What's New
| Presdent Obama Donated $250,000 of Nobel Prize Money to Fisher House |
March 11, 2010, Washington, DC (New York Times) - President Obama made good on his promise to give his $1.4 million Nobel Prize money to charity, releasing the names on Thursday of the organizations that will benefit. |
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| Dr. Haley at UTSW Presents Compelling Brain Images Showing Gulf War Illness |
VCS Asks VA: Since UTSW Research Remains Vital to Understanding Gulf War Illness, Then Why Did a Handful of VA Staff in Washington Impede UTSW Contract and Then End Funding for UTSW? March 9, 2010, Salt Lake City, Utah (Science News) - Nearly two decades after vets began returning from the Middle East complaining of Gulf War Syndrome, the federal government has yet to formally accept that their vague jumble of symptoms constitutes a legitimate illness. Here, at the Society of Toxicology annual meeting, yesterday, researchers rolled out a host of brain images – various types of magnetic-resonance scans and brain-wave measurements – that they say graphically and unambiguously depict Gulf War Syndrome. |
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| March 9 VCS Weekly Update |
This week’s VCS update keeps you in the loop with news on issues you care about. One good change – our weekly news updates won’t ask you for money. Instead, our news updates point you to news articles at our web site. We hope you will read them and share the important facts with your friends. This week's update includes news about VA and suicides, VCS on CNN, our VCS FOIA campaign, VA automating Agent Orange claims, a waterboarding torture video, and Gulf War veterans' benefits. |
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| Federal Court Keeps Torture Lawsuit Against Rumsfeld Alive |
What's Waterboarding? Watch Video of Torture March 5, 2010, Chicago, Illinois (Associated Press) - A federal judge refused Friday to dismiss a civil lawsuit accusing former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of responsibility for the alleged torture by U.S. forces of two Americans who worked for an Iraqi contracting firm. [Rumsfeld served at the Pentagon under former President George W. Bush.] |
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| Reducing Suicides: VA Adopts Policy on Emergency Care for Mental Health Patients |
This Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Directive provides policy to ensure the provision of safe and secure mental health services during all hours of operation for Emergency Departments (EDs) and Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) in VHA |
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Florida VCS Denounces Senator's Attempt to Stop Investigation of Bush-Era Law Violations
Written by Florida Veterans for Common Sense
Tuesday, 25 August 2009 09:44
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August 24, 2009 - Since our founding, Florida Veterans for Common Sense has opposed torture. We maintain an initiative to hold accountable those in our government who authorized and conducted torture.
Nine senators (all Republicans), Kit Bond, Jeff Sessions, Richard Burr, Saxby Chambliss, Tom Coburn, John Conrnyn, Chuck Grassley, and Orin Hatch sent a letter last week to Attorney General Eric Holder urging him not to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate crimes committed by those at the highest level of government. The letter by the nine senators urging the Attorney General of the United States to ignore criminal behavior and the obligations of his office is an outrage. In response, Florida Veterans for Common Sense has sent a letter to Attorney General Holder pointing out that when torture is suspected our government is obligated under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) signed by President Reagan and ratified by the U.S. Senate to conduct a "prompt and impartial investigation" and "submit the case to competent authorities for the purpose of prosecution. Florida Veterans for Common Sense has also sent a letter to respective senators asking that they withdraw their letter to Attorney General Holder and submit another demanding accountability as required by laws passed by the Senate where they serve. The FLVCS letters are set out in full below the line. Here are some ways you can help: • Contact the senators' offices and demand that they withdraw the letter to Attorney General Holder. • Contact the Attorney General's Office and remind him that he is obligated to follow the law to investigate torture and prosecute where appropriate. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it telephone 202-514-2000 • Notify the media and social networking sites like Twitter, and Facebook about the nine senators outrageous letter to Attorney General Holder. • Call out the senators on your favorite blog. • Activate your own call Email and call lists. The FAX numbers for the nine senators are: August 21, 2009 The Honorable Eric Holder
Contrary to the view of the nine senators, the Justice Department serves the country best when it prosecutes serious violations of law wherever the violations occur. Our Constitution, which we as veterans and you as a federal official swore an oath to uphold, stands for the proposition that we are a country under the law, not ruled by men or the whim of nine senators. Contrary to the senators' letter, torture is not as effective as legal interrogation techniques. There is no persuasive evidence in the public record confirming the assertion of the senators' statement that torture was absolutely vital to capturing terrorists and preventing attacks on the United States as confirmed by the May 20, 2005 Memo by Justice Department Principal Deputy Attorney General, Steven G. Bradbury to CIA General Counsel John Rizzo. Torture most often garners time consuming, unreliable information. Contrary to the view of the nine senators, ignoring violations of law by excusing torture harms our legal and moral standing and thereby increases the possibility of future terrorist attacks. Please note that all nine senators who signed the letters to you are Republicans. Apparently, they want to politicize the matter instead of standing up for our troops and values by demanding accountability. Please don't follow their misguided efforts, abide by your oath of office and follow the law. Sincerely,
August 21, 2009
Senators Jon Kyl, Kit Bond, Jeff Sessions, Richard Burr, Saxby Chambliss, Tom Coburn, John Cornyn, Chuck Grassley, and Orrin Hatch Dear Senators Bond, Burr, Chambliss, Coburn, Cornyn, Grassley, Hatch, Kyl, and Sessions: Please find herewith a letter to Attorney General Holder in response to your letter to him urging that he drop the idea of appointing a special prosecutor to investigate torture by some in our government. As veterans, we expect United States senators to stand up for American values and the troops. Our basic military training taught us that torture is immoral, illegal, and ineffective. Also, torture is a recruiting tool for terrorists that results in more troops being killed and injured. You must know that authorizing or conducting torture is illegal. Most of you were in the Senate when the Convention Against Torture (CAT) was ratified. Why therefore have you as federal officials, who have sworn an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, urged Attorney General Holder to ignore apparent violations of the law at the highest levels of government? We note that the only people held accountable for authorizing or conducting torture have been low ranking enlisted personnel. Can we conclude from your letter to Attorney General Holder that you advocate one set of laws for high officials and another for those of lower status? Florida Veterans for Common Sense requests that you retract your letter to Attorney General Holder and submit another calling for accountability for torture. Otherwise, what conclusion can we reach except that you repudiate your oath to the Constitution and equal justice under the law? Sincerely,
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