Zoo Train Derails, Injuring 22 People
By BRETT BARROUQUERE, AP
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (June 2) - A small train carrying visitors to the Louisville Zoo fell off the tracks Monday, sending 22 people to hospitals including one child who was critically injured, officials said.
The train of open-air cars is pulled by a small engine and circles the zoo along a two-mile track. It was carrying about 30 passengers when three cars and the engine fell off the rails near the gorilla exhibit. A person briefly trapped was able to be freed, zoo spokeswoman Kara Bussabarger said.
Seventeen children were taken to Kosair Children's Hospital for treatment, including one in critical condition and another in serious, said spokesman Brian Rublein. Five adults were taken to University of Louisville Hospital, and spokesman David McArthur said all were in fair or better condition and that one might be admitted.
go here for more
Zoo Train Derails, Injuring 22 People
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Soldier's Mom calls on friends, volunteers to make quilts
Laurie Malms photo
Sgt. W. Eric Rodman and his mom, Laurie Malms
Mom calls on friends, volunteers to make quilts
By AUDREY PARENTE
Staff writer
DAYTONA BEACH -- Each time Laurie Malm's son "goes down range," as he describes his three deployments to Iraq, she has sent lap-size quilts for his whole unit.
The project isn't what's hard, because Malm of Fernandina Beach usually enlists the help of willing volunteers from quilting guilds.
The hard part for Malm is knowing this is her son's third time being sent into a dangerous war zone.
The first time was when her son's Army unit marched on Baghdad in 2003.
"He was there when they invaded," Malm said in a phone interview. "What I wrote to President Bush and Colin Powell at the time: 'If you are sending my son to die, there better be weapons of mass destruction and a horde of them.' So now, to know that there wasn't, and so many of the soldiers have fallen, I feel it's wrong."
Rodman's return was welcomed with a parade for his unit, and Malm thought it was over.
As a result of the first project, she started Lollipops Designer Bindings -- an online business that sells bias bindings made for quilting and sewing enthusiasts -- when she learned "how many quilters hate to make bias," she said, referring to the bindings created using strips cut on the bias of the fabric.
For her son's recent deployment she assembled nearly 40 volunteers to make more than 20 quilts with the help of her friend Gracye Beeman, owner of The Sewing Garrett in Daytona Beach. Beeman has a special sewing machine that helps speed up the process of building a quilt.
go here for more
Mom calls on friends, volunteers to make quilts
Police: Good Samaritan beheaded in Florida
Police: Good Samaritan beheaded in Florida
By Associated Press FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - Authorities in south Florida say a homeless man beheaded a good Samaritan who had given him a place to stay.
Lee County Sheriff's deputies went to 70-year-old Charles Rogers' apartment Thursday and found his body still in his wheelchair. His head had been placed near the front door.
go here for more
http://www.komonews.com/news/national/46486397.html
By Associated Press FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - Authorities in south Florida say a homeless man beheaded a good Samaritan who had given him a place to stay.
Lee County Sheriff's deputies went to 70-year-old Charles Rogers' apartment Thursday and found his body still in his wheelchair. His head had been placed near the front door.
go here for more
http://www.komonews.com/news/national/46486397.html
Body found in river where Fort Lewis soldier disappeared
Body found in Nisqually River
By KOMO Staff OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Search and rescue crews have recovered a body from the Nisqually River.
go here for more
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/46733502.html
By KOMO Staff OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Search and rescue crews have recovered a body from the Nisqually River.
PFC Robert Wheatley Jr. was one of nine people on three rafts which capsized in the river when they hit a log jam. The other eight made it to shore safely.
go here for more
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/46733502.html
Maj. Steve Hutchison adopted dog finds a home in the U.S.
Slain soldier's dog finds a home in the U.S.
A dog adopted by a 60-year-old Army major who was killed last month in Basra, Iraq, will have a home in Michigan.
After Maj. Steve Hutchison was killed on May 10, the saga of his “illegal” adoption of the stray dog he named Princess Leia became one of the fondest stories told by members of his unit.
In their telling, Hutchison signed a memo authorizing the dog as a member of the unit, which trains Iraqi border security officials. But even when that got him in trouble with his bosses, Hutchison didn’t give up.
click link for the rest
A dog adopted by a 60-year-old Army major who was killed last month in Basra, Iraq, will have a home in Michigan.
After Maj. Steve Hutchison was killed on May 10, the saga of his “illegal” adoption of the stray dog he named Princess Leia became one of the fondest stories told by members of his unit.
In their telling, Hutchison signed a memo authorizing the dog as a member of the unit, which trains Iraqi border security officials. But even when that got him in trouble with his bosses, Hutchison didn’t give up.
click link for the rest
Few answers year after body of guardsman found
What will it take to get the military to finally figure out what happened? A movie of the week deal? How could they leave the family suffering without answers? Will reporters beat down their doors for answers? Someone must know something!
Few answers year after body of guardsman found
By Holbrook Mohr - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 2, 2009 12:47:16 EDT
JACKSON, Miss. — One year after the skeletal remains of a Kentucky soldier were found in the woods on a South Mississippi military base just days before his unit left for Iraq, his death is still a mystery.
Spc. Ryan Longnecker, a Kentucky National Guard soldier, was training at Camp Shelby near Hattiesburg, Miss., when he disappeared Aug. 6, 2007. His body was found June 3, 2008.
Several theories about the death and apparent inconsistencies in the case have left Longnecker’s family with questions they fear may never be answered, said Shirley Ann Longnecker of Cambridge City, Ind., the soldier’s paternal grandmother.
“They were supposed to give lie detector tests to a couple of the guys that he had a run-in with earlier, and somebody’s keeping them from talking about it,” the grandmother said. “We still feel like there could be foul play, but we don’t know.”
