Today on AirTalk we'll cover the latest in Libya and fallout from the killing of ambassador Christopher Stevens. We'll look at what sparked the protests in Cairo and Benghazi and who is behind the Anit-Muslim video, we'll also discuss the political back and forth between Mitt Romney and President Obama. Later, we'll have State Senator Darrell Steinberg on to discuss Gov. Brown’s push for state pension reform, a preview of Apple's unveiling of the anticipated Iphone 5 and Marketplace's Paddy Hirsch joins us to discuss his new book; "Man vs Markets." Plus, the latest news.
A mysterious anti-Islamic filmmaker's connection to attacks in Libya, Egypt
*** UPDATE: The Atlantic is reporting that Sam Bacile is not a real name and may be a pseudonym. We're currently digging into this story. ***
Last summer, an American filmmaker known as Sam Bacile produced a movie that is now having a profound impact on U.S. relations with the Middle East, as well as the 2012 presidential campaign.
Bacile, who identifies himself as a 56-year-old Israeli-American California real-estate developer, said he wrote, produced and directed the film, "The Innocence of Muslims," but the Atlantic reports that the name is a pseudonym, according to film consultant Steve Klein.
RELATED: Read more about the mystery behind Bacile and consultant Steve Klein.
Bacile claims he raised $5 million from unnamed Jewish sources to make the film that he wrote and directed himself. "The Innocence of Muslims" portrays the prophet Muhammad as an adulterer who condoned the abuse of children, and the dialogue contains numerous insults directed toward Muslims.
Early this year, the amateur project screened to a nearly empty theater in Hollywood and went unnoticed for the most part. However, it was when Bacile made a trailer for the movie and posted it to YouTube in July that it went viral and eventually made its way to media outlets in the Middle East after being translated by an unknown source into Egyptian Arabic.
A television host in Cairo, Sheikh Khaled Abdallah, aired excerpts from Bacile’s video, which incensed viewers so much that 2,000 demonstrators assembled outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday night and successfully took down the American flag and replaced it with one of solid black.
The crowd was dispersed in the late evening, but a similar reaction was happening in Libya. After hearing about an American movie that condemned Muslims, one of the militia groups which has been vying for power since Gaddafi’s fall called upon citizens to attack the American consulate in Benghazi. This call was heeded, and rocket-propelled grenades resulted in the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens, computer expert Sean Smith and two security guards.
In the religious culture of Islam, it is absolutely forbidden and blasphemous to depict Muhammad’s image. The most noted example of this type of situation escalating in a similar and serious way was the “Jyllands-Posten” Muhammad cartoons controversy, in which a Danish newspaper released twelve editorial cartoons using an image of Muhammad, which were then reprinted in other papers around the world. Muslims in Islamic countries protested, eventually leading to over 100 reported deaths due to police fire and violence. The controversy is also sparking some political flames at home.
The U.S. Embassy in Cairo released a statement:
However, the White House disavowed this statement, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton elaborated, "Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.”
While there may be an incongruity in the statements above, the real scrutiny is falling on Mitt Romney, for responding to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo’s statement by saying, “It's disgraceful that the Obama administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.” The fact that Romney tied Obama to the attackers is drawing intense heat from mainstream, liberal and even conservative media outlets for politicizing such sobering events, especially since the statement was released before all the relevant facts about what happened were known.
WEIGH IN:
Did Romney go too far in attempting to exploit this controversy? What about the Obama administration’s distancing itself from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo’s statement? What will be the ultimate political fallout of these protests, both in the campaign and concerning foreign policy down the road? While extreme violence is tragic and negative in and of itself, what role did the release of this intentionally incendiary movie play in spurring it on? How is Sam Bacile reacting to the news that something he made has caused so much harm across the globe?
Guests:
Christian Caryl, editor of Foreign Policy’s Democracy Lab website; Senior Fellow, Legatum Institute, “an independent, non-partisan public policy organization based in London whose research, publications, and programs advance ideas and policies in support of free and prosperous societies around the world.”
