from the russian side, and from the african one, we have mutual interests that we can unite now. although russia has a long history of diplomatic relations in africa, the united states seems to have shown interest in this nation since the ukraine conflict began to outdo moscow's work on the continent. the u. s. l. the fun stomach with africans last december. the 1st of its kind since the above the era we spoke to professor of political science and international relations. david mon, yay. who said international shifts in economic power could actually give africa an advantage. the with has been on the african continent much more longer. given the history of colonialism, even in the post independence, in most african countries, the worst has been active. and given the competitive advantage of the most was to come to have within global institutions such as

i m f, world bank gave in by hand in terms of directing some of the policies in most african countries. how if things are shifting, we see this wind of change where power, economic power shifting to asia mainly and with freaks, i think it's not fun beach in which russia, china, brazil sort of can india a new class? she can shoot me a new way of handling or some of those precious and by extension or give them a better chance of accessing quite a number of other alternative models of development. as well as a means to trade out on key and important items. many banks weigh a company here, lottie international, we always appreciate it. we'll be back at the top of the i was more of the latest. mm

hm. mm ah ah, imagine you're in the u. s. military and your job is to take care of waste disposal . that sounds easy enough and your orders are to pull those everything into a giant pile, spray it with jet fuel and set it on fire. that sounds like a terrible idea. it'll pollute everything, and it will cause untold health problems. i'm john kerry aku and you're watching the whistleblowers

burn pits have become a serious issue in u. s. military policy. the concept of burned pits is relatively simple. the military needs a way to dispose of its waste. but that waste includes every thing, food scraps, plastics, rubber, medical, waste, chemicals, even broken military equipment. the policy for decades was to bulldoze everything into a giant pile using acres of land hose it all down with jet fuel and then set it on fire. just imagine all of that burning waste, it would have to be one of the most toxic environments on earth. and what happened is that soldiers and proximity to the burn pits began returning to the united states and showing signs of rare cancers, especially glee, oh bless, domus brain cancers claiming the lives of people like bo biden, the son of president joe biden, and claiming the life of my best friend, david mccracken, the connection between the burned pits and these rare cancers was clear,

but the pentagon refused to acknowledge it. and for years after the burned pits were wound down and the u. s. withdrew from places like iraq and kosovo, the victims continued to suffer and to die. our guest today is joseph hickman. joe hickman spent most of his life in the military 1st the marine. and then as a soldier in both the army and the national guard, he is deployed on several military operations throughout the world, sometimes attached to foreign militaries, the recipient of more than 20 commendations and awards. jo hickman was awarded the army chief met metal and the army commendation metal. while he was stationed at guantanamo bay, he is also the author of the book, the burn pits. joe, welcome back to the show. thanks john. read. joe, the problem of burn pit seems to be patently obvious. everybody knows that you can't burn plastic. everybody knows that you can't burn rubber or medical waste out

in an open field. everybody knows you can't mix chemicals and equipment and food and just set it all on fire. how did this stupid policy begin in the 1st place? i began in the beginning, you're remembering trash and military years. decades where we we really started to realize something's wrong. even though we change that realization, we gave the job to dispose of waste from soldiers from the basis we're building to government contractors and the government contractor that did we gave her to a j, v r. james. he was former ceo of the company or vice president united states and they were cutting cost figure out a way to do stuff for high temperatures. generators decide to

take bridges of fields and burn our ways in burn joe, how long was it before people began to see a correlation between the burn pits and illnesses. even if those illnesses weren't these rare cancers. what happened then? did the complaints go back to the pentagon in a timely fashion? it did most of what the government calls it moves so slowly on. we started seeing crowns. almost within months after we dated once we got into iraq, they call it the iraqi cried within 2 to 3 months. so you're coming down really sick with a lot of illnesses and mostly sort of a symptoms almost immediately. and they call it the regular people

