Veterans Day 2012: Still at War

Ed Note:  Thanks to Mike Hearington of VFP for sharing this piece with us. WH

Thoughts on Veterans Day

By John Cory

November 11, 2012

Veterans Day—A national Hallmark Card for war inked with survivor's guilt.

We have numbered wars like SuperBowls (WWI and WWII), marked them by time (the Hundred Years' War and the Thirty Years' War), masked them with a gentle oxymoron (the Civil War) and fogged their battles in terms of weather (Rolling Thunder and Desert Storm). War is a lesson in geography like the Spanish-American War, the Mexican-American War and the Vietnam War or, as the Vietnamese call it, the American War. Modern war is waged on an "ism" like Communism or Terrorism.

We never run out of names, terms or reasons for war. And there is always an anniversary for war or a battle or its start, a day of  red poppies and marketing to ensure romantic remembrance of death and destruction.

That is war after all - a marriage of violence and glory "until death do us part."

War is a true never-ending story. And when the shooting stops, we file the body parts and memory fragments on a bookshelf for later reference when we write about war, searching for Kevlar words to protect the troops as we recon the thesaurus of emotions and memories for the building blocks that frame a new rationalization for more war.

And everyone wants a good war story to lead the six o'clock news or top the bestseller charts. It has to be heroic and noble, a tale of sacrifice for the greater good or better yet, a battle of reluctance turned into righteous annihilation of the enemy. It has to be a story about us versus the faceless and godless enemy that leads to triumph and victory, albeit a world-weary victory, thrust upon us. We didn't want to destroy the village but we had to destroy the village in order to save the village. Like that ominous voice of movie previews, we utter the words: In a world of kill or be killed, there can be no doubt.

Of course we don't tell real war stories. We write recruiting posters. We have perfected the perverted normalcy of war and made it a family affair

In the recent election cycle only 3 percent of voters listed war as a topic of concern when voting for a candidate. 

The thing they never tell you, the lie of all lies, is that you can go to war and then come home.

You can't.

www.VetSpeak.org

Join the Fight: Voices in the Wilderness Vs the V.A.

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Ed Note: This open letter came in the VetSpeak.org e-mail, this a.m. It directly addresses a post from VA Watchdog, http://www.vawatchdog.org/10/nf10/nfjul10/nf071710-1-1.htm, which I had just finished posting to FaceBook.  Ed Jackson is doing exactly what we all need to be doing, speaking out. Only we should begin to be doing it in an organized fashion…TOGETHER, as one voice, instead of in frustrated and angry individual outbursts.  As long as we are fighting and arguing among ourselves about political ideology or schoolbook philosophy, and continuing to exercise organizational chauvinism, rather than coalescing all of our knowledge, and all of our influence and resources in a concerted and unified campaign to confront and oust these tyrants on these issues specific to our experience as Veterans, they will continue to deny us that which we have, through our service in peace time and in time of war, earned.  Until then, VetSpeak.org’s pages are open to other voices in the wilderness wishing to speak out about the V.A.’s uncaring treatment of the very Veterans that the agency was created to serve.WH

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Dept. of Veteran's Affairs 

A National Embarrassment  

Our nation faces a lot of issues today, from the failed economy, to jobs, to defense, to healthcare, to housing, to the out of control national debt.
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Nearly every one of these problems have been self inflicted by the US Congress.  The Democrats have controlled the Congress for 4 years now and in that 4 years, the US has nearly imploded.  Republicans did not do much better when they controlled the Congress.  Congress has increased entitlement programs a staggering 50% in 4 years.  In FY-2006 theDepartment of Health and Human Services (HHS) was about $600 Billion, in FY-2010 it is $900 Billion.  HHS administers most entitlement programs.  HHS is scheduled to have a huge budget increase in the next few years, as it begins administrating ObamaCare.
 
In contrast the Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) had a budget of about $90 Billion in FY-2006, and about $100 Billion in FY-2010, including a 9% increase in contracted attorneys this year.  Why does the VA need an increase in attorney costs?  Because it has some 3 million pending or appealed claims from veterans from WWII to today's Global Wars on Terrorism in Iraqand Afghanistan the VA is still fighting.  There are still some 800,000 claims from Vietnam Era veterans, most of which have claims or appeals for exposure to Agent Orange.  To settle these claims for Agent Orange exposure the VA has taken the official approach of "we are waiting for an Army to die".  The VA has refused to consider evidence submitted by veterans to support their claims or appeals.  The VA has refused to comply with the law that says if there are no government records found, and the veteran provides his/her own evidence then the "benefit of doubt" goes in favor of the veteran.
 