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Founder and CEO of the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA Society) and Imam of Masjid Al-Farah, a mosque in New York City, twelve blocks from Ground Zero
Father Gregory Bishay, Priest with the Coptic Orthodox Christian Center in Orange
Salam Al-Marayati, President, Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
Ron Elving, Senior Washington Editor for NPR
Sarah Posner, Senior Editor, Religion Dispatches
State Senator Darrell Steinberg on Gov. Brown’s push for state pension reform and other pending legislation
Governor Jerry Brown signed pension reform legislation into law in Los Angeles Wednesday to cut pension costs in California.
The Democratic Governor hopes to ease the state’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit through reforms of the state’s Public Employee Retirement System. But Brown wasn’t able to push through legislation on one of the state’s most contested policies without facing significant friction from critics.
Lawmakers approved the pension reform bill last month that requires employees to start paying half their retirement costs and increases the retirement age from 55 to 67 for new public employees among other reforms. State and local governments are facing pension debts estimated at approximately $250 billion, but the proposed reforms are predicted to save between $42 and $72 billion over 30 years.
Labor leaders, among others, are unhappy with the bill, but credit ratings agency Moody’s Investor Service is optimistic about the legislation’s effect on the state’s credit rating. Brown is also considering another highly debated policy change that would restructure workers’ compensation laws to increase payouts to injured workers, but avoid a large premium increase for employers. Brown has until September 30 to take action on this and other pending bills.
State Senator Darrell Steinberg joins Larry to review the latest round of legislative changes being pushed through Sacramento.
Guest:
Darrell Steinberg, President Pro Tem of State Senate, California State Senator, D-6th District (most of Sacramento County)
The iPhone 5 cometh: Apple debuts its newest game changer
It’s that time of year again, when visions of larger touch screens and faster processors dance in early adopters’ heads. Apple today announced the latest generation of its wildly popular smartphone at a media event in San Francisco.
It has been over two years since Apple completely rebooted the iPhone and techies are eager to get their hands on the latest version the handset. The iPhone 5 is 25-percent thinner than previous handsets, sports a larger 4-inch screen, next generation 4G LTE wireless speeds, a smaller dock connector and a bevy of other incremental improvements.
For lovers of the iPhone's stellar photography ability, the iPhone 5's 8 megapixel camera will now offer backside illumination so viewing images in bright light will be easier, and the f/2.4 aperture and dynamic low-light features will make it possible to capture images even when bright light is not available. There is also a panorama mode.
Additionally, the new iPhone offers a long-awaited switch to a native maps app that features turn-by-turn directions, which marks the end of Google Maps on the iPhone. Matt Debord has a more comprehensive analysis of the changes in his Debord Report blog.
Apple’s typical modus operandi is to be slightly behind the bleeding edge curve of the most advanced technology, so the iPhone 5 will bring Apple up to the tech specs of existing phones by their competitors.
But it isn’t just the technology that is generating buzz about Apple’s newest gadget… it’s the fact that analysts say that consumer interest in the iPhone 5 is unprecedented and Apple may sell as many as 10 million of them by the end of September. That’s enough sales to register a half a percent bump in America’s gross domestic product.
Will the iPhone 5 continue Apple’s trend of having the sexiest new tech toys? How does Apple manage to stay ahead of the curve by being slightly behind it?
Guest:
Matt DeBord, KPCC Reporter; writes the DeBord Report KPCC.org
The nuts and bolts of economics
We’ve been inundated with economy-speak over the past few years.
Derivatives, credit default swaps, mortgage-backed securities; ten-dollar words like “leverage” and “securitization,” and everybody’s favorite, “quantitative easing.”
How to make sense of this alphabet soup? And why bother? Because what we don’t know about the market – as we’ve seen - can hurt us. To the rescue comes Marketplace’s Paddy Hirsch, who has put his famous Whiteboard explainer series on paper.
In his new book, Hirsch deconstructs these and other financial mysteries for the non-expert, using analogies, illustrations and very short words.
Default swap? It’s no more complicated than trading your cake for your lunch buddy’s jello. Collateralized debt obligations? That’s just…uh…well, we’ll find out. What economic concepts make your eyes glaze over?
Guest:
Paddy Hirsch, author of “Man vs. Markets: Economics Explained (Plain and Simple); senior producer at APM’s Marketplace