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Wednesday, January 25, 2012. Chaos and violence continue, the political
crisis continues, Nouri launches another verbal attack on Turkey's prime
minister, Talabani tries to keep the peace from a sickbed, US President Barack
Obama gives a speech dubbed State of the Union, and more.
Sir Talks A Lot gave his State of the Union speech last night. A more
accurate summary of the state of the union was delivered last Thursday in Harlem
by Ralph Poynter.
Ralph Poynter: I want you to know that we all should have known
better when Mr. Obama said that he was for change and peace. I want you to know
that we should have known better when he started to run and he went to the Black
Caucus to ask for their support. When they asked him why hadn't he supported
the issues of the Black Caucus, his words were he did not want to be tainted by
the Civil Rights Movement. We all know that Fannie Lou Hamer only wanted to
vote. This is what Mr. Obama did not want to be tainted by; therefore, when we
choose not to support Mr. Obama we want him to remember all of his words where
he did not want to be tainted by the Civil Rights Movement, he said stop
whimpering, stop whining, stop yammering. So we want to say to Mr. Obama when
we don't show up to vote, stop whining! Stop whining, Mr. Obama! We no longer
believe that you will stand for anything. You never stood for the First
Amendment right of free speech. You never stood for the Fifth Amendment right
to have an attorney. You never stood for anything that didn't support the
corporations. We are standing for all of the people not the corporations. Mr.
Obama, we are going to send you back home to Chicago where you helped destroy
the projects. We need someone who stands for housing. We need someone who
stands for jobs. We need someone who will be true to the words they say.
Goodbye Mr. Obama.
Ralph, husband of political prisoner and legendary attorney Lynne Stewart,
delivered the speech as a call and response with the over 400 gathered outside
the Apollo Theater which was shut down for Barack's private fundraiser. On this
week's. Black Agenda
Radio, hosted by Glen Ford and Nellie Bailey, (airs each Monday
at 4:00 pm EST on the Progressive Radio
Network), they play the speech and report on the protest. We'll
excerpt a section of co-host Nellie Bailey being interviewed by Don
DeBar.
Nellie Bailey: This rally was called by Occupy Harlem along with a number of
other sponsors and endorsers. And we're here to send a clear message to
President Obama that he will not come to Harlem and not receive a scathing
message of his service to the 1%.
Nellie Bailey: And now we have three wars going on. Not only that,
we have a military budget greater than all of the military budgets of the
nation-states in the world combined. That is where we are. And we have seen
the expansion of war under Obama than under President Bush. We have the
National Defense Authorization Act
under Obama, not under Republican Bush. We have NDAA that can be used by any
sitting president including right-wing Republicans.
Don DeBar: And what is the NDAA, for
people who aren't familiar with it?
Nellie Bailey: It is the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012
that authorizes the indefinite detention, arrest without judicial review,
charges of any American citizen on American soil at the behest of the
president. Only the president of the United States can authorize this and we
say that this is dangerous despite the fact that President Obama says that he
would not authorize the use of NDAA but he has proven in so many instances that
he does not tell the truth and we know that he can and will authorize the use of
this bill. And we believe that this bill and the passage, particularly at the
beginning of an election year, is to outflank the Republicans in terms of his
right-of-center agenda and, secondly, to have a law that will crush any militant
dissent and protest here in this country as the US plutocracy and oligarchy
expand their illegal wars, occupation and military aggression against
nation-states.
Glen Ford: Veteran journalist Chris Hedges fears that anyone can
be thrown into prison without trial under the preventive detention bill signed
into law by President Obama so Hedges has sued the president. We asked Hedges
how he decided to take on the White House.
Chris Hedges: It actually wasn't my idea. Carl Mayer who has been
involved in lawsuits to defend the assaults against civil liberties including
the ACLU lawsuit against the FISA reform act -- of which I am one of the
plantiffs -- came to me and said, "Look, under this legislation, someone like
you could be, potentially because of the nebulous language, charged. You've had
direct, personal contact with groups that the state has defined as terrorist
organizations. There are no provisions in this legislation to exempt
journalists. Would you be willing to be a plantiff?" And I said
yes.