The VA current will not pay concurrent compensation if a veteran is retired from the military and collecting his/her earned retirement.  If these veterans have a VA disability rating of 50%, or less, the the retired veteran must give up a dollar for dollar amount of retired pays for his/her compensation.  In effect, the veteran is funding his own VA disabilities and the VA is not.  
 
I am one of those veterans, who gives up a portion of my USAF retirement pay to collect a 30% disability ($376 per month) "compensation".  That compensation is seperate from my claim of Agent Orange exposure.  I am one of some 800,000 veterans who served in Guam, the "Blue Water Navy", Thailand, Okinawa, and other places that directly support combat operations in Vietnam and was exposed to Agent Orange while performing service to our great nation.  We veterans served in the US Army, USN, USAF, USMC, and USCG.  We were mostly between 18 and 22 years old when we were exposed, although some were also then approaching retirement age back then, between 38 and 48.  About 200 Vietnam Era veterans are now dying each day.  Many others, including myself are in poor health, and are being denied health care and compensation from the VA.  Many of us can no longer work.  But, what hurts us more than being denied by the VA, is we are finding out our exposures to Agent Orange, which contains dioxin, back in the 1960s and 1970s is we have passed new health problems to our children and grandchildren.  The health effects of dioxin is truly multi-generational.  
 
Past Congresses have set this type of system up for disabled veterans to jump through the hoops at the VA.  The VA and Dept. of Defense (DOD) insist that records cannot be found for the storage, use, and disposal of Agent Orange on Guam, or shipment by USAF aircraft or USN ships, including chartered aircraft and shipping.  But that is like saying "we cannot confirm or deny.....", which has been a DOD standard statement since WWII.  
 
Just where do you think all of that Agent Orange went after its use was stopped in South Vietnam in 1970?  Well, it wasn't Kansas.   
 
Does the US Government even know that if the VA paid all 3 million claims and appeals pending at 100% disability compensation, under $3000 per month, it would cost about $9 billion per year, not including administrative costs.  That is less than 10% of the current VA budget of about $100 billion per year (FY-2010).  That is about the same amount of money the VA increased their budget to pay attorneys with (to fight the claims against the veterans).  In FY-2009, the US Congress spent some $3 billion of the "cash for clunkers" program.  They pay senior executives of Fannie-Mae and Freddie-Mac, about $90 million per year, and are about to give each another (up to) $150 billion.  The USAF is about to spend some $40 billion on a KC-X (the next generation tanker aircraft) to replace stored KC-135s that even they say are safely flyable until 2040 or longer, with new engines and upgrades (at a fraction of the cost of the KC-X).  
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President Obama and the current Congress spent $787 billion in 2009 in a failed attempt to save jobs and the economy.  Unemployment has climbed from about 7% before that money was spent to as high as 10% since that money was spent.  Thank you Congress and Mr. President.  The President recently visited a battery plant Holland, MI (owned by a South Korean company) and gave them some $300 million to open a new plant in Holland for 300 workers, a cost of $500,000 per new job.  Yet, the government continues to ignore those of us who answered our nation's call when they needed us.  President Obama and the current Congress is no friend of the current troops now fighting for us, or past veterans who have.  Just last year he floated an idea he had to have current war veterans who were wounded, many with lost limbs, pay for their own health care and wounds or injuries incurred during their military war service. 
 
It is time we started supporting our current and former veterans, the VA will not, and this Congress will not.  All of us veterans who have been waiting for years for settlement of our claims will be voting this November.  I assure you, no candidate or incumbent can expect our support if they will not support the veterans, and correct the national disgrace the VA is.  
 
