Re: [casi] RE: Followup 7/8: Public Health Concerns in Iraq-Paper Clip?

["Bert Gedin" <gedinbert@DELETETHIShotmail.com>]

Dear Tom & List,

After some 5 or 10 mins surfing, I did find something about PDMIN - Pacific
Disaster Management Information Network. It isn't anything very thorough nor
detailed, & the source (O'Dochartaigh Associates) is vague. This is what it
said (O.A.'s  words, not mine): "Center of Excellence in disaster &
humanitarian assistance. Developed as a direct result of lessons learned in
recent crises in the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Balkans.
Mission is to facilitate civil-military operations and cooperation through
integrated education, training, research, information management and
operational readiness. A
World Health Organization/Pan-American Health Organization Collaberating
Center for humanitarian civil-
military cooperation.

And here is what, so far, I have found out about their track record:  0 .



>From: nagy <nagy@gwu.edu>
>To: helen fein <helenfein@comcast.net>
>CC: "Herbert F. Spirer" <hspirer@optonline.net>, AGS-ISG
><AGS-ISG@cyrus.tcnj.edu>, CANESI <lifetoiraq_canada@yahoogroups.com>, CASI
>list <soc-casi-discuss@lists.cam.ac.uk>, Joyce A Apsel <jaa5@nyu.edu>,
>MLeitenbergy <MLeitenbergy@cs.com>, OBrugnola <OBrugnola@aol.com>, richard
>garfield <rmg3@columbia.edu>
>Subject: [casi] RE: Followup 7/8: Public Health Concerns in Iraq-Paper
>Clip?
>Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2003 11:28:22 -0400
>
>Dear Colleages,
>
>    Well, I agree with Helen: "read the 'report' and see if you could give
>this
>"report" anything above a C- if it were handed in to you  by a group of
>sophomores?
>
>
>Does anyone know who/what PDMIN is/are? Anything about their track record?
>
>Having been a beltway bandit for 4 years, it sure smells like something
>from a
>beltway  bandit (free enterprise entrepeneurs who suck up U.S. gov. $$$
>doing
>"directed" research in response for RFPs. Step one in responding to an RFP
>is
>to say back to the government exactly what it says it wants-- I'm not
>kidding.
>And this is just in an effort to entice the Eagle to disgorge its gold on
>you,
>i.e., to be winner of the RFP).
>
>
>   In sorrow and disgust that our service members, possibly ex-students of
>mine, die and intants die without  concern here in the good old USA  even
>as
>the oil is getting protection, lots and lots of it, as the pampered, buffed
>"congress members who could end this evil by shaming the U.S. into
>providing
>safe water immediately , at least for all the children , avoid Iraq or go
>only
>for quicky photo ops,
>
>tom
>
>p.s. And of course U.S. profs act like de-tongued sheep and no wonder, the
>very groups like Genocide Scholars and human "rights" groups are
>conveniently
>silent, extremely quiet or in frank denial.  I guess the "gentlemen" the US
>recruited in operation "Paper Clip" at the end of WWII taught the
>government
>real well. Now,  the mass killing is ever so much slicker, acceptable,
>deniable.
> >===== Original Message From helen fein <helenfein@comcast.net> =====
> >To all recipients:
> >
> >The early report (on conditions of July 3) with web address was from the
>WHO
> >website but only the direct URL was given.  The PDMIN report coordinates
> >information not only from WHO but from other agencies.  If you want to go
> >directly to the World Health Organization website for the most current
> >report, try
> >www.who.int/disasters and click on "Iraq Humanitarian Assistance Report
> >(PDMIN) July 16, 2003" and for a list of reports by WHO alone (to 7 July)
> >click on "Iraq crisis" under list of countries.
> >
> >The citation from Milton Leitenberg  on July 14 is from an e-mail to me.
> >
> >I trust that readers wishing to verify this information will go to the
> >website and read it in its entirety.
> >
> >Helen Fein
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: " Tom Nagy, Ph.D." <nagy@gwu.edu>
