THE DEPLOYMENT GAME: LIVIN' FOBULOUS--NEW VIDEO BY CASEY J. PORTER

Take an inside look at the fleecing of Soldiers while they are deployed to Iraq.

Every single day Soldiers are suckered out of their money by major corporations which tempt the young enlisted "Joe" to spend, spend, spend.

All of these businesses are here in Iraq with permission of the U.S. Government, a willing partner in the race to make as much money as possible.

See as I go undercover into these stores to give you the proof of these acts.

Also see as Soldiers must bathe right next to air conditioning units and wash their hands and brush their teeth with brown water. All provided for Soldiers by those fine people at KBR.

Greed, corruption, and putting Soldiers lives in harms way in this, our latest film, The Deployment Game: Livin' FOBulous

Spec. Casey J. Porter, producer, and a member of the United States Army deployed to Iraq.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.liveleak.com/e/b9b_1227815237

CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO

WATCH OTHER SPEC. CASEY J. PORTER VIDEOS FROM IRAQ HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp4IpL8jyaU

COMBAT IN AFGHANISTAN: LARA LOGAN CBS WAR CORRESPONDENT REPORTS IN THIS VIDEO

The enemy combatants in AFGHANISTAN are getting stronger and CBS' LARA LOGAN takes you inside the mountains of AFGHANISTAN with a U.S. ARMY unit doing everything they can to try and bring some peace to the region.

The video is intense and LOGAN's commentary is excellent.

This is a NEW video and just another example of the kind of footage availabe to the U.S. media, but ignored by the media in the United States.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/rZDonqtAf-8&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY

VIOLENT VIDEO: SNIPER ATTACKS US TROOPS IN IRAQ

This is a video that was acquired from the enemy in IRAQ and shows a sniper attacking U.S. troops.

Why do we publish this video? Because the media in the United States has pulled the shades down on what is happening in Iraq and we think the American public deserves to know we are STILL at war in IRAQ.

WARNING: This video is very, very VIOLENT.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/8vH5ieBOykI&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY

WHAT WAR LOOKS LIKE-REDUX--VIDEOS BY CASEY J. PORTER

http://www.youtube.com/v/yxtNeSm0NHo&hl=en&fs=1 (FIRST VIDEO)

http://www.youtube.com/v/4iWGYWLv7-Y&hl=en&fs=1 (SECOND VIDEO)

Do You Want to See What War Looks Like?

By Jennifer Fenton, The WipPosted on November 17, 2008, Printed on November 17, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/107324/

"We have an entire generation of people in their twenties and thirties who have never gone through a war … the media and government have gotten so good at the creation of messages, people don't know the reality" Casey J. Porter Army Sergeant Casey J. Porter has many battles to fight, and unlike the dramatizations of politicians and media commentators, his battles are concrete, real, and hard fought. During his time as an enlisted soldier deployed in Iraq, Casey has undergone an evolutionary process, one that has taken him from warrior to peace activist. His talent and passion for filmmaking have given him the perfect medium for his personal expression. Utilizing his current circumstances and natural talent as a filmmaker to speak out against the war, Casey's films have turned the heads of people like Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! and filmmaker Michael Moore. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Casey recently.

Phoning from Iraq, his soft-spoken voice was not quite what I expected - his intellect, courage, and tenacity are apparent, even from three thousand miles away. "Most Americans are not affected on a daily basis by this war; it is not personal for them … I can tell you for example, that what is happening in Iraq is always in the daily thoughts of my mother."

After serving one tour of duty in Iraq, and completing his voluntary commitment to the military, Casey found himself entangled in the controversial military policy, "stop-loss." The "Backdoor Draft" as some have called it, is the means by which the United States Military may extend the terms of service of a United States soldier to retain them longer than the period for which they volunteered. Critics of "stop-loss" say the policy hurts troop moral and unnecessarily places the burden of war on relatively few families, shielding the majority of Americans from any real sacrifice during wartime. Shortly before his second deployment to Iraq, Casey became a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and helped found its Fort Hood chapter. For Casey, the decision to join the anti-war group was natural. As he experienced the plight of the Iraqi people and the injury and loss of friends who served, his opposition and activism grew into an all out personal mission. Casey has taken his misfortune as a "stop-loss" soldier and turned it into an opportunity to make a difference in how the occupation of Iraq is perceived by Americans. Unwittingly, he is humble about his activism.