Ed Jackson,
Msgt. (RET), USAF
topboom@msn.com

www.VetSpeak.org

The Hypocrisy of a Killer

Chuck Palazzo
Agent Orange Editor
www.VetSpeak.org
Danang, VN
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Hypocrisy is defined as “the act of persistently professing beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities, or standards that are inconsistent with one’s actions. Hypocrisy is thus a lie”.
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On April 18, 2010, The Dow Live Earth Run for Water took place. This is a series of 6km runs and walks that are to simultaneously take place over the course of 24 hours in 150 countries and according to its primary sponsor and namesake, Dow, “these activities will ignite a massive global movement to help solve the water crisis”.
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Dow Chemical was one of several and the second largest producer of Agent Orange before and during the Vietnam War. According to a statement on their own website, “U.S. military research developed Agent Orange, and the product was formulated based on exacting military specifications.” They further go on to state, “Today, the scientific consensus is that when the collective human evidence is reviewed, it doesn’t show that Agent Orange caused veteran’s illnesses.” This lie and the placement of guilt remain today. The “concern” of this, one of the largest corporations in the world today, is in its own corporate earnings – they could care less about the victims of Agent Orange. They have done zero research to substantiate this outlandish claim. The last time this statement was update was on June 21, 2007 – almost 3 years ago.
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http://www.dow.com/commitments/debates/agentorange/
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What is an interesting and very disturbing observation from Dow’s so-called Sustainability statement I reference is, that there are 10 languages this statement is available in it– none of which is Vietnamese. It was Vietnam, whose country was sprayed with Agent Orange and the other so called rainbow herbicides which exposed 4.8 million Vietnamese people, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities PLUS over 500,000 children born with birth defects. During the Vietnam War, between 1962 and 1971, the United States military sprayed over 77,000,000 litres (20,000,000 gallons) of chemical defoliants in South Vietnam – 20 percent of South Vietnam’s jungles were sprayed over a 9 year period. 12% of the country.
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In 1963, the United States (suspecting the negative effects) initiated a study on the health effects of Agent Orange that by 1967 confirmed that the chemical caused cancer, birth defects and other serious health problems. The outcome of the study had no affect whatsoever on the use of Agent Orange. The spraying continued, and the chemical companies, namely Dow and Monsanto, reaped millions upon millions of dollars in profits knowing that this chemical that they produced was killing, maiming and genetically altering human lives, for generations upon generations yet to come. In fact, Agent Orange was widely used by the US Military from the late 1940’s through the 1970’s in our own United States, Korea, Canada, Australia, and Brazil and throughout Southeast Asia. 
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The American veteran and our offspring continue to die, have children who are adversely affected, and now, 3 generations after the war, continue to experience grossly negative effects from this poison. Yes, several lawsuits were filed against the companies responsible and yes a $180 million settlement was reached in 1984 – with most affected veterans receiving a one-time lump sum payment of $1,200. A slap in the face, a pittance – barely enough money to cover the travel back and forth to the DVA to file claims, receive medical attention, maintain some semblance to life. What is the value of a human life? $1,200? The Vietnamese have received nothing. On March 10, 2005, Judge Jack B. Weinstein of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange against the chemical companies which produced the defoliants and herbicides.
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The case was appealed and heard by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on June 18, 2007. The Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of the case stating that the herbicides used during the war were not intended to be used to poison humans and therefore did not violate international law.
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On March 10, 2005, Judge Jack B. Weinstein - dismissed the suit which was filed on behalf of the Vietnamese victims, ruling that there was no legal basis for the plaintiffs' claims. The judge concluded that Agent Orange was not considered a poison under international law at the time of its use by the U.S.; that the U.S. was not prohibited from using it as an herbicide; and that the companies which produced the substance were not liable for the method of its use by the government. The U.S. government is not a party in the lawsuit, claiming sovereign immunity.
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Sovereign immunity? Murderers – of our own US Veteran, victims of the other countries mentioned, and of course, the Vietnamese.
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Dow and Monsanto are indeed 2 of, if not the worst of the world’s most irresponsible companies. Dow Chemical (along with Monsanto) will never escape the shadow of Agent Orange, the chemical used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War during the ‘Herbicidal Warfare’ program, which lead to 400,000 deaths and disabilities and 500,000 children born with birth defects. But even with this evil legacy – and that of Napalm, which it also produced – Dow is not contrite. This corporation continues to pollute the earth without apology.
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Two rivers downstream of Dow’s plant in Midland, Michigan are polluted with chlorinated furans and dioxins from the company’s past operations. Despite the fact that these chemicals are linked to cancer and other health issues, Dow maintains that the contamination is not a public health threat and has been fighting with the EPA over cleanup for years. Many people in the area aren’t even aware of the extent of the dioxin contamination, and Dow has refused to put up warning signs. Just recently, Dow Chemical sponsored a fishing event in a waterway it polluted with dioxin, never even acknowledging the contamination and its possible effects.
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Furthermore, following the purchase of Union Carbide – the company responsible for the Bhopal gas disaster which left nearly 20,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands disabled – Dow has refused to take responsibility for the health and environmental effects of the incident.
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In Dow’s own words “Bhopal was a terrible tragedy that none of us will ever forget. However, it is important to note that Dow never owned or operated the plant, which today is under the control of the Madhya Pradesh state government.”
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http://www.dow.com/commitments/debates/bhopal/
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Dow and Monsanato Running for Water, really?  While supportive participants walk and run in this event; Dow, Monsanto and the others continue to run from their own responsibility from not only the ever present deadly pollution they created, but from the murders, birth defects and incredible agony the human race continues to have to endure – because of Dow’s and Monsanto’s profit seeking.
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www.VetSpeak.org
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More on Monsanto, Agent Orange, and Recent Trickery and Profiteering

