Fox News Report: DC, the Masonic City
SOURCE
Not sure when this was aired, but the above clip was posted on youtube 5 months ago. FOX presents DC's hidden masonic symbolism encoded in its architecture and street layout.
And below is a video made last year on the California capital:
SOURCE
Freemasonry is everywhere but that organization is ONE of several working together at the top to prepare for the beasts, the dragon, and one word government spoken of in the Scriptures:
Revelation 13
SOURCE
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
The NASA - NAZI Connection
Nov 17, 1945
Operation Paperclip - The Nazi Scientists of America - American Heritage
Source: http://www.thelivingmoon.com/47brotherthebig/Part_001.html
--- end ---
Below is an email reply I wrote this morning and decided to post it:
Yes, NASA is in on it. Have you read about Operation Paperclip? Nazi scientists etc were brought secretly to the USA and other places like Argentina and here they started NASA. (more)
was a Nazi brought to the United
States after the war to help build NASA's Rockets.
Was NASA's chief rocket scientist (and former Nazi SS officer) Wernher Von Braun involved in faking the moon landing in order to escape prosecution for his Nazi crimes? I believe yes and that we did not go to the moon. (more)
Project moonbean and other holographic technology exist today so what we see may not be real. For example, I don't think planes hit the towers nor the Pentagon on 9/11 - it was a combo of tv fakery, missils and some sort of DEW (Directed Energy Weapons). Watch September Clues on youtube to see more about that - here is where I posted them. Also drjudywoods.com has lots of interesting data on DEW.
And did you read the article this past week saying that Bush's team told over 935 lies about Iraq? They all lie to us. Here is the article I posted yesterday on that.
So who knows what you are seeing - a second sun/planet x/hologram or ???
All are distractions from the Truth about the Lord Jesus Christ Who died and shed His blood to take away our sin, Who rose from the grave after 3 days to give us eternal life, Who ascended to heaven, now sitting at the right hand of the Father and Who is coming back - the Blessed Hope - one day soon we pray.
And in the meantime, we trust and obey the Word of God, redeeming the time, watching, praying and looking up for our redemption draweth nigh - AMEN!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Operation Paperclip - The Nazi Scientists of America - American Heritage
After the war, 118 German rocket scientists worked together at Fort Bliss, Texas.
(U.S. ARMY AVIATION AND MISSILE COMMAND)
"Intelligence and government officials faced a delicate moral quandary in 1945—whether it was worth it to give American homes to men who had invented weapons to kill American soldiers, men who in some cases subscribed to beliefs that hundreds of thousands Americans had died to eradicate. In the end they decided it was, if these men could help the United States defeat the Soviets."
—Christine Gibson is a former editor at American Heritage magazine.
Operation Paperclip - The Nazi Scientists of America - WikipediaSource: http://www.thelivingmoon.com/47brotherthebig/Part_001.html
--- end ---
Below is an email reply I wrote this morning and decided to post it:
Yes, NASA is in on it. Have you read about Operation Paperclip? Nazi scientists etc were brought secretly to the USA and other places like Argentina and here they started NASA. (more)
was a Nazi brought to the UnitedStates after the war to help build NASA's Rockets.
Was NASA's chief rocket scientist (and former Nazi SS officer) Wernher Von Braun involved in faking the moon landing in order to escape prosecution for his Nazi crimes? I believe yes and that we did not go to the moon. (more)
Project moonbean and other holographic technology exist today so what we see may not be real. For example, I don't think planes hit the towers nor the Pentagon on 9/11 - it was a combo of tv fakery, missils and some sort of DEW (Directed Energy Weapons). Watch September Clues on youtube to see more about that - here is where I posted them. Also drjudywoods.com has lots of interesting data on DEW.
And did you read the article this past week saying that Bush's team told over 935 lies about Iraq? They all lie to us. Here is the article I posted yesterday on that.
So who knows what you are seeing - a second sun/planet x/hologram or ???
All are distractions from the Truth about the Lord Jesus Christ Who died and shed His blood to take away our sin, Who rose from the grave after 3 days to give us eternal life, Who ascended to heaven, now sitting at the right hand of the Father and Who is coming back - the Blessed Hope - one day soon we pray.
And in the meantime, we trust and obey the Word of God, redeeming the time, watching, praying and looking up for our redemption draweth nigh - AMEN!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
935 Lies
... all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth ... Revelation 21
Truth was first US casualty in Iraq war: study
Wed Jan 23, 9:16 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush and his top officials ran roughshod over the truth in the run-up to the Iraq war lying a total of 935 times, a study released Wednesday found.
Bush and his administration "waged a carefully orchestrated campaign of misinformation about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq," said the damning report entitled "False Pretenses."
According to the Center for Public Integrity, eight administration officials "made at least 935 false statements" about Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction, or links to Al-Qaeda, on 532 separate occasions.
"In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003."
But the White House reacted angrily to the study saying it ignored statements by US lawmakers or "people around the world" reflecting what it said was a consensus that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
"I hardly think that the study is worth spending time on," spokeswoman Dana Perino said. "As you'll remember, we were part of a broad coalition of countries that deposed the dictator based on a collective understanding of the intelligence."
The center alleged however that the administration's march to war began on September 11, 2001 in the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Over the months and as Congress was set to vote to approve the war in August 2002, the number of false statements dramatically increased.
The campaign reached a pitch in early 2003 with Bush's State of the Union address and when then secretary of state Colin Powell took the US case for war to the UN Security Council.
"The cumulative effect of these false statements amplified by thousands of news stories and broadcasts was massive, with the media coverage creating an almost impenetrable din for several critical months in the run-up to war," the study said.
Charges that Saddam had stockpiled an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction were the main argument used in parliaments around the world and in the United Nations to justify the US-led invasion.
But after the invasion they turned out to be untrue, when no weapons of mass destruction were found.
The study research raises question marks over "the repeated assertions of Bush administration officials that they were merely the unwitting victims of bad intelligence," the center added in the report.
The US president was found to have made the most false statements referring a total of 260 times to Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction and Al-Qaeda's alleged links to the Baghdad regime.
But then-secretary of state Powell only just lagged behind with 254 false communications, said the study by the center's founder Charles Lewis and researchers.
Vice President Dick Cheney, former national security advisor Condoleezza Rice, then defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and ex-deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz were also fingered in the study, along with former White House press secretaries Ari Fleisher and Scott McClellan.
Cheney, for example, on August 26, 2002, in an address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention, asserted: "Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.
"There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us."
Former CIA chief George Tenet later noted Cheney's assertions exceeded his agency's assessments at the time, the report said.
In late September 2002, Bush insisted in a radio address that the Baghdad regime posed a global threat.
"The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons, is rebuilding the facilities to make more and, according to the British government, could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes after the order is given," Bush said.
"This regime is seeking a nuclear bomb, and with fissile material could build one within a year."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080124/ts_afp/usiraqwarpolitics
--- end ---
Revelation 21
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Proverbs 6
16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Proverbs 19:5
A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
Truth was first US casualty in Iraq war: study
Wed Jan 23, 9:16 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush and his top officials ran roughshod over the truth in the run-up to the Iraq war lying a total of 935 times, a study released Wednesday found.
Bush and his administration "waged a carefully orchestrated campaign of misinformation about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq," said the damning report entitled "False Pretenses."
According to the Center for Public Integrity, eight administration officials "made at least 935 false statements" about Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction, or links to Al-Qaeda, on 532 separate occasions.
"In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003."
