Academic Freedom Versus Balanced Teaching--The John Yoo Debate; Los Angeles Childrens' Museum no More; Changing Attitudes About Female Genital Mutilation; Southern California--The Economic Center of the Universe
Academic Freedom Versus Balanced Teaching--The John Yoo Debate
Legal scholar John Yoo is best known for his work from 2001 to 2003 in the United States Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, assisting the Attorney General in his function as legal advisor to President Bush. His legal opinions and memos have come under intense criticism for advocating warrantless wiretapping and the denial of Geneva Convention protection to prisoners. According to prosecutors in Spain and Germany, he effectively authorized torture by US soldiers in Iraq, Cuba and other locations. Yoo is now a visiting professor of law at the Chapman University School of Law in Orange County. His presence there hasn't gone unnoticed--and his fellow instructors who agree with the torture accusations want him booted. Guest-host John Beaupre is joined by two of Chapman's most prominent voices. He also asks KPCC's listeners: what do you think? Should John Yoo be permitted to teach?
Los Angeles Childrens' Museum no More
The Children's Museum of Los Angeles is facing bankruptcy. The city intends to take over the San Fernando Valley facility. Scheduled to open, by 2010, the museum was to replace a smaller downtown museum that closed in 2000. Now its future is bleak. Guest host Jon Beaupre gets the details.
Changing Attitudes About Female Genital Mutilation
Bogaletch "Boge" Gebre has been steadily working to change perceptions on female genital mutilation in her native Ethiopia. In 1997 she founded the Kembatta Women's Self Help Center (KMG) to end the ritual practice performed on young girls each year by Christians, Muslims, and tribal families. Gebre was able to change attitudes by engaging communities at the grassroots level, offering programs on gender equality, health education, and vocational skills. The organization also developed local infrastructure and promoted environmental protection. In 2004, KMG opened the Mother and Child Health Clinic to address the harmful medical effects of genital mutiliation. Through KMG's efforts, female genital mutilation has been reduced by 90 percent and virtually eliminated in many communities. Bogaletch Gebre joins guest host Jon Beaupre to talk about her work.
Southern California--The Economic Center of the Universe
The stereotype goes that Southern Californians think the universe revolves around them, but journalist James Flanigan asserts that the region actually is the center of the US economy and an economic model for the world. In his new book "Smile Southern California, You're the Center of the Universe", Flanigan examines how entrepreneurship, innovative technologies, and the evolving entertainment industry have given Southern California prosperous growth and a gross regional product greater than or equal to India, Brazil, Russia, or Mexico. Jon Beaupre talks with James Flanigan about what the world can learn from the people and industries of Southern California.