Visit the only dioxin detoxification “oven” in Vietnam

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/society/72654/visit-the-only-dioxin-detoxification--oven--in-vietnam.html

VietNamNet Bridge – On the morning of April 24, the local and foreign media was permitted to visit the dioxin detoxification site, which is in the first phase of operation, in the central city of Da Nang.
With the consent of the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, the United States Development Agency (USAID) and the Vietnam Air Defense Force, reporters were allowed to enter the dioxin remediation site.
After a short conversation, engineer Peter Cherevey (technical manager of the project) took nearly 20 minutes for the introduction of safety rules for journalists before they enter the site. "It's dioxin. Here, we consider the safety of workers, people living around, as well as the journalists the top priority," Cherevey said.
According to Mr. Joachim Parker - Director of USAID in Vietnam, the project is progressing extremely favorable with good coordination between the parties and it is in the construction of heat treatment oven.
After that, about 73 trillion cubic meters of soil and sludge intoxicated with dioxin will be transferred into the oven, covered by concrete and burned in the temperature of 335 degrees Celsius. Soil and sludge will be decomposes into water and smoke and go through closed pipes for dioxin detoxification before going to the environment.   
It is expected that the project will be completed by the end of 2016, when all the soil and mud is burned. The initial cost for this project is over $40 million, but at this time it is nearly $84 million of ODA and VND35 billion ($1.3 million) of reciprocal capital of Vietnam.
VIEW ADDITIONAL PHOTOS: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/society/72654/visit-the-only-dioxin-detoxification--oven--in-vietnam.html

Vietnam: Environmental Remediation of Dioxin Contamination at Danang Airport

http://vietnam.usaid.gov/environmental-remediation-dioxin-contamination-danang-airport-project-frequently-asked-questions
USAID contractors continue building the containment structure. The wall now stands at 7.3 meters in the southeast corner (see photos above and below).
Contractors are installing a very strong, thick plastic liner on the bottom of the structure to prevent any water from draining out or entering the treatment system once operational.

USAID contractors completed construction of the drying pad (see photo below). The drying pad is being used to safely dry and store wet soil and sediment until it is ready to be loaded into the pile containment structure. To date, approximately 3,200m3 of contaminated sediment from the southeastern wetland has been placed in the drying pad for dewatering before it is moved to the treatment pile. All drainage water from the drying pad is collected and tested prior to being discharged.

READ MORE: http://vietnam.usaid.gov/environmental-remediation-dioxin-contamination-danang-airport-project-frequently-asked-questions

http://english.cri.cn/11354/2013/04/25/189s761471.htm 

Mississippi company has Army contract for bug-repellant coats

Sounds Good On Paper
http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Miss-co-has-Army-contract-for-bug-repellant-coats-4444069.php

GOLDEN, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi company has a contract to make up to $55.3 million worth of bug-repellent uniform coats for the Army.
The Pentagon said in a news release Wednesday that Golden Manufacturing Co. Inc. of Golden, Miss., will be making the combat uniform coats from fabric treated with the insecticide Permethrin (pur-METH-rihn).
The work is to be completed within a year.
It says a firm in Puerto Rico, AFI LLC of Camuy, has a $43.3 million contract for Army combat uniform trousers made from similarly treated cloth.
Both contracts use defense working capital funds from fiscal 2013 through fiscal 2014, for the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support in Philadelphia, Pa.
Golden is in Tishomingo County about 35 miles east-northeast of Tupelo.

READ MORE: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Miss-co-has-Army-contract-for-bug-repellant-coats-4444069.php#ixzz2ROVEYkth
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE...

