Has the Occupy movement reached a fever pitch? OC Journalists’ round table. Greek financial crisis back in crisis-mode. They taught me to kill, but not how to deal with killing.
Has the Occupy movement reached a fever pitch?
A mostly peaceful, daylong protest in Oakland yesterday took a turn for the chaotic around midnight. Protesters donned masks and took to the streets. They vandalized buildings with graffiti, shattered windows of storefronts and set random fires, which continued until Oakland Police used tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse the crowds and make arrests.
Dozens of people participated in the vandalism and pillaging, while hundreds of others looked on. When a group of demonstrators set a fire at 16th and Broadway that raged fifteen feet high, at least 500 people were put in danger. The pinnacle of the day’s efforts was a general strike of labor workers, including teachers, and when thousands of Occupiers marched on the Port of Oakland, completely shutting it down.
WEIGH IN:
Were the peaceful demonstrations undercut by the violent, criminal activity that took place later in the night? Will Occupy movements elsewhere respond by calling for more general strikes locally or nationally? The vandalism and fires took place within blocks of Occupy Oakland’s headquarters; will law enforcement officials crack down preemptively in other cities to prevent anything like this from happening? Is this an isolated incident, or a harbinger of things to come?
Guest:
Gene Maddaus, Staff Writer, LA Weekly
Will Weldon, Comedian who supports the Occupy movement and participated in a comedy show at OccupyLA
Frank Newport, Editor in Chief, Gallup, author of "Winning the White House 2008: The Gallup Poll," "Public Opinion and the Presidency," and "Polling Matters: Why Leaders Must Listen to the Wisdom of the People."
Christine Kelly, Professor of Political Science, William Paterson University
OC Journalists’ round table
What would a ‘supercity’ look like? According to a recent study, merging Seal Beach, Rossmoor and Los Alamitos into one metropolis could save nearly $3 million a year by combining services and eliminating redundant administration.
The bidding war to buy the bankrupt Crystal Cathedral is heating up. Chapman University upped it's purchase offer, putting it in competition with the Catholic Diocese of Orange.
And a former gymnastics coach, who coached the 1984 U.S. Olympic team to eight medals along with shepherding a string of international champions, has been accused of sexually abusing three of his young trainees.
Larry and our talented trio of Orange County journalists riff on these stories and some of the latest news from Orange County.
Guests:
Gustavo Arellano, managing editor of the OC Weekly; Author of “Ask a Mexican” (Scribner)
Norberto Santana, Editor-in-Chief of the Voice of OC, a non-profit investigative news agency that covers Orange County government and politics online
Chris Knap, Editor, Government, Politics and Investigations at the Orange County Register
Greek financial crisis back in crisis-mode
The Greek referendum on the latest bailout package has been called off. In an emergency meeting at the G20 summit in Cannes, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou was told by irate European leaders that any referendum would decide ultimately on Greece leaving the eurozone.
In the previous two days, the rescue plan for Greece was in jeopardy since Papandreou announced he would put the deal to a popular vote. He said the painful austerity measures demanded by creditors could only continue with the support of the Greek people. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were said to be furious with the decision. Papandreuo was summoned to the G20 summit to explain the move.
It was only a week ago when European leaders breathed a collective sigh of relief. The European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund had agreed on a hard-won bailout package to rescue Greece from further economic crisis.
Today, Sarkozy cautiously welcomed Papandreou’s change of heart. He said, “[W]e cannot accept an explosion of the euro, which would mean the explosion of Europe.” Meanwhile in Athens, Papandreuo is facing a confidence vote in parliament. His Socialist party only has a majority by two seats. The debate is underway now with a vote expected on Friday.
WEIGH IN:
What happens if Papandreou’s government falls? What other solutions will G20 leaders devise for the continuing tumult in Europe? Is Italy the next crisis?
Guests:
Tom Stoukas, Reporter with Bloomberg News, in Athens
Eleanor Beardsley, NPR correspondent in Cannes, France
Barry Ritholtz, CEO of Fusion IQ, an equity research firm; Writer, The Big Picture, a leading financial news blog; author of the book "Bailout Nation."
They taught me to kill, but not how to deal with killing
At age twenty-three, a bright and well-trained Karl Marlantes was sent to Vietnam as a second lieutenant in command of a platoon of forty Marines. Marlantes thought he could handle the task at hand, but soon discovered how far from mentally or emotionally prepared he was for the trials of war – during battle and in the aftermath.
Like many soldiers, he was traumatized after witnessing the deaths of his comrades and the Vietnamese. In “What It Is Like To Go To War,” author Marlantes writes that the army trained him to kill, but "it didn't teach me how to deal with killing.” He talks about how he is haunted by the face of the young North Vietnamese soldier he killed at close range and the decades it took him to come to terms with the shock of killing other human beings.
Marlantes proposes for how soldiers can become better equipped to deal with war through spirituality – especially for when they come back home.
WEIGH IN:
Can anyone who enlists ever be well-prepared for war? What preparations – psychological, spiritual or social – should one make before deployment? What can the U.S. do to better prepare its troops?
Guest:
Karl Marlantes, author, “What It Is Like To Go To War” and “Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War” (Atlantic Monthly Press)
Karl Malantes will be in conversation with Los Angeles Times’ Thomas Curwen this Thursday, November 3rd at the Los Angeles Public Library Aloud Series. For event details, click here.