Hundreds of thousands of servicemen were exposed to asbestos over decades, especially during the period from 1940 to 1980. Asbestos was used in construction of naval vessels as well as shore facilities. All branches of the military used asbestos, which was also widely used in civilian applications. Asbestos can cause mesothelioma. Because this cancer has a particularly long latency period, many servicemen who were exposed years ago are now developing this disease.
- Mesothelioma Patient & Family Resources: Mesotheliomahelp is provided by Belluck & Fox, LLP as a comprehensive resource for mesothelioma victims and their families. The site provides up-to-date information on the latest news and treatment options as well as an easy to use search feature to find local mesothelioma doctors and health care clinics.
We fight for veterans harmed by asbestos: Veterans with mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer should know they have options: the opportunity to bring a suit against manufacturers and sellers of the asbestos that caused their illness. If you were harmed by asbestos exposure, for example, in ships or military housing, contact Weitz & Luxenberg to get a free case review.
Important Information for Veterans: Asbestos products were often used on military ships and within military housing, and Veterans may have been exposed. Previous exposure to asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma, a fatal cancer that has no cure and affects countless Veterans and loved ones. For more information regarding military asbestos exposure visit Mesothelioma.com
Special Report: Jeff Gates: ARE HATE CRIME LAWS LEGALIZING TREASON?
Lawful Treason?
By Jeff Gates STAFF WRITER/Editor
Winning wars in the Information Age largely depends on winning the battle for public opinion. Thus the opinion-shaping role of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) when it attacked a high profile California professor for his criticism of Israeli policy in Palestine.
That ADL intimidation campaign successfully chilled debate on campuses nationwide during several time-critical months while a new president, promising the hope of change, reassessed U.S.-Israeli relations. His only change—endorsing more Israeli settlements on Palestinian land—quashed any hope of peace.
News: Governments and ancient organizations need to rethink who they are.
In today's New York Times we see many articles that show the effect of the devestating crash of the financial markets last Fall (2008) on American life. We cannot afford to spend money we do not have anymore.
First up is this article entitled "Air Defense Push Inspired by 9/11 Gets a 2nd Look" in which the U.S. commander of North American air defenses against terrorist attack has ordered a re-assessment of those defenses, mostly based on the prohibitive cost.
We cannot be the big bully on the block anymore if we don't have enough money to buy the biggest stick. We had better get used to this. This is only the beginning.
The loudest voices on the right never tire of telling us that they are the truest patriots. They claim to be the deepest believers in our system, the strongest defenders of our Constitution, the most upbeat, bold and courageous Americans anywhere. But now that the government is finally prepared to put the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on trial, these same patriots are the first to spread doubt, instigate anxiety and abandon constitutional principles.
When did fear-mongering in a time of war become an act of patriotism?
A program intended to help disabled veterans win government business awarded at least $100 million in contracts to firms that were either ineligible or committed fraud to obtain the work, a federal review has found.
This week we learned that President Obama is searching for an 'endgame' in Afghanistan prior to deciding on troop committments. It is a good idea, eight years late, but a good idea nonetheless! What a mess!
In a related story "Afghan minister accused of taking bribe", we find that American military intelligence has found that the Afghan Minister of Mines has almost certainly taken a $30 million dollar bribe from the Chinese in order to allow them to mine for copper on a sole provider contract.
Hmmm! Maybe I have been wrong about the Afghan government all along. Maybe they really are learning how to govern themselves modeled on how we operated in Iraq!
News: Tax cheats run this country. How do you feel about that?
In today's New York Times we learn that so far this year 14,700 Americans have applied for amnesty under an I.R.S. program. They are not prosecuted for tax evasion if they come forward acknowledging that they have offshore secret bank accounts set up by foreign banks in order for them to evade American taxes. The story is here.
The reason this is important is many-fold but from the point of view of veterans, it exposes the problems we have in this country with making the super-rich and powerful pull their fair share of the weight relative to the financial and civic burdens of citizenship. It can be damned near impossible to do that. They are wealthy enough to get out of their responsibilities to the rest of us. This affects veterans greatly.
News: Death everywhere, and it never makes any sense.
We have insanity and death breaking out all over the country. It is violent, unreasoning, crazy homicidal violence that has a tendency to feed off of other crazy violence. It might be something like the New York City Police Department has always claimed...that murders break out during a full moon.
Could the violence at Fort Hood and the continuing violence overseas have an influence here? Far fetched? Maybe...or maybe not. Take a look and judge for yourself. Do these things occur in clusters?
