October 5, 2012. Compiled by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace.
(#1 June 21, 2011; #2 October 29, 2011; #3 March 15, 2012; #4 May 17, 2012; #5 June 23, 2012; #6 August 1, 2012).
My blog: War Department/Peace Department
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CONTENTS OF NOS. 4 and 5 AT END
Contents #6
TomDispatch, Kramer: Spending Waste and Corruption
Tomgram, Militarism
Cappaccio, Pentagon Budget
Update: Budget Passes House
VFP, Bloated Pentagon
Wheeler, F-35 Costs Still Rising
People’s Guide to Budget
Pentagon Dissent/ Crowd Control
Pentagon Reading Our Email
Contents #7
War Costs Campaign
Lofgren: Militarized GOP
Ryan Budget (2 reports)
Pentagon Budget and GOP Petition
Budget Debate
Ryan’s Budget and Pentagon Strategic Thinking
Dick, Defending the Pentagon Budget by Militarism and Fear-mongering
IG Report on General William Ward
Rape at Lackland AFB
AND MORE
Here is the link to all OMNI newsletters:
http://www.omnicenter.org/newsletter-archive/
and the many newsletters related to U.S. Marine Corps, military-industrial complex, militarism, empire, fear, violence, torture, waste, war crimes, repression, secrecy, US economy, needs of the world in
See Dick’s Blog, formerly entitled “IT’S THE WAR DEPARTMENT”. http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/
WAR COSTS
• Keynote Speakers
• Executive Briefings
• About
• Contact
Mike Lofgren, THE PARTY IS OVER: HOW REPUBLICANS WENT CRAZY, DEMOCRATS BECAME USELESS, AND THE MIDDLE CLASS GOT SHAFTER. Viking, 2012.
Mike Lofgren retired in June 2011 after 28 years as a staff member in the U.S. Congress. From 2005 until his retirement, Lofgren was a professional staff member of the Senate Budget Committee. His primary focus was on national security budgets, but he also worked on such matters as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and the 2009 International Monetary Fund replenishment. From 1995 through 2004, he was budget analyst for national security on the majority staff of the House Budget Committee. In 1994 he was a professional staff member of the House Armed Services Committee’s Readiness Subcommittee. He began his legislative branch career as military legislative assistant to Rep. John R. Kasich in 1983. He has a B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Akron. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study European history at the Universities of Bern and Basel in Switzerland and completed the strategy and policy curriculum at the Naval War College.
Since retirement, Lofgren has written about politics, budgets, and national security issues. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Monthly, Truthout, and Counterpunch. His essay on Congressional Republicans appearing in Truthout received over a million views. He has appeared on numerous radio and TV news interviews.
• OFFICIAL BIO [PDF]
TOPICS
• Political Gridlock in Washington: Symptom of a Global Breakdown?
The public is so used to hearing of gridlock in Washington – bills to fund goverment that do not pass, threats of shutdown, debt ceiling crises – that it has become a cliché. But it is symptom of a larger crisis: a breakdown in governance because of across-the-board failures by our leadership class. This is as true in business as it government, and it is a subset of a global crisis of legitimacy. The laissez-faire, deregulation, globalization “model” that elites in this country and overseas have believed in for the last 30 years and still cling to, has broken down. Events sweeping the euro-zone and the Middle East are part of the same process. Simply changing which party controls Congress or sits in the White House will not solve the problem. There are solutions, but they will be painful.
• How Military Strength Makes Us Weaker
Even after adjusting for inflation, America now spends more on its military than at the height of the cold war. It spends as much as the rest of the world combined. Yet after a military buildup unprecedented since World War II, America now has less influence in the world than it did 10 years ago, its economy is in precarious shape, and it is dangerously indebted to other countries. Chest-pounding rhetoric to the contrary, our military policies of the last decade have left us less prosperous, less secure, and less free. A course correction is desperately needed, regardless of what our entrenched and out-of-touch Beltway elites think. [Dick: Lofgren’s book is mainly about the GOP. Chapter 6, “Worshipping at the Altar of Mars,” is entirely about the Republican Party. But see Ch. 11, “Are the Democrats Any Better?”]
How many NASCAR sponsorships does the Pentagon need?
Robert Greenwald info@bravenew01.org via uark.edu
How will this spending help secure the Nation?
Watch the video
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Dick,
Over the past three years you helped us create and distribute the Rethink Afghanistan series. The success of this project is outlined here: Rethink Afghanistan: Study of Effectiveness and Messaging Success.
We need your support now for a new project to fight the pervasive, corroding effects of ongoing militarism and endless warfare. Our new campaign is called War Costs. We will highlight the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex that wastes your tax dollars, encourages more violence and lines the pockets of a defense industry that has shamelessly profited from a decade of war all while asking for more money.
Please consider donating $25 to help us fight the profiteers and warmongers.
Your support will allow War Costs to mount a day-in-day-out assault on a Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex that insists we maintain 5,000 nuclear weapons that cost $54 billion a year total. Our investigative films are currently in production. We plan to release the first of these in early next year; that film will examine how the government’s war on transparency and the whistleblowers that reveal waste and abuse in the system leads to a curbing of free press and First Amendment rights.
Donate $25 to help us produce more videos and push this content to the mainstream media. Your donations will also allow us to continue our investigations and to create more content holding the Pentagon accountable.
With your help and support, let’s show the profiteers and warmongers we have the power. As always, we cannot win this fight without you!
Thank you, Robert Greenwald and John Amick
Brave New Foundation • 10510 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232, United States
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For donation questions, please contact donations@bravenewfoundation.org.
ROMNEY AND RYAN V. THE PEOPLE
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/brunitedstatescanadara/725.php?nid=&id=&pnt=725&lb=
4) Romney promises to spend at least 4 percent of gross domestic product on defense every year during his tenure, but Republicans who demand cuts in every program except the military open themselves up to justifiable Democratic charges of hypocrisy, writes conservative pollster Scott Rasmussen in Reason. Most voters believe it was a mistake for the U.S. to have gotten involved in Iraq, and most now want to see troops brought home quickly from Afghanistan, Rasmussen notes. Support for the military action in Libya peaked at 20 percent. Less than half believe the U.S. should remain in NATO.
These findings highlight the gap between the citizenry and its political class, Rasmussen writes. Three out of four Americans believe U.S. troops should never be deployed for military action overseas unless vital national security interests are at stake. Only 11 percent of voters believe Uncle Sam should play global cop.
