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The VA
is reinvestigating over 72,000 Vets Claims of PTSD for Fraud.
(I'm One of the 72,000 Veterans To Be Investigated For Fraud.)
The investigation is for the years from 1999
to 2004 in which 100 percent disability benefits were granted primarily for combat stress. I was granted 100% percent
disability effective March 13, 2000. Thirteen years after, I was first diagnosed with PTSD by the VA.
I've been on disability due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD), since August 1989. I was first diagnosed with PTSD in 1987 at a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in Northport,
Long Island. (I was in private therapy since 1976, paying over $300 out of my own pocket a month for visits.)
Prior to going out
on disability in 1989, I worked for 18 years at Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield in Manhattan. The year I went out on disability,
I made $63,000 in salary as a data processing project manager. It was a great
job, especially since I only had about 12 college credits. I earned the position with my Marine Corps determination
of... never giving up.
I seldom took days off for
illness and I was on call 24/7. At the time, I was responsible for the huge, Blue Cross Blue Shield, health insurance
company's 6.5 million Subscriber Processing System.
I hid my disability
from my friends and co-workers at Blue Cross Blue Shield so well, few people saw my going out on long term disability
coming. (I was taking VA prescribed medicine for years prior to leaving my job.) When I left, it was heart-breaking
for me. My computer programming team was my CAP Team in Vietnam. I felt like I let everyone down.
We were a true team.
From the start, my PTSD wasn't a game. It was real.
Everyday, I was reliving the stressors of serving in the Marine Corps Combined Action Program (CAP). My job was
just adding to the stress. (Some days were worse than others. In all, I ended up having six (6) hospital stays
because of it. The longest, being a four month (4) hospital stay in the Montrose, NY VA Hospital. I was recommended
for another hospital stay in January 2001, but for various reasons was not admitted.)
Being married with four children and having a mortgage,
I knew I couldn't give up. (But I was so ashamed of myself for being so weak.)
With intense therapy, I learned to understand my emotional
disability. My PTSD was just as real as my chronic pain that I was suffering. The chronic pain in my
chest, back and neck was due to a terrorist bomb blast I took in May 1970 in my Vietnamese Peasant-farming village.
The problem with my chronic pain
was that it grew much more intense when my PTSD was exacerbated. Because of this, I was always trying to avoid conflict.
You can read some of my Vietnam War experiences
at: http://www.CapVeterans.com These same experiences were supplied to the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 1989. You can read my actual war unit
chronologies at:
PTSD is called a disability for a reason.
To exacerbate the disability of 72,000
honorable veterans,
just to find a few PTSD claims
of fraud is a disgrace.
***********************************
From: Deb deban22@yahoo.com
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2005 7:44 PM
By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 19, 2005
A government review of 72,000 post-traumatic stress disorder cases planned for early next year
is an excuse to cut benefits for older veterans and toughen qualifications for future ones, veterans groups and other critics
contend.
The Department of Veterans Affairs intends to examine cases from 1999 to 2004 in which 100 percent disability
benefits were granted primarily for combat stress. The process is expected to last about a year.
In San Diego County,
about 2,000 veterans have qualified for the rating of total disability caused mainly by combat stress. They each receive a
monthly tax-free payment of $2,299. It is not known how many of those cases will be scrutinized.
The review seemed
necessary after an audit of 2,100 such cases nationally found that 25 percent of the VA-approved awards lacked adequate documentation
to prove eligibility, said department spokesman Phil Budahn. He said Veterans Affairs has tightened oversight of its program
this year by requiring more proof.
The reassessment is "a paper exercise," Budahn said.
"No one is alleging
that veterans are getting benefits they are not entitled to," he said. "Our assumption is that the documents exist and we
just didn't note them. The last thing we want to do is take away benefits. We are going do all we can to work with veterans
on this."
"If we made mistakes (in awarding benefits prior to 1999), it is not fair to go back on long-settled cases,"
Budahn said.
Supporting documents range from unit reports to letters from war buddies backing a veteran's combat experiences,
he said.
"We will be looking for documents that make a solid case that stressors occurred and that the veteran was
(actually deployed) or in combat," Budahn said. "The cases that will be looked at is the supply clerk who never left Fort
Polk."
Representatives for veterans groups in San Diego and Washington, D.C., say the department's intent is more
bottom line and long range.
"This review is really all about wanting to lower the cost of the war when the veterans
come back from Iraq and Afghanistan," said William Rider Jr., president of the La Jolla-based American Combat Veterans of
War. "I think certain people in the administration and Congress see veterans as a very large expense every year and they hate
it."