But the White House reacted angrily to the study saying it ignored statements by US lawmakers or "people around the world" reflecting what it said was a consensus that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
"I hardly think that the study is worth spending time on," spokeswoman Dana Perino said. "As you'll remember, we were part of a broad coalition of countries that deposed the dictator based on a collective understanding of the intelligence."
The center alleged however that the administration's march to war began on September 11, 2001 in the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Over the months and as Congress was set to vote to approve the war in August 2002, the number of false statements dramatically increased.
The campaign reached a pitch in early 2003 with Bush's State of the Union address and when then secretary of state Colin Powell took the US case for war to the UN Security Council.
"The cumulative effect of these false statements amplified by thousands of news stories and broadcasts was massive, with the media coverage creating an almost impenetrable din for several critical months in the run-up to war," the study said.
Charges that Saddam had stockpiled an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction were the main argument used in parliaments around the world and in the United Nations to justify the US-led invasion.
But after the invasion they turned out to be untrue, when no weapons of mass destruction were found.
The study research raises question marks over "the repeated assertions of Bush administration officials that they were merely the unwitting victims of bad intelligence," the center added in the report.
The US president was found to have made the most false statements referring a total of 260 times to Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction and Al-Qaeda's alleged links to the Baghdad regime.
But then-secretary of state Powell only just lagged behind with 254 false communications, said the study by the center's founder Charles Lewis and researchers.
Vice President Dick Cheney, former national security advisor Condoleezza Rice, then defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and ex-deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz were also fingered in the study, along with former White House press secretaries Ari Fleisher and Scott McClellan.
Cheney, for example, on August 26, 2002, in an address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention, asserted: "Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.
"There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us."
Former CIA chief George Tenet later noted Cheney's assertions exceeded his agency's assessments at the time, the report said.
In late September 2002, Bush insisted in a radio address that the Baghdad regime posed a global threat.
"The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons, is rebuilding the facilities to make more and, according to the British government, could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes after the order is given," Bush said.
"This regime is seeking a nuclear bomb, and with fissile material could build one within a year."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080124/ts_afp/usiraqwarpolitics
--- end ---
Revelation 21
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Proverbs 6
16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Proverbs 19:5
A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Why I Do Not Support Ron Paul by Kelly McGinley
Ron Paul using the Masonic handshake
More on Ron Paul
By Kelly McGinley
Jan. 24, 2008
Listeners have asked me to write an article on why Ron Paul cannot be the savior of this country. They wanted an article they could send to friends and family to explain why I do not support Ron Paul. I choose not to get involved in the political fray, knowing it is all fake and a waste of precious time. I have decided to write anyway so those interested will know my heart in the matter. My ministry is not about promoting a politician, or any man, it is about exposing the works of darkness.
I understand the excitement of having someone like Ron Paul running for office. I understand the desire to want to restore our country. I understand the holding on to the hope that we could somehow stop the New World Order. I too have the same wants and hopes, but I have been around the block too many times and now know how the game is played. I have learned by personal experience that politics is nothing but a game of smoke and mirrors. As Stalin says its not those who vote that count but those who count the votes that matters. As far as my research has taken me, I am not sure this country has ever seen a true election since it's conception. Since they were electing masons from the beginning.
My research and experience has convinced me that the New World Order goons, aka Illuminati, secret societies, etc., have complete control of every aspect of this political process in this country as in all others. That there is no way humanly possible for a real ordinary person i.e., (not a member of a secret society) to ever get on a ballot let alone win an election. And if by chance the NWO goons were feeling charitable enough to allow a ordinary person on the ballot, no fear cause all the machines are rigged to fix the election to whom ever the elite want in office.
Many of you do not know my experience, but I was very much involved in the political process for many years believing that it was a way to retake America. I still for many years had hope that through the voting process we could save the world. But being in the middle of the mire I learned that it is all smoke and mirrors. I wasted much money time and effort and had shattered dreams. Through my experience I have learned see the "Red Flags" that confirm my suspicions on who are the NWO puppets.
1. First red flag is that no one gets on the ballot unless a useful NWO puppet.
2. Who are their friends and follow the money trail, if you can.
3. Who is promoting them.
4. What legislation have they voted on that is clearly fraudulent.
5. What legislation have they written and more importantly what have they not written.
6. How is the media treating them.
7. What they say, and do not say.
There has been two issues that have helped me see clearly which side many so called Christian men and groups are on. Those issues are abortion and homosexuality. There are many who clearly claim to be pro life and pro marriage yet behind the scenes are clearly pushing abortion and sodomy. Just look at Bush, he claims to be pro life and yet he appointed pro death judges in Texas and even named a highway after an abortionist. He has increased funds to abortion clinics and instituted the first ever government enforced futility policy. He could have stopped abortion an Executive Order on his first day in office. So Bush is not pro life, he just uses it as a political tool. He is not pro marriage either. During his reign, the "partial birth abortion ban" and the "Marriage protection act" were both fraudulent laws passed which did not save any lives or marriages.
So what is good for Bush must be good for Ron Paul. Ron Paul voted "Yes" on the "Partial Birth Abortion Ban" even though the law says to kill children at the naval. It was not a pro life law and it did not save one life. Ron Paul lied when he said that it would save babies lives. Ron Paul claims to be pro life yet as a doctor he knowingly hands out pills that he knows have an abortive side effect plus most probably will give the women breast cancer. You would think since Ron Paul know so much about the NWO that he would know who invented the "Birth control Pill" and for what reason and that he would expose them not go along with them. If Ron Paul was different than all the other politicians, why is he not different than all the other doctors? Especially all the other Gynecologists? My husband is a doctor and I know of real pro life doctors who would never hand out medicine of any kind that would have abortive measures included in them. Ron Paul does hand them out, I asked him personally on my show. He answered the same as any normal brainwashed doctor would answer today. Ron Paul should expose the reasons why these dangerous drugs are given, not act as if it is normal and good to give them out to women. Big RED FLAG! I confronted all my local Senators and congressman on why they voted to "kill children at the naval", all the while claiming to be pro-life. This is my editorial I wrote exposing all the lies on this fraudulent pro life law, my question is why Ron Paul did not expose this fraud but yet went along with all the other wolves in Congress.
The second issue that exposed the wolves in politics was the "Marriage Amendment". There is nothing more dangerous to marriage than the government getting involved and declaring what marriage is. What is amazing to me is that Ron Paul has clearly gone on the record claiming that government should stay out of most things, yet he himself co sponsored the Marriage Amendment, which for anyone with one ounce of reasoning skills, is the death nail to marriage as we know it. So again we see Ron Paul go along with the NWO goons and destroy marriage while pretending to save it. Below is my article I wrote on it, wonder why Ron Paul did not tell the truth.
Third and most importantly there is snare or trap being set to draw Christians into a third revolutionary war. To create a great chaos so that their ORDER could be justified. So they could justify the outlawing of Christianity. Using the term "Christian Terrorist" they could "detain" and even kill us legally. Many are teaching that it is our Christian duty to over throw this government. When in all reality that is just what the NWO goons are bating everyone to do. The trap is being set, Ron Paul is the bate. A puppet from the puppet masters. Through my experience in politics I have learned the game, Paul is playing the game. The Republican Party has gone so liberal that Ron Paul should not even run on a Republican ticket.
We should be able to tell a lot about him by those who are supporting him. There many Calvinists/Dominions racists and those who want to legalize prostitution.
