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Connect the World

U.S. Unemployment Rate Dips To 7.8 Percent; English FA Release Findings In John Terry Racial Abuse Case

Aired October 05, 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, a gamechanger, or just part of the game? As America's unemployment rate takes an unexpected tumble we'll debate which presidential candidate stands most to gain.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is Connect the World.

FOSTER: Also tonight heading to America I'll ask a legal expert what's next for terror suspect Abu Hamza.

And...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think a lot of men would like to be able to get any girl they want, win at gambling, and that's what Bond does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: James Bond reaches a milestone on the silver screen. A former 007 tells me what it's like to be the world's best known secret agent.

Tonight, jobs, politics, and a big surprise: the U.S. unemployment rate tumbled last month to 7.8 percent down from 8.1 percent. The last time it was that low was in January 2009, the month President Barack Obama was inaugurated. No incumbent American president has won reelection with a jobless rate above 8 percent since Franklin D. Roosevelt. And the U.S. economy also added 114,000 jobs last month and that's better than estimates.

But some 150,000 jobs are actually needed to keep up with population growth. Here's how both candidates for the White House reacted from the Campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And there are many middle class families that are still struggling to pay the bills. They were struggling long before the crisis hit. But today's news certainly is not an excuse to try to talk down the economy to score a few political points, it's a reminder that this country has come too far to turn back now.

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They just drop out of the workforce. If you just give up and say, look, I can't go back to work I'm just going to stay home, if you just drop out altogether why you're no longer part of the employment statistics, so it looks like unemployment is getting better. But the truth is if the same share of people were participating in the workforce, today, is on the day the president got elected, why our unemployment rate would be around 11 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, investors on both sides of the Atlantic first welcomed the jobs report, but Wall Street faltered a bit near the close. They're still concerned that these numbers may not be what they seem. And CNN's Maggie Lake in New York and she's joining us live from Columbus Circle.

Just explain these figures and why there's some debate about them, Maggie?

MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, there is a lot of debate about them, Max. First, let's just fact check, do some fact checking for our viewers very quickly on what Romney was talking about. That labor participation rate dropping and that being behind an unemployment drop, that was the case when we've seen that decline in prior months, but that was not what was going on in this month's number. This time around it was not because people dropped out of the workforce, in fact the workforce grew. This is because when the government telephones people, which is a different way of calculating than the 114,000, when they phoned around and asked people are you working, do you have a job, more of them said yes. We're no longer unemployed, we're working, which is why you saw that big drop.

Now that household survey tends to be a bit volatile and it tends to not match up directly with the monthly payroll number, that gain of non- farm jobs that you see that we calculate in the thousands, this time 114,000.

But the debate started almost immediately after the number came out because it was such a sizable drop so close to the election, so close to this tight election, this tight race. And interestingly a lot of the debate was sparked from a very well known CEO Jack Welch who tweeted this almost immediately after the numbers hit the tape, "unbelievable jobs numbers. These Chicago guys," referring to the administration, the Obama administration, "will do anything. Can't debate, so change the numbers."

That was almost immediately countered, of course, by the Labor Department, the secretary speaking to us here on CNN. And have a listen to how she reacted to that criticism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILDA SOLIS, U.S. LABOR SECRETARY: I have the highest regard for out professional staff at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Highly trained, highly skilled PhDs, economists, statistician, folks that have been working in this area for many years. And this is a methodology that's been used for decades. And it is insulting when you hear people just cavalierly say that somehow we are manipulating numbers. I find that very insulting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAKE: Despite that, you bet the spin is going to continue with these two men basically locked in a dead heat.

FOSTER: OK, Maggie, stay there, because we're also going to look at another part of the market. The upbeat jobs report comes amid hopeful signs for U.S. home buyers. CNN's Christine Roman shows us what America's autumn housing forecast looks like.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNA OPIELA, HOME SELLER: We put the house on the market the Thursday before Labor Day and we were under contract the following Tuesday.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Opielas are a sign of a recovering housing market. They bought their two bedroom, one and a half bath row house in DC's Capitol Hill area for $350,000 in 2009.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Do you love living in Capitol Hill?

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Yes.

ROMANS: Now, they're selling.

DAN OPIELA, HOME SELLER: We were originally thinking of listing maybe around 430, 440, something like that. And after our original meeting with the realtor, he suggested 469. Which at first, I was little bit worried about it. I thought maybe that would scare people away. So we went ahead and listed it at that level.

