FTC Commissioner Julie Brill introduced the "Reclaim Your Name” initiative yesterday that would give consumers more information on the data that's collected on them. Will it give consumers more control? Then, should you be able to paint a mural on the front of your house? We'll discuss why you may soon be able to. And we'll talk about when it's appropriate to use deadly force, following reports of the fatal shooting of an intruder in Ontario. Later, is a bike sharing program in LA a good idea? And we'll talk about the demand for fair trade clothing following the Bangladesh factory fire. We'll also talk to the producer and director of "Monsters University" and Tony Award winning singer and actress Bernadette Peters.
Data brokers may be required to open their vaults to consumers
In the wake of revelations about the NSA’s PRISM program, which gathers data on Americans in an attempt to keep them safe, yesterday FTC Commissioner Julie Brill dubbed her initiative "Reclaim Your Name.” Data mining outfits with techy-sounding names like Datalogix, Acxiom, and Intelius harvest unfathomable amounts of information every day about everything from what we buy to what we were arrested for, and this information is then packaged and sold to companies trying to sell us goods and service.
All this activity happens without our consent or even our knowing what information they have about us. "Reclaim Your Name" would give consumers the knowledge and the technological tools to reassert some control over their personal data – to be the ones to decide how much to share, with whom, and for what purpose – to reclaim their names,” Brill told an audience at the 23rd Computers Freedom and Privacy Conference in Washington, DC.
Brill has called all the firms in the data mining industry to come to the table and create tools for consumers to have access to information about themselves, much like credit reporting agencies eventually opened their files to consumers.
What exactly do these companies know about us? How do they obtain it? Who buys it? And what rights do consumers/citizens have to manage the trafficking of their data?
Guest:
Stu Ingis, partner at the Venable law firm and counsel to the direct marketing association, which is the association for the data mining industry.
Should you be able to paint a mural on the front of your house?
Los Angeles was once considered a mecca for mural artists, but in the last few decades the city has lost a great deal of its public art. Poor regulatory laws over the years led to countless expensive lawsuits from outdoor advertising companies, who argued that they deserved the same rights as muralists, and in response the city enacted laws that heavily restricted murals.
There’s been little success in trying to rectify those laws in recent years, but 14th District City Councilman Jose Huizar is spearheading a new proposal to change all that. The proposal calls to lift the ban on private property murals and to create a registration system for new murals. Though many in the city would like to see an ordinance passed, Huizar’s proposal has been met with resistance from those concerned with including single-family (R1 zone) structures in the legislation.
Should people be able to paint murals on their own homes? Should the city regulate it, or should it be left to individual homeowners and their neighborhood councils? And how can the new legislation be written to keep future advertising companies from rigging the system?
Guests:
Barbara Broide, President of the Westwood South of Santa Monica Blvd. Home Owners Association
Kent Twitchell, prominent LA muralist
Is shooting a home intruder a justifiable use of deadly force?
Police said an apartment resident in Ontario shot and killed a man who broke into his home early Monday morning. The intruder has been identified by police as a 24-year-old Barstow man, who was drunk and mistakenly went to the victim’s apartment unit and broke into the home.
"The issue is really whether the homeowner has an honest and reasonable belief that their life or someone else in the home's life may be in jeopardy...you don't need a stand your ground law." said Laurie Levenson on AirTalk. "If you do you're entitled to use self defense, even lethal self defense if you think you're facing some serious bodily harm or death."
While there is no “stand-your-ground” legislation in California per se, the state does have laws in place sanctioning the use of deadly force against home intruders.
The shooter is a legal gun owner. “Obviously [the victims] have the ability to protect themselves in their home with reasonable force," Ontario police Sgt. David McBride told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
"Each situation has to be evaluated independently, and I do fear that people say I'm protecting my home so the first and only thing I'm going to do is shoot," said Levenson. "But the law is really realistic...if somebody's in your house and they're attacking you, they'd rather you be safe and take the life of the attacker than vice versa."
What would you do in this situation?
Guest:
Laurie Levenson, Professor of Law and the David W. Burcham Chair in Ethical Advocacy at Loyola Law School
Bike sharing in Los Angeles: Great idea or accident waiting to happen?
A public bike-sharing program for L.A. has hit a snag, according to the Los Angeles Times. The O.C. company tasked with installing bike kiosks and the wheels as well, Bike Nation, had hoped to sell advertising on its wares. However, advertising space on "street furniture" was sold under a city contract to CBS Outdoor and JCDecaux through 2021.
Bike Nation owners were hoping to find a loophole in the deal. All this comes as New Yorkers are embracing or exorcising their new CitiBike bike-sharing program. It has proved more popular than anticipated, but critics complain of visual blight and inexperienced riders on famously hectic streets.