Chuck Palazzo

Agent Orange Editor

VetSpeak.org

Danang, Vietnam - The more I read and attempt to understand Monsanto and to go as far as to put myself in their corporate shoes, I just cannot. No matter which way I look at them, no matter what avenue I investigate and pursue, my conclusions are the same. Monsanto the company, its executives, and many of their employees in middle and upper management (and probably the rank and file as well) knew and know exactly what is going on with the company. Why should anyone from the inside blow the whistle? They are very well paid and they are deemed to be an excellent company to work for (morality and war crimes and playing God aside, of course). In addition, the so-called revolving door of US (and probably other) Government officials who once worked for Monsanto are now on the various Government’s side – and vice versa – so many former Government officials are now employed by Monsanto or one of its subsidiaries. The highest court in the US, The US Supreme Court just happens to have a former Monsanto Attorney sitting on its bench. 

I am probably being redundant, as I have mentioned this before, but we need to be reminded – Justice Thomas was a former Monsanto Corporate Attorney! I am not accusing Justice Thomas of anything – but just knowing that someone worked for the company that produced so much Agent Orange before and during the Vietnam War (and possibly afterwards as well) is now a US Supreme Court Justice just does not sit well with me. The list certainly goes on and on. Look at the FDA, look at Monsanto. Please see the Documentary “The World According to Monsanto” and more will be revealed to each of you.

I came across some very interesting articles and websites during the past few days regarding Monsanto, its products, and how it continues to destroy human lives as well as our environment. But most important, how Monsanto continues to get away with it. True, they have been convicted of lying about their labeling practices for their Round-Up Product – and were fined a pittance compared with their annual (or weekly, for that matter) revenue. Yes, their stock was affected. But are they staring at a potential bankruptcy proceeding as a result? Absolutely not! They just continue to produce, and in many cases, forcibly sell, their products for a huge profit margin.

I cannot set aside what Monsanto caused, and never will set aside what they continue to cause as a result of Agent Orange. But here is another example: Aspartame was made by Monsanto. To make matters worse, Aspartame is made from genetically manufactured bacteria.

http://www.knowthelies.com/?q=node/2148

What makes no sense, other than the fact that Monsanto wants to dominate the world’s food supply and possibly the world itself, is how they sue, beat up, bully, etc., etc., the small farmers (larger ones as well) to ensure their genetically manufactured products are being used – and said use reaping a very large royalty for Monsanto.

Hiding the presence of PCB’s from local residents? See how Monsanto did it for years – about 40 years to be exact! Suicides in India, and probably elsewhere because Monsanto has forced poor farmers to go into such huge debt just to buy seeds from this terror of a company, just to realize that their crop production was not close to what was being promised?

http://rawearthliving.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/monsanto-atrocities-read-and-take-action/

All this and more, from the folks who brought us Agent Orange – then refused to pay the proper compensation for its ongoing treachery and deaths. Sure, they were part of the infamous 1984 settlement in the amount of $180 million – with most affected veterans who were tricked and lied to - receiving a one-time lump sum payment of $1,200.

Monsanto continues to make huge sums of money and at the expense of human life. How and why do they continue? The bottom line, cash, greenbacks, MONEY! And I dare say – the revolving door.

www.VetSpeak.org

Forbes Company of the Year - Anti-Green Monsanto: Agent Orange Creator and Defense Department Vendor

By Chuck Palazzo

Agent Orange Editor

www.VetSpeak.org

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Danang, Vietnam - A slap in the face! What an insult. What a display of ignorance. What little to no compassion, let alone admission of guilt to the war crimes this company was involved in. No, they were never convicted – because they settled out of court like Dow and the rest of the criminals who created, sold, and made hundreds of millions of dollars creating, selling and reaping the profits from Dioxin – yes, Agent Orange. (Photo: Vietnam File Photo - circa 1965-1968)
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http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0118/americas-best-company-10-gmos-dupont-planet-versus-monsanto.html

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This week, Forbes Magazine named Monsanto its company of the year. Can you believe it? Forbes – sure, a conservative, capitalist magazine – but nominating and approving Monsanto? A killer that was and continues to be, responsible for MILLIONS of deaths, MILLIONS of humans affected with disease as a result of being sprayed and exposed, MILLIONS of offspring whose health (and most of the time, untimely deaths), all caused by the evil poison known as Agent Orange.

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They still produce Round-up, a watered down version of Agent Orange. However, the French Courts have found in favor of those who brought suit against them – Monsanto was accused and convicted in the French Courts about the make-up and what actually Round-up is and does – they were convicted of lying to the courts - perjury. Their sentence? A fine – a pittance, compared with the BILLIONS of dollars in revenue they achieve each year.
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However, that recent series of court cases in France is indeed significant – Round-up sales have dropped since the court’s decision, and this might just be a start – because Monsanto did in fact earn less than their forecasted revenues in 09 as a result in a drop in sales of Round-up.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8308903.stm

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Their CEO did in fact receive less in bonus compensation as a result of much of this being revealed – but he still earned millions of dollars!