JENNA OPIELA: Turns out to be the right thing to do.

CAMERON SHOSH, CENTURY 21 REDWOOD REALTY: Things are absolutely outstanding, open houses are very busy, there's buyers out there getting a lot of internet response on listings. I'm getting a lot of calls on listings, and things are moving fast.

ROMANS: The latest housing headlines show improving builder confidence, rising sales, and prices and record low mortgage rates.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: The housing is coming back to life.

ROMANS: But don't break out the bubbly just yet. Home prices are not expected to return to their peak until 2003.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: There are three million loans that are in foreclosure, or they're very late, in likely going into foreclosure. That is a lot of loans, 49 and a half million people with mortgages. In some markets across the country, still a big problem.

ROMANS: But for those in the market. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It is a fabulous time for buyers and re-financers. For the first time in six, seven years, the sellers, you know, do have some leverage in the negotiations. Prices are rising and they don't have to cut their price like they did before.

ROMANS: Here is what buyers need.

GREG MCBRIDE, SENIOR FINANCIAL ANALYST, BANKRATE.COM: You're going to need good credit, you're going to need proof of income and you're going to need some money in the form of a down payment.

ROMANS: As for the Opiela's, they're looking to sell for a profit. And they hope their next selling experience is similar.

JENNA OPIELA: So, it is always going to be like this, going forward, right?

ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Let's go back to Maggie in New York now. Two big bits of economic information, but they're particularly pertinent right now. Who would you say analysts regard as the winner in terms of the presidential candidates on this information.

LAKE: You know, it's really tough, Max, because traditionally you would say this should help Obama. What's going to really matter here, though, is momentum. Because housing is improving, no doubt about it, and that is huge when it comes to customer balance sheet. And the job market now appears to be improving. Have they improved enough and fast enough, do people believe the momentum story in order to give Obama more time? Or, even though we dug out of the hole, are they frustrated that we're not further along? Are they sort of unconvinced in terms of Obama's leadership that he could sort of move congress, because congress critically important here, congress along with him to keep this rally going in those two important areas?

So that's where, you know, it's not an obvious win for Obama. Romney is going to continue to hit on that point. But you've got to think the Obama camp has to like where this is going.

FOSTER: OK, Maggie, thank you very much indeed.

I'm joined now by two strategists, Democrat Liz Catterdon and Republic Liz Mair, both live from our Washington bureau. Thank you both for joining us.

First of all Liz Mair, isn't the reality here that the economy is doing well or the signs are that it's doing better the incumbent is always going to benefit?

LIZ MAIR, FRM. RICK PERRY PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ADVISER: My inclination is that probably this does benefit Obama a little bit, but the other thing that I would mention that should not be overlooked is that in this country where we do have a federal system and a lot of power is accorded to the states it's important to remember that there are actually a lot of policies that are benefiting state level economies that have been implemented by Republican governors. And I think if Romney wanted to rebut this and basically spin off of this and pivot in a positive direction he would do well to highlight that he is going to institute some of those policies that have been very successful at the state level at the national level

I think if he doesn't do that, it's probably likely that Barack Obama benefits from this news a little bit more than he really should.

FOSTER: Nerve wracking times, Liz Chadderdon, for Barack Obama isn't it? This is the penultimate set of unemployment figures before the election. If it goes anywhere near 8 percent, you're looking back at statistics which tell you that presidents just don't get reelected on those figures.

LIZ CHADDERDON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, that has certainly been the history. But of course now we're under the magic 8 percent line. So I can guarantee you that the president and the White House are thrilled at these numbers. They could go back up, but we're 32 days out as of today and even if they do go back up I don't think there's another report that could really be as powerful as this one unless all of a sudden in a week we're at 10 percent, which we all know we're not going to be.

This is excellent news for the president's reelection. And it's great because it's coming on the heels of not such a great debate performance. So it really gives some credibility, though, to the president's message of, yes, the last four years have been hard, but stick with me and they will get better. And look it's getting better. It's the lowest unemployment since Obama took office, so this is great news for him.

FOSTER: Liz Mair, are things really getting better? Because the figures haven't changed much if you look from the beginning to the end of the presidency have they?

