JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S AUTOPSY RESULTS; BROKEN NECK BONES (STRANGULATION)

JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S AUTOPSY RESULTS; BROKEN NECK BONES RELATED TO STRANGULATION:

EPSTEIN WOULD NOT HAVE SNITCHED ON HIS HIGH PROFILED CLIENTS SO WHY WAS HE KILLED IN SUCH A GRUESOME MANNER?

FEDERAL PROSECUTION STAFF HAD GATHERED ENOUGH INVESTIGATIVE EVIDENCE TO LINK EPSTEIN’S ELITE CLIENTS TO CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING CRIMES.

THUS IT’S SAFE TO SAY EPSTEIN WAS MURDERED JUST PRIOR TO HIS TRIAL TO KEEP FROM HAVING HIS ELITE CLIENTS EXPOSED & HUMILIATED.

MORAL TO THIS STORY:

THE WHOLE WORLD NOW KNOWS THAT MANY SUPER WEALTHY PEOPLE ENJOY HAVING SEX WITH CHILDREN.


Post Sources: CBC News, CBS News, MSNBC, Washington Post, The Independent, PBS News, Yahoo News, Youtube


***** Autopsy finds broken bones in Jeffrey Epstein’s neck, deepening questions around his death


An autopsy found that financier Jeffrey Epstein sustained multiple breaks in his neck bones, according to two people familiar with the findings, deepening the mystery about the circumstances around his death.
Among the bones broken in Epstein’s neck was the hyoid bone, which in men is near the Adam’s apple. Such breaks can occur in those who hang themselves, particularly if they are older, according to forensics experts and studies on the subject. But they are more common in victims of homicide by strangulation, the experts said.
The details are the first findings to emerge from the autopsy of Epstein, a convicted sex offender and multimillionaire in federal custody on charges of sex trafficking. He died early Saturday morning after guards found him hanging in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan and he could not be revived.

Attorney General William P. Barr, whose department oversees the Bureau of Prisons facility where Epstein died, has described his death as an “apparent suicide.” Justice officials declined to comment on the new information from Epstein’s autopsy.
The office of New York City’s chief medical examiner, Barbara Sampson, completed an autopsy of Epstein’s body Sunday. But Sampson listed the cause of his death as pending.
Asked about the neck injuries Sampson said in a statement that no single factor in an autopsy can alone provide a conclusive answer about what happened.

“In all forensic investigations, all information must be synthesized to determine the cause and manner of death. Everything must be consistent; no single finding can be evaluated in a vacuum.”

The details add to the bizarre circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death, which have launched a wave of questions and conspiracy theories about how he could have died in federal custody. Even President Trump has egged on speculation, without evidence, that Epstein — whose alleged victims say they were pushed to have sex with his powerful and celebrity friends — might have been killed to keep him from spilling the secrets of others.
The revelation of Epstein’s neck injuries follows reports that officers at the Metropolitan Correctional Center broke protocol and failed to properly monitor him.
Corrections officers had not checked on Epstein for “several” hours before he was found hanging in his cell, a person familiar with the matter said, one of a series of missteps in the hours leading up to his death.

Veteran prosecutors and law enforcement officials were shocked that one of the most high-profile inmates in the country wasn’t more carefully watched. Barr said over the weekend he was “appalled” at serious “irregularities” in jail protocol, and he later transferred the warden to another facility.

People familiar with the autopsy, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive stage of the investigation, said Sampson’s office is seeking additional information on Epstein’s condition in the hours before his death. That could include video evidence of the jail hallways, which may establish whether anyone entered Epstein’s cell during the night he died; results of a toxicology screening to determine if there was any unusual substance in his body; and interviews with guards and inmates who were near his cell.
Jonathan L. Arden, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, said a hyoid can be broken in many circumstances but is more commonly associated with homicidal strangulation than suicidal hanging.

Arden, who was not involved in the Epstein autopsy, said that in general, a finding of a broken hyoid requires pathologists to conduct more extensive investigation. That investigation can include analysis of the location of the noose, how narrow the noose is, and if the body experienced any substantial drop in the course of the hanging.
The age of the deceased is also important, Arden said. The hyoid starts out as three small bones with joint-like connections but hardens during middle age into a U-shape that can break more easily.
“If, hypothetically, the hyoid bone is broken, that would generally raise questions about strangulation, but it is not definitive and does not exclude suicidal hanging,” he said.

A handful of studies conducted over the past decade have produced conflicting results about the likelihood of a hyoid break in a suicide. In a study of 20 suicidal hangings in Thailand, published in 2010, one-fourth of the men who hanged themselves had broken hyoids. In a larger study of suicidal hangings of young adults and middle-aged people in India, conducted from 2010 to 2013, hyoid damage was found in just 16 of 264 cases, or 6 percent. The study addressed the discrepancies in academic reviews, saying wide variations in findings of hyoid breaks are “possibly due to factors like age of the victim, weight of the victim, type of suspension and height of suspension.”
Hyoid fractures have previously sparked controversy in jailhouse and other contentious deaths.
In 2008, Ronnie L. White, a teenager accused of killing a police officer, died of an apparent suicide in a suburban Washington jail cell. But two days later, the cause of death was changed to homicide when a Maryland state medical examiner discovered the teen had a broken hyoid.

