I thought about the story that was listed under extra credit and some of the stories that were in our book it seem fitting to see the other side. That side referencing those who see the hurt and pain of others then they get out there and do something about changing it to make a difference. This is a story one a few such people it is a little something honoring those who stand in gap for others. I know that there are times that we have to be our own cheerleaders. I am very happy that she was honored as well as the others. I will give the web address so that you may go out and read more on these people and the good work that they have done. It is very eye opening to read the links that some have gone to help another! It brings me joy to know that there are still people that are willing to lend a helping hand. There are still people when they see an injustice will not walk away because they don’t want to get involved. Sometimes getting involved can be very costly, but all have to follow our own moral compass.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/11/21/cnnheroes.hero.of.year/?hpt=C2
Woman fighting sex slavery named CNN Hero of the Year
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
• Anuradha Koirala named 2010 CNN Hero of the Year at Los Angeles gala
• Gala included appearance by 33 Chilean miners and five of their rescuers
• John Legend, Bon Jovi and Sugarland performed; celebrity presenters included Demi Moore
• Fourth-annual event taped before an audience of nearly 5,000 at Shrine Auditorium
Editor's note: Watch "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" this weekend on the global networks of CNN. See full schedule below. Nominations for 2011 CNN Heroes are now open at CNNHeroes.com.
Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- A woman whose group has rescued more than 12,000 women and girls from sex slavery has been named the 2010 CNN Hero of the Year.
Anuradha Koirala was chosen by the public in an online poll that ran for eight weeks on CNN.com. CNN's Anderson Cooper revealed the result at the conclusion of the fourth annual "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute."
"Human trafficking is a crime, a heinous crime, a shame to humanity," Koirala said earlier in the evening after being introduced as one of the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2010. "I ask everyone to join me to create a society free of trafficking. We need to do this for all our daughters."
Koirala was introduced by actress Demi Moore, who along with her husband, Ashton Kutcher, created DNA, The Demi and Ashton Foundation, which aims to eliminate child sex slavery worldwide.
"Every day this woman confronts the worst of what humanity has to offer," Moore said of Koirala. "She says, 'Stop. Stop selling our girls.' By raiding brothels and patrolling the India-Nepal border, she saves girls from being sold into the sex trade, where they are being repeatedly raped for profit, tortured and enslaved. "Since 1993, she has helped rescue more than 12,000 women and girls. Through her organization Maiti Nepal, she has provided more than a shelter for these girls and young women, she has created a home. It is a place for them to heal, go to school, learn a skill, and for some who are infected with HIV/AIDS, it is the place where they can spend their days surrounded by love." See Koirala's fan page on CNN Heroes Koirala will receive $100,000 to continue her work with Maiti Nepal, in addition to the $25,000 awarded to each of the top 10 Heroes honored. "This is another responsibility to me to work with all your support," Koirala told the audience after being named Hero of the Year. "We have to end this heinous crime. Please join hands with me to end this crime. ... Please try to respect the youth. They are the ones who are going to build the next generation. Thank you so much." Koirala's speech capped the gala event, which was taped November 20 before an audience of nearly 5,000 and premiered Thanksgiving night on the global networks of CNN.
The show opened with a salute to the 33 Chilean miners and five of the people who rescued them last month after the miners spent 69 days underground.
"For 69 days we were amazed by these 33 brave miners," Cooper said in welcoming the miners onto the Shrine stage. "Their ordeal was unthinkable; their rescue, unbelievable. No one has ever been trapped underground so deep for so long and survived.
"They endured a nightmare, experienced a miracle, and in the end became each others' brothers and heroes. On behalf of CNN Heroes, we salute all 33 Chilean miners." After the miners sang the Chilean national anthem, two of them -- speaking through a translator and holding the Chilean flag -- expressed their appreciation. "We want to thank the world, and we want to thank God for your prayers," Luis Urzua told the audience in Spanish.
"Our families suffered. Our children suffered, too. But thanks to the prayers of the whole world, we could come out of this difficulty," Mario Sepulveda added. "Some of our rescuers are here with us tonight," Urzua said. "Thank you for bringing us home. You are our heroes."
CNN brought the miners and their rescuers to the United States to attend the tribute show. The five rescuers were selected to represent the many thousands whose talent and effort led to the dramatic rescue.
The top 10 CNN Heroes, chosen by a blue-ribbon panel from an initial pool of more than 10,000 nominations from more than 100 countries, were each honored with a documentary tribute and introduced by a celebrity presenter. The program also featured performances by Grammy Award-winners Bon Jovi, John Legend and Sugarland.