Longnecker’s nose and jaw were broken when the remains were found in a secluded area on the massive, 136,000-acre base just two days before his unit shipped out, Shirley Ann Longnecker said. The military would not confirm that to The Associated Press.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_longnecker_one_year_060209/
Silver Star Families of America endorses Hospice for those veterans
Silver Star Families of America Aiding Dying Veterans
The Silver Star Families of America endorses Hospice for those veterans who are eligible.
Silver Star Families
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PR
Log (Press Release) – May 30, 2009 – OUR WOUNDED, OUR ILL AND OUR DYING
The Silver Star Families of America has one mission: To remember, honor and assist the wounded and ill of our armed forces from all wars. And while we struggle to meet the needs of our wounded and ill we cannot forget those that need us the most; our dying veterans.
More than 1,800 veterans die every day. (More than 600,000 a year) This represents one quarter of all deaths in the United States. 85 per cent of veterans do not receive V.A. care and most still die in their own communities with only about 4 per cent dying in V.A. facilities.
Our dying brothers and sisters deserve to die with dignity, respect and honor. And they deserve to die pain free with Spiritual and emotional support.
Hospice care is part of the basic eligibility package for veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration. (VHA) If hospice care is appropriate for enrolled veterans and has been approved by a VA physician, VA medical centers will either provide hospice care directly in their facilities or purchase it from community hospices.
“The need for education extends beyond the public to community hospice and VA providers as well. Many community hospices are unaware of the dedicated inpatient hospice units that exist in VA facilities. Likewise,VA facilities are often unfamiliar with the services community hospices can offer and how to work with them. There are also complex issues surrounding payment reimbursement and administration.” (Hospice Veteran Partnership Tool Kit)
End of life issues are always hard for us to deal with but it is an essential part of the mission of the Silver Star Families of America. We have started to issue Prayer Blankets to Hospice units at selected V.A. facilities. We can use your financial help.
Please go to: http://www.silverstarfamilies.org/VA_HOSPICE_CARE.html
Death is part of life and we will leave no veteran behind until they finally leave us for their last duty post.
The Silver Star Families of America endorses Hospice for those veterans who are eligible.
Silver Star Families
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PR
Log (Press Release) – May 30, 2009 – OUR WOUNDED, OUR ILL AND OUR DYING
The Silver Star Families of America has one mission: To remember, honor and assist the wounded and ill of our armed forces from all wars. And while we struggle to meet the needs of our wounded and ill we cannot forget those that need us the most; our dying veterans.
More than 1,800 veterans die every day. (More than 600,000 a year) This represents one quarter of all deaths in the United States. 85 per cent of veterans do not receive V.A. care and most still die in their own communities with only about 4 per cent dying in V.A. facilities.
Our dying brothers and sisters deserve to die with dignity, respect and honor. And they deserve to die pain free with Spiritual and emotional support.
Hospice care is part of the basic eligibility package for veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration. (VHA) If hospice care is appropriate for enrolled veterans and has been approved by a VA physician, VA medical centers will either provide hospice care directly in their facilities or purchase it from community hospices.
“The need for education extends beyond the public to community hospice and VA providers as well. Many community hospices are unaware of the dedicated inpatient hospice units that exist in VA facilities. Likewise,VA facilities are often unfamiliar with the services community hospices can offer and how to work with them. There are also complex issues surrounding payment reimbursement and administration.” (Hospice Veteran Partnership Tool Kit)
End of life issues are always hard for us to deal with but it is an essential part of the mission of the Silver Star Families of America. We have started to issue Prayer Blankets to Hospice units at selected V.A. facilities. We can use your financial help.
Please go to: http://www.silverstarfamilies.org/VA_HOSPICE_CARE.html
Death is part of life and we will leave no veteran behind until they finally leave us for their last duty post.
10th Mountain soldier's death in Iraq under investigation
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Marko M. Samson, 30, of Columbus, Ohio, died May 31 in Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries suffered from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 277th Aviation Support Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
Reunited: Vietnam veterans celebrate reunion in Lubbock
Reunited: Vietnam veterans celebrate reunion in Lubbock
By Laci Holcombe FOR THE AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Monday, June 01, 2009
Story last updated at 6/1/2009 - 1:21 am
The unique bond that is formed between people who serve together in war was strongly displayed Friday when members of a Marine platoon that served together in
Vietnam gathered to remember and catch up.
Despite the years that have passed, the bond between these men remains strong.
Friday was an evening of recognition for First Platoon, India Company, Third Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment. They gather twice a year for memories and camaraderie.
Larry Wilson, their platoon leader more than 40 years ago, helps sponsor and organize these reunions.
"In 1997, we had our first reunion in Big Bear, Calif.," said Wilson, "and it was the first time I had seen anybody since I led them in battle in 1967."
"So when we got together," said Wilson, "it was such a wonderful experience that we decided we should do this more often."
He said they decided to honor platoon member Lionel (Jerry) Lucero of Lubbock this year because he was their "tunnel rat." Wilson said they sent him into the tunnels to look for the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese army, which used tunnels for storage and to hide from American forces.
"So I decided that this year we should come to Lubbock and see Jerry," said Wilson. Wilson said he had served here in the FBI in the 1970s, so he had a fondness for the city.
go here for more
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/060109/fea_445807128.shtml
By Laci Holcombe FOR THE AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Monday, June 01, 2009
Story last updated at 6/1/2009 - 1:21 am
The unique bond that is formed between people who serve together in war was strongly displayed Friday when members of a Marine platoon that served together in
Vietnam gathered to remember and catch up.
Despite the years that have passed, the bond between these men remains strong.
Friday was an evening of recognition for First Platoon, India Company, Third Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment. They gather twice a year for memories and camaraderie.
