Link: http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/152096/michele_bachmann_vs._rick_perry%3A_who%27s_the_bigger_right-wing_extremist/

Who really deserves a reputation as too much of a right-wing extremist for the Beltway media to take seriously? The progressive press has been doggedly trying to expose, Bachmann and Perry are far more alike in the “crazy right-wing nut” department than they might initially seem. After all, Perry has a record of ordering the execution of an obviously innocent man, which goes beyond being tough on crime into the territory of killing as a demonstration of power. ►Rick Perry Sex Scandal

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/08/18/wall-street-firms-donated-11-2-million-to-members-of-debt-super-committee/

The bipartisan "super committee" created by the debt ceiling deal is comprised of lawmakers who have received big bucks from special interest groups, according to a report by MapLight. The committee is tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts over ten years. In total, the twelve members appointed to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction got nearly $64.5 million from special interests groups over the past decade, with legal firms donating about $31.5 million and Wall Street firms donating about $11.2 million.

Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44193286/ns/business/#.Tk9gU12J2mk

Crisis mentality takes hold amid worries of renewed recession. If the recent wild leaps and plunges in financial markets have prompted you to cash out your stocks, you’re not alone. Individual investors are bolting for the exits. Thursday's big sell-off, which saw the Dow Jones industrial average move by triple digits for the ninth time this month, was the latest evidence of a crisis mentality that has taken hold on global financial markets, turning the usually quiet month of August into a nail-biter for small investors. A lot them have just one word for their broker: “Sell.”

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/08/bachmann-americans-fear-the-rise-of-the-soviet-union/

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said Thursday that Americans are alarmed that President Barack Obama may cut defense spending at a time when the Soviet Union is becoming a power in the world. Someone needs to tell this idiot that George Washington didn't free the slaves and the Soviet Union no longer exists.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/18/peru-suspends-us-coca-eradication

Prime minister announces anti-drugs scheme will be halted while government rethinks strategy. The prime minister, Salomón Lerner, said the government was committed to reducing the illegal crop and would convene a special panel next month to chart a strategy that would stress alternative development, "social inclusion and fighting poverty".

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/fight-ends-georgetown-basketball-exhibition-in-china/2011/08/18/gIQAs1zeNJ_story.html?hpid=z2

What began as a goodwill trip to China for the Georgetown men’s basketball team turned violent Thursday night when its exhibition game against a Chinese professional club deteriorated into a benches-clearing melee in which players exchanged blows, chairs were thrown and spectators tossed full water bottles at Hoyas players and coaches as they headed to the locker room.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/18/russia-china-fight-jet-technology

Sources suggest Mikoyan 1.44 stealth jet knowhow has been passed into the hands of Chinese arms designers. Similarities between a new Chinese fighter jet and a prototype Russian plane have brought suggestions that Moscow may be quietly helping Beijing compete with the world's top military powers.

Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194456.html

A powerful explosion has rocked a US military base in eastern Afghanistan and reportedly killed at least 27 American soldiers and left dozens wounded. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, saying the huge explosion left at least 27 American troops killed and 34 others wounded, a Press TV correspondent reported.