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This week on Uprising:

* Egyptians Stay Strong, Braving Armed Thugs, Beatings, and Death, to Demand Mubarak Step Down
* The Right-Wing Assault on Women, Reproductive Rights, and the Definition of Rape
* Misogyny and other Superbowl Politics

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Egyptians Stay Strong, Braving Armed Thugs, Beatings, and Death, to Demand Mubarak Step Down

The uprising in Egypt has not abated over the past week, with major demonstrations continuing this week calling on President Hosni Mubarak to end his 30 year reign. In the middle of the week, actions turned violent when hundreds of pro-Mubarak supporters, mostly men, reportedly bused into Cairo, began attacking the anti-government protesters which included whole families: men, women, and children. Despite the fact that the Military has issued a statement recognizing the “legitimate demands” of the people, and vowing not to use force against them, soldiers reportedly took no action to prevent pro-Mubarak people from using violence against protesters. After realizing the futility of shutting down the internet and other communications to quell the protests, internet services are reportedly back up. President Obama, after receiving criticism for not supporting the pro-democracy movement strongly enough, sent a message to Mubarak to not run in the next elections, according to the New York Times. Mubarak followed with a speech echoing those words – he refuses to step down but has promised not to run in the next election. Instead Mubarak has appointed a new Prime Minister, Omar Suleiman. Suleiman is a close confidante of the President and the move is meant to quell popular demands for change. On Friday it is being reported that the Obama Administration is in discussions with Mubarak to prepare for his immediate resignation. Such a move would be followed by a transitional government headed by Omar Suleiman and supported by the Egyptian Army. But Egyptians are not buying it. Friday was declared a “Day of Departure” by protesters, calling on Mubarak to leave immediately.

GUESTS: Amin Mahmoud, with the Alliance of Egyptian Americans, part of the the Coalition of Egyptian Organizations, Ghada Talhami, emeritus professor in the department of politics at Lake Forest College. Her books include “The Mobilization of Muslim Women in Egypt, Emad Mekay, Based in Cairo, he has reported for the New York Times and Bloomberg News. He is currently the Editor of America in Arabic News Service

The Right-Wing Assault on Women, Reproductive Rights, and the Definition of Rape

The controversial bill H.R. 3, also known as the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortions Act”, will be reviewed by the Judiciary Committee’s constitution subcommittee next week before being passed on to the Senate and President Obama. The bill was introduced by Republican Rep. Chris Smith last month. It has received bipartisan support within the House, and attempts to limit federal abortion funding to pregnancies that result from “forcible rape.” This bill makes the so-called Hyde Amendment permanent and eliminates Medicaid funding for most abortions of pregnancies that result from statutory rape and incest. Under H.R. 3, self-employed people and people with health savings accounts would not be able to treat abortions as medical expenses. The Act is expected to be coldly received by the Senate and rejected by President Obama, who has previously expressed support for abortion rights. In parallel with the introduction of H.R. 3, several pro-life groups have launched a campaign to eliminate Title X family planning funding for institutions, despite the fact that the funding cannot be used to fund abortions. Each year, Title X funding supports thousands of community health clinics, including Planned Parenthood, a group that provided sex education, contraceptives, preventative cancer screenings and counseling to 5 million Americans in 2008. Activists from the pro-life campaign Live Action have dedicated themselves to dismantling Planned Parenthood through a series of smear campaigns. Between January 11th and 15th, several activists from Live Action posed as sex trafficking victims and Planned Parenthood employees and filmed themselves advising young women to lie about their health information in order to obtain abortions. The FBI has since launched an investigation into the activist group’s actions.

GUEST: Loretta Ross, founding member and National Coordinator of Sister Song, a Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective

Find out more at www.sistersong.net.

Find out more at www.sistersong.net.

Misogyny and other Superbowl Politics

“Big Ben” Roethlisberger, the Pittsburg Steelers star quarter-back, will lead his team against Wisconsin’s Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl on Sunday. Roesthlisberger, 28, is credited with being the power-house player behind the 2006 and 2009 Steelers’ Super Bowl wins. His on-the-field-career is celebrated, but off-the-field he has a rocky past. Roethlisberger has twice been accused of sexual assault for incidents taking place in 2008 and 2010. Neither case went to criminal court, but one alleged victim is currently pursuing a civil suit. After the 2010 allegations were dropped the National Football League suspended Roethlisberger for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The suspension was directly related to the circumstances surrounding the 2010 sexual assault allegations, which were made after Roethlisberger spent a night out drinking in a college-town bar. The NFL commissioner said Roethlisberger put college students and himself in danger by purchasing drinks for underage students and by drinking excessively. The initial suspension of 6 games was later reduced to 4, and Big Ben remains a celebrity. In the wake of last Spring’s allegations Sports reporter Dave Zirin said the NFL needed to send a strong message that misogyny and violence against women would not be tolerated. Women make-up football’s fastest growing group of fans.

GUEST: Dave Zirin, new book, “Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games We Love”

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day:

“We do not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err because this is more comfortable.” — Alexander Solzhenitsyn