International

All eyes turn to Bangladesh to improve labor laws after deadly factory collapse

April 26, 2013 Carmen Russell Podcast, Politics 00:19:08 0 Comments

The collapse of the garment factory building in Bangladesh this week has opened up the conversation about working conditions around the world, especially as they relate to Western retailers who outsource production to countries where labor laws are more lax.

Host Jamila Bey spoke with Charles Kernaghan, executive director of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, to discuss the role that labor and human rights should play in a more just world.

Part 1:

Download audio file

Part 2:

Download audio file

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (b. 1925) holding a press conference. RIA Novosti/Yuryi Abramochkin.

Britain’s “Iron Lady” was no friend to organized labor

April 8, 2013 Carmen Russell Podcast, Politics 0:07:45 0 Comments
Margaret Thatcher changed history when she brought her iron will to bear on the UK’s labor unions.

Voice of Russia’s Carmen Russell-Sluchansky and Jamila Bey continue a conversation about how Thatcher shall be remembered in terms of her role in the 1984 UK miners’ strike:

Part I:

Download

Part 2:

Download

 

Lawyer: Duvalier's 25 years in exile won't take back pain from Haitians

Lawyer: Duvalier’s 25 years in exile won’t take back pain from Haitians

March 8, 2013 Carmen Russell Podcast, Politics 0 Comments
Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, the brutal leader of Haiti until his oust in 1986, has returned to Haiti to face charges of fraud and political violence, but he’s claiming he can’t stand trial because of medical distress.

Host Jamila Bey spoke with Brian Concannon, Jr., human rights lawyer and director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy, to consider how Duvalier might be brought to justice.

Download

Pope Benedict XVI. Photo Credit: ©RIA Novosti, Sergey Guneev.

Atheist: Catholics Deserve More Than Age as Excuse for Pope’s Resignation

February 18, 2013 Carmen Russell Culture 00:06:31 0 Comments

It’s been a week since Pope Benedict XVI announced his retirement and with the shock gone, he has returned to several routine traditions, including a week-long spiritual retreat this week in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

Despite this normal routine for the Pope, his early retirement is anything but normal and many questions, including on the Catholic child sex abuse scandals, remain for Benedict, who will be stepping down on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. GMT.

To discuss his resignation and more, host Jamila Bey spoke with American Atheist President David Silverman, who says Catholics of the world should demand that the truth come out as to why the pope resigned.

 

Photo: ©RIA Novosti, Konstantin Chalabov.

Study: More Secular People, But Few Support Language Critical of Religion

October 15, 2012 Carmen Russell Culture, Religion 00:18:59 0 Comments

The Center for Inquiry examined this month blasphemy and incitement laws around the globe in a new survey called “Dissident Denied.”

Despite the fact that more people around the world admit to being secular, many people from places around the globe don’t necessarily support language that’s critical of religious belief or feeling.

Host Jamila Bey spoke with Michael De Dora, author of the survey, about the findings and what they mean for religious tolerance, blasphemy laws and more.