begin to realize that you're living. this is causing this so called the cylinders you've done a major investigation of this policy that led to your 3rd book, the burn pits. why did the pentagon deny for so long that there was a problem? why did they deny that these clusters of rare cancers affecting a wide variety of people who had one thing in common that they worked in or near the burn pits? was this financial issue that the pentagon just didn't want to have to deal with? it was definitely a financial issue. it was also after, while the pentagon stock denied it was an issue, but they went so it was a legal li loophole that they could use k, b r was held responsible for the birth. so best actually also came from there

were 400 soldiers. maybe the owner of the burg this well gave york laid on the military towing saying the military saying that the military came up with the idea of where to build and give your schools the military stake on the issue. because the ferris doctrine can't sue the military. so you are going to military no solid. and it was just the case for the use of this problem because it just who do you blame one side denying it and the other side by side. this denying it and you get to that well, let me ask you a follow up on that issue because i think i think you're hitting on a very important point here. you've got these military contractors who are more or less indemnified for what they're doing in war zones during war time. you've got k,

b r which is a multi $1000000000.00 company with very, very close ties to the military industrial complex. but then they get away with something like this. this is the same company that got away with multiple accusations of sexual harassment, of female employees. for example. why is it that these 2 big to fail military contractors who are clearly in the wrong on some of these issues of life and death? just get away with it. how does this happen? well, i can all of you, our biggest thing there. like i said, dick cheney is a timers before or become and why my state, he had resigned years ceo. he was he had very close tires. you're when you, when you leverage $1000000.00 in stock. gosh. that was part of his

stuffing down was part of what he sees after the rocky and yes, the more started his doctor who stock options for trips. so i really, i mean, i figured there was a lot of evidence so certain. yeah. it's a lot of things. why have you are god because no big contract to waste management and the money that you're you know, government official date on this? absolutely, sir. yeah. yeah. it's astounding for these members of the u. s. military who were exposed to the burn pits. joe, tell us a little bit about what they had to endure. in the case of my friend david mccracken, he worked on burton pitts, both in kosovo and iraq. he came home and developed a glee, oh, blessed alma and was dead. less than a year later, at the age of 46,

his family was denied defense department medical benefits. and he was even denied permission to be buried at arlington national cemetery. because they said that his illness was not service related. was that kind of treatment common for soldiers coming back, who had been exposed to the burn pits? is that what ho biden's family and others endured? yes, and i did have the practice. and this was for client was a terrible story sterile, fresh story. unfortunately, the story is very common and it is to shop the back or yet i don't understand why this should be right on the front page of all the people actually be denied at 1st, everyone was denied now denied benefits and

a lot of them died just completely drunk and not giving heroes. you know, it all under the radar. these are all your lessons. tell us about some of the diseases that we're talking about here. i mentioned in a moment ago, glee, oh blackstone, which is this rare brain cancer? it's something that my friend had at something that bo biden had. it turned out that in my friend, david's case, he had to tumors in his brain one the size of a walnut and one the size of a p. but they were so deep in his brain that they were in operable. there was just nothing that could be done. it turned out that bo biden had pretty much the same thing. but what else are we talking about here? are we talking about respiratory illnesses like c o, p d? are we talking exclusively about cancers? what are these people coming home with? the current home? what was so different diagnosis?

you have to share. there was, you're burning anything and everything. so you have your deal with, with thousands of cars that are affected by so many different ways. i've talked to people that had this soldier who had a tumor on the side of his side on the side side. and i think to really understand, all right, and what was your purpose? asked the cdc don't even have names for dorms. so i think, i think the sex where does you know so many different things. the soldiers are having an airman or having this i'm believe you may go,

you make a very good point there. and a very important point. i read a new york times account of burn pits in iraq that said that when the, when the wind would shift, the smoke would settle on a u. s. military base. and literally everybody on the base was, was forced to breathe in this. iraqi gunk, as you call it, everybody got sick, whether it was from asthma or a cold, or an upper respiratory infection, all the way down to these these rare cancers. but then just imagine what people in neighboring villages had to go through. if you're a soldier, you're eventually going to cycle out of that base. you're going to come home or you're going to be transferred somewhere else. if you're an iraqi national or a coast of our or an afghan, and you live near these, these burn pits, you breathe this in for years and, and nothing good is going to come to this. no, um, you're talking about over