First up we have a high school teacher who has been arrested for trying to arrange a contract murder, a "hit", on one of his sixteen year old students. That story is here as reported on AOL News.
INDIA'S FAILURES ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF HER NEIGHBOURS
By Sajjad Shaukat
Instead of addressing the root causes of the Maoist uprising, Indian government has started a blame game against China, alleging for supplying arms to these insurgents. Recently, Home Secretary of the Indian Union, G.K. Pillai accused that China was “a big supplier of small arms to the Maoists…the Chinese are big smugglers.”
In today's late edition of the Washington Post we find that American hunger is on a steep incline up. Almost 49 million Americans do not have access to adequate amounts of food now.
And we are spending money waging wars for fat cat arms dealers, mega-millionaires in the energy cartels and emerging market speculators?
You know what the saying "Let them eat cake!" did in France? It is a phrase normally attributed to Marie Antoinette but in fact was said by a French princess who is unnamed by the teller, Jean-Jacque Rousseau. She uttered this when she was told that the French had no bread to eat.
That one phrase ignited the French Revolution in the minds of the poor and hungry. The French aristocracy did not care that the French commoners were hungry. Neither does our aristocracy. These wars prove that. 49 million Americans without proper food while we fight 2 1/2 unnecessary wars is a moral breakdown of huge proportions.
This editorial is straight from today's New York Times and concerns legislation being held up in the Senate by Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. of Oklahoma in order to bring attention to budget overloads in the 2010 National Budget.
Senator Coburn has made quite a name for himself over the years in the Senate by finding crucial legislation to stop in order to bring attention to the size of the deficit. This is not the first time he has done something like this.
The article needs no further comment from me. The story is here.
SEYMOUR HERSH ATTEMPTS A WEDGE BETWEEN US-PAKISTAN
By Iftikhar Momin
The angry reaction in Pakistan to Seymour Hersh’s article in the New Yorker, once viewed in the context of its ludicrous contents, seems justifiable. The long winded report (7000 words approx) is based on unnamed sources, its contents stand repudiated by government officials in Pakistan and US and the hypotheses it outlines don’t even pass muster of plain ‘common sense’.
Despite all these limitations it is an indication of the power of the US media implements – and the clout of its all powerful doyens that whatever they say is gulped down hook, line and sinker by the readership at large without questioning its veracity. The things have reached such a pass because writers like Hersh are effectively plugged into the US policy making institutions and along with a select group, are shaping opinions and paving way for American interests globally.
Barack Hussein Obama on June, 2009 while visiting Cairo revealed, “I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles – principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.”
In his approach to National Security Agency surveillance, as well as CIA renditions, drone assassinations, and military detention, President Obama has to a surprising extent embraced the expanded executive powers championed by his conservative predecessor, George W. Bush. This bipartisan affirmation of the imperial executive could "reverberate for generations," warns Jack Balkin, a specialist on First Amendment freedoms at Yale Law School. And consider these but some of the early fruits from the hybrid seeds that the Global War on Terror has planted on American soil. Yet surprisingly few Americans seem aware of the toll that this already endless war has taken on our civil liberties.
Special Report: COMPOSITE DIALOGUE PROCESS AND THE INDIAN FLIP-FLOP
India is always on the lookout to side step the issues, never solve the problems
By Iftikhar Momin
India remains a diehard proponent of bilateral interaction for addressing intractable issues afflicting Indo-Pak relations; particularly the festering issue of Kashmir. This strategy of stonewalling, however, is fast becoming irrelevant due to the US led intervention in Afghanistan and the fight against extremism in FATA being conducted in the backdrop of a prominent Indian foot print. India is manifestly under outside pressure to facilitate anti terrorist operations in Af-Pak Region by ratcheting down tension and resume Composite Dialog Process (CDP) with Pakistan. What reflects this outside inducement most eloquently is the flip-flops by the Indian Premier over the dilemma of whether to commence dialog in the format of CDP or to deflect the third party interference to exploit the once in a lifetime opportunity for cutting Pakistan down to size.
News: Remarks by the President at Memorial Service at Fort Hood
Fort Hood - III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas
THE PRESIDENT: To the Fort Hood community; to Admiral Mullen; General Casey; General Cone; Secretary McHugh; Secretary Gates; most importantly, to family, friends and members of our Armed Forces. We come together filled with sorrow for the 13 Americans that we have lost; with gratitude for the lives that they led; and with a determination to honor them through the work we carry on.
