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This week on Uprising:

* Violence in Syria Peaks Amid International Silence
* Republicans Win Big in Debt Ceiling Negotiations
* What Are Progressives to do About the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats?

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Violence in Syria Peaks Amid International Silence

A new round of fighting has broken out in the besieged city of Hama in Syria. The nearly week-long battle between Syrian armed forces and civilians has resulted in at least 200 dead. On Sunday July 31st, 140 civilians were reportedly killed in the bloodiest day of the 5-month long Syrian uprising. Protestors have been demanding the resignation of their president Bashar al-Assad, who has been in power for 11 years, following his father’s 29 year reign. The assault on Hama is being seen as a pre-emptive strike launched by President Assad against the protesters’ plan to up the ante during the Holy month of Ramadan, which began earlier in the week. In a speech on Monday commemorating the 66th anniversary of the nation’s army, Assad referred to the protesters as “warmongers and blood merchants,” and their actions on Sunday as a “vicious attack,” despite the obvious fact that his army was the perpetrator of the assault. Assad went on to praise his troops for “foiling the enemies [of Syria].” With government forces clamping down so hard, Syrians who have lost loved ones have been forced to bury their dead in public parks and gardens as access to cemeteries has become more difficult. More than 2,000 civilians have been killed during the protests since this March. Foreign media are not being allowed in the country, and online videos and blogs by activists are the few sources of information reaching the outside world. President Obama said he was “appalled by the Syrian government’s use of violence and brutality against its own people.” He added, “The reports out of Hama are horrifying and demonstrate the true character of the Syrian regime.” However, the US’s actions in another Middle Eastern country, namely Libya, are seen as hypocritical, given that they are based ostensibly on protecting civilians from a brutal dictator. Conservative commentators in particular have increased the pressure for Obama to take similar action in Syria as in Libya.

GUEST: Joshua Landis, Director of Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, and writer of the blog, Syria Comment

Read Joshua Landis’ blog Syria Comment here: www.joshualandis.com.

Republicans Win Big in Debt Ceiling Negotiations

Weeks of contentious debt-ceiling and deficit reduction negotiations came to an end on August 2nd, less than 24 hours before the US would have defaulted on its loan obligations. Senate Majority Leader and Democrat Harry Reid praised the final bill, saying ” Neither side got everything it wanted, but our nation got a bipartisan compromise that averts an economic catastrophe, and puts us on a path toward fiscal stability. ” However Americans don’t share the up-beat assessment. On Thursday a NewYork Times/CBS News poll found that over three-quarters of Americans believe lawmakers were more concerned with scoring political points than with resolving the debt-ceiling crisis. It also found a whopping 82% of Americans disapprove of Congress as a whole. Congressional Democrats are not happy either. They don’t characterize the negotiation process or the resulting Budget Control Act of 2011 as a triumph of “compromise.” The GOP succeeded in passing a deficit reduction plan comprised only of cuts, with no new taxes on the wealthiest Americans or big corporations. After the bill passed through the House, Speaker John Boehner declared triumphantly that Republicans, “got 98% of what we wanted.” On Monday, before the legislation was signed into law, Leader of the Congressional Black Caucus Emanuel Cleaver called it, “a sugar-coated Satan sandwich.” Nancy Pelosi, who played a role in crafting the legislation and drumming up votes, repeated Cleaver’s words the same day, adding, “with a side of satan fries.” On Monday, as the Senate was poised to approve the bill, I spoke with Robert Scheer and David Dayen about the details of the final bill, and more broadly about the where Obama is leading the Democratic party.

GUESTS: David Dayen, political writer at FireDogLake.com; Robert Scheer co-founder with Zuade Kaufman and editor-in-chief of the progressive online news site Truthdig.com. He is a professor of communications at the University of Southern California. Scheer’s latest book is, The Great American Stickup: How Reagan Republicans and Clinton Democrats Enriched Wall Street While Mugging Main Street.

Read David Dayen’s work at news.firedoglake.com and at FireDogLake.com

Read Robert Scheer’s column at www.TruthDig.com and listen to TruthDig radio on KPFK on Wednesdays at 2 pm.

What Are Progressives to do About the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats?

Before the ink from President Obama’s signature had even dried on the Budget Control Act of 2011, lobbyists were preparing to fight future cuts to their industries. While much was made of a possible financial default if the debt ceiling was not raised and the possible subsequent impact on the economy, the bill did not include even the slightest tax increase for the wealthy and corporations, nor did it include any measures for job creation. Mainstream media coverage this week has focused more on the political impacts of the battle in Congress and the White House, rather than the details of the bill and the impact of cuts to ordinary Americans. The day after the Budget Control Act of 2011 was signed into law by President Obama, I spoke with Aimee Allison co-executive director of RootsAction about how progressives can respond to the current political state of affairs where social gains made over decades are being decimated wholesale.

GUEST: Aimee Allison, co-executive director of RootsAction, former host of KPFA’s Morning Show

Find out more at www.rootsaction.org.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day

“Bipartisan usually means that a larger-than-usual deception is being carried out.” — George Carlin