Sunday, August 21, 2011

"60 Minutes" on August 21, 2011

The three stories on August 21, 2011 appeared to be recycled from previous episodes.

#1. Tom Drake, charged under espionage act (previously reported May 22, 2011)
#2. Rescue of Chilean miners. After-story.
#3. Timothy Dolan, "the American pope." Tireless promoter of all things Catholic.

Tom Drake was at the National Security Agency, and his first job was on 9/11. The NSA eavesdrops on communications of the world. Other person noted "we knew there was a weakness in the system." Better system (thinthread) was proposed for use in January prior to September 11. Lt. Gen. Hayden proposed trailbrazer. See NSA Managers Modified or Supressed Studies on ThinThread and Trailblazer. There was a complaint to the Inspector General. Drake talked about warrantless wiretap. Drake had great concerns. General Counsel of NSA. Baltimore Sun articles on troubles at NSA. Chevon Gorman (reporter): NSA shelved better program that sifted calls. Government Accountability Project defended Drake. Taking classified papers home without permission. Attorney Abby Lowell, one of most experienced lawyers on espionage act noted "Once you have signed a nondisclosure agreement ..." TrailBlazer consumed 1.2 billion and then was cancelled. Hayden talked about failure of TrailBlazer in 2006. Congress revoked NSA's power to manage large projects. 60 Minutes updated its previous story of May --> Drake pled guilty to a misdemeanor. Drake was sentenced to community service.

"60 Minutes" talked about the miners discussing the possibility of suicide by CO poisoning. Jonathan Franklin took "60 Minutes" to a nearby mine. The idea of 69 days here is terrifying. The men voted on every thing. Dinner. Franklin wrote "33 Men". If you die in your sleep, you're going to be breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Day 17: the drill broke through. "Survivor Underground." The oldest miner was Mario Gomez. 19 of the miners have lost their disability payments. One miner: I lose my concentration very quickly.

Morley Safer interviewed Dolan. Dolan; the North American College. Dolan asserted the greatest sex abuse culprits are married men. Reassigning abusers is nothing less than hideous. Safer: the coverup is worse than the crime. Safer noted, since the interview, there was a scandal in Philadelphia. Catholic faith: sense of permanence. Perception of church as shrill scold. Hung up on headline issues. Safer: but the headline issues are where the people are living their lives.

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