Patt Morrison for Fri, 12/10/2010

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Friday, December 10, 2010

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:00 – 1:30

OPEN

 

 

1:30 – 2:00

Taliban – reporting from behind enemy lines

Norwegian journalist Paul Refsdal put his life at risk when he went behind enemy Taliban lines and stayed there long enough to achieve unrestricted access, be kidnapped, and bring back his story. Refsdal says: “The problem has been with the – the people [journalists] who meet the Taliban, they stay for one hour, and they ask the Taliban to… go around arranging some kind of training… And you have one commander with his face covered… to see the real Taliban, you have to stay for a while…”  In the CNN documentary airing this weekend, he tells his story to Anderson Cooper, and this afternoon, to Patt.

 

PATT:  Taliban debuts on CNN tomorrow night, Saturday December 11, and 8 pm Pacific.

 

Guest:

Paul Refsdal is an independent Norwegian journalist who has spent the last 26 years reporting from the frontlines of some of the world’s toughest conflicts.  He has produced one documentary film, “Taliban: Behind the Masks” and written a book, published this week and called, "The Guerrilla Reporter."

CALL HIM: 

 

Refsdal began his career in writing and photography in 1984 by going with the Mujahedeen to Afghanistan.  In the ‘80s, he embedded with Karen rebels in Burma, with the LTTE in Sri Lanka, with Sandinista forces in Nicaragua, and with Guatemalan insurgents.  In the ‘90s, he reported on the Shining Path in Peru, the KLA in Kosovo, as well as Chechen and Albanian rebels in Macedonia. 

 

Refsdal has reported for CNN from Kosovo, Chechnya and Baghdad, during the 2003 invasion.  In 2009, Refsdal embedded with the Taliban in Afghanistan, filming with full access for 9 days behind the lines. 

 

In addition to his work in journalism, Refsdal served in the military for over four years, reaching the rank of second-lieutenant.  He has worked for the United Nations and various humanitarian organizations, as well as working in the private sector.  He is 47 years old, with 3 children. 

 

 

2:00 – 3:00

Beck and Baca - Law and Order in the Southland ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

One of the largest cities in the nation sits within one of the most populous counties – welcome to sunny Los Angeles. With an area of 4,060 square miles, a population of 10,441,100 people who speak 224 different languages and 400 different known gangs, Los Angeles is a lot to handle for a resident, let alone the people running the organizations that keep the peace. Imagine you’re LAPD Chief Beck or L.A. County Sheriff Baca and you’re in charge of law and order in this multi-cultural stew, with dwindling budgets and increasing demands on your force. How do you balance the day to day demands of catching criminals and tracking transgressors, crime prevention, anti-gang activities, working with other agencies to secure homeland security as well as community outreach? Patt Morrison gets an inside view of law and order in the Southland with LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and LA County Sheriff Lee Baca.

 

Special appearance by The Bricks - L.A.’s new multi-cultural group of young musicians who get out their message for at-risk youth through rock, hip-hip and soul.

 

The Bricks youth musical group was developed through the L.A. County Human Relations Commission’s youth music and mentoring program, Project One. The eight-member band, ages 17-19, is supported by the HRC and Grammy Award-winning producers KC Porter (Santana, Ricky Martin, Ozomatli, Selena) and JB Eckl (Santana, Ozomatli, En Vogue, War), and BMI Music’s Malik Levy, among others.

Fidel Rodriguez, Senior Intergroup Relations and Racialized Gang Violence Prevention Specialist LA County Commission on Human Relations, is the band’s leader and mentor.

 

Guests:

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck

L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca

 

The program was taped on Wednesday evening, December 8^th, in the Crawford Family Forum.