HBO Sunday: "Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq" (Oh, God - Check Out the PHOTOS At The Website)

[Hissyspit]

For those around here who don't get why the harassment by D.C. police and courts of citizens over what fucking adhesive they use on posters and what type of table they use at a press conference is pathetic authoritarianism, and why it doesn't matter that ANSWER is involved (among MANY other groups) in the Sept. 15 rally and protest, here is some perspective:

http://www.hbo.com/aliveday



From Executive Producer James Gandolfini Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq

Premieres Sunday, September 9 at 10:30PM

In a war that has left more than 25,000 wounded, ALIVE DAY MEMORIES: HOME FROM IRAQ looks at a new generation of veterans. Executive Producer James Gandolfini interviews ten Soldiers and Marines who reveal their feelings on their future, their severe disabilities and their devotion to America. The documentary surveys the physical and emotional cost of war through memories of their "alive day," the day they narrowly escaped death in Iraq.

Watch the entire ALIVE DAY MEMORIES special on HBO.com beginning Sunday, September 9 at 11:30pm, immediately following the premiere.



http://www.hbo.com/aliveday/bios/jernigan.html

Michael JerniganMarine Lance Cpl.Hometown: St. Petersburg, FL (currently lives in Arlington, VA)
Age: 28
Date of Injury: 8/22/2004
Hospital: National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MA
Unit: Weapons Platoon, Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines
Date deployed to Iraq: March 2nd, 2004
Location of Injury: Outskirts of Mahmudiyah (between Baghdad and Kuwait)
List of Injuries: Loss of both eyes (resulting in blindness), loss of frontal cranium (forehead area - ear-to-ear, eyebrow to top of head), loss of bone structure that supports the brain (brain now sits on titanium mesh), fractured left cheek bone (titanium plate to stabilize), frontal lobe bruising, severed left femoral artery, fractured left patella (kneecap), Right hand damage (little finger mostly severed and reattached, loss of knuckles (between hand and fingers, the hand was crushed from the explosion)

MORE AT WEBSITE

Please recommend this and publicize this film on HBO at other blogs and with your friends. Thanks - H'spit

[EFerrari]

1. OMFG.

And I hate that term. :(

K&R

[kestrel91316]

2. All of these people's injuries upset me, but the worst is the

young redheaded woman with the high arm amputation.

If I were her I'd want to pound you-know-who to a bloody pulp with that prosthesis.........

[Squatch]

4. Despite that, she's still smoking hot

I know, I'm shallow...

[DS1]

5. I'd rather lose an arm than my eyesight

In fact, I'd rather lose one leg, my hearing, sense of smell and taste, suffer some significant burns than lose my eyesight.

[indepat]

11. And I bet the percent disability given her would probably shock the sensibilities of the most

hardened.

[kestrel91316]

15. She's probably right-handed, like most of us, and probably

considered about 10% disabled at most.

[mzmolly]

21. I think the worst is the poor guy who's now blind.

I would rather lose all my limbs than my eyesight.

:shrug:

[Quiet_Dem_Mom]

3. The bio for the 22-yo with TBI, Eddie Ryan, has a link to his fundraising website.

From their website:

The Ryan Family have welcomed Eddie home and now the task of getting him back on his feet continues. Eddie needs extensive rehabilitation and the financial strains are tough on the family.

While the federal government will help out, Eddie is eligible for only $10,000 in aid at this point. The government says another $40,000 is reserved for Eddie's use later, Chris Ryan said.

If you'd like to help, click on the button below. Any amount you donate will helps us meet our goal.

http://www.helpeddieryan.com/donate.shtml


. . . I am at a loss for words . . .That's it? $50,000? $40K which will just have to wait until later. OMFG is right.

Don't know whether to :cry: or :grr:

QDM

[Hissyspit]

8. Thank you. Disgusting, isn't it? n/t

[Skittles]

22. I immediately wrote a check

yes indeed

[Dr.Phool]

24. A lousy fifty fucking thousand dollars?!!!!

I ran up a hospital bill that big last summer, and I was only in for 4 days! And nothing nearly as severe as this.

[electricray]

32. I had some soft-tissue injuries in a car accident that, according...

to the insurance company, are worth a $50,000 payoff. No permanent injuries. Spectacular injuries such as these should be like winning the lottery when you get home. I don't want these people to want for anything ever again. Too bad the Halliburton and KBR contracts aren't $50,000 so that we could give these sodiers billions instead.

[EFerrari]

6. Don't forget to rec, folks.

:kick:

[WillyT]

7. Done !!! - K & R !!!

:kick:

[EFerrari]

9. Thank you!

:pals:

[knitter4democracy]

10. All these sacrifices, the families, the vets, their communities.

All for what again?

[babylonsister]

12. Rec'd, rec'd, rec'd! I've been waiting for this; I heard Mr. Gandolfini

is pissed and did something about it. Thanks, Hissyspit!

[Hoof Hearted]

13. I'm just simply without words.

I can't think of a damn thing that would even begin to do justice.

[Phrogman]

14. I've aways thought the 2nd purpose of letting the 9/11 attacks happen...

was that they knew the ranks of the volunteer military would swell with patriots willing to avenge the attack, they deliberately took these volunteers and used them for the neo-con plan of stealing Iraqs oil.