Health Effects

Permethrin is a member of the pyrethroid class of pesticides. Similar to other pyrethroids, permethrin alters nerve function by modifying the normal biochemistry and physiology of nerve membrane sodium channels. However, EPA is not currently following a cumulative risk approach based on a common mechanism of toxicity for the pyrethroids. Although all pyrethroids interact with sodium channels, there are multiple types of sodium channels and it is currently unknown whether the pyrethroids have similar effects on all channels. Nor do we have a clear understanding of effects on key downstream neuronal function e.g., nerve excitability, nor do we understand how these key events interact to produce their compound specific patterns of neurotoxicity. There is ongoing research by the EPA’s Office of Research and Development and pyrethroid registrants to evaluate the differential biochemical and physiological actions of pyrethroids in mammals. This research is expected to be completed by 2007. When available, the Agency will consider this research and make a determination of common mechanism as a basis for assessing cumulative risk. Therefore, the human health risk assessment and RED document only considered the effects of permethrin.

Faces of Agent Orange

READ THEIR STORIES

Agent Orange Town Hall meeting set for Vietnam Veterans and families

Amite City, Louisiana 
Local Vietnam War veterans have organized a town hall meeting to discuss the impact of the chemicals they were exposed to during the war.

The meeting will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 11 in the Amite High School auditorium and will feature guest speakers who will engage the audience in discussions related to the effects of Agent Orange on them and their descendants.

FOR INFORMATION: 

VVA Chapter #1052
(985) 507-8532

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Our latest video: What do you know about Agent Orange?

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV2OybAd3IY&feature=channel_video_title

 

Vietnam: The Secret Agent: Award Winning Documentary about Agent Orange

http://vietnamthesecretagent.com/index.php?ref=vd11

 VVA Self-Help Guide to Service-Connected Disability Compensation for Exposure to

Agent Orange for Veterans and their Families

http://www.vva.org/Guides/AgentOrangeGuide.pdf

The Faces of Agent Orange Stories

http://www.vva.org/Committees/AgentOrange/index.html#FAO

Step Forward, Step Backward

California decides chemical BPA is toxic

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/California-decides-chemical-BPA-is-toxic-4428719.php
California on Thursday became the latest state to place restrictions on the chemical known as Bisphenol-A and declare it a reproductive toxicant.
The chemical, commonly known as BPA, is found in hard plastic bottles, the cans of food and beverages, sales receipts and dental sealants.
Growing research suggests that BPA, believed to be found in the bodies of 90 percent of the U.S. population, is an endocrine disruptor linked to infertility and other harm.
Consumer health advocates have pushed the state Environmental Protection Agency for years to recognize that BPA causes birth defects.

Dr. Sarah Janssen, a senior scientist at the San Francisco chapter of the Natural Resources Defense Council, praised the state's decision.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/California-decides-chemical-BPA-is-toxic-4428719.php

 

Judge removes BPA from list of toxicants

http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/04/20/3266463/judge-removes-bpa-from-list-of.html 
SAN FRANCISCO -- A Sacramento judge has ordered that Bisphenol-A - a controversial chemical used in plastics and metal food containers - be removed from the state's list of reproductive toxicants.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports ( http://bit.ly/14DlFmF) that a preliminary injunction issued Friday comes as the chemical industry seeks to convince Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Raymond Cadei that the chemical does not cause birth defects.
Last week the state's Environmental Protection Agency listed bisphenol-A - or BPA as the chemical is commonly known - under Proposition 65, a consumer-safety law that mandates the state publish a list of chemicals that cause cancer or birth defects.
READ MORE: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/04/20/3266463/judge-removes-bpa-from-list-of.html

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/04/20/3266463/judge-removes-bpa-from-list-of.html#storylink=cpy

AO programmes to receive continued funding from US

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/society/238466/ao-programmes-to-receive-continued-funding-from-us.html
WASHINGTON (VNS)— The US has pledged to maintain funding for Agent Orange/dioxin treatment programmes in Viet Nam this year.
In 2012, the US provided US$44 million to treat AO-contaminated areas in central Da Nang.
According to Ha Huy Thong, deputy head of the National Assembly's Committee for External Relations, the US had continued to display its support for Viet Nam in overcoming AO/dioxin.
Thong is also the chairman of the Viet Nam-US Dialogue Group on AO/dioxin.
He said US representatives showed their positive attitude towards the programmes to deal with the toxic chemicals used by their army during the war in Viet Nam. They admitted that this was a complicated and time-consuming issue that needed efforts from both sides. 
READ MORE: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/society/238466/ao-programmes-to-receive-continued-funding-from-us.html

