Downtown LA approves plans to satisfy it's streetcar desire, a new report indicates California is falling behind on its alternative energy strategy and the American Psychiatric Association has released approved changes to be published in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Host Larry Mantle discusses all that and more on today's AirTalk.
Dark day on the streets of Cairo
It’s been characterized as the worst protest in Egypt since the revolution in early 2011. Fierce clashes erupted outside the presidential palace between supporters and opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood party. The opposition to President Mohammed Morsi are demanding an aboutface a week after he gave himself powers to push through work on the country’s constitution.
Morsi sought to appease critics by scheduling a referendum, but today’s violence show the political crisis to be deepening. AirTalk speaks with a reporter who witnessed the worst of today’s demonstrations.
Guest:
Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Independent Journalist who was at the scene of today’s protests in Cairo
Downtown LA streetcar could revolutionize public transportation
This week, voters in downtown Los Angeles approved crucial financing to fund a streetcar project. Seventy-three percent of residents voted to raise $62.5 million in funding with a property tax on local housing. The money will go towards the $125 million project, a streetcar which would run along three of downtown’s busiest streets and connect several neighborhoods, including South Park, Civic Center, the fashion district, and the old banking district.
If everything goes according to plan, the streetcar will be completed by 2015. Supporters see the streetcar, which would run seven days a week, 18 hours a day, as the missing link in Los Angeles transportation. The project would make much of the heart of downtown truly car-optional. While there has been some criticism of the voting process, which allowed residents of downtown to vote, but excluded non-resident property owners, there is no organized opposition.
How would a downtown streetcar change local life? Would the project make downtown neighborhoods more accessible? Are you looking forward to the changes to L.A. public transportation, or are you committed to car culture?
Guest:
Michael Smart, lecturer in urban planning at the University of California Los Angeles Institute of Transportation Studies
Map:
Below is the alternative alignment for the Downtown L.A. Streetcar. Learn more about the Alternatives Analysis process and the Locally Preferred Alternative at Metro’s Streetcar page, located here.
Are California’s alternative energy programs headed for a blackout?
In a report released Monday, government watchdog agency the Little Hoover Commission raised concerns about California’s ambitious alternative energy plans. The state is legally mandated to ensure that one-third of our energy be derived from renewable sources by 2020.
The commission’s concern is that we’re mired in a patchwork of incompatible programs and policies to develop wind and solar power, and that those programs are mismanaged, disorganized and ultimately unsustainable. The report also points fingers at the California Public Utilities Commission for not being forthcoming about the long-term costs of power agreements that they say lock in “unnecessarily high prices.” The LHC recommends that the Governor’s office create an integrated and comprehensive office to prioritize and address the state’s various energy policies. If not, they warn, Californians can expect soaring energy costs and depletion of natural resources.
How realistic is it to achieve 33% renewable energy by 2020? Are we on the right path? Or does California need an alternative energy overhaul?
Guests:
Stuart Drown, executive director, Little Hoover Commission; The Little Hoover Commission is an independent state oversight agency whose mission is to investigate state government operations and – through reports, recommendations and legislative proposals – promote efficiency, economy and improved service.
Edward Randolph, energy division director, California Public Utilities Commission
APA makes significant updates to new diagnosis manual
The American Psychiatric Association has released approved changes to be published in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Among the most significant modifications to the new edition is the reclassification of the diagnosis for transgender and gender-variant individuals from “Gender Identity Disorder” to the less-stigmatizing “Gender Dysphoria.”
Another big change is the removal of “Asperger’s Disorder” from the DSM-5 – symptoms of Asperger’s will now be included in the newly added “Autism Spectrum Disorder.” Other additions and changes to the DSM include binge-eating disorder, adult attention deficit disorder, and major depressive disorder, which has been criticized for medicalizing normal grief and emotional reactions.
Are all of the changes to the new DSM positive ones? Will changing “gender identity disorder” to “gender dysphoria” help transgender individuals receive affirmative treatment? Is including Asperger’s in the autism spectrum the right decision? Which DSM updates are helpful, and which should be reconsidered?
Guest:
Dr. Allen Frances, MD, professor emeritus at Duke University and former Chair of its Department of Psychiatry; he was chair of the DSM IV Task Force
New York Post publishes photo of man’s final moments
This Monday, Ki Suk Han was struck and killed by a train New York City’s Times Square subway station. The incident was documented by R. Umar Abbasi, a freelance photographer for the New York Post who happened to be waiting for the same train.
Han was pushed onto the tracks, and struggled to escape for over a minute before the train hit – Abbasi photographed his doomed final moments. The New York Post controversially printed his pictures on the cover of their Tuesday issue, inciting a deluge of questions about the ethics behind the photo.
Should the New York Post have published the documentation of Han before his imminent death? Why didn’t witnesses help him out of the tracks – and why, especially, did Abbasi, who had the time to snap several well-composed photos, instead use that time to help save Han?
The incident brings to light the predicament so many photojournalists face – their job is to document, but if they can help, should they? Did Abbasi, in taking the photos, or the Post, in publishing them, cross a line in ethical journalism, or were they just doing their jobs?
Guest:
Alisa Solomon, Professor, Columbia Journalism School
All Saints Church criticized for hosting American Muslim convention
Pasadena’s All Saints Episcopal Church and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) announced yesterday that they will hold a press conference Thursday to address recent criticisms of the church inspired by their decision to host a national American Muslim convention.
Interfaith clergy and religious leaders will come together on Thursday to voice their shared commitments in the light of anti-Islamist disapproval from the right. Since 2007, All Saints has hosted an interfaith study group with the Pasadena Jewish center and the Islamic Center of Southern California, but following the announcement that the it would host the American Muslim convention, the religious right has accused the MPAC and Islamists in general of “taking advantage of naïve Christians.”
How should religious organizations handle disputes over interfaith outreach and education? In what ways might both organizations be affected by collaboration, or by the backlash from critics? MPAC President Salam Al-Marayati and Right Side News contributor Ryan Mauro join Larry to discuss interfaith relations.
Guests:
Salam Al-Marayati, president, Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
Ryan Mauro, national security analyst, fellow with RadicalIslam.org
Is gender-neutral marketing for children the way of the future?
An online petition from a New Jersey teen has sparked new discussion about the use of gender in marketing for children. The petition, which now has over 18,000 signatures, is accompanied by a video featuring the 8th grader’s 4-year-old brother, who wants an Easy Bake oven for Christmas, but is deterred by the marketing, geared towards young boys.
Easy Bake is hardly the only children’s company to be criticized for gendering its product. Lego recently released a line of pink toys geared towards girls as a response to demand for inclusion.
Should marketing geared towards children continue on a gender-specific path, or should products strive for more inclusive, gender-neutral advertising? Parents, do you buy toys with gender in mind, or do you buck the trend? Do you resent products with marketing geared only towards one gender?
Guest:
Andrew Rohm, Associate Professor of Marketing at Loyola Marymount University. He teaches a specialist class in social media marketing