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This week on Uprising:

* WikiLeaks Sparks Cyber War, Even As New Revelations Emerge
* Black Agenda Report on the US And North Korea
* FCC Fails to Protect Neutrality
* Last Minute Negotiations in Cancun May Yield Little

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WikiLeaks Sparks Cyber War, Even As New Revelations Emerge

After numerous private companies dropped their services to the whistle blowing website, WikiLeaks.org, a netroots uprising has taken form to punish companies like Mastercard, Visa, and Paypal. Mastercard this week had its website targeted by a Distributed Denial of Service or DDOS attack by a group of anonymous hackers, as part of what they are calling Operation Payback. The cyber offense is aimed at companies that the hackers feel are censoring WikiLeaks. The websites of Visa, Paypal, Sarah Palin’s Political Action Committee, and the Swedish government were also temporarily shut down as well as that of the lawyer representing the two women that WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange has been accused of sexually assaulting, and the lawyer in Sweden representing Julian Assange himself. Meanwhile, Assange has been in British custody and awaits possible extradition to Sweden. Among the latest revelations being published by news outlets with access to the so-called “cable-gate” diplomatic documents, is that the oil giant Shell essentially controls much of the Nigerian government through top posts in ministries and were sharing intelligence with the US government. Also revealed in the documents is the fact that NATO had created a contingency plan to defend Eastern Europe against a potential war with Russia. Additionally, British conservative politicians were found to promise the US a pro-American regime and buy more US weapons if they won elections this year. Here in the US, the right-wing rhetoric against the document leaks has been directed soley at WikiLeaks and Assange, not the Guardian, New York Times, or other news outlets who also have access to the data and are publishing new revelations everyday. Sarah Palin has said Assange ought to be “hunted down like Osama bin Laden,” and some Republicans are set to introduce a bill to the Senate declaring Assange a “transnational threat.”

GUESTS: Ray McGovern, Retired Army Intelligence Officer, served for 27 years as a CIA analyst. He is currently on the Steering group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). Ted Rall, syndicated political cartoonist, columnist, graphic novelist, and war correspondent. His books include “The Year of Loving Dangerously,” “Silk Road to Ruin: Is Central Asia the New Middle East?,” “To Afghanistan and Back: A Graphic Travelogue,” and his latest, “The Anti-American Manifesto”

Read Julian Assange’s recent commentary here: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/12/07-1

Black Agenda Report on the US And North Korea

Glen Ford is a writer and radio commentator and the Executive Editor of The Black Agenda Report. This week’s commentary is on the US and North Korea.

Visit www.blackagendareport.com for more information.

FCC Fails to Protect Neutrality

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski last week announced proposed recommendations for regulating Internet access. The proposal, which is set for a December 21st vote, attempts to protect against carriers banning lawful content and separates fixed broadband access from mobile access. Generating concern among net neutrality advocates is language they say is ambiguous and therefore could lead to a two-tier system, in which faster service would be offered to customers at an increased price. The FCC is not the only federal agency tackling the uncharted territory of Internet regulation. The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports that the US departments of Justice and Homeland Security conducted a new type of raid in the last few days of November. The agencies seized the domain names of 82 websites they said committed copyright infringement. However only some of the material on each site was deemed unlawful, but the domain seizures blocked access to all content. Using federal government muscle to shut-down websites with no prior warning is new, but numerous concerned parties are warning that proposed legislation would make these potentially unconstitutional actions common. There is a bright spot coming out of federal Internet regulation, however, in the form a proposed “Do Not Track” list. The Federal Trade Commission is promoting the creation of a mechanism that would allow users to opt-in and prohibit advertisers from tracking their online activity, such as the news sites they read or products they search for.

GUEST: Tim Karr, Campaign Director with Free Press

Find out more at: www.freepress.net and www.savetheinternet.com

Last Minute Negotiations in Cancun May Yield Little

Friday was the last official day of the two week international gathering in Cancun on Climate Change sponsored by the United Nations. As negotiations reached a fever pitch questions still remain as of this recording, on whether or not to extend the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the emissions cuts that it requires from 40 industrialized countries. Japan emerged as the most intractable obstacle to extending Kyoto, followed by Canada and Russia. Rich nations want a single accord that all countries regardless of development levels would be bound by, while developing nations want a separate accord for themselves and a stronger Kyoto protocol for nations that have been most responsible for current dangerous greenhouse gas levels. Also at stake in Cancun are the following issues: levels of acceptable temperature rise for the planet, how to measure emissions and hold nations accountable for agreed-upon emissions levels, a special agreement on protecting rainforests called REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), a development fund to help poor countries develop greener technologies, and an adaptation fund to help poor countries adapt to current climate-change related effects. Earlier in the week, thousands of activists marched from the Cancun city center to the luxury hotel where the meeting is being held, demanding significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions particularly by rich countries. They also demanded an extension of the Kyoto Protocol and the exclusion of the World Bank in climate financing. Bolivia’s president Evo Morales has been particularly outspoken, echoing many of the concerns of activists inside the meeting halls. The next Climate talks are scheduled for Durban, South Africa, a year from now.

GUEST: Jamie Henn, Communications Director of 350.org

Find out more at www.350.org.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day

“Because we don’t think about future generations, they will never forget us.” — Henrik Tikkanen