Spina Bifida Policy Manual

http://www.va.gov/hac/forbeneficiaries/spina/policymanual/index.asp

Policy Manual

• SPINA BIFIDA HEALTH CARE BENEFITS FOR CHILDREN OF VIETNAM AND KOREA VETERANS
  INTRODUCTION
  A.      The Policy Manual contains operational policies necessary to effectively implement PL (Public Law) 104-204, PL 110-387, PL 108-183 – the SB (Spina Bifida) Health Care Program, and 38 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) 17.900– 17.905.
  B.      The Policy Manual is divided into three chapters.  Chapter 1, Program Administration, Chapter 2, Benefits, and Chapter 3, Reimbursements.
  C.      Each chapter is further divided into multiple sections prefaced by a table of contents.  Each section details specific policies related to the general subject matter of the chapter.  
• Chapter 1 - Program Administration
• Chapter 2 - Benefits
• Chapter 3 - Payment Methodologies

READ MANUAL HERE

H.R. 1494 - Blue Water Navy Ship Accountability Act

113th Congress (2013 - 2014) H.R.1494

HR1494 has a deadline and would help those vets jumping through hoops.  It has 18 original cosponsors with bipartisan support; along with no CBO cost it should fly.

113th Congress (2013 - 2014) H. R. 543

HR543 has 92 cosponsors as of today and is growing.  Please ask all members, family, and those who support vets to contact their Congressman.

Bill Summary & Status

Latest Title: To direct the Secretary of Defense to review the operation of certain ships during the Vietnam Era, and for other purposes. 

H.R. 1494, the Blue Water Navy Ship Accountability Act

H.R. 1494, the Blue Water Navy Ship Accountability Act would direct the Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) to do a comprehensive search to determine which ships are eligible for coverage under current law for presumptive coverage for exposure to Agent Orange.

Sponsor: Rep Gibson, Christopher P. [NY-19] (introduced 4/11/2013)      

Cosponsors (18)

Latest Major Action: 4/11/2013 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

COSPONSORS(18), ALPHABETICAL

Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] - 4/11/2013
Rep Brady, Robert A. [PA-1] - 4/11/2013
Rep Castro, Joaquin [TX-20] - 4/11/2013
Rep Cicilline, David N. [RI-1] - 4/11/2013
Rep Connolly, Gerald E. [VA-11] - 4/11/2013
Rep Courtney, Joe [CT-2] - 4/11/2013
Rep Griffin, Tim [AR-2] - 4/11/2013
Rep Grimm, Michael G. [NY-11] - 4/11/2013
Rep Kuster, Ann M. [NH-2] - 4/11/2013
Rep McCarthy, Carolyn [NY-4] - 4/11/2013
Rep Meng, Grace [NY-6] - 4/11/2013
Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] - 4/11/2013
Rep Owens, William L. [NY-21] - 4/11/2013
Rep Poe, Ted [TX-2] - 4/11/2013
Rep Shea-Porter, Carol [NH-1] - 4/11/2013
Rep Stivers, Steve [OH-15] - 4/11/2013
Rep Walz, Timothy J. [MN-1] - 4/11/2013
Rep Young, Don [AK] - 4/11/2013

Ask Your Senators to Support Parkinson's Research Funding!

 

 Action Needed Today to Support NIH Funding!

 

Senators Casey (D-PA) and Burr (R-NC) are circulating a letter in the Senate to support sustained funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014.  It is important that you ask your Senators to show support for critical biomedical research funding by signing the letter.

NIH is the largest funder of Parkinson's research in the world, funding $154 million in Parkinson's research in FY 2012, and this funding crucial to finding new treatments and a cure for Parkinson's disease.  It is essential that you act now, as the deadline for Senators to sign is Tuesday, April 23.