Rock legends Bon Jovi performed "What Do You Got?," a new song from their greatest hits album, which came out earlier this month. Legend performed "Wake Up Everybody" along with hip-hop artist Common and R&B singer Melanie Fiona. Sugarland performed "Stand Up," a new song from their album "The Incredible Machine," which made its debut in October.
All three performances echoed the spirit of the CNN Heroes campaign, which salutes everyday people whose extraordinary accomplishments are making a difference in their communities and beyond.
Celebrity presenters included Halle Berry, Demi Moore, Jessica Alba, Kid Rock, LL Cool J, Renee Zellweger, Gerard Butler, Kiefer Sutherland, Marisa Tomei, Aaron Eckhart and Holly Robinson Peete.
"CNN Heroes has illustrated the best of humanity through the telling of stories of selfless acts of kindness, courage and perseverance" said Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide. "We are honored to bring these Heroes the recognition they so deserve. It is a program the entire CNN family is proud of and excited to share with our viewers on Thanksgiving night."
Again this year, producer/director Joel Gallen served as executive producer of "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute." Among his credits, Gallen produced telethon events supporting victims of the Haiti earthquake, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina. He won an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award for "America: A Tribute to Heroes." Preceding the tribute broadcast, CNN and HLN aired a red carpet special, "Showbiz Tonight @ CNN Heroes," at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Hosted by A.J. Hammer and Brooke Anderson, the special featured exclusive coverage of celebrity arrivals and interviews, as well as a celebrity-hosted social media suite tapping into the worldwide online passion and interest in the Heroes event.
Here are the 2010 top 10 CNN Heroes in alphabetical order:
Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega founded a hospital in Juarez, Mexico, that cares for about 900 people daily -- regardless of their ability to pay. Despite the escalating violence in the city, the 74-year-old travels there several times a week to make sure residents get the care they need. Learn more about Guadalupe
Susan Burton was once caught in a cycle of addiction and incarceration. Today, her nonprofit A New Way of Life Reentry Project provides sober housing and other support services to formerly incarcerated women in California. Learn more about Susan
With her weight-loss challenge, Shape Up Vicksburg, Linda Fondren is helping her Mississippi hometown battle the bulge. Through free fitness activities and nutrition classes, residents have lost nearly 15,000 pounds to date. Learn more about Linda
Anuradha Koirala is fighting to prevent the trafficking and sexual exploitation of Nepal's women and girls. Since 1993, she and her group, Maiti Nepal, have helped rescue and rehabilitate more than 12,000 victims. Learn more about Anuradha Narayanan Krishnan brings hot meals and dignity to India's homeless and destitute -- 365 days per year -- through his nonprofit Akshaya Trust. Since 2002, he has served more than 1.2 million meals. Learn more about Narayanan
Since 1992, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow has dedicated his life to helping people in need. Today, his program, Mary's Meals -- run from a tin shed in the Scottish highlands -- provides free daily meals to more than 400,000 children around the world. Learn more about Magnus
Harmon Parker is using his masonry skills to save lives. Since 1997 he has helped build 45 footbridges over perilous rivers in Kenya, protecting people from flash floods and predatory animals. The bridges also connect isolated villagers to valuable resources. Learn more about Harmon
Aki Ra is helping to make his native Cambodia safer by clearing land mines -- many of which he planted years ago as a child soldier. Since 1993, he and his Cambodian Self Help Demining organization have cleared about 50,000 mines and unexploded weapons. Learn more about Aki Ra
Evans Wadongo, 23, invented a way for rural families in Kenya to replace smoky kerosene and firelight with solar power. Through his Use Solar, Save Lives program, he's distributed an estimated 10,000 free solar lanterns. Learn more about Evans
Since 2005, Texas home builder Dan Wallrath has given injured Iraq and Afghanistan veterans homes of their own -- mortgage-free. He and his Operation Finally Home team have five new custom homes under construction. Learn more about Dan
To learn more about some of the people stated and the work that they have done you can go on the website and click on the name. The name should be highlighted in blue. They all are very interesting and bring so much to the lives that they touch. I was very happy to see that all of their hard work has not gone unnoticed. I am sure that none of these people did what they did to get noticed. I am very sure that they did it because it was the right thing to do. I say that I wanted to see them noticed so someone else can read their stories and think of what they can do to also give a helping hand. Every little bit counts. Just reading about these people is encouraging to me to continue to help the group of young people that I work with daily.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Blog 7
After reading some of the comments on the discussion board I though about this story. It is a story of a mother, daughter and a lover. Now it is not the way that you think that it should be. These women were both dating the same man. The ladies were not aware of things, but when the mother became aware she wanted to hire someone to kill the lover. Now it that was not bad enough. The lover was a famous rugby player. After the initial hearing the courts asked the women to go in for a psychological test. This story when I read of it. I could see were the judge just over looked some of the key things that may be brought out when they go back to court in January 2011. I found it very interesting that she was released and after the manner in which they arrested her. It is very interesting. During the story the lover in question had nothing to say on his behalf. We only are left with the actions of the betrayed women. There wasn't any comments on his actions. I don't feel that any one should have the right to take another person's life, but I do think that he should have said something to take ownership of what he did. Because this woman felt desperate and acted on her emotions she now will face the court systems for that, but what if anything will happen to the man? He is left to say oh I could not choose between the mother or the daughter so I had both. No I am sorry for my actions and the things that lead to what has taken place. No apology to the girl for the lost of her mother.
This guy gets to play the victim when if he had have been truthful and stayed away from one or the other or both they would not have the current situation. It is something to make you think. Here is the story below and the link I got the information from.
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http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/11/23/south.africa.rugby.murder/index.html
Woman accused in rugby star's murder plot to undergo psychiatric test
By Nkepile Mabuse, CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Woman is free on bail after being arrested last week
* The case also involves witchcraft and a faked murder scene, police say
* Police say they have messages from woman urging hitmen to carry out the murder
RELATED TOPICS
* South Africa
Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- A South African court has ordered a 47-year-old woman to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after she was arrested for allegedly plotting to kill promising rugby player, Deon Helberg.
Amanda Reyneke is believed to have had an affair with the 21-year-old Blue Bulls wing while he was dating her daughter, police said.
Jalien Reyneke is a university student and model who apparently broke up with Helberg after finding out that he was in a relationship with her mother, according to police.
Helberg is not talking publicly, but his alleged relationship with the Reynekes has South Africans gripped. The love triangle that could have possibly ended in death has been making headlines since Amanda Reyneke's dramatic and public arrest last Thursday.
Investigators say she promised to pay two Nigerian men $17,000 to kill Helberg, but her plot was foiled when the men notified police.
With the help of the rugby player, a crime scene designed to make it appear that he was dead was constructed by police and pictures were sent to Amanda Reyneke by the would-be assassins. When she agreed to meet them to give them their pay for the murder, police pounced, taking all three into custody.
The Nigerians are now state witnesses and will testify against Amanda Reyneke, police said. During her first court appearance Monday, text messages allegedly sent by her to the two hired hitmen were read out in Pretoria Magistrate's Court.
One of them, apparently urging the two men to carry out the killing, read: "I'm sorry to tell you that this job still needs to be done."
Police said prosecutors plan to use the messages to prove she wanted Helberg dead. Some of the texts allegedly revealed that she may have dabbled in witchcraft, and one indicated she had been in contact with witch doctors.
The judge in the case ordered Amanda Reyneke to check herself into a psychiatric facility for a mental evaluation, but allowed her to go free on bail.
Outside the courthouse, her lawyer spoke to CNN but did not divulge many details about the case.
"We will give you the real story when we go to court," said attorney Jaques Beetge.
To add to the intrigue, Amanda Reyneke -- after dodging a gaggle of reporters as she walked out of the courthouse Monday -- ducked into a car driven by her daughter. She kissed her daughter on the cheek and the two drove away.
Amanda Reyneke is due in court again in January.
***********************************************************************************
There is a comment page and for this story the comments being left are for the fact that the guy got away with trying the mother and the daughter. That is one of the big laughs and then there are some that feel that this women will get off free. One person stated that if a man plots to kill a person he goes to jail and bail is set at an extremely high point. A women does the same thing and she has to see a doctor. Then his last comment is that she may get off free. No one in the group want to address the fact that what this man did was wrong. The fact that he caused pain that would have never been there had he kept his pants up has never come up in the comments. Again I don't think that I would plot to kill the guy, but he need to take up some of the responsibility of his actions and the damage that it has caused.
This guy gets to play the victim when if he had have been truthful and stayed away from one or the other or both they would not have the current situation. It is something to make you think. Here is the story below and the link I got the information from.
************************************************************************************
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/11/23/south.africa.rugby.murder/index.html
Woman accused in rugby star's murder plot to undergo psychiatric test
By Nkepile Mabuse, CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Woman is free on bail after being arrested last week
* The case also involves witchcraft and a faked murder scene, police say
* Police say they have messages from woman urging hitmen to carry out the murder
RELATED TOPICS
* South Africa
Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- A South African court has ordered a 47-year-old woman to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after she was arrested for allegedly plotting to kill promising rugby player, Deon Helberg.
Amanda Reyneke is believed to have had an affair with the 21-year-old Blue Bulls wing while he was dating her daughter, police said.
Jalien Reyneke is a university student and model who apparently broke up with Helberg after finding out that he was in a relationship with her mother, according to police.
Helberg is not talking publicly, but his alleged relationship with the Reynekes has South Africans gripped. The love triangle that could have possibly ended in death has been making headlines since Amanda Reyneke's dramatic and public arrest last Thursday.
Investigators say she promised to pay two Nigerian men $17,000 to kill Helberg, but her plot was foiled when the men notified police.
With the help of the rugby player, a crime scene designed to make it appear that he was dead was constructed by police and pictures were sent to Amanda Reyneke by the would-be assassins. When she agreed to meet them to give them their pay for the murder, police pounced, taking all three into custody.
The Nigerians are now state witnesses and will testify against Amanda Reyneke, police said. During her first court appearance Monday, text messages allegedly sent by her to the two hired hitmen were read out in Pretoria Magistrate's Court.
One of them, apparently urging the two men to carry out the killing, read: "I'm sorry to tell you that this job still needs to be done."
Police said prosecutors plan to use the messages to prove she wanted Helberg dead. Some of the texts allegedly revealed that she may have dabbled in witchcraft, and one indicated she had been in contact with witch doctors.
The judge in the case ordered Amanda Reyneke to check herself into a psychiatric facility for a mental evaluation, but allowed her to go free on bail.
Outside the courthouse, her lawyer spoke to CNN but did not divulge many details about the case.
"We will give you the real story when we go to court," said attorney Jaques Beetge.
To add to the intrigue, Amanda Reyneke -- after dodging a gaggle of reporters as she walked out of the courthouse Monday -- ducked into a car driven by her daughter. She kissed her daughter on the cheek and the two drove away.
Amanda Reyneke is due in court again in January.
***********************************************************************************
There is a comment page and for this story the comments being left are for the fact that the guy got away with trying the mother and the daughter. That is one of the big laughs and then there are some that feel that this women will get off free. One person stated that if a man plots to kill a person he goes to jail and bail is set at an extremely high point. A women does the same thing and she has to see a doctor. Then his last comment is that she may get off free. No one in the group want to address the fact that what this man did was wrong. The fact that he caused pain that would have never been there had he kept his pants up has never come up in the comments. Again I don't think that I would plot to kill the guy, but he need to take up some of the responsibility of his actions and the damage that it has caused.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Blog 6
I was thinking about the meaning behind all that we have as Americans and those things that our war vets have done to keep us safe. In honor of them and all that they have done I wanted to see re-visit a story on our first ever female POW/MIA. The story of Jessica Lynch is powerful and very unforgettable. I thank everyone who has ever given their time or energy to serve in order that I might have the liberty to enjoy an education and my family. Jessica's story below and a link to her information.
The truth about Jessica http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/may/15/iraq.usa2
Her Iraqi guards had long fled, she was being well cared for - and doctors had already tried to free her. John Kampfner discovers the real story behind a modern American war myth
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* The Guardian, Thursday 15 May 2003 08.27 BST
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Jessica Lynch became an icon of the war. An all-American heroine, the story of her capture by the Iraqis and her rescue by US special forces became one of the great patriotic moments of the conflict. It couldn't have happened at a more crucial moment, when the talk was of coalition forces bogged down, of a victory too slow in coming.
Her rescue will go down as one of the most stunning pieces of news management yet conceived. It provides a remarkable insight into the real influence of Hollywood producers on the Pentagon's media managers, and has produced a template from which America hopes to present its future wars.
But the American media tactics, culminating in the Lynch episode, infuriated the British, who were supposed to be working alongside them in Doha, Qatar. This Sunday, the BBC's Correspondent programme reveals the inside story of the rescue that may not have been as heroic as portrayed, and of divisions at the heart of the allies' media operation.
"In reality we had two different styles of news media management," says Group Captain Al Lockwood, the British army spokesman at central command. "I feel fortunate to have been part of the UK one."
In the early hours of April 2, correspondents in Doha were summoned from their beds to Centcom, the military and media nerve centre for the war. Jim Wilkinson, the White House's top figure there, had stayed up all night. "We had a situation where there was a lot of hot news," he recalls. "The president had been briefed, as had the secretary of defence."
The journalists rushed in, thinking Saddam had been captured. The story they were told instead has entered American folklore. Private Lynch, a 19-year-old clerk from Palestine, West Virginia, was a member of the US Army's 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company that took a wrong turning near Nassiriya and was ambushed. Nine of her US comrades were killed. Iraqi soldiers took Lynch to the local hospital, which was swarming with fedayeen, where he was held for eight days. That much is uncontested.
Releasing its five-minute film to the networks, the Pentagon claimed that Lynch had stab and bullet wounds, and that she had been slapped about on her hospital bed and interrogated. It was only thanks to a courageous Iraqi lawyer, Mohammed Odeh al-Rehaief, that she was saved. According to the Pentagon, Al-Rehaief risked his life to alert the Americans that Lynch was being held.
Just after midnight, Army Rangers and Navy Seals stormed the Nassiriya hospital. Their "daring" assault on enemy territory was captured by the military's night-vision camera. They were said to have come under fire, but they made it to Lynch and whisked her away by helicopter. That was the message beamed back to viewers within hours of the rescue.
Al-Rehaief was granted asylum barely two weeks after arriving in the US. He is now the toast of Washington, with a fat $500,000 (£309,000) book deal. Rescue in Nassiriya will be published in October. As for Lynch, her status as cult hero is stronger than ever. Internet auction sites have listed at least 10 Jessica Lynch items, ranging from an oil painting with an opening bid of $200 to a $5 "America Loves Jessica Lynch" fridge magnet. Trouble is that doctors now say she has no recollection of the whole episode and probably never will. Her memory loss means that "researchers" have been called in to fill in the gaps.
One story, two versions. The doctors in Nassiriya say they provided the best treatment they could for Lynch in the midst of war. She was assigned the only specialist bed in the hospital, and one of only two nurses on the floor. "I was like a mother to her and she was like a daughter,"says Khalida Shinah.
"We gave her three bottles of blood, two of them from the medical staff because there was no blood at this time,"said Dr Harith al-Houssona, who looked after her throughout her ordeal. "I examined her, I saw she had a broken arm, a broken thigh and a dislocated ankle. Then I did another examination. There was no [sign of] shooting, no bullet inside her body, no stab wound - only RTA, road traffic accident," he recalled. "They want to distort the picture. I don't know why they think there is some benefit in saying she has a bullet injury."
The doctors told us that the day before the special forces swooped on the hospital the Iraqi military had fled. Hassam Hamoud, a waiter at a local restaurant, said he saw the American advance party land in the town. He said the team's Arabic interpreter asked him where the hospital was. "He asked: 'Are there any Fedayeen over there?' and I said, 'No'." All the same, the next day "America's finest warriors" descended on the building.
"We heard the noise of helicopters," says Dr Anmar Uday. He says that they must have known there would be no resistance. "We were surprised. Why do this? There was no military, there were no soldiers in the hospital.
"It was like a Hollywood film. They cried, 'Go, go, go', with guns and blanks and the sound of explosions. They made a show - an action movie like Sylvester Stallone or Jackie Chan, with jumping and shouting, breaking down doors." All the time with the camera rolling. The Americans took no chances, restraining doctors and a patient who was handcuffed to a bed frame.
There was one more twist. Two days before the snatch squad arrived, Al-Houssona had arranged to deliver Jessica to the Americans in an ambulance. "I told her I will try and help you escape to the American Army but I will do this very secretly because I could lose my life." He put her in an ambulance and instructed the driver to go to the American checkpoint. When he was approaching it, the Americans opened fire. They fled just in time back to the hospital. The Americans had almost killed their prize catch.
A military cameraman had shot footage of the rescue. It was a race against time for the video to be edited. The video presentation was ready a few hours after the first brief announcement. When it was shown, General Vincent Brooks, the US spokesman in Doha, declared: "Some brave souls put their lives on the line to make this happen, loyal to a creed that they know that they'll never leave a fallen comrade."
None of the details that the doctors provided Correspondent with made it to the video or to any subsequent explanations or clarifications by US authorities. I asked the Pentagon spokesman in Washington, Bryan Whitman, to release the full tape of the rescue, rather than its edited version, to clear up any discrepancies. He declined. Whitman would not talk about what kind of Iraqi resistance the American forces faced. Nor would he comment on the injuries Lynch actually sustained. "I understand there is some conflicting information out there and in due time the full story will be told, I'm sure," he told me.
That American approach - to skim over the details - focusing instead on the broad message, led to tension behind the scenes with the British. Downing Street's man in Doha, Simon Wren, was furious that on the first few days of the war the Americans refused to give any information at Centcom. The British were put in the difficult position of having to fill in the gaps, off the record.
Towards the end of the conflict, Wren wrote a confidential five-page letter to Alastair Campbell complaining that the American briefers weren't up to the job. He described the Lynch presentation as embarrassing.
Wren yesterday described the Lynch incident as "hugely overblown" and symptomatic of a bigger problem. "The Americans never got out there and explained what was going on in the war," he said. "All they needed to be was open and honest. They were too vague, too scared of engaging with the media." He said US journalists "did not put them under pressure".
Wren, who had been seconded to the Ministry of Defence, said he tried on several occasions to persuade Wilkinson and Brooks to change tack. In London, Campbell did the same with the White House, to no avail. "The American media didn't put them under pressure so they were allowed to get away with it," Wren said. "They didn't feel they needed to change."
He acknowledged that the events surrounding the Lynch "rescue" had become a matter of "conjecture". But he added: "Either way, it was not the main news of the day. This was just one soldier, this was an add-on: human interest stuff. It completely overshadowed other events, things that were actually going on on the battlefield. It overshadowed the fact that the Americans found the bodies of her colleagues. What we wanted to give out was real-time news."
Lockwood told Correspondent:"Having lost the first skirmish, they (the Americans) had pretty much lost the war when it came to media support. Albeit things had got better and everything came to a conclusion quite rapidly, but to my feelings they lost their initial part of the campaign and never got on the front foot again," Lockwood said. "The media adviser we had here [Wren] was an expert in his field. His counterpart on the US side [Wilkinson] was evasive and was not around as much as he should have been when it came to talking to the media."
The American strategy was to concentrate on the visuals and to get a broad message out. Details - where helpful - followed behind. The key was to ensure the right television footage. The embedded reporters could do some of that. On other missions, the military used their own cameras, editing the film themselves and presenting it to broadcasters as ready-to-go pack ages. The Pentagon had been influenced by Hollywood producers of reality TV and action movies, notably Black Hawk Down.
Back in 2001, the man behind Black Hawk Down, Jerry Bruckheimer, had visited the Pentagon to pitch an idea. Bruckheimer and fellow producer Bertram van Munster, who masterminded the reality show Cops, suggested Profiles from the Front Line, a primetime television series following US forces in Afghanistan. They were after human stories told through the eyes of the soldiers. Van Munster's aim was to get close and personal. He said: "You can only get accepted by these people through chemistry. You have to have a bond with somebody. Only then will they let you in. What these guys are doing out there, these men and women, is just extraordinary. If you're a cheerleader of our point of view - that we deserve peace and that we deal with human dignity - then these guys are really going out on a limb and risking their own lives."
It was perfect reality TV, made with the active cooperation of Donald Rumsfeld and aired just before the Iraqi war. The Pentagon liked what it saw. "What Profiles does is given another in depth look at what forces are doing from the ground," says Whitman. "It provides a very human look at challenges that are presented when you are dealing in these very difficult situations." That approached was taken on and developed on the field of battle in Iraq.
The Pentagon has none of the British misgivings about its media operation. It is convinced that what worked with Jessica Lynch and with other episodes of this war will work even better in the future.
For more on Jessica Lynch her private blog : http://www.jessica-lynch.com
Thank you for reading. Thank you Jessica for serving!
The truth about Jessica http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/may/15/iraq.usa2
Her Iraqi guards had long fled, she was being well cared for - and doctors had already tried to free her. John Kampfner discovers the real story behind a modern American war myth
*
* Share46
* Buzz up
* John Kampfner
* The Guardian, Thursday 15 May 2003 08.27 BST
* Article history
Jessica Lynch became an icon of the war. An all-American heroine, the story of her capture by the Iraqis and her rescue by US special forces became one of the great patriotic moments of the conflict. It couldn't have happened at a more crucial moment, when the talk was of coalition forces bogged down, of a victory too slow in coming.
Her rescue will go down as one of the most stunning pieces of news management yet conceived. It provides a remarkable insight into the real influence of Hollywood producers on the Pentagon's media managers, and has produced a template from which America hopes to present its future wars.
But the American media tactics, culminating in the Lynch episode, infuriated the British, who were supposed to be working alongside them in Doha, Qatar. This Sunday, the BBC's Correspondent programme reveals the inside story of the rescue that may not have been as heroic as portrayed, and of divisions at the heart of the allies' media operation.
"In reality we had two different styles of news media management," says Group Captain Al Lockwood, the British army spokesman at central command. "I feel fortunate to have been part of the UK one."
In the early hours of April 2, correspondents in Doha were summoned from their beds to Centcom, the military and media nerve centre for the war. Jim Wilkinson, the White House's top figure there, had stayed up all night. "We had a situation where there was a lot of hot news," he recalls. "The president had been briefed, as had the secretary of defence."
The journalists rushed in, thinking Saddam had been captured. The story they were told instead has entered American folklore. Private Lynch, a 19-year-old clerk from Palestine, West Virginia, was a member of the US Army's 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company that took a wrong turning near Nassiriya and was ambushed. Nine of her US comrades were killed. Iraqi soldiers took Lynch to the local hospital, which was swarming with fedayeen, where he was held for eight days. That much is uncontested.
Releasing its five-minute film to the networks, the Pentagon claimed that Lynch had stab and bullet wounds, and that she had been slapped about on her hospital bed and interrogated. It was only thanks to a courageous Iraqi lawyer, Mohammed Odeh al-Rehaief, that she was saved. According to the Pentagon, Al-Rehaief risked his life to alert the Americans that Lynch was being held.
Just after midnight, Army Rangers and Navy Seals stormed the Nassiriya hospital. Their "daring" assault on enemy territory was captured by the military's night-vision camera. They were said to have come under fire, but they made it to Lynch and whisked her away by helicopter. That was the message beamed back to viewers within hours of the rescue.
Al-Rehaief was granted asylum barely two weeks after arriving in the US. He is now the toast of Washington, with a fat $500,000 (£309,000) book deal. Rescue in Nassiriya will be published in October. As for Lynch, her status as cult hero is stronger than ever. Internet auction sites have listed at least 10 Jessica Lynch items, ranging from an oil painting with an opening bid of $200 to a $5 "America Loves Jessica Lynch" fridge magnet. Trouble is that doctors now say she has no recollection of the whole episode and probably never will. Her memory loss means that "researchers" have been called in to fill in the gaps.
One story, two versions. The doctors in Nassiriya say they provided the best treatment they could for Lynch in the midst of war. She was assigned the only specialist bed in the hospital, and one of only two nurses on the floor. "I was like a mother to her and she was like a daughter,"says Khalida Shinah.
"We gave her three bottles of blood, two of them from the medical staff because there was no blood at this time,"said Dr Harith al-Houssona, who looked after her throughout her ordeal. "I examined her, I saw she had a broken arm, a broken thigh and a dislocated ankle. Then I did another examination. There was no [sign of] shooting, no bullet inside her body, no stab wound - only RTA, road traffic accident," he recalled. "They want to distort the picture. I don't know why they think there is some benefit in saying she has a bullet injury."
The doctors told us that the day before the special forces swooped on the hospital the Iraqi military had fled. Hassam Hamoud, a waiter at a local restaurant, said he saw the American advance party land in the town. He said the team's Arabic interpreter asked him where the hospital was. "He asked: 'Are there any Fedayeen over there?' and I said, 'No'." All the same, the next day "America's finest warriors" descended on the building.
"We heard the noise of helicopters," says Dr Anmar Uday. He says that they must have known there would be no resistance. "We were surprised. Why do this? There was no military, there were no soldiers in the hospital.
"It was like a Hollywood film. They cried, 'Go, go, go', with guns and blanks and the sound of explosions. They made a show - an action movie like Sylvester Stallone or Jackie Chan, with jumping and shouting, breaking down doors." All the time with the camera rolling. The Americans took no chances, restraining doctors and a patient who was handcuffed to a bed frame.
There was one more twist. Two days before the snatch squad arrived, Al-Houssona had arranged to deliver Jessica to the Americans in an ambulance. "I told her I will try and help you escape to the American Army but I will do this very secretly because I could lose my life." He put her in an ambulance and instructed the driver to go to the American checkpoint. When he was approaching it, the Americans opened fire. They fled just in time back to the hospital. The Americans had almost killed their prize catch.
A military cameraman had shot footage of the rescue. It was a race against time for the video to be edited. The video presentation was ready a few hours after the first brief announcement. When it was shown, General Vincent Brooks, the US spokesman in Doha, declared: "Some brave souls put their lives on the line to make this happen, loyal to a creed that they know that they'll never leave a fallen comrade."
None of the details that the doctors provided Correspondent with made it to the video or to any subsequent explanations or clarifications by US authorities. I asked the Pentagon spokesman in Washington, Bryan Whitman, to release the full tape of the rescue, rather than its edited version, to clear up any discrepancies. He declined. Whitman would not talk about what kind of Iraqi resistance the American forces faced. Nor would he comment on the injuries Lynch actually sustained. "I understand there is some conflicting information out there and in due time the full story will be told, I'm sure," he told me.
That American approach - to skim over the details - focusing instead on the broad message, led to tension behind the scenes with the British. Downing Street's man in Doha, Simon Wren, was furious that on the first few days of the war the Americans refused to give any information at Centcom. The British were put in the difficult position of having to fill in the gaps, off the record.
Towards the end of the conflict, Wren wrote a confidential five-page letter to Alastair Campbell complaining that the American briefers weren't up to the job. He described the Lynch presentation as embarrassing.
Wren yesterday described the Lynch incident as "hugely overblown" and symptomatic of a bigger problem. "The Americans never got out there and explained what was going on in the war," he said. "All they needed to be was open and honest. They were too vague, too scared of engaging with the media." He said US journalists "did not put them under pressure".
Wren, who had been seconded to the Ministry of Defence, said he tried on several occasions to persuade Wilkinson and Brooks to change tack. In London, Campbell did the same with the White House, to no avail. "The American media didn't put them under pressure so they were allowed to get away with it," Wren said. "They didn't feel they needed to change."
He acknowledged that the events surrounding the Lynch "rescue" had become a matter of "conjecture". But he added: "Either way, it was not the main news of the day. This was just one soldier, this was an add-on: human interest stuff. It completely overshadowed other events, things that were actually going on on the battlefield. It overshadowed the fact that the Americans found the bodies of her colleagues. What we wanted to give out was real-time news."
Lockwood told Correspondent:"Having lost the first skirmish, they (the Americans) had pretty much lost the war when it came to media support. Albeit things had got better and everything came to a conclusion quite rapidly, but to my feelings they lost their initial part of the campaign and never got on the front foot again," Lockwood said. "The media adviser we had here [Wren] was an expert in his field. His counterpart on the US side [Wilkinson] was evasive and was not around as much as he should have been when it came to talking to the media."
The American strategy was to concentrate on the visuals and to get a broad message out. Details - where helpful - followed behind. The key was to ensure the right television footage. The embedded reporters could do some of that. On other missions, the military used their own cameras, editing the film themselves and presenting it to broadcasters as ready-to-go pack ages. The Pentagon had been influenced by Hollywood producers of reality TV and action movies, notably Black Hawk Down.
Back in 2001, the man behind Black Hawk Down, Jerry Bruckheimer, had visited the Pentagon to pitch an idea. Bruckheimer and fellow producer Bertram van Munster, who masterminded the reality show Cops, suggested Profiles from the Front Line, a primetime television series following US forces in Afghanistan. They were after human stories told through the eyes of the soldiers. Van Munster's aim was to get close and personal. He said: "You can only get accepted by these people through chemistry. You have to have a bond with somebody. Only then will they let you in. What these guys are doing out there, these men and women, is just extraordinary. If you're a cheerleader of our point of view - that we deserve peace and that we deal with human dignity - then these guys are really going out on a limb and risking their own lives."
It was perfect reality TV, made with the active cooperation of Donald Rumsfeld and aired just before the Iraqi war. The Pentagon liked what it saw. "What Profiles does is given another in depth look at what forces are doing from the ground," says Whitman. "It provides a very human look at challenges that are presented when you are dealing in these very difficult situations." That approached was taken on and developed on the field of battle in Iraq.
The Pentagon has none of the British misgivings about its media operation. It is convinced that what worked with Jessica Lynch and with other episodes of this war will work even better in the future.
For more on Jessica Lynch her private blog : http://www.jessica-lynch.com
Thank you for reading. Thank you Jessica for serving!
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