Larry Wilson, their platoon leader more than 40 years ago, helps sponsor and organize these reunions.
"In 1997, we had our first reunion in Big Bear, Calif.," said Wilson, "and it was the first time I had seen anybody since I led them in battle in 1967."
"So when we got together," said Wilson, "it was such a wonderful experience that we decided we should do this more often."
He said they decided to honor platoon member Lionel (Jerry) Lucero of Lubbock this year because he was their "tunnel rat." Wilson said they sent him into the tunnels to look for the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese army, which used tunnels for storage and to hide from American forces.
"So I decided that this year we should come to Lubbock and see Jerry," said Wilson. Wilson said he had served here in the FBI in the 1970s, so he had a fondness for the city.
go here for more
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/060109/fea_445807128.shtml
Local ex-Marine spreads word about Camp Lejeune's once-toxic water
Local ex-Marine spreads word about Camp Lejeune's once-toxic water
ByFernandoQuintero
Sentinel Staff Writer
June 2, 2009
When he discovered he had bladder cancer in 2005, Mike Segura of Casselberry began searching for answers.
"The day I was diagnosed, I said, 'Lord, I don't know why I got this,'" said Segura, 51. "Right then, I felt peaceful. I could see He had a purpose."
In April 2008, Segura found a possible answer — and a purpose. A letter from the U.S. Marine Corps informed him he may have been exposed to toxic chemicals during his stay at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C. During four decades, an estimated 500,000 civilians and soldiers were exposed to tainted drinking water on the base.
Segura's purpose, it turns out, is to help spread the word to others who lived on or near Camp Lejeune. He thinks his illness — and those of many others — was caused by exposure to the toxins that seeped from a dry cleaner and industrial activity at the camp into its water supply.
go here for more
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-aseccamp-lejeune-contamination-0060209jun02,0,6976866.story
ByFernandoQuintero
Sentinel Staff Writer
June 2, 2009
When he discovered he had bladder cancer in 2005, Mike Segura of Casselberry began searching for answers.
"The day I was diagnosed, I said, 'Lord, I don't know why I got this,'" said Segura, 51. "Right then, I felt peaceful. I could see He had a purpose."
In April 2008, Segura found a possible answer — and a purpose. A letter from the U.S. Marine Corps informed him he may have been exposed to toxic chemicals during his stay at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C. During four decades, an estimated 500,000 civilians and soldiers were exposed to tainted drinking water on the base.
Segura's purpose, it turns out, is to help spread the word to others who lived on or near Camp Lejeune. He thinks his illness — and those of many others — was caused by exposure to the toxins that seeped from a dry cleaner and industrial activity at the camp into its water supply.
go here for more
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-aseccamp-lejeune-contamination-0060209jun02,0,6976866.story
Monday, June 1, 2009
Soft Spots continues to get rave reviews
ASU alum, Iraq War vet finds healing in his book, 'Soft Spots'
Clint Van Winkle, a Marine veteran of the Iraq War, was struggling to cope with life after combat upon his return to the States in 2003. Awful memories and images of devastation, callous violence and mind-scenes that included burned bodies and dead children were impossible to erase, and help was hard to find. Although he didn’t know it at the time, he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
A 2005 graduate of Arizona State University’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (B.A., English), Van Winkle found a small but important piece of the elusive healing process through his authorship of “Soft Spots: A Marine’s Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” (St. Martin’s Press, 2009) a book that evolved from essays he had written. The critically acclaimed book is a detailed account of his service in the early stages of the Iraq War and, more importantly, war’s aftermath and his frustrating experiences upon his return home.
“This memoir of combat in Iraq, and the post-traumatic stress disorder that followed, contains more literary touches than most, and it’s an admirable effort…it presents a vivid picture of what many vets endure,” reads one review in Publishers Weekly. Another review, by The Washington Post’s Juliet Wittman, notes, “Nothing gets held back in “Soft Spots”…despite the author’s lacerating honesty, the narrative is dreamlike and surreal.”
Van Winkle was a Marine sergeant in Iraq, commanding an amphibious assault vehicle section while attached to Lima Company 3rd BN 1st He crossed into Iraq on the first day of the war and moved about the country constantly, encountering all the horrors of war as only a front-line combatant can. Among those horrors were “soft spots,” the term used to refer to a fallen Marine, killed in battle, and accidentally stepped on in the midst of rubble. Marines.
go here for more
http://asunews.asu.edu/20090601_iraqvet
Clint Van Winkle, a Marine veteran of the Iraq War, was struggling to cope with life after combat upon his return to the States in 2003. Awful memories and images of devastation, callous violence and mind-scenes that included burned bodies and dead children were impossible to erase, and help was hard to find. Although he didn’t know it at the time, he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
A 2005 graduate of Arizona State University’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (B.A., English), Van Winkle found a small but important piece of the elusive healing process through his authorship of “Soft Spots: A Marine’s Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” (St. Martin’s Press, 2009) a book that evolved from essays he had written. The critically acclaimed book is a detailed account of his service in the early stages of the Iraq War and, more importantly, war’s aftermath and his frustrating experiences upon his return home.
“This memoir of combat in Iraq, and the post-traumatic stress disorder that followed, contains more literary touches than most, and it’s an admirable effort…it presents a vivid picture of what many vets endure,” reads one review in Publishers Weekly. Another review, by The Washington Post’s Juliet Wittman, notes, “Nothing gets held back in “Soft Spots”…despite the author’s lacerating honesty, the narrative is dreamlike and surreal.”