Glen Ford: Particularly ominous in this legislation is the use of
the term "substantial support," not material support.
Chris Hedges: Right.
Glen Ford: And most people think they understand what material
support is --
Chris Hedges: Right.
Glen Ford: -- giving money, passing a gun, something, but
substantial support?
Chris Hedges: Right and it could be substantial support for
something called associated forces so it leaves open such a broad interpretation
that there is no protection for someone like me under this law or I think for
ultimately any kind of dissident because there has been a clear effort on the
part of the security state to try and tar the Occupy Movement as a movement
that's an enemy of American democracy. When you look at the list or the
criteria by which the Attorney General's office can investigate people for
terrorism, tossing in a couple of obstructionist tactics by the Occupy Movement
isn't much of a stretch. I mean, people who are missing fingers on one hand,
people who store over seven days of food and provisions, people who have weather
proof ammunition. I mean, they're going to have to round up my entire family in
rural parts of Maine.
Glen Ford: That's their profile of the potential
terrorist.
Chris Hedges: Yeah, as 'worthy of investigation.' We know that
there are at this point probably tens of millions of Americans who, because of
the FISA reform act, whose e-mails, home messages, all of which are being
monitored by the government
Glen Ford: In terms of substantial support, that could be
interpreted as speech, giving aid and comfort to someone that they declare is
the enemy.
Chris Hedges: Yeah, the way the law is written is, when you read it
really closely, really terrifying because it's the whim of the security and
surveillance state whoever they want to go after they can pretty much do so
under this piece of legislation and then, of course, the way they do it is to
use the military to carry out extraordinary rendition on American
streets.
In the news around the world and even in the United States on
Tuesday was the anger among Iraqis at the failure of the United States to hold
anyone seriously accountable for the 2005 massacre in Haditha. The story was a useful
reminder of how the operations of the U.S. military over the past decade have
fueled hostility toward our nation.
President Obama began his State of the
Union speech Tuesday night by absurdly claiming the exact opposite, asserting
that the war on Iraq has made us safer and -- I kid you not -- "more respected
around the world." He later equated the war on Iraq to World War II, a surefire
way to put anything beyond criticism in the United States, provided you can get
people to fall for it.
Remember, this is the guy who won the Democratic
Primary in 2008 by the simple fact of having not yet been in the Senate in 2003
and thus having avoided voting for the war that he funded to the hilt as a
senator beginning in 2005. He had called it a dumb war. Now he says it made us
safer. If it was dumb, was he dumber? What is he trying to say?
In the next
breath, Obama says "some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home." Never
mind that there are three times as many U.S. troops in Afghanistan now as when
Obama moved into the White House. The myth is that he's ending wars. Never mind
that he was compelled to end the Iraq War, in so far as it has ended, by the
treaty that Bush and Maliki created, and which Obama sought every possible way
to violate. Never mind that Iraqi hostility toward U.S. criminals being granted
immunity from prosecution was the primary reason that the Iraqi government
insisted on the Bush-Maliki withdrawal date. A myth is a myth, and who will
question it and still keep their job on U.S. television?
On Morning Edition (NPR -- link is text and
audio), Elizabeth Shogren, Tom Gjelten, John Ydstie, David Wessel, David Welna
and Claudio Sanchez provided facts checks on various sections of the State of
the Union Speech. Susan (Random Notes) terms the speech "more
neoliberal claptrap" and notes Patrick Martin (WSWS), "The State of the Union Speech
delivered by Barack Obama Tuesday night was memorable only as a further
milestone in the decay of American democracy." Mike took exception to
'religious' Barack telling Americans they needed to serve their country.
Cedric and Wally objected exception to both
the length of the speech and Barack's attempt to pass of recycled ideas as
fresh. Betty questioned his "America's
back" claim wondering, "From a bathroom break? Where did America go?" Mr.
