Afghanistan

Boot Camp Gets Recruits into the Military, Reboot Helps Veterans Once They are Out

Those in the military who were deployed multiple times to the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan often struggle transitioning back into "normal" society.A three-week workshop aimed at helping these service members through all aspects of civilian life--including finding employment--is coming to Brandm ... More >>

Dana Point Summer Concert and Benefit

Sea Terrace Park

Dana Rohrabacher and Hamid Karzai Spar as Afghanistan Bans Surfin' Congressman

"A democratically elected congressman of the United States should not be talking of an ethnic divide in Afghanistan, should not be interfering in Afghanistan's internal affairs, should not be asking the Afghan people to have a federal structure as against what the Afghan constitution has asked for, ... More >>

Hasan Nouri Still Helps War Orphans in Afghanistan--and He Still Needs Your Help

​Remember the native Afghan and Orange County civil engineer featured in my cover story "Hasan Nouri Pitched Plans to Stabilize Aliso Creek and His Native Afghanistan, But No One Listened"? One thing that has changed since the piece was published in December 2008: Nouri now resides in San Clemente ... More >>

Sign of the Great Recession, Part 98: Prices Rising at Military Mess Halls, Academies

​God bless our troops, but goddamnit, they're having it tough right now. Between a military that's shrinking, a lack of proper care for vets who need it, the thankless job of serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a bunch of dirty hippies like me questioning why they had to go there in the first pla ... More >>

Semper F-U

[Hey, You!] If a Marine served in Afghanistan, does that mean he can skip out on rent?

Loretta Sanchez Blasts Illegal Forecloses on Homes of Military Members

​There has been a lot of talk around the country about homes being illegally foreclosed upon. For instance, the word on the streets of Oakland right now is that greedy banks are specifically targeting the houses of African Americans. But such stories have gone from rumors to, well, legitimate stor ... More >>

Loretta Sanchez: Hamid Karzai Comments Backing Pakistan Over U.S. Warrant Afghan Withdrawal

​In a Pakistan television interview over the weekend, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said, "If fighting starts between Pakistan and the U.S., we are beside Pakistan. . . . If Pakistan is attacked and the people of Pakistan need Afghanistan's help, Afghanistan will be there with you."The comments ... More >>

[UPDATED with Ex-Veep's "Arrest":] Dick Cheney Greeted by Protesters at Nixon Library

​UPDATE, SEPT. 8, 9:56 A.M.: As Dick Cheney was lauding his profound role in Bush administration wars on terror, the Geneva Convention and the U.S. Constitution before a polite Nixon Library crowd Wednesday evening, he was "arrested."Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans rose from her chair in the East ... More >>

Dana Rohrabacher and Loretta Sanchez Joined at the Hip on Afghanistan

​There was a time during the unresolved county redistricting process when it appeared the congressional districts of Reps. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) might melt into one.Maybe that explains why these Members of Congress are starting to sound like one ... More >>

Rep. Loretta Sanchez Introduces Bill to Legitimize U.S. Military Women in Combat

​Representative Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) today introduced what her office is hailing as "groundbreaking" legislation: the Women's Fair and Equal Right to Military Service Act, which would allow qualified female soldiers in the U.S. military to fight in combat.The ranking female member on ... More >>

Reps. Dana Rohrabacher and John Campbell Join Progressive Chorus for Afghanistan Pullout

​What do Dana Rohrabacher, John Campbell, Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters have in common (besides being the dream cast for a white-black, Republican-Democratic S&M video)?All want U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.Pronto!

Little Arabia Facebook Status Update of the Day On the Middle East Protests

​"Like Akram Lotfy from Alexandria, Egypt, wrote on his Facebook wall before the shutdown, 'A government that is afraid of Facebook and Twitter should govern a city in Farmville.'"--Posted by Roqaya Ashmawey, one of the many young Arab-American activists looking to rename Anaheim's stretch of Broo ... More >>

Dana Rohrabacher: I Know How To Bring Peace To Afghanistan

Dana: I like spending your money.​Dana Tyrone Rohrabacher--the politician who guaranteed actor/muscleman Arnold Schwarzenegger knew how to solve California's problems if elected governor--now thinks he knows how to get the terrorists in Afghanistan to put down their weapons, tear up their pla ... More >>

A Not-So-Sweet Solicitation for the Troops

[Hey, You!] Keep your jingoism out of my Halloween pumpkin!

Progressive Counterparts to Teabaggers Brown Bag It at Local Congressional Offices Today

​House members are being criticized for leaving Washington, D.C., without a federal budget vote to campaign in their districts before the November election. Some Orange County Congress people, like their brethren around the country, can escape the scorn by sharing a brown bag lunch at their distri ... More >>

Rohrabacher: U.S. Military Incapable of Winning In Afghanistan

Dana blew kisses to W​Given trillions of dollars, Pentagon brass like to think that no military mission is too difficult.So it's rare when a congressman--especially a conservative Republican politician--will openly tell the Pentagon that it's impotent: that no matter how many soldiers its sends or ... More >>

Today's Biggest Laugh: Dana Rohrabacher as Sage

Rohrabacher: Ignore my flip flops​In a county with a history of sending buffoons to congress, Dana Rohrabacher is fast earning his way to the top of the embarrassing heap.Rohrabacher, the politician who avoided Vietnam War era military service, continues to pretend he's an expert on the war in Afg ... More >>

Progressive "Brownbaggers" Invite Teabaggers to Join Them in Government Spending Protests

Tim Carpenter hammers away at the war.​Former Orange County progressive activist Tim Carpenter, who now does his agitating for the Michigan-based Progressive Democrats of America, is inviting tea partiers to protests at congressional district offices nationwide Wednesday aimed at reducing "unjusti ... More >>

Steve Lopez Connects Viewers to War's Effect on One Camp Pendleton Family

Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez tonight gives a video profile of a Camp Pendleton family soon to be separated by an overseas military deployment.

