over several years, is because you need to do this gradually so that you protect the recovery, and I think we can do that.
But we can make these changes, if we do it carefully, without, I think, hurting the economy, without adding to the burden on the middle class, and without gutting or eroding investments in things we need to make sure we do in the future.
AMANPOUR: So the president, also in his speech, talked about revenue raising -- taxes, taxes on the wealthy. GEITHNER: Well, I think it's important for people to recognize that we cannot afford to extend these tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. We can't afford it and we have to do tax reforms.
AMANPOUR: So Speaker Boehner says that's a non-starter.
GEITHNER: But there's no surprise to that. You know, they believe that.
But I think, you know, Chairman Ryan's budget helps explain why this is going to be essential, because if you want to extend these tax breaks for the top 2 percent, then either you have to ask me to go out and borrow trillions of dollars from the Chinese or from foreign investors or from Americans, from our children, or you have to cut -- as he proposes to do -- very, very deeply into basic benefits for seniors, the disabled, the poor. And we don't need to do that in order to restore balance for our fiscal position.
AMANPOUR: Will raising taxes on the wealthy be enough to really make a dent in the deficit? Many economists are saying that you're going to have raise taxes on the middle class as well.
GEITHNER: Yes, very important question, and I'm glad you raised it.
And think about it this way. If you -- it's true we have to bring these deficits down, but if you do it in a balanced way, that includes spending savings, reforms to health care and tax reform, then you can do it in a way that has acceptable costs for the economy, preserves our capacity to invest, and doesn't add to the burden of the middle class.
And the reason why that's true is because a -- we have a huge amount of spending in the tax code, special tax breaks that go disproportionately to the most fortunate Americans.
So it is possible to do this, the president believes we can do this, I believe we can do this, without adding to the burden on the middle class.
AMANPOUR: Where would the specific reforms be? The president talked about closing certain loopholes and certain deductions for people. Where would the specifics be?
GEITHNER: Well, the two basic foundations of this we think that would be responsible, are, again, to let the tax cuts -- temporary tax cuts put in place under President Bush for the top 2 percent -- let them expire.
And the second is to reform the tax code by eliminating some of these special expenditures, special tax breaks, again, that go disproportionately to the wealthy Americans.
AMANPOUR: Which ones? GEITHNER: Remember, only -- only 30 percent of Americans itemize. And those benefits, even like the mortgage interest deduction that lets people have two homes, pretty expensive homes, those are things, again, if you target them on the most fortunate Americans, they can afford to take a little bit larger share of the burden. They can afford to do that.
AMANPOUR: The IMF, and there's the meeting this weekend, has basically said that the United States is not doing enough right now to attack its deficit problem, and that dramatic measures, drastic measures should be taken.
Are you going to take any more drastic measures? I mean, they're complaining.
GEITHNER: We -- I think we all agree, and again, it's important for people to recognize, Americans to recognize, that the world is watching us. They want to see, is America up to this.
Of course we're up to this. We can handle this challenge. But it does require that we act. We can't just keep putting this off. We can't get behind this risk. Because then if we do, then the world will lose confidence in us and you'll see growth weaker and Americans will pay more to have to borrow, and more of our savings will have to go to foreign countries. So we have to do this.
AMANPOUR: And yet, your very close ally, Britain, is in a year or more of its austerity program, and the results don't look great. Retail sales are plunging, income looks like it's going down. I mean, that can't give you a lot of confidence, can it, on this austerity program?
GEITHNER: We're in fundamentally different positions, the U.K. and the United States. Their challenges are much greater challenges. They had a much larger hole to dig out, a much larger financial system they had to reform, and they have a much harder road ahead of them.
We're in a fundamentally stronger position. And although we have to move too to reduce our deficits, I'm very confident, if we do it in a balanced way, that you can do this without putting at risk this expansion. You have to do it gradually.
And again, this is why you want to do it over a multi-year period of time.
AMANPOUR: A lot of views this week, a lot of disappointment among many people that many of those big bankers and financial institutions responsible for the financial crisis have still not been prosecuted, punished.
I mean, how does that bring confidence to the American people?
GEITHNER: Well, let me just say, I agree that you saw a -- really a huge loss of confidence in the average American in our financial system and how it works, whether it protects them from abuse, whether it's a fair system with the kind of integrity you need. And financial systems require trust and confidence. And you saw in this crisis just terrible mistakes, devastating loss of confidence.
AMANPOUR: Do you think that some of these people should have been at least prosecuted, punished?
GEITHNER: You know, that's really a question for my colleagues in the enforcement --
AMANPOUR: I know it is. I know it's not your job. But in terms of trying to build confidence in the American people?