By reducing the number of strategic commitments in places such as Europe and Japan, we can return military spending to 2001 levels, adjusted for population and inflation, Rasmussen writes. These reductions would still allow around $420 billion in annual military spending, nearly three times as much as what China or anybody else in the world currently shells out.
5) From 2011 to 2012, Ryan's plan for the Pentagon budget shifted from conscientious to uncontrolled with little explanation as to why, writes Laicie Olson for the Truman National Security Project. In his 2011 budget, Ryan supported Defense Secretary Gates's proposal to save $178 billion over five years in reductions and efficiencies, as well as the Obama administration's plan for a smaller increase in spending, year over year.
In contrast, Ryan's 2012 budget outlines a military that knows no bounds. The 99-page "Path to Prosperity" calls for boosting Pentagon spending while reducing funding for entities such as the State Department and USAID by nearly $5 billion and enacting across the board budget cuts and freezes that would result in an $11 billion cut in funding for veterans.
Romney would commit at least 4 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, Olson notes to base defense spending. That's about 61 percent more over a decade than we spend now
The Ryan budget spends $599 billion more on the Pentagon than the Obama budget over the next decade. The Ryan budget cuts non-defense discretionary spending – including funding for veterans, the environment and social safety net programs – by $1.28 trillion below the Obama budget's projections over the same ten years. For example, the education sector would see a 31 percent decline in funding for programs such as Title I and Head Start. These cuts would come on top of those imposed by sequestration through the Budget Control Act. Ryan's budget would cut non-defense discretionary spending more than twice as much as the automatic spending cuts imposed by sequestration over the same period.
http://nationalpriorities.org/blog/2012/08/13/ryan-pick-solidifies-competing-visions-federal-budget-debate/
PENTAGON BUDGET AND GOP PETITION
August 9, 2012
Dear Dick,
When Congress failed to make a deal on the debt ceiling last year they threatened to do something they've never done before - cut over $50 billion from the Pentagon budget.
But House Republicans are betraying their promise, and threatening to change the law by passing military spending bills that not only shield the Pentagon from any of the cuts they promised to make, they actually increase spending on war and weapons and missile defense by $8 billion.
Led by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), they want to cut funding for crucial programs for the neediest Americans, and others that help to get jobless Americans back on their feet.
Please sign this letter urging Congress to cut the Pentagon budget. So far, the Senate is standing up to House Republicans and promising not to let them back out of their commitment to cutting Pentagon spending.
But the military-industrial complex is just beginning to ramp up the pressure, and the Senate has often caved in to the House in the past.
We can’t let it happen again.
Sign our open letter to the Senate asking them to stand their ground and cut Pentagon spending just like they promised.
Together, we've have been fighting to cut wasteful Pentagon spending for years. But Congress has never passed a law promising to do so as they did last year.
This is finally our opportunity to make a change, but it won’t be easy.
Right now Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Senate leaders are talking tough about holding the line against the House, but we need them to stick to that promise in the weeks ahead. And it will be a tough position for them to hold – especially since weapons makers are spending millions of dollars on lobbying and election spending.
That's why we need you to sign on to this open letter today - we're partnering with our friends at Council for a Livable World to get progressives involved now, before the lobbyists turn up the heat.
Will you sign on right now? http://pac.progressivesunited.org/action/senators-keep-the-pentagon-cuts?sc=clw_20120809_pentagon
Thank for your help, Russ Feingold
Founder Progressives United
Make sure you receive livableworld.org email updates. Add advocacy@clw.org to your approved senders list.
Ryan's Defense Budget Plays Partisan Politics Over Strategic Thinking by Laicie Olson, Truman National Security Project, 8.30.12
http://trumanproject.org/doctrine-blog/ryans-defense-budget-plays-partisan-politics-over-strategic-thinking/
VOICE OF MILITARISM AND FEAR-MONGERGING
By Dick Bennett, September 7, 2012
“Pentagon Pink-Slipping” by James Jay Carafano. The Heritage Foundation. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (8-5-12).
Carafano opposes Pentagon budget cuts. “Defense spending is not a jobs program or a stimulus package. It is Washington’s Job No. 1. The Cold reality is, these cuts are going to cut back military capabilities and harm readiness. The economy will be worse off, and we’ll all be less safe.” Budgetarily speaking the Pentagon (including nuclear weapons and VA and related activities) is the largest slice of the discretionary pie. But the question is, should it be? Can we call it “defense” spending when we have not been attacked by another nation since WWII and no nation threatens us today? How are we to be less safe if we reduce the Pentagon (and convert that money to peacemaking institutions)? Or does Carafano really mean not defense but offense, the some 40 US invasions and interventions since WWII? And his fearmongerning, not real need, is what sustains permanent war?
GENERAL WILLIAM WARD ACCUSED OF GROSS CORRUPTION BY PENTAGON INSPECTOR GENERAL
William Ward, Four-Star General, Investigated Over Spending
By LOLITA C. BALDOR 08/15/12 07:27 PM ET [via Huffington Post]
WASHINGTON — A four-star Army general who was the first head of the new U.S. Africa Command is under investigation and facing possible demotion for allegedly spending hundreds of thousands of dollars improperly on lavish travel, hotels and other items, The Associated Press has learned.
Gen. William "Kip" Ward has been under investigation for about 17 months, and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is expected to make a final decision on the matter before the end of the month, according to several defense officials.
The defense officials said Ward is facing numerous allegations that he spent several hundred thousand dollars allowing unauthorized people, including family members, to fly on government planes, and spent excessive amounts of money on hotel rooms, transportation and other expenses when he traveled as head of Africa Command.
A four-star general is the highest rank in the Army.
While the exact amount of alleged misspending was not disclosed, the estimated total raises comparisons with the $823,000 allegedly spent by dozens of employees of the General Services Administration, who were accused of lavish spending during an October 2010 conference at a Las Vegas resort.
Officials described the investigation to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because it is a personnel matter and the report on the investigation has not been released publicly.
The Defense Department inspector general has completed its investigation into Ward's activities, and the issue is under legal review.
A request for comment from Ward was not immediately fulfilled Wednesday.
Panetta's options regarding Ward are limited by complex laws and military guidelines.
Panetta can demote Ward and force him to retire at a lower rank. Because Ward's alleged offenses occurred while he was a four-star general, he could be forced to retire as a three-star, which officials said could cost him as much as $1 million in retirement pay over time. It was not immediately clear whether Ward also could face criminal charges.
In order for Ward to be demoted to two-star rank, investigators would have to conclude that he also had problems prior to moving to Africa Command, and officials said that does not appear to be the case.
