'Imagine' A World Of..... Peace,Understanding,Tolerance

Our "structurally deficient" Infrastructure, Much More then Bridges and Roads

2013-05-25T06:37:00.001-04:00

And those that need them the most, the economic growth, the business community and the corporations of, do the most damage to and in these modern times pay less and less into maintaining, investing in new and innovative advances to the existing. That cost is more and more the burden of the masses, who also need and use the wide variety of who labor for those businesses and corporations at lower or stagnated compensation for same. Public, many times once combined with private, investments bring much bigger returns and for longer periods of time in revenue initially invested to build or maintain properly. Take down any part of any infrastructure and the cost to rebuild is a total loss, and much much more to rebuild then maintain, in economic revenue needed for private and public treasuries and wasted capital never to be regained.

US failure to maintain infrastructure betrays national legacy

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Millions of Americans will cross 'structurally deficient' bridges this weekend

25 May 2013 - The Washington state bridge collapse that spilled two cars into the Skagit River could give Americans pause as they hit the roads for Memorial Day holiday travel.
With good reason.
This weekend, millions will cross 66,000 bridges that the federal government has deemed "structurally deficient," meaning key elements are in poor condition.
The Federal Highway Administration hastens to note that label doesn't mean they are unsafe or in danger of collapse, but transportation advocates say it highlights a growing crisis of aging infrastructure, deferred maintenance and rebuilding, and design flaws. read more>>>

I-5 bridge collapses north of Seattle

May 24, 2013 - A section of the Interstate-5 bridge near Seattle collapsed after a truck hit an overhead beam, plunging cars into the Skagit River below. Henry Rosoff of CBS affiliate KIRO-TV reports.

The longer the maintenance is pushed 'down the road' the more minor deficiencies, from age and use, grow to more then minor and the engineering becomes more hazardous and dangerous, damaging one or a couple of support beams are engineered and built not to spread in well maintained structures. Accidents that take place before that might just damage sections, and those sections not upgraded properly, now ripple out to cause much more damage and in cases like a bridge causes whole sections to collapse. Over time the minor grow to major deficiencies or minor combine to fail all at one time.

State report: I-5 bridge had gouges, impact damage

25 May 2013 - Officials in Washington state performed a special inspection six months ago on the Interstate 5 bridge that collapsed because there were indications it had been struck by a different vehicle.
An inspection report released Friday by the state Department of Transportation says inspectors brought in a bucket truck to examine the structure and identified tears, deformations and gouges on the northbound side of the bridge. read more>>>

Bridge collapse in Washington state blamed on tractor-trailer

2013 ReportCard on America's Infrastructure | Bridges

Over two hundred million trips are taken daily across deficient bridges in the nation’s 102 largest metropolitan regions. In total, one in nine of the nation’s bridges are rated as structurally deficient, while the average age of the nation’s 607,380 bridges is currently 42 years. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates that to eliminate the nation’s bridge deficient backlog by 2028, we would need to invest $20.5 billion annually, while only $12.8 billion is being spent currently. The challenge for federal, state, and local governments is to increase bridge investments by $8 billion annually to address the identified $76 billion in needs for deficient bridges across the United States. read more and launch the report>>>

A Memorial Day Message

2013-05-24T17:27:00.001-04:00

First Mine!!

Now from the best VA Administrator in my lifetime, in an Administration and Cabinet of equally the best especially at time of war and occupations in this Nations name, especially with the, decades long, continued congressional obstruction in this countries name:

From Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki

WASHINGTON -- May 24, 2013 -- This weekend, Americans in large numbers will visit our national cemeteries and other final resting places to honor their loved ones, their friends, neighbors, colleagues, even some unknown to them—men and women who gave their lives in defense of our Nation.
Memorial Day is a time to reflect on their service and their sacrifice, even as our Armed Forces are performing difficult and dangerous missions in distant lands. They continue to safeguard our American way of life.
Memorial Day is set aside to honor the more than one million of our fellow citizens who have fallen in battle since the founding of our Republic. Their service helped to shape us as a Nation and secured, for us and our friends and allies, our security in a troubled world. Except for their service, we all would be facing different circumstances today. read more>>>

05.24.2013 - Flags Placed at Arlington National Cemetery Graves

Obama Issues ‘Prayer for Peace’ Memorial Day Proclamation

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2013 – President Barack Obama today proclaimed Memorial Day, May 27, 2013, “as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time to unite in prayer. I also ask all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day.”
The president’s proclamation reads as follows: read more>>>

Arlington Wreath-Laying Ceremony Honors Fallen Servicewomen

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, Va., May 24, 2013 – The Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues and senior women enlisted military members gathered at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial here May 22 for the 16th annual recognition ceremony.
An acknowledgement and wreath laying ceremony is held every year near Memorial Day to honor fallen servicewomen.
The wreath, provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, was placed in front of the pool at the memorial. After the wreath was placed, members of the caucus and the honorees placed a long-stemmed rose in honor of the fallen around the memorial’s pool. read more>>>

