'Baby cockfight' controversy 7:21
Police say a dad encouraged two toddlers to beat each other and caught the fight on tape. "Prime News" reports.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/11/19/pn.toddler.fight.cnn
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Army report shows chemicals at burn pit site
Army report shows chemicals at burn pit site
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 17:42:11 EST
A soldier concerned about his tour at Forward Operating Base Hammer near Balad, Iraq, this year sent Military Times a report showing high levels of particulate matter and low levels of manganese, possibly due to materials destroyed in a burn pit.
“The high risk estimate is due to the average (particulate matter) level being at a concentration the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers ‘hazardous,’ and is likely to affect the health of all troops,” wrote Jeffrey Kirkpatrick, director of health risk assessment for the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. “Manganese was also detected above its one-year military exposure guidelines.”
It was sent to the command surgeon general’s office for U.S. Central Command.
Particulate matter can lead to coughing, difficulty breathing, decreased lung function, aggravated asthma, chronic bronchitis, irregular heartbeat, nonfatal heart attacks and premature death in people with heart or lung disease, according to the EPA.
Long-term levels of high exposure to manganese can lead to problems in the central nervous system, such as slow visual reaction time, inability to keep the hands steady, and poor eye-hand coordination. It can also lead to feelings of weakness, tremors, a mask-like face and psychological effects. It can also lead to impotence and loss of libido, according to the EPA.
“I just returned from a 15-month deployment from Iraq with 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division to FOB Hammer, and some of us found a document saying that the level of a certain type of metal in the air was above military standards and to expect soldiers to become ill,” wrote the soldier, who asked not to be named for fear of repercussions. “There were burn pits there, and our base was located less than two miles from an Iraqi brick factory.”
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/military_burnpit_chemicals_111908w/
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 17:42:11 EST
A soldier concerned about his tour at Forward Operating Base Hammer near Balad, Iraq, this year sent Military Times a report showing high levels of particulate matter and low levels of manganese, possibly due to materials destroyed in a burn pit.
“The high risk estimate is due to the average (particulate matter) level being at a concentration the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers ‘hazardous,’ and is likely to affect the health of all troops,” wrote Jeffrey Kirkpatrick, director of health risk assessment for the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. “Manganese was also detected above its one-year military exposure guidelines.”
It was sent to the command surgeon general’s office for U.S. Central Command.
Particulate matter can lead to coughing, difficulty breathing, decreased lung function, aggravated asthma, chronic bronchitis, irregular heartbeat, nonfatal heart attacks and premature death in people with heart or lung disease, according to the EPA.
Long-term levels of high exposure to manganese can lead to problems in the central nervous system, such as slow visual reaction time, inability to keep the hands steady, and poor eye-hand coordination. It can also lead to feelings of weakness, tremors, a mask-like face and psychological effects. It can also lead to impotence and loss of libido, according to the EPA.
“I just returned from a 15-month deployment from Iraq with 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division to FOB Hammer, and some of us found a document saying that the level of a certain type of metal in the air was above military standards and to expect soldiers to become ill,” wrote the soldier, who asked not to be named for fear of repercussions. “There were burn pits there, and our base was located less than two miles from an Iraqi brick factory.”
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/military_burnpit_chemicals_111908w/
Trauma of hate
I've heard a lot of people saying that President Elect Obama is a Muslim, when he is a Christian, that he "is a friend of terrorists" when he is not. What troubles me more than average people thinking these lies are true and repeating them, is where the lies came from. They came from the McCain/Palin campaign and their supporters, but they also came from members of the clergy. When we think of the Sermon of the Mount and the words of Christ, we think of the Beatitudes and miss the rest of what He said. So let's clarify this right now.
All the following quotes come from BibleGateway. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5
When a member of clergy lies, it is one of the biggest sins of all.
Here you read that Jesus put hatred right up there with murder. To hate someone is a sin. To hate someone because of the color of their skin is a sin. God created us in the image of Him and that image of Him is spirit, not flesh and bones. The color of a person's skin comes again from what God created and that was the ability of the body to adapt. No matter what a person's skin color is, they have the same hopes, dreams, gifts, heartache and joys as you do.
How can any Christian say they belong to Christ if they go against everything He stood for? While these hate crimes are not all committed by people who are Christian, too many Christians support what they are doing. Even members of Christ's church! Don't they understand that the Bible is about how we are supposed to treat each other? That is what Christ came to teach us.
We all know what it's like to be hated without cause. We all know what it's like when someone lies about us and when we discover they lied to us. It is a betrayal and it's traumatic. What is even more traumatic is to be attacked or targeted because someone hated you for who you voted for, where you live, the color of your skin or because they believed a lie.
Hope came back into this nation when the majority said finally "the content of their character" mattered more than the color of someone's skin, the very way Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamt of. The others may never learn what it is like to experience that kind of pure heart that sees beyond color. These are miserable people who want to blame others for the ugliness in their own soul and the misery in their own mind instead of noticing exactly why they feel the way they do.
When the truth is told, then it is truth but if you believe in a lie when the truth can easily be found, you are worse than a liar.
All the following quotes come from BibleGateway. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5
The Fulfillment of the Law
17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
When a member of clergy lies, it is one of the biggest sins of all.
Murder
21"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder,and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.
Here you read that Jesus put hatred right up there with murder. To hate someone is a sin. To hate someone because of the color of their skin is a sin. God created us in the image of Him and that image of Him is spirit, not flesh and bones. The color of a person's skin comes again from what God created and that was the ability of the body to adapt. No matter what a person's skin color is, they have the same hopes, dreams, gifts, heartache and joys as you do.