MAIR: Right. I mean, I think that the important thing to bear in mind here also is that is true, but in addition to that not a lot of people are going to go into the voting booth and say, oh, looking at a bunch of metrics are we in a better position now than what we expected to be in or what we were in four years ago or what we were in six years ago or however you want to measure that, right? Most people are going to be making a subjective determination about how the economy is doing based on people that they know, their own personal experience, anecdote, those kinds of things. And so ultimately statistics can say pretty much whatever they want, but if they don't accord with the personal experience of swing voters in swing states it's not necessarily going to have the impact that maybe one candidate or another would want them to.

FOSTER: Ms. Chadderdon the argument that Romney is putting forward is quite legitimate, isn't it, because if you look behind these figures a lot of people have given up work, which hides the headline figure here. Actually things are worse if you look underneath the figures.

So Barack Obama can't rely too much on the figure that he's got right now.

MAIR: Well, I don't know if I disagree. I'm not sure things are worse underneath this figure. They are not as good as they could be. They're not as good as they were four, eight, 10 years ago. But they're a heck of a lot better than they were in 2009 and 2010. So again I think this feeds the president's message of we're getting better. Stick with me for another four years, we're moving forward. Romney's plans will take us backwards, my plans will take us forward.

I think this number plans in beautifully to the president's narrative that it is a slow progress. We all wish it were faster, but are getting better. We are finally at 7.8. We were stuck at 8.5 for years. Now we're finally under that 8 mark.

So this is really good news for the president. I guarantee you, you're going to hear the president and the White House say the term 7.8 about 100 times in the next few days.

FOSTER: Can I just ask you Liz Chadderdon before you go about this 47 percent figure that Romney famously said on a bit of video that was caught when he wasn't expecting it. He's effectively apologized for that today. Why hasn't Barack Obama made more of that? And why didn't that come up in the debate? Is he being just a bit too cool?

CHADDERDON: Yeah, it's a really interesting question. I have to tell you if it had been me in that debate I would have said 47 percent every other word.

I think there were a lot of Democrats that were very surprised that the president didn't hit Romney more on that quote. But then the president has always tried to stay above the fray. He's always tried to be the president, the guy who is the conciliatory - the consigliere if you will, the guy in the room who makes it all happen. He's not the junkyard dog who gets down into the fight.

And I think he was taken off guard in the debate, frankly, by the way that Romney came out swinging. And I'm sorry that he didn't use the 47 percent against Romney more because it's an important quote.

Mitt Romney said that 47 percent of Americans do not take personal responsibility for themselves. That is an absolutely devastating statement. And I'm sorry that the president doesn't say it more, because I think people need to know that's what Mitt Romney thinks.

FOSTER: OK, Liz Chadderdon, Liz Mair, we have to leave it there. We'll be doing this a lot more. These debates a lot more going ahead to the election. Thank you both Lizes for joining me.

Still to come tonight, more tensions along the Turkish-Syrian border. That's the Syrian rebel fighters claimed to have downed a government gunship.

Due to face terrorism charges in the U.S., the UK high court upholds the extradition of a radical Islamist. We'll have more on the case of Abu Hamza al-Masri.

And we'll hear from a former James Bond as we celebrate 50 years of 007 on the big screen.

All that and much more when Connect the World continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: You're watching CNN. This is Connect the World with me, Max Foster, welcome back to you.

Now the Turkish military has returned fire after a Syrian shell landed in southern Turkey close to the shared border. Meanwhile, a Syrian opposition group claims that rebels have shot down a government helicopter gunship near Damascus. CNN's Nick Paton-Walsh has the latest on the fighting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON-WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: To the war raging around Damascus's suburbs, the UN Security Council condemning Syria for shelling Turkey doesn't count for much. These men from the eastern Gutter Brigade (ph) attacking a barracks probably don't know or care that even Russia admonished its ally Bashar al-Assad for killing five Turkish civilians.

As they rejoice and push into this air base, diplomacy is something that's been failing them a long time a long way away. It won't help this Syrian soldier.

"Enough guys," says one voice.

Another says there are more captured.

This is a regime Republican Guard colonel from Assad's hometown paraded and made to say which side of this increasingly sectarian war he falls.

"I'm an Alawite," he says.

They film the air bases control room. Men with cellphone cameras and Kalashnikovs sometimes still able to beat a Russian equipped modern military.

As this war's brutality grows and nearby group use a video ultimatum to air a savage threat. Here, 48 Iranians held for months. Pilgrims, says Iran. Elite soldiers say the rebels. They declare unless the regime release rebel prisoners and stop killing civilians within 48 hours, an impossible demand, one Iranian hostage will be killed for every civilian death. As hundreds die daily in this, the revolt's 19th month, these men may not survive the weekend.

