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Uprising’s guest expert Arun Gupta, Independent Journalist and regular contributor to the Guardian, In These Times, The Progressive, and Truthout, and co-founder of the Occupied Wall Street Journal and the Indypendent, analyzes today’s news headlines:

A 60s era spying program called Operation Minaret snooped on Vietnam war critics like MLK and Muhammad Ali. Newly declassified material from the National Security Agency has revealed its sordid history, which in light of the current spying controversy, underscores the need for reform even more. Operation Minaret apparently involved eavesdropping on the overseas phone calls of war critics like Dr. King, but also some journalists and members of Congress. Even the NSA itself has referred to the program as “disreputable if not outright illegal.” Meanwhile, a bi-partisan group Senators has just introduced the Intelligence Oversight and Surveillance Reform Act, to curb the NSA’s spying activities. Click here to read a Guardian newspaper article and here to read an RT.com article about the story.

If you’re a soccer fan, did you know that thousands of low-wage workers are expected to sacrifice their lives for the 2022 World Cup, slated to take place in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar? The Guardian newspaper has investigated the deaths of dozens of migrant, mostly South Asian workers, who have been forced to work in conditions of extreme heat and are literally losing their lives to build the stadiums, hotels, and other infrastructure for the sporting event to be held 9 years from now. At the current rate, 4000 workers will die before the project is complete. Click here for a Guardian newspaper article about the story.

And ending on a bit of good news – an amendment to the government spending bill passed by the Senate this week that was dubbed the Monsanto Protection Act, was stripped out of the bill after mass public protests. The rider to the bill was seen as a special giveaway to agricultural giant known for promoting genetically modified foods. Click here for a a Commondreams article about the story.