Love for Enemies
43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
How can any Christian say they belong to Christ if they go against everything He stood for? While these hate crimes are not all committed by people who are Christian, too many Christians support what they are doing. Even members of Christ's church! Don't they understand that the Bible is about how we are supposed to treat each other? That is what Christ came to teach us.
We all know what it's like to be hated without cause. We all know what it's like when someone lies about us and when we discover they lied to us. It is a betrayal and it's traumatic. What is even more traumatic is to be attacked or targeted because someone hated you for who you voted for, where you live, the color of your skin or because they believed a lie.
Hope came back into this nation when the majority said finally "the content of their character" mattered more than the color of someone's skin, the very way Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamt of. The others may never learn what it is like to experience that kind of pure heart that sees beyond color. These are miserable people who want to blame others for the ugliness in their own soul and the misery in their own mind instead of noticing exactly why they feel the way they do.
When the truth is told, then it is truth but if you believe in a lie when the truth can easily be found, you are worse than a liar.
Hate crimes surge in US after Obama election: experts
Published: Wednesday November 19, 2008
An interracial couple in Pennsylvania who woke up to find the remains of a burnt cross in their front garden.
A California town which saw cars and garages vandalized with swastikas, racist epithets and slogans such as "Go Back to Africa."
Black effigies hung from nooses in an island community in Maine.
Students chanting "assassinate Obama" on a schoolbus in Idaho.
Barack Obama's historic election as America's first black president has led to a surge of racist incidents across the United States, hate-crime monitoring groups and analysts say.
Mark Potok, director of the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, said the final weeks of the US election campaign and its immediate aftermath had witnessed "hundreds and hundreds" of hate-related incidents.
"Since the closing weeks of the campaign, we've seen a real and significant, white backlash break out and I think it's getting worse," Potok told AFP.
Potok traced the onset of the incidents to around the time of election rallies by Republican vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin where shouts of "Kill Him!" were reportedly heard from sections of the crowd.
"But what we're seeing now is everything from cross burnings, to death threats, to Obama effigies hanging in nooses to ugly racial incidents in schoolyards around the country," Potok said.
click post title for more
Son kills father, then himself over fast food order
Galveston County boy, father he shot both die
By HARVEY RICE Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Nov. 19, 2008, 11:57AM
KEMAH — A teenager and the father he shot before turning the gun on himself after an argument over a fast food order both died after nearly two days in critical care, a hospital spokesman said today.
Robert Lee Mueller Jr., 16, and his father, Robert Lee Mueller, 59, died late Tuesday, Memorial Hermann Hospital spokeswoman Ann Brimberry said.
Brimberry said privacy laws prevented the hospital from releasing the exact time of death or any other information.
Galveston County sheriff's officials were not immediately available for comment.
By HARVEY RICE Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Nov. 19, 2008, 11:57AM
KEMAH — A teenager and the father he shot before turning the gun on himself after an argument over a fast food order both died after nearly two days in critical care, a hospital spokesman said today.
Robert Lee Mueller Jr., 16, and his father, Robert Lee Mueller, 59, died late Tuesday, Memorial Hermann Hospital spokeswoman Ann Brimberry said.
Brimberry said privacy laws prevented the hospital from releasing the exact time of death or any other information.
Galveston County sheriff's officials were not immediately available for comment.
go here for more
Denton TX jailer told inmate he'd go free if he voted for McCain
Denton jailer told inmate he'd go free if he voted for McCain
01:12 PM CST on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
By BRENDA GONZALEZ / The Dallas Morning News
Denton police are discussing possible punishments for a city jailer who told a detainee on Election Day that he would be released if he voted for John McCain.
01:12 PM CST on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
By BRENDA GONZALEZ / The Dallas Morning News
Denton police are discussing possible punishments for a city jailer who told a detainee on Election Day that he would be released if he voted for John McCain.
According to the North Texas Daily, the student newspaper of the University of North Texas, Aruto Ntel, 25, a senior at Texas Woman's University, was pulled over for speeding on his way to vote on Nov. 4. Mr. Ntel was arrested on an outstanding warrant from McKinney for driving without insurance and taken to the Denton County Jail.
While he was in jail, Mr. Ntel told the paper, a jail employee – presumably later identified by authorities as Mr. Saunier – "swung a key in go free in front of my face and said I could go free if I vote for McCain."
He voted for Obama, the student paper reported.
click post title for more
Sources: Obama picks Daschle to head Health and Human Services
Sources: Obama picks Daschle to head HHS
President-elect Barack Obama has chosen former Sen. Tom Daschle to be secretary of Health and Human Services, and the former Senate majority leader has indicated he wants the job, three sources close to the transition told CNN. Daschle -- not White House staffers -- will be writing the health care plan that Obama submits to Congress, sources indicate. full story
President-elect Barack Obama has chosen former Sen. Tom Daschle to be secretary of Health and Human Services, and the former Senate majority leader has indicated he wants the job, three sources close to the transition told CNN. Daschle -- not White House staffers -- will be writing the health care plan that Obama submits to Congress, sources indicate. full story
Soldier sues Army secretary over retirement
Soldier sues Army secretary over retirement
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 14:55:44 EST
A soldier filed a lawsuit against the secretary of the Army on Oct. 31 stating his military retirement case was handled illegally.
