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Connect the World
Humanitarian Crisis in Syria; Interview with Ricken Patel; Heather Mills Testifies in Media Ethics Case; The Search for A New Manager; Eurozone Cautious About Greek Austerity Deal; More Outrage in Greece Over Austerity; What the Greek Deal Means; Some in Greece Think Alternative to Austerity Worse; Former Greek Finance Minister Supports Agreement; Video of Boy Naked in Snow Sparks Fury; Parenting Debate; Virtual Life After Death; Parting Shots of Fire and Ice in Italy
Aired February 09, 2012 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MAX FOSTER, HOST: Tonight on CONNECT THE WORLD, as the world watches on, a humanitarian crisis unfolds. Bodies piled onto trucks, the wounded left to die in the streets. Let little outside help for a Syrian city under siege.
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
FOSTER: Tonight, with doctors under attack and supplies running low, why the world appears powerless to help.
Also tonight, a deal is sealed in Greece. But its people aren't happy and Europe's leaders aren't convinced, either.
And living life after death -- the Hollywood stars from the past who found a new following online.
First, a staggering new loss of life in Syria, as residents at the heart of the crackdown say the world is running out of time to save them. Opposition activists say at least 131 people have been killed across Syria just today, the vast majority in the city of Homs.
Residents there describe apocalyptic scenes, countless buildings crashed under relentless shelling and artillery attack.
They say people are cowering in their homes, unable to escape because of snipers, simply waiting their turn to die.
Activists say government troops are blocking medicine and food from reaching areas already suffering from a lack of water, electricity and communications. We can't confirm their accounts, since CNN has no access to Syria. But the video posted online certainly appears to corroborate them.
Here's what one resident told us about civilian casualties in Homs. We're calling him "Danny" to protect his identity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANNY: We have more than 30 children dead from four days ago until now. We have loads of children injured.
My friends are in a hospital. I hope they'll be OK. Lots of them have been hit by snipers from yesterday until today, just because of trying to cross the street. Snipers hit them.
They hit children, women, men, kids. It doesn't matter. The Syrian Army -- I'm not going to call it the Syrian Army. The Assad army has no humanity in them. They kill anything in front of them. They are just hitting civilian houses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, "Danny" and other Syrians are begging the United Nations to intervene and help them before it's too late. The U.N. is considering stepping in, but in a very limited role, at least for now.
CNN's Ivan Watson is following that story and other developments tonight for us from Istanbul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Syrian military continued its deadly artillery assault on the besieged city of Homs on Thursday and claimed the lives, according to Syrian activists, of more than 100 people in a single day.
Among the scores and hundreds of people who have been wounded in the course of these days of rocket and mortar attacks were one Syrian activist who attracted international attention weeks ago, when he confronted international observers, Arab observers, and said they were not doing enough to protect civilian lives.
He has been wounded and issued a video appeal to the international community to come to the rescue of these beleaguered civilians. He also had harsh of defiance for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bashar, never think we will surrender. Even if you kill us all, we will never surrender.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: The Syrian regime is becoming increasingly isolated. The Libyan government announced that it had given Syrian diplomats 72 hours to leave Tripoli.
Meanwhile, the Syrian state news agency wrote a report, unconfirmed thus far, that its diplomats were attacked in Tripoli on Wednesday. Syrian diplomats have also been ordered out of other Gulf Arab countries over the course of the last week.
Meanwhile, the United Nations secretary-general has continued his harsh words of criticism for the Syrian government. He says that he has communicated with the secretary-general of the Arab League to possibly send in another group of Arab observers to Syria, perhaps joined with U.N. personnel.
But activists on the ground in Homs say they do not want more observers, they need the basic medical goods and supplies to treat the scores of wounded people there, one doctor telling us he doesn't even have antibiotics to treat the more than 100 wounded patients he received Thursday morning alone.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
FOSTER: Well, the United States and other nations are considering ways to provide desperately needed humanitarian aid to the Syrian people. The willpower is there and so are the supplies.
But as CNN's Jill Dougherty reports, there's a huge problem of logistics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The State Department says it's getting extremely alarming reports about the plight of civilians in Syria.
VICTORIA NULAND, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: No power, no water, no phone, no internet in the city, reports of some 20 houses destroyed by regime forces, five killed, 35 injured.
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The Syrian people themselves...
DOUGHERTY: The United States, the Arab League, the European Union, Turkey and other countries call the violence abhorrent. But diplomats say don't expect to see any immediate help from any of them.
TED KATTOUF, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SYRIA: Right now, I do not believe humanitarian help is possible, and particularly not to the people who need it the most.
