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Uprising’s guest expert Rahul Mahajan, sociologist and news analyst and author of Full Spectrum Dominance: US Power in Iraq and Beyond, analyzes today’s news headlines:

Israel has announced that it intercepted a ship carrying Syrian made rockets sent by Iran to Gaza. The ship, caught about 1000 miles from Israel’s southern border, was apparently flying a Panamanian flag and also had civilians on board. While Israel is accusing Iran of fueling “terrorism,” spokespeople for Hamas in Gaza dismissed the news as a “silly joke” intended to justify the continued blockade of Gaza. Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned the word BDS 18 times in his speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee yesterday. BDS is the anti-occupation movement which stands for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions. Netanyahu’s speech may be a sign that the movement is having an impact. Click here for a New York Times article about Israel’s interception of the ship, and click here for a Commondreams article about the AIPAC speech.

The US Supreme court yesterday voted to broadly extend protections to whistleblowers. In a vote of 6-3, the justices expanded the current legal protections that exist for employees of publicly traded companies, to those who work for their subcontractors. The corporate outcry has been predictably sharp, with lawyers claiming that now millions of companies could come under attack from their workers. Surprisingly Justice Sonia Sotomayor was among the 3 dissenting judges. Click here for a Reuters article about the story.

And finally, Marshall “Eddie” Conway, a former member of the Black Panther Party was released after more than 40 years of imprisonment. He was convicted of killing a police officer in Baltimore. While civil rights groups like the NAACP are celebrating his release saying he was unfairly convicted, police unions are outraged. Mainstream media outlets are labeling Conway a “cop killer” in their headlines. Click here for a CBS article about the story.