This is a story I've been following off and on for some time. I hate it when members of the military do things that give Americans and other members of the military a bad name. Your duty is one thing, what this group of soldiers did was disgusting and uncalled for. I hope that this guy is never granted his parole.

From the Irish Exminer:

A US soldier has been sentenced to 100 years in prison for the gang rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the killing of her family last year.


Sgt Paul Cortez, 24, also was given a dishonourable discharge yesterday. He will be eligible for parole in 10 years under the terms of his plea agreement.

Cortez, of Barstow, California, pleaded guilty this week to four counts of felony murder, rape and conspiracy to rape in a case considered among the worst atrocities by US military personnel in Iraq.

In his plea agreement, he said he conspired with three other soldiers from the Fort Campbell-based 101st Airborne Division to rape 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi.

The girl, her parents and a younger sister were all killed.

Tears rolled down Cortez’s face as he apologised for the rape and murders. He said he could not explain why he took part.

“I still don’t have an answer,” Cortez told the judge. “I don’t know why. I wish I hadn’t. The lives of four innocent people were taken. I want to apologise for all of the pain and suffering I have caused the al-Janabi family.”

The judge hearing the case, Colonel Stephen Henley, issued a sentence of life in prison without parole, the maximum for the charges. Under military law, the defendant is given the lesser sentence unless he violates terms of the plea agreement, which requires Cortez to testify against others charged in the case.

Psychologist Charles Figley testified that Cortez and the other soldiers likely suffered stress brought on by fatigue and trauma. “It eats you up,” Mr Figley said. “It’s a horrible thing. This is not unique. We’ve seen this in other wars.”

Five soldiers who served with Cortez in Iraq testified that his actions were out of character and described the hardships of war they experienced, including sleep deprivation and the lack of running water. “I just never would have seen it coming,” said Staff Sergeant Tim Briggs, who has known Cortez for five years.

Prosecutors said the stress was no excuse for the actions of Cortez and the other soldiers.

On Wednesday, Cortez described raping the girl in her family’s home in Mahmoudiya last March, along with Specialist James Barker, 24. Barker pleaded guilty in November to rape and murder and was sentenced to 90 years in military prison.

Cortez also testified that the soldiers tried to burn the girl’s body.

They burned their own clothes and threw the murder weapon, an AK-47, into a canal in an effort to dispose of the evidence.

Seeks .....

We've all seen and heard ad nausem what you DON'T like or want, but you NEVER seem to focus on Good and Positive aspects. even your contemp for this man stems from the ugliness of hate.

any idiot can find and follow "news stories" and repeat them. They are all over the place. but that changes nothing.




What are You FOR?

We've all been in that place, Manta. Seeks is where he needs to be. He has something to learn by his current focus. He'll move on from this soon.

Jennifer

This is a story I've been following off and on for some time.Congratulations :thumb:

We've all been in that place, Manta. Seeks is where he needs to be. He has something to learn by his current focus. He'll move on from this soon.

Jennifer

Spoken like a wise woman!

-CP

Spoken like a wise woman!

-CP

couldnt agree more

We've all been in that place, Manta. Seeks is where he needs to be. He has something to learn by his current focus. He'll move on from this soon.

JenniferWhile this is true, I'm also remined of something a very Wise Man once said, long before he realized his place in "it"

If You're not part of the Solution, you're part of the problem.

Eldridge Cleaver

It took him years to realize he was part of the problem with his original solution.
But ..... He learned, and He made happen many great things as a result of that realization.

Seeks .....

We've all seen and heard ad nausem what you DON'T like or want, but you NEVER seem to focus on Good and Positive aspects. even your contemp for this man stems from the ugliness of hate.

any idiot can find and follow "news stories" and repeat them. They are all over the place. but that changes nothing.




What are You FOR?

I don't hate him, but I do hate what he did. I have posted numerous things I'm for here, but recent ones have been ignored or hijacked. The Charlotte Church to return to her classical roots news and Compassion for animals in Islam are the two examples I'm talking about. The first didn't get a single response and the latter went off track after KG's first post. So it would seem that many of us are guilty of focusing on the negative instead of the positive.

My attempt to share information about the world is another thing that has been met with negativity from time to time, as your post has clearly demonstrated again. I could have sworn that this was a section titled politics, which would clearly involve reposting information from other sources and commenting upon that info. Just in case this conversation went into a political discussion quickly I decided to add it to this section instead of the lounge.

