Marrow Donors Sought

http://www.oakdaleleader.com/section/44/article/11180/

Bone marrow testing for bone marrow matches and blood donors are being sought to help a veteran who lives in the area.

U.S. Army Sergeant Major (Ret) Jon R. Cavaiani, a  recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer last February – the VA has acknowledged this is due to Agent Orange exposure, according to his cousin. He has received many blood transfusions and is now on his fifth round of chemotherapy.

On July 25, he will enter Stanford Cancer Medical Clinic for further testing to be sure he is fit for a bone marrow transplant.

Being tested for donorship is a simple cheek swab. If selected as a donor it is a same day surgery. The family is asking that anyone who is under 60 years old be tested as a donor. Cavaiani is also encouraging everyone to donate blood to “pay it forward” as he has used so much blood. Those who know him know he’s all about giving back. Blood donations may be made at the American Red Cross or Delta Blood Bank.

Cavaiani is a Vietnam War hero and was a prisoner of war for two years. He was presented with the Medal of Honor by President Gerald Ford during a ceremony on December 12, 1974.

For anyone interested in being a marrow donor, go to the website www.bethematch.org. Testing is a simple cheek swab test, and same day surgery for the donor.

The most current updates on his condition may also be found on the GiveForward website under his name.

For questions, contact Debby at debby@wildspiritranch.com.

Cavaiani is also listed for donations the GiveForward website at www.giveforward.com/fundraiser /3nl2/congressionalmedalofhonorrecipientjoncavaiani.

The Monsanto Menace: The feds see no evil as a belligerent strongman seeks control of America's food supply

http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2013-07-25/restaurants/monsanto-strongman-food-supply-farmers/
When you're good at something, you want to leverage that. Monsanto's specialty is killing stuff.
In the early years, the St. Louis biotech giant helped pioneer such leading chemicals as DDT, PCBs and Agent Orange. Unfortunately, these breakthroughs had a tendency to kill stuff. And the torrent of lawsuits that comes from random killing put a crimp on long-term profitability.

Monsanto's Creve Coeur headquarters hides behind trees and security checkpoints.

 

 

 

"Monsanto and the biotechs need to respect traditional property rights and need to keep their pollution on their side of the fence," says Maine farmer Jim Gerritsen.

So Monsanto hatched a less lethal, more lucrative plan. The company would attempt to take control of the world's food supply.
It began in the mid-'90s, when Monsanto developed genetically modified (GM) crops such as soybeans, alfalfa, sugar beets and wheat. These Franken-crops were immune to its leading weed killer, Roundup. That meant that farmers no longer had to till the land to kill weeds, as they'd done for hundreds of years. They could simply blast their entire fields with chemicals, leaving GM crops the only thing standing. Problem solved.
The so-called no-till revolution promised greater yields, better profits for the family farm and a heightened ability to feed a growing world. But there was one small problem: Agriculture had placed a belligerent strongman in charge of the buffet line.
Monsanto knew that it needed more than genetically modified crops to squeeze out competitors, so it also began buying the biggest seed businesses, spending $12 billion by the time its splurge concluded. The company was cornering agriculture by buying up the best shelf space and distribution channels. All its boasting about global benevolence began to look much more like a naked power grab.
READ MORE: http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2013-07-25/restaurants/monsanto-strongman-food-supply-farmers/

Fight over $200 million overrun at Colorado VA heads to courts

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_23690219/fight-over-200-million-overrun-at-colorado-va#ixzz2ZsCFb2gu

A dispute over a potential $200 million cost overrun in building a replacement Veterans Affairs hospital in Aurora is now before a federal tribunal, with builder Kiewit-Turner filing claims against the VA.
Kiewit-Turner filed its complaint July 8 with the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals in Washington, sanctioned by Congress to hear disputes between contractors and federal agencies.
The contractor said it will continue work, but the builder has also indicated the nearly $600 million hospital won't be done until 2016, later than the VA has promised.
The VA has disclosed to Congress that it has reshuffled its Colorado project management to speed completion, and is renegotiating the supposedly fixed building contract, according to a department letter obtained by The Denver Post.
The July 12 letter to Congress, however, did not mention Kiewit-Turner's move to seek relief in federal courts.
Colorado veterans Thursday vented frustration at the VA's management and secrecy, after years of delays in which officials seem blind to the urgent needs of patients.

