Demi Moore responds to Twitter suicide threat
Story Highlights
Demi Moore was recipient of suicide threat on Twitter
Moore helped put word out; police later took troubled texter into custody
Moore: "The twitterverse is on the case"
By Alan Duke
CNN
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actress Demi Moore's frequent postings on Twitter put her in the middle of a life-and-death drama Friday when a woman sent her an online message threatening suicide.
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore are both active members of the Twitter social-networking site.
Moore, who was in southern France where her husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, is filming a movie, quickly replied to the threat saying, "Hope you are joking."
Twitter followers who saw the message tracked it to a San Jose, California, home, where police found a 48-year-old woman. The police took her into custody for a psychological evaluation, according to a police spokesman.
About two hours after the initial exchange, Moore posted this message -- known as a "tweet" -- on Twitter: "Thanks everyone for reaching out to the San Jose PD i am told they are aware and no need to call anymore. I do not know this woman."
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Demi Moore responds to Twitter suicide threat
Friday, April 3, 2009
California Law Firm Seeking To Defend El Toro Veterans and Workers
Most of you know my friend Shelia at Agent Orange Quilt of Tears. She's been doing all she can to take on Agent Orange and now it looks as if she's rolled up her sleeves for this as well.
Please this is an important issue that concerns a lot of our sick Veterans & their families. As Jim says below these chemicals are just as bad as Agent Orange. Please take a few minutes to print out the packet & gather some signatures to support this issue, even if you can only get a few it will help.
All the direction & mailing addresses are included in the PDF file.
I've included more information below about the health concerns of these chemicals below Jim's message for help.
Thank you,
Shelia & Henry Snyder
Agent Orange Victims & Widows Support NetworkHome Of The Agent Orange Quilt Of Tearshttp://www.agentorangequiltoftears.com/Sacrifice is meaningless without remembrance
From: jdavis92840@gmail.comTCE/PCE Reduction Act of 2009 Petition - Help is needed!
Dear Friend,
I know I’ve come to you on several occasions now to ask for your help on this petition for the TCE/PCE Reduction Act of 2009 and some of you have responded with 10 signatures or more and this is greatly been appreciated.
And a special thanks goes out to Mr. Wright of GA who sent in 40 signatures, awesome job!
But we’re still a long ways off from the goal of 40,000+ signatures in order to help insure this bill doesn’t die in committee or on the House Floor.
You may feel you can’t get 10 signatures, or your health doesn’t permit you to which is ok, even if you alone sign, and mail in, and maybe forward on the E-Mail with file attachment to others, this too is a great help!
I have been in communication twice now with Congressman Hinchey’s office over the past two weeks and have been promised they would take the proposed bill under serious consideration.
These chemicals are as bad as Agent Orange, and will also have long lasting affects on those who used either TCE which is a degreaser chemical or PCE which is a dry cleaning chemical. Both are capable of causing various cancers and more. They’re also known to put off a gas called Vinyl Chloride which can and has caused behavioral changes at many military installations, and could very well have caused a veteran to be discharged dishonorably.
I have two firm beliefs, 1) There is power in numbers, and 2) Allow one veteran to be harmed, you harm all veterans.
Please, if you’ve not already signed the petition and mailed it to our office, please reconsider today?
If you’re a member of any of the Veteran Service Organizations, this too would be a great place to get signatures.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this E-Mail, and for your participation.
Best regards,
Jim
California Law Firm Seeks Injured El Toro Veterans & Workers
By Robert O'Dowd, Staff Writer, Posted on March 30, 2009
http://www.veteranstoday.com/article5587.HTML
A legal review and evaluation of possible injuries and deaths related to exposure to TCE/PCE and radium at former MCAS El Toro is underway by a Southern California law firm. There is no cost for the review or commitment for legal representation. Veterans, dependents, and civilian workers are encouraged to contact the law firm.A trichloroethylene (TCE) toxic plume was discovered in 1985 off of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) El Toro, California. El Toro was placed on the EPA Superfund list in 1990, closed in July 1999, and most of the land sold at a public auction in 2005. Once the Marine Corps’ premier air station, the former base sits deserted, a number of building torn down, part of the former base leased to Cal State Fullerton for classes, buildings demolished, most of the runways, taxiways and aprons still in tack, while according to the OC Register, Lennar has spent the “the last few months demolishing and removing existing El Toro structures to make way for grading.”
