Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met for the second time on Monday with an American mediator to try and salvage the peace talks that nearly came to a screeching halt late last week.What are the possible outcomes if neither side is willing to compromise? Do you trust Yelp reviews?
Peace talks between Israel and Palestine hit a major roadblock
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met for the second time on Monday with an American mediator to try and salvage the peace talks that nearly came to a screeching halt late last week.
Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that the week had been a "reality check" for the peace negotiations and that the U.S. would reevaluate its role as moderator. Secretary Kerry was instrumental in prompting the two sides to restart negotiations last summer.
U.S. efforts to extend the talks past a late April deadline were shattered after Israel failed to carry out the last phase of a planned release of 104 long-held Palestinian prisoners, while the Palestinians said they would suspend a campaign to sign up Palestine, recognized by the U.N. General Assembly as a non-member observer state in 2012, for as many as 63 U.N. agencies, treaties and conventions.
Abbas then signed letters of accession for 15 international conventions, after which Israel said the final prisoner release was off the table. Kerry originally hoped for a peace deal by April 29 but that is looking increasingly unlikely.
What will get both sides back on the correct negotiating track? Should the U.S. continue in its role as moderator? What are the possible outcomes if neither side is willing to compromise?
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Yousef Munayyer, Executive Director of The Palestine Center
Neri Zilber, visiting fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
From grow-ops to greenbacks: the marijuana movement goes legit
Ever since Colorado and Washington became the first states to sanction the use of recreational marijuana, the legalization of pot on a federal level has taken on a narrative of destiny, with interest groups forming hoping to hasten this inevitability. The National Cannabis Industry Association, a pro-legalization group, has hired its first full-time DC lobbyist to work the halls of Congress to gain support for a variety of pot-friendly bills, while startups and publicly traded companies have sprung up to hopefully cash in on the boom.
What do lobbyists want from Congress? Some investors are touting pot as the next big investment. Is it magical thinking?
Guests:
Aaron Smith, co-founder and executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, a nonprofit that promotes marijuana legalization in DC
Brad Barker, Bloomberg Industries Senior Washington Analyst who’s been following the marijuana industry
Peter Leeds, publisher of Peter Leeds Newsletter, which deals with speculative stocks and author of “Penny Stocks for Dummies” (For Dummies, 2013)
Yelp: A savior for consumers, but some businesses feel burned
Many consumers love Yelp reviews to get the inside scoop on everything from restaurants to dry cleaners and dentists. But does the website play fair with small businesses?
An investigation by the Los Angeles Times has turned up an ad-selling practice that seems to be a lot like extortion. When a local jewelry store owner canceled his Yelp ad, he had a representative from Yelp call him up to say that competitor's ads had been appearing above his listing and that — for a fee — the company could make the ads go away. It's a controversial practice that is leading to questions about how the company does business.
About 83 percent of the online review company's nearly $71 million in revenue in the most recent quarter came from local ads.
The alleged strong-arm tactics are coupled with concerns that the company is planting fake bad reviews to retaliate against businesses that don't shell out money for ads.
The Virginia Supreme Court is hearing a case this month brought by a small carpet cleaner who argues that Yelp posted fake negative reviews about his company after he turned down a pitch to buy ads.
Are some of Yelp's bad reviews secretly coming from the company to force businesses to spend more money? Do you trust the reviews posted on Yelp? Should the identities of Yelp reviewers be protected?
Guests:
David Lazarus, Consumer Columnist, Los Angeles Times
Kristen Whisenand, Yelp Inc. Spokesperson
Remembering Hollywood icon Mickey Rooney
Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney, the once-child star and among the last surviving entertainers of Hollywood’s Golden Age, died Sunday in California at the age of 93.
Rooney’s career began shortly after his first birthday, and includes at least 340 acting credits in movies and television. He made a name for himself in musicals—such as 1939’s “Babes in Arms”—and powerful dramas like 1938’s “Boys Town.” Rooney is still known to many for his portrayal of Andy Rooney in MGM’s film series in the 30s and 40s.
The 5-foot-2 showman was nominated for several acting Academy Awards—including a supporting actor nod for his role in 1979’s “The Black Stallion”—and several Emmys and Golden Globes.
Seen most recently on-screen in small roles or cameos in films like “Night at the Museum” and “The Muppets,” Rooney is considered by many to have been one of the finest actors in cinema history.
What are your favorite memories of Rooney? What did his career mean to you?
Guest:
Leonard Maltin, Film critic, LeonardMaltin.com; Author, “Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide.”
Country music captures younger listeners and viewers with 'bro-country'
The 49th Academy of Country Music Awards was packed with live performances Sunday, flaunting artists who are young, mainstream, and more influential than ever.
The show, held Sunday at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Hotel, captivated its largest audience in fifteen years, growth that analysts attribute to the genre’s increased appeal to younger listeners.
But that growing audience includes more than tweens who idolize Taylor Swift.
An increased number of young men have become country fans thanks, in part, to tailgate party songs by artists like Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean. These “bro-country” artists, who sing about driving pickups, picking up chicks, and drinking beer, also appeal to female listeners, making country music the nation’s most popular radio format.
Is the popularity of "bro-country" just a trend? Has country music taken a turn for the worse?
Guests:
Randy Lewis, Pop Music Writer for the Los Angeles Times.
To hear to this AirTalk segment, click on the "Listen Now" icon in the upper left.
'The Way of the Knife' – How the CIA got back into the killing business
The current - and uncharacteristically public - challenge facing the CIA threatens to reveal the darkest violence the spy agency is tasked with. The Senate Intelligence committee is demanding the declassification of an internal CIA report critical of the agency's interrogation (read: torture) techniques post-9/11. That episode in the agency's history is further evidence that its espionage services run parallel to direct paramilitary actions.
As national security reporter Mark Mazzetti writes in "The Way of the Knife" (now out in paperback), the U.S. is fighting a shadow war with what once was a Cold War enterprise. Mazzetti reports that the CIA’s killer drones, private assassins and proxy armies are a lower-cost, lower-risk alternative to the Defense Department’s drawn-out wars and occupations.
Why has the CIA taken over Pentagon territory? How has it been effective and where has it failed? What direction has the new director, John Brennan, taken? How much more is there to learn about "enhanced interrogation" techniques that we don’t know already? Should the CIA revert to its original mission?
Guest:
Mark Mazzetti, Author, “The Way of the Knife: the CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth” – now out in paperback from Penguin; Pulitzer-Prize winning, national security reporter for The New York Times; Previously for the Los Angeles Times.