GEITHNER: I'll tell you what I think. I think two things are very important. One is, we have to have a more stable system. We have to have a system that provides better protection for consumers and investors, and that's what we're building. That's what Congress passed, and that's really my job, to make sure that happens.
But that is not enough. You also have to have confidence in the American people that our enforcement authorities will hold people accountable, make sure they abide by those rules.
You need both those two things, and we're starting to rebuild that. And I'm very confident that we're going to be -- do a better job and be ahead of the rest of the world in doing that.
AMANPOUR: So you've had a pretty rough couple of years. It's been a pretty thankless job in the -- trying to get out of this recession in a fragile recovery now. Secretaries Clinton and Gates have said they won't be around for a second term. Will you?
GEITHNER: I got a lot on my plate still, and we've got a lot of challenges ahead. And I want to tell you, this is hard, but I believe in this work and I enjoy these challenges.
AMANPOUR: So you'll stay.
GEITHNER: Well, again, not going a -- I'm going to keep at trying to fix what's broken here, make sure we're helping get the economy growing and help deal with these long-term challenges.
AMANPOUR: Secretary Geithner, thank you very much, indeed.
GEITHNER: Nice to see you.
AMANPOUR: Thank you.
AMANPOUR: Up next, Tea Party nation. Sarah Palin and Donald Trump rallying the faithful across the country this weekend. The movement has already taken Congress by storm and changed the conversation here in Washington. We've gathered a group of Tea Party freshmen to ask whether they've only just began the fight.
SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: We didn't elect you to just stand back and watch Obama redistribute those deck chairs. What we need is for you to stand up, GOP, and fight.
AMANPOUR: Sarah Palin at a Tea Party rally in Wisconsin this weekend. Her message to the movement's representatives in Congress, don't sell out your principles. Those principles -- small government, big cuts -- are setting the agenda in Washington these days.
Tea is the drink of choice on Capitol Hill and as John Donvan tells us, it may be the flavor of the month at the White House too.
JOHN DONVAN, ABC: Tea? No, that would be water, and there you have beer, champagne, soda pop, a nice, cold smoothie, a shot of orange juice, and yes, OK, he also drinks tea. In fact, it seems he has had to swallow quite a bit lately. So much so, that this week, when the president at last put forth a budget proposal of his own, it sounded somewhat tea-stained in places.
OBAMA: We have to live within our means. We have to reduce our deficit.
DONVAN: A message not at all like the theme he rode into office. Remember?
OBAMA: I do believe the government should do that which we cannot do for ourselves. That's why I'm going to create a $25 billion fund to help states and local governments pay for health care, pay for education.
I do think it's important for the federal government to step up.
DONVAN: But then some new folks came to Washington, and they have really changed the conversation. The 59 members of Congress sworn in this season who are not only Republicans, but who are also marching behind this, and the movement that has claimed it for itself, the Tea Party, which wants smaller government and lower taxes, whose supporters a mere two years ago were only really just getting acquainted with each other when they took to the streets. A lot of folks who didn't do politics before, and now some of them are in politics.
He owned a pizza parlor. He's a dentist from Washington state. A funeral director from Florida. A nurse. And he, a car salesman from California.
They came in saying they wanted to change things. Wait, that was his line.
OBAMA: That's what change is.
DONVAN: But the Tea Party folks may, may have a better shot at that, because their obvious distaste for the politics of compromise -- that is what changed the conversation, and almost shut the government. And yet when a deal was reached that cut the budget by $38.5 billion, which is historic, they had wanted 100 billion. That's why many of them defied their own Republican House Speaker John Boehner, voting against a deal that he reached so that then he needed a lot of Democratic votes to pass it, raising the question who is leading whom? They of course are still going to want big tax cuts, and that's going to be a fight, because he also talked this week about government that is worth saving. And said.
OBAMA: There's nothing serious about a plan that claims to reduce the deficit by spending a trillion dollars on tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.
DONVAN: Because, to him, that tea sounds like Kool-Aid, and that he's not drinking.
I'm John Donvan for "This Week" in Washington.
AMANPOUR: And joining me now to discuss lessons learned and the road ahead, four Tea Party stars from the House freshman class. All of them new to elected office. With us from Florida, Congressman Allen West. From North Carolina, Renee Ellmers. And here in the Newseum with us, Congressman Joe Walsh of Illinois, and Steve Southerland, also of Florida.
Thank you all for joining us. Thank you, and welcome back to the program.
Steve Southerland, let me ask you first. You all came to Washington to tame that deficit, to cut spending. Now this latest battle is going to be about raising America's debt ceiling. Are you going to vote for that? You heard what Secretary Geithner told me, that it would be catastrophic if that didn't happen?
