AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT … REAL NEWS

End of Iraq Combat Operations or Beginning of Downsized, Rebranded Occupation Relying Heavily on Private Military Contractors?
Democracy Now & Jeremy Scahill
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/3/end_of_iraq_combat_operations_or

How Facebook Betrayed Users and Undermined Online Privacy
Allan Badliner, AlterNet
Facebook has collected loads of private information about their users. Information that is being sold to marketers.
http://www.alternet.org/story/147760/how_facebook_betrayed_users_and_undermined_online_privacy

America Can’t Solve Crises Because It’s a Company-Owned Town
Glen Ford, Black Agenda Report
http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/america-cant-solve-crises-because-its-company-owned-town

Obama Slams ‘Obsession’ With Ending War in Afghanistan – Insists His Focus is on Winning the War
Jason Ditz, AntiWar.com
http://news.antiwar.com/2010/06/27/obama-slams-obsession-with-ending-war-in-afghanistan/

“Dirty Truths” by Dr Michael Parenti
http://www.takeoverworld.info/parenti_talks.html

Noam Chomsky: The U.S. Continues to Be a Terrorist State
By Joel Whitney, Guernica
http://www.alternet.org/story/146815/

Dennis Kucinich Announces Two Important House Votes
Cleveland, Ohio (July 26, 2010)

Congressman Dennis Kucinich announces that he and Congressman Ron Paul are joining in a cause focused at compelling the removal of U.S. military forces from Pakistan. Later this week, Congressman Kucinich will also support ending the War in Afghanistan by cutting off funding for the war. Transcript follows below:

Hi everyone, Dennis here:

This week we have two very important votes for the future of this country and the future of the world. The first deals with Pakistan - House Concurrent Resolution 301, and the second deals with supplemental funding which will provide another 33-billion dollars to keep the War in Afghanistan going. I would like to speak to you briefly about both of those votes.

The first vote is likely to occur this Tuesday on House Concurrent Resolution 301, sponsored by myself and Congressman Ron Paul of Texas. This resolution aims to cause the United States to withdraw from Pakistan. Now, it's not generally known that we have at least 124 Special Forces troops on the ground inside Pakistan. It is absolutely urgent that we take a stand to stop spreading war in Pakistan. To nip in the bud the U.S. ground presence.

We already know the U.S. has had missile strikes inside Pakistan since March of 2005 with a lot of innocent villagers killed. All that we can do is to expand the war into Pakistan, destabilize that government and have the United States fighting on still another front. We have to get out of Pakistan and that's why Ron Paul and I have come together, for the first time, to force a vote on this question.

Later in the week we'll be faced once again with the question whether to continue to fund the War in Afghanistan. The New York Times and other news agencies have taken WikiLeaks reports and have released this news globally. And what we've learned in the last 24 hours is that there is another secret war going on in Afghanistan. A war of failure. A war of our troops getting undermined by people that we think are working with us.

This is occurring in Pakistan, it's also happening in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan government is a cesspool of corruption. There is no plausible way that anything even remotely resembling a democracy can be established there. Our presence there is an occupation fueling an insurgency.

We have to get out of Afghanistan. We owe it to our troops. We owe it to our national security. We owe it to our budget. We owe it to the American people who hope for a better life here at home.

So, again, this week, two important votes: one tomorrow to get out of Pakistan and, later this week, end the War in Afghanistan by cutting off funding. I'll be in touch with you as matters progress.

I appreciate your on-going support. I need your help to continue to serve in the United States Congress. Thank you, very much.

Pakistan – The Real Reason Why the US and India Demonize Pakistan’s ISI
Shahid R. Siddiqui, Axis of Logic
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_60777.shtml

Anthony Weiner’s [D-NY] Heated Speech on the House Floor Over 911 Responders
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/weiner-heated-frenzy-911-responders-heated-speech-house-anthony-congress-11290919

Obama Administration in Danger of Establishing “New Normal” With Worst Bush-Era Policies, says ACLU … Group releases 18-month review of President’s national security polices and civil liberties.
http://www.aclu.org/national-security/obama-administration-danger-establishing-new-normal-worst-bush-era-policies-says-a

The New Aristocrats of Finance Pose a Serious Threat to Our Democratic Way of Life
Joe Costello, Archein
Across our political system, we have lost checks and balances. It’s time take back what’s ours.
http://www.alternet.org/story/147775/the_new_aristocrats_of_finance_pose_a_serious_threat_to_our_democratic_way_of_life

[Duchess Note: Many thanks to Judith and Alice in sharing many of the articles in this posting.]