(See: http://collegelife.freedomblogging.com/2009/02/04/csuf-campus-in-south-county-is-moving/2680/)
Two huge maintenance hangars in the industrial portion of the base were found to be the source of the toxic plume spreading off the base. Multiple contaminants were found on base near landfills, including radionuclides (Uranium 235, Radium 226 and Radium 228).A radium 226 paint room and administrative office space in Hangar 296 were contaminated with radium. The radium 226 paint room was used decades ago to make a fluorescent paint for aircraft gauges and instruments. Some of the radium waste wound up in base landfills. The administrative space above the radium paint room was once occupied by the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing’s Supply Support Division. The California Department of Public Health, citing concerns over the radiological survey conducted by the Navy, has not released this hangar for unrestricted use, even though the Navy completed a “final” radiological report in 2002.
As is the case with the other 132 military bases on the EPA Superfund list, no veteran, dependent or civilian employee has been notified of their possible exposure to contaminants and the health effects.El Toro’s Laundry List of Contaminants EPA lists multiple Contaminants of Concern for El Toro on their Internet site. According to EPA: “COCs are the chemical substances found at the site that the EPA has determined pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. These are the substances that are addressed by cleanup actions at the site. Identifying COCs is a process where the EPA identifies people and ecological resources that could be exposed to contamination found at the site, determines the amount and type of contaminants present, and identifies the possible negative human health or ecological effects that could result from contact with the contaminants.” (See: http://cfpub.EPA.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0902770
For each COC, the EPA Internet site links the reader to the health effects identified by the Agency for Toxic Substances Registry (ATSDR). ATSDR under the Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for performing for performing public health assessments of EPA Superfund sites.Trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) are two toxic chemicals found in the base’s the soil and groundwater. TCE and PCE are both excellent cleaning solvents. TCE was used at El Toro for decades to degrease aircraft parts and for other applications. PCE was used as a metal degreaser and dry cleaning solvent in the base drying cleaning facility in the industrial portion of the base, now repository of the administrative records supporting the Navy’s clean-up activities.
What are the health effects of TCE/PCE exposure?
ATSDR reported a number of health problems in children who were exposed in the womb from their mother drinking water contaminated with TCE and/or PCE include:
Leukemia
Small for gestational age
Low birth weight
Fetal death
Major heart defects
Neural tube defects
Oral cleft defects (including cleft lip)
Chonal atresia (nasal passages blocked with bone or tissue)
Eye defects
Miscarriage
Major malformations
ATSDR reported health problems in people of all ages from drinking water contaminated with TCE and/or PCE include:
Non-Hodgkins lymphoma
Bladder cancer
Breast cancer
Lung cancer
ATSDR reported health problems in people of all ages from working with TCE and/or PCE include:
Hodgkins disease
Non-Hodgkins lymphoma
Cervical cancer
Kidney cancer
Liver/biliary cancer
Ovarian cancer
Prostate cancer
Neurological effects (delayed reaction times problems with short-term memory, visual perception, attention, and color vision)
Radium 226 Health EffectsATSDR reported that: “Radium has been shown to cause effects on the blood (anemia) and eyes (cataracts). It also has been shown to affect the teeth, causing an increase in broken teeth and cavities. Patients who were injected with radium in Germany, from 1946 to 1950, for the treatment of certain diseases including tuberculosis were significantly shorter as adults than people who were not treated.”How likely is radium to cause cancer?
ATSDR noted that: “Exposure to high levels of radium results in an increased incidence of bone, liver, and breast cancer. The EPA and the National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation, has stated that radium is a known human carcinogen.” (See: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts144.html)
No Cost or Commitment for Legal ReviewEl Toro veterans, dependents, and civilian workers with injuries possibly related to exposure to TCE/PCE, radium and other contaminants at former MCAS El Toro can contact Mr. Michael E. Gates, Carroll, Kelly, Trotter, Franzen and McKenna, 111 W. Ocean Boulevard, 14th Floor, Long Beach, California 90802-4646, Telephone: (562) 432-5855. Facsimile: (562) 432-8785. megates@cktfmlaw.com.
Mr. Gates told me that there is no cost to this legal review.
However, there is a need for information from injured parties: “Now that we are moving forward on this, I will need names and contact info, although I do not necessarily need to be contacted personally. I will also need retainers signed by everyone individually, but I will send out a standard PDF version that can be printed, signed, and sent back to me. This retainer will just say that the injured party agrees to have us represent them and also binds us with confidentiality.”Mr. Gates emphasized that: “Until a retainer is signed by the injured party, NO LEGAL REPRESENTATION HAS COMMENCED, and the "review" is merely exploratory.
However, any and ALL communication is strictly confidential.”With exception of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, no veteran, dependent or civilian employee of El Toro and the other 131 military bases on the EPA Superfund list has been notified of their possible exposure to contaminants and the health effects.
The Navy and Marine Corps are attempting to notify Camp Lejeune veterans and civilians but only after Congressional legislation and the tragic deaths of children from the TCE contaminated wells on base.One positive outcome of any legal review is that depending on the number of injured El Toro parties, the government may be forced to notify veterans and civilian workers of El Toro of their possible exposure to contaminants and the health effects. There’s no question that this is the right thing to do for those who served our county honorably.
Compassion Fatique Study Should Open Eyes on Combat PTSD
I cut out the part I really want you to read. It backs up what I've been saying about the type of person PTSD usually sets in on. Compassionate, sensitive people. While this article is discussing caregivers of terminal patients, think about the death that surrounds the men and women in the military and then you will have a better idea of why I keep saying the military and the VA are going at PTSD in the wrong direction. Between my two blogs, there are over 15,000 posts and most of them deal with PTSD. What you don't know is that with all of these posts sharing information I think is important, there are thousands more I've read over the years that are not posted. There is only so much room in this brain of mine, so it's impossible to even come close to remembering how many books and magazine articles I've read since 1982. What I believe has come from many years of taking all of this very personally because I've also been with my husband for as long as I've been doing this. I not only study it, I live it. Please do not dismiss what needs to be heard and taken seriously if we are ever going to get this right on PTSD.
'Compassion Fatigue' Drains Some Caregivers
By Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: April 03, 2009
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Study of the causes of and signs of compassion fatigue, as well as techniques for managing the condition, has been hampered by the ambiguous definition of it, they said.
It is difficult to differentiate compassion fatigue from similar conditions, such as burnout, secondary traumatic stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, and vicarious traumatization, they said.
Empathy is central to all of these processes, yet compassion fatigue is a unique kind of burnout that occurs in caregiving professions, they said.
Although some tools have been developed to assess compassion fatigue -- the Compassion Satisfaction Fatigue test and the newer-generation Professional Quality of Life Scale -- there have been few validation studies, according to the researchers.
Workers who are most vulnerable are "overly conscientious, perfectionistic, and self-giving," Dr. Doebbeling and colleagues said.
Sufferers "may feel chronically tired and irritable, dread going to work or walking into a patient's room, lack joy in life, feel trapped, drink more alcohol or overeat, or experience an aggravation of existing physical ailments, such as headache or body aches," they said.
Affected workers may also become more cynical and bored.
Taken together these factors may result in decreased productivity, more sick days, and higher turnover at the workplace, they said.
'Compassion Fatigue' Drains Some Caregivers
Female veterans need to be voice for other women after military sexual abuse
Many Women Veterans have difficulty receiving service-connected disability for PTSD due to MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
“We need more specific information about the incidents. We need to know, within a 2 month period, the date(s) the incidents occurred. We need to know the name(s) of your attackers, and we also need to know if any police reports, or other reports, were filed regarding the incidents described in your statement. If police reports were filed, we need to know the name of the agency they were filed with, and the approximate date they were filed.”
"Your service treatment records do not show treatment for PTSD or any other mental health disorders while in service. Service personnel records do not provide any evidence that a personal assault occurred in service. There is no evidence of changes in performance or performance evaluations or unexplained behavioral changes which could be expected from a person who had undergone such an assault.
In the National Center for PTSD Fact Sheet on Military Sexual Trauma,
Page 2,under What Happens?: "There is no set reaction to MST......You may have a response right away, or it may delayed for month or years."
Page 3 first paragraph states: "After a sexual assault, many women veterans keep quit. They worry what others will think of them, and that talking about the assault will hurt their military careers."
As you can see from the National Center for PTSD already shows, that many times, that MST are not reported, and that reactions vary, including the onset of symptoms.
And again other documents and reports basically say the same thing.
What does it take for the VA to believe the Veterans, who are seeking service-connected disability for PTSD due to MST? Especially for the older Veterans.
Changes need to be made now.
