As HuffPost's senior military correspondent, David Wood (who won a Pulitzer last spring for his Beyond the Battlefield series) has relentlessly put the spotlight on the sacrifices and struggles of America's veterans. His story in this week's issue of Huffington puts a spotlight on the true cost of the wars. "Among the grim repercussions of a decade of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan -- the dead, the battle-injured, the wreckage, the wasted billions -- is this: while most soldiers return from war and resume a somewhat normal life, many do not," he writes. Many return to face other demons: drug addiction, alcohol abuse or reckless behavior that can lead to fractured families or trouble with the law. The result is what one expert calls "an epidemic": the estimated 223,000 veterans who are in prison -- most of them veterans of Vietnam, but increasingly from Iraq and Afghanistan. David introduces us to 32-year-old Jamie Beavers, who has served two Iraq tours and suffered from PTSD and pill addiction. In February, when he was arrested and spent time in jail, his wife and daughters fled, leaving him to grapple with wounds that go beyond the physical. "It's hard," Beavers says. "I'm just trying to get back into things."
Arthur Delaney has documented the lives and struggles of those caught in a different epidemic -- long-term unemployment. In this issue, he tells the story of Stephen LaRoque, the North Carolina representative who helped engineer a Republican standoff that stopped 47,000 unemployed North Carolinians from receiving their checks. One of those was Kathryn Treadway, an unemployed mother of two, who wrote to LaRoque asking for help. As Delaney writes, LaRoque's reply, and the events that followed, represent something larger than just one representative squabbling with his constituent. "Republicans at the state and federal levels broadly share his view on the plight of the unemployed, a view that often comes down to a simple, and simplistic, distillation: Able-bodied people who don't work are just lazy, and it shouldn't be the government's job to help them."
Elsewhere in the issue, Catherine Pearson reports on new evidence expanding our understanding of in vitro fertilization and how it may affect subsequent pregnancies. Among the recent findings are that 17 percent of women who gave birth as a result of in vitro fertilization became pregnant again within six years without IVF. Catherine introduces us to Michelle, who decided to use donor eggs after suffering two miscarriages and giving birth to a stillborn baby. But shortly after giving birth to a daughter through in vitro fertilization, she found out she was pregnant again, this time with a son. Catherine writes of Michelle's complex feelings about the different ways her two children were born, but those feelings did not last long. As Catherine puts it, "Both children feel entirely hers, and both feel miraculous."
This piece first appeared in our FREE new weekly iPad magazine, Huffington, in the iTunes App store.
Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff
http://www.womenyoushouldknow.net/battling-bare/
In Fallujah Iraq, large segments of childbearing age Iraqi women were told by doctors not to conceive deformed + malformed babies, because of widespread DU radioactive contamination of EVERYTHING, including soil, water, air (windblown dusts), foodchain, and male + female human genes (in sperms + eggs).
Radioactive contaminated casualties are by no means confined to Iraqi soldiers + civilians. Since GulfWar, over 250,000 US servicemen + women had been diagnozed with "GulfWarSyndrome" (Pentagon invented euphemistic misleading medical diagnosis of DU radioactive contamination). Countless USvets from GulfWar, IraqWar, AfghanWar are similarly contaminated. Pentagon policy through VeteransAdministration prohibits them + their families disclosing or publicly discussing their radioactive maladies + tragedies, under threat of losing vital medical services coverage.
"The Doctor, DepletedUranium, and Dying Children":--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyHKeNLrrhg (1of6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoOXIxvhME0 (2of6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ryozo1mDuww (3of6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Vt2fSRkOo (4of6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVNFFQmt5hI (5of6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owsgmPQktsA (6of6)
These're crimes against humanity by any definition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=_XC5VITjAkc&NR=1
Depleted Uranium is used in munitions of high-velocity high-penetration rounds of high caliber cannons and machine guns as well as artillery shells, missiles and b0mbs:--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium
http://www.wise-uranium.org/dissaf.html
http://www.infowars.com/us-uses-depleted-uranium-makes-graveyards-in-afghanistan/
http://pubrecord.org/world/5811/depleted-uranium-babies-afghanistan/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_1Utbd_z8I
Since these DU munitions are used EVERYWHERE that US had been at war, their effects on people and the whole environment are propagated and diffused EVERYWHERE for all time -- an ETERNITY of 4.5 BILLION YEARS, the radioactive "half-life" of U238 in Depleted Uranium. US veterans in hundreds of thousands carry those effects and societal ramifications in them back to their homes, families and communities.
