Afghanistan

Ten Years Later, and How Iraq Can Change a Generation's Trajectory

Every day after baseball practice, my Dad picked me up. Still clad in my dirt-stained pants, still too young to have a full appreciation for deodorant, I would toss my bookbags and gear in the back of our Volvo and jump in the front seat with him. He'd ask how practice was, and I'd tell him about th ... More >>

Returning War Contractors Face Second Battle, Against AIG

Whatever your role in the U.S. war effort, if you were injured overseas, at least you'd be covered back home, right?

Breaking It Down

It may not be PTSDs or brain injuries that pose the most long-term danger to our surviving vets from their Middle East tours.

Cover Story: Chronic Back Pain One More Problem for Vets of Iraq & Afghanistan

Tough-talking, Texas-bred Carroll McInroe was the Iraq / Afghanistan coordinator in the Veterans Administration's Spokane, Washington office from 2003 to 2008. It was his job to interview returnees from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and help them readjust to civilian life. ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Not Too Late for New Year's Plans

Ring in the new year at one of our three top choices.​Next week, we'll have a complete round-up of New Year's Eve dinners and dining events. But this week, we're spotlighting three favorites to include in Upcoming Events -- make your reservations now! Jasper's in The Woodlands is hosting a pr ... More >>

Valentines for Soldiers: Send Your Love (and Baked Goods) to Our Troops

​Although Christmas and New Year's Eve are right around the corner, we're already thinking of Valentine's Day here at Eating Our Words. And that's because this year's Valentines For Soldiers event on Monday, January 16, is going to be bigger and better than ever. Last year, the turnout for th ... More >>

Last Night: Five Finger Death Punch, Hateebreed, All That Remains at House of Blues

Photos by Marc Brubaker​Confidence in our domestic brand of capitalism may be approaching new lows these days, but Five Finger Death Punch rolled into the House of Blues on Tuesday night riding high on the American dream. The L.A. headbangers' new album, American Capitalist, debuted at number ... More >>

Aaron Vaughn's Wedding Band: Navy SEAL Widow Asks Houston If You've Seen It

Kimberly Vaughn, a former Washington Redskins cheerleader who married a Navy SEAL who died in Afghanistan this summer, was visiting the Houston area this weekend before flying back home to DC. Somewhere along the way, she lost her husband's wedding band, which he had given her t owear while he was ... More >>

William McRaven, Supervisor of SEAL Team That Got Bin Laden: A UT Journalism Grad

William McRaven: Knows a pyramid lede when he sees one.​Don't mess with journalism majors!! A lesson Osama bin Laden learned to his regret recently; the last thoughts through his diseased mind were no doubt about how journalism -- especially University of Texas journalism -- had triumphed aga ... More >>

iFest's First Weekend Thick With Music, Humidity

GroovehouseJimmie Vaughan (left) and his band gave the large iFest crowd some saxual healing Saturday.​Lots more iFest in our slideshows: The bands, the performers, the crowds and even the food. For something that was still going on 24 hours ago, the first weekend of the Houston International ... More >>

“George Gittoes: Witness to War”

CNN Celebrates Houston's Brother-Filled Marine Batallion

CNN has a piece up that celebrates the 1st batallion of the 23rd Marine Regiment that's stationed at Ellington Field. The Texas reserve unit has gathered fame because it has five sets of brothers, as the Houston Chronicle reported a while back. The unit is set to deploy to Afghanistan soon, so kee ... More >>

Katy Man Will Run Houston Marathon "With" His Wife, Who's Serving in Afghanistan

Running in Houston and at Forward Operating Base Ghanzi in Afghanistan​Craig Childs of Katy is running in the half-marathon that's part of the Chevron Houston Marathon. He'll be running with his wife. Even though Lt. Laura Childs will be in Afghanistan that day. As they did in 2007, marathon ... More >>

WikiLeaks: Texas Company Helped Pimp Little Boys To Stoned Afghan Cops

DynCorp: WikiLeaks is not kind​Another international conflict, another horrific taxpayer-funded sex scandal for DynCorp, the private security contractor tasked with training the Afghan police. While the company is officially based in the DC area, most of its business is managed on a satelli ... More >>

"B-Sides: A Dialogue with Contemporary Photography"

Nine Nation Animation

Remembering Our Friends, The Mujahideen

​Obama's Wars, Bob Woodward's new book about the President's management of the Afghanistan War, exposes some pretty significant divisions between Obama's civilian advisers and the U.S. military on strategy concerning what is now America's longest war: Book excerpts published yesterday sugges ... More >>

Captured in Afghanistan

American soldiers, vérité-style, in Restrepo.

