Canada and Agent Orange

READ THE STORY

Agent Orange is a mix of herbicides (plant-killing chemicals) and defoliant (a chemical used to remove leaves from plants and trees). It was used by the US military during the Vietnam War to destroy plants in large quantities. Agent Orange was one of the “Rainbow Herbicides,” alongside Agent Purple and Agent White. These herbicides were used and tested at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, New Brunswick. Agent Orange was incorrectly claimed to have been used to clear public land in Northern Ontario between the 1950s and 1970s. It is unclear how many Canadians were exposed to the potentially deadly chemical. Nor do we know how many may have died as a result.

Use in Warfare

Chemical herbicides were first used in warfare by the British during the Malaya Emergency (1948–1960). Herbicides were employed to destroy both jungle cover and agricultural plants that might be used by Malayan guerrillas.  The British experience using herbicides served as a precedent for American use during the Vietnam War. Agent Orange was used in Vietnam from 1962 to 1971. The chemical was used to destroy the dense jungle canopy that provided shelter and cover for the North Vietnamese military and Vietcong guerrillas. Agent Orange was also used against agricultural plants and to control weeds around American military bases. It is believed that upward of 72 million litres of Agent Orange was sprayed over Vietnam and surrounding countries. Over 25,000 square kilometres of forest was defoliated.

KEEP READING

State Environmental Officials Take First Steps to Clean Up 23-mile Stretch of Water Leading to Newark Bay

READ THE STORY

NEWARK, NJ – Years of industrial processing which has contaminated miles of water along the Lower Hackensack River stretching from Oradell Dam to the mouth of Newark Bay is now planned to get cleaned up with some help from federal officials.

State Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette announced on Friday that cleanup for the target area will start through a federal process required to list the Lower Hackensack River as a Superfund site.

If approved, designating the river as a Superfund site would provide critical funding to the state for remediation efforts and leverage the Environmental Protection Agency to hold the parties responsible for the contamination to either perform cleanups or reimburse the government for EPA-led cleanup work.

KEEP READING

Afghanistan's unfolding tragedy summons memories of Vietnam 1975

READ THE STORY

Though separated by nearly half a century, the parallels between 1975 and today are eerie. In the White House, then as now, the new president in office for less than a year — his predecessor an impeached and hugely controversial figure — is widely viewed as a decent and affable man, but many, even within his own party, fear that he is not fully up to the job and overmatched by cascading events, foreign and domestic, and the swirling passions of his deeply polarized countrymen who are unable or unwilling to heed his urgent calls for unity and healing.

The veterans who returned from the lost war in Vietnam were greeted not by parades or honors but frequently by mockery or contempt, and those who dared to wear their uniforms in public risked being spat upon by angry members of the now triumphant leftist, anti-war movement — many of whom artfully avoided the draft by going to college or Canada, thereby laying the foundation of the class war that now is so toxically embedded in our national culture.

The soldiers now returning from the lost war in Afghanistan face a different, more ominous kind of disrespect: the newly woke Pentagon leadership has resolved to put aside the problematic war on foreign terrorism and focus on a new war against “domestic terrorism.” The Secretary of Defense has been clear that high priority must be given to weeding out white supremacists and other extremists currently in uniform, and all service members will undergo new training programs aimed at giving soldiers a better understanding of American history (e.g., why 1619 is more important than 1776).

KEEP READING

Vietnam curbs movement in southern areas as COVID-19 cases hit record

READ THE STORY

HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam will impose restrictions on movement in 16 southern provinces for two weeks from Monday as the country faces its worst COVID-19 outbreak so far, the government said on Saturday.

Vietnam has managed to keep coronavirus cases relatively low due to targeted mass testing and strict contact tracing, border controls and quarantine measures, but new clusters of infections in recent weeks have triggered concern among health officials.

“The current outbreak we are facing is getting more complicated,” the government said in a statement. “The curbs are to protect people’s health.”

The Southeast Asian country reported 3,718 new infections, the highest daily increase and the third straight day it has recorded more than 3,000 cases.

