The Progressive Radio News Hour Guests for December 29, 31, and January 1, 2011 Thursday, December 29 at 10AM US Central time: Herbert Bix Herbert Bix is a Professor of History at Binghamton University, New York. A noted Asian/Japanese scholar, he writes often on issues of war and America's empire. His books include "Peasant Protest... Continue Reading →

Obama Year Three: Continuing His Rogue Agenda - by Stephen Lendman In 2011, Obama continued the destructive pattern he followed in years one and two. Throughout his tenure, he's done what supporters thought impossible. Across the board on domestic and foreign issues, he governed to the right of George Bush. He's waged multiple imperial wars,... Continue Reading →

Russian v. US Elections - by Stephen Lendman Russia's December 4 elections filled 450 State Duma seats, Russia's Federal Assembly lower house. Claims of electoral fraud followed. All elections have irregularities. At issue is whether results are comprised. Election monitor Golos accusations were spurious. America's National Endowment for Democracy (NED) funds it. It supports regime... Continue Reading →

Spoiling for a Fight with Syria and Iran - by Stephen Lendman Syria remains the region's only independent secular state. Washington aims to replace its regime with a client one. Libya's model was replicated. Months of externally generated violence followed. So far it's short of war. For how long is uncertain. Obama can't wait to... Continue Reading →

Israel's Repressive Permit System - by Stephen Lendman Under South African apartheid, pass laws segregated blacks from whites, restricted their movements, required pass books be carried at all times, and be produced on demand or face arrest and prosecution. Evolving from the 18th and 19th century until their 1986 repeal, they restricted entry to cities,... Continue Reading →

Holiday Season Hypocrisy - by Stephen Lendman Most Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25. For Eastern Orthodox faith adherents, it's January 7. It commemorates Christ's birthday, even though it's widely acknowledged not to be that day. Many African Americans also celebrate Kwanzaa from December 26 - January 1 to reconnect to their cultural and historic... Continue Reading →

EU Protests Israeli Occupation Policies - by Stephen Lendman On December 23, Haaretz writer Barak Ravid headlined, "EU voices protest over Israeli policies in East Jerusalem, West Bank," saying: "A day after four European Union members of the UN Security Council strongly criticized Israel's decision to speed up construction of settlements." "EU ambassador to Israel... Continue Reading →

Medicare Privatization Plans - by Stephen Lendman The idea's been around for years. More recently, bipartisan support's been growing. Various plans have circulated. A 2006 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study assessed "Designing a Premium Support System (PSS) for Medicare." It discussed pros, cons, other choices and implications in terms of costs and recipient benefits. In... Continue Reading →

Deepening Global Financial Trouble - by Stephen Lendman Desperate times call for desperate measures, especially for troubled Eurozone economies. Trapped under euro straightjacket rules, everything tried so far failed, despite hooplas announcing each new plan. On December 21, the big overnight news highlighted demand for long-dated European Central Banks (ECB) loans drawing 489 billion euros,... Continue Reading →

Grim Holiday Season Tidings - by Stephen Lendman New global data show grim results. China's real estate was especially bleak. It reported 70% of its 70 largest cities experiencing home price deflation, up from 47% in October. Rarely ever does this bode well for economic prospects or banking. As a result, copper is down 0.7%... Continue Reading →