DOUGHERTY: Ted Kattouf, former U.S. ambassador to Syria, points to a key problem -- civilians are caught in the middle between government forces intent on crushing the opposition and opposition forces taking up arms to fight back. Getting any help in, he says, is virtually impossible...
KATTOUF: Without either the consent of the Syrian government or an armed -- a formidable, armed military from outside coming in to safeguard any convoys and the like. And of course, we don't see that right now.
DOUGHERTY: Unlike in Libya, there are no safe havens, like the city of Benghazi, which was controlled by the Libyan opposition. In Syria, people live in urban, religiously mixed areas -- a tinderbox now igniting.
So for now, the best the world community can come up with is creating a Friends of Democratic Syria Group -- four countries that are vying to host the first meeting.
But what will they do?
What help can they provide?
NULAND: The precise forum that this is going to take, the precise timing, the precise mandate is still being worked out with individual nations.
DOUGHERTY: Officials here at the State Department say the U.S. is still in the preparation stages, looking at what it can do legally and financially to provide things like food and medicine, and trying to determine who on the ground could accept that aid and disperse it. But nothing, they say, will happen until that international group is up and running.
Jill Dougherty, CNN, the State Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well, the global online rights group, AVAAZ, has just launched a campaign to raise $1 million for the Syrian people. It says it's one of the only organizations that's actually able to deliver.
Ricken Patel, executive director of AVAAZ, joins us now from New York.
Thank you, sir, for joining us.
I gather this campaign was only launched today.
How much have you managed to raise in just the last few hours?
Ricken Patel
RICKEN PATEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AVAAZ: We actually launched it last night. And it's raised, in the hours of this morning, about a third of a million dollars. So we're already a third of the way to our initial target.
FOSTER: Which does express the amount of interest in helping the people of Syria, right?
PATEL: Absolutely. I mean we've seen throughout this struggle a tremendous degree of international solidarity and support from people across the Arab world and across the entire world with the struggle of the Syrian people and -- and never more than now. This is the darkest part of the night for the Syrian people. And they need citizens around the world more than ever because governments, handcuffed by Russia and other countries, are not able to help them right now.
FOSTER: Ricken, OK. We were just hearing there a report about how, you know, the will might be there on behalf of the aid agencies to get aid out to Syrians, but they can't do it because they can't get the actual -- the aid in there.
What makes you different?
What makes you able to get aid to the people that need it?
PATEL: Well, when -- when they were in the very early stages of the uprising, we built a -- a network by which we use to get satellite phones and satellite Internet terminals and other things that would allow the Syrian people to get the word of the uprising out to the world, because Assad had kicked out all the foreign journalists and -- and -- and all the media.
And so we built a -- a powerful network of over 200 citizen journalists and activists that included smuggling networks by how we got these phones in and out and -- and including journalists, who smuggled a large number of -- of prominent journalists in and out of the country.
So we've had -- we've got these networks and when the -- when the -- the crackdown unfolded and many, many hundreds of people were wounded and killed, we switched to medical supplies. And we've already smuggled in about $1.8 million worth of medical supplies to Homs and other besieged cities.
FOSTER: OK, so communications equipment to get a story out, medical supplies to help people who can't get their help from hospitals, also, safe houses, I understand.
And all your safe houses are full at the moment and you're -- that you're in desperate need of safe houses in Homs, for example?
PATEL: Yes, absolutely. I mean in Homs and -- and even outside the country. There -- there are places where -- where these activists need to get to. There's a lot trying to get out right now. Safe houses are places from which they can operate that are wired up and linked up.
You had an interview just a few minutes ago with one of our citizen journalists based in Homs. One of our houses there was struck this morning by a shell and six of our citizen journalists were killed.
So it's tremendous bravery that these people are exercising. It's -- it's -- it's just an honor to -- to -- to try and support them and -- and - - and we're -- we're happy to try and do it.
FOSTER: A lot of people will be concerned about giving money to you as opposed to a big charity or aid organization they actually know. And I do know that you're asking for money, as well, that you can then deliver to Syrians. You're saying that's for power and for transport.
But how can people be sure that that money isn't going to be filtered off or -- or used for arms, actually?
PATEL: Well, it can't be used for arms because our staff in Lebanon purchase medical supplies from pharmaceutical companies in Lebanon. And then it is the material and the equipment that we give to the people who take it into Syria. And those people are people we've been working with for -- for over 10 months now. They're very trusted. They're people we know intimately.
And if you don't, you know, Avaaz is a -- is a -- is a recognized organization. We've had tens of millions of dollars donated to us. We're audited every year.
But if you don't trust us, please give to another organization working in Syria. But don't let yourself be put off by -- the Syrian people need us more than ever.
FOSTER: OK, Ricken Patel, thank you very much, indeed for joining us from New York.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD live from London.
