IN CONFLICTING REPORTS, BOTH TASS AND THE BBC REPORTED A CONFRONTATION IN THE SKIES OVER THE BALTIC SEA, WITHIN 25 MILES OF KALININGRAD, RUSSIA, YESTERDAY.
TASS NEWS AGENCY REPORTED THAT Russian Su-27 fighter jets consecutively intercepted two US RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, with one of them making a provocative turn towards the Russian plane, the Russian defense ministry said on Tuesday.
"On June 19, Russian airspace control means over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea spotted an aerial target flying towards the Russian state border. A Su-27 fighter jet of the Baltic Fleet air defense alert unit was scrambled to intercept the target. After approaching it, the Russian plane identified it as a US RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft. When being escorted, the RC-135 plane made an attempt at approaching the Russian fighter jet making a provocative turn towards it," the ministry said.
Russian Su-27 fighter jets consecutively intercepted two US RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, with one of them making a provocative turn towards the Russian plane, the Russian defense ministry said on Tuesday.
"On June 19, Russian airspace control means over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea spotted an aerial target flying towards the Russian state border. A Su-27 fighter jet of the Baltic Fleet air defense alert unit was scrambled to intercept the target. After approaching it, the Russian plane identified it as a US RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft. When being escorted, the RC-135 plane made an attempt at approaching the Russian fighter jet making a provocative turn towards it," the ministry said.
The Russian pilot offered a reaction to the RC-135’s maneuver, after which continued to escort the U.S. reconnaissance plane until it changed its route off the Russian border," the ministry said. Over that past week, U.S. and NATO reconnaissance planes have performed more than 15 flights over the Baltic Sea in the exact proximity to the Russian border, the ministry said and stressed that Russian fighter jets are flying over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea in strict compliance with international rules. "As for the alleged ‘provocative’ nature of the flight, we would like to stress that ten minutes later another RC-135 plane entered this zone to be also intercepted by the Russia Su-27," the Russian defense ministry added.
A Russian jet flew within 5ft (1.5m) of a U.S. reconnaissance plane's wing tip over the Baltic Sea on Monday, US officials say.
The encounter was deemed "unsafe" due to the Russian pilot's "high rate of closure speed and poor control of the aircraft", officials said. But Russia disputes the American account, saying the US plane made a "provocative" move towards their jet.
The intercept on Monday occurred 25 miles (40 km) from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, over international waters.
Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters: "We were flying in international airspace and did nothing to provoke this behaviour."
There have been more than 30 interactions between U.S. and Russian planes and ships in the Baltic Sea since the beginning of June, US officials tell CNN.
The majority have been deemed safe, US officials say.
The US RC-135 reconnaissance plane is roughly the size of a civilian commercial aircraft
WHO'S RUNNING THE AMERICAN SHOW? DOES TRUMP REALIZE WHAT THE MILITARY IS DOING OVER THERE? IS HE IN AGREEMENT WITH ALL THE PROVOCATION, THE PUSHING RUSSIA'S BACK AGAINST THE WALL? DOES HE READ THE 'NEWS', ONE WONDERS.
THE U.S. MILITARY 'CHIEFS' HAVE BEEN ITCHING FOR A FIGHT WITH RUSSIA SINCE BEFORE THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS! BUT DOES THE WHITE HOUSE AND CONGRESS WANT AN ALL-OUT WAR WITH RUSSIA?
On all fronts, it just seems that the U.S. MILITARY, whether through NATO or SYRIA, is shoving as hard as it can to push Putin's buttons, and is doing all it can to provoke a negative Russian respinse.
These are dangerous "games". All it will take is ONE pilot on either side losing his temper at the wrong moment, making a snap-judgment wrong call and we will all see what World War 3 looks like.
ESCALATION OF TENSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE U.S.IN SYRIA
Also on Monday, as the Guardian U.K. reported, Russia warned that U.S. jets flying in Syria would now be targeted. The announcement came in response to the U.S. downing of a Syrian jet after it targeted American-allied rebels.
On Tuesday, the US military shot down an armed Iranian-made drone in Syria, adding to tensions between the Washington and Moscow, which is allied with the Syrian regime.
The U.S. shooting down of a Syrian jet is seen as ‘act of aggression’ by Russia, which will track coalition warplanes west of the Euphrates.
It was the first such US attack on a Syrian warplane since the start of the country’s civil war six years ago. Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said the U.S. strike “has to be seen as a continuation of America’s line to disregard the norms of international law.
“What is this if not an act of aggression? It is, if you like, help to those terrorists that the U.S. is fighting against, declaring they are carrying out an anti-terrorism policy.”
The Russian foreign ministry also said it would respond to the attack by suspending its communications channel with US forces, which is designed to prevent collisions and dangerous incidents in Syrian airspace.
The Russian military threatened to close the hotline, known as the “deconfliction channel”, in April after President Trump ordered a missile strike against a Syrian air base allegedly involved in a chemical weapons attack. However, Moscow did not fulfill the threat and the channel remained open.
Russia stressed it will in future be tracking the coalition’s jets, not shooting them down, but added that “a threat for those jets may appear only if they take action that poses a threat to Russian aircraft”. Moscow’s foreign ministry said in a statement: “All kinds of airborne vehicles, including aircraft and UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] of the international coalition, detected to the west of the Euphrates river will be tracked by the Russian SAM systems as air targets.”
The top U.S. general, Joseph Dunford, sought to play down the repercussions of the incident, insisting the hotline established eight months ago between U.S. central command in Qatar and its Russian equivalent in Syria was still open and functioning on Monday morning and would be used to try to defuse the situation.
“I’m confident that we are still communicating between the coalition operations centre and the Russian operations centre,” Dunford, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff told the National Press Club in Washington. “I think the worst thing any of us could do would be to address this with hyperbole.” He added: “I’m also confident that our forces have the capability to take care of themselves.”
“We made every effort to warn those individuals not to come any closer and then the commander made a judgment that it was a threat to the forces that we are supporting and took action. The only actions that we have taken against pro-regime forces in Syria, and there have been two specific incidents, have been in self-defence and we have communicated that clearly.”
It is not clear what other incident Dunford was referring to. Apart from the April missile strike, US forces have fired on pro-regime forces, thought to include Iranian-backed Shia militia, three times in the past month in Syria’s eastern desert near the Iraqi border.
Asked about the legal basis for a US plane shooting down a Syrian aircraft in Syrian airspace, Dunford referred to the Authorisation for the Use of Military Force Act passed by Congress in 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 attack, which has been used as a blanket mandate by U.S. administrations ever since for counter-terrorist operations abroad.
OBAMA PROMISED TO GET US OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST. THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN. TRUMP BASICALLY SAID HE WAS FED UP WITH THE U.S. PLAYING POLICEMAN TO THE WORLD AND THAT WE SHOULD SPEND OUR TRILLIONS ELSEWHERE. WE SEE HOW THAT'S PLAYING OUT.
Eisenhower had been concerned about the growing size and cost of the American defense establishment since he became president in 1953. In his last presidential address to the American people, he expressed those concerns in terms that frankly shocked some of his listeners.
Eisenhower began by describing the changing nature of the American defense establishment since World War II.
No longer could the U.S. afford the “emergency improvisation” that characterized its preparations for war against Germany and Japan. Instead, the United States was “compelled to create a permanent armaments industry” and a huge military force. He admitted that the Cold War made clear the “imperative need for this development,” but he was gravely concerned about “the acquisition of unwarranted influence…by the military-industrial complex.” In particular, he asked the American people to guard against the “danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.”
Necessary though that development might be, Eisenhower warned, this new military-industrial complex could weaken or destroy the very institutions and principles it was designed to protect. Eisenhower’s blunt language stunned some of his supporters."
THE PENTAGON CAN'T, AS IN IT WON'T, ACCOUNT FOR TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN EXPENDITURES, AND SINCE RUMSFELD ANNOUNCED THAT OVER 2 TRILLION WAS MISSING FROM PENTAGON 'BOOKS' THE DAY BEFORE 9-11, THE MONEY LEAK HAS MERELY GROWN.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE BOYS IN THE PENTAGON ARE SPENDING THOSE TRILLIONS ON. BUT WE HAVE SEEN, HISTORICALLY, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A MILITARY POWER DECIDES TO RUN A COUNTRY.