In making his decision, Panetta has to certify to Congress that Ward served satisfactorily at the rank at which he is retired.
Ward stepped down early last year after serving as the first head of the Europe-based Africa Command, which was created in 2007, and he intended to retire. He did all the paperwork and was hosted at a retirement ceremony in April 2011 at Fort Myer in Virginia, but the Army halted his plans to leave because of the investigation.
Ever since then, he has been working in Northern Virginia, serving as a special assistant to the vice chief of the Army.
That Army office long has been used as a holding area for general officers of varying ranks. For some it's a way station where senior officers under investigation go to await their fate.
For others, it's a quick stop en route to a new high-level command or assignment; a place they can hang their hat for a few weeks, working on special projects until their new post becomes available.
According to Army spokesman George Wright, Ward currently is the only special assistant to the vice chief, but at other times there can be several assigned there as they move from one command to the next.
For Ward, the investigation has dragged on so long that he technically has been demoted from his four-star general rank to two-star general. Under military guidelines, if a full general is not serving in a four-star command or office for more than 60 days, he or she is automatically reduced to two-star rank.
Major general, or two-star, is the highest rank to which an officer can be promoted by regular military action. Becoming a three-star – lieutenant general – or a four-star general requires a presidential nomination and confirmation by Congress. It, therefore, is not considered permanent, and lasts only as long as the person is serving in a job of that rank.
As a result, Ward's base pay went from more than $20,000 a month as a four-star to about $14,000 a month as a two-star general. Defense officials said that if the decision is to allow him to retire as a three-star or four-star, he would not receive any back pay for the 15 months he served at the lower rank.
The Stuttgart, Germany-based Africa Command was created in order to place a stronger focus on the continent, including vast sections of the north and east where al-Qaida-linked militant groups train and wage attacks. No U.S. military forces are assigned to Africa Command, other than the roughly 2,000 troops in Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, based in Djibouti.
U.S. military activities in Africa long have been a sensitive subject among many nations that inhabit the sprawling continent and worry that the U.S. would try to establish bases or send forces there. Initial plans to set up a headquarters for Africa Command on the continent hit resistance and were shelved.
A key element of Ward's job was to dispel worries about the new command, meet with African leaders and work to expand and strengthen U.S. military ties so that the nations there are better able to provide for their own defense.
Gen. Carter Ham took over the command last year, gaining accolades as one of two key U.S. military leaders directing operations in the Libya conflict.
Lolita C. Baldor can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lbaldor
ALSO ON HUFFPOST:
AP: Report accuses general of lavish travel, improper spending
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Denver Post-Aug 17, 2012
AP: Report accuses general of lavish travel, improper spending. By Lolita C. Baldor The Associated ... Army Gen. William Ward is alleged to have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars improperly. (AFP/Getty Images file) ...
Top Army general accused of lavish spending Boston Globe
William Ward, African-American four-star general, under ... The Grio
Newsday - Huffington Post
all 475 news articles »
Boston Globe
Report details general's lavish travel, spending
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Atlanta Journal Constitution-Aug 17, 2012
By LOLITA C. BALDOR. The Associated Press ... William E. Kip Ward is adminstered the oath of four-star General, the Army's highest rank of ...
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Report accuses general of lavish travel, spending
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MiamiHerald.com-Aug 17, 2012
William E. Kip Ward is adminstered the oath of four-star General, the Army's ... The Associated Press has learned that Ward, who was the first head of the ... Lolita C. Baldor can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lbaldor ...
MiamiHerald.com
Army probes general's alleged lavish spending
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The Associated Press-Aug 15, 2012
Army probes general's alleged lavish spending. By By LOLITA C. BALDOR – 3 days ago. WASHINGTON (AP) — As Gen. William "Kip" Ward ...
APNewsBreak: General investigated over spending
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Monterey County Herald-Aug 15, 2012
By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated PressAssociated Press ... William E. Kip Ward is adminstered the oath of four-star General, the Army's highest ... matter and the report on the investigation has not been released publicly.
General investigated over military spending
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Salt Lake Tribune-Aug 15, 2012
The Associated Press) has learned that Ward, who was the first head of the ... By LOLITA C. BALDOR ... William "Kip" Ward has been under investigation for about 17 months, ... A four-star general is the highest rank in the Army. ... matter and the report on the investigation has not been released publicly.
Army general investigated over spending
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Austin American-Statesman-Aug 15, 2012
Caleb Jones/ASSOCIATED PRESS ... By Lolita C. Baldor ... William "Kip" Ward, who was the first chief of the new U.S. Africa Command, has been ... matter and the report on the investigation has not been released publicly.
Austin American-Statesman
Report Accuses General of Lavish Expenses
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Military.com-Aug 18, 2012
Associated Press
by Lolita C. Baldor ... William "Kip" Ward, including lengthy stays at lavish hotels for Ward, his wife and his staff members, and ...
Four-star general put in timeout over allegedly lavish expenses
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GovExec.com-Aug 16, 2012
William "Kip" Ward is under investigation for burning through hundreds ... to The Associated Press' Lolita C. Baldor, and as a result, Ward is just ...
Air Force hypersonic missile test fails ... Army general investigated ...
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Politico-Aug 16, 2012
... SPENDING,' by the AP's Lolita C. Baldor -- “A four-star Army general who was ... William 'Kip' Ward has been under investigation for about 17 months, ... put on hold until an appeals court reaches an answer, the AP reports.
Stay up to date on these results:
Create an email alert for Lolita Baldor AP report on General Ward
1 Tell Canada: "Let Kimberly Rivera Stay" Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:11 am (PDT) . Posted by: "Gerry Condon" soldiersayno Tell Canada: Let Kimberly Rivera Stay!
Iraq veteran/resister Kimberly Rivera has been ordered to leave Canada by September 20, along with her husband and four young children, or be forcibly deported to the U.S., where she will face court martial and prison.
The war resister support group Courage To Resist is organizing a protest at the Canadian Consulate in San Francisco next Tuesday, September 18. See below.
There are Canadian Consulates and trade missions in at least 16 U.S. cities, as well as the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC. See below.
VFP members are encouraged to protest outside Canadian government offices in the U.S., to seek meetings with Canadian diplomats, to write and call their offices next Tuesday, September 18, or any day you can.
Canadian Government Offices in the U.S.
The Government of Canada operates the following offices in the United States:
* The Embassy in Washington, D.C.
* Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco/Silicon Valley and Seattle
* Consulates in Houston and San Diego
* Trade Office in Palo Alto
* And Honourary Consuls throughout the U.S.
http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/washington/offices-bureaux/index.aspx?view=d
Wage Peace!