The incident fanned racial tension and fueled conspiracy theories about the suspect’s death in Prince George’s County, Md.
Medical examiners concluded White was probably strangled with a sheet, towel or “crux of the elbow.” The officer who moved his body pleaded guilty to obstruction. But no one was ever charged in White’s death. A federal judge said in 2013 that it remained a mystery whether the inmate was slain or took his own life.
The hyoid bone played a central role in a heated dispute last year over another high-profile death in New York, that of Eric Garner. A New York police officer was accused of using an improper chokehold while trying to arrest Garner and of causing his death. A police officers’ association claimed that an autopsy from Sampson’s office found there was no break of Garner’s hyoid bone, and that this proved that the officer could not have strangled Garner and caused his death.

This “demonstrates conclusively that Mr. Garner did not die of strangulation of the neck from a chokehold,” the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association said.
But Sampson rejected that claim, saying she stood by her conclusion that Garner died of “compression of neck (chokehold), compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police.” Sampson’s office said Garner’s bronchial asthma, obesity and high blood pressure were contributing factors.
In a widely circulated video of the 2014 incident, the officer was seen grabbing Garner around the neck, pushing him and his face into the pavement. Garner is overheard pleading several times: “I can’t breathe.”
Two weeks later, Sampson’s office concluded the officer’s actions were the primary cause of his death.



————————————————————


**** Epstein death: Broken neck bones in autopsy raise questions about apparent suicide of accused sex trafficker


Jeffrey Epstein had suffered broken bones in his neck of a kind more commonly seen in deaths by strangulation than suicides, according to reports.

The disgraced 66-year-old financier was found hanging in his cell at a federal prison in New York on Saturday while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

His death was described as an “apparent suicide” by attorney general William Barr, who criticised “serious irregularities” at the jail.

Authorities have not yet released details of the autopsy, but The Washington Post claimed on Thursday that it discovered “multiple breaks in his neck bones”, including the hyoid bone.

While the injury to the hyoid can occur in suicides by hanging, particularly in older people, it raises further questions about the circumstances of the multi-millionaire’s death.

“If, hypothetically, the hyoid bone is broken, that would generally raise questions about strangulation, but it is not definitive and does not exclude suicidal hanging,” Jonathan Arden, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, told the Post.

The case has already attracted several conspiracy theories, including one promoted by president Donald Trump on Twitter.

It has also caused outrage among Epstein’s victims and their representatives, who had hoped that Epstein’s trial next year would produce the justice they thought he had long evaded.

The office of New York City’s chief medical examiner Barbara Sampson, which has not commented on the findings of the autopsy, is said to be seeking further information about Epstein’s condition in the hours before his death.

Epstein had previously been placed on suicide watch after being found unconscious on the floor of his cell with marks on his neck last month.

However he was not under that regime at the time of his death and guards had not checked on him for up to three hours before he was found hanging at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in lower Manhattan.

Epstein, who once counted Mr Trump and former president Bill Clinton as friends, died a day after new legal documents, unsealed by a court, provided more details about the young girls he was said to have abused over several decades.

Several investigations are being carried out into the circumstances, including a “psychological reconstruction” and an “after action” review by the prison, as well as probes by the FBI and US Department of Justice’s inspector general.

BLACK PEOPLE vs MENTAL ILLNESS (STIGMAS)

MOST BLACK PEOPLE PREFER TO BE CRAZY THEN TO SEEK MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT:

IN 21st CENTURY BLACK AMERICA, TREATING MENTAL ILLNESS REMAINS A STIGMA.

MANY "SECRETS" IN BLACK FAMILIES ARE ACTUALLY CRIMES (INCEST, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, CHILD ABUSE).

Sources:  Psychology Today, Atlanta Black Star, Mental Health America.net, YouTube

~ Highlights:

At least one million BLACK people in the United States suffers from some form of treatable Mental Illness.

However instead of seeking professional Mental Health treatment most BLACK people prefer to remain in a state of Psychological Delusion or Psychosis because BLACK people are supposed to be "Strong".

Thus in many BLACK communities crimes against humanity (Incest, Domestic Violence, Child Abuse) continue all in the name of "hiding family secrets".

Although ill-equipped to do so,  BLACK Churches are often Substituted for a Licensed Mental Health Therapist's couch. 

***** Why African Americans Avoid Psychotherapy

~ Black people shy away from psychology's solutions to mental health problems. 

African Americans share the same mental health issues as the rest of the population, with arguably even greater stressors due to racism, prejudice, and economic disparities. 

Meanwhile, many wonder why African Americans shy away from psychotherapyas a potential solution to challenges such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, marriageproblems, and parenting issues.

