Saturday, February 27, 2010

An appeal to anti-war organizations & activists to oppose the increasing threats against Iran

(source: CASMII)
Saturday, February 20, 2010

CASMII Press Release

20 February 2010


Around the world, anti-war activists are preparing for major protests this spring to oppose the continuing U.S.-led occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, a storm of developments is dramatically increasing tensions between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In response, the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) is issuing this appeal to the anti-war movements in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries to raise the demands of “No war, no sanctions, no internal interference in Iran!”

Iran is a country that hasn’t attacked a neighbor in more than 200 years. Even when Saddam Hussein invaded Iran after the 1979 Revolution and, with support from the West, used chemical weapons against both civilians and combatants, the Islamic Republic did not retaliate in kind. And yet the U.S. government claims that Iran represents a serious threat to the Middle East region and the entire world.

Without a shred of evidence, the U.S. charges that Iran's program to develop nuclear power for peaceful energy purposes is just a cover to develop nuclear weapons.

Never mentioned is the fact that, as a signatory to the U.N.'s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran's right to develop nuclear energy is enshrined in international law.

Just a few months ago, the U.N's International Atomic Energy Chief, Mohammed ElBardai, the person responsible for monitoring compliance with that treaty, stated that “Nobody is sitting in Iran today developing nuclear weapons. Tehran doesn’t have an ongoing nuclear weapons program. But somehow, everyone in the West is talking about how Iran’s nuclear program is the greatest threat to the world.” (Interview with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Sept. 2009)

Instead, warning of world disaster if Iran should succeed in its imaginary goal of obtaining nuclear arms, Washington argues that Iran must be forcefully brought to its knees, through a combination of increasingly crippling sanctions, taking advantage of Iran's internal divisions and preparing for a possible military attack.

Consider these recent developments:

• The U.S has been pressuring the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to impose a fourth and more severe round of sanctions against Iran. The only real holdout has been the People's Republic of China, which in January held the council's revolving presidency. On Feb. 1, however, the president's seat passed to France, which is nearly as hostile to Iran's nuclear program as is the U.S. (France itself, by the way, relies on nuclear power for 80 percent of its own energy needs.)

The Security Council’s permanent members, including China and Russia, have never been a real barrier for the US. Not only has the council already approved three rounds of sanctions against Iran, but the Obama Administration is now talking of “bypassing” the U.N. in its latest push for sanctions.

While sanctions are often promoted as an alternative to war, the world now knows that the sanctions imposed by the U.N. against Iraq during the first Persian Gulf War resulted in the deaths of up to 1.5 million Iraqis, a third of them children.

• Not content with just pressuring the U.N., the U.S. is pushing ahead with plans for more of its own unilateral sanctions. Congress is getting close to passing the Dodd-Shelby Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act. Among other provisions, this bipartisan bill would “impose new sanctions on entities involved in exporting certain refined petroleum products to Iran or building Iran’s domestic refining capacity.”

This provision starkly exposes the real U.S. goal: to economically cripple Iran in an attempt to so complicate life for the Iranian people that they might demand a “regime change.”

In the past, the U.S. has argued that Iran doesn’t need to develop nuclear power because of its vast oil reserves, while conveniently omitting the fact that Iran doesn't have sufficient refinery capacity to meet its energy needs through oil alone. Targeting companies and countries that sell refined petroleum products to Iran, or that help Iran expand its own refining capacity, shows that the real goal has nothing to do with countering nuclear proliferation. (The U.S. even pressures European countries not to provide Iran with the means to develop wind energy!)

Those who desire hegemony over the oil-rich Middle East can tolerate no independent regional powers, whether or not they present a threat to any other country. This reality was dramatically demonstrated in 1953, when the CIA toppled Iran’s democratically elected prime minister, Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh, for the “crime” of nationalizing Iran’s oil industry.

