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This week on Uprising: A Special Look at the Obama Victory

* Afghans to Obama: End the Occupation
* Empire Notes: “Only in America”
* Bush Sneaks in 11th Hour Gutting of Environmental Regulations
* Black Agenda Report on the Election Impact in Dixie
* A Brutal Hate Crime and the Future of Immigration Reform

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Afghans to Obama: End the Occupation

A suicide car bomber struck a US military convoy passing through a crowded market in eastern Afghanistan on Friday killing at least 20 civilians and one US soldier and wounding 74 civilians. The cycle of violence has become a hallmark of the US occupation and the Taliban insurgency. Accused of killing 65 Afghans in yet another wedding party massacre last week, US military officials are now claiming that they have evidence of the Taliban holding the party hostage to lure US forces into killing the civilians and stoking more anti-American sentiment. The accusation came from an anonymous US official who declined to share the evidence for the claim. Afghan president Hamid Karzai has repeatedly denounced the civilian deaths and urged the US to stop relying so much on air strikes. The same week as the wedding party killings, US airstrikes killed 7 civilians in the Northwest province of Baghdis. Among them were two sons and a grandson of a provincial council member, Mohammad Tawakil Khan. Mourning his loss, Khan remarked bitterly, “The Americans are hitting civilian houses all the time. They don’t care, they just say it was a mistake… Afghan officials are only offering their condolences. After some 100 times that they have killed civilians, we have to take revenge and afterward say our condolences to them.” The civilian death toll has stoked anger across Afghanistan and raised increasing calls for an end to the occupation. However, President elect Barack Obama’s foreign policy centerpiece was an increase in US troops to Afghanistan.

GUEST: Eman, a member of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)

NOTE: Uprising host, Sonali Kolhatkar volunteers her time for the Afghan Women’s Mission, a US-based non-profit organization that supports RAWA’s projects.

Empire Notes: “Only in America”

Empire Notes are weekly commentaries filed by Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade. Today’s commentary is called “Only in America”

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

Visit www.empirenotes.org for more information.

Bush Sneaks in 11th Hour Gutting of Environmental Regulations

While major attention is focused on President elect Barack Obama’s transition to power, the Bush Administration is spending its twilight days slipping in last minute policies, particularly on environmental regulation. Environmental groups have taken note of recent proposed changes by the Interior Department including revisions to environmental regulations that would change the Endangered Species Act or ESA, open up millions of acres of land for development, and revoke emergency authorities to protect public lands. If finalized under a shortened public comment period, the proposals would hamper the ESA in terms of regulating climate change even if animals face extinction due to global warming. In addition, mining companies could potentially enjoy deregulation of mountaintop removal mining. Environmentalists see these latest moves by the Interior Department as parting shots to what they characterize as the already devastating legacy of the Bush administration on the environment. However, while keeping a watchful eye on Bush, the groups are also gearing up for the incoming Obama administration. The Natural Resources Defense Council in particular plans to pressure the new President in his first 100 days to push forward with greening the economy under his New Energy for America plan.

GUEST: John Walke, Senior Attorney and Clean Air Director of the Natural Resources Defenses Council

Black Agenda Report on the Election Impact in Dixie

Glen Ford is a writer and radio commentator and the Executive Editor of The Black Agenda Report. This week’s commentary is on the Election Impact in Dixie

Visit www.blackagendareport.com for more information.

Brutal Hate Crime and the Future of Immigration Reform

A thirty seven year old immigrant was killed recently in Long Island by 7 teenagers, in an incident that police are acknowledging as a hate crime. Marcello Lucero was stabbed to death on November 8th by Patchogue-Medford High School students who were apparently “wanting to beat up some Mexicans.” Lucero arrived in the US 16 years ago from Ecuador and was the sole breadwinner for his family. A Suffolk County prosecutor said the “lynch mob” surrounded Lucero near a commuter railroad station and beat and stabbed him. Suffolk County executive, Steve Levy, immediately issued a news release denouncing what he called a hate crime. In fact FBI records on hate crimes against Latinos show the numbers increasing since 2003. Luis Valenzuela, executive director of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance denounced anti-immigrant legislation by Levy and others in recent times as factors leading to Lucero’s death.

GUESTS: Luis Valenzuela, Executive Director of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance, Raul Anorve, Executive Director of IDEPSCA, one of the hunger strikers with the Fast for our Future campaign.

For more information, visit www.longislandimmigrantalliance.org and www.idepsca.org.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day

“All that is essential for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” — Edmund Burke