Secret Cold War tests in St. Louis raise concerns

[Shaka_Khan]

http://news.yahoo.com/secret-cold-wa...214608828.html

Secret Cold War tests in St. Louis raise concerns
By JIM SALTER | Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Doris Spates was a baby when her father died inexplicably in 1955. She has watched four siblings die of cancer, and she survived cervical cancer.

After learning that the Army conducted secret chemical testing in her impoverished St. Louis neighborhood at the height of the Cold War, she wonders if her own government is to blame.

In the mid-1950s, and again a decade later, the Army used motorized blowers atop a low-income housing high-rise, at schools and from the backs of station wagons to send a potentially dangerous compound into the already-hazy air in predominantly black areas of St. Louis.

Local officials were told at the time that the government was testing a smoke screen that could shield St. Louis from aerial observation in case the Russians attacked.

But in 1994, the government said the tests were part of a biological weapons program and St. Louis was chosen because it bore some resemblance to Russian cities that the U.S. might attack. The material being sprayed was zinc cadmium sulfide, a fine fluorescent powder.

Now, new research is raising greater concern about the implications of those tests. St. Louis Community College-Meramec sociology professor Lisa Martino-Taylor's research has raised the possibility that the Army performed radiation testing by mixing radioactive particles with the zinc cadmium sulfide, though she concedes there is no direct proof.

But her report, released late last month, was troubling enough that both U.S. senators from Missouri wrote to Army Secretary John McHugh demanding answers..................

[Major Robert Dump]

This really makes me feel good about myself, my country and the Army. Syphillis. Irradiating peoples pancreas. Soldiers watching nuclear bombs explode. On one hand it was only 50 years ago. On the other hand, it was 50 years ago.

They have recently announced a new drug that is injected into your body to combat PTSD, and have been advocating sending the worst cases to go be a part of tis little experiment. So far, very few takers. Gee, I wonder why

[rajpoot]

Sounds like something out of V for Vendetta.

[Vladimir]

Sounds like a conspiracy theory. No doubt the CIA was there selling crack as well. In less the Army was spreading HPV I don't see how this person's cervical cancer is linked.

[HoreTore]

Sounds like a conspiracy theory. No doubt the CIA was there selling crack as well. In less the Army was spreading HPV I don't see how this person's cervical cancer is linked.

Yeah, my conspiracy theory-radar is beeping like hell.

[Vladimir]

Yeah, my conspiracy theory-radar is beeping like hell.

I'm not saying it isn't fun or interesting. But, like you, I've detected some patterns in the text provided.

[HoreTore]

Conspiracy theories always make the best stories. Reality is usually quite dull.

[Major Robert Dump]

Dull, unless you have agent orange poisoning. That was a conspiracy theory as well, for about 30 years IIRC.

[Papewaio]

According to wikipedia it was dispersed so that they could figure out how chemical and biological weapons would behave.

The chemicals chosen for two reasons:
Fluorescent
No known health risks

It was fluorescent so they could track dispersion.

Now was it done for better defence or weaponry I don't know.

[Lemur]

Most of the worst ones are fact, not fiction.

The more extraordinary the claim, the better the proof needs to be.

But yeah, writing off everything as an exercise in tinfoil-hattedness is no more thoughtful than believing in every Yeti and anal-probing alien ever spotted.

[HopAlongBunny]

One of your finest cold-war exports to Canada:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra

With allies like these... :p

[HoreTore]

The more extraordinary the claim, the better the proof needs to be.

But yeah, writing off everything as an exercise in tinfoil-hattedness is no more thoughtful than believing in every Yeti and anal-probing alien ever spotted.

I'm not "writing it all off". The claim I got from the article was something along the lines of "racist military officers used black civilians as test subjects for chemical weapons". A claim of that magnitude requires an extraordinary amount of proof.

I'm more willing to consider more moderate claims, like "the military thought the test was harmless, but it wasn't".