While discussing his films, Casey says, "most importantly, this is not about me at all, but the soldiers around me and those who continue to deploy year after year. This has been, and will always be about them." To watch his films, What War Looks Like and Deconstructed (watch videos at the bottom), one cannot help but feel an intimate connection to the reality in Iraq. Images of dead bodies, blown-out Humvees, and services for soldiers who have lost their lives challenge the myths, sound bites, talking points, and infotainment created by politicians and media pundits. "The photos you see of soldiers' services in What War Looks Like were taken by me," Casey explains. "Standing there and watching fellow soldiers experience such loss changes you. Watching Iraqi children dig through landfills for food changes you. Seeing the senselessness of it all compels me to speak out … I know that I am not the only soldier who feels this way about the continued occupation of Iraq. Whether they're soldiers who have been stop-lossed or this is their first time over here - they are seeing the truth for themselves." Casey cites the stark contrast between his daily experiences in Iraq and what is reported in US media as an important reason for taking action. By keeping the truth from the American people, he says they are unable to make sound decisions about the continued occupation of Iraq. Crucial details are kept from view - details that dramatically influence the daily lives of thousands of Americans and their families. The hardship of these families, which goes largely unrecognized except for the splattering of yellow ribbon magnets on cars, is the main reason Casey finds himself motivated to act. "I could not live with myself if I kept my head down and went into another deployment without taking any action … the hardest stand to take is from within," he says.

After the creation of What War Looks Like and the subsequent Internet stir it caused, Casey realized the potential he had to make a difference with what he calls "guerrilla-style filmmaking." Casey's vision for telling the truth and reaching large audiences is slowly gaining momentum on YouTube; his short films continue to garner support from thousands of activists, fellow soldiers, and concerned Americans. Before we hung up, I asked Casey to comment on the recent lull in the violence in Iraq, which has been credited to "the surge" of forces injected by the Bush Administration in 2007.

Casey points to the stifling heat, the re-organization of resistance fighters and the continued construction of walls throughout Iraq's cities. The effects of walls and checkpoints, he notes, rarely make it into US media headlines or political talking points. But one recent report by AP writer Hamza Hendawi supports Casey's assertion: similar to the walls and checkpoints constructed by Israel throughout the West Bank, Baghdad's walls lead to gridlock, rising prices for food and homes, and complaints about living in what feels like a prison. Casey points out that the construction of these walls brutalizes an already brutalized population.

"The look on the faces of the Iraqi people shows just how angry and worn out they feel … and I apologize every chance I get." As long as these walls and checkpoints remain, Casey says Iraqis have no real hope of rebuilding a strong stable economy. This is hardly the free and democratic society promised by the Bush administration. The continued contradiction between the reality of the war and deliberately inaccurate rhetoric has compelled this soldier to turn his personal misfortune into a source of hope. Casey believes a populace armed with knowledge will act to end the unjustified occupation of Iraq. It is here that Casey has placed his hope for a safe return and an end to this war. And it is in Casey that many have placed their hope for humanity.

Jennifer Fenton lives with her family in Pacific Grove, California. She has a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology and works with gang entrenched youth, addressing social and individual issues that lead to gang violence

COMBAT MEDIC PRE-DEPLOYMENT TRAINING VIDEO: GREAT MUSIC

In our continuing effort to bring to our blog readers what the mainstream media does not not cover anymore, this video with music depicts the training a Combat Medic Team goes through prior to deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/5ib0Igyqi8M&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY

CNN REPORTS: MORE VIOLENCE IN IRAQ. 14 KILLED

President-elect Barack Obama is facing a real problem with Iraq when he takes office in January.

Car bombings and suicide attacks are increasing all over Iraq and there appears to be no signs it will stop.

Here is what happened Sunday in Iraq as reported by CNN.

Car bombing in Iraq kills 14

Story Highlights
Bombing occurred at an Iraqi police checkpoint in mainly Kurdish town of Jalawla
Six police officers were killed, and another five were wounded
Suicide bomber in city of Tal Afar kills at least nine on Saturday, U.S. military says
Bomb in parked car kills at least three, wounds 23 others in Baghdad

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/11/16/iraq.main/index.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A suicide car bombing killed 14 people and wounded 20 others Sunday in the town of Jalawla, an official with Jalawla police said.

Six police officers were killed, and another five officers were among the wounded, the official said.

Iraq's Interior Ministry confirmed the incident, which occurred at an Iraqi police checkpoint in Jalawla, about 43 miles north of Baquba. Jalawla is a mainly Kurdish town located in Diyala province and one of the disputed areas between the central government and the Kurdish Regional Government
.
On Saturday, the Interior Ministry said a suicide car bombing near a car dealership killed 11 Iraqis and wounded 36 in the northern city of Tal Afar.

The U.S. military put the death toll at nine for that attack -- which it said targeted civilians -- and said 40 people were wounded. Tal Afar is about 43 miles west of Mosul.