Pretty Words' pretty speech team was attempting to grab the Reagan luster. But,
as Chrystler understood in the 80s, you say "the pride" is back, not America.
It's assumed that America and Americans have remained strong regardless of the
events and/or crisis -- be it a civil war or what have you. Only Barack and his
speech writing team could manage to insult on a patriotic level while attempting
to go jingoistic.
As noted yesterday, reality spoiled Barack's
plans for self-stroking over Iraq in the State of the Union. As a result, last
night Barack Iraq was only five sentences in the over one hour speech:
Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home some
of our last troops to serve in Iraq. Together, we offered a final, proud salute
to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought --
and several thousand gave their lives. We gather tonight
knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more
respected around the world. For the first time in nine years, there are no
Americans fighting in Iraq. [. . .] Ending the Iraq war has allowed us to
strike decisive blows against our enemies.
As noted this morning, what stood out in the speech was how inauthentic
Barack was and how shocking that was since this was his fourth State of the
Union speech:
It's partly because there's no speech writer in charge able to say,
"Nice phrase, but it doesn't fit with the rest of the speech. It's clunky in its
'beauty' and causes people to notice it as opposed to noticing the point being
made." So you get a variety of 'voices' in one speech. And Barack's not able to
maintain consistency for more than seven minutes tops so that hour-plus
performance last night was brutal, like watching Elizabeth Berkley struggle to
breathe life into Nomi in Showgirls.
"Proud salute to the colors under which . . ." That's exactly the sort of
phrase that stands out because one of the writers thought it was "beautiful" and
they -- the writers -- horsetraded for their favorite moments. It's part of the
reason Barack sounded like an idiot. One moment, 'Oh, I'm so serious and the
economy and Congress must do this and without drama blah blah blah' and now I'm
going to tell my milk joke ha ha. Now let me switch tone again and maybe
they'll love me the way they loved Sally Field when she played Sybill!" It was
awful and, for Brenda who wanted it included again, that includes his unnatural
speech pattern which, as Ava and I observed several years
ago, is ripe for parody: We watched
Monday in full as Barack uh-uh-uhed and spoke in that robotic manner that allows
him to find more unnatural pauses than Estelle Parsons and Kim Stanley combined.
"He's our Method president!" we quickly gasped while wishing we could have one
president this decade capable of normal speech. If he gets any worse, he'll be
Sandy Dennis.
Let's review the five sentences on Iraq.
1) Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home
some of our last troops to serve in Iraq.
He knew to say "some" because military families have gotten very vocal
about the fact that not everyone came home from the Gulf -- meaning not just the
fallen but also the fact that US troops remain in Iraq -- Marines to guard the
diplomatic sites, soldiers to be 'trainers' for weapons [which Al Arabiya points out Nouri al-Maliki noted today,
"American soldiers in Iraq work as military trainers"] and Special-Ops -- and
that thousands of troops have been repostured outside of Iraq in the surrounding
region. Rowan Scarborough (Washington Times) reported Tuesday
on all the troops being kept in the Gulf region: About 50,000 U.S. military personnel are serving in
and around the Gulf. Most are aboard ship or in Kuwait. News reports from the
region say 15,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Kuwait as a check against a
destabilizing situation in Iraq and the threat of aggression by
Iran.The aircraft carrier USS Abraham
Lincoln strike group sailed into the Gulf on Monday. Carrier contingents
typically include a guided missile cruiser, two destroyers and an attack
submarine.In all, more than 30 U.S.
ships and about 22,000 sailors are in the Gulf area.
"Some" may have been the most intelligent moment of the speech.
2) Together, we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under
which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought -- and several thousand
gave their lives.
This was the State of the Union. Why is it members of Congress are able to
note the number but Barack can't. We pointed that out last month when he gave
his Andrews Air Force Base speech. As commander in chief, he shouldn't be
saying "thousands," he should know the number (his speech writers should) and he
should state it. The Defense Dept's official count is at 4487 American military personnel died in the illegal
war.
