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Filmweek: Anna Karenina, Silver Linings Playbook, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 and more

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(L-R) Alicia Vikander, Keira Knightley, Joe Wright and Domhnall Gleeson attend the "Anna Karenina" New York Special Screening at Florence Gould Hall on November 7, 2012 in New York City. Credit: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

Larry is joined by KPCC film critics Claudia Puig and Henry Sheehan to review the week’s new film releases including Anna Karenina, Silver Linings Playbook, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 and more. TGI-FilmWeek!

Anna Karenina:

 

Silver Linings Playbook:

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2:


Guests:

Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA Today

Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and dearhenrysheehan.com



The ongoing accountability question for alcohol and minors

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Italian Teenager daily life

Virginia Recchi, 16, Violante Pasolini, 17, (front C) and Ludovica Lombardini, 17, sit as they have a drink in a square June 17, 2004 in Rome, Italy. Credit: Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images

The coastal Orange County city of Laguna Beach this week joined a list of about 100 other California communities when their City Council approved a measure that would penalize parents who allow minors to use alcohol and drugs in their homes.

The fact that the new law – commonly known as a social host ordinance – does not discriminate whether or not the parents are aware of the activity of the minors prompted some residents to voice opposition, with some residents complaining to the City Council that the law would allow some parents to break the law by serving alcohol to minors in their homes at the same time that parents who were unaware underage drinking was taking place could face punishment and fines.

In some cultures it is more commonplace for minors to consume a glass of wine at a family meal, but America has typically taken a more puritanical approach to alcohol in general. Most countries allow their residents to purchase and consume alcohol at the age of 18, and some allow parents more leeway to determine what’s appropriate in their household.

In the U.S., the nationwide legal drinking age is 21, but ongoing problems of binge drinking and drug use still permeate our society. At California’s Chico State University, the school recently suspended all sorority and fraternity activity this week after a student died of alcohol poisoning after consuming 21 shots on his 21st birthday.

Is more tolerance or more legislation the better way to address the abuse of alcohol and drugs in our society? Who is ultimately accountable for how parents address the serving of alcohol in their homes?

Guest:

Laurie Levenson, professor of Law, Loyola Law School and a former federal prosecutor

Rivalry Week heats up LA with USC facing off against UCLA at the Rose Bowl

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UCLA v Colorado

Quarterback Brett Hundley #17 of the UCLA Bruins is tackled by linebacker Paul Vigo #32 of the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field on September 29, 2012 in Boulder, Colorado. UCLA defeated Colorado 42-14. Credit: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

For the first time in a decade, the crosstown rivalry between USC and UCLA has relevance. The Bruins (8-2), headed by first year head coach Jim Mora Jr., have surpassed expectations this year with excellent offensive play from freshman QB Brett Hundley and a gritty defense. The renaissance in Westwood has UCLA fans and alumni excited and optimistic about the future.

Their Coliseum counterparts, however, have fallen from grace for their standards. The Trojans (7-3), coached by third-year play caller Lane Kiffin, came into the season ranked number one in the country. But tough losses to Stanford, Arizona, and a beat down by Oregon at home have taken the spirits out of the Trojan faithful.

This Saturday is for all the marbles. A win by either team not only establishes city bragging rights for an entire year, but it also determines who goes to the Pac 12 Championship and potentially who will play in the Rose Bowl Game come January 1st. The scenario has left both fan bases riled up and underclassmen primed for property damage.  

Students this past week from both universities have found their way onto each other’s campuses to deface and defile their respective schools. The teams’coaches and school administrators have asked for civility and an end to the destruction. The kickoff time for the game on Saturday is at noon.

Will you be watching the game on Saturday? Who will you be rooting for? Have you seen any rivalry pranks around town?

Guest:

Chris DuFresne, Los Angeles Times sportswriter covering college football and basketball

Bloody battle in the Middle East

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Palestinians gather their belongings as they inspect damages following Israeli air strikes in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 16, 2012. Israeli officials said the Jewish state was preparing to launch its first ground offensive in four years into the Gaza Strip and the army started calling up reservists. Credit: SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images

Violence has been escalating sharply in the Gaza Strip and Israel in recent days. Israel launched a strike on Wednesday that killed Hamas leader Ahmed Al-Jaabari, then followed up with air attacks that killed ten and wounded forty, including the 11-month-old son of a BBC journalist.