> >To: "helen fein" <helenfein@comcast.net>
> >Cc: <AGS-ISG@cyrus.tcnj.edu>; "richard garfield" <rmg3@columbia.edu>;
> >"Herbert F. Spirer" <hspirer@optonline.net>; <OBrugnola@aol.com>;
> ><MLeitenbergy@cs.com>; "Joyce A Apsel" <jaa5@nyu.edu>; <nagy@gwu.edu>;
>"CASI
> >list" <soc-casi-discuss@lists.cam.ac.uk>; "CANESI"
> ><lifetoiraq_canada@yahoogroups.com>
> >Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2003 10:19 PM
> >Subject: Re: Followup 7/8: Public Health Concerns in Iraq
> >
> >
> >> Dear Colleagues,
> >>
> >> Does Helen Fein bother to read the materials she send out? First of
> >> all the report she has sent us is not may be from WHO url but the
> >> report itself is from something called "Pacific Disaster Management
> >> Information Network [PDMIN] Everyone knows the WHO, but who has heard
>of
> >> PDMIN, which on every page modestly appends the disclaimer, "This
> >> report has been compiled from publicly available information...and
> >> cannot be guaranteed".
> >>
> >> Helen, what is this? Bait and switch? You promise us the WHO and
> >> but gave us instead PDMIN which admits on every page that it's data
> >> cannot be guaranteed and makes no claim that its source is the WHO but
> >> rather "publicly available information?" Feels like old times, when you
> >> confronted me with press clippings from the NYT instead of primary
> >> sources
> >>
> >> . For example, at p. 3 your MDMIN report claims without any
> >> hint of its source that "Baghdad now has about 8 hours of power a day"
> >> -- wonderful way to keep in a ruined condition any water treatment
> >> system which relies on continuous power. Intermittent power results in
> >> continued ruin. Rotate the nouns, would NY or LA try running its water
> >> system on 8 hours of power per day unless it wanted to destroy
>equipment
> >> and kill kids?
> >>
> >> What fair minded scholar would not find your cite of Leitenberg
> >> (limited to the cryptic notation (July 14) anything but pathetic)? The
> >> quote ""I [ML} doubt it was US bombing, and there have been no reported
> >> that US bombing hit sewage or water purification systems, but several
> >> press reports in mid and late June of sabotage of water purification --
> >> presumably ones still obeying Saddam 'government' directions-- and not
> >> the the US" would be a joke, an ungrammatical and scarcely coherent
> >> one, except for the US's continued killing of Iraqi infants by
> >> putting priority on oil rather than safe water, even for infants.
> >> This crime that "outrageous the mute earth" endangers our children and
> >> those of our allies. Recall that Article 54 forbids under all
> >> circumstances "rendering useless" items indispensable to the survival
> >> of the civilian population, not merely the destruction or removal of
> >> Article 54 infrastructure.
> >>
> >> Again to rotate the nouns, is Lietenberg so confident that the
> >> invasion with its "shock and awe" terror bombing did not burst
> >> significant numbers of water and sewage pipes from the concussion
>alone,
> >> that he would be willing to test his cheerful interpretation by
> >> subjecting College Park, MD to an identical bombing and then looking
>for
> >> leaks (except that in Iraq, the US's blocking of items needed to repair
> >> water resulted in a pre invasion leakage rate of about 40%, even before
> >> the 2003 invasion) so the comparison would hardly be fair.
> >>
> >> Of course since the sole cite to Leitenberg is Helen's cryptic
> >> (July 14), it's rather had hard to judge if Leitenberg acknowledges
>that
> >> a good portion of the "sabotage" consisted of Iraqi so desperate for
>any
> >> water, they pounded or shoot holes in the miserable pipes the U.S. had
> >> for so many years prevented from being replaced. Thank you, US killers
> >> in stripped suits at the 661 Committee in NY.
> >>
> >> Neat trick Helen to give us a WHO url that provides, not a WHO
> >> report as one might expect, but a hodge podge of tossed together stuff