Meanwhile, these threats of new sanctions are being accompanied by a military build-up in the Persian Gulf region. On Jan. 31, The Wall Street Journal reported that, in recent months, the U.S. and its Persian Gulf allies have stepped up their military defenses “in response to Iranian missile tests and Tehran's continued defiance of international efforts to curtail its nuclear program.” The moves have included “upgrades, new purchases of American-made Patriot antimissile batteries and the addition of advanced air- and missile-defense radars .…”

The Journal reported that, although “some of the buildup has been going on for years ... the heightened profile of the moves comes as the Obama administration has toughened its rhetoric against Tehran.”

• And, according to a Feb. 1 Reuters report, “The United States has expanded land- and sea-based missile defense systems in and around the Gulf to counter what it sees as Iran's growing missile threat .... The deployments include expanded land-based Patriot defensive missile installations in Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Bahrain, as well as Navy ships with missile defense systems in and around the Mediterranean, officials said. … The chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said last month the Pentagon must have military options ready to counter Iran should Obama call for them.”

Finally, Iran's ongoing internal political crisis has apparently led some Western anti-war organizations and activists to be ambivalent about the need to stand against Western aggression against Iran.

Regardless of how activists view Iran's internal situation, we all must agree that outside pressure and interference must be opposed. Recognizing this, Iran’s political opposition has urged Western countries to stay out of Iran's internal affairs.

As presidential opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, has put it, “We are opposed to any types of sanctions against our nation. This is what living the Green Path means.” (Statement No. 13, Sept. 28, 2009)

No truly progressive democracy activist in a country targeted by the U.S. would appeal to the U.S. for support.

The political positions taken by anti-war activists in the West can become a real factor in strategic decisions made by the U.S. government and its allies.

Because of this, we are heartened to see that in the United States the National Assembly to End the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupations and the ANSWER Coalition have added the demand of “No War or Sanctions Against Iran!” to their fliers promoting national anti-war protests on March 20.

We call on all other coalitions, organizations and individual activists to do the same, and to further demand “No Outside Interference in Iran's Internal Affairs! Self-determination for the Iranian People!”

Regardless of differences in our political analyses and views, these demands should be acceptable to all who struggle for peace, justice and a better world for all.

This appeal has been initiated by the
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII)
www.campaigniran.org


Thursday, February 25, 2010

The Lethal Legacy of Agent Orange

1.

Suffer the Children: The Lethal Legacy of Agent Orange

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard Posted: 02/21/2010 01:30:30 AM PST

Although Sharon L. Perry has never been to Vietnam, what happened to her husband, who served there during his military service, has affected her life forever.

Since he died in 2005 she has “waded through grief, hate, anger, pain, rage, and lots and lots of heartache.” The heartache started long before Reuben “Bud” C. Perry III died from a myocardial infarction attributed to his diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, and Hep C, all Agent Orange (AO) related illnesses.

It began with the birth of their oldest daughter, Danielle, who has been sick all her life. Sharon fought for years with doctors who didn't seem to know what caused her daughter to suffer debilitating muscle spasms in her neck that often lasted up to two hours. ”Finally,” Sharon said, “a doctor treated her because he said her muscles would atrophy if not taken care of.” The Perrys took Danielle to Shriner's Hospital in Massachusetts where the chief of staff diagnosed a list of 20 ailments. She suffered everything from spondylolithesis, comprised immune system, hip dysphasia, to granuloma annulare.

Then their second daughter, Lisbeth, was diagnosed as autistic, a condition that had never affected either side of the family. When Sharon's grandson began experiencing health problems that went undiagnosed by the doctors, Sharon was nearly overwhelmed. Throughout these challenges she watched helplessly as her husband's health slowly deteriorated over their 27 years of marriage. At the time of his death, he had a dozen severe health problems that were rated 110 percent service-connected.

Most Americans are aware that Vietnam veterans were exposed to Agent Orange, a deadly chemical defoliant used to destroy vegetation surrounding American military bases and forward firebases, to deprive the enemy of cover. It's been responsible for countless deaths and illnesses. Not as well-known are the effects upon the exposed veteran's children. Research has shown that toxins in Agent Orange cause DNA damage.

