*new* 1 Oct 12
Story about suicides in the U.S. Army
http://www.npr.org/2012/09/27/161853675/army-seeks-to-curb-rising-tide-of-suicides
New PBS show: Death & Civil War
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/death/
Euthanasia is often the de facto solution for animal pain, even when palliative care is a better option. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/opinion/sunday/deciding-when-a-pet-has-suffered-enough.html
I found a current event while home in Columbus this weekend. It is about a little girl, year and a half brought to the hospital with severe head trauma, she died in the hospital 3 days later. Her newly ADOPTIVE parents were charged with her murder and child cruelty.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wtvm.com/story/16654850/police-investigating-columbus-babys-death
Middle-aged men have higher suicide risk
ReplyDeleteBy Kate Kelland
Reuters
Middle-aged men from disadvantaged backgrounds are 10 times more likely to commit suicide, often because they have lost a sense of identity and masculine pride, researchers said on Thursday.
In a report commissioned by the British helpline charity the Samaritans, health experts explored why men in their 30s, 40s and 50s are at such a substantially higher risk of ending their own lives.
The findings suggest suicide is not simply a mental health problem, the researchers said, but also one of men's place in societies and of societies' inability to adapt to men's needs when trying to deal with depression, anxiety and other problems.
"While suicide is mental health issue.... it is also a social and health inequality issue. This is unjust and unreasonable," said Stephen Platt, a University of Edinburgh health policy research professor and trustee for the Samaritans, who presented the report at a briefing in London.
"The differences we are highlighting in this report.. are not ones that any civilised society should be comfortable with."
While the report focused on Britain, the experts behind its findings were relevant to many developed countries across the world, especially those that have experienced a post-industrial shift to service-driven economies
It said that men in mid-life are part of a "buffer" generation, not sure whether to be like their older, more traditional, silent, austere fathers or like their younger, more progressive, individualistic sons.
"The changing nature of the labour market over the last 60 years has affected working class men," it said. "With the decline of traditional male industries, they have lost not only their jobs but also a source of masculine pride and identity."
The World Health Organisation estimates that every year, almost a million people commit suicide - a rate of 16 per 100,000, or one every 40 seconds. It also estimates that for every suicide, there are up to 20 attempted ones.
Men are more likely to commit suicide than women in almost every country in the world, and the WHO says the main risk factors are mental illness - primarily depression - and alcohol abuse, as well as violence, loss, abuse and pressures from cultural and social backgrounds.
The Samaritans study found that in Britain on average about 3,000 middle-aged men from disadvantaged backgrounds kill themselves each year.
Platt described the findings as "shocking" said this high risk group could no longer be ignored.
"Men are often criticised for being reluctant to talk about their problems and for not seeking help," he said.
"With this in mind, we need to acknowledge that men are different to women and design services to meet their needs, so they can be more effective."
http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/20/13991243-middle-aged-men-have-higher-suicide-risk?lite#__utma=238145375.204607964.1344797736.1345753019.1348362548.6&__utmb=238145375.1.10.1348362548&__utmc=238145375&__utmx=-&__utmz=238145375.1348362548.6.3.utmcsr=usnews.nbcnews.com|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/_news/2012/09/22/14033160-police-shoplifter-kills-wal-mart-security-employee-then-self&__utmv=238145375.|8=Earned%20By=msnbc%7Chealth=1^12=Landing%20Content=Mixed=1^13=Landing%20Hostname=www.msnbc.msn.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%20to%20Content=Internal%20to%20Mixed=1&__utmk=64171628
I know we are supposed to talk about suicide at some point in the class. I found this article pretty interesting, so maybe it is something we can come back to when we are on the topic of suicide.
Sheriff: Mother kills 2 kids, then hangs herself
ReplyDeleteA 34-year-old Florida woman apparently killed her two children in their house and then committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said Saturday.
Deputies responded to a house in unincorporated Clearwater, west of Tampa, shortly after 2 a.m. after receiving a call for help. They discovered Dawn Brown and her two children, ages 5 and 9, dead in the house.
