| August 30, 2009 | ||
| 5:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
August Benefit for Under the Hood
5-9 p.m., Sunday, August 30, Jovita’s, 1617 South First St., Austin, TX. Details soon.
In the spirit of the Oleo Strut, Under The Hood is a place for Ft. Hood soldiers to meet and unwind.
Under The Hood needs your donations and support! Download pdf of fundraising appeal.
Under The Hood
17 S. College Street
Killeen, Texas
(254) 449-8811
| Afghan War Questioned as More Bodies Flown Home |
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Tuesday, July 28, 2009 LONDON – Most Britons believe the increasingly bloody war in Afghanistan is “unwinnable” and want troops pulled out, an opinion poll said Tuesday, as more soldiers’ bodies were flown home. ![[Mourners gather to pay their respects as a convoy of hearses containing the bodies of four British soldiers killed in Afghanistan passes through the village of Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire. (AFP/Carl de Souza)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/afghanistan_britishdeaths.jpg "afghanistan_britishdeaths.jpg") Mourners gather to pay their respects as a convoy of hearses containing the bodies of four British soldiers killed in Afghanistan passes through the village of Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire. (AFP/Carl de Souza)The dead servicemen were honoured a day after Britain announced the end of a major offensive in southern Afghanistan and outlined a change of strategy following a sharp spike in deaths.Foreign Secretary David Miliband signalled Monday that Britain would back talking to moderate Taliban representatives in a bid to isolate militant insurgents who have killed 191 British troops since 2001. A total of 22 have been killed this month alone after British forces went on the offensive in Operation Panther’s Claw, just weeks before crucial presidential elections. Four more fallen soldiers’ bodies were flown home to RAF Lyneham, southwest England, before a solemn procession through the nearby village of Wootton Bassett. The ceremonies in the town — which has become a focus of grief and support for British troops — came after two more soldiers were killed Monday in Helmand province, the front line in the battle with the Taliban. The surge in deaths has sparked a political row over resources for troops in Afghanistan, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown forced to defend Britain’s strategy after calls for more equipment and more boots on the ground. But according to the opinion poll in the Independent newspaper Tuesday, more than half of Britons now think the war in Afghanistan is “unwinnable” and want to see an immediate troop withdrawal. for more, go to http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?id=19965 |
20 July 2009
THE ARMY WILL INCREASE ITS SIZE BY 22,000
I think we would call this throwing good money after bad. A million other ways to spend it, but this is what the establishment chooses.
Richard Jehn / The Rag Blog
Iraq. Photo: Michael Kamber.
Gates announces temporary increase in U.S. Army
By David Morgan / July 20, 2009
Washington — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday announced a temporary increase in the size of the U.S. Army that would boost the force by up to 22,000 troops for three years.
He told reporters at a news briefing that the increase, intended to cope with strains from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, would raise the total strength of the Army to 569,000 soldiers.
“The Army faces a period where its ability to deploy combat units at acceptable fill rates is at risk,” Gates told reporters. “This is a temporary challenge which will peak in the coming year and abate over the course of the next three years.”
. . . full story at http://theragblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/army-will-increase-its-size-by-22000.html
Meanwhile, U.S. suffers highest monthly number of military deaths in Afghanistan ever, 30. The total is 56 for NATO forces (defending the North Atlantic?). Four more Americans were killed in Afghanistan on Monday, making July the deadliest month for U.S. troops since the war began in October 2001. And the month’s not over yet.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the surge in U.S. and allied deaths in Afghanistan this month is “regrettable and tragic,” and that the Obama administration believes it has no choice but to continue the fight. (AP)
Did she mention the Afghan people killed? Including civilians. Including children. Including women–supposedly being freed by the U.S.
Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the U.S. and Iraqi governments have continued to enforce Saddam Hussein’s 1987 law that bars unions and collective bargaining in all public sector and enterprise workplaces.
Iraqi unions have organized (at great risk and with great sacrifices) but without the protection of a basic labor law, even though the Iraqi constitution requires one and Iraq is signatory to the International Labor Organization Convention on the right to organize and bargain.
Union leaders and activists have suffered harassment, beatings, detention, torture and even assassination. Union offices have been raided and vandalized by US and Iraqi troops. Union bank accounts and assets have been frozen.
Through all this, the U.S. government has remained silent.
U.S. Labor Against the War has posted a petition that calls upon Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as the principal foreign policy representative of the government, to speak out for labor rights in Iraq and press the Iraqi government to respect and protect the rights of workers and unions.
Please take a moment to add your voice to the international movement in solidarity with the courageous unions and workers of Iraq.
When we strengthen labor rights in Iraq, we also strengthen our fight for labor rights right here in the U.S.
US Labor Against the War www.uslaboragainstwar.org
| July 26, 2009 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
*The Melancholy Ramblers* play a special benefit show for *Under the Hood!!*
Sunday, July 26th 6-8pm
NeWorlDeli 4100 Guadalupe, Austin, Texas
Suggested donation: $8 (GIs free)
Under the Hood Outreach Center and Café is located near the gates of Fort
Hood, the largest military base in the U.S. It is a safe haven for Fort
Hood GIs and their families to socialize, speak freely, and access
resources. Please visit our website www.underthehoodcafe.org for more
information. Under the Hood is a project of the Fort Hood Support Network,
a non-profit corporation with 501(c) (3) status.
