Texas Labor Against the War

(Photo Larry Kolvoord, Austin American-Statesman)

Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War and supporters constructed a symbolic “guard tower” outside the East Gate of Fort Hood on Thursday, May 26, 2011. During a press conference held at the foot of the tower, veterans Sergio Kochergin, left, and Aaron Hughes stood atop the tower. The group claims that Fort Hood is the center of a mental health epidemic that is sweeping the Armed Forces. 

Austin American-Statesman, http://galleries.statesman.com/gallery/photos-day-may-2011/#170585; also in the print version of the Statesman May 27, 2011. 

E-MAIL FROM IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR, MAY 27, 2011:

IVAW puts Fort Hood Commander on watch

Left – Op Rec Team members at Under the Hood Outreach Center / Right – Op Rec Team at guard tower put Gen. Campbell on watch  

Yesterday morning, 6 members of our Operation Recovery Team went to Fort Hood Commander, General Campbell’s office to deliver a letter requesting he meet with us about the plight of traumatized troops under his command.  We were turned away, then surrounded by Fort Hood security officials who became sympathetic to our cause when we identified ourselves as veterans who are dealing with PTSD.  But we were ultimately escorted off base.  

In response, we held a press conference about the issue of un-treated trauma that is ravaging the Fort Hood community as well as the military at large.  We then erected a guard tower across from the gates of Fort Hood as a symbolic act to let Commander Campbell know that we are keeping watch over his actions (or lack thereof) when it comes to the health and well-being of soldiers at Fort Hood.  As we stood watch at the gates of Fort Hood, we handed out over 200 purple ribbons to soldiers entering the base.  These ribbons symbolize our solidarity with the tens of thousands of soldiers who are suffering from un-treated trauma because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Get Involved with IVAW’s Operation Recovery Campaign

There are a number of ways you can support our efforts to stop the deployment of traumatized troops at Fort Hood: 

• Join our Operation Recovery Facebook group and share with your friends.
• Sign the Operation Recovery Pledge.
• Make a donation and put “Fort Hood” in the Special Projects box.
• Go to our website to download fact sheets and other materials.

Learn more by watching this short video about IVAW’s Operation Recovery Campaign at Fort Hood and meet the veteran organizers behind this effort

Tuesday, January 25, 2011, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Earle Cabell Federal Building, 1100 Commerce St (downtown Dallas)

In December 2010, under the direction of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, the FBI delivered nine new subpoenas in Chicago to anti-war and Palestine solidarity activists. Patrick Fitzgerald’s office is ordering the nine to appear at a Grand Jury in Chicago on January 25.

In response we are calling for protests on Jan. 25 across the country and around the world to show our solidarity

Across the country organizations and individuals are standing together to protest the United States government’s attempt to silence and criminalize anti-war and international solidarity activists. We see the raids and subpoenas as an attack on anti-war and other progressive movements. It is an attack on our freedom to speak, our freedom to assemble with like-minded people, and our freedom to tell the government that their actions and policies are wrong. It is an attempt to clear the way for more wars and occupations of other countries by the U.S. military.

We Demand:
**Stop the repression of anti-war and international solidarity activists.
**Immediately return all confiscated materials: computers, cell phones, papers, documents, etc
**End the grand jury proceedings against anti-war activists.

http://www.stopfbi.net/take-action/2010/12/31/jan-25-take-action-protest-fbi-and-grand-jury-repression

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=190701867611009

 January, 2011

Staff and volunteers with Under the Hood are starting off the year with renewed energy!

As the wars drag on in Afghanistan and Iraq, the new year reminds us that we must renew our commitment to peace, so we are starting off the year with a busy schedule.  In coordination with Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), here are a few things that we have on our calendar for January and February:

 IVAW/Veterans for Peace Joint Meeting, January 22nd 1p.m. at Under the Hood Cafe: Bringing together the pro-soldier anti-war veteran community in Central Texas.  Opportunities to get to know one another, discuss upcoming events and dates, and to discuss active duty outreach. Consider getting involved at the start to help make history at Fort Hood this year.

Those interested in this training should RSVP Kyle at [email protected].

