LAPD Officer committed suicide at Sheriff's Station

LAPD mourns suicide of veteran narcotics detective
Colleagues say Susan J. Clemmer, 41, was 'always smiling' and showed no troubling signs. She shot herself in the head at a Santa Clarita sheriff's station Monday night, police say.
By Richard Winton and Joel Rubin
July 8, 2009
Officers throughout the Los Angeles Police Department grieved Tuesday as news spread that a veteran detective had killed herself in the lobby of an L.A. County Sheriff's Department station Monday night.

Susan J. Clemmer, a well-regarded officer assigned to the LAPD's Gang and Narcotics Division, walked into the Santa Clarita sheriff's station about 9:15 p.m. and spoke to the sheriff's deputy at the front desk, according to sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore and LAPD officials.


Clemmer, 41, placed a box of personal items on the counter and asked to speak to a different deputy. After a brief conversation with a second deputy, when Clemmer was briefly left unattended, staffers heard a gunshot and rushed out to find her with a single gunshot wound in her head, police said.

No one else was injured.

What Clemmer said to the deputies, and whether she identified herself as a police officer, remained unclear Tuesday.


The death of the 19-year LAPD veteran left officers throughout the tightknit department stunned.

"We're in shock. It came as a complete surprise," said Capt. Kevin McCarthy, one of the commanders of Clemmer's unit. "She was always smiling and easy to work with. There was no indication that anything was wrong."
read more here
LAPD mourns suicide of veteran narcotics detective

Disabled Marine who saved motorcyclist's life featured on national TV

Disabled Marine who saved motorcyclist's life featured on national TV tonight

Jeremy Lepsch, the disabled Marine credited with saving the life of a man at the scene of a motorcycle accident last year, will be featured on a national television show 8 p.m. tonight on MY TV Channel 8.
go here for more
http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/726322.html

Lankler Family Foundation and Operation Second Chance really supporting the troops

I love to post stories like this. There is so much suffering out there of our wounded and veterans that it's hard to not get totally depressed with the overwhelming need. When stories like this are reported, they should receive as much attention as possible because they prove what we can do for them if we really want to.

Soldiers treated to some rest and relaxation by local residents
By Kit Bradshaw (Contact)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The scene at Castaways in Jupiter on June 29 was typical of the popular Jupiter Inlet nightspot.

The smell of barbecue wafted through the palm trees that shaded the sand-covered sitting areas and the sound of voices rose and fell in the early evening.

What was different, however, were the guests of honor.

Young men distinguished by their graciousness, their good humor and the unmistakable scars of war in the arms and legs missing or now augmented by space age prostheses.

The five young men and their families were feted by area residents, primarily from Tequesta, who opened their homes and hearts to these soldiers, back from the grenade strikes or bombings in Iraq or Afghanistan that forever changed their lives.

“I salute you. Thank you so much,” said several older members of American Legion Post 271, many of whom remembered the battles of wars past.

Among the soldiers and their families who were enjoying a week of relaxation were John Sloan, his wife Tiffany and three children; Corey Lyons and his wife and their two little ones; David Battle, with his wife Lakeisa and family members; Alfredo Delossantos and his wife Jeannette and two children; and Keith Maul and his wife Meghan.

While the soldiers were in the area, they lived in homes provided by Tequesta resident Sandy Lankler; feasted on a barbecue last Saturday, hosted by Edna Runner and a group from her church in Limestone Creek; went fishing, thanks to Tequesta Councilor Vince Arena and “Black Dog”, and were looking forward to more beach time as their time in Florida wound down.

The break from months of physical therapy at Walter Reed Hospital was part of Operation Second Chance, whose founder, Cindy McGrew met Lankler. Together, they created this week of respite.

Once a month, the Lankler Family Foundation also provides a weekend retreat for the wounded solders and their families in Buckeystown, Maryland.

read more here

Soldiers treated to some rest and relaxation by local residents

Michael Jackson's Death, get over it if you can find a station not covering it

Another update,,,thanks to O'Reilly. The problem is that O'Reilly didn't think Jackson deserved any of this,,,,I just thought it didn't have to be covered every day for two weeks and then on every station on the planet. O'Reilly, well, what did you expect out of him? By the way, O'Reilly faulted Jackson for spending his own money at the same time he was rasing money with We Are The World. What is wrong with O'Reilly when he has all his own money and refuses to even acknowledge homeless veterans? Seems O'Reilly should first put his own money where his own mouth is.

Bill O'Reilly Says Jackson Is No Black Icon
News host Bill O'Reilly is famous for incendiary statements and no holds barred debates, and he continued his streak of controversial comments in his first broadcast after Michael Jackson's memorial service Tuesday. After opening the segment with a pledge to honor the Jackson family's request for privacy, O'Reilly digs right in with criticisms of Jackson's kids, spending habits - and skin care.
First, O'Reilly calls out Jackson's "incredible selfishness - spending hundreds of million dollars on himself while singing 'We Are the World,'" and adds that it "should make any clear-thinking American nauseous."

read more here
O'Reilly Says Jackson Is No Black Icon

UPDATE July 8,,,and they still find reason to keep Jackson at the top of their news,,,,,

Goodbye Michael: Star, brother, friend, father
'Daddy has been the best father,' Paris tells crowd
Michael Jackson's 11-year-old daughter touched the hearts of millions when she bid a tearful farewell to her father at his memorial service. Paris Jackson, surrounded and supported by relatives, called her dad "the best father you could ever imagine." full story
Paris: 'Best father' Family farewell
NBA greats Sharpton Shields
Songs: Hudson Usher Wonder
Highlights of the memorial More videos
Full coverage Your memories Photos
Warwick: 'New insight' is Jackson's legacy
Jackson still 'King of Pop' on Billboard charts

Time: A strange, gaudy and moving farewell


Top stories on CNN. Notice a trend here?

Goodbye Michael: Star, brother, friend, father
An 11-year-old who lost her father made the world cry with her on Tuesday. "Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine," said Paris Jackson, the second of Michael Jackson's three children, as a massive memorial service for her father neared its end in Los Angeles. developing story
Paris: 'Best father' Family farewell
NBA greats Sharpton Shields
Songs: Hudson Usher Wonder
Highlights of the memorial More videos
Full coverage Your memories Photos

Michael Jackson: 1958-2009

Highlights from the pop icon's life and death, plus your tributes and memories
Jackson Remembered

Latest News
'I'll be there': Fans, stars join in farewell
Jackson memorial lights up Internet

L.A. wants help paying for Jackson memorial
Jackson memorial unpredictably normal
Time: A strange, gaudy and moving farewell
Brazile: A day to celebrate Michael Jackson

iReport.com: How are you honoring MJ today?

When the news broke that Michael Jackson died, it was the same day Farrah Fawcett died, the media just proved what they can do when they want to do it. They obliterated every other news story for the last two weeks. Palin got away with pulling a fast one off on the people of Alaska using the excuse now of the investigations into her life, but that has been going on since she said yes to McCain. Nothing new there but suddenly it's just too much for the Alaskan's to endure? Give me a break. Governor "hot flash" Sanford, takes off on the people of South Carolina and his family, then insults his wife over his affair being a "real love story" and gets away with it. We didn't know Michael Jackson any better than we knew Farrah Fawcett or Palin or Sanford. We saw them on TV. The difference was that the media jumped on the rest of the world and wanted to ride on Jackson's coattails. It really is a shame.

He was a man I watched grow up just like everyone else my age. Today, I turned 50. Jackson hit my TV set when I was just a year younger and while I adored hearing him sing, mesmerized with the way he danced, I never felt like I knew him. He was a tremendous talent and should have been honored but this has been a ridiculous show. It's as if the entire world stopped mattering.

President Obama was in Russia and managed to get them to allow more flights in their airspace to help with the military campaign in Afghanistan. They were also working on cutting down on the nukes. Did you notice any of that?


Lindsey Baum of McCleary Washington has been missing for 11 days now. She turns 11 today but her father is not only afraid he will not see her soon, he's afraid he'll have to deploy to Iraq before she's found. Scott Baum is a member of the Tennessee National Guard.

Did you know that according to ICasualties.org, we've lost 19 lives in Afghanistan so far this 7 days into July?

