Mental health problems among thousands of US Iraq vets ignored by Bush admin November 8, 2007
Posted by dave128 in Bush Administration, Human Rights, Invasion of Afghanistan, Invasion of Iraq, Politics.add a comment
Here is the video I promised yesterday. It’s very informative and emotional, it left me with tears in my eyes. Kudos to the great Dateline team, who always do great stuff.
Tens of thousands of US soldiers are returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
They say they’ve been abandoned by the Bush Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs, claiming that government officials are actively trying to cover up the extent of America’s traumatised soldiers.
For many vets, this means not enough help is being offered and their lives are plagued by anxiety and mental health issues. But for some, the results are even more tragic.
Dateline video journalist Nick Lazaredes meets the widow of an Afghanistan veteran who was severely depressed by his recall to fight in Iraq.
He was killed in a police shootout on Christmas Day, his death dubbed ‘police-assisted suicide’.
As Dateline reveals, his story is not an isolated one.
Reporter/Camera.
NICK LAZAREDESAdditional Filming.
STEVE HARPERResearchers.
YAARA BOU-MELHEM
TARA LIBERTEditors.
WAYNE LOVE
NICK O’BRIENProducer.
AARON THOMAS
2007: More US troops killed in Iraq than any other year November 6, 2007
Posted by dave128 in Bush Administration, Human Rights, Invasion of Iraq.add a comment
At least 852 American military personnel have died in Iraq so far this year – the highest annual toll since the war began in March 2003, according to AP figures. Some 850 troops died in 2004.
Well, well, well. So all we hear from the Bush crime gang’s mouth is that all is going swimmingly in Iraq (oh, they say there’s still “hard work” in front of them, but their asinine assessments attempt to paint a deluded view of the hell hole the US has made Iraq).
Pertinent to this issue is tonight’s episode of Australian current affairs programme Dateline. They will be airing a piece about post truamatic stress disorder plaguing US soldiers returning from Iraq, and the total nonchalance the Bush Admin. greets this. I’ll upload the video if I can.
Transsexuals and passports in Australia August 18, 2007
Posted by dave128 in Australian Politics, Human Rights.add a comment
Natalie Imbruglia’s sex change cousin in passport row
Maxine Frith
August 19, 2007
A TRANSSEXUAL is taking on the Howard Government in a bid to be acknowledged as a woman named Stefanie, not a man named Stephen.
Stefanie Imbruglia – a first cousin of pop star Natalie Imbruglia – is fighting a recent law change that forbids her identifying herself as female on her passport.
After living as a woman for two years, Ms Imbruglia, 42, is due to fly to Thailand in October for sex-change surgery that will complete her transition from male to female.
But she has been outraged by legislation enacted by the Government three months ago that has scrapped the right for people in her position to apply for an interim passport that lists “intended” sex rather than current gender.
Ms Imbruglia has been told she will either have to apply for a passport as a man or travel on a document of identity (DOI) that would leave her genderless.
It would not offer her the same level of protection in foreign countries and could lead to her being subjected to strip searches and harassment, says a letter she received from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
“It is completely outrageous,” she said. “I am a woman, not a man. I may fly out to Thailand with a penis, but I’m going to come back as a total woman with a vagina so how am I going to get through immigration on a male passport?”
The psychopath speaks (again) May 2, 2007
Posted by dave128 in Bush Administration, Human Rights, Invasion of Iraq.add a comment
The US president has vetoed a bill that would have set a timetable for US troops to pull out of Iraq, saying a hasty exit would turn Iraq into “a cauldron of chaos”.
And what is it now? A pot of peace? A bowl of beauty? A cup of calm?
“Setting a deadline for withdrawal is setting a deadline for failure, and that would be irresponsible,” Bush said in a nationally televised speech on Tuesday…
Thank goodness Bush doesn’t want to do anything irresponsible. We wouldn’t want him to do anything FUCKING IRRESPONSIBLE. What…. what a total fuck. I can’t be articulate with my criticism when I’m this angry. Irresponsible!! No, Gerorge, don’t do anything that’s irresponsible, you good, good man. Oh fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK you, you fucking fuck,.
I said I couldn’t be articulate. It just boggles my mind. This man, this human being, who has wrought so much death and suffering and destruction and chaos upon Iraq doesn’t want to do anything “irresponsible.” It would be laughable if it wasn’t so fucking depressing.
And he actually thinks the US can still win? He is still thinking with a win/lose mentality!
The US and other foreign occupiers cannot ‘win’.
Even if stability is brought about, if ordinary Iraqis can walk down to the local bakery and not get blown to pieces, how is that a victory if you bring Iraq back to how it was prior to March 2003?
Bush sounds like a cowboy in the old wild west, yee haa, we’re gunna win! We will beat those bad guys! Yaa hoo! Iraq is a humanitarian catastrophe that cannot be ‘won’ or ‘lost’.