 As a Black psychologist, it is troublesome that so many African Americans are reluctant to make use of psychology's solutions to emotional hurdles. 

Here are some of the issues I've encountered in my research and clinical practice, with practical ideas for addressing this disparity.

Stigma and judgment

In places like Los Angeles and New York, everyone and their pet has a therapist, yet even among the wealthy and elite, many African Americans continue to hold stigmatizing beliefs about mental illness. 

For example, a qualitative study by Alvidrez et al., (2008) found that among Blacks who were already mental health consumers, over a third felt that mild depression or anxiety would be considered "crazy" in their social circles. 

Talking about problems with an outsider (i.e., therapist) may be viewed as airing one's "dirty laundry," and even more telling is the fact that over a quarter of those consumers felt that discussions about mental illness would not be appropriate even among family.

In a study I recently completed, one African American gentleman noted, "I was just embarrassed. Getting this type of help has, and continues to be, like a sore thumb in the African American community. 

Unfortunately, I don't have insurance, so my fear was that if I sought help, it would not be good because I couldn't afford it."

Likewise, African Americans may be resistant to seek treatment because they fear it may reflect badly on their families–an outward admission of the family's failure to handle problems internally. 

Something I found in my own studies, is that even among African Americans who suffered greatly from mental disorders, many held negative attitudes about people who obtain mental health care. 

No matter how impaired they were, they didn't want to be one of "those people."

Many African Americans with mental disorders are unaware that they have a diagnosable illness at all, and are even less aware that effective psychological treatments exist for their specific problem. 

Because of the taboo surrounding open discussion about mental illness, African Americans often have little knowledge of mental health problems and their treatments.

Concerns about therapist or treatment process

Many African Americans also have concerns about treatment effectiveness, which may be due to both lack of education and cultural misgivings. 

Apprehension about clashing with the values or worldview of the clinician can cause ambivalence about seeking help, and this may be especially true for the many who believe that mental health treatment was designed by White people for White people. 

African Americans view the typical psychologist as an older, White male, who would be insensitive to the social and economic realities of their lives (Thompson et al., 2004). 

In actuality, however, even though African Americans are underrepresented as psychologists, they are well-represented among mental health providers in general, and can be found among the ranks of master's level clinicians, such as professional counselors and clinical social workers. 

These types of therapists can be very useful for many sorts of difficulties, including family problems and many mental health needs.

Anxiety about therapy may also be related to a lack of knowledge about what to expect from the treatment itself. 

Indeed, many African Americans with mental disorders express fears about being involuntarily hospitalized, and are unwilling to share their symptoms for fear of being "locked up" or "put away."

Yet even those who are willing to brave treatment may not place therapy among their priorities. 

Work, family responsibilities, commitments, and transportation issues all can overshadow the need for therapy, which may be viewed as a luxury endeavor when there are kids to drive to little league and dinner to make at home. 

This troublesome reality suggests that despite struggling for years with a mental disorder, many are reluctant to take time for themselves to get better. 

Cost of treatment and lack of insurance coverage

The financial burden of mental health treatment is a barrier that affects everyone, but disproportionally affects African Americans due to lower incomes and reduced employment opportunities. 

In my own research, I found that those most concerned about cost are more likely to be uninsured; their incomes are not low enough to qualify for publicly provided services but not high enough to afford a private insurance plan.

Increasing treatment participation

All of the issues described thus far can create a difficult uphill battle when trying to increase treatment participation within the African American community. 

But there are many practical approaches that can reduce this mental health disparity.

Making treatment more affordable

The cost of treatment may be prohibitive for many, especially among those without insurance coverage. 

Many low-income individuals can find help in the community health system, but such systems may suffer from a lack of clinicians able to treat complex and less common conditions. 

It can be especially difficult to find care for those who lack any sort of insurance, have an unstable living situation, or who must contend with the inability to make appointments due to overcrowding.

Individual practices and treatment centers can help by publicizing effective low cost treatment options (i.e. practicum students, sliding scale slots, etc.) Another cost-effective option is stepped-care. 

For example, one model proposed by Tolin, Diefenback, Maltby, and Hannan, (2005) for the treatment of OCD involves bibliotherapy (self-help books), followed by clinician-guided self-treatment as needed, as well as traditional exposure and ritual prevention for non-responders.

 In this way, the most expensive treatment is provided to those who need it most, while others may benefit from a lesser approach. 

Nonetheless, it is important to be aware that the cost of treatment is a larger problem that involves many aspects of our society, including the politics of health care and social inequalities.

Increasing awareness of mental disorders and treatment options

Education about mental disorders and the treatment process is a critical to reducing barriers to treatment among the African American community. 

Suggestions for overcoming this barrier include public education campaigns (e.g., mass media), educational presentations at community venues (e.g., Black churches), and open information sessions at local mental health clinics. 

In fact, many Black churches are taking the treatment to where the people are, and hiring licensed therapists to work with their flock.

For those who do start conventional treatment, the first clinical encounter presents an important opportunity to address skepticism about the usefulness of treatment. 

