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unhappycamper
unhappycamper's Journal
unhappycamper's Journal
December 27, 2013
If militarization is not economically sustainable, we have to ask ourselves if there is any logic, some superior rationality, that explains this phenomenon.
2013: Turning Point in the Long Western Decadence
BolPress, Bolivia
By Jorge Beinstein
Translated By Tristan Foy
7 December 2013
Edited by Bora Mici
The "global crisis" — as it is still called — continues its course, becoming ever deeper over the years, wearing away at the institutions of the central powers, breaking the economic and cultural connections that have united these societies, plainly visible as decadence, like a process of general irreversible deterioration. It is also reaching the so-called "emerging countries," shattering the myth of capitalist rejuvenation from the outside, of the bourgeois improvement of Western neoliberalism, thanks to intervention by the state.
The years 2008 and 2013 constitute periods where the decline of capitalism sped up; in both cases, the origin of the disaster was the imperial center, which later spread to the network of the global system. We could establish an even more precise period and set the months — September 2008 and September to October 2013 — as the "moments" when universal history sharply accelerated, when the accumulation of deterioration produced a large jump of quantity into quality. From the point of view of the system's masters, it is possible to speak of "annus horribilis," namely, years of great disgraces, although from the side of the victims, the thousands of millions of human beings who go unnoticed on the bourgeois planet, we can speak of "annus mirabilis," periods where the system advances clearly toward its ruin, that is to say, with "wonderful" events that encourage hope in the possibility of achieving a better world.
On Sept. 15, 2008, in the United States, the financial giant Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, and the American International Group, considered the world leader of insurance and financial services, needed to be rescued by the Federal Reserve. The crisis caused by the collapse of the U.S. real estate bubble spread rapidly, bursting other real estate and stock exchange bubbles in Europe and Asia, and the governments of the large powers poured in several trillion dollars in the following years to stop the world economy’s international financial system's foundation from flooding. They were unable to understand its prior dynamics, much less the productive structures, but they were able to avoid the danger through postponement.
And so it has been from 2008 onward: The global financial mass, which was expanding at an exponential rate, stopped growing, and, in fact, experienced a gentle decrease. It is what we confirm when we compare the speculation of "financial derivatives" — the heart of global financial parasitism — with the gross world product. In mid-1998, these businesses amounted to around 2.4 times the global face value, coming to around 4.3 times toward the end of 2002, 8.5 times at the end of 2006, and 11.7 times by the middle of 2008, in complete speculative delusion, slowly dropping from then: to 10.5 at the end of 2009, 10.6 by mid-2011, falling to 8.9 at the end of 2012 and 8.6 by mid-2013.
2013: Turning Point in the Long Western Decadence
http://watchingamerica.com/News/228734/2013-turning-point-inthe-long-western-decadence/If militarization is not economically sustainable, we have to ask ourselves if there is any logic, some superior rationality, that explains this phenomenon.
2013: Turning Point in the Long Western Decadence
BolPress, Bolivia
By Jorge Beinstein
Translated By Tristan Foy
7 December 2013
Edited by Bora Mici
The "global crisis" — as it is still called — continues its course, becoming ever deeper over the years, wearing away at the institutions of the central powers, breaking the economic and cultural connections that have united these societies, plainly visible as decadence, like a process of general irreversible deterioration. It is also reaching the so-called "emerging countries," shattering the myth of capitalist rejuvenation from the outside, of the bourgeois improvement of Western neoliberalism, thanks to intervention by the state.
The years 2008 and 2013 constitute periods where the decline of capitalism sped up; in both cases, the origin of the disaster was the imperial center, which later spread to the network of the global system. We could establish an even more precise period and set the months — September 2008 and September to October 2013 — as the "moments" when universal history sharply accelerated, when the accumulation of deterioration produced a large jump of quantity into quality. From the point of view of the system's masters, it is possible to speak of "annus horribilis," namely, years of great disgraces, although from the side of the victims, the thousands of millions of human beings who go unnoticed on the bourgeois planet, we can speak of "annus mirabilis," periods where the system advances clearly toward its ruin, that is to say, with "wonderful" events that encourage hope in the possibility of achieving a better world.
