Democracy Now: THE POISONS OF WAR
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Democracy Now: THE POISONS OF WAR
* Indiana Guardsmen Sue KBR Over Chemical Exposure in Iraq *
Sixteen Indiana National Guard soldiers have sued the Houston-based defense
contractor KBR, saying the company knowingly allowed them to be exposed to a
toxic chemical in Iraq in 2003. The soldiers were providing security for KBR
during repairs of a water treatment plant in southern Iraq shortly after the US
invasion. The suit claims the site was contaminated for six months by hexavalent
chromium, "one of the most potent carcinogens" known to man. It alleges that KBR
knew the plant was contaminated but concealed the danger from civilian workers
and soldiers. We speak with one of the soldiers and with the lead attorney in
the case.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/4/indiana_guardsmen_sue_kbr_over
* Vietnamese Agent Orange Victims Demand Accountability from US, Chemical
Companies in Suit *
The Second National Congress of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent
Orange just concluded in Hanoi Wednesday. Vietnamese victims continue to demand
accountability and compensation from the US government as well as the largest
makers of Agent Orange, Dow Chemical and Monsanto. Earlier this year, a
delegation of women victims of Agent Orange toured the United States. We speak
with two of them: 71-year old Dang Hong Nhut, who has had several miscarriages
and now has cancer, and 21-year-old Tran Thi Hoan, a second-generation victim of
Agent Orange who was born without two legs and with one hand seriously
atrophied.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/4/vietnamese_agent_orange_victims
* Gov't Study Concludes "Gulf War Syndrome" is Legitimate Condition, Affects 1
in 4 Vets *
Seventeen years after the Gulf war, a congressionally mandated committee has
concluded that "Gulf War syndrome" is a legitimate condition that continues to
affect one quarter of the nearly 700,000 US soldiers deployed in that war. In a
report presented last month to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Research
Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses said, "Scientific evidence
leaves no question that Gulf War illness is a real condition with real causes
and serious consequences for affected veterans." We speak with a Gulf War vet
who was a part of the committee and who himself is sick.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/4/govt_study_concludes_gulf_war
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* Indiana Guardsmen Sue KBR Over Chemical Exposure in Iraq *
Sixteen Indiana National Guard soldiers have sued the Houston-based defense
contractor KBR, saying the company knowingly allowed them to be exposed to a
toxic chemical in Iraq in 2003. The soldiers were providing security for KBR
during repairs of a water treatment plant in southern Iraq shortly after the US
invasion. The suit claims the site was contaminated for six months by hexavalent
chromium, "one of the most potent carcinogens" known to man. It alleges that KBR
knew the plant was contaminated but concealed the danger from civilian workers
and soldiers. We speak with one of the soldiers and with the lead attorney in
the case.
AMY GOODMAN: KBR, the largest private contractor in Iraq, used to be a subsidiary of Halliburton, the oilfield services company whose former chief executive was, well, now Vice President Dick Cheney.
We invited KBR to join us on the program today. They refused our request, but they did issue a statement denying the company harmed troops and was responsible for an unsafe condition.
Michael Doyle is the lead counsel for the Guardsmen in the litigation. He joins us from a studio in Houston, where KBR is based. We’re also joined on the telephone by Jody Aistrop, a former member of the Indiana National Guard and one of the plaintiffs in the suit.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Jody, tell us about your time in Iraq, where you were, what you were doing, why you think KBR has made you sick.
JODY AISTROP: Good morning. Well, my time in Iraq, we just spent at different sites every day, just basically getting KBR in, getting them out and guarding them while they were doing their job, just protecting them. Specifically, the water plant, we would go there, you know, every third day. And if the contractors really liked you, liked the job you were doing, you could go for a week for two weeks straight.
And, I mean, I believe that we were contaminated, because I, myself, seen the stuff on the ground. I was in the pump room, where the Iraqis were down working on the pumps. And the whole place was just covered, the pump room was. [cough] Excuse me.
I really don’t know what else to say. We basically just went in, did our job. And I feel that they knew. A report had came out that KBR knew that the ground was contaminated. And we were just told it was a mild irritant, don’t worry about it. The bloody noses are from the dry air, the sand. And we just continued to do our job, like it was nothing.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/4/indiana_guardsmen_sue_kbr_over
* Vietnamese Agent Orange Victims Demand Accountability from US, Chemical
Companies in Suit *
The Second National Congress of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent
Orange just concluded in Hanoi Wednesday. Vietnamese victims continue to demand
accountability and compensation from the US government as well as the largest
makers of Agent Orange, Dow Chemical and Monsanto. Earlier this year, a
delegation of women victims of Agent Orange toured the United States. We speak
with two of them: 71-year old Dang Hong Nhut, who has had several miscarriages
and now has cancer, and 21-year-old Tran Thi Hoan, a second-generation victim of
Agent Orange who was born without two legs and with one hand seriously
atrophied.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/4/vietnamese_agent_orange_victims
* Gov't Study Concludes "Gulf War Syndrome" is Legitimate Condition, Affects 1
in 4 Vets *
Seventeen years after the Gulf war, a congressionally mandated committee has
concluded that "Gulf War syndrome" is a legitimate condition that continues to
affect one quarter of the nearly 700,000 US soldiers deployed in that war. In a
report presented last month to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Research
Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses said, "Scientific evidence
leaves no question that Gulf War illness is a real condition with real causes
and serious consequences for affected veterans." We speak with a Gulf War vet
who was a part of the committee and who himself is sick.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/4/govt_study_concludes_gulf_war
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*We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
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