State vets home in bad shape, audit shows
Matthew Yi, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Friday, April 25, 2008
(04-25) 04:00 PDT Sacramento --
- The state veterans home in Yountville, the nation's oldest veterans home, suffers from chronic staff shortages and a lack of proper oversight for timely maintenance of medical equipment, according to a report released Thursday by the state auditor.
The report was ordered by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee in August after state Sen. Patricia Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, requested an investigation. The senator said her office had received about 100 pages of letters complaining about the level of care at the 124-year-old state facility that includes a hospital and houses about 1,100 residents.
Complaints ranged from dirty floors and under-inflated wheelchair tires to an allegation by one resident that he had to lie in bed two hours waiting for a nurse to come clean him up.
The 67-page report concluded the home has had difficulty filling health care positions in recent years and some nurses have had to work substantial amounts of overtime to meet the residents' needs.
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/25/BAE510BBAS.DTL
Friday, April 25, 2008
Iraqi payroll filled with dead, missing soldiers
Iraqi payroll filled with dead, missing soldiers
U.S. audit also finds discrepancies in how troops are counted
updated 12:01 a.m. ET, Fri., April. 25, 2008
WASHINGTON - Iraq's government has kept thousands of dead, injured or absent policemen and soldiers on the payroll as a way to compensate or care for their families, an audit found.
The practice is just one example of why there are no reliable numbers on how many Iraqi forces are on the job at any given time, says the report being made public Friday by Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.
"There are continuing uncertainties about the true number ... who are present for duty at any one time,'' Bowen said of Iraqi policemen, soldiers, border guards and other forces.
Bowen said another part of the problem is that Iraqi ministries lack automated accounting systems needed to keep good data.
"I would not call it a damning report. I would say it's reflective of the difficulty of assessing troop strength ... and, more importantly, capabilities,'' Bowen said in an interview Thursday.
Bowen had been asked to assess last month's Defense Department report on Iraq, one in a series of quarterly documents required by Congress to measure progress toward military and political security there.
The $20 billion U.S. program to train Iraqis to provide their own security is key to when U.S. troops levels can be reduced in Iraq. And the problem of assessing the Iraqi forces is not new.
go here for more
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24302718/
What is really, really wrong about all of this is, it’s our money and we are not taking care of our own dead soldier’s families, living soldier’s families or the wounded we have. This is what is wrong with this. What else is wrong with this is we still don’t know how many Iraqis are really serving in their own military fighting for their own country. This is what else is wrong with all of this! We don’t know how closer we are to turning over Iraq to the Iraqi people. Plus there is Al-Sadr who just called for all out war against the “occupiers” or in other words, our troops.
U.S. audit also finds discrepancies in how troops are counted
updated 12:01 a.m. ET, Fri., April. 25, 2008
WASHINGTON - Iraq's government has kept thousands of dead, injured or absent policemen and soldiers on the payroll as a way to compensate or care for their families, an audit found.
The practice is just one example of why there are no reliable numbers on how many Iraqi forces are on the job at any given time, says the report being made public Friday by Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.
"There are continuing uncertainties about the true number ... who are present for duty at any one time,'' Bowen said of Iraqi policemen, soldiers, border guards and other forces.
Bowen said another part of the problem is that Iraqi ministries lack automated accounting systems needed to keep good data.
"I would not call it a damning report. I would say it's reflective of the difficulty of assessing troop strength ... and, more importantly, capabilities,'' Bowen said in an interview Thursday.
Bowen had been asked to assess last month's Defense Department report on Iraq, one in a series of quarterly documents required by Congress to measure progress toward military and political security there.
The $20 billion U.S. program to train Iraqis to provide their own security is key to when U.S. troops levels can be reduced in Iraq. And the problem of assessing the Iraqi forces is not new.
go here for more
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24302718/
What is really, really wrong about all of this is, it’s our money and we are not taking care of our own dead soldier’s families, living soldier’s families or the wounded we have. This is what is wrong with this. What else is wrong with this is we still don’t know how many Iraqis are really serving in their own military fighting for their own country. This is what else is wrong with all of this! We don’t know how closer we are to turning over Iraq to the Iraqi people. Plus there is Al-Sadr who just called for all out war against the “occupiers” or in other words, our troops.
Pentagon halts "feeding" of information to TV talking heads
Pentagon halts feeding of information to retired officers while issue is reviewed
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, April 26, 2008
ARLINGTON, Va. - The Defense Department has temporarily stopped feeding information to retired military officers pending a review of the issue, said Robert Hastings, principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for public affairs.
The New York Times first reported on Sunday that the Defense Department was giving information to retired officers serving as pundits for various media organizations in order to garner favorable media coverage.
Some of these retired officers saw their access to key decision-makers as possible business opportunities for the defense contractors they represent, according to the newspaper. The story also alleged that the officers who did not repeat the Bush administration's official line were denied further access to information.
Hastings said he is concerned about allegations that the Defense Department's relationship with the retired military analysts was improper.
"Following the allegations, the story that is printed in the New York Times, I directed my staff to halt, to suspend the activities that may be ongoing with retired military analysts to give me time to review the situation," Hastings said in an interview with Stripes on Friday.
go here for more
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54330
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, April 26, 2008
ARLINGTON, Va. - The Defense Department has temporarily stopped feeding information to retired military officers pending a review of the issue, said Robert Hastings, principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for public affairs.
The New York Times first reported on Sunday that the Defense Department was giving information to retired officers serving as pundits for various media organizations in order to garner favorable media coverage.
Some of these retired officers saw their access to key decision-makers as possible business opportunities for the defense contractors they represent, according to the newspaper. The story also alleged that the officers who did not repeat the Bush administration's official line were denied further access to information.
