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| Project Day Lily chronicles the events surrounding the "Gulf War Syndrome suffered by over 150,000 veterans (and tens of thousands dead) without proper acknowledgment or treatment to keep secret the origin of their illnesses. Were our Armed Forces exposed to chemical and biological toxins that were supplied, in part, by a sinister network of rogue bureaucrats, intelligence operatives and scientists? This is the story of how one of these biological agents was found by two American scientists as part of a massive testing program and how various academic and government employees did everything in their power to keep this information secret.
Project Day Lily is based on a true story. The authors wrote Project Day Lily in order to shed light on a crisis facing our country and the world. A fictional format was used to maximize dramatic content; the events described are true, and the scientific principles discussed in the book have been documented in the authors publications, reports and sworn testimony to Presidential Commissions and committees of the U. S. Congress. Project Day Lily is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Fred Conrad (Colonel, USAF, retired) and five other academic colleagues who died under mysterious circumstances while investigating aspects of the alleged illegal testing of Biological Weapons in Texas hospitals, nursing homes and prisons. This book is also dedicated to the men and women of our Armed Services and their family members who were put in harms way and were never properly warned about the dangers of Biological Weapons, and to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice personnel and its prisoners and to the people of the Great State of Texas who were betrayed and lost their health and loved ones to a vicious agenda in the name of National Security.
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| Federal
leaders reach $1B deal on veterans May. 10 2005 9:08 AM |
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| A special Thank's to Louise to keep-up up-to-date on the english News | |
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Gulf War vets finally get their thanks
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| Jennifer Campbell The Ottawa Citizen Tuesday, March 01, 2005 |
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The government of Kuwait gave its thanks yesterday to Canadians who helped liberate the country during the Gulf War, marking the 14th anniversary of the end of the war. According to the veterans, the ceremony also marked the first time they were recognized, on their own, for their contributions. The event came about after Kuwaiti Ambassador Musaed Rashed Al Haroon arrived in Canada in January and met with veterans. He asked them what Canada usually does to commemorate their efforts on the anniversary of the war's end. "We said, 'Um, nothing sir'," explained Louise Richard, a retired navy lieutenant. "He was very shocked and very disappointed because they are so grateful to us." The ambassador then decided to hold the first official ceremony for Gulf War veterans in Canada -- and he invited Veterans Affairs Minister Albina Guarnieri. "It's been 14 years -- it's not as though we haven't given them time," said Sean Bruyea, a retired intelligence officer. "Now that it's happening, the (Veterans Affairs) minister's in like a dirty shirt." Asked why Canada hasn't commemorated the Gulf War soldiers, Ms. Guarnieri said Gulf War veterans receive disability pensions and are therefore acknowledged by Veterans Affairs. "There's no denying that commemorating the service of veterans is an imperative," she said, adding that she wasn't aware this was the first exclusive event for Gulf War veterans. The veterans have other complaints, too. They don't get announced at Remembrance Day ceremonies when they lay a wreath, nor are they mentioned on the Cenotaph, Mr. Bruyea said. They've so far been denied medals given by the government of Kuwait. The Kuwaiti government sent the Liberation of Kuwait medals to Canada, but the federal government has refused to turn them over to veterans. The veterans claim Canada is the only country of the 38-member coalition to deny the medals to its vets. Yesterday's representatives were wearing two medals -- one from Canada and one from Saudi Arabia for service in the same war. "I would think the Kuwaitis would be wondering why Canada accepted the medal from Saudi Arabia, but not Kuwait," Ms. Richards said. The ceremony included two minutes of silence as well as a wreath-laying. Speaking to the group of dignitaries, Mr. Al Haroon thanked the veterans. "On behalf of my government, I thank you for coming today, for giving us the opportunity to say to disabled veterans, thank you for your services, thank you for your sacrifices," he said. |
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© The Ottawa Citizen 2005  |
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| A US government-appointed panel has reportedly concluded that toxic chemical exposure and not wartime stress caused neurological damage and illness suffered by many veterans of the 1991 Gulf War. "The Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses concludes in its draft report that 'a substantial proportion of Gulf War veterans are ill with multisymptom conditions not explained by wartime stress or psychiatric illness,'" The New York Times quoted a draft report as saying. The paper said the draft report cited a growing body of research on effects of exposure to low levels of neurotoxins suggesting that many veterans' symptoms have a neurological cause and that there is a "probable link" to exposure to neurotoxins. Among the potential sources cited were "sarin, a nerve gas, from an Iraqi weapons depot blown up by American forces in 1991; a drug, pyridostigmine bromide, given to troops to protect against nerve gas; and pesticides used to protect soldiers in the region," the daily reported. Doctor Joyce Lashof, the chair of a presidential advisory group that reported in 1996 that there was no causal link between toxic exposure and the veterans' symptoms, told the newspaper Thursday that she had not seen the new draft report. But she said she was "open to changing her views if the findings were based on solid new research and not advocacy by veterans' groups," the Times reported. "We certainly weren't sure that our report was the definitive answer," Lashof told the Times. "It was based on the best evidence available at the time." The chemicals cited in the new study belong to the group called acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, which can cause a range of symptoms from pain to fatigue, diarrhea and cognitive impairment. Committee members told the Times, which obtained a copy of the draft, that one changes could be made in it but that basic scientific findings would not change. Some 22,000 US service men and women, out of the 700,000 who participated in the first Gulf War, are still suffering from a host of chronic and debilitating illnesses more than a decade after they returned from the region, according to US officials. "Gulf War Syndrome" is a term popularly applied to a vast range of symptoms among veterans of the 1990-91 conflict in Iraq About 100,000 US troops as well as thousands of British, Canadian and French troops who took part in the operation against Baghdad to liberate Kuwait To date, researchers had been unable to pinpoint the cause, or causes of the condition and there is no approved therapy to treat it. Speculation about the origin of the illnesses has focused on the veterans' exposure to chemical and biological agents and pesticides during the Gulf War. Some 158,000 US troops received shots designed to protect them from the biological warfare agents, anthrax and botulinum toxoid, for example. A combination of behavioral therapy and graded exercise has been shown to help sufferers of other multisymptom chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, prompting the Veterans Administration to explore its benefits for veterans with Gulf War Syndrome. |
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| A Special Thanks to | |
 NEW YORK (AFP) |
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Depleted Uranium
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| Armed Forces Institute of Pathology of USA | |
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AFIP
develops Chemical Toxicology Testing Program and Registry on Depleted
Uranium in collaboration with the Baltimore VA Medical Center |
Gulf War syndrome 'does exist'
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in the US say they have demonstrated the existence of the illness known as
"Gulf war syndrome". The findings can be seen in a report by the influential Research Advisory Committee on Gulf war veterans' illness, leaked to the New York Times. Committee chief scientist Professor Beatrice Golombe said that exposure to certain substances in the Gulf may have altered some troops' body chemistry. |
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Thousands of veterans of the 1991 war suffer from unexplained poor health. Servicemen and women from the US, UK, Canada and France who took part in the operation to drive Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait have reported one or more symptoms, including memory loss, chronic fatigue and dizziness. 'Really ill' Many continue to suffer from chronic and debilitating illnesses more than a decade since the war. However, scientists had until now been unable to establish their causes. The report said the troops' problems were definitely caused by exposure to toxic chemicals rather than stress or psychiatric illness. Potential sources include Iraqi nerve gas and drugs given to the troops to protect them from chemical weapons. "Gulf war veterans really are ill at an elevated degree and several studies bring consistent findings that about 25%-30% of those who were deployed are ill," Professor Golombe told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/3748844.stm Published: 2004/10/16 10:52:30 GMT BBC MMIV |
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Cargo plane with seven crew crashes near Halifax amid huge fireball |
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Updated at 14:31 on October 14, 2004, EST. |
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Audio: Mike LaRue of Halifax Regional Fire Department |
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HALIFAX (CP) - The tail section of a Boeing 747 snapped off seconds before the loaded cargo jet crashed into woods at the end of a runway at Halifax International Airport early Thursday, killing all seven crew members. "Our thoughts and our prayers go to the families of those killed in this tragedy," said Pat Chapman, a spokesperson for the airport authority. The tail of the wide-body plane, owned by MK Airlines Ltd. of Britain and Ghana, lay in a field at the end of the runway, inside the fence surrounding the airport property. "The aircraft basically didn't take off," said Steve Anderson, an airline spokesman in Sussex, England. "She continued her (takeoff run) and ran off the runway and ran into woods." There didn't appear to be casualties on the ground as there are no homes in the area. The fuselage and wings of the aircraft cut a wide, V-shaped swath through woods before coming to rest in pieces about a kilometre away. "We've recovered some remains at the scene," said RCMP Const. Joe Taplin. He said the RCMP were treating the crash as a potential criminal investigation after reports of an explosion. He didn't elaborate. Bill Fowler, an investigator with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said it's not unusual for police to take the lead in the early stages of investigations involving fatal crashes. "We are providing technical assistance and we will continue to do so until that investigation changes, if it does, to a safety investigation," he said. The tops of several trees and power poles were sheered off. The jet's severed wings lay in the brush, which was still burning in places several hours later. A mangled engine and a charred portion of fuselage lay nearby. The Boeing 747-200, which was loaded with fuel for a flight to Spain, crashed shortly before 4 a.m. local time near an industrial park and quarry about 30 kilometres north of Halifax. Pictures from the scene showed an orange glow in the pre-dawn sky. It took about 60 firefighters and 20 trucks about three hours to control a fire caused by burning jet fuel on the ground. Dave Carroll, a volunteer firefighter, said he arrived to see a large "fireball in the bushes." His face smeared with soot, Carroll said he'd never seen such wreckage and was saddened by the fact "it was such a big plane and there were lives lost." "It's one of those things you hope you never come to a second time," he said. The crash forced the airport to close for several hours, delaying or cancelling 17 flights. Power was temporarily knocked out, but flights resumed on one runway later in the morning. MK Airlines said the dead crew members were all males. Six were from Zimbabwe while the seventh was South African. Aside from the usual three-person crew in the cockpit, the plane was also carrying a loadmaster and a spare crew. The weather at the time of the crash was good with a partly cloudy sky and light winds. The huge aircraft, which stopped in Halifax to refuel and take on cargo, was loaded with lawn tractors and 53,000 kilograms of lobster and fish bound for Zaragosa, Spain. Fowler said preliminary indications suggest the aircraft wasn't overloaded. Witness Peter Lewis was dropping off his wife at the airport and saw two explosions. "As we were approaching we saw what I thought was heat lightning," he told radio station CJCH. "That was only a quick one followed by a second one that was bigger. And then we saw a very bright orange light - and I mean bright. It took up the whole sky." The MK Airlines spokesman said the company had never had problems with this particular aircraft. "She's been an absolute gem," Anderson said, noting the aircraft had been in service for about six years. He also said the company has been flying out of Halifax for the past 18 months. The crash was the fourth for the cargo company in 12 years and the second involving fatalities. All three previous crashes were in Nigeria. In 2001, one crew member was killed when a 747 went down about 700 metres short of the runway. In 1996, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8F-55 struck trees during approach. There were no fatalities. In 1992, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 crashed and caught fire, also during final approach. The information on the previous crashes is listed on a website for the Aviation Safety Network, an independent aviation safety watchdog. The TSB has assembled a team of investigators in Ottawa. The board is an independent agency that investigates transportation accidents and prepares incident reports. Fowler said the jet's flight data recorders had yet to be recovered. The flight originated near Hartford, Conn., and the flight to Halifax was uneventful, Anderson said. A pilot familiar with large planes said the tails of jets such as the 747 occasionally strike the ground during rotation - the point in the takeoff sequence when the pilot pulls back on the control stick, lifting the nose off the ground. Large aircraft have so-called strike bars that protect the tail section when the pilot over-rotates and the tail strikes the runway. "It doesn't happen that often," said the pilot, who didn't want his name used. "You can encounter turbulence right at rotation." While tail strikes are uncommon, pilots can recover from them, he said. Anderson, the MK spokesman, confirmed the aircraft was in the process of rotating when it crashed. In Ottawa, federal Transport Minister Jean Lapierre said "my thoughts are with the families of the people involved in this tragic accident." Fowler said the downed jet was likely equipped with depleted uranium, a
radioactive material often used as ballast in the rudders and wings of
wide-body aircraft. Depleted uranium is the dense, heavy waste produced during the making of nuclear fuel and weapons. A 747 may contain as much as 1,500 kilograms of the material, which is denser than lead and 60 per cent as radioactive as natural uranium. Fowler said "there is no threat or concern" about exposure to those working on the wreckage. info |
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| The Canadian Press |
