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This week on Uprising:

* Obama’s Middle East Speech Leaves Most Unimpressed
* Undocumented Immigrant Speaks Out on Immigration Policy
* Rampant Flooding Consistent with Climate Change Predictions

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Obama’s Middle East Speech Leaves Most Unimpressed

President Obama on Thursday delivered a lengthy speech on current events and US policy goals in the Middle East and North Africa. The President opened by welcoming, “a new chapter in American diplomacy” spurred by “extraordinary” political change. In response to criticism of his administration’s inconsistent response to popular uprisings Obama clearly stated, “It will be the policy of the United States to promote reform across the region, and to support transitions to democracy.” He said the US is opposed to violence and repression by any regime, including by “friends” like the governments of Yemen and Bahrain. He also condemned violence against protesters in Iran, Syria, and Libya – reiterating that US military intervention in Libya satisfied an international mandate to protect Libyan civilians. He generally encouraged cooperation between ethnic and religious groups, urged transparency in governance, and stressed the importance of freedom of speech for individuals and the press. Obama then moved on to give a detailed outline of his administration’s economic goals for the region. The President promoted free trade agreements, economic modernization, and the creation of Enterprise Funds as necessary for robust economies in developing democratic nations. Obama ended by addressing the impasse in negotiations between Israel and Palestine. He made headlines for stating the United States believes in a two-state solution based on Israel’s 1967 borders. This would not include the most controversial swaths of land gained after the six-day war.

GUEST: Stephen Zunes is a professor of politics and chair of Middle Eastern studies at the University of San Francisco and serves as a contributing editor of Tikkun. His most recent book, co-authored with Jacob Mundy, is Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution

Undocumented Immigrant Speaks Out on Immigration Policy

As President Obama launched his push for comprehensive immigration reform, Congress has taken up the DREAM Act once more. In December, after the House had passed it, Senate Republicans threatened to fillibuster the DREAM Act, which would offer undocumented youth a path to legal residency and citizenship if they go to college or join the military. It failed by just five votes as Democrats failed to muster enough support. Now, both houses of Congress will consider the DREAM Act again even as conservatives are mobilizing their opposition to it. Currently thousands of undocumented students graduate from colleges and universities and then have no legal employment prospects. While it remains to be seen if the DREAM Act can garner enough support this time around in Washington DC, states like California are considering their own versions of the act. The high-profile activism by undocumented students in support of the DREAM Act has had a strong effect on the national consciousness. So much so that the University of San Francisco has just announced the awarding of an honorary doctorate to Isabel Castillo, a young undocumented graduate who has organized and led rallies and staged sit-ins for the DREAM Act. In fact, she was arrested for a sit-in at the office of Senator Harry Reid, but avoided deportation.

GUEST: Isabel Castillo, DREAM Activist, undocumented student, just awarded an honorary doctorate from University of San Francisco

Rampant Flooding Consistent with Climate Change Predictions

The record flooding along the Mississippi River in recent weeks has caused serious upheaval in several states. Weeks of heavy rains, coupled with run off from the severe winter season, resulted in floods that submerged tens of thousands of homes, and more than 3 million acres of farm land. Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana have experienced the worst of the disaster. In Vicksburg, Mississippi, on Friday, as this program is being recorded, the Mississippi river is expected to reach a record height of 58 and a half feet. The Army Corps of Engineers has has decided to prevent the flooding of New Orleans and Baton Rouge as we saw during Hurricane Katrina, by attempting to divert the Mississippi River into the Atchafalaya (uh-cha-fuh-lie-uh) River basin. On Thursday a 69 year old man collapsed in the flood waters and was killed. President Obama earlier in the week met with survivors of the floods, first responders, and other volunteers in Memphis, Tennessee. He was reported as saying in the closed-door meeting, “We’re there for you, and we’re grateful for your resilience.” While there has been some media coverage of the floods and their impacts, little has been reported about the links with climate change. Such record flooding is precisely the type of disastrous consequence predicted by those who study global warming and its effects.

GUEST: Todd Sanford, Climate Scientist with the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day

“Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition.” — Adam Smith