Hastings said he is concerned about allegations that the Defense Department's relationship with the retired military analysts was improper.
"Following the allegations, the story that is printed in the New York Times, I directed my staff to halt, to suspend the activities that may be ongoing with retired military analysts to give me time to review the situation," Hastings said in an interview with Stripes on Friday.
go here for more
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54330
Fort Bragg Soldiers Living in Hell worse than Walter Reed
Bragg Barracks Living Conditions (+)
by: jimstaro
Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 16:25:27 PM EDT
Most of my readers also follow me on Military Spouses For Change. This video was posted there and I'm sure when you watch it you will be just as sickened as I am. It's over on the right side of the blog. You need to watch it. The father of Sgt. Frawley made the video and it shows conditions worse than what we house criminals in. We were so angered with the conditions at Walter Reed and I'm sure you were like me thinking that Walter Reed was the worst conditions, but you would be wrong like I was. There is no excuse for this. What's wrong with the brass that they would allow any of our soldiers living like this? What is wrong with the media not reporting on the conditions of the bases our soldiers and Marines have to live with? Over and over again, it takes a family member to report on what the government should be doing! Time to make some serious changes and it begins here and now with you! Especially if you happen to be one of my Republican friends and still think that your elected are the ones who are supporting the troops. They need to hear from you! They don't support the troops but you do! You are interested in all of this enough to come in this blog everyday. I know you care. Hold them accountable. If you are one of my Democratic pals, get on the phone and make some calls too. Both sides need to be flooding the media and demand they pay attention to what is going on and do something about it.
by: jimstaro
Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 16:25:27 PM EDT
This video is appalling. Soldiers should never have to live like this, no one should. PLEASE contact your Congressman in response to this article and video.Read the comments for instructions on how to do that, or contact DonQuixote for technical help. - promoted by Bridgetta)
Another rising case of the Mis-Treatment of the Military Troops returning from the Theaters of Afganistan and Iraq.
The following was printed in the Fayetteville Observer, in Fayetteville North Carolina, home to Ft Bragg Army Base.
YouTube video raises concerns about Bragg barracks
jimstaro :: Bragg Barracks Living Conditions
The video was produced by a Father of a returning Afgan Soldier, and he isn't Happy. Don't blame him At All, how about You!
The video was made by Edward Frawley, the father of a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division who returned from Afghanistan on April 13 and is among the soldiers now living in the barracks.
Most of my readers also follow me on Military Spouses For Change. This video was posted there and I'm sure when you watch it you will be just as sickened as I am. It's over on the right side of the blog. You need to watch it. The father of Sgt. Frawley made the video and it shows conditions worse than what we house criminals in. We were so angered with the conditions at Walter Reed and I'm sure you were like me thinking that Walter Reed was the worst conditions, but you would be wrong like I was. There is no excuse for this. What's wrong with the brass that they would allow any of our soldiers living like this? What is wrong with the media not reporting on the conditions of the bases our soldiers and Marines have to live with? Over and over again, it takes a family member to report on what the government should be doing! Time to make some serious changes and it begins here and now with you! Especially if you happen to be one of my Republican friends and still think that your elected are the ones who are supporting the troops. They need to hear from you! They don't support the troops but you do! You are interested in all of this enough to come in this blog everyday. I know you care. Hold them accountable. If you are one of my Democratic pals, get on the phone and make some calls too. Both sides need to be flooding the media and demand they pay attention to what is going on and do something about it.
New US Embassy in Iraq has no housing for all its workers
New US Embassy in Iraq has no housing for all its workers
By BRADLEY BROOKS, Associated Press Writer
Fri Apr 25, 2:07 PM ET
BAGHDAD - The new U.S. Embassy complex does not have enough fortified living quarters for hundreds of diplomats and other workers, who must remain temporarily in trailers without special rooftop protection against mortars and rockets, government officials have told The Associated Press.
Sorting out the housing crunch and funding could further delay moving all personnel into the compound until next year and exposes shortcomings in the planning for America's more than $700 million diplomatic hub in Iraq.
The issue of "hardened" housing in the U.S.-protected Green Zone has gained renewed prominence since Shiite militias resumed steady attacks on the enclave in late March as part of backlash to an Iraqi-led crackdown.
More than a dozen people have been killed in the Green Zone in the latest waves of attacks, including a U.S. civilian government worker whose housing trailer was hit.
At one point — during the heaviest barrages early this month — the State Department ordered all its Baghdad employees to wear body armor and other protective gear while outside buildings in the Green Zone, which also contains the British Embassy, key Iraqi government offices and other international compounds.
click post title for more
By BRADLEY BROOKS, Associated Press Writer
Fri Apr 25, 2:07 PM ET
BAGHDAD - The new U.S. Embassy complex does not have enough fortified living quarters for hundreds of diplomats and other workers, who must remain temporarily in trailers without special rooftop protection against mortars and rockets, government officials have told The Associated Press.
Sorting out the housing crunch and funding could further delay moving all personnel into the compound until next year and exposes shortcomings in the planning for America's more than $700 million diplomatic hub in Iraq.
The issue of "hardened" housing in the U.S.-protected Green Zone has gained renewed prominence since Shiite militias resumed steady attacks on the enclave in late March as part of backlash to an Iraqi-led crackdown.
More than a dozen people have been killed in the Green Zone in the latest waves of attacks, including a U.S. civilian government worker whose housing trailer was hit.
At one point — during the heaviest barrages early this month — the State Department ordered all its Baghdad employees to wear body armor and other protective gear while outside buildings in the Green Zone, which also contains the British Embassy, key Iraqi government offices and other international compounds.
click post title for more
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