another tragedy

that's been brought to light before. yet nothing is done. i don't even understand why people still enlist in the military these days. the treatement we afford our veterans (ALL veterans actually, not just those from iraq and afghanistan) is shameful. the care we dole out is at the very least lacking. at the very most a crime
AP Scoop: War Veterans Make Up Half of Suicides At Hom
WASHINGTON National Guard and Reserve troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan make up more than half of veterans who committed suicide after returning home from those wars, according to new government data obtained by The Associated Press.A Department of Veterans Affairs analysis of ongoing research of deaths among veterans of both wars -- obtained exclusively by The AP -- found that Guard or Reserve members were 53 percent of the veteran suicides from 2001, when the war in Afghanistan began, through the end of 2005.The research, conducted by the agency's Office of Environmental Epidemiology, provides the first demographic look at suicides among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who left the military -- a situation that veterans and mental health advocates worry might worsen as the wars drag on.Upon learning of the VA's findings on Tuesday, the Veterans of Foreign Wars called for the Pentagon and the VA to combine their efforts to track suicides among those who have served in those countries in order to get a clearer picture of the problem.''We're very concerned for the overall well-being of our military men and women as well as our veterans and want to know, is there a growing problem that needs to be addressed by both the (Defense Department) and the VA?'' said Joe Davis, the VFW's public affairs director. ''To fix a problem, you have to define it first.''Military leaders have leaned heavily on Guard and Reserve troops in the wars. At certain times in 2005, members of the Guard and Reserve made up nearly half the troops fighting in Iraq.Overall, they were nearly 28 percent of all U.S. military forces deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan or in support of the operations, according to Defense Department data through the end of 2007.............

i don't know if you've read about the death of col. ted westhusing

or not. i have and i've posted on it. col westhusing was alleged to have committed suicide. the HIGHEST ranking officer in iraq to have died. well now, there may be doubt about the CAUSE of death. it might very well be MURDER
A Death Reconsidered
Was Col. Ted Westhusing's death in Iraq something more sinister than suicide?
Robert Bryce
Since last March, when I wrote a story about the apparent suicide of Col. Ted Westhusing in Iraq, I had believed there was nothing else to write about his tragic death.
But in December, I talked to a source in the Department of Defense who met Westhusing in Iraq about three months before his death. The source, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, was investigating claims of wrongdoing against military contractors working in Iraq. After a short introduction, I asked him what he thought had happened to Westhusing. “I think he was killed. I honestly do. I think he was murdered,” the source told me. “Maybe DOD didn’t have enough evidence to call it murder, so they called it suicide.” I contacted the source through Larry C. Johnson, a former employee of the CIA who specializes in terrorism and security issues, and who writes the “No Quarter USA” blog. Johnson and other bloggers have written extensively about Westhusing’s death.
Two other factors led me to look into the story again: First, some members of Westhusing’s family—in particular his mother, Terry Clark—refuse to believe that the career Army officer, who was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head at Camp Dublin on June 5, 2005, took his own life.
Second, the curiosities about Westhusing’s death are getting attention on Capitol Hill. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by California Democrat Rep. Henry Waxman, has interviewed members of Westhusing’s family and some of the investigators who met with Westhusing in Iraq in 2005. A spokesperson for the committee confirmed that it is “looking into the matter.”..........

more on 1st lt elizabeth whiteside

and it's decent news too! there is a recommendation NOT to court martial. of course it's not a final decisison yet but my fingers are crossed for her (and everyone else too)

Leniency Suggested for Officer Who Shot Herself

By Dana Priest and Anne Hull Washington Post Staff Writers
An Army hearing officer recommended yesterday that 1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside, a patient undergoing psychiatric treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, should not face a court-martial or other administrative punishment for having endangered the life of another soldier and attempting suicide while in Iraq.
"One of the Army values is integrity, which is defined as doing what is right, legally and morally," Maj. Mervin H. Steals, the investigating officer assigned to conduct a preliminary hearing, wrote in his decision. "The moral thing to do is dismiss these charges, to allow 1LT Whiteside to end her military service and receive the benefits that she will desperately need for the remainder of her life." ............

original posting article 32

this is one of THE most heinous acts

perpetrated by a non-king george court member, i've ever heard of. yet the woman who did it walks free. seems like she doesn't have any guilt either. she's directly linked to the death of a 13 year old girl. why do i keep wishing there IS a hell? so that people like lori drew would burn in it for eternity
(why the hell a 47 year old women is playing nasty 'tricks' on a 13 year old girl is beyond me. i just don't get it)
then, as if THAT weren't all bad enough, the perp's family had a foosball table stored at the home of the girl who committed suicide (as a DIRECT result of what the adult 47 year old woman did). the girl's family destroyed the TABLE and left the remants on the driveway of the 47 year old woman's family. THEY (the 47 year old woman's family) then called the police on the family of the girl who committed suicide. can you imagine the STONES to do that? to the meier family, i am so very sorry for your loss. i am so very sorry for the lack of justice as well

A Hoax Turned Fatal Draws Anger but No Charges
By CHRISTOPHER MAAG
DARDENNE PRAIRIE, Mo., Nov. 21 — Megan Meier died believing that somewhere in this world lived a boy named Josh Evans who hated her. He was 16, owned a pet snake, and she thought he was the cutest boyfriend she ever had.
Josh contacted Megan through her page on MySpace.com, the social networking Web site, said Megan’s mother, Tina Meier. They flirted for weeks, but only online — Josh said his family had no phone. On Oct. 15, 2006, Josh suddenly turned mean. He called Megan names, and later they traded insults for an hour.
The next day, in his final message, said Megan’s father, Ron Meier, Josh wrote, “The world would be a better place without you.”
Sobbing, Megan ran into her bedroom closet. Her mother found her there, hanging from a belt. She was 13.
Six weeks after Megan’s death, her parents learned that Josh Evans never existed. He was an online character created by Lori Drew, then 47, who lived four houses down the street in this rapidly growing community 35 miles northwest of St. Louis...........

