Inside the 'Youtube effect' the FBI says is to blame for an increase in violent crimes; what WHO guidelines mean for your bacon & how one group is proposing to limit helicopter noise in SoCal.
FBI director: ‘YouTube effect’ devastates policing, morale, recruitment
Last week, FBI director James B. Comey voiced his concerns for what he called the “YouTube effect” on modern policing -- the taping of police activities by civilians and the dissemination of these videos over the Internet.
Many police officers echo what Comey said, linking the phenomenon to a drop in morale, recruitment and a rise in violent crime.
Guests:
Ken Casaday, detective in the Austin Police Department, who’s been at that department for 18 years. He is also president of the Austin Police Association, a police union
John Crank, author of “Understanding Police Culture” (Routledge, 2004) and retired professor at the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska, Omaha
Helicopter operators, noise reduction advocates discuss FAA petitions for stricter noise regulations
The Los Angeles Area Helicopter Noise Coalition filed four petitions last week with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) seeking stricter regulations on helicopter noise.
The regulations would require media helicopters to pool coverage, restrict the number of choppers that can hover in one place and how long they can do so, prohibit choppers from flying lower than 2,000 ft. above the ground (except during weather emergencies), and establish coastal shoreline routes for helicopters.
How much is too much when it comes to helicopter noise in L.A.?
It’s a question that has been debated ad nauseum over the years, often without reaching a compromise that works for everyone. People in neighborhoods where helicopter noise is frequent are tired of hearing choppers buzz their homes several times a week, be it LAPD or an independent operator, while aviators are concerned that too much regulation might keep them out of the sky altogether.
Do you think regulations like this would be reasonable? If not, what are reasonable regulations for helicopter noise? How often do you hear a chopper fly over your home? Is activity higher in some neighborhoods compared to others?
You can tweet us your thoughts using #soundsofLA
AirTalk guest Wayne Williams mentioned a few ways to report chopper noise: click here.
Guests:
Wayne Williams, board member for the Los Angeles Area Helicopter Noise Coalition
Chuck Street, executive director of the Los Angeles Area Helicopter Operators Association
Debating World Health Organization warning that links cancer to red, processed meat
The World Health Organization said Monday that a link has been made between red, processed meat and colorectal cancer.
According to the study done by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, eating 8 grams of processed meat a day like hot dogs and bacon can up the risk of cancer by 18 percent because of chemicals used during processing.
It also linked those meats as “possibly carcinogenic” and puts them in the same risk category as tobacco. But this doesn’t necessarily mean eating beef jerky is as bad as smoking cigarettes.
Red meat was also cited in the study as a possible contributor to cancer when cooked at high temperatures.
But some say the study oversimplifies processed meat as a cause of cancer, including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, which said the disease was too complex for even the brightest minds to understand and that a balanced diet includes meat like beef.
What do you think of the study? Do you believe the findings oversimplify meat as a cause of cancer or are the results a fair?
Guests:
Mariana Stern, Ph.D., associate professor of research preventive medicine at USC’s Keck School of Medicine. She was also part of the WHO panel that released the meat analysis
Shalene McNeill, Ph.D., director of human nutrition research at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association; McNeill is a registered dietitian
Recruitment for new truck drivers stalls
The for-hire trucking workforce is aging out of its business and very few people are stepping in to take their place.
For a long time, the economics of driving a big rig made sense for a large number of people: It's a job that does not require a college degree, there's always a work available and the annual salary averages out at $73,000 and is increasing annually at a rate of about 8% to 12%.
Despite this, a recent study from the American Trucking Association says that there are roughly 25,000 jobs unfilled in the industry.
The ATA says one of the primary reasons for this is that the job requires workers to take long trips where they are away from home, sometimes for as long as two weeks at a time. This is a huge issue with any workers that are looking to maintain regular time at home with their families.
If you're unemployed, would you consider getting certified to become a truck driver? Why or why not? What do you think it would take for more people to get interested in trucking as a possible career?
Guest:
Bob Costello, Chief economist for the American Trucking Associations
The final frontier: What it took to get the first up-close images of outer space
It’s been almost four decades since the launch of JPL’s Voyager mission.
The plan?
The two spacecraft would take a four-year tour of our outer planetary system and bring us the first up-close images of Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. Since their launch in 1977, the Voyagers have garnered many first glimpses including photographs of Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and even an inaugural portrait of our solar system.
The documentary, “First Steps of Voyager,” shows rare footage of the project’s events and accounts from those who experienced the first encounters with outer space.
The film’s writer director and producer, Blaine Baggett, and former Voyager project scientist, Ed Stone, speak with Larry Mantle and share what it was like to give an inside look at the project that brought the landscape of the universe to earth.
“The Footsteps of Voyager” will be screened at 7:30 p.m. this Wednesday, Oct. 28 at CalTech’s Beckman Auditorium in Pasadena. Click here for more details.
Guests:
Blaine Baggett, director of the Office of Communication and Education at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and writer, director and producer of the documentary, “The Footsteps of Voyager”
Ed Stone, professor of physics at The California Institute of Technology and former director of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Stone served as the Voyager mission's project scientist