> >> from PDMIN, an organization I've never heard of, but perhaps Helen can
> >> educate us all.
> >>
> >> Finally I cannot believe that Helen and Garfield and Leitenberg
> >> are so hard hearted about a demolished people, people that the U.S.
> >> demolished under the fig leaf of U.N. sanctions, that they can bear to
> >> continue to be utterly indifferent to the fate of US infants whose
> >> future relies on a the lives of all infants including Iraqi infants.
>Nor
> >> can I believe that this trio of Americans can continue to persist in
> >> this form of genocide denial that threatens to destroy us all.
> >>
> >> Om mani padme hum.
> >>
> >> tom
> >> Thomas J. Nagy, Ph.D.
> >> Associate Prof. of Expert Systems
> >> George Washington University
> >> Washington, DC 20052
> >> nagy@gwu.edu
> >> Researcher in Baghdad for Canada's IPPNW affiliate
> >> Member: Tikkun Community
> >>
> >> p.s. Helen, wonder if you would give us a slightly more precise
>citation
> >> than (July 14) and provide us with ACTUAL WHO reports. Till then may I
> >> suggest the shamefully outdated, but best I could find,
> >> http://www.who.int/disasters/country.cfm?countryID=28&doctypeID=5
> >> which is at least consists of WHO and UNICEF reports and more modestly
> >> the last item at home.gwu.edu/~nagy until I can work with medical
> >> doctors and epidemiologists to prepare a through post invasion study
> >> during my upcoming sabbatical.
> >>
> >> May God and the mothers of Iraq forgive us all for act more
> >> cowardly than even the "Good German Professors" of the 1940s who could
> >> at least claim threat of immediate deportation to death camps with
>their
> >> families if they spoke out. How can we justify our continued silence?
> >>
> >> helen fein wrote:
> >> ...
> >>
> >> > Rather than appending 20 pages in response to my e-mail of July 8,
> >> > largely consisting of a) personal accusations and defenses (many of
> >> > which are defamatory, ad hominem and irrelevant), b) excessive
> >> > technical information and c) forwarded forwarded e-mails not intended
> >> > for general dissemination, I think it best to frame the central
> >> > question of current concern and note an information source you may
> >> > use (among your other sources) to make your own judgment. The
> >> > question implicit is whether responsibility for damage to Iraq's
>water
> >> > treatment system and putative decline in public health (which affects
> >> > children especially) can be attributed to damage during to
>bombardment
> >> > in the war, lack of security in Iraq for repair of facilities (due to
> >> > armed attacks and looting) or lack of planning or of concern to
> >> > maintain the system by the occupying power. Milton Leitenberg (July
> >> > 14) said that "I doubt if it was US bombing, and there have been no
> >> > reports that US bombing hit sewage or water purification systems, but
> >> > several press reports in mid and late June of sabatoge of water
> >> > purification and --presumably ones still obeying Saddam 'government'
> >> > directions--and not the US.." Tom Nagy (July 11) said that "there are
> >> > scores of statement from WHO, UNICEF and CARE, Inc. of the dire
> >> > conditions in Iraq....[which] were exacerbated by the massive
>invasion
> >> > and its inevitable aftermath, given the priority of the US/UK: save
> >> > the oil for looting and don't worry excessively about anything else
> >> > except possibly force protection of the US/UK militaries." All agree
> >> > on the authoritative information reported on the World Health
> >> > Organization website: www.who.int/disasters/repo/10216.pdf
> >>
>
>Tom
>Thomas J. Nagy, Ph.D.
>Assoc. Prof. of Expert Systems
>George Washington Univeristy Sch. of Business & Public Mgt.
>Washington, D.C. 20052
>home.gwu.edu/~nagy
>
>
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Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
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