SOUTHERLAND: Sure. Well, let me say this. You know, they are pushing for a single subject vote, a clean debt ceiling vote, and I'm not for that.
Look, we've got to have some guarantees going forward, caps and some guarantees that if we raise that debt ceiling, that we get this economy on a trajectory to where we service our debt, like any banker. A banker wants to know--
AMANPOUR: So you can see raising -- you could see voting for it if something was given to sweeten it?
SOUTHERLAND: Well, it's going to have to be a lot more than just sweetening it. I mean, it's going to have to be concrete. And I've yet to see that from the administration. They talk about the necessity of raising the debt ceiling, yet they've proposed nothing regarding guarantees that we can satisfy our debt long-term.
AMANPOUR: They have talked about trying to reach some kind of targets and some kind of compromise around what both sides are talking about now, which is cutting spending.
AMANPOUR: Congressman Walsh, do you believe when Tim Geithner says, and also the chairman of the Fed, Ben Bernanke, that not raising it could be a recovery-ending mistake?
WALSH: I wish -- Christiane, I wish they got as excited and animated about all of this debt we're placing at the feet and on the backs of kids and our grandkids. That's what sent us here. Look, look, business as usual in this town is no longer going to exist. We were sent here -- the American people sent us here, because in a large way they recoiled against a lot of this spending the president was putting upon us.
If you're going to ask this Congress to support a raise in the debt ceiling, there has got to be something structural on this spending site. Because we've got to cut up this credit card.
A couple examples. I sponsored two weeks ago a balanced budget amendment in the House. Something very structural that would make this town do what households do, what a number of states do. It's going to have to be tied to something pretty major like that.
AMANPOUR: So I asked you about the stakes that Tim Geithner raised. Congressman West, do you believe it when the secretary of the treasury, the chairman of the Fed, say that the stakes are this high?
WEST: Well, one of the things, having served 22 years in the United States military, I don't believe in leadership by fear and intimidation. I think that leaders have to come up with viable solutions, I agree with one of the things that Joe Walsh just brought up, we need to have a balanced budget amendment.
We need to put in spending control measures, such as a cap on federal government spending. I say 20 percent, because that's historically a good spot to be at. Right now federal government spending per the GDP is about 24 percent, and the president is going to take it up to 25 or 26 percent.
But I think also now is a great time where we can cut our corporate business tax rate in half, bring it from 35 percent down from 22 to 20 -- 20 to 22 percent. Because there's a lot of capital just sitting out there we could use to invest in long-term sustainable job growth.
But the most important thing, we should have some type of trigger mechanism so that when you reach a certain percentage of getting close to this debt limit, there are automatic spending cuts that come right in.
This is not about a debt ceiling being raised. This really comes down to debt suggestion, because this is about 73 or 74 times we've done it. We have got to be fiscally responsible.
AMANPOUR: All right.
WEST: And right now we're not showing that to the American people.
AMANPOUR: Let me ask you about the Paul Ryan budget, which all of you voted for this week. Congresswoman Ellmers, the House did pass that budget and everybody voted for it, as I said. And it includes a radical restructuring of Medicare, essentially converting it to a voucher system, sort of privatizing it.
Now the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the average senior will then have to end up paying an extra $6,000 or more out of their own pocket, I mean, how do you think that that will sit with the voters? With the American people?
ELLMERS: Well, let me just say, Christiane, that, first of all, as a nurse, you know, Medicare is an issue that we absolutely have to deal with. And, as you know, you mentioned in the Ryan budget that this issue is going to be addressed.
It is not a voucher system. Basically what we will be doing is allowing seniors to be able to make the choices for their health care, the same that we in Congress are doing. It's the very same basic plan. And it actually saves money. It saves money in Medicare over time and it actually increases the coverage, but at the same time, it also increases coverage for those in the low income areas as well.
And so that is why I am very much for the Ryan budget. I think it answers all of the issues that we've just been talking about. And we can go...
AMANPOUR: Let me just ask you, because you raised the issue that it provides you the same -- it provides people the same sort of benefit that Congress has. You know, obviously, there are big differences between members of Congress and the very poor.
And most economies -- economists, whether you're quibbling over numbers, do actually say that seniors will not be able to keep up with the rising costs, they will have to pay out of their pocket. I mean, I guess I'm still asking, is that fair?
ELLMERS: Well, as it is -- no. Actually that is not correct. And, as it is right now, if we do not address Medicare, as it is, it will be -- it will not be there for myself, it will not be there for our children or our grandchildren. And we have to address the issue. And we are. And the Ryan budget does that.
And it actually improves upon all of those areas of unsustainability that we're faced with. So, you know, the numbers play out. AMANPOUR: OK.