In Baghdad, at least three people were killed and 23 others were wounded when a parked car bomb detonated Saturday evening in a busy area of central Baghdad's Karrada district, a ministry official said.

A dozen cars were destroyed, the official said.

Also on Saturday, a roadside bombing targeting a police patrol in northern Baghdad wounded at least seven people.

Three of the injured were policemen and the other four were civilians.

NEW VIDEO: GEORGE W. BUSH OUTED CIA AGENT VALERIE PLAME

Thanks to Mary MacElveen for tipping me off to this video of former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan talking about how he asked President Bush if he was the one who "outed" CIA agent Valerie Plame, and how Bush told McClellan he was the one who gave approval to out Plame.

McClellan also discusses at length how the Bush administration took us to war with Iraq when there was no exit strategy.

This video is CHILLING because this is NEW information never seen or heard before.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/K3kSMvVRnk0&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO.

LOOK AT THEIR FACES. VIDEO OF THE 27TH BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM PREPARING TO DEPLOY TO AFGHANISTAN

There are not many Americans get to see what it is like when one of our top combat teams deploys to Afghanistan, but this video shows the 27th Brigade Combat Team from Ft. Bragg, North Carolina preparing to leave for Afghanistan.

Look closely at their faces. These are the faces of the bravest and best the U.S. has to offer.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/gd7CG99yn-Y&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY

URGENT: IRAQ BLAST KILLS 9 INJURES 37

URGENT / Talafar blast casualties up to 37

November 15, 2008 - 01:29:12

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=103113

NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq: Saturday’s earlier car bomb attack casualties rose to nine deaths and 28 others wounded, according to an Iraqi police source.

Earlier, a security source said six civilians were killed and 17 others wounded when a car bomb ripped through Talafar district, west of Mosul city.

“A car bomb went off today in the area of al-Maarid in Talafar district, (60 km) west of Mosul, leaving six killed and 17 others injured, all of them civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq.

“The casualties will most likely go up,” the source added, not giving more details.

HORRIFYING VIDEO: ACID ATTACKS ON AFGHAN SCHOOLGIRLS: US SOLDIER KILLED IN CONVOY ATTACK

The war in Afghanistan is escalating and this newest video shows what happened when Afghan schoolgirls were sprayed with acid. Also, a US soldier was killed when the convoy he was riding in was struck by an IED.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/XUXZN9cdj-Q&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY

CATASTROPHIC IED FILMED BY U.S. MARINE CAM

This short video shows what happens when an IED goes off completely wiping out a US. military vehicle.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/TvfLqWV9vp4&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON ARROW TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

BAGHDAD COLLAPSING INTO VIOLENCE----AGAIN

We continue to point out how the mainstream media in the U.S. refuses to tell Americans how Iraq and especially Baghdad are collapsing into violence again.

The following is a list of attacks in ONE day in Baghdad as the security situation deteriorates.

Source: http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/

Baghdad:#1: A bomb exploded in a parked car in a bustling section of downtown Baghdad early Wednesday, killing four people and wounding 15 others, police said, the third consecutive day of morning rush hour blasts in the Iraqi capital.At least four people, including two police officers, have been killed in a car bomb attack in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, police have said. The bomb went off on Wednesday at about 9.30am (0630 GMT) in Saadun street, one of the main streets running through the capital.

#2: A half-hour later, a roadside bomb blew up in a Shiite-dominated neighborhood in northern Baghdad, officials said. Seven people, including three policemen, were injured.

#3: The Iraqi army killed five militants and captured nine others hiding in an underground shelter on Wednesday during a regular operation against al Qaeda in the Himreen mountains area of Diyala province, the Defence Ministry said.

#4: A car bomb killed two people and wounded 10 others in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad, police said.

#5: 12 people were killed and 60 others were wounded in a dual bombing with a booby-trapped car and roadside bomb at al-Neairiya neighborhood, eastern Baghdad, a source from the Iraqi police said on Wednesday. “The incident took place at a bus station,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq. “The car bomb went off first, and then was followed by the roadside bomb,” he added.

#6: Around 4 pm a roadside bomb detonated inside a civilian car in Zayuna neighborhood (east Baghdad). Two people were injured. When police arrived found out that the two were planning to plant the bomb somewhere in Baghdad neighborhoods. The police arrested them.

#7: Police found two dead bodies in Baghdad today. One was found in Saidiyah in Karkh bank and one was found in Obeidi in Rusafa bank.

The Washington Post is reporting the deaths of two U.S. soldiers in a friendly-fire Small arms fire attack in Mosul, Iraq on Wednesday, November 12th. Six additional soldiers were wounded in the attack. One Iraqi soldier was also killed.