India is raucous at our plight while the United States is all toothy on the mental calibre of an “ally” who has turned out to be a sucker
By Tarik Jan
To say that Pakistan is in a clutch would still be an understatement. India is raucous at our plight while the United States is all toothy on the mental calibre of an “ally” who has turned out to be a sucker -- fighting a war that has consumed about $ 40 billion worth of its assets and more than 22,000 dead since it “became our war.” The U.S. officials now say Mr. Zardari has out performed Musharraf in his services to the United States.
News: President Obama Launches Major Veterans Employment Initiative
Initiative Would Transform Federal Government into Model of Veterans Employment
Washington, DC – Today, the White House announced the launch of an initiative that is designed to transform the federal government into the model employer of America’s veterans. This evening, President Obama will be joined by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry to sign an Executive Order on the Employment of Veterans in the federal government, which establishes the Veterans Employment Initiative for the Executive Branch. The Initiative underscores to federal agencies the importance of recruiting and training veterans, aims to increase the employment of veterans within the Executive Branch, and helps recently hired veterans adjust to service in a civilian capacity.
Reading Jeff Gates' Today’s Ancient Warfare: Facts vs. Beliefs,a related question that always presents itself in reading analyses of propaganda and thought control and other systems employed to dissolve a target population's capacity to think is: Those opinionmakers and policymakers in a position to do something and in the know presumably that the political-propaganda game is on - in 2002 Colin Powell, Sens. Clinton, Biden, Edwards, Kerry, Kohl and so on - can turn around and defeat a carefully crafted propaganda effort in a democracy, correct?
We were short on Daniel Ellsbergs in 2002-03, one guesses in part because Joe Wilson and Valarie Plame-Wilson became a cautionary tale, but guts and humanity can defeat cowards and propaganda in a society where the formal structures of democracy exist.
News: Communism Fell, Capitalism Gained. What do we have?
There is lots of information in the New York Times this morning that can help American veterans get informed, stay informed and act reasonably in a way that supports participative government. First up is how the changing Republican Party affects all of us and here is a piece, an editorial, that speaks to that change.
In this story we read about the "End of History" in 1989 when the existential threat to the West posed by Communism was trumped by the fall of Communism in Germany and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. We celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall today. The story is here.
Special Report: GOP's October 1980 Act of Treason Breaks Anew
As Israel's government continues its policy of isolating Iran, its "existential threat," Robert Perry has posted new research demonstrating that some 30 years ago Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and GOP and national security operatives, including our current Secretary of Defence Robert Gates, conspired with Israel to delay the release of 52 American hostages. This is an act of treason that saw the U.S. "supply arms, spares and military supplies (to) the Iranian army,” carried out by Israel. Robert Perry's The Crazy October Surprise Debunking is a must-read, including Rep. Lee Hamilton's appalling cover-up.
Opinion: 800,000 Americans Busted Annually For Pot
By Sherwood Ross /Staff Writer
Seven million Americans have been arrested since 1995 on marijuana charges and 41,000 of them are rotting in federal and State prisons---but the public is starting to rebel against “the preposterous war on pot,” two political scientists say. Thousands of other pot users and sellers are confined in local jails as well.
“People convicted of possessing even one ounce of marijuana can face a mandatory minimum sentence of a year in jail, and having even one plant in your yard is a federal felony,” progressive organizer Jim Hightower and co-author Phillip Frazer point out in the November issue of “The Hightower Lowdown.”
News: 44% of Congress are millionaires. Less than 1% of the population are millionaires. We have a problem.
In the Sphere blogsite today, writer David Knowles has a very informative piece. It seems that 44% of all sitting members of Congress are millionaires while less than 1% of the American population shares that status. The story is here.
Being in Congress is pretty much being available to the ultimate in insider information. Fortunes are made simply by knowing people and knowing facts that the rest of us can never garner since we do not have a Congressman's access.
This is not representative government. Let me ask you something. Did you serve in uniform, possibly in combat, so that this situation could masquerade as "representative government" for you and yours?
News: Fox News Suggests Mass Screening of American Muslims in Defense Jobs. Wow!
From the Salon web site on Friday of last week we learn that Fox News is playing to stereotype and openly calling for the screening of Muslims that have any position with America's defense, especially those in uniform. This of course follows the tragedy of last week at Fort Hood involving an American born officer who is a Muslim allegedly killing or wounding several dozens fellow soldiers on what appears to be a "religious conviction" motivation for his alleged behavior.
This is not helpful and although it is an appropriate question to explore, the news channel is being very "unhelpful" to say the least if this initially reasonable question soon turns into another Fox Channel crusade against "them". This stuff is not only getting old, it is dangerous. The story is here.
As I have previously pointed out, this kind of thing has happened before in the U.S. Armed Forces. I am getting tired of Fox News telling me who my enemies are. All the time. Non stop. I had no idea there were so many "thems" out there!