Over the years RP has been writing newsletters which expose his point of view on many issues. He now claims that he did not write that which was in his news letters which bared his name. Folks, one would have to be willingly blind to believe this one. There is much willful blindness in this matter.
The real battle is not for a president (to save our country) it is for the soul of man that is in jeopardy of hell fire. The deception in the world is there to draw us away from the "TRUTH" to follow a man who will lead us to "victory" when in reality we are headed to Hell on a bob sled.
Follow no man, do not get on any band wagon, the snare is being set deceive us all. Many use our patriotism and desires for freedom to hook us. Turn to the Lord Jesus before it is to late, He is our only help in times of trouble.
Commentary by Kelly McGinley
Commentary by Kelly McGinley
I wrote these years ago long before I knew much about Ron Paul.
Blessings, Kelly
More on Ron Paul
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
As the Days of Noah were
Jesus said, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matthew 24
One day the Lord Jesus will be returning.
Is your house in order and R U READY?
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Is " Shattered Union" just another innocent computer game??
Or is "Shattered Union: United We Stood" showing us what is coming to this country?
It is very interesting how Hollywood writes the scenario of the Illuminati and puts it on the screen for all to see and even play out in a game.
In this game, which came out in 2005, the country splits up in 7 regions and everyone kills everyone. The object of the game is to reunify America by any means necessary. Be sure to view all the links and read all the scenarios.
Shattered Union Website
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
NOT SO NIFFTY NAFTA
Remember the first step in solving a problem, is admitting you have a problem and folks, we have BIG problems.
Watch below as Stan Jones tells the truth about globalism in the USA. This was posted in October, 2006, so not sure when it was taped. Jones talks about the push for the North American Union (NAFTA), our new money called the Amero, World Government and the plans now active in the USA including a super highway stretching from Mexico to Canada. Knowledge is power so unplug your tv and take the time to do the research yourself if in doubt of any of this.
The Amero
And on the PAINFULLY lighter side, watch this spoof... the truth hurts!
The BOTTOM LINE is our problems are bigger than NAFTA and the One World Order.
Our BIG PROBLEM is a three letter word: S I N.
Sin is what separates us from a Holy God and sends us to eternal hell at death.
BUT GOD out of love for mankind sent His one and only Son to pay for our sin by dying on the cross.
After three days in the grave, he rose from the dead and forty days later he ascended to heaven. One day, soon I hope, he is coming back... ready or not.
So the SOLUTION to ALL our problems is found in one person: The Lord Jesus Christ.
Watch below as Stan Jones tells the truth about globalism in the USA. This was posted in October, 2006, so not sure when it was taped. Jones talks about the push for the North American Union (NAFTA), our new money called the Amero, World Government and the plans now active in the USA including a super highway stretching from Mexico to Canada. Knowledge is power so unplug your tv and take the time to do the research yourself if in doubt of any of this.
The Amero
And on the PAINFULLY lighter side, watch this spoof... the truth hurts!
The BOTTOM LINE is our problems are bigger than NAFTA and the One World Order.
Our BIG PROBLEM is a three letter word: S I N.
Sin is what separates us from a Holy God and sends us to eternal hell at death.
BUT GOD out of love for mankind sent His one and only Son to pay for our sin by dying on the cross.
After three days in the grave, he rose from the dead and forty days later he ascended to heaven. One day, soon I hope, he is coming back... ready or not.
So the SOLUTION to ALL our problems is found in one person: The Lord Jesus Christ.
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted
The shortest sentence in the Bible is 'Jesus wept' which is found in John 11.Why did Jesus cry? His friend Lazarus had died a few days earlier but unbeknown to those around him, Jesus was going to raise Lazarus back to life, so why the tears?
It is my opinion that when the Lord saw the sisters and the friends of Lazarus mourning and weeping, their pain broke Jesus' heart.
Mary was Lazarus' sister and it says, " When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled."
Paul wrote in Romans 12, "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep."
Like Jesus, may we each be compassionate to those around us as we pray with tears and thanksgiving knowing they will be comforted.
Matthew 5:1-12
1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
1 When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.
3 The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.
4 Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south.
5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Now WHO are the Terrorists??
Commandos parade during a ceremony marking Iraqi police forces 86th anniversary in Baghdad.
151,000 civilians killed since Iraq invasion
· Figures up to June 2006 from household survey
· Government accepts new estimate on death toll
Sarah Boseley, health editor
Thursday January 10, 2008
The Guardian
An estimated 151,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in the violence that has engulfed the country from the time of the US-led invasion until June 2006, according to the latest and largest study of deaths officially accepted by the Iraqi government.
The figures come from a household survey carried out by the World Health Organisation and the Iraqi health ministry. They are substantially lower than the 601,027 death toll reported by US researchers in 2006 in the Lancet using similar study methods, but higher than the Iraq Body Count's (IBC) register - based on press reports - of 47,668.
The authors of the WHO/Iraqi study, published last night in the New England Journal of Medicine, say that the new number, which could be anywhere between 104,000 and 223,000 allowing for misreporting, "points to a massive death toll in the wake of the 2003 invasion and represents only one of the many health and human consequences of an ongoing humanitarian crisis".
The Iraqi health minister, Dr Salih Mahdi Motlab Al-Hasanawi, said it was very important for the government to have reliable data on violent deaths. "There is controversy about reports from the media," he said. Some of the information that has been published "may be used or misused for political reasons and so on". The survey also collected data on the health of the population and availability of healthcare needed by the government.
The survey from the Iraqi Family Health Survey Group was carried out by trained employees of the health ministry who visited 10,860 households - 10 from each of more than 1,000 clusters across the 18 provinces of Iraq. Because of the insecurity, 115 (11%) of the clusters could not be visited - mostly in Anbar and Baghdad - so calculations were made to account for the probable number of deaths in those places. Researchers asked heads of households if there had been any deaths in the two years before or three years after the invasion in 2003.
Account was taken of under-reporting of deaths, which is usual in household surveys, not least because families often move when somebody dies. The survey also allowed for the out-migration of up to 2 million people between March 2003 and June 2006.
It found that 151,000 civilians died due to the conflict, which does not include accidents, suicides or deaths from disease. Unlike the Lancet study, it found no big increase in mortality across the three years. In 2003-4, 128 people died every day, in 2004-5 it dropped to 115 and in 2005-6 it rose again to 126. The daily death rates, according to the Lancet study, rose from 231 to 491 to 925.
Although the new figure is four times lower than the Lancet study, its authors, Gilbert Burnham and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University, believe their count of more than 600,000 is correct.
Les Roberts, one of the US authors who is now a professor in forced migration and health at Columbia University, said he was delighted to see the Iraqi government had accepted higher mortality figures. In June 2006 the government was relying on the IBC figure, which was 41,000. "For this to be coming from the Iraqi government is really healthy," he said.
It was also good for science that new studies were being carried out. "But I think there is overwhelming evidence that their estimate is too low."
The WHO/Iraqi study showed a doubling of the rate of violent deaths while the Lancet study showed a trebling. "Fundamentally, these studies are less different than people are thinking." But the US team's data was more accurate because all deaths were validated with death certificates. The health ministry admitted in the new paper that its figures before the invasion were too low, he said, which had also led to insufficient adjustment.
151,000 civilians killed since Iraq invasion
· Figures up to June 2006 from household survey
· Government accepts new estimate on death toll
Sarah Boseley, health editor
Thursday January 10, 2008
The Guardian
An estimated 151,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in the violence that has engulfed the country from the time of the US-led invasion until June 2006, according to the latest and largest study of deaths officially accepted by the Iraqi government.