In the Military Sexual Trauma: Violence and Sexual Abuse Document:
Page 3, 2nd Paragraph: "......However, three fourth of the women who were raped did not report the incident to a ranking officer."
Page 4, 2nd Paragraph: "Reasons why both men and women avoid reporting sexual abuse include fears no one will believe them, that their careers will disruupted, that they will be harassed or face retribution from their attacker, or that they will be told to suck it up."
Sexual Assault Permates theU.S. Armed Forces, CBS Evening News: Shocking Report On Frequent Attacks, Low Rate Of Investigation, Prosecution, March, 17, 2009
Page 3, 1st Paragraph: "The Pentagon acknowledges that some 80 percent of rapes are never reported - making it the most under-documented crime in the military."
Page 3, 3rd Paragraph: "They didn't report because they didn't report because they didn't think they'd believed."
The Women's War Document
Page 8, 3rd Paragraph: "Given that PTSD sometimes takes years to surface in a veteran..."
Page 16, 3rd Paragraph: "There is the story of Tina Priest, a 21-year-old soldier who, according to Army investigation records, shot herself with an M-6 rifle in Iraq last March, two weeks after filing a rape charge against a fellow soldier and days after being given a diagnosis of ^acute stress disorder consistent with rape trauma^"
Page 22.last Paragraph: "Some of the women served in previous decades and were only now dealing with their PTSD" Sadly to say, this is many of us "Older" Veterans fall in this category. Assaults occurred decades ago, and we supposed to remember the exact dates, names and such? We forget to survive only to find ourselves wondering why the symptoms of PTSD come to surface.
NAMI VETERANS COUNCIL
Cornelia Huebscher
Veteran/ U.S. Army
NAMI Alaska Liaison to NVC
Chair/Women Veterans Subcommittee to NVC
Chair/NAMI Vets Alaska
huebscher@acsalaska.net
www.nami.org
Vietnam Vet says "We're All Brothers Now"
"We're all brothers in arms," said Emswiler, who visited the memorial in D.C. in 1995. "Once you go through something like that, there is a special bond, no matter your race, color or creed."
‘We're All Brothers' Posted 2009-04-03
Wall Unites A War's Living, Dead
By Pete DeLea
Air Force veteran Dick Lorette, 80, listens to opening ceremonies for "The Wall That Heals" in Harrisonburg's Ralph Sampson Park on Thursday. Lorette served in Vietnam in 1971-72.
Photos by Pete Marovich
HARRISONBURG - Vietnam veteran Alan Emswiler spent about a year stationed in Kansas before being deployed to fight in the war in 1969.
During that time, Emswiler was sent by the Army to several Midwestern states to serve as a pallbearer in military funerals for fallen soldiers returning from Southeast Asia.
Emswiler recalled one specific funeral where the widow asked the military not to use a hearse, but to escort the fallen soldier through town by hand.
"We carried it from one side of the town to the other," he said.
After about 16 funerals, Emswiler was sent to Vietnam with the 18th Military Police Brigade.
On Thursday, the 60-year-old Broadway resident was one of the first to get a glimpse of "The Wall That Heals," a traveling half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., that's now set up at Ralph Sampson Park.
The exhibit will be on display 24 hours a day at the park on East Washington Street until 8 a.m. Monday.
Emswiler said he purposely didn't remember the names of the fallen soldiers whose funerals he attended.
"You can't remember the names," he said. "If you remember the names, it becomes too personal."
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Vietnam veteran to receive Silver Star for bravery in battle 42 years ago
Vietnam veteran Ray Calhoun will receive a Silver Star for combat bravery during a ceremony today. In his hand is one he had purchased. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / Union-Tribune)
Hero finally gets his due
Vietnam veteran to receive Silver Star for bravery in battle 42 years ago
By Steve Liewer (Contact) Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. April 3, 2009
Nighttime cloaked Hill 881 South in a blackness that filled the Marines of Mike Company with a well-founded dread.
Lance Cpl. Ray Calhoun's platoon had drawn the job of leading an assault in this northwest corner of South Vietnam on the morning of April 30, 1967. They knew the enemy was waiting for them.
Some of the North Vietnamese soldiers shouted taunts in accented English.
“All night long, they're telling us: 'Put on your helmets, Marines. You're gonna die in the morning,' ” recalled Calhoun, who now lives in Scripps Ranch.
The enemy didn't lie. Three-fourths of the men in Calhoun's platoon were killed or wounded.