It's the clinician's responsibility to demystify the process and explain the benefits of staying the course. 

Without this knowledge the participant may only assume what he or she may encounter and base their decision to follow through on incorrect assumptions.

 If the expected outcomes, number of sessions, and potential goals are clearly outlined in advance, there is little chance of feeling misled or not in control. 

The client-patient bond may be strengthened with this extra attempt at transparency.

Making mental health a priority

Treatment has the potential to conflict with many daily activities or commitments for busy people.

 In the current economy, many take second and third jobs to make ends meet. 

Whether the individual feels treatment is a necessary priority despite prior engagements, transportation, or scheduling issues is an important positive step. 

Moreover, incorporating the family is another crucial measure in overcoming barriers to treatment. 

By gaining familial support the client may gain peace of mind as well as lose the fear of being outcast or stigmatized. In addition, with the family's acceptance, making time for treatment becomes easier and priorities may be put into perspective. 

Utilizing the family to emphasize the importance of good mental health creates more allies to emphasize the relationship between improved functioning and greater success at home and work.

Reducing fears about therapy and stigma

Making psychotherapy less intimidating may be one of the most important ways of improving help-seeking. 

Careful use of language can help to reduce some discomfort surrounding mental health care. 

For example, African Americans are more comfortable with the term "counseling" over "psychotherapy" (Thompson et al., 2004), and this should be considered in advertising and conversational exchanges. 

Another practical way to reduce fears is to offer free assessments and phone consultations, which will help familiarize potential patients with the clinic, clinician, and treatment. 

Clinicians might use initial contacts to address fears of being involuntarily hospitalized by explaining the difference between typical mental health challenges and "being crazy," including the role of insight and self-efficacy.

However, it is important to note that reservations against treatment may be rooted in actual experiences of racism and encounters with medical professionals lacking cultural awareness. 

Treatment is a partnership that can only be successful with mutual respect, and for this to occur it remains the duty of the therapist to become culturally competent and sensitive to disparities, and in turn, communicate support and understanding to the patient. 

African Americans look for subtle cues to determine if a therapist holds racist attitudes, as many are afraid of being mistreated due to their race or ethnicity. 

These concerns are not unfounded, as a lower social status makes African Americans more vulnerable to abuse, particularly in a medical setting, where the clinician is considered the authority figure. 

A recent study by Snowden et al. (2009), found that after controlling for severity of mental illness and other variables, 

African Americans are more than twice as likely to experience a psychiatrichospitalization than Whites, an indication of continued bias among clinicians when faced with Black patients in need of mental health services.

To completely eliminate mental health disparities, clinicians must be willing to undertake an honest self-examination of their own conscious and unconscious attitudes about race, including preconceived notions about who would be a good client. 

By increasing the cultural competence and social awareness of all clinicians, the mental health system can begin to shed its bias against ethnic minorities. 

This would result in greater understanding and empathy for the patient's experience, improved treatment outcomes, and more African Americans willing to take a chance with mental health care.

Alvidrez, J., Snowden, L. R., and Kaiser, D. M. (2008). The Experience of Stigma among Black Mental Health Consumers. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 19, 874-893.

Suite, D.H., La Bril, R., Primm, A., et al. (2007). Beyond misdiagnosis, misunderstanding and mistrust: relevance of the historical perspective in the medical and mental health treatment of people of color. Journal of the National Medical Association, 99(8), 879-8.

Thompson, V.L., Bazile, A., & Akbar, M. (2004). African Americans' perceptions of psychotherapy and psychotherapists. Professional Psychological Research and Practice, 35(1), 19-26.

Tolin, D.F., Diefenbach, G.J., Maltby, N., Hannan, S., (2005). Stepped care for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A pilot study. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 12, 4, 403-414.

VETERANS vs FORCED PSYCH EVALUATIONS (DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SUICIDE PREVENTION)

@Veterans

VETERANS vs FORCED PSYCH EVALUATIONS (DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SUICIDE PREVENTION):

WHAT ARE PRES OBAMA & CONGRESS DOING TO CURB DOMESTIC VIOLENCE STATISTICS AMONG US MILITARY VETS?

Sources: Daily Beast, Do Something, Military Times,  Youtube

~ Highlights:

Each day more than 22 US Military Vets commit acts of Suicide.

There is also a growing epidemic of Domestic Violence in the homes of US Military Vets.

If Vets lose a close family member (Son or Daughter) to SUICIDE, why aren't they required by the VA Dept of Veterans Affairs to attend Mental Health Counseling within 72 hours of the occurrence?

Why aren't Vets and Retired US Military Soldiers required to forgo annual Psychiatric Evaluations (Mental Health Check-ups) to continue receiving their Pension Checks and other VA Benefits?

Why is it that State VA Hospitals don't work together to prevent US Military Vets from avoiding required Mental Health Check-ups when those Vets re-locate to a new state?

WAR Is Hell!

The effects of WAR on the Human Mind is often long term Mental Hell and Pain.