TRUMP NEEDS TO GET A HANDLE ON THIS, SLAP A FEW HANDS AND BACK SOME OF HIS MILITARY CHIEFS OFF THIS HEADLONG DASH TO WORLD WAR 3.
I ALSO THINK THE LEADERS OF BOTH NATIONS NEED TO POLL THEIR POPULACE TO SEE HOW MANY "AVERAGE CITIZENS" BELIEVE THAT ANYTHING WE MAY FIND IN THE MIDDLE EAST OR EUROPE IS WORTH GOING TO NUCLEAR WAR FOR.
SO FAR, PRESIDENT PUTIN SEEMS TO HAVE USED MORE COMMON SENSE THAN EITHER PRESIDENT OBAMA OR PRESIDENT TRUMP, BUT WHO KNOWS WHEN THAT CAN CHANGE OR WHAT MIGHT PUSH MR. PUTIN OR OUR POWER-HUNGRY MILITARY HEADS TO JUST SAY TO HELL WITH IT AND ON TO ALL-OUT WAR?
THE GUARDIAN ALSO SHOWS VIDEO OF THE MAN BEING HANDCUFFED <HERE>.
Local people observe prayers at Finsbury Park in London, after a vehicle struck pedestrians on the street where they are kneeling..
ABOVE: Police officers attend to the scene after a vehicle collided with
pedestrians in the Finsbury Park neighborhood of North London, Britain
June 19, 2017.
REUTERS/Neil Hall
Finsbury Park: One killed, eight injured in 'potential terrorist attack' as van hits worshippers at London mosque. NOTE: SOME NEWS AGENCIES ARE REPORTING 10 INJURED, SOME SAY 12, BUT 8 WERE TAKEN TO HOSPITAL.
The Finsbury Park Mosque gained notoriety more than a decade ago for sermons by radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, who was sentenced to life in a U.S. prison in January 2015 for his conviction on terrorism-related charges.
A new board of trustees and management took over in February 2005, a year after Abu Hamza was arrested by British police, since then attendance has greatly increased among worshippers from various communities, according to the mosque's website.
“We have worked very hard over decades to build a peaceful and tolerant community here in Finsbury Park and we totally condemn any act of hate that tries to drive our wonderful community apart,” it reads.
The New York Police Department has deployed officers to mosques in New York following the attack in Finsbury Park.
Suspect screamed he wanted to 'kill all Muslims'. A van ploughed into worshippers outside a mosque in London on Sunday night, killing one person and injuring eight people in what the Prime Minister described as a "potential terrorist attack".
Officers arrested one man after they were called shortly after midnight to the incident on Seven Sisters Road, near Finsbury Park station.
The attack came shortly after worshippers had been attending evening prayers at the Muslim Welfare House.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing bystanders wrestle the suspect to the ground and pin him down until officers arrived.
One eyewitness speaking to LBC said the van had hit people on the pavement, but had not collided with a building. "It looked like he had lost control of the van or something," he said.
No other suspects at the scene have been identified or reported to police, the statement said.
BUT CNN REPORTED THAT "Witnesses describe seeing two additional men fleeing from the van."
Police said there would be increased police presence in order to reassure communities, especially those observing Ramadan.
This incident followed a series of attacks in Britain.
Eight people were killed and 50 injured on June 3 when three Islamist militants drove into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed people at nearby restaurants and bars.
Two weeks earlier, a suicide bomber killed 22 people at a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande in Manchester in northern England.
On March 22, a man drove a rented car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in London and stabbed a policeman to death before being shot dead. His attack killed five people.
The Muslim Council of Britain has condemned the Finsbury Park van attack, calling it "the most violent manifestation" yet of Islamophobia and called for extra security around mosques.
The council's secretary general Harun Khan said the incident took place outside the Muslim Welfare House in Seven Sisters Road.
"Over the past weeks and months, Muslims have endured many incidents of Islamophobia and this is the most violent manifestation to date.
"Given we are approaching the end of the month of Ramadan and the celebration of Eid with many Muslims going to local mosques, we expect the authorities to increase security outside mosques as a matter of urgency.
"Muslim communities have been calling for increased action to tackle the growth in hate crime for many years and transformative action must now be taken to tackle not only this incident but the hugely worrying growth in Islamophobia.
Many will feel terrorised, no doubt be angry and saddened by what has taken place tonight.
"We urge calm as the investigation establishes the full facts, and in these last days of Ramadan, pray for those affected and for justice."
Salah Alamoudi said they had to hold the suspect on the ground for up to half an hour before police arrived.
"The guy, I had to keep him at least half an hour. He was a strong guy. A big man," he said. A series of videos have emerged on social media showing tensions are running high after the incident.
At least two witnesses told Sky News that there were three men in the van, but the Met Police statement seems to directly contradict that, saying no other suspects had been identified or reported to police.
WHETHER THIS WAS SOME TWISTED RETALIATORY ACT BY A BRITISH CITIZEN, A SECTARIAN "SUNNI VERSUS SHIA" ATTACK, OR ONE PERPETRATED BY SOMEONE TRAINED FOR SUCH BY THE ISLAMIC STATE IS YET TO BE SEEN. I'M CERTAIN WE WILL READ ALL ABOUT THE VAN DRIVER TOMORROW AT THE LATEST.
I AM CONCERNED THAT THE 'TENSIONS' ON BOTH SIDES, MUSLIMS AND NON-MUSLIMS, WILL ONLY ESCALATE AFTER THIS.
SOME WEBSITES HAD ALREADY BEEN KEEPING TRACK OF NON-MUSLIMS KILLED BY MUSLIMS DURING RAMADAN, CALLING THE COUNT "RAMADAN BOMBATHON" AND GIVING DAILY UPDATES.
"Islam's holiest month of fasting and prayer began May 26. Already, there have been at least 70 deadly terrorists attacks, leaving 950 dead and more than 1,000 wounded. And it's only been 14 days. Ramadan this year runs until June 24."
BOTH BREITBART AND THE BLAZE FANNED THOSE FLAMES BY UPDATING THE LIST OF VICTIMS OF MUSLIM ATTACKS.
WHILE THE ACTIONS OF MOST OF THE WORSHIPPERS AFTER THIS ATTACK ARE COMMENDABLE FOR CALLING FOR PEACE AND CALM, OTHERS HAVE DONE THE SAME AS THOSE KEEPING TRACK OF VICTIMS OF SUICIDE BOMBERS, ETC.
THE NEFARIOUS WASHINGTON POST ADDED FUEL TO ANY GROWING FIRE BY REPOSTING INCIDENTS OF ATTACKS ON MUSLIMS AND REPORTING THAT THE BODY OF A MISSING MUSLIM 17-YEAR-OLD WAS DISCOVERED NEAR STERLING, VIRGINIA. THE SUSPECTED KILLER IS DARWIN MARTINEZ TORRES, A NON-MUSLIM.
UNDERSTANDABLY, NOT ALL WORSHIPPERS OF THE LONDON MOSQUE WERE AS CALM AND PRAYERFUL AS THOSE PICTURED AT THE TOP OF THIS BLOG. "People were shouting this is an act of terrorism, even though he's white," another witness, Hillary Briffa, said, referring to the man taken away by police.
IT WILL BE A LONG, HOT, TAXING SUMMER. MAY THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA JUST ONCE NOT ENGAGE IN PLAYING MUSLIMS AGAINST NON-MUSLIMS. IT SEEMS TO ME THE MSM LIKE RIOTS AND BLOODSHED. ANYTHING TO SELL A 'RAG-SHEET', YES?
MAY NO CITY BECOME A NEW BATTLEGROUND IN THIS AGE-OLD CONFLICT.
