Libya military intervention - what are the coalition's goals? Illinois Lawsuit weighs missing work vs. practicing faith. CA Attorney General Kamala Harris on transnational gangs. Can Los Angeles enforce its own laws? 100 years after the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, what’s changed in the garment industry? The Band’s Robbie Robertson is back with a new album.
Libya airstrikes continue for 6th day
The coalition of forces maintaining a no-fly zone over Libya struck pro-Gadhafi forces for the 6th consecutive day Thursday. The situation on the ground has become a stalemate, with Moammar Gadhafi’s military still attacking anti-Gadhafi forces in the east and west of the country. As Western airstrikes continue and Libyans engage in bloody skirmishes some are looking for a clear statement of what the coalition forces are seeking to accomplish. In the wake of last week’s U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 calling for a no-fly zone over Libya, coalition leaders have stated intentions of preventing the massacre of civilians. But U.S., British, Canadian, French and other warplanes are directly attacking Gadhafi’s military in tacit support of anti-Gadhafi rebels. Is Libya falling into a civil war? What are the coalition’s goals? Can we achieve them, or might Libya devolve into an “unwinnable” quagmire?
Guest:
Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress
Tom Donnelly, Resident Fellow at American Enterprise Institute; Director of AEI’s Center for Defense Studies
Illinois lawsuit weighs missing work vs. practicing faith
In August of 2008, math teacher Safoorah Khan asked her employer for a 19-day leave in order to make a pilgrimage to Mecca that December. Her employer, the school district in the tiny Chicago suburb of Berkeley, refused on the grounds that she’d be missing nearly three weeks during crucial end-of-semester testing. Khan then resigned and made the trek, called a hajj – one the five pillars of Islam. After reviewing the case, Justice Department lawyers filed an unorthodox lawsuit against the school district, claiming that they’d violated Khan’s civil rights - in essence prompting her to choose between her job and her faith. Islamic leaders have championed the suit, stating that “It rings the bell of justice that they will fight for a Muslim wanting to perform a religious act.” But some in the legal community are accusing the Obama administration of overreaching and pandering to Muslims. Where is the line as for religious freedom in the workplace? Is the Justice Department defending religious rights or going too far?
Guest:
Michael W. McConnell, Director, Stanford Constitutional Law Center; Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
Live from the Border with California’s AG
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris is joined by a group of more than 20 local, state and federal law enforcement partners who will visit the California-Mexico border today to discuss how to enhance collaborative efforts to combat transnational gangs.
Guest:
Kamala Harris, California Attorney General
Why can’t Los Angeles enforce its own laws?
Massage parlors, marijuana clinics, billboards gone wild…all of these elements are considered blights on the landscape of Los Angeles and although city council has attempted to regulate all of them, the laws as they stand are not being stringently enforced. Obviously the city is in a severe budget crisis which means less funding for the city attorney's office and other agencies that are tasked with overseeing these businesses. Nonetheless, citizens have a right to expect a certain level of enforcement. Is the proliferation of massage parlors, which after all are places for consenting adults, a problem worthy of more attention? Is the spread of billboards and marijuana clinics cause for concern in this belt-tightening era? One could argue that these are actually stimulating the economy. How are other cities managing to keep a reign on these same issues? Is Los Angeles right to save its resources for other issues? Or should laws be enforced at all costs?
Guest:
Rick Orlov, City Hall reporter for the LA Daily News
100 years after the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, what’s changed in the garment industry?
A century ago this week, as hundreds of women and some men toiled inside, a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York. Within minutes flames engulfed the top floors of the factory, trapping many workers inside. Some of them crowded onto an outside fire escape which collapsed from the weight and the heat of the fire, plummeting a hundred feet, killing everyone on it. Another fire escape had been locked by the factory owners to prevent theft. Witnesses say dozens of people jumped from the burning building to their death below. In all 146 people died, most of them immigrant workers. The event galvanized activists and became the impetus for major changes in the labor industry including the creation of guidelines for safe working conditions, new collective bargaining rights and better pay. But 100 years on what’s the legacy of the men and women who lost their lives in that fire? How much has the garment industry changed? And is Los Angeles the hotbed of sweatshop labor that many think it is? We’ll get the latest from industry and labor insiders and hear your thoughts on the So Cal garment industry.
Guests:
Julie Su, Litigation Director for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center
Ilse Metchek, Executive Director of the California Fashion Association
The Band’s Robbie Robertson is back
Canadian born singer-songwriter Robbie Robertson is back with How To Become Clairvoyant - his first album in more than a decade. Robertson is best known as a founding member and chief songwriter of The Band, writing such classic songs as “The Weight,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and “I Shall Be Released.” Since The Band’s 1976 dissolution he has released a string of solo albums, worked with producer Daniel Lanois, scored several films and tried his hand at acting. With How To Become Clairvoyant, Robertson has returned with a very personal collection of twelve original songs in which he publicly addresses everything from a period of hard living with Martin Scorsese to strange encounters at New York’s famed Chelsea Hotel. The album features guest appearances from Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes and a band of top notch session musicians. How has Robertson managed to find a common thread with such diverse artists as Bob Dylan, U2, Peter Gabriel and Eric Clapton? Where can the influence of Robbie Robertson and The Band be heard today?
Guest:
Robbie Robertson, singer-songwriter, founding member and primary songwriter of The Band; his latest album is How To Become Clairvoyant and will be released on April 5th by Macro-Biotic Records/429 Records