Sound Off with Sasha

Encore: Organ Donations

Friday, 11 May 2012

There are over 100,000 people waiting for organ transplants, and another name is added in every 12 minutes. Because the critical shortage of donors, an average of 18 people die each day while awaiting organ transplants in the United States. 

Yet each person who decides to become an organ donor has the potential of saving eight lives, and improve the lives of more than 50 others who benefit from donated corneas and other tissues. 

Sharing the inspirational story of organ donation to the cystic fibrosis afflicted twin sisters, is Ana Stenzel, who with her sister Isa, both received life savings lung transplants. Their book, titled “The Power of Two”, was the basis of the documentary directed by Academy Award nominated producer Marc Smolowitz. 



Also, discussing the importance of organ donors, and the procedure and selection of organ recipients are Dr. Paul Quick, MD, awaiting a heart transplant himself, and Jennifer Krouse, Manager of Public Affairs of the LifeLink Foundation, an organ and tissue recovery organization. 

People interested in becoming organ donors can do it online at Donate Life or Donate Life Florida.

Developments in the Middle East

Friday, 04 May 2012

The United States and Afghanistan have signed an agreement to extend US presence in  Afghanistan to 2024.

How will this reflect on our policy on Pakistan and Iran, two of the neighboring countries?  Experts believe we should work on improving and re-establishing our relationship with Pakistan, but what about Iran?

Historian and renowned expert on the Middle East, Dr. Juan Cole, a Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan,  shares his thoughts on the current developments. 

For three decades he has worked on putting the relationship of the West and the Muslim world in historical context.  He is the author of several books, including “Napoleon’s Egypt: Invading the Middle East”, and his most recent, “Engaging the Muslim World” 

His op-eds were published in a wide range of publications,  at the Washington Post, Le Monde Diplomatique, The Guardian, the San Jose Mercury News, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Review, The Nation,  Tikkun magazine and at Salon.com

He has appeared on the PBS Lehrer News Hour,  Nightline, ABC Evening News, the Today Show, Anderson Cooper 360°, Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, Al Jazeera and CNN Headline News.

Prof. Cole has lived in various parts of the Muslim world for nearly ten years,  and has command of the Arabic, Persian and Urdu languages.

What do the Afghans Want?

Friday, 27 April 2012

After ten years, is it too soon to withdraw U.S. Troops from Afghanistan?

Fading support from the Allies and the American public would call for troops withdrawal, but what do the Afghans want? Recent events, the unintentional burning of the Quran, the disrespectful treatment of dead Afghanis by US troops, and the massacre of 17 civilians by a U.S. Staff sergeant did not create a desirable environment for a group of American civilians to visit Afghanistan to find out.

But that’s what they did…A group of six World Affairs Council leaders from across the United States went to Afghanistan for a People-to-People, Grass-roots Diplomacy tour. Their mission was to engage with the people, exchange ideas, and bring back their first hand observations about Afghanistan’s accomplishments, and outlook for the future.

Mimi Gregory, Program Chairman and Past President of the Naples Council on World Affairs, shares with us her experience, and her impressions on a wide range of subjects.

What did she find? What is the message from Afghanistan?

FRONTLINE - Money, Power, and Wall Street / Florence Williams - The Few. The Proud. The Afflicted

Friday, 20 April 2012

 

Money, Power and Wall Street” is a new PBS Frontline miniseries, investigating the global financial crisis.  The four hour documentary, airing in two segments,  depicts the inside story of the struggles to rescue and repair a shattered economy, as presented by veteran financial and political producers Martin Smith (College Inc., The Madoff Affair) and Michael Kirk (Inside the Meltdown, The Warning),

Award winning Frontline Writer/Producer Martin Smith,  describes the documentary that premiers on April 24^th  on WGCU and all PBS stations.   Smith has won every major award in television including four Emmys, and was three time recipient of the George Polk Award for investigative journalism,  and four time winner of the Writers’ Guild Award..

Later, author and freelance journalist Florence Williams talks about her article in Mother Jones, titled “The Few. The Proud. The Afflicted.” - on male breast cancer among men who lived at Camp Lejeune.  The article poses the question if a “bunch of scrappy, tough-talking ex-Marines just might hold the key to what causes breast cancer”.

Williams is a contributing editor at Outside Magazine and a freelance writer for the New York Times,  New Republic and numerous other publications. She has received many awards, including six magazine awards from the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the John Hersey Prize at Yale.

She is author of the newly published book “Breasts ,  a natural – and – unnatural history”

Dr. Bill Beckwith - Managing your Memory, Practical Solutions for Forgetting

Friday, 13 April 2012

More and more adults experience memory loss, and start worrying about Alzheimer’s. 

Does one have to be a Senior to have senior moments?

