Total of U.S Troops Killed in Iraq and Afghanistan Wars – 5,324

Puppy Love - by Kevin Frayer / AP

United States Marine Cpl. Benjamin Zellmann, of Virginia, holds a puppy taken in by the company during a briefing before a mission in Khan Neshin, in the volatile Helmand province of southern Afghanistan.

President Obama recently remarked that the number of Americans killed in Afghanistan was a “sobering reminder” of the burdens of war.

As I look at this recent photo of young marines who are stationed in Afghanistan I also find it to be a 'sobering reminder' that as we sit in our comfortable living rooms these young men and thousands more like them are stationed a long way from home. My wish is that they will be returned home soon.

This photo is also a sobering reminder.

Buffalo News

The young soldier in this photo is from the Buffalo, NY area. As you can see he was enjoying the company of the young children in Afghanistan and I am sure that he was, in some ways, a positive role model for them. He recently was in the local news here when he returned home to his parent’s residence where he will be living for a long time. Several months ago he suffered serious head injuries while in Afghanistan, which resulted in months of surgeries, hospitalization and permanent brain damage. He is a shadow of his former self. Another 'sobering reminder' of the men and women who have been placed in harm’s way in a far away war.

I have had this photo on my computer screen for some time now. I do not know his name or who took the photo but I do know that I think of him each time I turn on my computer and I wish him well. Yet another 'Sobering Reminder' of the outcome of war.

These photos happen to be of men but I am also aware of the women who are stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan as well. I am very proud of all of them.

*****

Here are the most recent statistics of U.S. military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade.

Total of U.S Troops Killed in Iraq and Afghanistan Wars – 5,324

The Human Cost of Occupation

United States Military Casualties in Iraq

Since war began (3/19/03): 4373

Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 145

American Wounded Official Estimated

Total U.S.Wounded: 31,613 Over 100000

Latest Fatality Jan 6 2010

Daily DoD Casualty Release

320,000 Vets Have Brain Injuries

War Veterans’ Concussions Are Often Overlooked

How Many Service members Were Wounded?

18 Vet Suicides Per Day?

Iraqi Casualties – 1,339,771

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq 325

US Military Deaths - Afghanistan 951

Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan 624

Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq 1,395

Journalists - Iraq 335

Academics Killed - Iraq 431

Sources: DoD, MNF, and iCasualties.org

All data was compiled from http://www.defenselink.mil.

*****

Take a look at these up to date statistics and if you find them ‘sobering’

Call or write to the President:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500


Phone Numbers: Comments: 202-456-1111


Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

MAKE THAT PHONECALL – please!

Snow Day

MUTTS

On the first day we shrug it off............

On the second day we start to understand that it's not going away.......

On the third day we decide to relax and enjoy it............

On the fourth day we start to rationalize it..............

From then on we just try to relax and survive it while our thoughts seem to be filled with imaginations of spring flowers and sunshine.

comics by Patrick McDonnell/muttscomics.com

comments by me - peacesojourner

Happy News - The Gift of Vision

Ophthalmologist Dr. Vivian K. Fasula, left, and opticians Arnold Edelman and Marsha Edelman, will be going to Nicaragua on Jan. 16 for two weeks to provide sight-saving services to the poor.

photo by Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News

On a distant mission to give sight, eye doctors from Lockport, Western New York will take their services on the road to help needy in Nicaragua.

For the third consecutive year, Dr. Vivian K. Fasula will be in a remote part of Central America, using her skills to help impoverished patients whose vision problems, ranging from crossed eyes to blindness, wouldn’t be treated otherwise.

Dr. Fasula and two opticians, Marsha and Arnold Edelman, will leave Jan. 16 for San Carlos, Nicaragua, on a two-week mission organized by Medical Ministry International. The interdenominational Christian group puts together about 65 overseas medical, surgical, dental and eye missions each year, sending volunteer doctors and nurses to impoverished countries.

Their January schedule includes missions to the Dominican Republic, Malaysia, Jordan, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, the Philippines and Guatemala. Nicaragua is the second-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Dr. Fasula who has been practicing in Lockport since 1984, will be in San Carlos for the second consecutive winter.

Last year, after landing in Managua, the capital, the doctors were taken by military helicopter to San Carlos, which has a regional population of about 9,000. The 180-mile journey would have taken 12 hours using the challenging roads.

For the local residents it is a 12-hour slog through the rain forest to get from San Carlos to the nearest ophthalmologist, in Managua.