Military Times first wrote about Capt. James Wollman’s case in June 2006, after the military found his ankylosing spondylitis was a pre-existing condition, even though it was not diagnosed until after he joined the military and served a combat tour in Iraq, and there was no proof — or reason to believe — the disease had surfaced before he joined.
In fact, a surgeon with the 1st Armored Division wrote a letter to the Physical Evaluation Board stating that she believed several mistakes had been made and that his disease was not a pre-existing condition.
Ankylosing spondylitis is a disease of the immune system that causes severe back problems.
Wollman filed the lawsuit after several years of enduring a labyrinthine review process studded with roadblocks.
The military initially ruled his condition to be pre-existing when he went through the disability retirement process in 2005. The U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency agreed with the findings.
Wollman then took his case to the Army Disability Review Board because he said his disability is service-connected and was also aggravated by his time in the military.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/military_wollman_lawsuit_111908w/
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 14:55:44 EST
A soldier filed a lawsuit against the secretary of the Army on Oct. 31 stating his military retirement case was handled illegally.
Military Times first wrote about Capt. James Wollman’s case in June 2006, after the military found his ankylosing spondylitis was a pre-existing condition, even though it was not diagnosed until after he joined the military and served a combat tour in Iraq, and there was no proof — or reason to believe — the disease had surfaced before he joined.
In fact, a surgeon with the 1st Armored Division wrote a letter to the Physical Evaluation Board stating that she believed several mistakes had been made and that his disease was not a pre-existing condition.
Ankylosing spondylitis is a disease of the immune system that causes severe back problems.
Wollman filed the lawsuit after several years of enduring a labyrinthine review process studded with roadblocks.
The military initially ruled his condition to be pre-existing when he went through the disability retirement process in 2005. The U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency agreed with the findings.
Wollman then took his case to the Army Disability Review Board because he said his disability is service-connected and was also aggravated by his time in the military.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/military_wollman_lawsuit_111908w/
Documentary tells ex-Army sergeant's story of pain
Documentary tells ex-Army sergeant's story of pain
The Associated Press
By CHERYL WITTENAUER
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Retired Army Sgt. Angela Peacock once was outgoing, competitive and athletic. These days, she barely functions, trusts no one and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder that prevents her from working.
She has gained 100 pounds and chain smokes. She lives alone in northern St. Louis County on a military pension and disability.
The story of Peacock's struggle to recover from the trauma of combat and an alleged sexual assault by an officer premieres Wednesday in a new online documentary. "Angie's Story" is the latest webcast in the series "In Their Boots," about the struggles of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and their families.
The series is a project of the Brave New Foundation, a Culver City, Calif.-nonprofit group headed by filmmaker and political activist Robert Greenwald. His films, including "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers," "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" and "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism," are left-leaning.
But "In Their Boots" is apolitical. That was a condition of the grant from the financial backer, the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund, Greenwald said.
"This is not partisan work," he said. "We were approached to take this on because the stories of patriotic men and women returning home and adjusting to physical and mental problems are stories that traditional media have not been covering."
The series has explored such topics as traumatic brain injury, the plight of young military widows and a soldier's suicide from the parents' point of view.
In the 20-minute documentary "Angie's Story," Peacock says she told her platoon leader while deployed in South Korea in 2001 that she'd been raped by a noncommissioned officer.
She recalled her platoon leader saying, "If you tell, they're going to make you look like a whore. They're going to say you were drinking, it's all your fault. You better just keep your mouth shut."
Peacock said she later learned 57 military women had been sexually assaulted in South Korea that year.
click link for more
The need to take care of your spirit cannot be overlooked when trying to heal from trauma. No matter what faith you claim as your own, or if you have no faith at all, it is a very important part of your healing. Reach out for God as you know Him or keep reaching out until you find Him and the peace you need to feel within. If you do not believe in God, then at least try to reconnect to the spirit within you.
The Associated Press
The Defense Department said in a statement it is committed to eliminating sexual assault through a robust prevention and response policy, removing barriers to reporting and ensuring that care is available to victims.
Last year, the military took action against 600 suspected perpetrators. An additional 572 are awaiting action.
By CHERYL WITTENAUER
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Retired Army Sgt. Angela Peacock once was outgoing, competitive and athletic. These days, she barely functions, trusts no one and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder that prevents her from working.
She has gained 100 pounds and chain smokes. She lives alone in northern St. Louis County on a military pension and disability.
The story of Peacock's struggle to recover from the trauma of combat and an alleged sexual assault by an officer premieres Wednesday in a new online documentary. "Angie's Story" is the latest webcast in the series "In Their Boots," about the struggles of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and their families.
The series is a project of the Brave New Foundation, a Culver City, Calif.-nonprofit group headed by filmmaker and political activist Robert Greenwald. His films, including "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers," "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" and "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism," are left-leaning.
But "In Their Boots" is apolitical. That was a condition of the grant from the financial backer, the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund, Greenwald said.
"This is not partisan work," he said. "We were approached to take this on because the stories of patriotic men and women returning home and adjusting to physical and mental problems are stories that traditional media have not been covering."
The series has explored such topics as traumatic brain injury, the plight of young military widows and a soldier's suicide from the parents' point of view.
In the 20-minute documentary "Angie's Story," Peacock says she told her platoon leader while deployed in South Korea in 2001 that she'd been raped by a noncommissioned officer.
She recalled her platoon leader saying, "If you tell, they're going to make you look like a whore. They're going to say you were drinking, it's all your fault. You better just keep your mouth shut."
