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This week on Uprising:

* Terrorist Attacks in Arizona Linked to Hate-filled Rightwing Media
* Black Agenda Report on What Would MLK Do in 2011?
* Haiti Earthquake: One Year Later
* Government, BP, Ignore Shocking Health Effects in Gulf Coast

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Terrorist Attacks in Arizona Linked to Hate-filled Rightwing Media

In the wake of the deadly shooting in Arizona last week that killed 6 people and left several severely wounded, there is a national dialogue on the power of violent rhetoric. President Obama, in a speech on Wednesday referred to the “sharply polarized” discourse of today’s politics, and made a plea for civility. Arizona Democratic Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, the target of the attack, remains in critical condition but is hoped to make a recovery – her doctors have already cited her medical progress as “miraculous.” But among those who were killed were a federal judge and a nine year old girl. Jared Loughner, the alleged shooter, who is now in custody, has been linked to a right wing Anti-Semetic group called American Renaissance. Congresswoman Giffords is Jewish. Much of the media coverage of the massacre has focused on the apparent mental instability of Loughner and whether the vitriolic rhetoric against President Obama and the Democrats coming from the likes of the Tea Party and Sarah Palin was responsible. Palin has taken down a map from her website that depicted 20 Democratic supporters of Obama’s healthcare bill including Giffords, with crosshairs over gunsights. She has also deleted her famous tweet “Don’t Retreat, Instead Reload,” and, most recently has come under fire for using the term “blood libel” to defend herself. The loaded term has long been considered an anti-semetic slur. Pima County Sheriff Dupnik seemed to sum it up well in the hours after what no one is calling a “terrorist attack,” saying “We have become a very angry country, part of it very ugly. And that even though we have free speech in this country, constantly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, making the people angry at government . . . may benefit some party, but I think those people have to consider that they may have some responsibility when incidents like this occur and may occur in the future.”

GUESTS: Roberto Lovato, writer with New America Media and a frequent contributor to The Nation Magazine, Eric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America

Read Roberto’s writings here: http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/search.html?author_search=roberto+lovato&submit=Search+NAM+DB

Find out more at www.mediamatters.org.

Black Agenda Report on What Would MLK Do in 2011?

Glen Ford is a writer and radio commentator and the Executive Editor of The Black Agenda Report. This week’s commentary is on What Would MLK Do in 2011?

Visit www.blackagendareport.com for more information.

Haiti Earthquake: One Year Later

January 12th marked the one-year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake that caused catastrophic devastation to the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. The carnage remains incomprehensible: an estimated 3 million Haitians were affected, with 230,000 dead, 300,000 injured, 1.3 million displaced, and $13 billion in damages. Although billions in aid from world governments including the United States, NGOs and corporations were initially pledged, only a fraction has reached hard hit Haitian communities. According to The United Nations Office of the Special Envoy for Haiti (OSE), of the 55 public sector groups that pledged money to Haiti, only $1.28 billion in 2010 of the $2.01 billion has been disbursed. With billions yet to reach the Haitian people, the resulting reality is that of a lawless vacuum, stricken with death and disease. A cholera outbreak began to surface during the end of the rainy season last year in the rural areas of northwestern Haiti. Four months later, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the epidemic has killed more than 2,000 and sickened more than 91,000, spreading to all parts of Haiti and into the neighboring Dominican Republic. The UN now projects a worst-case scenario of 400,000 cases of cholera. Also on the rise are epidemic rates of rape and other forms of violent crime in the 1,300 tent cities that dot the Port-au-Prince area. A survey conducted in 2006 placed the number of rapes at 50 a day in Port-au-Prince; since the earthquake, that figure is said to have doubled. Organizations such as the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti are attempting to combat this nightmarish escalation; however, with the present absence of funds, the IJDH are left limited abilities to provide assistance.

GUESTS: Mac McClelland, human rights reporter for Mother Jones magazine, Kim Ives, journalist with Haiti Liberte newspaper, and a host on WBAI Pacifica Radio in New York

Visit www.motherjones.com, www.haiti-liberte.com and www.ijdh.org.

Government, BP, Ignore Shocking Health Effects in Gulf

The National Commission on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Deepwater Drilling on Tuesday released it final report to the President. The report, titled “Deepwater: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling”, is the result of an Executive Order to investigate the BP oil spill. The Commission made many recommendations for reform, including increased industry regulation, but these are non-binding. Three corporations were involved in the construction and maintenance of the Macando well, and all three have publicly reacted to the release. BP stated it looked forward to reviewing the report, and Transocean placed all blame squarely on BP. The third corporation, Halliburton, disagreed with portions of the report that found fault with its cement work. In a press release Tyson Slocum, Director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program stated, “Now, to save lives, the environment and the Gulf economy, Congress must take up and pass [existing stalled legislation] and adopt the commission’s recommendations.” Meanwhile, the effects of the spill, which unleashed 4.9 million barrels of oil into Gulf coast waters, are ongoing and devastating. Reporting for Al Jazeera English and Truthout.org independent journalist Dahr Jamail has been following the effects of oil and dispersant chemicals on the local environment and Gulf Coast residents. Jamail found that coastal waters still have brown, foamy top layers, sand covered in matter resembling coffee grounds, and very high levels of chemical toxins. Seafood has long been declared safe to eat by area industries, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, the EPA and President Obama. However testing reveals Blue Crab, Shrimp, mussels, fish, and snails contain dangerous levels of toxins. Gulf coast residents, from clean-up workers submerged in Corexit treated waters to residents 100 miles from the coast are experiencing serious health problems. Issues range from headaches and respiratory problems to cancer.

GUEST: Dahr Jamail, award-winning independent journalist, author of Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq

Read Dahr Jamail’s reports here: www.dahrjamailiraq.com

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day:

“Deception is a cruel act… It often has many players on different stages that corrode the soul.” — Donna A. Favors