Event Archives: 2008

All New America events for the given year are available below. To jump to another year's archives, please use the links at right. To view upcoming events click here.

Unfinished Business: Wireless Competition and the FCC Transition

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - 12:15pm
The nomination of Tom Wheeler as the next Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) marks the start of what could be a lengthy confirmation process. Although President Obama has designated Commissioner Mignon Clyburn as Acting Chair, the transition to new leadership at the FCC often results in important decisions being put on hold. However, with consumer demand for mobile broadband exploding, the FCC is already behind the curve and must keep moving.

Drone Wars: Counterterrorism and Human Rights

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - 12:15pm

On March 15, Ben Emmerson, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counterterrorism, released a statement that categorically declared the CIA drone program a “violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty.” That statement followed three days of secret meetings with Pakistani officials, who told Emmerson that they had confirmed 400 civilian deaths in drone strikes since the program began in 2004.

The Hell of American Day Care

Monday, May 13, 2013 - 12:15pm

Jonathan Cohn’s recent article for The New Republic highlighted the tragic outcomes stemming from our inadequate, unequal, and largely unregulated child care system. Stressed by workplace demands and constrained by a dearth of good daycare options, families face difficult decisions. Many child care workers are poorly compensated and inadequately trained, and most workplaces are not set up to support parents desperate for better options.

Auditing Afghanistan

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 - 12:15pm

The United States has spent tens of billions of dollars on the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan, and making sure that money goes where it is supposed to go has been one of the toughest jobs of the conflict. As America transitions control of security operations and other governance processes to the Afghans, this job will become even harder. 

The Drone Next Door

Tuesday, May 7, 2013 - 9:00am

Drones have become essential to the American way of war. They’ve given the military nearly constant surveillance from the sky, and allow for quick attacks from afar. And now, like countless other technologies forged in the heat of battle, drones are making their way to the home front, pressed into civilian service. Call them drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, or remote-control planes; these high-tech devices have appealed to Border Patrol and local law enforcement, but also to conservationists, journalists, hobbyists, and more.

Programs:

Egypt in Transition

Monday, May 6, 2013 - 12:15pm

As Egypt's revolutionary process derails, a myriad of political actors are struggling to form a new consensus about how to resolve the current political crisis and start rebuilding the state. The country's uprising gave birth to a new generation of leaders that are working to seize this transformative moment to redefine their country. 

The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business

Thursday, May 2, 2013 - 6:00pm

**This event has reached capacity, and we can no longer accept RSVPs.**

For those unable to attend in person, this event will be webcast live on this page.

Programs:

The Power Surge

Thursday, May 2, 2013 - 12:15pm
For decades, politicians have been pledging to make America energy independent, and for decades, they have failed.
 
Today, the nation finds itself caught between two diverging energy revolutions—the new technologies of oil and gas production on one end and the gains of renewable energy on the other.