Peacock said she later learned 57 military women had been sexually assaulted in South Korea that year.
click link for more
Angela Peacock
Army Sergeant Angela Peacock joined the military in February 1998. She wanted to travel, serve her country and gain some life experience. In 2001, while deployed in South Korea, Angie was raped by a fellow soldier. She was encouraged by her command not to tell, so she held it in, and in 2003 she took it to Iraq with her. She led her unit courageously, but silently struggled until she couldn't stay quiet any longer. Out of Iraq and back at home, Angie decides to take control of her PTSD - a result of both her military sexual trauma and combat stress - and take her life back.
Three short videos of Angela, one with taking care of her spirit with instructor, another with her meditating and another with using crafts.
http://intheirboots.com/RS117.php
The need to take care of your spirit cannot be overlooked when trying to heal from trauma. No matter what faith you claim as your own, or if you have no faith at all, it is a very important part of your healing. Reach out for God as you know Him or keep reaching out until you find Him and the peace you need to feel within. If you do not believe in God, then at least try to reconnect to the spirit within you.
Captain Dale Allen Walker, 3 tours in Vietnam, 2 Purple Hearts, VA makes him wait
Like thousands of veterans, local has trouble with VA
Bullard News - USA
Jim Epperson editor@bullardnews.com
While Riverboat Captain Dale Allen Walker patrolled a river in Vietnam, a mine blew up at a nearby boat. He flew 30 feet in the air, landed on the boat, then rolled into the water.
He was trapped under the vessel, and it was bouncing on top of him. The boat pounded his feet into the thick river mud. Walker was stuck and about to drowned. Then someone in his boat came to his rescue. A helicopter hovered just low enough to board the wounded, and flew Walker to an Army hospital in Vietnam.
"I was in the Navy, and I had to go to an Army hospital," he said, remembering the battle from his home outside of Jacksonville. "I think that is how my records were lost."
This was how he received his second Purple Heart, and how the rest of his life changed. The first time he received a Purple Heart his Assault Support Patrol Boat was pounded by three rocket-propelled grenades.
The Navy later awarded Walker with an Accommodation Medal. On one of his three tours through Vietnam, a boat directly behind him was hit by a rocket. The boat started to sink. While the squad still received small arm fire, Walker reversed course, hooked up a tow line to the sinking boat and beached it.
Walker has experienced what thousands of veterans in the United States have experienced. When it comes to the Department of Veteran Affairs, everything is a slow process.
click link for more
Bullard News - USA
Jim Epperson editor@bullardnews.com
While Riverboat Captain Dale Allen Walker patrolled a river in Vietnam, a mine blew up at a nearby boat. He flew 30 feet in the air, landed on the boat, then rolled into the water.
He was trapped under the vessel, and it was bouncing on top of him. The boat pounded his feet into the thick river mud. Walker was stuck and about to drowned. Then someone in his boat came to his rescue. A helicopter hovered just low enough to board the wounded, and flew Walker to an Army hospital in Vietnam.
"I was in the Navy, and I had to go to an Army hospital," he said, remembering the battle from his home outside of Jacksonville. "I think that is how my records were lost."
This was how he received his second Purple Heart, and how the rest of his life changed. The first time he received a Purple Heart his Assault Support Patrol Boat was pounded by three rocket-propelled grenades.
The Navy later awarded Walker with an Accommodation Medal. On one of his three tours through Vietnam, a boat directly behind him was hit by a rocket. The boat started to sink. While the squad still received small arm fire, Walker reversed course, hooked up a tow line to the sinking boat and beached it.
Walker has experienced what thousands of veterans in the United States have experienced. When it comes to the Department of Veteran Affairs, everything is a slow process.
click link for more
Aurora Bridge fatal leap will be reviewed by police
Aurora Bridge fatal leap will be reviewed by police
Seattle police are investigating the department's handling of a Nov. 3 incident that ended when 48-year-old Derik E. Loso plunged to his death from the Aurora Bridge after hanging from the outside railing for more than two hours.
By Steve Miletich
Seattle Times staff reporter
Seattle police are investigating the department's handling of an incident that ended when a 48-year-old man plunged to his death from the Aurora Bridge after clinging outside the railing for more than two hours.
Police reported that Derik E. Loso jumped from the bridge Nov. 3 while officers sought to negotiate with him. The King County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a suicide.
But the department is investigating because an officer tried to place a handcuff on Loso's arm moments before he dropped, said Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, a department spokesman.
Whitcomb said the attempt to handcuff Loso and pull him back onto the bridge stemmed from concern that Loso was tiring and could lose his grip.
Two police sources said negotiators usually don't try to rush or grab a suicidal person who is threatening to jump from a high structure because it is risky and could precipitate a jump or accidental fall.
Whitcomb said it was unusual for someone to cling outside of the bridge and that a decision had to be made to try to "save this man's life."
He said officers, who also were joined by firefighters on the bridge, would have waited as long as needed if they believed that was the best course of action.
Whitcomb said investigators are documenting what happened but probably won't be able to determine if Loso chose to jump or fell as the attempt to handcuff him was made.
"I'm not sure we're ever going to know," Whitcomb said.
Detectives in the homicide unit are taking statements from officers who were at the scene to determine what happened.
go here for more
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008408518_aurora19m.html
Seattle police are investigating the department's handling of a Nov. 3 incident that ended when 48-year-old Derik E. Loso plunged to his death from the Aurora Bridge after hanging from the outside railing for more than two hours.
