Peace talks between Israel and Palestine are on again, but is anything different this time around? Then, after learning about the troubled assisted living industry, how can people ensure that seniors get adequate care? Later, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck is here to talk about the Zimmerman protests, hit-and-runs, police training and more. Then, we'll talk about Scott Simon tweeting about his mother's passing. Was it a positive thing, or does tweeting about a death make it less sacred? Then, is methane hydrate a viable alternative energy source? And how safe is it to extract? Finally, do you work on vacation? If so, you're one of 61 percent of Americans who does.
Israel and Palestine sit down again to talk peace, but what’s different this time around?
Palestinian and Israeli negotiators agreed to another round of peace talks after meeting in Washington on Tuesday. Secretary of State John Kerry said that the two sides were committed to “sustained, continuous and substantive negotiations on the core issues” that divide them. U.S. officials had previously said the negotiations would continue for a minimum of nine months without setting that as a time frame for reaching a deal.
Kerry said he was aware of the deep skepticism surrounding the new push for peace and acknowledged that the road ahead would be difficult. President Obama invited negotiators to the White House on Tuesday morning for a brief meeting with him and Vice President Joe Biden to show his support. But he made no public comments.
We’ve seen these peace talks before, what is different this time around? Does the unrest in the Middle East help or hurt peace talks? Does having the two sides in the U.S. for talks help or hurt the process?
Guest:
Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor diplomatic correspondent
How you can find quality care for aging relatives
In our interview with journalist A.C. Thompson yesterday, you heard about the investigation into Emeritus, a national chain of assisted living centers. PBS Frontline and ProPublica detailed the deaths of Emeritus residents and found documentation and lawsuits citing reckless care. Long-term care is a rapidly growing industry and Emeritus is just one company serving aging Americans.
So when the time comes to find help in caring for your elderly loved ones, how do you know where to turn? What are the right questions to ask? If your relatives are in care already, how do you know what they're experiencing? Who can advocate for your needs? AirTalk speaks with two experts in the field.
Guests:
Dr. Laura Mosqueda, M.D., Professor and Chair of Family Medicine & Co-Director, Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect, UC Irvine School of Medicine
Patricia L. McGinnis, Executive Director, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform - a non-profit organization focused on advocacy in long-term care
Helpful links are listed below. You can also call the consumer hotline for California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform at 1-800-474-1116.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck on Zimmerman protests, hit-and-runs, police training and more
Chief Charlie Beck joins AirTalk to discuss LAPD's accountability towards recent issues. In addition to increased car break-ins in North Hollywood, Los Angeles has also faced pedestrian robberies in the form of “bash mobs.” How can the LAPD allow peaceful protests but watch out for bash mob robberies?
And while we’re discussing peaceful protests, how did the LAPD handle the protests after George Zimmerman’s not guilty verdict? Although most of the protests were without incident, police were in riot gear. Does the LAPD prepare for the worst?
Also, LA Weekly has been covering hit-and-runs in Los Angeles. They ran an article in December on “L.A.’s Bloody Hit-and-Run Epidemic.” More recent articles say that the L.A. City Council has been pushing the police to treat these crimes more seriously.
Newly elected City Attorney Mike Feuer is also looking into crime rates. Feuer is proposing a gang injunction in Echo Park to reduce gang violence. Would it work? What is the LAPD’s current strategy to deal with gang violence?
And are officers trained to deal with animals? Chief Beck weighs in on the dog shooting by the Hawthorne police officer.
Guest:
Charlie Beck, Los Angeles Police Department Chief of Police
NPR host Scott Simon tweets about his mother’s passing
Everyone grieves differently. For some, the loss of a loved one is a sacred, private matter. For others, it helps to share the pain. Two nights ago, NPR host Scott Simon’s mother died and he chose to share the experience with his 1.2 million followers on Twitter – in real time.
One tweet read:
Heart rate dropping. Heart dropping.
— Scott Simon (@nprscottsimon)
Heart rate dropping. Heart dropping.
— Scott Simon (@nprscottsimon) July 29, 2013
And then,
The heavens over Chicago have opened and Patricia Lyons Simon Newman has stepped onstage.
— Scott Simon (@nprscottsimon)
The heavens over Chicago have opened and Patricia Lyons Simon Newman has stepped onstage.
— Scott Simon (@nprscottsimon) July 30, 2013
She will make the face of heaven shine so fine that all the world will be in love with night.
— Scott Simon (@nprscottsimon)
She will make the face of heaven shine so fine that all the world will be in love with night.
— Scott Simon (@nprscottsimon) July 30, 2013
In an interview yesterday, Simon said “I don’t think it’s any less sacred because it was shared with a lot of people. And it must be said, you know, there was a lot of stuff that I didn’t share.” As the host of NPR’s Weekend Edition, Simon is a public figure.
Simon has written about his mother and interviewed her on the air, so she too is a public figure, to a certain degree. But Simon’s very public sharing of his mother’s final days has been greeted with mixed emotions. To some, it was a poetic, son’s farewell, a beautiful tribute that resonated. For others, it was too intimate, exploitative even. Just as social media is changing how we live, it’s also changing how we deal with death.
What do you think of Simon’s 21st century farewell to his mother? Was sharing his mother’s suffering and his own grief a positive thing? Does tweeting about death make it less – or perhaps more – sacred? And if these weren’t public figures we were talking about, what difference would that make?
Guests:
Karen North, Director of the Annenberg Program on Online Communities at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Alan Regenberg, the Bioethics Research Manager at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics
David Isay, StoryCorps founder and president
Natural gas sourced from permafrost and icy ocean depths could make for risky drilling
Scientists in the U.S. and Japan are moving closer to utilizing a new form of energy called methane hydrate, a crystallized form of natural gas found at the bottom of the ocean. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, methane hydrate garnered its nickname “fire in ice” because it gives off tremendous heat at room temperature.
According to scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey, there is an estimated 700,000 trillion cubic feet of methane hydrate across the world, containing potentially more energy than discovered oil and gas combined. But the actual production of this potential energy source could take a decade, and no single approach to harvest the gas has been perfected.
In the U.S, scientists searched the Gulf of Mexico to map out methane hydrate cultures believed to be underwater, but more tests and research drilling need to be done to confirm. There are concerns that methane hydrate is unstable, and drilling it could set off a landslide. Others worry there isn’t a way to make it economically viable. The cost of developing new energy can cost up to $60 per million British thermal units, while for natural gas, its just $4 per BTU.
How viable is methane hydrate as an energy source? What are the risks in production? How crucial is it to develop a new form of energy?
Guest:
Ben Lefebvre, Energy Reporter, Wall Street Journal
61 percent of Americans say they work during a vacation. Do you? (Poll)
You've taken a week off work. For this year's summer vacation, perhaps you've chosen to get away and relax in an exotic resort. Perhaps you've decided to venture off to new cities, new places. Or maybe you're just spending some quality time with the family or taking it easy at the beach. However you've chosen to spend your vacation, do you take your work with you?
A new survey by Harris Interactive shows that 61 percent of Americans plan on working during summer vacation. Many of those surveyed unhappily work during vacation because they feel like they can't afford to fall behind at work.
Do you work during vacation? Why or why not? Is there the stress of falling behind at work? Are smartphones your lifeline to the office or the enemy?
KPCC's online polls are not scientific surveys of local or national opinion. Rather, they are designed as a way for our audience members to engage with each other and share their views. Let us know what you think on our Facebook page, facebook.com/kpcc, or in the comments below.