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http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/mound-city-money/st-louis-companies/2009/12/monsanto-ceo-grant-sees-bonus-shrink-in-09/

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Today, Monsanto is viewed by many, as a savior in terms of world hunger – because of its creation of genetically engineered seeds. Two very important facts:

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   1)  GE seeds are in fact NOT better than natural seeds and are, some believe, even worse – in terms of the environment, human lives, spread of new diseases and humanity in general.
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2)  It has been revealed by the AP as well as other trusted sources, that Monsanto has and continues to use strong arm tactics in forcing farmers to buy and use their seeds.

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This is a short video about the lie of what Monsanto and others preach about GE crops:

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http://www.techblogarchives.com/2010/01/06/genetic-engineering-the-worlds-greatest-scam/
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The GE seed issue is certainly a serious one – but brothers and sisters, let us never forget Vietnam, Cambodia, Canada, Korea and other countries where Agent Orange was sprayed in both war and peacetime. Let us not forget all human tolls it has taken – and continues to take. The lives that have been devastated, the lives removed. The profits and GE seeds and eventual crops that wind up on your supermarket shelves have all been brought to you buy the profits Monsanto received as a result of the US Government paying them hundreds of millions of dollars for the poison we all despise:  Agent Orange.
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More about Monsanto, the food industry in general, and the devastation and lies they and others like them are propagating, in this wonderful piece called “Food, Inc.”

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http://www.theconsci​ous.com/?p=61

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This may or may not be available free of charge, depending on what country you reside in, but it IS available to all from www.thepiratebay.org. Remember, you will need a torrent program to download it. Email me if you need further instructions.

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http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/5142533/Food__Inc__%282008%29

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I urge you all – please login to Forbes, create an account, and comment about this truly wrong winner this year. Monsanto and its executives belong behind bars – not recipients of Forbes’ Company of the Year Award!

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Not a single word about their involvement with the US Government during the Vietnam War. Not one mention of all the death and destruction they have and continue to be responsible for. This is the true corporate world – its finest for its shareholders and executives, but its worst for all of us who were exposed to, suffer from, and pass on the devastation we know as Agent Orange. Genetic alteration to seeds? What about the genetic alteration, eventual disease, disability and death from Agent Orange?

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www.VetSpeak.org

Afghanistan: Are the Impacts of Vietnam Fading, is it Possible?

Looking forward into the past:  Vietnam & Afghanistan
By
Chuck Palazzo
Agent Orange Editor
www.VetSpeak.org

Da Nang, Vietnam - How can the U.S. decry human rights violations as it fails to be responsible for a war that should never have been waged in the first place?  As a VVAW member and correspondant living in Vietnam I receive a great amount of feedback as a result of my efforts to help people affected by the chemical Agent Orange, a defoiliant manufactured by Monsanto.  This contribution is an interchange of dialog on some key points of the Vietnam War. The following comment which began this dialog is from a source that we are choosing not to name:  

"Let it go, Brother. Your attention to figures can scramble your brain. And don't think 58,000 Americans died in vain in Viet Nam. There were lessons to learn and a need for this for the U.S. to realize the limits of its power. Viet Nam didn't matter in the scheme of things and it wouldn't have made any difference to the vast majority of us, regardless of the outcome."

But I responded and told him I would publicize our dialog. He was writing to me in response to my asking for stats re: how many of us are left, how many disabled, etc. This was my reply:

"I appreciate what you have said, and I agree with you to an extent. But to never let anyone believe our brothers and sisters have died in vain? I for one, cannot ever let it go. Yes, I have let many things go - including the fact that I was an 18 year old kid thrust into a war that I had no idea was about - except I came from an era and was told, by my dad, friends, and of course the US Government that we had to fight the spread of communism. What crap, I am sure you would agree.

You see, in my opinion, Vietnam does matter in the scheme of things, especially when it comes to facts and figures - and more important, what continues to occur in Iraq and the current escalation in Afghanistan. You cannot fix what you cannot measure. 


It might be easy for some to forget what the US did in Vietnam, the loss of the 58,000 plus, the daily deaths as a result of the collateral damage known as Agent Orange, even now, 40 years later - but unless we remind each other, and continue to educate other people as well, we as humanity are destined to make the same mistakes, commit the same war crimes, and foster the same money making schemes we did back then. Yes, perhaps we have learned some lessons, but Monsanto continues to be a multi-billion dollar company and the US refuses to admit its war crimes.  Will the US government opt for chemical defoliants as a weapon in their war on the poppy trade, in Afghanistan?  If so, who you gonna call?

