"Mother lode of intelligence" found at bin Laden compound. Orange County judge restricts anti-gang enforcement. Bugs that bug us. Schwarzenegger’s sentence reduction sparks civil suit. How to be your dog’s best friend. The origins of the United States and its horticultural interests.
"Mother lode of intelligence" found at bin Laden compound
Counter-terror officials have revealed details of what was gathered after last week's raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Described as "terabytes"of new information – everything from hand-written notes to discs and thumb drives - all revealing the strategy and intent of the al-Qaida leader. They are also reported to show bin Laden was still highly engaged in the network. In his final years, he mused about killing President Barack Obama and attacking cities in the U.S. and Europe. The documents are even said to paint a portrait of him as a micro-manager. How much power did bin Laden still yield from his Pakistani compound? What were his plans for al-Qaida as a network? How valuable is this information? And is it "actionable?"
Guest:
Sebastian Rotella, Senior Reporter, ProPublica
Orange County judge restricts anti-gang enforcement
A new ruling states suspected gang members should be able to fight that label before being subject to anti-gang injunctions. The case stems from a February 2009 injunction against the Orange Varrio Cypress street gang. It barred about 150 suspected gang members from associating with each other and from going out in public after 10 p.m. About 60 of the suspected members fought their designation in court – a move that was supported by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. What’s the response from law enforcement? Are some individuals unfairly targeted? What implications might this ruling have for Los Angeles city and county?
Guests:
Peter Bibring, Staff Attorney, ACLU of Southern California
Anne Tremblay, Assistant City Attorney with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office, gang division
Bugs that bug us
If you named Homo sapiens the world’s deadliest inhabitants, you’d be wrong. The lowly mosquito has killed more people than all of history’s wars combined. In her new book “Wicked Bugs” author Amy Stewart shows us the sinister side of the insect world. Stewart recounts the horrifying details of historical bug infestations like the body lice that helped bring down Napolean’s army during his failed invasion of Russia on 1812 or the chigoe flea that incited members of Christopher Columbus’s crew cut off their flea infested toes. The varieties and survival mechanisms of these creatures seem almost endless and speak to the extraordinary relationship we have with them as they infect, infest and very often wreak havoc on human beings. What bugs bug you the most?
Guest:
Amy Stewart, author of Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army and Other Diabolical Insects
Schwarzenegger’s sentence reduction sparks civil suit
Luis Santos was 22 years old when he was stabbed to death during a late night brawl near San Diego State University. What came out later was that one of the men who pulled a weapon and stabbed a friend of Santos’ during the fight was Esteban Nunez, the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. The younger Nunez was eventually sentenced to 16 years in prison for his part in the brawl. But just as former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was on his way out of office he shortened Nunez’s sentence to just seven years as a favor to his friend Fabian Nunez. Schwarzenegger apparently forgot to let the San Diego District Attorney or the victim’s family know his plan. Yesterday San Diego D.A Bonnie Dumanis announced that her office filed a civil suit seeking to overturn the Schwarzenegger’s commutation saying it violates Marsy’s Law, which gives certain rights to victims. Dumanis says this is the first lawsuit of its kind, so the question is, will it work? Governors routinely make last minute deals on their way out of office, but in this case was it unconstitutional? Schwarzenegger makes no bones about the fact that he did his friend Fabian a solid by commuting his son’s sentence. Is that an appropriate use of gubernatorial power?
Guests:
Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times Writer
Bonnie Dumanis, San Diego County District Attorney
How to be your dog’s best friend
A lot of popular thinking about dog behavior is based on the idea that they’re much like house-broken wolves. Owners are advised to be the leader of the pack if they want their pooch to behave. But a new book says early science has been wrong about that and more. In his new book “Dog Sense,” anthrozoologist John Bradshaw analyzes the latest in canine science. He believes that dogs do not want you to be an “alpha;” that they are more sensitive than we realize; and that there are fundamental misunderstandings about man’s best friend. So what are your pups really thinking? What are their emotional limitations? How can you get them to obey, and how can you make them happy?
Guest:
John Bradshaw, author of Dog Sense: How the New Science of Dog Behavior Can Make you a Better Friend to Your Pet (Basic Books); Bradshaw is Foundation Director of the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol
The origins of the United States and its horticultural interests
To understand the making of America, author Andrea Wulf believes we must see George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Adams as farmers first. It turns out, the Founding Fathers relished farming and gardening as much – if not more – than politics. In her new book “Founding Gardeners,” Wulf reveals how the founders’ agrarian vision of the balance of nature underlies the principles on which they founded the nation. Of course the great paradox of their agrarian dream was that it relied on the labor of slaves. But that fact never dampened their passion for nature, plants, gardens and agriculture. How did the Founding Fathers’ green thumbs shape our country?
Guest:
Andrea Wulf, author, The Founding Gardeners: How the Revolutionary Generation Created an American Eden (Knopf)