In 1991, thousands of birth defects attributed to parents' exposure to AO were recorded in the National Birth Defect Registry (www.birthdefects.org). There's an impressive body of scientific evidence that points to increases in birth defects and developmental problems in the children of Vietnam veterans and others exposed to AO. This recognition didn't come overnight.

The burden of proving that AO was deadly fell upon the veterans and their families back in the mid-1970s. They organized and won a class action lawsuit recognizing health problems caused by exposure to AO. Veterans then had to prove they were in areas recognized by the Veterans Administration as “exposed areas.”

Over the ensuing years one health condition after another was added to the list of AO related illnesses. Justice came on July 18, 2008, when the “Agent Orange Equity Act” was passed to make sure all veterans exposed to AO could get disability ratings. The burden of proof was finally lifted from the veterans' shoulders. Facts prevailed for once. Any veteran who went to Vietnam and parts of Korea along the DMZ, is now presumed to have been exposed to AO and eligible for a service-connect rating. Go to www.vva.org. for the complete and updated list.

The VA does recognize Spina Bifida as a birth defect resulting from AO. A Health Administration Center (HAC) was created (1-800-820-1756) to provide money, training, and rehabilitation for those children, but it isn't intended to be a comprehensive health plan, according to HAC literature. Sen. Kirsten (D-NY) introduced legislation -- S.1940 Agent Orange Children's Study -- on Oct. 27, 2009. So far, there's been little support for the bill.

Enter Sharon L. Perry. With a focus born from her grief and trials, she and her daughter Danielle started a Web site called “Agent Orange Legacy” (www.agentorangelegacy.ning.com). Their mission is to unite the children of Vietnam veterans who have AO related illnesses, and others who want to advocate for more research and resources for them. Sharon hopes the Web site will get enough attention to encourage people to support S.1940.

She's currently putting together a national coalition and looking for Agent Orange Legacy representatives from every state to lobby Congress for bills like S.1940, to help the children. Sharon is also working with Mokie Porter, a member of Vietnam Veterans of America, who is looking into helping the children of veterans who served their country. As It Stands, I want to thank Sharon for sharing her story, and I hope others will be equally moved to support her mission and help these children.


Dave Stancliff is a columnist for The Times-Standard. He is a former newspaper editor and publisher. Comments can be sent to richstan1@suddenlink.net or to www.davesblogcentral.com. http://www.times-standard.com/othervoices/ci_14444017

2.

One of America's dirty little secrets. . .

Can you stand one more Agent Orange story...please bear with me as I tell you one of America's dirty little secrets. We have now buried more veteran victims of Agent Orange than there are names on the Vietnam Wall.

HR 2254 is languishing in the House of Representatives with 245 co-sponsors. It will restore the benefits for the disrespected and disenfranchised veterans who served in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia & Guam...the United States Air Force Veterans who were in the air space above Vietnam and the United states Navy Veterans who served in the waters around Vietnam.

We the widows join our beloved Veterans who are currently suffering the ravages of illness and disease due to the United States Government's decision to continue the use of the rainbow herbicides with full knowledge of the outcome in requesting...no, DEMANDING, that this bill come to the floor of the House of Representatives to once and for all deliver the respect and benefits to these unselfish men and women who are paying for said benefits with great pain and suffering and their very lives.

This bipartisan legislation will reap beneficiaries in all congressional and senatorial districts. It will ease the financial burden of the suffering veterans and their families as well as validate the widows. We the widows have suffered the consequences of the exposure to Agent Orange for longer than you will ever know.

Our husbands returned to this country with no government support system. We nurtured them through the anger, the nightmares, the lifelong stomach problems, the mood swings and the symptoms of what we now know to be agent orange related illnesses that caused their early departure from this earth leaving us to become young widows. We lost our husbands...too old to start over and too young for social security. We lost our loving husbands, our lifelong companions. Our children lost their fathers...and our young grandchildren will never experience that special love that only a grandfather can bestow.

