Aug
06
2013
Members of Congress have been repeatedly thwarted when attempting to learn basic information about the National Security Agency (NSA) and the secret FISA court which authorizes its activities, documents provided by two House members demonstrate.
From the beginning of the NSA controversy, the agency’s defenders have insisted that Congress is aware of the disclosed programs and exercises robust supervision over them. “These programs are subject to congressional oversight and congressional reauthorization and congressional debate,” President Obama …
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Aug
06
2013
Florida Gov. Rick Scott will resume the state’s purge of suspected non-U.S. citizens from the voter rolls, now that a Supreme Court decision striking down a key part of the Voting Rights Act has cleared the way.
“We were recently informed that the State plans to continue their efforts to remove non-citizens from Florida’s voter rolls,” Penelope Townsley, the Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor, said in a statement. Last week, Florida’s director of elections Maria Matthews also announced …
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Aug
06
2013
A hunger strike that started over a routine cell search and escalated into a worldwide debate on the future of Guantanamo continues. For some, it may have expedited a release, but to others, it has brought only humiliation.
RT’s GITMO hunger strike timeline
At its peak more than two-thirds of Guantanamo’s 166 prisoners refused food. More than 60 continue the strike at this time.
It began in February when several prisoners accused guards at Camp Delta of confiscating …
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Aug
06
2013
A pair of videos posted online show police probing the genitals and anal regions of three women they claim to suspect of possessing marijuana. In one video, a woman is seen bent over and grimacing as an off camera police officer conducts the search. Shortly before this search, a male officer explains to the woman that he is calling a female officer over “because I ain’t about to get up close and personal with your …
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Aug
06
2013
The big media story this week is not the purchase of The Washington Post by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.
For as long as there have been newspapers, rich people have bought them as toys and tools.
So, while it is significant that Bezos bought the Post for $250 million, this is not exactly a definitional development on the media landscape.
Bezos is not even the only rich guy to buy a major metropolitan daily paper in the past week. …
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Aug
05
2013
We’ll examine the state of US-Russia relations in the wake of Edward Snowden’s asylum in Russia. And, we’ll look at the parallels between federal spying programs and the LAPD’s local surveillance efforts. Plus, why is the GOP threatening to pull debate coverage from NBC and CNN over films about Hillary Clinton? …
Aug
05
2013
A barrier built to contain the water has already been breached, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority warned.
This means the amount of contaminated water seeping into the Pacific Ocean could accelerate rapidly, it said.
There has been spate of water leaks and power failures at the plant, devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Its operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), has been criticised heavily for its lack of transparency over the leaks.
‘Weak sense of crisis’
Tepco admitted for the …
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Aug
05
2013
“The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined non-conformists who are dedicated to justice, peace, and brotherhood.” — Martin Luther King Jr. …
Aug
05
2013
Egypt’s interim Prime Minister Mohammad El Baradei has issued a warning to supporters of recently ousted Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammad Morsi, saying the army would use force, albeit minimally, if mass protests by Morsi’s supporters continued.
The announcement signals the latest in a strange period during Egypt revolutionary struggle after popular revolt removed former dictator Hosni Mubarak, leading to the …
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Uprising’s Monday guest expert Rose Aguilar, op-ed writer for Al Jazeera English and host of Your Call on KALW in San Francisco, analyzes today’s news headlines: 