On Sept. 15, 2008, in the United States, the financial giant Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, and the American International Group, considered the world leader of insurance and financial services, needed to be rescued by the Federal Reserve. The crisis caused by the collapse of the U.S. real estate bubble spread rapidly, bursting other real estate and stock exchange bubbles in Europe and Asia, and the governments of the large powers poured in several trillion dollars in the following years to stop the world economy’s international financial system's foundation from flooding. They were unable to understand its prior dynamics, much less the productive structures, but they were able to avoid the danger through postponement.
And so it has been from 2008 onward: The global financial mass, which was expanding at an exponential rate, stopped growing, and, in fact, experienced a gentle decrease. It is what we confirm when we compare the speculation of "financial derivatives" — the heart of global financial parasitism — with the gross world product. In mid-1998, these businesses amounted to around 2.4 times the global face value, coming to around 4.3 times toward the end of 2002, 8.5 times at the end of 2006, and 11.7 times by the middle of 2008, in complete speculative delusion, slowly dropping from then: to 10.5 at the end of 2009, 10.6 by mid-2011, falling to 8.9 at the end of 2012 and 8.6 by mid-2013.
December 27, 2013
Chamber of Commerce sets GOP goal for 2014: ‘No fools on our ticket’
By Travis Gettys
Thursday, December 26, 2013 8:40 EST
The GOP’s corporate allies have set a New Year’s resolution they hope will lead to electoral victory in the 2014 midterms: “No fools on our ticket.”
Republican House leaders are planning to impose discipline on unruly members to help avert the party squabbles that badly damaged the GOP brand, and major donors and advocacy groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Crossroads intend to develop and fund more centrist candidates.
“Our No. 1 focus is to make sure, when it comes to the Senate, that we have no loser candidates,” said Scott Reed, the top political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told the Wall Street Journal. “That will be our mantra: No fools on our ticket.”
Presumably, Reed’s talking about candidates such as Mark Jacobs, Bob Vander Plaats, Chris McDaniel and David Barton.
Chamber of Commerce sets GOP goal for 2014: ‘No fools on our ticket’
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/26/chamber-of-commerce-sets-gop-goal-for-2014-no-fools-on-our-ticket/Chamber of Commerce sets GOP goal for 2014: ‘No fools on our ticket’
By Travis Gettys
Thursday, December 26, 2013 8:40 EST
The GOP’s corporate allies have set a New Year’s resolution they hope will lead to electoral victory in the 2014 midterms: “No fools on our ticket.”
Republican House leaders are planning to impose discipline on unruly members to help avert the party squabbles that badly damaged the GOP brand, and major donors and advocacy groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Crossroads intend to develop and fund more centrist candidates.
“Our No. 1 focus is to make sure, when it comes to the Senate, that we have no loser candidates,” said Scott Reed, the top political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told the Wall Street Journal. “That will be our mantra: No fools on our ticket.”
Presumably, Reed’s talking about candidates such as Mark Jacobs, Bob Vander Plaats, Chris McDaniel and David Barton.
December 27, 2013
Security professionals withdraw from tech conference after NSA revelations
By George Chidi
Thursday, December 26, 2013 13:10 EST
~snip~
“If the allegations are true, a company that’s sole purpose to build trust – and that’s what cryptography is – and they can’t be trusted, then I don’t want to be part of that,” Thomas said to Raw Story. Thomas, “Chief Breaker” of Atreidis Partners, had been lined up to speak at the annual RSA conference in February. The conference gathers computer security researchers to discuss the latest in cryptography and security.
But the RSA brand is radioactive territory after Reuters published accusations that the firm colluded with the NSA to market flawed encryption. The conference is separate from the company, he noted. “They share a name and nothing else. To punish the conference for the company is probably not fair. The problem is that they do share a name. They are furthering the RSA brand. Everyone who gets on stage is furthering the credibility of the company.”
~snip~
“On December 20th, Reuters broke a story alleging that your company accepted a random number generator from the National Security Agency, and set it as the default option in one of the your products, in exchange of $10 million. Your company has issued a statement on the topic, but you have not denied this particular claim,” Hypponen wrote in an open letter.
“Eventually, NSA’s random number generator was found to be flawed on purpose, in effect creating a back door. You had kept on using the generator for years despite widespread speculation that NSA had backdoored it. As my reaction to this, I’m cancelling my talk at the RSA Conference USA 2014 in San Francisco in February 2014.”
Security professionals withdraw from tech conference after NSA revelations
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/26/security-professionals-withdraw-from-tech-conference-after-nsa-revelations/Security professionals withdraw from tech conference after NSA revelations
By George Chidi
Thursday, December 26, 2013 13:10 EST
~snip~
“If the allegations are true, a company that’s sole purpose to build trust – and that’s what cryptography is – and they can’t be trusted, then I don’t want to be part of that,” Thomas said to Raw Story. Thomas, “Chief Breaker” of Atreidis Partners, had been lined up to speak at the annual RSA conference in February. The conference gathers computer security researchers to discuss the latest in cryptography and security.
But the RSA brand is radioactive territory after Reuters published accusations that the firm colluded with the NSA to market flawed encryption. The conference is separate from the company, he noted. “They share a name and nothing else. To punish the conference for the company is probably not fair. The problem is that they do share a name. They are furthering the RSA brand. Everyone who gets on stage is furthering the credibility of the company.”
~snip~
“On December 20th, Reuters broke a story alleging that your company accepted a random number generator from the National Security Agency, and set it as the default option in one of the your products, in exchange of $10 million. Your company has issued a statement on the topic, but you have not denied this particular claim,” Hypponen wrote in an open letter.
“Eventually, NSA’s random number generator was found to be flawed on purpose, in effect creating a back door. You had kept on using the generator for years despite widespread speculation that NSA had backdoored it. As my reaction to this, I’m cancelling my talk at the RSA Conference USA 2014 in San Francisco in February 2014.”
December 27, 2013
U.S. sending missiles and surveillance drones to Iraq to help combat Al-Qaeda-backed violence: NYT
By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, December 26, 2013 10:05 EST
The United States is sending Iraq dozens of missiles and surveillance drones to help it combat a recent surge in Al-Qaeda-backed violence, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
The weapons include a shipment of 75 Hellfire missiles purchased by Iraq, which Washington delivered to the country last week, the Times reported.
The daily wrote that 10 ScanEagle reconnaissance drones — smaller versions of the larger Predator drones that once were frequently flown over Iraq — are expected to be sent by March.
Administration sources told the Times that the delivery comes as the Iraqis had virtually run out of Hellfire missiles.
unhappycamper comment: At $150 grand a pop. I sure would hate to run out of Raytheon's Hellfire missiles.
U.S. sending missiles and surveillance drones to Iraq to help combat Al-Qaeda-backed violence: NYT
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/26/u-s-sending-missiles-and-surveillance-drones-to-iraq-to-help-combat-al-qaeda-backed-violence-nyt/U.S. sending missiles and surveillance drones to Iraq to help combat Al-Qaeda-backed violence: NYT
By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, December 26, 2013 10:05 EST
The United States is sending Iraq dozens of missiles and surveillance drones to help it combat a recent surge in Al-Qaeda-backed violence, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
The weapons include a shipment of 75 Hellfire missiles purchased by Iraq, which Washington delivered to the country last week, the Times reported.
The daily wrote that 10 ScanEagle reconnaissance drones — smaller versions of the larger Predator drones that once were frequently flown over Iraq — are expected to be sent by March.
Administration sources told the Times that the delivery comes as the Iraqis had virtually run out of Hellfire missiles.
unhappycamper comment: At $150 grand a pop. I sure would hate to run out of Raytheon's Hellfire missiles.
December 27, 2013
Alabama lawmaker will introduce bill defending ‘Duck Dynasty’s’ Phil Robertson
By Arturo Garcia
Thursday, December 26, 2013 20:10 EST
An Alabama state senator has promised to introduce a bill calling for the state to lend its support to suspended Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson, the Daily Home reported on Tuesday.
State Sen. Jerry Fielding’s (R) bill states in part that Robertson, who was benched following homophobic and racially-fueled statements to GQ, “should not be penalized in any way for practicing freedom of speech, but should be celebrated as a hero for courageously revealing his self-truth and Christian ideals in a world that can be unkind towards those with a conservative mind-set.”
Like other Republican figures, Fielding bases his defense of Robertson’s remarks — which included likening homosexuality to bestiality and stating that “a vagina — as a man — would be more desirable than a man’s anus” — on the argument that Robertson was stating his interpretation of the Bible, a right that should have been protected by A&E, the network that airs his show.
~snip~
However, Fielding’s defense is also similar to the GOP line on Robertson in ignoring the racial components of Robertson’s GQ interview, like his belief that “pre-entitlement” Black Americans were happier living in the Jim Crow era, and his decision to vote for Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election under the belief that Romney was from Salt Lake City (he’s actually from Boston), as opposed to Chicago, where President Barack Obama lived before winning the presidency.
Alabama lawmaker will introduce bill defending ‘Duck Dynasty’s’ Phil Robertson
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/26/alabama-lawmaker-will-introduce-bill-defending-duck-dynastys-phil-robertson/Alabama lawmaker will introduce bill defending ‘Duck Dynasty’s’ Phil Robertson
By Arturo Garcia
Thursday, December 26, 2013 20:10 EST
An Alabama state senator has promised to introduce a bill calling for the state to lend its support to suspended Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson, the Daily Home reported on Tuesday.
State Sen. Jerry Fielding’s (R) bill states in part that Robertson, who was benched following homophobic and racially-fueled statements to GQ, “should not be penalized in any way for practicing freedom of speech, but should be celebrated as a hero for courageously revealing his self-truth and Christian ideals in a world that can be unkind towards those with a conservative mind-set.”
Like other Republican figures, Fielding bases his defense of Robertson’s remarks — which included likening homosexuality to bestiality and stating that “a vagina — as a man — would be more desirable than a man’s anus” — on the argument that Robertson was stating his interpretation of the Bible, a right that should have been protected by A&E, the network that airs his show.
~snip~
However, Fielding’s defense is also similar to the GOP line on Robertson in ignoring the racial components of Robertson’s GQ interview, like his belief that “pre-entitlement” Black Americans were happier living in the Jim Crow era, and his decision to vote for Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election under the belief that Romney was from Salt Lake City (he’s actually from Boston), as opposed to Chicago, where President Barack Obama lived before winning the presidency.
December 27, 2013
A NASA satellite captured this image of a storm system moving across the United States, Dec. 20. A new satellite, set to launch in February, will gather data that can help with efforts to monitor the effects of global warming on precipitation.
How is global warming affecting precipitation? New satellite to help explain.
By Pete Spotts, Staff writer / December 26, 2013
The United States and Japan are getting set to launch a 4.3-ton satellite designed to monitor rain and snowfall in unprecedented detail.
~snip~
The spacecraft, the Global Precipitation Monitoring (GPM) satellite, has been designed as the centerpiece of an international squadron of nine satellites that are already on orbit.
The data the new satellite will gather not only will feed unique information into current efforts to forecast weather and monitor the effects of global warming on precipitation. GPM data also will serve as a standard against which data from the other satellites in the constellation will be adjusted to improve their accuracy.
Beyond weather and climate applications, data from the constellation will improve flood and landslide forecasts, as well as help track changes in the distribution of waterborne diseases, notes Ramesh Kakar, program scientist for this mission and its predecessor, the US-Japanese Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, which was launched in 1997.
How is global warming affecting precipitation? New satellite to help explain.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2013/1226/How-is-global-warming-affecting-precipitation-New-satellite-to-help-explainA NASA satellite captured this image of a storm system moving across the United States, Dec. 20. A new satellite, set to launch in February, will gather data that can help with efforts to monitor the effects of global warming on precipitation.
How is global warming affecting precipitation? New satellite to help explain.
By Pete Spotts, Staff writer / December 26, 2013
The United States and Japan are getting set to launch a 4.3-ton satellite designed to monitor rain and snowfall in unprecedented detail.
~snip~
The spacecraft, the Global Precipitation Monitoring (GPM) satellite, has been designed as the centerpiece of an international squadron of nine satellites that are already on orbit.
The data the new satellite will gather not only will feed unique information into current efforts to forecast weather and monitor the effects of global warming on precipitation. GPM data also will serve as a standard against which data from the other satellites in the constellation will be adjusted to improve their accuracy.
Beyond weather and climate applications, data from the constellation will improve flood and landslide forecasts, as well as help track changes in the distribution of waterborne diseases, notes Ramesh Kakar, program scientist for this mission and its predecessor, the US-Japanese Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, which was launched in 1997.
December 27, 2013
Grad student proves NSA can link metadata to your identity with ‘marginal effort’
By Travis Gettys
Thursday, December 26, 2013 15:03 EST
A Stanford graduate student has shown just how easily names can be matched with phone records, contradicting some of the legal justification offered by federal authorities for the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of phone data.
President Barack Obama said in June that the surveillance captured only which telephone numbers were connected to others. “There are no names … in that database,” Obama said.
Just last week, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said cell phone customers had no reasonable expectation to privacy because the data collected by the NSA because it did not contain their names.
But researcher Jonathan Mayer and co-author Patrick Mutchler reported that they’d gathered thousands of phone numbers from volunteers and checked various public online directories to link some of the 5,000 numbers chosen at random from their database to individuals.
Grad student proves NSA can link metadata to your identity with ‘marginal effort’
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/26/grad-student-proves-nsa-can-link-metadata-to-your-identity-with-marginal-effort/Grad student proves NSA can link metadata to your identity with ‘marginal effort’
By Travis Gettys
Thursday, December 26, 2013 15:03 EST
A Stanford graduate student has shown just how easily names can be matched with phone records, contradicting some of the legal justification offered by federal authorities for the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of phone data.
President Barack Obama said in June that the surveillance captured only which telephone numbers were connected to others. “There are no names … in that database,” Obama said.
Just last week, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said cell phone customers had no reasonable expectation to privacy because the data collected by the NSA because it did not contain their names.
But researcher Jonathan Mayer and co-author Patrick Mutchler reported that they’d gathered thousands of phone numbers from volunteers and checked various public online directories to link some of the 5,000 numbers chosen at random from their database to individuals.
December 26, 2013
Veterans benefits to rise 1.5 percent on Jan. 1
Posted: Thursday, December 26, 2013 7:15 am | Updated: 7:30 am, Thu Dec 26, 2013.
By Drew Brooks Staff writer
Veterans or survivors who receive disability compensation or pension benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs will see a slight increase with the new year.
The VA announced a 1.5 percent cost-of-living increase to monthly payments starting Jan. 1, a news release said.
Also, the VA will end the practice of rounding payments down to the nearest dollar, as was previously required by law.
The increase applies to disability and death pension recipients, survivors receiving dependency and indemnity compensation, disabled veterans receiving automobile and clothing allowances, and other benefits, according to the VA.
Veterans benefits to rise 1.5 percent on Jan. 1
http://www.fayobserver.com/military/article_b958eb99-0de2-5fe7-9635-1a8bf7ff4299.htmlVeterans benefits to rise 1.5 percent on Jan. 1
Posted: Thursday, December 26, 2013 7:15 am | Updated: 7:30 am, Thu Dec 26, 2013.
By Drew Brooks Staff writer
Veterans or survivors who receive disability compensation or pension benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs will see a slight increase with the new year.
The VA announced a 1.5 percent cost-of-living increase to monthly payments starting Jan. 1, a news release said.
Also, the VA will end the practice of rounding payments down to the nearest dollar, as was previously required by law.
The increase applies to disability and death pension recipients, survivors receiving dependency and indemnity compensation, disabled veterans receiving automobile and clothing allowances, and other benefits, according to the VA.
December 26, 2013
Bye Bye B-52G — last of big bombers scrapped
Published: December 23, 2013, 12:11 pm,
by Tom Roeder
"The final elimination of a B-52G"The Air Force sawed the tail off its last B-52G bomber at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., on Friday.
The eight-engined behemoth was sacrificed as part of a U.S. effort to get in compliance with a treaty that limits American and Soviet bomber strength. The plane was in a boneyard awaiting its fate. it was the last of more than 150 B-52Gs delivered before the Air Force upgrade to the H-model, which is still flying.
The B-52Gs were the backbone of the American nuclear bomber fleet well into the 1990s.
The last of the G-model planes had some history in Vietnam, too.
unhappycamper comment: Having witnessed a number of Arc Light carpet bombing strikes in Vietnam, this is my impression of the B-52:
Bye Bye B-52G — last of big bombers scrapped
http://blogs.gazette.com/highground/2013/12/23/bye-bye-b-52g-last-of-big-bombers-scrapped/Bye Bye B-52G — last of big bombers scrapped
Published: December 23, 2013, 12:11 pm,
by Tom Roeder
"The final elimination of a B-52G"The Air Force sawed the tail off its last B-52G bomber at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., on Friday.
The eight-engined behemoth was sacrificed as part of a U.S. effort to get in compliance with a treaty that limits American and Soviet bomber strength. The plane was in a boneyard awaiting its fate. it was the last of more than 150 B-52Gs delivered before the Air Force upgrade to the H-model, which is still flying.
The B-52Gs were the backbone of the American nuclear bomber fleet well into the 1990s.
The last of the G-model planes had some history in Vietnam, too.
unhappycamper comment: Having witnessed a number of Arc Light carpet bombing strikes in Vietnam, this is my impression of the B-52:
December 26, 2013
In this Nov. 15, 2013 photo, a "No Trespassing" sign is seen on a fence near Doe Run Co.'s lead smelter in Herculaneum, Mo. The nation's only primary lead smelter and the unquestioned center of the tiny town 25 miles south of St. Louis, is shutting down for good, its operator citing rising regulatory costs. Despite the environmental and health concerns that include high levels of lead in the blood of some children and yards so toxic the soil had to be removed, many in the small town are saddened by the end of an era.
End of an era as smelter closes in Missouri town
By JIM SALTER
Associated Press
December 25, 2013 Updated 1 hour ago
HERCULANEUM, Mo. — From the day its founder arrived here, this Mississippi River town has been tied inseparably to lead, the heavy, dull-gray metal that has been mined in southern Missouri for more than two centuries.
As home to the nation's only primary lead smelter, Herculaneum processes raw ore into metal to make car batteries, X-ray shields and many other products.
But the end of that long tradition is in sight for the small town 25 miles south of St. Louis that began smelting when this land was still owned by Spain. The company that runs the smelter, Doe Run Co., has decided to cease most operations at the end of the year, citing rising regulatory costs.
Lead has been both kind and cruel to Herculaneum, giving it an identity and ready jobs but also creating environmental and health concerns so worrisome that the federal government designated it a Superfund site and ordered tons of contaminated dirt to be dug up and removed. Many of the town's children were found to have dangerously high lead levels in their blood.
End of an era as smelter closes in Missouri town
http://www.adn.com/2013/12/25/3246005/end-of-an-era-as-smelter-closes.htmlIn this Nov. 15, 2013 photo, a "No Trespassing" sign is seen on a fence near Doe Run Co.'s lead smelter in Herculaneum, Mo. The nation's only primary lead smelter and the unquestioned center of the tiny town 25 miles south of St. Louis, is shutting down for good, its operator citing rising regulatory costs. Despite the environmental and health concerns that include high levels of lead in the blood of some children and yards so toxic the soil had to be removed, many in the small town are saddened by the end of an era.
End of an era as smelter closes in Missouri town
By JIM SALTER
Associated Press
December 25, 2013 Updated 1 hour ago
HERCULANEUM, Mo. — From the day its founder arrived here, this Mississippi River town has been tied inseparably to lead, the heavy, dull-gray metal that has been mined in southern Missouri for more than two centuries.
As home to the nation's only primary lead smelter, Herculaneum processes raw ore into metal to make car batteries, X-ray shields and many other products.
But the end of that long tradition is in sight for the small town 25 miles south of St. Louis that began smelting when this land was still owned by Spain. The company that runs the smelter, Doe Run Co., has decided to cease most operations at the end of the year, citing rising regulatory costs.
Lead has been both kind and cruel to Herculaneum, giving it an identity and ready jobs but also creating environmental and health concerns so worrisome that the federal government designated it a Superfund site and ordered tons of contaminated dirt to be dug up and removed. Many of the town's children were found to have dangerously high lead levels in their blood.
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