Suddenly the young widow realizes the secondary losses...no more income, no health insurance, no couples social life, no one to have dinner with, no one to wrap their strong arms around us for comfort through life's miseries. He will never again walk in the door at the end of the day to put a smile on our weary faces. As we carry our burdens alone our government abandons us as they have abandoned our veteran husbands.

When our children were born with structural birth defects never heard of in the geneology of our family we had no idea that Agent Orange was the cause. We suffered life's blows together without aid and assistance from the United States Government.

It wasn't until several months after my husbands death that I literally tripped over a web site with a list of known birth defects caused by exposure to Agent Orange that I suddenly realized why we had that burden to carry when we were only 19 and 23 years old. Because our husbands served our country in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam conflict we are in this position. Our Vietnam Veterans who served outside of the country of Vietnam are required to prove "boots on the ground". Most of them did in fact have "boots on the ground"; however, when we file FOIA requests they continually come back stating "THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE DID NOT MAINTAIN THOSE RECORDS". We, therefore, are being given an impossible task to prove "boots on the ground"...the single most asinine language to get past our elected officials.

My husband (like many others) left Travis Air force Base in California, traveled through Seattle, Washington, on to Alaska and in to Saigon. He was in Saigon for several days prior to his arrival in U-Tapao Thailand. He also flew in and out of Vietnam frequently. He was in Bien Hoa, Nha Trang, Phu Cat and other locations that I can't recall from stories that he would tell.

Interestingly enough my FOIA request for his morning reports came back stating again that The United States Air Force did not maintain these records.

Why not?

In 2008 many months after my husband's death, I found the CHECO report on the internet. Agent Orange was used on virtually every air base in Thailand to quell vegetation growth. The bases, including living quarters in Thailand were extensively sprayed with Malathion for mosquitoes due to the fear of malaria. Does Malathion also contain deadly dioxin? Did Malathion contribute to my husband's early death?

In 1999 the Thailand government found buried Agent Orange barrels when expanding the Bor Fai Airport so as to accommodate their growing tourism industry. Bor Fai is near Hua Hin, Cha Am, Pranburi District...where according to the DoD the United States Government tested Agent Orange in 1965. My husband has photos from Cha Am, Hua Hin where he visited while serving in Thailand in 1968. He ate the food, breathed the air and swam in the water...did this contribute to his death?

Why is HR 2254 introduced by Congressman Bob Filner (D) CA, with enough bipartisan co-sponsors to be an up and down bill just sitting there? Where is the outrage? Where is the press? Where's the justice?

Are we as a nation to sit back and allow our elected leaders to continue to wring their hands and shed crocodile tears over the needs and wants of ILLEGAL aliens while continuing to ignore the very men and women who unselfishly served this great nation in Southeast Asia at the convenience of the United Sates Government?

Please contact your Congressional representative to express your support for our Vietnam Veterans and their grieving widows. Demand action on HR 2254 now. To all Veterans I thank you for your unselfish service to our great country...to all Veterans widows I send you my love and sincere condolences for your loss.

Sincerely Rita D'Ottavio York, PA

From a Blue Water Navy widow.....

3.

Many millions of innocent Vietnamese, now into the 4th generation, are suffering the same AO diseases and birth defects as US soldiers and their families, on an even greater scale.

When will the US government and chemical companies accept responsibility for these chemical warfare crimes against humanity?


Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The War on Toyota: It's All Politics

By Mike Whitney

Does anyone really believe that Toyota is being pilloried in the media for a few highway fatalities?
Continue



Explosive News

By Jennifer Harper

A lingering technical question about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks still haunts some, and it has political implications: How did 200,000 tons of steel disintegrate and drop in 11 seconds?

A thousand architects and engineers want to know. Continue



America’s First Suicide Bomber

By Paul Craig Roberts

“Violence,” Stack wrote, “not only is the answer, it is the only answer.” Stack concluded that nothing short of violence will get the attention of a government that has turned its back on the American people. Continue



Iran grounds plane with Rigi holding US-issued passport

Iran's intelligence minister says the leader of Jundallah terrorist group was at a US base in Afghanistan 24 hours before his capture, in possession of a US-issued, forged Afghan passport.