Did you know that NAMI Veterans Council saw fit to award Dr. Ira Katz, the man with the VA connected to the suicide deaths of our veterans and the cover-up so serious there were law suits and congressional action over this, but they decided he deserved an award for what he was forced to do, which has been too little and way too late for too many? Seems like that should be a big deal considering a lot of families had to also attend funerals for people gone way too soon. They died by their own hand because the government, the one we fund with our tax dollars, decided back when they sent the troops to war, they were not worth taking care of when they came home. All of them had families, friends and people left behind grieving wondering what the hell is wrong with this country when no one seems to care. For Heaven's sake! This is the National Alliance on Mental Illness Veterans Council we're talking about here! Any idea how many people with mental illness have been depending on them? Any idea what a stunt like this will do to the veterans they just slapped in the face?

I turned on TV today dealing with some pain from my back and all I saw was coverage of Jackson day on every channel. They actually filmed the ride from here to there and then wasted time filling it with people talking about Jackson as if they knew him any better than anyone else. Nothing else mattered. I turned on talk radio and there again, Michael Jackson. Tell me, aside from the media coverage of the trail and his acquittal, how much have we even heard about him until recently? We're talking about the last ten years of the man's life. How much coverage has there been? So what is this all about now? This is about money. This is about hyping all of this so that people can make money off his death.

The media can claim that they are about honoring Michael Jackson all they want but in the end they are just feeding like vultures. Had they really respected Jackson's career, his talent or even his music, they would have heard what most of this songs were about. They were about doing good and taking care of other people. We heard some of that today. The problem is this does not translate into the brains of the media when they actually could be saving lives right now, today!

If I did not track reports from across the country I wouldn't have even known about Lindsey Baum missing. Where are the reports to try to find her the way the story of Caylee Anthony was all over the media for months on end? I wouldn't be able to post anything of what we can do or what is being done for the troops or our veterans if I didn't have the local media outlets reporting on any of it. All the national news cares about is what they think will cause the remote control to stop at their station. Gone are the days when they reported on what mattered and what was really important. Today the world said good-bye to Michael Jackson but we said good-bye to real reporting a very long time ago. We just didn't notice.

Lindsey Baum, missing child's father to deploy to Iraq

Dad Deploying To Iraq Pleads For Missing Daughter's Return
Posted: 3:06 pm PDT July 6, 2009
Updated: 6:48 pm PDT July 6, 2009

MCCLEARY, Wash. -- The father of a McCleary girl who has been missing for 10 days hopes to be reunited with his daughter on her 11th birthday or before he deploys to Iraq.

Lindsey Baum, 10, disappeared June 26 while walking home from a friend's house at about 9:15 p.m. and there has been no sign of her since.

Lindsey’s dad, Scott Baum, said in a press conference on Monday, “I would love nothing more that to see my daughter before I have to go.”

Scott Baum is with the Tennessee National Guard and is scheduled to deploy in the very near future.




Lindsey’s eleventh birthday is on Tuesday, July 7.
read more here
Dad Deploying To Iraq Pleads For Missing Daughter Return
linked from CNN

Wounded still wait as more come

As the troops pull back out of the cities of Iraq and the Iraqis take over, it's easy to assume the worst is over for our troops, but in doing so, we not only forget the wounded we already have, we close our eyes to fact more will come.

7 U.S. troops killed as Afghan ops intensify

By Fisnik Abrashi - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 7, 2009 7:45:42 EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan — Bombs and bullets killed seven American troops on Monday, the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Afghanistan in nearly a year — and a sign that the war being fought in the Taliban heartland of the south and east could now be expanding north.

Separately, Taliban militants claimed on a militant Web site that they were holding an American soldier whom the U.S. military says insurgents might have captured last week. The Taliban statement, however, did not include any proof, such as a picture or the soldier’s name.

Four of the deaths Monday came in an attack on a team of U.S. military trainers in the relatively peaceful north, bringing into focus the question of whether the U.S. is committing enough troops to secure a country larger than Iraq in both population and land mass.
read more here
7 U.S. troops killed as Afghan ops intensify

Just as Iraq draws to a close, Afghanistan operations increase and with it comes more wounded and more deaths. The stress will increase as more troops head into Afghanistan. With the DOD and the VA unable to keep up with the numbers already filing claims for their wounds, we're in for an increasing need to step up to stand by their sides and help them. The government has been unable to adjust fast enough. We can point to the fact no one in Congress or the Bush Administration prepared for any of this, but that does not change the fact what is being done now is still not enough to make up for it. Increasing the VA budget to an all time high is not enough for today.

We are still seeing the wounded we already have needing care for physical wounds as well as traumatic ones. Yet read about the type of people we're talking about. They are wounded and some of them still want to go back into the military no matter how much pain they are in.

Injured soldier longs for return
By BILL RODGERS Tribune Chronicle
Ever since a mine exploded next to him in Iraq and knocked him off a roof, U.S. Army Pfc. David Mickey's primary focus has been getting better fast enough so that he could go back.

David Mickey and his family were at the Trumbull County Veterans Memorial on Monday afternoon looking for a brick his mother dedicated to him. The family members were enjoying their two weeks together before the Cortland soldier leaves for the Warrior Transition Unit in Fort Richardson, Alaska.

It hasn't been an easy recovery for the would-be career soldier, and he might not make it back to his unit at all. The process has been a long one. It's been taxing on his parents, too, who spent one week after the March 2007 explosion not knowing whether their son was alive or whether he had died in surgery.

"Two-and-one-half years and he still can't go back. It shows you just how traumatic that is," David's father, Stan Mickey, said. "You don't often think about it (war injuries) like that."

There's been almost one dozen surgeries to heal David's injured back, his left arm, his right heel and the nerve damage throughout. Trudy said doctors have shaved off part of his left eardrum, which after the attack healed back so thick that there's a chance the 28-year old may need a hearing aid and tubes to hear normally. He walks with a knee brace now that he is able to get around without a cane, but he can only stand for so long before the pain starts again.

To this day, shrapnel from the attack still is working its way out of her son's body, she said. She recalled one day when she was talking to him and saw a trickle of blood near his ear as another piece of metal came free.

And on top of it all, David now has admitted to himself that he has post traumatic stress disorder. Crowds make him nervous. He has nightmares and bouts of depression. It's impossible for him to stomach some of the movies he loved before he left for the war.

"I've changed some. I have PTSD, but I don't want to let it run my life," he said.
read more here
Injured soldier longs for return
linked from
http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx

How can you read about Pfc. David Mickey's wounds and his desire to go back and not want to do whatever it takes to make his life easier? How can you read about any of them and not want to help them? Yes, it is the responsibility of the government, the DOD and the VA, to take care of them, but again, too little and too late. Why allow any of them to suffer at all until the government catches up?

What can you do? Do you belong to any of the veterans service organizations? You can make sure the Commander of the post knows what's going on and then hold his/her feet to fire to do something locally. Make them active in helping out veterans your own community. Ask them to provide information on PTSD and TBI, the two signature wounds of Iraq and Afghanistan. Ask them to start support groups for them and their families. Organize transportation for them to doctor's appointment. Contact local officials to step up and seek federal funds to address homelessness of our veterans. Donate clothing and small appliances so that when they do find a place to live, they have something to start out with. Donate your time and visit them at the shelters. None of this is new and is being done in many parts of the country but the problem is, it's not happening everywhere. This needs to happen today! We've already let too many down.

Will DOD give up on making unbreakable soldiers?

by
Chaplain Kathie

The more I think about the programs the DOD has been doing trying to prevent PTSD, the more I think about this movie Unbreakable.

Unbreakable (2000) More at IMDbPro »
This suspense thriller unfolds as the audience is introduced to David Dunn. Not only is he the sole survivor of a horrific train-crash that killed 131 people he doesn't have a scratch on him. Elijah Price is an obscure character who approaches Dunn with a seemingly far fetched theory behind it all. Written by Filmtwob {webmaster@filmfreak.co.za}

Security Guard David Dunn miraculously survives a catastrophic train crash outside Philadelphia. Not only is he the sole survivor out of 132 passengers, he also is completely unharmed. A little later, comic book specialist Elijah Price contacts him to confront David with an incredible theory: Elijah, who has been nicknamed "Mr. Glass" due to his more than fragile bones, thinks that David has got all which he himself lacks. The two of them "seem to be linked by a curve, but sitting on opposite ends". First, David does not believe the strange man, but every single thing he had said proves to be true: David has never ever been hurt or sick in his life, his physical strength is larger than normal and he has a skill which others don't. Slowly, David begins to discover the shocking truth behind Mr. Price's assumptions. But after all, David's fate is not only to find his real place in the world. It also is about proving Elijah's theory of his own existence. Written by Julian Reischl {julianreischl@mac.com}
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0217869/plotsummary

Bruce Willis couldn't figure out why he never got sick or why he managed to survive events that killed other people. It just never occurred to him there was something really strange about all of this until he met his opposite.

