Tag: Suicides

Closing Thought–26Sep22

I have written many times about the rate and the causes of the suicides by our veterans. It appears that the numbers are higher than have been reported in the past.

The number of US military veterans who have died by suicide could be far higher than the Department of Veterans Affairs has reported, a new study indicates. America’s Warrior Partnership, which works to eliminate veteran suicide, found that in eight states, the number of suicides was 1.37 times higher than reported for 2014 to 2018. If that rate holds throughout the nation, the number of veterans dying by suicide each day would be about 24; the VA’s reported average for that period was 17.7, per NBC News. “We’re not pointing fingers at anyone,” said Jim Lorraine, the nonprofit’s president. “We’re just saying it’s sobering to look at the numbers.”

The VA bases its count on information provided by the counties where the person died, per Stars and Stripes. The new study, which took four years, went further to gather details about the veterans, working with the Department of Defense and checking state records. Other states could not release relevant data because of confidentiality restrictions, the preliminary report says. The VA’s process, missed veterans about 18% of the time, the study said. The University of Alabama and Duke University worked with the nonprofit. “It’s not the VA’s fault, Lorraine said. “The issue is the counties.”

Veterans Affairs released a statement defending its process. “We take every step possible to make sure that our veteran suicide data is accurate, because the first step to solving this problem is understanding it,” said press secretary Terrence Hayes. Loraine said he hopes more states will take part in the next phase of the study. Broader collaboration would improve the accuracy of the data, as well as prevention methods, he said. The VA’s 2020 report said more than 46,000 US adults died in suicides in 2018, more than 6,000 of them veterans. Another organization has found that suicide has killed four times as many US veterans as combat so far this century.

This problem should be far more important to the government than it is….we asked these people to give their all and then we put band-aids on their wounds instead of giving them the help they deserve.

For a damn change do something besides giving our veterans platitudes in place of adequate health care.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–01Sep22

I remember back in the early days of the global pandemic and doctors were falling out windows, Russian doctors that is….well since those days there have been many Russians high placed that have met with untimely ‘ends’…..and we can add yet another one to the list.

What’s not being disputed is that the chair of one of Russia’s largest oil producers has died after falling out of a hospital window. What’s murkier, however, is what led to Ravil Maganov’s demise—what CBS News notes is the sixth death this year of a big-name Russian energy exec under eyebrow-raising circumstances. On Thursday, Russian state news agency TASS reported that the 67-year-old Lukoil chairman died by suicide after plummeting from a sixth-floor window, noting that Maganov had been in the hospital—IDed by the BBC as Moscow’s Central Clinical Hospital—for treatment after a heart attack. “In addition, he was taking antidepressants,” TASS added.

However, two sources who say they knew Maganov well tell Reuters they don’t believe he would have taken his own life. His employer, meanwhile, announced in a statement that Maganov had died “following a serious illness.” Lukoil, which is Russia’s largest private company, has taken an unusually assertive stand against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, pleading in a March statement for negotiations and the “soonest possible end to armed conflict.” The company’s former president, oligarch Vagit Alekperov, stepped down in April after the UK and the EU sanctioned him over the Russian-led war.

Other energy company bigwigs who’ve recently died under mysterious circumstances include former Lukoil board member Alexander Subbotin, who was reported in May as having been found dead in a basement on the outskirts of Moscow, supposedly after receiving a shaman’s “treatment” involving toad poison. A month earlier, Sergei Protosenya, a former manager for Novatek, Russia’s largest liquefied natural gas producer, was found dead, along with his wife and daughter, in a villa in Spain. Local police say he killed his family, then himself. One person who might be feeling uneasy at the moment: Nail Maganov, Ravil’s brother, who heads up another Russian fuels firm, Tatneft, headquartered in the Tatarstan region.

There sure are a lot of ‘unexplained’ suicides in Russia (wink wink)…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

New 988 System

It is a Sunday and I would like to present to my readers a Public Service Announcement (PSA)……

We all are well aware of the need for the 9-11 system which is used in emergencies…..all calls for criminal activity, medical emergency and mental health issues that have become serious……as of today a new system will be in place from all over the country…the new 988 system…..

Starting Saturday, anyone across the US can simply call or text 988 at any time to reach what used to be called the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Trained mental health professionals will respond, NBC News reports. Now called 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, it will provide free and confidential support 24/7, and will connect callers to local crisis centers. A surge of millions more calls is expected due to the change, the Washington Post reports.

“Trained counselors will listen, understand how their problems are affecting them, provide support, and connect them to resources if necessary,” per the website. The Lifeline currently has a 10-digit 800-number, and this three-digit version will be easier to remember for people in distress. It also offers an alternative to calling 911 during a mental health crisis, since 911 callers are typically directed to law enforcement rather than mental health professionals.

“I look at 988 as a starting place where we can really reimagine mental health care,” says Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The 988 number already works in some areas, but will work nationwide by Saturday. In the meantime, anyone who needs to can still call the old Lifeline number, 800-273-8255, which will remain active even after the 988 number is implemented. You can also text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.

Write it down…put it in your phone….keep it close in case it is needed.

Peace Out my friends.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–05Aug21

More sad news about the consequences from the insurrection of 06 January…..

The fall-out from the riot is hitting deadly heights…..

Within days of the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, two police officers who were at the scene took their own lives: Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood and Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith. Now, two more officers who defended the Capitol that day have also died by suicide. A spokesperson for Washington DC’s Metropolitan PD announced Monday that MPD Officer Gunther Hashida, 43, was found dead at his home last Thursday and that MPD Officer Kyle deFreytag, 26, was found dead July 10, CNBC reports.

According to a GoFundMe campaign for Hashida’s family, the “devoted and loving husband and father” leaves behind a wife and three children. DeFreytag’s obituary says he “was kind, he had a quick wit and a great sense of humor & kept us laughing for 26 years.” He is survived by his parents and siblings. A fifth officer, Brian Sicknick of the Capitol Police, died Jan. 7 after collapsing the day of the riot and suffering two strokes, which the medical examiner said the attack contributed to. About 140 officers were injured. At a recent hearing before the House select committee probing the attack, CNN reports that a Capitol Police officer said officers who responded to the “traumatic” events should feel no shame in getting counseling to deal with “the emotions they are continuing to experience from the events of January 6.”

Sad news indeed.

And yet the US Congress, the representatives of the people, have basically turned a blind eye and deaf ears to the day of pain that Americans inflicted on its people.

I would like to apologize to the families for the pain they must endure thanx to the stupidity of some Americans.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–01Jul21

Did you know that suicide since 2001 are 6 times higher than those killed in action?

Yes about 6 times higher to the tune of 30,000+ as opposed to about 7,000 killed in action.

New research released Monday shows the post-9/11 wars launched by the U.S. military since 2001 have resulted in over 30,000 suicides by active duty American solders and veterans—over four times the number killed in combat operations.

According to Brown University’s Costs of War Project—established in 2010 to account for the loss of lives and taxpayer dollars spent on U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—an estimated 30,177 veterans and service members have killed themselves over the last nearly two decades, compared with 7,057 members of the military who have been killed in combat. 

The findings were compiled from interviews, government data, and secondary literature.

“The V.A. 2020 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report reveals the suicide rate of veterans overall and adjusted for age and sex is 1.5 times that of the general population,” the report reads. “This rate is likely a conservative one because, unlike earlier reports, the V.A. only counts veterans who were federally activated, leaving out Reservists and National Guardsmen who were not federally activated.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/06/21/over-30000-us-veterans-post-911-wars-have-killed-themselves-2001

This is a growing problem and the Pentagon has done little to help…..

But why is this a growing problem?

While the Department of Defense, Veterans’ Administration, and other organizations are trying to address this alarming trend, one component that must be further integrated and supported is the family. Depression and suicide do not happen in a vacuum, and these events have a profound impact on those in the service member or veteran’s life. 

Military service members, war veterans, and their families carry the costs of war daily. Most civilians in our country have been fortunate to not have experienced, at least directly, the horror of the Global War on Terror. But many U.S. servicemembers — especially those who have done multiple tours of duty — have. Traumatic events like IED blasts (with accompanying traumatic brain injury) carry significant impact even after a deployment ends and service members return to American soil. This can lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Rand Corporation, in a 2019 report entitled Improving the Quality of Mental Health Care for Veterans, identified that up to 20 percent of deployed individuals experience PTSD, up to 44 percent have a dependency on alcohol, and 48 percent of those who deployed experienced strains in family life

Why are tens of thousands of post-9/11 service members killing themselves?

We can find billions for new ways to kill but very little to help the veteran that is fighting inner battles because of those weapons.

Pathetic track record on veteran issues….the Pentagon treats veterans like broken tools…they discard them and find news one to screw up.

And yet our Congress throws their support behind veterans with every election and then soon forget them as quickly as they can in favor of more ‘popular’ issues…..and the voter allows this as well.

But the bigger question is….do Americans not involved in this situation actually care how many of our vets are taking their lives?

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Closing Thought–15Apr21

I have written many times about the suicide rates within our military and veterans……

Suicides

…..and the news from 2020 is NOT at all encouraging even after the Pentagon has tried with a outreach program…..

The number of deaths by suicide among military service members increased alarmingly in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the Defense Department’s latest quarterly report.

The military recorded 156 deaths by suicide among all services, including active-duty, National Guard and Reserve troops, from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 last year. That is a 25% increase from the 125 such deaths that occurred in the last quarter of calendar year 2019.

The bulk of the increase came among Guard troops, who saw such deaths increase from 14 in the fourth quarter of 2019 to 39 in 2020. Deaths by suicide among reservists increased by seven, from 11 to 18, over the year. Suicide deaths among active-duty troops actually dropped slightly, from 100 to 99.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/04/05/military-deaths-suicide-jumped-25-end-of-2020.html

There is a problem and the Pentagon needs to spend more time working on the cause and solution than it does trying to build a better mouse trap for more war.

This news is unacceptable and pathetic.

The Pentagon is treating our troops like a tool that is broken….throw them away and get a new one to replace it.

Why does it seem that no one gives a sh*t about this rising problem?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–28Sep20

On this day in 1904 a woman is arrested for smoking a cigarette in NYC….just think if that was to go before the newest SCOTUS nominee…..

Just a thought!

Now for the heart of this post…..

I have been writing about the suicide rate among our military people since the very beginning of this blog……..a story that does not get much play in this minute by minute reporting of the 24 hour news cycle….

Just last week even more bad news has been released about the steep rise in the suicides within our military…..

Military suicides have increased by as much as 20% this year compared to the same period in 2019, and some incidents of violent behavior have spiked as service members struggle under COVID-19, war-zone deployments, national disasters, and civil unrest. While the data is incomplete and causes of suicide are complex, Army and Air Force officials say they believe the pandemic is adding stress to an already-strained force. And senior Army leaders—who say they’ve seen about a 30% jump in active duty suicides so far this year—said they are looking at shortening combat deployments, the AP reports; soldiers; 10-month deployments have been stretched to 11 months because of the two-week coronavirus quarantines at the beginning and end.

Such a move would be part of a broader effort to make the well-being of soldiers and their families the Army’s top priority. The Pentagon refused to provide 2020 data or discuss the issue, but Army officials said Defense Department briefings indicate there has been up to a 20% jump in overall military suicides this year. The Army Guard is up about 10%, from 78 to 86. The Navy total is believed to be lower this year. Pointing to increases in Army suicides, murders, and other violent behavior, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said: “We cannot say definitively it is because of COVID. But there is a direct correlation from when COVID started, the numbers actually went up.” When calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 800-273-8255, military veterans should press 1. They also can go to woundedwarriorproject.org, or call the project at 888-997-2586.

I think that zeroing in on the virus as a cause is a bit wrong……the virus is a convenient excuse and gives them an out to explain the rise in the deaths of service people.

I believe that a deep examination needsw to be had and as far as “doing all” to help prevent these deaths is the same thing they say every time and so far these “attempts” have failed.

Maybe it is time for a new approach.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Those Russians And Windows Are Back!

I recently wrote a post about the people that are walking our windows in Russia. A couple of doctors and a whistle blower police major…well it does not stop with those few…..but read about these tragic “accidents”…..https://lobotero.com/2020/07/18/beware-of-russian-windows/

A Russian Olympic figure skater has “fallen” out a window…..

Olympic figure skater Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya has died aged 20 after reportedly falling out of a window.

Russian-born Alexandrovskaya represented Australia at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

The cause of the death has yet to be confirmed but reports claim she “died on the spot” following the incident in Moscow.

Alexandrovskaya retired from the sport earlier this year due to injury.

Tributes have poured in for the athlete, a two-time Australian National Champion pair-skating with partner Harley Windsor.

Windsor, 23, posted a heartbreaking message on social media.

(mirror.co.uk)

I have got to ask….what is it about Russians and windows?

I have asked and I ask gain….what is it about Russians and windows?

Summer on the Gulf Coast…it has been raining for 3 days…..and more to come……Gonzalo is waiting to strike.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Suicide Is Not Painless

Thinking of the theme song for M*A*S*H…..

But on a more serious note…..suicides among our service people is not getting better……https://lobotero.com/2019/06/24/suicides/

In the 4 months since I wrote my last post on this subject the figures are looking worse…….

Looks like the US Navy could set a new all-time high for suicides…..

A total of 53 active-duty and seven reserve sailors have died by suicide so far this year, and that is “roughly a little bit ahead” of the number of sailors who had taken their own lives this time in 2018, the Navy’s top suicide prevention officer said.

“That trend is unacceptable,” Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, director, 21st Century Sailor, told reporters on Thursday. “We are looking at every aspect of why that trend continues, at least for the last three years. We’re determined not to allow it to continue the way it’s going.”

Last year, Navy suicides reached their highest level since the service began recording data on the matter in 2006, with 68 active-duty sailors and 11 sailors in the Navy Reserve dying by suicide.

https://taskandpurpose.com/navy-suicides-new-record

And unfortunately the US Navy is not alone in this…..

The rate of suicide among active duty service members has increased significantly over the past five years, according to a Pentagon report released on Thursday.

The report comes after three U.S. sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush died by apparent suicide last week, incidents the Navy has said are separate and unrelated.

The Pentagon’s first annual suicide report said that the rate of suicide deaths among active duty service members was 24.8 per 100,000 service members, up from just under 20 per 100,000 in 2013. In 2018, 541 service members died by suicide, the report said, adding that the most common method of suicide was with firearms.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-military-suicide/suicide-rate-in-active-duty-u-s-service-members-rises-significantly-idUKKBN1WB2SY

The active duty trooper is not alone…the National Guard has also seen a rise……

The National Guard’s suicide rate has surpassed the entire active-duty force and the reserves, as well as the civilian population.

30.6 people of every 100,000 in the National Guard died by suicide in 2018, the Pentagon’s first-ever Annual Suicide Report for 2018 said, compared to 24.8 active-duty service members, and 22.9 reservists.

https://taskandpurpose.com/national-guard-pentagon-suicide-report

Families are also not immune…..

In what was hailed as the Pentagon’s first-ever report on military family suicides, the Defense Department said Thursday that 123 spouses and 63 children took their own lives in 2017.

According to the inaugural Department of Defense 2018 Annual Suicide Report, the 186 deaths included 122 among of active-duty personnel families, 29 among Reserve families and 35 within National Guard families.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/09/27/first-pentagon-releases-data-military-spouse-and-child-suicides.html

This is a sad turn and it just keeps getting worse…..maybe the military should go about trying to find a cause and a good treatment to prevent our brave service people from feeling like they need to oft themselves.

Then there are those that try to make suicide painless……

Opponents of euthanasia have expressed concern at the creation of a “suicide machine”, which has been developed by Dr Philip Nitschke.

The well-known advocate of individuals’ right to die has regularly caused controversy by assisting what he calls “rational suicides”. 

Having developed machines in the past that could be used by individuals to inject themselves with lethal doses of barbiturates, Dr Nitschke says he is now close to finalising a new device which uses nitrogen gas to cause death.

He says the idea for the invention was sparked by conversations in 2012 over the case of British man Tony Nicklinson, who suffered from locked-in syndrome – the result of a severe stroke in 2005 that had left him unable to speak or move.

Mr Nicklinson fought a long, and ultimately unsuccessful, court battle in a bid to allow his doctors legally to assist his suicide. In search of assisted suicide options, his lawyer reached out to Dr Nitschke, who began to consider how it would be possible for an individual whose movements were limited to blinking might be able to trigger death without the need for help by others. 

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/suicide-machine-assisted-dying-euthanasia-debate-uk-clinic-sarco-nitschke-a8307741.html

Learn Stuff!

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Closing Thought–02Aug19

I have written ,much about the problems that our veterans are having….their mental health……suicides were on the rise at a time when the VA has its problems as well…..I have written about these problems often….

https://lobotero.com/2015/04/02/veterans-suicide/

https://lobotero.com/2019/06/24/suicides/

I revisit my post on veterans suicide because I read that the UK seems to be having a like problem with the veterans…..

A coroner has warned that more military veterans suffering PTSD may take their own lives unless urgent action is taken to improve their care.

Emma Brown, the coroner for Birmingham and Solihull, has written to NHS services and police highlighting a catalogue of failures in the treatment of Lance Corporal Dave Jukes in the months leading up to his suicide.

Earlier this month, she ruled the 49-year-old veteran from Birmingham, who had served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia, took his own life last year after repeated calls for help were largely ignored.

In a strongly worded letter seen by The Sunday Telegraph, she has urged NHS England, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust and West Midlands Police to learn from mistakes in the soldier’s treatment.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/british-armed-services-veterans-suicides-200000175.html

It is a crying shame that these men and women made it home to their loved ones only to face PTSD that could just as lethal as any enemy on the battlefield.

Hopefully my readers in the UK will fill in any blanks that I may have in this issue.

“Lego Ergo Scribo”