Still to come, a private serenade made public -- the ex-wife of Paul McCartney testifies at the -- the British press scandal inquiry.
Nearly naked in the freezing cold -- the father that thinks this will toughen up his 4 -year-old toddler.
And the FA suits out a day after Fabio Capello resigns as the England manager. We'll have a report from Wembley company, when CONNECT THE WORLD continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD on CNN, the world's news leader.
Welcome back to you.
Now, one big step down, one to go -- Greece's government today agreed to an austerity package needed to secure desperately needed bailout funds. Parliament must vote on the package, probably on Sunday.
Greece must then get the backing of Eurozone financial markets. After that, lenders can start releasing the $170 billion Greece needs to avoid default.
The finance minister talked about it earlier in Brussels.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EVANGELOS VENIZELOS, GREEK FINANCE MINISTER: After a long, tough period of negotiations, we have, finally, a start level agreement with the troika for a new, strong and valuable program. We have also a deal with the private sectors on the basic parameters of the PSI. We need, now, the political endorsement of the Euro Group for the final step.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: But that final step is actually far from a done deal. We'll talk about that and get some insight from our own Richard Quest a little later in the show on that.
Now for a look at some other stories connecting our world tonight, Heather Mills, the ex-wife if Paul McCartney, says voice-mails left for her by the former Beatle before they were married were illegally accessed. Mills made the claim at an independent investigation into press ethics in London on Thursday.
CNN's Atika Shubert was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heather Mills' testimony all centered on a particular voice-mail message left by her former husband, ex- Beatle, Paul McCartney. After an argument, apparently, he had left her a message asking for her forgiveness and singing a few lines of the Beatles song, "We Can Work It Out".
Now she says it was a private message. She deleted it shortly after hearing it but was then contacted by a Trinity -- former "Trinity Mirror" employee, who told her that the message had been listened to and that there was a possibility of making a story out of it.
She informed that former employee that it must have been accessed illegally.
Now, it was made clear in the inquiry that this person was not a "Daily Mirror" employee and was not working for Piers Morgan, who was then the editor, of course, of "The Daily Mirror."
So what we know after this, of course, is that at some point, Piers Morgan did listen to a recording of this voice-mail message and did write about it. And this is a point that Heather Mills was pressed on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you authorize Mr. Morgan to access your voice-mail?
HEATHER MILLS: Never.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you authorize Mr. Morgan to listen to your voice-mail?
MILLS: Never ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And have you ever played to Mr. Morgan or authorized him to listen to a recording of this or any other voice-mail left on your messaging system?
MILLS: Never. Never.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we need to go one stage further.
Have you ever done that in relation to anybody?
MILLS: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUBERT: Now, there was no immediate response from Piers Morgan. However, what he has said in the past is that he has personally never hacked a phone and that as editor of several British tabloid newspapers, he has never ordered anyone to hack a phone.
Atika Shubert, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
FOSTER: The judge who played a key role in the arrest of Chile's former dictator, Augusto Pinochet, has been convicted by the Spanish Supreme Court. Baltasar Garzon, once one of -- was one of Spain's best known judges and a prominent human rights activist, was found guilty of improperly investigating a financial corruption case. The court has banned the 56 -year-old from the bench for 11 years.
A U.S. State Department spokeswoman says Washington now considers the new government in the Maldives to be legitimate. It follows more unrest on the streets of the capital, Male. The ex-president of the Maldives, Mohammed Nasheed, is facing arrest. Nasheed says he was forced to resign at gunpoint during a coup on Tuesday. His former deputy, Mohammed Waheed Hassan, has been sworn in as president.
Temperatures in some Eastern European cities have plunged to their lowest levels this winter, as another surge of frigid air spreads westward from Russia, in Romania, rescue crews are -- are going door to door to help snow-trapped residents. The capital, Bucharest, recorded its coldest morning, dipping to minus 24 degrees.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has marked its 25th consecutive day of sub-zero temperatures.
Prince Harry is qualified to fly an Apache attack helicopter. It means the third in line to the British throne could be deployed on operations after gaining more experience. The prince was also awarded the prize of best co-pilot gunner. It comes after 18 months of intense training, which involved flying in desert conditions in the U.S. states of California and Arizona.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
Still to come, Capello says arrivederci to England.
Does that mean hello Harry?
We take a look at the contenders for one of football's top jobs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD live from London.
Welcome back.
I'm Max Foster.
Now, I quit because of interference from the Football Association," the words of Fabio Capello, his first reaction, actually, since stepping down as England manager. The search is now on for his replacement.
And as CNN's Alex Thomas reports, there's one red hot favorite.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX THOMAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the four men who will choose England's next football manager. Less than 24 hours after Fabio Capello's sudden resignation, they were back at Wembley Stadium to explain what had happened in a meeting with him on Wednesday.