Van Winkle was a Marine sergeant in Iraq, commanding an amphibious assault vehicle section while attached to Lima Company 3rd BN 1st He crossed into Iraq on the first day of the war and moved about the country constantly, encountering all the horrors of war as only a front-line combatant can. Among those horrors were “soft spots,” the term used to refer to a fallen Marine, killed in battle, and accidentally stepped on in the midst of rubble. Marines.
go here for more
http://asunews.asu.edu/20090601_iraqvet
Two soldiers shot at recruiting office in Little Rock
Soldier killed in recruiting office shooting
By Noah Trister - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jun 1, 2009 15:53:42 EDT
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A new soldier helping to attract others to the military was shot and killed outside an Army recruiting office Monday and a second soldier was wounded. Police arrested a suspect a short time later.
A man inside a black vehicle pulled up outside the Army-Navy recruiting office in west Little Rock and opened fire about 10:30 a.m., police spokesman Lt. Terry Hastings said.
The soldiers were outside the office when they were shot. They were taken to a hospital, where one died.
UPDATE
Police: Shooting suspect targeted military
By Noah Trister - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jun 1, 2009 20:33:40 EDT
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Police say a man with “political and religious motives” confessed to fatally shooting a new soldier and wounding another Monday in an attack on a military recruiting center.
The shootings were not believed to be part of a broader scheme.
William Long, 23, of Conway died in the attack on the Army-Navy Career Center in a west Little Rock shopping center, and Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville was wounded and is stable, Police Chief Stuart Thomas said.
Police arrested Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23 of Little Rock along a crosstown interstate moments later. Thomas said Muhammad, previously known as Carlos Bledsoe, would be charged with capital murder, plus 16 counts of committing a terroristic act.
click same link for the update
By Noah Trister - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jun 1, 2009 15:53:42 EDT
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A new soldier helping to attract others to the military was shot and killed outside an Army recruiting office Monday and a second soldier was wounded. Police arrested a suspect a short time later.
A man inside a black vehicle pulled up outside the Army-Navy recruiting office in west Little Rock and opened fire about 10:30 a.m., police spokesman Lt. Terry Hastings said.
The soldiers were outside the office when they were shot. They were taken to a hospital, where one died.
Lt. Col. Thomas F. Artis of the Oklahoma City Recruiting Battalion, which oversees the Little Rock office, said the victims had just completed basic training and were not regular recruiters. He said they were serving two weeks in the Little Rock office.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_recruiter_shootings_060109/
UPDATE
Police: Shooting suspect targeted military
By Noah Trister - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jun 1, 2009 20:33:40 EDT
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Police say a man with “political and religious motives” confessed to fatally shooting a new soldier and wounding another Monday in an attack on a military recruiting center.
The shootings were not believed to be part of a broader scheme.
William Long, 23, of Conway died in the attack on the Army-Navy Career Center in a west Little Rock shopping center, and Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville was wounded and is stable, Police Chief Stuart Thomas said.
Police arrested Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23 of Little Rock along a crosstown interstate moments later. Thomas said Muhammad, previously known as Carlos Bledsoe, would be charged with capital murder, plus 16 counts of committing a terroristic act.
click same link for the update
Cheney Says There Was No Iraq Link to 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
This comes as no shocker for the people paying attention to all of this all along, but what it does is prove there was no legitimate need to rush to invade Iraq. We already had the military campaign in Afghanistan going on and US-Coalition lives on the line. Bush and Cheney pulled troops out of Afghanistan to send them into Iraq needlessly. Years ago, NATO generals were screaming for help in Afghanistan as the Taliban began to regain territory. Aside from putting the lives of the troops on the line in Iraq, they further endangered the lives in Afghanistan.
Today we see the results of this farce from the Bush Administration. Today I posted how the claims backlogged in the VA system are over 900,000. We see a nation full of veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan needing help to heal their wounds at the same time their claims are tied up and they are not receiving income between the time they are discharged and the time the VA finally gets around to approving their claims for treatment and compensation. While it's great the time they are provided with free care has been extended, this does little to help them and their families pay their bills. This is one of the glaring, screaming facts about what Bush and Cheney did to the troops.
After the troops were sent into Afghanistan, there were less doctors and nurses working for the VA than there were following the Gulf War. They did not increase the budget or staffing. As a matter of fact, they cut the budget. Next came the push to invade Iraq. Cheney, having been Secretary of Defense during the Gulf War, had forgotten that when he was explaining the need to withdraw the troops from Iraq was so that they would not be "stuck in a quagmire" if they had taken control over Iraq. In other words, he knew full well what he was sending the troops into this time along with the fact there would be many, many wounded veterans needing care.
This is the most appalling aspect of the Bush Administration. It was not just the loss of lives paying the price for what they wanted to do, the Iraqi lives and the lives of the Coalition forces, but the lives of the veterans wounded in service to this nation under their orders. Bush and Cheney forgot that part of being "a war president" was their responsibility to the men and women serving under their command. They always seemed to mention the obligation of the troops but never quite seemed to understand their own obligation to the troops.
This report is just one more reminder of how callous Cheney was with the lives he had no problem sending into Iraq or the ones he had no problem abandoning in Afghanistan.
Today we see the results of this farce from the Bush Administration. Today I posted how the claims backlogged in the VA system are over 900,000. We see a nation full of veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan needing help to heal their wounds at the same time their claims are tied up and they are not receiving income between the time they are discharged and the time the VA finally gets around to approving their claims for treatment and compensation. While it's great the time they are provided with free care has been extended, this does little to help them and their families pay their bills. This is one of the glaring, screaming facts about what Bush and Cheney did to the troops.
After the troops were sent into Afghanistan, there were less doctors and nurses working for the VA than there were following the Gulf War. They did not increase the budget or staffing. As a matter of fact, they cut the budget. Next came the push to invade Iraq. Cheney, having been Secretary of Defense during the Gulf War, had forgotten that when he was explaining the need to withdraw the troops from Iraq was so that they would not be "stuck in a quagmire" if they had taken control over Iraq. In other words, he knew full well what he was sending the troops into this time along with the fact there would be many, many wounded veterans needing care.