[Vladimir]

I'm not "writing it all off". The claim I got from the article was something along the lines of "racist military officers used black civilians as test subjects for chemical weapons". A claim of that magnitude requires an extraordinary amount of proof.

I'm more willing to consider more moderate claims, like "the military thought the test was harmless, but it wasn't".

Agreed. Never attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence.

A massive conspiracy like this is laughable. Look at how it is written. Abuses involving LSD, syphilis, and etc are more likely to be carried out in small and controllable environments. This reminds me of the Chemtrail Conspiracy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemtra...spiracy_theory .

[HoreTore]

I absolutely love chemtrails, it's pure comedy gold.

[Major Robert Dump]

I wish the military would test LSD on me. I could sure use some crack, too

[Lemur]

American tests:



British tests:



And none of this is a cool as the proposed gay bomb. Details:

[Greyblades]

with one man climbing a tree to feed the birds

[Fisherking]

Should it interest anyone the military of the US can still conduct experiments in any locale when ever they please.

Of course since such things as the Tuskegee Experiment they have had one restriction placed on them. They now have to notify a governmental official in writing 30 days before conducting an experiment.

Any official…maybe a local army recruiter, say and they need not say what the experiment is.

Doesn’t that make you feel so much better?

[drone]

I had no idea Daniel Day Lewis could play the guitar.

[Crazed Rabbit]

This St Louis accusation is a long way from proven, but everyone here has heard of the Tuskegee Experiments, right?

CR

[a completely inoffensive name]

I don't think it is very likely that Tuskegee could happen again. I think that nowadays there are too many eyes on the government to let something like Tuskegee slip by unnoticed. The US government for better or worse is also no longer living in a Cold War mentality where the ends justify the means at all costs. Obviously, it still isn't perfect in respecting individuals, and it has gotten much worse since 9/11 with obvious examples. However, like I said there are too many outspoken people/organizations that are government watchdogs in American society that just were not there in the past.

[Fisherking]

I don't think it is very likely that Tuskegee could happen again. I think that nowadays there are too many eyes on the government to let something like Tuskegee slip by unnoticed. The US government for better or worse is also no longer living in a Cold War mentality where the ends justify the means at all costs. Obviously, it still isn't perfect in respecting individuals, and it has gotten much worse since 9/11 with obvious examples. However, like I said there are too many outspoken people/organizations that are government watchdogs in American society that just were not there in the past.

That is just not so! There are things I can’t tell you but on another topic have you heard of Gulf War Syndrome. That is not all D-U. There is a lot to do with the vaccines too.

Reread my last post!

Should it interest anyone the military of the US can still conduct experiments in any locale when ever they please.

Of course since such things as the Tuskegee Experiment they have had one restriction placed on them. They now have to notify a governmental official in writing 30 days before conducting an experiment.

Any official…maybe a local army recruiter, say and they need not say what the experiment is.

Doesn’t that make you feel so much better?

[Major Robert Dump]

Salt Pecker in the eggs. Well, except at Lackland AFB, obviously.

[a completely inoffensive name]

That is just not so! There are things I can’t tell you but on another topic have you heard of Gulf War Syndrome. That is not all D-U. There is a lot to do with the vaccines too.

Reread my last post!

Oh wow, I never heard of GWS. That's scary. I can't just take your word about things you can't talk about, but know that I think about it, using soldiers instead of civilians as test subjects would probably escape journalistic notice.

[Fisherking]

Have you heard of Thomas Drake. Did you think he was upset about the monetary waste?

What he did was legal but what happened when he brought it to the press? And even getting some things to the press doesn’t mean they will touch it.

Do you believe what you see in the press? Is your best friend the tooth fairy?

[Vladimir]

Salt Pecker in the eggs. Well, except at Lackland AFB, obviously.

If you had a salty pecker on your eggs you best have done it in the privacy of your own room. That or take a shower; in that case, how would you know?