Gerry Condon
Co-Chair, GI Resistance Working Group
Veterans For Peace
[the following information is provided by Courage To Resist]
Stop the Deportation of Iraq War Resister Kimberly Rivera! Protest! Tuesday, September 18th, Canadian Consulate,580 California Street, San Francisco, 12pm Noon.
Kimberly Rivera, is a U.S. soldier who fled to Canada after she became disillusioned with the Iraq war in 2007. Rivera, who lives in Toronto with her family, went to Canada to avoid further military service in Iraq. She had initially arrived while on leave but then applied for refugee
status. Rivera said she grew to oppose the Iraq war while she was taking part in it. She is currently appealing a ruling that would have her deported to the U.S. by September 20th. She faces up to five years in military prison if deported back to the U.S.
"My biggest fear is being separated from my children and having to sit
in a prison for politically being against the war in Iraq," Kimberly
Rivera told a recent news conference.
A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister
Jason Kenney said the Canadian federal government does not believe the U.S.
subjects its soldiers to persecution."Military deserters from
the United States are not genuine refugees under the internationally
accepted meaning of the term," said Alexis Pavlich, the minister's press secretary, in an email.
Rivera is also considering asking the
government to delay her deportation while her humanitarian and
compassionate grounds application is still being weighed.
Join us Tuesday, September 18th, the day
before Kimberly is to be deported, at the Canadian Consulate 580 California Street, San Francisco, to demand to let Kimberly Rivera and all war resisters stay in Canada!
Facebook Event:
http://www.facebook.com/events/281099588670235/
Indybay Event:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/09/11/18721445.php
Courage to Resist: www.couragetoresist.org
War Resisters Support Campaign (Toronto): www.resisters.ca
Full Article Here:
http://www.globalnews.ca/world/canada/us+soldier+who+fled+iraq+war+weighing+legal+options+after+deportation+order/6442706346/story.html
[rape_in_the_military] Woman to lead Air Force training after s Mon Sep 17, 2012
To: Rape in the military List serve
VFP Women's group
Woman to lead Air Force training after sex scandal
http://www.stripes.com/news/us/woman-to-lead-air-force-training-after-sex-scandal-1.189509
By PAUL J. WEBER
The Associated Press Published: September 15, 2012
- Sexual assault survivors criticize sentence given to Lackland
instructor
- Air Force has identified 31 alleged victims in Lackland sex abuse
scandal
Col. Deborah J. Liddick, U.S. Air Force.
U.S. Air Force
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- The Air Force chose a woman Saturday to lead its basic
training unit at a Texas base where dozens of female recruits have alleged
they were sexually assaulted or harassed by male instructors within the
past year.
Col. Deborah Liddick is taking command of the 737th Training Group,
bringing a distinctly new face of authority to Lackland Air Force Base in
San Antonio. Six male instructors have been charged with crimes ranging
from rape to adultery, and there are others still under investigation.
The Air Force announced Liddick's appointment in a statement that didn't
mention the sex scandal or highlight choosing a woman to lead a unit where
the number of women identified by military investigators as potential
victims is approaching 40.
About one in five recruits at Lackland are women, while most instructors
are men.
"I look forward to and have the utmost confidence in having Col. Liddick
take the reins of basic military training," Col. Mark Camerer, commander of
the 37th Training Wing at Lackland, said in the statement.
Lackland is where every new American airman reports for basic training,
graduating about 35,000 each year.
Liddick is already stationed in San Antonio, where she serves as chief of
the maintenance division at the former Randolph Air Force Base. She is
scheduled to take command Friday.
She takes over for Col. Glenn Palmer, who was ousted last month as
attention to the scandal intensified. Another commander at Lackland was
also relieved over the summer for what military prosecutors described as a
lack of confidence.
Advertisement
The most serious allegations at Lackland involved an instructor sentenced
to 20 years in prison in July after being convicted of raping one female
recruit and sexually assaulting several others. Earlier this week, another
instructor was sentenced to a year in prison and received a dishonorable
discharge after pleading guilty to having sex with a trainee.
Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy group that has pressed Congress to hold
hearing on the Lackland scandal, continued calling for legislative changes
to military policies with news of Liddick's appointment.
"Hopefully, Col. Deborah Liddick will do a great job," said Nancy Parrish,
the group's president. She added that what's occurring at Lackland is part
of "a much broader problem endemic throughout all the services."
U.S. Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services
Committee, visited Lackland last week and said he believed the Air Force
was being diligent in its investigation. In August, the White House pick
for Air Force chief of staff was held up while Congress pressed the service
for answers about the scandal.
Ann Wright
microann@yahoo.com
Facebook: http://www.www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504291178
Twitter: annwright46
"Dissent: Voices of Conscience" www.voicesofconscience.com
Shelly Rockett
Veterans for Peace
Communications & Outreach Coordinator
shelly@veteransforpeace.org
314-725-6005
Reply to sender . Reply to group . Reply via Web Post . All Messages (1) . Top ^ 4 Fwd: [Media] It's Us of the Nukes Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:12 am (PDT) . Posted by: "Shelly Rockett" ---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Swanson
Date: Sun, Sep 16, 2012 at 12:39 AM
Subject: [Media] It's Us of the Nukes
To: shelly@veteransforpeace.org
Cc: media@lists.mayfirst.org
It's Us or the NukesBy David Swanson
http://warisacrime.org/content/its-us-or-nukes
President Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor was about to wake him up
in the middle of the night to inform the President that 220 Soviet nuclear
missiles were headed our way, when he learned that someone had stuck a game
tape into the computer by mistake.
Three years later a Soviet Lieutenant Colonel acted out the same scene,
with the computer glitch on his side this time. Then in 1984 another U.S.
computer glitch led to the quick decision to park an armored car on top of
a missile silo to prevent the start of the apocalypse. And again in 1995,
the Soviet Union almost responded to a U.S. nuclear attack that proved to
be a real missile, but one with a weather satellite rather than a nuke.
One Pentagon report documents 563 nuclear mistakes, malfunctions, and false
alarms over the years -- so far.
Then there are the accidents, of all variety. Nuclear submarines of the
sort now looking for trouble in the Persian Gulf have been known to collide
with other ships. At least eight nuclear submarines (one French, two
American, and five Russian) are known to be rotting at the bottom of the
sea, leaking uranium and plutonium. In 2003 the *U.S.S. Hartford*, a
nuclear powered submarine, hit a rock on a tiny island north of Sardinia.
The area is now highly radioactive.