By Steve Miletich
Seattle Times staff reporter
Seattle police are investigating the department's handling of an incident that ended when a 48-year-old man plunged to his death from the Aurora Bridge after clinging outside the railing for more than two hours.
Police reported that Derik E. Loso jumped from the bridge Nov. 3 while officers sought to negotiate with him. The King County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a suicide.
But the department is investigating because an officer tried to place a handcuff on Loso's arm moments before he dropped, said Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, a department spokesman.
Whitcomb said the attempt to handcuff Loso and pull him back onto the bridge stemmed from concern that Loso was tiring and could lose his grip.
Two police sources said negotiators usually don't try to rush or grab a suicidal person who is threatening to jump from a high structure because it is risky and could precipitate a jump or accidental fall.
Whitcomb said it was unusual for someone to cling outside of the bridge and that a decision had to be made to try to "save this man's life."
He said officers, who also were joined by firefighters on the bridge, would have waited as long as needed if they believed that was the best course of action.
Whitcomb said investigators are documenting what happened but probably won't be able to determine if Loso chose to jump or fell as the attempt to handcuff him was made.
"I'm not sure we're ever going to know," Whitcomb said.
Detectives in the homicide unit are taking statements from officers who were at the scene to determine what happened.
Matthew Loso said his brother, who was married with a young son, had displayed suicidal tendencies for at least two weeks before his death.
He said his brother mailed money to others to pay debts and "disappeared from our radar."
His brother also was experiencing marital difficulties and wondering whether his job as a floor director at KIRO television was a "dead-end job," Matthew Loso said.
go here for more
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008408518_aurora19m.html
Soldier Describes Watching Fatal Fire Burn
Soldier Describes Watching Fatal Fire Burn
WSMV - Nashville,TN,USA
FT. CAMPBELL, Ky. -- A Fort Campbell soldier injured in a fatal fire on post said he watched helplessly as his wife tried to save the couple's children.
Rebekah Smallwood, 2, and Samuel Fagan, 9, were killed in the May house fire that investigators said was arson.
Spc. Wayne Smallwood, 33, said he shattered his leg jumping from the building to get water to try and put out the fire.
Smallwood said he couldn't stand up to help his wife, Billi-Jo, as she tried to escape to the roof with the three small children.
His wife was badly burned trying to reach the children. The couple's infant child, Nevaeh, was unharmed by the blaze.
click link for more
Video: Fort Campbell Fire Kills 2 Children
June 15, 2007: Officials: Fatal Fort Campbell Fire Deliberately Set
WSMV - Nashville,TN,USA
FT. CAMPBELL, Ky. -- A Fort Campbell soldier injured in a fatal fire on post said he watched helplessly as his wife tried to save the couple's children.
Rebekah Smallwood, 2, and Samuel Fagan, 9, were killed in the May house fire that investigators said was arson.
Spc. Wayne Smallwood, 33, said he shattered his leg jumping from the building to get water to try and put out the fire.
Smallwood said he couldn't stand up to help his wife, Billi-Jo, as she tried to escape to the roof with the three small children.
His wife was badly burned trying to reach the children. The couple's infant child, Nevaeh, was unharmed by the blaze.
click link for more
Video: Fort Campbell Fire Kills 2 Children
June 15, 2007: Officials: Fatal Fort Campbell Fire Deliberately Set
Fort Bragg Soldier charged with beating toddler, infant
Soldier charged with beating toddler, infant
Raeford, N.C. — A Fort Bragg paratrooper has been charged with beating his two young children, including one that is 7 weeks old, authorities said Tuesday.
Sgt. Alex Wayne Mages, 22, of 106 Dotson Drive, was charged with one count each of felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury, felony child abuse inflicting serious injury and felony assault with a deadly weapon. He was being held Tuesday in the Hoke County Jail under a $150,000 secured bond.
Video here
Soldier charged with beating toddler, infant
go here for more
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3984269/
Mages was an unmanned drone pilot. Before you think that there is no chance he was affected by this, read this and understand there is a chance it was because he served. Don't assume anything yet.
Remote-control warriors suffer war stress too
by Scott Lindlaw / Associated Press
Thursday August 07, 2008, 3:45 PM
MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. -- Working in an air-conditioned trailer nicknamed the Dumpster, Predator pilots peer into Iraq through a bank of computers, operating by remote-control the drone via keyboard and chat software -- and occasionally unleashing missiles on enemy fighters.
When their eight-hour shifts are done, they merge onto the highway and blend into the Southern California suburbs.
For the growing number of air national guardsmen involved in unmanned combat missions, it can be a whiplashing daily transition, and one that is taking a toll on a few of them.
"When pilots finish their job sitting in the ground control station, they climb out of that thing, hop in their car and then they drive home, and they have just been basically at war," said Col. Albert K. Aimar, commander of the 163rd Reconnaissance Wing here.
A Predator's video cameras are powerful enough to allow an operator to distinguish between a man and a woman, and between different weapons on the ground, unit commanders say. While the cameras' resolution is generally not high enough to make out faces, it is sharp, they say.
Aimar, a weapons system operator on F-4 fighters in the 1970s, said flying unmanned Predator drones in combat can weigh on a pilot and on the sensor operators who control cameras and weapons systems.
"When you come in (with a fighter) at 500-600 mph, drop a 500-pound bomb and then fly away, you don't see what happens," said Aimar, who holds a bachelor's degree in psychology. "Now you watch it all the way to impact, and I mean it's very vivid, it's right there and personal. So it does stay in people's minds for a long time."