Hamas militants in turn fired rockets that killed three Israelis. This firestorm follows months of attacks between Palestinian and Israeli forces, and despite a Tuesday truce negotiated by Egypt. Egypt has condemned the attacks, withdrawn its ambassador from Israel and called for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council.

Why has the conflict intensified again between Israelis and Palestinians? Is this type of violence inevitable without peace talks? What role could a new Egyptian leadership play? How will the White House respond?

Guests:

David Siegel, Consul General of Israel for Los Angeles

Yousef Munayyer,  Executive Director, The Palestine Center

Should people who post offensive material online be publicly shamed?

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A Blackberry phone user accesses micro-blogging site Twitter. Credit: DAMIEN MEYER/AFP/Getty Images

The Internet has made it increasingly easy for people to express themselves. Getting online has never been easier – users young and old can update statuses on social networking sites from their smartphones, publish a blog post on Wordpress and promote it all over the web, and get in touch quickly and easily with friends and strangers.

The Internet is also an incredibly public platform for expression – sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr have varying degrees of hard to navigate privacy settings, and users are often left more exposed than they assumed they were. During times when issues like race and sexuality are most discussed, like election season, social media reactions peak, and so does coverage of those reactions.

Sites like Buzzfeed and Jezebel have taken heat for going to elaborate lengths with their public exposure and shaming of homophobic and racist posts on Twitter and Facebook. Offensive posts have inspired their own blogs and spin-off social media accounts that aggregate inappropriate material.

Is there a line being crossed when it comes to drawing attention to users who post racist or homophobic things online? Should the age of the user determine whether they ought to be publicly shamed, or are all public posts fair game? Does being exposed and chastised online change the behavior of users who post offensive material?

As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict intensifies, what role should the U.S. play?

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A Palestinian woman mourns after an Israeli air strike destroyed her house in the town of Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 19, 2012. Credit: MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images

Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip intensified over the weekend, with the Palestinian death toll rising past 90 and drones hovering over the city. Israel’s targeting of Hamas has surged to a level not seen since four years ago. Civilians and leadership on both sides have expressed worry that the most recent conflict could turn into a ground war.

President Obama has expressed his support for Israel and its right to defend its citizens against Hamas, but warned that increased attacks in the Gaza Strip could be detrimental for both Israelis and Palestinians. Neighboring nations Egypt and Tunisia have spoken up against the Israeli attack in Gaza, and although the strike continues, rumors of truce talks are in the air. The UN dispatched Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to Cairo to aid in peace talks.

What role should the United States play in this conflict? How important is the relationship between the U.S. and Israel – does it warrant unqualified support? How might Egypt’s new leadership change negotiations in the Middle East?


Guest:

 

Edmund Sanders, Jerusalem Bureau Chief for the Los Angeles Times

Borzou Daragahi, Middle East and North Africa correspondent for the Financial Times based in Cairo

L.A. union opposes proposed half-cent sales tax

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Heat Wave Brings Triple Digit Temperatures To Southern California

Downtown Los Angeles. Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

A union representing L.A. city workers has voiced their opposition to the proposed half-cent sales tax hike on the March 5 ballot. The tax hike is lauded by City Council President Herb Wesson as the only way to save 1,400 jobs, including 500 police officer positions. Union support can be crucial to bills like the sales tax hike, but the labor union and four of the city’s top mayoral candidates have all opposed the increase.

Union president Bob Schoonover said that the tax increase would hurt middle class families, and that his union, which supports 10,000 city workers, “couldn’t support it.” The half-cent sales tax hike is a response to opposition from real estate groups for a previously-proposed real estate tax intended to generate $150 million, when combined with a tax on parking lots.

The sales tax increase would generate $215 million. How would a half-cent sales tax hike impact Los Angeles? Would it have a larger impact on certain economic groups? Is it a better alternative to a real estate tax? How should the city council and the union proceed?

Guests:

Alice Walton, KPCC reporter

Frank Stoltze, KPCC reporter

Pasadena City Council to consider temporarily hosting NFL team at the Rose Bowl

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Rose Bowl

A recent study conducted by the Urban Land Institute says that Pasadena should resist the temptation to offer an NFL team a temporary home in the Rose Bowl. Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Should the Rose Bowl host 25 events a year? That’s an ordinance the Pasadena City Council is considering in a public hearing tonight. If approved, the city would begin the formal process to consider temporarily hosting an NFL team while a permanent stadium is built at Farmers Field.