Look at our sons and daughters, our friends, and our allies, who are dying daily in Iraq and Afghanistan? Who knows how many years, how many generations, how many innocents as well as warriors will be affected - and for how long? We haven’t learned a thing as a nation, brother. My opinion - and perhaps many others' as well.

I do appreciate your feedback, and thanks.

Semper Peace!

Chuck"

The fact that light is still being shed on this topic is extremely important. The story has to keep on being told, and while war is war - how can the U.S. government decry human rights violations as it fails to stand up and take responsibility for the lives that have been torn apart because of a war that should never have been waged in the first place - along with the chemicals used to fight it?

www.VetSpeak.org

VA, Agent Orange, Vietnam, and Veterans' activism...

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Ed Note: I am posting this article from Thanh Nien News in it's entirety.  Our own Chuck Palazzo is quoted extensively, as is another Vietnam Veteran activist, named Paul Sutton.  Chuck has been in the forefront of the debate surrounding the inclusion of Parkinson's as presumptive, here on our pages.  He is our Interim Agent Orange Editor, and a member of VVAW, an organization that has been in the Agent Orange fight, from th very beginning.  You can follow his work here at VetSpeak.org.  

It is  work that is having an impact, as demonstrated by this incredible Veitnamese news article, quoting two former enemy combatants, announcing the VA's inclusion of these three additional presumptives, regarding US Veterans compensation.  In this article, neither Chuck, nor Marine Vietnam Veteran, Paul Sutton, let our government off the hook for the original war-crime of chemical warfare, or for it's failing to properly compensate Vietnamese people for the devastation that Agent Orange has caused to them, and the ecosystem of their country. 

Most importantly though; I am posting it in recognition how important each of our efforts are in the struggle for peace and justice, in this case, the resolving the social injustices of chemical warfare, on not only the enemy, but of our own troops, as well.  No matter how discouraged you might become; never give up, never surrender!  Chuck and Paul...both have a history of struggle that has helped to bring about this small, but important, victory, recognized as far away as in the land of our former enemy. Never forget what got us all here. WH
Thanh Nien News/ Health/ US government recognizes more illnesses linked to Agent Orange

US government recognizes more illnesses linked to Agent Orange

The US Veterans Affairs Department said Tuesday it plans add three more conditions to the list of ailments linked to Agent Orange exposure for which Vietnam veterans can receive medical benefits.

(Two airplanes spray herbicide in Southern Vietnam in a file photo taken during the Vietnam War.)

Relying on an independent study by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Eric K. Shinseki decided to establish a service-connection for Vietnam Veterans with the three specific illnesses based on the latest evidence of an association with the herbicides referred to as Agent Orange.

The illnesses affected by the recent decision are B cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia; Parkinson's disease; and ischemic heart disease.

Paul Sutton, Staff Sergeant of Marines in Vietnam 1964-1965 and 1967-1968 welcomed the decision, but said it didn’t simply wipe away years of suffering.

“This determination by General Shinseki is right for the times. As someone who's been in this fight since October 1977, I've watched the VA and the system allow our brothers and sister suffer and die needlessly for too long.”

Chuck Palazzo, a former US Marine and combat veteran in Vietnam (1970-1971) who now lives in Da Nang, told Thanh Nien Weekly the decision was a step in the right direction that would have “a positive effect on many thousands of veterans who would otherwise not have received medical assistance from the government.”

But the day was not one for full celebration for people suffering from Agent Orange related maladies, or for the families of those who have already passed on.

“The additional illnesses, sadly, have already taken many lives,” said Palazzo. “Had the VA acted quicker, they could have prevented many unnecessary deaths.”


He said the 15 presumptive illnesses now recognized by the VA were “still way short of the possible hundreds of afflictions caused by exposure to Agent Orange or being an offspring of someone exposed.”

He also pointed out that not only US veterans had been suffering.

“The US Government has not done enough for its own Veterans and families. They have done less for the Vietnamese citizens and their families who were exposed to Agent Orange... what we have given to the Vietnamese in terms of assistance is pennies compared to what is truly needed.”

The decision had been a long – and not easy – time coming, according to Sutton.

“Because of my support for the Vietnamese efforts to get the US government to put their money where their mouth is vis-a-vis cleaning up the toxic mess below the 17th parallel, I have taken a lot of crap from brother veterans over the tears, but, fair is fair. Help one, help everyone.”

Used in Vietnam to defoliate trees and remove concealment for the enemy, Agent Orange left a legacy of suffering and disability that continues to the present. Between January 1965 and April 1970, an estimated 2.6 million military personnel who served in Vietnam were potentially exposed to sprayed Agent Orange.