a 180 different builds for us iraq or outside of our military bases. and like i said, the earth respects your state. now. the 1st tried to say it was your own doctors and she said there is from the old and her history country on developing story. it is very sad to know the story. these children are being born with some of the worse for facts you ever see. we are speaking with joseph heckman, about the toxic burned pits created and used by the u. s. military around the world and how they lead to untold human misery among american soldiers and others, including the locals. we're going to take a short break and come right back, stay tuned. 2 2 2 2 2 2 ah,

pohden is the aggressor today i'm authorized with additional strong sanctions. today russia is the country with the most sanctions imposed against it. a number that's constantly growing. a list of questions that i speak on. but when you're sitting in the morning, the shuttle were banding, all imports of russian oil and gas news. i mean, i know they franky with what we're gonna go to, joe, by imposing these sanctions on russia has destroyed the american economy. so there's a boomerang. oh, welcome back to the whistle blowers. i'm john kerry. i'll go. we're speaking with joseph hickman, a u. s. military veteran and author of the book,

the burn pitts. good to have you back joe. the u. s. defense department is now estimating that 3 and a half 1000000 troops that us troops in kosovo, iraq and afghanistan eventually returned to the u. s. with respiratory or other health problems because of, of exposure to the burn pits. that is a gigantic number. but the problem that we've seen since 2010 is that the pentagon didn't bother to keep records of what was actually burned, where it was burned, how it was burned, and who was exposed to the smoke. as a result, the u. s. department of veterans affairs has been reluctant to admit that these diseases were service related. has that finally been fixed, or veterans finally receiving the care and the benefits that they deserve. a lot more veterans are getting to hear. the tact recently was a huge. but again, the move so slow,

we're still seeing a lot of people being denied that we shouldn't be there. but it is, it is turning around, it's getting better. it should have been better a lot faster. what happens with agent arms, which is very similar to as far as how we handle it. it took 27 years for this veterans from the army and were just seeing the same thing with them or from 6 inches or what are you trying to do? tribute that to, to just bureaucratic normalcy or, or is there some other reason why the pentagon and the department of veterans affairs just can't seem to get it's, it's act together on this issue. i, i think this is deeply cool, or i could tell you that before they came out, i had

a company global research solutions and i submitted a detailed report on what was happening with the firm this better. and it was going through the problems. i told me directly to senator john directly to sen, ron johnson thompson question. and i asked him to explain to you on this, you got the height is 100 percent to meet when they get his office. and he said he would do what he can. and then just a couple weeks later, a bill was introduced to jackson recognized the issue and to do some sort of, you know, testing evaluations on soldiers or the verbage. and he, he already against the bill. oh, i couldn't understand why you met with his office staff and his veteran whose

people don't staff in any yeah. a couple weeks on a missile system. i think i'm he had to go for $35000000.00 to help them. and the bank, i'm really the one that this will just because it hasn't worked in 2 years trial trials. but after that i, i, d, d, y, she were where some people were just really paid by the military industrial, military and so much to slows these issues down. one of the things that has me perplexed is, it's now clear to everybody, including at the pentagon and the pentagon's leadership, that burn pits are toxic, that they kill people and that they should not be in use. but at the same time,

the defense department still has not officially bands there use. why is that, and is there any role for congress here? why are the oversight committees? not banning the bern pits and legislation. you're john, you're just as good as mine. just actually my wife has serious rust is where i don't why she's on the shoes in my racket into this issue is just not going away and their, their band aid and they're not all in late summer, jo president biden signed a bill into law that is supposed to improve medical benefits for service members who were exposed to the burn pits. do you think that's enough? it took a long time and it doesn't look like there's any more legislation pending. is there more that you think should be done? or do?

