We’ll examine the state of healthcare as California’s Senate passes a Medicare-for-All Bill. And, a year after the passage of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the ACLU is calling for greater progress in women’s pay equality. Plus, author and analyst Dilip Hiro joins us to discuss his latest book After Empire, the Birth of a Multipolar World.

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This week on Uprising:

* President Fails to Deliver in First State of the Union
* Black Agenda Report on Indicting Bush, Cheney, and Rice
* Violence Reignites in Iraq After “Chemical Ali’s” Execution
* Empire Notes on “Haiti’s Curse”
* Rest in Peace, Howard Zinn

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President Fails to Deliver in First State of the Union

In his more than an hour-long, first State of the Union address, President Barack Obama outlined his agenda for the future by contextualizing his first year in office. Cognizant of …

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Officials from about seventy countries and organizations gathered in London this past week to discuss how to wind down the Afghanistan war, based on President Obama’s pledge last year to start withdrawing troops by 2011. The summit was attended by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, as well as Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who proposed peace talks with the Taliban. While the US responded negatively to any reconciliation, there is some acquiescence on so-called “reintegration” of “low-level fighters.” Meanwhile, as increased numbers of US and NATO troops are actively engaged in the war, part of their mission is a vague and sometimes clumsy mandate to provide aid. Recently a number of prominent aid organizations active in Afghanistan released a report harshly criticizing the militarization of aid, asserting that it is unethical, …

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Liberté, égalité, fraternité —Freedom, Equality, and Brotherhood—are the three ideals historically espoused by the French government. But on Tuesday, French Republican legislators voted to submit a 644-page report to Parliament promoting a resolution in favor of a “burqa ban.” The report asserts that nearly 2000 French Muslim women, a quarter of whom are converts, who wear a full-body, face-cloaking veil called the burqa, are acting “contrary to the values of the Republic.” If resolved and passed, a law banning burqas could result in fines for women wearing the burqa in public places. The burqa ban, first proposed in 2008, was originally a complete ban on burqas, but that level of prohibition is the source of some Constitutional qualms. Tuesday’s report—whose passage was assured by the boycott of …

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Testimony in the trial challenging California’s ban on same-sex marriages concluded on Wednesday. U.S. Chief District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker will review evidence presented in the two-and-a-half weeks of court proceedings over Proposition 8 before issuing a ruling expected sometime in March. Whatever decision is handed down will most likely be appealed until reaching a higher court. The historic and high-profile trial featured the testimony of sixteen witnesses and experts for the plaintiffs challenging the passage of the same-sex marriage ban by California voters in 2008. The defense, on the other hand, only called two witnesses. David Boies, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs said that his side’s arguments had established that marriage was a fundamental right and that banning gays and lesbians from the institution had …

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Glen Ford is a writer and radio commentator and the Executive Editor of The Black Agenda Report. This week’s commentary is on Indicting Bush, Cheney, and Rice.

Visit www.blackagendareport.com for more information.

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The Death of Anna LoPizzo

Back in the day on January 29th, 1912, Anna LoPizzo, an immigrant mill worker, was shot and killed in a picket line of the Lawrence Textile Strike. The American Woolen Company in Massachusetts had pilfered out wage decreases to its mostly female workforce at its four mills. Workers, like LoPizzo, took action, as salaries before the cut were already meager. Also popularly known as the “Bread and Roses” strike, the work stoppage was organized by the Industrial Workers of the World. In a major turning point, witnesses said that police office Oscar Benoit was the trigger man that fired the fatal shot that killed LoPizzo. Authorities then used her death to try and deal a blow to the strike by arresting labor organizers Joseph Ettor …

“Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions, it only guarantees equality of opportunity.” — Irving Kristol

We’ll speak with investigative reporter Anand Gopal about his latest work exposing night raids by American troops in Afghanistan. And, we’ll go to France to discuss the proposed ban on women wearing burqas in public places with Senagalese-French sociologist Fatou Sow. Plus, an update on the trial of Proposition 8. And this week’s Black Agenda Report.

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The legendary historian, activist, and writer Howard Zinn passed away yesterday at the age of 87. He died of a heart attack while traveling through Southern California. The author of the best-selling A People’s History of the United States, which sold over a million copies, influenced countless numbers of people, including myself. Howard Zinn was a bombardier in World War II, an experience that forever changed his opinion of war. Howard Zinn wrote books, taught at universities, marched and protested in the civil rights movement, the anti-Vietnam war movement, and today’s antiwar movements. He was a mentor, a role-model, and a personal hero to many of us. Reading A People’s History of the United States changed my life. I had no idea, even after having taken history courses in college, …