Besides helping new patients she will visit last year’s patients to follow up on the cases of those she operated on to correct crossed eyes, those whose cataracts she removed and a boy whose sight she saved after a stick pierced his eye.

Being cross-eyed isn’t just a cosmetic problem; it can produce double vision and eventually blindness. “After a while, the brain just shuts that eye off,” Fasula said.

“There are a lot of cataracts. We ended up doing about 200 [last year],” Dr. Fasula said. The hospital in San Carlos had decent lighting and anesthetic equipment, but no microscope, a must for sensitive eye operations. So they brought one with them.

Five thousand pairs of used glasses, mostly gathered by Lions and Rotary clubs, were distributed to the locals, who lined up for hours before the eye clinic opened at 6 a. m.

Manufacturers donate all the medical supplies. Last year, armed Nicaraguan Army troops drove the materials to San Carlos.

“One lady had the densest cataract I’ve ever seen in my life,” Fasula said. “Some of these people were totally blind with the cataracts.”

One 14-year-old girl, Wendy, was blind because of her cross-eyed condition and because of childhood surgery for congenital cataracts that wasn’t followed up with proper treatment. Her parents walked in with her from a town four hours away from San Carlos.

Wendy’s eyes were repaired, and she was given glasses. “She can see for the first time in her life. It was like a miracle,” Fasula said. “This year when I come back, I’m going to have [lens] implants for her.”

“When I returned home and when I went to bed at night I was thinking of the patients. I started thinking - why was I so lucky to be born in this beautiful country that we live in? There but for the grace of God could have been one of my children.”

The volunteers must pay all their expenses. “It’s $975 per person; we don’t know what the airfare is,” Arnold Edelman said. Whatever the tickets cost, the doctors will have to pay. The total tab will probably be about $2,500 each.

excerpts of this article taken from tprohaska@buffnews.com

*****

When I lived in El Salvador I witnessed similar teams of physicians who would come annually to treat local residents. I can also testify that those glasses that you may have contributed to the Lions club really do get used. One of the things that I did there was to distribute the previously used glasses to those losing their sight. The people were so happy to receive them.

I also would often ask myself 'how did I get so lucky to be born in a country (England) with top medical care available to every person there?'

Many thanks to these volunteers for stepping up to help others.

Blue Moon - December 31, 2009

New Year's Eve 'blue moon' to ring in the 2010 celebrations.

Partygoers ringing in 2010 this evening will be treated to the unusual sight of a blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. Ancient cultures around the world considered the second full moon to be spiritually significant.

A full moon occurred on Dec. 2 and it will appear again this evening in time for the New Year's countdown. If you're in Times Square, you'll see the full moon right above you.

The New Year's Eve blue moon will be visible in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. In Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up until New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, and most years have 12. On average, an extra full moon in a month — a blue moon — occurs every 2 1/2 years. The last time this happened was in May 2007.

The popular definition of blue moon came about after a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946 misinterpreted the Maine Farmer's Almanac and labeled a blue moon as the second full moon in a month. In fact, the almanac defined a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons, not the usual three. Though Sky & Telescope corrected the error decades later, the definition caught on.

For purists, however, this New Year's Eve full moon doesn't even qualify as a blue moon. It's just the first full moon of the winter season.

When you hear someone say "Once in a blue moon" you know that they are usually talking about something rare or unusual.

The term 'blue moon' dates back at least 400 years. According to modern folklore, a blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month. February is the only month that can never have a blue moon.

Does the blue moon actually turn blue? No. Blue moons are rare, and that's where the phrase "once in a blue moon" comes from. There are occasions though when pollution in the Earth's atmosphere can make the moon look particularly bluish. The extra dust scatters blue light.

The moon appeared blue across the entire Earth for about two years after the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. There were also reports of blue moons caused by Mount St Helen's in 1980 and Mount Pinatubo in 1991.

A New Year's Eve like this year's really does come around once in a blue moon. For the first time since 1990, we will be able to ring in the New Year under the light of a blue moon. The next blue moon to occur on New Year's Eve will not be until 2028.

As for me, I plan to be at the ‘dropping of the ball’ this evening at midnight. Yes, we have the same event as New York City right here in Buffalo, New York. It is a great community event with an alcohol free party at the local convention center for several hours before midnight. Everyone is invited, especially families with children and at midnight they will have a firework display.

I feel excited and I agree with the ancient astronomers that the blue moon is definitely spiritually significant.