This is the most appalling aspect of the Bush Administration. It was not just the loss of lives paying the price for what they wanted to do, the Iraqi lives and the lives of the Coalition forces, but the lives of the veterans wounded in service to this nation under their orders. Bush and Cheney forgot that part of being "a war president" was their responsibility to the men and women serving under their command. They always seemed to mention the obligation of the troops but never quite seemed to understand their own obligation to the troops.
This report is just one more reminder of how callous Cheney was with the lives he had no problem sending into Iraq or the ones he had no problem abandoning in Afghanistan.
Cheney Says There Was No Iraq Link to 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
By James Rowley
June 1 (Bloomberg) -- Former Vice President Dick Cheney disavowed intelligence he once cited to suggest that then-Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein collaborated with al-Qaeda to stage the Sept. 11 attacks.
Cheney said reporting by the Central Intelligence Agency of collaboration between Iraq and al-Qaeda on Sept. 11 “turned out not to be true.” Still the vice president said there had been a longstanding relationship between Hussein and terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, that justified the U.S. invasion in 2003.
“I thought it was strong at the time and I still feel so today,” Cheney said at a National Press Club lunch today in Washington. “There was a relationship between al-Qaeda and Iraq that stretched back 10 years. That’s not something I made up,” Cheney said, citing 2002 Senate testimony by George Tenet, then the CIA director. “We know for a fact that Saddam Hussein was a state sponsor of terrorism.”
On whether Hussein helped al-Qaeda carry out the 2001 terrorist attacks, Cheney said,“I do not believe, and I have never seen any evidence, that he was involved in 9/11.”
Several months after the Sept. 11 attacks, Cheney said it was “pretty well” confirmed that Mohamed Atta, one of the leaders of the attack, had met with a senior Iraqi intelligence official in Prague in April 2000, according to a Washington Post account. Cheney later said the meeting’s existence couldn’t be proven, the Post said.
go here for more
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a3vvPsCY8pYA&refer=us
Family-to-Family Partners with Veterans Health Administration
Family-to-Family Partners with Veterans Health Administration
The launch a year ago of an initiative between NAMI and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to host a Family-to-Family class in designated VHA facilities in each of the 49 Family-to-Family program states has already yielded impressive results: Since the initiative’s inception, more than half of the program states have started classes.
NAMI affiliate representatives and designated Family-to-Family teachers have participated in numerous VHA staff meetings and sponsored events to introduce the Family-to-Family program model to VHA personnel. With the aid of presentations, a designated point person helps to promote the initiative within the VHA facility.
Reaching veterans’ families with information about Family-to-Family is a challenge at many of the project sites. At sites where outreach has been successful, using “family day” events, distributing Family-to-Family brochures in packets and sending program information for display in waiting room areas are just a few strategies that have sparked interest and increased attendance.
The project is nearing its goal of having a designated site serve as a model for other VHA facilities to implement Family-to-Family classes, and exciting news is coming from Family-to-Family program states about nondesignated VHA facilities interested in starting Family-to-Family classes, as well. Many designated VHA sites are requesting more information about NAMI consumer programs (IOOV, Peer-to-Peer and NAMI Connection), and NAMI hopes to offer these additional programs at the sites along with the Family-to-Family classes.
Family-to-Family graduates familiar with military culture (either as veterans or dependents) are asked to help with this project. There are hundreds of untapped families of veterans with serious mental illnesses who will benefit from finding NAMI. They will learn they are not alone. We hope this exciting NAMI/VHA partnership will offer continuing opportunities for veterans’ families to get the help and support that they need.
**Upcoming New Class**
Family-to-Family is a FREE 12-week peer education program designed to foster learning, healing, and empowerment among families of individuals with mental illness.
Beginning June 11, 2009 - SW Orlando
The launch a year ago of an initiative between NAMI and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to host a Family-to-Family class in designated VHA facilities in each of the 49 Family-to-Family program states has already yielded impressive results: Since the initiative’s inception, more than half of the program states have started classes.
NAMI affiliate representatives and designated Family-to-Family teachers have participated in numerous VHA staff meetings and sponsored events to introduce the Family-to-Family program model to VHA personnel. With the aid of presentations, a designated point person helps to promote the initiative within the VHA facility.
Reaching veterans’ families with information about Family-to-Family is a challenge at many of the project sites. At sites where outreach has been successful, using “family day” events, distributing Family-to-Family brochures in packets and sending program information for display in waiting room areas are just a few strategies that have sparked interest and increased attendance.
The project is nearing its goal of having a designated site serve as a model for other VHA facilities to implement Family-to-Family classes, and exciting news is coming from Family-to-Family program states about nondesignated VHA facilities interested in starting Family-to-Family classes, as well. Many designated VHA sites are requesting more information about NAMI consumer programs (IOOV, Peer-to-Peer and NAMI Connection), and NAMI hopes to offer these additional programs at the sites along with the Family-to-Family classes.
Family-to-Family graduates familiar with military culture (either as veterans or dependents) are asked to help with this project. There are hundreds of untapped families of veterans with serious mental illnesses who will benefit from finding NAMI. They will learn they are not alone. We hope this exciting NAMI/VHA partnership will offer continuing opportunities for veterans’ families to get the help and support that they need.
**Upcoming New Class**
Family-to-Family is a FREE 12-week peer education program designed to foster learning, healing, and empowerment among families of individuals with mental illness.
Beginning June 11, 2009 - SW Orlando
Program helps police, firefighters cope with trauma
"Imagine just lying in bed and you can smell the crime scene 10 years later. Or look in the mirror and see a dead person who isn't there. These are symptoms people really have."