Many residents complain that a team would attract massive amounts of traffic and rowdy fans to the quiet Arroyo Seco neighborhood, but the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce says the prospect of millions of dollars in public revenue is well worth the inconveniences.

That NIMBY debate continues despite the facts that no NFL team has committed to Southern California despite years of talks, and the Coliseum remains another option as a temporary home. Joe Piasecki joins the show to preview tonight’s meeting.

Guest:

Joe Piasecki, writes for the Los Angeles Times and will be attending tonight’s city council hearing


California AG Kamala Harris’s human trafficking report

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Kamala Harris

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris speaks with KPCC radio host Patt Morrison (off camera) in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 6, 2012 during the Democratic National Convention. Credit: Lauren Osen

Last Friday, California Attorney General Kamala Harris released her report “The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012.” As a result of California’s first anti-trafficking law (AB 22), Harris convened a Human Trafficking Work Group to update the state’s first report on the issue from 2007.

This year’s report compiles Work Group discussions which occurred over a three-day period in Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as additional research from the California Department of Justice. The report produced some notable data. For instance, from mid-2010 to mid-2012, California identified 1,277 trafficking victims, began 2,552 investigations and put 1,798 individuals under arrest.

Some of the numbers, however, seem to conflict with public perception or competing sources of information.The California task force on trafficking found that 72 percent of victims with an identifiable country of origin came from America, even though the common understanding is that victims predominantly come from foreign countries. Also, while sex trafficking amounted for 56% of victims identified by the task force, other sources cite labor trafficking as 3.5 times more prevalent than sex trafficking on the global level.

What could explain these numerical discrepancies? Is it a simple difference between California and the rest of the world? And what about critics who continually claim that human trafficking numbers are exaggerated or unfounded? Is there any weight to their arguments? Has Harris’s report received any pushback thus far?


Guest:

Kamala Harris, California Attorney General and author of the report “The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012”

Churches take City of Santa Monica to court over nativity scene ban

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Nativity Scene

Credit: By Michael Quick/Flickr (cc by-nc-nd)

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a nativity scene… lawsuit. After the Santa MonicaCity Council voted to ban private displays in Palisades Park this year,  the nonprofit Santa Monica Nativity Scene Committee, which has been producing elaborate nativity scenes in the park for decades, filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming their right to free speech was being violated.   

The city banned nativity scenes and all private displays after atheists and other organizations began inundating the park with displays in recent years. A U.S. District Court judge heard the case today.  The churches were hoping the judge would grant an injunction allowing them to mount their displays while the case is being reviewed, but this morning the judge ruled in favor of the city.  The group’s attorney, William Becker, has indicated they will appeal the decision.

Who should have the right to set up opinionated or religious displays in public spaces? Is the City of Santa Monica obstructing free speech by banning all the displays?

Guest:

Robert A. Pugsley, professor of law, Southwestern University Law School

The bitter taste of success: the rise and fall of the Anheuser-Busch brewing empire

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Anheuser-Busch Agrees To Increased Offer From Belgian Company InBev

Wooden beer cases are seen on display inside a stable for the Budweiser Clydesdales during an Anheuser-Busch Cos. brewery tour. Credit: Whitney Curtis/Getty Images

The saga of Budweiser and Anheuser-Busch is a classic parable of the rise, international domination and eventual disillusionment of the American industrial age. Like most classic American success stories, the chronicle of “The King of Beers” began with an immigrant, in this case, Adolphus Busch, who arrived in St. Louis, Missouri from Germany in 1859 and bought a struggling brewery.

Over ensuing generations, the Busch family built an empire by revolutionizing the mass production, distribution and marketing of beer – the world’s most popular beverage. Adolphus’ son August A. deftly guided Budweiser through Prohibition and established Budweiser as America’s first national beer brand. August Jr. bought the St. Louis Cardinals and forged an indelible link between sports and beer that exists to this very day. August III streamlined the company for a new business age and helped launch the profitable light beer craze.

