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"THE ONLY THING NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING"
--Burke

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

asarco "former General Manager of the Mission Complex in Sahuarita, AZ "will take over duties as Argonaut's COO""


"Argonaut Gold Announces New Chief Operating Officer
Marketwire
Mr. Rhoades is the former General Manager of the Mission Complex in Sahuarita, AZ for Asarco LLC. He will take over duties as Argonaut's COO on January 3, ..."

"About Argonaut Gold

Argonaut is a Canadian gold company engaged in exploration, mine development and production activities. Its primary assets are the production-stage El Castillo Mine in the State of Durango, Mexico, the development stage and past producing La Colorada project, the advanced exploration San Antonio project, and several exploration stage projects, all of which are located in Mexico."

" Google Alert - asarco Arizona Silver Belt ADEQ to renew permit for ASARCO Hayden smelter"



"Arizona Silver Belt ADEQ to renew permit for ASARCO Hayden smelter
Officials of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality say they have reached a preliminary decision and are proposing to issue an Air Quality Renewal ...
www.silverbelt.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0..."

Google Alert - asarco "EPA Region 7 to Host News Conference Dec. 15 to ...."

"EPA Region 7 to Host News Conference Dec. 15 to ....
U.S. EPA.gov
From the early 1870s until it closed in 1997, the ASARCO plant emitted lead and other heavy metals into the atmosphere from smoke stacks and fugitive ...
"

"
WHO: EPA Regional Administrator Karl Brooks, Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle, Nebraska State Sen. Brenda Council and Douglas County Health Director Dr. Adi Pour

In 1998, the Omaha City Council solicited assistance from EPA in addressing problems with lead contamination in area soils, prompted by cleanup activities at the former ASARCO lead processing facility along the west bank of the Missouri River in Omaha.  From the early 1870s until it closed in 1997, the ASARCO plant emitted lead and other heavy metals into the atmosphere from smoke stacks and fugitive emissions."  [this site closed after EPA Region 6 and Federal DOJ discovered that Asarco had been running an illegal multi-state hazardous waste incineration operation -- sending wastes from Corpus Christi TX to El Paso TX, E. Helena MT (with some products then shipping to Globe CO) -- did some go to Region 7's Kansas City Asarco?]

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Now Houghton and others want to build a highway through the ASARCO site -- still without disclosing the illegal highly poisonous wastes

"Another proposal would align the project's northern section about 150 feet away from I-10 through the Asarco site. Some black slag, a smelting byproduct piled on the site, could provide road bed material, filling in depressions along the highway route, Houghton said. Although some of the slag could leach contamination and will be buried in high-tech landfills, analysis has shown much of it is safe for such highway construction use, officials have said.

An environmental impact study also is under way, Houghton said."  El Paso Times 12-7-11

See google alert:
"
Input sought for Loop 375 West
El Paso Times
It will connect the Border Highway with Interstate 10 through the Chihuahuita neighborhood and the former Asarco smelter property. New construction will be ..."

Monday, December 5, 2011

Investigator stated that Asarco confidential settlement in 1998 "a sellout of the public"

"With the government cornered into signing this consent decree you, USA, Texas and the US-EPA lose all
rights upon the acceptance of this decree
, which to me is a sell out of the public, since you are
supposed to look out for public interest."...."The TNRCC, has received some of these objections,
faxed to Albert M. Bronson, Asst. Attorney General on 5/26/99."

EPA FOIA document




Monday, November 21, 2011

The Asarco El Paso Clean-up Trust has no fiduciary or contractual obligation to test for/remediate ANY of the illicit materials from the 1991-1998 haz-waste years

"Mike Casbon, who is based in Indiana with multi-national contractor ERM Inc., has spent much of the past 10 months in El Paso, Texas, helping oversee the demolition of a copper smelting facility that is spread out over 200 acres.