It’s believed that Brown killed her two children and then hanged herself with an electrical cord from a bedroom ceiling fan, the sheriff’s office said.
No details were revealed on how the children were killed. Their cause of death will be released after an autopsy, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities did not give a possible motive for the killings.
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/22/14033875-sheriff-mother-kills-2-kids-then-hangs-herself?lite#__utma=238145375.204607964.1344797736.1345753019.1348362548.6&__utmb=238145375.2.10.1348362548&__utmc=238145375&__utmx=-&__utmz=238145375.1348362548.6.3.utmcsr=usnews.nbcnews.com|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/_news/2012/09/22/14033160-police-shoplifter-kills-wal-mart-security-employee-then-self&__utmv=238145375.|8=Earned%20By=msnbc%7Chealth=1^12=Landing%20Content=Mixed=1^13=Landing%20Hostname=www.msnbc.msn.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%20to%20Content=Internal%20to%20Mixed=1&__utmk=29921276
We seem to talk about morality quite a lot when it comes to death and dying. This story and too many others like it often make me wonder what sort of morals and values other people in our society have...
http://news.yahoo.com/drunken-driver-kills-seven-moscow-bus-stop-182935602.html
ReplyDeleteDrunk Driver Kills Seven People
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A drunken driver ploughed his car into a bus stop in Moscow on Saturday, killing seven people and injuring three others, police said.
The driver, who was detained and could face nine years in jail, had his license suspended in 2010 for drunk driving, police said. Interfax news agency quoted a police official as saying he was driving at about 200 km per hour (125 mph).
"As a result of a test that was conducted, it was determined that at the time of the accident the driver was in a state of alcoholic intoxication," a statement on the Moscow police website said.
Death rates from alcohol and from road accidents are higher in Russia than in many Western countries.
(Writing by Steve Gutterman; Editing by Pravin Char)
This deals with death, but it basically talks about innocent people dying. These seven people had their lives taken away by someone. Their death was unexpected. This shows how anything can happen and not to take your life for granted.
Torrey Smith found support with his teammates after his brother's death
ReplyDeleteWide receiver Torrey Smith is hugged by teammate linebacker Ray Lewis after they defeated the New England Patriots at M&T Bank Stadium.
Wide receiver Torrey Smith is hugged by teammate linebacker… (Patrick Smith, Getty Images )
September 24, 2012|By Aaron Wilson, The Baltimore Sun
Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith played a major part in the Ravens' comeback victory against the New England Patriots on Sunday night just hours after learning that his 19-year-old brother died in a motorcycle accident in Virginia.
Smith was intent on honoring his brother Tevin Jones, pointing to the sky after a 25-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and finishing with a team-high six receptions for 127 yards. Kneeling in the end zone, Smith said a prayer during the fourth quarter.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20570219,00.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl4%7Csec1_lnk1%26pLid%3D211040
ReplyDeleteAndy Williams, whose corn-fed good looks, easygoing charm and smooth rendition of "Moon River" propelled him to the heights of music stardom in the early '60s, died Tuesday at his home in Branson, Mo., following a battle with bladder cancer, his family announced.
He was 84, and 2012 had marked his 75th year in showbiz. Williams is survived by his wife Debbie and his three children, Robert, Noelle and Christian.
With 17 gold and three platinum records to his name, Williams enjoyed his golden years playing golf and dividing his time between La Quinta, Calif., and Branson, where he appeared at his Andy Williams Moon River Theater since 1992.
It was on the stage of that theater, in November 2011, Williams announced he had bladder cancer. At the time, he assured fans the disease was no longer a death sentence and that he had every intention of being a survivor.
Born in Wall Lake, Iowa, the son of a railroad worker, Howard Andrew WIlliams sang in his family's church choir with older siblings Bob, Dick and Don. In the late '30s, the boys built up a name for themselves regionally on Midwestern radio stations as the Williams Brothers quartet.
After the war, in 1947, they joined entertainer Kay Thompson in her innovative and sophisticated nightclub act. In his 2009 memoir Moon River and Me, Williams admitted he had a long affair with Thompson, who had been a legendary vocal coach at MGM (she taught Judy Garland and Lena Horne to sing for the screen) and was 18 years the senior of her handsome young protégé.
In 1952, when the brothers' act broke up, Andy launched his solo career, only to find himself broke and without bookings. Giving himself one last shot, he wisely switched his repertoire from clever Noël Coward ditties to the latest pop hits, and his New York club appearances soon included singing spots on the Tonight show (which was in Manhattan at the time), then regular TV shots and a Columbia Records contract.
By the early '60s he had an easy-listening hit under his belt, "Can't Get Used to Losing You," though it was his romantic take on the Best Song Oscar winner from 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany's, "Moon River," that landed him on the map – and kept him there.
The smash hit recording led to NBC's 1962 launch of The Andy Williams Show, which remained on the air until 1971 and then returned as an annual Christmas special. It was on the variety weekly program in 1963 that Williams introduced to America a group of young singing siblings from Utah, The Osmond Brothers.
Despite his own clean-cut good looks – the Williams signature look was a turtleneck under a brightly colored pullover sweater – scandal did touch Williams's life. In the mid-1970s, his ex-wife, French dancer Claudine Longet, went on trial in Aspen for the fatal shooting of her lover, international skiing star Vladimir ("Spider") Sabich.
In the end, Longet, who claimed the shooting was an accident, was found guilty of misdemeanor criminal negligence and received only a 30-day sentence, which she served on and off at her convenience. In his 2009 memoir, Williams, who during the trial had accompanied his ex-wife to the courtroom on a daily basis, continued to defend her innocence.
Longet and Williams were married from 1961 to 1975 and had three children together: Noelle, Christian, and Robert. They survive him, as does his second wife (since 1991), Debbie Williams.
A sad lose of the music community :( Moon River is a personal favorite.
Delete..
ReplyDeleteKATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Rescue helicopters flew over the high slopes of a northern Nepal peak again Monday to search for climbers lost in an avalanche that killed at least nine mountaineers and injured others. Many of the climbers were French, German and Italian.
The avalanche hit in the 4 a.m. darkness Sunday while more than two dozen climbers were still sleeping in their tents, said Dolraj Dhakal, government administrator in the area. He said no one saw it coming and they are unable describe the size of the avalanche that swept their camp high on the side of the world's eighth-highest peak, Mount Manaslu.
Rescuers brought down eight bodies by midday Monday and were trying to retrieve the ninth from the 7,000 meters (22,960 feet) area where the avalanche struck, said Basanta Bahadur Kuwar, police chief in the area where the mountain is located. Four helicopters were searching by air, and climbers and guides were searching the slopes on foot.
At least six more climbers are believed to be still missing. Kuwar said the identity of the climbers killed and missing were still not clear.
Spain's Foreign Ministry said from Madrid that one climber killed was Spanish. The identities of the others were still being confirmed.
Ten climbers survived, but many were injured and were flown to hospitals by rescue helicopters. Three injured French citizens and two Germans were transported to hospitals in Katmandu on Sunday, and two more Italians were flown there Monday.
Italian, German and French teams were on the mountain, with a total of 231 climbers and guides, but not all were at the higher camps hit by the avalanche.
Sunday's avalanche came at the start of Nepal's autumn climbing season, when the end of the monsoon rains makes weather in the high Himalayas unpredictable. Spring is a more popular season, when hundreds of climbers crowd the high Himalayan peaks.
Mount Manaslu is 8,156 meters (26,760 feet) high and has attracted more climbers recently because it is considered one of the easier peaks to climb among the world's tallest mountains.
Nepal has eight of the 14 highest peaks in the world. Climbers have complained in recent years that conditions on the mountains have deteriorated and risks of accidents have increased.
Veteran guide Apa, who has climbed Mount Everest a record 21 times, traveled across Nepal earlier this year campaigning about the effects of global warming on the mountain peaks.
He told The Associated Press the mountains now have considerably less ice and snow, making it harder for climbers to use ice axes and crampons on their boots to get a grip on the slopes.
Loose snow also increases the risk of avalanches. The cause of Sunday's avalanche was not immediately determined.