Nick Paton-Walsh, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Here's a look at some other stories connecting our world tonight. The world's largest platinum producer Anglo-American has fired 12,000 striking South African miners who declined to attend disciplinary hearings. The company says the three week strike has cost it over $80 million in revenue.

There's been an ongoing industrial action across the Rustenberg region. One person was killed in clashes between police and miners on Thursday. Last month, Lonmin mining company gave its staff a 22 percent pay rise after weeks of strikes during which 34 people were killed when police fired on protesters.

A UK high court judge has cleared the way for radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri and four other men to be extradited to the United States immediately. There, they'll face a range of terrorism related charges. The U.S. embassy in London says it's pleased with the court's ruling. This video just in to us shows a police convoy transferring Hamza and four other terrorism suspects from Long Lartin Prison in Worcestershire.

UK home office says it's working on extraditing the men as quickly as possible. Our full coverage on that story later in the program.

Two Tunisians are being questioned in Turkey in connection with last month's attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi in Libya. That attack killed four people, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens. A U.S. official says the Tunisians are being questioned by Turkish authorities after entering the country this week.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Jordan to demonstrate against the slow pace of reform in the country. The rallies took place despite king Abdullah dissolving parliament in Thursday and calling or early elections. People are demanding constitutional changes, broader representation for all Jordanians in future polls and reduced powers for the king.

Britain's high court has ruled in favor of three Kenyans seeking compensation for the British government. The three say they were tortured by British soldiers more than 50 years ago during the Mau Mau uprisings against colonial rule. Britain admits its forces committed atrocities, but no one has ever - no one was ever held accountable. Today's verdict means the case can now proceed with far reaching implications.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTYN DAY, SOLICITOR FOR KENYAN CLAIMANTS: Today is not just significant for them, but all the other thousands of Kenyans who were tortured in a similar way during that 1950s period. But also for other colonial regimes around the world in terms of Cyprus, Malaya, Aden (ph), you know, many, many other jurisdictions where clearly the British were not at their best and where it has now the potential for cases there being brought as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: And we're going to take you to a short break now, but when we come back a professional boxer is being called the bravest in the sport and not just for his prowess in the ring. Don Riddell has that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: England's football association is spelling out exactly why John Terry was found guilty of racially abusing a fellow player. And it's got one of Terry's teammates in a little bit of trouble. Don Riddell, tell us the story.

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, thanks, Max. It's just been an incredible saga, the John Terry affair. You'll know that an independent football association commission found him guilty of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand. And on Friday this commission revealed the reasons why they found John Terry guilty.

They basically said that his defense didn't add up to much, saying that his defense was improbable, implausible, and contrived. They said there were further aspects to this case.

I should point out that they don't believe John Terry to be a racist, but they have nonetheless hit him with a massive fine and given him a four game ban.

Now this has already brought about the end of John Terry's career. It brought about the resignation of the former England manager Fabio Capello. And now the England and Chelsea defender Ashley Cole has become involved, because he was the primary defense witness for Terry in all of this. But the FA has decided, or at least ruled, that Cole changed his evidence during the proceedings here. And so he went on Twitter today and said something to his 400,000 followers, which you may find offensive.

He said, "hahaha, well done FA. I lied, did I?" And you can then see what he called the Football Association.

Ashley Cole has played for England 98 times. But given that the FA run the England team, I do suspect he is now going to find himself in an awful lot of trouble about that, Max.

He did subsequently delete that tweet and unreservedly apologized. But I think he has now become well and truly embroiled in this case which has now been running for well over a year.

FOSTER: Yeah, it's been an incredible story, hasn't it.

Elsewhere Orlando Cruz made an announcement Wednesday that has the boxing world talking.

RIDDELL: Yeah, really unexpected. You will know that there aren't many openly homosexual athletes in male professional sport. In fact, you can probably count them on one hand, but Orlando Cruz, one of the best featherweight boxers in the world, has come out. He's being described as one of the bravest, if not the bravest boxers for this decision. You can imagine that the boxing community is a pretty homophobic place. But the 31 year old Puerto Rican who is on the verge of getting a world title fight has decided to announce to the world that he is gay. And we can bring you his statement here.

He said, "I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport and a professional career. I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man."

FOSTER: Incredible and having a lot of impact already on social media, I know.