Everyone reading this: please support "Retired Pay Restoration Act" (HR303, S344).
This restores an inequity that has been around for decades. Military pay is recognition of service (based on length of service). VA income is compensation for losses due to disability incurred in military service. If you serve 20 years and retire, you go to the VA and they evaluate disability...did you wreck your knee parachuting, did you lose your hearing on the flight deck, or in artillery...that sort of thing. You receive retirement for service, and your VA in recognition of disability
EXCEPT: If you're hurt so bad you cannot complete 20 years...you receive a lesser income for reduced years---AND --you give up your VA...even though THAT is why you were forced out. Or...you can take VA and give up retirement pay dollar for dollar.This is extremely small, all things considered, to fund: about $500 million the first year; less than $10 billion over 10 years...iit keeps getting kicked out of the budget...last budget process..it made it to the LAST vote--and was stripped out
PLEASE help us fund this. Write your reps and tell others. Go to agreaterus.org, and support this effort. I've lost $100k in 12 years...and it will continue for life. And I'm only losing 1/3 of what others give up every month.
THANKS!
Pr Chris
As it has been said before," the rich start wars and the poor fight them", if the rich had to put there sons and daughter's in harms way the wars would never start.
This concept and your claim sounds persuasive theoretically, but I'm dubious of its rationale in actual practice. Take two examples in the world today of nations with conscription national service (although both are small nations) -- Switzerland and Israel.
Switzerland is recognized worldwide as neutral peaceful nation that has conscription national service. Virtually nobody in the world would consider Switzerland agressive or war-like. Few people can dispassionately consider Israel peaceful, non-agressive, or non-warlike.
I would be interested to hear some thoughtful examination and discussion of this conscription issue in depth.
While Switzerland since WW2 has chosen to stay out of conflict and during the war were involved in ways which are still questioned today. Israel has itself in a situation which it seems that almost all citizens regardless of wealth seem to support the ongoing conflict or it would have ended long ago. So I don't think either can be used to support of disqualify my theory.
With regard to the US the country is unquestionable governed by the wealthy and the conflicts it enters seem to benefit the wealth of those connected to the government. So it brings up the question on how the support to go to war would be received in congress if there were thousands of family members having there lives put at risk by their fathers , mothers , aunts uncles and grandparents
On the flip side of the coin, reading between the lines of this article I wonder if some of these returning vets, if never in the military would they be any different. It takes a special person, someone who can handle the perils of military life both in combat and non-combat situations to survive and conform to a civilian life style. What's usually not reported is the caliber of a few recruits that make the grade of military criteria. To make the recruitment requirements of the military needs, a lot of people slip through and bring their life problems with them into the military. So again, a lot of these returning vets are living their problems whether in civilian or military life.
This is a draft...just as clearly as if we had local boards and letters that come in the mail directing them to report.
Pr Chris
This week an alarming figure of 2000 American soldiers killed in Afghanistan and what has been achieved, very little indeed.
We all owe a great debt of gratitude to our veterans, and must do all we can to help them settle back into civilian life, many suffer from physical or mental trauma, and fail to get the help they need. I am proud to have been elected as an Honorary Board Member of the Our House Foundation of Missouri, which was founded by my great friend Dr. Rita Spilken to assist veterans everywhere. Please help Rita and her volunteers in their work, visit their web site at www.ourhousefoundation.org and if you can donate a few buck as well, God bless you.
It is also necessary for all veterans to receive all the necessary care to any physical or mental conditions on their return to civilian life. That is why I am so very proud to be an Honorary Board Member of the Our House Foundation in Missouri, run by my good friend Dr. Rita Spilken, please visit their web site at www.ourhousefoundation.org and please help all you can to enable Rita and her volunteers to carry out their work.
F & F