The figures come from a household survey carried out by the World Health Organisation and the Iraqi health ministry. They are substantially lower than the 601,027 death toll reported by US researchers in 2006 in the Lancet using similar study methods, but higher than the Iraq Body Count's (IBC) register - based on press reports - of 47,668.
The authors of the WHO/Iraqi study, published last night in the New England Journal of Medicine, say that the new number, which could be anywhere between 104,000 and 223,000 allowing for misreporting, "points to a massive death toll in the wake of the 2003 invasion and represents only one of the many health and human consequences of an ongoing humanitarian crisis".
The Iraqi health minister, Dr Salih Mahdi Motlab Al-Hasanawi, said it was very important for the government to have reliable data on violent deaths. "There is controversy about reports from the media," he said. Some of the information that has been published "may be used or misused for political reasons and so on". The survey also collected data on the health of the population and availability of healthcare needed by the government.
The survey from the Iraqi Family Health Survey Group was carried out by trained employees of the health ministry who visited 10,860 households - 10 from each of more than 1,000 clusters across the 18 provinces of Iraq. Because of the insecurity, 115 (11%) of the clusters could not be visited - mostly in Anbar and Baghdad - so calculations were made to account for the probable number of deaths in those places. Researchers asked heads of households if there had been any deaths in the two years before or three years after the invasion in 2003.
Account was taken of under-reporting of deaths, which is usual in household surveys, not least because families often move when somebody dies. The survey also allowed for the out-migration of up to 2 million people between March 2003 and June 2006.
It found that 151,000 civilians died due to the conflict, which does not include accidents, suicides or deaths from disease. Unlike the Lancet study, it found no big increase in mortality across the three years. In 2003-4, 128 people died every day, in 2004-5 it dropped to 115 and in 2005-6 it rose again to 126. The daily death rates, according to the Lancet study, rose from 231 to 491 to 925.
Although the new figure is four times lower than the Lancet study, its authors, Gilbert Burnham and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University, believe their count of more than 600,000 is correct.
Les Roberts, one of the US authors who is now a professor in forced migration and health at Columbia University, said he was delighted to see the Iraqi government had accepted higher mortality figures. In June 2006 the government was relying on the IBC figure, which was 41,000. "For this to be coming from the Iraqi government is really healthy," he said.
It was also good for science that new studies were being carried out. "But I think there is overwhelming evidence that their estimate is too low."
The WHO/Iraqi study showed a doubling of the rate of violent deaths while the Lancet study showed a trebling. "Fundamentally, these studies are less different than people are thinking." But the US team's data was more accurate because all deaths were validated with death certificates. The health ministry admitted in the new paper that its figures before the invasion were too low, he said, which had also led to insufficient adjustment.
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
The Gospel According to Matthew
The Gospel according to Matthew is the first book in the New Testament.Below is the scripture reading of each chapter in the authorized King James version.
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless the reading of His Word.
Matthew Chapter 1
Matthew Chapter 2
Matthew Chapter 3
Matthew Chapter 4
Matthew Chapter 5
Matthew Chapter 6
Matthew Chapter 7
Matthew Chapter 8
Matthew Chapter 9
Matthew Chapter 10
Matthew 11
Matthew Chapter 12
Matthew Chapter 13
Matthew Chpater 14
Matthew Chapter 15
Matthew Chapter 16
Matthew Chapter 17
Matthew Chapter 18
Matthew Chapter 19
Matthew Chapter 20
Matthew Chapter 21
Matthew Chapter 22
Matthew Chapter 23
Matthew Chapter 24
Matthew Chapter 25
Matthew Chapter 26 Part 1
Matthew Chapter 26 Part 2
Matthew Chapter 27
Matthew Chapter 28
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
The Federal Reserve and the CFR - both rotten to the core!
Corrupt Federal Reserve - Robbing Americans Since 1913 [1/3]
The Federal Reserve is neither Federal nor a Reserve. Owned by a corrupt group of International Bankers, it is a privately owned monopoly, largely responsible for creating America's National Debt. It is also a parasitic and unnecessary entity that literally creates American currency out of nothing and then collects interest on the backs of taxpayers for doing so. The CFR is the secret organization that is running the USA.
CFR - The Secret Government [2/3]
The CFR Controlled Media Cabal [3/3]
The Federal Reserve is neither Federal nor a Reserve. Owned by a corrupt group of International Bankers, it is a privately owned monopoly, largely responsible for creating America's National Debt. It is also a parasitic and unnecessary entity that literally creates American currency out of nothing and then collects interest on the backs of taxpayers for doing so. The CFR is the secret organization that is running the USA.
CFR - The Secret Government [2/3]
The CFR Controlled Media Cabal [3/3]
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
The CFR Controls Mainstream Media
The REAL agenda of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is to "create a world system of financial control in private hands, able to dominate the political system of each country, and the economy of the world as a whole". (Prof. Carroll Quigley)
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Storms
Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary. Psalm 68:9
Yesterday's storm brought us A LOT of rain and it is STILL raining now!
Here is a link to a short video of some storm damage a little north of me. It was pretty intense, not for me so much as my home and my work never lost power and I was inside during the worst of it.
A few years ago, my daughter went though Hurricane Ivan and her house was near the water so they went to the in-laws who lived in a big brick home inland.
Well, around 2 am as the eye of the storm hit Pensacola, their roof ripped off and rain came pouring in, so they had to all jump in their cars to find another shelter which turned out to be a church down the road.
The next morning, it looked like a bomb had gone off and when my daughter got back to her house, everything was fine including the 2 cats in the bathroom! However, on the next street, houses were gone, washed out to sea and sadly, a few folks were dead that didn't leave. When I went back a couple of months later, the damage was unbelievable!
Plus, I went to New Orleans to do some volunteer work for a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina and that was horrible - again, looked like a bomb - still does in some areas - a political hot potato in so many ways - very sad for the folks especially in the 9th ward.
Anyway, in perspective, this California storm is 'mild' unless of course a tree falls on you or your house!!
So we give thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ for His protection in the storms of life.
Yesterday's storm brought us A LOT of rain and it is STILL raining now!Here is a link to a short video of some storm damage a little north of me. It was pretty intense, not for me so much as my home and my work never lost power and I was inside during the worst of it.
A few years ago, my daughter went though Hurricane Ivan and her house was near the water so they went to the in-laws who lived in a big brick home inland.
Well, around 2 am as the eye of the storm hit Pensacola, their roof ripped off and rain came pouring in, so they had to all jump in their cars to find another shelter which turned out to be a church down the road.
The next morning, it looked like a bomb had gone off and when my daughter got back to her house, everything was fine including the 2 cats in the bathroom! However, on the next street, houses were gone, washed out to sea and sadly, a few folks were dead that didn't leave. When I went back a couple of months later, the damage was unbelievable!
Plus, I went to New Orleans to do some volunteer work for a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina and that was horrible - again, looked like a bomb - still does in some areas - a political hot potato in so many ways - very sad for the folks especially in the 9th ward.
Anyway, in perspective, this California storm is 'mild' unless of course a tree falls on you or your house!!
So we give thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ for His protection in the storms of life.
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Tender Mercies
Today while reading the Bible my heart was pierced as I read about the tender mercies of God. It reminds me of this sweet "puppy love" poster I recently found at a second hand shop.
As we go into the new year, let's remember that nothing is new to God and when our faith is in His Son we can rest in His promises of tender mercies.