Building Better Budgets is Smart Growth Development

2013-05-23T17:03:00.002-04:00

Building Better Budgets quantifies average savings and revenue of smart growth development

May 21, 2013 - Local governments across the country have compared development strategies to understand their impact on municipal finances. These studies generally compare two or more different development scenarios, and help local leaders make informed decisions about new development based on the costs or revenues associated with them.

snip
1. Smart growth development costs one-third less for upfront infrastructure. Our survey concluded that smart growth development saves an average of 38 percent on upfront costs for new construction of roads, sewers, water lines and other infrastructure. Many studies have concluded that this number is as high as 50 percent. read more>>>

Building Better Budgets - Smart Growth Development

The Greenbatteries Store offers great prices on rechargeable batteries, battery chargers, battery cases and holders.

Battlefield Tech Used in Oklahoma Search

2013-05-22T07:21:00.002-04:00

What a well regulated, trained and supplied, citizen militia actually does as per the founding fathers wishes!! And unless called for National Defense are under the command of State Governors as CiC's

Troops Use Battlefield Tech in Search for Oklahoma Survivors

05.21.2013 - National Guard Soldiers and Airmen are using thermal imaging and night vision gear to look for survivors of the Oklahoma tornado.

Special Report: Disaster Relief: Oklahoma Tornadoes

American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 21, 2013 – Nearly 250 members of the Oklahoma National Guard are assisting with victim search and security in Moore, Okla., where a monster tornado left dozens dead. Learn more about recovery efforts and resources available for survivors through an American Forces Press Service special report at Disaster Relief: Oklahoma Tornadoes.

‘DOD Live’ Compiles Resources for People Affected by Disasters

FORT MEADE, Md., May 21, 2013 – A “DOD Live” blog post compiled by Ian Phillips of Defense Media Activity social media operations here provides a wide range of resources for people affected directly or indirectly by the deadly tornado that struck Moore, Okla., yesterday.
Links in the blog post include information or help related to: read more>>>

Senior Army Guard Leader Describes Tornado Response

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2013 – Some 250 Oklahoma National Guard members are helping with recovery efforts after a massive tornado pounded an Oklahoma City suburb yesterday, killing at least 24 people and leaving neighborhoods, homes and businesses flattened or twisted, a senior Army National Guard leader said today.
Brig. Gen. Emery Fountain is an Army National Guard member from Oklahoma, who normally makes his home a few miles from Moore, where the tornado struck. Fountain currently works in the national capital region as support special assistant to Army National Guard Director Lt. Gen. William E. Ingram Jr., but has been in close contact with his counterparts at home.
“They’ve established a perimeter around the location … that was most affected, [and] they’re managing traffic in and out of that area where the destruction was most significant,” he said. “They’re also providing clean, potable water to the first responders and the folks that are involved in the response.” read more>>>

What??? 'Now' They Want to Know About the Missing War Records???

2013-05-20T17:52:00.003-04:00

Are they seeking out another scandal and congressional distraction from what they aren't doing, their jobs!?

ProPublica and The Seattle Times Nov. 9, 2012 - Lost to History: Missing War Records Complicate Benefit Claims by Iraq, Afghanistan Veterans

DeLara's case is part of a much larger problem that has plagued the U.S. military since the 1990 Gulf War: a failure to create and maintain the types of field records that have documented American conflicts since the Revolutionary War.

Talk to daddy bush and his son, which is what you should have done long ago instead of rubber stamping these wars of choice!! How can voters think these they've hired have the intellect to be representatives of them let alone the country! Once in they run from the jobs descriptions hired to perform, blaming everyone but themselves, they and the staffs they hire, especially this Miller as majority leader of the House Veterans Affairs Committee!!

Congressmen to Hagel: Where Are the Missing War Records?

May 20, 2013 - The top Republican and Democrat on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs are demanding more information from defense Secretary Chuck Hagel about lost Army field records from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the subject of a ProPublica investigation last year.
In an unusually detailed letter sent Friday to Hagel, Reps. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., and Michael Michaud, D-Maine, said the Defense Department’s response to an earlier request about why records are missing — and what the military is doing about it — didn’t go far enough.
“Congress must have a clear understanding of the extent of the lost records in order to safeguard the best interests of our service members and veterans,’’ the letter says. read more>>>

"If military action is worth our troops’ blood, it should be worth our treasure, too — not just in the abstract, but in the form of a specific ante by every American." -Andrew Rosenthal 10 Feb. 2013

Meanwhile as they attack Gen Shinseki why aren't they following through with the early reports about Veterans Administration records while under the previous bush administration and these two present wars:

Army Times Oct. 16, 2008 - VA claims found in piles to be shredded

CNN iReport October 25, 2008 - House Vets' Committee To Probe VA Shredder Scandal

Tampa Bay Times Oct 27, 2008 - Hundreds of VA documents improperly shredded, review finds {Tampa Bay Times search page and series of articles}

CBS News February 11, 2009 - Veterans' Claims Found in Shredder Bins

“Why in 2009 were we still using paper?” VA Assistant Secretary Tommy Sowers “When we came in, there was no plan to change that; we’ve been operating on a six month wait for over a decade.” 27 March 2013

Care Packages?! To Help Senior Military Veterans?

