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This week on Uprising:

* Super Bowl Half-time Sponsor Exploits Liberian Workers
* Black Agenda Report on Democrats’ Fear of Bush
* Costa Rican Student Activist Rails Against CAFTA
* Empire Notes on the Israeli Siege of Gaza
* How Will Suharto Be Remembered?

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Super Bowl Half-time Sponsor Exploits Liberian Workers

GUEST: Emira Woods, co-Director of Foreign Policy in Focus

With millions of people in the United States tuning into the Super Bowl on Sunday, a controversy has emerged around the sporting event’s halftime show. More shocking than any possible “wardrobe malfunctions,” this year’s halftime show is sponsored by the Bridgestone Firestone corporation that has faced allegations for exploitative working conditions in Liberia. The rubber tire manufacturer has held a plantation in the African nation since 1926 and is currently accused of abusing workers. A class action suit by former workers in 2005 alleges that Bridgestone Firestone employed child labor. The ongoing legal complaint also accuses the corporation of underpaying its workers at $3.19 per day, issuing punitive quotas, and exposing employees to hazardous chemicals and pesticides. Most recently the corporation refused to meet and negotiate with newly elected union officials. Last December, workers went out on strike as a result of the company’s decision, only to face repression from Liberia’s police forces.

For more information, visit www.stopfirestone.org.

Black Agenda Report on Democrats’ Fear of Bush

GUEST: Glen Ford is a writer and radio commentator and the Executive Editor of The Black Agenda Report

This week’s commentary is about the Democrats’ Fear of Bush. Visit www.blackagendareport.com for more information.

Costa Rican Student Activist Rails Against CAFTA

GUEST: Sebastian Sanchez-Retana, university student and anti-CAFTA activist from Costa Rica

Earlier this week, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias acknowledged that his nation will miss its deadline to fully comply with a free-trade agreement with the United States. Implementation of the Central America Free Trade Agreement or CAFTA, has been slowed by thirteen laws needed in order to pass it. So far, Costa Rica’s congress has only approved four of those laws, making it highly unlikely that the February 29th deadline will be met. Legislative opponents of CAFTA caution that the laws could ultimately harm the country. One controversial law in particular, that has not yet been passed, would open state controlled insurance and telecommunications up for privatization. In a national referendum in Costa Rica last October, CAFTA passed by the thinnest of margins. The pact was approved by the US Congress with just a two vote majority. Costa Rica is the last of six countries in the region to fully implement the trade agreement and is likely to be granted more time for ratification. Meanwhile social movements and congressional opponents in the country believe the fight is far from over.

To contact Sebastian, email him at imposiblemente@gmail.com.

Empire Notes on the Siege of Gaza

GUEST: Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade

Empire Notes are weekly commentaries filed by Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade. Today’s commentary is about the Israeli siege of Gaza.

Empire Notes is online at www.empirenotes.org.

How Will Suharto Be Remembered?

GUEST: John Miller, National coordinator for the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network

Indonesia’s long time former dictator, Mohamed Suharto, is dead at the age of 86. He was given a state funeral with full military honors. Suharto ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for 32 years before being overthrown in an uprising sparked by the Asian financial crisis in 1998. In speaking at his funeral, current Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono dismissed Suharto’s bloody legacy, saying he “made mistakes because no one is perfect.” Suharto came to power in a US-backed coup in 1965, and stands accused of committing genocide. The US Embassy in Jakarta supplied Suharto with a list of Indonesian Communist Party members. Between 500,000 and a million people vanished in the several months after the coup. Despite some praise for improving Indonesia’s economy, Suharto was also accused of of extreme corruption. According to the UN and World Bank, Suharto embezzled an estimated $15-35 billion in state funds. Nine years after Suharto was ousted Indonesia’s government remains one of the most corrupt in the world. Today we’ll take an a deep look at the legacy of Suharto.

For more information, visit www.etan.org.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day

“No dictator, no invader, can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever. There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom. Against that power, governments and tyrants and armies cannot stand.” — J. Michael Straczynski