The murky diplomacy surrounding Chen Guangcheng. The perils of freelancing: what happens when you don’t get paid? Beastie Boy Adam "MCA" Yauch dead at 47. Larry Mantle is joined by KPCC film critics Peter Rainer and Wade Major to discuss this week’s new films, including The Avengers, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, A Little Bit of Heaven, Mother’s Day and more. TGI-FilmWeek! Polar bear survival in the changing Arctic wilderness.
The murky diplomacy surrounding Chen Guangcheng
On Thursday, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) held an emergency congressional hearing regarding the blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng.
Chen, who was recently being housed in the American Embassy until leaving for a hospital room in Beijing, called in to the hearing to express his desire to come to the United States to rest, as well as his fear for his family’s safety. Smith, chairman of the Congressional Executive Commission on China, told Chen that this situation is a test for both China and the U.S., and plans to have a follow-up hearing with testimonials from administration officials.
Chen gave up refuge in Beijing’s American Embassy when an American official allegedly told him that Chinese authorities threatened to kill his wife if he stayed. The Obama Administration is denying that claim, as well as the accusation that Chen’s release was a strategic move on part of the U.S. to smooth over relations with China in advance of lengthy economic talks. Those talks were definitely sullied by the entire ordeal, as both countries expressed their disapproval of how the other was handling the situation.
Today, the U.S. has announced that Chen will be allowed to enter the country to accept a temporary university fellowship and receive medical treatment. China is expected to expedite Chen’s application process for travel documents, and the U.S. government will also give top priority to visa requests for Chen and his family. The entire affair is quickly becoming politicized, as human rights activists calling for Chen’s immediate release to the U.S. are being joined by the likes of Mitt Romney and Republicans in Congress.
What is the historical diplomatic protocol for handling this type of situation? What are the rules for seeking political asylum in the U.S.? Did the embassy do the right thing in letting Chen leave in the first place? Did Chen leave of his own volition, or was he coerced? Will the university fellowship be an appropriate resolution to this situation? Is this the last phase of this ordeal, or is there still more to come?
Guests:
Ted Fishman, China expert and author of “China, Inc.: How the Rise of the Next Superpower Challenges America and the World”
Sophie Richardson, China Director, Human Rights Watch
The perils of freelancing: what happens when you don’t get paid?
How many times have you done freelance work for which you were not paid? Sara Horowitz, the director of the Freelancers Union, is launching a website called the “World’s Largest Invoice” for independent workers to air their grievances and draw attention to the problem of “deadbeat clients.”
According to Horowitz, freelancers are owed $7.5 million in unpaid wages. When the union surveyed its members on the topic of payment, 77 percent of respondents said they had “been stiffed.”
A bill is being introduced in New York that would allow freelancers to file complaints with the Department of Labor, but currently freelance workers do not have that right. If this bill passes in New York, it would set a precedent for other states.
WEIGH IN
If you are a freelancer and were stiffed for work you completed, how did you respond?
GUEST
Randy Renick, Labor Lawyer and Partner with Hadsell, Stormer, Keeny, Richardson & Renick LLP; specializes in wage and hour class action litigation
Are you a freelancer?
One of our journalists wants to hear from freelancers about the difficulties they encounter in getting paid and the strategies they have used to get the check.
Not every type of freelancer in every industry has this issue, so we're interested in hearing from people in a variety of professions.
Responses are confidential, used only for journalism. Click here to get in touch with one of our reporters.
Beastie Boy Adam 'MCA' Yauch dead at 47
One of Hip-Hop's legendary groups, The Beastie Boys lost one of it's founding members in Adam 'MCA' Yauch today.
In January of 2009 Yauch revealed that he had surgery for a cancer in a salivary gland and a lymph node. Information on the cause of Yauch's death wasn't immediately available.
Yauch's death would come less than a month after the Beastie Boys were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Because of his fight with cancer, Yauch did not attend, Rolling Stone reported.
New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones says that besides being a fan of his music, he knew Adam on a personal level.
"I went to school with Mike...I knew them all. Mike and Adam were parents in the same neighborhood that I am a parent," said Frere-Jones. "It's like watching the first of my cohorts die. He was a lovely man."
GUEST
Sash Frere-Jones, Pop music writer, The New Yorker
FilmWeek: The Avengers, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Citizen Gangster, A Little Bit of Heaven and more
Larry Mantle is joined by KPCC film critics Peter Rainer and Wade Major to discuss this week’s new films, including The Avengers, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Citizen Gangster, A Little Bit of Heaven and more. TGI-FilmWeek!
Guests:
Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and Christian Science Monitor
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and boxoffice.com
The Avengers trailer:
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel trailer:
A Little Bit of Heaven trailer:
Guests:
Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and Christian Science Monitor
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and boxoffice.com
Polar bear survival in the changing Arctic wilderness
"To the Arctic 3D" is the newest IMAX film from MacGillivray Freeman Films and the first co-production from Warner Bros. Pictures, MacGillivray Freeman Films and IMAX Corporation.
Narrated by Academy Award winner Meryl Streep, the film is ultimate tale of survival and takes audiences on a spectacular journey into the lives of a mother polar bear and her two seven-month-old cubs as they navigate the changing Arctic wilderness they call home.
"To the Arctic 3D" features songs by Paul McCartney and it’s the first film presentation of One World One Ocean, a new media campaign established by the MacGillivrays to raise awareness about the importance of protecting and preserving ocean ecosystems.
Guest:
Greg MacGillivray, director of "To the Arctic 3D," released exclusively to select IMAX® theaters April 20. MacGillivray is a two-time Academy Award® nominated filmmaker. To the Arctic 3D is produced by his son and partner, Shaun MacGillivray.