i think there is more morality issues that should be done military deal with their own veterans. i don't, i didn't. i didn't like the abilities time, but there's so much work to do hardly see the bill itself. i think i think we should just start by shutting, leaving our veterans and sicknesses. the v a has worked for years and years years under the concept. ok, you're sick, you're injured military label and that's how they operate. instead of operating that way, they have to just change change that, okay, you are sitting and you're showing you tell me we'd have to prove it's not. ready ready a big change that i don't see we started

off here talking about k, b r and and defense contractors have defense contractors taken a position on these legislative issues that k b r a side obviously, because k b r has a vested interest in bern, pits not being recognized as a health concern. what about some of the other big defense contractors or are the victims of the burn pits, standing alone there standing these, these covered these, these companies a draft drake? this is our, our window in the end. they don't, they don't they, it's all about them. and why do you think we're not seeing more support on capitol hill? you just now told this awful story about senator ron johnson, which i completely believe. i worked on capitol hill for many years and,

and this kind of thing happens all the time. but why isn't there a movement among other members of congress, whether it's the house, the senate to do something to protect our service members, it just seems like there's this is a no lose situation. if you're a politician, they all have the games and you have a couple that are really good. the north carolina, very impassioned. the guy in the driveway was helping voter for helping veterans. all these. but there's just too far between like there's, there's some that are just independence. some just seem like they'll talk again. but when it comes there, they're not really and i think is over. this is the country we have to start paying attention to how you go. yes. or no, and all these things are supposed to help. not just jo, back in august, there was

a protest about the bern pits right here in washington, d. c. with big names like john stuart, standing with veterans and trying to bring this to light. what more do you think needs to be done to bring about change? ah, when, like i said, i think it has to start in, into the a system. it has to be turn around and start actually better. you actually get stacks when you go to those i, i go on there is a lack of respect to the better. so they, they don't really believe with a better saying maybe the doctors are, are just overwhelmed because it's short staffed. every time i go to church and they have a lot to do, it just has to. they have to change the system. so you know, good luck. we haven't seen that yet. i'm sorry. that's okay. you have to follow

the facts. joe. one last question for you, you have blown the whistle on 2 major issues affecting the u. s. military, that's torture at guantanamo. and we're going to discuss that separately. and on these bern pits, what has the reaction been to you personally by the u. s. military? i'm sure the rank and file are grateful for what you've done. i know that my friend, david's widow, is grateful for what you've done. but what's the reaction been from the pentagon? pentagon prevents the. i had a hard time. when i came for this group, one time 1st radar was still active duty and it was probably a really bad time. you are my but i had to because literally

a library so they, they gave me a hard time sometimes which amount to much age because there is payroll issues, some issues with where i was station the move to a different job. it was a lot of problems in a lot of people hired and then spoke them pretty roughly for the people in my life years got longer and i missed re i logged in casting. jo hickman, thank you so much for joining us today. that's all we have for you today. remember in this case, the words of the dalai lama. a compassionate concern for others well being is the source of happiness. a self centered attitude is the source of the problem. we have

to take care of ourselves without selfishly taking care of ourselves. if we don't take care of others, we cannot take care of ourselves. i'm john curiosity. and this has been the whistleblowers. we'll see you next time. ah. 2 2 2 2 2 i i rick sanchez and i am here to plead with you whatever you do, you do not watch my new show. seriously. why watch something that's so different. my little opinions that you won't get anywhere else work of it. please do have the state department, the c i, a weapon makers, multi 1000000000 dollar corporations. choose your facts for you. go ahead. i change

and whatever you do. don't watch my show stay mainstream because i'm probably going to make you uncomfortable. my show is called direct impact, but again, you probably don't want to watch it because it might just change dwayne things lou needs to come to the russian state will never. i've stayed on the nose. i'm skiing with 55 with will ban in the european union. the kremlin media machine, the state on crush up to date and r t spoof mckibben, our video agency, roughly all bands on youtube with

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