3) We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has
made the United States safer and more respected around the world.
He really lies.
You lie too much
You lie too badly
You want everything for nothing
-- "The Windfall (Everything For Nothing)," written by Joni Mitchell,
first appears on her Night Ride Home
The illegal war did not make America 'respected around the world.' There's
a reason, and even Barack knows this, that in 2004, Americans in
college, traveling abroad, were encouraged to keep a low profile, maybe even
pretend to be Canadian. Yes, it sounds like a Simons' episode but it did
happen, Steve Giegerich (Associated Press) reported on
it. That was 2003. Four years later, Anne Applebaum (Slate) would offer this:
It isn't just that the Iraq war invigorated the anti-Americanism
that has always been latent pretty much everywhere. Far worse is the fact that
-- however it all comes out in the end, however successful Iraqi democracy
becomes a decade from now -- our conduct of the war in Iraq has disillusioned
our natural friends and supporters and thrown a lasting shadow over our military
and political competence. However it all comes out, the price we've paid is too
high.
Three years later, 2010, Peter Ennis (Dispatch Japan) would note
another column by Applebaum and add to the
discussion:
As is
usual in Washington these days, there was no mention -- probably no
consideration -- of Japan. But a strong case can be made that the Iraq war hurt
America's reputation in Japan as much, if not more, than in any other allied
country.
The
consequences are evident today in the increasingly bitter dispute over a
replacement for the US Marine Air Station Futenma, on Okinawa, which is
scheduled to be closed. They are reflected in the broader calls in Japan these
days for a "more equal" alliance relationship with the United
States.
The
Okinawa dispute predates the Iraq War, and the calls for more equality in the
alliance were inevitable. But deep concerns and disappointment about American
'unilateralism' and haughty, heavy-handed
diplomacy, prompted by the Iraq War, have made those sentiments more salient and
intense.
No, it did not help the image of America.
4) For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans
fighting in Iraq.
Well we really don't know what Special Ops is doing in Iraq or the CIA or
the FBI. We do know all three are involved in 'terrorist' 'hunting' and that
Special Ops continues to have the ability to operate throughout Iraq. We don't
talk about it too much but we know it and it's even made it on air on network
television. And, of course, many Iraqis have questions about the numerous
Americans that have been arrested in the last two months in Iraq.
5) Ending the Iraq war has allowed us to strike decisive blows
against our enemies.
And that may be the most disturbing statement in the speech.
Decisive blows against our enemies? Whatever happened to the peace that was
supposed to follow a war? Barack claims the war has ended and then starts
making vengeful statements that harken to a deliberate search for 'foreign
adventures.' The laugh is, yet again, on the Nobel Peace Prize Committee who
gave a peace award to Barack because they liked how he posed for magazines
covers.
Barack tried to talk tough. al Qaeda in Mesopotamia -- created by the Iraq
War, didn't exist until then -- knows a bit more about tough up close than a
little prince who went to prep school in Hawaii -- and in what some will dub
"the terrorist response," they issued a statement today. AP reports that they declare, "America
has been defeated in Iraq. They pulled out because its economics and human
losses were unbearable. America's bankruptcy and collapes is imminent. This is
the real reason behind the withdrawal."
Today in Iraq, many look to the US today as a result of yesterday's
sentencing. Stan Wilson and Michael Martinez
(CNN) reports Staff Sgt Frank G. Wuterich, who entered a guilty plea,
will not serve any time for his part in the Haditha killings which claimed 24
lives November 19, 2005. Raheem Salman and Patrick J.