Our Vets need Prayer but many of our Vets also need Mental Health Counseling.

Why does it appear as if America's leaders have forsaken our dedicated, Honorable, hardworking US Military troops?

God Forbid.

******  11 Facts About the Mental Health of Our Troops

1. Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (aka PTSD, an anxiety disorder that follows experiencing a traumatic event) are the most common mental health problems faced by returning troops.
2. The most common symptoms of PTSD include: difficulty concentrating, lack of interest/apathy, feelings of detachment, loss of appetite, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, and sleep disturbances (lack of sleep, oversleeping.
3. Post-traumatic stress disorder is diagnosed after several weeks of continued symptoms.
4. In about 11 to 20% of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom) have been diagnosed with PTSD. Create a support board so your friends can show leave messages of encouragement for troops suffering from PTSD and other illnesses. Sign up for Support Board.
5. 30% of soldiers develop mental problems within 3 to 4 months of being home.

6. 55% of women and 38% of men report being victim to sexual harassment while serving in the military
7. Because there are more men than women in the military, more than half of all veterans experiencing military sexual trauma (MST) are men.
8. An estimated 20% of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans turn to heavy drinking or drugs once they return to the US.
9. Between 10 and 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Possible consequences of this internal injury include anger, suicidal thoughts, and changes in personality.
10. In 2010, an average of 22 veterans committed suicide every day. The group with the highest number of suicides was men ages 50 to 59.
11. Some groups of people, including African-Americans and Hispanics, may be more likely than whites to develop PTSD.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE vs THE 2016 ELECTION (WOMEN VOTERS)

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE vs THE 2016 ELECTION (WOMEN VOTERS):

VA HOSPITALS DON'T SCREEN VETS FOR MENTAL HEALTH OR SIGNS OF BEATING THEIR WIVES. (AGGRESSION)

THE MEDIA HAS FORGOTTEN RAY RICE PUNCHING OUT HIS THEN FIANCEE' JANAY PALMER.

IT'S TIME TO CLOSE VA HOSPITALS &  PRIVATIZE VET HEALTH CARE.

Helping Women in Abusive Marriages and Relationships become self-sufficient should be a key 2016 platform issue.

Women married to U.S. SOLDIERS and ATHLETES are frequent victims of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

There are thousands of Male U.S. Military Vets living in American society with severe MENTAL HEALTH issues.

Due to Survival skills they learned while on Active Duty, its not uncommon for Military VETS (Men) to appear Sane in public while Abusing their Wives and Children behind closed doors.

VA Hospitals do NOT screen these Military Heroes, instead they just prescribe them PILLS for the purpose of SELF-MEDICATING their Mental Health issues.

Considering the number of mega VA Hospitals Scandals under Pres OBAMA'S administration, I say it is time shut down all VA Hospitals and PRIVATIZE Health Care for Veterans.

It is also time for all VETS to receive MANDATORY Mental Health screening each time they request pills for illness, each time they are DIVORCED and each time an immediate member of their family dies via SUICIDE.

~ Husbands Who Bring The War Home

With thousands of troops now preparing to return, a new crisis may open on the domestic front. Military wife Stacy Bannerman on the husbands she’s seen transformed into domestic abusers.

"If you don't hear from me in the next 24 hours, call the police," she whispered, then hung up. My phone read 2:12 am; it was the third call in as many minutes.

I tried calling back—no answer. I went back to sleep, angry at Kristi for calling in the middle of the night and scaring me with a single sentence.

The next morning I fired off an email: "I cannot, for the love of God, imagine what you were thinking when you called last night.

Please tell me." Kristi and I had become battle buddies at home while our husbands were serving in Iraq in 2004-05.

We had cried each time a military family member called with word of a soldier's death or suicide; we grieved at funerals and gravesites, marches and memorials.

We wept with and for each another when she or I learned that our husband had been mobilized for another deployment, and again when they finally came home.

Her husband had served three combat tours since 2002.

The last one was the shortest yet, a mere 10 months, and Kristi wrote in an email that "he actually came back pretty normal this time!" That was nearly four months ago. When my phone rang in the afternoon early last fall, I saw that it was her, and picked up.

"Mark tried to strangle me last night," she blurted out. "I called you from the bathroom. I locked myself in with the pets. I didn't want him to hurt my puppy. I'm sorry I called. I was just so scared, and I didn't have anyone else to call. I couldn't call the cops."

I had gotten other midnight calls from other military wives, cowering in closets and under dining room tables, dialing for a lifeline to someone outside of their domestic war zone.

But this was my friend: strong and smart, she had worked at a women's shelter nearly a decade ago. She knew all the warning signs.

And Kristi's husband adored her.

He had no history of domestic violence, no pattern of abuse. He had made no attempts to isolate her from friends, family, or finances. Mark's most recent post-deployment mental health assessment hadn't indicated any issues.

There hadn't been a single red flag before Mark wrapped his hands around Kristi's throat and squeezed, which is what makes veterans' household violence unique.