Iran expounds on Rigi's links with CIA, Mossad: Moslehi said that Rigi had contacts with CIA and Mossad and had even met the NATO military chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Afghanistan in April 2008.

In case you missed it: The Secret War Against Iran: A Pakistani tribal militant group responsible for a series of deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials since 2005, U.S. and Pakistani intelligence sources tell ABC News.



Is the United States a Failing State?

By Barry Weisberg

The American provision of public services such as health care, education, social welfare or public safety, is a failure. Fewer people are covered by health care than in any industrial country (the World Health Organization ranks the US 37th in health care delivery); the infant mortality rate has sunk from 12th in 1960 to 29 in 1990 and 30th in 2005; Continue


'Death of American Capitalism:'

The 10 Final Scenes

By Paul B. Farrell

Do Main Street's 95 million investors know something Warren Buffett's long-time partner, Charlie Munger, doesn't know? Munger is warning us "It's Over" for America. Yes, "o-v-e-r," America's in decline, at the end-of-days, coming to "financial ruin," says Munger. Continue


The Drive to Eliminate Social Security Accelerates

By Shamus Cooke

Tackling Social Security has been on the to-do list of the corporate elite for years, and they’re not waiting any longer.
Continue



Obama's New Budget Increases Funding for Nuclear Weapons Production Facilities

In the new budget request for 2011 the Obama Administration proposes to freeze discretionary domestic spending for programs such as education, nutrition, air traffic control and national parks for three years while dramatically increasing funding for new US nuclear weapons production facilities.



U.S. is Ranked #37 in Health Care in the World

By Karen Harper

February 24, 2010 "Examiner"


Only 56% of Americans say they have confidence in the U.S. health care system according to a recent Gallup poll. The United States has the highest per-capita total health expenditures of any of the 30 countries of the OECD, yet Americans report only average levels of health. Except for the United States, the more money spent on health care in a nation translates to better health for the respondents.

The World Health Organization ranks the United States at 37th in the world.


We're number 37



The Flailing Falsehoods of America's War Criminals

By Glenn Greenwald

I didn't think it was possible, but former Bush officials -- desperately fighting what they know will be their legacy as war criminals -- have become even more dishonest propagandists out of office than they were in office. Continue



Armageddon

By Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D.

If you thought Wall Street’s debt crisis was traumatic, wait till you the see the consequences of Washington’s debt crisis! Never before in history has a world power like the U.S. been so utterly buried in debt! And never before has that debt been financed so massively by foreign investors! Continue



This Is Liberalism?

By David Michael Green

You gotta hand it to the agents of the regressive right for playing the weakest imaginable hand so well. I’m talking about the Lee Atwaters and Frank Luntzs of the world, who both understand human psychology (read fear) and are absolutely pitiless about employing it for purposes of assisting the rich and powerful in raping the rest of us. Continue



Venezuela’s Revolution Faces Crucial Battles

By Federico Fuentes, Caracas

The campaign for the September 26 National Assembly elections will be a crucial battle between the supporters of socialist President Hugo Chavez and the US-backed right-wing opposition. But these battles, part of the class struggle between the poor majority and the capitalist elite, will be fought more in the streets than at the ballot box. Continue



US Super-rich Get Five Times More Income Than In 1995

By Andre Damon

The incomes of the very rich in the US grew phenomenally between 1992 and 2007, while their tax rates plummeted, according to recently uncovered IRS statistics. Continue



Kucinich Challenges Gates on Civilians Killed in Afghanistan

The buck doesn't appear to be stopping anywhere in Afghanistan.



Sunday, February 21, 2010

All out for the March 20th March on Washington!

March 20 homepage horizontal

March 20 donate March 20 endorse march 20 volunteer

People from all over the country are organizing to converge on Washington, D.C., to demand the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan and Iraq.

We will march together to say “No Colonial-type Wars and Occupations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Haiti!"