But it was August IV’s lack of business acumen that led to America’s premier beer being bought by foreign investors in 2008, ending a legacy of American dominance in the brewing industry. Renowned journalist William Knoedelseder documents the 149-year saga of the business of Budweiser – as well as the trappings, tragedy and drama of a family blessed and cursed by untold wealth in his new book, “Bitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America’s Kings of Beer.”

How does unparalleled success change a business - and the family that runs it? What can American businesses do to compete in the world economy?

Guest:

William Knoedelseder, author of “Bitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America’s Kings of Beer” (Harper Collins 2012)

How will the Affordable Care Act affect small business health care costs?

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Papa John's 3000th North American Store Celebration

Papa John's Founder, Chairman, and CEO John Schnatter (right) and President of the Papa John's Chicago Marketing Co-op Sid Ruckriegel (left), in Burbank, IL on Monday, October 24, 2011. Credit: Ross Dettman/AP IMAGES FOR PAPA JOHN'S

President Obama’s recent reelection assures that his signature first term legislative accomplishment, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), will remain on its path to full implementation. Resistance from some small business leaders has not abated in the aftermath of Obama’s win and some of the more vocal opponents have included representatives from  Applebee’s, Denny’s and Papa John’s pizza chain’s CEO, John Schnatter, who has hinted that the pizza chain would reduce employee hours to offset additional costs that may be faced with the implementation of the ACA.

But most businesses aren’t as big as Papa John’s, and the new rules will have an effect on how they approach paying for health care for their employees. Research has shown that a significant percentage of small businesses are confused about the new rules of the ACA and may also be misinterpreting how it will affect their financial accountability. But a House Ways and Means Committee estimates that small businesses stand to save billions – as much as $422 billion over ten years – if they get rid of their health coverage by 2014, the point at which part of the ACA goes into effect and the federal government will begin to subsidize health insurance for Americans earning less than 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Line.

Just how will the Affordable Care Act affect America’s small business owners and their employees? Will it change how you manage your business?

Guest:

Kavita K. Patel, adjunct assistant clinical professor at UCLA’s Geffen School of Medicine

Stuart Waldman, Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA)

Pasadena approves plan that may bring the NFL to the Rose Bowl

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The Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Credit: astroot/Flickr (cc by-nc-nd)

Pasadena is one yard closer to hosting National Football League (NFL) games at the historic Rose Bowl. After more than five hours of debate, the Pasadena City Council agreed to amend necessary ordinances in order to begin negotiations with the NFL to bring professional football to the 90-year-old stadium for as many as five years.

Approximately 120 people packed Pasadena City Hall last night to attend the public hearing on the NFL prospect. Many residents are concerned about how the estimated 25,000 vehicles likely to swarm the area on game days will negatively impact the community. Leasing the Rose Bowl to the NFL could raise between $5 and $10 million for the venue per year, according to a consulting firm hired by the city.

The NFL would utilize the Pasadena stadium if plans to build a new professional football arena in downtown Los Angeles go forward. Would hosting NFL games be beneficial to Pasadena overall despite significant increases in traffic? What social and environmental concerns should the city take into consideration as it prepares to facilitate up to a dozen NFL games per year?

Guest:

Terry Tornek, councilmember for District 7, City of Pasadena

Why is it important to play fair?

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Stephen T. Asma: "Against Fairness" Credit:

Stephen Asma’s latest book, “Against Fairness” is not exactly what its title suggests. Asma’s philosophical take on reevaluating what is considered to be “fair,” addresses the topic of fairness in a refreshing way, eschewing the culture of rewarding everyone for favoritism. In the context of his own parenting experience, anecdotes about deciding what’s fair and what isn’t are especially resonant. Is it unfair for children to distribute Valentines to just the friends they care for the most instead of the whole class? Is equal opportunity as “fair” as unilateral equal treatment?

Guest:

Stephen T. Asma, author of “Against Fairness” and Distinguished Scholar and professor of philosophy and Fellow of the Research Group in Mind, Science and Culture at Columbia College in Chicago.  His previous books include “On Monsters” and “Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads.”

Is Washington losing its religion for Grover Norquist’s anti-tax evangelism?

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Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A lot of changes swept over Washington on November 6th. The Republicans’ hubris was exposed by simple electoral math, and some of the collateral damage of the Democratic victory may include the once-bulletproof influence of the poster boy for Republican hard-line, anti-tax dogma, Grover Norquist.

