Bangla Desh Sweatshops, Reproductive Rights, & Torture in the post 9-11 World

Garment Industry Sweatshop Conditions Led to Tragic Loss of Lives in Bangladesh Building Collapse

Interview with Charles Kernaghan, director of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, conducted by Scott Harris

Five days after the April 24 collapse of Rana Plaza, an illegally constructed eight-story building that housed five garment factories and a shopping mall in Dhaka, Bangladesh, government officials suspended rescue efforts. While nearly 400 bodies have been pulled from the rubble, an estimated 1,000 people who were inside the building at the time of the collapse are still missing, which could bring the death toll to near 1,400. Story continues

Anti-Abortion Activists Pass Dozens of Laws Restricting Reproductive Rights in GOP State Legislatures Across the U.S.

Interview with Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager with the Guttmacher Institute, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

Over the past few months, many states controlled by a Republican governor and legislature seem to be in a race to see who can craft the most restrictive abortion laws. The winner as of now is North Dakota, which passed a law limiting abortions to the first six weeks of pregnancy. So far 10 states have passed bans after 20 weeks; 7 have gone into effect, while 3 – in Georgia, Idaho and Arizona – are being challenged in federal court. Story continues

Bipartisan Panel Finds U.S. Officials Authorized Torture of Post-9/11 Detainees

Interview with Alka Pradhan, counsel to the Constitution’s Project’s bipartisan Task Force on Detainee Treatment, conducted by Scott Harris

Just days before President Obama joined four former U.S. presidents to celebrate the opening of George W. Bush’s Presidential Library on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, the Constitution Project released a report detailing the findings of a two-year independent investigation into the abuse of U.S.-held detainees in the years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The group’s bipartisan 11-member Task Force on Detainee Treatment, led by two retired members of Congress, Republican Asa Hutchinson, and Democrat, James R. Jones, concluded that “American intelligence and military personnel used interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists captured in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, that in many instances constituted torture.” Story continues

This week’s summary of under-reported news

Compiled by Bob Nixon
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, allied with the Muslim Brotherhood, is facing pressure to reduce domestic food subsidies in order to win a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. (“Egypt street vendors, store owners say Morsi is bad for business,” Los Angeles Times, April 21, 2013; “Short of money, Egypt sees crisis on fuel and food,” New York Times, March 30, 2013)
Three months after Cuban President Raul Castro eased restrictions on Cubans traveling abroad, the Miami Herald reports an increasing number of Cubans are obtaining travel visas to visit the United States – or going through countries such as Mexico, to make their way to America. (“Number of Cuban migrants to the U.S. believed to be rising,” Miami Herald, April 21, 2013)
The massive explosion at West Fertilizer Co. plant in Texas on April 17 that killed 15, most of the victims being firefighters or rescue workers, exposed a regulatory black hole around plant safety. The fertilizer factory stored 270 tons of ammonium nitrate, the material Timothy McVeigh used to blow up the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995. (“What went wrong in West, Texas—and where were the regulators,” ProPublica, April 25, 2013; “Texas plant may not have been inspected in years, despite risks,” Mother Jones, April 19, 2013; “Why didn’t 24,000 tons of ammonium nitrate at West plant raise concerns?” Dallas Morning News, April 23, 2013; “Texas explosion: government shared info for anti-terrorism, but not for workplace safety,” In These Times, April 25, 2013)

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