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_23690219/fight-over-200-million-overrun-at-colorado-va#ixzz2ZsCFb2gu

4 decades after war ended, Agent Orange still ravaging Vietnamese

http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/07/22/3399892/4-decades-after-war-ended-agent.html
DA NANG, Vietnam — In many ways, Nguyen Thi Ly is just like any other 12-year-old girl. She has a lovely smile and is quick to laugh. She wants to be a teacher when she grows up. She enjoys skipping rope when she plays.
But Ly is also very different from other children. Her head is severely misshapen. Her eyes are unnaturally far apart and permanently askew. She’s been hospitalized with numerous ailments since her birth.
Her mother, 43-year-old Le Thi Thu, has similar deformities and health disorders. Neither of them has ever set foot on a battlefield, but they’re both casualties of war. 
Le and her daughter are second- and third-generation victims of dioxin exposure, the result of the U.S. military’s use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, when the U.S. Air Force sprayed more than 20 million gallons of Agent Orange and other herbicides over parts of southern Vietnam and along the borders of neighboring Laos and Cambodia. The herbicides were contaminated with dioxin, a deadly compound that remains toxic for decades and causes birth defects, cancer and other illnesses.
READ MORE: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/07/22/3399892/4-decades-after-war-ended-agent.html

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/07/22/3399892/4-decades-after-war-ended-agent.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/07/22/3399892/4-decades-after-war-ended-agent.html#storylink=cpy

Makers of Agent Orange followed formula dictated by U.S. government

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/22/3514456/makers-of-agent-orange-followed.html#storylink=cpy
DA NANG, Vietnam -- James R. Clary was a young Air Force officer and scientist who designed the spray tank for the C-123 cargo planes that dispensed Agent Orange and other herbicides during the Vietnam War.
Thirteen years after the conflict ended, with serious concerns being raised in Congress about the effects of defoliants on veterans’ health, Clary dropped a startling bombshell: Military scientists had known that herbicides shipped to Vietnam were contaminated with dioxin and had “the potential for damage” to human health.
“However, because the material was to be used on the ‘enemy,’ none of us were overly concerned,” Clary wrote to then-Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D. “We never considered a scenario in which our own personnel would become contaminated with the herbicide.”
Agent Orange was produced primarily by the Monsanto Corp. and Dow Chemical. Both companies say the defoliant was made according to strict military specifications. “The government specified the chemical composition of Agent Orange and when, where and how the material was to be used in the field, including application rates,” Monsanto says.
But a 1990 report compiled by Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr. for the Department of Veterans Affairs that recommended compensation for ailing veterans who’d been exposed to Agent Orange also detailed evidence that Dow Chemical knew as early as 1964 that dioxin was a “byproduct of the manufacturing process” and that the dangers of exposure were clear.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/22/3514456/makers-of-agent-orange-followed.html#storylink=cpy

READ MORE: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/22/3514456/makers-of-agent-orange-followed.html#storylink=cpy

Environment council to host public forum on dioxin

http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_23683504/environment-council-host-public-forum-dioxin
OROVILLE — The Butte Environmental Council will conduct a public forum July 31 at Oroville library on options for testing dioxin and taking action. Beginning at 6 p.m., community leaders, agency staffs, faith and health care communities and those in local and county governments may help craft an action plan.
A short clip will be shown about waste incineration and dioxin from the new documentary "Trashed," as well as another short video featuring Linda Birnbaum, director of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, talking about the health impacts of dioxin.
BEC staff will talk about options for testing and action, and community members may discuss their priorities and concerns.
The library is at 1825 Mitchell Ave.
For information, call 538-7641 or visit www.becnet.org/public-forums.

AGENT ORANGE: Alphabetized Ship List

http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/shiplist/list.asp#P
If your vessel is not included in the Mobile Riverine Force, ISF Division 93 or listed designations (see "Find Your Ship"), check the alphabetized list of ships below.
To search for your ship, look under the first letter of the formal ship name. For example, if your ship's name is USS Dennis J. Buckley, look under the letter "D" for Dennis.
Ships will be regularly added to the list based on information confirmed in official records of ship operations. Currently there are 285 ships on this list. Ship not on the list and you think it should be?
Questions about your eligibility for disability compensation? Contact your nearest VA benefits office.
Last updated: July 2013
READ MORE: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/shiplist/list.asp#P

EPA plans river cleanup

http://www.ourmidland.com/news/epa-plans-river-cleanup/article_611e9f6d-d8ed-55f4-bc5a-49bade2e2875.html
More than $4.5 million in work would take place to cap or remove dioxins from the Tittabawassee River south of The Dow Chemical Co.’s Michigan Operations site under a proposal from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA will host a meeting Wednesday to gather input on the plan.
The EPA has recommended a number of actions for its second phase of a comprehensive cleanup of the river, which is polluted with dioxins and furans from historic practices at Dow. Segment 2 of the river is a 4-mile stretch starting just below the Dow’s plant. Going downriver, the EPA says there are distinct “Sediment Management Areas” and “Bank Management Areas” that need to be addressed.
READ MORE: http://www.ourmidland.com/news/epa-plans-river-cleanup/article_611e9f6d-d8ed-55f4-bc5a-49bade2e2875.html

Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans

H.R.543 Latest Title: Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2013.