- Psalm 25:6
Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.
Psalm 25:5-7 (in Context) Psalm 25 (Whole Chapter) - Psalm 40:11
Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
Psalm 40:10-12 (in Context) Psalm 40 (Whole Chapter) - Psalm 51:1
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Psalm 51:1-3 (in Context) Psalm 51 (Whole Chapter) - Psalm 69:16
Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
Psalm 69:15-17 (in Context) Psalm 69 (Whole Chapter) - Psalm 77:9
Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.
Psalm 77:8-10 (in Context) Psalm 77 (Whole Chapter) - Psalm 79:8
O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.
Psalm 79:7-9 (in Context) Psalm 79 (Whole Chapter) - Psalm 103:4
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Psalm 103:3-5 (in Context) Psalm 103 (Whole Chapter) - Psalm 119:77
Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.
Psalm 119:76-78 (in Context) Psalm 119 (Whole Chapter) - Psalm 119:156
Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments.
Psalm 119:155-157 (in Context) Psalm 119 (Whole Chapter) - Psalm 145:9
The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Psalm 145:8-10 (in Context) Psalm 145 (Whole Chapter)
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
The Lord JesusChrist
Matthew 11:28,29
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
The Peace of God
The news can be overwhelming... and depressing.Everyday we make choices. We can choose to see the glass as half empty or half full. We can be bitter or better. We can hold on to resentment or we can forgive. We can walk in fear or walk in faith.
The other evening I was overcome with emotion from all the out-of-control events that seem to be happening everywhere.
Then I noticed a plaque on my wall which quotes two Bible verses: "Be still and know that I am God" and "In quietness and confidence shall be your strength."
That reminded me that it's not my job to solve the world's problems, but it's God's job and He did it long ago at Calvary.
This truth gave me the peace of God I needed right then. Thank You, Lord!
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6,7
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Another Tragic Death
"The people that I trusted with the safety of my son killed him, and that hurts beyond words because we are a family of soldiers," Jason's father said.
Chris Scheuerman comforts his wife, Anne, while the couple reminisce about their son Jason, in photo, Monday, Nov. 12, 2007, in Sanford, N.C. (source)
A Soldier's Suicide: Did He Have to Die?
Dec 20, 2007 03:13 AM US/Eastern
By KIMBERLY HEFLING
Associated Press Writer
SANFORD, N.C. (AP) - AP Video Pfc. Jason Scheuerman nailed a suicide note to his barracks closet in Iraq, stepped inside and shot himself.
"Maybe finaly I can get some peace," said the 20-year-old, misspelling "finally" but writing in a neat hand.
His parents didn't find out about the note for well over a year, and only then when it showed up in a government envelope in his father's rural North Carolina mailbox.
The one-page missive was among hundreds of pages of documents the soldier's family obtained and shared with The Associated Press after battling a military bureaucracy they feel didn't want to answer their questions, especially this: Why did Jason Scheuerman have to die?
What the soldier's father, Chris, would learn about his son's final days would lead the retired Special Forces commando, who teaches at Fort Bragg, to take on the very institution he's spent his life serving—and ultimately prompt an investigation by the Army Inspector General's office.
The documents, obtained by Freedom of Information Act requests filed by Chris Scheuerman, reveal a troubled soldier kept in Iraq despite repeated signs he was going to kill himself, including placing the muzzle of his weapon in his mouth multiple times.
Jason Scheuerman's story—pieced together with interviews and information in the documents—demonstrates how he was failed by the very support system that was supposed to protect him. In his case, a psychologist told his commanders to send him back to his unit because he was capable of feigning mental illness to get out of the Army.
He is not alone. At least 152 U.S. troops have taken their own lives in Iraq and Afghanistan since the two wars started, contributing to the Army's highest suicide rate in 26 years of keeping track. For the grieving parents, the answers don't come easily or quickly.
For Jason Scheuerman, death came on July 30, 2005, around 5:30 p.m., about 45 minutes after his first sergeant told the teary-eyed private that if he was intentionally misbehaving so he could leave the Army, he would go to jail where he would be abused.
When the call came out over the unit's radios that there had been a death, one soldier would later tell investigators he suspected it was Scheuerman.
Scheuerman spent his early years on military posts playing GI Joe. The middle child, he divided his time after his parents' divorce between his mother's house in Lynchburg, Va., and his father's in North Carolina where he went to high school.
He was nearly 6 feet tall and loved to eat. His mother, Anne, said sometimes at 10 p.m. she'd find him defrosting chicken to grill.
Likable and witty, he often joked around—even dressing up like a clown one night at church camp, said his pastor, Mike Cox of West Lynchburg Baptist Church. But he had a quiet, reflective side, too, and sometimes withdrew, Cox said.
"You always knew how he felt. He wore his emotions on his sleeve," his mother said. "If he was angry, you knew it. If he was upset, you knew it."
Scheuerman liked military history and writing, but decided college wasn't for him. After a short stint in landscaping, he followed what seemed an almost natural path into the military. His mother had spent a year in the Army, and his father, a physician's assistant, retired as an Army master sergeant. One of his two brothers also joined and is now in Afghanistan.
He enlisted in 2004 and was sent to Iraq from Fort Benning, Ga., in January 2005 with the 3rd Infantry Division. On leave a few months later, Scheuerman told his father he was having a hard time with combat and killing people.
"I've seen war," his father said. "I told him that a lot of what he was seeing was normal. That we all feel it. That we're all afraid."
Back in Iraq, things didn't improve. One soldier—whose name was blacked out on the documents like most others—said he saw Jason put the muzzle of his rifle in his mouth, and told investigators other soldiers had seen him do something similar.
"He said it was a joke," the soldier said. "He said he had thought about it before but didn't have a plan to do it."
Scheuerman was reprimanded for not bathing or shaving and spending too much time playing video games. He misplaced a radio and didn't wear parts of his uniform. Sometimes, Scheuerman was singled out for punishment, one soldier told an investigator. "I don't know why," the soldier said. Another said his noncommissioned officers were yelling at him "more days then not."
His platoon sergeant said in a disciplinary note that Scheuerman's actions put everyone in danger. "If you continue on your present course of action, you may end up in a body bag," he wrote.
In another, his squad leader said, "You have put me into a position where I have to treat you like a troublesome child. I hate being in this position. It makes me be someone I don't like."
Scheuerman was made to do push-ups in front of Iraqi soldiers, which humiliated him.
As he was punished, "it appeared as though he was out of touch with reality; in a world all his own," his platoon sergeant said in a report.
After the punishment, Scheuerman slept on the floor of his unit's operation's center in Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
An Army chaplain who met with him about a month before he died said his mood had "drastically changed." He said Scheuerman demonstrated disturbing behavior by "sitting with his weapon between his legs and bobbing his head on the muzzle." He told Scheuerman's leaders to have his rifle and ammunition magazine "taken from him immediately" and for him to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Scheuerman checked on a mental health questionnaire that he had thoughts about killing himself, was uptight, anxious and depressed, had feelings of hopelessness and despair, felt guilty and was having work problems. But in person, the psychologist said, he denied having thoughts of suicide.
Less than a week later, Scheuerman's mother got an e-mail from her son telling her goodbye. She contacted a family support official at Fort Benning and later received a call saying her son had been checked and was fine. Later, her son sent her an instant message and said her phone call had made things worse.
The same day as her call, Scheuerman's company commander requested a mental evaluation, noting that the private was a "good soldier" but displays "distant, depression like symptoms."
Visiting with the psychologist for the second time, Scheuerman said he sometimes saw other people on guard duty that other soldiers do not see, suggesting he was hallucinating. And he said that if he wasn't diagnosed as having a mental problem, he was going to be in trouble with his leader. Yet he again denied being suicidal, the psychologist reported.
The psychologist determined Scheuerman did not meet the criteria for a mental health disorder, and that a screening test he had taken indicated he was exaggerating. He told Scheuerman's leaders he was "capable of claiming mental illness in order to manipulate his command."
Still, when he sent Scheuerman back to his barracks, he told the private's leaders that if Scheuerman claimed to be depressed, to take it seriously. He recommended Scheuerman sleep in an area where he could be watched, that most of his personal belongings and privileges be taken away for his safety.
The evaluation "created in the leaders' minds the idea that the soldier was a malingerer all along," an officer from his unit evaluating the case as part of a post-suicide investigation would later determine.
Shortly after the psychologist's determination and a few weeks before he died, Scheuerman's Internet and phone communication were shut off. His parents did not hear from him again.
The night before he shot himself, his rifle—which had since been returned to him—was found in a Humvee. The next morning, one soldier said Scheuerman "was quiet and seemed depressed. He said he had a rough night and didn't sleep well."
Later that day, he was punished again and given 14 days of extra duty.
Scheuerman had tears in his eyes, but one of his noncommissioned officers said he was surprisingly calm before he went to his room, weapon in hand.
"I told him to go upstairs and clean his gear and change his uniform," his squad leader told investigators. "I was so angry with him, I went outside to smoke and talk to someone so I didn't blow up."
Less than an hour later, he said he heard someone yelling that Scheuerman had done something.
"At that point, I knew I was already too late," he said.
Scheuerman's body was discovered in a closet, blood streaming from his mouth.
Initially, Scheuerman's father said he trusted the Army would investigate his son's death and take action.
"I did not want to believe that it was as bad as I thought it was, so I chose not to make hasty judgments," Scheuerman said from his kitchen table, sitting beside his ex-wife, whom he plans to remarry. "I chose to systematically try to get all the information that I could and once I received all the information I could, my worse fears were realized."
Each document that arrived brought more pain.
When a copy of his son's suicide note appeared, Scheuerman broke down crying. In the note, his son said he wanted to say goodbye, but his ability to contact the family was taken away "like everything else." He said he'd brought dishonor on his family and his Army unit.
"I know you think I'm a coward for this but in the face of existing as I am now, I have no other choice," Scheuerman wrote. "As the 1st Sgt said all I have to look forward to is a butt-buddy in jail, not much of a future."
Chris Scheuerman wants to see a more thorough investigation, and some of his son's leaders punished—perhaps even criminally charged—and the psychologist brought before a medical peer review committee. "We will not see a statistical decrease in Army suicides until the Army gets serious about holding people accountable when they do not do what they are trained to do," he said.
Citing privacy, Maj. Nathan Banks, an Army public affairs officer, declined to discuss the case.
Eventually, Jason Scheuerman's father sought the assistance of Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C., who spoke with Army Secretary Pete Geren on Oct. 1 and asked him to initiate an investigation by the Inspector General's Office. Geren agreed.
The Scheuermans say they hope the investigation will bring about changes that will prevent other suicides.
"The people that I trusted with the safety of my son killed him, and that hurts beyond words because we are a family of soldiers," Scheuerman said.
--- end ---
Government ignores veteran and soldier suicides while prosecuting its war on the Iraqi people
Government ignores veteran and soldier suicides
Friday, December 28, 2007
By: Michael Prysner
While prosecuting its war on the Iraqi people
I had been in Iraq for about two months when my brigade suffered its first fatality. He died from a gunshot wound to the head. Nobody wanted to believe that it had happened. The deployment was supposed to be quick and easy; we were supposed to be greeted with flowers and return home within a few months.
As the sounds from the memorial service echoed in our barracks, there was silence—only the recorded sounds of bagpipes playing "Amazing Grace." Nobody wanted to talk about the realization that we may never return home. Nobody wanted to talk about the situation we had gotten into; the number of Iraqi people who were dying because of the invasion. Most of all, nobody wanted to talk about the soldier who had died.
The bullet that killed him came from his own rifle, but nobody wanted to talk about that either. Everyone wanted to believe the official story, that it was an accidental discharge. To consider anything else meant accepting that surviving the war was more than just surviving combat. Making it home alive does not necessarily mean making it home safe.
According to the Pentagon, at least 152 soldiers have committed suicide while serving overseas in the phony "war on terror." It can be safely assumed that this number is much higher, as the military brass would rather explain a suicide as a "tragic accident" rather than a result of combat stress.
In fact, the Army maintains to this day that it has not yet found a link between combat stress and suicide. The Army’s Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, has asserted: "We have not made a connection between the stress on the force and some massive or even significant increase in suicides."
This position ignores the truth about serving an imperialist army in an imperialist war.
It was exposed by a recent CBS News study on suicide levels among veterans. The study showed that veterans commit suicide at twice the rate of civilians. The suicide rate among people in the United States as a whole is 8.9 per 100,000 people. The level among veterans is at least 18.7 per 100,000 people.
Veterans of the imperialist "war on terror" experience a higher rate of suicide with at least 22.9 suicides per 100,000 people.
The Veterans Administration does not keep a record of veteran suicides. It actively avoids these terrible statistics. Countless cases have come to light about soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder being denied treatment, being diagnosed as having a "pre-existing" condition and being accused of lying to escape military service.
The military brass has stooped so low as to blame suicides on "Dear John" letters, poor upbringing by parents, and "underdeveloped life coping skills."
False excuses like these allow the Pentagon to absolve itself of all responsibility. The military is able to circumvent paying disability benefits. It also permits the warmongers to distort the situation in Iraq to serve their own interests. The Pentagon only cares about advancing its military goals. It cares nothing about the soldiers it uses to spread imperialism.
It cares nothing about the Iraqi people, over a million of whom have been killed in this criminal war and occupation.
A criminal war
I have experienced first hand the bureaucracy of the VA system. I have walked into the mental health office and been pointed in a hundred different directions, told to come back another time, and told to drive over an hour to another VA office. After several months of frustration, I ended up with a bag full of pills. This was the treatment I was offered.
Private Jonathan Schulze also received the run around from the VA. An Iraq war veteran suffering PTSD, he tried to check himself in to a VA psychiatric unit in Minnesota. With the aid of his parents, he explained to his counselor that he was suicidal and insisted on being admitted. Instead, he was placed on a long waiting list. The following day, his parents called the VA and pleaded for their son’s admission. They received no cooperation. Four days later, haunted by memories of war, Jonathan Schulze went into his basement, tied an extension cord around his neck, and hanged himself.
Private Jason Scheuerman could not wait until he returned home from Iraq to seek treatment for PTSD. He informed his fellow soldiers and commanding officers that he was suicidal. He was experiencing some of the most extreme symptoms of PTSD, including hallucinations. When he finally received a mental health evaluation, the psychiatrist concluded that he did not meet the criteria for a mental health disorder. The psychiatrist also informed his leaders that he was "claiming mental illness in order to manipulate his command."
Not only was Scheuerman denied treatment and forced to remain on combat duty, but he also was punished by his superiors for seeking mental help and threatened with jail time. Shortly thereafter, there was a letter posted on Scheuerman’s barracks closet. Inside the closet, his lifeless body was discovered. "Maybe finally I can get rid of these demons, maybe finally I can get some peace," he wrote.
The U.S. government will not adequately care for the soldiers it sends to do its biding. It will use them as cannon fodder, then leave them to die alone in a basement or in a dark closet.
With the recent data displaying a suicide epidemic, the VA has vowed to improve its psychiatric treatment. This is nothing but empty promises. Soldiers will continue to kill and be killed in an unjust war on the Iraqi people. If they return, many will be plagued by trauma.
But soldiers have the power to break this cycle. If soldiers want to fight a just battle, one that will serve their interests and not the interests of the ruling class, they can join the fight against the system that profits from human suffering.
Not one more Iraqi should have to die. Not one more Iraqi family should have to leave their homes to flee the imperialist occupation of their country.
Not one more U.S. soldier should fight and die in Iraq. And not one more will have to if they refuse to fight in this criminal war.
--- end ---
Chris Scheuerman comforts his wife, Anne, while the couple reminisce about their son Jason, in photo, Monday, Nov. 12, 2007, in Sanford, N.C. (source)
A Soldier's Suicide: Did He Have to Die?
Dec 20, 2007 03:13 AM US/Eastern
By KIMBERLY HEFLING
Associated Press Writer
SANFORD, N.C. (AP) - AP Video Pfc. Jason Scheuerman nailed a suicide note to his barracks closet in Iraq, stepped inside and shot himself.
"Maybe finaly I can get some peace," said the 20-year-old, misspelling "finally" but writing in a neat hand.
His parents didn't find out about the note for well over a year, and only then when it showed up in a government envelope in his father's rural North Carolina mailbox.
The one-page missive was among hundreds of pages of documents the soldier's family obtained and shared with The Associated Press after battling a military bureaucracy they feel didn't want to answer their questions, especially this: Why did Jason Scheuerman have to die?
What the soldier's father, Chris, would learn about his son's final days would lead the retired Special Forces commando, who teaches at Fort Bragg, to take on the very institution he's spent his life serving—and ultimately prompt an investigation by the Army Inspector General's office.
The documents, obtained by Freedom of Information Act requests filed by Chris Scheuerman, reveal a troubled soldier kept in Iraq despite repeated signs he was going to kill himself, including placing the muzzle of his weapon in his mouth multiple times.
Jason Scheuerman's story—pieced together with interviews and information in the documents—demonstrates how he was failed by the very support system that was supposed to protect him. In his case, a psychologist told his commanders to send him back to his unit because he was capable of feigning mental illness to get out of the Army.
He is not alone. At least 152 U.S. troops have taken their own lives in Iraq and Afghanistan since the two wars started, contributing to the Army's highest suicide rate in 26 years of keeping track. For the grieving parents, the answers don't come easily or quickly.
For Jason Scheuerman, death came on July 30, 2005, around 5:30 p.m., about 45 minutes after his first sergeant told the teary-eyed private that if he was intentionally misbehaving so he could leave the Army, he would go to jail where he would be abused.
When the call came out over the unit's radios that there had been a death, one soldier would later tell investigators he suspected it was Scheuerman.
Scheuerman spent his early years on military posts playing GI Joe. The middle child, he divided his time after his parents' divorce between his mother's house in Lynchburg, Va., and his father's in North Carolina where he went to high school.
He was nearly 6 feet tall and loved to eat. His mother, Anne, said sometimes at 10 p.m. she'd find him defrosting chicken to grill.
Likable and witty, he often joked around—even dressing up like a clown one night at church camp, said his pastor, Mike Cox of West Lynchburg Baptist Church. But he had a quiet, reflective side, too, and sometimes withdrew, Cox said.
"You always knew how he felt. He wore his emotions on his sleeve," his mother said. "If he was angry, you knew it. If he was upset, you knew it."
Scheuerman liked military history and writing, but decided college wasn't for him. After a short stint in landscaping, he followed what seemed an almost natural path into the military. His mother had spent a year in the Army, and his father, a physician's assistant, retired as an Army master sergeant. One of his two brothers also joined and is now in Afghanistan.
He enlisted in 2004 and was sent to Iraq from Fort Benning, Ga., in January 2005 with the 3rd Infantry Division. On leave a few months later, Scheuerman told his father he was having a hard time with combat and killing people.
"I've seen war," his father said. "I told him that a lot of what he was seeing was normal. That we all feel it. That we're all afraid."
Back in Iraq, things didn't improve. One soldier—whose name was blacked out on the documents like most others—said he saw Jason put the muzzle of his rifle in his mouth, and told investigators other soldiers had seen him do something similar.
"He said it was a joke," the soldier said. "He said he had thought about it before but didn't have a plan to do it."
Scheuerman was reprimanded for not bathing or shaving and spending too much time playing video games. He misplaced a radio and didn't wear parts of his uniform. Sometimes, Scheuerman was singled out for punishment, one soldier told an investigator. "I don't know why," the soldier said. Another said his noncommissioned officers were yelling at him "more days then not."
His platoon sergeant said in a disciplinary note that Scheuerman's actions put everyone in danger. "If you continue on your present course of action, you may end up in a body bag," he wrote.
In another, his squad leader said, "You have put me into a position where I have to treat you like a troublesome child. I hate being in this position. It makes me be someone I don't like."
Scheuerman was made to do push-ups in front of Iraqi soldiers, which humiliated him.
As he was punished, "it appeared as though he was out of touch with reality; in a world all his own," his platoon sergeant said in a report.
After the punishment, Scheuerman slept on the floor of his unit's operation's center in Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
An Army chaplain who met with him about a month before he died said his mood had "drastically changed." He said Scheuerman demonstrated disturbing behavior by "sitting with his weapon between his legs and bobbing his head on the muzzle." He told Scheuerman's leaders to have his rifle and ammunition magazine "taken from him immediately" and for him to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Scheuerman checked on a mental health questionnaire that he had thoughts about killing himself, was uptight, anxious and depressed, had feelings of hopelessness and despair, felt guilty and was having work problems. But in person, the psychologist said, he denied having thoughts of suicide.
Less than a week later, Scheuerman's mother got an e-mail from her son telling her goodbye. She contacted a family support official at Fort Benning and later received a call saying her son had been checked and was fine. Later, her son sent her an instant message and said her phone call had made things worse.
The same day as her call, Scheuerman's company commander requested a mental evaluation, noting that the private was a "good soldier" but displays "distant, depression like symptoms."
Visiting with the psychologist for the second time, Scheuerman said he sometimes saw other people on guard duty that other soldiers do not see, suggesting he was hallucinating. And he said that if he wasn't diagnosed as having a mental problem, he was going to be in trouble with his leader. Yet he again denied being suicidal, the psychologist reported.
The psychologist determined Scheuerman did not meet the criteria for a mental health disorder, and that a screening test he had taken indicated he was exaggerating. He told Scheuerman's leaders he was "capable of claiming mental illness in order to manipulate his command."
Still, when he sent Scheuerman back to his barracks, he told the private's leaders that if Scheuerman claimed to be depressed, to take it seriously. He recommended Scheuerman sleep in an area where he could be watched, that most of his personal belongings and privileges be taken away for his safety.
The evaluation "created in the leaders' minds the idea that the soldier was a malingerer all along," an officer from his unit evaluating the case as part of a post-suicide investigation would later determine.
Shortly after the psychologist's determination and a few weeks before he died, Scheuerman's Internet and phone communication were shut off. His parents did not hear from him again.
The night before he shot himself, his rifle—which had since been returned to him—was found in a Humvee. The next morning, one soldier said Scheuerman "was quiet and seemed depressed. He said he had a rough night and didn't sleep well."
Later that day, he was punished again and given 14 days of extra duty.
Scheuerman had tears in his eyes, but one of his noncommissioned officers said he was surprisingly calm before he went to his room, weapon in hand.
"I told him to go upstairs and clean his gear and change his uniform," his squad leader told investigators. "I was so angry with him, I went outside to smoke and talk to someone so I didn't blow up."
Less than an hour later, he said he heard someone yelling that Scheuerman had done something.
"At that point, I knew I was already too late," he said.
Scheuerman's body was discovered in a closet, blood streaming from his mouth.
Initially, Scheuerman's father said he trusted the Army would investigate his son's death and take action.
"I did not want to believe that it was as bad as I thought it was, so I chose not to make hasty judgments," Scheuerman said from his kitchen table, sitting beside his ex-wife, whom he plans to remarry. "I chose to systematically try to get all the information that I could and once I received all the information I could, my worse fears were realized."
Each document that arrived brought more pain.
When a copy of his son's suicide note appeared, Scheuerman broke down crying. In the note, his son said he wanted to say goodbye, but his ability to contact the family was taken away "like everything else." He said he'd brought dishonor on his family and his Army unit.
"I know you think I'm a coward for this but in the face of existing as I am now, I have no other choice," Scheuerman wrote. "As the 1st Sgt said all I have to look forward to is a butt-buddy in jail, not much of a future."
Chris Scheuerman wants to see a more thorough investigation, and some of his son's leaders punished—perhaps even criminally charged—and the psychologist brought before a medical peer review committee. "We will not see a statistical decrease in Army suicides until the Army gets serious about holding people accountable when they do not do what they are trained to do," he said.
Citing privacy, Maj. Nathan Banks, an Army public affairs officer, declined to discuss the case.
Eventually, Jason Scheuerman's father sought the assistance of Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C., who spoke with Army Secretary Pete Geren on Oct. 1 and asked him to initiate an investigation by the Inspector General's Office. Geren agreed.
The Scheuermans say they hope the investigation will bring about changes that will prevent other suicides.
"The people that I trusted with the safety of my son killed him, and that hurts beyond words because we are a family of soldiers," Scheuerman said.
--- end ---
Government ignores veteran and soldier suicides while prosecuting its war on the Iraqi people
Government ignores veteran and soldier suicides
Friday, December 28, 2007
By: Michael Prysner
While prosecuting its war on the Iraqi people
I had been in Iraq for about two months when my brigade suffered its first fatality. He died from a gunshot wound to the head. Nobody wanted to believe that it had happened. The deployment was supposed to be quick and easy; we were supposed to be greeted with flowers and return home within a few months.
As the sounds from the memorial service echoed in our barracks, there was silence—only the recorded sounds of bagpipes playing "Amazing Grace." Nobody wanted to talk about the realization that we may never return home. Nobody wanted to talk about the situation we had gotten into; the number of Iraqi people who were dying because of the invasion. Most of all, nobody wanted to talk about the soldier who had died.
The bullet that killed him came from his own rifle, but nobody wanted to talk about that either. Everyone wanted to believe the official story, that it was an accidental discharge. To consider anything else meant accepting that surviving the war was more than just surviving combat. Making it home alive does not necessarily mean making it home safe.
According to the Pentagon, at least 152 soldiers have committed suicide while serving overseas in the phony "war on terror." It can be safely assumed that this number is much higher, as the military brass would rather explain a suicide as a "tragic accident" rather than a result of combat stress.
In fact, the Army maintains to this day that it has not yet found a link between combat stress and suicide. The Army’s Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, has asserted: "We have not made a connection between the stress on the force and some massive or even significant increase in suicides."
This position ignores the truth about serving an imperialist army in an imperialist war.
It was exposed by a recent CBS News study on suicide levels among veterans. The study showed that veterans commit suicide at twice the rate of civilians. The suicide rate among people in the United States as a whole is 8.9 per 100,000 people. The level among veterans is at least 18.7 per 100,000 people.
Veterans of the imperialist "war on terror" experience a higher rate of suicide with at least 22.9 suicides per 100,000 people.
The Veterans Administration does not keep a record of veteran suicides. It actively avoids these terrible statistics. Countless cases have come to light about soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder being denied treatment, being diagnosed as having a "pre-existing" condition and being accused of lying to escape military service.
The military brass has stooped so low as to blame suicides on "Dear John" letters, poor upbringing by parents, and "underdeveloped life coping skills."
False excuses like these allow the Pentagon to absolve itself of all responsibility. The military is able to circumvent paying disability benefits. It also permits the warmongers to distort the situation in Iraq to serve their own interests. The Pentagon only cares about advancing its military goals. It cares nothing about the soldiers it uses to spread imperialism.
It cares nothing about the Iraqi people, over a million of whom have been killed in this criminal war and occupation.
A criminal war
I have experienced first hand the bureaucracy of the VA system. I have walked into the mental health office and been pointed in a hundred different directions, told to come back another time, and told to drive over an hour to another VA office. After several months of frustration, I ended up with a bag full of pills. This was the treatment I was offered.
Private Jonathan Schulze also received the run around from the VA. An Iraq war veteran suffering PTSD, he tried to check himself in to a VA psychiatric unit in Minnesota. With the aid of his parents, he explained to his counselor that he was suicidal and insisted on being admitted. Instead, he was placed on a long waiting list. The following day, his parents called the VA and pleaded for their son’s admission. They received no cooperation. Four days later, haunted by memories of war, Jonathan Schulze went into his basement, tied an extension cord around his neck, and hanged himself.
Private Jason Scheuerman could not wait until he returned home from Iraq to seek treatment for PTSD. He informed his fellow soldiers and commanding officers that he was suicidal. He was experiencing some of the most extreme symptoms of PTSD, including hallucinations. When he finally received a mental health evaluation, the psychiatrist concluded that he did not meet the criteria for a mental health disorder. The psychiatrist also informed his leaders that he was "claiming mental illness in order to manipulate his command."
Not only was Scheuerman denied treatment and forced to remain on combat duty, but he also was punished by his superiors for seeking mental help and threatened with jail time. Shortly thereafter, there was a letter posted on Scheuerman’s barracks closet. Inside the closet, his lifeless body was discovered. "Maybe finally I can get rid of these demons, maybe finally I can get some peace," he wrote.
The U.S. government will not adequately care for the soldiers it sends to do its biding. It will use them as cannon fodder, then leave them to die alone in a basement or in a dark closet.
With the recent data displaying a suicide epidemic, the VA has vowed to improve its psychiatric treatment. This is nothing but empty promises. Soldiers will continue to kill and be killed in an unjust war on the Iraqi people. If they return, many will be plagued by trauma.
But soldiers have the power to break this cycle. If soldiers want to fight a just battle, one that will serve their interests and not the interests of the ruling class, they can join the fight against the system that profits from human suffering.
Not one more Iraqi should have to die. Not one more Iraqi family should have to leave their homes to flee the imperialist occupation of their country.
Not one more U.S. soldier should fight and die in Iraq. And not one more will have to if they refuse to fight in this criminal war.
--- end ---
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Jesus is the reason for the season
Luke 2:6,7
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
KJV - LUKE 2:11-14
2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
2:12 And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Santa = Satan?
Santa Claus: The Great Imposter
The shocking truth is Santa Claus originated from a character identified as the devil or Satan.
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Wise men still seek Him
Matthew 2
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
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