The case against Goldman Sachs. Will the next war be fought over water? President Obama orders hospital visitation rights for same-sex partners. And Mark Kurlansky profiles one Dominican town that's known for its prized export- baseball players.
Goldman Sachs and the future of financial regulation
Last week the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil suit against investment bank Goldman Sachs, alleging that in 2007 the company intentionally misled clients with the securities it created and sold. The SEC says Goldman failed to disclose to customers that the hedge fund that created the investment also was betting against it. The company maintains that it provided investors with all information required by law. Nevertheless, the firm has reported strong earnings with a $3.46 billion profit in the first quarter of 2010. What effect will the case against Goldman have on Wall Street and the political effort for financial reform?
Guests:
Andrew Hilton, Director of the Center for the Study of Financial Innovation in London
Allen Ferrell, Professor of Law and Economics, Harvard University
Doyle McManus, Washington columnist, Los Angeles Times
Dan Mitchell, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute
The epic struggle for water
Access to fresh water has replaced oil as the primary cause of global conflicts in many of the world's overpopulated and drought-ridden regions. As modern society runs short of this indispensable resource, explosive new fault lines divide humanity into water Haves and Have-nots. Water famines threaten to ignite new wars in the bone-dry Middle East and menace sustainable growth in China and India. In his new book Water, journalist Steven Solomon describes the stark reality of man’s most critical resource in shaping human destinies, from ancient times to our current age of water scarcity.
Steven Solomon will appear at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books as part of the panel Water: The Past, Present, and Future of our Most Precious Resource, Saturday, April 24 at 10:30 am in Young Hall at UCLA.
Guest:
Steven Solomon, author of Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization (HarperCollins)
Obama orders hospital visitation rights for gay partners
President Obama recently ordered the expansion of hospital visitation rights for same-sex couples. His memo to the Department of Health and Human Services moves to ensure that gay and lesbian partners be granted the same visitation rights as married heterosexual couples, and applies to all hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid money. Hospitals will also be required to honor all patients' advance directives and documents granting power of attorney and proxy. The language of the memo could apply to unmarried heterosexual couples as well. What impact will this have on hospital protocols? Does the President's order go too far - or not far enough?
Guests:
Tara Borelli, Staff Attorney, Lambda Legal
Jim Lott, Executive Vice President, Hospital Association of Southern California
Carrie Gordon Earll, Senior Director of Issues Analysis at Focus on the Family
Baseball and the Dominican Republic
In San Pedro de Marcoris in the Dominican Republic, baseball is a way to dream; a passageway out of the impoverished life in a sugar plantation town. Baseball is a bit of an obsession, and by the year 2008, nearly 80 players in the Major Leagues came from San Pedro. In his book, The Eastern Stars: How Baseball Changed the Dominican Town of San Pedro de Marcoris, writer Mark Kurlansky chronicles the inspiring story of these boys and their breakthroughs into America’s pastime.
Mark Kurlansky will appear at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books as part of the panel Beyond Baseball: The Sport of Dreams, on Sunday, April 25 at 1:30 pm at Young Hall at UCLA.
Guest:
Mark Kurlansky, author of The Eastern Stars: How Baseball Changed the Dominican Town of San Pedro de Marcoris (Riverhead Books)