"Veterans sue over sexual abuse; Group aiming to alter handling of complaints" by Kimberly Hefling, Associated Press / February 16, 2011
WASHINGTON — The abuse alleged ranges from obscene verbal abuse to gang rape.
In one case, an Army Reservist says two male colleagues raped her in Iraq and videotaped the attack. She complained to authorities after the men circulated the video to colleagues. Despite being bruised from her shoulders to elbows from being held down, she says, charges weren’t filed because the commander determined she “did not act like a rape victim’’ and “did not struggle enough’’ and authorities said they didn’t want to delay the scheduled return of the alleged attackers to the United States.
“The problem of rape in the military is not only service members getting raped, but it’s the entire way that the military as a whole is dealing with it,’’ said Panayiota Bertzikis, a plaintiff in the lawsuit who says she was raped in 2006. “The entire culture needs to be changed.’’
That is SO TRUE! AmeriKa needs to MOVE AWAY from WAR!
*******
Bertzikis, 29, of Somerville, Mass., says she was raped by a Coast Guard shipmate while out on a social hike with him in Burlington, Vt. Bertzikis complained to her commanding officer, but she said authorities did not take substantial steps to investigate the matter. Instead, she said, they forced her to live on the same floor as the man she had accused and tolerated others calling her a liar and whore....
Sarah Albertson, a former Marine corporal who is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said: “People who did believe me and . . . were supportive of me were still telling me, ‘Don’t tell anybody about this, don’t go to the public, don’t let this get out because it will make the military look bad.’ ’’
And we can't have that in our war-driven society, can we?
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At least they take care of you after the fight, right?
"Caregivers of troops still waiting for benefits; VA slow to act on Obama promise" by Scott Wilson
WASHINGTON — Nine months after President Obama authorized a broad expansion of benefits for those caring for service members severely wounded in the nation’s two current wars, none of the assistance has materialized, leaving the families of wounded service members to wonder when the promised help will arrive...
But operations are funded, as well as the exorbitant costs submitted by war contractors with no questions asked.
The delays appear to be, in part, the result of an overly optimistic assessment of how long it would take to get the complex program up and running.
Really a PATTERN WITH THEM when it comes to WARS, huh?
Maybe we SHOULD NOT BE STARTING ANY MORE for a while, hmmm?
Veterans Affairs officials say that designing the law has involved months of consulting with veterans groups, congressional leaders, families, and others, and that some progress has been made.
But determining who qualifies for the new benefits — including whether veterans of pre-Sept. 11, 2001, wars should be eligible for all of them — has been a complicated, politically fraught process....
Why?
Israel's agenda and fundingnever seems to be fraught with a complicated, political process.
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Related: Scrutiny for aid to veterans
Also see: Following Zakheim and Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11
Zionist War Daily won't go there.
See ya' in the streets, soldier!
"Veterans are 12% of Mass. homeless; State on par with national average" by State House News Service / February 11, 2011
On any given night, there are roughly 1,890 veterans living on Massachusetts streets, putting the Bay State in line with the national average for homelessness among veterans, according to an analysis published by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
What a scandalous betrayal by the lying, war-mongering government!
According to the study, veterans account for 12 percent of the state’s homeless population, which totaled 15,482 people at any given time in 2009. The study, “Veteran Homelessness: A Supplemental Report to the 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress,’’ is the first-ever attempt by both federal agencies to gauge the extent and nature of homelessness among veterans.
According to HUD and the VA, nearly 76,000 veterans nationwide lacked shelter on a given night in 2009 with about 136,000 spending at least one night in a shelter during the year. Of those veterans without a home, 57 percent lived in a shelter or a transitional housing program, while 43 percent lived on the street.
Nationally, 12 percent of all people experiencing homelessness were identified as a veteran. In Massachusetts, veterans account for 6.8 percent of the population.
Which means their numbers on the streets are disproportinate in the utopia of self-righteous and sanctimonious liberal fascism.
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Also see: Military bases face traffic gridlock