The 163rd has called in a full-time chaplain and has enlisted the services of psychologists and psychiatrists to help ease the mental strain from this remote-controlled fighting, Aimar said.
"We've been doing this for two years now, and we're pretty adaptable," Aimar said. But, he said, "It's causing some family issues, some relationship issues. It's just not something we ever had to deal with."
Similarly, chaplains have been brought on at Predator bases in Texas, Arizona and Nevada.
go here for more
http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2008/08
/remotecontrol_warriors_suffer.html
St. Helenan finally receives honor earned in Korean conflict
St. Helenan finally receives honor earned in Korean conflict
By JOHN LINDBLOM
For the Register
On Tuesday, Jess Torres’ 80th birthday — and serendipitously Veterans Day — his past as a U.S. soldier in the Korean War caught up with him.
It all came together at St. Helena’s American Legion Hall in one illuminating moment in which Torres was presented a long-overdue Purple Heart in recognition of wounds suffered on the battlefield 57 years ago.
It was a proud moment as a spit-and-polished U.S. Army Captain Jack Faulkner presented the medal “on behalf of President Harry S. Truman.” But it was a bittersweet moment, as well, as Torres reflected on the grim circumstances that led to the Purple Heart, awarded only to those killed or wounded in battle.
“It happened in the northeast part of Korea where we were under a lot of heavy attack from the Chinese,” said Torres, a shy man of few words since his Army days. He did not elaborate.
“I can’t really describe how I’m feeling right now. I hope you understand that,” an emotional Torres told a full house of veterans and wives after the brief ceremony.
It was understandable. Torres didn’t know he was going to receive the long overdue Purple Heart Tuesday night. He was unaware of the covert campaign waged by fellow Legionnaire Dave Curtin.
Curtin was motivated to secure the medal for Torres out of respect for a comrade in arms, albeit in different wars — Curtin is a Vietnam-era vet. “I did it because no veteran in combat should be denied his Purple Heart for any reason,” he said.
A lifelong friend of Torres, Al Butala, presented the former Private First Class with a second medal that was also a lifetime overdue — the Combat Infantry Badge — and recalled how he and Albert Betz, another lifelong Torres friend, had gone through St. Helena schools together.
go here for more
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2008/11/17/
news/local/doc4920fcd90d264533203096.txt
By JOHN LINDBLOM
For the Register
On Tuesday, Jess Torres’ 80th birthday — and serendipitously Veterans Day — his past as a U.S. soldier in the Korean War caught up with him.
It all came together at St. Helena’s American Legion Hall in one illuminating moment in which Torres was presented a long-overdue Purple Heart in recognition of wounds suffered on the battlefield 57 years ago.
It was a proud moment as a spit-and-polished U.S. Army Captain Jack Faulkner presented the medal “on behalf of President Harry S. Truman.” But it was a bittersweet moment, as well, as Torres reflected on the grim circumstances that led to the Purple Heart, awarded only to those killed or wounded in battle.
“It happened in the northeast part of Korea where we were under a lot of heavy attack from the Chinese,” said Torres, a shy man of few words since his Army days. He did not elaborate.
“I can’t really describe how I’m feeling right now. I hope you understand that,” an emotional Torres told a full house of veterans and wives after the brief ceremony.
It was understandable. Torres didn’t know he was going to receive the long overdue Purple Heart Tuesday night. He was unaware of the covert campaign waged by fellow Legionnaire Dave Curtin.
Curtin was motivated to secure the medal for Torres out of respect for a comrade in arms, albeit in different wars — Curtin is a Vietnam-era vet. “I did it because no veteran in combat should be denied his Purple Heart for any reason,” he said.
A lifelong friend of Torres, Al Butala, presented the former Private First Class with a second medal that was also a lifetime overdue — the Combat Infantry Badge — and recalled how he and Albert Betz, another lifelong Torres friend, had gone through St. Helena schools together.
go here for more
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2008/11/17/
news/local/doc4920fcd90d264533203096.txt
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
86 city officers have answered duty's call in National Guard
Honoring those who serve and protect here and abroad
86 city officers have answered duty's call
By Angela Rozas Crime Scene
November 18, 2008
Over here, he was a police officer in the Morgan Park District, catching drug slingers on corners. Over there, he was a major in the Army, teaching the people of Afghanistan how to build hospitals.
If you bumped into Officer Michael Henderson at the training academy, where he works now, you might not know that he has been a military man for 17 years, earning enough rank to command scores of soldiers. That he is proud of every school his men helped teach the Afghani people to build. That he still feels the pain of sending three of his young charges home, shrouded in the U.S. flag.
If you met Probationary Patrol Officer James Kurth, you might think he seems a bit mature to be a rookie. But at 28, Kurth has already spent 11 years in the Illinois Army National Guard. In August 2007, just months after becoming a Chicago police officer, Kurth was sent to Kuwait to help repair aircraft engines, the same engines that would help fly soldiers to Baghdad and Tikrit.
There are 86 stories like Henderson's and Kurth's in the Chicago Police Department. Stories of officers who worked a district or a detective's desk for months or years, then were called to the front lines to fight or the back lines to rebuild.
click link for more
86 city officers have answered duty's call
By Angela Rozas Crime Scene
November 18, 2008
Over here, he was a police officer in the Morgan Park District, catching drug slingers on corners. Over there, he was a major in the Army, teaching the people of Afghanistan how to build hospitals.