2013-05-19T06:47:00.003-04:00

HEMET: Care packages to help senior veterans

May 18, 2013 - While sending care packages to troops overseas is a time-honored tradition, Emeritus at Hemet will be delivering them to local senior veterans or their surviving spouses during Memorial Day week in an initiative designed to assist them in staying safely in their homes.
The program is part of a national effort by Emeritus Senior Living to deliver more than 2,000 care packages and provide a helping hand with safety measures for seniors.

snip
The Heroes Emeritus care packages include nightlights, first aid kits, medication management containers, water bottles, healthy snacks and other items that make a senior’s daily life and home more secure. In addition to delivering the packages, the Emeritus team will perform a home safety check to ensure the living environment is free of any potential hazards. read more>>>

How does a Country HONOR It's Fallen, by Their Own 'Sacrifice' in Taking Care of the Brothers and Sisters They Served With!! The Whole Country Served, Not Just The Many Caring Groups, with handfuls of members and volunteers, Within!!

The Financial Legacy of Iraq and Afghanistan

2013-05-15T19:47:00.001-04:00

Each Injured US Soldier Will End Up Costing $2 Million On Average

May 15, 2013 - For every one of the 866,181 soldiers officially counted injured casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, the government is expected to spend some $2 million in long-term medical cost.
The total of $1.7 trillion is based on a widely cited March 2013 paper by Linda Bilmes at Harvard’s Kennedy School. It includes $800 billion already spent on injured veterans along with the cost of long-term care for an additional 50,000 current casualties counted by the Pentagon.
Since 2001, the VA has spent $134.3 billion to care for veterans. read more>>>

* * * The Financial Legacy of Iraq and Afghanistan: How Wartime Spending Decisions Will Constrain Future National Security Budgets * * *

The Financial Legacy of Iraq and Afghanistan

Tax cuts came with these wars, as the country abandoned the main missions for even sending our military into that region to invade another, told to go shopping, while the wealthy got huge cuts!

Guantanamo Bay: Inside a Legal Nightmare

2013-05-14T18:16:00.001-04:00

Author Jess Bravin explores the military prison's tangled history in new book 'The Terror Courts'

May 13, 2013 - As the hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay enters its fourth month and pressure to close the prison mounts, it's easy to forget that Guantanamo is not only a detention facility but also the site of a unique legal experiment that has no direct precedent in U.S. history. At times, it can be difficult to keep track of the tangled mess of authorities claimed, cases appealed and lives destroyed with Guantanamo at its center. Those looking for clarity on these issues have a new, important resource in author Jess Bravin's book "The Terror Courts: Rough Justice at Guantanamo Bay", which tells the story of the evolution of Guantanamo's legal universe in captivating detail, and provides the reader with a clear picture of just how we arrived at this bizarre moment in our history. read more>>>

Military Moms, Gold Star Moms and Military Veteran Moms on Mother's Day

2013-05-12T07:49:00.002-04:00

Saluting Women Veterans on Mother's Day

05/10/2013 - Mother's Day began in the United States in the early 20th century and it's always been a very emotional day. Mothers are usually the first teachers of our children, as well as our first impression of how we view the world. Whether a sports figure is throwing a ball giving honor to his mother, or whether it's someone going off to war and waiting for that letter mom sends telling about what's happening back at home. As they say there's nothing like a "mother's love." Well, let me ask how do you think mothers who serve in the military feel during this time when they can't necessarily be at home with their children, or if you're a military wife and mother who has to care for the family alone. read more>>>

Military moms celebrate Mother's Day rebuilding family ties

05/12/2013 - Soon after Miriam Beg gave birth to her son, she was deployed to Iraq with the U.S. Army, so she left baby Michael with her mother-in-law.
"I was really worried to leave my child so young," said Beg, 29, "just 4 months (old)."
In the combat zone, she received photos and e-mails documenting his milestones.
"I missed his first step, his first word, his first everything," she said. "By the time I came back, he was over a year old." read more>>>

Local military moms focus on giving comfort to others this week

May 12, 2013 - Three days before Mother’s Day, Fairfield County’s members of the Blue Star Mothers were getting together at Mills Memorial Church to nurture military members with boxes of goodies.
It’s a simple act of kindness these women have been doing since 2007. Most, including Rose Ann Elliott, Stella LeFever and Elaine Nixon, will be separated this Mother’s Day from their children, who are deployed around the world.
“It’s tough not being able to see them on Mother’s Day,” said Elliott, of Lancaster, who serves as president of the local chapter. read more>>>