DAVID BERNSTEIN, FA CHAIRMAN: I just want to emphasize that all the way through his time with us, and yesterday, he's behaved with dignity and honor. He is an honorable person. And I'm, you know, able to say that yesterday, albeit not an easy day, we concluded methods with a handshake.
Any reports of storming out are not true and a complete misrepresentation of fact.
THOMAS: The FA says they had no intention of sacking Capello and they didn't urge him to quit. But when the Italian offered to step down, they accepted his resignation in England's best interests, even though it leaves the team manager-less just four months before Euro 2012.
BERNSTEIN: And, first, I think principles are extremely important. And I -- I do not think that. No, I think, in the long-term, I think the thing we have done should be very much in -- in the interests of the English football team. You know, I regret, having been involved with (INAUDIBLE) for some time and now with England, I know the importance of success and winning matches. And that's what we're here to try and do.
THOMAS: Tottenham manager, Harry Redknapp, is now the overwhelming favorite to take charge, despite his reticence today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, Harry.
Are you going to take England over (INAUDIBLE)?
HARRY REDKNAPP, MANAGER, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: Oh, I don't -- I don't know anything about England, girl.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You must have been...
THOMAS: After being cleared of tax evasion charges, the main obstacle to Redknapp's appointment has disappeared. Prominent England players, Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney have Tweeted they want him to be the next coach and he's the fans' choice, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I always go for Harry, a good old-fashioned English-type manager.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no question. It needs to be Harry Redknapp. It needs to be -- he needs to be in situ this weekend. Get Harry.
BERNSTEIN: We want to make an appointment that the -- that the public are positive about and that excites the -- the fans. But we can't be driven by that. And, you know, it goes without saying, if you only have one sort of candidate, the ones -- it would be a very, very different situation in dealing with this and negotiating and so on.
So we -- we have to do this professionally. We have to have an open mind. We have to get a probably short list together. And we have to bear in mind a lot of situations, but certainly including the desires and wishes of the fans, our supporters. They are crucial to us.
THOMAS (on camera): While discussions continue behind the scenes, England will be back in action here on the films Wembley turf in less than three weeks, when it won't be Fabio Capello in the technical area shouting shortage instructions at the players, but England under 21 and Team GB Olympic coach, Stuart Pearce.
(voice-over): So it's arrivederci, Fabio, the best winning record of any England football manager in history, but whose appointment may come to be regarded as a very expensive mistake.
Alex Thomas, CNN, Wembley Stadium, England.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
FOSTER: We're going to get a bit more on this now.
"WORLD SPORT'S" Mark McKay is following the story from the CNN Center -- and, Mark, whilst no official short list for the job, there is an unofficial one you've been having a look at.
MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I certainly have, Max.
Yes, the books make -- the bookmakers have put Harry Redknapp as their top choice to replace Fabio Capello, not so surprisingly. Stuart Pearce -- Alex mentioned this name, the under 21 manager who will coach the national side in an upcoming friendly against the Netherlands. It certainly remains to be seen whether he can get the job full-time.
Other names in the mix, former Chelsea boss, Curt -- Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho; Roy Hodgson, he spent time at Liverpool. He has international experience with Switzerland and Finland.
And who's hitting -- boy, is he well traveled or what -- or not -- the Dutchman managing Holland, South Korea, Russia, Australia and Turkey. He is reportedly interested, Max, in the England job.
But all signs, as we've heard, since Capello stepped down, is going to go Redknapp's way.
FOSTER: Yes, and he suggested many times, hasn't he, that this is his dream job?
It would be, I guess, of any England manager.
How easy is it -- I mean I assume he's not going to say no, but he might not be released.
MCKAY: Right. And...
FOSTER: So what's the deal?
MCKAY: Well, you know, you talked about the interest in the past, Max. If he's interested now, he's publicly not saying so. Reporters caught him just today. And he said, listen, I have a very important match to prepare for as his Spurs team gets ready to play Newcastle this weekend.
So he has a job to do, he says, so he's not thinking that. But, you know, everybody seems to be on board. Graham Taylor, former England manager, said the Londoner, Redknapp, is perfect for the job, despite him only having the FA cup title. That's the only piece of silverware he has on his resume.
The -- the groundswell for an Englishman in this job is pretty strong. But, you know, Max, it really hasn't worked out that well in the past.
Remember the name Steve McClaren?
He was brought on. And he -- his reign began six years ago, McClaren's did. He was given the job after Sven-Goran Eriksson, but under McClaren, England failed to qualify for Euro 2008, the first time in more than a decade that the English team had failed to make the European championships.