In practical terms, Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a "presumed" illness don't have to prove an association between their illnesses and their military service. This "presumption" simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits.

The Secretary's decision brings to 15 the number of presumed illnesses recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Other illnesses previously recognized under VA's "presumption" rule as being caused by exposure to herbicides during the Vietnam War are Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy

• AL Amyloidosis
• Chloracne
• Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
• Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
• Hodgkin's Disease
• Multiple Myeloma
• Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
• Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
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• Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or Mesothelioma)

Source: Agencies-Thanh Nien Weekly
Story from Thanh Nien News
Published: 19 October, 2009, 12:34:05 (GMT+7)
Copyright Thanh Nien News

http://www.vetspeak.org/

Agent Orange: The tragedy continues....

The Damages Continue

Relief possibly in sight, still more to do, and so little time

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By

Chuck Palazzo

Interim Agent Orange Editor, VVAW Member

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Toxin in Agent Orange still polluting South Vietnam, study says.  Link to the story:

http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=11113506
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It’s absolutely no surprise that even to this day, environmental tests confirm extremely high levels of dioxin, the toxic ingredient that made Agent Orange what it was – an insidious poison that was sprayed for years in Vietnam as well as other countries for a variety of reasons– but especially in Vietnam. The base referred to in this article is Da Nang. That’s where so many of us flew in and out of, were stationed in or around, and where this poison was mixed, stored and loaded onto aircraft for eventual spraying in Vietnam.
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The earth was sprayed and contaminated, trees and plants defoliated, wildlife sprayed and killed, and worse, Americans as well as Vietnamese have suffered premature deaths, diseases they would not have been stricken with if not exposed to Agent Orange. They as well as their offspring continue to suffer as this toxic cocktail continues its journey from generation to generation. Dioxin levels at this location, to this day, continue to exceed ALL international standards and guidelines for toxic chemicals.
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"The work we have done really demonstrates that this is a manageable problem," said Thomas Boivin, president of Hatfield. "We now know where the contamination is coming from; we just need the international financial support to get on with the cleanup."
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We have known for years. It’s been well documented. In fact, the US Government, while they still contend they did no wrong in spraying Agent Orange on the Vietnamese as well as Americans and our allies, actually outlawed the use of Dioxin in the US for that very same reason. After years of disagreement on how to handle the ongoing problem, the US and Vietnam finally agreed to work together and come up with a solution in 2006. Yep, that’s not a typo folks – 2006. 31 years after the fall of Saigon.
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How toxic is toxic?
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Between 1961 and 1971, the U.S. military released more than 19 million gallons of herbicides in South Vietnam to destroy enemy crops and deny a very formidable foe cover by defoliating dense mangrove forests and triple canopy jungles.
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What some people knew at the time and people at the very top of the US Government and War Machine was that some of the herbicides contained a highly toxic form of dioxin, known as TCDD. The toxin was a byproduct created while manufacturing mixtures such as Agent Orange, the most widely used of a handful of herbicides contaminated with TCDD. Unintended? Perhaps. But known to be toxic and by more than just a few folks? Absolutely!
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Environmental scientists from a Canadian firm (Hatfield) last week presented the findings from the study, which documents that high levels of TCDD from the herbicides still contaminate soil inside a former U.S. airbase in Da Nang as well as sediment from a lake that abuts it. And this is just Da Nang – one of 3 hotspots identified within South Vietnam that was sprayed and that is still contaminated. Approximately 10 percent of South Vietnam was sprayed during those years.
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The study uses TCDD's chemical fingerprint to trace its movement through the food chain, from the soil and lake sediment to the fat of fish and ducks to the blood and breast milk of humans.
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Where are we today?
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Plain and simple, we are worse off than we were when we started a series of lawsuits, blogs, demonstrations and everything else we possibly could do to seek justice from the US Government.
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The VAVAO brought suit, after numerous other failed attempts to make things right against the US Federal Government. The arrogance of successive administrations in Washington was nail after nail in the coffins of those who suffered and eventually died.
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The then President of the Veterans For Peace (VFP) David Cline, was quoted as stating: “While the chemical companies had responsibility and should be held liable, the primary responsibility lies with the U.S. government which ordered the continued use of these poisons” after they were known to be toxic. “Our demand has always been testing, treatment and compensation for Agent Orange victims” by the U.S. government.
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Progress was made with passage of the Agent Orange Act in 1991 admitting that these chemicals cause a long list of diseases, he continued. Unfortunately, David succumbed to his many ailments, primarily directly linked to Agent Orange, before any major laws were enacted, and funds granted to help us all – which we still await. David was a dedicated activist as well as a decorated combat hero. His mission, and his legacy, were and are to make things right and make the US accountable for these and so many other wrongs.