Insurgents vow to resist Iraq security pact:

IRAQ PEACE IS FALLING APART. 2 US SOLDIERS KILLED, 6 WOUNDED. BLASTS ALL ACROSS IRAQ

The peace and calm the Bush administration and FOX NEWS have been bragging about in Iraq is on the brink of total collapse as 2 U.S. soldiers are killed and six more wounded by an Iraq Soldier, and blasts have been recorded all across Iraq.

Police: Iraq soldier kills 2 U.S. troops
6 GIs hurt before assailant is killed; elsewhere, more blasts hit Baghdad

msnbc.com news services
updated 11:29 a.m. CT, Wed., Nov. 12, 2008
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27674792/

BAGHDAD - An Iraqi soldier shot dead at least two U.S. troops Wednesday at a joint security station where Iraqi and American forces operate side-by-side, Iraqi police and a mortuary official said.

The shooting, which took place in northern Iraq's volatile Nineveh province, came after a series of bombings shook the capital Baghdad for the third straight day, killing 16 people and wounding dozens, police said. The bombings were part of an upswing of violence in the capital this month that has set back recent security gains.

In the face of the heightened violence in Baghdad, the Iraqi military said it was taking measures to curb "the increasing number of terrorist attacks" in the city. Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said the measures would include stepped up intelligence gathering and pre-emptive strikes on suspected extremists.

Soldiers killedIn the Nineveh incident, the Iraqi soldier opened fire on the Americans after a quarrel broke out between them, Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari said. He said the Americans then killed the Iraqi soldier, who was identified as Barzan al-Hadidi. The U.S. military said it could not confirm details about the incident until an investigation is completed.

Blasts upset calm In Baghdad, a car bomb and a roadside bomb exploding in quick succession killed 12 people and wounded 60 in the eastern New Baghdad district, police said.

The car bomb targeted a police patrol, then a roadside bomb killed and wounded those who had gathered at the blast site, police said.

The blasts were the latest in a series of attacks in Baghdad. A car bomb killed four people and wounded 13 in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad earlier in the day, police said. Another bomb in the same area wounded seven people.

The latest attacks follow two days of morning rush hour blasts in Baghdad that killed more than 30 people and wounded some 70.

Violence had fallen sharply in the capital before this month. But in the first nine days of November, there were at least 19 bombings in Baghdad, compared with 28 for all of October and 22 in September, according to an Associated Press tally.

Many of the attacks have targeted Iraqi police and army patrols, as well as government officials heading to work and commuters.

Trying to hammer out security dealThe rise in violence comes as U.S. and Iraqi officials try to hammer out a final agreement on a security deal that would keep U.S. troops in Iraq until the end of 2011. The security pact has drawn sharp criticism, especially from within the majority Shiite community.

The current U.N. mandate authorizing the U.S. presence in Iraq expires at the end of December. Without a security agreement or a new U.N. mandate, the U.S. military would have to cease operations in Iraq.

In an attempt to derail the pact, 10 Iraqi insurgent groups have agreed to ramp up attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremists.

But it is not clear who is responsible for the recent attacks in Baghdad.
In the volatile northern city of Mosul, unidentified gunmen killed two sisters from a Christian family as they were waiting in front of their house for a ride to work, police said. The women's mother was injured in the attack.

The attack in Mosul — an ethnically mixed city of Kurds, Christians and Arabs — comes after about 13,000 Christians fled the city last month in the face of threats and attacks from extremists. Some families have started returning to the city, although tensions linger.
Mosul has seen a spike in violence in recent months as the ethnic groups vie for power, and U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces continue to wage an intense battle with insurgents in the city.

BAGHDAD BOMBINGS INCREASE. 2 KILLED 15 WOUNDED. CNN REPORTS

Is this what Vice President-elect Joe Biden might have been referring to when he said President-elect Barack Obama would be "tested" early after his election?

The situation in Baghdad is growing worse.

Baghdad bombings kill two, wound 15

Story Highlights
Car bomb near police car kills two people, injures eight in central Baghdad
Roadside bomb in northeast Baghdad leaves seven wounded
Wednesday blasts come two days after deadly attacks strike Iraqi capital

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/11/12/iraq.violence/index.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A car bomb exploded near an Iraqi police patrol in central Baghdad on Wednesday morning, killing two people and wounding eight others, an Interior Ministry official said.

The attack took place in Naser Square around 9:40 a.m. (1:40 a.m. ET)

In northeastern Baghdad, meanwhile, a roadside bomb exploded near a car in a Shiite section of the capital, wounding seven civilians.

Wednesday's violence came two days after deadly bombings claimed the lives of 39 people in three Iraqi cities, including what Iraqis called the deadliest attack in the capital in nearly four months.