"PAY-BACKS" ONLY RESULT IN "PAY MORE"...PAY WITH MORE LIVES LOST TO THE ILLUSION THAT ANY ONE NATION, ANY ONE RACE OF PEOPLE, ANY GROUP CAN "RULE THE WORLD" FOREVER. LOOK AT HOW MANY HAVE BEEN FOOLED BY THAT UNATTAINABLE DREAM. ONE-BY-ONE THEY ALL FELL AND ARE MERELY NAMES IN HISTORY BOOKS, FADING MEMORIES.
ONCE THE "COMMON MAN" , THE "AVERAGE CITIZEN" GETS A GUTFUL OF BEING ATTACKED AND SEEING HIS FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES KILLED, HISTORY SHOWS US SUCH REBELLION AGAINST EXTERMINATION WILL STOP THOSE WHO HOPE TO EXTERMINATE.
The damage to the destroyer suggests that the container ship, the ACX Crystal, might have slammed into it at a high speed, raising questions about communication between the two vessels.
The Philippines-registered container ship, the ACX Crystal, suffered less damage and went on to complete its journey to Tokyo.
Marine Traffic showed the strange u-turn on a tracking map (above) of the ACX Crystal's route..
None of the 20 Filipino crewmen were reported injured.
It is not known why it changed course. [SEE UPDATE BELOW]
[UPDATE: 26 JUNE 2017: "The container ship steered hard to starboard (right) to avoid the warship but hit the Fitzgerald 10 minutes later at 1:30 a.m., according to a copy of Captain Ronald Advincula's report to Japanese ship owner Dainichi Investment Corporation that was seen by Reuters. Another focus of the probes has been the length of time it took the ACX Crystal to report the collision. The JCG says it was first notified at 2:25 a.m., nearly an hour after the accident. In his report, the ACX Crystal's captain said there was "confusion" on his ship's bridge, and that it turned around and returned to the collision site after continuing for 6 nautical miles (11 km). Shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon shows that the ACX Crystal, chartered by Japan's Nippon Yusen KK (9101.T), made a complete U-turn between 12:58 a.m. and 2:46 a.m. 12:58 a.m. would be 30 minutes BEFORE the REPORTED time of the collision, and 2:46 a.m. would be 45 minutes AFTER the collision."
The tracking data shows the container vessel never stopped. THE REUTERS ARTICLE GOES ON TO STATE THAT THE CAPTAIN OF THE CRYSTAL 'FLASHED LIGHTS' TO WARN THE FITZGERALD, BUT DID HE USE ANY AUDIBLE MEANS TO WARN THEM, AND COULDN'T HE HAIL THE OTHER VESSEL BY RADIO? WHERE WAS THE FITZGERALD'S RADIO OPERATOR, WHO WAS MINDING THE RADAR, WAS THERE NO LOOKOUT ON THE BRIDGE OF THE NAVAL SHIP, AND IS THE CRYSTAL'S CAPTAIN'S VERSION OF WHAT HAPPENED VERIFIABLE ARE ALL UNANSWERED QUESTIONS FOR NOW. (END UPDATE)
Similar records (which DO exist) for the USS Fitzgerald's movements are not publicly available. IN THE DAYS AHEAD, IT WILL BE INTERESTING, AND IMPERATIVE, TO SEE HOW THIS COULD HAVE POSSIBLY HAPPENED. IT HAS BEEN NOTED THAT THE HUGE CONTAINER SHIP REVERSED ITS ENGINES AND DID A "U-TURN" 25 MINUTES BEFORE IT STRUCK THE USS FITZGERALD. BUT WHY DIDN'T THE FITZGERALD GET OUT OF HARM'S WAY?
At least three others onboard were injured, including the captain, in the collision which took place near the port city of Yokosuka.
Many of the Fitzgerald's crew were asleep when the incident happened. The U.S. Navy said it was investigating.
The warship has since been towed to the US naval base in Yokosuka. The seven sailors were reported missing after the incident which took place at about 02:30 local time on Saturday (17:30 GMT Friday).
The Navy has now said that divers gained access to the damaged areas and found their remains. Marine Traffic records suggest that the container ship, the Filipino-flagged ACX Crystal, made a sudden U-turn roughly 25 minutes before the crash. It is not known why it changed course.
Similar records for the USS Fitzgerald are not publicly available.
According to Maritime Bulletin, “Container ship ACX CRYSTAL though Philippines-flagged, [is] said to be operated by Japanese NYK. Her damages though substantial, aren’t too serious, let alone critical.”
CNN reported that “the container ship was operating under charter to Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and owned by Dainichi-Invest Corporation.”
The collision is reported to have taken place in calm, clear conditions.
The Navy said the remains of the seven missing sailors had been found.
The victims were... 1-Gunner's Mate Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby, 19, from Palmyra, Virginia; 2-Yeoman 3rd Class Shingo Alexander Douglass, 25, from San Diego, California; 3-Sonar Technician 3rd Class Ngoc T Truong Huynh, 25, from Oakville, Connecticut; 4-Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Noe Hernandez, 26, from Weslaco, Texas; 5-Fire Controlman 2nd Class Carlos Victor Ganzon Sibayan, 23, from Chula Vista, California; 6-Personnel Specialist 1st Class Xavier Alec Martin, 24, from Halethorpe, Maryland; 7-Fire Controlman 1st Class Gary Leo Rehm Jr., 37, from Elyria, Ohio.
A PHOTO TRIBUTE TO THE VICTIMS CAN BE SEEN <HERE>.
Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, the commander of the 7th Fleet, described a harrowing scene as other sailors fought to keep the ship from sinking.
"Most of the damage is below the waterline, including a large gash near the keel," Aucoin said.
"The water flow was tremendous, and so there wasn't a lot of time in those spaces that were open to the sea. And as you can see now, the ship is still listing, so they had to fight the ship to keep it above the surface. It was traumatic," Aucoin said at a news conference at the Yokosuka base on Sunday.
He said one machinery room and two berthing areas for 116 crew members were severely damaged from the impact to the ship's side. Navy spokesman Lt. Paul Newell said the victims may have been killed by the impact of the collision or drowned in the flooding.
The Fitzgerald's captain, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, suffered a head injury in the collision and was airlifted to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka. Two other crew members suffered cuts and bruises and were also flown out by helicopter.
The coast guard questioned crew members of the ACX Crystal, and is treating the collision as a case of possible professional negligence, said Masayuki Obara, a regional coast guard official.
According to The Guardian, “Japan’s coastguard and the U.S. navy plan to question crew members from the ACX Crystal, and could treat the collision as a possible case of endangerment of traffic caused by professional negligence.”
It was traveling at a speed of 12.4 knots and was still in motion in the hours after the collision.
The Navy has not confirmed this information. Nor has it explained why USS Fitzgerald did not see the ACX Crystal coming and vice-versa.
IF I WERE FAMILY, I COULD NOT FIND CLOSURE UNTIL I HAD FULL EXPLANATIONS OF WHY THAT CONTAINER SHIP MADE A U-TURN AND HIT THE FITZGERALD AT HIGH SPEED AND JUST KEPT GOING. NOR COULD I REST UNTIL THE U.S. NAVY EXPLAINED WHY NO EVASIVE ACTION WAS TAKEN BY THE NAVAL SHIP, IF WE CAN BELIEVE SOME REPORTS OF THE DESTROYER'S ROUTE. IF EVASIVE ACTION WAS TAKEN, DID THE CRYSTAL JUST PURSUE THE DESTROYER IN ORDER TO RAM IT?
WE CAN BE THANKFUL TO ALL WHO KEPT A COOL HEAD ND DID ALL THEY COULD TO RESCUE THE NAVAL CREWMEN AND TO STABILIZE THE DESTROYER.
