Oct 03 2008
Weekly Digest – 10/03/08
Our weekly edition is a nationally syndicated one-hour digest of the best of our daily coverage.
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This week on Uprising:
* Dissecting the VP Debate
* Black Agenda Report on Blacks and the Economy
* China Milk Scandal Reaches US; FDA Drags Feet
* Toyota Drivers Beware: Exploited Workers Created Your Car
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Dissecting the VP Debate
The mainstream media consensus on Thursday’s vice presidential debate is that it was a draw. Senator Joe Biden won because he actually beat most of his opponent’s arguments. Governor Sarah Palin won because she exceeded the very low expectations that had been placed on her. But voters had a different opinion. Two instant polls by CBS and CNN showed that voters declared Joe Biden the winner with about a 20 point margin over Palin. No third party VP candidates were allowed into the debate. The moderator, Gwen Ifill, who is writing a book about Black American politics, was targeted by the McCain campaign as biased before the debate. But her questions came across as fair and balanced. Topics discussed included the economy of course, but also energy policy, taxes, health care, global warming, LGBT rights, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, US policy in Iran, Pakistan, and Israel, the genocide in Darfur, and the role of the Vice President in US politics. Did the debate change the dynamics of the race between the two major party candidates? It’s hard to say just yet…
GUESTS: Mimi Abramowitz, professor at the Hunter College School of Social Work in New York, author of “Regulating the Lives of Women: Social Welfare Policy from Colonial Times to the Present” and co-author of “Taxes Are a Women’s Issue: Reframing the Debate;” Phyllis Bennis, Director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, author of numerous books including her latest, Understanding the US-Iran Crisis: A Primer
Black Agenda Report on Blacks and the Economy
Glen Ford is a writer and radio commentator and the Executive Editor of The Black Agenda Report. This week’s commentary is on blacks and the economy.
Visit www.blackagendareport.com for more information.
China Milk Scandal Reaches US; FDA Drags Feet
A popular brand of Chinese milk candy has been found to be tainted with the toxin, melamine. The same chemical was found in infant formula that has affected over 50,000 children across China with kidney problems. Thirteen thousand babies remain hospitalized and four are dead. The White Rabbit candy is an extremely popular item, exported to over 50 countries and can be found in Chinatown stores in the United States. Former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted a bag of the candy to President Nixon during his historic visit to China in 1972. The US Food and Drug Administration has recommended stores pull White Rabbit candy from their shelves and has also warned against instant coffee and milk tea products made by Taiwan’s Car Food Industrial Co. A Japanese brand of cheesecake made made in China, and Cadbury brand’s Chinese made chocolate has been found tainted with Melamine. No illnesses have yet been reported in the US. Melamine is an industrial chemical used in making plastic and fertilizer.
GUEST: Tony Corbo, Legislative Representative with Food and Water Watch. For more information, visit www.foodandwaterwatch.org.
Toyota Drivers Beware: Exploited Workers Created Your Car
With sales of their Hybrid vehicles skyrocketing amid high gas prices, Toyota Corporation is racing past auto giants like General Motors. The company enjoys a reputation for investing in modest design, reasonable prices, and environmentally friendly cars. Many progressives, including myself, have bought Toyota Prius’s in order to use less fossil fuels, and lighten the impact of greenhouse gases on the environment. And with nearly 45 miles to the gallon, its easier on the wallet! But, behind the unassuming facade, lies a disturbing underbelly of worker exploitation, guest worker trafficking, and union busting. A new report released by Corpwatch details Toyota’s labor practices in Toyota City, Japan, the Philippines, Burma, and right here in the US. The report is authored by Barbara Briggs, assistant director of the National Labor Committee.
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Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day
“You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man’s freedom. You can only be free if I am free.” — Clarence Darrow
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