McDonnell (Los Angeles Times)
quote a teacher in Haditha, Rafid Abdul Majeed, stating, "The
Americans killed children who were hiding inside cupboards or under beds. Was
this Marine charged with dereliction of duty because he didn't kill more? Is
Iraqi blood so cheap?" Fadhel al-Badrani (Reuters) quotes Ali Badr stating,
"This sentence gives us the proof, the solid proof that the Americans don't
respect human rights." AFP reports, "The Baghdad government
vowed on Wednesday to take legal action after an American marine was spared jail
by a US military court over the massacre of 24 unarmed civilians in the Iraqi
town of Haditha in 2005." James Joyner offers his opinion of the verdict at
The Atlantic while Gulf News' editorial board concludes,
"Prosecutors have just committed a final indignity against the victims of
Haditha." Salman and McDonnell observe, "Overall reaction
in Iraq to Wuterich's plea appeared somewhat muted Tuesday, reflecting, Iraqis
say, an already deeply rooted skepticism about the U.S. justice system. Iraqis
are also distracted by a political crisis that some fear could result in renewed
sectarian warfare: At least 10 people were killed Tuesday in bombings in
Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, a Shiite Muslim stronghold."
Ivan Eland (Antiwar.com) observes of the political
crisis, "In Iraq, even before U.S. forces had withdrawn, Shi'ite
President Nouri al-Maliki was taking the country back toward dictatorship. Now
that American forces are gone, with attempts to arrest the Sunni vice president
and the detention of other prominent Sunnis, Maliki is accelerating the process.
Meanwhile, the radical Sunni group al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia is stepping up
attacks on Shi'ites, hoping to re-ignite the sectarian civil war of 2006 and
2007. With Iraq's long history of rival ethno-sectarian groups in conflict,
Sunni dictators, and no culture of political compromise needed for democracy,
the prospects for an imposed democracy taking root were never great." In
an attempt to end the political crisis Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and
Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi have been calling for a national
conference. Over the weekend, Talabani went to Germany for spinal surgey and,
as a result, missed the planning meet-up for the national conference (it's
supposed to be rescheduled shortly).
Al Mada reports Talabani spoke on
the phone from his sickbed in Germany yesterday with an envoy for Grand
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani with the envoy passing on al-Sistani's hopes that
Talabani has a swift recovery and outlining al-Sistani's concerns regarding the
ongoing political crisis and the importance of resolving the differences. This
morning Al Rafidayn reported that the
rumors are Iraqiya will resume attending sessions of Parliament and Cabinet
meetings and that this will help lead to a resolution over Vice President Tareq
al-Hashemi and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq. Rumors of the return have
sprouted repeatedly and I'm not seeing anything in this one that makes it any
different. I am confused as to how the political crisis ends with the resolution
of al-Hashemi and al-Mutlaq. I grasp that the bulk of the US press messes up the
timeline but Iraqiya announced their walkout on a Friday, the following Saturday
is when Nouri began attacking al-Hashemi publicly and two days later, Monday,
December 19th, is when the arrest warrant for al-Hashemi was issued. The point
being, the political crisis is about more than those two officials. It is about
the failure to implement the Erbil Agreement and Nouri's power-grabs primarily.
That's why there's been the call -- by Talabani and Speaker of Parliament Osama
al-Nujaifi for a national conference. Clearly a national conference couldn't
resolve the al-Hashemi issue ("clearly" because various participants have
demanded that it not be part of the national conference). Aswat al-Iraq notes National Alliance MP
Mohammed al-Sayhood is okay with Iraqiya continuing their walkout and believes
it may be a "step forward for the emerging democatic process in Iraq." Suadad al-Salhy (Reuters) reports
Iraqiya meets tomorrow to determine whether or not they continue their
boycott
Nouri started the political crisis and he started a row with Turkey. Along
with speaking to al-Sistani's representative, Aswat al-Iraq reports: Iraq's President Jalal Talabani has received a phone
call from Turkish President Abdullah Gull, the first of its kind since the
crisis that occurred due to the so-called "crisis of statements" between both
countries, a presidential statement reported on Tuesday.The statement, as was received by Aswat al-Iraq news
agency, stressed that "during his phone call with Talabani, Gull wished
continued health and prosperity for the Iraqi President," reiterating the
significance of continued efforts, exerted to achieve national consensus and his
continuous efforts to expand relations of friendship and cooperation between
Iraq and Turkey."