Don, thank you very much for joining us.

Still to come on Connect the World a ruling in a long extradition fight here in the UK. A radical Muslim cleric will face terror related charges on American soil. Our coverage of the case of Abu Hamza al-Masri continues after the break.

And her Majesty's Secret Service we find out from one former Bond what it takes to be 007.

And could you spot Alaska from space? We'll get an astronauts view of her.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: A warm welcome to our viewers across Europe and around the world. I'm Max Foster and these are the latest world headlines from CNN.

Video posted online appears to show Syrian rebels shooting down a government helicopter. They say it was firing on a suburb of Damascus. Opposition activists say at least 55 people killed across the country this Friday.

South African mining company Anglo-American Platinum says it has fired around 12,000 striking workers who declined to attend disciplinary hearings. Workers at the firm's Rustenburg mine have been on strike for three weeks. The Anglo-American mine was the scene of violence on Thursday.

The US unemployment rate has tumbled below 8 percent for the first time since early 2009. It stands at 7.8 percent in September. A new government report also shows 114,000 jobs were added last month, and that's above estimates.

Radical Islamist cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri could be extradited at any time after he lost a last-ditch legal challenge to remain in the UK. This video shows a police convoy reportedly transferring what's thought to be Hamza and four other terrorism suspects from Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire. The move comes after a high court ruled that they should be extradited immediately to stand trial in the US.

Well, Dan Rivers has been following events at the high court today, Abu Hamza. And so, this looks like it's it.

DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's it, yes. As we speak, Abu Hamza and these four other terror suspects are heading to the US. This is a saga that's gone on for a decade, it's gone to the highest court in Britain, it's gone to the European Court of Human Rights.

Now, finally, these two men are being loaded onto two different planes, one heading to New York, one heading to Connecticut, and they will now stand trial in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back! Get back!

RIVERS (voice-over): Even before the news broke, tempers were fraying, Abu Hamza's supporters scuffling with the police. He's been fighting extradition to the US for eight years, his hook hand and partial blindness a legacy, he says, from fighting Soviet forces in Afghanistan.

He's wanted on 11 terrorist charges in the United States, including trying to set up a terrorist training camp at this ranch in Oregon in 1999. He's accused of masterminding the kidnapping of 16 Western tourists in Yemen in 1998, including two Americans.

ANJEM CHOUDARY, ABU HAMZA SUPPORTER: This is a show trial. Abu Hamza's already been earmarked for extradition. The queen wants him extradited, the MPs want him extradited, the media have campaigned against him.

RIVERS (on camera): The case has aroused real passions outside the court. These are the supporters of Abu Hamza who deny he's a terrorist. You've got the supporters of one of the other men, Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan, who want them tried in this country. And then, on the other side, people who are saying all of the men should be kicked out immediately.

RIVERS (voice-over): As well as Abu Hamza, four other men are being extradited to the US. Two, Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan, are accused of fundraising for the Taliban and Chechen rebels online. Two others, Khaled al-Fawaz and Adel Bari, for their involvement in the 1998 East Africa embassy bombings, which left 265 people dead.

ASHFAQ AHMAD, BABAR AHMAD'S FATHER: I'm very disappointed because I thought we lived in a democratic country and we have got the best legal system in the world. With all that, I thought that I will get a fair chance and Babar will get a fair trial.

We should have been treated better than we did. We should have been inside here, because today it is Babar Ahmad, tomorrow it could be anybody else.

RIVERS: Julian Knowles is an expert in extradition law.

JULIAN KNOWLES, EXTRADITION LAWYER: Under the extradition law that came into force in 2004, the US isn't required to actually present its evidence that it used to have to do. It just needs to send forward an arrest warrant with allegations of conduct that would be a crime in the UK if committed here. So, it's quite a low threshold.

RIVERS: The British government welcomed the decision of the courts. Hamza has been a headache for successive ministers. But now, he's finally on his way to the United States. The long, long saga of Abu Hamza isn't over yet, but it is about to begin a new chapter across the Atlantic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIVERS: This continues to send ripples across Britain, particularly because new documents are emerging in one newspaper here this evening claiming that the police bent over backwards to help the FBI in the case of Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan, sending the FBI evidence without putting it before prosecutors here.

And that's been one of the chief complaints of his supporters is simply those two men, anyway, should have been tried here. They never went to the US. There was plenty of evidence that they had broken laws here. Why weren't they tried here? Now, it's too late. They're already probably as we speak being loaded onto a plane.