Our brains start shrinking in our twenties, and new studies show that noticeable, age-related memory loss can begin as early as age 45.

Noted memory expert Dr. Bill Beckwith, Neuropsychologist,  explains what causes us to be forgetful, outlining common sense strategies on how to improve our memory.

He also explains how to tell apart the signs of age-related forgetfulness from the symptoms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s.

Dr. Beckwith has been researching, teaching and working with how memory works  for more than 30 years and has published 90 scholarly papers.  In the past decade he has focused on developing new approaches and programs for people with memory loss and their caregivers.

He is the author of ‘Managing Your Memory, Practical Solutions for Forgetting” which was fittingly described as “An Unforgettable Book About  Forgetting”,  and answers questions and concerns about the nature, diagnosis and treatment of memory loss.

Are we doing everything we can to prevent memory problems?

Gas Prices and Fuel Choice

Friday, 06 April 2012

Most Americans are hurting by the high gas prices, and cutting back is hurting the economy.

What is behind the high gas prices? We are using the least and producing the most oil in eight years. If lower demand and increased oil production will not reduce prices, what will?

Anne Korin, Co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, calls for Congress to adopt the Open Fuel Standard Act, that would allow purchasers to buy the fuel of their choice at Fuel stations, now called Gas Stations, as it is practiced in Brazil.

Korin is adviser to the United States Energy Security Council  and chairs the Set America Free Coalition, an alliance of national security, environmental, labor and religious groups promoting ways to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.

She is co-author of Energy Security Challenges for the 21st Century (2009) and Turning Oil into Salt (2009), and her articles were published in Foreign Affairs, MIT Innovations, The American Interest  and National Review. 

Horse Slaughter for Food

Friday, 30 March 2012

Horses have served mankind through history, and acted as friends and companions.  The recent lifting of the ban on horse slaughter houses opened a deeply felt concern about the plight of American horses.

Presenting their views on the subject of horse slaughter, are:

Philanthropist/Businesswoman Madeleine Pickens, dedicated to provide sanctuary for wild Mustangs, President of the Humane Society of the United States, Wayne Pacelle, in a leading role in animal protection, Author R T Fitch,  Co-founder and President of the Wild Horse Freedom Federation, And Representative Sue Wallis, Wyoming State Legislator, a proponent and advocate for horse slaughter plants in the United States.

How does the public feel about the future of  American Horses?     

Encore: ALEC

Friday, 23 March 2012

A little known but highly influential organization called ALEC,  comprised of lobbyists, state legislators, and corporations,  has been introducing many bills that were enacted into law.   Do they serve the public or the corporations’ best interest?

Discussing their Nation Magazine article, “The Hidden History of ALEC and Prison Labor” are Mike Elk and Bob Sloan. 

Also, reporting  on Florida Republicans at ALEC’s Legislative Conference is Capital Bureau Chief Steve Bousquet of the St. Petersburg Times.

Self-Deportation / Voter ID Laws

Friday, 16 March 2012

What is the status of Alabama’s new draconian immigration law, where even giving a ride to an undocumented immigrant was illegal?  Did it result in a ‘self-deportation” movement”?  

A study by the University of Alabama concluded that the new law, HB 56, would cause Alabama to lose about 70,000 to 140,000 jobs and $2.3 billion to $10.8 billion loss in GDP.  The cancelation of a $700,000 convention, citing the new law, was another reason for concern.

Paul Reyes, Contributing editor of The Virginia Quarterly Review, discusses his article It's Just Not Right": The Failures of Alabama's Self-Deportation Experiment, published in Mother Jones, on how farmers with a disappearing workforce are trying to cope, and the second thoughts of some legislators who voted for the bill.

Later,  Lou Dubose,  Editor of The Washington Spectator, talks about his article, “How Voter-ID Laws Suppress Registration Drives and Block Democratic Votes”.  The new election legislations, introduced in 38 States, require State-approved photo ID for citizens to vote, as prevention for voter fraud.   According to the Brennan Center for Justice, about 11 percent of adult citizens, or 21 million people don’t have a valid government issued photo ID.

Was there an outbreak of voter fraud in recent years calling for these measures?

Poverty in America

Friday, 09 March 2012

The economic crisis that erupted in 2008 caused an increase in unemployment, foreclosure, food stamps dependency, and even hunger.

What led to the condition where in the United States, the wealthiest country of the world, 1 in 7 households are “food insecure”?

Discussing  poverty, its causes and potential solutions, are Reverend Larry Snyder, President of the Catholic Charities USA,  and Rabbi Adam Miller of Temple Shalom  in Naples.   

Rev. Snyder is a member of the President s Council of Faith-based Partnerships, and the author of “Think and Act Anew, How Poverty in America Affects Us All and What Can We Do about it”

Can different religious groups unite and form a common platform to fight poverty?

What is the role of Government?