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Uprising’s guest expert Adele Stan longtime chronicler of the right wing, and senior Washington correspondent for RHRealityCheck.org, analyzes today’s news headlines:

Member states of the United Nations are sending the strongest message yet to the US and its allies that they deserve the right to privacy. A draft UN resolution on a universal right to privacy in the digital age was championed by Brazil and Germany in the face of opposition from the so-called “Five Eyes” nations: the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The resolution will become UN consensus unless a member state calls for a vote by next Tuesday. Click here for a Guardian report about the story.

The big news on Capitol Hill this week is a major change to the way the US Senate votes on confirming Presidential nominations and appointments. For almost 40 years, the Senate has required a super majority to override any filibuster threats from the minority party. Since the Democrats have held a majority in the Senate, Republicans have sharply escalated their threats of filibustering Obama’s nominations. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid cited this before the bill passed 52-48. Now, despite hysterical opposition from Republicans, Obama needs only a simple majority in the Senate to confirm his nominations. Click here for a Washington Post article about the story.

One of the most contentious incidents of the era of Jim Crow racism may have found some closure this week when the state of Alabama officially pardoned three black men among those known as the “Scottsboro Boys.” The posthumous pardons were unanimously issued to Haywood Patterson, Charles Weems and Andy Wright, accused along with five other young black men in the 1930s of sexually assaulting white women. An all-white jury convicted 8 of the “Scottsboro boys” and a judge sentenced them to death despite evidence of their innocence. The incident became a strong symbol of the racism of Southern states and inspired countless books, plays, and documentaries. Click here for a New York Times article about the story.