In 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs found that women are reporting signs of mental health issues when they return home at a higher rate than their male counterparts. The VA diagnosed 60,000 veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Of those, 22 percent of women suffered from "military sexual trauma," which includes sexual harassment or assault, compared with 1 percent of men. Christensen, who has been diagnosed with PTSD, says she doesn't like leaving her comfort zone. She doesn't drive more than two miles from her home.

Another factor contributing to poor mental health is the high amount of sexual trauma reported by women screened by the Veterans Administration. She says many women have trouble reporting the trauma to their superiors out of fear of retribution. Christensen receives counseling and group therapy sponsored by the VA. However, the military has said there is no merit to her claims that she suffered military sexual trauma. Like many who suffer from post-traumatic stress, Christensen still has her ups and downs. She says she's just working to get past the feelings of guilt, shame, loss of control and low self-esteem.

I think that it’s quite unfortunate that those female veterans have to deal with the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Although gradully their lives should be back to normal, it’s never easy to let those traumas to get past. And, more support and healing is required to help get them back to good mental health.

I think that there is no question that most of the Americans believe the U.S. is in recession now. It’s also interesting to see that the Democrats view the economy different than the Republicans. The high energy price and slowing economy will keep the consumers more discretionary about spending their money.

Protests also erupted outside the Chinese Embassy in India's capital, New Delhi, where one demonstrator with blood on his face told CNN reporters at the scene that police had hit him. He and about 15 other people walked away from the embassy shouting "free Tibet" slogans. Several other protesters -- many of them waving Tibetan flags -- were taken into custody. U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe in Washington issued a statement urging respect from the Chinese government. "Beijing needs to respect Tibetan culture, needs to respect multi-ethnicity in their society," Johndroe said. "We regret the tensions between the ethnic groups and Beijing. The president has said consistently that Beijing needs to have a dialog with the Dalai Lama."

Meanwhile French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says EU leaders have launched an appeal to China to show "restraint" in Tibet, AP said. The unrest follows days of demonstrations in Tibet and neighboring India over Chinese rule in Tibet and comes less than five months before China is to stage the Olympic Games in Beijing. Choephel told CNN that the Games were seen by campaigners as an opportunity to highlight "repression" and "human rights violations" inside Tibet.
I think that there has been a long history of Chinese government’s suppression of Tibetan people using military forces. There is a lot of resentment of Tibetan people towards Han people. Beijing Olympic will start in 5 months. The Chinese government needs to handle it with great care. Just need to make sure that its human right image is good.

"Although I don't believe there have ever been any differences about the objectives of our policy in the Central Command area of responsibility, the simple perception that there is makes it difficult for me to effectively serve America's interests there," he said. In Washington, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters at the Pentagon that he accepted Fallon's resignation "with reluctance and regret." But he added, "I think it's the right decision." "We have tried between us to put this misperception behind us over a period of months, and, frankly, just have not been successful in doing so," he said. Fallon, a 41-year veteran of the Navy, took over as chief of Central Command in early 2007. Gates said he will be replaced by Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, his deputy, who commanded an Army division in Iraq in the early days of the war and led efforts to train the Iraqi military.

(Esquire) On March 11, Admiral William "Fox" Fallon resigned as the head of U.S. Central Command. But before he did, he was the strongest man standing between the Bush Administration and a war with Iran. How does Fallon get away with so brazenly challenging his commander in chief? The answer is that he might not get away with it for much longer. President Bush is not accustomed to a subordinate who speaks his mind as freely as Fallon does, and the president may have had enough. Just as Fallon took over Centcom last spring, the White House was putting itself on a war footing with Iran. Almost instantly, Fallon began to calmly push back against what he saw as an ill-advised action. Over the course of 2007, Fallon's statements in the press grew increasingly dismissive of the possibility of war, creating serious friction with the White House. Last December, when the National Intelligence Estimate downgraded the immediate nuclear threat from Iran, it seemed as if Fallon's caution was justified. But still, well-placed observers now say that it will come as no surprise if Fallon is relieved of his command before his time is up next spring, maybe as early as this summer, in favor of a commander the White House considers to be more pliable. If that were to happen, it may well mean that the president and vice-president intend to take military action against Iran before the end of this year and don't want a commander standing in their way. And so Fallon, the good cop, may soon be unemployed because he's doing what a generation of young officers in the U. S. military are now openly complaining that their leaders didn't do on their behalf in the run-up to the war in Iraq: He's standing up to the commander in chief, whom he thinks is contemplating a strategically unsound war.
I think that Fallon as the chief of the U.S. Central Command has been taking an odd position different than Bush Administration. Maybe Fallon has spoken the truth in his point of view about going to war with Iran due to its nuclear threat. However, it just doesn’t sit well with Bush and Bush needs a more compliant subordinate in Middle East area. It’s no surprise the time has come for Fallon’s relief of his Middle East post.