If you bumped into Officer Michael Henderson at the training academy, where he works now, you might not know that he has been a military man for 17 years, earning enough rank to command scores of soldiers. That he is proud of every school his men helped teach the Afghani people to build. That he still feels the pain of sending three of his young charges home, shrouded in the U.S. flag.
If you met Probationary Patrol Officer James Kurth, you might think he seems a bit mature to be a rookie. But at 28, Kurth has already spent 11 years in the Illinois Army National Guard. In August 2007, just months after becoming a Chicago police officer, Kurth was sent to Kuwait to help repair aircraft engines, the same engines that would help fly soldiers to Baghdad and Tikrit.
There are 86 stories like Henderson's and Kurth's in the Chicago Police Department. Stories of officers who worked a district or a detective's desk for months or years, then were called to the front lines to fight or the back lines to rebuild.
click link for more
Pittsburgh PA:Post-Traumatic Stress Under-Treated: Local Soldiers Affected
Post-Traumatic Stress Undertreated: Local Soldiers Affected
WPXI.com - Pittsburgh,PA,USA
Post-Traumatic Stress Under-Treated: Local Soldiers Affected
Target 11 Investigates Treatment Gaps
A recent study was highly critical of the care the soldiers are receiving when it comes to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Target 11 talked to a local soldier who said he was one of the ones left behind.
Robert Reeb spent the past 17 years in the military.
In the summer of 2006, he returned from Iraq and that's when his troubles began.
"I started using inhalants, and anything I could," said Reeb.
Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, he was sent to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Maryland.
But halfway through, the treatment program was cut off -- Reeb was ordered back to Pennsylvania and discharged under honorable conditions.
A spokesman for the Pennsylvania National Guard said Reeb was given numerous chances, but repeated problems eventually led to his discharge. But a recent survey by the RAND corporation uncovered troubling statistics about the treatment soldiers returning from battle receive.
While some 300-thousand soldiers suffer from PTSD, the study revealed only half who need it are getting treated and of those, slightly more than half received care labeled "minimally adequate".
Terri Tanielian conducted the study and said the military can do better.
"There are a number of opportunities that exist within the Department of Defense and the VA where there are tools and settings where you would hope and expect that higher quality care would be delivered," said Tanielian.
Congressman Jason Altmire agrees it's a big problem.
"It's a problem with the quality of care they are getting," said Altmire.
Altmire believes the situation facing Reeb and other soldiers is preventable.
click link for more
WPXI.com - Pittsburgh,PA,USA
Post-Traumatic Stress Under-Treated: Local Soldiers Affected
Target 11 Investigates Treatment Gaps
A recent study was highly critical of the care the soldiers are receiving when it comes to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Target 11 talked to a local soldier who said he was one of the ones left behind.
Robert Reeb spent the past 17 years in the military.
In the summer of 2006, he returned from Iraq and that's when his troubles began.
"I started using inhalants, and anything I could," said Reeb.
Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, he was sent to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Maryland.
But halfway through, the treatment program was cut off -- Reeb was ordered back to Pennsylvania and discharged under honorable conditions.
A spokesman for the Pennsylvania National Guard said Reeb was given numerous chances, but repeated problems eventually led to his discharge. But a recent survey by the RAND corporation uncovered troubling statistics about the treatment soldiers returning from battle receive.
While some 300-thousand soldiers suffer from PTSD, the study revealed only half who need it are getting treated and of those, slightly more than half received care labeled "minimally adequate".
Terri Tanielian conducted the study and said the military can do better.
"There are a number of opportunities that exist within the Department of Defense and the VA where there are tools and settings where you would hope and expect that higher quality care would be delivered," said Tanielian.
Congressman Jason Altmire agrees it's a big problem.
"It's a problem with the quality of care they are getting," said Altmire.
Altmire believes the situation facing Reeb and other soldiers is preventable.
click link for more
Lt. Gov. Brown a co-chair of Obama veterans team
Lt. Gov. Brown a co-chair of Obama veterans team
Baltimore Sun - United States
Brown a co-chair of By Gadi Dechter
November 18, 2008
Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown has been appointed co-chairman of President-elect Barack Obama's transition team overseeing veterans policy, officials said yesterday.
At the Agency Review Team for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Brown - an Iraq war veteran and 24-year member of the Army Reserves - will help formulate the incoming administration's policy goals regarding veterans. Brown will be working with Maryland Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez, who is part of a team reviewing personnel and policies at the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and Housing and Urban Development.
click link for more
Baltimore Sun - United States
Brown a co-chair of By Gadi Dechter
November 18, 2008
Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown has been appointed co-chairman of President-elect Barack Obama's transition team overseeing veterans policy, officials said yesterday.
At the Agency Review Team for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Brown - an Iraq war veteran and 24-year member of the Army Reserves - will help formulate the incoming administration's policy goals regarding veterans. Brown will be working with Maryland Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez, who is part of a team reviewing personnel and policies at the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and Housing and Urban Development.
click link for more
Rear Adm. Robert F. Burt, Chief of Navy Chaplains gets it right!
This is one Chaplain who gets it right. He talks about PTSD, the different levels and how Chaplains are supposed to take care of their people no matter what faith they claim as there own. So why aren't all the branches of the military doing it?
A man for all faiths
Chief of Navy Chaplains reflects on the challenges of serving God and country
By Tim Wightman, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, November 20, 2008
Rear Adm. Robert F. Burt, Chief of Navy Chaplains, sat down Tuesday with Stars and Stripes at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. The 35-year Navy veteran is visiting bases in mainland Japan and Okinawa. Burt, who will retire in September, discussed the effect the war has on servicemembers and explained the role of chaplains in "facilitating" the worship of different faith groups on military bases.
