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Underreported: Anti-Union Violence in Colombia

In mid-March, the Ohio-based banana company Chiquita Brands admitted to paying $1.7 million to Colombian right-wing death squads who have killed thousands, including union organizers. In Colombia, trade unionists and organizers who are not murdered are often threatened, attacked, or kidnapped. On Underreported, we'll find out what's behind the anti-union violence there, and how it might affect US-Colombian free trade agreements. Maria McFarland is a researcher with Human Rights Watch, and Adam Isacson is director of programs for the Center for International Policy’s Colombia Program.

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EarthBoxes Against Hunger

The EarthBox is a low-input food-growing system that's highly water-efficient and can grow food virtually anywhere, from NYC rooftops to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is using the EarthBox as part of its strategy for achieving food security for all. Eric Mayer is with the FAO of the UN.

Event:
New York City's First International EarthBox Planting Day will take place in Union Square Park (East 17th Street) on Sunday April 15th. For more information, go to The Growing Connection website.

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Miss Manners Does Venice

Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners, says that even Venice’s most illustrious tourists (like Tennyson and Twain) would have benefited from some advice on how to present themselves and behave while in Italy’s famous canal city. Her new book is No Vulgar Hotel: The Desire and Pursuit of Venice.

Have you made a cultural faux pas while visiting another country? Leave a comment about what happened.

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Venice and the Islamic World

The arts in Venice were strongly influenced by the Mamluks in Egypt, the Ottomans in Turkey, and the Safavids in Iran. Venice and the Islamic World: 828-1797 is at the Metropolitan Museum through July 8. Leonard talks to curator Stefano Carboni.

Slideshow: Venice and the Islamic World

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India's Last Mughal

William Dalrymple describes the 1857 Siege of Delhi, which began as a resistance to British control and ended by claiming thousands of lives. In his book The Last Mughal, Dalrymple explains why the Mughal Dynasty – which had controlled much of India for centuries – was another casualty of the Siege of Delhi.

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