Obama vs. Wall Street
President Barack Obama meets with members of the financial industry in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. From left are, JPMorgan Chase Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon; PNC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Rohr; Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and the president. (AP)
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President Obama met with Wall Street’s top bankers to discuss industry reform today. The President’s wish list includes getting banks to increase small business lending, rein in executive pay, and get on board with tighter industry regulations. We speak with Washington Post’s Binyamin Appelbaum.
Negotiating Peace in Iraq
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Padraig O’Malley is a professor of peace and mediation at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and he uses that expertise to bring people from divided societies together. He’s done it in Northern Ireland and also South Africa and now he’s doing it in Iraq. His latest effort is focused on Kirkuk in northern Iraq. It’s a city split by ethnic tensions, although the various sides have agreed to keep talking. Professor O’Malley is our guest.
Watching ‘Invictus’ from South Africa
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The new Clint Eastwood film tells a true story from South Africa. Morgan Freeman stars as South African President Nelson Mandela, who used rugby to unite his divided post-apartheid country during the 1995 World Cup. Matt Damon plays the captain of that team. The BBC’s Karen Allen went to the film’s premiere in Johannesburg.
Supreme Court to Hear Case on Privacy and Texting at Work
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The Supreme Court announced today it will review a federal appeals court ruling that found employees of an Ontario, California police department have a constitutional right to privacy in the electronic messages sent at work on a device provided by their employer. Slate Magazine legal affairs editor Emily Bazelon joins us to explain what’s at stake in the case.
A Cappella Raises its Voice
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A cappella singing has experienced an explosion of popularity, with hundreds of college groups, videos on YouTube, and starting tonight, a new reality show. On NBC’s “The Sing-Off“, eight a cappella groups vie for America’s votes and a recording contract. We speak to executive producer Sam Weisman about why he loves a cappella music.
Other groups Sam Weisman recommends:
- Hyannis Sound
- Brandeis Voice Male
- Boston University Dear Abbeys
- Columbia University Non Sequitor
- Dartmouth Aires
- Brigham Young University Vocal Point
- University of Illinois Other Guys
- 4:2 Five A cappella
- Wesleyan Cardinal Sinners
- UNC Loreleis
Music from the show
- Air, “Mike Mills”
- Ahmad Jamal, “Patterns”
- Paul Simon, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”
- The Lickets, “Meat City”
- Fred Hirsch, “Desafinado”
- The Wee Trio, “About a Girl”
- Queen and David Bowie “Pressure” performed by the a cappella groups of the show “The Sing-Off”
- Journey “Don’t Stop Believing” performed by 4:2:Five
- Ben Folds “Brick” performed by The Ohio University Leading Tones
- Ned Washington and Leah Harline “When You Wish Upon a Star” performed by Maxx Factor
- Dead or Alive “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” performed by the Tufts Beezlebubs
- Ben Folds “Jesusland” performed by The University of North Carolina’s Loreleis
You discussed a legal case involving police officers sending non-work-related texts on duty. I will be amazed if the court finds in their favor. The aspect of the case that wasn’t mentioned is that while the officers are involved in private messaging, they are not cognizant of the public good. The courts have previously found in the favor of citizens who sued cities for perceived “slow” response to emergency situations due to employees who were engaged in private phone calls. I see no difference here, texting is nearly as distracting.
Posted by Karen Tryon, on December 14th, 2009 at 1:51 pmI expected to see Straight-No Chaser as a competing group. I saw them last week on PBS and they are an outstanding group of ten men, many if not all are alumni of Indiana Univ.. I will be interested in learning what the criteria or requirements for the competition are.
Posted by bill mccandless, on December 14th, 2009 at 3:30 pmRe: Privacy and texting
When I was growing up, my father’s office was sacrosanct. We did not call him or contact him unless it was an absolute emergency. He did not waste his company’s time by making personal calls. Nowadays, people have this image that they run the show. They owe nothing to their employers and their employers have no say in anything. Their offices are little side shows of their personal lives. I am certainly hoping that the Supreme Court acknowledges that the equipment being used was the possession of the employer and therefore the messages were, in essence, being conveyed by said employer and they had every right to every detail. If the employees had any respect for their jobs and their employers, this wouldn’t be happening.
Posted by Eileen Schley, on December 14th, 2009 at 4:48 pm[...] the new reality show “The Sing Off” after hearing about the A Capella focused show on NPR’s Here & Now. However you feel about the groups on the show or the contemporary A Capella scene in general, this [...]
Posted by Catalysts & Connections - Evan Tobias » Blog Archive » Thank you Ben Folds & Shawn Stockman! "The Sing Off" and music education..., on December 14th, 2009 at 11:01 pm[...] Hear the full interview with Padraig O’Malley on Here & Now. WBUR Topics: Boston The War At Home Have something to say? Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief. These comments are moderated by WBUR, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments. By commenting, you agree to our Community Discussion Rules. $(document).ready(function() { $("#commentform").validate({ rules: { author: { required: true }, email: { required: true, email: true }, comment: { required: true } }, messages: { email: "Required", comment: "Required", author: "Required" } }); }); [...]
Posted by wbur.org » News » Boston Professor Negotiates Slow Peace In Iraq, on December 15th, 2009 at 12:47 pm