Times' Big Afghanistan Mineral-Wealth Scoop: Old News At Ellington Field And NASA

Pentagon leaves out the NASA/Houston angle​All together now: NO BLOOD FOR NIOBIUM! When The New York Times reported in Monday's lead story that Afghanistan was sitting on vast riches in completely untapped minerals just lying around waiting to be dug up, it was old news out at Ellington Field. Th ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Believe It Or Not, There Are Worse Ideas Than Kim Kardashian As Lara Croft

I can't wait to hear her English accent.​It's been a rough week: we found out the BP oil spill may spread across the Atlantic Ocean and threaten England's blessed shores (which, let's admit it, would be pretty hilarious) and dealt with the campaign in Afghanistan supplanting Vietnam as America ... More >>

The Meeting Place

FotoFest sifts through thousands of images to find gold.

The Poppies Still Blow In Flanders Fields... A Veteran's Day Salute from Rocks Off and Lonesome Onry and Mean

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. - and the author's daughter - Sara Blount, on duty in Afghanistan"In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead. Short days ago ... More >>

Opinions "Mixed" On Obama's Fort Hood Visit, Waco Paper Says, Demonstrating An Odd Use Of "Mixed"

​The once-respected Waco Tribune Herald was purchased this summer by a very conservative family whose first move was to put "In God We Trust" on the front page of each edition.Since then the paper has become very right-wing (even for Waco!!) on its editorial pages. We don't read it enough to know ... More >>

For Ramadan: Five Movie Muslims

Ramadan is a time of reflection and prayer for the world's Muslim population. It is meant to teach them patience and self-restraint, and to bring them closer to Allah. We at Hair Balls know little of patience, and have never been good at self-restraint, but we're nothing if not equal-opportunity i ... More >>

Uyghur Flavors at Chinese Halal Cuisine

Photo by Robb Walsh​Cumin lamb is my favorite lunch special at Chinese Halal Cuisine on Bellaire, the subject of this week's Café Review. The pungent aroma of this spicy lamb dish might remind you of Tex-Mex, since cumin, chiles and garlic are major components in Chinese Muslim Uyghur cooking ... More >>

Bouncin' Back: Songs for Survivors

Last Wednesday evening's positivity-ruining shootings at TSU's "Trae Day" block party were a fine example of how ignorance and violence can crash even the most uplifting party, but also of something else: Sometimes we get lucky (or blessed, depending on your theological viewpoint). In three separat ... More >>

Health Department Roundup: Chain Gang Edition

This week we round up chain restaurants cited for health code violations. First up: Houston's own Café Express (1422 W. Gray). Who can resist its cornichon/roasted garlic/olive/crouton/caper bar? Amidst the overcooked chicken breasts and watery pasta entrées, the Café's delicious oddments bar of ... More >>

Nobel Prize Winner Gets Hassled At Bush Intercontinental Airport

Mairead Corrigan Maguire thought the hard part was over. Along with fellow Nobel Laureates Rigoberta Menchu of Guatemala, American landmine activist Jody Williams, and Iranian Shirin Ebadi, she had been in Guatemala, where the women had just co-hosted a three-day conference on democracy, human right ... More >>

Target Free 1st Sunday

Web exclusive!

“Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul”

Much of the art in this exhibit was saved by brave individuals who risked their lives to protect it

Turning the Screw: Chamillionaire, Immortal Technique, 50 Cent, Damon Dash, Lil Wayne, Timbaland, Raekwon, South Park Mexican and More

Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won’t rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: Chamillionaire, “Swagger Like Us Freestyle” We normally reserve this section for unknown local ... More >>

Get Lit: Gay Travels in the Muslim World

Soldier Suicides

Surviving our War on Terror calls for more than an ability to dodge bullets and IEDs

Lifting the Veil

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy shows us the lives of women in Afghanistan

John Royal’s Top Ten All-Time Greatest Sports Movies

The Kite Runner

Controversy aside, this adaptation just won't fly

Karina Nistal and Rebel Crew Rap for the Troops

Circle in the sand

Guant�namo: Pictures from Home. Questions of Justice

A FotoFest exhibition questions justice

Stage Capsule Reviews

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Homebody Alone

Bring your heart, intellect and stamina to this extraordinary play

Hell and Sebastian

Hell on Earth

A real view of the Afghan situation

Who Cares?

Celester Hall went to Afghanistan to help the troops and make his fortune. He came back deaf, in diapers and looking for benefits.

Food for Thought

Broadcast-news veteran Linda Ellerbee wants you to Take Big Bites

Best Neighborhood Spot in the Heights

The Breeders

Pooches swarm Reliant Center

Protesting Peace

Plus: Been There, Din That; No Smut Glut; Cursory Check

The Art of War

The MFAH presents "Afghanistan: A Timeless History." What's next -- "Iraqis Are People Too"?

Saving Beauty

An exhibit at the MFA highlights Afghanistan's cultural riches

The Anti-Clapton

Rocky Hill hopes to find a smooth patch on his rocky road