Throughout the battle, the 19-year-old Calhoun alternately aimed grenades at enemy bunkers and bandaged his dying buddies. Twice he passed out from his own wounds, only to wake up and resume the fight.
Today, nearly 42 years later, Calhoun will receive a Silver Star – the nation's third-highest award for combat bravery – during a ceremony at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego.
Two of Calhoun's platoon mates also were awarded Silver Stars recently. Don Hossack of Kalispell, Mont., received his medal last month, and Tommy Wheeler of Lutz, Fla., will get his April 13.
The presentations follow six years of Pentagon review, through a process approved by Congress to recognize overlooked valor from past wars. The law has been invoked to credit ethnic or religious minorities whose heroism was ignored or initially downgraded.
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Hero finally gets his due/
Gen. Peter Chiarelli at Fort Hood to address suicides, mental health in the ranks
Photo credit Chris Haug, III Corps PAO
Vice Chief of the Army Gen. Peter Chiarelli speaks to members of the media while visiting Fort Hood, Texas.
Vice Chief comes to Hood to address suicides, mental health in the ranks
Apr 01
By Heather Graham, III Corps PAO
FORT HOOD, Texas -- When Vice Chief of the Army Gen. Peter Chiarelli began an eight-day trip to seven Army installations across the country, his focus was on combating rising suicides in the ranks. After stops at the first few posts, the focus quickly broadened to include the overall mental health of Soldiers and their families.
Chiarelli and the suicide task force began visiting posts last week, looking at general trends in suicide and hoping to share best practices in prevention and treatment. The findings will be assembled in a plan that will be out soon.
What Chiarelli found is a stretched and tired force.
According to Department of Defense figures, 140 Soldiers killed themselves last year, an average of 20 Soldiers for every 100,000. This is the first time the Army has ever exceeded the Centers for Disease Control's most current statistic for the general population of 19 per 100,000, Chiarelli added.
This year has not started out well.
"We saw an alarming trend in the number of suicides during 2008, and the number - including those suspected, but not yet confirmed - for 2009 is still higher than average," Chiarelli said when he addressed the March 18, Central Texas and Fort Hood Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army general membership meeting at the Killeen Civic and Convention Center.
Nearly eight years of combat on two fronts and multiple deployments have token a terrible toll on Soldiers and their families.
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Vice Chief comes to Hood to address suicides, mental health in the ranks/
Texas Tech psychologist to head study aimed at curbing veterans' suicides
Tech psychologist to head study aimed at curbing veterans' suicides
By Marlena Hartz AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Friday, April 03, 2009
Story last updated at 4/3/2009 - 1:17 am
The U.S. Department of Defense has chosen a Texas Tech psychologist to lead a three-year study intended to reduce suicides among veterans.
Suicide rates in the U.S. Army reached an all-time high in 2008, according to Army officials. Last year, 128 active-duty soldiers committed suicide, an Army spokesman told The Avalanche-Journal. Another 15 potential suicides are under investigation, he said.
In other branches, suicides are less common. They reported between 38 and 41 suicides last year, according to an Air Force Times story.
The Army's alarming suicide trend continues this year, said David Rudd, the chairman of Tech's psychology department who will head the $1.97 million Defense Department study.
"For the first time in history this January, more soldiers died by suicide than in combat. The problem is fairly complex, but ultimately, we've been in a two-front war now for six years. There have been high rates of psychological problems associated with that, and when that occurs, suicide rates increase," Rudd is quoted as saying in a Tech news release.
Rudd said his study will examine whether a short-term psychological treatment plan can reduce suicide rates with those who report feeling suicidal.
He will work in conjunction with the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, the Warrior Resiliency Program at Brooke Army Medical Center and the University of Pennsylvania.
In September, Rudd and his team will begin a random clinical trial offering cognitive behavioral psychotherapy to suicidal soldiers at Fort Carson, Colo., according to the Tech news release.
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Tech psychologist to head study aimed at curbing veterans' suicides
By Marlena Hartz AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Friday, April 03, 2009
Story last updated at 4/3/2009 - 1:17 am
The U.S. Department of Defense has chosen a Texas Tech psychologist to lead a three-year study intended to reduce suicides among veterans.
Suicide rates in the U.S. Army reached an all-time high in 2008, according to Army officials. Last year, 128 active-duty soldiers committed suicide, an Army spokesman told The Avalanche-Journal. Another 15 potential suicides are under investigation, he said.