Avalanches are not very frequent on Mount Manaslu, but this one is not the first fatal avalanche there. In 1972, an avalanche struck a team of climbers and killed six Korean and 10 Nepalese guides on Manaslu.
Ang Tshering of the Asian Trekking agency in Katmandu, who has equipped hundreds of expeditions, said the low level of snow and increased number of climbers on Manaslu has also made climbing conditions difficult.
"It used to be low risk mountain in the past but now that has all changed," Tshering said adding conditions have turned unpredictable on the mountain.
..
http://news.yahoo.com/avalanche-nepal-peak-kills-least-9-climbers-005820166.html
Sons of Anarchy: Dead in Hollywood Murder Mystery
ReplyDelete--Johnny Lewis
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/27/showbiz/hollywood-murder-mystery/index.html?npt=NP1
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Investigators believe "Sons of Anarchy" actor Johnny Lewis brutally killed his elderly landlord Wednesday before falling to his death as he tried to escape police whose sirens he heard approaching.
It could be weeks before police understand the cause of what they say was a violent rampage by Lewis, 28, that led to the death of Katherine Davis, 81.
Davis died from "blunt head trauma and strangulation," according to preliminary findings from the autopsy conducted Thursday, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office said.
Police suspect drugs were involved, but "we don't have any hard evidence that says he was on anything right now," LAPD Commander Andrew Smith said.
Toxicology findings from the autopsy conducted Thursday by the coroner will be crucial to determining if the actor was under the influence of drugs, Smith added. It is expected to take at least a month before the report is done.
I thought this story was interesting because we generally don't hear too much about the healing process of those affected by violence. How do people try to cope with the things that have happened to them? I guess everyone deals with things differently, so there's not really a good general answer to address the situation, but it's interesting viewing the individual healing process.
ReplyDeleteDENVER -- Witnesses and people injured in the Aurora theater shooting might be allowed to visit the site where a gunman killed 12 people and injured 58 others.
A copy of an email sent Thursday by prosecutors to victims and obtained by The Associated Press shows those interested in visiting the theater have until Friday to contact an attorney for Cinemark Inc. for information.
Some victims have said they want to go to the theater as part of the healing process.
Also on Thursday, Cinemark asked a judge to dismiss two negligence lawsuits filed against the chain in the shooting. The chain said the shocking criminal act was unforeseeable and random.
In a letter sent to Cinemark earlier this month, Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan asked the company to refurbish and reopen the Century 16 theater and allow for visitation by survivors and victims' families.
Cinemark officials did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Cinemark has advised the city of its plans to have the theater ready for reopening by early next year.
James Holmes, 24, a former neuroscience graduate student at the University of Colorado, Denver, faces 152 charges in the shooting, including 12 murder counts.
Some victims have contacted attorney Amanda Wiley about visiting the theater. Wiley did not immediately return a message.
"I would like to see the area where I was sitting. I came so close to death," said Michael White Sr., who was at the theater during the shooting that injured his son Michael White Jr. "It might be disturbing to me. It might be part of the healing process. I'm not sure which one it's going to be."
The two lawsuits filed last week in federal court allege negligence in failing to protect moviegoers. The lawsuits claim the theater failed to have extra security on hand for a special midnight showing of the latest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," and that a theater exit door where the gunman left to get his weapons and re-enter should have had an alarm.
"The fault here lies entirely with the killer," Cinemark's Denver attorney Kevin Taylor wrote in his motion to dismiss the suits, which were filed in U.S. District Court.
Taylor did not immediately return a message seeking comment. The attorney who filed the lawsuits on behalf of three of those injured, former Denver judge Christina Habas, declined to comment.
The grieving process for doctors: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/opinion/sunday/when-doctors-grieve.html?ref=deathanddying&_r=0
ReplyDeleteI found a particularly informative website regarding Death/Dying and Euthanasia which has various pages of information as well as their own set of blogs too. ---->
ReplyDeletehttp://dianegoble.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/assisted-death-debate-news-and-blogs-from-around-the-world-septemeber-2012/