TAKE ACTION!

 http://www.parkinsonsaction.org/

Bioavailability...WTF?

VA:"Bioavailability Equals Exposure" --- VA's Terribly Wrong Approach!

CLICK HERE FOR YOUTUBE VIDEO ON BIOAVAILABILITY

Veterans Health Benefits Administration has introduced a sly, wrong-headed new slant on our Agent Orange exposure, telling us that "bioavailability" is now a required element of proving exposure. No bioavailability...some proven impact on the body caused by whatever  it encounters...equals no exposure. Bioavailability is the fraction of a toxin (or other element) absorbed by the body.

Now, that makes some sense to a physician trying to figure out how to treat a patient exposed to a toxic element, but it makes no sense in the world of administering VA medical care and benefits due Agent Orange-exposed veterans. Long ago, Congress grew frustrated at the VA's stonewalling veterans worried about Agent Orange illnesses and took the VA's discretionary power away, telling them to work with the Institute of Medicine and identify illnesses which seemed to be associated with dioxin exposure. Illnesses such as soft tissue sarcoma and prostate cancer were identified and a list of "presumptive illnesses" was established. No longer did a veteran have to find  a wealth of evidence to put forward to a VA rating officer to convince the VA to recognize one of those illnesses as service connected. Further, Congress told the VA to recognize every veteran with "boots on the ground" in Vietnam as having "presumptive eligibility" to be able to put the string together: Vietnam service equals eligibility for service connection for any of the presumptive illnesses. 
MORE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFVHn86vcO8

The attempted murder of the Passaic River

http://blog.nj.com/njv_tom_moran/2013/04/the_attempted_murder_of_the_pa.html
A half-century has passed since workers at Diamond Shamrock were ordered to dump dioxin into the Passaic River in Newark, and then to march out at low tide and knock down the toxic mud piles with rakes so that no one would know.
So began the long history of polluters evading responsibility for the murder of this river, an effort that continues to this day. Workers with rakes have been replaced by consultants and lawyers.
And as polluters clean up their messes in places like the Hudson River and the Great Lakes, the Passaic remains an industrial dead zone, where fishing and swimming are off limits, and even boats are a rarity.
With each tide, year after year, the dioxin sloshes up and down the river and into Newark Bay. It poisons the worms and crabs that crawl through the tainted muck, and then poisons the birds and fish that eat them.
“When I grew up here, we just never went near it, and I lived three blocks away,” says Ana Baptista of Newark’s Ironbound community. “It was far off limits, so dirty you wouldn’t even touch it. And there was no way to get down close to it. It was like the ugly stepsister of the Hudson.”

If that makes you furious, it should. Because this river is owned by the public, and it could be an ornament to this region of the state.

It could be lined with parks, with pleasure boats tied up at wooden docks. It could be a place where couples get dinner and go for a stroll, where kids fly kites and eat ice cream, where people would pay extra for the privilege of living in a small apartment nearby. That’s all happening in other cities.
“The people of New Jersey were deprived of a valuable resource,” says Alan Steinberg, the regional director of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush. “The damage has been terrible, and it has to be remedied. What I’d hope is that (the polluters) get a sense of reality and realize they can run but they can’t hide. Eventually they will be made to pay.”

READ MORE: http://blog.nj.com/njv_tom_moran/2013/04/the_attempted_murder_of_the_pa.html

Dioxin to be detoxified by activated carbon

http://www.qdnd.vn/qdndsite/en-US/75/72/182/155/160/237125/Default.aspx

PANO – The General Department of Environment, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, organized a seminar, “Dioxin detoxification technology”, on April 9th with the participation of American experts.

Addressing the event, Dr David Moard, CEO of the Power House Energy Group, said that detoxifying dioxin by activated carbon does not let poisonous substances to the environment, while it could turn out organic waste for producing energy.

Furthermore, this method would cut down expenditures and requires a more simple operation than former technology. More importantly, this technology is environment friendly and safe for operators and people surrounding the dioxin-polluted areas.