Healing the badge: Program helps police, firefighters cope with trauma
By John Simerman
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 05/31/2009 02:18:35 PM PDT
He smiles now, with earnest, gleaming eyes, but Joseph Banuelos easily recalls standing in his yard two years ago, shooting rounds into the grass and thrusting a gun in his mouth.
A state drug agent who had worked in West Contra Costa, buying undercover on the same Richmond streets where he grew up, Banuelos was arrested twice over a weekend for driving drunk, he said. A year earlier, he had blown a 0.26 on a breathalyzer — more than three times the legal limit.
He had screwed up at work and his days as a law enforcement official would soon end. Worse, the images of past calls haunted him:
Turning a corner and seeing a 16-year-old boy who had shot himself in the head "looking at me, and as God is my witness I thought I heard him say, 'Mom, please help.'"‰"
The bullet that hit a 12-year-old, with Banuelos unable to move as rifle shots flew and the father pleaded for help as the boy bled out in his arms.
That triple murder-suicide in Novato.
go here for more
http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_12490591?nclick_check=1
Healing the badge: Program helps police, firefighters cope with trauma
By John Simerman
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 05/31/2009 02:18:35 PM PDT
He smiles now, with earnest, gleaming eyes, but Joseph Banuelos easily recalls standing in his yard two years ago, shooting rounds into the grass and thrusting a gun in his mouth.
A state drug agent who had worked in West Contra Costa, buying undercover on the same Richmond streets where he grew up, Banuelos was arrested twice over a weekend for driving drunk, he said. A year earlier, he had blown a 0.26 on a breathalyzer — more than three times the legal limit.
He had screwed up at work and his days as a law enforcement official would soon end. Worse, the images of past calls haunted him:
Turning a corner and seeing a 16-year-old boy who had shot himself in the head "looking at me, and as God is my witness I thought I heard him say, 'Mom, please help.'"‰"
The bullet that hit a 12-year-old, with Banuelos unable to move as rifle shots flew and the father pleaded for help as the boy bled out in his arms.
That triple murder-suicide in Novato.
go here for more
http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_12490591?nclick_check=1
Cpl. Chad Oligschlaeger's death still under investigation a year later?
How long will the military be allowed to leave this family suffering, wondering and in pain over the death of their son?
A year after corporal's death, family still awaits answers
North Austin family mourns death of Marine who suffered from PTSD.
By Joshunda Sanders
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, June 01, 2009
A year after Cpl. Chad Oligschlaeger, 21, was found dead in his room at the Twentynine Palms Marine base in California on May 20, 2008, his family is still searching for answers from officials about how his life might have been saved.
Friends and relatives of the Marine commemorated Memorial Day without him or any details of how he died because Oligschlaeger's autopsy results and the events leading up to his death are still under investigation, his father said. His parents have said that they think his death may have been related to post-traumatic stress disorder, with which he had been diagnosed.
"We've tried a couple of times to get his personal effects," said Eric Oligschlaeger, who lives in North Austin with his wife. "But here we are a year later, and the Marines won't release anything until the investigation is completely finalized. To say it's frustrating would be an understatement."
Capt. Lawton King, a Marine Corps spokesman, confirmed that no information about Chad Oligschlaeger's death is being released because of the ongoing investigation.
Friends and relatives of Oligschlaeger's have started a foundation named for him to raise awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder.
Last month, Eric Oligschlaeger and some of Chad's friends gathered at Rattan Creek Park in North Austin near a bench that honors the Marine. A plaque on the bench reads, "If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever."
Chad Oligschlaeger had returned from Iraq in early 2006, unsettled by flashbacks and nightmares. His family said he was taking medication for PTSD after his diagnosis.
go here for more
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/01/0601chado.html
VA Claim backlog hit 915,000 on May 4, 2009
The question is, where were you when this happened? I'm talking to you Republicans choosing to remain silent as the problem grew and grew and they waited, suffered waiting and their families suffered, as Bush cut VA funding and Nicholson returned funds unspent. Where were you when they were being turned away from the VA with PTSD and suicidal, and then ended up killing themselves? Where were you Republicans out there claiming to care so much about the troops? Why were you silent? Why didn't you complain when men like John Mc Cain were voting against veterans and what they needed? Did you even pay attention?
I'm talking to you Democrats out there. Those of you who were more interested in protesting the occupation of Iraq, claiming how much you wanted to save the lives of the troops at the same time you did not utter a single word about what the living and wounded were going thru right back here? You are supposed to be the people caring more about the veterans in this country. You allowed Bush to make any claims he wanted about taking care of the troops and being "grateful' for their service at the same time he was stabbing them in the back and then you complained because they didn't know the truth.
And yes, I'm talking to the rest of you out there all so patriotic waving the flag on Memorial Day as you do on Veterans Day. Where are you the rest of the year when they are suffering? Are any of you writing letters to President Obama or Congress? State after state are cutting back their VA State budgets because of the economical crisis. Where are these wounded veterans and disabled veterans suppose to go when they need medical care and financial compensation so they can live their lives? The same lives they were willing to lay down for this country? Ever think, I mean really think about them?
President Obama has a lot on his plate right now and while his intension is to take care of our veterans, having proven that already with his budget increase, this is a crisis for them and will just keep growing unless you decide that the veterans of this country are worthy of you attention.
Read the following article and then watch the video below. Wounded and Waiting will show you exactly what kind of men and women we're talking about. They are not just numbers. They are our countrymen, our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and neighbors.