Norquist got his marquee start in the GOP in the Reagan administration when he founded Americans for Tax Reform, an advocacy group with the stated goal of simplifying and reducing taxes at a national level, in 1985. His stance on the reducing the size of government was once summed up when he said that his goal was to “…shrink it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."

Nearly every single Republican lawmaker at the national level signed Norquist’s “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” as a matter of course, but with the recent ideological shift at the polling booth, a struggling economy and a ballooning national debt, many politicos are beginning to question Norquist’s strategy.

Norquist still has a sizable war chest and plenty of influence in Washington – there are still 219 Republican names on his tax pledge although the number has been in decline – but newly reelected President Barack Obama has been leveraging his recent win with the goal of raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans to reduce the budget deficit and avert the upcoming ‘fiscal cliff.’ How can Grover Norquist fit into the new normal in Washington? Will raising taxes help or hinder America’s financial woes?

Guests:

Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, a coalition of tax payer groups, individuals and businesses opposed to higher taxes at the federal, state and local levels



Suspects with Southern California ties arrested for alleged terrorist plot

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ANA Recruits Trained For Service At Kabul Military Training Center

An Afghan National Army cadet secures the perimeter during a Taliban capture military exercise on November 13, 2012 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Credit: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

Four Southern California men have been arrested as suspects in an alleged terrorist plot. According to a federal complaint, Sohiel Omar Kabir introduced Ralph Deleon and Miguel Alejandro Santana Vidriales to “radical and violent Islamic doctrine.”In 2010, Deleon and Santana converted to Islam; more recently, Arifeen David Gojali joined the group.

The men allegedly conspired to kill Americans overseas by joining al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The suspects, who utilized social media to contact one another, confided intent of “violent jihad” online to an undercover FBI agent. Their reported plans included plots to bomb military bases and government agencies abroad. Deleon, Santana, and Gojali had scraped together enough money for airfare to Afghanistan, where they allegedly planned to stay in mosques or in the homes of fellow jihadists.

They were arrested in California and attended a hearing in Riverside on Monday, November 19. Kabir was arrested in Afghanistan. If convicted, the men could serve a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison. What role should online conversations play in the investigation and conviction of alleged criminals? What are the best measures to prevent these types of attacks from coming to fruition? Are intelligence stings always effective? 

Guests:

John Asbury, breaking news reporter, The Press-Enterprise

Jessica Garrison, reporter at the Los Angeles Times

Brian Michael Jenkins,  senior advisor to the President of the Rand Corporation

‘Consider the Fork’ - a history of the way we eat

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Bee Wilson's "Consider the Fork"

Distinguished food writer and historian Bee Wilson offers up a unique history of food, the kitchen, and kitchen tools in her new book “Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat.”

Just in time for Thanksgiving, when our culinary history is so heavily in play, “Consider the Fork” blends Wilson’s personal anecdotes in with an elaborate history of how people use their kitchens. The titular fork, for instance, endured years of ridicule before becoming a commonplace kitchen utensil. Wilson’s writing has drawn praise from fellow professional foodies and regular home cooks alike -- The New York Times called her style “supple [and] sometimes playful.”

What is the history behind the modern kitchen? How has the way we eat changed, and how has it stayed the same?


Bee Wilson
, author of Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat (Basic Books)

Gaza ceasefire announced after shaky truce talks in Cairo

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Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr (R) and US Secretary of state Hilary Clinton give a joint press conference after their meeting with President Mohamed Morsi in the presidential palace in Cairo on November 21, 2012. Amr announced that a truce had been agreed between Israel and Hamas to end a week of bloodshed in and around Gaza and said a ceasefire would take effect at 1900 GMT. Credit: KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images

After nearly a week of violence between Israel and Hamas, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Egyptian officials announced this morning that a ceasefire agreement has been reached. It is unclear how permanent the ceasefire will be. Clinton met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu late Tuesday and with Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi today to help negotiate a truce in the region.

The likelihood of a peace agreement was jeopardized earlier today after multiple Palestinian militant factions took responsibility for a bus bombing in Tel Aviv that wounded at least 21 Israelis. Jerusalem has also been the target of Palestinian rocket fire at least twice in the past week and tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers moved to the Gaza border in case of a decision to invade.