In 1961 a U.S. B-52 with two nukes on board blew up over Faro, North
Carolina. One of the bombs, with a parachute to slow it down, was found.
Five of the six fuses designed to prevent full nuclear detonation had
failed. The other nuclear bomb buried itself 20 feet deep in the ground,
lighting up the sky like daylight. The military deemed that one hard to
dig out, and left it there. And there it sits
This little mishap
bombs that were each 250 times the power of the Hiroshima bomb.
The commander of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team, Lt. Jack B. ReVelle,
remarked, "How close was it to exploding? My opinion is damn close. You
might now have a very large Bay of North Carolina if that thing had gone
off."
In 1956, a B-47 carried two nuclear capsules from MacDill Air Force Base in
Florida, headed to a refueling over the Mediterranean, but never arrived
and was never found. In 1958, a B-47 crashed into an F-86 during a combat
simulation off the coast of Georgia, near Savannah. A nuclear weapon was
jettisoned over water and never found.
On January 17, 1966, a U.S. B-52 carrying four live hydrogen bombs smashed
into a tanker during midair refueling over Spain. Two of the bombs were
blown apart like dirty bombs scattering radioactive particles all over
Palomares, Spain. The United States dug up 1,400 tons of radioactive
Spanish dirt and took it to Aiken, South Carolina., where the Savannah
River Site has been producing nuclear weapons material, trying to dispose
of the waste, and radiating people for over half a century, and where
radiation was even recently detected coming all the way from the nuclear
disaster in Fukushima, Japan.
This was just after the *U.S.S. Ticonderoga* sailed from Vietnam to Japan
with a nuclear-armed airplane on board and accidentally dropped the plane,
complete with nuclear bomb and pilot, to the bottom of the ocean, where
they remain.
Then, in 1968, another U.S. B-52 with four nukes on it crashed in
Greenland. Three of the bombs exploded, while the fourth has yet to be
found. It's among 11 nuclear bombs the United States admits to having lost
over the years. That's not counting the ones it's temporarily lost and
recovered. In August 2007, a U.S. crew accidentally (or as part of a
secret plan; and I'm not sure which is worse) flew six live nuclear bombs
from North Dakota to Louisiana and left them sitting there unguarded until
the ground crew noticed.
Oh, and if you doubt that these people will arm unmanned drones with nukes
just because the drones tend to crash and malfunction, you haven't yet
begun to grasp the sort of madness we're dealing with.
The really good news is that more and more nations have nuclear weapons,
and even more have nuclear power, which puts them close to having nuclear
weapons. The thing to remember about every one of these nations, is that
they screw up too, through bad luck, stupidity, rage, or madness. Baharul
Haq was an Air Vice Marshall in Pakistan involved in security for Kahuta,
Pakistan's main nuclear weapons facility. Later, his son, Faisal Shahzad,
claiming the motivation of outrage at U.S. drone killings, tried to blow up
a bomb in Times Square, New York. What if Faisal and his father had been
on closer terms? Should the fate of New Yorkers really have to depend on
such luck?
Nuclear weapons testing on the Marshall Islands produced babies born
looking like jelly fish. Nuclear weapons use on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
killed like nothing had ever killed before. On October 22, 1964, and again
two years later, the U.S. government exploded nuclear bombs underground in
Mississippi, and then put up a sign asking people not to dig in the area.
Uranium mining of the sort the profiteers now want to reopen in Virginia
has spread cancer through every community it's touched. And the use of
depleted uranium weapons has likely contributed to thousands of deaths and
birth-defects in the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, and among members of the U.S.
military and their families, not to mention the weapons' producers in
places like Jonesborough, Tennessee. The United States has also sold DU
weapons to 29 other countries.
*What Are You Going to Do About It?*
There are three barriers to ridding the world of nuclear weapons. First,
our governments don't represent us and will have to be compelled to act
when and if we get our act together.
Second, people imagine we're safer spreading nukes around the globe by the
thousands than we would be eliminating them while a few rogue non-state
terrorists hang onto some. This is crazy, of course. An arsenal of nukes
doesn't discourage a terrorist. Nor can it discourage a state any more
than can the non-nuclear weapons capable of complete devastation.
Third, people fantasize that there are advantages to nuclear energy that
outweigh the problem of its technological vicinity to nuclear weaponry.
There are not. Nuclear energy barely reproduces the amount of energy it
takes to build and operate the plants; the waste materials cannot be put
anywhere safe for 250,000 years; and the inevitable accidents pose such a
risk that no private "free-market" insurance company will take it on --
only taxpayers' misrepresentatives in government are willing to pick up the
tab. Nuclear energy is how India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea got
nuclear weapons. It's also Israel's and the United States' excuse for
threatening Iran. Uranium radioactive waste is among the horrible things
being dumped by the West off the lawless coast of Somalia. The results of
such dumping include attacks on Western ships by angry "pirates." The
pirates are generally explained to be hating us for our freedom.
*Congressman Dennis Kucinich is hosting a Congressional briefing, Thursday,
September 20, 2012, *on the medical effects of radiation exposure, and the
health threats presented by our nation's nuclear power plants, nuclear
fleet, and the on-going tragedy in Fukushima, Japan. There will be expert
testimony from Physicians for Social Responsibility and others. *Ask your
senators and representative to
attend.*
The ongoing nuclear disaster in Japan has displaced hundreds of thousands
of people. Prior to this disaster, the regulators in Japan said they had
all possible safety measures in place. Our Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) has said the same thing about our 104 aging nuclear power plants, 23
of which have the same flawed design as in Fukushima*.*
Nuclear disasters are not unique to Japan. Chernobyl killed and sickened
many, as did Three Mile Island on a smaller scale. A nuclear plant in
Virginia was damaged by an earthquake last year.
If you're in the Washington, D.C., area, the Coalition Against Nukes
invites you to a series of events September 20-22, including a Capitol Hill
rally, the Congressional briefing, a fundraiser at Busboys and Poets, a
ceremony at the Museum of the American Indian, a rally at the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, a film screening, and a strategy session.
http://coalitionagainstnukes.org
The nukes have got to go, or we do. This planet's not big enough for both.