FOSTER: OK, Dan, thank you very much, indeed. So, it looks like it's over at this end, but what is the legal process that Abu Hamza faces when he arrives in the United States?

Well, let's bring in CNN's Senior Legal Analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. He joins us from our New York studio. Thanks for joining us, Jeffrey. Well, what is the process when he lands there?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, he will be an ordinary criminal defendant in an American courtroom. He will be arraigned, he will be provided a lawyer. There will be pretrial motions, no doubt. But then, a jury will be impaneled, and there'll be a trial. He faces the possibility of life in prison.

But the legal complexities are largely over. He will simply be tried on the evidence of these now very old crimes.

FOSTER: What sort of evidence is available in the US -- or that we know yet -- that wasn't available in the UK for the courts here?

TOOBIN: Well, that's one of the mysteries of this case. Under British law, the government -- the US government did not have to present its evidence, and we don't know what it is. They simply had to establish to the satisfaction of the British courts that these were valid chargers, these crimes were crimes in Britain as well as in the United States.

Then, that triggered the extradition treaty. So, what the evidence actually is against Abu Hamza is not known at this point.

FOSTER: Is there a sense in America that these trials should be held in the US, because certainly in the UK, there's a sense amongst some groups that perhaps the trial should be taken here, these are Brits, and a lot of the evidence was British. But what's the view from Americans, would you say?

TOOBIN: Certainly this set of investigations has received far less attention in the United States than it did in Britain. I think it would be a mistake to characterize any sort of American attitude towards this case, because most people don't even know who any of these people are.

This is a country, obviously, that supports a tough line on terrorism. I think people want to see him tried, but in terms of a widespread public attitude about him, especially given his crimes predate 9/11, he's just simply not known in this country.

FOSTER: A UN special advisor has said something quite remarkable. He's written to the British government suggesting that it's complicit in torture on this basis that the solitary confinement that they would endure in a US super-max prison amounts to torture. What's your view on that?

TOOBIN: I don't blame a defense lawyer for grasping at straws, but I'm unaware of the conditions of confinement in an American prison being grounds for denying an extradition, especially since it's now literally underway. It sounds like he's on a plane. So, I think it's a last-ditch effort, but I don't think it's going to have any impact on whether he comes here. He seems to be on his way.

FOSTER: Jeffrey Toobin, thank you very much for joining us. We'll be talking about this a lot in the future, I'm sure. Thank you.

Still to come after the break, trying to stay a cut above the rest in the fashion world. We'll speak to the new creative designer at Paco Rabanne.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Now, her passion for fashion started at a young age, when she would cut up pictures and her parents' clothes. Now, at just 29 years old, she's making her debut as creative director for one of Paris's most important fashion houses. In this week's Human to Hero series, we speak to Lydia Maurer as she begins her journey at Paco Rabanne.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYDIA MAURER, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, PACO RABANNE: What I love about fashion is that it's sort of -- it's the only way that art can actually go out in the streets. These garments don't live on the rack, these garments live on the body, and seeing them on anybody would make me extremely happy.

Here at Paco Rabanne, I have to represent a fashion house that's historic that is one of Paris's most important fashion houses.

I never felt attracted by the glamor. That was not the first -- thing that interested me about fashion. It was really the manual approach when I was a child, that I was always very interested in images, in materials and textures.

I would do basically crazy things. I would cut out things in my parents' books just because I liked them. Sometimes they'd say I'd even -- they even found holes in their clothes because I would just love the fabric.

My father's German, my mother is Colombian. As a fashion designer, you're chosen because of your background, because of what you bring to the table. My German side, which would be more the designer, the person who thinks about utility, about shape. And then, my South American side, which is much more instinctive and into materials.

This is the Spring-Summer 2013 collection. We have 35 sketches of different outfits for the show. Before we get to this, we probably have been sketching about 500 different other things, so it's -- there's a lot of volume to narrow it down and to perfect it to become the collection as it is in front of you right now.

The first part of the collection is always quite long. I sit down and I sketch, sketch, sketch for about a week and a half. Drawing just permits me to think and to remember what I like, and to show -- to communicate with the associates.

For me, really, the moment when I feel most alive is in the middle of the night when I've been drawing all day and I finally cracked it, I finally got that drawing, the lines that I really wanted. That's when I fell, OK, now it's going to be easy. The rest of the collection is already written. That's the moment.

I got an internship at Yves Saint Laurent because I basically sent them my sketches. I really learned the precision of the work, the necessity to make luxurious clothing and be at the cusp of the whole fashion world.

It's very important that it doesn't move around when she walks.

They really always appreciated my ability to put together textures, to embellish garments, but also my very sculptural cuts. So, I think that's two sort of very opposite things, are not things that are very common in people, and I think that's what they thought was very interesting.

I wasn't really able to apply so much of my talent there, not as much as I needed to, so I went to a smaller house called Rue du Mail which, in fact, turned out to be the best experience I ever had. I was able to really explore myself. That kind of readied me to finally come here.

Paco Rabanne has a -- is a very particular brand. I need to, obviously, mix part of me in it. I cannot just try to copy and to emulate exactly what Mr. Rabanne was doing in the 60s and 70s, which is a time that I admire most. But I have to bring it to the future.

It's important to stay yourself, because as soon as you start losing your essence, you start becoming uninteresting.

No one tells you what to be inspired by. It's your own inspiration. It's really about creating something that will make this collection live on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Today's global James Bond Day, in case you didn't know, marking the 50th anniversary of the cinema release of the first Bond film, "Dr. No." Since then, seven men have played the iconic British spy, 007. In less than a month, the 23rd Bond movie, "Skyfall," will get its world premier here in London. And moviegoers are hoping it will be as action- packed as ever, of course.

Now, over the years, Bond fans have argued over which is the greatest 007. In a moment, I'll be speaking to one former Bond actor, but first, James Bond expert John Cork brings us a connoisseur's guide to Her Majesty's most famous secret agent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you having, Mr. Cork?

JOHN CORK, AUTHOR, "JAMES BOND ENCYCLOPEDIA" AND "JAMES BOND: THE LEGACY": I'll have a vodka martini, shaken, not stirred.

(BOND THEME MUSIC)

SEAN CONNERY AS JAMES BOND, "GOLDFINGER": Do you expect me to talk?

GERT FROBE AS AURIC GOLDFINGER, "GOLDFINGER": No, Mr. Bond! I expect you to die!

CORK: To me, the best Bond villain of all time is Auric Goldfinger. He is sexually obsessed with gold. And you would think somebody like that would be easy for James Bond to foil, but he actually gets smarter as the film goes along.

DIANA RIGG AS TRACY, "ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE": I love you.

GEORGE LAZENBY AS JAMES BOND, "ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERICE": I know I'll never find another girl like you. Will you marry me?

CORK: The best Bond girl, Tracy, from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." She's the woman that Bond marries. She has everything that you could want in a great Bond woman character. She's brilliant, she's strong, she's beautiful. She's also incredibly troubled, and her father happens to be one of the great crime lords of Europe.

The best action sequence in a Bond film is one where Bond doesn't have to rely on technology, in fact, can't rely on technology. "Casino Royale," the free-running sequence, great chase, amazing leaps over a building under construction. It really shows James Bond's determination, drive, guts, and ingenuity.

DESMOND LLEWELYN AS "Q," "GOLDFINGER": You'll be using this Aston Martin DB5.

CORK: Best James Bond car by far, Aston Martin DB5. Hand-built British sports car, costs more than most British citizens made during the course of a year when it came out. And you see it not only in "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball," but in all the recent Bond films, as well.

Best James Bond moment in the franchise has to be when Bond skis of a cliff in the beginning of "The Spy Who Loved Me," tumbles through space. Everybody watching it holds their breath until the Union Jack unfurls, and the James Bond theme kicks in.

(JAMES BOND THEME)

TERU SHIMADA AS MR. OSATO, "YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE": You should give up smoking. Cigarettes are very bad for your chest.

KARIN DOR AS HELGA BRANDT, "YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE": Mr. Osato believes in a healthy chest.

CONNERY AS BOND: Really?

CORK: I think all of the actors who played James Bond brought something unique to the role and really brought something to the series that has kept it alive. My favorite, of course, is Sean Connery, who introduced the world to James Bond and made him a phenomenon. But a close second, Daniel Craig.

DANIEL CRAIG AS JAMES BOND: The name's Bond. James Bond.

CORK: But I think if you were going to show one Bond film to a person who had never seen any films in the series before, "Casino Royale" would be that film, Daniel Craig's first Bond film. It has all of the elements that make the cinematic James Bond so memorable, but it also has all the elements that made the Ian Fleming novels so wonderful.

