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Sunday, June 17, 2007 |
Independent: "Tony Blair has ruled out a referendum on a new treaty to reform the European Union as ministers prepare for intense negotiations ahead of next week's EU summit.
Mr Blair had pledged to hold a referendum on the planned EU constitution in 2004 before the document was rejected by voters in France and Holland.
Yesterday No 10 insisted that the agreement expected to be sealed next week would lead only to an 'amending treaty' that did not need to be approved at the polls."
Blair is not a democrat. Like Bush he would prefer a dictatorship. And he could use Europe for that. Maybe he is aiming for the European presidency soon. That would allow him to invest some more money into a new mansion. But first he'll have to push the European treaty down the throats of the Britons.
3:02:58 PM 
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ArizonaStar: "U.S. troops would no longer be asked to reveal previous mental-health treatment when applying for security clearances under a proposal being considered by the Pentagon.
The idea stems from the finding that service members avoid needed counseling because they believe that getting it - and acknowledging it - could cost them their clearance as well as do other harm to their careers, The Associated Press has learned.
'This is just one of several items under review by the Department of Defense and the services in an effort to remove the stigma associated with mental-health issues,' said Air Force Maj. Patrick Ryder."
Comment from a reader: "There are currently so many people with mental health problems from the war that the service doesn't want to disqualify any more people than they have too."
Reuters: "The U.S. military's mental health system fails to meet the needs of troops and is too short of funds and staff to help service members sent to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Friday.
Repeated and extended deployments to those war zones over the past five years have driven the need for mental health services higher, but resources have not climbed in response, members of a Defense Department task force said.
'We concentrate a great deal on physical health; that is how fast can you run a mile, how many sit-ups and push-ups can you do,' said Vice Adm. Donald Arthur, who co-chaired the task force. 'But we don't often concentrate on the psychological health of the service member. Anyone who goes into combat knows that you become significantly affected by the experience, and post-traumatic stress reactions are normal. We would like to not have those reactions go on to be disorders,' Arthur said."
The problem will be multiplied when soldiers with mental problems are allowed into the army. The danger is that the army will attract killer types. When these come back home they are bound to pose a very serious problem in society.
2:24:01 PM
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