--
David Swanson's books include "War Is A Lie
blogs at http://davidswanson.org and http://warisacrime.org and works as
Campaign Coordinator for the online activist organization
http://rootsaction.org. He hosts Talk Nation
Radio
Follow him on Twitter: @davidcnswanson
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Shelly Rockett
Veterans for Peace
Communications & Outreach Coordinator
shelly@veteransforpeace.org
314-725-6005
**
Reply to sender . Reply to group . Reply via Web Post . All Messages (1) . Top ^ 5 Space Week Protest Actions List Grows Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:12 am (PDT) . Posted by: "Global Network" brucekgag October 6-13, 2012
Keep Space for Peace Week
International Week of Protest to
Stop the Militarization of Space
No Missile Defense
End Afghanistan War
No to NATO Expansion
Stop the Drones
Convert the Military Industrial Complex
Bring Our War $$ Home
No Nuclear Power in Space or on Earth
End Corporate Domination of Foreign/Military Policy
List in formation
a.. Albuquerque, New Mexico (Oct 3) Showing of award winning documentary Pax-Americana & the Weaponization of Space at the Center for Peace & Justice, 202 Harvard SE, 6:00 pm. citizen@comcast.net
a.. Andover, Massachusetts (Oct 11) Merrimack Valley People for Peace will hold a vigil in front of Raytheon, 7:00-8:00 am. brian@quirk.ws
a.. Bath Iron Works, Maine (Oct 6) Vigil across from administration building on Washington Street (Navy Aegis destroyers built at BIW) 11:30-12:30 am Smilin' Trees Disarmament Farm (207) 763-4062
a.. Bhubhaneswar (Orissa state) India (Oct 6) Space issues education and awareness program. Coordinated by Ramchandra Patro rama_bm@yahoo.com
a.. Brunswick, Maine (Oct 4) Showing of award winning documentary Pax-Americana & the Weaponization of Space at the Curtis Memorial Library at 7:00 pm. gaia@gwi.net
a.. Cardiff, Wales (Oct 9) Handing in of Petition calling for Welsh Government to withdraw support for testing of drones at Aberporth and over Wales http://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com/week-of-action-events/
a.. Colorado Springs, Colorado (Oct 12) Demonstration from noon to 12:45 pm with banners outside of the SAIC facility (space-tech war work) which is adjacent to Peterson AFB (HQ of Air Force Space Command) northgate. That way we get a twofer. bill.sulzman@gmail.com
b.. Colorado Springs, Colorado (Oct 12) Demonstration at West gate of Schriever AFB, home of the Space Warfare Center and numerous other Star Wars programs 3:30 - 4:30 pm. bill.sulzman@gmail.com
a.. RAF Croughton, England (Oct 6) Rally at U.S. communication base, March to main gate 1 mile - starts Croughton village 12.00 midday, Returns 3:00 pm, Oxfordshire Peace Campaign, oxonpeace@yahoo.co.uk
a.. Deming, New Mexico (Oct 12) Weekly Friday Occupy vigil will carry Keep Space for Peace signs
a.. Friargate, England (Oct 8) Public Meeting: Yorkshire's role in Drone Warfare 7:00 pm, Friargate Friends meeting house. http://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com/week-of-action-events/
a.. Fylingdales, England (Oct 7) Begin bicycle trip from Fylingdales U.S. radar facility to Menwith Hill to highlight their connections with US missile defense and the use of space technology. Overnight peace camp the night before. info@yorkshirecnd.org.uk
a.. Hinckley, England (Oct 7) Drones Peace Walk leaves Tamworth 9am for long walk (approx 17 miles) to Hinckley. http://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com/week-of-action-events/
a.. Jammu (Jammu & Kashmir state) India (Oct 10) Rally coordinated by Ashwani Pradadhan ashwanipradhan50@gmail.com
a.. King of Prussia/Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (Oct 13) Noon. Brandywine Peace Community's annual Keep Space for Peace Week demonstration (and observance of U.S. Afghan war anniversary) at Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin, the world's largest war profiteer, a primary contractor of space weaponry as well as unmanned aerial vehicles, drones (including the Hell Fire missiles they carry) and the satellites which enable their remote control from the continental U.S. brandywine@juno.com
a.. Leeds, England (Oct 3) 'Drones - a new kind of warfare' a talk and discussion with Chris Cole of the Campaign against Drones on the growing use of unmanned drones in the Middle East and beyond. 7.30 pm, Room G546, Rosebowl Building, Leeds Metropolitan University. Organised by Pax Christi and Yorkshire CND. dominic@yourkshirecnd.org.uk
a.. Leicester, England (Oct 8) Drones Peace Walk leaves Hinckley 10:00 am for 12 mile walk to Leicester. Demonstration at the Thales Watchkeeper drone factory, Scudamore Road, Leicester, 3.30pm. http://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com/week-of-action-events/
a.. Lincoln, England (Oct 12) Drones Peace Walk leaves Southwell on bus 28 to Newark at 9.38, then bus 47 from Newark at 10.40 to outskirts of Lincoln then walking 5 miles to Friends Meeting House. Hosted in houses. Possible evening meeting. http://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com/week-of-action-events/
a.. London, England (Oct 12) Demonstration outside London office of General Atomics, Tower 42, Old Broad Street. Organised by London Catholic Worker http://www.londoncatholicworker.org/contacts.html
a.. Loughborough, England (Oct 9) Drones Peace Walk gathers at Gandhi's statue, Belgrave Road, Leicester at 9.30am for readings, 10am leave for Loughborough 12 miles, evening meeting in Loughborough http://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com/week-of-action-events/
a.. Menwith Hill, England (Oct 9) 'The Faceless Face of Military Drones' demonstration at NSA Spy Base in Yorkshire at 6-8 pm. Will be welcoming the cyclists from Yorkshire CND when they arrive at Menwith Hill from Fylingdales. (Faceless masks will be available) Sponsored by CAAB mail@caab.corner.org.uk or 01423 884076
a.. Nagpur, (Maharashtra state) India (Oct 9) Space issues education and awareness program at Women's College, Nandanwant Lay out. Coordinator Mrunalini Fadnavis mrunalinifadnavis@gmail.com
a.. Nagpur, (Maharashtra state) India (Oct 12) Students rally at Matru Sewa Sangh Institute of Social Work. Coordinated by Prof. Geetha Thachil geethathachil@gmail.com
a.. Nagpur, (Maharashtra state) India (Oct 13) A massive Dharna (Squating) will
be held jointly with several organisations at Nagpur. rao.jnrao36@sofy.com
a.. Newton, Massachusetts (Oct 21) Bruce Gagnon speaks on how space technology coordinates all war on Earth at First Unitarian Church, 1326 Washington Street, West Newton, 7:00 pm Ncwrenn@aol.com
a.. Nottingham, England (Oct 10) Drones Peace Walk Leaves Loughborough 9am, walk to Nottingham, 15 miles, staying in Friends Meeting House, peace supper. http://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com/week-of-action-events/
