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This week on Uprising:

* Monbiot: Proposed Global Warming Cuts Far Too Weak
* Empire Notes on Venezuela’s Economy
* Oprah Endorses Obama: Will it Work?
* Black Agenda Report on Walmart
* FCC Chair Gives In To Big Media

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Monbiot: Proposed Global Warming Cuts Far Too Weak

GUEST: George Monbiot, columnist for the Guardian newspaper and author of Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning

About ten thousand delegates from more than 180 nations have been meeting in Bali, Indonesia, to attempt to extend the Kyoto Protocol Global Warming Pact beyond 2012. Opposition from the United States, Canada, and Japan is likely to stand in the way of any attempts to include emission reduction targets in a “road map” for future global warming talks. The US said a proposal for wealthy nations to reduce emissions by 25-40% by 2020, was “totally unrealistic” and “unhelpful”. The proposal is backed by Britain and the European Union. In an unusual step, the UN published the text of a four-page draft agreement, based on the first week of informal discussions, on its website over the weekend. A final version of the draft is expected to be agreed upon by Friday December 14th, as this program is being recorded. Meanwhile climate change activists in cities around the world held rallies and demonstrations last weekend to urge leaders at the Bali conference to take action against global warming.

Read George Monbiot’s articles at www.monbiot.com. You can hear the entire hour-long interview with George Monbiot on his book, Heat, here: http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=2172.

Empire Notes on Venezuela’s Economy

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

Empire Notes are weekly commentaries filed by Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance and The New Crusade. Today commentary is on Venezuela’s Economy.

Empire Notes is online at www.empirenotes.org.

Oprah Endorses Obama: Will it Work?

GUEST: Bruce Dixon, Managing Editor of the Black Agenda Report

Ahead of the primary elections, Senator Barack Obama and international television celebrity Oprah Winfrey toured three key states last weekend. The two spoke before crowds of tens of thousands of Obama supporters in New Hampshire, Iowa, and South Carolina. In an unprecedented political endorsement, Winfrey rallied on behalf of Obama’s presidential bid in strategic states at strategic times. The weekend tour came at a time when those three states have primary elections scheduled in just a few weeks. Senator Barack Obama and his main democratic rival, Senator Hillary Clinton, are just percentage points shy of each other in all three states. Political analysts differ on what is now being called the “Oprah effect.” While Oprah Winfrey’s book club inevitably catapults books onto best seller lists some analysts believe her celebrity endorsement of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign won’t likely turn into votes. Others note that her influence as the host of a program that reaches forty-six million viewers can only be beneficial to the campaign.

Read Bruce Dixon’s writings at www.blackagendareport.com.

Black Agenda Report on Walmart

GUEST: Glen Ford is a writer and radio commentator and the Executive Editor of The Black Agenda Report

This week’s commentary is about Walmart. Visit www.blackagendareport.com for more information.

FCC Chair Gives In To Big Media

GUEST: Alexandra Russell, Program Director of Free Press

Last week, the Tribune Company media group filed in federal court to challenge a media ownership decision by the Federal Communications Commission. Tribune was granted a permanent waiver on cross-ownership restrictions by the FCC in Chicago, but received temporary waivers in other major cities. The legal appeal contends that the legal group should have been granted permanent exemptions on regulations against owning both newspapers and stations in major cities throughout the United States. In the meantime, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin believes that cross-ownership regulations should be done away with in top media markets and has set a vote on such a proposal for December 18th. In response, the Senate Commerce Committee recently passed a Media Ownership Act. If the bill were to become law, it would adopt new rules increasing localism as well as representation of women and minorities in media ownership.

For more information, visit www.stopbigmedia.com.

Free Press will hold its next Media Reform Conference in Minneapolis June 6-8, 2008. For more information, visit www.freepress.net.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day

“I thought we lived in the U.S. of A., the United States of America. But actually we live in the U.S. of A., the United States of Advertising. Freedom of expression is guaranteed — if you’ve got the money!” — Bill Hicks