post traumatic stress syndrom

16. Sexual Violence against Women Soldiers on the Rise and under Wraps

The 2005 death of US Army Private LaVena Johnson, officially ruled suicide by the Department of Defense, in fact exemplifies the sexual violence that female soldiers encounter while serving their country. Johnson’s autopsy revealed wounds inconsistent with suicide, including chemical burns that many believe were intended to destroy DNA evidence of rape. The Pentagon has tried to intimidate reporters and editors working on stories about Johnson. Johnson’s case is among at least twenty where female soldiers have died under suspicious circumstances. The mysterious deaths coincide with an increase in sexual violence against women in the military. According to the Department of Defense, in 2010, there were 3,158 total reports of sexual assault in the military. The DOD estimates that this number represents only 13.5 percent of the actual assaults, making the total number of military rapes and sexual assaults in excess of 19,000 for the year.

Censored News Cluster: Women and Gender, Race and Ethnicity

John Lasker, “Sexual Violence Against Women in the US Military: The Search for Truth and Justice,” Toward Freedom, July 14, 2011,http://www.towardfreedom.com/women/2474-sexual-violence-against-women-in-the-us-military-the-search-for-truth-and-justice.

http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2011/08/27/sexual-violence-against-women-soldiers-on-the-rise-and-under-wraps/

Student Researcher: Taylor Falbisaner (Sonoma State University)

Faculty Evaluator: Peter Phillips (Sonoma State University)

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• John Lasker October 21, 2012
  When I was 19 and a student at Ohio State — about 20 years ago! — I presented Project Censored for a project as being what I felt was best in news reporting. This is a dream come true, thanks!
  Reply
• John Lasker October 21, 2012
  When I was 19 and a student at Ohio State — about 20 years ago! — I presented Project Censored for a project as being what I felt was best in news reporting. This is a dream come true, thanks!
  Reply
• chizeled August 15, 2013
  The U.S. military saves money by diagnosing soldiers who have PTSD with personality disorders. Soldiers with PTSD are honorably discharged with full benefits while soldiers with ‘personality disorder’ are dishonorably discharged with no benefits. Therefore, the military saves itself the trouble of paying benefits by rewarding its psychiatrists when they diagnose soldiers with personality disorder rather than PTSD even though both conditions have the exact same symptoms. Furthermore, research indicates that the military itself created the ‘personality disorder’ diagnosis in the first place.

  The military is now rewarding its psychiatrists who choose to diagnose female rape victims with ‘personality disorder’ because then the rapists can give their victims dishonorable discharges and not have to bother paying benefits.
  http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/14/health/military-sexual-assaults-personality-disorder
  Reply
• Jim August 15, 2013
  Military men have been hitting on and raping female soldiers for
  years. Especially black soldiers on white women.What else is new?
  Reply

news that never make the news

19. New York Police Plant Drugs on Innocent People to Meet Arrest Quotas

A host of stories document how the New York Police Department operates outside the very laws it is charged with enforcing. In October 2011, a former NYPD narcotics detective testified that he regularly saw police plant drugs on innocent people as a way to meet arrest quotas. The NYPD’s controversial “stop and frisk” program has invested seventy-five million dollars to arrest suspects for possessing minimal amounts of marijuana. Each arrest costs approximately $1,000 to $2,000. Although NYPD use of unlawful restraints and disproportionate force to arrest peaceful Occupy protesters has received some news coverage, police brutality directed against people of color continues to go underreported.

Censored News Cluster: The Police State and Civil Liberties

John Del Signore, “NYPD Narcotics Detective Admits Cops Regularly Plant Drugs on Perps,” Gothamist, October 13, 2011,http://gothamist.com/2011/10/13/nypd_narcotics_detective_testifies.php.

Jesse Levine, “New York City Wasting $75 Million a Year on Marijuana Arrests,” AlterNet, March 15, 2011, http://www.alternet.org/story/150263/new_york_city_wasting_$75_million_a_year_on_marijuana_arrests

http://www.mediafreedominternational.org/2011/11/21/new-york-police-plant-drugs-on-innocent-people-to-meet-arrest-quotas/