If you understand, Things are just as they are.
If you do not understand, Things are just as they are.
Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2015 21:34:57 +0000
From: vva@vva2.talklist.com
To: avva@avva.talklist.com; vva@vva2.talklist.com
Subject: VVA: Fw: FLASH UPDATE
On Monday, March 23, 2015 4:30 PM, Jim Doyle <agentorangezone@gmail.com> wrote:
DISTRIBUTE TO ALL LISTS
Monday, March 23, 2015
VA Continues to Deny Justice To C-123 Crews Exposed to Dioxin
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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March 23, 2015
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VA Continues to Deny Justice To C-123 Crews Exposed to Dioxin
(Washington, D.C.)– "It is an outrage that the VA, in effect, is continuing to deny these veterans justice," said John Rowan, National President of Vietnam Veterans of America. "These VA bureaucrats attempting to delay justice ought to be relieved of their duties so that they can no longer abuse veterans with their tactic of 'delay, deny, until they die.' There is no excuse for why these worthy veterans are still not being treated with the appreciation and the respect their service warrants." Rowan praised Wes Carter, the leader of the C-123 Veterans Association, for his spunk and spirit: "You've got to keep on keeping on," Rowan urged, "and VVA will be at your side to convince the VA hierarchy that to continue to delay justice is to deny justice."
For over five years, retired Air Force Reserve Major Wes Carter has led the fight of his life: to get the Department of Veterans Affairs to acknowledge that the C-123 Provider military cargo planes which transported Agent Orange to and from Vietnam had, in fact, been contaminated with dioxin. A number of reputable scientists and epidemiologists at federal agencies have gone on record, endorsing Carter's stance that these craft remained hazardous to the health of the 2,100 crew members, flight nurses, and maintenance workers who serviced them between 1972 and 1982. "Yet the VA, in all its wisdom, maintained that these men and women who had been exposed to Agent Orange ought not be eligible to receive the same healthcare and disability compensation benefits that boots-on-the-ground veterans of Vietnam receive," Rowan noted.
Cancer link to weed killer raises questions over US-backed spraying of Colombia cocaine crops
BOGOTA, Colombia — New labeling on the world's most popular weed killer as a likely cause of cancer is raising more questions for an aerial spraying program in Colombia that underpins U.S.-financed efforts to wipe out cocaine crops.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a French-based research arm of the World Health Organization, on Thursday reclassified the herbicide glyphosate as a carcinogen that poses a greater potential danger to industrial users than homeowners. The agency cited what it called convincing evidence that the herbicide produces cancer in lab animals and more limited findings that it causes non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in humans.
The glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup is a mainstay of industrial agriculture worldwide, and it's a preferred weapon for killing Colombian cocaine harvests. More than 4 million acres of land have been sprayed over the past two decades to kill coca plants, whose leaves produce cocaine.
The fumigation program, which is partly carried out by American contractors, long has provoked hostility from Colombia's left, which likens it to the U.S. military's use of the Agent Orange herbicide during the Vietnam War. Leftist rebels, currently in negotiations with the government to end a half-century conflict, are demanding an end to the spraying as part of any deal.
Daniel Mejia, a Bogota-based economist who is chairman of an expert panel advising the Colombian government on its drug strategy, said the report is by far the most authoritative and could end up burying the fumigation program.
"Nobody can accuse the WHO of being ideologically biased," Mejia said, noting that questions already had been raised about the effectiveness of the spraying strategy and its potential health risks.
Mejia's own research published last year found higher rates of skin problems and miscarriages in districts targeted by herbicides. It was based on a study of medical records from 2003 to 2007.
Colombia's ombudsman office said it would seek suspension of the spraying program if the WHO results prove convincing.
But U.S. and Colombian government officials argue that cocaine does more health damage than aerial spraying.
"Without a doubt this reopens the debate on fumigation and causes us to worry," Colombia Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria told The Associated Press on Saturday, referring to the WHO findings.
But Gaviria argued that the need to suppress cocaine harvests "transcends" other considerations.
Monsanto and other manufacturers of glyphosate-based products strongly rejected the WHO ruling. They cited a 2012 ruling by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the herbicide was safe.
Colombia already has scaled back use of aerial herbicides in favor of more labor-intensive manual eradication efforts, partly in response to criticism by farmers.
Colombian officials say aerial spraying last year covered 55,000 hectares (136,000 acres), down from a 2006 peak of 172,000 hectares (425,000 acres).
Critics of the program concede that the government has improved safety standards, such as by avoiding herbicide flights during strong winds, and installing GPS devices on fumigation aircraft that keep records of plane movements and help investigators to determine the validity of farmers' compensation claims.
In 2013, Colombia agreed to pay Ecuador $15 million to settle a lawsuit over economic and human damage linked to spraying along their common border.
Gen. Ricardo Restrepo, commander of the anti-narcotics police, said he had not seen the WHO warning, and Colombia's herbicide spraying was proceeding as usual.
"My job is to carry out the strategy," he said.
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