Guest host Frank Stoltze leads Airtalk today. An Amnesty International investigation found that drones kill innocence civilians. Does the United States owe any compensation to victims? Then, a Bike Summit in the bay area will explore mainstreaming cycling. What would need to happen for cyclists and motorists to safely share the road? Next, Apple is unveiling its latest iPad and iPad mini. What improvements do you think this model will have? Then, we'll talk with people who listen to police scanners and share the information with the public. Is this helpful? Lastly, we explore the mysterious migration patterns of the monarch butterfly.
Amnesty International: US drone strikes are 'unlawful,' demands victim reparations
Human rights group, Amnesty International, is calling on the U.S. to disclose the breadth and consequences of its drone strikes on Pakistani soil. In a lengthy report, Amnesty investigated victims of numerous strikes. It said innocent lives lost deserve reparation.
The organization goes further saying unlawful drone strikes ought to lead to "justice in public and fair trials without recourse to the death penalty." In the past, President Barack Obama's administration has called drone strikes ethical and legal.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has said, "[Such strikes] are necessary to mitigate ongoing, actual threats, to stop plots, to prevent further attacks and, again, to save American lives."
What about the so-called "collateral damage" of civilian bystanders? Should the U.S. and/or Pakistan disclose how many have been killed in the nearly 350 strikes in Pakistan since 2004? Would the US owe any compensation to victims?
Guests:
Stephen Vladeck, Professor of Law; Associate Dean for Scholarship at American University Washington College of Law; Co-Editor-in-Chief of JustSecurity.org - a national security blog
Geoffrey S Corn, Professor of Law at South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas. He is an retired Army Lt. Colonel
Garcetti on earthquake retrofitting, the L.A. River, and office hours
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti sat down with KPCC political reporter Frank Stoltze last night at the KPCC Crawford Family Forum to discuss future plans for the city. On the agenda is a restoration of the LA River. Garcetti said he supports a $1 billion plan to restore the river’s ecosystem.
He also talked about plans to retrofit buildings in LA, many of which the Los Angeles Times recently reported may not survive a major earthquake. Guest host Frank Stoltze will contextualize last night’s discussion and talk further about the future of LA.
Guest:
Alice Walton, KPCC’s City Hall reporter
Bike summit explores the mainstreaming of cycling in the Golden State
More Californians are giving the car the slip and hopping on bicycles for their daily commutes. Next month, a summit in the Bay area will explore the implications of the mainstreaming of cycling in California.
What are the legal implications? What would it mean for urban planning? What would need to happen for drivers and cyclists to safely share the road?
AirTalk is inviting cycling advocates and lobbyists from both Southern and Northern California to talk policy and strategy. As evident from greater funding and more welcoming legislation, including a bill signed recently by Governor Jerry Brown -- the “Three Feet for Safety Act”, cyclists are coming together to form an nascent political bloc. What are their concerns and goals?
Guests:
Charlie Gandy, Vice President, Board of Directors, California Bicycle Coalition; President of Livable Communities Inc., a nationally recognized consulting firm. He has served as mobility coordinator for the City of Long Beach & as director of advocacy programs for the Bicycle Federation of America.
Steven Wallauch, Lobbyist with Platinum Advisors; Wallauch specializes in transportation policy in Sacramento; he works with the California Bicycle Coalition
Is Apple officially out of ideas?
Apple is hosting a special event today in San Francisco. Folks in the know are expecting the Cupertino-based company to debut its latest versions of the iPad and iPad mini.
In September, the tech giant launched the iPhone 5S and 5C -- spiffier and cheaper versions of the smartphone, respectively. Innovation is a lot about improving on pre-existing designs and technologies. In the last couple years, though, the only truly new products out of Apple have been just iterations of the same old thing.
Has Apple lost its touch as the industry leader? Is the company being plagued by a crisis of innovation, which some people predicted after the passing of founder and guru Steve Jobs? What’s happening with the iWatch or Apple TV -- two brand new ideas that the company has been working on?
Guest:
Anand Srinivasan, Senior Hardware Analyst, Bloomberg Industries
Learning about the underbelly of Los Angeles through eavesdropping on police scanners
There’s a lot that listening to the police scanner can tell you about your city. In Los Angeles, the scanner has been monitored by the anonymous Twitter feed “@LA Scanner” since 1988, and he recently published a list of observations that give an interesting perspective on L.A.
They include:
- Nothing good ever happens at a pay phone. (Fact: There are still pay phones.)
- Not everyone who goes shirtless after dark is a criminal, but it's pretty close to everyone.
- If you happen to find yourself being pursued by the cops, until the LAPD helicopter arrives overhead, you have a slim fighting chance. Once it arrives, game over.
- In Beverly Hills, no crime is too small.
- Place after dark you feel most likely to be killed and buried in some gruesome fashion but you are probably actually perfectly safe: Griffith Park.
- Place after dark you feel most likely to be killed and buried in some gruesome fashion and you probably will be: Angeles National Forest.
- LAX baggage claims and ticketing counters are magnets for medical emergencies.
Airtalk hosts a conversation with Alex Thompson of @Venice311 and Andrew Blankstein of NBC News about their years of listening to police scanners, what they’ve learned and the insight that comes when you listen in on the cops.
Are you a scanner junkie?
Guests:
Alex Thompson, publisher and editor of Venice311.org
Andrew Blankstein, Investigative Reporter for NBC News
Flight of the Butterflies unlocks mystery of the monarchs
Monarch butterflies may be a common sight much of the year for those living in the U.S. and Canada, but where do they disappear to in the winter? That’s the question the late scientist Fred Urquhart spent much of his life trying to answer.
The film “The Flight of the Butterflies,” shown in 3D and IMAX, tells the story of Urquhart’s quest to track the migration patterns of monarchs-- famous for their yearly flight from Central Mexico to the U.S. and Canada and back-- and follows the butterflies on one of the longest known insect migrations.
Guests:
Mike Slee, director, “Flight of the Butterflies 3D,” also directed “Bugs 3D!”
Catalina Aguado Trail, the last living member of the discovery team that assisted Dr. Fred Urquhart in locating the monarch butterflies' overwintering home in Mexico
Jonathan Barker, executive producer, “Flight of the Butterflies 3D”