Abuse by combat veterans tends to have its own distinctive pattern that is unlike the recurring power-and-control cycle of abuse described in most domestic violence literature.

The journal Disabled American Veterans stated that veteran interpersonal violence often involves "only one or two extremely violent and frightening abusive episodes that quickly precipitate treatment seeking."

"Mark tried to strangle me last night," my friend blurted out.

The majority of studies of treatment-seeking veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or combat-related mental health issues report that at least 50 percent of those veterans commit wife-battering and family violence.

Male veterans with PTSD are two to three times more likely than veterans without PTSD to engage in intimate partner violence, according to the VA, which also found that the majority of veterans with combat stress commit at least one act of spousal abuse in their first year post-deployment.

"How are you now?" I asked Kristi. "Where is he?"

"I'm okay, but my throat hurts a little. He's gone. I made him leave this morning. I told him I didn't want to hear from him until he had talked to a counselor or gotten into some kind of treatment.

I said that I didn't feel safe with him, and I couldn't…I wasn't…" she sobbed, hiccupping out words, "I wasn't sure if I ever would again… Goddamn it. Goddamn this war."

Kristi and I talked a lot over the next days and weeks—mostly she talked, and I listened. She was seeing a civilian counselor, but spent most of her time at home, shell-shocked and alone.

She said her counselor just kept telling her to leave her husband, giving her lectures on the typical cycle of domestic abuse, so she tried to find someone who understood the military and veterans.

She called the military chaplain on post, but he never called back. She called the VA, and asked if they had support programs for wives of combat veterans.

They didn't. She called Military One Source, a free counseling assistance program provided by the Department of Defense.

But the lady there just started to cry, and told her that she got "these calls all the time. I can't help you. Unless you authorize a report, I can't authorize assistance."

Kristi reached out to another military spouse that lived off post and was married to an Iraq war veteran.

She told her what happened, and her friend said that she and her husband had gotten into so many fights, hitting and screaming and throwing things at each other, that she ended up going to the domestic violence shelter.

Staff at the shelter told her that they didn't have programs for wives of veterans, and that her husband made too much money for her to stay there, anyway.

Meanwhile, Mark was staying with friends, or sleeping in his office. 

After several days of silence, they began talking, but she hasn't seen him since that night, and at times, she's wondered if she even wants to. "I miss him, I do," she said. "We've already been apart way too much, but I am so angry, and hurt."

Today, Kristi says that Mark's trying to get help, but it's not easy.

He called a domestic violence hotline, and the person he talked to discouraged him from going to the men's group because he doesn't fit the abuser profile. "It's not like he can make a lot of calls about this when he works for 10 hours every day,"

Kristi says. "His insurance won't pay for him go to a private therapist at night. They said he can only see someone at the base medical center, and he's not doing that. He can't really sneak off for three hours in the middle of the day and drive down to the VA, either."

Most family victims of veteran violence don't file reports with the police or their husband's command.

The military is stepping up domestic violence programs and education at military instillations, but the pressure on spouses within the active duty and retired military culture and much of the civilian population to remain silent is especially intense during a time a war.

Speaking out about veteran violence at home seems to be perceived as more of a betrayal than the violence itself.

Even so, since 2003, there has been a 75 percent increase in reports of domestic violence in and around Ft. Hood, where the number of soldiers diagnosed with PTSD rose from 310 in 2004 to 2,445 in 2009.

Equally telling is the 2010 Military Family Lifestyle Survey, the second annual poll conducted by Blue Star Families (BSF) of military families with a loved one currently in the service.

This year's survey included a ream of questions about returning-veteran violence. I don't think there was a single question on that topic last year.

When I last spoke to Kristi, she said that she had quit praying that she and Mark "would get their old lives back. That's gone." Now, she just prays that the last deployment was, in fact, the last, and that someday, the war will end for them, too.

About 63,000 soldiers will return from combat tours between July and December. 

According to military statistics, nearly half of active-duty National Guard members, 38 percent of Army soldiers, and 31 percent of Marines report mental health problems upon return from Middle East deployments.

If just 20 percent of them have post-combat stress, then it can reasonably be projected that roughly half of those veterans will commit at least one act of severe domestic abuse or interpersonal violence in the coming year.

That's approximately 6,300 veterans' wives and kids who are at risk.

President Obama declared that major combat operations in Iraq are over.

They may just be starting for thousands of America's military family members.

Sources: CNN, Daily Beast NY Times, TMZ, Youtube

SANDRA BLAND CRIES FOR JUSTICE FROM THE GRAVE; MEDIA HAS FORGOTTEN

SANDRA BLAND CRIES FOR JUSTICE FROM THE GRAVE:

THE MEDIA HAS FORGOTTEN.

Following a simple Traffic stop, Sandra Bland (young BLACK woman from Chicago) was found hanging Dead July 13, 2015, in a Waller County, Texas jail cell.

Texas Jail employees claimed Sandra was "SUICIDAL" and had Marijuana in her system.

An Autopsy was performed on her body and a Federal investigation has been conducted.