It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable. – Lucius Annaeus Seneca, (c. 4 BC – AD 65)
There is no failure for the man who realizes his power, who never knows when he is beaten; there is no failure for the determined endeavor; the unconquerable will. --Orison Swett Marden (1848–1924) Some people when they have taken too much and have been driven beyond the point of endurance, simply crumble and give up. There are others, though they are not many, who will for some reason always be unconquerable. You meet them in time of war and also in time of peace. They have an indomitable spirit and nothing, neither pain nor torture nor threat of death, will cause them to give up. -- Roald Dahl (1916-1990)
AN EXCHANGE AMONG FRIENDS It began as a political discussion, which always irritates me, as I am of NO political party and desire NO political affiliation. Somehow, the conversation turned to the subject of what the REAL objective of all dictators and tyrants has always been and I said it was CONTROL OF THE HUMAN MIND, CONQUEST OF THE HUMAN WILL.
If the "powers that be" (or WOULD be) could somehow get inside our minds and shut down our ability to THINK INDEPENDENT THOUGHTS, could somehow stop us from forming our own conclusions, making our own CHOICES, then anyone who could do that could rule the world.
Would-be 'kings of the world' have come and gone, have tried and failed, and failed, and failed to accomplish this.
We who dared assume we could somehow "help" other human beings by becoming 'psychiatrists' or psychologists, if we are honest, will admit that no one can enter another mind and change one wee thing. Change must begin internally, and some will never risk change out of fear, while others just don't want change, and still others are blind to HOW to change.
Perhaps the greatest challenge of anyone seeking to "help" another by changing how they think or live life is the absolute uncertainty of how WISE such a change might be. After all, what is quite "NORMAL" to one being may be seen as CRIMINAL or as a HORROR to another. We'd therefore be forcing ABNORMALITY onto those who feel comfortable with their own private version of "NORMAL".
IN OUR STUDIES, IN OUR 'PRACTICES' , WE ALWAYS ENCOUNTERED MINDS THAT CAN ONLY BE CALLED "UNCONQUERABLE". SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE, SOMEONE BEGAN TO NOTICE CERTAIN QUALITIES OF THOSE "HIGHER MINDS" THAT DID NOT ALLOW CONTROL, MANIPULATION, AND REFUSED TO BE CHANGED OR "FIXED"...LIKELY BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T NEED "FIXING".
HERE'S MY LIST OF THE MOST NOTABLE OF THOSE QUALITIES, QUALITIES THAT THOSE WHO SEEK TO CONTROL HUMAN MINDS CAN'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND OR "WORK AROUND".
THE "HIGHER MIND"....a mind that strikes fear into those who seek to control minds...
~ Doesn't dwell in the past, doesn't seek to go back in time and make things better (or worse). These people are very much focused on RIGHT NOW, today, THIS moment in time. They never mention past abuses or use their past in any way as an EXCUSE for present temporary failures, don't blame anyone or anything that occurred IN THE PAST for what is happening to them TODAY, and don't seem to hold grudges. The PAST is DEAD AND GONE and they don't summon "ghosts" to haunt their PRESENT. They don't let the PAST weigh them down and drown their present AND future.
~ Doesn't bemoan the FACT that LIFE IS NOT FAIR. Life just simply isn't fair, the end, and recognizing that, when life makes a turn into troubles, setbacks, roadblocks, they don't wring their hands and whine about the unfairness of life. THEY FIND PATHS AROUND THE ROADBLOCKS, SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS, WAYS TO RESOLVE TROUBLES AND THEY PLOW RIGHT ALONG TO WHAT CAN ONLY BE TERMED 'VICTORY'. Nothing STOPS them for long. If they're 'knocked down', they get right back up again. These uncommon minds don't see being born into poverty, or being born with birth defects, or being born without 'connections' as deterrents to attaining anything they choose to attain. They simply find a way to DO things, to make progress, to move forward.
~ Doesn't give ANYONE power over them. The higher-minded don't let anyone, friends, family, strangers, take control of their CHOICES, how they DECIDE to see things, how they see, and know, themselves, how they recognize their own WORTH, their own ABILITIES. They see their inherent VALUE, that they are ONE OF A KIND and that makes them RARE, as ALL ARE, as good as anyone else on the planet, with the RIGHT to be happy, to be free, to conduct their OWN affairs as they alone know is best for them. They are CONFIDENT, with just cause to be, and they have bridled their minds so that "words can never hurt them", or turn them into codependents with another because they "need" the approval of others. These are not going to be involved in "popularity contests", not going to be found trying to please others just to be liked. They treat all equally, are not intentionally unkind, but will speak their own minds without reservations. They look into a mirror and are happy with what they see looking back at them.
~ Doesn't waste time or energy or resources trying to change things beyond their realistic power to change. There are NO Don Quixotes among them. They control SELF and realize the rights of others to do the same. You won't see these people have road-rage (traffic being beyond their control), curse the snow and ice (weather cannot be controlled), or ridicule or demean other people for the choices THEY make. They know that any change in individuals MUST come from INSIDE that individual, so they don't attempt to change minds. If minds DON'T change, so what? As long as one can control SELF, why not let others do the same?
~ Doesn't make the SAME errors again and again. They LEARN from each mistake, each setback, each failure and so won't be doing any of that again. They will admit their responsibilities and lack of good judgement when they make a mistake. This usually means they admire success in others and aren't jealous of others' accomplishments, possessions, promotions, etc. Having a drive to be successful, they simply admire success....period. Being clever enough to see their own errors, they actually LEARN from the succes of those around them,see what just might be a BETTER plan. They methodically cull what doesn't advance them in some way and do what does make life better.
~ NEVER GIVES UP. The higher minds NEVER give up. They don't wallow in self-pity over not accomplishing a goal, but, instead, develop new and improved strategies to insure better outcomes. They know there is no such thing as an "instant result" for a long-range goal. They plod ever onward, rerouting, rewiring, adjusting, UNAFRAID OF CHANGE, but wary of suggestions of an "easy way out". Attaining a goal takes time and clear-thinking. There is NO fear of innovations, complete turnabouts, or giant leaps that seem impossible. Since these higher minds don't look back, they don't have thoughts that anybody "OWES" them anything. They're ever ready to gain ground based on their OWN merit, not on the back of excuses and not by blaming others.
~ Doesn't need a busy social life to feel content, to be happy. Higher minds seem to LIKE time spent alone. They have much to accomplish, so time alone is spent preparing for that, studying, or call it "research and development" for the purpose of always doing better, going an extra mile. To achieve their goals, they know they need time alone and aren't afraid of that.
[MY NOTE: A PDF REVEALS MORE ON THIS BUT IS AN 'INSTANT DOWNLOAD' <HERE>] TMS involves placing a large electromagnetic coil near the head, generating a strong magnetic field and inducing electric currents to “stimulate” nerve cells. This procedure is reported to either “excite or inhibit brain function.” Of course, being certain of the outcome would be important in a combat situation. But, one assumes that’s a kink researchers will correct before being used on the field of battle. [ONE JUST MIGHT ASSUME TOO MUCH.]
The downside to this futuristic TMS madness is the soldier may experience fainting, altered endocrine, immune or neurotransmitter systems and loss of consciousness and, if the soldier is depressed, the “treatment” may induce or exacerbate suicidal feelings.
As reported in the Popular Science article, “DARPA Wants to Install Transcranial Ultrasonic Mind Control Devices in Soldiers’ Helmets,” on Sept. 9, 2010, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is another possible tool. It involves surgically implanting electrodes into the brain, which are attached to wires that run inside the body from the head to the chest, where a pair of battery-operated generators are implanted. Psychiatrists wait three weeks for the bruised brain to heal and the holes in the skin to seal before programming the device to activate the electrodes. Apparently, a voila moment occurs and you’re the bionic soldier, fulfilling every desire the man behind the curtain chooses.
There are risks associated with DBS including bleeding in the brain, which can lead to stroke, infection, disorientation or confusion, unwanted mood changes, movement disorders and suicidal thoughts and behavior.
Call me crazy, but I’m thinking this isn’t such an optimal tool in a combat situation.
It seems clear that psychiatric research for the military is aiming to create the invincible, insensitive and indifferent fighting machine. In the end, if the results of these experiments even remotely resemble the failure of the military’s current mental health psychiatric drug program, it is truly frightening to consider what will be left of the individual American fighting man willing to put his life on the line."
THE MILITARY MAY SEEM THE CULPRIT, BUT WHO FUNDS THE MILITARY? CONGRESS. WHO SIGNS THE 'BILLS' FOR THIS? THE OVAL OFFICE OCCUPANT. WHY WOULD THE GOVERNMENT ALLOW SUCH THINGS, FUND SUCH THINGS? BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENTS OF EARTH NEED THE 'LOYALTY', THE MINDLESS DEVOTION OF ALL ITS CITIZENS.
IN THE 1960s, television stations often signed off with a short video while the national anthem played in the background. AT LEAST ONE OF THESE VIDEOS CONTAINED SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES DIRECTING THE UNSUSPECTING TO "OBEY, SUPPORT YOUR GOVERNMENT, CONSUME, BELIEVE IN THE GOVERNMENT" ,ETC.
FOR QUITE SOME TIME, WE HAD THE ONGOING "TOP-SECRET" GOVERNMENT MIND CONTROL 'EXPERIMENT' DUBBED PROJECT MKULTRA. YES, THAT WAS REAL, YES THERE IS EVIDENCE OF IT IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES. From 1953 to 1964, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) conducted dozens of experiments on the effects of biological and chemical agents on American citizens without their knowledge.
SEE ALSO Human Radiation Experiments: Roadmap to the Project: ACHRE Report AMERICA'S 'SUPER-SECRET' PROJECT NAMED MKULTRA, WHICH WAS AIMED AT MIND CONTROL was motivated by perceived Soviet, Chinese, and North Korean use of mind control techniques. The CIA's human behavior program originated in 1950 under the name BLUEBIRD and under the control of the Office of Security. For the next two years, control interchanges with the office of Scientific Intelligence, and the name changed to ARTICHOKE. MKULTRA formally began in April 1953 as a special, clandestine funding mechanism for all human behavior research. It was run by the Technical Services Division (TSD) in the DDP for potential use in espionage and covert action. It was the subject of investigations by the Rockefeller Commission in 1975, the Senate Church Committee in 1976, and hearings by Senator Kennedy in 1975 and 1977. Among the many known experiments, the most well-known were the LSD testing and brainwashing.
ONE OF THE EASIEST MEANS OF MIND CONTROL AND ONE OF THE CHEAPEST IS SIMPLY TO INTRODUCE INTO THE FOOD AND/OR WATER SUPPLY A 'COCKTAIL' OF MIND-ALTERING SUBSTANCES...AND JUST KEEP IT FLOWING. WE 'AVERAGE CITIZENS' HAVE NO MEANS OF TESTING ALL OUR FOOD AND ALL OUR WATER SUPPLIES OURSELVES.
BACK IN MY COLLEGE DAYS, ONE FOREIGN-EXCHANGE STUDENT DECIDED TO SEND AS MANY OTHER STUDENTS AS POSSIBLE ON A "MIND-TRIP" BY PUTTING DROPS OF LSD INTO A PUNCH SERVED AT A STUDENT PARTY. AFTER THE 6th STUDENT BEGAN TO EXHIBIT SYMPTOMS AND THE PARTY WAS DISRUPTED, SOME OF THE MORE ATHLETIC STUDENTS BEGAN TO SUSPECT THE FOREIGN STUDENT, DANGLED THAT ONE OUT OF A FOURTH-FLOOR WINDOW UNTIL A CONFESSION WAS OBTAINED. IT WAS THAT EASY WAY BACK IN THE EARLY 1960s. IMAGINE HOW EASY THAT WOULD BE TODAY ON A GRANDER SCALE? The Ford White House Altered the Rockefeller Commission Report. SEE ALSO U.S. President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States EVEN THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HAS DABBLED IN GENETIC ENGINEERING AND GENE MANIPULATION. THEY CREATED SOME BIZARRE 'MONSTERS' IN BOTH THE PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES THEY TOYED WITH, LIKE 'HUMAN EAR RATS', 'CHICKEN HUMANS', 'SPIDER GOATS' AND 'HUMAN MILK COWS'.
WE WILL NEVER KNOW WHAT ALL THE GOVERNMENT, THE MILITARY, THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY AND SOME SECTORS OF THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY HAVE DONE AND ARE DOING TODAY TO ATTAIN MIND CONTROL. AS I SAID, THEY'VE FAILED TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT THE SEARCH CONTINUES, AND CONTINUES TO WASTE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ANNUALLY TO GAIN CONTROL OF AT LEAST THE MAJORITY OF HUMAN MINDS IN AMERICA.
WE HAVE BEEN USED AS LAB RATS, GUINEA PIGS FOR AT LEAST A CENTURY AND THERE IS NO WAY THE GOVERNMENTS OF EARTH CAN STOP USING US NOW. TOO MUCH IS AT STAKE, THEY ALL DESIRE DOMINANCE, TO BE 'KING OF THE HILL'.
AS EARTH'S RESOURCES DWINDLE AND MORE HUMANS NEED MORE RESOURCES, IT HAS BECOME MANDATORY TO 'WORLD LEADERS' TO FUND "RESEARCH" TO BOTH CONTROL THE MASSES AND TO REDUCE POPULATIONS. SEE <THIS> AND <THIS> ON POPULATION REDUCTION.
WHEREVER YOU ARE, WHATEVER NATION YOU RESIDE IN, BE ASSURED THAT SOME IN YOUR GOVERNMENTS ARE UP TO THE SAME TRICKS AS THOSE WE KNOW OF IN AMERICA.
IT IS OUR UNCONQUERABLE MINDS THEY WANT, OUR IMPOSSIBLE TO TAME HUMAN WILLS. I NEITHER KNOW NOR CARE IF YOU BELIEVE IN A GOD, OR IN THE ONE I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE IN, BUT I AM TOLD THAT WE HUMANS WERE GIVEN FREE WILL AND MINDS THAT ARE UNCONTROLLED BY THE ONE WHO DESIGNED THEM.
IF THAT ENTITY DOESN'T PRESUME TO CONTROL WHAT HE CREATED, HOW DARE MORTAL MAN ATTEMPT TO ROB US OF THESE THINGS, OUR MINDS AND OUR FREE WILL?
WHETHER BY PROPAGANDA, USING "PARTY LOYALTY", USING FEAR, USING PHARMACEUTICALS, SURGICAL IMPLANTS, ELECTRICAL IMPULSE DEVICES OR ANY OTHER THING, THE WORLD GOVERNMENTS KNOW THAT IT CAN NEVER, EVER CONQUER ALL OUR MINDS, NEVER.
THEY HAVE DONE EVERYTHING THEY COULD THINK OF TO STOP INDEPENDENT THINKING, TO STOP THE NATURAL BLOSSOMING OF THE HUMAN MIND BY USING OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES TO 'DUMB-DOWN' AMERICANS. PERHAPS BECAUSE SO MANY MINDS SURVIVED THAT ONSLAUGHT, OUR RULERS DECIDED TO USE THESE 'EXPERIMENTS' TO FIND A WAY TO CONTROL US ALL? WE NEED TO GUARD THESE MINDS, DO ALL WE CAN TO KEEP THEM FREE. BEWARE OF THOSE IN POWER, MY FRIENDS, FOR THEY ABUSE THAT POWER IN WAYS WE CANNOT IMAGINE.
[UPDATE: JUNE 17, 2017: I HAVE POSTED THE VERDICT IN THIS CASE AS A COMMENT AFTER THE BLOG.] Michelle Carter, above, is charged with manslaughter in the death of Conrad Roy III in 2014, when she was 17 and he was 18. Ms. Carter, then 17, was about an hour away at the time [of Roy's suicide]. But she had urged him, through screen after screen of texts, to kill himself. Ms. Carter [now 20 years old] waived her right to a jury trial. If found guilty, she faces up to 20 years in prison.
The two teenagers met through their families in 2012 when they were vacationing in Florida. It turned out they lived less than an hour apart in Massachusetts. Once they returned home, though, they rarely saw each other in person, instead developing an intense relationship that played out in texts and Facebook messages.