How many threads can you honestly create based upon personal info anyway? Would you and I keep coming back if this board was simply a place to say happy birthday, congrats on your wedding, new child, etc. and I hope your family member or friend gets better? I seriously doubt it. Lets be honest here, you're disturbed by negative information being reposted while positive stuff is perfectly ok. I don't recall you calling taking anyone to task for posting threads like How to start your day like a successful CEO or the Quote Hanger. You see this thread as negative while I see it as positive. Justice has been served to a man who clearly deserved what he got and that is a good thing. I feel as good about this as I did when I found out that many Nazis paid for their own war crimes.The system works for once, where is the negative in that?!

This is a story I've been following off and on for some time. I hate it when members of the military do things that give Americans and other members of the military a bad name. Your duty is one thing, what this group of soldiers did was disgusting and uncalled for. I hope that this guy is never granted his parole.


Hey Seek

I wasn't aware of this news story until you highlighted so thank you for bringing it to my attention.

All I can say about this is that I'm very glad this has been dealt with, 100 years seems about right.

Get the troups out and this kind of thing would be avoided.

Seeks, You are missing the point. I did not say to post only positive stuff, but I did say that you continue to look for and find the negative stuff.


I'm not disturbed by this stuff. Far from it. nor am I immune to it's happening. What I am disturbed about is that you seem to be fixated on this kind of 'news', repeat it, then say you hate what he or others have done, but you don't see or get that Hate is an emotion of one of the lowest rungs of the ladder of development. That Emotion is recycled back into the environment, only to breed more hate. One day you'll see that, and like Eldridge Cleaver, the Man I quoted earlier, you'll feel more remorse than is necessary.

My biggest hope for you is that you'll awaken to that day much sooner than later, and that you find a way to channel your passion in more productive and effective pursuits.

This is a story I've been following off and on for some time.... Thank you for posting this, SP. I appreciate your frequent messages and commentary. (I think you were quite right, btw, to post this one in the Politics forum.)

Unfortunately, there are some people here who seeem to enjoy picking on others. In an attempt, they say, to correct a negative attitude. What they fail to realise is they themselves are focussing on the negative in making their petty observations.

Best to ignore them. I enjoy your posts - the positive and negative - and share with you your concern for the world at large. Knowing what's happening is the first step towards finding solutions.

Thank you for being part of the solution, SP.

I prefer the news on www.goodnewsnetwork.org (http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org) (it's just news, not all religiousy which would piss me off) and

www.goodnewsdaily.com (http://www.goodnewsdaily.com)

There are stories about war and such but they are from a positive perspective and it's unbelievable how refreshed you feel after reading these stories you will NEVER hear on TV or the radio and didn't think were happening. The world really ISN'T going to hell in a handbasket like CNN would like you to think! :yippee:

Here is a photo montage of Iran that touched me. Remember this when CNN is showing nothing but supposed extremists waving guns.

www.newsofinterest.tv/iran_images.html (http://www.newsofinterest.tv/iran_images.html)

Jennifer

I don't hate him, but I do hate what he did. I have posted numerous things I'm for here, but recent ones have been ignored or hijacked. The Charlotte Church to return to her classical roots news and Compassion for animals in Islam are the two examples I'm talking about. The first didn't get a single response and the latter went off track after KG's first post. So it would seem that many of us are guilty of focusing on the negative instead of the positive.

My attempt to share information about the world is another thing that has been met with negativity from time to time, as your post has clearly demonstrated again. I could have sworn that this was a section titled politics, which would clearly involve reposting information from other sources and commenting upon that info. Just in case this conversation went into a political discussion quickly I decided to add it to this section instead of the lounge.

How many threads can you honestly create based upon personal info anyway? Would you and I keep coming back if this board was simply a place to say happy birthday, congrats on your wedding, new child, etc. and I hope your family member or friend gets better? I seriously doubt it. Lets be honest here, you're disturbed by negative information being reposted while positive stuff is perfectly ok. I don't recall you calling taking anyone to task for posting threads like How to start your day like a successful CEO or the Quote Hanger. You see this thread as negative while I see it as positive. Justice has been served to a man who clearly deserved what he got and that is a good thing. I feel as good about this as I did when I found out that many Nazis paid for their own war crimes.The system works for once, where is the negative in that?!I think it was more about the "ad nauseum".

Seek...you are a deep dude and I dig you for that....

Since it was brought up, I figured Id ask you....

Where do you feel your focus is on a daily basis? On what you want, or what you dont want? On what you want to run towards or what you want to run away from?

The topic as a whole fascinates me, as it wasnt until I heard Tony make the very obvious observations regarding same. I looked back upon my life to that point and saw evidence of it them being true.

Seeks, You are missing the point. I did not say to post only positive stuff, but I did say that you continue to look for and find the negative stuff.