In other branches, suicides are less common. They reported between 38 and 41 suicides last year, according to an Air Force Times story.
The Army's alarming suicide trend continues this year, said David Rudd, the chairman of Tech's psychology department who will head the $1.97 million Defense Department study.
"For the first time in history this January, more soldiers died by suicide than in combat. The problem is fairly complex, but ultimately, we've been in a two-front war now for six years. There have been high rates of psychological problems associated with that, and when that occurs, suicide rates increase," Rudd is quoted as saying in a Tech news release.
Rudd said his study will examine whether a short-term psychological treatment plan can reduce suicide rates with those who report feeling suicidal.
He will work in conjunction with the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, the Warrior Resiliency Program at Brooke Army Medical Center and the University of Pennsylvania.
In September, Rudd and his team will begin a random clinical trial offering cognitive behavioral psychotherapy to suicidal soldiers at Fort Carson, Colo., according to the Tech news release.
go here for more
Tech psychologist to head study aimed at curbing veterans' suicides
4 People shot 41 hostages in Binghamton NY
NY shooting: Deaths, hostages
Authorities have converged on a building in Binghamton, New York, where there are "multiple" shooting victims and hostages are being held, a county spokesman said. The local newspaper reports at least four people have been shot and 41 people taken hostage. FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said his agency is sending hostage negotiators and an evidence response team to the scene. developing story
UPDATE from MSNBC
Governor: '12 to 13' killed at immigration center
Gunman blocks back door, opens fire at offices in Binghamton, N.Y.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Twelve to 13 people were killed Friday when a gunman walked into an immigrant services center and opened fire, Gov. David Paterson said.
A federal law enforcement official said the suspected gunman was found dead in the building. The man carried identification with the name of 42-year-old Jiverly Voong of nearby Johnson City, N.Y., a law enforcement official said.
"I speak for all of New York when I offer my prayers for the victims and families of this tragedy," Paterson said hours after the gunman shot several people and took dozens hostage. The gunman first blocked the back door with his car, authorities said.
Two people were seen in handcuffs as they left the building, but NBC's Pete Williams said they were not suspects and that police were simply taking extra precautions as people left the building.
Go here for more
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30030756/
Authorities have converged on a building in Binghamton, New York, where there are "multiple" shooting victims and hostages are being held, a county spokesman said. The local newspaper reports at least four people have been shot and 41 people taken hostage. FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said his agency is sending hostage negotiators and an evidence response team to the scene. developing story
UPDATE from MSNBC
Governor: '12 to 13' killed at immigration center
Gunman blocks back door, opens fire at offices in Binghamton, N.Y.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Twelve to 13 people were killed Friday when a gunman walked into an immigrant services center and opened fire, Gov. David Paterson said.
A federal law enforcement official said the suspected gunman was found dead in the building. The man carried identification with the name of 42-year-old Jiverly Voong of nearby Johnson City, N.Y., a law enforcement official said.
"I speak for all of New York when I offer my prayers for the victims and families of this tragedy," Paterson said hours after the gunman shot several people and took dozens hostage. The gunman first blocked the back door with his car, authorities said.
Two people were seen in handcuffs as they left the building, but NBC's Pete Williams said they were not suspects and that police were simply taking extra precautions as people left the building.
Go here for more
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30030756/
General Casey: Increasing dwell time is a priority
Casey: Increasing dwell time is a priority
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Apr 3, 2009 11:48:35 EDT
FORT HOOD, Texas — Soldiers fighting overseas could eventually have longer stays at home, depending on supply and demand and if the Iraq drawdown continues on schedule, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey told soldiers at Fort Hood.
On Thursday, Casey spoke to soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and other units recently returned from Iraq. He predicted time at home will get to be an average of 14 or 15 months, then next year increase to almost two years, and to 2½ years the year after that.
“We are focused on trying to increase the amount of time the soldiers spend at home, but it’s a function of supply and demand,” Casey said in a story for Friday’s online edition of the Temple Daily Telegram.
In January, the Army met a goal set in 2007 to increase the size of the Army by 74,000. The Army originally set 2012 as the deadline to reach that goal. As of January, the active duty force was at 547,000, Casey said.
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Apr 3, 2009 11:48:35 EDT
FORT HOOD, Texas — Soldiers fighting overseas could eventually have longer stays at home, depending on supply and demand and if the Iraq drawdown continues on schedule, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey told soldiers at Fort Hood.