The ceasefire agreement reportedly requires Israel to halt all military activity against the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip and for Palestinian militants to cease rocket attacks into Israel. After 24 hours of quiet, the border crossings between Gaza and Israel are to be opened to allow for movement of goods and people. Egypt will act as guarantor of the deal, according to sources. The death toll from the week-long conflict has mounted to more than 130 Palestinians and five Israelis.

What responsibility does the new Egyptian government have in terms of maintaining peace in the volatile region? What can other forces including the United Nations and the United States do to end hostility and encourage stability in the Gaza Strip?

Guests:

 Steven A. Cook, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations; Author of “The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square” (Oxford)

Bradley Burston, columnist, Haaretz newspaper

Christa Case Bryant, staff writer, Christian Science Monitor, currently in Jerusalem

Ex-mayor Richard Riordan proposes new pension plan for city employees

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Richard Riordan

Republican gubernatorial hopeful and former mayor of Los Angeles Richard Riordan calls electors from an office in Burbank, Calif., Tuesday, March 5, 2002. Credit: NICK UT

Everybody’s talking about the city budget crisis, but who’s got a solution?  Former L.A. mayor Richard Riordan, that’s who. Riordan has been publicly touting his pension reform plan, which he hopes to get on the March ballot.  Rising pension costs for city workers is what’s sinking this ship, says Riordan, and he wants the city to address the problem head on.  

Last year voters approved lowering the benefits for new police and fire department hires, and more recently the city council made more modifications, raising the retirement age for new employees. It’s not enough, says Riordan.  He wants the city to switch public employees from a guaranteed pension to either Social Security or a 401(K)-type plan that both parties would contribute to.  

The proposal has brought howls of protest from public employee unions, including the Police Protective League and the Service Employees International Union.  And three of the five candidates for mayor have come out against it as well, saying it would ultimately cost the city more.

While the former mayor is marshaling troops to get the 265,000 signatures needed to put the initiative on the ballot, public employees are out trying to dissuade people from signing the petition. Meanwhile,  the city faces a $216 million budget shortfall next year. Should younger city workers be forced to delay retirement and roll the dice in the stock market?  Can the city sustain its current and future pension rolls? If pension reform is truly the answer, is Riordan’s plan the way to go?  

Guest:

Richard Riordan, former Mayor of Los Angeles

Pat McOsker, President, United Firefighters of Los Angeles City

Walmart employees to continue strike on Black Friday

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Black Friday Shoppers Chase Deals At Wal-Mart, Best Buy

Black Friday shoppers chase deals at Walmart. Credit: Matthew Staver, Bloomberg/Getty

This week, Walmart employees at distribution centers and stores all over the country have gone on strike. Workers have decided to go on strike due to what they see as Walmart’s aggressive retaliation to their efforts to organize a labor union.

Employees allege that if they discuss unions or join labor groups they are often terminated or have their shifts cut down significantly.

Walmart, currently the largest private employer in the world, sets the standard for retail outlets across the board and how they treat their workers. Thus, the first strike in Walmart’s history will have a significant impact one way or the other for the entire industry.

However, it won’t just be the company and workers who are affected; consumers are also going to be in the spotlight given that the strike is occurring at the same time as the busiest shopping day of the year.

That’s right, customers trying to exploit some Black Friday deals and discounts are likely to be faced with picketing Walmart employees upon entering the store.

How will seeing a group of striking workers affect your shopping experience? Will you seek out another Walmart or store which isn’t the site of a strike? What local stores are being targeted by labor organizers? How are the workers strategizing and making the most out of their resources? Do you see this as a pain in the neck, or do you sympathize with the Walmart employees?

Meanwhile, labor issues could cause travel pains at LAX, where the union representing airport workers has organized a protest today. SEIU Local 1877, which includes baggage handlers, security officers, janitors, and ground crew, has rallied 1,000 marchers to clog the airport on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

LAX is the second most frequented airport on this heavy travel day, after Chicago’s O’Hare. How will the airport action impact holiday travel plans? Is it understandable for workers to protest on such an important day? Will it garner support for their cause?

Guests:  

Corey Moore, KPCC reporter covering the protest at LAX

Guadalupe Palma, organizer with Warehouse Workers United who is working on the Walmart strike

Greg Fletcher, local Walmart worker 

Matt DeBord
, KPCC Reporter; writes the DeBord Report KPCC.org

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