To this day, I still search for reasons why with all the traumatic events in my own life I have not suffered the ravages of PTSD. I've been reading about it, talking to veterans and others since 1982, but the more I learn about it, the more I struggle to understand the difference between me and other trauma survivors.

All the training I've taken has pointed to one factor in my life and that's talking. I never really stop talking. Each event was followed by being surrounded by family and friends for me to talk to and lean on their shoulders. The only time I couldn't talk to them was when it had to do with my husband and PTSD. They just couldn't understand it. Back then, well, not many people understood it at all, including psychologists. I knew I had to talk to someone with a full knowledge of it if they would be able to help me at all. I found a psychologist with a family practice and she was very aware of PTSD as well as what went with it. I had been feeling angry, snapping, having mood swings, nightmares and depression was setting in. I knew I needed help to just vent with someone that would be able to understand. Up until then, it was talking to my circle of support coupled with a deep faith.

I know that faith plays a huge roll in healing from what happens in our lives. I also know that talking about these events helps more than anything else to prevent deeper emotional damage. Experts agree with this and that's why they offer training in responding to traumatic events to help the responders as well as the survivors. The problem is, people are not unbreakable and we cannot make them stop being caring, feeling humans. We cannot prevent traumatic events from happing in anyone's life, especially the members of the armed forces. What we can do is address them when they happen just as we do with all other humans.

The DOD has come out with programs with the goal of "toughening" their minds and making them "resilient" as if they can train to not be human anymore. They are not "unbreakable" even though some go thru the rest of their lives never suffering from what they lived through. Still I have to wonder if they are just not admitting to suffering or they are really so able to be shut off from it.

I've seen police officers acting as if nothing bothers them at all until they end up suffering from the one traumatic event they cannot escape from. They try to mask the symptoms and then lash out or drink to cover up the hurt they feel inside. Heck. when you think how tough they are supposed to be it's better for them if others think they are just mean instead of soft enough to feel anything. The difference is most police departments have either a Chaplain to be there to listen or a psychologist for them to see for when the last straw hitting the mountain of others sets off a fire.

So why is the DOD treating soldiers as if they were not simply humans asked to do abnormal things when they are sent into combat? Being a warrior is not normal, as a matter of fact, it's pretty rare. Look at the population of the world and then look at the number of soldiers in this world and you see the difference. Here in the USA, we have over 300 million people but under 30 million veterans. Then there are the police officers, also should be considered warriors, because part of their job also involves being asked to kill as well as protect. Police officers are allowed time to emotionally debrief within hours or a day of a traumatic event but the soldiers are not. Why is that? Why can't the military see what the rest of the world sees?

The group of Chaplains I'm with respond to police departments, fire departments, natural disasters, crimes and accidents helping the responders and the survivors. Why can't the military do the same instead of trying to prevent it the wrong way? I went through training on different programs including the new DEEP, Disaster and Extreme Event Preparedness and each of them deal with being there at the time of the events to listen to people and be there for them, much like my family and friends were there to listen to me after a long list of events. Or the psychologist helping me deal with anger and frustration. Who is there for the troops right away?

If they really want to do something about PTSD then they should do what the rest of the other humans have done. Have someone there to talk to right away before PTSD can take hold and do damage. It's hard enough to get them to talk when PTSD is already raging inside of them so heading it off as much as possible seems only logical. The way they are trying to do it only adds to the stigma because the way they are going about it tells the soldiers if they do not make their brains tough enough, PTSD is their fault. It's not their fault they are human and just as breakable as the rest of us.

Benefits under new GI Bill vary widely by state

Benefits under new GI Bill vary widely by state
Veterans attending college could get a full ride or very little help
When the new GI Bill kicks in Aug. 1, the government's best-known education program for veterans will get the biggest boost since its World War II-era creation. But the benefit is hardly the "Government Issue," one-size-fits-all standard the name implies.

In fact, depending on where service members and veterans decide to attend college, they could receive a full ride, or very little.

An Associated Press review of state-by-state benefits under the new bill shows huge discrepancies in the amount veterans can receive.
read more here
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31765771/ns/us_news-military/

Motorcycle accidents, deaths still rising

Motorcycle accidents, deaths still rising

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jul 6, 2009 17:55:57 EDT

The number of service members injured and hospitalized in motorcycle accidents increase by more than 100 from 2007 to 2008, and deaths increased by 18 over the same period.

The numbers have seen a marked upswing since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, with mental health workers expressing concerns that service members seeking to recapture the rush of war might be willing to take more risks.

In 2001, 366 people were injured, including 35 who died, in motorcycle accidents. In 2008, 474 people were injured, including 105 who died, according to the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center’s June Medical Surveillance Monthly Report.

“The safety centers of the U.S. military services have documented sharp increases in numbers and rates of motorcycle fatalities among service members,” states the report authors, Army Capt. Scott Cherry and Stephen Taubman of the Data Analysis Group under the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center. “There were more motorcycle accident-related hospitalizations and deaths by far in 2008 than in any prior year of the period.”

However, the researchers did not have access to information about which of those drivers had combat experience, their medical history as far as psychiatric issues or substance-abuse problems, or if they were using helmets or leather clothing.
read more here
Motorcycle accidents, deaths still rising

Austistic Marine shines light on meeting quotas

Story update July 21, 2009

Autistic Marine from Orange County pleads guilty to fraudulent enlistment, other charges
By Tony Perry Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:57:13 PM


Case of autistic Marine brings recruiting problems to the forefront
Faced with quotas, a few recruiters are taking shortcuts that allow those unfit for service into the military.
By Tony Perry
July 6, 2009
Reporting from San Diego -- A few days after he arrived at boot camp here, Joshua Fry no longer wanted to be a Marine.

He was confused by the orders drill instructors shouted at him. He was caught stealing peanut butter from the chow hall. He urinated in his canteen. He talked back to the drill instructors. He refused to shave.


Finally, he set out toward the main gate as if to head home. He was blocked, but now he had the chance to tell his superiors a secret: He was autistic. Fry figured this admission would persuade the Marines to let him return to the group home in Irvine for disturbed young adults where he was living when he enlisted.

Instead, he was sent back to Platoon 1021, Company B. The drill instructors became more helpful, and in April 2008 he finished the grueling 11-week regimen and was sent to Camp Pendleton for infantry training.

Within weeks he was under arrest for desertion and possession of child pornography.


Documents in Fry's court-martial case detail a troubled upbringing and a Marine career that was both improbable and misbegotten.

But far from being a routine instance of a young man unable to adjust to military life, the Fry case has exposed an awkward issue for the Marines and other military services: Recruiters sometimes take ethical shortcuts to make their quotas at a time when Americans have tired of the nation's wars and finding recruits is difficult.

According to court documents, Fry's recruiter knew he was autistic. The Marine Corps is investigating the recruiter's conduct.
go here for more
Case of autistic Marine brings recruiting problems to the forefront

N. Carolina shooting stirs interest in S. Carolina serial killings

UPDATE
Police: 'We believe a killer is off the streets'
Police say suspect in South Carolina serial killings is dead
Story Highlights
"We believe a killer is off the streets," official says

North Carolina authorities shoot suspect after he confronts police

Weapon found on man matches gun used in South Carolina killings

Killer has slain five people in Gaffney, South Carolina, area, police say

N. Carolina shooting stirs interest in S. Carolina serial killings
Story Highlights
North Carolina police say no confirmed link between robbery, South Carolina killings

Video of North Carolina crime site shows car similar to one sought in serial killings

North Carolina authorities say "evidence" prompted call to South Carolina police

Killer has slain five people in Gaffney, South Carolina, area, police say



DALLAS, North Carolina (CNN) -- Police in Gaston County, North Carolina, shot and killed a suspect during a possible robbery early Monday, then called in police from South Carolina who have been chasing a serial killer.


Police say the murder scenes are linked and they are searching for a man resembling this sketch.