On Thursday, Casey spoke to soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and other units recently returned from Iraq. He predicted time at home will get to be an average of 14 or 15 months, then next year increase to almost two years, and to 2½ years the year after that.
“We are focused on trying to increase the amount of time the soldiers spend at home, but it’s a function of supply and demand,” Casey said in a story for Friday’s online edition of the Temple Daily Telegram.
In January, the Army met a goal set in 2007 to increase the size of the Army by 74,000. The Army originally set 2012 as the deadline to reach that goal. As of January, the active duty force was at 547,000, Casey said.
Peering into the eyes of 400 soldiers fresh from the war in Iraq, he saw combat stress, which often doesn’t manifest until the mission is accomplished and the soldier is back home with his family, he said.
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Mystery Surrounds Local Marine's Death in Iraq
Mystery Surrounds Local Marine's Death
Man Killed In ‘Non-Hostile Incident’ In Iraq
POSTED: Thursday, April 2, 2009
UPDATED: 8:04 am EDT April 3, 2009
MIAMI -- A mystery is brewing from Miami to Iraq, where a local member of the U.S. Marine Corps was found dead at a military facility.
The Department of Defense said Thursday that 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Nelson M. Lantigua of Miami died on Tuesday in Anbar province.
Lantigua was found shot to death, face down, in a bed inside the military facility to which he was assigned in Iraq, Local 10's Terrell Forney reported.
Officials said Lantigua died of a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. But no other details have been released. The incident is under investigation.
Military officials have called it a non-hostile incident and non-combat related, which raises questions for Lantigua's family. The 20-year old joined the U.S. Marines after graduating high school in Miami and was nearing the end of his first deployment to Iraq when he died.
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Mystery Surrounds Local Marine's Death
linked from CNN
Man Killed In ‘Non-Hostile Incident’ In Iraq
POSTED: Thursday, April 2, 2009
UPDATED: 8:04 am EDT April 3, 2009
MIAMI -- A mystery is brewing from Miami to Iraq, where a local member of the U.S. Marine Corps was found dead at a military facility.
The Department of Defense said Thursday that 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Nelson M. Lantigua of Miami died on Tuesday in Anbar province.
Lantigua was found shot to death, face down, in a bed inside the military facility to which he was assigned in Iraq, Local 10's Terrell Forney reported.
Officials said Lantigua died of a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. But no other details have been released. The incident is under investigation.
Military officials have called it a non-hostile incident and non-combat related, which raises questions for Lantigua's family. The 20-year old joined the U.S. Marines after graduating high school in Miami and was nearing the end of his first deployment to Iraq when he died.
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Mystery Surrounds Local Marine's Death
linked from CNN
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Marine says he is tormented over killing of Iraqi prisoner
What is justice in this case? What is right when this happens? Is there really a right answer? We heard President Bush say we don't torture, while he did everything in his power to make sure they could, but it was not the people giving the orders to do it that ended up in prison for it, it was the men and women ordered to do it. What would you do?
Marine says he is tormented over killing of Iraqi prisoner
Sgt. Ryan Weemer is on trial at Camp Pendleton.
Sgt. Ryan Weemer, in a tape-recording played at his court martial, says he wants to forget what happened in Fallouja in 2004. He is accused of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty.
By Tony Perry
April 2, 2009
Reporting from Camp Pendleton -- A Marine Corps sergeant charged with murdering an Iraqi prisoner told an investigator that he is tormented by the shooting and has tried to forget what happened that day in Fallouja in 2004, according to a tape-recording played Wednesday at his court-martial.
In the recording, Sgt. Ryan Weemer talked of being covered with the blood of his best friend, who was killed by a sniper, and then minutes later being ordered by his squad leader to kill an Iraqi taken prisoner when Marines stormed a house.
"I grabbed a gun and took him to the back of the house," Weemer is heard telling two agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. "I shot him twice in the chest."
Weemer, 26, is charged with unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty, and could face a dishonorable discharge and life in prison. His jury is comprised of eight Marines, all with experience in Iraq, Afghanistan or both.
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Marine says he is tormented over killing of Iraqi prisoner
Capt. Bierwiler's widow takes comfort in her husband's devotion
Widow of Hernando sheriff's Capt. Bierwiler takes comfort in her husband's devotion
By Dan DeWitt, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Thursday, April 2, 2009
SPRING HILL — Angie Bierwiler turned on the television 11 years ago when she first heard that Hank Earl Carr was holed up in a Hernando County convenience store with a hostage after killing his girlfriend's son and three law enforcement officers.