Being the war-torn country, Vietnam badly needs more practical experience and assistance from international friends to deal with the painful legacy of Agent Orange/dioxin agents left behind from the Vietnam War.

Agent Orange modified corn causing a stir

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YGRjkIeEHo

A controversy is brewing in the food industry over so-called "Agent Orange Corn". The genetically-modified vegetable is protected from a herbicide that kills so-called superweeds, but is linked to the notorious "Agent Orange" used in Vietnam. Many farmers are thrilled with the corn, while critics think it will lead to more use of toxic chemicals.

WATCH THE VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YGRjkIeEHo

Live Wire: Courts rejected Agent Orange suit

http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2013/04/12/1249381?sac=fo.local
Q: I have cancer from serving in Vietnam. When is the Agent Orange lawsuit going to pay off? - H.M., Fayetteville
A: It isn't. But you may be eligible for help and benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Presumably, you're talking about two lawsuits that were filed by U.S. veterans who'd been exposed to the herbicide in Vietnam but weren't diagnosed with related health problems until after 1994, when money from the original Agent Orange settlement ran out.
That settlement had totaled $180 million.
Despite that settlement, a 2003 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court opened the way for veterans with late-manifesting health conditions to file suit against Agent Orange's manufacturers. When filed, though, the suits gained little legal traction and were rejected by the courts. In 2009, the Supreme Court rejected appeals in the matter without comment.
After that, Texas lawyer Gerson Smoger, who'd pursued the matter since 1991, wrote that "despite literally years of work and knowing that we are right, we do not know that there is anything more that we can do."
But veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange - or other herbicides - during military service and their dependents and survivors may indeed be eligible for help and benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
For information, check publichealth.va.gov/ exposures/agentorange/ index.asp.

Agent Orange still stokes fear in Vietnam's pregnant women

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/apr/11/agent-orange-vietnam-pregnant-women
Concern about birth defects is deeply rooted in the country's recent history and has brought a surge in ultrasound checks
In the waiting room of a maternity hospital in Hanoi, pregnant women sit anxiously until their names are called. Many have been here numerous times to get an ultrasound scan.

Dung, 28, from a village on the outskirts of Vietnam's capital, is seven months pregnant. "Every month I come here for regular check-ups and an ultrasound," she says. "If you don't know you are pregnant and you take the wrong medication, birth defects can easily occur in the first three months of pregnancy."
"I'm afraid of my child's health, that's why I come for regular visits," says 30-year-old Nhung. "There are risks from birth defects mainly from the environment, and infectious diseases passed from mother to child."
In most European countries it is national policy for hospitals to offer at least one ultrasound during pregnancy to detect the date of delivery and any abnormalities. However, in developing countries the use of scanning has increased as it is vigorously promoted by manufacturers and doctors.
In Vietnam the marketing and use of obstetric ultrasound is spreading, according to anthropologist and Vietnam researcher Tine Gammeltoft from the University of Copenhagen. In a highly patriarchal society, many seek scans to determine the sex of their baby, but this is only necessary once or twice and repeated scans are due primarily to a fear of birth defects.
READ MORE: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/apr/11/agent-orange-vietnam-pregnant-women

Napalm: A True American Tale

http://nation.time.com/2013/04/11/napalm-a-true-american-tale/
Napalm is one of those American inventions that you wish weren’t, sort of like Agent Orange, killer drones, or nuclear weapons. Sure, their invention might have had to happen eventually, but why should the U.S. have to shoulder credit – culpability? — for being the first to develop ever-better and more lethal weapons? Was that something the Founding Fathers ever envisioned?

READ MORE:http://nation.time.com/2013/04/11/napalm-a-true-american-tale/

Dioxin in Dog Food? Dioxin In Everything!

The discovery of a very tiny amount of dioxin in the raw material tocopherol (vitamin E), has prompted animal nutrition company Kemin to investigate one of its suppliers.

http://www.allaboutfeed.net/Process-Management/Petfood/2013/4/Kemin-investigating-tocopherol-supplier-1226561W/ 
The US-based company announced this move after certified lab results in Europe showed 40.035 ng/kg of dioxin had been found on April 3, in a single batch of its product Naturox IP Plus Dry, an antioxidant used in pet food.
In a press release, the company emphasised that, when the antioxidant is applied at recommended application rates, the amount of dioxin in finished pet food would be 0.04 – 0.09 ng/kg, well below the maximum allowable limit for dioxin, which in the European Union is 1.75 ng/kg.
As a precaution, however, the company decided to replace any unused antioxidants containing tocopherols from this supplier. 
READ MORE: http://www.allaboutfeed.net/Process-Management/Petfood/2013/4/Kemin-investigating-tocopherol-supplier-1226561W/

Dole, Shell, Others Exposed Banana Workers To DBCP

Better Living Through Chemistry

http://www.law360.com/articles/346642/dole-shell-others-exposed-banana-workers-to-dbcp-suit

More than 40 banana plantation workers in Latin America lodged a suit against Dole Food Co. Inc., Shell Oil Co., Dow Chemical Co. and others in Delaware federal court Friday, alleging they were exposed to the pesticide DBCP, which caused cancer and sterility as well as long-lasting environmental damage. 
The suit is the latest of several attempts to hold banana growers and pesticide manufacturers accountable for their use of the pesticide, which was banned in the U.S. by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979. The workers who lodged Friday's suit are accusing the companies of ignoring data revealing the dangers caused by the pesticide and failing to properly warn of the potential health risks linked to its use. Because the companies failed to provide any protective equipment to prevent skin absorption or inhalation of the substance, the workers could not escape exposure, according to the suit. “Despite all the known hazards of DBCP and despite the extensive damage already done to those who had sustained exposure to DBCP, [Dole] continued to look for a way to circumvent the ban on production of DBCP in the United States so it could continue to use it in the developing countries where it operated around the world,” the complaint said.
READ MORE: http://www.law360.com/articles/346642/dole-shell-others-exposed-banana-workers-to-dbcp-suit

Veteran takes on feds in fight for Agent Orange Compensation

http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/veteran-takes-on-feds-in-fight-for-agent-orange-compensation-1.1230949

CTV Atlantic Published Tuesday, April 9, 2013 6:53PM ADT Last Updated Tuesday, April 9, 2013 7:10PM ADT

A New Brunswick veteran who says his life has been forever changed due to Agent Orange exposure is fighting the federal government for compensation.
For months, 82-year-old Basil McAllister has been preparing to represent himself in the case, and today he didn’t back down in a Fredericton courtroom.
“I have prostate cancer, I have bone cancer, I have skin cancer, and I’m a four-needle-a-day Type 2 Diabetic,” says the Burton, N.B. resident.

Basil McAllister is representing himself as he fights the federal government for Agent Orange compensation (CTV Atlantic)

The deadly dioxin Agent Orange was sprayed at CFB Gagetown during the 1960s while McAllister worked on the base.

He claims he worked closely with 10 other people who have since received monthly payments for their own Agent Orange damages.

“For some reason, the panel members who reviewed my case five times declined to give me a pension,” he says.
Officials with the federal government say that in order to receive a pension for Agent Orange compensation, a claimant must prove there was direct exposure to the chemical.
In court today, Veterans Affairs argued that McAllister’s direct exposure evidence was insufficient and not credible, adding that decisions made about other pensions are irrelevant to his case.
Many of the veteran’s family members and friends appeared in court today to show their support, including some people who worked with McAllister at CFB Gagetown.

