we re not getting a good deal for all the money we spend. woodruff: all that and more on tonight s pbs newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. supported by the rockefeller foundation. promoting the well-being of humanity around the world by building resilience and inclusive economies. more at rockefellerfoundation.org carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. woodruff: the u.s. military has taken more casualties in afghanistan as it battles fighters
life changing. plus, marine a is a free man. royal marine alexander blackman, who was jailed for shooting dead a wounded taliban fighter, has been released from prison. overnight. he received a life term in 2013 for murder, but his conviction was reduced to manslaughter. his wife spoke to this programme in march when she heard the news that he would be released. i spoke to him shortly afterwards and i think it took a little longer for the realisation to hit. i think he had worked very hard to prepare himself for not such good news, so once it had finally dawned on us that we were going to be together soon, we were very happy. we ll bring you all the details in the next half hour. hello, welcome to the programme, we re live until ”am this morning. so much to talk about today, please get in touch, please get in touch. porna bell was married to rob, a science journalist for three years before she discovered he was a secret heroin user. we have been speaking to her in her first
for all the money we spend. woodruff: all that and more on tonight s pbs newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. supported by the rockefeller foundation. promoting the well-being of humanity around the world by building resilience and inclusive economies. more at rockefellerfoundation.org carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. woodruff: the u.s. military has taken more casualties in afghanistan as it battles fighters of the islamic state. two tro
[ applause ] . john: who are your heroes, and what makes for a hero? a harris poll asked americans that question, and the person who came in first was jesus christ. i understand that. but after jesus many people picked politicians. ronald reagan was second. barack obama third. president obama ranked higher right after he was elected then placed first ahead of jesus. are any of those people your heroes? [ cheers ] some for jesus, but not the politicians, but the list is politicians, george bush is on the list. hillary clinton, fdr, elizabeth warren. why politicians? what is so heroic about what they do? when i look at them i see self-serving panderers who say anything to win. and once elected dole out favors and money to their cronies. but that s not how the hollywood left sees politicians. they see them as inspirational heroes. let the american people explode into this new millennium with the exhilaration of being true to the glory of this democracy. thank you. [ applause
but the taliban has rebounded. as washington and nato pivot away from afghanistan, the ability of the government and security forces to maintain stability will be tested. afghanistan, next on great decisions. - [announcer] great decisions is produced by the foreign policy association, in association with thomson reuters. funding for great decisions is provided by pricewaterhousecoopers llp. - [narrator] afghanistan sits at the crossroads of the middle east, russia, and south asia. for centuries it has been a focal point of both trade and war. - afghans are very proud people, and because of our strategic location, we have been resisting the super powers. we have fought ghengis khan, tamerlane, alexander the great, the british, the soviet union. so really the idea of accepting the dominance of another country, is not in the gene of the afghans. - afghanistan has been referred to as the graveyard of empires because it s a very rugged, dry generally, typography. neither the russi