ERM hired Brandenburg Industrial Service Co., Chicago, as its demolition subcontractor for the project. Malcolm Pirnie, Highlands Ranch, Colo., was the lead remediation contractor....Casbon said the efforts of ERM, Brandenburg and others working on the project have provided a tremendous financial success for the Asarco site land trust. Rather than spending down the trust's $52 million cash reserves for the project, work done thus far has provided an additional $25 million to the trust's value."
http://www.cdrecycler.com/cdr1111-2011-cdr-forum.aspx

The Asarco El Paso Clean-up Trust has no fiduciary or contractual obligation to test for/remediate ANY of the illicit materials from the 1991-1998 hazardous-waste years; and, the "decontamination" consisted of powerwashing (i.e. no testing with XRF before sale).
The "Trust's Value" might not be 25$Million greater if the bankruptcy court had considered liability from the illicit hazardous waste contamination in the Paso del Norte... Those sales of "metals" might be profitable only because the Bankruptcy court has for some reason ignored the presence of the illicit wastes... and the costs of removing/disposing of those illegal materials from those "metals" before sale...

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In 1997 Goldman Sachs was to underwrite pollution control bonds-refinancing for ASARCO

In late October of 1997, before Asarco was caught by the EPA and the Federal Department of Justice for running an unpermitted and illegal multi-state hazardous waste disposal operation-for-money, Asarco began plans to redeem some of its tax-exempt bonds for refinancing (see http://www.allbusiness.com/banking-finance/financial-markets-investing-securities/7054881-1.html ).  The Bonds included Pollution-control revenue refunding bonds in Arizona, Texas and Montana.   Goldman Sachs was going to act "as underwriter of the new bonds":

The issues to be called are the Industrial Development Authority of the County of Gila, Arizona, Pollution Control Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 1985 and 1987, 8.90% due July 1, 2006; the Nueces River Authority, Texas, 7 3/8% Environmental Improvement Revenue Bonds, Series 1976-A and 1976-B, due June 1, 2006; and the Lewis and Clark County, Montana 6 3/4% Pollution Control Revenue Bonds, 1976 Series, due December 1, 2006....The aggregate principal amount of bonds the Company plans to call is $133.4 million. The Company has recorded a pre-tax charge in the third quarter of 1997 of $3.9 million in connection with the refinancing, which is expected to reduce the Company's annual interest costs by approximately $3.0 million. Goldman Sachs will act as underwriter of the new bonds to be issued in the refinancing."

By 1998 Asarco was secretly caught by EPA and DOJ running the sham-recyling scheme and 'paid millions on the condition that the details would never become public." (quote from Rep. Reyes)  When the Asarco bankruptcy began in 2005, Harbinger (Hedge Fund) was one of the primary debt-holders.   The company was cleared of any liability from its illicit actions between 1991-1998; the debts of decades of pollution paid off on pennies on the dollar; and, the lucrative parts of the company saved.  All creditors were paid off.

In 2010 Goldman Sachs suddenly (see Bloomberg reports ) planned:

 "to pull its entire investment [120 million $] from Harbinger Capital’s flagship fund, for two reasons. 1) The returns weren’t very good and 2) Falcone “borrowed” $113 million from one of his firm’s smaller funds (where redemptions had been suspended) in order to pay personal taxes."
http://dealbreaker.com/2010/11/goldman-sachs-pulls-120-million-from-harbinger-capital-after-falcone-loans-himself-money-from-other-fund/

In a strange quirk of rumor, fast-forward to November 2011, a newsletter (http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article31653.html) claims that Goldman Sachs is positioned today to gain from the current European banking crisis:

"Incidentally, is it really that surprising that Goldman is now doing its best to precipitate a bank run of Europe’s major financial institutions by "suddenly" exposing the truth that was there all along? During the great financial crisis of 2008, the one biggest winner from the collapse of Bear and Lehman was none other than the squid. This time around, Goldman has set its sights on Europe and has already made sure that its tentacles will be in firmly in control at all the right places when the collapse comes, as the Independent shows."

Quote from Federal DOJ Bankruptcy court trustee Mike Boudlocke regarding ASARCO

"However, the project still is on target for a late 2012 completion,
said bankruptcy court trustee Mike Boudloche. He was appointed by the
U.S. Bankruptcy Court overseeing the ASARCO Inc. and Encycle/Texas Inc.
bankruptcy cases.

"We are almost finished with the asbestos removal on the stack and will
begin bringing it down the first week of December," Boudloche said on
Thursday.

The 315-ft tall, asbestos-lined stack, the most visible symbol of the
site's environmental problems, will be cut into pieces and hauled away,
he said."

http://www.caller.com/news/2011/nov/20/asarcoencycle-demolition-delayed-weather-still-tim/

Sunday, November 20, 2011

E. Helena Asarco Officials consider "moving the creek" away from the poisons... but El Paso TX cannot move the Rio Grande away from their ASARCO toxic site....

