Senate Vote On Iraq Pullout; The Al-Qaeda/Insurgent Schism; New Getty Trust President And C.E.O. James Wood; Paper Or Plastic?; Renee Richards
Senate Vote On Iraq Pullout
The Senate narrowly passed a provision calling for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq by March, 2008. The attempt by Senate Republicans to remove the language addressing a pullout date from a spending bill fell short by a vote of 50 to 48. Larry and his guests discuss the political ramifications of the vote which fell largely along party lines.
The Al-Qaeda/Insurgent Schism
Al Qaeda in Iraq has taken responsibility for some of the most brutal attacks on civilians and religious targets, yet most of its members are not Iraqi. This has led to violent disagreements between Al Qaeda and Sunni insurgents over tactics. The Iraqi government and the U.S. are looking for ways to exploit this rift. Larry discusses this development with regional and military experts.
New Getty Trust President And C.E.O. James Wood
Former Art Institute of Chicago president James N. Wood took over as the new President and C.E.O. of the J. Paul Getty Trust last month. He replaces former Getty C.E.O. Barry Munitz, who resigned last year amidst a state investigation into his spending and a scandal over allegedly looted antiquities in the Getty's possession. James Wood has a background in art history, and has pledged to refocus the Getty on its "core mission and commitment to the visual arts." Larry Mantle talks with the new President about his first six weeks on the job.
Paper Or Plastic?
San Francisco will soon be the first city in the nation to ban plastic bags in large supermarkets and drug stores. The city's Board of Supervisors voted ten-to-one yesterday in favor of a measure that would require the stores to use only bags made of recyclable paper or biodegradable plastic bags. Larry and his guests discuss the pros and cons of the legislation that will take effect within the year.
Renee Richards
In 1975, at the age of forty, Richard Raskind, a renowned eye surgeon and highly ranked amateur tennis player, underwent what was to become the most public and highly scrutinized sex reassignment. It wasn’t until Renee Richards, Raskind's post-operative identity, was discovered playing in an amateur tennis tournament that the world took notice. Extensive media coverage and criticism thrust Renee reluctantly into the spotlight, sparking an intense public debate over her private life. Now, at seventy-two, Richards looks back and speaks frankly about all aspects of her complicated and often notorious life in her memoir, No Way Renee. Having lived as a woman almost as long as she lived as a man, Richards draws on a personal history that illuminates thirty years of remarkable change in society's attitude toward gender issues. She joins Larry Mantle to talk about her new book.