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This week on Uprising:

* New Report Exposes Real Impact of CIA Drone Strikes in Pakistan
* Black Agenda Report on how British Police Aspire to Be More Like American Cops
* Hundreds of Thousands Draft a New Contract for the American Dream
* Barbara Ehrenreich on Tenth Anniversary of Nickel and Dimed

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New Report Exposes Real Impact of CIA Drone Strikes in Pakistan

A U.S. unmanned drone strike in the South Waziristan tribal region of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border on Friday killed three people and injured two. The deaths were a result of two strikes on the home of a suspected militant. The attack follows one ten days earlier in the same region, when at least 23 people were killed. Official sources claim those victims were all suspected Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters. The drone strikes in the border region have long been used as a weapon of choice, starting with the Bush administration as far back as 2004, and far more often under the Obama administration. A new study by the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism extensively analyzed thousands of news reports, leaked documents, and eye-witness testimonies, to conclude that between 2,292-2,863 people have been killed over at least 291 drone strikes. The number includes as many as 775 civilians, and 168 children. The U.S. government’s own figures claim that 2,050 people were killed, 2000 of whom were so-called “militants.” The drones are operated remotely, generally from a U.S. base in Nevada, and have allowed the U.S. to avoid the use of ground troops, and maintain that there is no official war against Pakistan. It has also allowed the U.S. to target people it considers to be terrorism suspects without having to detain them or deal with the thorny issues of remote detention sites, interrogation techniques, or tribunals. Critics like Congressman Dennis Kucinich say the use of the drones is tantamount to “extra-judicial killings” and are essentially “summary executions.” The report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism also gives lie to the recent Obama Administration claim that the drone attacks have not killed any civilians in the past year. Searchable documentation of the strikes reveals that at least 45 civilians have been killed over ten strikes just in the last year. The U.S. government is taking issue with the Bureau’s findings.

GUEST: Chris Woods, reporter with the London-based, Bureau of Investigative Journalism, leads the team on drone investigations

Read the report here: http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2011/08/11/more-than-160-children-killed-in-us-strikes/

Browse through the actual data here: http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/category/projects/drone-data/

Black Agenda Report on how British Police Aspire to Be More Like American Cops

Glen Ford is a writer and radio commentator and the Executive Editor of The Black Agenda Report. This week’s commentary is on how British police aspire to be like American cops.

Visit www.blackagendareport.com for more information.

Hundreds of Thousands Draft a New Contract for the American Dream

Fed-up with economic policy rooted in anti-tax and anti-government ideologies, three progressive organizations teamed-up this Summer to create what they call, a new “Contract for the American Dream.” Move-On.Org, Rebuild the Dream, and United for a Fair Economy asked progressive Americans to create an economic plan to, “[b]uild a diverse and broad middle class, and decrease economic inequality.” The response was overwhelming. Over 130,000 people shared their ideas through an innovative crowd-sourcing strategy. Ideas were developed online, and at 1600 house meetings held around the country this past July. The result is a 10-point plan that nearly 250,000 people have signed-on to. The Contract lays out key steps to bolster the economy, including, “[securing] Social Security, …[ending] the wars and [investing] at home, and [offering] medicare for all.” In partnership with United for a Fair Economy, the plan includes a restructured tax system. Proving that extreme no-new-taxes lawmakers don’t represent all Americans, this proposed system calls for an end to tax cuts for the rich implemented under President Bush, and extended in December under President Obama. Stronger punishments for tax dodgers and a restoration of the estate tax to pre-2010 levels, are also priorities. The increased revenue would be invested in public infrastructure, education, and job creation. Beginning last week, the Contract for the American Dream is being presented to members of Congress as they meet with constituents during the August recess.

GUEST: Natalie Foster is the Co-Founder of RebuildtheDream.com

Read and sign the Contract here: http://contract.rebuildthedream.com

Barbara Ehrenreich on Tenth Anniversary of Nickel and Dimed

Texas Governor Rick Perry recently announced his candidacy for President amidst praise for his state’s ability to create jobs in a recession. Perry attributed Texas’ success to a cut back in the state regulation of businesses and minimal tax rates. However, the reality behind Perry’s claims of success is a cheap labor supply in a state that according to the Department of Labor statistics, had the highest percentage of workers in minimum wage jobs (tied with Mississippi). Writing in the Washington Post, Harold Meyerson finds that Texas also has the lowest number of adults without high school diplomas and has made considerable cuts to K-12 public education to deal with the state deficit without increasing taxes. If Rick Perry becomes President, would Perrynomics turn the entire nation into Texas’ example? Ten years ago this summer, author and academic Barbara Ehrenreich conducted a social experiment on whether it was possible to survive in the U.S. on low wages. Her 2001 book, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, challenged the all-too-common rhetoric that frames the working poor as social pariahs who deserve their lot. Ehrenreich topok up jobs in a variety of careers including waitressing, housecleaning, and even as a Wal-Mart sales clerk. At the time she published the book, official reports stated that 7 dollars an hour was well above the poverty level. What she found was that it was impossible to live on so little money and that we as a society owe the working poor a great debt: “When someone works for less pay than she can live on … she has made a great sacrifice for you … The “working poor” … are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone.” Nickel and Dimed became a national bestseller and was assigned reading in many University courses, which predictably garnered the backlash from the Right. Ehrenreich wrote the book during a booming economy and has just re-released the book on its 10th anniversary with a new afterword.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day

“Do not waste your time on Social Questions. What is the matter with the poor is Poverty; what is the matter with the rich is Uselessness.” — George Bernard Shaw