News: American Conservatives Gaining Traction Again
The Washington Post reports big victories for the GOP gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey and a win for the National Democratic Party's congressional candidate in New York State. The GOP is back in the race for the votes of Independents with a smooth and careful message to the American political middle and New York State had many races that were much closer than they would have been if a clear favorite had been running.
Once again, it is hard to tell what this means but clearly American conservatives are back in the saddle in two important states and they did this by aiming their message at Independent voters in the middle of American political viewpoints. This may or may not be a harbinger of things to come in elections in 2010 depending on one's view point. The story is here.
If you can't find any swine flu vaccine for your kids, it won't be for a lack of positive thinking. In fact, the whole flu snafu is being blamed on "undue optimism" on the part of both the Obama administration and Big Pharma.
Optimism is supposed to be good for our health. According to the academic "positive psychologists," as well as legions of unlicensed life coaches and inspirational speakers, optimism wards off common illnesses, contributes to recovery from cancer, and extends longevity. To its promoters, optimism is practically a miracle vaccine, so essential that we need to start inoculating Americans with it in the public schools -- in the form of "optimism training."
Opinion: Chomsky Says President Obama Continues Bush Policy To Control Middle East Oil
By Sherwood Ross /Staff Writer
Political activist Noam Chomsky says that although President Obama views the Iraq invasion merely as “a mistake” or “strategic blunder,” it is, in fact, a “major crime” designed to enable America to control the Middle East oil reserves.
“It’s (“strategic blunder”) probably what the German general staff was telling Hitler after Stalingrad,” Chomsky quipped, referring to the big Nazi defeat by the Soviet army in 1943.
News: Half of US kids will get food stamps, study says
The Associated Press as reported in the Washington Post is running a story today that tells it like it is. The story is here.
Nearly half of all American kids will be on food stamps during their childhood and 90% of African American children will be in that group. If there was ever a reason to end our war based economy, bring our troops home and cut the defense budget in half, this clear indication of growing economic disparity between the "haves" and the "have nots" is it.
When 50% of all American kids will be on food stamps during childhood, a major course change is in order. Immediately.
The first anniversary of Barack Obama's historic election finds many of his supporters already grousing. Fair enough: Obama has been more vigorous in some areas than others. But one essential question goes unasked: How much can any president accomplish against the wishes of recalcitrant power centers within his own government?
If you're depressed by the way the national debate about health care has been playing out, just wait until the rubber hits the road on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Israel. If you're enraged by the way Wall Street's rescue has made us hostages to their recklessness, get ready for how the oil and coal industries are going to game the energy and climate change decisions ahead. If you're scared by the way the media can trivialize and polarize and make entertainment out of any topic in its crosshairs, imagine its toxic impact when we get around to dealing with education, immigration and trade.
Lawful Treason?
By Joe Conason 
INDIA'S FAILURES ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF HER NEIGHBOURS
By Alfred McCoy 
Fort Hood - III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas!["The Music Man" Premieres](imageDetails?s_it=imageDetails&q=Trouble+from+the+Music+Man&img=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F_uM9PrU7_5OY%2FSjwa8qmIX_I%2FAAAAAAAAHbk%2FX0gyDqoVHzM%2Fs400%2FP6172028f.JPG&site=&count_override=20&host=http%3A%2F%2Fmarcvaldez.blogspot.com%2F2009_06_14_marcvaldez_archive.html&width=124&height=93&thumbUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fimages-partners-tbn.google.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3Azkn9QiKW_yDvvM%3A1.bp.blogspot.com%2F_uM9PrU7_5OY%2FSjwa8qmIX_I%2FAAAAAAAAHbk%2FX0gyDqoVHzM%2Fs400%2FP6172028f.JPG&b=image%3Fq%3DTrouble%2Bfrom%2Bthe%2BMusic%2BMan%26page%3D4%26flv%3D1%26count_override%3D20%26s_it%3DrboxImgDtls%26oreq%3Dd5085d95a2ba414ab75c040f46375806%26icid%3Dsnap-pic%26oreq%3Dcf05b0dd1abf4cce92a5fc20102873b5&imgHeight=300&imgWidth=400&imgTitle=%26quot%3B%3Cb%3EThe%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3EMusic%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3EMan%3C%2Fb%3E%26quot%3B+Premieres&imgSize=35015&hostName=marcvaldez.blogspot.com ""The Music Man" Premieres")
Reading Jeff Gates' 
As Israel's government continues its policy of isolating Iran, its "existential threat," 