If the "officials" could, they would probably move the nation's sixth longest river, the Rio Grande - which is right next to the toxic Asarco El Paso smelter site -- because the Asarco El Paso plume has reached the river the entire length of the Asarco property...

"Google Alert - asarco
Officials consider moving creek at toxic slag pile
Washington Examiner
Ford said that a $140 million settlement with Asarco isn't enough to do the needed cleanup work on soils and groundwater, as well as move some 14 million ..."

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

United States of America vs Asarco LLC --- East Helena CAMU Trust

Taken from google alert:

"
U.S. v. ASARCO, LLC
Leagle.com
The fact that a subsequent bankruptcy settlement agreement resolved any remaining or future liability on ASARCO's part for that work also has no bearing on ...
"



" U.S. v. ASARCO, LLC 
No. 10-35824.


NOT FOR PUBLICATION

MEMORANDUM*

ASARCO appeals the district court's denial of its motion to terminate the East Helena CAMU Trust ("CAMU Trust") and grant of summary judgment in favor of the United States.  .... The fact that a subsequent bankruptcy settlement agreement resolved any remaining or future liability on ASARCO's part for that work also has no bearing on the trust's termination, since the trust's language is clear that the trustee is to reimburse ASARCO "or other persons" for work done on the CAMU Phase 2 Cell. Similarly, that the bankruptcy settlement agreement established a separate trust to fund cleanup activities at various locations, including at the East Helena site, which trust's funds could be used by the government for the CAMU Phase 2 Cell, also has no bearing on the CAMU Trust's termination.... AFFIRMED. "


Sunday, November 13, 2011

What Toxic World has Asarco's eight years of unpermitted hazardous waste incineration left El Paso Texas?

"Mankind has gone very far into an artificial world of his own creation."

From Carson’s speech in acceptance of the National Book Award, 1963
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/rachelcarson/Excerpts.html

Asarco pays more [65 million] to upgrade its Tuscon Mill than it will to clean up over 100 years of smelting and nearly ten years of illegal hazardous-waste incineration at El Paso TX [52 million]

Asarco pays more [65 million] to upgrade its Tuscon Mill than it will to clean up over 100 years of smelting and nearly ten years of illegal hazardous-waste incineration at El Paso TX [52 million].  And, how do we know that ASARCO isn't running another unpermitted Hazardous Waste Operation like it did from 1991-1998? They said the same thing - that they were increasing production and decreasing pollution when they put the new ConTop furnaces in El Paso Asarco 1992...

"Asarco Copper Mill to Double Output While Cutting Dust Emissions
By Tony Davis, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson

Nov. 10--Asarco will nearly double production at a mill south of Tucson, but it says it will reduce dust emissions slightly by adding pollution controls in a $65 million upgrade.

The mining company wants the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality to revise its air quality permit so it can increase the amount of copper ore running through its Mission Mine's south mill by about 71 percent....  County regulators say they agree with Asarco's calculations that emissions will decline despite the higher production levels.

The mill, just south of Pima Mine Road and west of Interstate 19, is one of two at the Mission complex, which employs about 625 people.

After the mine expands the south mill's production capacity, total employment will rise by perhaps 10 to 15 people in about the first quarter of 2013, said Tom Aldrich, Asarco's vice president of environmental affairs."

http://southwest.construction.com/yb/sw/article.aspx?story_id=165754240

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Local News | State to cast wide net for Asarco smelter pollution | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | State to cast wide net for Asarco smelter pollution | Seattle Times Newspaper

2009 gambling debts of Deceased President Swiss bank ," Asarco "

"In April 2009 MGM Grand casino in Las Vegas provided Katamaninu
[Russian Citizen] a loan of 2.5 million dollars. Casino, owned by
Harrah, in May 2009, lent him 1.2 million dollars, and in early July of
that year Katamanin borrowed 95,000 dollars from the casino Wynn Las
Vegas. Lawyers Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City say that
Katamanin owed him 3.2 million... " http://news.vdok.org/page.aspx?id=744

