What's next for the secret service after last week's White House security breach? Also, three U.S. theater chains say they'll boycott the new "Crouching Tiger" sequel following Netflix's announcement to make the film available on the same day it hits Imax theaters. Then, where has all the wildlife gone? Reports show half of the earth's wildlife population has depleted since 1970.
Outrage grows over lapses in Secret Service security
A string of recent incidents surrounding the Secret Service has put the agency into the spotlight. Multiple incidents of intruders attempting to enter the White House have occurred this year, but it turns out that’s more common than we may think.
The first incident was last week as a man armed with a knife managed to enter the White House and traverse the ground floor before being detained. President Obama had left the White House minutes before the intrusion.
Director of the Secret Service, Julia Pierson, defended the agency on Capitol Hill a few days ago, and she took responsibility for the security breach.
Are there specific policies that the Secret Service can implement to increase the President’s security? Is this a failure of agents or the agency? How do you view the limited access allowed to the nation’s representative?
Guest:
Jonathan Allen, DC Bureau Chief at Bloomberg
Kent Moyer, CEO and Founder, The World Protection Group, a security firm The World Protection Group with offices in Beverly Hills and New York, which hires a number of former secret service agents. The firm also works with the secret service to protect dignitaries traveling to the U.S.
This story has been corrected to remove references to an incident during President Obama's visit to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. On Nov. 4, the Associated Press issued this correction:
"In several stories published Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, The Associated Press, quoting The Washington Post, reported that during President Obama's visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, an armed security guard who accompanied him in an elevator had three criminal convictions. The guard, Kenneth Tate, has since identified himself publicly and said he was never convicted of a crime. The Post has corrected its story, saying sources have since told the newspaper that Tate had no felony record. The Associated Press has been unable to find any records of a criminal conviction against Tate."
California gun law allows firearm restraining orders
Legislation signed Tuesday by California Governor Jerry Brown allows immediate family members to request firearms restraining orders for relative who may post a threat. The bill, proposed by several Democrats, was a reaction to a mass shooting this past May in Santa Barbara.
The perpetrator, Elliot Rodger, behaved in a way that raised red flags for family members and his therapist, but Rodger’s family says requests for police searches did not go far enough in taking steps to prevent an eventual shooting. According to the new California law, the person seeking the firearms restraining will have to sign an affidavit under oath, and could be charged with a misdemeanor if they lie about a relative presenting a danger. After a restraining order is granted, guns will be removed from the home and a hearing will be scheduled to give the gun owner a forum to argue their case for keeping the weapon. Currently, California law enforcement can only seize guns from people convicted of felonies or violent misdemeanors.
While the bill passed with Democratic support, Republican lawmakers and some Democrats voted against AB1014 -- critics argue that the bill could falsely remove firearms from law abiding gun owners, taking away their ability to protect themselves. Is a gun restraining order the best way to fight gun violence in California? What are the most effective and fair ways to cut back on misuse of guns?
Guests:
Lindsey Zwicker, staff attorney, Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence based in San Francisco
Brandon Combs, Founder and CEO of Firearms Policy Coalition and executive director of Calguns Foundation, a gun rights advocacy organization in the state
Thanks to Netflix, "Crouching Tiger" might not be coming to a theater near you
Three of the largest theater chains in the U.S. say they'll boycott the new "Crouching Tiger" sequel after Netflix, which is financing the Weinstein Co. film, announced it will make the film available on the same day it hits Imax theaters. The conflict is just the latest flare up in the ongoing struggle between Hollywood studios and theater owners.
On the one hand, studios are hungry for new digital distribution models to counteract dwindling ticket and DVD sales. On the other, the three chains, Regal Entertainment, Carmike Cinemas and Cinemark USA, say they won’t be part of the experiment. Their decision will take the film out of about 105 of Imax's 418 U.S. theaters. Studios usually make movies available for the home video market 90 days after the movie premiere, but earlier attempts to release them simultaneously have not gone over well.
The theater chains are concerned that they will lose market share for new movies, the linchpin to getting people to the theaters. If fewer people arrive at theaters, the impact on theaters will multiply as concession sales decrease as well.
What does this portend for the future of film distribution? Would you forgo seeing the new “Crouching Tiger” film on your mobile device or TV to have the “moviegoing experience” in a larger theater?
Guest:
Gina Keating, author of “Netflixed: The Epic Battle for America’s Eyeballs” (Portfolio/Penguin) and former staff writer for Reuters and United Press International
Benjamin Fritz, reporter covering the film business in Los Angeles for the Wall Street Journal
Half of Earth’s wildlife lost since 1970, WWF report
Advancements in measuring wildlife populations have elucidated the latest dismal decline in wildlife populations: a 52 percent drop between 1970 and 2010. According to a new study by the renowned World Wildlife Fund, 3,000 species of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles have suffered from human causes. Hunting and fishing as well has degradation of natural habitats are the chief threats, according to the researchers. As far as solutions, WWF recommends:
"1. Accelerate shift to smarter food and energy production
2. Reduce ecological footprint through responsible consumption at the personal, corporate and government levels
3. Value natural capital as a cornerstone of policy and development decisions."
What are the consequences of wildlife-population decline? What policy changes could have the biggest impact? Comparing action or inaction at the personal, corporate and government levels, which has the most adverse effects?
Guest:
Jon Hoekstra, Vice President and Chief Scientist, World Wildlife Fund
Psychiatrist exposes violent environment inside California facility for the criminally insane
At the deceptively-named Napa State Hospital - a sprawling forensic mental facility in California - Dr. Stephen Seager treats the criminally insane, the violently crazed, the real-life Hannibal Lecters of the world. Seager's new book, "Behind the Gates of Gomorrah" recounts his rookie year in Unit C - populated by sociopaths who attack each other and hospital staff with the reliable regularity of any other hospital's rounds.
In praise for the book, medical examiner Dr. Judy Melinek asks, "What happens when the judicial system concentrates a population of criminally insane men with nothing to lose and no compunction against murderous violence behind razor wire and steel doors? Dr. Seager reveals both the courage and the empathy demanded of the staff at this hospital without healing, prison without guards."
How advanced has medical treatment become for the violently insane, if at all? How do the patients relate to each other? What does it take to work at a place such as Napa State Hospital?
Read an excerpt from the book.
Guest:
Dr. Stephen Seager, M.D., Author, "Behind the Gates of Gomorrah: A Year with the Criminally Insane" (Simon & Schuster, September 2014); board-certified psychiatrist, a former assistant professor of psychiatry at UCLA School of Medicine and a multiply published author.