Of course, McClaren's exit opened the door for Fabio Capello to come in. Now, we see perhaps Harry Redknapp following in Capello's shoes. We'll have to wait on that -- Max, I'll see you at...
FOSTER: Yes.
MCKAY: -- in an hour for "WORLD SPORT".
FOSTER: Good stuff.
Mark, thank you very much, indeed.
Still to come on CONNECT THE WORLD, the art of the deal -- in this case, two deals, one of them to push through austerity measures in Greece, the other to get desperately needed bailout money.
Some are calling this video barbaric. Some say it's simply -- we simply can't judge. A fiery debate is playing out online. All the details coming up.
And life beyond death -- as late celebrities sign up to social media, we ask, would you give someone permission to keep Tweeting for you once you've gone?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MAX FOSTER, HOST: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD on CNN. Time now for a look at the world headlines.
Syrian opposition activists now say 137 people were killed across the country today, the vast majority of them in Homs. People in that city are begging for international help as the regime intensifies attacks to crush dissent.
Greece's prime minister says his government has reached agreement on an austerity package needed to secure bailout loans and avoid default. Parliament still must approve it and eurozone finance ministers must give their own OK before Greece can start receiving money.
Police pulled the Maldives deposed president outside during angry demonstrations against what he calls a coup d'etat. The country's foreign minister says ex-president Mohamed Nasheed faces arrest.
Heather Mills, the ex-wife of Paul McCartney, has appeared at Britain's media ethics inquiry. She testified a reporter called her about a voice mail McCartney left her after an argument. She says the reporter found out about it illegally.
Greece says it has on -- has an austerity deal, but the eurozone is reacting with pronounced caution. The Greek parliament will likely approve the austerity package this coming weekend. What happens after that is anyone's guess.
Listen to what Germany's finance minister had to say today in Brussels.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLFGANG SCHAEUBLE, GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER (through translator): The agreement is not yet ready, but we have a discussion status that has been agreed upon. But no one is assuming yet that this status will find approval and that it can be fulfilled.
From all that I know, and we do have some more negotiations, we don't have the parameters, yet, that have been clearly described in the European Council.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, the austerity deal is sparking more outrage in Greece, a nation already stripped to the bone. Greek unions protested again today, and they're planning a two-day general strike starting tomorrow. There's already been a government resignation. The deputy labor minister stepped down in protest.
A bit earlier, I talked about all of this and what to expect next with our Richard Quest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are really two areas. First of all, what's happening in Athens, where the two major parties have agreed, but the third party has yet to sign onto. And that doesn't really matter, there will be a majority in parliament for the vote over the weekend, or at least it looks like there will be for the austerity.
But then, you have in Brussels, you have the eurozone and the euro group, as they have to decide, has Greece done enough? And there, we know, from certain ministers that they've questions, not just about the level of austerity or the plans, but certain aspects like, for example, cuts in pensions and, ultimately, Greece's ability to implement it.
What you end up with tonight is a sort of hodge-podge of a plan but, frankly, no one's sure it will ever get off the ground.
FOSTER: So, does Brussels, effectively, want more austerity, in which case, can Greece take it?
QUEST: No, it's not so much austerity they want. They want Greece to adhere to the austerity they've already agreed to. It's all about implementation, it's not about what's on the paper, it's whether they'll put it into practice.
But Max, the worry in Greece is it's all too much. And for instance, the head of the Athens Chamber of Commerce is seriously worried that eventually, this austerity causes unrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONSTANTINE MICHALOS, PRESIDENT, ATHENS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY: Social cohesion is of paramount importance, and the fuse, the social fuse is running extremely short.
I think that the attempt of implementing these harsh measures, especially the ones concerning the 25, 22 percent reduction in the pensions and up to 32 percent reduction in the minimum wage, which I have to point out, is one of the lowest in the European Union, anyway, as it stands at the moment, would be sufficient to ignite this social explosion, which I fear for the last six months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: "Ignite the social fuse." The problem is, five years of recession in Greece, more austerity to come, a vast gulf in understanding between the Greeks and their eurozone partners, one wonders what they're thinking in Brussels.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: So, the new austerity package could slash the minimum wage and pensions and cut government jobs, but some in Greece believe the alternative is worse. Listen to what this Athens resident had to say when he spoke to us when he joined us via Skype.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIMITRIS AVDOULOS, ATHENS RESIDENT: I'm satisfied that we have a deal tonight, because the other option was a total disaster for Greece. It would mean collapse of the economy, bankruptcy, default, and of course, the end of Greece as a member of the eurozone. So, I'm satisfied we have a deal, and it maybe is a surprise for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Sir Stefanos Manos is a former Greek finance minister and head of the Drasi Party. He joins us now via Skype from Athens. Thank you so much for joining us.