Carter’s case went to the state’s Supreme Court in 2015. Last summer, the court ruled that she could stand trial for her alleged role in Roy’s death. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison.
In the ruling, the court found that Carter’s “virtual presence” at the time of the suicide and the “constant pressure” she had placed on Roy, who was in a delicate mental state, were enough proof for an involuntary manslaughter charge. She was indicted and has appealed the decision.
I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS STORY SINCE IT FIRST APPEARED IN THE PRESS. IT INTRIGUED AND SADDENED ME BECAUSE I WAS ONCE ON THAT DARK ROAD TO SUICIDE. HAD FRIENDS AND FAMILY NOT INTERVENED I WOULDN'T BE HERE TO WRITE THIS.
I WILL ADMIT MY BIAS IN THIS CASE, FROM THE STANDPOINT OF MY PAST CAREER IN MEDICINE/PSYCHOLOGY AND AS SOMEONE WHO DID ATTEMPT SUICIDE AND LIVED.
I DECIDED THIS WAS IMPORTANT TO POST BECAUSE OF SO MANY WHO DAILY, EVERY HOUR OF EVERY DAY, EITHER ATTEMPT SUICIDE AND FAIL OR ATTEMPT SUICIDE AND SUCCEED. THE NUMBERS ARE ALARMING AND GROWING, WITH YOUNGER AND YOUNGER VICTIMS ANNUALLY ACROSS THE GLOBE.
WE NEED, I THINK, MORE AWARENESS ABOUT THIS TOPIC BECAUSE WE JUST CAN'T KNOW WHO WILL BE NEXT. IT SEEMS VERY URGENT FOR US TO BE MINDFUL OF IT. WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT TO WATCH FOR, WHAT WE CAN PERHAPS DO TO PREVENT SUCH TRAGEDIES, TO LOOK AT THESE TEXT MESSAGES TO SEE HOW THE MIND OF SOMEONE CONTEMPLATING SUICIDE PROGRESSES FROM THOUGHT TO DEED.
BUT, FOR NOW, A LOOK AT THE BARE FACTS BEFORE THE JUDGE DECIDES THIS YOUNG FEMALE'S FATE.
LET'S START WITH THE COUPLE, THEIR RELATIONSHIP, AND NOT, AS THE DEFENSE DID, USE EITHER OF THEIR PASTS BEFORE THEY MET AS EXCUSES OR MOTIVES.
LET'S FOCUS ON THOSE ALMOST TWO YEARS AND ESPECIALLY ON THAT FEW MOMENTS IN TIME IN WHICH THESE TWO WERE ALSO ONLY FOCUSED ON THOSE FINAL MOMENTS.
Roy: do you care what’s been happening to me Carter: whats been happening? Roy: uhhh stayed in a hospital last week Carter: …why? Roy: because l’m weak and sensitive and not sure why you even liked me in the first place. Carter: was it like therepy? and becasue you made me feel special Conrad Roy: yah i tried to kill myself Carter: you did? why didn’t you tell me? Roy: just remember I’m not the person you thought I was Carter: how did you try to kill yourself? do you still want to? Roy: no i’m not going to Carter: you’re going to what? Roy: just letting you know
Roy: the voices in my head tell me to Carter: tell you to kill yourself? Roy: I’m a freak Carter: do you really want to kill yourself? Roy: I’m gonna later Carter: today? Roy: sadly
Carter: you’re lieing. youre not gonna Roy: believe what you want
Carter: youre not going to Conrad?
Carter: i bet you a million dollars you wont
Roy: I am Carter: how are you gonna? Roy: I have 2 plans Roy: actually 3 Carter: okay what? Roy: why do you wanna know? Carter: just tell me Roy: drown myself. or od on sleeping pills Carter: whats the third olano Carter: plan* Roy: hanging
Carter: you’re not going to Conrad stop Roy: I just wanted you to know. so if you text me and I’m not responding that’s why Carter: are you being serious right now Roy: I’m going to try my best and not fail. like last time
Carter: you wont bring yourself to do it
Roy: trust me you don’t know what it’s like to be me. an d done through what I’ve gone through Roy: It might not seem all that bad it’s probably because I was too chicken to tell you half of my story Carter: tell me it then Conrad. Roy: no Carter: why? Roy: I don’t want to. I’m sorry Michelle
Carter: well are you seriously going to kill yourself tonight Roy: 10-11-12 that’s what it tells me Carter: todays the 10…. Roy: I know Carter: so you have 1 more day Carter: …. Roy: nope tonight Carter: Conrad stop. you’re not gonna do it Carter: I know you wont Carter: I don’t want you to Roy: No I actually am
Carter: well when? Carter: Conrad? Carter: you nhave so much to live for please dont Carter: is this my fault? Carter: Conrad please your scaering me? Carter: Please answer me Conrad i want to help you Roy: It’s not your fault
Carter: are you really doing it tonight? Roy: I’m going to try Carter: no youre not Roy: Yeah Carter: how do i know that? Carter: I have to go to practice now though Roy: okay Carter: so i’ll talk to you when i get backj at 930 right? Roy: I might not be alive Carter: Conrad yes you will be Carter: I love you Roy: mm Roy: ok Carter: just say it back Roy: I love you too Carter: thank you Roy: welcome
Carter: you wont do it Roy: you really want me to prove it? Carter: i just know you wont Roy: I’ve already tried, and I know what I gotta do Roy: but it’s not at all your fault Roy: I just have a messed up yea Carter: promise its not my fault Roy: head Carter: because I will always believe it is Carter: I could of helped you more Roy: don’t I can’t leave that on your shoulders Roy: I’m mean Roy: *im not mean Carter: Im just so sorry it has to be this way Roy: It’s the path I chose to go Roy: and I head about your grandmother 🙁 I’m sorry to hear that Roy: have a good time at practice goodbye
Carter: i just want you to know that you were one of the most amazing guys ive ever met and you made me really happy that time in Florida and the day you came over, you made me so hapy and im so proud of what you accoplished with rowing and i admire how strong you were to go back to school and i will really miss you babe Carter: and thanks its okay Carter: are you sure you want to do this? Her lawyers said [CARTER] had a host of other “frailties,” including a severe eating disorder. In her texts, she talked about being distraught over her body image and said she cut herself when she was anxious. At one point, she told a friend that she, too, had nearly attempted suicide. She also expressed confusion about her sexuality and lamented having no friends. All the while, she craved the attention of certain popular girls at school and appeared excessively grateful when they were nice to her.
It was this yearning for attention that prosecutors said drove Ms. Carter to push Mr. Roy to kill himself. His death, they said, would allow her to play the role of the “grieving girlfriend” and become the focus of sympathy.
Ms. Carter’s voluminous correspondences showed she texted freely about her own problems and Mr. Roy’s. In June 2014, she wrote to Samantha Boardman, one of the girls she admired:
“Hes suicidal and has severe depression and social anxiety which is the bad part but I’m the only one he has and he needs me. I mean it’s not helping that I’m kinda going thru my own stuff but if I leave him he will probably kill himself and it would be all my fault. I’m keeping him alive basically.”
But by early July 2014, Ms. Carter’s attitude changed. She abruptly turned her attention to helping Mr. Roy end his misery. She also gave him elaborate instructions on how to do it.
Most of the prosecution’s case against Ms. Carter is built on texts she sent in the two weeks before his death on July 12. In those, she counseled Mr. Roy to overcome his doubts. She told him that he was “strong” enough to commit suicide and that his parents would manage:
“I think your parents know you’re in a really bad place. I’m not saying they want you to do it but I honestly feel like they can accept it.” She added, “Everyone will be sad for a while but they will get over it and move on.” When technical and logistical issues arose, Ms. Carter provided direction and advice. If the gas did not work, she noted at one point, he had other options:
“Hang yourself, jump off a building, stab yourself idk there’s a lot of ways.” Oddly, she began texting her classmates on July 10 that he was missing, even though he was not; in fact she was texting with him at the time and instructing him on how to fix the generator that he wanted to use in his suicide.