We will march together to say "No War or Sanctions Against Iran!”

We will march together to say “No War for Empire Anywhere!”

No More Wars for Washington &

Wall Street

Instead of war, we will demand funds so that every person can have a job, free and universal health care, decent schools, and affordable housing.

March 20 is the seventh anniversary of the criminal war of aggression launched by Bush and Cheney against Iraq. One million or more Iraqis have died. Tens of thousands of U.S. troops have lost their lives or been maimed, and continue to suffer a whole host of enduring problems from this terrible war.

This is the time for united action. The slogans on banners may differ, but all those who carry them should be marching shoulder to shoulder. Click here to become an endorser.

Check out the new March 20th website: www.March20.org!

March 20 March on Washington banner

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

All out for the

March 20th

March on Washington!


http://www.pephost.org/site/PageServer?pagename=M20_homepage

People from all over the country are organizing to converge on Washington, D.C., to demand the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan and Iraq.

On Saturday, March 20, 2010, there will be a massive National March & Rally in D.C.

A day of action and outreach in Washington, D.C., will take place on Friday, March 19, preceding the Saturday march.

There will be coinciding mass marches on March 20 in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The national actions are initiated by a large number of organizations and prominent individuals. To see a list of the initiators, click this link.


We will march together to say “No Colonial-type Wars and Occupations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Haiti!" We will march together to say "No War Against Iran!” We will march together to say “No War for Empire Anywhere!”

Instead of war, we will demand funds so that every person can have a job, free and universal health care, decent schools, and affordable housing.

All out for the March 20th March on Washington!

March 20 homepage horizontal

Monday, February 15, 2010

Sad news from Project RENEW

The horrors of war continue long after the war "ends". . .

Dakrong, Quang Tri (12 Feb 2010)-

There will be no Tet celebrations to welcome the Lunar New Year for Ho Van Nguyen’s family this year.

A cluster bomb explosion killed Nguyen on Friday morning, Feb. 12, as he was cutting weeds around his banana trees and preparing for the Tet holiday which began in Viet Nam on Saturday.


The accident occurred in Mai Lanh Village, Mo O Commune of Dakrong District, which is in the western part of Quang Tri Province, along the former wartime DMZ.

The 40-year-old father of six daughters left home after breakfast on Friday morning. His wife said Nguyen took with him his favorite farming tool, a bush-hook. About 10:30 a.m. there was an explosion from the direction of his family’s hillside slash-and-burnt farm plot along the Dakrong River. It is believed that Nguyen hit a cluster munition while clearing weeds from around his banana trees, using the bush-hook. The area where he was working is a large cultivation site for over half of the 1800 Van Kieu minority people who reside in Krong Klang Townlet. Bananas, cassava, and maize are the major sources of income for local residents there.

Mr. Ho Van Hoi, Nguyen’s uncle, heard the explosion and was the first to rush to the accident scene. When he arrived, he saw his nephew lying lifeless on the ground. Both his hands were severed, his eyes were badly damaged, and the skin was scorched from the chest up to the face of the victim....

On the eve of Tet, Nguyen’s tragic death suddenly thrusts his family into extreme difficulties. His wife and six daughters, the youngest only three years old, are facing shock and grief, and an uncertain future. The family’s emotional tragedy is compounded by the loss of their only breadwinner, who also supported his aging parents.

“I married twice but have only that son,” lamented Nguyen’s father, Mr. Ho Van Mong, who was a guerrilla fighter during the Vietnam war. “How can I live on without him?”

News of the accident immediately was passed on by Project RENEW staff to Clear Path International (CPI) and PeaceTrees Vietnam (PTVN), two NGO projects which provide direct emergency support to UXO accident victims and their families in Quang Tri Province. PTVN also fields an explosive ordnance disposal team (EOD team) in Dakrong District which was launched in September 2009.

“Our team has destroyed thousands of UXO since our deployment in Dakrong,” said Pham Thi Hoang Ha, PTVN In-Country Project Manager. “However, there are still a lot of UXO that need to be removed.”

