Police in St. Louis identified Darren Wilson as the officer who shot 18-year-old Michael Brown, whose death sparked sustained protests in the Missouri suburb of Ferguson that at times turned violent. Also, Los Angeles Ethics Commission wants to pay you to vote. Would these incentives lure uninformed voters? Then, do movie leaks hurt filmmakers?
The difficulty of investigating the Michael Brown shooting
Police in St. Louis identified Darren Wilson as the officer who shot 18-year-old Michael Brown, whose death sparked sustained protests in the Missouri suburb of Ferguson that at times turned violent. Wilson has been with the St. Louis police force for 6 years with a clean record. No other details were made available.
Police also released dispatch records, a surveillance video, and police documents on a strong-arm robbery that took place at a convenient store minutes before Brown was gunned down. Brown and a friend were suspected of stealing a box of Swisher Sweets Cigars.
Yesterday,the Missouri Highway Patrol took over security in Ferguson from the St. Louis County police after what many claimed as an overly aggressive show of force.
Without a video of the shooting, what kind of evidence would a prosecutor or an investigator need to determine whether excessive force was used, or whether the shooting of Brown was justified? How would the video surveillance factor into the investigation?
Guest:
Yamiche Alcindor, USA Today breaking news reporter who’s been covering the story from Ferguson, Mo.
Laurie Levenson, Professor of Law, Loyola Law School
Los Angeles Ethics Commission wants to pay you to vote...Really
This week's LAUSD school board election had a voter turnout of 8%. That's deplorable, but it's not much lower than the mere 23% of voters who turned out to elect Mayor Garcetti in the last city election.
The city, and region, have had declining voter turnout for years and this week the Los Angeles Ethics Commission voted to propose lottery and cash prizes to help improve voter turnout for local elections.
Federal law prohibits this practice, but commissioners believe there might be a plausible loop hole for local elections and they suggest using somewhere between $25,000-50,000 in surplus matching funds as a cash prize for voters. City Council president Herb Wesson says he's intrigued by the idea.
Would this work? And is this the right way to motivate civic engagement? Are there better, more effective ways? Would it motivate you or someone you know to vote?
Guests:
Jessica Levinson, Vice President of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission and a professor of law at Loyola Law School
Environmental advocates’ mixed reactions to Sacramento’s $7.5 billion water deal
This week, Governor Jerry Brown trumpeted a bipartisan package to deal with California's water troubles.
The deal includes funds to build new reservoirs - satisfying farmers - and money for water conservation, recycling and cleanup efforts - heralded by some environmental groups. However, a coalition of grassroots activists complain the plan does nothing for the short-term drought problem, uses dam projects to the detriment of local watersheds and irresponsibly gives away water to agriculture interests.
Although Conner Everts, Co-Facilitator of the Environmental Water Caucus, says there are valuable projects in the deal, he would have trouble voting for it come November.
The California director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Ann Notthoff, said in a statement "California's drought brought a diverse set of interests together in support of a new bond that protects our environment and our economy, instead of one that creates a false choice between the two."
It's said politics is the art of the possible - is that the thinking behind this deal? What can help the drought in the near term?
Guest:
Conner Everts, Co-Facilitator, Environmental Water Caucus, caucus of more than 30 grassroots organizations with a common interest in CA water issues
Steve Fleischli, Director and Senior Attorney, Water Program, Natural Resources Defense Council
Filmweek: “The Giver” “The Expendables 3” “The One I Love” and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Claudia Puig, Henry Sheehan and Charles Solomon review this week’s releases, including “The Giver” “The Expendables 3” “The One I Love” and more. TGI-Filmweek!
The Giver
The
Expendables 3
The
One I Love
Guests:
Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA Today
Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and CriticsAGoGo.com
Charles Solomon, animation film critic for KPCC and author and historian for amazon.com
Do movie leaks hurt filmmakers?
After “The Expendables 3” leaked online in late July, at least 2.2 million people have downloaded the film illegally in DVD quality.
The film opens in theaters today -- for the movie’s distributor, Lions Gate, that’s a problem. The Expendables leak is the most high-profile leak since 2009, when a partial version of “X-Men Origins” showed up online prior to the film’s release.
Complete, high quality leaks are rare -- hardly ever does a film show up on the internet before it arrives in theaters. Many argue that the shaky, handheld camcorder versions of movies that typically leak after a theatrical release don’t do much to stop ticket sales. Lions Gate says the Expendables leak will likely have “immediate and severe adverse consequences.”
Studios have fought hard to protect the secrecy of a film until it plays in theaters, and the production company says that in the case of “The Expendables 3,” they’ll be hurt at the box office and in their relationships with theaters.
Lions Gate has issued take down orders for several of the sites still hosting the leaked version, but many haven’t responded -- once something is up, it may never be completely taken down, only made slightly harder to find.
What’s the best way to keep movies private until their intended launch? What are the security measures and legal actions a studio may take against people who pirate films? Would you download the leaked version of a movie, or spend the money to see it in theaters?
Guest:
Michael Robinson, Executive Vice President of Global Content Protection at the Motion Picture Association of America
Michael Smith, Professor of Information Technology and Marketing at Carnegie Mellon University