At least 32 people were killed in a triple bombing in Baghdad on Monday, and another five were slain in a suicide attack in Baquba that was believed to have been launched by a teenage girl.
Two police officers died Monday in a roadside bombing in Samarra.

COMPLETE LIST OF NAMES OF US TROOPS KILLED IN IRAQ IN OCTOBER

The following is a list of names of US troops killed in IRAQ in October. This list also contains cause of death and where they took place in IRAQ. The list has been confirmed by the DOD (Department of Defense). Source: http://icasualties.org/oif/prdDetails.aspx?hndRef=4-2008


29-Oct-2008
2
US: 2 UK: 0 Other: 0

US
Private 1st Class Bradley S. Coleman
Qayyarah Airfield - Ninawa
Non-hostile

US
Sergeant Scott J. Metcalf
Mosul (died in Balad) - Ninawa
Non-hostile
24-Oct-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Private 1st Class Cody J. Eggleston
National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda
Hostile - hostile fire - indirect fire
23-Oct-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Staff Sergeant Brian P. Hause
Balad Air Base - Salah Ad Din
Non-hostile - medical
20-Oct-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Lance Corporal Stacy A. Dryden
Al Asad - Anbar
Non-hostile
16-Oct-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Private 1st Class Heath K. Pickard
Ba'qubah - Diyala
Hostile - hostile fire - indirect fire
15-Oct-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Specialist Justin A. Saint
Baghdad
Non-hostile
14-Oct-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Private 1st Class Christopher A. McCraw
Baghdad (Nasar Wa Salam)
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
12-Oct-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Specialist Geoffrey G. Johnson
Baghdad
Non-hostile
11-Oct-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Corporal Reuben M. Fernandez III
Majar Al Kabir (Amara) - Maysan
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
07-Oct-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Sergeant Michael K. Clark
Mosul - Ninewa
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
05-Oct-2008
2
US: 2 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Colonel Michael R. Stahlman
Anbar Province
Non-hostile

US
Sergeant William P. Rudd
Mosul - Ninewa
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
03-Oct-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Private 1st Class Tavarus D. Setzler
Majar al-Kabir - Maysan

RAPED IN THE MILITARY. YOU'LL HAVE TO PAY FOR YOUR OWN FORENSIC EXAM KIT

Sarah Palin's decision not to pay for rape kits when she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, was an issue in the campaign for the White House. But allow me to introduce the large pink elephant that has been sitting quietly in the corner of the room: TRICARE, the Pentagon's Military Health System that covers active duty members, doesn't pay for off-base rape kits, either.

By Penny Coleman, AlterNetPosted on November 11, 2008, Printed on November 11, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/106307/

Spec. Patricia McCann, who served in Iraq with the Illinois Army National Guard from 2003 to 2004, raised the issue at the Winter Soldier Investigation in March. McCann read a memo issued to all MEDCOM commanders clarifying that "SAD kits" -- which are forensic rape kits -- "are not included in TRICARE coverage." *

That would put Alaska and the military in a very special category.

Women in the military are twice as likely to be raped as their civilian counterparts. In fact, "women serving in the U.S. military today are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq," Congresswoman Jane Harman, D-Calif., told the House Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs in May.

Harman said, "The scope of the problem was brought into acute focus for me during a visit to the West Los Angeles VA Health Center where I met female veterans and their doctors. My jaw dropped when the doctors told me that 41 percent of the female veterans seen there say they were victims of sexual assault while serving in the military, and 29 percent said they were raped during their military service."

In July, a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing subpoenaed Kaye Whitley, director of the Pentagon's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO), to explain what the department is doing to stop the escalating sexual violence in the military. Her boss, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, ordered her not to appear.

Whitley was finally made available to the committee on Sept. 10, but only after having been threatened with a contempt citation.

Whitley first informed the committee that the DoD was conducting a "crusade against sexual assault."

She then sought to reassure the committee with an accounting of all the heroic measures the Pentagon is planning to implement in the very near future.

But finally, she had to admit that in 2007 there were 2,688 sexual assaults in the military, including 1,259 reports of rape. Just 8 percent (181) of those cases were referred to courts martial, compared to a civilian prosecution rate of 40 percent. And almost half of those cases were dismissed without investigation. (And I say Whitley "had to admit" the number of cases because in 2004, Congress woke up to the fact that the DoD was blowing off the issue and required the military to make yearly reports on all matters relating to sexual assault in the Armed Forces. But those reports did not indicate either prioritizing or progress -- hence the hearings.)

Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., asked the committee if anyone thought that "ordering its employees to ignore subpoenas to discuss the topic" sounded as if DoD was taking any of this seriously. "Let me be very clear. Preventing and responding to sexual assault perpetrated against our soldiers is simply much too important to be playing a game of cat and mouse." He later told Stars and Stripes that there are only seven people on Whitley's staff to devise and implement the military's sexual assault program for the entire military. That number speaks for itself.

This is not news. As far back as 1995, Reuters reported that "Ninety percent of women under 50 who have served in the U.S. military and who responded to a survey report being victims of sexual harassment, and nearly one-third of the respondents of all ages say they have been raped."

Furthermore, the Pentagon acknowledges that 80 percent of military rapes are not reported in the first place, suggesting that the actual number, if it were known, would be astronomical.
Cat-and-mouse games may sound like kid stuff, but refusing to pay for a rape kit is anything but. It implies that the victim is to blame. It does not encourage victims to come forward. And it makes it far more likely that soldiers will interpret the permissive climate as institutionally sanctioned misogyny.

In her Winter Soldier testimony, McCann noted, "The assistant secretary of defense is soliciting legislative changes to TRICARE benefits which will include these kits within covered TRICARE supplies."

I have been in touch with the office of the assistant secretary, S. Ward Casscells, M.D. It seems that he has indeed solicited such legislation, and it is due to go into effect in December as an amendment to the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2007. The amendment contains some "background" that is worth sharing.

Currently, forensic examinations are not covered for beneficiaries in civilian health care facilities through TRICARE medical plans because TRICARE "may cost share only medically or psychologically necessary services or supplies. Forensic examinations are not conducted for medical treatment purposes, but for the preservation of evidence in any future criminal investigation and/or prosecution."

The decision to treat rape kits as purely evidentiary, ignoring the very real medical and psychological benefits to the victim, is reprehensibly primitive thinking. Making sure that those legislative changes happen as planned would be a long overdue step out of the primal ooze that has slimed our military in the eyes of our citizens and the world.

Speaking to Palin's decision not to pay for rape kits, the former governor of Alaska, Tony Knowles, was quoted in Palin's hometown paper, the Frontiersman, as saying, "We would never bill the victim of a burglary for fingerprinting and photographing the crime scene, or for the cost of gathering other evidence. Nor should we bill rape victims just because the crime scene happens to be their bodies."

When Barack Obama decides who he will appoint to head the Department of Veterans Affairs in his administration, he should consider appointing someone who also understands how important it is that women's bodies, souls, dignity and health be taken seriously. Tammy Duckworth, who is reported to be at the top of his list, certainly has had personal experience with a health care delivery system she has called "a little bit arcane."

Duckworth is now director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, but in 2004, she was a Blackhawk helicopter pilot in Iraq and lost both of her legs in a crash. She describes the care she received at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as "excellent," but adds, "the comfort package I received contained men's Jockey shorts, and the local VA hospital carried Viagra but not my birth control."

There are currently about 1.7 million female veterans in the United States, and the Department of Defense estimates that there are about 200,000 women, 15 percent of the military, on active duty. Thirty-nine percent of those women return from Iraq or Afghanistan with mental health issues, and, for more than a third who seek VA health care, the precipitating trauma was a sexual assault.

Every VA center now screens both men and women for sexual trauma. That is an improvement. Still, Duckworth says, "I don't think the VA mental health care system is ready for (female veterans)." It would be encouraging to see a VA director who has some understanding of how important that is to fix.

*The overwhelming indictment of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and the heartbreaking devastation they have wrought on the souls of young American soldiers -- are now the subject of an invaluable book edited by Aaron Glantz and issued by Haymarket Books.
This story has been edited since publication.

Penny Coleman is the widow of a Vietnam veteran who took his own life after coming home. Her latest book, Flashback: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide and the Lessons of War, was released on Memorial Day 2006. Her Web site is Flashback.

VICTIMS OF THE IRAQ WAR. WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC MUSIC VIDEO

Maybe because it is Veteran's Day, or maybe it is because I served my country in the United States Army, but nothing sickens me more than the way the mainstream press has turned their back on thousands of men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This video is brutal. It shows young children with their bodies broken and GIs being treated in a field combat hospitals. This video is NOT for those with a weak stomach.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/oA6-L1yrIfc&hl=en&fs=1

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CNN COMBAT HOSPITAL MUSIC VIDEO (COLD PLAY)

The mainstream media has all but forgotten our brave young warriors on Veteran's Day and any day, but this former GI hasn't and never will.

This CNN combat hospital music video captures the true feelings of war and hopefully will be shared by many.