So, eyes upward this evening and take a look at Mother Nature’s gift to us.

photo from Astronomy picture of the day archives

The Messenger - The Army Casualty Notification Team

Over the years I have attended many military funerals. The Honor Guard is usually made up of very young men who take obvious pride in the ceremony as they fold the flag and the bugler plays ‘taps’. It is obvious that they feel it is important to honor the person who served their country during war and peace times.

This week I viewed a movie called ‘The Messenger’ where the entire film is centered on the subject of notifying the next of kin.

Ben Foster stars as Will, a U.S. Army sergeant who has returned home from the Iraq War after risking his life to save fellow soldiers. He is still recuperating from very serious injuries and has six months of active service left in the military. He is then assigned the task of working as an Army Casualty Notification Officer alongside Woody Harrelson who plays Tony, his senior officer.

Will is not happy about the new assignment but being a good soldier he goes through the motions. It soon becomes apparent that his Captain (Tony) is like a robot as he gives the instructions “just deliver the message, do not engage in conversation, do not offer words of sympathy and above all, do not touch the family member receiving the news.” In other words ‘show no compassion whatsoever.’

We look on as mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, pregnant girlfriends, sons and daughters collapse in tears, rage, pain, and denial. The viewer is pulled into the emotions of the hurt and pain, and the reality of the effects of war. There is very little happiness found in this film and if you are an anti-war film moviegoer this film will give you more incentive to protest against war.

These are the stories we don't often hear about. We don't hear about them because they are depressing. To hear about the many that die and the effect their deaths have on their families wouldn't make for highly rated prime time news.

If filmmakers are looking to tap into audiences more interested in the blood and gore shown in most films about war, ‘The Messenger’ might not be of interest but the viewer will become aware of the plight our soldiers and their families are facing.

This is a moving drama that takes a home-front look at the collateral damage of our current desert wars. The film puts us on the front porches of the families left behind and gives us a glimpse of the pain as Will and Tony deliver the worst possible news.

It also explores many of the core issues raised by any war -- loss, love, friendship, betrayal, duty and honor, and especially the Twilight Zone, that state of uncertainty, the unsettled state or condition - the very experience that separates those who have lived through battles and the rest of us. It lets us know that the soldier rarely returns home an unchanged person.

Though Will is mostly recovered from his combat wounds, and the chest full of ribbons that say he's a hero do little to assuage his survivor's guilt.

Later, while drinking beers in a bar, Tony says that the funeral of each and every dead American veteran should be televised. And that seems to be what Oren Moverman, who co-wrote the script with Alessandro Camon, is trying to do: bring home the loss behind each American casualty statistic, magnified by the grieving family members left behind and filtered through the guilt of the men who make it back alive. The Messenger achieves that goal very well.

If you follow my blog you will have noticed that I frequently post the current numbers of persons who have been killed since the U. S. involvement in the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I do this because I feel that these men and women and their families have become invisible to the public eye.

I recognized that film was shot on location around Fort Dix, New Jersey, the very area that I spent three years of my life meeting the planes of those wounded in Vietnam.

The movie tell us that within 24 hours of any soldier's death, the Casualty Notification Officers must locate the next of kin and deliver the barest of facts: when, where and how the soldier died, and little else. No hugs, no empathy, no help -- there are other soldiers who will follow offering some of that.

What it does not mention is that during the past 6+ years

5,310

U.S. families have received the knock of death on their door.

The movie has a small romance theme at one point but the purpose is to send the message of how war effects people. They do this by sending “The Messenger”.

If it is not too heavy for you - check it out!

Happy News - Bambi and Thumper Really Do Exist

I wanted to share these wonderful photos that were sent to me by a friend.

It proves that Bambi and Thumper really do exist :-)

For the millions of people who have read their story

this is indeed 'Happy News'

As you know they were depicted on the screen as cartoon characters.

These photos prove a real live friendship between the two.

Here Bambi seems to be nibbling affectionately on Thumper's ear

They certainly seem comfortable together

Sheltering together from the upcoming snowstorm

We survived the storm and now we can have some fun

running around in the snow

Such true friends!

If you have trouble believing this

- just believe that I believe!

:-)

*****

Here is the wonderful photographer Tanja Askani of Nindorf, Germany

playing with some of her friends that she has photographed.

Thank you Tanja for showing us life as you see it through your lens.

Happy News - Secret Santa

Kansas' new Secret Santa gives away about $14K

Wearing an 'Elf' hat, the Kansas City Secret Santa distributes $100 bills to people at a Kansas City, Kan. thrift store Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

By MARIA SUDEKUM FISHER, Associated Press Writer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A terminal cancer patient left a Kansas City-area hospital wondering how he would pay $100 for antibiotics to treat his recent bout with pneumonia.

The answer walked through the retired police officer's door Wednesday clad in a red coat and cap — a Secret Santa bearing a gift of $2,000.

His house was the first stop for a man who is picking up where Kansas City's original Secret Santa, Larry Stewart, left off. Stewart had spent years anonymously handing out $100 bills, sometimes in stacks, around Christmastime before he died in 2007.

By day's end, the new Secret Santa had doled out about $14,000 across the city.

"Around here, the word we use is miracle. And that's what that was," the teary-eyed cancer patient 47, said of his visitor.

The new Secret Santa had been out several times with Stewart, who gave away about $1.3 million over more than two decades. When Stewart was hospitalized before his death at age 58, the new Secret Santa told Stewart he would carry on the tradition.

He has. And then some. The new Secret Santa has hand-picked about 20 others who now anonymously hand out their own money in December in cities nationwide, including Phoenix; Charlotte, N.C.; Detroit; Ventura, Calif., and Tulsa, Okla.

Altogether, they expect to give out between $250,000 to $300,000 this year.

"But we don't really work with a budget," Kansas City's Secret Santa said. "We work from the heart."

All the Secret Santas ask when they hand over $100 bills — sometimes two or three or even 20 at a time — is that the recipient do something kind for someone else. Cash is good, but so are hugs and nice words.

"When you see the looks on the people's faces and they say there was no hope in my life. But now they have it. It's a great feeling," she said.

After giving thousands of dollars Wednesday to people in several thrift stores in Kansas City, Kan. — drawing tears, laughs, hugs and shock — Santa's last stop was an old downtown building where a police detective recently spent about $20,000 of his own money to open a boxing gym for city kids. Many of them are at-risk, Greg Conchola said, simply because "there's nothing for them to do."

"Oh my God," Conchola uttered as he accepted $2,000 from Secret Santa, who said he has a special place in his heart for law enforcement.

"I usually tell folks you got to pass the kindness on," Secret Santa told Conchola. "But in your case, just keep doing what you're doing."

*****

Think about it - if someone has done something nice for you pass the kindness along.

It will make the world a happier place.

Total # of U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq and Afghanistan Wars – 5,305

Total # of U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq and

Afghanistan Wars – 5,305

Well it has happened. Recently President Obama announced plans to deploy 30,000 additional troops in Afghanistan. This is extremely troubling but it is consistent with the statements that he made during the presidential campaign when he said that he would increase war efforts in Afghanistan.

In a new USA Today/Gallup Poll, only 36% said the decision to send 30,000 troops was right, and 73% worried that the costs of the war will make it more difficult to deal with problems at home. A national poll of young adults by the Harvard Institute of Politics found that 66% oppose sending more troops to Afghanistan.

There are protest rallies and campaigns taking place around the country and around the world. Most of those who are taking part are the seasoned Anti-War protesters who have been speaking out against war for many years.

My question is this: “Where are the 73% of citizens who are concerned about the cost of the war? Are they willing to make a stand that will take them off their sofas and into the streets? At the very least are they willing to write a letter or make a telephone call to their member of Congress?”

Continuing the war in Afghanistan and increasing the troops will not protect us. Instead, it will take the lives of more U.S. military personnel and will kill and injure countless Afghani civilians. The surge will cost $30 billion additional dollars, in a war that has already cost taxpayers over $228 billion. This country is experiencing the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression. The budget destined for an increased military program will take resources that should be used for healthcare, education, and jobs.

If you are concerned about these statistics please call your member of Congress at 202-224-3121 with a simple, clear message to let them know your opinion.

Take a look at these up to date statistics and if you find them upsetting –

MAKE THAT PHONE CALL – please!

*****

Total # of U.S. Casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan 5,305

American Military Casualties in Iraq

Since war began (3/19/03): 4371

Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 124

American Wounded Official Estimated

Total U.S.Wounded: 31,582 Over 100,000

Latest Fatality Dec 12, 2009

Daily DoD Casualty Release

320,000 Vets Have Brain Injuries

18 Vet Suicides Per Day?

Iraqi Casualties – 1,339,771

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq 325

US Military Deaths - Afghanistan 934

Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan 604

Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq 1,395

Journalists - Iraq 335

Academics Killed - Iraq 431

Sources: DoD, MNF, and iCasualties.org

If you stand for nothing - you will fall for anything

Speak out loudly - today!