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World Social Forums in Mali, Venezuela
GUESTS: Sujatha Fernandes, Researcher and Lecturer on Latin American Politics and Social Movements at Princeton University, currently based in Venezuela, Djiadia Dagnoko, on the national organizing committee of the Mali World Social Forum, in charge of coordinating forum activities.

The sixth annual World Social Forum this year takes place in three cities on three different continents. On January 19th, 20,000 activists gathered in Bamako, the capital of Mali in West Africa, to discuss cotton subsidies and debt relief for poor countries. Today, January 24th, activists are kicking off the second part of the World Social Forum in Caracas, Venezuela where 100,000 are expected to attend. There is an anti-imperialist march planned for today on the streets of Caracas. President Hugo Chavez is expected to address the forum. Others expected to attend the World Social Forum in Caracas include GoldStar Mother for Peace, Cindy Sheehan and Uruguayan journalist, Eduardo Galeano. The third World Social Forum will take place in Asia, in March in the Pakistani city of Karachi.

For more information, visit www.worldsocialforum.org.

Empire Notes
GUEST: Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade

We go now to our weekly commentary Empire Notes by Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade. Today’s commentary continues from last week’s topic of a new strategy for victory in Iraq.

Empire Notes is online at www.empirenotes.org.

The Arabs are Coming To Los Angeles
GUESTS: Dean Obeidallah, co-founder and co-executive producer of The NY Arab-American Comedy Festival, Maysoon Zayid – actor and co-founder of the NY Arab-American Comedy Festival, Waleed F. Zuaiter Festival Co-Producer in 2005, LA 2006.

For the first time ever, the much-acclaimed New York Arab-American Comedy Festival is coming to Los Angeles. It starts today, January 24th and continues through Thursday the 26th. The Festival has been featured on national television and radio programs including CNN, NPR, BBC World and in newspapers around the world. According to it’s website arabcomedy.org, the festival features comedic theater consisting of six original plays which take on topics from Hollywood’s casting of Arabs, to Arab-Americans fears of Arab terrorists, and even lessons on how to be a “real Arab”! I spoke with three of the organizers and performers of the festival on yesterday’s Uprising. Because of the power outage at Mount Wilson yesterday morning, only our online audience was able to hear the interview. So we’re rebroadcasting it on today’s show. My guests are Dean Obeidallah, co-founder and co-executive producer of The NY Arab-American Comedy Festival, Maysoon Zayid – actor and co-founder of the NY Arab-American Comedy Festival, Waleed F. Zuaiter Festival Co-Producer in 2005, LA 2006.

For more information, to check the schedule of events, and to purchase tickets, visit www.arabcomedy.org.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day:

“Comedy is so disarming. When people are laughing, it’s very hard for them to continue to be mad at you.” – Dean Obeidallah, Arab American comic.