Link: http://theragblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/jim-turpin-endless-war-and-american.html

Orwell would be proud. The United States is about to begin its tenth year in Afghanistan in an attempt to prove that “endless war” is not only possible, but the accepted norm in American society. But why has militarism become such an integral part of our political and social lives in this country? I see three main areas of influence on why we accept the present state of aggressive militarism in this country:

Link: http://news.antiwar.com/2010/07/28/sen-graham-prosecute-wikileaks-for-undermining-the-war-effort/

'We Need to Go After Anyone Who Was Involved in the Leak' With the Obama Administration still trying to contain the damage a massive leak of classified documents has done to their Afghanistan war narrative, Sen. Lindsey Graham is calling on the administration to step up to the plate and attack WikiLeaks directly.

Link: http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0728/top-1-making-280-1979/

In the wake of BP's calamitous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, CEO Tony Hayward is stepping down, but he will be receiving a severance package amounting to an estimated $18 million.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2010/jul2010/afgh-j28.shtml

Little more than 24 hours after the release of 91,000 documents detailing US military atrocities in Afghanistan, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives gave final approval to a funding bill to pay for the escalation of the war. By a margin of 308-114, well over the two-thirds majority required under an expedited procedure known as “suspension of the rules,” the House backed a $60 billion supplemental funding bill passed by the Senate last week.

Link: http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/28/wikileaks_founder_julian_assange_transparent_government

We spend the hour with Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, talking about the biggest leak in US history: the release of more than 91,000 classified military records on the war in Afghanistan. As the Pentagon announces it is launching a criminal probe into who leaked the documents, Assange asks what about investigating the "war crimes" revealed in the leaked military records? He also talks about the media, why he isn’t coming to the US anytime soon, and what gives him hope. "What keeps us going is our sources. These are the people, presumably, who are inside these organizations, who want change," Assange says. "They are both heroic figures taking much greater risks than I ever do, and they are pushing and showing that they want change in, in fact, an extremely effective way." [includes rush transcript]

Link: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m68363&hd=&size=1&l=e

Early morning on 27 July, Israeli bulldozers, flanked by helicopters and throngs of police, demolished the entire Bedouin village of al-Araqib in the northern Negev desert. Despite their land rights cases still pending in the court system, hundreds of al-Araqib villagers were instantly made homeless a month after Israeli police posted demolition orders.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/07/28-4

Access to clean water and sanitation was declared a human right Wednesday after a vote aimed at helping the world's neediest, passed unanimously at the United Nations. Although the motion passed with 124 countries voting in favour of the resolution drafted by Bolivia, Canada was among the 41 nations to abstain on the issue. In June, Bolivia's draft resolution indicated that global water rights would "entitle everyone to available, safe, acceptable, accessible and affordable water and sanitation."

Link: http://www.truth-out.org/omar-khadr-and-still-black-hole-guant%C3%A1namo61809

At 23, Omar Khadr is the youngest of the 176 people still imprisoned at the US military's detention facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. He has been there for eight years, one third of his life. A Canadian, he is the only citizen of a Western country remaining in detention, although one British resident, Shaker Aamer, is also still locked up there.

Link: http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0728/oil-pipeline-leak-pollutes-major-michigan-river/

Estimated 877,000 gallons of oil reportedly coating birds and fish Southern Michigan residents are learning that devastating oil spills aren't limited to the Gulf Coast. Crews were working Wednesday to contain and clean up an estimated 877,000 gallons of oil that coated birds and fish as it poured into a creek and flowed into the Kalamazoo River, one of the state's major waterways. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm toured the area by helicopter Tuesday night and said she wasn't satisfied with the response to the spill. The leak in the 30-inch pipeline, which was built in 1969 and carries about 8 million gallons of oil daily from Griffith, Ind., to Sarnia, Ontario, was detected early Monday.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/investigations/147613/has_the_most_common_marijuana_test_resulted_in_tens_of_thousands_of_wrongful_convictions/

More than 800,000 people are arrested on marijuana charges each year in the United States, many on the basis of an error-prone test. Raised in Montana and a resident of Alaska for 18 years, Robin Rae Brown, 48, always made time to explore in the wilderness. On March 20, 2009, she parked her pickup truck outside Weston, Florida, and hiked off the beaten path along a remote canal and into the woods to bird watch and commune with nature. “I saw a bobcat and an osprey,” she recalls. “I stopped once in a nice spot beneath a tree, sat down and gave prayers of thanksgiving to God.” For that purpose, Robin had packed a clay bowl and a “smudge stick,” a stalk-like bundle of sage, sweet grass, and lavender that she had bought at an airport gift shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Under the tree, she lit the end of the smudge stick and nestled it inside the bowl. She waved the smoke up toward her heart and over her head and prayed. Spiritual people from many cultures, including Native Americans, consider smoke to be sacred, she told me, and believe that it can carry their prayers to the heavens.

Link: http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts07282010.html

The White House is screaming like a stuck pig. WikiLeaks’ release of the Afghan War Documents “puts the lives of our soldiers and our coalition partners at risk.” What nonsense. Obama’s war puts the lives of American soldiers at risk, and the craven puppet state behavior of “our partners” in serving as US mercenaries is what puts their troops at risk. Keep in mind that it was someone in the US military that leaked the documents to WikiLeaks. This means that there is a spark of rebellion within the Empire itself.

Link: http://socialistworker.org/2010/07/28/let-them-eat-fiscal-responsibility

The talk among politicians has turned steadily to austerity, austerity and more austerity. WORKERS IN the U.S. are still getting hammered by the worst economic slump since the Great Depression. That's something people in every state of the country understand all too well.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/jul/29/afghanistan-war-us-military

As the war in Afghanistan enters its final chapter, Sean Smith's brutal, uncompromising film from the Helmand frontline shows the horrific chaos of a stalemate that is taking its toll in blood. Warning: contains distressing scenes and strong language