"I see Scott's patrol car pull right up in front of the store,'' she said.
Scott was her husband, Scott Bierwiler, 42, a Hernando sheriff's sergeant. But the situation did not worry her.
"I guess that I felt like everyone else did, that he was going to handle it,'' Mrs. Bierwiler, 40, said. "He just stood out there with a notepad and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and organized the whole county.''
That calm air of authority made Bierwiler seem perfect for the job he'd always wanted and seemed likely to assume one day — Hernando County sheriff.
It also made his death even more shocking.
Bierwiler, by then a captain, finally encountered circumstances he couldn't control at 5:45 a.m. on Feb. 19, just minutes after kissing his sleeping wife on the forehead and leaving their home in a quiet gated community.
On an otherwise empty, two-lane highway, his unmarked Ford was struck head-on by an SUV that veered into his lane. The Florida Highway Patrol has not yet completed its investigation or decided whether to charge the SUV's driver, 16-year-old Andrew Morris.
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Widow of Hernando sheriff's Capt. Bierwiler takes comfort in her husband's devotion
By Dan DeWitt, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Thursday, April 2, 2009
SPRING HILL — Angie Bierwiler turned on the television 11 years ago when she first heard that Hank Earl Carr was holed up in a Hernando County convenience store with a hostage after killing his girlfriend's son and three law enforcement officers.
"I see Scott's patrol car pull right up in front of the store,'' she said.
Scott was her husband, Scott Bierwiler, 42, a Hernando sheriff's sergeant. But the situation did not worry her.
"I guess that I felt like everyone else did, that he was going to handle it,'' Mrs. Bierwiler, 40, said. "He just stood out there with a notepad and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and organized the whole county.''
That calm air of authority made Bierwiler seem perfect for the job he'd always wanted and seemed likely to assume one day — Hernando County sheriff.
It also made his death even more shocking.
Bierwiler, by then a captain, finally encountered circumstances he couldn't control at 5:45 a.m. on Feb. 19, just minutes after kissing his sleeping wife on the forehead and leaving their home in a quiet gated community.
On an otherwise empty, two-lane highway, his unmarked Ford was struck head-on by an SUV that veered into his lane. The Florida Highway Patrol has not yet completed its investigation or decided whether to charge the SUV's driver, 16-year-old Andrew Morris.
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Widow of Hernando sheriff's Capt. Bierwiler takes comfort in her husband's devotion
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty non-combat death in Iraq
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lance Cpl. Nelson M. Lantigua, 20, of Miami, Fla., died March 31 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10 Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The incident is currently under investigation.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lance Cpl. Nelson M. Lantigua, 20, of Miami, Fla., died March 31 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10 Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The incident is currently under investigation.
Documentary on PTSD Needs Help to Reach Completion
The great thing is they are talking about it. The troops are talking on this video and it's a wonderful thing. The need is so great for all of them and the others already home, but at least, thank God, they are talking about it now. Maybe they are finally getting the message that PTSD is normal, not new, and most of all, nothing to be ashamed of at all. I am very hopeful for the first time in a very long time because of this video.
Documentary on PTSD Needs Help to Reach Completion (VIDEO)
Tim King Salem-News.com
The hour-long program could help hundreds of thousands; we are looking for Americans who care to lend a hand.
Soldiers from the Army's 101st Airborne on patrol in Iraq during the summer of 2008. Salem-News.com photo by Tim King
(SALEM, Ore.) - Hundreds of thousands of American combat veterans are suffering from the effects of combat and war. The symptoms of PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, are wide ranging.
The current conflicts continue to generate PTSD in our troops, and they join the ranks of veterans of the Persian Gulf War, Lebanon, Vietnam, Korea and WWII as survivors of things that no man or woman should ever witness in a civilized world.
My goal in Iraq last summer was to gather interviews for a television documentary on PTSD. What veterans are doing while at war is part of what we will explore, and even more importantly, we will show all types of different therapies that are being used successfully by vets and people who help veterans, in their adjustment back to a peaceful society.
We are seeking a partner to help with the cost of producing this extremely important program. Significant interest has already been shown by one television organization and the number of stations and venues where it can be used to help educate people about PTSD, is nearly endless.
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Documentary on PTSD Needs Help to Reach Completion (VIDEO)
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