According to a Landmine Impact Survey conducted by BOMICEN/VVAF, Dakrong District has the highest level of UXO contamination anywhere in the country: 97% of its land area is confirmed to be contaminated by explosive ordnance.


President of the local Red Cross Association, Ms. Le Thi Lam Hoa, said the area where the accident occurred, Mai Lanh Village, had been reclaimed from virgin land in 1982 for resettling ethnic minority families who were dislocated by the war. “Another accident in that area killed two men in 1985,” said Ms. Hoa. The victim’s father said the area was heavily bombed during wartime, and he had witnessed a large number of cluster bomb dispensers falling to the earth which failed to function.

Since the war ended in 1975, more than a third of the 105,000 casualties in Vietnam have been caused by cluster munitions, called “bombies” or guava bombs by the local ethnic minority people.


Project RENEW is still raising funds to continue our demining work in Quang Tri Province.

Please make your donation today to help remove explosive remnants of war and build lives for affected people.


(1) If, for tax purposes, you need to pass the money along to a 501(c)(3) under the I.R.S. code, the funds will have to go through VVMF. For more information, check out this link:
https://www.vvmf.org/index.cfm?SectionID=36.

(2) Send a check to:

Project RENEW Coordination Office
103 Nguyen Binh Khiem St.
Dong Ha, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam
Ngo Xuan Hien – Public Relations and Development Officer

(3) Bank transfer

Bank Name:ANZ
Account Name:RENEW Donor
Account No:4370488
Currency:VND
Swift Code:ANZBVNVX
Bank Address:
ANZ Bank, Hanoi Branch, 14 Le Thai To St.
Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam





Sunday, February 14, 2010

Inverted Totalitarianism
Fighting Corporate Rape of US

By Chris Hedges

American journalist and Pulitzer winner Chris Hedges told RT the United States has developed a new form of corporate totalitarianism.

Video By Russia Today - Posted February 16, 2010



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Is US a Police State?


Video Interview with Paul Craig Roberts

The US now has a list of Americans that can now be murdered abroad without due legal process....Illegal wars, kidnapping & torture continues....Paul Craig Roberts says that all of this points to a sign that the United States has become a police state.

Posted February 12, 2010


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The Lobbying-Media Complex

Covert corporate influence peddling on cable news

By Sebastian Jones

A four-month investigation by The Nation has found:

Since 2007 at least seventy-five registered lobbyists, public relations representatives and corporate officials--people paid by companies and trade groups to manage their public image and promote their financial and political interests--have appeared on MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, CNBC and Fox Business Network with no disclosure of the corporate interests that had paid them.

Continue

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Goldstone Facts
The Real Story Behind Israel's Attack On Gaza

Video

Deliberate Attacks against the Civilian Population.

Factual Findings narrated by Ross Vachon .

Factual and Legal findings narrated by Noam Chomsky.

Continue

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Same Empire, Different Emperor

By Laurence M. Vance

Just as Hadrian succeeded Trajan, Domitian succeeded Titus, Nero succeeded Claudius, and Caligula succeeded Tiberius, so Kennedy replaced Eisenhower, Nixon replaced Johnson, Reagan replaced Carter, and Obama replaced Bush.

Continue


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Monday, February 01, 2010

In the West Bank's Stony Hills, Palestine is Slowly Dying

By Robert Fisk


In the richest of the Occupied lands, Israeli bureaucracy is driving Palestinians out of their homes. Continue

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Inside Israeli land grabs


The Real News investigates the mechanism by which Israeli settlements come about and expand in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Go to story | Go to homepage



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Q&A: ''Hamas Accepts Existence of Israel Within 1967 Borders'':

. . . We have already stated repeatedly that we accept the existence of Israel within the 1967 borders as a political reality even if we do not approve its moral legitimacy. . .


Israeli Confessions: If one wants to know why and how the conflict started in Palestine more than 60 years ago, the "confessions" of Israeli and Zionist leaders should make it very clear.

Click on heading to play video