A Mother's Day salute to Gold Star Mothers

May 12, 2013 - Mother's Day is one of those holidays committed solely to the joys of life. Every culture, in its own way, celebrates moms. Mother's Day is a holiday in which the simplest gestures have the greatest impact. Families will fumble to make breakfast in bed for their mother and children will give handcrafted gifts such as a finger painting or a special picture of the child framed with Popsicle sticks. These modest treasures are priceless to a mother, and that is just one of the things that make mothers so special.
But there is a group of mothers whose celebration this Mother's Day, and on all future Mother's Days, will be bittersweet. read more>>>

Alexandria Gold Star Mother speaks about sacrifice, military life

May 11, 2013 - One student at Louisiana State University at Alexandria shared her story of sacrifice at a pre-Memorial Day function on Wednesday.
Felicia Young-Wilkinson spoke at LSUA’s “Lunch’n Learn,” honoring veterans, military personnel and those who sacrificed with them — something Young-Wilkinson knows all too well.
Young-Wilkinson was a stay-at-home mom for most of her husband’s 25-year career in the U.S. Army. But during his deployment for Operation: Desert Storm, Young-Wilkinson volunteered as a case worker for the American Red Cross. read more>>>

America’s Finest Rewards Honors Gold Star Mothers Honoring Our Fallen partnership pampers some amazing mothers on Mother’s Day

May 03, 2013 - America’s Finest Rewards is proud to partner with Honoring Our Fallen, Inc. this Mother’s Day to host 10 Gold Star Mothers on a weekend getaway. The 1st Annual Honoring Our Fallen Inc. Gold Star Mother’s Retreat will be held at The Historic Santa Maria Inn from May 3-5th. A Gold Star Mother is a term used to refer to any woman in the United States who loses a son or a daughter in combat.
The women will be pampered with massages and wine tastings throughout the weekend and will enjoy some relaxing time with other women who understand what being a Gold Star Mother really means. read more>>>

Mums of fallen Australian soldiers tell of heartbreak on Mother's Day

May 12, 2013 - IN AMERICA they call them Gold Star Mums - mothers who lost sons or daughters in the war.
Our own military mums are less visible but their grief is no less binding - or heartfelt.
Today, mums around Australia will enjoy Mother's Day with their family but for the mothers of Australia's fallen soldiers it is a time of unspeakable sadness as they deal with a profound sense of loss and longing.
Since February 2002, a total of 39 young Australian men have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in far-off Afghanistan.
It is not uncommon for a dying soldier to call out for his mother and the relationship between mother and son is, in many cases, so deep that it is impossible to explain. read more>>>

"Thank you for all that you do": Military Mother's Day Tea with the First Lady and Dr. Biden

May 10, 2013 - Yesterday, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden hosted a special Mother's Day tea to honor military mothers and show their appreciation and thanks for all the important work they do as well as the sacrifices their families have made in service of our country.
Dr. Biden spoke first and thanked the military moms in attendance: read more>>>

Reagan Supported Guatamala's Dirty War and Genocide

2013-05-11T09:27:00.001-04:00

AIR DATE: May 8, 2013 From Guatemalan Soil, Scientists Unearth Signs of Genocide

SUMMARY
In Guatemala, investigators using forensic science have compelling evidence that thousands of innocent indigenous Ixil Mayans were the target of extermination in the 1980s. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports on how murder, politics and science intersect in the genocide trial of former leader Efrain Rios Montt.
RAY SUAREZ: Next: a story that combines murder, politics and science in the Central American nation of Guatemala.
It centers on the trial of the country's former leader, Efrain Rios Montt, charged with genocide that occurred during his rule in the 1980s. Rios Montt was a fervent anti-communist who was backed by the Reagan administration. At the time, the U.S. was criticized -- criticized for supporting Rios Montt's forces and claiming violence was decreasing there. Transcript>>>

Watch From Guatemalan, Scientists Unearth Signs of Genocide on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Indicted for Genocide: Guatemala's Efraín Ríos Montt

U.S. and Guatemalan Documents Trace Dictator's Rise to Power
National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 419
Washington, D.C., March 19, 2013 – The groundbreaking genocide trial of Efraín Ríos Montt, retired army general and former dictator of Guatemala, opens today with the presentation of the prosecution's first witnesses. The trial will take place despite repeated efforts by defense lawyers to halt the proceedings with legal appeals and a bid for amnesty. On March 12, the Constitutional Court rejected the amnesty request once and for all, clearing the way for the trial to begin.
Along with his former intelligence chief, José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez, Ríos Montt stands accused of masterminding a violent counterinsurgency campaign during his 1982-83 regime that sought to destroy opposing guerrilla forces and anyone who supported them. The indictment accuses the two men of responsibility for fifteen documented massacres in the Ixil region of the country's Quiché department, resulting in the deaths of 1,771 unarmed men, women and children. Read more about the charges and defense tactics here; and about the evidentiary hearing that led to today's oral or "debate" phase here. read more>>>

Ex-dictator convicted of genocide in Guatemala

10 May 2013 - Former dictator Efrain Rios Montt's conviction of genocide is a historic moment in a country still healing from a brutal, three-decade civil war and his trial offered Guatemala's oppressed indigenous communities their first chance to be heard, human rights activists said. read more>>>

Bill 'Moyers and Company': 10 May 2013

2013-05-11T07:07:00.002-04:00

Full Show: How People Power Generates Change

May 10, 2013 - With our democracy threatened by plutocrats and the politicians in their pockets more than ever, the antidote to organized money is organized people. It takes time and effort, but across the country, grass roots democracy is growing. Individuals are banding together, organizing toward common goals and demanding change – and often delivering it. Bill sits with three organizers leading the way.
Marshall Ganz is a social movement legend who dropped out of Harvard to become a volunteer during Mississippi’s Freedom Summer of 1964. read more>>> * * * Full Transcript>>>

More Found At: Bill Moyers & Company

Families: Government needs to do more after military suicides

2013-05-10T18:28:00.002-04:00

That Government are the people served, the flag wavers calling themselves 'patriotic', those demanding of the military and their families then ignoring as the survivors of those demands return as veterans', and even before that!

'Suicide Survivors' Say Government Needs to Do More

May 10, 2013 - At the national headquarters for the Department of Veterans Affairs (V.A.) in Washington, D.C., a plaque reads, “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan" - President Lincoln.
But some of those left behind say that support isn't there.
Kim Ruocco said whenever her husband, Jon, came home from work, he would “grab the kids” and flex his arms so “they’d hang off his arms. And he'd grab me in the kitchen and he'd dance. He was just lovable."
Jon Ruocco flew helicopters for the Marine Corps for 15 years.
But three months after his final deployment, he killed himself after a struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. read more>>>

View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com.

"We are dealing with veterans, not procedure; with their problems, not ours." General Omar Bradley, First Administrator of the Veterans Administration

View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com.

Garment industry must improve safety conditions

2013-05-10T13:28:00.001-04:00

And we don't get manufactured merchandise cheaper by being produced in unregulated and unsafe working conditions overseas companies at slave labor wages, just corporate bottom lines are affected for them and the investors!

Garment industry must improve safety conditions

May 9, 2013 - The garment industry is called on to address working and safety conditions in the industry after the Bangladeshi factory collapse, the United Nations said.
More than 780 people {now over 1000} were killed when the Rana Plaza factory collapsed last month outside of Dhaka.
A five-member U.N. working group on human rights and business said clothing brands that have operations in Bangladesh have a responsibility to ensure working conditions are safe. read more>>>

Boehner: Pay China First, Then U.S. Troops, Military Veterans'

2013-05-08T07:35:00.000-04:00

"If military action is worth our troops' blood, it should be worth our treasure, too; not just in the abstract, but in the form of a specific ante by every American." -Andrew Rosenthal 10 Feb. 2013

DeJa- Vu all over again, decades and wars from!! The abandoned long ago, with cheering majority crowds and flags waving, main missions of Afghanistan are winding down, Iraq is officially over. Once again those who served, many multiple tours in these theaters, their families and the veterans' of, will move further and further down the list as the countries responsibility to fulfill their obligations, through their government representatives, federal and state, who control the purse strings, will blank out any thought as to that responsibility. Occasionally putting forth bills as elections are coming which nickle and dime the problems created or they'll sit on the shelves with the rest from previous, especially from reps with military bases in their states and districts, to show they care, the con. And the greater majority will also wipe any thoughts of from their minds, easily ignoring what those veterans' are saying and going through, as they wave those flags and call themselves patriotic!

John Boehner On Debt Ceiling: Let's Pay China First, Then U.S. Troops

05/07/2013 - During an interview with Bloomberg TV, Boehner was asked about this week's vote on the Full Faith and Credit Act, which, in the event that the U.S hits its debt ceiling, would direct the treasury secretary to pay only the principal and interest owed to bondholders before making any other payments. Money for other payments, such as those for veterans, Medicare and national security, would have to be divvied up from what remained of the scarce federal funds.
Republican supporters of the bill maintain that the most important thing is that the nation won't default on its credit as as long as those interest payments are made on time.
"Our goal here is to get ourselves on a sustainable path from a fiscal standpoint," Boehner said. "I think doing a debt prioritization bill makes it clear to our bondholders that we’re going to meet our obligations."
When show host Peter Cook asked if Boehner's comments mean that, as Democrats have suggested, Republicans are basically choosing to pay China before paying U.S. troops, Boehner didn't disagree. read more>>>

“Why in 2009 were we still using paper?” VA Assistant Secretary Tommy Sowers “When we came in, there was no plan to change that; we’ve been operating on a six month wait for over a decade.” 27 March 2013 {Read links above under site header}

"We are dealing with veterans, not procedure; with their problems, not ours." General Omar Bradley, First Administrator of the Veterans Administration

These present wars have yet to be paid for! Rubber stamping and rapid deficits rising started before 9/11 and continued with same for the wars. But especially in the early some six years of extremely little being added to the Veterans Administration budgets by those Congresses, and since obstructed by same war rubber stampers, as to the long term results of War, DeJa-Vu all over again. Meanwhile the big money individuals and investment firms investors in the defense stocks reaped multi-millions in returns and added to the hoarded wealth, congressional reps were doing insider trading legally! Keeping the VA under budgeted causes problems and of many grow worse, which costs more to correct much more, which is the goal of those seeking to privatize Government Agencies as they attack the people of and which was created by their own incompetence and ideologies, but doing those served will!

Solar Panels and Fighting Malaria

2013-05-07T15:02:00.002-04:00

Solar Panels Help Prevent Malaria in Kenya

May 6th, 2013 - Rusinga Island, located in the eastern part of Lake Victoria in Kenya, is having solar panels installed on homes to not only provide electricity but to aid in the fight against malaria. Malaria kills an estimated 1.2 million people per year and is a big problem for the 30,000 inhabitants of Rusinga Island. If fitting homes with solar panels that power insecticide-free mosquito traps proves successful in combating malaria, this project could be replicated in other remote areas of the world plagued by this disease. read more>>>

GoGreenSolar.com

For the Sandy Hook Victims: "Family"

2013-05-04T16:12:00.000-04:00

Haven't done this in ages, put together a video and upload to share. But after reading the crap coming out of Huston by the LaPierres, the Palins, the 'chickenhawk', at now 42, Cruz.

Not one ounce of 'empathy', many extremely hollow words in relation to gun violence, it's All about Them as they spit on the graves, especially of the children!!!

I then streamed the PBS Bill 'Moyers and Company' show I had to at least cut the song at the end of the first segment and save it. I added the end of the second segment as well as Bill's short commentary. The song will tear ya up, it did me!

Pierce Pettis' song “Family.”
Sung by Dar Williams and Sandy Hook Mom Francine Wheeler

On the show this is what leads up to the showing of the live performance:

3 May 2013 - BILL MOYERS: There is one song in the concert, “Family.” Can you talk about that a moment? And then, I'd like for my audience to hear it.
PETER YARROW: "Family," was the moment of catharsis for me at the concert. It was astonishing.
FRANCINE WHEELER: And you know, Ben was there. Ben was there. You know, I've listened to Dar Williams for, I don't know, 15 years, and I had never met her before the day of the concert. And she said, through Peter, you know, what does Francine want to sing? And she suggested Pierce Pettis' song “Family.”
And when I listened to it, after I cried for a while, I realized it was the perfect song. I mean, the word I say in the second verse is: “We stood outside in the summer rain, / different people with a common pain.” And that’s what you have.
PETER YARROW: And it also says, there's a line, "[he's] just a child, that's all.” That is, to me, such a powerful line, it's a child, yeah, he's, you know, in a box in the cold.
FRANCINE WHEELER: He's just a child.
PETER YARROW: He's just a child. That's all. We're not talking about sophisticated political dilemmas. Can we just have some empathy for that child who is gone?
FRANCINE WHEELER: Or the teacher that was trying to protect that child.
PETER YARROW: Absolutely.

And these are the words sung:

DAR WILLIAMS: Can you fix this? It's a broken heart. It was fine, but it just fell apart. It was mine, but now I give it to you. Cause you can fix it, you know what to do.
DAR WILLIAMS & FRANCINE WHEELER: Let your love cover me, Like a pair of angel wings, You are my family, You are my family.
FRANCINE WHEELER: We stood outside in the summer rain, Different people with a common pain. A simple box in that hard red clay, It's where we left him to always remain.
DAR WILLIAMS & FRANCINE WHEELER: Let your love cover me, Like a pair of angel wings, You are my family, You are my family.
DAR WILLIAMS: The child who played with the moon and stars, Waves a snatch of hay in a common barn.
DAR WILLIAMS & FRANCINE WHEELER: In the lonely house of Adam’s fall Lies a child, it’s just a child that’s all, crying
DAR WILLIAMS & FRANCINE WHEELER: Let your love cover me, Like a pair of angel wings, You are my family, You are my family. You are my family, You are my family.

You can watch each segments:

Francine Wheeler and Peter Yarrow on Music’s Power in Social Movements

Francine and David Wheeler on Turning Tragedy into Transformation

Or the full show:

Full Show: The Sandy Hook Promise

If you didn't catch it last night, like myself, and don't stream later I would suggest you do watch, once again well put together and very powerful.

DoD Counters Intolerant Religious {christian??} Extremists Twisted Rumors

2013-05-04T10:58:00.003-04:00

DOD Counters Internet Posts on Religion Issue

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2013 – Internet posts making the rounds claiming that the Defense Department will court-martial service members who espouse Christianity are not true, a Pentagon spokesman said today.
“The Department of Defense places a high value on the rights of members of the military services to observe the tenets of their respective religions and respects, [and supports by its policy] the rights of others to their own religious beliefs, including the right to hold no beliefs,” Navy Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen said in a written statement on the issue.
“The department does not endorse any one religion or religious organization, and provides free access of religion for all members of the military services,” he added.
Internet posts are attributing a statement that superior officers who try to convert those under their command should face court-martial to Mikey Weinstein, president of the Albuquerque, N.M.-based Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and are identifying him as a Pentagon advisor, Christensen noted.
“Mr. Weinstein is not part of any DOD advisory group or committee, nor is he a consultant to the Defense Department regarding religious matters,” Christensen said. “Mr. Weinstein requested, and was granted, a meeting at the Pentagon April 23, with the Air Force judge advocate general and others, to include the deputy chief of chaplains, to express his concerns of religious issues in the military.”
Some bloggers have taken sections of Air Force Instruction 1-1 “Air Force Standards” -- specifically, the section titled “Government Neutrality Regarding Religion” -- out of context in supporting their take, Christensen said. read more>>>

Bill 'Moyers and Company': 3 May 2013

2013-05-04T06:16:00.003-04:00

Full Show: The Sandy Hook Promise

May 3, 2013 - Francine and David Wheeler’s youngest son Ben was one of the 20 children killed in the December 14th attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Their grief has led them to Sandy Hook Promise, a now-nationwide group founded by Newtown friends and neighbors to heal the hurt and find new ways to talk about and campaign against the scourge of gun violence in the United States.
One of their allies is folk singer Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame, who joined with the Wheelers and others in a February concert of harmony, resilience and solidarity.
Francine Wheeler and Peter Yarrow discuss with Bill the power of music to create change, and their mission to protect children and adults from gun violence in communities across America. read more>>> * * * Full Transcript>>>

More Found At: Moyers & Company

'Shell Shocked' Murder Through the Eyes of Children

2013-05-03T07:50:00.001-04:00

New Orleans 'Shell Shocked' documentary examines grim reality of murder through the eyes of children

May 02, 2013 - The images are disturbing. Young boys in New Orleans neighborhoods point assault rifles at the camera. Teenagers brawl in a classroom. Bodies lie on the streets. A mother looks into the camera and admits she sometimes asks strangers if she can hug them because they remind her of her murdered son.
In a city long known as America's murder capital -- in 2012, the murder rate in New Orleans was 10 times the national average -- many residents say they can't help but grow numb to the daily shootings throughout the city. But a new documentary that premiered this week, "Shell Shocked," aims to cut through to viewers' hearts by presenting New Orleans teenagers' grim realities in their own words.
"I would say a gun is way easier to get than a textbook down here," says one teenage boy. "A textbook is more expensive to get to. You gotta get online and order it, you can't just walk into Walmart like that."

Shell Shocked - Official Trailer

Shell Shocked - Official Trailer from Scrub Brush Productions on Vimeo.

Cricket Childrens Rifle: "something you can't prepare for!"?

2013-05-03T07:24:00.000-04:00

This is a video report I caught last night. In it they talk to adults, neighbors, about the shooting with the kid manufactured gun. One adult says something to the effect that this was "something you can't prepare for!"{?}! An adult spoke those words, this is the type that shouldn't have guns around him let alone around the children!

Toddler shot and killed by 5yr old

2 May 2013 - 2yr old shot by her 5yr old brother who was playing with rifle made for kids.

WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC

It's not just the age, it's also how responsible the adults are around the children and the examples they set, not only as to guns, and how they themselves understand what guns can and do do and the safety precautions they take in showing their responsibility and maturity, again not only as to guns, in handling their own weapons and their choices of what weapons they own as to the uses that guns are intended for! Children look at almost everything as a toy, we even need to teach they not touch a stove top burner. We are the examples, the educators of the young, of how they learn and grow with that learning!!

Germany's Neo-Nazi's and Deadly Racism

2013-05-03T06:51:00.001-04:00

Neo-Nazi trial highlights casual racism in Germany

May 03, 2013 - Most of the victims were immigrants and their deaths at first failed to make headlines. Police were quick to blame the killings on foreign gangs with links to gambling and drugs.
But revelations that a string of unsolved killings may have been a cold-blooded neo-Nazi campaign against ethnic Turks have shaken the nation, forcing Germans to confront painful truths about racism and the broader treatment of immigrants in society.
The sole survivor of the group blamed for the killings - the self-styled National Socialist Underground - goes on trial Monday in Munich, along with four men alleged to have helped the killers in various ways.
Beate Zschaepe, 38, is charged with complicity in the murder of 8 Turks, a Greek and a policewoman. She is also accused of involvement in at least two bombings and 15 bank robberies carried out by her accomplices Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Boenhardt, who died in an apparent murder-suicide two years ago. read more>>>

Children March into Civil Rights History

2013-05-03T06:07:00.000-04:00

The children who marched into civil rights history

May 2, 2013 - Fifty years ago Birmingham, Alabama, was the front line in the fight for civil rights and it wasn't going well.
But then children joined the battle and everything changed.
James Stewart and Arnetta Streeter-Gary were among those who marched for civil rights in Birmingham in 1963.
Stewart was just 15 years old and one of a thousand children who were determined to protest the city's segregation laws - a social code Birmingham would not give up easily.
"We said enough is enough is enough. We're not living with this," said Stewart. "And when they brought the dogs and the water hoses out, that was a greater weapon that they were deploying. So for me, it was war time." read more>>>

A turning point in the civil rights movement

America is celebrating the 50 year anniversary of the Birmingham children's march, a pivotal moment that helped revitalize the civil rights movement in the U.S. Michelle Miller reports.

