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This week on Uprising:

* Progressives Join Republicans in Calling for Defeat of Healthcare Bill
* Black Agenda Report on Disaster Capitalism on Display in Copenhagen
* Hundreds of Solidarity Activists Plan New Year’s Eve March in Gaza to Commemorate 1 Year Anniversary of Israeli War
* Glenn Beck Named Misinformer of the Year!

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Progressives Join Republicans in Calling for Defeat of Healthcare Bill

The United States Senate cast a Christmas Eve final vote of 60 to 39 on the massive healthcare overhaul that has occupied much of Congress and the White House this past year. In overcoming the last hurdle to a filibuster-proof 60 votes, Democrats made sweet-heart deals with certain Senators. Among them is Ben Nelson of Nebraska, who opposed the bill saying he wanted no federal subsidies connected to insurance-provided abortions. Nelson eventually conceded after being promised full and permanent coverage of his state’s expanded Medicaid pool. The bill mandates health insurance coverage for all Americans, providing subsidies for some, and exemptions for others, creates a private insurance market place for individuals to buy plans, expands the medicaid program, eventually prohibits discrimination against sick people, and increases funding for community clinics. However it also allows insurance companies to charge elderly people exorbitant rates, and gives drug companies monopolies to curb the sales of generic drugs. And so Republicans woke up this week to find strange bedfellows: Progressives who are opposing the bill because of too many giveaways to the health insurance industry. In recent days Howard Dean, former chair of the DNC, and the SEIU have been joined by the National Nurses United, the newly formed largest national nurses union in the country, and Physicians for a National Health Program, in calling for a no vote on the bill.

GUEST: David Himmelstein, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program, Michael Lighty, Director of Public Policy at the National Nurses United

My first question is to Michael Lighty. I spoke with them the day before the Senate vote.

Black Agenda Report on Disaster Capitalism on Display in Copenhagen

Glen Ford is a writer and radio commentator and the Executive Editor of The Black Agenda Report. This week’s commentary is called “Disaster Capitalism on Display in Copenhagen.”

Visit www.blackagendareport.com for more information.

Hundreds of Solidarity Activists Plan New Year’s Eve March in Gaza to Commemorate 1 Year Anniversary of Israeli War

This week marks the one year anniversary of Israel’s latest assault on Gaza which over three weeks from December 2008 into January 2009, resulted in a massive destruction of Gaza infrastructure and the loss of over a thousand Gazan lives. Earlier this week sixteen human rights organizations including Amnesty International and Oxfam, released a report saying that the world has betrayed the people of Gaza by failing to help lift the Israeli blockade that pre-dated the war by years and that continues to prevent any serious reconstruction in the aftermath of the war. To mark the devastation of the war and the on-going Israeli siege of Gaza, 1400 international activists from 42 countries are converging on the Egyptian border with Gaza near the end of this year. They want to break the siege by entering Gaza through the Egyptian border on New Year’s Eve. Delegates include the Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker, Filipino Member of Parliament and anti-globalization activist Walden Bello, and 85 year-old holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein. Once inside of Gaza, participants plan to join in solidarity with Gazans in a march to the Erez/Israeli border. On the Israeli side, Palestinians and Jews will also be gathering in the call to end the siege. Events in solidarity with the march conceived in the spirit of non-violence have been organized around the world.

GUESTS: Shae Popovich, Actor and Associate Director of the Office of the Americas, Nan Withington, Palestinian Rights Activist, both are local participants in the Gaza Freedom March.

Nan Withington announced the following contact information for the Egyptian authorities during the show, to urge Egyptian authorities to open the border to Gaza:

In the Egyptian government: ahmed.azzam@mfa.gov.eg

In the Egyptian Embassy: omaryoussef@hotmail.com, and 202-895-5400.

12:15 Shae – are there other actions taking place around the world in solidarity with the people of Gaza?

12:56 When do you both leave for Cairo?

Glenn Beck Named Misinformer of the Year!

Media Matters for America is a Washington, DC based progressive research and information center dedicated to monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the media. And yesterday they named their 2009 Misinformer of the Year: Glenn Beck.

Media Matters made their announcement to give Glenn Beck the presitigious Misinformer of the Year award after analyzing more than 11,000 research items, blog posts, and audio and video clips. Eric Burns, president of Media Matters said, “Each year, Media Matters has the difficult task of determining which media figure has been the most prolific and influential purveyor of conservative misinformation… But this year, our choice was easy. Glenn Beck’s paranoid conspiracy theories, disturbing use of race and race-baiting, and tea party cheerleading made him a shoo-in for Misinformer of the Year for 2009.”

GUEST: Eric Bolhert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America

Beginning: My guest is Eric Bolhert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America – Eric thanks for joining us.

For more information, visit www.mediamatters.org.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day

“A lie would have no sense unless the truth were felt to be dangerous.” -– Alfred Adler