Marines // Current TV

Afghans told not to help Taliban (or else?)

The big problem here is that the U.S. forces can't tell the difference between... more

JonRaymond
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

Haiti: Three Weeks After the Catastrophe

An independent journalist from Mexico travels to Port-au-Prince to investigate what... more

karlazablu
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

US Corporations, Private Mercenaries and the IMF Rush in to Profit from Haiti's Crisis | World | Alt

US corporations, private mercenaries, Washington and the International Monetary Fund are using the crisis in Haiti to make a profit, promote unpopular neoliberal policies, and extend military and economic control over the Haitian people.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, with much of the infrastructure and government services destroyed, Haitians have relied on each other for the relief efforts, working together to pull their neighbors, friends and loved ones from the rubble. One report from IPS News in Haiti explained, "In the day following the quake, there was no widespread violence. Guns, knives and theft weren't seen on the streets, lined only with family after family carrying their belongings. They voiced their anger and frustration with sad songs that echoed throughout the night, not their fists."

Bob Moliere, an organizer within the popular political party Fanmi Lavalas was killed in the earthquake. His wife, Marianne Moliere, told IPS News after burying her husband, "There is no life for me because Bob was everything to me. I lost everything. Everything is destroyed," she said. "I'm sleeping in the street now because I'm homeless. But when I get some water, I share with others. Or if someone gives some spaghetti, I share with my family and others."

It is not this type of solidarity that has emerged in the wake of the crisis - and the delayed and muddled response from the international community - that most corporate media in the US have focused on. Instead, echoing the coverage and calls for militarization of New Orleans in the wake of Katrina, major media outlets talk about the looting, and need for security to protect private property.

One request from Erwin Berthold, the owner of Big Star Market in Petionville, Haiti, reflects this concern for profit over people. Berthold told the Washington Post about his supermarket, "We have everything cleaned up inside. We are ready to open. We just need some security. So send in the Marines, okay?"

That militarization is already underway. This week the US is sending thousands of troops and soldiers to the country. The Haitian government has signed over control of its capital airport to the US. Brazil and France have already lodged complaints that US military planes are now being given priority over other flights at the international airport.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez responded to the US troop deployment. "I read that 3,000 soldiers are arriving, Marines armed as if they were going to war. There is not a shortage of guns there, my God. Doctors, medicine, fuel, field hospitals, that's what the United States should send," Chavez said. "They are occupying Haiti undercover." The Venezuelan President pledged to send any necessary amount of gasoline needed to the country to aid with electricity and transport.

More at the link above:US corporations, private mercenaries, Washington and the International Monetary Fund... more

WeAreChangeKy
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

Marine who dived on grenade to be honoured

A marine who survived after diving on a live grenade to shield his comrades while on a... more

stewiegriffin
added this
3 years ago
|
2 comments

The Militarization of Emergency Aid to Haiti: Is it a Humanitarian Operation or an Invasion?

Haiti has a longstanding history of US military intervention and occupation going back... more

WeAreChangeKy
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

My Generation at War: Overcoming the Media's Expectations

YPNation Contributor and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Matt Persiani shares his thoughts on his... more

NankinYP
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

Another War-Torn Generation

Many of us grew up listening to stories of our parents or their peers heading off to... more

NankinYP
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

British journalist killed in Afghanistan

A British journalist was killed and a second wounded in Afghanistan when the vehicle... more

Manatee_man
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

Santa Claus Boot Camp [video]

This amusing video shows you details for how next year's Santas are being... more

GrrlScientist
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

U.S. Military Keeping Secrets About Female Soldiers’ ‘Suicides’?

According to the Department of Defense, 41 of the 99 U.S. military women who have been... more

kingfugazi
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

U.S. Marine Suicide Rates '01-'09

"Nothing to see here! Just keep moving along folks! Nothing to see here!"... more

kingfugazi
added this
2 years ago
|
0 comments

Suicide Rates Increase Across Military Branches in 2009-11/25/09

So far in 2009, the Army has had 211 of the 334 suicides, while the Navy had 47, the Air Force had 34 and the Marine Corps (active duty only) had 42."

By John M. Donnelly, CQ Staff
November 25, 2009

More U.S. military personnel have taken their own lives so far in 2009 than have been killed in either the Afghanistan or Iraq wars this year, according to a Congressional Quarterly compilation of the latest statistics from the armed services.

As of Tuesday, at least 334 members of the military services have committed suicide in 2009, compared with 297 killed in Afghanistan and 144 who died in Iraq, the figures show.

Lawmakers in recent years have been increasingly concerned about the growing problem of military suicides, especially in the Army. They have been holding hearings, passing bills and approving billions of dollars more than requested to improve mental health care for military personnel and veterans.

But even those who have been most intensely focused on the issue said they found the new numbers alarming. So far in 2009, the Army has had 211 of the 334 suicides, while the Navy had 47, the Air Force had 34 and the Marine Corps (active duty only) had 42.

“These numbers are just staggering and, tragically, are an indication that we are simply not doing the job of providing adequate mental health care for both our active-duty service people and our veterans,” said Bob Filner, D-Calif., chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Armed forces personnel traditionally have had a much lower suicide rate than the population at large. Because the most recently available national suicide statistics from the Centers for Disease Control are from 2006, it is impossible to know whether the current military rate is higher than the current civilian rate. However, the civilian suicide rate for males ages 20-29 hovered around 20 per 100,000 during the first half of this decade. The Army said its suicide rate is now a bit higher than that for the first time.

Moreover, the total number who have killed themselves in 2009 is probably higher than 334, because the figure does not include unavailable suicide statistics for 2009 for Marine Corps reservists or veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who have left the service.

The veterans’ numbers, in particular, could yet swell the totals considerably. The Department of Veterans Affairs said an average of 53 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans committed suicide each year between 2002 and 2006. And that number only includes suicides among the quarter of all veterans who use the VA’s health system.

http://www.murtha.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=848&Itemid=1So far in 2009, the Army has had 211 of the 334 suicides, while the Navy had 47, the... more