I'm talking to you Democrats out there. Those of you who were more interested in protesting the occupation of Iraq, claiming how much you wanted to save the lives of the troops at the same time you did not utter a single word about what the living and wounded were going thru right back here? You are supposed to be the people caring more about the veterans in this country. You allowed Bush to make any claims he wanted about taking care of the troops and being "grateful' for their service at the same time he was stabbing them in the back and then you complained because they didn't know the truth.
And yes, I'm talking to the rest of you out there all so patriotic waving the flag on Memorial Day as you do on Veterans Day. Where are you the rest of the year when they are suffering? Are any of you writing letters to President Obama or Congress? State after state are cutting back their VA State budgets because of the economical crisis. Where are these wounded veterans and disabled veterans suppose to go when they need medical care and financial compensation so they can live their lives? The same lives they were willing to lay down for this country? Ever think, I mean really think about them?
President Obama has a lot on his plate right now and while his intension is to take care of our veterans, having proven that already with his budget increase, this is a crisis for them and will just keep growing unless you decide that the veterans of this country are worthy of you attention.
Read the following article and then watch the video below. Wounded and Waiting will show you exactly what kind of men and women we're talking about. They are not just numbers. They are our countrymen, our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and neighbors.
Crisis at the VA as Benefits Claims Backlog Nearly Tops One Million
Monday, 01 June 2009
By Jason Leopold
During the past four months, the Department of Veterans Affairs backlog of unfinished disability claims from grew by more than 100,000, adding to an already mountainous backlog that is now close to topping one million.
The VA's claims backlog, which includes all benefits claims and all appeals at the Veterans Benefits Administration and the Board of Veterans Appeals at VA, was 803,000 on Jan. 5, 2009. The backlog hit 915,000 on May 4, 2009, a staggering 14 percent increase in four months.
The issue has become so dire that veterans now wait an average of six months to receive disability benefits and as long as four years for their appeals to be heard in cases where their benefits were denied.
Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said during a hearing in March that the VA is “almost criminally behind in processing claims.”
go here for more
Crisis at the VA as Benefits Claims Backlog Nearly Tops One Million
Wounded And Waiting - watch more videos
Professional Development Resources Announces New PTSD Training Series
Professional Development Resources Announces New PTSD Training Series
Professional Development Resources PTSDContinuingEducationOnline, a nationally accredited provider of continuing education (CE) for psychologists, social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, and occupational therapists, has announced the release of a series of specialized continuing education courses addressing the diagnosis and treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in client populations of military service personnel.
Jacksonville, Florida (Vocus/PRWEB ) June 1, 2009 -- Professional Development Resources, PTSDContinuingEducationOnline has released five new online continuing education courses intended to give psychologists, social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, and occupational therapists the tools they need to assist individuals who are suffering from the sometimes debilitating symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The new curriculum deals with essential definitions and illustrations of the disorder, as well as treatments like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), pharmacotherapy, group therapy, and family treatment. There are also special topics detailing the complexities of PTSD and substance use disorders and the vicarious traumatization often experienced by helping professionals.
According to the National Institute for Mental Health, PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat. People with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. They may experience sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or be easily startled.
The National Center for PTSD identifies the symptoms as follows: "PTSD is characterized by a specific group of symptoms that sets it apart from other types of reactions to trauma. Increasingly, evidence points to four major types of symptoms: re-experiencing, avoidance, numbing, and arousal." Re-experiencing symptoms involve a sort of mental replay of the trauma, often accompanied by strong emotional reactions. This can happen in reaction to thoughts or reminders of the experience when the person is awake or in the form of nightmares during sleep. To qualify for a formal diagnosis, the symptoms must persist for over one month, cause significant distress, and affect the individual's ability to function socially, occupationally, or domestically.
"Veterans are returning every day with both visible and invisible injuries. Some of the most prevalent mental health conditions are marital distress, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse," says Leo Christie, PhD, CEO of Professional Development Resources. "With increasing numbers of returning service personnel and their families presenting with acute PTSD, health professionals today are highly likely to encounter individuals seeking help with the distressing and sometimes debilitating symptoms of this disorder. It is impossible to overstate the personal suffering and disruption experienced by veterans and their families. If the returning veteran has PTSD, every family member is feeling the effects. It is important for us as helping professionals to have the most up-to-date knowledge and tools to offer the specialized help they need. We all need this information."
go here for more
http://www.prweb.com/releases/PTSD/06/prweb2477624.htm
Professional Development Resources PTSDContinuingEducationOnline, a nationally accredited provider of continuing education (CE) for psychologists, social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, and occupational therapists, has announced the release of a series of specialized continuing education courses addressing the diagnosis and treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in client populations of military service personnel.
Jacksonville, Florida (Vocus/PRWEB ) June 1, 2009 -- Professional Development Resources, PTSDContinuingEducationOnline has released five new online continuing education courses intended to give psychologists, social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, and occupational therapists the tools they need to assist individuals who are suffering from the sometimes debilitating symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The new curriculum deals with essential definitions and illustrations of the disorder, as well as treatments like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), pharmacotherapy, group therapy, and family treatment. There are also special topics detailing the complexities of PTSD and substance use disorders and the vicarious traumatization often experienced by helping professionals.
According to the National Institute for Mental Health, PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat. People with PTSD have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. They may experience sleep problems, feel detached or numb, or be easily startled.
The National Center for PTSD identifies the symptoms as follows: "PTSD is characterized by a specific group of symptoms that sets it apart from other types of reactions to trauma. Increasingly, evidence points to four major types of symptoms: re-experiencing, avoidance, numbing, and arousal." Re-experiencing symptoms involve a sort of mental replay of the trauma, often accompanied by strong emotional reactions. This can happen in reaction to thoughts or reminders of the experience when the person is awake or in the form of nightmares during sleep. To qualify for a formal diagnosis, the symptoms must persist for over one month, cause significant distress, and affect the individual's ability to function socially, occupationally, or domestically.