Pretty shitty people you got at the top there America.

[kelliebrat]

16. I have no words....

none. :kick:

[Hissyspit]

17. Welcome to DU, kelliebrat

I have words, but most of them would be bleeped on network television.

[Hissyspit]

18. .

[Kool Kitty]

19. How do the bastards that run this

administration sleep at night?

[Skittles]

23. easy

sociopathic chickenhawks with not family serving

[Hissyspit]

20. Saturday Morning Kick n/t

[Dr.Phool]

25. Kicked and Recommended.

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

26. Thanks Hissyspit

another valuable thread.

[Sabriel]

27. They should be featured one a night on the national news.

Everyone should see their faces and bodies, not just people with Internet access and HBO.

People talk about wanting to support and honor the troops, but I don't see too many pictures of wounded and recovering troops.

Get their faces out there and tell their stories.

[Blue_In_AK]

28. This is going to be hard to watch

but I will make myself.

[trusty elf]

29. dubya's legacy

[trusty elf]

30. I apologize for posting that.

I feel sick.

[PurpleChez]

34. Great picture. But, of course, in "the way it should be"

the simpering chimp shouldn't be entitled to wear "Army" shorts, but that's still some good photoshopping. Huaazh!

[grasswire]

31. if you click on the individual portraits...

...you can leave messages for them.

[swimmernsecretsea]

33. A lot of people especially conservatives, think that

I hurt the servicemen by wanting them home. That I'm not grateful for them. That I'm not a good American. That I think there is no threat from terrorism.

I am grateful every fucking day for our men and women in service. I think of them daily, and that's not an exaggeration. I couldn't be in the service because I'm homosexual, but I am happy that those who could be a part of what protects our country are there. I am not an aggressive person, I don't like to fight, and I couldn't hit a billboard-sized target if I had a rock and I was standing up close to it. But I thank them for their service every time I think of them, which is often.

I know there are dangers. I know that there is threat. I know that what they do can often protect millions of lives, and make us secure, safe. I love our service men and women.

I don't want to put people in the way of danger if it isn't for a good reason. I won't throw them in a place where they'll come back damaged, if at all for a lie. Their lives, and the lives of those who depend on them and love them are far too important. That makes me a good American.

[Hissyspit]

35. Premiere airing on Sunday is at 10:30 ET

After Curb Your Enthusiasm.

[Hissyspit]

36. .

[fortyfeetunder]

37. 27, 506 of these people are no longer whole

not to mention the nearly 3800 who've died.

:cry:
:kick:

[me b zola]

38. I have seen that stunning red-head before

She was filmed at Walter Reed during her recovery, either for cnn or msnbc. IIRC, she was a basketball star in school.


There is no penalty strong enough for what *, the republicans, and their enablers have done.

[L0oniX]

39. So where is the story about all the dead Iraq women and children?

Oh that's right. They are just rock huggers and target bait, living in a place where we can dump our depleted uranium in the form of tank shells. If you really believe in the God of the bible then you would know that ALL people are Gods children, not just Americans and or people on our side. Quote "pray for those that hate you ...do good unto them" The Bible. It makes me sick when I hear that God is on our side and God is there to protect us as we kill the Innocent.

[chat_noir]

40. The face of war

March 10, 2007 | One of the most iconic images of the Iraq war was taken by Nina Berman in a commercial portrait studio in small-town Illinois. You've probably seen the photograph. A young couple stands side by side facing the camera. There are all the usual accouterments: the frosted, school-photo backdrop, the red bouquet precisely matched to the red trim on the bride's white gown. The groom wears a decorated dress uniform. It could be any couple in any town -- except that the groom's features have literally been melted off. He has no nose, no chin, no ears and no hair. His head appears to attach directly to his shoulders, and his face is so badly burned that it's a struggle to decipher his expression.

The bride's expression is equally opaque. Some people think she looks stunned. Others describe her expression as anxious, or even fearful. Her mouth turns down slightly at the edges, but her wide brown eyes gaze straight ahead and something about the set of her jaw suggests resolve. Some viewers strenuously deny that there's anything unusual about the young woman's countenance at all.

The portrait is just one of a much larger series Berman shot on assignment for People magazine showing Marine Sgt. Ty Ziegel's recovery, homecoming and wedding day. Berman was sent to Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas to meet Ty, and his fiancée, Renee Kline. At the time, Ty was 24 and Renee wasn't quite 21. The two had been high school sweethearts and were engaged before Ty's second tour in Iraq. But in 2004, Ty's tour was cut short when a suicide bomber blew up near his truck during a routine patrol. The searing heat melted most of the skin off Ty's body and left him blind in one eye. His skull was so badly shattered that doctors had to replace it with plastic. Ty was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center, where he underwent 19 surgeries. Berman completed the series over the course of three separate visits, first chronicling Ty's convalescence, and then, following his release, the couple's marriage in late 2006.

Four weeks ago, Berman's wedding portrait, "Wounded U.S. Marine Returns Home From Iraq to Marry," won the World Press Photo competition for portraiture in 2006. The World Press Photo competition is the most prestigious international award for photojournalism. Since then, the image has been viewed online hundreds of thousands of times, sparked countless blog posts and endless comment threads. Everyone sees something different.

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/03/10/berman_photo/