Another WW-I Chemical Site In Washington, DC

WrongSizeGlass writes "The AP is reporting that the US Army Corps of Engineers has uncovered what appears to be the fourth major disposal area for World War I-era munitions and chemical weapons in the nation's capital. Digging was suspended at a construction site after 'workers pulled smoking glassware from the pit — preliminary tests show the glassware was contaminated with the toxic chemical arsenic trichloride. ... Workers also discovered a jar about three-quarters full of a dark liquid that turned out to be the chemical agent mustard.' Someone needs to remind our government of the meaning of NIMBY."

Comments

Explanation

[Nerdfest]

Toxic chemicals leaching into the groundwater would go a long way towards explaining some of the things that go on in DC.

Re:leave healthcare in the hands of corporations

[sjames]

Of course if we put Adam Smith in charge, he would never allow the horrific corporate entities that we have in charge of our healthcare now to exist at all. He was not at all a fan of publicly traded corporations Since we've ignored all of his sage advice, clinging only to the most dumbed down summary of his general view on economics, we are now obligated to either socialize the most critical needs of the people or completely alter the business landscape (including dis-incorporating most large businesses) .

Re:mustard is a chemical agent?

[Foobar of Borg]

Maybe not that big of a difference...remember, it's related to WW1, there were Germans involved. PS. They were the evil ones.

I think you are confusing the First World War with the Second World War. There were no Nazis involved in the first war (I really shouldn't have to explain this). Allied propaganda aside, the Germans were no better or worse than the allied powers.

Re:mustard is a chemical agent?

[DesScorp]

I think you are confusing the First World War with the Second World War. There were no Nazis involved in the first war (I really shouldn't have to explain this). Allied propaganda aside, the Germans were no better or worse than the allied powers.

I'm a patriotic military vet, a stickler for honoring the sacrifices of our troops from all wars... I just got back from a ceremony honoring WW II veterans in fact.

And I've come to completely agree with you about WW I. The more I look at it, the harder it is to see the Germans as particularly evil. They didn't start the war, that's for sure. And Britain and France didn't have a moral advantage over them in any way. The whole thing was one big great powers pissing match, and Woodrow Wilson should have kept his promise to keep the US out of it. Further, and it pains me to say this, but the allied powers are directly responsible for the rise of Hitler. The brutal conditions imposed on Germany after the war made his rise possible. And you can be sure that leaders of the US in WW II knew that as well, which is why they took a completely different approach to Germany after victory. Instead of making them wallow in suffering, rebuild the country to democratic standards and market prosperity. Because the communists were waiting for their opportunity of we did not.