The Los Angeles Press Club has chosen french satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo as the recipient of the Daniel Pearl Award. Also, California Attorney General Kamala Harris declared her bid a day after Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a presumptive candidate, said he won't run to succeed Boxer. Then, should e-joints be regulated?
LA Press Club gives Daniel Pearl Award to Charlie Hebdo
This year, the Los Angeles Press Club has chosen french satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo as the recipient of the Daniel Pearl Award. The award is named for former Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and killed by terrorists in Pakistan just months after the 9/11 attacks.
Charlie Hebdo’s name has been plastered across newspapers and websites across the world ever since last Wednesday, when masked gunmen stormed the newspaper’s offices, killing ten staff members and two police officers. Though few even knew what Charlie Hebdo was before last week, they have been lauded by some for their edgy cartoons and portrayals and criticized by others for being racist. Since almost no one knew who Charlie Hebdo was before last week, some are wondering whether the publication is a worthy recipient of the Daniel Pearl Award, since they likely would not have been considered had they not been attacked and victimized.
Do you think the L.A. Press Club gave the award to the right recipient or was there another journalist or organization that better embodied the tenets of the award?
Guests:
Diana Ljungaeus, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Press Club
Jacob Canfield, freelance cartoonist based in Ann Arbor, MI and writer for “The Hooded Utilitarian,” an online blog and magazine focused on comics and cultural criticism.
Kamala Harris declares bid for Senate, can she lose?
California Attorney General Kamala Harris said Tuesday that she is running for the 2016 Senate race to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer.
"I will be a fighter for middle class families who are feeling the pinch of stagnant wages and diminishing opportunity," Harris said on a campaign website. "I will be a fighter for our children who deserve a world-class education, and for students burdened by predatory lenders and skyrocketing tuition. And I will fight relentlessly to protect our coast, our immigrant communities and our seniors."
Harris declared her bid a day after California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a presumptive candidate, said he won't run to succeed Boxer. The field is still expected to be crowded. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and San Francisco hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer are also said to be interested in running.
Is it a shoo-in for Harris, who's been called a "rising star" in the Democratic Party?
Guests:
Joe Garofoli, Reporter with the San Francisco Chronicle covering the intersection of politics and technology
Raphael Sonenshein, executive Director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at CSU Los Angeles
Should ‘e-joints’ be regulated?
The legalization of marijuana has created many business opportunities for those hoping to capitalize on the so-called "green rush." One of these businesses is a company called JuJu Joints, which manufactures disposable "e-joints" containing 250 miligrams of cannabis oil filled with THC. It emits no smoke and no smell, and doesn't use batteries or cartridges. To smoke it, you simply put it in your mouth--and inhale. There's no lighting up.
JuJu Joints are sold only in Washington state, whose voters legalized the recreational use of pot in 2012. The company is considering expanding sales to other states, including Oregon, Nevada, and Colorado.
"I wanted to eliminate every hassle that has to do with smoking marijuana," Rick Stevens, the inventor and co-founder of JuJu Joints told the New York Times. "I wanted it to be discreet and easy for people to handle."
Its ease of use is precisely what worries law enforcement people and some health experts, who fear that this new delivery system would lead to abuse. E-joints are not currently not regulated. Should they be? If so, how?
Guests:
Mark Kleiman, Professor of Public Policy at UCLA and the editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis
Dr. Sharon Levy, MD, MPH, Director, Adolescent Substance Abuse Program at Boston Children’s Hospital; Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School
Imagining a world beyond standardized testing
A Senate bill is in the works that may make standardized tests a thing of the past.
Every spring, students nationwide take out their No.2 pencils and participate in mandatory state testing. Ever since the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, states who wanted funding from the federal government have been required to assess students every year from Kindergarten through high school. From the act’s inception, educators and parents alike have worried that tests weren’t being administered properly, bringing their value as an assessment tool into question. Now, more than 14 years after the law’s passing, Republican Senate aides are drafting a bill that could effectively do away with standardized testing.
In her new book, “The Test: Why Our Schools Are Obsessed With Standardized Testing-But You Don't Have to Be,” education journalist Anya Kamenetz makes the case that there are a wide range of alternatives that could yield viable results.
Her proposed alternatives include testing a statistically representative sample of students instead of entire schools, using games to secretly test kids, and testing students for emotional tenacity and practical decision-making. Kamenetz also details the flaws with standardized testing and makes a case for assessments that take a series of factors into account.
Anya Kamenetz joins Larry Mantle today on AirTalk to share these findings and more from her book.
Guests:
Anya Kamenetz, author of “The Test: Why Our Schools Are Obsessed With Standardized Testing--But You Don’t Have to Be" (PublicAffairs, 2015) and lead digital education reporter for NPR
Morgan Polikoff, assistant professor of education at the USC Rossier School of Education
White House pens privacy pledge to safeguard student data, but Google and Amazon abstain
Following in the footsteps of California lawmakers, the Obama Administration yesterday released a pledge signed by 75 technology companies aimed at enhancing privacy for students. Two notable exceptions from the lengthy list were Google and Amazon which provide data, email and other services to schools. Privacy advocates want tech companies prohibited from data mining and profiling students - not just to prevent targeted advertising but also to protect test score data and private email communications.
Why won't Google and Amazon sign the pledge? Are there legitimate liability concerns? Should schools limit their relationships with technology firms who refuse to enshrine extensive privacy protections for students?
Guest:
Bradley Shear, Esq. Managing Partner of Shear Law based in Bethesda, Maryland; Shear focuses on the legal realm of digital platforms.
Angela Lansbury on her long career and bringing ‘Blithe Spirit’ to LA
Few actors have had as long and accomplished a career in showbiz as Dame Angela Lansbury. She might be best known to American audience for her role as Jessica Fletcher in “Murder, She Wrote,” which ran from 1984 to 1996.
She was nominated for an Oscar three times – for her supporting work in “The Manchurian Candidate,” “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and “Gaslight.” She has nabbed six Golden Globes, five Tony Awards, in addition to being nominated multiple times for an Emmy.
This winter, Lansbury will reprise her role as Madame Arcati (for which she won her fifth Tony Award) in the Noel Coward play “Blithe Spirit.” Performances for the show start Tuesday, Dec. 9, and run through Jan. 18, 2015, at Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre. The play is directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Michael Blakemore (“Kiss Me, Kate,” “Copenhagen”).
Lansbury talked about the play, her acting career and more.
For more info and to buy tickets, go here. Her final run is Sunday, Jan. 18th.
Guest:
Angela Lansbury, actress