A great debate
Larry MantleI thoroughly enjoyed the VP debate and its fast paced back-and-forth. Democrats had to love Joe Biden's energy and willingness to challenge Paul Ryan on almost every point. Republicans had to love Ryan's poise and discipline in how he handled himself, even as Biden was dismissing him throughout the 90-minutes.
Both of our "AirTalk" political strategists, Democrat Darry Sragow and Republican Jonathan Wilcox, agreed that Biden's performance fired up the Democratic base and provided tremendous relief after the President's flat performance the week before. However, they also agreed that it wasn't likely to have much effect on the small number of undecided voters still out there.
The passionate performances of the VP candidates certainly sets a higher bar for the next Presidential candidates debate. Will Obama and Romney up their games on Tuesday? I suspect most of us will be tuning in to see.
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Looking forward to this evening's debate
Larry MantleI know these Presidential debates aren’t debates in the historical sense. Regardless, I’m looking forward to seeing how both men do on a topic of immense complexity. Is Mitt Romney going to be more forthcoming about what tax deductions he’d want cut to keep his tax reform plan from ballooning the deficit? Will President Obama give more detail about how he would improve the economy, short of a government stimulus that could never get through a GOP Congress?
I’ll be live tweeting during the debate. Join me @AirTalk #debates.
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Starting later, but not sleeping in
Larry MantleWe started our new schedule for "AirTalk" this week. With the expansion of "Brand & Martinez" to two hours, we're now on from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday's Film Week on AirTalk moves into the noon hour.
I’ve been asked many times in the past couple of days how I feel about the shift. My answer is that it’s working out great for our “AirTalk” team. We still get in at 8 each morning, but now have three hours to prepare our timeliest topics. It also puts us into the noon hour, where we have the chance to connect with folks heading to lunch.
I know it’s not all good for some listeners, who might have a harder time listening an hour later. There are also, undoubtedly, fans of “The World” who would’ve rather had it stay at noon instead of moving to 2 p.m. I hope you’ll give us a chance in the new slot and that you find the new lineup still fits your schedule.
If it doesn’t, remember that you can hear all of our local programs online, at the time of your choosing, at www.kpcc.org.
As for the irreplaceable Patt Morrison, she’ll continue to provide her talents to KPCC listeners with regular features and interviews throughout our day. Though I know many fans of Patt are very sad to see her daily program end, I think Patt’s high-profile segments will be a terrific boost to all the other shows where they’ll be heard.
This will make Patt a presence everywhere on our schedule, including “AirTalk,” which is pretty exciting.
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Be it ever so humble...
Larry MantleIt’s good to be back in Southern California after a week in the hothouse of Tampa. I mean that in both the weather and political senses.
Even though we were largely inside from 9 in the morning to 11 at night, every trip outside provided exposure to extreme humidity and more than 90-degree temperatures. Couple that with a long wait through security to get back into the building and there wasn’t much incentive to go anywhere.
On the political side, I forget (or block out) how intense these party conventions can be. It’s an alternate universe, where most everyone recognizes even minor national political figures. It’s like walking through Beverly Hills with an editor from People magazine.
It makes me feel at a bit of a disadvantage, as a generalist who talks a lot of politics, but doesn’t devote himself to it exclusively. When you hear some of the political reporters from around the country, there are times it sounds more like advanced math than policy. From delegate counts to Congressional seats in play to dueling budget scenarios, it gets highly detailed very quickly. The first couple of days of the convention, I feel like I’m trying to catch up and get my head around all the subplots.
Of course, just as I start feeling like I’m getting it down, we come home. Regardless, I have terrific memories of the week. Out team of producers, engineers, and reporter Frank Stoltze really enjoyed working together on your behalf. Let’s do it again in four more years.
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
The RNC in Tampa is closing out
Larry Mantle interviews Tom Brokaw at the 2012 Republican National Convention.; Credit: Lauren Osen/KPCC
Larry MantleOur trip to the RNC in Tampa is coming to a close, but we’ve spent time with so many interesting people that our memories will stay strong. We hope you’ve enjoyed the photos, tweets, and blog postings that have expanded our coverage beyond what we provide live on the air two hours a day.
This is the first political convention where KPCC has used multiple ways of bringing you here without time off from work or having to take a plane ride. There are many great stories to tell and people to share. We trust our photos give you a more complete sense of how much goes on at a massive convention like this.
For KPCC journalists, it’s particularly exciting to interact with you in these new ways. We welcome your tweets and retweets (@AirTalk), comments on our blog postings (www.kpcc.org/blogs/politics), and feedback on our “AirTalk” segment pages.
All this helps create a real-time way to connect listeners and users of social media in one big conversation. We hope you enjoy taking part in the convention with us, as much we enjoy sharing it with you.
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Off to Tampa for the GOP convention
Larry MantleThe news seems better on Tropical Storm Isaac and its potential threat to next week's events. However, from network news, you'd never know it mattered much if the storm damaged other countries or American cities outside Tampa. Isaac coverage is a wonderful example of how we as journalists care so much about something when we'll personally be affected.
Monday morning at 10 we begin our live coverage from the convention. Patt Morrison will follow at 11 with an hour of regular talk programming. I'll be back at 1 p.m. for another hour from Tampa, followed by Patt at 2. We'll follow this schedule for the days of the convention, Monday through Thursday.
Patt will make her way to Charlotte, North Carolina for the Democratic Convention the following week. It will be fun to compare the cultures of the two conventions, aside from the platforms and PR spin we'll be exposed to for two straight weeks.
This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.