Three-quarters of the confirmed cases were detected in southern areas, especially Ho Chi Minh City, and the Health Ministry said it had deployed at least 10,000 health workers to hard-hit provinces.

Vietnam, which has a population of 98 million, has recorded 47,904 infections in total and 225 deaths.

The current surge in cases has increased pressure on the government to boost vaccines supplies and accelerate inoculations, with less than 300,000 people fully vaccinated so far.

Vietnam has received nearly 9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said the United States would provide an additional three million Moderna vaccine doses to Vietnam via the international COVAX programme.

KEEP READING

Female Vets in Congress Decry Proposal to Disband Pentagon’s Advisory Panel on Women

READ THE STORY

 A 70-year-old Defense Department panel focused on women's personnel issues that has advocated for expanded opportunities for female service members must be preserved, say the six female veterans currently serving in Congress.

The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) has been suspended temporarily and its membership dissolved as part of a cost and efficiency review of the Defense Department's 42 advisory committees that began in January.

But six members of Congress, led by Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Virginia, and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, say the committee's work is too important for the panel to be dissolved or rolled into the newly formed Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion.

“We are the faces of what DACOWITS has meant for women in the military,” wrote the lawmakers. “As women veterans in Congress, we know the value of expanding opportunities within the services for women and the value that, in turn, has brought to our Armed Forces.”

In January, the Pentagon asked for the resignations of the 21 volunteer members of the committee, a group that included eight retired generals and admirals. The move was part of a larger review of all DoD advisory committees in the wake of last-minute appointments by former President Donald Trump to several boards and committees, including the Defense Business Board.

KEEP READING

Court decides millions of veterans are eligible for more GI Bill benefits

READ THE STORY

WASHINGTON — A new court decision, if it holds, would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide billions of dollars in education benefits to more than 1 million post-9/11 veterans.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided Thursday that veterans who qualify for both the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill for multiple periods of military service should be allowed to draw benefits from each. Since the newer Post-9/11 GI Bill became effective in 2009, the VA has limited veterans to benefits from one program, not both.

Under the ruling, veterans who qualify for both programs would be eligible to use one year of benefits from the Montgomery GI Bill program on top of the three years of tuition and housing assistance available through the Post 9/11 GI Bill. 

“We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this case and what it means for our country’s veterans,” said Timothy L. McHugh, the attorney on the case. “An estimated 1.7 million post-9/11 era veterans could benefit from this ruling, so it is truly an impactful decision for those who have bravely served.”

The court upheld the ruling from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, which also ruled against the VA’s interpretation of the law. The VA could next try to take the case to the Supreme Court. It was uncertain Monday whether the department would continue to appeal.  

If the VA doesn’t appeal, the new ruling could go into effect in time for the fall semester.   

KEEP READING

We're Baaaaaaaaaaaaack!

The Agent Orange Zone is back…after a short pause and consultation with medical experts, our staff has charged up their pacemakers, reclaimed their cubicles, fired up their coffee pots, received their COVID vaccines, shaken the cobwebs out of their fabulously fertile minds, dusted off their cutters and pasters and are ready to share the most current and relevant information regarding Agent Orange/Dioxin and how it affects you, your family, and your world.

 

Jim Doyle, Editor

Agent Orange Zone

VA Expands Agent Orange Presumptive Diseases List

READ THE STORY

Veterans Administration (VA) has expanded the Agent Orange Presumptive Diseases List and is now processing Claims for bladder cancer, hypothyroidism and Parkinsonism.

“Many of our Nation’s Veterans have waited a long time for these benefits,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough. “VA will not make them wait any longer. This is absolutely the right thing to do for Veterans and their families.” Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War may be entitled to an earlier eligibility date for benefits. Vietnam War era Veterans and their survivors who previously filed and were denied benefits for one of these three new presumptive conditions will have their cases automatically reviewed without the need to refile a claim. Veterans can contact the VA at 1-800-827-1000, to ensure their previously denied claims are being reviewed.