Iraq A Decade After

2013-05-02T14:22:00.000-04:00

War leaves lasting impact on healthcare

2 May 2013 (IRIN) - Of all the areas of Iraq’s development that were affected by the US-led invasion 10 years ago, healthcare has probably taken the biggest hit.
The impact of the 2003 invasion and subsequent conflict on Iraq’s healthcare system has been well-documented. (Check out consistent coverage of the health consequences of Iraq’s conflict by the Lancet medical journal here.) The conflict shattered Iraq's primary healthcare delivery, disease control and prevention services, and health research infrastructure. Attempts to resurrect Iraq's healthcare system remain hindered by a number of factors, including fragile national security and lack of utilities like water and electricity.
Much of the damage incurred in the first few years of the invasion continues to have an impact today. read more>>>

A decade after US-led forces toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, IRIN examines the impact of the occupation on basic living standards.

Amputee Marines Provide Comfort, Relief to Marathon Bombings Patients

2013-05-01T18:43:00.002-04:00

Mother And Daughter Injured In Boston Bombing Face New Future

May 01, 2013 - Forty-seven-year-old Celeste Corcoran is propped up in her hospital bed. In a nearby window is a forest of blooming white orchids from well-wishers. On the opposite wall, a big banner proclaims "Corcoran Strong."
She's recalling how thrilled she was to be near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, waiting for her sister Carmen Accabo to run by. "I just remember standing there, wanting to be as close as I could to catch her," Corcoran says. "I really just needed to see her face."
And then the first of the two bombs went off, throwing Celeste Corcoran off her feet. The noise was deafening — it blew out both her eardrums.

snip
At that low point, a stranger walked into the Corcorans' hospital room — a U.S. Marine named Gabe Martinez. He's a veteran of Afghanistan who lost both legs from injuries very similar to Celeste's.
"He came in and said, 'You know, I was just like you. I was just like this. I felt helpless. I felt like I couldn't do anything for myself.' "
Martinez, who works with a group of amputees called the Semper Fi Fund that counsels severely injured servicemen, was the living proof Celeste needed that double amputees don't have to be dependent invalids.
He was "steady as a rock" on his prosthetic legs, she says. "And he's telling me I can be the exact same way."
Martinez and a fellow Marine, Cameron West, a single amputee, came back for more visits. They've pledged to help Celeste and Sydney through the coming weeks and months.
That was Celeste's third turning point. read more>>>

PTSD {PTS} is Not Only War Theater nor Soldiers Of

2013-04-23T08:23:00.002-04:00

Which has been the very important message, within many, Ignored, only one of very many issues a country served refuses it's own sacrifice from the wars supported, by the Country since we Vietnam veterans, started coming home from, and supporters of, mostly from those anti-war coalitions, have been trying to make not only to the Country but the World population to understand for over forty some years and has always existed within the human community and frankly any living species with the ability to think and process thought. War theaters bring on more intense trauma's in those fighting in and the populations that exist within, 24/7 possibility of intense extreme trauma, actions, site of, thoughts of, at anytime and for many often. It's the opposite of what most are brought up to believe life will be and the reality of what happens in individual or group lives.

PTSD May Strike Bostonians in Bombing, Lockdown Aftermath

April 23, 2013 - Less than a week after Andrew King moved to Cambridge, Mass., from Little Rock, Ark., the 26-year-old biostatistician found himself living under lockdown, along with a million or so others, as law enforcement hunted for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect.
With no cable hookup and his cell phone's Internet connection on the fritz, he found out about the lockdown from a friend in Atlanta.
"As soon as I read the text, I ran back in my room and literally covered my head with the sheets," he said. "It was terrifying."
For several hours, King huddled in his unpacked apartment that bordered where the suspect was eventually apprehended, peering out the window at the legions of armed police performing a slow sweep of the streets and driveways. King's friend kept texting him updated news reports, which King tried to reconcile with what he was seeing outside his door.
"It was just unbelievably surreal," he said.
Now that the subject has been apprehended, the city has no doubt breathed a collective sigh of relief. But a nagging sense of insecurity will likely linger for many, said experts.
"There is a particular sense of vulnerability to this act of violence, because these men lived among us. It is one of those traumatic events that are at the very heart of post traumatic stress," said Dr. Paul Ragan, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. read more>>>