READ MORE: http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/veteran-takes-on-feds-in-fight-for-agent-orange-compensation-1.1230949#ixzz2Q4x0o8d4

Cuban Veterans Poisoned by Agent Orange

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2013-04-11/news/agent-orange-testing-on-veterans/
The temperature hovered slightly above freezing near the end of winter 1963. A small group of soldiers who had recently been transferred to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, stood in line outside dusty barracks. They looked curiously at 55-gallon steel drums painted with an orange band. After a few minutes, a gruff sergeant called their names and serial numbers, and they walked into a closed room. They stood still for a few minutes as a chemical spray settled over their green fatigues and penetrated their pores.
"The only proof we have of this is in the lists they used to... take us to the gas chambers," says Carlos Ruiz-Rojas, a 72-year-old Cuban refugee who joined the U.S. Army at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. "And right before entering the gas chambers, they specified very clearly that after entering, we had to stand there without moving."

For more than two decades, Ruiz-Rojas, backed by affidavits from other members of a special infantry unit made up of Cuban refugees, has been fighting a battle with the U.S. government. He says the Army intentionally exposed dozens of Cuban-American soldiers to Agent Orange, a highly toxic dioxin compound used in the Vietnam War to destroy jungle canopy and deny North Vietnamese soldiers and Vietcong guerrillas vegetative cover.
READ MORE: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2013-04-11/news/agent-orange-testing-on-veterans/

Support the DoD Parkinson's Research Program!

http://capwiz.com/pan/issues/alert/?alertid=62575716

Support the DoD Parkinson's Research Program!

Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Peter King (R-NY), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) are circulating a letter asking for $16 million in funding for the Department of Defense (DoD) Parkinson’s research program in Fiscal Year 2014.
Contact your Representative today and ask him or her to sign the letter in support of Parkinson’s research at the DoD. The deadline to secure signatures is close of business on April 12.
The Parkinson’s Action Network strongly supports continued funding for the DoD Parkinson’s research program. Our troops are routinely exposed to a wide range of toxins and other external stressors, such as traumatic brain injury, that may lead to the development of Parkinson’s. The program funds grants, which go to researchers across the country, that support research to better understand how these exposures occur and how to better treat and prevent Parkinson’s. Research breakthroughs are not only applicable to our warfighters, but also the 500,000 to 1.5 million American’s living with Parkinson’s disease.

TAKE ACTION: call your Member of Congress.

Obama Signs “Monsanto Protection Act,” Forces GMOs On Your Family

http://www.offthegridnews.com/2013/04/08/obama-signs-monsanto-protection-act-forces-gmos-on-your-family/
President Obama has become the best friend that agribusiness has ever had in the White House. He just signed a law that critics are already dubbing the “Monsanto Protection Act.” The law makes it illegal for a federal judge to issue a court order halting the sale, use, or distribution of genetically engineered seeds even if it is proven the seeds could be harmful. The law would also limit the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ability to regulate the use of genetically engineered seeds.
They call the measure the Monsanto Protection Act because it only benefits the makers of genetically engineered seeds, such as Monsanto. Congress was able to put this horrendous piece of legislation on the books by tacking it onto a funding act for the USDA and other agencies. If Obama hadn’t signed the law, the USDA would have had to cut back on food inspections.

Why You Should Worry About The Monsanto Protection Act
Instead of going into the well-documented dangers of genetically modified foods here, I’ll just raise one troubling point. Why would Monsanto and its operatives on Capitol Hill go out of their way to get this law passed if there wasn’t something wrong with genetically modified foods? What do those people know that we don’t? If GM foods were safe in the first place, they wouldn’t need this law.
The frightening thing is that signing this law was in keeping with Obama’s whole agriculture policy. In spite of Michelle’s advocacy for organic food, the Obama administration has been squarely on the side of agribusiness since it took office. Tom Vilsack, who used to ride on Monsanto’s corporate jet when he was governor of Iowa, was both appointed and reappointed Secretary of Agriculture by Obama. Vilsack, a media darling, is also a likely choice for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.
To make matters worse, some observers, including organic food advocate Dr. Joseph Mercola, have alleged that the Department of Homeland Security and the USDA have plans to ban or severely restrict organic farming in the name of food safety. The idea is to prove that organic farming is at risk for terrorist attack but conventional farming is not. In other words, the Obama administration wants to force genetically engineered food on your family whether you want it or not.
READ MORE: BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID.