The "Demand Al Jazeera in the USA” campaign. Incidental music fatigue - would someone please turn that bleeping music down? The abortion debate rages in the House. Gov. Brown drops sale of state buildings. Pluto-killer, actually a pretty nice guy.
"Demand Al Jazeera in the USA” campaign
As news events have unfolded in Egypt, major U.S. cable networks have repeatedly started their breaking news coverage with the words "Al Jazeera reports." Based in Doha, Qatar, the international news network has been broadcasting developments in Egypt around the clock – getting their reporters and cameras into Cairo’s Tahrir Square faster than many outlets. But other than a few pockets across the U.S., including Ohio, Vermont, and Washington D.C., American cable carriers don't offer viewers the choice of watching Al Jazeera on TV. Now, Al Jazeera English has launched the "Demand Al Jazeera in the USA" campaign. Wadah Khanfar, director general of the Al Jazeera Network, said in a statement, “The past month has shown us something that America can no longer ignore: millions of Americans want to watch our channel and better understand our region, and too many are deprived of that opportunity." Do you agree? Should more U.S. cable networks carry Al Jazeera English? Why or why not?
Guest:
Geneva Overholser, director, USC School of Journalism
Erik Nisbet, Professor of Communication, Ohio State University
Would someone please turn that bleeping music down?
You enter a grocery store, excited to buy that summer squash you heard about on the Food Network, when all of a sudden a song you hate comes on over the in-store loudspeakers. You want so badly to get that squash, but it's all the way in the back of the store and you don't know if you can handle the three minutes of "Hungry Like The Wolf" that stand between you and that squash. It's impossible to please everybody all of the time, but the omnipresent musical assault in clothing stores, supermarkets, gas stations and bathrooms, is notoriously frustrating and seems to be getting worse. Heck, even if you like being serenaded, sometimes you just want to enjoy a cup of coffee in silence, without the latest indigenous South African pan flute soloist recommended by Bono blaring in the background. Why are so many stores sounding more like nightclubs than boutiques? Is it really working, the way marketing researchers think it is? Wouldn’t some shoppers respond better to less music or none at all?
Guest:
Paco Underhill, Founder, CEO and President of Envirosell; author of Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping” & What Women Want: The Global Marketplace Turns Female Friendly
The abortion debate rages in the House
This week, the House will debate two abortion bills--Rep. Chris Smith’s (R-NJ) H.R. 3, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” and Rep. Joe Pitts’ (R-PA) H.R. 358, the “Protect Life Act.” Both bills, which seek to severely limit or outright cut off federal funding of abortions, are causing a ruckus with some House Democrats who have called them an “unacceptable attack on a woman’s right to choose.” The debate has caught the attention of several Dems in the Senate who have vowed to defeat them, including California’s Barbara Boxer. She held a news conference alongside several of her colleagues scolding House Republicans for their extreme position, which she believes “risks the health and the lives of women.” Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) questions whether it’s the role of the U.S. government to “continue to fund a practice that takes the lives of over one million little Americans every year.” Whatever the outcome, it’s certain to be a fierce debate. What does the GOP hope to accomplish?
Guest:
Nancy Keenan, president, NARAL Pro-choice America
Eric Scheidler, executive director, Pro Life Action League
Gov. Brown drops sale of state buildings
California’s Governor Jerry Brown announced at a Capitol press conference today that he’s dropping a plan to sell 24 state government buildings. Former Gov. Schwarzenegger had been in negotiations to sell the properties for more than $2-billion, to help close the state’s budget gap. Gov. Brown said, "Selling state buildings is the ultimate in kicking the can down the road," and he’ll find other ways to plug the hole. Can he do that without further cuts to social services and health programs?
Guest:
Shane Goldmacher, Reporter in the Los Angeles Times’ Sacramento Bureau
Pluto-killer, actually a pretty nice guy
Most of us grew up learning that there are nine planets in our solar system – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. But one day, back in 2005, Pluto got the shaft. A Caltech astronomer named Mike Brown rocked the universe when he discovered a tenth planet – Eris. First known as Xena, this planet was 27% more massive than Pluto, making it the largest object found in our solar system in 150 years. But instead of being great news for planets everywhere, a firestorm of debate ensued. Rather than embracing Eris, astronomers demoted Pluto to a mere dwarf planet. In his new book, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming, Brown ‘fesses up to his part in the scientific shocker of the century. Did Pluto die in vain? What other discoveries are trouble-making, star-gazers likely to stir up?
Guest:
Mike Brown, author of How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming (Spiegel & Grau); Professor of Planetary Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech)