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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."
Toxic chemicals leaching into the groundwater would go a long way towards explaining some of the things that go on in DC.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!–An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
> Someone needs to remind our government of the meaning of NIMBY.
Yeah, all this crap was supposed to be buried in New Jersey.
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
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) .
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.
Similar to the upcoming US election results
Yes, material that they were attempting to process into fuel for the power plant that Israel bombed. After the power plant was destroyed it was mostly deposited in a facility guarded by armed troops, which is where the inspectors found it, with its documentation, after the first Gulf "War". The inspectors tagged it and left it guarded, until the US forced them out of Iraq before inspections were finished. It was still tagged, guarded and sealed when they returned and attempted to finish the job, but when they were one month from being finished (their estimate) the US threw them out of the country again and invaded.
The US troops found the facility, right where the inspectors told them it was, the dumb as dirt grunts opened the buildings up, didn't find anything worth stealing, and left the doors (literally) wide open. Then they burned down the administrative offices, with all the material's documentation, hopped back in their hummers and drove off.
The real tragedy is that local villagers, not knowing what the stuff was, dumped the yellow cake on the ground and stole the barrels for domestic use. Months later visiting reporters found the containers being used for food and water storage, and the entire area horribly contaminated. Here at home it would be declared a disaster area, but in Iraq the occupiers have just left them there to die.
IIRC, KBR and Bechtel carried out the cleanup of the materials, hiring locals to shovel up yellow cake by hand with no protective equipment.
Aren't you proud?
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
WWI wasn't really a "Good vs. Bad" war. Austrian Duke Ferdinand gets assassinated by the Black Hand, Austria waits a few months before retaliating, resulting in defensive 'hidden treaties' between nearly most of Europe. Prussia and the Austrian empire team up, the rest of Europe says "we pretty much have to protect the Balkans because the retaliation took too long (and now the lay people see it as aggression instead of justice.)" Somehow the Ottomans see it as an opportunity to get back what they lost before, the US supplies arms to all sides of the war until the Zimmerman Telegram. Austria & Prussia go "Oh shit, we don't have enough people," keep fighting until they run out of resources, then get screwed over during the final negotiations (which then leads to an atmosphere where an insane Jew declares a war on Jews, Catholics, Gypsies, Gays, and pretty much anyone else he doesn't like)
So unlike WWII, WWI wasn't really a "Good vs. Bad", unless you consider the Black Hand the bad guys. Of course, my experiences may be a little biased since my heritage consists of growing up in what was considered the Little Germany of the US (and where the local papers were printed in German until the US began fighting in the war.) Also, having songs about "going after those Huns" couldn't possibly have been a form of racist propaganda.
What about bailouts? The free market can't provide that.
George: The war started because of the vile Hun and his villainous empire-building.
Blackadder: George, the British Empire at present covers a quarter of the globe, while the German Empire consists of a small sausage factory in Tanganyika. I hardly think we can be entirely absolved from blame on the imperialistic front.
Blackadder: You see, Baldrick, in order to prevent a war in Europe, two super blocs developed: us, the French and the Russians on one side; and the Germans and Austro-Hungary on the other. The idea was to have two vast, opposing armies, each acting as the other's deterrent. That way, there could never be a war.
Baldrick: Except, well, this is sort of a war, isn't it?
Blackadder: That's right. There was one tiny flaw in the plan.
George: Oh, what was that?
Blackadder: It was bollocks.
Divide a cake by zero. Is it still a cake?
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.
Life is hard, and the world is cruel
The problem is that we didn't just have a vote for the government to take over health care. If we did, there might be some hope.
You're right. Instead, we had an election where we (overwhelmingly) voted for a party that touted HCR as a huge portion of its platform. Shame on them for following through on their promises!
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
At least credit Wilfred Owen for his work, "Dulce et Decorum Est".
The First World War poets turned out some amazing work. I prefer Siegfried Sassoon, who is well worth reading,
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."