Bill Corcoran, Editor, CORKSPHERE, former Cpl. (E-4) U.S. Army Combat Engineers

WATCH VIDEO HERE

http://www.youtube.com/v/PUYiO3sFVSQ&hl=en&fs=1

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IRAQ SNIPER FIRES ON US TROOPS. VERY GRAPHIC

A US Marine is shot by an Iraqi sniper as this video depicts exactly what happened after the Marine is shot.

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http://www.youtube.com/v/lAswSJn8ou4&hl=en&fs=1

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AERIAL FOOTAGE OF AFGHANISTAN WAR. GREAT STUFF!!!

This is brand new footage from the war in Afghanistan. You won't want to miss it. Great stuff!!

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http://www.youtube.com/v/UXSkutuptTs&hl=en&fs=1

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GIRL, 13, BLOWS HERSELF UP AND KILLS 33 IN BAGHDAD

The fragile peace in Iraq took another major step backwards as a 13-year old girl blew herself up in Baghdad killing 33.

Girl, 13, blows herself up as bombings kill 33 in Baghdad

By Mail Foreign ServiceLast updated at 1:26 AM on 11th November 2008

A girl suicide bomber aged only 13 has killed five U.S.-backed security patrolmen and wounded 11 other people when she struck in Iraq.

The attack came at a checkpoint in Baquba, 35 miles north-east of Baghdad in the volatile Diyala province.

It came on a day when more than 30 died in Iraq. In Baghdad, another suicide bomber struck in a crowd that had gathered to help after two car bombs damaged a bus full of schoolgirls.

25 KILLED IN TWIN SUICIDE BOMBINGS IN BAGHDAD

President-elect Barack Obama will face an increasingly unstable Iraq as witnessed by the twin suicide bombings on Monday, November 10 which killed 25 people and injured another 50 in Baghdad.

25 killed in Baghdad bombings

Monday, 10 November 2008 08:45

At least 25 people have been killed and almost 50 wounded in a double bombing in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

The attacks happened in a market in a Sunni district.

The attackers set off a car bomb in Adhamiyah, then a suicide bomber ran into the resulting melee.

An interior ministry official said 48 were wounded.

Witnesses said the attack took place on a street lined with restaurants as a bus carrying children to a school drove past.

Adhamiyah, which is tucked into the mostly Shia eastern half of the city, saw fierce clashes at the height of Iraq's sectarian violence but there has been a sharp reduction in attacks there over the last year.

Story from RTÉ News:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1110/iraq.html

GRUESOME ENEMY VIDEO OF IED ATTACK ON US HUMVEE

This video was made by enemy combatants after an IED attack on US Humvee in Iraq.

WARNING: The video is VERY graphic.

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http://www.youtube.com/v/soPllkFHB-U&hl=en&fs=1

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U.S. SOLDIER KILLED, 2 WOUNDED IN BAGHDAD

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: A U.S. soldier was killed and two others wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near their vehicle in northern Baghdad, the U.S. army in Iraq said.

“The three soldiers were wounded when their vehicle came under an IED bombing attack on Saturday. They were rushed to a medical unit but one of them died of his wounds,” according to a U.S. army statement received by Aswat al-Iraq.

The death brings the number of U.S. soldiers who have been reported killed in Iraq this month to three, including two in non-combat incidents, and to 4,193 the number killed since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

November 9, 2008 - 07:05:31
http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=102748

NINE CIVILIANS KILLED IN ATTACKS IN IRAQ

Nine civillians killed in attacks in Iraq
Indo-Asian News Service
Sunday, November 09, 2008 (Baghdad )

http://arabia.ndtv.com/Story.aspx?pageheader=news&sub_category=&ID=NEWEN20080071861

Nine civilians were killed and many injured on Saturday in violent attacks in Iraq. Eight people were killed and 22 injured in twin blasts in al-Ramadi city.The attacks took place as two suicide bombers blew themselves up near a police station in the capital of al-Anbar province, about 110 km west of Baghdad, a news agency reported.Earlier, one person was killed and seven were injured in a bomb blast in northern Baghdad, the police said.In a separate incident, a prominent Al-Qaida leader was killed north of the Iraqi capital in an operation by Iraqi forces, Sahwa fighters and coalition forces, a US army statement said on Saturday.The statement said that Abu Ghazwan was killed on Thursday in the Tarmiyah area and described him as "a key link in the network operations for the Al-Qaida in Iraq".

SARAH PALIN BLAMED BY THE US SECRET SERVICE OVER DEATH THREATS AGAINST BARACK OBAMA

Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.

By Tim Shipman in Washington Last Updated: 4:04PM GMT 08 Nov 2008
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/sarahpalin/3405336/Sarah-Palin-blamed-by-the-US-Secret-Service-for-death-threats-against-Barack-Obama.html

Palin's tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists. The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of "palling around with terrorists", citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.