The US is in desperate need for new leadership, sane leadership. This president still believes Iraq is “winnable”. This is dangerous thinking that will only impede the healing of Iraq. I can only conclude that his mind is a cauldron of chaos.
Australian soldiers killing themselves April 30, 2007
Posted by dave128 in Bush Administration, Human Rights, Invasion of Afghanistan, Invasion of Iraq.1 comment so far
The Federal Government acknowledges two soldiers took their own lives after returning from the Middle East, but veteran activists say there could have been as many as five suicides – and they fear more will come.
To date 121 soldiers returned from the Middle East have been discharged for mental illness. About two dozen have serious psychological problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Families say the soldiers who commit suicide on their return are the hidden casualties of war.
Read the whole article: Our suicide soldiers: the hidden casualties
While Iraqis have suffered the most from Bush’s invasion, the tragic repercussions are spread considerably far across the world, and will most likely continue for at least decades to come.
76 people killed in attack on Ethiopian oil field April 24, 2007
Posted by dave128 in Human Rights, Oil.add a comment
RE: my comments about the documentary Crude Impact and the effects oil has had on civilisation…
Daily Update – Wednesday April 25 April 24, 2007
Posted by dave128 in Bush Administration, Human Rights, Invasion of Afghanistan, Media, Oil, Politics.add a comment
I’m finding it hard to write longish posts, the main reason being it’s too depressing. So, in order to keep what’s left of my sanity I’ll be trying “daily updates”. I won’t be updating everyday, but rather they will be a collection of news worthy/interesting things I’ve come across over a particular day. So, on with it…
The US Government has been positively pwned* over the Pat Tillman cover-up: Ranger alleges cover-up in Tillman case
Via Boing Boing: Fascist America, in 10 easy steps
The independence of Afghanistan’s media could be eroded if a new law is passed: Media at risk under new Afghan law
Indiginous American women are “2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than women in the United States in general” says Amnesty International: Native American women suffering shocking rates of rape: Amnesty
Another racism controversy from US radio DJs: US radio DJs in fresh racism row
In the six-minute prank broadcast, the caller says he wants to see one of the female employees of the restaurant naked and calls a part of her body “hot, Asian, spicy”.
[snip]
The two suspended DJs had been vocal supporters on air of Don Imus.
What a huge surprise.
I thought I’d end on something positive, Dave Raggett’s Introduction to HTML. A really handy guide, if like me, HTML scares the bejesus out of you.
Another positive, I watched the excellent documentary Crude Impact last night. It examines that huge issue oil, from its damage to indigenous communities and the environment, to the extent certain countries will go to in order to satiate their lust for oil (*cough* invasion of Iraq *cough*). And on this subject, I wonder just how much oil China and Russia get from Iran? Like this post, the film was mostly depressing, but ended with hope (okay, so HTML for beginners isn’t as snazzy as saving the planet, but meh!). I haven’t felt this energised by a documentary since The Corporation. Please visit their website, and try to view the doco if you can.
U.S. forces kill almost 20 civilians in two days in Afghanistan March 6, 2007
Posted by dave128 in Bush Administration, Human Rights, Invasion of Afghanistan.add a comment
Disturbing news from Afghanistan, with two reports of civilian deaths in as many days.
The first batch of killings happened in Nangarhar province. A suicide bomber attacked a military convoy, then shooting broke out. The marines fired indiscriminately, killing ten people, according to witnesses.
The following day U.S. forces bombed a house in Kapisa province. A cleric who buried the dead said there were nine bodies, five adults (including four women) and four children. U.S. forces alleged two men who had attacked a NATO base were seen entering the housing-area.
President Karzai implored foreign forces to use restraint, fearing a backlash against U.S. troops would give support to the resurgent Taliban. This is just another example of the U.S. exacerbating the threat from fundamentalists, and not”making the world safer” as they are fond of proclaiming.
In a disturbing development, the U.S. military erased photos and videos that journalists took of the aftermath of the shooting.
That makes my blood boil. They are always touting themselves as freedom-loving, democracy-spreading angels. These actions are the total opposite of that. The U.S. said “it was concerned the pictures would not accurately represent the scene.” Which, in a way, is true, because the U.S. has no view of reality.
This reminds me of a discussion (that’s a nice word for it) I had with a Republican over the invasion of Iraq. I mentioned how the photos coming out of the country (specifically the graphic image of a child with his arms blown off) were distressing me terribly and how angry they made me. He replied that he could show me photos of car accidents and it would be the same thing. He alleged the photos and video, yes all of it, coming from Iraq was being taken out of context (of course by the elitist liberal media).
Link:
Australian reaction to Saddam Hussein’s killing January 3, 2007
Posted by dave128 in Human Rights, Invasion of Iraq, Media.1 comment so far
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the general reaction of Australians to the hanging of Saddam Hussein. If newspaper letter sections and phone/internet polls are anything to go by, the vast majority of Australians are against the killing of Hussein.
The Herald Sun, a Murdoch owned Melbourne tabloid, ran a phone poll asking “Was death the right punishment for Saddam Hussein?” 87.3% (2, 171 callers of an overall 2, 489 callers) said no.
W hile Melbourne’s broadsheet newspaper, The Age, recorded 73% opposition to the hanging.
The Herald Sun’s editorial reiterated their stance against capital punishment, saying the scenes from Baghdad only reinforced this position. Saddam died without dignity, the paper said, and the verbal abuse he received seconds before he died was a “terrible indictment on the Iraqi justice system.”
Both newspapers have been filled with letters aghast at the execution, with letters supporting the killing a tiny minority.
It goes without saying that I do not agree with this execution. I am vehemently opposed to capital punishment (in other words, state sponsored murder) without exception.
My first thought when I heard Saddam was dead? “So they’ve (America and other western governments and companies) got away with it.”
There’s no doubt that Saddam Hussein was a tyrannical dictator responsible for the torture and killings of at least several hundred thousand people, if not over one million. But his crimes were not committed in isolation. Saddam Hussein received help from the west, including the US government and US and French companies.
A brilliant French documentary, Saddam Hussein: le procès que vous ne verrez pas, (“Saddam Hussein: The Trial the World Will Never See”, a very prophetic title that) details all of this so beautifully.
Indeed, it’s one of the greatest pieces of television I have ever watched. Seeing Donald Rumsfeld confronted with the footage of him shaking hands with Hussein is priceless (Rummy looks bewildered and stammers and says “well… that’s interesting!”.)
Unfortunately, the only reference I’ve seen so far to the west’s involvement in Saddam Hussein’s crimes was on SBS World News Australia (the same channel that aired The Trial The World Will Never See). Here is the relevant excerpt of the 30/12/06 bulletin:
LEE LIN CHIN [NEWSREADER]: He (Saddam Hussein) was due to face a second trial and this one over the gassing of thousands of Kurds at Halabja. Why do you think the death sentence was carried out before that trial?
CLIVE WILLIAMS [intelligence analyst with the Australian National University]: Many people will say that it was intended to silence Saddam before he could talk about his links to the United States and in particular to chemical supplies because during that period before 1990 he was a close ally of the United States and the US assisted Saddam in his war against Iran.
The co-director of The Trial…, Barry Lando, has a blog and a few months ago wrote an excellent article about this very topic: The Trial in Iraq We’ll Never See.
This mobile phone video that was released on the net of the execution has directly contradicted official accounts of the execution (“He was a broken man,” he (Iraq’s national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie) said. “He was afraid. You could see fear in his face.” Hardly. What execution was he watching?) and of course the taunts, absent from the silent official video. [I've just heard on the news that the man who filmed the second footage has been arrested]. And now Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Miliki wants to quit his job (though really, who could blame him?).
This whole thing (the invasion, the trial etc.) has been a deadly farce from the beginning. The government lies over Saddam’s execution only highlight that corruption (relatively small, in regards to things such as death squads) continues to exist irrespective of whether Saddam Hussein is alive or not. His hanging is hardly a “milestone” for Iraq, a “turning point.” It’s merely another ghastly pot hole on a road where humanity has been all but crushed.
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Click here to find out more about the documentary “Saddam Hussein – The Trial The World Will Never See”
The BBC’s John Simpson on the mobile phone video: Saddam hanging taunts evoke ugly past
Riverbend, as always, provides an articulate assessment, along with the raw honesty and immediacy that only living in Iraq can bring: A Lynching…
Olmert’s delusion & violence in Iraq November 25, 2006
Posted by dave128 in Bush Administration, Human Rights.add a comment
This is hardly surprising, but despicable all the same:
OLMERT PRAISES BUSH FOR IRAQ WAR
Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has praised the Bush Administration for the war in Iraq.
His views may be at odds with much of the world, but Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert firmly believes Iraq is a better place now than it was before the US invasion.
EHUD OLMERT, ISRAEL PM: Iraq without Saddam Hussein is much better for us than Iraq with Saddam Hussein. And thank God for the courage and determination and leadership manifested by George W. Bush in facing this challenge as admirably as he did.
And then exactly one day later…
TERRIBLE DAY OF VIOLENCE IN IRAQ
The worst day of violence in Iraq in more than three years has left 160 people dead (Updated death toll: 202) and more than 250 wounded. The wave of car bombings and mortar attacks in Baghdad has sent shock waves around the world. Tonight, the Iraqi capital is in lockdown, an indefinite curfew has been imposed, and Baghdad and Basra airports have both been ordered to close.
Exactly three years ago on the first Thanksgiving after the US-led invasion, George Bush went to Baghdad and he gave Iraqis a promise.
GEORGE W. BUSH, US PRESIDENT: The United States and our coalition will help you, help you build a peaceful country so that your children can have a bright future.
The President was not in Baghdad today. His administration has so far avoided calling this chaos a civil war. And yet today, amid the stench of burning flesh, it is not hard to imagine Sadr City as a scene from the apocalypse.
Words cannot express my sadness, anger, and pure hopelessness.