.............Shortly before Megan’s death, the Meiers had agreed to store a foosball table the Drews had bought as a Christmas surprise for their children. When the Meiers learned about the MySpace hoax, they attacked the table with a sledgehammer and an ax, Ms. Meier said, and threw the pieces onto the Drews’ driveway.
“I felt like such a fool,” Mr. Meier said. “I’m supposed to protect my family, and here I allowed these people to inject themselves into our lives.”
The police learned about the hoax when Ms. Drew filed a complaint about the damage to the foosball table. In the report, she stated that she felt the hoax “contributed to Megan’s suicide, but she did not feel ‘as guilty’ because at the funeral she found out Megan had tried to commit suicide before.” ................

i don't wish anyone harm

it is not good karma. when one commits illegal or immoral or unworthy acts, especially on the american people, i DO feel a need for it to come to the surface. if one is willing to do these things, one should be willing to face the consequences. i didn't wish him death though

my original posting huh, a tax exempt charity

From the Front Page of the 'Post' -- To a High-Profile Suicide
(note, i corrected the spelling of profile. it was misspelled in the article)
NEW YORK Exactly two weeks ago, a front page story in The Washington Post by Robert O'Harrow, Jr. began: "While waiting to be confirmed by the White House for a top civilian post at the Air Force last year, Charles D. Riechers was out of work and wanted a paycheck. So the Air Force helped arrange a job through an intelligence contractor that required him to do no work for the company, according to documents and interviews. "For two months, Riechers held the title of senior technical adviser and received about $13,400 a month at Commonwealth Research Institute, or CRI, a nonprofit firm in Johnstown, Pa., according to his resume. But during that time he actually worked for Sue C. Payton, assistant Air Force secretary for acquisition, on projects that had nothing to do with CRI, he said. .........

i guess tom cruise

wasn't able to 'counsel' the youngsters who took their own lives. of course he doesn't believe in that type of medication. he thinks (as does his 'religion') one can be TALKED OUT of mental illness or mental instability. we all know what i think of tom cruise and his 'religion'

on the other hand, i think our children, in general, are over medicated. i didn't know so many a d d kids existed in the universe much less america. it's just easier to medicate so they shut up

on the OTHER hand, if a child genuinely needs help she or he should get it. therapy OR medication OR both

Suicides Rose as Prescription Use Declined
Study: Child Antidepressant Warnings Coincided With Increase

By Shankar Vedantam Washington Post Staff Writer
Warnings from federal regulators four years ago that antidepressants were increasing the risk of suicidal behavior among young people led to a precipitous drop in the use of the drugs. Now a new study has found that the drop coincides with an unprecedented increase in the number of suicides among children.
From 2003 to 2004, the suicide rate among Americans younger than 19 rose 14 percent, the most dramatic one-year change since the government started collecting suicide statistics in 1979, the study found. The rise followed a sharp decrease in the prescribing of antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil after parents and physicians were confronted by a barrage of warnings from the Food and Drug Administration and international agencies..........

more on the death of col ted westhusing

Two Years After Col. Westhusing's Controversial Suicide in Iraq -- Documents Emerge

By E&P Staff

NEW YORK Two years ago today, shortly after noon, Iraq time, Col. Ted Westhusing took out a Barretta and put a bullet in his brain in his trailer at an Army camp near Baghdad airport. When he died, he was the highest ranking American officer to lose his life in the Iraq war. In a suicide note addressed to his commanders, Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil and Lt. Gen. David Petraeus (and also sharply critical of them) Westhusing wrote: “I cannot support a msn [mission] that leads to corruption, human right abuses and liars. I am sullied—no more.”Now documents from the investigation of Westhusing’s death, and the charges in his suicide note, are available online.E&P Editor Greg Mitchell has covered the Westhusing case since the autumn of 2005, when a portrait of Westhusing by T. Christian Miller appeared in the Los Angeles Times. Miller revealed that Westhusing, 44, had been deeply troubled by abuses carried out by American contractors in Iraq, including allegations that they had witnessed or even participated in the murder of Iraqis.........

from robert bryce dot com


FOIA Documents Regarding The Death of Col. Ted Westhusing
Amid the myriad tragedies and heartache caused by the Second Iraq War, the death of Col. Westhusing is among the saddest and most senseless.
I have been asked by a number of people who knew Col. Westhusing for some of the documents that I obtained from the Defense Department via the Freedom of Information Act over the course of my year-long inquiry into his suicide. Rather than distribute paper copies, it makes sense to make them available in electronic form. Herewith, a batch of the key documents, in PDF:
1. Anonymous letter sent to Col. Westhusing in May 2005 regarding alleged misconduct by contractors working for the U.S. military in Iraq.
2. June 17, 2005 interview of Westhusing’s widow, Michelle, by Army investigators.
3. Sworn statements from people who knew Col. Westhusing.
4. Bulk of the report done by the Army’s Inspector General.
5. Bulk of the report done Army Criminal Investigation Command.