The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling "terrorist" and "kill him" until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.
But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.

The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin's attacks.

Michelle Obama, the future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: "Why would they try to make people hate us?"

The revelations, contained in a Newsweek history of the campaign, are likely to further damage Mrs Palin's credentials as a future presidential candidate. She is already a frontrunner, with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to take on Mr Obama in four years time.

Details of the spike in threats to Mr Obama come as a report last week by security and intelligence analysts Stratfor, warned that he is a high risk target for racist gunmen. It concluded: "Two plots to assassinate Obama were broken up during the campaign season, and several more remain under investigation. We would expect federal authorities to uncover many more plots to attack the president that have been hatched by white supremacist ideologues."

Irate John McCain aides, who blame Mrs Palin for losing the election, claim Mrs Palin took it upon herself to question Mr Obama's patriotism, before the line of attack had been cleared by Mr McCain.

That claim is part of a campaign of targeted leaks designed to torpedo her ambitions, with claims that she did not know that Africawas a continent rather than a country.

The advisers have branded her a "diva" and a "whack job" and claimed that she did not know which other countries are in the North American Free Trade Area, (Canada and Mexico). They say she spent more than $150,000 on designer clothes, including $40,000 on her husband Todd and that she refused to prepare for the disastrous series of interviews with CBS's Katie Couric.

In a bid to salvage her reputation Mrs Palin came out firing in an interview with CNN, dismissing the anonymous leakers in unpresidential language as "jerks" who had taken "questions or comments I made in debate prep out of context."

She said: "I consider it cowardly. It's not true. That's cruel, it's mean-spirited, it's immature, it's unprofessional and those guys are jerks if they came away taking things out of context and then tried to spread something on national news that's not fair and not right."

She was not asked about her incendiary rhetoric against Mr Obama. But she did deny the spending spree claims, saying the clothes in question had been returned to the Republican National Committee. "Those are the RNC's clothes, they're not my clothes. I asked for anything more than maybe a diet Dr Pepper once in a while. These are false allegations."

Speaking as she returned to her native Alaska, Mrs Palin claimed to be baffled by what she claims was sexism on the national stage. "Here in Alaska that double standard isn't applied because these guys know that Alaskan women are pretty tough, on a par with the men in terms of being outdoors, working hard," she said.

"They're commercial fishermen, they're pilots, they're working up on the North slopein the oil fields. You see equality in Alaska. I think that was a bit of as surprise on the national level."

MORE FROM FOX NEWS ON SARAH PALIN--WATCH VIDEO

CARL CAMERON, chief political reporter for FOX NEWS, reveals even more about how little knowledge SARAH PALIN had on world events in this video from Talking Points Memo.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/2NEtRNrQwwg&hl=en&fs=1

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FOX NEW, YES, FOX NEWS, CARL CAMERON TRASHES SARAH PALIN. WATCH VIDEO

FOX NEWS' chief political correspondent, CARL CAMERON, is seen on this video talking to SHEP SMITH of FOX NEWS about how SARAH PALIN didn't know Africa was a continent and many other gaps in her knowledge which only serve to underscore how little PALIN knew about the world outside of Alaska.

What is not said, but what is apparent is JOHN McCAIN and his staff did a horrible job of vetting SARAH PALIN before announcing she would be McCAIN's running mate.

Nobody can claim this is the "liberal" media talking because this comes from FOX NEWS.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/MWZHTJsR4Bc&hl=en&fs=1

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WATCH YOUTUBE VIDEO AS DAVID LETTERMAN GETS IN LAST JAB AT JOHN McCAIN

"Anyone mind if he (President-elect Obama) starts a little early?" LOL sez CRainqueen.

"Attention passengers, the Straight Talk Express is no longer in service," David Letterman opened his "Late Show" monologue Wednesday night.The late night host, who famously sparred with John McCain after the Republican candidate canceled on a scheduled appearance, only to be caught on tape filming an interview with Katie Couric at the time he was due with Letterman, then openly mocked McCain over his loss.

"I would like to say one thing to John McCain," Letterman said. "Listen, Senator: you don't show up for me, America doesn't show up for you."

Letterman also joked about the Obama transition."I think I speak for most Americans when I say, anybody mind if he starts a little early? Would that be a problem?"

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/ju99vfIwRzI&hl=en&fs=1

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RALPH NADER CALLS OBAMA AN "UNCLE TOM" ON FOX NEWS

Ralph Nader once had some credibility, but he has lost it all. In this video you see Nader telling Shep Smith of Fox News that President-elect Obama is an "Uncle Tom."

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http://www.youtube.com/v/XkoB4r9FSzY&hl=en&fs=1

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