The Buzz Board
Picks from the Inner Circle
CNN’s chief international correspondent and nine-time Emmy winner |
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This week, I ran into Alex Gibney, producer of the extraordinary Oscar-winning documentary Taxi to the Dark Side, about U.S. torture practices abroad. It was amazing timing because the week has been abuzz with new developments. As president, Obama immediately moved to close down Guantánamo. But while torture is a most un-American activity, the latest developments have reached the very heart of a divided nation: From Former Vice President Dick Cheney, who insists torture works, to NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who told me it should be banned, and said so publicly at yesterday’s congressional hearing, but who also wonders about the potential chilling effect of the memos being published, to the informal coffee-shop poll my fellow school-mum conducted about the now-public memos, which produced a loud and ferocious battle of opinions among the ladies who breakfast. Taxi to the Dark Side is still well worth a watch. |
CNN’s chief international correspondent and nine-time Emmy winner |
![]() I was blown away by Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortensen’s book about his adventures and building schools for girls in the remotest most traditional parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. I took it as a call to action and a lesson for the US in future on the wisdom of deploying soft power in the battle for hearts and minds. |