Where do you stand on all of this? Should Greeks withstand this next round of implemented austerity?
STEFANOS MANOS, FORMER GREEK FINANCE MINISTER: Absolutely. I'm happy that the leaders of the two parties that support the government have reached a decision to support this plan, and I think this is a beginning we could -- a good base to start building up again Greece.
FOSTER: You say -- I keep hearing this, that it's about building Greece back up again, but that's just political speak, isn't it? What you're really doing is going through a long period of depression and pain, and actually building up doesn't start from -- until a year or two away at the very earliest. So, it's a bit disingenuous saying let's build up from here. Actually, you've got to suffer pain first.
MANOS: Well, I admit that there's a lot of pain. But I wouldn't agree with you that it's going to take a lot of time. What it takes is a good team of people that will implement a plan. And if we do that, I'm fairly certain and optimistic that things could be turned around quickly, much quicker than most people would expect.
FOSTER: But isn't this a plan just to please Brussels? Isn't it much more harsh than, actually, what Greece needs.
MANOS: No, no, that's silly. Greece has had a problem. Over the years, we had governments that made their lives spending money, which they borrowed. Now, this has to stop. And if we get, as I said before, a good team in place that will do the right things, I don't have the slightest doubt that Greece will rebound quickly.
But there's a big "if." Are we going to get this kind of team? That's what I don't know, and that's a decision the Greek people will have to make.
FOSTER: We keep hearing about this social explosion that's about to be ignited. If that is the case, whatever is right or wrong, it's not going to go through.
MANOS: True. But there's going to be, perhaps, an explosion, but it's going to be short-lived. Once people see that the government has decided to a certain plan and sticks to it, I don't expect that the explosion will last for a long time.
FOSTER: But you're effectively saying there that this social explosion is worth the price.
MANOS: Yes.
FOSTER: So, you're expecting, and you think politicians should allow, a social explosion to take place in Greece?
MANOS: Well, politicians -- it's not up to them to allow it or not allow it. It may happen it or it most probably will happen to a certain extent. But we have to live through it and just do the right things.
FOSTER: Isn't the alternative just to bail out of the whole European system and just -- to write all the debt off and actually start working up from here instead of continuing --
MANOS: I wouldn't do that. I don't see why we should punish people that trusted Greece in the past. I don't see that at all. I think that there's an obligation to meet all the requirements of the plan we agreed upon.
I don't like the idea of this haircut that we're now applying to our creditors, but it seems that we couldn't do otherwise. Had we started earlier, I had supported often that we should be selling assets rather than haircutting our obligations.
I very much am old-fashioned in that sense that we should meet our obligations, period.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Stefanos Manos in Athens, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us on the program.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD live from London. Just ahead, an online video that sparked a firestorm in China. A father explains why he forced his young son to run around nearly naked in the snow.
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FOSTER: A home video showing a four-year-old boy being forced by his father to run almost naked through the snow in New York has sparked an online uproar in China. Eunice Yoon has more.
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EUNICE YOON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A video of a Chinese boy crying while running in the snow has sparked a firestorm here in China.
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(CHILD CRYING)
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YOON: A father who calls himself Eagle Dad for his tough parenting skills, shot and posted a clip of his four-year-old son running nearly naked in freezing weather in New York during the family lunar New Year holiday.
The father, who lives in eastern China, told us the exercise where the parents instruct little Duoduo to lie in the snow was meant to toughen up his son as part of an intense training regime that he designed. His son was born prematurely with health problems.
The video is reigniting debate here about how Chinese should parent their children after a controversial book about "Tiger Mothers" raised questions about Chinese parenting skills.
On Weibo, China's version of Twitter, one user says, "I can't agree with this educational style. It's so cruel and sensational. Eagle Dad might publish his own book. Shame on him."
Another writes, "Why don't we have a law against this abnormal behavior. If we allow these things to happen, before long, there will be all sorts of Lion Dads and Snake Moms who feel justified abusing their children."
Duoduo's father told us that he doesn't care about this criticism. He said that he and his wife always ensure that their son is happy and that their parenting philosophy is no pain, no gain.
Eunice Yoon, CNN, Beijing.
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FOSTER: This story sparking a worldwide conversation. We've been asking people on our Facebook page to weigh in. Keira in New York wrote, "This is just ridiculous! Making him go out in the freezing cold without any clothes on is barbaric."
Grace Monie, on the other hand, says that "I don't think anyone's got the right to judge these parents. The problem with our society is we have little knowledge of other situations and what they face."
Jenny Vermak thinks that "There is nothing wrong with some discipline. In fact, we need more in the world. Look at the lack of respect and lack of morals."
You can still join in on the debate by going to facebook.com/CNNconnect.