However five months later her Murder remains a Mystery and no one has been held Accountable or Prosecuted for her Death.

Will Sandra's Murder be used as a POLITICAL Weapon just as Laquan McDonald's Murder is being used, to help DEMOCRATS win another general election via angry BLACK voters??

~ An American Tragedy

Five months after Sandra Bland was found hanging in a Texas jail cell, her family still searches for resolution. An intimate look at a life interrupted.

The stretch of boulevard just outside the campus of Prairie View A&M University in Texas lay lonely and quiet one early morning this past November when a woman emerged from her rental car and stepped toward a towering tree, her form shrouded in gray drizzle. She was dressed somberly, in heels and a black-and-white-striped skirt, a string of pearls dangling from her neck. In her left hand, she clutched an umbrella; in her right, a cellophane-wrapped spray of yellow tea roses that she’d bought at a nearby supermarket that morning.

Sharon Cooper had passed this site before. She’d certainly seen enough of it on the jerky cell phone video that circulated on the Internet: the haunting, murky silhouette of a state trooper hovering over her sister as she lay face-down, arms handcuffed behind her. 

He had pulled her over here for failing to signal a lane change. But things escalated.

He arrested her.

Three days later, Sandra Bland would be found hanging in her jail cell.

Such was the media frenzy in the immediate aftermath—as speculation swirled about foul play in the 28-year-old Chicago native’s death—that there had been no time for Sharon, her three surviving sisters, or their mother to steal away to simply, quietly reflect at the spot where everything had gone awry.

Merely coming to town—to retrieve Bland’s body, to pick up her personal effects, to address legal matters—had been a trial for the family each time they made the trip from Chicago. “There is a seismic shift in every individual’s demeanor when we land in Texas,” Sharon says. “And the seismic shift is just a ripping of the Band-Aid.”

There are too many memories. Like of the first time Sharon saw her sister’s lifeless body at the funeral home in nearby Hempstead. “My heart stopped. Time froze,” Sharon recalls. “She was on a table and they had a sheet on her. It was all the way up to her neck. I could not see the [ligature] mark, though I knew it was there from pictures I had seen. They hadn’t put any makeup on her or anything, but she still looked good, which is what gave me some solace.

She looked like herself.”

There were no news cameras on this day, as Sharon stepped gingerly off the sidewalk onto the wet grass, where a makeshift memorial had sprung up. She stooped to place the roses. Then she began playing one of her sister’s favorite songs, Tye Tribbett’s “What Can I Do,” on her phone and tidying up the collection of stuffed animals, candles, T-shirts, and ribbons as the gray rain fell.

The national press has largely moved on from the Sandra Bland story, but a family’s grief remains. 

Fully understanding the depth of their pain—and of the tragedy itself—requires far more than digesting a few sound bites on CNN. It requires a nuanced look at the real woman behind the headlines and at how a heartbreaking combination of factors years in the making—racial, cultural, intimately personal—collided devastatingly in the waning light of a late afternoon on what was once an unremarkable stretch of road in Texas.

Credits: NBC News, Chicago mag, YouTube

SUICIDE IS DESTROYING BLACK FAMILIES IN AMERICA

#Suicide

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

Why are so many BLACK Men in America giving up and completing Suicide?

More BLACK Men are dying from Suicide than from Police Brutality.

Suicide destroys BLACK Families in America.

The Federal Govt does not seem to care about the Mental Health of BLACK Men.

America's Corrupt Child Support system has contributed to the high rate of Suicide among BLACK Men.

Why are LIFE INSURANCE Companies releasing Checks to Survivors and Girlfriends for Suicide, especially in the state of NORTH CAROLINA??


Sources: The Root, YouTube

Veterans Suicide Numbers Increase, Yet Congress Ignores This Epidemic: PTSD (Videos)

The V.A.’s Shameful Betrayal

THE Department of Veterans Affairs, already under enormous strain from the aging of the Vietnam generation, the end of the Iraq war and the continuing return of combat troops from Afghanistan, announced in April that it would increase its mental health staff by about 10 percent. But too many veterans waging a lonely and emotional struggle to resume a normal life continue to find the agency a source of disappointment rather than healing.

The new hiring is intended to address the infuriating delay veterans face in getting appointments. The V.A. says it tries to complete full mental health evaluations within 14 days of an initial screening. But a review by the department’s inspector general found that schedulers were entering misleading information into their computer system. They were recording the next available appointment date as the patient’s desired appointment date. As a result, a veteran who might have had to wait weeks for an appointment would appear in the computer system as having been seen “without a wait.” That allowed the agency to claim that the two-week target was being reached in 95 percent of cases, when the real rate was 49 percent. The rest waited an average of 50 days.

As a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, I found that news maddening. While the schedulers played games with the numbers, veterans were dealing with mental wounds so serious that getting proper attention at the right time might have made the difference between life and death. Even worse was that the V.A. had failed twice before to change; the inspector general found similar problems in 2005 and in 2007. This suggests a systematic misrepresentation of data and an unwillingness to stop it.