"Veterans are returning every day with both visible and invisible injuries. Some of the most prevalent mental health conditions are marital distress, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse," says Leo Christie, PhD, CEO of Professional Development Resources. "With increasing numbers of returning service personnel and their families presenting with acute PTSD, health professionals today are highly likely to encounter individuals seeking help with the distressing and sometimes debilitating symptoms of this disorder. It is impossible to overstate the personal suffering and disruption experienced by veterans and their families. If the returning veteran has PTSD, every family member is feeling the effects. It is important for us as helping professionals to have the most up-to-date knowledge and tools to offer the specialized help they need. We all need this information."
go here for more
http://www.prweb.com/releases/PTSD/06/prweb2477624.htm
Reading man who helps injured soldiers now helping care for son
Reading man who helps injured soldiers now helping care for son wounded by city gunman
An Army Reservist who helps wounded soldiers cope with disabilities must now work with his son, who was shot three times in Reading.
By Dan Kelly
Reading Eagle
Master Sgt. Brian S. Thomas of Glenside is a soldier and a healer.
He has spent the past six years developing a rehabilitation program for wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
On May 11, he got a phone call any father would dread.
His 23-year-old son had been paralyzed by gunshot wounds.
But it wasn't in a war zone. It was on the streets of Reading.
Nathan Thomas was hit in the left thigh, with the bullet missing all major blood vessels. A second bullet tore into his left elbow and came out near his shoulder.
A third bullet struck his abdomen, then passed through the center of his T-12 vertebrae, severing his spine and leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
Nathan Thomas is recovering in a Philadelphia rehabilitation hospital where he is expected to remain until late June. Meanwhile, Brian Thomas is required to return to duty with the Army Reserve in Texas on Sunday.
He said he agonizes about leaving his wife and son behind, but said he also has to prepare his on-duty residence in San Antonio to be wheelchair accessible.
"(With) all this paperwork and the issues that accompany them, I really have a hard time trying to focus," he said.
go here for more
http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=141162
An Army Reservist who helps wounded soldiers cope with disabilities must now work with his son, who was shot three times in Reading.
By Dan Kelly
Reading Eagle
Master Sgt. Brian S. Thomas of Glenside is a soldier and a healer.
He has spent the past six years developing a rehabilitation program for wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
On May 11, he got a phone call any father would dread.
His 23-year-old son had been paralyzed by gunshot wounds.
But it wasn't in a war zone. It was on the streets of Reading.
Nathan Thomas was hit in the left thigh, with the bullet missing all major blood vessels. A second bullet tore into his left elbow and came out near his shoulder.
A third bullet struck his abdomen, then passed through the center of his T-12 vertebrae, severing his spine and leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
Nathan Thomas is recovering in a Philadelphia rehabilitation hospital where he is expected to remain until late June. Meanwhile, Brian Thomas is required to return to duty with the Army Reserve in Texas on Sunday.
He said he agonizes about leaving his wife and son behind, but said he also has to prepare his on-duty residence in San Antonio to be wheelchair accessible.
"(With) all this paperwork and the issues that accompany them, I really have a hard time trying to focus," he said.
go here for more
http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=141162
Connecticut Valley Hospital holding up PTSD research
Well, that is exactly what they are doing. Privacy issue? These were soldiers in the Civil War for heaven's sake! What if Vietnam veterans decided that they had "privacy issues" and would not participate in any of the PTSD research being done to help them? Did Connecticut Valley Hospital officials ever think of that? Why would they stand in the way of doing something potentially monumental in removing the stigma of PTSD? History has shown this wound down thru the centuries. The more information coming out about our ancestors and the history of this wound, the more the stigma of being a warrior will erode.
PTSD is a normal reaction to abnormal events. The men fighting in the Civil War walked among the death fields with their own countrymen, relatives fighting against relatives and dying among other American warriors with just their uniforms to separate them. This is important research and they need to release the records to help heal this nations veterans.
PTSD is a normal reaction to abnormal events. The men fighting in the Civil War walked among the death fields with their own countrymen, relatives fighting against relatives and dying among other American warriors with just their uniforms to separate them. This is important research and they need to release the records to help heal this nations veterans.
Researchers Want Access To Civil War Veterans' Health Records
By JESSE LEAVENWORTH The Hartford Courant
June 1, 2009
A group of researchers says the state's mental health agency is withholding information about a significant chapter in Connecticut history.
The researchers, who are compiling a book on the state's role in the Civil War, are seeking files from Connecticut Valley Hospital on veterans who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, known in the 19th century as "soldier's heart."
The conflict pits the historians' desire to tell complete stories of those Yankee fighters against the state's responsibility to protect patient rights, extended in this case to the living relatives of those long-dead soldiers.
"The reason that we're pursuing it, we're interested in the lives of these soldiers," said Matt Warshauer, a history professor at Central Connecticut State University. "Over the last 50 years, there has been a real shift in the study of war. It's moved from big battles and the strategies and the actions of generals and much more toward the average soldier. ... People have become tremendously interested in the lives of these soldiers."
How does a man process such a memory and carry on? Some could not. Combat veterans then — and now — suffered deep, sometimes incapacitating mental wounds.
"With all we have learned about PTSD, it makes it that much more relevant and fascinating" to study how the condition was treated 150 years ago and how Connecticut veterans and their families dealt with it, Warshauer said.
The effort to document those individual stories, as well as the extent of PTSD among state Civil War veterans, began last fall. Michael Sturges, one of the book's researchers and a graduate student of Warshauer's, was denied access to the files and told that he would have to get permission from living relatives of the former patients.
go here for more
http://www.courant.com/health/hc-civilwar-ptsd-0601.artjun01,0,4233562.story
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)