He would not kill himself for two more days, after more exchanges in which Ms. Carter declared, more than once, “You just have to do it.”
Mr. Roy sent his last text to Ms. Carter at 6:25 p.m. on July 12: “Okay, I’m almost there.” They spoke by phone then. It is not known what was said, but she later texted Ms. Boardman that he got out of the truck because the carbon monoxide was working “and he got scared.” She “told him to get back in.”
Shortly thereafter, Ms. Carter texted Mr. Roy’s mother and Conrad's sister, asking where he was, not mentioning the call she had just had with him while he was killing himself.
He was found dead the next day.
A short time later, she arranged a fund-raising baseball tournament in Mr. Roy’s name — in her hometown, Plainville, not his — and presented herself as an anti-suicide advocate. “Even though I could not save my boyfriend’s life,” she wrote on Facebook, “I want to put myself out there to try to save as many other lives as possible.”
JUNE 7, 2017
On July 12, 2014, Michelle Carter texted Conrad Roy III and said, “If u don’t do it now you’re never gonna do it,” according to court documents.
Several hours later, Roy went through with the suicide, using a gas-powered water pump. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning inside the cab of his pickup. His body was found in a Kmart parking lot several miles outside Boston.
Court documents include text messages exchanged between Carter and Roy hours, days and weeks before his death — messages that prosecutors argue pushed the 18-year-old to kill himself. Carter is charged with involuntary manslaughter in his death.
Now, nearly three years later, she is on trial in a case that experts say raises new and contentious questions: Can a person be charged and convicted in someone’s death even if she was not with the victim when he died? And can a person be found guilty of killing someone based solely on what she said in text messages?
This conversation took place a few weeks before Roy’s death:
ROY: we should be like Romeo and Juliet at the end
CARTER: Haha. I’d love to be your Juliet :)
ROY: but do you know what happens in the end
CARTER: “OH YEAH F— NO! WE ARE NOT DYING”
Days later, June 19, 2014, but still WEEKS before Roy’s suicide:
CARTER: But the mental hospital would help you. I know you don’t think it would but I’m telling you, if you give them a chance, they can save your life CARTER: Part of me wants you to try something and fail just so you can go get help ROY: It doesn’t help. trust me
CARTER: So what are you gonna do then? Keep being all talk and no action and everyday go thru saying how badly you want to kill yourself? Or are you gonna try to get better? ROY: I can’t get better I already made my decision.
June 23, 2014: (Carter had told some of her friends that she often cut herself, but no one recalls seeing evidence of that.)
Carter: "How do you want to harm yourself" Roy: "Something idkk yet" Carter: "Please don't" Roy: "I hate myself I'll always hate myself, I'm never gonna view myself as good I'm so far behind" Carter: "What is harming yourself gonna do!? Nothing! It will make it worse!" Roy: "Make the pain go away like you said" Carter: "It will make the pain go away temporarily, but when you're done, you'll just regret it and feel even worse!"
At one point, Carter brainstormed ways for Roy to kill himself, according to court documents.
“I bet you’re gonna be like ‘oh, it didn’t work because I didn’t tape the tube right or something like that,’ ” she texted him “You always seem to have an excuse.”
When Roy decided to use a generator instead, Carter was impatient.
CARTER: “Do you have the generator?” ROY: “Not yet LOL” CARTER: WELL WHEN ARE YOU GETTING IT?
Eventually, Roy did find a generator — his father’s — but it was broken. Carter told him to take it to Sears for repairs.
And if Roy couldn’t find a way to use carbon monoxide, Carter suggested alternatives: “I’d try the bag or hanging,” she told him. “Hanging is painless and take like a second if you do it right.”
On July 8, 2014, a few days before Roy killed himself:
CARTER: “So are you sure you don’t wanna [kill yourself] tonight?” ROY: “what do you mean am I sure?” CARTER: “Like, are you definitely not doing it tonight?” ROY: “Idk yet I’ll let you know” CARTER: “Because I’ll stay up with you if you wanna do it tonight”
ROY: “another day wouldn’t hurt”
CARTER: “You can’t keep pushing it off, tho, that’s all you keep doing”
CARTER: “So I guess you aren’t gonna do it then, all that for nothing”
CARTER: “I’m just confused like you were so ready and determined”
ROY: “I am gonna eventually”
ROY: “I really don’t know what I’m waiting for. . but I have everything lined up”
CARTER: “No, you’re not, Conrad. Last night was it. You keep pushing it off and you say you’ll do it but u never do. Its always gonna be that way if u don’t take action”
CARTER: “You’re just making it harder on yourself by pushing it off, you just have to do it”
CARTER: “Do u wanna do it now?”
ROY: “Is it too late?”
ROY: “Idkk it’s already light outside”
ROY: “I’m gonna go back to sleep, love you I’ll text you tomorrow”
CARTER: “No? Its probably the best time now because everyone’s sleeping. Just go somewhere in your truck. And no one’s really out right now because it’s an awkward time”
CARTER: “If u don’t do it now you’re never gonna do it”
CARTER: “And u can say you’ll do it tomorrow but you probably won’t”
Carter: "You just need to do it Conrad or I'm gonna get you help" Carter: "You can't keep doing this everyday" Roy: "Okay I'm gonna do it today" Carter: "Do you promise" Roy: "I promise babe" Roy: "I have to now" Carter: "Like right now?" Roy: "where do I go? :(" Carter: "And u can't break a promise. And just go in a quiet parking lot or something." Roy’s body was found by police the morning of July 13. Carter’s friends testified Wednesday that she told them she was on the phone with Roy when he died.
“Liv, I heard him die. I just wish I got him more help,” Carter texted Olivia Mosolgo, who said she knew of Roy but never met him, MassLive.com reported.
During opening statements Tuesday, prosecutor Maryclare Flynn said Carter played a “sick game” with Roy’s life and accused her of seeking sympathy and attention by being the “grieving girlfriend,” ABC affiliate WCVB reported. More than a month after Conrad Roy III ended his young life in July 2014 by inhaling carbon monoxide in his pickup truck, Samantha Boardman said she got a disturbing text message. It was from a friend, Michelle Carter, 17, who had been Roy's girlfriend. And it said, in part: "He got out of the car because it was working and he got scared and I f-----g told him to get back in."
Boardman, who knew Carter from high school, also testified Wednesday that her then-classmate had sent an ominous text message the day before Roy's body was found slumped in his truck with a portable gasoline engine in the back seat.
"Is there any way a portable generator can kill you somehow?" the message said. "Because he said he was getting that and some other tools at the store."
Prosecutors argue that these and other texts are overwhelming evidence that while Carter, now 20, played the role of a loving and distraught girlfriend, she had secretly urged Roy to kill himself. The defense claims that Roy's long-standing mental health issues contributed to his suicide.
On Wednesday, Boardman and other classmates testified about exchanging texts with Carter about the defendant's struggles with an apparent eating disorder, about her loneliness and feelings of worthlessness over not having friends, and about her "cutting" herself at times.
One classmate, Olivia "Livy" Mosolgo, testified that Carter sought to get the attention of girls who had stopped talking to her and lamented not having friends. In one text, Mosolgo told the court, Carter asked her to stop complimenting her as "pretty" and "wonderful" because she wasn't invited to parties. "Livy, I have like no friends," one text said. "No one hangs out with me," said another. "I'm alone all the time."
Another school friend, Alexandra "Lexi" Ebla, testified that about a month after the suicide, Carter texted her about a charity softball tournament she had organized in Roy's honor. She said Carter's text said, "I put the Homers for Conrad on Facebook! I'm like famous now haha. Check it out!"
Ali Eithier, who worked as a counselor at a summer camp where Carter volunteered, told the court she was surprised at the intimate details about Roy's death that Carter revealed in a text message to her. Eithier said she didn't know Carter well. One text to Eithier, sent days after the young man's death, read: "I was on the phone talking to him when he killed himself. I heard him dying."