ELLMERS: And I'm very much in favor of it. Again, we must save Medicare. We have a spending problem in this country, not a revenue problem.
AMANPOUR: All right. Well, you raised revenue problem. Let me ask you too, congressmen Walsh and Southerland. The Ryan budget does not talk about raising revenues. President Obama's proposal does, eliminating tax cuts on the wealthy.
Can you really sustain what everybody is calling for just by cuts in public services? Doesn't there need to be revenue-raising mechanisms?
SOUTHERLAND: Go ahead, Joe.
WALSH: Christiane, you raise revenue by growing the economy. And everything this president has done the last two years has gone against that. You get taxes and regulations off the backs of businesses so that revenues can increase.
AMANPOUR: I know -- I know that that is your position. But there's so much evidence, even going back to Ronald Reagan, where he did tax cuts and in fact the debt increased, and then he had to make tax increases. I mean, can you really cut public spending by that amount and just expect to balance the budget?
WALSH: But -- and Steve will say this, in the '80s, government revenues went up. We didn't cut spending. Revenues went up in the '80s. Every time we've cut taxes, revenues have gone up, the economy has grown.
Look, Christiane, I've said this before, the president of the United States ought to be ashamed of himself. And I don't know why your profession hasn't gotten on him more. Two months ago he presents a budget and doesn't even talk about entitlement reform. And then all of a sudden last week he gets a redo?
The Republicans are leading on this, perfectly prepared to take whatever political hits we have to take, because the crisis is so severe. I wish he would be a part of this.
AMANPOUR: But that is an interesting point you made, about taking the hits that you have to take, because, for instance, there are all sorts of ads now, going out about Medicare, and being careful about it.
You know, the Republicans actually tried to put those ads out in 2010 and did get seniors on their side. So you're not concerned that these cuts and this restructuring of Medicare is actually not going to be good for you at the voting?
SOUTHERLAND: Well, listen, great leadership understands that sometimes you're going to take hits. And you don't make this decision -- you don't make decisions in the best interests of American people and expect to be applauded for everything you do.
Look, we have dug ourselves a hole and the only way that we can dig ourselves out or climb out of this hole is to make some very difficult decisions. I've said, numerous times here on the Hill, I may lose 2012, but I'm not going to lose me in this process.
And so we've got -- if we care about these programs, we have to make decisions now in order to save them.
AMANPOUR: All right. Well, thank you very much indeed, all of you, for joining us.
And up next, our powerhouse "Roundtable," with insight from Alice Rivlin, the Clinton budget director who helped Paul Ryan with his budget; political analysis from Matthew Dowd; President Obama's close friend, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick; and our own George Will. That's ahead.
OBAMA: These are the kinds of cuts that tell us we can't afford the America that I believe in and I think you believe in. I believe it paints a vision of our future that is deeply pessimistic.
REP. PAUL D. RYAN, R-WIS.: What we got was a speech that was excessively partisan, dramatically inaccurate, and hopelessly inadequate to addressing our country's pressing fiscal challenges.
AMANPOUR: An acrimonious week of punch and counterpunch in Washington, President Obama and House Republicans outlining dramatically different visions for the size of government and its role in American life.
This conversation will be the foundation of next year's election.
And joining me today to make sense of it all, ABC's George Will; Alice Rivlin, Bill Clinton's former budget director, who has worked closely on Medicare overhaul with Congressman Paul Ryan; Matthew Dowd, former chief political strategist for George W. Bush; and President Obama's close friend, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. His new book is called "A Reason to Believe."
Thank you all for joining me today.
PATRICK: Good morning.
AMANPOUR: Good morning to you all.
George, the president came out and presented his vision. So the battle is enjoined, as we saw.
Is this a beginning to a great compromise to where this country needs to be?
WILL: I don't think so, not yet. He didn't present an alternative budget. I can't -- maybe Alice can remember this -- I can't, in 40 years in Washington, remember a president submitting a budget and two months later saying, "Oh, never mind" -- say a Mulligan, in effect.
So, in effect, he has not yet presented other than a critique of Paul Ryan's budget. Now, both parties are clearly making a wager. The Republicans are wagering that the American people mean what they say and that it's different this time. The president's party is wagering that they don't, that they're still rhetorically conservative but operationally liberal.
RIVLIN: I thought the president did a good job. He laid out a Democratic alternative. He made clear that he is serious about all parts of the budget, serious about getting the deficit and the debt under control and that that has to include the entitlements, Medicare and Medicaid; it has to include defense as well as discretionary spending cuts, and it has to include the revenue side.
The main problem with Paul Ryan's budget is he thinks we can do it without any more taxes, and indeed by extending tax cuts to upper- income individuals. And that means very dramatic, draconian cuts, in spending, especially if you leave out defense.
AMANPOUR: I'm going to get to that right in a second.
But I do want to ask you, because so many people -- and you're so close to President Obama, Governor Patrick. So many people have complained that, even on the big issues he cares for, he hasn't really gone into the fight, and, sort of, outsourced them to allies and in Congress. Do you think this now means he's going to fight for what he believes in?
PATRICK: Well, I thought the speech, which I didn't see -- I've read -- was a real leadership moment. I think the president took us to the place where we really ought to be debating. It's been the subtext for a long time. And that is, what kind of country do we want to live in?
That's the underlying questions in terms of the budget and the deficit and health care as well, for that matter. And that's what we should be debating. He laid out a clear vision of the kind of country that he believes in, that I believe in, I think most Democrats, and for that matter, most Americans believe in. And it's a -- it's a fiscally responsible but also mutually responsible kind of community. And I support that.
DOWD: I -- to me, this whole budget fight demonstrates a complete abdication of responsibility by both political parties in this. Both political parties aren't willing to tell the truth to the American public in different ways.
The Republicans aren't willing to tell the truth to the American public that we don't have enough revenues to pay for everything that we have. The Democrats are unwilling to tell the truth to the American public that we cannot live anymore with the entitlement programs as they exist today. To me, the president -- he gives a good speech; he does all that; Republicans make these grand announcements, but in the end, they are unwilling to tell the American public the truth.
They keep telling the American public they can have it all and they don't have to pay for it. To me, the difference between the two political parties today is you have a Democratic Party that believes in big government that shouldn't be paid for, and you have a Republican Party that believes in a slightly less big government that shouldn't be paid for. That's the problem.
AMANPOUR: Let's go back to the Paul Ryan budget, which you worked on elements of. I just -- I know it's not exactly as it turns out.
RIVLIN: Oh, it isn't -- it isn't at all. I worked with one element. Paul Ryan and I have worked together on a concept for Medicare reform called premium support. It's very much like what they do in Governor Patrick's state. But the form in which Ryan put it in his budget was not the form that I support -- much, much lower and much more drastic cuts for seniors.
But I don't support the Ryan budget. I think it illustrates how much you'd have to cut if you don't raise taxes and you don't cut defense.
AMANPOUR: So you heard the argument with the Congresspeople, just in the previous segment, when they were talking about Medicare. And the whole idea is that, apparently, according to economists, that the elderly would have to contribute more of their own, under this reform. Is that sustainable?
RIVLIN: Some of the elderly will have to contribute more, particularly those in upper-income groups. Medicare, in its present form, is not sustainable. We -- it is growing faster than the economy is growing and faster than we can afford.
So we have to have a reform of Medicare, phased in gradually. It's not going to throw granny in the street. And I'm granny.
But it's got to reduce the rate of growth of Medicare. Now, the president's for that, too. He just has a different way of doing it.
PATRICK: Christiane, may I just build on that? Because I want to come back to Matt's, I think, really important points, although I want to differ with your -- with your outcome.
This notion that -- that the cartoons of the party, of our respective parties, don't talk squarely to the American people, I think, was exactly what the president was going at in his remarks this week. He talked about the importance of making Medicare and Medicaid sustainable. He has a different strategy for doing that than the Paul Ryan budget. He talked about the importance of additional revenue and shared sacrifice. He talks about and he has supported spending cuts, and there's direct evidence of that. So I think that what the president is doing is exactly what Matt, if I may say, Matt, if you don't mind...
... is suggesting hasn't been done for a long, long time.
AMANPOUR: Let me ask you...
WILL: Alice has uttered two inconvenient truths here that I'd like to hear from the president. One is we've made promises we cannot keep; that is, it's unsustainable on its current path. And the other is that people are going to have to pay more. That's the point.
We have a 12-cent problem. 12 cents is the portion of every health care dollar that the person receiving the health care pays, the other 88 percent paid by someone else. When Jack Kennedy was president, it was 47 percent. People had more skin in the game and had a whole different approach, therefore, to the health care system.
AMANPOUR: But you say people have to pay more. But, again, we get back to this revenue-raising, taxes and all the rest of it. I mean, it looks like people are willing to pay more for the things that they believe in and that they really want.
DOWD: The problem -- the problem we have is the American public is always willing to pay more for effective, efficient government. They're always willing to do that. But the American public going to have a very difficult time believing that tax increases at a time where they don't trust that government does the job well; they don't trust that they know how to keep their pocketbook balanced, that they don't know what to do when the government doesn't have a plan for things to do. Until you prove to the American public that they should trust the federal government, it's going to be very difficult to raise taxes.
AMANPOUR: We're going to break and -- take a break and come back. And up next, Trump turns up the heat.
TRUMP: Whether you liked him or not, George Bush gave us Obama and I'm not happy about it. I'm not happy about it.
We have a disaster on our hands. We have a man right now that almost certainly will go down as the worst president in the history of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP) AMANPOUR: He's ahead in the polls, but does he have the ghost of a chance? The roundtable take on the Donald.
AMANPOUR: Twenty-twelve heats up with Donald Trump on the trail and a hot-mike hiccup for President Obama.
AMANPOUR: More with our "Roundtable" next.
AMANPOUR: Donald Trump wants you to know that he has the brains, the bucks, and the bluster to take on President Obama. He's telling anyone who asks him. But the question remains, is the celebrity billionaire for real? And if he is, does he have a chance?
DONALD TRUMP, REALITY TV STAR: If I decide to run, and if I win, I will not be raising taxes but will be taking in billions of dollars from other countries, and will be creating vast numbers of productive jobs, productive. Productive. And will rebuild our country. The United States will be great again.
AMANPOUR: And welcome back to our "Roundtable." So quickly, does Donald Trump have a chance? Is this a real candidacy?
DOWD: He has a chance, just like everybody has a chance. But the ability for him to go from celebrity to politician, yes, I think is going to be very, very, very hard. I don't think -- I think in the end, his best day happened the day he started this process and everything else from there will be downhill.
AMANPOUR: And while the candidates entered the race quite quietly, Mitt Romney. And he's busy trying to run away from his health care program. But as governor of Massachusetts, it's working, isn't it?
PATRICK: It's working brilliantly. We are -- over 98 percent of our residents have health insurance today, over 99 percent of children. It has added 1 percent to state spending. And we've got our next chapter, which is to bring the system costs down, and get those costs passed on to rate-payers.
But, you know, as an expression of our values in Massachusetts, that health is a public good, and that everyone deserves access to care, we're there. And we have got more to do, but really proud of it.
AMANPOUR: In the "new Medicaid," as it has been laid out under the Ryan proposal, it gives big block grants to the states, right? Is that good? Will that help? Will that help somebody like Governor Patrick?
RIVLIN: Only if it has conditions on it. Now I'm not worried about Governor Patrick's state, but there are certainly states that would run away from their responsibilities to low income Americans.
So, if one were to go the block grant route on Medicaid, one would have to have very strong controls on the amount of spending, and that would not allow states to just say, well, we're going to forget about poor people.
AMANPOUR: And let me get to another big issue that came up this week. Secretary Clinton talked about what's going on in the rest of the world, in the Middle East and elsewhere, saying, unless one's careful, this revolutionary fervor could turn into a mirage in the desert.
Right now, the United States is locked in literally combat to get Gadhafi out. There are all sorts of reasons that people are saying the United States should really commit its major assets, for instance, tank-busting, helicopters, the kinds of planes and aircraft that they need in order to break the stalemate. Why wouldn't they do it?
WILL: Because that's not why we're there. It seems almost (ph) niggling to call attention to the fact that we went in to protect the people of Benghazi.
AMANPOUR: Right. But there's a medieval siege around Misrata right now.
WILL: Christiane, this is the 50th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion, I never thought I'd live to see a more feckless use of American power, but lo and 'hold, you live long enough, you get to see something like Libya.
We have no coherent exit strategy because we have no coherent objective, other than to get someone else to overturn the existing Libyan government so that people we don't know can take over.
DOWD: To me, the big problem is the difference between Egypt and Libya, is that in the history of the world, externally imposed by the military democracies never work. We've basically seen that in Iraq. We're bogged down in Iraq. We've seen that in the history of this country. When the people do it themselves, and rise up themselves, and do it themselves, it works. When it's imposed militarily from the outside, it usually doesn't work.
AMANPOUR: But does it not concern you? And here we are -- and the president has committed himself now. To draw back right at the moment where they could actually break the stalemate, is that smart?
DOWD: Well, I think the president in a situation where he has got our country involved in two wars. He didn't bring him there, but he is involved in two wars. We've now had -- we're exercising the only -- we're the only military power that exercises across the world.
We have very little resources to apply ourselves all over the world in many ways after the discussion we just had about the budget deficit, when the military needs to take on some cuts, it's very hard for him to make a decision to impose the military.
AMANPOUR: So let's get back to the budget deficit. And we heard what Tim Geithner talked about. People who do not vote to raise the debt ceiling, he said, will own the catastrophe that follows. Do you think that it will be raised and there will be some kind of compromise reached on that?
RIVLIN: I do. I think it must be raised for the same reason as the secretary said, it will be a disaster not to. But we do need to come together, the Republicans and the Democrats, around a plan or a plan to get a plan, a plan to force a plan. And I have a great deal of hope for the six senators, the so-called "gang of six" in the Senate, three Republicans, three Democrats, very serious folks, ranging from Dick Durbin from Illinois, who is a serious liberal, to Tom Coburn from Oklahoma, a serious conservative.
And they were both on the president's commission, both signed it. They understand, and their colleagues, and I think a lot of others in the Senate, that we have to come together, and reach a compromise.
AMANPOUR: And on that note, we're going to continue this conversation in the "Green Room." And when we return, we'll take you inside the revolution with a special "Reporter's Notebook" from Terry Moran, on the dramatic changes transforming the Arab world.
AMANPOUR: That was Cairo's Tahrir Square, jubilation just after Hosni Mubarak resigned after ruling his country with an iron fist for 30 years.
I spoke with Mubarak in the final days of his rule. Now he is gone, but how much have things actually changed? Across the region the uprising continue, in Syria, Bahrain. While in Libya, Gadhafi is still hanging on after weeks of NATO air strikes. What does it mean for the future of the region?
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered a sobering warning this week.
SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: When we meet again at this forum in one year, or five years or 10, will we see the prospect for reform fade and remember this moment as just a mirage in the desert?
AMANPOUR: So, will dreams of democracy slip into the sand? ABC's Terry Moran filed this dispatch from the revolution.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TERRY MORAN, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: This was no mirage, it was one of the most stirring and most hopeful events of resent years. A people rising. A dictator falling. A nation, reaching for a new era of freedom. It all seemed so real.
Two months later, Cairo, a city that has seen so many centuries of rulers, and revolutions and conquers, Cairo has returned to its ancient rhythms and ways, but a shadow has fallen across the city, across the hope of those heady revolutionary days.
Eight days ago, violent crashes erupted in Tahrir Square which was the center of the region which was the center of the revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, but this time protesters were targeting the military government that took hit place and promised a transition to democracy. Two were killed, dozens injured. It was an ominous sign of increasing frustration with the change of pace here. And there are other disturbing signs.
He was charged with insulting the army.
MAGED MAHER, ACTIVIST: Yes. Criticizing the army, most of time, considered as insulting.
MORAN: But I thought you had a revolution here?
MAHER: I thought the same.
MORAN: Maged Maher is an activist and a good friend of the imprisoned blogger, Michael Nabil, whose case has become a human rights flash point here.
Nabil was hauled to a military court last month and sentenced to three years in prison for what he wrote.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not free yet. We went to streets and we shouted loudly that we want freedom. If people go to jail, because of expressing an opinion, so we don't have it yet.
MORAN: So a question hangs over Egypt and the answer to it matters to the whole world.
Are you free today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are free. And we are to create the system now.
MORAN: Abdel Rahman Yousuf (ph) is a poet. And he was one of the more prominent activists in the revolution.
We first met him when he was camped out in Tahrir Square during the protests. We returned to the square with him on Friday. A few protesters were there, urging national unity. The biggest security presence was the traffic cops.
And we found Yousef (ph) is still cautiously optimistic like so many Egyptians we met. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are free people but we want to be a free nation.
MORAN: It matters so much because Egypt with 85 million people and ancient culture have long been the center of gravity of the whole Arab world. The fall of Hosni Mubarak here helped to light the fires of revolt in country after country.
Gas prices, the dangers of terrorism, relations between Islam and the west, it's all riding on these revolutions. And it turns out, revolution is hard and tricky work, even, perhaps especially in Egypt.
The real question in this country is did they have a revolution or a coupe? The military has power but so do the people and the protesters here. And the situation right now is a delicate, sometimes tense balance between the guns of soldiers and demands of the people.
WAEL GHONIM, GOOGLE EXECUTIVE: I don't think Secretary Clinton was right about the comment of the revolution becoming a mirage.
MORAN: Wael Ghonim, an Egyptian executive with Google is a leader. He helped organize it on Facebook and other social media and he was imprisoned by Mubarak's regime during the protests. Today he too wants to give the military the benefit of the doubt.
GHONIM: The army is actually so far is trying to protect the revolution. They're doing mistakes just like any system in the world. Plus this is completely new to them. But at the end of the day, they have been showing a great deal of commitment towards protecting the revolution.
MORAN: The military government has scheduled elections later this year and the generals did seem to respond to the people's demand this week when Mubarak himself and two sons were arrested for corruption and other charges.
So, is Egypt heading towards true democracy or is it a mirage?
There are no guarantees here, but the people are rising and there is no going back.
For This Week I'm Terry Moran in Cairo.
AMANPOUR: And we will keep monitoring those stories. And when we come back, a moment in history, 50 years since an iconic turning point in the Cold War. A milestone for a perpetual thorn in America's side.
AMANPOUR: With attention focused on falling dictators across the world, a dictator right next door marks a milestone for endurance. There are parades and commemorations in Cuba this weekend on the 50th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion, a turning point of the Cold War. ABC's Jim Sciutto is in Havana and you can find his full report online at abcnews.com/thisweek.
That's it for our program. You can follow me online on Twitter and abcnews.com. For all of us here at This Week, thank you for watching and see you again next week.


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New rules to protect water quality would force farmers to "tattle" on other farmers.
New rules to protect water quality would force farmers to "tattle" on other farmers.
At least, that's how they see it.
A local growers coalition would be required to send membership lists to state water cops - identifying not only the farmers who follow the rules, but also the bad apples who don't.
Farmers warn the so-called "tattletale rule" will erode longtime relationships of trust and perhaps thwart the very purpose of the new rules. That is, to protect the region's already polluted waterways from additional harm.
"The whole thing will fall apart if we start fingering farmers for fines," said John Herrick, an attorney for south Delta farmers and a board member of the San Joaquin County Resource Conservation District, which runs the coalition.
State officials say they need to know who is not following the rules if those rules are going to accomplish anything.
"Absent that information, for us it's a guessing game," said Joe Karkoski, a supervising engineer with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.
The controversy is just one part of perhaps the most significant new regulations that San Joaquin County farmers will face in their lifetimes. The rules are scheduled to be considered on March 12 in Rancho Cordova, and Stockton-area farmers plan to travel to the meeting by bus to make their voices heard.
Some context is important. Agriculture was exempted from the federal Clean Water Act more than 40 years ago, and until recently farmers were never held fully accountable for pollution running off their lands from pesticide or fertilizer use.
But in 1999, state legislation compelled officials here to act.
Farmers are now required to either get their own individual permits to discharge pollution, or pay a fee to join large coalitions which monitor rivers for pollution and educate growers about best practices.
The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board is now considering expanding those rules and making them permanent. Similar rules have already been approved or are in the works up and down the Valley.
Only recently does the "tattletale rule" appear to have become a hot issue, however.
The new provision requires the growers coalition to submit lists of farmers who are in good standing, as well as those who are not. The coalition would have to report "why a member was dropped or whether a member had failed to meet their obligations," according to state documents.
The Resource Conservation District runs the coalition. Its board of directors includes farmers or farm representatives.
In that sense, the district's submittal of lists to state regulators would amount to farmers snitching on their peers, critics say.
The district works with public agencies and private landowners on projects to conserve natural resources like soil and water. It views itself as a non-threatening third party. The last thing it wants is to be perceived as an extension of the state government.
"I think people are going to think twice about engaging with us," said Molly Watkins, a district board member and member of a farming family in Linden. "They'll say, 'Do I really want to do (business) with these guys?' "
It's not that bad actors shouldn't be held accountable, she said.
But the state could easily get the information it needs on its own, by studying annual membership lists for any changes, Watkins said.
The proposal was not entirely a surprise. John Brodie, a district staffer, said the "tattletale" language had been included in previous drafts. Local officials asked for it to be removed, and it was, only to be reinserted once more.
He said that if the rule is approved, it's unclear whether the conservation district will be able to continue in its role with the coalition, raising questions about the coalition's very future.
The state says its request for names is perfectly reasonable.
Failing to disclose the names of noncompliant farmers would basically "shield (them) from any meaningful follow-up or consequences," the board says in documents.
But farmers also stand to benefit from supplying the information, Karkoski said.
If the local coalition refused to divulge the names, state water officials would have to investigate on their own. That could increase the state's costs, which are passed on to growers, he said.
"We're trying to keep costs low," Karkoski said.
The state - not the district - will handle any enforcement actions that result from the release of the names, he said. And in many cases, "heavy-handed enforcement" might not be necessary at all.
"Our goal is compliance," Karkoski said. "If a grower is not meeting their obligation, that suggests something is not working with the system."
Contrary to the farmers' concerns, Stockton environmentalist Bill Jennings believes the new rules don't go far enough. He has called for farmers to be regulated individually, which would likely cost them far more than joining the coalition.
Even with the names of both compliant and noncompliant growers, water officials will not know exactly who is discharging which pollutants, and what the effects are of those discharges on rivers and streams, Jennings said.
"The coalitions are essentially a shield to protect farmers from the law," he said. "A farmer's not going to snitch. And you can't catch them if they don't."
Contact reporter Alex Breitler at (209) 546-8295 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/breitlerblog and on Twitter @alexbreitler.