Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly is a production of THIRTEEN for WNET. Visit www.pbs.org/religionandethics for additional information.   Show # 1639 will be fed over PBS at 5:00 p.m. EST on May 31. PROGRAM NOTE: Due to pledge, please check local listings.

• Garment Workers – The garment industry is Cambodia’s largest income earner, employing hundreds of thousands of workers who make garments for big-name retailers in the U.S. and Europe   As Fred de Sam Lazaro reports, despite agreements that establish labor standards for working conditions and minimum wages, labor organizations claim workers are exploited but the government says they aren’t and that paying them more would lead to the loss of jobs to other countries where labor is even cheaper. (Originally aired May 18, 2012) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/may-18-2012/cambodia-garment-worker-justice/11033/

• The Mission Continues – Lucky Severson reports on a rapidly growing organization that enlists veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The Mission Continues, which was founded in 2007 by former Navy Seal and Rhodes Scholar Eric Greitens, provides opportunities for military veterans to continue to serve, an effort that aids both them and their communities. (Originally aired November 9, 2012) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/november-9-2012/the-mission-continues/13724/

• Whirling Dervishes – Like other major religions, Islam has a mystical branch, Sufism, which teaches many ways to experience spiritual union with the divine.  One of those paths – dating from the 13th century – is dance, specifically the dancing of whirling dervishes, who were followers of the poet Rumi.  Manjula Kumar, a program manager at the Smithsonian Institution, describes the origins and meaning of whirling dervish dancing. (Originally aired February 1, 2013) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/february-1-2013/sufi-whirling-dervishes/14517/