Jul
25
2013
Uprising’s Friday guest expert Arun Gupta, Independent journalist and regular contributor to AlterNet, Truthout and The Guardian, and co-founder of the Occupied Wall Street Journal and The Indypendent, analyzes today’s news headlines:
In one of the biggest cases of insider trading fraud in US history, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has brought criminal charges against the hedge fund known as SAC Capital. SAC Capital is operated by one of the nation’s richest men, Stephen Cohen, who was not himself charged. The charges stem from allegations of fraud over more than a decade starting in 1999. The charges come in the wake of a major speech by President Obama on the economy yesterday where he reminded Americans how much CEO pay has increased since the recession while wages remain depressed.
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s late June ruling on the Voting Rights Act, Attorney General Eric Holder has just announced that the Justice Department will require Texas to obtain approval over any changes in its voting laws. A number of states have resumed their process of eroding voting law after the Supreme Court decision.
For the first time in five years the Senate held hearings on closing down the US detainee facility in Guantanamo, Cuba, where nearly 70 prisoners have been on an indefinite hunger strike. The hearing was notable for the absence of any White House representatives.
Meanwhile, in a follow up to a story we reported on yesterday, the House vote to cut NSA funding and scope of surveillance failed narrowly by a vote of 217 to 205 after intense lobbying from White House and NSA officials.
Final arguments in the trial of Bradley Manning are scheduled to take place today. The judge in the military trial is expected to issue a verdict within days and a sentencing hearing will take place next week. Stay tuned to Uprising for coverage of the story.