In a text to Boardman on the night Roy died, Carter wrote: "I heard moaning like someone was in pain and he wouldn't answer when I said his name. I stayed on the phone for like 20! mins and that's all I heard." She followed up with another text the next night: "Can we do something tonight to get my mind off it." A large part of the prosecution's case is based on a series of text messages from Carter that popped up on Roy's phone on the final day of his life. One after another, prosecutors said, the messages appear to show her pressuring him to kill himself: "You need to do it, Conrad." "You can't think about it, you just have to do it." "Are you going to do it today?"
The day before, authorities say, Carter had urged him to go through with his plan to commit suicide. "You're ready and prepared. All you have to do is turn the generator on and you will be free and happy," she wrote, according to a document disseminated by the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. "No more pushing it off," she allegedly wrote. "No more waiting."
Conrad was a troubled youth who had tried to kill himself in 2012 by overdosing on Tylenol, his mother testified. But after he began taking medication and went to counseling, he seemed much better, Lynn Roy said. He graduated from high school in 2014 and was making plans for the future, she said. Her son never talked about Carter and she rarely saw them together, she said. On the day he died, she went to the beach with Conrad and his sisters, Roy testified. He was laughing and joking about other people on the beach.
Roy said she exchanged some messages with Carter after her son's death but the teen never mentioned that she had been in touch with Conrad on the day he died.
“I’ll forever be in your heart and we will meet up someday in Heaven,” he wrote to Carter: "To Michelle
Keep strong in tough times. You taught me how to be strong and carry on. This life has been too challenging and troublesome to me but I’ll forever be in your heart and we will meet up someday in Heaven. Put your best foot forward and your chin held up high. Our songs. Listen to them and remember me. Take anything from my room at my moms/dads to remind you of me. You’ll get there, I’m sorry about everything. I am messed up I guess. I wish I could express my gratitude but I feel brain dead. I love you and greatly appreciate ur effort and kindness towards me. Keep your heart beating, and keep pushing forward. Go on YouTube type in Rocky Balboa quote, and let the light guide you.
I <3 you "
HERE'S MY TAKE ON THIS, AS HONESTLY AS I CAN PUT IT, NOT THAT IT MATTERS ONE WHIT....
CARTER NEVER ONCE ALERTED ROY'S PARENTS, OR HERS, OR A TEACHER, OR THE POLICE, OR A PHYSICIAN, OR ANY ADULT THAT ROY WAS SUICIDAL.
SHE COULD HAVE. SHE SHOULD HAVE.
SHE DID NOT.
SHE WAS VERY ACTIVE ON 'SOCIAL MEDIA', DID QUITE A BIT OF ONLINE 'RESEARCH' INTO WAYS FOR ROY TO KILL HIMSELF.
DID SHE EVER ONCE VISIT SUICIDE HOTLINES, SUICIDE PREVENTION SITES,
WHEN THAT YOUNG MAN TOLD HER GOODNIGHT AND THAT HE WAS GOING BACK TO SLEEP, WHY WASN'T SHE AT LEAST GRATEFUL HE HAD CHANGED HIS MIND AND WHY DIDN'T SHE JUST HANG UP THEN AND CALL HIS MOTHER, CALL ANYONE WHO COULD HAVE INTERVENED RIGHT THEN TO HELP CONRAD?
SHE SAID SEVERAL TIMES THAT SHE LOVED THIS LAD.
DOES LOVE WANT TO SEE THE BELOVED DESTROYED?
WOULD ANYONE WHO REALLY CARED FOR ('LIKED') ANOTHER WANT TO SEE THEM END THEIR OWN LIFE?
HER TEXT MESSAGE TO ONE OF THE GIRLS SHE SO HOPED WOULD LIKE HER CLEARLY STATES THAT SHE COULD HAVE STOPPED CONRAD ROY FROM KILLING HIMSELF.
“He told me exactly what his plan was,” Carter told another friend. “And he told me he loved me. And then he just stopped talking.”
“Yeah and I was on the phone talking to him when he killed himself. I heard him dying," she texted another friend.
“I was talking to him on the phone when he killed himself. Liv, I heard him die. I just wish I got him more help,” she texted yet another.
Two days after the suicide, Carter texted Boardman, “I do blame myself, it's my fault. I was talking to him while he killed himself. I heard him cry in pain. I should of known I should of done something.”
Later she told Boardman, “I helped ease him into it and told him it was okay, I was talking to him on the phone when he did it I coud have easily stopped him or called the police but I didn't.”
She also expressed her fear about the police reading her messages. In a text to Boardman, she wrote, “Sam, [the police] read my messages with him I'm done. His family will hate me and I can go to jail.” She continued to deceive Boardman about Roy's whereabouts a day BEFORE he killed himself, writing,
"I was supposed to save him he needed me. I let him down, I should of knew what he was saying was suspicious and I should of called his mom or someone. I could of prevented this."
IT APPEARS TO ME THAT SHE IS CORRECT IN THAT.
LOOKING AT HER MESSAGES TO CONRAD FROM 2012, ONE CAN SEE HER GOADING HIM.
Carter: you’re lieing. youre not gonna
Roy: believe what you want
Carter: youre not going to Conrad?
Carter: i bet you a million dollars you wont
Roy: I am
Carter: how are you gonna?
Carter: are you really doing it tonight?
Roy: I’m going to try
Carter: no youre not
Roy: Yeah
Carter: how do i know that?
Carter: you wont do it
Roy: you really want me to prove it?
Carter: i just know you wont
AND THEN SHE JUST WROTE HIM OFF BY SAYING...
"i just want you to know that you were one of the most amazing guys ive ever met and you made me really happy that time in Florida and the day you came over, you made me so hapy and im so proud of what you accoplished with rowing and i admire how strong you were to go back to school and i will really miss you babe "
THE CHARGE IS INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER.
INVOLUNTARY?
DID SHE INVOLUNTARILY PUSH HIM TO "JUST DO IT" FOR 2 LONG YEARS?
DID SHE INVOLUNTARILY RESEARCH NO-FAIL WAYS FOR HIM TO KILL HIMSELF AND TELL HIM HOW TO DO IT?
DID SHE INVOLUNTARILY TEXT 'FRIENDS' BEFORE AND DURING THE SUICIDE THAT SHE COULD HAVE CALLED THE POLICE, ETC?
DID SHE INVOLUNTARILY SIT THERE, KNOWING WHAT HE WAS DOING AND NOT CALL ANYONE TO HELP THE ONE SHE CLAIMED SHE LOVED?
_____________________ FURTHER READING:
Here is a sampling of text messages exchanged between the two in the days and weeks before Roy’s death, seen in court documents.
Before Roy's death in 2014, Carter texted Samantha Boardman ...
"Yeah I have school friends that all say they love me but that doesn't mean shit when no one ever asks to hang out with me. No one ever calls me or texts me it's always me that has to do it. So when someone actually makes an effort to talk to me and hangout and stuff it makes me so happy and I actually feel important like I'm worth something.
I don't even remember the last time someone asked to hangout with me before you did. But idk what I was thinking I knew I was just gonna make it all come crashing down like I always do.
I push people away I text them too much or try talking to them too much and they leave. Every single one and then I'm left crying in bed at night because I have no one, no friends, barely a family like they don't even like me half the time and no plans for the future. I'm nothing and I just have no idea what I'm doing.
Her friends testified that she texted them about her eating disorder and told them that she was cutting herself. One friend, however, told the court that she never observed any self-harm wounds on Carter. ===
TYSEN BENZ POSTED TO THAT PRANK THAT HE WAS GOING TO KILL HIMSELF...AND HE DID.
THAT YOUNG GIRL ALLEGEDLY LAUGHED ABOUT WHAT SHE DID AT SCHOOL... UNTIL SHE WAS CHARGED FOR THE PRANK THAT LED TYSEN TO END HIS LIFE.
HIS MOTHER HAS STATED: "I urge families to speak out, reach out and communicate with your children about life's precious gift and the dangers of the internet and texting and how telecommunications can have the same effects as speaking face to face. I want Tysen to be remembered as he was and all the joy he's brought to everyone. Keep his spirit alive by standing strong & fighting against social media bullying!!"