This snag for bike kiosks in Los Angeles has brought up a few questions: What is the future for Los Angeles bike sharing? What can we learn from such programs in NYC, Paris and London? Would you use the bikes, or steer clear?
Eric Bruins, Los Angeles County Bike Coalition planning & policy director, and Stephen Robert Morse, journalist and storyteller for Quirky.com (a product design company) & New York City bicycle commuter, join AirTalk to discuss.
Interview Highlights:
Eric Bruins on how bike-sharing is funded:
"There's a variety of ways that bike sharing is funded. There's a combination of government grants, air quality funds or like you see in New York where it is entirely basically a title sponsor. There's a variety of revenue streams that are possible. Bike Nation was looking at one, but they are going to have to change their focus."
Stephen Robert Morse on the potential dangers of bike-sharing:
"I've seen some decent cyclists (in New York City), but I've also seen some people who ride their bike the wrong way down the street. I've seen people blocking lanes. I've seen people who probably shouldn't be on a bicycle at all. I've seen many tourists who don't use helmets."
Bruins on the benefits of bike sharing:
"Bike share is really great for local trips. It's a great first-mile, last-mile -- if you take transit, say into downtown, but you need to run out for a lunch errand, it really fills that (void). If you have any weak links in your transit itinerary, bike share can help fill those gaps and help your entire day be car free."
Morse on his experience using a bike sharing service outside of New York City:
"I've ridden Citi Bike in Montreal and, for me, that was a totally amazing, positive experience. I was in Montreal for a month, and I did not need to buy a bicycle because they have Citi Bike everywhere. So, that was amazing. Yes, I believe that in New York the software glitches are pretty prominent. I don't know what they're doing to fix them. I assume they've devoted some resources to fixing the software glitches, but when compared to a place like Montreal where I did not ever have a software glitch and I was able to ride a bike multiple every single day. I can imagine that people are probably pretty frustrated with it here in New York."
Guest:
Eric Bruins, Planning & Policy Director, Los Angeles County Bike Coalition
Stephen Robert Morse, Journalist and Storyteller for Quirky.com (a product design company) & New York City bicycle commuter
With contributions by Nuran Alteir.
Manufacturers embrace Fair Trade clothing designation, but will consumers?
The garment factory fire in Bangladesh that costed more than 900 lives enraged consumers the world over. In its wake, major retailers including H&M, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger have signed on to a five-year pact that requires independent safety inspections, public reporting and necessary repairs and upgrades at Bangladeshian factories paid for by the signees.
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition, with members like Nike, Walmart, and Gap, is looking to release a new version of its Higg Index this fall to measure environmental as well as social and labor conditions of factories. Furthermore, Fair Trade USA, the organization best known for Fair Trade coffee beans, has reported growing interest from big retailers in getting certified by its apparel program.
How does Fair Trade certification work for apparels? Has “humanely-produced” clothes entered the popular zeitgeist? Are consumers willing to pay more for clothes made under fair working conditions?
Guests:
Heather Franzese, is the Director of Good World Solutions, a nonprofit subsidiary of Fair Trade USA
Marci Zaroff, Founder of Under the Canopy and the producer of the documentary, “Thread”
12 years later, Monsters University tells how it all began
After 12 years, Pixar’s “Monsters, Inc” is releasing its prequel, “Monsters University.” Billy Crystal and John Goodman return to play Mike and Sulley, telling the story of how they became friends back in university days, that is, after an intense rivalry.
“Monsters University” was released in the U.S. last week, and in addition to the new batch of young fans, this movie hopes young adults will take their Mike and Sulley paraphernalia out from their closets to see the light of day again. The new director of the Monster legacy, Dan Scanlon, and producer Kori Rae join AirTalk to give an insider’s look into the making of “Monsters University,” the history of Pixar and the dynamics between Crystal and Goodman.
Guests:
Dan Scanlon, director of “Monsters University”
Kori Rae, producer of “Monsters University”
Bernadette Peters joins the Pops
Bernadette Peters, a three-time Tony Award winning singer and actress joins Larry to talk about her upcoming performance with the Pasadena POPS. For years Peters has performed on stage on Broadway, in movies, on television series and in concert. She’ll talk about those different performing mediums and how she approaches them. The Pasadena POPS will perform this Saturday at the LA County Arboretum in Arcadia.
Guest:
Bernadette Peters, three-time Tony Award winning singer and actress, guest artist for the Pasadena POPS
Bernadette Peters with the Pasadena POPS perform this Saturday at 7:30 PM at the Arcadia Arboretum. For more ticket information, click here.