How do Navy chaplains adapt to deal with faiths outside their own? How well are different faiths represented?
In an institutional environment, I think military chaplaincy leads the world in being able to adapt and reach out and minister to everybody… We facilitate for those who might be of a different faith group than us.
If someone comes to me and needs specific religious guidance, and they’re not of my same faith group or like-faith group, my job becomes a facilitator. I will find someone who can help that individual.
We are trained in chaplain school to be able to identify faith groups that want to, first of all, have a meeting, exercise their faith, grow in their faith.
If chaplains are approached (by someone) to have a meeting, there’s a process, whether it’s Wiccans or whoever it might be. The commanding officer signs off paper work after (the lay leader) has proven that they’re a recognized member of whatever religious organization it might be that they want to represent, and if they’ve got training on how to lead that particular faith group.
And the chaplain makes sure that that faith group has not only a specified facility or area to worship in, but they also have any kind of equipment or literature that they might need. Chaplains recognize that it is the right of everyone in this great nation, in or out of uniform, to express their faith and to choose whatever faith they want to follow. We don’t have to agree with them theologically or philosophically, but we respect their right to choose and we will support them in their efforts.
go here for more
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58909
Loveland Starbucks customers pay it forward
'Paying it backwards' at the drive-thru
written by: Adam Chodak
LOVELAND - Call it a Venti Caffe Latte of love.
At the Starbucks drive-thru in Loveland, more and more people are pulling up to the pick-up window to find they owe nothing. They're then told the person ahead of them paid their bill.
"It kind of almost took my breath away for a minute," said Lindell Green, a Loveland resident. "It was just such a wonderful surprise."
Green then paid for the person behind him.
"This is paying it backwards," he chirped.
Starbucks employee Julia Domascieno says - for reasons she can't explain - this random act of kindness is becoming less and less random.
"I've seen it go through 15 cars," she said.
Of course, this idea of paying it backwards wasn't born at this coffee shop and it's not limited to its drive-thru.
go here for more
http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=104095&catid=222
linked from CNN
written by: Adam Chodak
LOVELAND - Call it a Venti Caffe Latte of love.
At the Starbucks drive-thru in Loveland, more and more people are pulling up to the pick-up window to find they owe nothing. They're then told the person ahead of them paid their bill.
"It kind of almost took my breath away for a minute," said Lindell Green, a Loveland resident. "It was just such a wonderful surprise."
Green then paid for the person behind him.
"This is paying it backwards," he chirped.
Starbucks employee Julia Domascieno says - for reasons she can't explain - this random act of kindness is becoming less and less random.
"I've seen it go through 15 cars," she said.
Of course, this idea of paying it backwards wasn't born at this coffee shop and it's not limited to its drive-thru.
go here for more
http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=104095&catid=222
linked from CNN
Texas soldier missing for 58 years in Korea identified
Texas soldier missing for 58 years in Korea identified
November 18, 2008
Texas soldier missing for 58 years in Korea identified
The Defense Department this morning announced that it had identified the remains of a Texas soldier missing in action from the Korean War.
According to the Pentagon's POW/Missing Personnel Office, Army Cpl. Librado Luna of Taylor was last seen in action on November 26, 1950.
His remains will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors on Nov. 25 in Taylor.
Here's the backstory on Cpl. Luna's disappearance:
In late November 1950, Luna was assigned to the 8th Army Ranger Company, 25th Infantry Division, then attached to B Company, 89th Medium Tank Battalion as part of Task Force Dolvin. The 8th Army Ranger Company was deployed on Hill 205 in Kujang County along the leading edge of the U.S. position. On November 25, the Chinese Army struck in force in what would become known as the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River. Task Force Dolvin, including the 8th Army Ranger Company, was forced to withdraw to the south. Of the 91 men from B Company, 89th Medium Tank Battalion and the 8th Army Ranger Company, only 22 made it to safety. Ten men, including Luna, went missing on November 26 near Hill 205.
click link for more
NON-BATTLE DEATHS 2,830
TOTAL DEATHS IN THEATER: 36,516
DIED ELSEWHERE (Worldwide during Korean War) 17,730
WOUNDED (Number of personnel) 92,134
WOUNDED (Number of incidences*) 103,284 (*Includes individual personnel wounded multiple times)
UNACCOUNTED FOR (Bodies not identified/bodies not recovered) 8,176
Prisoner of War 2,045
Killed in Action 1,794
Missing in Action 4,245
Non-battle 92
Total: 8,176
go here for more from this site
Attleboro MA:City threatens blind woman over unpaid 1-cent bill
Nov 18, 9:19 AM EST
City threatens blind woman over unpaid 1-cent bill
ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) -- A 74-year-old blind woman was shocked when her daughter found a letter from the city saying a lien would be placed on her home unless she paid an overdue water bill.
The amount? 1 cent.
Eileen Wilbur told The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro the letter sent her blood pressure soaring, and pointed out that stamps cost 42 cents.
click post title for more
City threatens blind woman over unpaid 1-cent bill
ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) -- A 74-year-old blind woman was shocked when her daughter found a letter from the city saying a lien would be placed on her home unless she paid an overdue water bill.
The amount? 1 cent.
Eileen Wilbur told The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro the letter sent her blood pressure soaring, and pointed out that stamps cost 42 cents.
click post title for more
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)