KEEP READING

Expert Warns of Post-Fire Dioxins: The Most Hazardous Substance in Structure Fire Environments

READ THE STORY

Sean Scott, author of The Red Guide to Recovery – Resource Handbook for Disaster Survivors and Secrets of The Insurance Game, is offering up important and often overlooked health and safety information for structural fire survivors, first responders and anyone moving into a home that had previously suffered a fire.

In an in-depth article posted on The Red Guide to Recovery website, Scott, an author, disaster recovery expert and fire restoration contractor who has spent nearly four decades in the construction and restoration business, outlines in detail what 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), better known simply as “dioxin,” is, how dioxins are formed in a fire, and why they pose such serious and overlooked health risks. Dioxins have been identified by scientists as being the second most toxic chemicals known to man – bested only by radioactive waste.

In this new article, Scott – who has worked on literally thousands of residential and commercial property damage claims and has spent decades researching the implications and challenges of post-fire scenarios – explains why most protocols for working in or around fire damaged structures or restoring contaminated textiles are actually woefully ineffective in terms of the detection and eradication of dioxins.

KEEP READING

Exhibition looks back on 60 years of AO disaster in Vietnam

READ THE STORY

Nearly 300 photos, documents and items on the Agent Orange/dioxin (AO) disaster in Vietnam over the past 60 years are being displayed at an exhibition that opened at the Vietnam Military History Museum in Hanoi on July 13.

Hanoi (VNA) – Nearly 300 photos, documents and items on the Agent Orange/dioxin (AO) disaster in Vietnam over the past 60 years are being displayed at an exhibition that opened at the Vietnam Military History Museum in Hanoi on July 13.

The exhibition gives visitors an insight into the disaster's aftermath, efforts to resolve the consequences as well as the journey to demand justice for Vietnamese AO/dioxin victims and their desire to rise.

Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Van Rinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) said that the exhibition aims to provide Vietnamese people in and outside the country as well as international friends with deeper understanding of  consequences of the toxic chemical to the environment and people’s health, endeavours taken by the Party, State, the military and the VAVA as well as relevant agencies in overcoming them.

It also spotlights the joint efforts of the society and support of international friends in dealing with the results left by the disaster and helping victims, and the victims’ efforts to integrate into the community, he said, adding that he hopes the exhibition will contribute to calling for more support in easing the pain caused by the disaster and stronger solidarity in preventing the proliferation of mass destruction weapons as well as the support to the struggle to demand justice for Vietnamese AO/dioxin victims.

KEEP READING

To fight ecocide, we have to criminalize it

READ THE STORY

As we face the urgent crises of climate and extinction, we need every tool available — including the law — to fight for life on Earth. By identifying “ecocide” as a prosecutable crime, as a panel of 12 lawyers recently proposed to the International Criminal Court, we can set up a practical framework for tackling these emergencies.

The legal panel defined ecocide as “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment.” It’s launching a global campaign to list ecocide as an international crime. Currently, the court can prosecute four crimes: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression. Ecocide would be the fifth.

The term “ecocide” was coined by bioethicist Arthur Galston in the 1970s to refer to intentional destruction of a specific environment. It was inspired by the U.S. use of the toxic herbicide Agent Orange in the Vietnam War and is now used more broadly to refer to a wide range of environmentally destructive behaviors.

KEEP READING

Biden’s Vietnam ambassador nominee vows to press Hanoi on rights, trade

READ THE STORY

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the next U.S. ambassador to Vietnam vowed at his Senate nomination hearing on Tuesday to boost security ties with Hanoi while seeking equitable market access and pressing Hanoi to respect human rights.

Marc Knapper, a career diplomat currently serving as deputy assistant secretary for Japan and Korea, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the relationship between Washington and its former Vietnam War foe had undergone a “profound transformation” since normalization of ties in 1995.

“Our two countries have moved from a history of conflict to a comprehensive partnership that spans political, security, economic, and people-to-people ties,” he said, while adding that the relationship was not without its challenges.

“We have serious, serious concerns,” Knapper said. “Only when we see significant progress on human rights can our partnership reach its fullest potential.”

KEEP READING