There was "evidence in regard to the man that was shot," said Capt. Joe Ramey of the Gaston County Police Department.

He did not give specifics, and he said he could not state for certain that the suspect had a link to the serial killer case.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/06/south.carolina.killings/index.html

It's nice to be plagiarized

It's nice to be plagiarized but at least this guy could have gotten the dates right. No, he didn't write this the way it looks 6-7-09 because Michael was still alive. So it must have been written July 6th. Too bad mine was written asking if Jackson had PTSD and pointed to this accident on
Monday, June 29, 2009

Is this the minute that changed Michael Jackson's life?
But as usual I needed an editor to check for typos and had it as Michale Jackson.
This is the link I used and also put up the video on the post.

1984: Michael Jackson burned in Pepsi ad
Michael Jackson has received hospital treatment for serious burns to his head after his hair caught light during a freak filming accident.
The 25-year-old entertainer was singing his hit "Billie Jean" for a Pepsi Cola commercial in Los Angeles when the special effects went wrong.

Three thousand fans saw a firework display erupt behind the superstar, showering him in sparks and setting light to his hair.

Some studio audience members said he was so calm, they thought the incident was part of the act.
On this day in history

But this "author junomich" was off by ten years. Also a bit late on the question raised and pointing to this event in his life.

I have no idea what this website is supposed to be about but I give them credit for trying.
PTSD has nothing to do with if someone is a child molester or not. Some use it to justify becoming one saying they were abused as children, but that does not mean all people with PTSD from being molested turned into being molesters. The other point raised was the changes in Jackson' appearance and odd behavior. Again, off base because the years were wrong. Jackson, as pointed out on the original posting, had begun to transform his face in a few years after this. You can see it in the pictures posted at the above link. There were so many events in his life and reports of being abused by his father, as reported by Michael in an Oprah interview, that PTSD is very likely but these events with the accident during filming the commercial would have sent mild PTSD into PTSD on steroids, as happens with most cases of un-addressed PTSD followed by another traumatic event. Changes in people happen for a reason, especially drastic ones.

Michael Jackson - PTSD- Why he was not a child molester
06.07.2009 Author: junomich Posted in Psychology
Abnormally Normal - Michael Jackson - Why He Wasn’t a Child Molester

At age 46, I could never understand the fascination with Elvis. Why did people continue to follow him, and visit Grace Land? That changed last week, when I opened my Yahoo to see that “Michael” died to young. What? I thought this must have been some kind of joke.


Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) requires that a person experience a traumatic event. While what may be traumatic to one person may not be traumatic to another. I have not read any traumatic events of Michael’s childhood, but I am certain that there were many.



Absent, any remarkable traumas in childhood “aside” from his stardom, in 1994 Michael’s hair caught on fire while filming a commercial. Now think about that for a moment, it was certainly a traumatic event. Imagine your own hair and scalp being on fire? The heat so tremendous…and what must go through your mind at that moment. Will I die? My face? You get the idea.



By almost all written accounts, Michael has almost always been rather reclusive, and just perhaps the 1994 accident was the final trigger for full blown out PTSD?



We all know that he suffered from depression which is a common Co-Morbid of common condition that people with PTSD suffer with. Whether the depression came before or after, does not matter. click link above for more

Oldest known Bible goes online

Oldest known Bible goes online
Story Highlights
Handwritten Codex Sinaiticus is more than 1,600 years old

Includes two books not part of official New Testament

Discovered in a monastery in Sinai desert in Egypt more than 160 years ago

Scholar named Constantine Tischendorf recognized its significance in 1844



By Richard Allen Greene
CNN

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The world's oldest known Christian Bible goes online Monday -- but the 1,600-year-old text doesn't match the one you'll find in churches today.


Discovered in a monastery in the Sinai desert in Egypt more than 160 years ago, the handwritten Codex Sinaiticus includes two books that are not part of the official New Testament and at least seven books that are not in the Old Testament.

The New Testament books are in a different order, and include numerous handwritten corrections -- some made as much as 800 years after the texts were written, according to scholars who worked on the project of putting the Bible online. The changes range from the alteration of a single letter to the insertion of whole sentences.

And some familiar -- very important -- passages are missing, including verses dealing with the resurrection of Jesus, they said.

Juan Garces, the British Library project curator, said it should be no surprise that the ancient text is not quite the same as the modern one, since the Bible has developed and changed over the years.

"The Bible as an inspirational text has a history," he told CNN.

"There are certainly theological questions linked to this," he said. "Everybody should be encouraged to investigate for themselves."

That is part of the reason for putting the Bible online, said Garces, who is both a Biblical scholar and a computer scientist.
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Oldest known Bible goes online


Keep in mind that there were things taken out of the Bible we read today and that's a shame. If you have not read some of the books taken out, go to your local book store and find them. They are as much a part of the Christian faith as the accepted books incorporated into the Bible.

U.S. Marines in Afghan standoff, 4 die in roadside blast

U.S. Marines in Afghan standoff, 4 die in roadside blast
Story Highlights
4 U.S. soldiers killed by roadside bomb in northern Afghanistan

Taliban claim responsibility for attack on a U.S. military vehicle

U.S. Marines facing off against insurgents in southern town of Khan Neshin

Marines surround compound, holding fire due to civilians present



The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on a U.S. military vehicle. It said five soldiers were killed and two were injured.

Meanwhile, a U.S. military official told CNN that its forces are involved in a standoff with insurgents in the south of the country near the Helmand River.
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U.S. Marines in Afghan standoff, 4 die in roadside blast

Police: Campbell soldier shot in Tenn

Police: Campbell soldier shot in Tenn.

The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jul 6, 2009 9:02:25 EDT

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Police say a Fort Campbell, Ky., soldier was shot to death after an argument escalated into gunfire at a Clarksville housing complex.

Police said 24-year-old Brandon Buettner died from his injuries Saturday evening.
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Police: Campbell soldier shot in Tenn

More female veterans are winding up homeless

More female veterans are winding up homeless
VA resources strained; many are single parents

By Bryan Bender
Globe Staff / July 6, 2009

WASHINGTON - The number of female service members who have become homeless after leaving the military has jumped dramatically in recent years, according to new government estimates, presenting the Veterans Administration with a challenge as it struggles to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.

As more women serve in combat zones, the share of female veterans who end up homeless, while still relatively small at an estimated 6,500, has nearly doubled over the last decade, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

For younger veterans, it is even more pronounced: One out of every 10 homeless vets under the age of 45 is now a woman, the statistics show.
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More female veterans are winding up homeless

Wounded ex-Marine now fighting a two-front war

Web Posted: 07/05/2009 12:00 CDT
Wounded ex-Marine now fighting a two-front war

By Sig Christenson - Express-News
Eric Alva lived and breathed the Marine Corps for 13 years. Then he earned a dubious slice of American history by becoming the first GI injured in the Iraq invasion in 2003. He stepped on a mine three hours after rolling into Iraq, breaking both legs, suffering a badly mangled right arm and being filled with shrapnel from torso to his legs.

The picture-perfect Marine, who later lost part of his right leg and still carries 27 pieces of shrapnel, has evolved from a war hero photographed with President George W. Bush to one of the nation's prominent gay activists after coming out on ABC's “Good Morning America” on Feb. 27, 2007.

Now he advocates for gays to serve openly in the armed forces, a battle that heated up since a recent Supreme Court decision.

He marked July 4th by participating in San Antonio's Gay Pride parade and has spoken on dozens of college campuses. For him, a true Independence Day would see gays, lesbians and bisexuals allowed to openly serve in the armed forces — to be treated with the same dignity and respect of their straight comrades, rather than hiding in plain sight.

Alva, a 38-year-old San Antonio native, finds himself fighting a two-front war — one to maintain his health, and the other for gays who still conceal the truth about their sexual orientation from comrades and commanders.

He's got a home and devoted partner, but the war never is far away.
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Wounded ex-Marine now fighting a two-front war

I often wonder what the troops from other nations think of us when they have gay people serving side by side but the US doesn't want them serving and kicks them out no matter how long they've been in, how good they are, how trained they are, or how much they are liked by those they serve with.

Counselors mobilize for rural veterans

Counselors mobilize for rural veterans
BY MARTIN J. KIDSTON of the Helena Independent Record



HELENA - Military veterans in rural Montana who cannot travel for counseling will find the service coming to them once the vet centers in Missoula and Billings hire staff for two new mobile treatment units.

This spring, the two centers each received a 38-foot motor coach converted to serve as a mobile counseling office.

The units include private interview rooms and a satellite feed capable of linking up with a doctor's office for live interviews.

“We can provide counseling outreach to those who have denied themselves service, whether it's because they can't get to us or because of the stigma attached to it,” said Alvie Penskin, a readjustment counseling technician with the Missoula mobile veterans center.

While each center received its vehicle several months ago, neither has the staff needed to fully operate the units.

The Billings center is close, waiting only for the counselor it has already hired. The Missoula center expects to hire a social worker in about a month.

Once the hiring is complete, the units will set out to market the service and establish a circuit around the state. The Billings center has already displayed its mobile center in Bozeman and Miles City. The Missoula center expects to showcase its unit in Hamilton and Libby in August.

“The point is to reach the veterans who are out in the remote areas of Montana,” said Dirk Robinson, a counselor at the Billings Vet Center. “Sometimes they get missed with the mental health issues. We want to reach the veterans who aren't getting reached, and this will definitely help with that.”
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Counselors mobilize for rural veterans

1 dead, several hurt in Fla. lightning strike

Jul 4, 9:26 PM EDT


1 dead, several hurt in Fla. lightning strike

By CHRISTINE ARMARIO
Associated Press Writer


LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) -- A lightning strike at a Fourth of July gathering in central Florida killed one person and 18 others were taken to hospitals, officials said Saturday.

About 100 people from a church group were outside playing soccer and volleyball in Lakeland, about 30 miles east of Tampa, when a lightning bolt or series of strikes hit nearby, seemingly out of nowhere, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

Benjamin Gonzalez, 30, who was playing soccer, was hit and collapsed. He was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead. Eighteen others were hospitalized and nine more treated at the scene.

Judd said their injuries were not life-threatening, with symptoms including numbness and tingling.
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1 dead, several hurt in Fla. lightning strike

Man arrested for dragging Vietnam Vet to his death

Man arrested in dragging death of Army vet
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, July 3, 2009
(07-02) 14:42 PDT Rodeo - -- A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the dragging death of a 69-year-old man during an attempted carjacking, authorities said Thursday.

Cordero Kelly, 19, of Rodeo was being held at the Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez in lieu of $1.1 million bail.

James Gilbeaux, a Rodeo resident who walked with a cane, was dragged 150 feet after Kelly tried to carjack a pickup truck driven by a friend of Gilbeaux's, sheriff's officials said.

The incident began shortly after 4 p.m. on June 23, when Gilbeaux was on the 1000 block of Mariposa Street in Rodeo and asked for a ride from a 28-year-old friend, David Delgado, authorities said.

Gilbeaux, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam, was a grandfather figure in the neighborhood whom everyone called "Pops."
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Man arrested in dragging death of Army vet

Last hope for blue water Vietnam vets

Last hope for blue water vets

Veterans Corner

Bobbye C. Jerone — Veterans Corner



Like the Cavalry in an old western movie, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner [D-CA] has ridden to the rescue of the ‘Blue Water Navy’ Veterans. These are Veterans who have been excluded from receiving any disability compensation due to exposure to Agent Orange and the other toxic chemicals sprayed in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Rep. Filner has introduced a new law [H.R. 2254] which, if passed, will restore equity to all Vietnam veterans that were exposed to Agent Orange.

Before 2002, it didn’t matter where a person served in the Vietnam War. If a person became disabled due to the exposure to the terrible poisons in the air and waterways, VA would pay disability compensation. In February 2002, Congress decided to ‘save our taxpayers money’ and ordered VA to implement a ‘foot on the ground’ policy. After this policy revision, only service members who actually set foot on the ground in Vietnam could get paid for the terrible medical conditions from Agent Orange and the other herbicides that were routinely sprayed. The soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines serving in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos and the China Sea were exempt from payment even though they were contaminated by these toxins just like their brothers in arms who served on the ground, in Vietnam itself.
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http://www.meridianstar.com/local/local_story_184211233.html

His last Fourth of July

His last Fourth of July
By Tom Fruehling
Freelance writer

Steve Power’s dying wish was to help raise the American flags over the Cedar Rapids downtown bridges just one more time.

For the first time in more than 20 years, he missed putting them up for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

“Yeah, and some of my vet buddies said they just didn’t look right,” he jokes.

Told in January that a brain tumor would probably kill him in a matter of weeks, he never figured he’d make it to the Fourth of July.

He is paralyzed on his left side, and his right arm and leg are pretty shaky, too. He’s blind in one eye and losing sight in the other. When he’s not in bed at the Manor Care Nursing Home, he’s in a wheelchair.

But his mind is right. And his patriotic spirit is as high as ever.

In fact, Tyne says, even though Power lost his home and everything in it in last year’s flood, he was more concerned with seeing what he could do for other flood victims, especially veterans who were down and out.

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His last Fourth of July

Now do you know why I love these guys so much? He cared more about his neighbors than himself.

America's Worth Less Soldiers

by
Chaplain Kathie

America celebrates 4th of July in style as we do every year. We shoot off fireworks and stuff ourselves with barbeque, watermelon and beer. Spray ourselves with sunscreen during the day followed by bug spray at night. We listen to patriotic speeches and music feeling how great it is to be an American waving our flags yet never really stop to think how we got here.

From the time the Patriots decided to do whatever it took to "form a more perfect union" free, up until last night, we have been a nation of worth less soldiers. That's right. Worth less, not worthless. See, we have a habit of saying we support the troops when we send them off to fight our nation's battles. We train them, arm them, cloth them, feed them and expect them to follow orders given, fight the battles no matter how truly worthy or unworthy the cause, no matter how plans are either proper or paltry, then stay until there is victory. We seem so interested in the beginning when it looks as if each and every military campaign waged will be quick and easy, believing we have the best military in the world and nothing can stop us. We cheer as we send men and women off with our thanks and our prayers.

We even manage to pay attention to news reports coming through our TV sets combined with the latest local news and celebrity scandals. We may say a quick prayer for the soldier just killed, then move onto our own lives, our own problems, our own personal battles. Yet that interest soon fades as military campaigns go on and we begin to think of the cost in terms of our taxes. We begin to notice things we need right here at home at the same time we hear about what is being done for the nation our men and women are dying in wondering what's in it for us. Then we manage to regret sending them, blaming the ones deciding to send them and the failure of the planners to provide this best military in the world with a swift victory.

Gone are the days when Vietnam veterans were treated with hostility when they came back from where they were sent. Gone are the days when troops return to empty airports. They are welcomed home to US soil in style. Many are given parades and parties. Even when a fallen soldier returns, people line the streets with flags as the flag draped coffin carries the soldier on his or her last ride home. We feel we're just doing our part for the heroes who say "we're just doing our jobs" when we try to hold them up as heroes.

We manage to do some things for them, but there are very few giving a few moments out of their day to honor any of them. When they go, they are worth everything it takes, but when they return they are no longer soldiers going to risk their lives. They are veterans and many of them needing help to heal from their wounds. Then, then they are worth less. They are worth less of our attention. They are worth less than making sure they are clothed, fed, sheltered and worth less than then helping to train them how to heal. We find it too difficult to help the wounded, say a prayer for them, spend time talking to them or even to take the time to remember what that red, white and blue flag actually means.

Yesterday President Obama hosted some members of the 101st airborne at a White House 4th of July party. You would think the news would be all over this event but I had to struggle to find the report. I finally found it on CBS videos.
President Obama celebrated the 4th of July with Fort Campbell's 101st.

Obama Wishes Happy 4th
Sat Jul 04 17:16:24 PDT 2009

President Obama honors the men and women who went beyond the call of duty in battle and speaks about the importance of our nations independence and reflects on what it means to be an American.

President Obama has done a lot for the wounded and our veterans since the beginning of the year and First Lady Michele has a great love for military families. They are setting the tone for the rest of us to follow, but we're just too busy it seems to remember the price our veterans paid so that we can celebrate the 4th of July with our families and friends.

It is our fault things got as bad for the wounded and our veterans. Sure, Bush was in charge and Congress was controlled by Republicans during the worst of it for this nation's veterans, but they couldn't have avoided the needs of our veterans as long as they did if we were paying attention. We let it all happen until the media began to tell their stories to us. Then suddenly we cared about what they needed. We didn't pay attention because a veteran, especially a wounded one, is worth less than a soldier. This attitude was made perfectly clear on the floor of Congress as budgets were being debated. It seemed the Republican members of congress found no problem at all funding the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, but found it very difficult to fund the VA to take care of the wounded both campaigns were producing. Again they proved to the world that when it comes to veterans, they are worth less than soldiers. America is not the only guilty nation of this attitude. I read the reports from the UK and Australia all the time as each nation seems to find the money to send them but never seems to find the money when it comes to taking care of them after.

You would think that having the best military in the world would also translate into appreciation of them when they are no longer in the military risking their lives, but spending the rest of their lives as the unique among us as veterans of this nation's battles. I wonder how many of our veterans spent yesterday wondering they have been forgotten. How many of them spent the day wondering how to pay their bills as their claims have been trapped in a mountain of other claims waiting to be honored? We know there are now over 900,000 claims waiting to be honored. Among them are claims filed by veterans of our nation's battles no longer able to work because of their wounds. They spent yesterday looking at their families and wondering how much longer it will take for this nation to live up to our end of the deal and take care of them. They spent it wondering when they will once again be worth as much as when they were sent ending up wounded and waiting.

Did they make us wait when this nation said "we need you" to go and risk your life? Did they make us wait until it was a good time for them to go? No, they never made us wait at all. Even when Vietnam was being protested and some burnt draft cards, they enlisted to go. Even when after September 11th caused a surge of enlistments wanting to fight the terrorists that attacked us, ended up being sent to Iraq instead, they still enlisted. Even as the appalling conditions at Walter Reed were being reported, they still wanted to join because this nation needed them. They were not oblivious to what this nation was not doing for the veterans, they went in spite of it. They still believe in us, that we would eventually do the right thing and really value their service.

How many families spent yesterday at the grave of their family member so wounded by PTSD that they committed suicide because help was not there for them? How many veterans spent it in shelters because they never received the help they need for their sake? So much we refuse to see behind the fireworks, speeches and music of this celebration we do every year.

So when do we actually live up to being a "grateful nation" and stop treating the veterans like they are worth less than soldiers?

Washington Metro Train Crash Survivor Powered By Prayer

This is not a story of religious zealots we read about all the time when they act against what Christ taught. This is not about one faith over another. This is about faith and the power of prayer, especially in times of crisis.

Papa Roy sent this today and it fits this story very well.

Good morning, and Happy Birthday, America!

There is no need to give up

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.

Paul is saying, “Whatever honor is ascribed to me has its source in you Thessalonians.” It is Paul’s honor to introduce his converts to the Lord Jesus Christ. When he sees the Lord, he will know that his team’s glory will be people in heaven because of their witness. This is legitimate pride because it is based on what God did through them. Our reputation in eternity will be based, in part, on winning people to Christ. Do you have a part in building up Christ’s Kingdom? Will people point to you that you had a part in bringing them into the Kingdom? You can shape tomorrow by starting today. (K. Krell)

In God we trust: The LORD will give strength to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace. (Psalm 29:11)

Papa Roy

One last thought: Don’t give up!” Paul encouraged them. “Lay hold of the spiritual resources you have in Jesus Christ. You have the Word of God within you, the people of God around you, and the glory of God before you. There is no need to give up.” (Wiersbe)

USA Independence day hope

We hold these truths to be self-evident-that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

If you believe you have been targeted by God, then you carry that within you in everything you do. You will struggle with every single event in your life searching for something to bring you comfort. You will search drugs and alcohol, sex, riches, possessions and power. You will seek to hurt others so that you will feel better about yourself justified in your attacks against others. Yet when you seek your own, you wake up empty, bitter, lonely and still wondering why you were picked on by God. Yet when you believe thru faith and understanding about what God truly intended for you, blessing you with the strength you needed in times of crisis, then you are filled, sustained by love, rejoice with what you are able to give to others and thrive on lifting others up out of their own despair. This is a story about such a young man.

'I Really Believe God Was in There With Me'
Metro Crash Survivor Says His Long Reliance on Prayer Saw Him Through
By William Wan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 4, 2009

At 6 feet tall and 240 pounds of muscle, Daryl Smith Jr. cuts an imposing figure. It was that brawny build many passengers recalled after last week's deadly Metro train crash.

Survivors from the first car of the colliding train -- the one that ended up half-demolished -- recalled a big man who smashed his way through the backdoor and helped fellow passengers escape.

As investigators have looked for clues to the crash's cause, Smith, who is 19, has been searching his memory and pondering his faith, trying to find meaning in the wreckage.

Smith, who comes from a deeply religious family, said he felt God's presence amid the crash. He doesn't understand why the crash happened, but he said that he believes God intended for him to be there and that prayer helped him survive.

"As a kid, I was taught that if you needed something, you ask God for it," he said in an interview a few days after the crash. "That's what got me through this thing -- prayer. I really believe that."

Of the crash, Smith said what he remembered was the sound. One moment, he was sitting with his girlfriend, cracking jokes to make her laugh. The next, there was a boom. When it was over, he was lying on a pile of seats, his right foot cut and pinned by debris.
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I Really Believe God Was in There With Me

16 People hurt in pedestrian bridge collapse

Pedestrian bridge collapse dumps people into lake, hurts 16
Posted: 08:15 AM ET
By Janet DiGiacomo
CNN

(CNN) — At least 16 people were injured when a pedestrian bridge collapsed into a lake after a July Fourth fireworks show Saturday night in Merrillville, Indiana, authorities said.

“It could not have happened at a worse time,” said Ross Township Fire Marshall Mike Sneiderwine. “The show was over and people were leaving. There were about 100 people on the bridge at the time, and lots of them ended up in the water.” The accident occurred at Hidden Lake Park.
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Pedestrian bridge collapse dumps people into lake

Walt Disney World monorail driver killed in crash with other train

Disney World monorail crash kills driver
Story Highlights
Crash occurred about 2 a.m. at monorail stop, killing a driver

Witness says one monorail train rammed into a stationary train

Family of six in one train was freed from damaged car, witness said


(CNN) -- A monorail train at Walt Disney World crashed into the back of another train early Sunday, killing one driver, according to an amusement park spokesman and a witness interviewed by CNN.


A 2 a.m. ET monorail crash at Disney World killed one person, a park spokesperson said.

The crash occurred about 2 a.m. at one of the monorail stops at Disney World in Florida, said the witness, who requested anonymity.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/05/u.s.disney.monorail/index.html

UPDATE

Disney World monorails crash, killing 21-year-old Disney employee
By Sara K. Clarke

Sentinel Staff Writer

4:00 PM EDT, July 5, 2009

A witness painted a hectic picture of the deadly collision of two monorail trains at the Walt Disney World resort early Sunday morning.

The crash that killed 21-year-old monorail pilot Austin Wuennenberg "was the most horrific thing I have ever personally experienced," said Gary Vinson, Jr., who was standing in line waiting for a tram when the accident occurred.

"You could tell from the sound it was going faster than normal, then came the impact which sounded just like a terrible automobile accident," said Vinson, in an email. "I could see a passenger banging on the window....All of the bystanders kept yelling, 'Don't jump' and 'Stay in the train.' Then the train backed up toward the bay, tearing off more pieces that were protruding."

Walt Disney World spokesman Mike Griffin said the crash happened at about 2 a.m. Sunday at the Transportation and Ticket Center, on one of the monorail's last runs of the day.

Walt Disney World officials said they are working with law enforcement officials to find out what happened.
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Disney World monorails crash, killing 21-year-old Disney employee

Please pray for his family and friends. The local news interviewed some of his neighbors and friends.

Scotland:Stories about soldiers and PTSD

Why is it that countries always seem to find the money to send them to war, but never manage to find it when they come home and need help because they went?

Soldier's Tale

Published Date: 15 May 2009
By Emma Cowing
TOMORROW morning eight soldiers from 1 Scots will rise at dawn to run 29 miles over the Southern Uplands, raising money and awareness for Poppy Scotland's Hearts & Heroes charity. Who better to illustrate its efforts in healing wounds that are not always physical than two veterans of the Iraq war, who came through it with very different experiences.

'If it wasn't for the charities, I would probably be in jail'

ON THE sideboard of Derek Carruthers' small but immaculate living room sits a picture frame. Inside are four polished medals, one for each of his operational tours on active service as a corporal in the army's Royal Logistics Corps – Kosovo, Afghanistan and two in Iraq.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/iraq/Interview-Soldier39s-tales.5270172.jp

Scotland:Woman's body found 5 years after she died in apartment

Call for more vigilance after elderly woman lay dead in flat for 5 years

Published Date: 04 July 2009
By CLAIRE SMITH
AN ELDERLY woman lay dead in her tenement flat for five years before her body was found, it has emerged.

Last night, politicians and charities said the case showed the need for a more co-ordinated approach to monitoring the elderly to prevent similar cases.

The body of Isabella Purves, a "friendly and independent" woman, who would have been 90 this year, was discovered in her home in Rodney Street, Edinburgh, earlier this week.

A spokesman for Age Concern Scotland and Help the Aged Scotland said: "It is not right in any way to have someone lying dead for five years.
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http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland/Call-for-more-vigilance-after.5429127.jp

Cranes Roost Red Hot and Boom leaves 27 needing medical care

It is great to go to the fireworks displays across the country, but when a night of fun turns into something else, it can be a shock. One woman was hurt when she was burnt. Others ended up being dehydrated and suffering from the heat. Not much fun. Some of them ended up in the hospital. For tonight use care. If you are in a part of the country where it's hot, make sure you have plenty of water or sports drinks. Stay away from alcohol. It's hard to not drink at a barbeque or party, but think of what it will cost you in the end when you were planning on enjoying fireworks but ended up miserable because you were dehydrated, or worse, end up in the hospital.

We're heading out to a party at a lake. Sunscreen is a must and for me, so is a hat. As for alcohol, drinking too much is not that hard for me. A few glasses of wine or a margarita and I'm toast. I need a nap right after so I tend to not drink in public unless I know I'll be home soon and someone else is doing the driving. Planning ahead and taking everything into consideration will give you a much better night than having to visit a hospital emergency room.

Woman injured when Red, Hot and Boom fireworks land in crowd

Rebecca Beitsch and Gary Taylor

Sentinel Staff Writers

11:48 PM EDT, July 3, 2009


ALTAMONTE SPRINGS - There were 27 reports of people suffering from injuries, heat exhaustion or dehydration during Friday night's Red, Hot & Boom fireworks show at Crane's Roost in Altamonte Springs.

Seven of them were transported to hospitals, including a woman suffering from fireworks burns who was taken to Florida Hospital Altamonte. The woman suffered burns as a result of fireworks from the show landed in the crowd, Seminole County fire Lt. David Williams said.

While there were reports of other people suffering minor fireworks burns, it was not known if those injuries were caused by the show's fireworks or personal fireworks.

An estimated 165,000 people attended the event.

Merchant Marine veterans fight for recognition

While my husband's father and uncles were all in WWII, one of them was a Merchant Marine.

Merchant Marine veterans fight for recognition
Members of the Merchant Marine, a civilian organization that fought the Japanese in World War II, are now in their 80s and 90s. But now their battle wages on for recognition from the U.S. government, which recently passed a bill that would provide a monthly stipend for mariners, in lieu of benefits they didn't receive after the war.

By Erik Lacitis

Seattle Times staff reporter


In this World War II photograph, Peter Chelemedos, also a Merchant Marine veteran, is shown with his crew after his ship was sunk by the Japanese.

Some had tattoos on their forearms. Some had brought along pictures of themselves from more than six decades ago.

That would have been during World War II. The pictures showed skinny guys, heads full of hair, with unlined faces looking to the future.

They had been Merchant mariners, young and sailing the world in their cargo ships that ferried troops and war cargo.

Now all that exploring is done.

Now they're in their 80s — some past 90 — and along with the tattoos a good portion wear hearings aids. They sport white hair — if hair at all — and walk stooped.

Now what matters to them is a battle they've been fighting since the end of World War II.

It is simply, they say, to be recognized for the war veterans they are, even if Merchant Marine members are civilians.

During a war, by federal law, the Merchant Marine becomes an auxiliary to the Navy. That is what happened during World War II, when 250,000 of the sailors manned some 5,000 ships, says the American Merchant Marine Veterans. It says 1,554 of their ships were sunk, with a total of 9,497 war dead, a higher casualty rate — 1 in 26 — than any of the military services.

"The Army, the Navy gave us our orders. They put us amongst torpedoes and kamikaze pilots. We were hauling the troops and keeping them supplied," says Bob Barbee, 84, of Sequim.

"But if our ship got sunk, our pay stopped. No medical benefits. If two men were in the water, and one was a Navy man, and the other a Merchant Marine, the Navy man would always get picked up. The Merchant Marine might get picked up, taken to India and he had to find his own way home."
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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009417093_merchant04m.html

One Marine shot, One Marine Charged, Wife Grieves for Both

Wife of Marine charged with murder defends husband, remembers 'best friend'
July 3, 2009 - 6:02 PM
LINDELL KAY
The wife of a Camp Lejeune Marine charged with murder after police say he shot his roommate Wednesday while playing with a handgun said she is without her best friend who is dead and her husband who is in jail - and hurt by the community's reaction.

Courtney Smith said 19-year-old Bryan Thorkelson was like her little brother. And it was extremely painful to watch police arrest her husband, Michael Everett Smith, shortly after Thorkelson's death.

"What happened was an accident," she told The Daily News on Friday. "They shouldn't have been playing with a gun, but my husband did not mean to shoot (Thorkelson)."

Michael Smith, 21, of Bridgewater Court, was charged by the Jacksonville Police Department with an open count of murder Wednesday after Thorkelson died at Onslow Memorial Hospital of a gunshot wound to the head, according to warrants and police statements.
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http://www.jdnews.com/news/smith-65353-comments-thorkelson.html

A former U.S. Marine, Thomas Godwin vanishes

A former U.S. Marine vanishes from his Davie home
A former U.S. Marine disappeared from his Davie home sometime before he was to be fired from his job of 28 years at a Winn-Dixie warehouse.
BY JOEL MARINO
jmarino@Sun-Sentinel.com
Living alone with his beloved dog, Thomas Godwin kept mostly to himself. Few knew the former Marine had health issues -- or problems at work.

After 28 years at a Winn-Dixie warehouse in Opa-locka, Godwin's bosses planned to fire him, his family said. But Godwin, 53, never made it to an appointment on May 10 to finalize the termination.

Between May 6 and May 10, Godwin disappeared from his Davie home as quietly as he lived. Also missing is Foxy, his retriever-dachshund mix, and his 2000 Honda Accord.

''I wish he had told us how bad things were going,'' said his sister Diane VanWambeck, who lives in Homestead. ''He just kept it to himself, and now he's gone. It's like he vanished into thin air.'' His family found out he'd been fired only after his disappearance, when they talked to coworkers.

VanWambeck began to worry a few weeks ago when his insurance company kept calling her, seeking her brother's whereabouts. Then he missed a niece's birthday. A lifelong bachelor, Godwin was very close to his six sisters and their children, VanWambeck said.
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http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/1126628.html

Congressman says gay sailor's death is a possible hate crime

Congressman says gay sailor's death is a possible hate crime [Updated]
10:10 AM July 2, 2009
Rep. Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista) said today that he has asked the Department of Defense and the Marine Corps to investigate whether the killing of a sailor, who was gay, at Camp Pendleton was a hate crime.

Filner, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said he wanted a complete investigation of circumstances surrounding the death of Seaman August Provost, 29, of Houston. Provost's body was found about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday in a guard shack on the western edge of the sprawling base.

Gay leaders in San Diego had asked Filner to intervene. Nicole Murray-Ramirez, chairman of the San Diego Human Relations Commission, said Provost's family believes the sailor had been harassed by other personnel on the base.

Filner said initial indications are that Provost was shot and his body burned. He said his committee also will investigate the case.
go here for moreCongressman says gay sailor's death is a possible hate crime

Army identifies soldier found dead at Bamberg

Army identifies soldier found dead at Bamberg
Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, July 4, 2009
Army officials have identified the soldier from the 54th Engineer Battalion who was found dead Thursday outside Warner Barracks in Bamberg, Germany.

Spc. Levi Clark, 20, was found outside the barracks unresponsive at 6:30 a.m., a U.S. Army Europe release said. He was pronounced dead at the scene by a German doctor. U.S. and German authorities are investigating the cause of his death.

Army officials did not have information about Clark’s hometown in the States. He was among 300 soldiers who had returned Wednesday from a deployment to Camp Striker, Iraq, a USAREUR spokeswoman said.
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=63583

Soldier Found Dead in Georgia, Baby Discovered Miles Away

Soldier Found Dead in Georgia, Baby Discovered Miles Away
FOXNews - USA
Friday, July 03, 2009


SAVANNAH, Ga. — Police say a 21-year-old soldier from Hunter Army Airfield was found dead on Savannah's Hutchinson Island, not long before his 1-year-old child was discovered unharmed in an abandoned car seat several miles away.

Police realized that 21-year-old Necco McCrawl's car and child were missing quickly after his body was found about 3:30 p.m. Thursday on a dirt road on the Savannah River island. Almost as soon as the search began, the child was found sitting in the car seat in Garden City and turned over to the mother.

On Friday, authorities were still searching for McCrawl's 2002 Cadillac Deville. They do not believe it was a random carjacking, but that McCrawl knew the killer.

Staff Sgt. Charles Edward Dane another life gone waiting for help

Staff Sgt. Charles Edward Dane, 15 years serving this country in the Marines. Think about that for a second. He gave this country 15 years of his life and what did he ask in return? Did he ask to be made rich? Did he ask for millions of dollars the way defense contractors get paid? Did he even ask for the thousands more civilians working for the contractors got paid? No. He asked nothing of us except that if he gave up his life in service to this nation, we would honor his life and take care of his family. He would have expected that should he become wounded, well then, we would at least take care of his wound and make sure he had enough money coming in to pay his bills. That's just about it really. That's really all any of them expect from us. So how is it those simple requests never seem to be provided to them?

Is PTSD so new we didn't know what to do to help him heal? Is it so rare the VA and the DOD had no way of knowing what they would have to take care of? Hell no! This was all known well before Staff Sgt. Dane even thought of entering into the military. Long before Afghanistan was invaded and long before the first set of boots ever set foot in Iraq. I've been working on it since 1982 to give you some idea of how long PTSD was known about. Others worked on it longer than I did or I wouldn't have had a clue when I met my husband. I learned from them. They were working on it since the late 70's and by 1978 they found 500,000 Vietnam veterans with PTSD. So there are no excuses for any of this.

What is even more sad is that his death will not be counted as a casualty of war. It will be listed as a non-combat death stateside. The DOD and the VA ran out of excuses a very long time ago. 6 combat tours!

Full Military Honors Planned For Marine
Family Questions Whether He Should Have Been Given More Help
POSTED: 11:19 pm EDT July 2, 2009


AUBURN, N.H. -- New Hampshire is preparing to lay a Marine to rest with full military honors.

Staff Sgt. Charles Edward Dane, known as Eddie to family and friends, served six combat tours, dedicating 15 years in service to the country.

Last week, 37-year-old Dane took his life in California where he was stationed. His family in Auburn questions if more could have been done to prevent his death.
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http://www.wmur.com/news/19934903/detail.html

VA clinic opens in Mount Vernon

VA clinic opens in Mount Vernon


Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Lake Stevens, joined with veterans and Veterans Affairs officials Thursday to mark the recent opening of a new outpatient clinic in Mount Vernon. The clinic serves some 2,200 Western Washington veterans, many of whom previously had to travel to the Puget Sound area for treatment.
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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009414526_webvaclinic03.html

Growing list of men with breast cancer linked to Camp Lejeune

Now 17 veterans with rare cancer or tumors with Camp Lejeune ties
By William R. Levesque, Times Staff Writer
Posted: Jul 03, 2009 06:01 PM


Scientists studying drinking water contamination at Camp Lejeune were startled when 11 men with breast cancer and ties to the North Carolina base were identified over the last two years.

Six more have been found in one week.

Five additional men with breast cancer and a sixth who had a double mastectomy after doctors found pre-cancerous tumors contacted the St. Petersburg Times last week after reading a story about the 11 men with the rare disease.

"This male breast cancer cluster is a smoking gun," breast cancer survivor Mike Partain said on Friday. "You just can't ignore it. You don't need science to tell you something is wrong. It's common sense. It begs to be studied."

Partain, 41, of Tallahassee, was born at the Marines Corps base and diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. He has worked for two years to find other men with breast cancer who lived at Camp Lejeune.

He found the first nine men before the Times profiled his search in a story on June 28, a story that noted the newspaper had found another man not on Partain's list.

go here for more and please pass this on to anyone you know stationed at Camp Lejeune
http://www.tampabay.com/news/military/veterans/article1015699.ece

Veterans' Court On the Way to Reno

Veterans' Court On the Way
KOLO - Reno,NV,USA

Reno
Posted: 9:24 PM Jul 2, 2009
Last Updated: 4:04 AM Jul 3, 2009
Reporter: Terri Russell


According to the specialty court judge, Veterans court will be run much like drug court.

For those entering drug court for the first time, he has this advice.

“Show up, tell the truth, don't makes excuses,” says Judge Peter Breen.

Judge Breen has been presiding over drug court for about 13-years now.
He says he can see between 60 to 80 defendants in drug court

“A person is put on probation. The judge never sees the defendant again until or unless they have big infraction and they maybe have to go to prison. This court provides immediate and frequent accountability,” says Judge Breen.

While the court does give these defendants another option to work their way through the judicial system, that does not mean it is a cake walk.

Defendants who do not work the program, fail a urine test, or don't show up to court, face time in jail. And that's pretty much how the Veterans Court would be run. Like drug court, there will be rehab options for vets who find themselves on the wrong side of the law. But resources unique to the vet will be available too, like services though the Veterans Administration or the veterans hospital. Judge Breen says it's been his experience most veterans don't identify themselves when in front of him or other judges, and he hopes Veterans Court will change that.

“I think it is great because it’s another alternative other than prison or jail and stuff like that,” says Mark Ross and Veteran.

Terry Dingman, another Veteran says, “I think it's a great idea. They should be doing more for the veterans anyway”

Judge Breen says he expects the court to start up in two to three months.
He's already getting inquiries from other judges and attorneys about Veterans court and defendants who could benefit from such a program.

Judge Breen expects to see 50 Veterans within the first 7 months of Veterans Court operation.

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Veterans Court On the Way

Homeless veteran found dead on York VA grounds

Homeless veteran found dead on York VA grounds
The body of an apparently homeless veteran was found Sunday afternoon at York VA Medical Center after the man apparently fell and sustained an injury, a sheriff’s official said.



The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call at 1:21 p.m. Sunday afternoon at York VA where the body of Christopher Pine was found.

Pine, born in 1961, was found outside one of the abandoned shop buildings where veterans and some homeless people are known to gather and was possibly homeless himself, authorities said.
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Homeless veteran found dead on York VA grounds

5,700 Patients in Colorado may have been exposed to Hepatitis C by fired lab tech

Colorado patients exposed to hepatitis C

DENVER, July 3 (UPI) -- Thousands of patients in Colorado may have been exposed to hepatitis C from syringes used by an infected former medical technician, officials say.

Rose Medical Center in Denver is offering free testing to more than 4,700 former patients. Another 1,000 people may have been exposed at Audubon Ambulatory Surgery Center in Colorado Springs where the technician worked after being fired from Rose in April, The Denver Post reported Thursday.

The technician was fired after having failed a drug test. Identified by The (Colorado Springs) Gazette newspaper as Kristen Diane Parker, 26, of Colorado Springs, based on Justice Department documents. The documents said she was in federal custody after allegedly swapping her used, dirty syringes, refilled with saline solution, for ones filled the painkiller fentanyl.
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Colorado patients exposed to hepatitis C

Doctors win law suit against Bay Pines VA

Federal jury orders Department of Veterans Affairs to pay $3.7-million for retaliation at Bay Pines hospital
By William R. Levesque, Times Staff Writer
Posted: Jul 02, 2009 12:07 PM


TAMPA — A federal jury on Thursday decided the Department of Veterans Affairs retaliated against four employees at its Bay Pines hospital in St. Petersburg and awarded them $3.73-million in damages.

The four employees, three of them doctors, accused the VA of a broad pattern of discrimination against employees who file employment discrimination complaints.
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http://www.tampabay.com/news/military/veterans/article1015241.ece