a.. Oita, Japan (Oct 12) Banner against the fast breeder reactor development in Japan and the international joint R&D of a nuclear fusion reactor 16:00~17:00 at Oita Kyusyu Electric Power Co seamesky@sand.ocn.ne.jp
a.. Oswestry, England (Oct 4) Coalition for Peace is hosting a talk by Chris Cole of Drone Wars UK at the Walford Davies Room, The Giuildhall, Bailey Head, Oswestry, Shropshire at 7.30. The title is 'Drone Wars: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Beyond'. Details 01691 650527
a.. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Oct 7) Vigil and demonstration against drone research at UPENN at 34th & Walnut Streets, 1:00 pm. Speakers, music, and more; followed by kite flying in Woodland Walk field, between UPENN and Drexel University, behind the corner at 34th & Walnut Streets. End the War, Stop the Killer Drone Strikes, Space for Peace, not drone strikes directed from the U.S. through space. Kites will be available, bring your own if you can, and don't forget your umbrella in the event of rain. brandywine@juno.com
a.. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Oct 8) Noon, Brown bag lunch presentation at Friends Center, 1501 Cherry Street, with Bruce Gagnon, International peace organizer; Coordinator,Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space and Keep Space for Peace Week; Author, Come Together Right Now: Organizing Stories From Fading Empire. brandywine@juno.com
a.. Pickering, England (Oct 7) Peace in space cycle journey we will be stopping overnight for rest. meeting and discussion. info@yorkshirecnd.org.uk
a.. Ponidcherry University, India (Oct 7-8) Space issues education and awareness campaign Coordinator J. Narayana Rao rao.jnrao36@sofy.com
a.. Porthmadog, England (Oct 13) Anti-drone street stall, Porthmadog, Fellowship of Reconciliation, 2.30pm http://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com/week-of-action-events/
a.. Portland, Maine (Oct 8) Anti-Drone Die-In at Obama Campaign Headquarters, 533 Forest Ave., noon-1pm. CODEPINK State of Maine & Portland Pat Taub (207) 542-7119 pparee2011@gmail.com
a.. Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada (Oct 11) Vigil and flyer distribution at the north end of the Scarth Street Mall in downtown Regina, 12:00-12:30 pm. Making Peace Vigil 306-539-8853; sgerardm@gmail.com
a.. Rochester, New York (Oct 6-13) Putting up Keep Space for Peace Week posters around town throughout the week. 585-339-9782
a.. Santa Barbara, California (Oct 18-21) Challenging Robotic Warfare Technology: Education, Organizing, Strategy & Resistance Statewide Conference tierralinda@live.com
a.. Shenstone, England (Oct 6) Anti-drones peace walk begins with demonstration at UAV engine plant at Shenstone (near Birmingham). Meet at the train station at 10.30am then demonstration at the nearby Elbit factory until 11.30. http://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com/anti-drones-peace-walk/
a.. Sioux Falls, SD (Oct. 13) Pax Christi Southeastern SD "The Dignity of Life, Promoting Peace on Land & at Sea." We will pray, study and act on issues of life and death. Caminando Juntos, 1-3 pm. gl_wieland@yahoo.com
a.. Southwell, England (Oct 11) Drones Peace Walk leaves Leicester FMH 9am, walk to Southwell, 13 miles. http://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com/week-of-action-events/
a.. Springfield, Pennsylvania (Oct 7) Anniversary of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Bruce Gagnon speaks at the Peace Center of Delaware County, 1001 Old Sproul Road, www.delcopeacecenter.org 5:30 pm. Potluck Supper; 6:30 p.m. Presentation and Discussion: A Decade plus of War...Drones, and more: Empire and the Militarization of Space. Evening co-sponsored by the Brandywine Peace Community brandywine@juno.com
a.. Stockholm, Sweden (Oct 28) Swedish Peace Council seminar about The Militarization of the North: How the Arctic has become a dangerous field for war preparations. Speakers from northern Russia, Bard Wormdal from Vardö (northern Norway) on satellite war, from Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Sweden is present chair of Arctic Council) and Agneta Norberg on drone testing in Northern Sweden. lappland.norberg@gmail.com
a.. Tavistock, England (Oct 9) Public Meeting in Tavistock. 'Drones: The future of war?' with Chris Cole. http://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com/week-of-action-events/
a.. Tucson, Arizona (Oct 9) Vigil from 6:30 - 7:30 a.m. at Raytheon Missile Systems, Hermans Road entrance to the plant (3rd traffic light south of Valencia on Nogales Highway, the extension of South 6th Avenue). nukeresister@igc.org
a.. Vandenberg AFB, California (Oct 22) Back country non-violent resistance action to occupy Pentagon's global drone and missile nerve center. tierralinda@live.com
a.. Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh state) India (Oct 11) Students rally coordinated by J. V. Prabhakar prabhakar.jalluri@gmail.com
a.. RAF Waddington, England (Oct 13) Drones Peace Walk leaves Lincoln 9am, walk 6 miles to RAF Waddington. Demonstration at RAF Waddington from 12 noon until 2pm. http://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com/week-of-action-events/
a.. York, England (Oct 8) Peace in space cycle journey we will be stopping to meet and talk with public. info@yorkshirecnd.org.uk
Keep Space for Peace Week is co-sponsored by the Women's International League for Peace & Freedom, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (UK), Swedish Peace Council, and the Drone Campaign Network (UK).
Download the full space week poster at: http://www.space4peace.org/actions/Keep%20Space%20for%20Peacer%20Poster%202012.pdf
The award winning documentary Pax Americana & the Weaponization of Space is now available online at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tRA5bEO0cUg#!
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
globalnet@mindspring.com
www.space4peace.org
http://space4peace.blogspot.com/ (blog)
Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth. ~Henry David Thoreau
Reply to sender . Reply to group . Reply via Web Post . All Messages (1) . Top ^ 6 FW: 2 Thanh Nien News: random blood samples from Da Nang residents c Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:12 am (PDT) . Posted by: "Daniel Shea"
Nhan
This is very troubling, though I am not surprised by the finding. It is also important evidence that what we have been saying about the long term effects for AO have a devastating impact on the communities of Viet Nam.
The USA needs to escalate its support and dollars in helping clean up these hotspots and invest in treating and compensating the victims.