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Judge Jack
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That brings us to recent days. On March 10, 2005 Judge Jack Weinstein of Brooklyn Federal Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange against producers of chemicals defoliants/herbicides, denying millions to those poisoned by the rainbow defoliants. Good ole boy, Judge Jack Weinstein threw out the lawsuit that was initiated by the VAVOA, rejecting their argument that Agent Orange was a weapon subject to the Geneva Convention and their use against civilians was a war crime. Weinstein held that Agent Orange did not target people in Vietnam but was instead a “defoliant” aimed at Vietnam’s jungle.
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 Judge Jack, please allow us to spray you from head to toe with Dioxin – an eye for an eye? Certainly not. But The Honorable Judge needs to feel it and needs to pass it on to his offspring – then perhaps his head will come out of the sand. And guess who appointed Judge Weinstein? Our old friend and former US President, Lyndon Johnson. Starting to see a pattern evolve here brothers and sisters? Gulf of Tonkin lie and farce – thank the former President for that lie that caused the US to become more deeply involved in the Vietnam War.
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An additional case against the manufacturers filed by US veterans in the mid-1990s was dismissed at the same time. Both dismissals were upheld by an appeals court in 2008 and an appeal of the Vietnamese case to the US Supreme Court was dismissed in March 2009.
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The Recent International Tribunal
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Most recently, an International Tribunal convened in Paris. Rena Kopy, our sister member of the VVAW was selected to represent our organization as well as all of those affected by Agent Orange – US Veterans, allied Veterans as well as the Vietnamese and of course their offspring. The Tribunal, amongst other things, found in our favor:
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The US government is guilty of crimes against humanity for using Agent Orange in Vietnam according to a ruling by the International People’s Tribunal of Conscience announced in Paris on May 18. The verdict, reached after a two-day trial held May 15 - 16, found the US guilty of violating International Law by using Agent Orange to conduct illegal chemical warfare. Millions of gallons of the chemical were sprayed over Vietnam despite knowledge that it contained dioxin, one of the deadliest substances known to science. Dow Chemical, Monsanto, Uniroyal Chemical and 29 other chemical manufacturers were found guilty of collusion with this criminal act.
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After hearing testimony from 27 victims and expert witnesses, the tribunal ruled that Vietnamese Agent Orange victims and their families are entitled to full compensation from the US government and the companies that manufactured and supplied the chemical. The judgment also requires the defendants to restore the environment to pre-war conditions and remove all traces of dioxin from Vietnam. Additionally, it concluded that the Vietnamese State should be compensated for the costs of caring for victims and restoring the environment.
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To implement the verdict, the tribunal advised formation of an Agent Orange Commission to determine the amount of compensation for individual victims as well as their families and communities; to assess the amount needed to provide victims with health care, counseling, and other social services; and to project the cost of studying contaminated areas and conducting clean up operations. The amounts would be paid into a trust fund by the US government and the chemical companies. The defendants were not present at the trial, having ignored the summons and complaint sent to them by the Peoples’ Tribunal.
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The People’s Tribunal was organized to keep the issue of justice for Agent Orange victims alive in the court of international public opinion despite legal roadblocks erected by US courts. The tribunal was formed under auspices of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, a non-governmental organization of progressive lawyers and judges founded in 1946. The IADL has consultative status with UNESCO and ECOSOC.
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Next Steps
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Indeed a good question and sadly, not an easy one to answer. We must continue our fight, brothers and sisters, and never give up. Write and call your congressional representatives, the press, the President himself. I leave you with this tidbit of information. The US has allocated $3million in funds earmarked for the cleanup of Da Nang and the surrounding area of the former airbase. Earlier this year, President Obama signed a bill allotting $6million in assistance for dioxin cleanup efforts – it’s not clear to me, however, if the $6million includes the original $3million or is an additional $3million to the already allocated $3million. In either case, it’s a pittance of what is really required. 
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Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but Vietnam has not seen a penny of this funding to date. I hope I am wrong, but I can’t find any evidence indicating otherwise. As my good friend and fellow activist who lives here in Vietnam as well, points out to me, the boondoggle that Bush Jr. orchestrated as a “good will” gesture towards the citizens of Vietnam cost the United States a $3million hotel and related expense bill. Thank you Chuck S. for continuing to remind us of that fact – as sad as it is, it's fact.
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The US remains an imperialistic and arrogant country and refuses to admit its wrongs and remain true to its commitments - to its own veterans, our allies, and the people and environment that we so wrongly maimed, killed and destroyed.
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Semper Peace!
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