Hasn't any one of the people featured on "Locked Up Abroad" on the National Geographic Channel…read more(NGC, DirecTV 276) ever watched "Midnight Express" made in 1978 starring Brad Davis ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077928/ )? "Midnight Express" affected my generation quite a bit when I was in college... What not to do when you're in a foreign country. You've heard the spiel that your parents gave you when you first went abroad.... "Obey the Law", "Laws are different over there...", "They don't like Americans...", blah, blah, blah. Now, parents, you can have your kids watch "Locked Up Abroad" for a more up-to-date view on differences between the legal and prison systems of various countries. For more abroad in prison videos, try "Brokedown Palace" with Claire Danes and Kate Bekinsale ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120620/ ) or "Return to Paradise" with Vince Vaughan and Ann Heche ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0124595/ ). "Brokedown Palace" definitely had an effect on my daughter, Kathy when she was in middle school. There is one episode from this series that shouldn't be included at all: "Colombia". This episode should be placed in the "Kidnapped Abroad" series. This series should highlight foreigners caught breaking the law, tried, and imprisoned by an established government. The "Colombia" episode featured an American kidnapped by anti-government rebel forces within the country. With the exception of the "Colombia" episode the rest of the series follows this script: Foreigners in another country, some need financial help, con-men recognizes their vulnerability and convinces foreigner to smuggle contraband (usually drugs), gets caught by Customs, goes through legal system of said country, gets convicted of crime, display of incarceration conditions and efforts of appeal by government of convicted person, and if applicable what happened to person after release. If you watched "Brokedown Palace", that film would be the prototype for the entire series. The producers of "Locked Up Abroad" faces the same obstacle as did the producers of "Midnight Express"... casting a light of sympathy on a person that has broken the law. The producers do not in any of the episodes criticize the legal or prison systems of the countries where the personalities are locked up... they're pretty even-handed in that respect. But the featured prisoners do make comments on the lack of space and the cleanliness of the facilities, though. As Claire and Kate in "Brokedown Palace", all the characters in "Locked Up Abroad" are naive, basically "nice" people, who otherwise "wouldn't hurt a fly" sorts who just got caught up in desperate straits and made a stupid mistake in judgment. Most of the episodes are of the protaganists smuggling illegal drugs. Unlike Billy in "Midnight Express" who escapes captivity from Turkey, most of the foreigners featured "Locked Up Abroad" receive their just desserts... a prison sentence. Some of the episodes show the former offenders after their fulfillment of sentences back in their home country... but most are still in jail abroad. The producers do highlight some of the positive aspects of the legal system in a foreign country... the example of a lawyer visiting the prisoner regularly, bringing food, money, messages from home. That was one nice touch for those locked up. I've commented on "Dogs with Jobs" ( http://www.yelp.com/biz/dogs-with-jobs-washington#hrid:Tmzj-w1b0lu0BlxULNs6QQ ) , also on NGC, as a Canadian production in my review of that series.... "Locked Up Abroad" seems a little harsher in tone, not as nice; more of a Western European production... maybe German or English in origin. I loved the Thailand episode where the Englishwoman is contemplating in prison saying to herself... "But, I'm a British Citizen!". Typical, typical. "Locked Up Abroad" is currently scheduled on Mondays @ 9pm.

Not sure what's up with these shows that have started including pop-up "informational" messages on…read morethe show but they are really distracting. And the messages must assume that the audience are a bunch of morons. On Episode 1 of this season there was one that actually read, "an alpha male is a leader of a group or pack" ....no shit! Been a long-time watcher of the show but I won't be watching with the pop-up distractions. Bad move. Fire the person who came up with that idea.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I love C-SPAN. Not that the network is scintillating television but…read moreit does offer an unfiltered, non-partisan view of how the government sausage is made without the screeching, ideological-driven narratives of cable news. Yesterday, I happened to catch a Senate hearing on the rapidly escalating paranoia over Artificial Intelligence featuring an academic and two c-suite executives from the nascent industry. Boy, what an eye opener... not that I'm any more or less concerned about the downstream consequences of the technology (maybe slightly more concerned) but I am now very concerned about the obvious lack of knowledge among the Senators (of both parties) asking the questions who will eventually be charged with regulating and overseeing AI. The Senators were largely patted on the head and sent off to bed by a panel that was largely toying with them under the choreographed sheen of impeccable PR driven performances. That's the power of C-SPAN. If you're looking for the longest running horror show on cable, tune into Congress. Five macabre stars for C-SPAN.

During the 2020 Republican National Convention, I and many others notice how…read moreKABC,KCBS,KNBC,KTLA,FOX11,EYEWITNESS NEWS,Etc. Would not cover this very important Convention the way they did with the Democratic convention(Covering only some parts) C-SPAN COVERED IT FROM THE BEGINNING TILL THE END. I did not see any censorship( like with the other(Fake news). Keep doing a good job.

Shukran, Al Jazeera! This station gives in-depth reporting…read morefrom a Muslim point of view. The whole network is paid for by the government of Qatar, out of Doha. They do some excellent global reporting on complex issues, usually how it relates to the Middle East. There's a lot of talk about the bias of the main stream media, and this network certainly does have its own agenda. But what network doesn't have its own agenda? I think it's important to get news from several different sources, each with its own side of the story to get a multi-faceted viewpoint on current events, to help form a more balanced opinion on what's happening. Al Jazeera offers a station all in English, for an American audience. They have reporters all over the world on scene as things unfold across the globe. The reporters use American idioms, and are easily understood. They don't just focus on what's happening in the Middle East, but also in the United States, but still through a Muslim lens. Overall, it helps foster understanding between the western world and the Middle East. The station is available over Free To Air (FTA) satellite, or you can stream it live on YouTube, or their website.

I didn't do squat last Friday. Why? I was sucked into Al Jazeera's english broadcast. They have…read moredone an excellent job in covering the events in Egypt. Also major props for covering the protests in Tunisia WEEKS before any western media started covering the story. I highly recommend Al Jazeera's english website for those of you craving news on the developing world. They are excellent in covering the Middle East (obviously) and Southeast Asia as well.

Wow! The new station (at long last) is not only stunning in its beauty and design, it is also…read moreabundant with history and artifacts... just an amazing space... and the folks I have interacted with there choose to #MakePeaceTheNews - even when the facts are wearying - which is what we need.

My children have been interviewed twice here. Front desk anticipates your arrival and offers…read morefriendly service--walking you to the Green room. They always have pizza, snacks and beverages in the Green room. The rest room offers toiletries for freshening up. Camera men are professional and courteous. I liked that the host practices questions with the children before going live.