With Bombs Falling Around Loretta Sanchez, She Still Questions Afghanistan Adventure

​Speaking from Afghanistan, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) says she remains skeptical about President Barack Obama's decision to increase troop numbers there. Perhaps the bombs falling all around the House Armed Services Committee's senior female had something to do with that.

Grab Your Wallet, Dana Rohrabacher Has a Bribery Plan

SuperLotto jackpot!​Bribe Afghanistan warlords and tribal leaders with $2 billion in American taxpayer funds for their "good will" towards the United States.--Orange County Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher's idea to win in Afghanistan, according to an article today in The Hill. Rohrabacher, ... More >>

Major Donor Pulls Funding, Leaves ACLU and Locals Scrambling

​An item the New York Times posted online Tuesday night that outed David Gelbaum as a major anonymous donor to the American Civil Liberties Union and reported the Newport Beach philanthropist was cutting off $19 million in yearly donations because of economic setbacks has left the ACLU scrambling, ... More >>

UPDATED: Afghanistan War Orphan Advocate Hasan Nouri Backs Obama Troop Increase Strategy

Photo by John GilhooleyHasan Nouri​UPDATED WITH LINK TO VIDEO . . .Hasan Nouri, the Laguna Hills civil engineer and war orphan advocate profiled in a Weekly cover story a year ago ("War & Water"), and Nabil Miskinyar, the owner of Irvine-based, Dari Farsi-language network Ariana Afghanistan Te ... More >>

Dana Rohrabacher Is Now A Sage? Hehehehe

Broken clock is right more often than Dana​"Sending 30,000 more combat troops to Afghanistan will not make us any safer. Focusing a strategy around the central government in Kabul will not work, especially with a government as corrupt as the Karzai regime. Sending more American combat troop ... More >>

Hashing Out U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan

Check out this amusing footage of Afghan soldiers--who appear to be fighting alongside British advisors--smoking the Buddha during their lunchtime break. After hearing about the latest idea from Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Taliban), you might think he was next in the hookah line.

BTW Guys, Orly Taitz Caused the Afghanistan Surge

​Presented without comment, a copy-paste from a letter posted on Orly Taitz's blog:Nothing happens by coincidence. Take, for example, Obama's announced Afghanistan policy tonight. Had it not been for the pressure of your Barnett lawsuit, and your brilliant motion for reconsideration, Dr. Orly, Oba ... More >>

Anti-Warriors Respectfully Wait to Crap On Obama's Afghan Surge

​Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) was criticized in some quarters today for crapping on President Barack Obama's Afghanistan surge announcement before the speech was even delivered tonight.So credit the anti-war movement for at least waiting until Obama was waving goodbye from the West Point podium ... More >>

And the War Came

California Repertory

Daddy Rohrabacher Says He Knows Best In Afghanistan, Again

Dana Rohrabacher, our Twitter-loving, immigrant-bashing, surfer-dude congressman published an op-ed yesterday in the Washington Times. It's about, of course, his favorite subject: Afghanistan -- specifically, the extent to which he knows more about Afghanistan than anyone else. To be sure, Rohrabach ... More >>

Hasan Nouri Pitched Plans to Stabilize Aliso Creek and His Native Afghanistan, But No One Listened

This Week in the OC Weekly

Silent Shout

Women in Black

Friday - 11/16

The Rocky Horror Show at the Maverick Theater, Orange County Peace & Justice protest in Costa Mesa, “Shag: The World, the Flesh & the Devil” at Pure Color

That Other Quagmire

Sonali Kolhatkar remembers Afghanistan, even if the rest of us dont

Dissent for Sale

WEB EXCLUSIVE! Opposition is a commodity in Sundance documentaries

Welcome Back Taliban!

You'd better sit down. Today Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist suggested that the best way to deal with the increasing Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan ... is to reintegrate the group into the Afghani government. From the AP via the International Herald-Tribune: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill F ... More >>

'I've Never Been to America. America Came to Me'

Ex-Guantanamo Bay inmate Moazzam Begg recalls his three-year journey through Americas war on terror

The Real Afghani

Dealing with Afghan realities at Amazing Kabob House

Burning Bush

The Presidents Conservative Critics

Exit Strategies

Never get into waror romancewithout noting the exits

Terror Threads

Does al-Qaida shop at REI?

Rogue Statesman

Congressman Dana Rohrabachers absolutely crazy, quite possibly illegal back-channel chats with the villains of Sept. 11

This Is What We Believe In

OC punk label raises funds to help Afghan women

Bikini Uber Alles!

Fighting fire with flesh

More Fuelish War Talk

The Mormon In All of Us

The Hunger Artists bash, latterday plays

Letters

Winged Monkeys!

Our smoky links to unsavory characters

Dr. Frankenbacher

Huntington Beach Congressman Dana Rohrabacher helped arm the terrorists accused of attacking New York and Washington, D.C. Now hes got a new plan to save the world