A curious turn of events is taking shape in Latin America, one that demonstrates at least two levels of international change. The leaders of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay have stated their recognition of a Palestinian state within the 'green line', the 1948 armistice line between Israel and the Palestinians.

The atomic energy industry has suffered another astonishing defeat. Because of it, 2010 again left the "nuclear renaissance" in the Dark Age that defines the technology.

But an Armageddon-style battle looms when Congress returns next year.

The push to build new nuclear plants depends now, as always, on federal subsidies. Fifty-three years after the first commercial reactor opened at Shippingport, Pennsylvania, no private funders will step forward to pay for a "new generation" of nukes.

So the industry remains mired in unsolved waste problems, disturbing vulnerability to terror and error, uninsured liability in case of a major catastrophe, and unapproved new design proposals.

Two new reactor construction projects in Europe---one in Finland and the other at Flamanville, France---are sinking in gargantuan cost overruns and multi-year delays. To financiers and energy experts worldwide, it's a clear indicator the "rebirth" of this failed technology is a hopeless quagmire.

You say protests are outmoded because the corporate media ignores them (unless they're corporate sponsored). I say the corporate media is outmoded because it ignores protests.

The coming year is going to see intense resistance to the plutopentagonocracy from volunteer representatives of that majority of Americans that opposes its agenda. We are not going to ask for the media cartel's approval or permission. We are going to continue developing our own communications systems, which are already working well.

If we abandon the work of protest and resistance, those acts will soon be criminalized. If we abandon the work of self-communication we will each come to believe that the rest of us support that criminalization. There is another way.

He may still possess the poise of a confident leader and an eloquent intellectual, but the presidency of Barack Obama is now suffering its most difficult phase to date.

Certainly, Obama cannot solely be blamed for all the factors that have stifled his country's chances of recovery from the failures of the Bush era. But the man who promised the moon has now extended the abhorrent and morally unjustifiable tax cuts for America's wealthiest class. The "sweeping" $858 billion tax bill was signed into law on December 17. It includes an $801 billion package of tax cuts, extending Bush's tax break for the rich for two more years – at a time when the majority of Americans are reeling under the weight of a failing economy and persistently high unemployment.

Dear Editor:
In the November election, the under-signed (Bill Buckel) ran as a write-in candidate for the U.S. Congress in the 15th District. The on-ballot candidates in this race were: William Kammerer (L), Mary Jo Kilroy (D), David Ryon (C), and Steve Stivers (R). Mr. Stivers won the election.

If we have elections so that voters can give direction to their government, then there has to be a functioning open market place for competing ideas. In theory, with current technology (personal desk-top computers and candidate web sites) it should be easy and inexpensive for a voter to find out how candidates stand on issues of interest. So, I joined the contest for Congress with a campaign budget of no more than $1,000, a campaign web site, and a log book to record instances of interference with the open public forum. The following is just two examples of open forum censorship.

BP's Azeri police arresting Palast for filming BP oil rig - Baku, Azerbaijan, December 2010 "Here in Azerbaijan we believe in human rights. PLEASE GIVE US YOUR FILM."

Oh, no, no, not good.

The enforcers here come in three colors: the military police still wearing their old Russian puke-green uniforms, the MSN (the dictator's secret police) in windbreakers without ID, and BP's own corporate police force in black tunics, sashes and full hats who look like toy soldiers from the Nutcracker ballet. They weren't dancing.

I showed all three flavors of police our press credentials in both English and Azeri, neither of which could be read by the officers. (The dictator had suddenly changed the Azeri alphabet, making most of the nation illiterate overnight.)

The dictator made everyone call him, "Baba," Grandpa.

I told the dumbest-looking one, "Look here: This paper says your so-called President is a weasel's rectum," which our 'fixer' translated as, "This letter from Foreign Ministry is authorization to make a documentary for the British Television."

The Davis-Besse nuclear plant on Lake Erie is up for relicensing by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This plant is one of the worst nuclear plants in the United States in terms of safety violations and near nuclear disasters. Tell the NRC that you support clean and green energy and not Davis-Besse! To take action click here

When a copy of William A. Cook's latest book, The Plight of the Palestinians arrived in my mailbox, I initially felt a little worried. The volume, featuring the work of over 30 accomplished writers, is the most articulate treatise on the collective victimization of Palestinians to date. From Cook's own introduction, 'The Untold Story of the Zionist Intent to Turn Palestine into a Jewish State' to Francis Boyle's summation of 'Israel's Crimes against the Palestinians', it takes the reader through an exhaustive journey, charting the course of Palestinian history prior to and since al-Nakba, the Catastrophe of 1947-48.

Still, I feared that something might be missing in this noble and monumental undertaking: Palestinian people's own responses to the cruelties they've suffered. Would Palestinians be presented yet again as merely poster-child victims, eager for handouts?

As is to be expected, mainstream media forgot to cover the antiwar protest at the White House today. Readers of the Free Press understand that the frustration of protesting under a media blackout. According to Rob Kall, editor of OpedNews, “Today, 131 rebels were arrested for civil disobedience at the snow covered gates of the White House, including Daniel Ellsberg, Ray McGovern, Chris Hedges, Margaret Flowers, Coleen Rowley, Medea Benjamin, Jodie Evans and scores of veterans and supporters from WWII, Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan... The message chanted in the freezing, 22 degree F snowy day was "Obama, Troops Out. End the War."

You tube video here
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Aung San Suu Kyi's "irrelevant" political party has "little concern for the social and economic plight of most Burmese," so America should offer "security guarantees" to Burma's military dictators and their families to remove them from power, according to a U.S. Embassy cable released by WikiLeaks.

"We should not expect an imminent coup to save us from the hard-line senior generals," the cable said.

Classified by the U.S. Embassy in Burma's Political Officer, Leslie Hayden, the cable gave "her candid observations on the current political situation, and her recommendations."

The "CONFIDENTIAL" cable, dated July 14, 2008 and titled, "SUBJECT: CONTINUING THE PURSUIT OF DEMOCRACY IN BURMA," was signed by U.S. Ambassador Shari Villarosa.

"We may also want to consider putting security guarantees on the table for the most senior generals and their families if we are serious about removing them from the scene.

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