Comment | Hindutva’s extremist Twitterati now target Modi for Muslim appeasement
The RSS and Mr. Modi have attempted occasional gestures of outreach to the Muslims, as the outfit moved from the fringes to the front-line.
Why I’ve had to change my mind about networking
In a locked down world, the need to build connections has never been greater, or more physically impossible
A plan to guide the UK safely out of lockdown
Five steps to protect workers and employers from a cliff-edge end to temporary economic support
UK wants to 'slowly and cautiously' ease lockdown to restart economy - minister
'They lynched him': Ahmaud Arbery's father on the killing of his son
Marcus Arbery Sr says Ahmaud’s death at the hands of two white men, while he was out for a run, was an act of racismMarcus Arbery Sr says his son was just like him, fit and athletic.Nearly everyone who talks about his youngest son, Ahmaud Arbery, remembers him running. Neighbors saw him jogging nearly every day. Ahmaud’s route would take him along the flat, curved road outside the home he shared with his mother, then into the unincorporated community of Satilla Shores on the Georgia coast just outside of Brunswick. Ahmaud would wave to the regulars on his route.“He just loved to work out and he just loved people,” his father told the Guardian.When the 25-year-old left for a run on a sunny February afternoon, he passed, for the last time, neighbors whose Ring alerts would go off as he raced by their homes. He would eventually meet Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son, Travis, 34. Shortly afterwards, Ahmaud was shot at least twice.He was dead before officers arrived.For more than two months, Marcus Sr – along with his son’s siblings and mother – demanded answers. But as the case went through three district attorneys after the first two had to recuse themselves due to ties with Gregory McMichael, no one was charged in his son’s death.Ahmaud’s family was devastated.“We can’t have two different justice systems in America: one for black America and one for white America,” Ben Crump, the lawyer representing Marcus Sr, told the Guardian.That day in February, the McMichaels told police that Ahmaud matched the description of someone caught on a security camera committing a burglary in the neighborhood. This week, a leaked video appeared to contradict the elder McMichael’s statement to police insisting Ahmaud violently attacked his son.Gregory McMichael’s story also contradicts Marcus Sr’s memories of his son. “He was just a lovable young man and he would give you the shirt off of his back,” he said of the youngest of his three children, who would have turned 26 on Friday.“We’re talking about doing a celebration for him during the weekend,” Marcus Sr says. Thousands of people in Glynn county and across America also celebrated Ahmaud on Friday by doing something he loved: running. Near his mother’s house, people took the same route Ahmaud would run, walking or jogging 2.23 miles, representing the last day of Arbery’s young life.> He was just a lovable young man and he would give you the shirt off of his back> > Marcus Arbery Sr“We’re going to keep running for you, bro, until justice is served,” one of his friends posted on Facebook while jogging.Within two days of the release of the video of his death, after 10 weeks of local law enforcement failing to investigate, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation made arrests and promised to continue the investigation. The McMichaels were charged with murder and aggravated assault on Thursday, the day before Ahmaud would have turned 26.His father calls the shooting an act of racism by the McMichaels, who are white. The Arbery family is black. “I’ve dealt with racism my whole life here,” Marcus Sr says of the community. “Everybody’s supposed to be equal.”Though he doesn’t think that’s the way justice works in Glynn county, he hopes the shooting of his youngest child may be the catastrophic event that changes how this corner of Georgia operates.Even if that change does come, he says, it will be in exchange for his son’s life.“I got to live without my son and they lynched him. It’s just hard,” he said. “He didn’t deserve that.”
Audit of Lebanon's central bank to include all its transactions - economy minister
Authorities investigate new video showing Ahmaud Arbery just prior to shooting
Authorities have confirmed they are looking into a new video related to the death of Ahmaud Arbery, the Georgia man who was allegedly shot by a father and son in February. The video, obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, shows someone who appears to be Arbery on a home surveillance camera down the block from a construction site just minutes before the 25-year-old was shot on the afternoon of Feb. 23. Two police cars can be seen in the video minutes later traveling down the street in the direction Arbery ran and was later shot.
Google Lens gets new features including the ability to copypaste handwritten notes to your computer
Weekly poll results: Xiaomi's Mi Note 10 Lite and Redmi Note 9 Pro get a warm welcome
The Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite attracted a lot of interest in last week's poll - the sentiment is positive, though some wish the price was lower. As it stands, it's quite close to the vanilla Mi Note 10 and some people are willing to pay extra to get not one but two telephoto cameras. More than half of voters are interested in the Lite model, though most of them will wait for a promotional price before pulling the trigger. Only 18% of voters think that the recently-discounted Mi Note 10 is a better buy. Whether you go with the Note 10 or Note 10 Lite, it's still a win for Xiaomi, of...
Flashback: Nokia's Touch and Type blurred the lines between smart and feature phones
The division between smartphones and feature phones has often been murky. In the past, it used to be about how well the device ran user-installed apps and games, these days it's mostly touch screen vs. keypad. But there always were devices that straddled the line between those two categories. Nokia X3-02 Touch and Type official photos Before Nokia released the no-quite-smartphone Asha phones, there were the two Touch and Type models. As we said, these phones tried to have it both ways. The Nokia X3-02 and C3-01 both came out in late 2010. What made them special was that...
You will soon be able to make Google Duo group video calls on the web
Back in March, Google increased the group video call limit on Duo from eight to 12 participants at a time in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the Internet search giant has announced that it will let Duo users make group calls on the web, starting as a preview on Chrome. The support for group calls on Chrome will roll-out in the coming weeks along with a new layout that will let you see more people at the same time. Besides, inviting people to join a group call will also become easier with an invite link. Additionally, Google announced a new Family Mode, that lets you doodle on...