• Listen to this segment with Rahul Mahajan

Uprising’s guest expert Rahul Mahajan, sitting in for Maya Rockeymoore. He’s a sociologist, news analyst, and author of Full Spectrum Dominance: US Power in Iraq and Beyond, analyzes today’s news headlines:

The Nobel Peace prize has been awarded to Pakistani teen Malala Yousafzai, and Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi. The joint award was apparently given because, according to the Nobel committee chairman, it is, “an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism.” The 17-year old Yousafzai was seriously injured by members of the Taliban in response to her advocacy for girls education in Pakistan, while the 60-year old Satyarthi has been a vocal advocate against child labor in India. Yousafzai becomes the youngest person to ever win a Nobel prize. Click here for a New York Times article about the story.

The revelation of mass graves in a rural part of Southern Mexico, likely containing the bodies of recently disappeared students, has sparked major protests. Forty three male students disappeared in the city of Iguala, in the state of Guerrero two weeks ago. The Mexican government has arrested dozens of people in relation to the disappearances, including 26 police officers. It is believed that police turned over the students to a drug cartel. So far at least 28 bodies have been discovered but tests have yet to determine that they are the missing students. Parents and relatives of the students have been holding prayer vigils for their loved ones. The incident has captured national attention in Mexico, and is seen as yet another ugly chapter in the nation’s long drawn out, and bloody drug war. Click here for a Guardian newspaper article about the story.

And finally, here in the US, in the lead up to the midterm elections which are just weeks away, the usual shenanigans over voter ID laws are playing out – this time in Wisconsin and Texas. The Supreme Court, in a surprise move yesterday, blocked Wisconsin’s law that would have required voters to present IDs at the ballot box. The law was expected to “cause chaos” if implemented. A similar law in Texas was struck down earlier by a federal court. Click here for a Guardian newspaper article about the story.