See report below
Peace
Daniel Shea
Board of Directors
Veterans For Peace
www.veteransforpeace.org
Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2012 09:36:48 -0400
From: nhan@cs.nyu.edu
To: vimy@yahoogroups.com
Subject: 2 Thanh Nien News: random blood samples from Da Nang residents contain dioxin
FYI,
Nhan
http://www.thanhniennews.com/index/pages/20120824-all-blood-samples-near-da-nang-airport-contain-dioxin.aspx
Blood samples from Da
Nang contain dioxin
Last Updated: Friday, August 24, 2012 03:40:00
A
Vietnamese carrier lands at Da Nang airport. Words on the
yellow flag indicate the area is contaminated with dioxin.
All 62 blood samples taken at random
from residents of Da Nang, an area which was among the hardest
hit in the Vietnam War, tested positive for dioxin, a dioxin survey project announced
last week.
None of the subjects surveyed took
part in the war or lived in areas which US forces sprayed with
the toxic defoliant known as Agent Orange, but have been living
for at least five years near the Da Nang airport, which was used
by the US as an arsenal during the war, news website VnExpress
reported.
The project was sponsored by the Ford
Foundation, Hatfield Consultants – a provider of quality
environmental services in Canada.
Related government agencies said the
project was conducted independently and it's not clear to them
how such blood tests needed to take such a long period of time.
All subjects were at least 18 years
of age.
Among the subjects were 18 people
from one family.
One of them, Vo Duoc, 58, was shocked
by the results.
He said his whole extended family is
living around the area and all others might be affected as well.
“It would be a catastrophe for the
children in my family.”
The blood samples were taken between
2006 and 2012 and the results have stirred panic among tens of
thousands of people living in the area.
Nguyen Thi Hien, chairwoman of Da
Nang Association of Victims of Agent Orange, said the results
are “painful to both the project team and the society.”
But they would serve as evidence
which would bolster and extend dioxin clean-up efforts, not only
of the environment, but for its human victims as well, she said.
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The project will send 25 of the
subjects to Vietnam Military Medical University in
Hanoi where they will undergo dioxin clearance treatments next
month. The treatment will be free of charge, the report said.
Doctor Nguyen Ba Vuong, from the
university, said he and his colleagues will use the purification
rundown method, also known as the Hubbard Method named for its
founder, controversial American founder of the Church of
Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard.
The treatment combines exercise, vitamin supplements and
extended stays in a sauna.
It has been used successfully in
Vietnam on several veterans, according to Dr. Vuong.
“It will surely work well on the new
victims in Da Nang,” he said.
Da Nang airport is among three dioxin
hotspots in Vietnam, together with the Bien Hoa Airport outside
Ho Chi Minh City and the Phu Cat Airport in Binh Dinh Province
in the south central region. The latter was officially removed
from the list on August 18, after more than 7,000 cubic meters
of dioxin-contaminated soil were safely removed and placed in a
landfill.
The US Army sprayed some 80 million
liters of Agent Orange containing 366 kilograms of the highly
toxic dioxin over 30,000 square miles of southern Vietnam
between 1961 and 1971.
Between 2.1 to 4.8 million Vietnamese
citizens were directly exposed to Agent Orange and other
chemicals that have been linked to cancers, birth defects and other
chronic diseases during the Vietnam War that ended in April
1975.
Dioxin has represented a health
hazard since the war because
of contamination of soil, through which it can enter the food
chain.
Scientists
said dioxin is associated with some cancers and
respiratory illnesses.
The US-Vietnam Dialogue Group on
Agent Orange/Dioxin estimates US$450 million is needed to
eliminate dioxin hot spots and provide care, education and
economic opportunities to those affected.
http://www.thanhniennews.com/index/pages/20120818-vietnam-airbase-removed-from-dioxin-hotspots-list.aspx
Vietnam War airbase
removed from dioxin hotspot list
Last Updated: Saturday,
August 18, 2012 04:50:00
An inspection for dioxin contamination being
carried out at the Phu Cat Airbase in 2009
Binh Dinh Province’s Phu Cat Military
Airport was removed from the list of dioxin/Agent Orange
hotspots in Vietnam on Saturday.
More than 7,000 cubic meters of dioxin-contaminated
soil found at the central airport with concentrations higher
than 1,000 parts per trillion have been safely contained in
a landfill. The dioxin was contained in a defoliant sprayed by the US Army
during the Vietnam War.
“This Phu Cat landfill was constructed in full
compliance with national regulations and met international
standards. The landfill stops spreading of the dioxin to the
environment and eliminates exposure of the local
population,” the United Nations Development Program Vietnam
said in a statement.
The landfill was part of a US$5 million UNDP and
GEF (Global Environment Facility) project “Environmental
Remediation of Dioxin Contaminated Hotspots in Vietnam”,
launched in July, 2010 and implemented by the Ministry of
Environment and Natural Resources’ Office of National
Steering Committee on Overcoming of the Consequences of
Toxic Chemicals used by US during the war in Vietnam (Office
33).
Phu Cat was one of three identified dioxin
hotspots, together with Da Nang and Bien Hoa airports. These
airbases were highly contaminated because the toxic
defoliant was stored or handled there during the war.
“The levels of dioxin concentration
in these hotspots are as high as 365,000 parts per trillion
(ppt) of international toxicity equivalents (I-TEQ). This is
hundred of times the required clean-up level by national and
international standards,” according to a UNDP report.
“Dioxin is no longer leaking from the site and the
dioxin will not have an impact on the environment and people
living in the surrounding area,” the Quan Doi Nhan Dan
(People’s Army) newspaper quoted Le Ke Son, director
of Office 33’, as saying.
RELATED CONTENT
US, Vietnam
take ‘first step to bury past legacies’
“Together with the United States, UNDP and other
partners, we will continue
to remediate dioxin contamination in Bien Hoa and Da Nang
airports,” he said.
The US Army sprayed some 80 million liters of Agent
Orange containing 366 kilograms of the highly toxic dioxin
over 30,000 square miles of southern Vietnam between 1961
and 1971.
Between 2.1 to 4.8 million Vietnamese citizens were
directly exposed to Agent Orange and other chemicals that
have been linked to cancers, birth
defects and other chronic diseases during the Vietnam
War that ended in April 1975.
Contents of #4, May 17, 2012
Cutting the Military Budget (3)
Lethal Consequences of Patriotic “Defense”
Homeland Security Campus
Pentagon Reporters Targeted
Contents #5
Chomsky, Atrocities
DRONES:
Killing and Propaganda
Engelhardt, Obama Admin.
Sojourner: GOP, Bombs Not Food
Rape in the Military: Essay, Film
Rachel Maddow, Drift
Juan Cole, Pentagon Propaganda, Creeping Fascism
Smith, Pentagon-President-Congress: Justifying Vietnam War
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