A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify presumptions relating to the exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the Republic of Vietnam, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Gibson, Christopher P. [NY-19] (introduced 2/6/2013)

Latest Major Action: 2/15/2013 Referred to House subcommittee. Status:

Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

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

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

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

Committees: House Armed Services; House Veterans' Affairs

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.

Who Bought This Court?

from MONSANTO...The Supreme Court of Korea has eliminated previous monetary awards and instructed a lower court to reconsider its decision that Dow Chemical and the former Monsanto Company as chemical suppliers to the U.S. government in the 1960s are liable for claims by Korean Vietnam War veterans. The lower court decision was contrary to established legal principles and U.S. precedent involving claims by Vietnam veterans.

“Our employees have great respect for the Korean, U.S. and other allied soldiers sent to any war including those in service in the Vietnam War,” said David F. Snively, Monsanto Executive Vice President and General Counsel. “It is the role of the U.S. government and the Republic of Korea to resolve any issues arising from wartime activities and both nations have implemented measures to provide support for their veterans.”
Agent Orange was a military herbicide used from 1961 to 1971 to defoliate vegetation in the Vietnamese jungles and saved the lives of allied soldiers. Nine chemical companies manufactured Agent Orange for the U.S. government. The U.S government specified the chemical composition of Agent Orange and when, where and how the material was used in Vietnam. Agent Orange received its name because of the orange band around containers of the material.
READ MORE: http://www.monsanto.com/newsviews/Pages/korean-supreme-court-reverses-and-remands-agent-orange-judgment.aspx

US firms ordered to pay over Agent Orange

http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/us-firms-ordered-to-pay-over-agent-orange-1.1546356#.UeQHpm1cVAE

Seoul - South Korea's highest court on Friday upheld a ruling ordering two US Agent Orange makers to compensate 39 Vietnam War veterans, while sending another decision back to a lower court for review.

The Supreme Court recognised the correlation between the toxic defoliant and certain skin diseases, saying the 39 victims should receive a total of 466 million won ($415 000) from Dow Chemical and Monsanto.

The veterans had complained that Agent Orange was responsible for skin diseases such as “chemical acne”, which is caused by exposure to dioxin contained in Agent Orange, the court said.

Payment is now up to the US firms, but Dow Chemical said in a statement quoted by Yonhap news agency that it disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision, arguing that the verdict was not backed by clear evidence, citing US court rulings.

The South Korean court also sent back an appeals court verdict that the two firms should compensate thousands of other veterans who claimed to have similarly suffered from exposure to defoliants used during the Vietnam War.

READ MORE: http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/us-firms-ordered-to-pay-over-agent-orange-1.1546356#.UeQHpm1cVAE

Sunshine Coast council sprays dunes with 'Agent Orange' mix to control weeds

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sunshine-coast-council-sprays-dunes-with-8216agent-orange8217-mix-to-control-weeds/story-e6frg6n6-1226678653244
COMMUNITY safety fears have been raised after it was revealed a Sunshine Coast council mixed up its own chemical brew from an ingredient used in Agent Orange and sprayed it at popular beaches to kill sand dune weeds.
The council is under fire for using the herbicide 2,4-D _ one half of the toxic defoliant blend Agent Orange from the Vietnam War that is under review by federal authorities.
For the past three years, the council has been experimenting with an off-label "tank mix" of 2,4-D and another herbicide, metsulfuron methyl, to rid sand dunes of the invasive glory lily (gloriosa superba) weed.
Fears have been raised over the safety of the brew dubbed Gloricide as federal agencies undertake a review of 2,4-D over concerns it can harm the environment and humans.
The federal environment department has recommended a ban on all "high volatile" 2,4-D products which can vapourish and travel kilometres, landing on other plants and aquatic organisms.

Human trials and real-life environmental tests are also under way on the "low volatile" 2,4-D products, with results expected at the end of the year.
In the United States, there is a push to have 2,4-D banned
READ MORE: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sunshine-coast-council-sprays-dunes-with-8216agent-orange8217-mix-to-control-weeds/story-e6frg6n6-1226678653244