I'm not disturbed by this stuff. Far from it. nor am I immune to it's happening. What I am disturbed about is that you seem to be fixated on this kind of 'news', repeat it, then say you hate what he or others have done, but you don't see or get that Hate is an emotion of one of the lowest rungs of the ladder of development. That Emotion is recycled back into the environment, only to breed more hate. One day you'll see that, and like Eldridge Cleaver, the Man I quoted earlier, you'll feel more remorse than is necessary.

My biggest hope for you is that you'll awaken to that day much sooner than later, and that you find a way to channel your passion in more productive and effective pursuits.

A story like this isn't something I dwell on all day, nor do I seek out info on one like this by pouring through news sources. The story was on Google news yesterday, so I checked it out and felt like sharing what I had learned. Previously I had heard about the story from going to NPR's website when the news of the rape and murders was brand new. I am very aware of my emotions and my emotional state, but I thank you for your concern. I am working on several areas of my life and if you'd like to offer materials that might be of help to myself and others, then I encourage you to do so. But please do it in a thread of its own so people will continue to see it long after this thread's news story is no longer of interest to the board members.

Hey Seek

I wasn't aware of this news story until you highlighted so thank you for bringing it to my attention.

All I can say about this is that I'm very glad this has been dealt with, 100 years seems about right.

Get the troups out and this kind of thing would be avoided.

It is always good to be informed of such events in case you encounter people with strong anti-military feelings they wish to discuss for some reason. Since I work in a hotel that is in Arkansas's largest tourist town I do try to be ready for anything. Thank goodness I don't have direct interaction with the guest most of the time! Yes, bringing our troops home will certainly help avoid more situations like this one and I hope that it happens soon. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.

I prefer the news on www.goodnewsnetwork.org (http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org) (it's just news, not all religiousy which would piss me off) and

www.goodnewsdaily.com (http://www.goodnewsdaily.com)

There are stories about war and such but they are from a positive perspective and it's unbelievable how refreshed you feel after reading these stories you will NEVER hear on TV or the radio and didn't think were happening. The world really ISN'T going to hell in a handbasket like CNN would like you to think! :yippee:

Here is a photo montage of Iran that touched me. Remember this when CNN is showing nothing but supposed extremists waving guns.

www.newsofinterest.tv/iran_images.html (http://www.newsofinterest.tv/iran_images.html)

Jennifer

How dare you bring those images to us! We don't need to wake up and realize that the people of Iran are normal just like us, stop that! But seriously, wow, I am amazed and awed by the pictures. Honestly I had never seen photos of ordinary life in Iran and I never realized it until now. As far as news goes, it is great to get balanced news when you can. I never watch CNN or the network news, so I'm not seeing the same news being repeated several times a day. My sources of news tend to be Google news, NPR, Democracy Now and a blog here and there.

I think it was more about the "ad nauseum".

I could start a thread about baking cookies. That hasn't been done to death yet. :p

Seek...you are a deep dude and I dig you for that....

Since it was brought up, I figured Id ask you....

Where do you feel your focus is on a daily basis? On what you want, or what you dont want? On what you want to run towards or what you want to run away from?

The topic as a whole fascinates me, as it wasnt until I heard Tony make the very obvious observations regarding same. I looked back upon my life to that point and saw evidence of it them being true.

In the past few weeks I've been thinking about a lot of things that I had brushed aside for some time. A friend of mine is going back to school in order to become a LPN. She is doing this at the age of 41 with two kids at home and a trailer park to manage. It has inspired me to look for a way out of my current situation since I'm tired of just getting by and working every holiday. I have sat on the porch of the hotel I work at for a few minutes nearly every day after work. I have mainly thought about my life, the people who are doing better than me and the ways I can move into a life I really want. Doing this has rekindled my desire to learn something that will be helpful and useful for me. Earlier today I was asking myself what I really wanted to today. The answer wasn't go out to eat, shop or even go home and sit on the computer, it was to learn something important from a lecture. I wanted to learn, but I wanted human interaction as well. But I could think of no place to do that today, at least not one I could get to, so I'm saving that course of action for a day when I have a better chance of fulfilling it. Instead I will try to learn something in other ways today. So far I have read more of The Everything Koran Book and I am finally going to start reading The World is Flat tonight as well. Monday I'll be going to our local community college and taking the first steps towards getting the Business Degree I've always wanted. This summer I'll get that second job to start wiping out my debts, then I'll reserve the rest of the year for education. Thank you for the kind words by the way, they mean alot coming from someone like you.

There are enough people in the world that whatever you are expecting you will find. But we change the world by expecting better from ourselves.