Eagle Dad's beliefs place him at the extreme end of an international debate on parenting, which was started, as Eunice Yoon mentioned, by a controversial book.
Now, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" turned Amy Chua, a Yale Law School professor into a best-selling author. Chua says her kids are successful because they weren't allowed things like sleepovers, television, auditioning for school plays, and getting anything less than a grade A in school.
She defended her thinking to Sara Sidner.
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AMY CHUA, AUTHOR/LAW PROFESSOR: It was intended to be tongue-in- cheek. That doesn't mean that I don't believe in lots of things, but it's mean to be exaggerated and over the top. But that list was applied to me with no humor, straight, by my parents.
And the truth is that I am incredibly grateful to my parents, now. I kind of -- I like my life, I feel I have lots of opportunities, and my parents actually having had such high expectations for me, I would say it's the greatest gift that anyone has ever given me.
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FOSTER: I want to bring in my next guest, psychologist and author Dr. Susan Bartell. Susan joins me via Skype from New York. Thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. It raises such emotions, doesn't it, this whole debate?
SUSAN BARTELL, CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes.
FOSTER: But what's -- is there any sort of scientific evidence, if I could put it like that, to suggest that discipline is good or bad? What's the thinking on this?
BARTELL: Well, certainly some discipline is good for kids. In fact, I agree with one of your Facebook posts. We don't have enough discipline in --
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BARTELL: However, making a kid run around in the snow or calling a child your names or embarrassing them in public is not discipline, it's really bad behavior of parents. It's not going to help your child become a better person, it's not going to help them achieve.
In fact, if we treat our children badly enough, it's actually going to make them depressed and anxious, which is going to impact negatively on their ability to achieve in the world.
FOSTER: It was interesting listening to that professor earlier. The suggest is that she's very grateful and she wants her children to be grateful, I guess, that she's giving them a great upbringing to get them ready for life. But isn't the debate around that that they should be enjoying their childhood as well?
BARTELL: I think you have to have both. You have to enjoy your childhood as a little kid, and there also do have to be expectations by your parents that you will achieve and that you will work hard.
But there's a difference between working hard and achieving and your parents having planned for you to have a very successful life. That's not the same as making your child run around in the snow. It's not the same as having expectations that your child may not even be able to achieve.
FOSTER: When you look at this kid -- and I find it shocking, this video, in the snow -- the father's trying to do good, I guess. That would be his argument when you look at it, trying to do him a favor, teach him a lesson he won't sort of do anything wrong again sort of thing. But what harm would you say a child like that could suffer in a similar situation?
BARTELL: Well, this father is trying to toughen this kid up, it sounds like, by exposing him to freezing cold weather.
But in some ways, it's really traumatic, and the effect it could have on him is not that different than, say, a post-traumatic stress reaction, that this kid is going to be terrified of his father, terrified of situations that he's not in control of, afraid to take risks, because they could be frightening, they could hurt him.
So, I think that overall, even though I'm sure this dad does mean well, and I definitely don't think he was meaning to hurt his child, I don't think that all types of parents and all types of parenting, even if you mean well, I don't think it's OK to administer them to your child just because you think you're doing the right thing.
There are plenty of things that parents do that aren't the right thing sort of just by saying, "Well, I'm doing the right thing, I mean well by my child." It's not always the case, and I think this is a good example of that.
FOSTER: Try to give some practical advice, because as a parent, you get in a situation sometimes where you get so angry and you push things too far, perhaps.
But what's your advice to someone as parent who wants to do things right, wants some discipline, wants the best for their kids, but doesn't want too push things too far? How can they sort of speak to themselves in certain situations and draw the line?
BARTELL: Well, first of all, I think it's important to avoid anything physical. Hitting, exposure to freezing cold weather, anything physical that's a punishment or perceived as a punishment by the child, you should avoid. There's no way that that's going to help your child, and there's no research that shows that it does.
Second of all, you need to have boundaries, you need to have limits, you need to have clear expectations for your child in terms of what you want them to do while at the same time recognizing what your child's strengths are and what things they're not good at.
So, for example, you could want your child to go to Harvard, but if your child isn't able to reach that level of achievement simply because they're not smart enough, that's not a good expectation, and it's going to make your child feel bad.
So, you want to help your child achieve at the highest level they are capable of achieving, and as a parent, you need to constantly be assessing your child and assessing what your expectations are and making sure that they're realistic.
And then, help your child by giving them boundaries, by giving them guidelines, by having routines in your house, very important to have predictable routines for children of all ages. That's the way that kids are going to succeed and be successful.
And you don't want to be your child's friend. It's not your job to be your child's friend. It's OK to say no to them about as many things as you want to, but also to say yes to them. But you certainly don't need to make them like you all the time.
