By Rich Fisher
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kwgs/local-kwgs-953768.mp3
Tulsa, Oklahoma – On our show today, we hear from Laina Lopez, counsel at Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe (a law firm based in Washington, DC). In a free-to-the-public lecture to be given tomorrow (Tuesday the 22nd) at 2pm in John Rogers Hall on the University of Tulsa campus --- a lecture that's sponsored by TU's Museum Science and Management Program, the TU College of Law, and the TU Anthropology Department --- Lopez will present a brief history of the federal-court case known as Rubin v. Iran. In this case, now pending in a federal court in Chicago, victims of terrorism who won a lawsuit against Iran have asked that ancient Persian artifacts currently housed in American museums be sold at judicial auction to generate proceeds to satisfy Iran's money judgment. As Lopez explains on our program, the case raises some interesting questions. For example, are there legal remedies for international terrorism within the U.S. court system? And should the archaeological treasures of a given nation --- even a nation labeled by the U.S. government as a sponsor of terrorism --- be used as pawns in legal disputes between individuals and governments? Also on today's ST, our commentator Jeff Martin has some thoughts about the Borders chain of bookstores in the wake of that nationwide company's recent bankruptcy filing.