The Latest From Pakistan; Prison Terms For Crack Cocaine Cut; Clazzical Notes; Tom Brokaw; NPR's Storycorps Project
The Latest From Pakistan
The Pakistani Government says it will not permit opposition leader Benazir Bhutto to hold a protest procession across the country because it violates a ban on political rallies. This comes as Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf concedes to allow elections in January, although critics say with the state of marital law that now exists in that country elections can't possibly be fair. Meanwhile, the US State Department continues its urging that Musharraf lift his bans on free speech. Larry talks with Gretchen Peters, reporter for ABC news, and Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, Chair of Islamic Studies and Professor of International Relations, School of International Service at American University in Washington D.C. about the latest in this tense standoff.
Prison Terms For Crack Cocaine Cut
It's a major point of contention with civil rights and prisoner advocates: penalties for using crack cocaine, favored by minority drug users, are much stiffer than those for powder cocaine, which is more popular with whites. Now the US Sentencing Commission is considering a proposal to shave an average of two years off the sentences of nearly 20,000 federal prisoners sentenced for crack cocaine use, or about 1 in 10 in the 200,000-inmate system. Such a mass commutation would be unprecedented in US history. Larry talks with Julie Stewart, President and founder of FAMM, Families Against Mandatory Minimums about the proposal.
Clazzical Notes
Larry Mantle talks with Jazz bassist Nedra Wheeler and Yvette Devereaux, professional conductor, violinist, composer, arranger and music educator about their upcoming "Clazzical Notes" performance. "Clazzical Notes: Les Femmes: Women of Jazz and Classical Music" is the Pasadena Symphony's free evening of jazz, classical music and discussion among the musicians. The performance is tonight, November 12, at the Pasadena Jazz Institute in Pasadena from 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.
Tom Brokaw
Larry Mantle talks with esteemed journalist Tom Brokaw about his new book that provides a first hand perspective of a tumultuous time in our country's history, the 1960s. Boom: Voices of the Sixties: Personal Reflections on the 60's and Today (Random House) chronicles the impact of this era on America, and how it still affects the country today.
Tom Brokaw's appearance: Monday, November 12th 7:30PM Hosted by Writers' Bloc
Venue Location: Temple Emanuel 300 North Clark Drive Beverly Hills, CA 90211.
NPR's Storycorps Project
Larry talks with NPR's StoryCorps project founder Dave Isay about the project and how it began with the idea that "everyone has an important story to tell." Isay's new book Listening Is an Act of Love is a collection of stories drawn from the National StoryCorps Project, the largest, most ambitious oral history project in American history. He joins Larry Mantle to talk about why our individual stories matter and why our oral tradition is so important in defining our national identity.