 

Outreach Action – From the 24th of January through the middle of February IVAW Fort Hood and Under the Hood Cafe are going to be heavily focused on outreach to the 1st Cavalry Division that will be deploying 3,500 soldiers to Afghanistan and Iraq. This mobilization is part of a deployment of 23,000 soldiers from across the country to Afghanistan to replace the 101st Airborne that are set to return in February.

This outreach will conclude with a highly visible action that will include “harass the brass” tactics and messages that include:

We know that the command of the 1st Cav. is deploying wounded soldiers.

We know that this is a violation of these soldiers’ right to heal.

We want you to know that you are not alone.

You have a right to heal and you do not have to deploy with PTSD. 

 

In addition to these upcoming activities, here are a couple of things that have already happened so far this month:

 Cindy Thomas, Manager with Under the Hood, talks about the suicide rates at Fort Hood and the lack of support that soldiers receive when suffering with PTSD.  Check out her interview with Channel 10 News (KWTX) in Waco here.

 

Under the Hood recently hosted a slam poetry night.  It was a success, and now staff and volunteers are considering some writing workshops!

Your continued support of Under the Hood allows us to continue our important work in Killeen. Whether you are making a one-time donation or want to sign up as a sustainer, it’s easy to contribute through PayPal. 

The Fort Hood Support Network (FHSN) operates Under the Hood Café and Outreach Center. FHSN is a Texas non-profit corporation with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. Donations may be treated as tax-deductible.

Fort Hood Support Network is proud to inform its supporters that Under the Hood recently received a $300 grant from RESIST Inc. In addition, Under the Hood is working with the War Resisters League who recently received funding to provide support to GI coffeehouses across the U.S. If you know of other grant opportunities, please feel free to contact us. We are always looking for opportunities to increase our base of support.

Interested in sharing some of your time and talents with Under the Hood?  We are always happy for support in any form.  Along with monetary support to keep our doors open, we can always use other forms of assistance.  If you believe that you can provide support in some way, please feel free to contact us.  We’d be happy to put you to work!

Under the Hood Update is on Facebook.  Become a fan!  You can find archived issues and connect with other fans of Under the Hood.  Visit our Facebook page by clicking here.

2010 Million Musician March

Every year on the anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Austin’s Instruments for Peace sponsors the Million Musician March for Peace.  The South By Southwest music festival occurs at the same time, and the anti-war event attracts musicians and attendees from SXSW.

“Everyone can be an instrument for peace!”

http://www.instrumentsforpeace.org/

…here’s the latest on…
THE MILLION MUSICIANS MARCH FOR PEACE 2011
Remembering the costs of endless war. Seeking solutions to the mass
misinformation that sustains it.

MUSICIANS LEAD AUSTIN’S ANNUAL PARADE FOR PEACE…AGAIN.
A network of Austin musicians and friends is once again inviting
everyone to join Austin’s annual Million Musicians March for Peace.

March 19th, Austin, Texas: The 8th anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq.

Noon-3PM: STATE CAPITOL…MUSIC, POETS, SPEAKERS!

3 PM:  PARADE THROUGH DOWNTOWN…
bring you instrument, sign, flag…
EVERYONE WELCOME!
[End parade playing "Down By The Riverside" with the musicians at the
Folk Alliance event at Threadgills on Riverside.]

MUSICIANS: Sara Hickman, Eliza Gilkyson, Guy Forsyth, Carolyn
Wonderland, David Garza, Barbara K, Michael Fracasso, Will T. Massey,
Bill Oliver, Leeann Atherton, Kris Gruen, Atash, Jericho Brass Band,
…and many more!

POETS: Thom O Peace…and more!

SPEAKERS: Iraq veteran Hart Viges…and more!

Organized by Instruments For Peace…
…Working with a wide variety of groups and individuals standing for
peace, liberty, justice, sustainability…and truth…
including       Artists for Media Diversity,      Under The Hood,
Vote Rescue, Texans For Peace, Veterans For Peace, Waco Friends Of
Peace, Instruments of Freedom for Justice,       Iraq Veterans Against
War-Austin, Code Pink-Austin, Monkey Wrench Books…

…Using all available means…
music, poets, speakers… jugglers, signs, banners…a parade!
…this Austin-style remembrance  will spotlight the terrible financial
and human costs of the wars we are engaged in,
and point to mass misinformation as the primary cause.

The Instruments for Peace organizers say the solution to unending war
is a mass movement for peace.
They think this can only happen when millions more Americans understand
the real costs.

They encourage everyone to help promote news sources that serve the
public, spreading information that supports our most important needs.

Non-musicians and musicians are welcome!
“Everybody can be an instrument for peace.”

www.instrumentsforpeace.org
millionmusiciansmarch.org
Million Musicians March for Peace is on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Million-Musicians-March-for-Peace/269900991727

Help Support the Million Musicians March for Peace!
Order T-Shirts and Posters here:
https://sparrowswheel.com/catalog/mmm2011/

Submitted by stopfbi on Tue, 2010-12-21 17:01

• Press Release
• Statements

Committee to Stop FBI Repression

The FBI came unannounced to knock on doors at two apartments in Chicago this morning. FBI agent Robert Parker, under orders from U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office, delivered a subpoena to Maureen Murphy. Murphy, like several other individuals served subpoenas, is an organizer with the Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago.

This continues the repression unleashed by Fitzgerald on the anti-war movement since September 24th, when fourteen subpoenas were delivered to anti-war, labor, and solidarity activists in coordinated raids involving more than 70 federal agents. Armed FBI agents raided homes, taking computers, phones, passports, documents, notebooks, and even children’s artwork. A total of 23 subpoenas have been served to activists around the country.

Maureen Murphy said, “Along with several others, I am being summoned to appear before the Grand Jury on Tuesday, January 25th, in the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago. We are being targeted for the work we do to end U.S. funding of the Israeli occupation, ending the war in Afghanistan and ending the occupation of Iraq. What is at stake for all of us is our right to dissent and organize to change harmful US foreign policy.” Ms. Murphy is also the Managing Editor of the widely-read website, The Electronic Intifada.

In addition, three women in Minneapolis – Tracy Molm, Anh Pham, and Sara Martin – are threatened with reactivated subpoenas by Fitzgerald’s office and new Grand Jury dates. Tom Burke of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression explained, “It is likely the three individuals, like all the others so far, will continue to refuse to take part in Fitzgerald’s witch hunt. Fitzgerald can then call for putting them in jail as long as he wants.”

For more information: www.stopfbi.net

Contact: Tom Burke, Committee to Stop FBI Repression, 773-844-3612

Protest at Earle Cabell Federal Building in Dallas Texas
Date: Fri, 2010-12-03 16:30
Organized by: El Centro College Students for a Democratic Society
Action: Call for Week of Action Nov. 29 – Dec 3: Stop FBI and Grand Jury Repression
Location:
Earl Cabell Federal Building
1100 Commerce St
Dallas, TX
United States
In response to a repressive war on political dissent being carried out by the FBI, against anti war and union solidarity activists”, the El Centro College Students for a Democratic Society will be holding a demonstration at the Earle Cabell Federal Building on December 3, 2010 @ 5:30pm.

All anti war, peace, Union, and international solidarity organizations are called to support our brothers and sisters in resisting a modern day “Witch Hunt.”

Demands:

1. End All Grand Juries

2. Hands off Anti War and International Solidarity activists

3. Return of all seized material

Reference: http://www.stopfbi.net/

Where: Earl Cabell Federal Building 1100 Commerce St. Dallas, TX

When: December 3, 2010 5:30pm
http://www.stopfbi.net/events/el-centro-college-students-democratic-society/12-3-10/protest-earle-cabell-federal-building-d

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_150980044944954&id=159700580739567#!/home.php?sk=group_150980044944954&id=159700580739567#!/photo.php?fbid=1728079726929&set=o.150980044944954

YOU CAN’T INTIMIDATE US:  FBI protest in Houston Monday, Sept. 27

–photo Gloria Rubac from Facebook

Monday, Sept. 27, a rally at the Mickey Leland Federal Building protested recent raids by the Federal Bureau of Investigation which targeted political activists in the Midwest.  The FBI raided homes of anti-war activists in Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan, alleging terrorist ties, and subpoenad 11 to testify before a federal grand jury.

The Midwest raids escalate an alarming trend by the U.S. government of arbitrarily labeling all kinds of groups as “terrorist” and then accusing other groups and individuals of giving “material support” to terrorism simply for having contact with groups labeled “terrorist.”

The Houston action was one of many all over the country.  It was organized by the FIRE Collective and supported by the International Action Center, Justice for Palestinians, Harris County Green Party and Texas Green Party Candidates, International Socialist Organization, Houston Indy Media, and various Houston activists.

Radio interviews:  http://thefirecollective.org/Opinion/two-interviews-on-fbi-raids-and-houston-protests.html and http://ernestoaguilar.org/houston-solidarity-today-against-friday-fbi-raids-activists/

Once again the Communications Workers of America, the international union of which Texas State Employees Union is a local, reaffirms its opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  CWA passed this resolution at its recent convention in Washington, D.C.  In 2008 its anti-war resolution stressed the war in Iraq; this one gives more attention to the war in Afghanistan.

SUPPORT THE TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME

Resolution: 72A-10-9, July 28, 2010

Our country is now engaged in a great national debate about the war in Afghanistan, whether we should be there at all, and, if so, what our mission is and what resources are needed to carry out that mission.

The fateful decision President Obama made to add 30,000 troops in Afghanistan will affect our own country in profound ways for years to come, including whether President Obama will be able to carry out his commitment to rebuild our own country.

The earlier decision by President Bush to go to war in Iraq was based on false information and has already cost our country more than 4,400 soldiers’ lives, over 30,000 wounded, and more than $733 billion.

The labor movement, having worked so hard to elect our president, has a direct stake in President Obama’s capacity to direct the necessary resources to create jobs and rebuild America.

Some 35,000 CWA members, including public sector workers and telecommunications workers and many others have been surplused during this economic downturn and need to be able to get back to work immediately at good union wages, providing needed healthcare and public services and building affordable broadband access for all of America.

The United States has spent over $283 billion in Afghanistan already. The decision to send 30,000 more troops will cost at least $33 billion more this year, and could cost at least $100 billion a year for years to come. These funds are urgently needed to create and keep jobs here at home, and for other pressing needs, including rebuilding the nation’s physical and telecommunications infrastructure; aid to city and state governments to maintain public services; full veterans’ benefits; health care and quality education for all; housing relief in the foreclosure crisis; and the creation of millions of good jobs at fair wages in manufacturing, services, and green jobs.

Hundreds of thousands of brave and patriotic Americans, including CWA members, have enlisted in these wars and too many have made the ultimate sacrifice; yet those who return home too often find that the government help they need to regain their health and rebuild their lives is sorely lacking.

Resolved: CWA calls for an end to the wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Resolved: CWA calls for withdrawal of all U.S. military forces and contractors from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Resolved: CWA calls for the use of diplomatic and multilateral measures to resolve these and the many other pressing conflicts around the globe.

Resolved: CWA calls for rebuilding America and redirecting funds used for these wars to urgently needed public and private sector job creation in this country, and to aid for state and local governments.

Resolved: CWA continues to support our troops and believes that the best support is to bring them home and give them the benefits they deserve, including but not limited to adequate medical and mental health care, employment training, and placement in jobs paying a living wage.

08/30/2010 07:50 PM

ANTI-WAR GROUPS CALL FOR FULL TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ

By: Chie Saito

 

 To view the video, go to http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/273764/anti-war-groups-call-for-full-troop-withdrawal-in-iraq 

Under the Hood Cafe - House Party and Fundraiser, Saturday, 5/15

Hear the stories of active duty soldiers and veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and learn about the work being done to support them at Under the Hood Cafe near Fort Hood. In the spirit of the “Oleo Strut”, Under the Hood is a pro-soldier, anti-war gathering place for soldiers to relax and speak freely about the wars and the military. Support services for soldiers include referrals for counseling, legal advice and information on GI rights. Since its doors opened, the staff and volunteers with Under the Hood have supported a number of soldiers and veterans dealing with the devastating after effects of war.
Live music, food and drinks. Suggested donation $10.
Location: 211 W. Live Oak, Austin

On Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=105710566138521&index=1

On the Web:  http://www.underthehoodcafe.org/