Cover up of soldiers illnesses

Update: Photo above of the burn pit

By Nora Eisenberg (AlterNet)
Six years into the war, many U.S. bases in Iraq are still without incinerators, leaving open pits spewing toxic plumes over soldiers and civilians.
Acetaldehyde, Acrolien, Arsenic, Benzene, Carbon Monoxide, Ethylbenzene, Formaldehyde, Hydrogen Cyanide, Hydrogen Fluoride, Phosgene, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulfuric Acid, Toluene, Trichloroethane, Xylene. These are just some of the chemicals detected in smoke from the Balad Burn Pit, one of the many vast open pits spewing toxic plumes over Iraq and Afghanistan.
But not to worry; In “Just the Facts,” an information sheet for troops, the Department of Defense has stated that “the potential short- and long-term risks” from Balad “were estimated to be low.” The VA has just announced it will monitor reports of veterans' pit-related illness. But the DoD has yet to declassify old air sample reports or issue current findings.
The Pentagon’s fact sheet appeared after VAWatchdog.com linked to a memo showing that, as early as 2006, the DoD had known that the pit was “an acute health hazard.” In the memo, titled “Burn Pit Health Hazards,” Air Force Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight Commander Darrin Curtis wrote to authorities that he found it “amazing that the burn pit has been able to operate without restrictions over the past few years without significant engineering controls being put in place.” In an accompanying memo, James R. Elliott, Chief of Air Force Aeromedical Services, concurred that the pit’s fumes contained “known carcinogens” and “respiratory sensitizers” that posed a “chronic and acute health hazard to our troops and the local population.
” The rest of the article

I haven't worked with all of these chemicals and toxins but I can give you a brief rundown of most of them. I'll be keeping track of this situation.

Don't know the first two. Arsenic is a poison used to kill rats. It was also used as a wood preservative in the U.S. on things like power poles, fence posts and at one time spread under homes to prevent insects and rodents. Health effects central nervous system damage.
Benzene is a component of gasoline
Carbon monoxide we all know what that is. Poisoning causes the binding to blood cells making oxygen adsorbtion impossible in the body at high enough levels causes death.
Ethylbenzene another component of gasoline causing breathing problems.
Formaldehyde we all know of that from the FEMA trailers - again headaches and breathing problems.
Hydrogen Cyanide another chemical from burning - central nervous system damage.
Hydrogen Fluoride highly corrosive - lung damage.
Phosgene used as a gas weapon against an enemy causing blindness and lung damage.
Sulfur Dioxide when breathed in mixes with moisture in the lungs to cause sulfuric acid and you know what that does.
Sulfuric Acid highly corrosive to skin eyes nose and mouth and of course lungs.
Toluene another component of gasoline A know cancer causing agent.
Trichloroethane not formiliar with this.
Xylene corrosive chemical also part of gasoline used as paint stripper also cancer causing.

Now I can only imagine what they would burn in these pits. It could be anything from human waste to plastics to body parts, but if they didn't use a respirator and I'm almost certain they didn't because I know how the military works, then our guys are going to come home in a world of hurt.
And her's a little piece of advice for you. The next time you're pumping gas try standing upwind from the fumes or at least turn your head because you're breathing about half of this crap listed above in concentrated form especially on a hot day.

Keep your drums upright

December 7th

I'm no fan of war never have been, but on a particular day in December in a bay filled with U.S. war ships an unaware military was caught off guard. Many ships and men were lost that day. The images of the event has been shown from every angle and from both sides. It is sad to think back to that time and the few vets left who were there that day. Pearl Harbor started a world war for America, but let's not forget the underlying causes or as they used to say 'the big picture'. The U.S. was about to bring sanctions on Japan and stop the flow of oil to that country. The Japanese with no natural resources and few options moved to take over oil fields in southern Asia. After much debate the Japanese decided to attack Pearl Harbor in an effort to prevent the U.S from stopping their push to the oil in Asia.
I shouldn't be surprised that after 66 years the reasons for war have not changed. Greed, protectionism, national pride and preemtive strikes are still happening yet the players have changed seats like musical chairs. Any nation with great powers that isn't 'us' is considered evil. But the real tragedy in all this are the men and women who have sacrificed their lives for a system and an ideology with little consideration to the root problems of the world. If we don't stop and focus on the real problems and causes of war then we will have learned nothing from history.
A soldier who makes a mistake on the battlefield looses his life. A politicial who makes a mistake gets a lobby position. I know life isn't fair. My honor and respect goes to the soldier.

Numbers

Casualties


I remember the lies we were handed during the Vietnam war of the statistics about the casualties of the war. Each week Friday to be exact we were told that 15 or 20 U.S. soldiers were killed while the enemy lost two to three thousand. After several years of war it dawned on me that if there figures were true then our boys in uniform would have wiped out the entire North Vietnamese army and then some. Having talked to my brother who did a tour over there about this, he explained that it was customary for soldiers to add a few numbers to their figures when giving reports. It now appears that our military is doing just the opposite of the Iraqi casualties. I hear only those people shot in the back are counted in the figures.

The rethuglicans support the troops... yea right

A bill before the congress was to permit our troops to have as much time off as they had in combat. The vote 56 to 44 failed because the rethuglicans filibustered it. I just love how main puke media fails to give the rest of the story. Why do the rethuglicans hate the troops? I'll let you decide.

The British Captives

A thought had occured to me while watching some of the comments about the British troops who were recently released. There you had a British officer ranting about how the conduct of the troops was a discrace to the uniform yada yada yada. Then it dawned on me that what they had done was exactly right for the situation. They are alive and physically well and back home and more importantly able to fight another day. Imagine Mr. Military Man if you had been there ranting taunting and raving about how tough and superior you are when you know the end result would be the loss of limb or worse being sent home in a body bag. Or maybe you'd like to be signed up for one of those suicide missions I've just heard about. (Need to find that link)