Soldiers in Iraq are facing pay cuts, as the Defense Department is supporting the return of pay rates to their pre-April levels. In April, soldiers were given a pay increase of $75 a month in "imminent danger pay" and $150 a month in "family separation allowances." However, with the costs for this pay increase, which expires at the end of the fiscal year on September 30th, at $300 million, the Defense Department supports returning pay to previous levels.
As troops in Iraq continue to face guerrilla attacks from a population opposed to the US occupation, things are getting worse. According to a UN official, disconent among Iraqis that intially welcomed the US presence is waning, to the point where they may be willing to take up arms against the US. Even the military press cannot ignore both the disconent coming from Iraqis opposed to the occupation as well as the efforts to bring US troops home, with an article appearing in Stars and Stripes, a paper distributed at military facilities overseas.
San Francisco Chronicle: Troops in Iraq Face Pay Cut
Toronto Star: Top Iraqis Fed Up with US: Revolt Brewing, U.N. Adviser Warns
Stars & Stripes: 'Bring Them Home Now' speakers rip U.S. policy on Iraq
As I am sure all of you know, parts of the northeastern US and Canada are without power right now. The mainstream media has been providing plenty of coverage about the blackout but they have not given much contextual information about why the blackout happened. The answer is really quite simple, deregulation and greedy energy companies equal a poorly run and maintained energy grid. Of course, given the current administrations relationship with corrupt energy companies, we certainly can’t expect any constructive action from Bush.
Power Outage Traced To Dim Bulb In White House
A Tale of Two Power Outages...