Hurriyet Daily News reports the Islamic
Supreme Council of Iraq's leader Ammar al-Hakim went to Turkey to meet with
Preisdent Abullah Gul, Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutogu -- but that the public exchanges between Nouri and Recep Taylor would
not be the focus of the meetings. And while al-Hakim met with officials of one
of Iraq's largest trading partners, Nouri sounded off again. Today's Zaman explains, "Iraqi Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday again criticized Turkey's 'interference'
in Iraq's affairs, waring Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Edrogan to change his tone
in a weeks-long battle of words between Maliki and his Turkish
counterpart."
Yesterday, Iraq was slammed with bombings. Dan Morse (Washington Post via San Francisco Chronicle) notes "at
least 19 people were killed in Iraq" yesterday with at least eighty injured. Peter Cave reported on them for AM (Australia's ABC News -- link is text and
audio): "What do they want to
achieve?" says this man watching the latest victims being carried away. "What do
they want from all these killings? Will this end? What did the people do to be
killed? A blind man who sells newspapers, another selling soup. What did those
innocent people do? What do they want from the people?"Violence
continues today. Deng Shahsa (Xinhua) notes Sahwa leader Mulla
Nadhim al-Jubouri was shot dead Tuesday night in Dhuluiyah: "Jubouri, who is
introduced by the media as an expert with al- Qaida affairs, was a member of
Dhuluiyah's most respected religious families. He first joined al-Qaida to fight
the Americans after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, but then he switched sides to
become leader of one of the U.S.-backed Awakening Councils that fought al-Qaida
in his volatile country in north of Baghdad." Sammer N. Yaccoub (AP) adds that three years ago, the
US detained him on suspicion of bringing down a US helicopter in 2006 and that
"Postings on an Islamic extremist website celebrated al-Jubouri's death." Reuters notes a Baquba roadside
bombing which injured one police officer.
Turning to the United States where Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the
Senate Veterans Affairs Committee which has just released their updated hearing
schedule:
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
United States Senate
112th Congress, Second Session
Hearing Schedule
Update: January 25, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012 2:30 pm 345 Cannon
HOB
Joint Hearing: Legislative Presentation of the Disabled American
Veterans
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 10 am SR-418
Hearing: The Fiscal Year 2013 Budget for Veterans'
Programs
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 10 am SDG-50
Joint Hearing: Legislative Presentation of the Veternas of Foreign
Wars
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 10 am SR-418
Hearing: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans: VA's Progress on its 5
Year Plan
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 10 am SDG-50
Joint Hearing :Legislative Presentation of the MIlitary Order of
the Purple Heart, IAVA, Non Commissioned Officers Association, American
Ex-Prisoners of War, Vietnam Veterans of America, Wounded Warrior Project,
National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs, and The Retired
Enlisted Association
Thursday, March 22, 2012 10 am 345 Cannon
HOB
Joint Hearing: Legislative Presentation of the Paralyzed Veterans
of America, Air Force Sergeants Association, Blinded Veterans Association,
AMVETS, Gold Star Wives, Fleet Reserve Association, Military Officers
Association of America and the Jewish War Veterans
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 10 am SR-418
Nomination Hearing: Nomination of Margaret Bartley to be Judge of
United States Court of Veterans Appeals for Veterans Claims and Coral Wong
Pietsch to be Judge of United States Court of Veterans Appeals for Veterans
Claims
Matthew T. Lawrence
Chief Clerk/System Administrator
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
202-224-9126
Lastly, many US service members and veterans, as well as contractors, have
returned to the US sick due to exposure to burn pits. For some, these are
breathing issues that cause hardship, tremendous hardship. For others, the
exposure has cost them their lives. Next month is the first ever scientific
symposium on Burn Pits:
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1st Annual Scientific Symposium on
Lung Health after Deplyoment to Iraq &
Afghanistan
February 13, 2012
sponsored by
Office of Continuing Medical Education
School of Medicine
Stony Brook University
Location
Health Sciences Center, Level 3, Lecture Hall 5
Anthony M. Szema, M.D., Program Chair
Stony Brook
University
Medical Center
2 WAYS TO REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE
* Download the registration form from:
fax form to (631) 638-1211
1st Annual Scientific Symposium on
Lung Health after Deployment to Iraq &
Afghanistan
Monday, February 13, 2012
Health Sciences Center
Level 3, Lecture Hall 5
Program Objective: Upon completion, participants should be able
to recognize new-onset of lung disease after deployment to Iraq and
Afghanistan.
8:00 - 9:00 a.m. Registration & Continental Breakfast
(Honored Guest, Congressman
Tim Bishop
9:00 - 9:30 Peter Sullivan, J.D., Father of Marine from The
Sergeant Thomas Joseph
Sullivan Center, Washington, D.C.
9:40 - 10:10 Overview of Exposures in Iraq, Anthony Szema,
M.D., (Assistant
Professor of Medicine and Surgery, Stony Brook
University)
10:10 - 10:40 Constrictive Bronchiolitis among Soldiers after
Deployment, Matt
King, M.D. (Assistant Professor of Medicine, Meharry Medical
College,
Nashville, TN)
10:40 - 11:10 BREAK
11:10 - 11:40 Denver Working Group Recommendations and
Spirometry Study in
Iraq/Afghanistan, Richard Meehan, M.D., (Chief of Rheumatology
and
Professor of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver,
CO)
11:40 a.m. - Microbiological Analyses of Dust from Iraq and
Afghanistan, Captain Mark
12:10 p.m. Lyles, D.M.D., Ph. D., (Vice Admiral Joel T. Boone
Endowed Chair of
Health and Security Studies, U.S. Naval War College, Newport,
RI)
12:10 - 12:20 Health Care Resource Utilization among Deployed
Veterans at the White
River Junction VA, James Geiling, M.D., (Professor and Chief of
Medicine,
Dartmouth Medical School, VA White River Junction,
VT)
12:20 - 1:20 LUNCH AND EXHIBITS
Graduate students Millicent Schmidt and Andrea Harrington (Stony
Brook
University) present Posters from Lung Studies Analyzed for
Spatial
Resolution of Metals at Brookhaven National Laboratory's National
Synchrotron Light Source
1:20 - 1:40 Epidemiologic Survey Instrument on Exposures in
Iraq and Afghanistan,
Joseph Abraham, Sc.D., Ph.D., (U.S. Army Public Health Command,
Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD)
1:40 - 2:10 Overview of the Issue Raised during Roundtable on
Pulmonary Issues
and Deployment, Coleen Baird, M.D., M.P.H., (Program Manager
Environmental Medicine, U.S. Army Public Health
Command)
2:10 - 2: 40 Reactive Oxygen Species from Iraqi Dust, Martin
Schoonen, Ph.D.
(Director Sustainability Studies and Professor of Geochemistry,
Stony
Brook University)
2:40 - 2:50 BREAK
2:50 - 3:15 Dust Wind Tunnel Studies, Terrence Sobecki, Ph.D.
(Chief Environmental
Studies Branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions
Research
and Engineering Laboratory, Manchester, NH)
3:15 - 3:45 Toxicologically Relevant Characteristics of Desert
Dust and Other
Atmospheric Particulate Matter, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Ph.D.
(Research
Geochemist, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO)
3:44 - 4:15 In-situ Mineralogy of the Lung and Lymph Nodes,
Gregory Meeker, M.S.
(Research Geochemist, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver,
CO)
Continuing Medical Education Credits
The school of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony
Brook, is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical
Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The School of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony
Brooke designates this live activity for a maximum of 6 AMA PRA Category 1
Credit(s)TM. Physicians should only claim the credit commensurate with the
extent of their participation in the
activity.
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