FOSTER: Susan Bartell, thank you very much, indeed, for your advice and perspective on that.
Now, you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. When we come back, a virtual life. Marilyn Monroe has got one, but do you want to live on after death? We explore that question next.
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FOSTER: Not so long ago, photographs and letters were the best evidence of a life lived. But now, in this digital age, our existence doesn't necessarily end with death. Many of us have cyber identities though social media and other online sites. And as one long-gone Hollywood start is proving, it's never too late to sign up for a virtual life.
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MARILYN MONROE (singing): I want to be loved by you --
FOSTER (voice-over): She's already immortalized in films such as "Some Like It Hot."
MONROE (singing): I want to be loved by you, just you, nobody else but you.
FOSTER: But now, Marilyn Monroe has found life in the virtual world, with an officially verified Twitter account. It features quotes from the screen siren, and in the space of two days, has attracted more than 14,000 fans.
It only adds to the Hollywood star's social media following. She already has more than two million fans on Facebook, and that makes her bankable 50 years after her death.
Indeed, the company behind Marilyn's online status is a marketing firm, which purchased the rights to her estate for a reported $20 million 18 months ago.
She's not the first deceased star to be verified by Twitter. Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson are also communicating with fans beyond the grave.
But this virtual life beyond death is not exclusive to celebrities. Facebook apps such as "If I Die" are popping up to give us all a chance to live on in a virtual world.
ANNOUNCER: Don't wait until it's too late. Leave your message today.
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FOSTER: Well, the question is whether or not you want to live on in cyberspace. Let's explore the concept a little more now with the expert -- with an expert on the evolution of the web.
Adam Ostrow is the editor-in-chief of online news and blog site Mashable. He joins me from New York. Thank you so much for joining us.
First of all, what do we know about what happens to these accounts after someone does die? Are there any rules in place?
ADAM OSTROW, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, MASHABLE: Well, right now, basically, you can decide what happens. You can assign someone, essentially, to be the executor of your digital estate, if you will, with services, like you mention, like "If I Die" to tell people that, hey, I want my Facebook account deleted when I die.
Or I'd love for you to maintain it and keep people updated and let that profile serve as a place where they can come and grieve and share memories.
FOSTER: What is the benefit -- and I understand the idea of someone or people -- someone's died, and you want to pay tribute to them, and there is this sort of system for them. But what are the benefits for the person who's considering what they want to happen to their accounts after they die?
OSTROW: Well, I think what's really interesting about social media is that, on average in the course of our lifetimes, we're each going to create hundreds of thousands of pieces of content online, whether it's status updates or blog posts or videos.
And what that enables is, down the road, your ancestors, your great grandchildren, your great-great grandchildren, are going to get to know who you were. And that's really unlike any other generation.
If you think about your grandparents or your great-grandparents, you probably have very little first-person account of what they were like. But in the future, you're going to be able to look back and really get a good idea of who your ancestors were.
FOSTER: It's a kind of legacy, I guess, isn't it? But what are the dangers here? Because you're entrusting a huge amount to a company in future may change their policies, their privacy policies. We've seen that happen enough times.
OSTROW: Yes, certainly that's a danger. And also, I think, as you think further out about where this technology could potentially go, you do worry about it falling into the wrong hands and becoming commercialized and looking for companies that sort of start to exploit the fact that people will pay anything to reconnect with a lost love one. So, if that data does fall into the right -- the wrong hands, you potentially have an issue with exploitation.
FOSTER: There's an abuse, isn't there, as well? If someone took over my account after I died, they wouldn't be speaking for me, but people would think that they were. Isn't there some sort of level of abuse, a sort of an ethical issue, here?
OSTROW: Sure, I think there is a bit of an ethical issue. I think that's why it's important, and it's going to become increasingly important in the future, for people to start thinking about their digital assets in the same way as they think of their physical assets and really deciding what they want to have happen after they die.
Some people, certainly, are going to want to just say, hey, I don't want my accounts to be active anymore. But other people are going to say, hey, I think it would be a great thing if my friends can continue to communicate through my profiles or maybe my ancestors down the road can get a better glimpse into who I was when I was alive.
FOSTER: Adam Ostrow, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us from Mashable.
Tonight's Parting Shots is a very cool combination of fire and ice from Italy. Mt. Etna on the southern Italian island of Sicily started spewing lava around 24 hours ago. The liquid rock has been trickling down the snow-covered sides of the volcano ever since.
A nearby airport was closed temporarily because of the eruption. At 3,295 meters high, Etna is Europe's tallest and most active volcano. It last erupted at the beginning of January.
I'm Max Foster, that is CONNECT THE WORLD for now. Thank you for watching. The world headlines and "BackStory" are up next after this short break.
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