Since 1999, the number of veterans receiving disability benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder has jumped
from 120,265 to 215,871. The corresponding payout has gone from $1.7 billion to $4.3 billion. Roughly 10 percent of the increase
is associated with veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Budahn said.
Next year, the department faces a budget
shortfall of $2.6 billion. A resolution passed by Congress calls for a $31 billion Veterans Affairs budget. According to a
department report issued in May, if 25 percent of veterans are improperly receiving benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder,
their payments would amount to $860 million in 2004 and $19.8 billion over their average lifetime.
That's just too
much money for an historically underfunded system to ignore, said Dan Goure, a senior defense analyst at the Lexington Institute
in Arlington, Va.
"The Department of Defense is being eaten out of house and home by health care costs," Goure said.
"More retirees are going with military medicine, Congress is allowing more National Guard and reservists to enter (the VA
system) and the costs are rising. You have to say if you are going to have this kind of ballooning in PTSD benefits, a review
is appropriate."
Some veterans are indeed collecting benefits without merit, said Rider, a former Marine rated in
1999 as 100 percent disabled because of post-traumatic stress disorder. He worries that Veterans Affairs will use those cases
as an excuse to cut payments for the deserving while tightening the qualification guidelines for returning combat veterans.
Dave Gorman, executive director of Disabled American Veterans in Washington, is also suspicious of the department's
intentions.
"Why are they doing this review if not to cut benefits?" Gorman said. "Remember these were claims that
were allowed at the time. They are also not going back to review claims that they denied and should not have been. . . . I
think this is going to make VA decision-makers tighter with their grants for disability payments."
Veterans will receive
a notice if their case is picked for reassessment. Budahn said the department will offer help in searching for additional
documents to prove that someone has post-traumatic stress disorder.
And what if no supplemental records are found?
"We are hoping that we are not put in that situation," Budahn said.
Veterans who lose benefits can contest
their cases before the Board of Veterans Appeals, which is part of the VA. It usually takes a year before a decision is rendered.
If that appeal is denied, veterans can seek a final judgment from the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
****************************************
----- Original Message -----
CALL YOUR SENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN AND ASK THAT THIS PTSD "REVIEW"
WITCH HUNT END SO THAT NO MORE INNOCENT VETS HAVE TO ENDURE THE HELL I HAVE JUST BEEN THROUGH.
I want to let all of those who have supported and encouraged
me through the several week trauma of the PTSD review by the VA that my personal case is NOW resolved in my favor. I
just received a phone call from an Under Secretary of the VA named David Spivey saying that I was absolved and that the matter
was completely resolved in my favor. With no further detriment to me.
I won't receive the actual paper with the words on
it for several days but I trust the phone call because I know who the Under Secretary is. I was given his name by a
person from the Vietnam Veterans of America who suggested I contact him. Mr Spivey also called the office of
my Congressman Steve Pearce of the 2nd District of New Mexico to say it was over and I won.
I was able to find official military files that
documented my stressor. EXACTLY as I described it in my claim. I found these files through the National
Archives even though the Albuquerque, New Mexico VARO claimed that absolutely NO records for my entire unit EVEN EXISTED.
I am deeply grateful to Congressman Steve Pearce of
the 2nd District of New Mexico, all of Congressman Pearce's staff especially Bob Carter a truly good man and Pam Benge his
assistant.
I am equally grateful to the Vietnam Veterans
of America who held out their hand to help when I was a long shot under dog. Also to Cliff Snyder at the National Archives
in College Park Md who found in a couple of days the very records that the Albuquerque VA denied existed. Also to Paul
Borunda a fellow Vietnam Vet who is my friend and never failed to believe I was honest. And to fellow Vietnam Vet William
Kizer who I have never met but who gave me the strength to endure through encouraging Emails and phone calls. To screen
name Mckinsi1 who suggested (insisted) I go to the National Archives and to screen name onetwotreefour who actually found
SOME records for me online.
And to VA Under Secretary David Spivey an unusual creature
who actually ANSWERED his phone. And not only took time to speak to a low level enlisted veteran like me but actually
made phone calls on my behalf.
Lessons learned? Don't trust the VARO. Find an honest
member of Congress like fellow Vietnam Vet Steve Pearce and ask help. If you get a chance be sure to VOTE FOR A
COMBAT VET! Be skeptical of anything the VARO tells you. If the VARO says records don't exist mount your own search.
Raise Hell and demand to be treated fairly. Keep going up the food chain until you find someone smart enough to understand
your problem.
When you feel like you have died from the stress do
WHATEVER it takes to get through the day and continue to fight again tomorrow. If you get a chance to help another Vet
as people have helped me, DO IT. Join the Vietnam Veterans of America. They are truly concerned with Veterans
issues and veterans.
CALL YOUR SENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN AND ASK THAT THIS
PTSD "REVIEW" WITCH HUNT END SO THAT NO MORE INNOCENT VETS HAVE TO ENDURE THE HELL I HAVE JUST BEEN THROUGH.
If I forgot to thank anyone I apologize.
My mind is shot I am going to go try to rest. I am truly grateful to God for preserving me through this horrible trial.
Ron Nesler
The VA
is reinvestigating over 72,000 Vets Claims of PTSD for Fraud.
(I'm One of the 72,000 Veterans To Be Investigated For Fraud.)
PTSD is called a disability for a reason.
To exacerbate the disability of 72,000
honorable veterans,
just to find a few PTSD claims
of fraud is a disgrace.
Democrat Senator Patty Murray comes to the rescue of 72,000 honorable,
disabled veterans. Please have your federal political leaders support Senator Murray. Some politicians
do listen and care about veterans.
----- Original Message -----
From: James Robinson jjchevfreak@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2005 11:17 PM
www.vawatchdog.com/newsflash/newsflash09-22-2005-2.htm
VA NEWS FLASH from Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org -- 09-22-2005
#2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SENATE VOTES TO BLOCK VA'S REVIEW
OF 72,000 PTSD CLAIMS
Now, the bill has to be reconciled with the House version. If it passes the House,
VA will have to justify the review program to Congress if they want to continue with it.
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
was instrumental in getting this passed. Here is a press release from her office.
EMAIL SENATOR
PATTY MURRAY AT: http://murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm
...........................................
Murray Protects
Veterans with PTSD from VA Scrutiny, Stigma and Penalties
Senate Passes Murray's Amendment Today;
Blocks VA
from Wasting Resources Investigating 72,000 Veterans and Penalizing Those with Paperwork Errors
Paralyzed Veterans
of America Applauds Murray's Success
(Washington, D.C.) - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash) stood up for America's
veterans by ensuring that those who need help with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are not scrutinized, stigmatized,
or penalized by a planned VA investigation.
"Veterans with PTSD deserve the VA's compassion and support, not costly
investigations, penalties and stigma," Murray said. "Veterans should not be punished for mistakes the VA has made, and
that's what my amendment ensures."
Earlier this year, the VA announced plans to investigate the PTSD disability claims
of 72,000 veterans. An earlier study of a small number of cases by the VA's Inspector General found errors in about
one-third of the claims examined. Many of the problems uncovered were paperwork errors. Murray and veterans organizations
like the American Legion and the Paralyzed Veterans of America feared the VA would use the review to strip benefits from veterans
with mental illness.
The review would also take time and resources away from processing current disability claims.
"The VA must not delay its work on today's disability claims in order to investigate decisions it made years ago,"
Murray said.
Murray said the VA's review would send a message to veterans that if they seek help for PTSD, they will
be subject to scrutiny.
"It's already hard enough for veterans to seek care for mental health problems.
I can't stand by and let the VA throw down another barrier in front of veterans with PTSD," Murray said.
Murray blocked
the review today by inserting language into the FY 2006 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill, which
passed the full Senate this afternoon. Murray's language says the review cannot proceed until the VA justifies the program
to Congress. It also ensures veterans cannot be stripped of their benefits except in cases of fraud.
Veterans
leaders applauded Murray's work.
"Senator Murray has given veterans some body armor to protect them from administrative
errors and penalties," said Skip Dreps, government relations director for the Northwest Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans
of America, which represents 20,000 veterans nationwide, including 500 in Washington state. "We bore the burden of battle
once, and we shouldn't have to bear the battle again when our government makes mistakes in our benefits."
Now that
the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill has passed the Senate, it must be reconciled with the House of Representative's
version.
EMAIL SENATOR PATTY MURRAY AT: http://murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2005 12:53 PM
Subject: Re: [Vietnam Veterans On the Net] The VA is reinvestigating over
72,000 Veterans for Fraud
His military experience consists of being a JAG, for which of course he was given a Bronze Star. http://stevebuyer.house.gov/biomil.htm All veterans groups should demand that Steven Buyer be fired as Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs
Committee. This man is as worthless as tits on a boar hog and just wants to take away from veterans. Chris Smith
was a true advocate for veterans and thats why he was replaced. It's called follow the money folks, and Steven Buyer intends
of cutting veterans benefits to the bone. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1374771/posts THis reevaluating and investigating PTSD claims is just the start, soon it will be all claims, and by
the way it only involves cases that have been approved. If VA approves a PTSD claim, someone else has to check into
it and it they want to it starts the investigation all over again. If the claim is initially disapproved, it only takes
ONE DISAPPROVAL and it's final. To hell with Steven
Buyer and the whole Bush of chickenhawks that control Bush.
McRae
Phan
Rang AB, Vietnam, 70-71
Are You Really a Veteran? Rep. Steve Buyer redefines "veteran,"
fewer benefits for vets
©2005 Military Advantage ^ | March 29, 2005 | Larry Scott
Posted on 03/31/2005 10:45:39 AM PST by Former Military Chick
Are you really a veteran? Better check it fast. I did. I've got my DD-214 that says "honorable discharge."
I've got the red-white-and-blue VA identification card complete with lousy picture and the "service-connected" rating. So,
I must be a veteran. Right? Not if Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, has his way.
Buyer is trying to rewrite the definition of "veteran" in a cold and calculated manner that could cost millions
of veterans their benefits. Buyer recently won a political tug-of-war and replaced Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) as chairman of
HVAC. Smith was known as a true friend of veterans and often broke ranks with his party to forward legislation favorable to
the veteran community.
Not so with Buyer. In a recent interview with journalist Tom Philpott, Buyer stated, "While some veterans'
organizations like to create a theme, that 'A veteran is a veteran [and] there is no difference,' I disagree."
Shortly after winning the chair at HVAC, Buyer said, "Some of the veterans service organizations, they are
having this belief that everyone should have open access to the VA system, when in fact I believe that the VA system should
follow its core constituency and the intent of Congress when we laid out our priorities, and that was in fact to take care
of our disabled and indigent veterans first." (This subject was covered in my Military.com article on "Welfarizing the VA.")
So, what is happening here? Buyer is trying to redefine "veteran," and in so doing, reshape benefit programs
to meet his new definition. In short, this means fewer benefits for fewer veterans.
The two keys here are Buyer's references to "intent of Congress" and "core constituency." By rejecting the
"intent of Congress" when they passed legislation defining benefits and eligibility, Buyer is telling us Congress was wrong
and he is going to change it. By referring to the VA's "core constituency" as "disabled and indigent veterans," he is eliminating
veterans who do not fall into those categories.
This is just plain absurd! And it is wrong! As Buyer continues to redefine who is really a veteran, here is
some of what's at stake.
The bipartisan Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission will hold its first meeting soon. The Commission will
review whether Congress went too far by allowing concurrent receipt of military retirement and VA disability payments. Also
on the table is a change in the way disability ratings are determined, and a restructuring of the definition of "service-connected."
Buyer says he cannot guarantee veterans who currently have disability ratings that they will be exempt from Commission findings.
Buyer also wants the Commission to consider offering lump-sum payments to veterans with current disability
ratings of 20 percent or less. These "cash now" settlements would deny veterans the right to pursue any compensation claims
in the future. A veteran with a progressive condition, one that causes degenerative disability with age, would have no right
to further compensation.
What's really on the table when it comes to redefining a veteran and available benefits? Buyer says, "I think
everything should be on the table."
Everything! Buyer is even suggesting that service-connected disabilities be combat-related only. This would
eliminate treatment and compensation for injuries received while on active duty but not directly related to combat.
Buyer also took aim at the veterans' service organizations, saying their view that all veterans should have
access to VA healthcare abandons values like duty and sacrifice. He chided the service organizations for using inflammatory
rhetoric. "I asked them to be very careful with the words they select because ... they have an impact all over the country.
It is upsetting to me when someone refers to veterans as whiney," Buyer stated.
Well, there you have it in his own words. The chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee calling our
service organizations "whiney" and accusing them of abandoning values like duty and sacrifice.
It would be easy to dismiss Buyer as part of some lunatic fringe on Capitol Hill trying to stick it to veterans.
But that is not the case. Buyer speaks for the majority in Congress who speak for the current administration.
And, Buyer is the one guilty of inflammatory rhetoric. Demeaning our service organizations and their attempts
to preserve veterans' benefits is a slap in the face to ALL veterans. Our service organizations have, in the past, often done
too little too late. Sometimes we wondered where they were as the VA budget took hit after hit. Now they find themselves in
the position of doing what they were meant to do and being castigated for it.
Fellow veterans, if this is not a call to action, I don't know what is. We cannot allow Congress to redefine
who is a veteran. We cannot allow Congress to restructure veterans' benefits and reshape the definitions of disability. We
have worked too hard for too long to not receive proper recognition for our service to our country.
It's time to put severe pressure on Congress. Recently 400 disabled veterans did just that when they jammed
Committee hearings, booing and jeering Buyer and others who want to cut benefits. This new level of activism must increase
if we are to preserve our benefits and guarantee a properly funded VA for the veterans of the future.
In 1789 President George Washington said, "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve
in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive veterans of earlier wars and how
they were treated and appreciated by this country."
If we do nothing now we will only be able to say that we did nothing.
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STAND
WITH A PROUD VIETNAM VETERAN
We are nearing 13,000 total supporters and nearing 11,000
petition signers.
End this Political Abuse of Power now...
We, the undersigned
People of the United States, are deeply concerned how the State of New Jersey has denied a decorated, combat veteran of the United States, his due
rights as the plaintiff against a corrupt state government lawyer, Robert Correale, his former law
firm, Maynard & Truland and all state government politicians and state officials who have protected them.
We ask that you give John "Jack" Cunningham his Due Process that the State of New Jersey has denied
him for over a decade.
( Please press the next link for Details: http://www.americans-working-together.com/the_real_chris_christie/id13.html ) "
Signed,
Jack Cunningham
 TYRANNY starts when court officials judge the citizens based on the laws,
yet ignore these same laws for themselves and friends.
Here's a great example of
TYRANNY starting in a State's Supreme Court.
Why did the New Jersey Supreme Court
attorney ethics authority insist Supreme Court Ethics Attorney Robert Correale be judged for violations
by the same ethics committee that he was Vice-Chairman of...
More details at: https://www.causes.com/actions/1746185-american-war-veterans-petition-to-governor-chris-christie
Attorney Corruption Starts At The Top Of The Federal Department Of Justice In this state, attorney corruption starts in the Supreme Court A taxpayer voting for Barack Obama is like a chicken voting for Colonel
Sanders
"A man good enough to shed his blood
for his country, is good enough to receive a square deal afterwards . . ."
-- Theodore Roosevelt
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall
be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation."
Exposure to
traumatic events~such as natural disasters, abuse, crime, accident, rape, war etc.~ millions of people develop PTSD with symptoms raging from nightmares
to headaches, flashbacks, withdrawing from people, profound sadness, anxiety, anger, guilt, fatigue, pessimism, sexual problems
and emotional numbing.
.
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| WEBMASTER |
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| WEBMASTER |
"The American
Indians found out what happens when you don't control immigration."
"A true friend is someone who thinks you are a good egg
even though he knows
you are slightly cracked."
. .
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THE LIFE COVER FOR A LARGER COPY |
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----- Original Message -----
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PLEASE PRESS THE CARTOON FOR A LARGER COPY |
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| Watch the man in the picture! |
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| Watch the man in the picture! |
| GOD
BLESS AMERICA |
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"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be
directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." -
George Washington
| PLEASE PRESS FOR A LARGER COPY TO READ |
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| PLEASE PRESS FOR A LARGER COPY TO READ |
HONORABLE VETERAN MOCKED FOR HIS PTSD
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Webmaster, Former CAP Marine and Disabled Veteran Jack Cunningham and his
wife, Joan
.
John Forbes Kerry Timeline
TODAY'S BRAVE AND HONORABLE MILITARY
IS TOMORROW'S VETERANS
WITH THE HELP OF INTERNET
SUPPORTERS, Former CAP Marine, Veterans Advocate
And Webmaster Jack Cunningham, Takes On New
Jersey's Office Of Attorney Ethics' Corruption...
FOR THE NEW JERSEY SUPERIOR COURT SYSTEM TO LOSE A COURT TRANSCRIPT,
BEFORE IT CAN BE TYPED AND RELEASED AS EVIDENCE IN A FOLLOW-UP ETHICS CASE AGAINST A STATE OFFICIAL IS A DISGRACE AS WELL
AS A CRIME.
After reviewing the clear evidence for yourself, please support Jack in his battle against
New Jersey State Corruption by emailing or calling New Jersey State Officials on his behalf.
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The picture immediately below is the picture from the above newspaper
article.
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Above is Jack Cunningham with one of the boys from the
Duc Duc Resettlement Village.
Below is the full picture of the same scene.
| PRESS PICTURE FOR LARGER COPY |
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WHY GOD MADE PETS
MORE PET PICTURES
WILD ANIMAL PICTURES
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PLEASE PRESS
THE NEXT LINK TO LEARN ABOUT A MASSACRE THAT THE AMERICAN
NEWS MEDIA DID NOT COVER.
PLEASE PRESS THE PICTURE
FOR A LARGER PICTURE |
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