Unfortunately, the problem goes even deeper. There are potentially hundreds of thousands of veterans who are struggling with post-combat mental health issues who never ask the V.A. for help. Some, hamstrung by fear of stigma, are too proud or too ashamed to ask for help. Others don’t ask because they’ve heard too many stories from peers who have received poor care or been ignored.

I have close friends who could no longer drive because of their lingering fears of roadside bombs. Others had gone to the V.A. because they had suicidal thoughts, only to receive a preliminary screening, a pat on the back, a prescription for antidepressants — and a follow-up appointment for several months later.

I’ve had my own struggle: in 2001 I was part of the initial force of Marines who landed in Afghanistan, and in 2003 took part in the heavy fighting of the first wave of the invasion of Iraq. Since coming home, I’ve had my mind hijacked by visions of the corpses of children, their eyes blackened, at the side of the road. I recall carrying the coffins of fallen brothers. I remember losing friends who probably knew exactly what was happening to them, as they bled out on the side of a dusty road in Iraq.

And I’ve felt the shame of having suicidal feelings. Like many others, I chose to hide them. Yet, even in the darkest days of my own post-traumatic stress, when I was considering choosing between making my suicide look like an accident or taking a swan dive off some beautiful bridge, I never considered going to the V.A. for help.

My image of the V.A., formed while I was on active duty, was of an ineffective, uncaring institution. Tales circulated among my fellow Marines of its institutional indifference, and those impressions were confirmed when I left Iraq for home. At Camp Pendleton, Calif., a woman with a cold, unfeeling manner assembled us for a PowerPoint presentation and pointed us to brochures — nothing more, no welcoming sign of warmth or empathy for the jumble of emotions we were feeling. Her remoteness spoke volumes to me of what I might expect at home.

To regain veterans’ trust, the V.A. must change its organization and culture, not just hire more people. First, its leadership must be held accountable for employees’ behavior, and anyone caught entering misleading data should be fired. The agency must reach out, with public awareness campaigns and with warmth, to veterans who may be suffering in silence. It must help reduce the social stigma that attaches to the mental health issues the veterans face.

Dedicated V.A. personnel run a suicide-prevention hot line, but it is only a temporary salve for emergencies. One impressive and highly effective alternative to the V.A.’s traditional treatment process is the Wounded Warrior Project’s Combat Stress Recovery Program, which emphasizes the importance of interpersonal relationships, goal-setting and outdoor, rehabilitative retreats and seeks to avoid the stigma associated with traditional treatment.

What this generation of veterans needs from the V.A. is a recognition that when the color of life has faded to gray, you need to talk to someone about it today, not weeks or months from now. We need America to acknowledge what war does to the young men and women who fight it and to share the message that dragged me out of the darkness: It’s O.K. if you’re not O.K.



U.S. must address suicides by Military Veterans

As we recall those who gave their lives for our freedoms on this Memorial Day, here’s something to consider: More veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have died by their own hand than died from enemy fire.

The shocking statistic comes straight from the Department of Veterans Affairs: 18 military veterans commit suicide every day. The youngest, between the ages of 17 and 24, are four times more likely to kill themselves than older veterans. To make the numbers even more agonizing, the men and women who fight for our freedoms have never been more isolated from their countrymen: less than 1 percent of the population has served in the armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It’s an unacceptable state of affairs. “We don’t do a good job of understanding the reality of their lives and connecting them to services they need,” said Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1st Dist.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee. More than half the people who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan have been part-time warriors, returning to jobs as teachers, construction workers, police and firefighters.

“You’re plucked from civilian life, go into war zone, then you get a 30-day transition back to your regular job,” Andrews said. “That’s not a lot of time to find out about programs to deal with problems, like stress. We need to figure out better ways to get them plugged into services.”

About 17 percent of homeless people are veterans. Others have returned home and devolved into drug addiction or erupted into violence. You’d think the Veterans Administration would figure out how to deliver the best mental health care to these veterans, and fast.

But just last month, a report by the administration’s inspector general revealed disarray and disorganization in exactly this department: The VA did not provide timely mental health evaluations and existing patients often waited more than two weeks for treatment. VA officials say they are hiring 1,900 more mental health specialists and support staff to strengthen its mental health network.

But local initiatives and outreach are crucial, too. Gov. Chris Christie already has announced that the recently closed Hagedorn Psychiatric Hospital will be transformed into a 100-bed transitional facility for homeless veterans. Andrews said county offices in New Jersey, most of which have a veterans office, distribute information at street fairs and other local events. “Stand Downs” — where veterans volunteer to help connect other veterans to drug rehab, jobs and housing — also have been effective. But more needs to be done.

A fitting Memorial Day tribute will be honoring those who died for their country and recommitting ourselves to the well-being of those veterans who, invisibly, struggle quietly among us.



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Sources: AP, CBS News, CNN, NJ.com, NY Times, Russia Today, Youtube, Google Maps