(BOND THEME)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: That music. Well, each actor has brought something individual to the character of James Bond. Earlier, I spoke to the second man to be given the official Bond brief, George Lazenby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAZENBY AS BOND, "ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE": Good morning. My name's Bond. James Bond. Miss, uh -- ?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: He played the spy way back in 1969, and I asked him how he came to be on Her Majesty's Secret Service.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAZENBY: A friend of mine double-dated, and the date was a casting -- no, an agent, a top agent in London. Her name was Maggie Abbot. And he said, "You've got to help me out and take Maggie to this screening, because my girlfriend showed up."

And I said, "Fine, I'll do it." And I did it. And about, I don't know, a month later, she called me up in Paris and said, "You've got to come back to London, I think you're right for a film."

I said, "I've never acted. In fact, I've never met an actor."

And she said, "Well, I think you're right. I think you've got this quality they're looking for." And whatever it was, it was right.

I also, in the voice, and I had a very broad Australian accent, "G'day mate, how are you?" And that wouldn't work as James Bond, would it? So, then, they got me to talk like Sir Hillary Bray from the British College of Arms.

FOSTER: What is the intrinsic value of a Bond, and in acting Bond, which you think has made it quite consistent over the years, with some differences?

LAZENBY: I think a lot of men would like to be able to get any girl they want, win at gambling, shoot all the a-holes who get in your way, and that's what Bond does. That's what he can do. That's his character. He's -- and he's freelance. He seems to have as much time on his hands as he wants. What male wouldn't want that? It's a great fantasy.

FOSTER: Is there reality to it, when you're filming it, at least? Do you live the lifestyle of a Bond --

LAZENBY: Do you get laid a lot? Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

LAZENBY: Yes, you do. You get laid a lot. And you eat the best food, you're carted everywhere, everyone wants to know you. But it's -- it changes your life dramatically.

FOSTER: Why did you stop doing it? Why did you only do one?

LAZENBY: Well, that's a tough story to tell, because I should have done more. I was offered a million dollars under the table, regardless of the contract, any film I wanted to do in between Bond films, and I said to my manager, "How about that for a deal?"

And he said, "No, no, no. James Bond's over. 'Easy Rider's' number one at the box office, Bruce Lee. This is where it's going. All those guys in suits and ties, they're out." And I bought it. My bad.

FOSTER: These days it would be two or three would be extraordinary, wouldn't it? And you just wouldn't expect then that it could just keep going and keep being successful. So, I guess that's the decision you faced at that time, but one that you regret, right?

LAZENBY: I regret it, yes. I'd love to have done two or three. I was contracted for seven. And I never signed the contract. They wanted me again, there was no doubt about it. They wanted me right up until weeks before they signed Connery. I was approached by Cubby Broccoli to change my mind. And I thought that hippies were the way things were going, and I was wrong.

FOSTER: But Bond wasn't over for you, because you did play him in outside movies, right?

LAZENBY: Well, that's the way I got some money sometimes. I was broke twice, I think, after Bond, and those things would turn up, and I'd do them just to feed the kids, so to speak. And I had a -- Bruce Lee gave me ten grand to do a movie with him, and three days later he died. I wasn't having a lot of luck wherever I went. It was just enough to get by, so I had to take what was offered.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, it really has been an incredible story for him. As you can see, he regrets his decision not to play Bond again, but for more on the 50th anniversary of James Bond, do head to our website, cnn.com.

And in tonight's Parting Shots, well, we talk about being out of this world, the International Space Station captures some of the most stunning views you'll ever see of planet Earth. Here's the view from Alaska down to the Amazon narrated by Justin Wilkinson from the Johnson Space Center.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN WILKINSON, JOHNSON SPACE CENTER: Here we are tracking over the Gulf of Alaska, which is cloudy in the foreground, coming to the west coast of the US and the California Basin in the center of the picture right about now, over the LA Basin off right.

Phoenix in the center, moving down into Mexico with lots of lightning and storms on the Pacific Coast, Mexico City the big light in the center right about now.

And then, the narrow isthmus of Central America moving off to the left in the picture here, moving out into the Pacific Ocean, and then coming to the north coast of South America and moving right down the spine of the Andes with the Amazon Basin dark on the left. Lake Titicaca in the mountains, moving out of the picture now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: That's someone who knows his maps. Incredible images.

I'm Max Foster, that was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you so much for watching. The world headlines are up after a short break.

END