Christiane Amanpour Stuns NYU Class
Yesterday, for our latest episode of Stand In, we brought famed political correspondent Christiane Amanpour in as a surprise guest lecturer for an “International Politics of the Middle East” course at NYU. In this preview Amanpour speaks succinctly about the potential for democracy in Islamic nations and the international yearning for freedom.

The full episode premieres on mtvU at noon on Tuesday, May 8th.

Anatomy of China’s Money and Murder Scandal

Allegations of bribery, corruption, even charges of murder has one of China’s most powerful families sitting on the outside of power looking in.

Bo Xilai was once a superstar in the Chinese Communist Party, but no longer. He’s been under the microscope for his own abuse of power and lost his job because of it. Additionally, his wife is accused of murdering a influential English business man, and his son can’t stay out of the tabloids for his partying ways.

But this is about more than a corrupt family. This scandal has rocked China’s Communist Party and has pulled back the curtain on the Chinese political system, giving us a chance to take a unique glimpse into an increasingly fractured government.

Joining us to discuss China’s public relations nightmare is Richard McGregor, Washington Bureau Chief for the Financial Times.

Stopping Al-Qaeda With the Click of a Mouse?

When five of the most trafficked Islamic jihadist websites went down in late March and into April, it derailed Al-Qaeda’s ability to communicate and post information to supporters.

The Internet is a vital tool for terrorists to spread propaganda around the world, share instructions on how to build bombs, and even raise money, all the while staying relatively anonymous.

So when the sites go down for an extended period of time it’s a major setback in their pursuit of global Jihad. Not only does it cut off communication, it gives the international community the impression that they’re behind in Internet technology.

American authorities and other western governments have denied any involvement, even though they would seem to have the most incentive to shut down the sites. However, monitoring Al-Qaeda’s online communication gives the American military insight into the psyche and technical ability of terrorists- information that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

For insight into the coded world of cyber attacks, Christiane speaks with the foremost authority on the topic, former Counter Terrorism Czar under the Bush and Clinton Administrations, Richard Clark.