HSBC Holdings Plc accused of aiding Madoff's fraud Dec. 6 2010

"Dec. 6, 2010

HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s biggest lender, was sued for $9 billion over claims it aided Bernard Madoff’s fraud through a network of feeder funds in Europe, the Caribbean and Central America.  Irving H. Picard, trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, sued HSBC and a dozen feeder funds in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Picard said in a statement....The suit alleges the bank was aware of concerns that Madoff’s investment business was fraudulent and didn’t take steps to protect investors, according to the statement. .... HSBC said in a statement that Picard’s allegations are “unfounded” and that it will defend itself against them in court."  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-06/hsbc-holdings-sued-by-madoff-trustee-for-9-billion-for-alleged-misconduct.html


What do Asarco, HSBC and Petrobras have in common

"January 6, 2011

Six deals on which Cleary Gottlieb advised during 2010 were named as “Deals of the Year” by International Financing Review.

The award-winning deals are:

Latin America Equity Issue of the Year: Petrobras’s $70 billion follow-on offering. (Cleary Gottlieb represented Petrobras. This is expected to be largest equity offering ever.) ....Financial Bond—Subordinated Debt: HSBC’s $3.8 billion $25 par capital securities. (Cleary Gottlieb represented HSBC.) Latin America Loan of the Year: Americas Mining Corporation’s $1.5 billion loan. (Cleary Gottlieb was counsel to a bank syndicate. The loan was used to fund Americas Mining plan of reorganization for its U.S. copper unit, ASARCO LLC.)"
http://www.cgsh.com/cleary_gottlieb_counsel_in_six_ifr_deals_of_the_year/

Asarco's former principle Creditor (Harbinger group) tied to HSBC bank through ....

Tony Pace
  • Title:  Controller at Harbinger Capital Partners
  • Demographic info:  Greater New York City Area | Financial Services
  • Current:  Controller at Harbinger Capital Partners, U.S. Head of Fund Accounting and Financial Reporting at HSBC, Alternative Fund Services
  • Past: VP Fund Treasurer at Reich & Tang Funds, Director of Client Service Group at GlobeOp Financial Services, Controller – Director of Mutual Fund...
  • Education: Hofstra University
  • http://www.linkedin.com/title/financial+controller/at-hsbc/
  • See also: http://arabnews.com/economy/article482990.ece
    "HSBC’s China gold futures foray... By REUTERS
    Published: Aug 4, 2011 17:24 Updated: Aug 4, 2011 17:24
    SHANGHAI: China giving HSBC Holdings Plc entry to its gold futures market, a first for a foreign bank, is likely a [predictor] of a further opening to local and overseas institutions to trade the precious metal.....China’s moves to free up its gold market will not only create more trading opportunities for foreign banks, but it will also allow them to tap growing local demand for gold investment products.....By letting in HSBC, one of the world’s leading gold trading houses, the SHFE will pave the way for more foreign and local banks to join the market — a big step toward the liberalization of the tightly controlled gold sector and one that could help deepen the derivatives market...."

    July 2011 Former ASARCO principle-creditor/ Hedge Fund's operating chief resigns....

    "Harbinger Capital's operating chief resigns 
    The Wall Street Journal 06 Jul 2011

    Hedge-fund firm Harbinger Capital Partners, founded by Philip Falcone, said Tuesday that Peter Jenson has resigned as chief operating officer and director....Jenson, who left Citadel Investment for Harbinger in 2009, was responsible for all operational activities of the funds....Meanwhile, Harbinger Group, a publicly traded company majority-owned by Harbinger Capital, has appointed Omar Asali as acting president, succeeding Falcone, who will continue to serve as chairman and chief executive....Asali, who is a managing director and head of global strategy for Harbinger Capital, was previously co-head of Goldman Sachs's hedge-fund strategies. "

    http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2011-07-06/harbinger-capital-operating-chief-resigns

    Harbinger Capital Partners manager left

    "After more than eight years working beside Philip A. Falcone, the embattled hedge manager of Harbinger Capital Partners, Lawrence Clark, a top investment manager at the firm, confirmed on Monday that he had left to start his own fund.   Mr. Clark, 39, plans to start an event-driven hedge fund focused on metals, mining, food and agriculture, areas that he covered as a senior analyst when he reported directly to Mr. Falcone.....It’s about ....striking out on my own,” Mr. Clark said, noting that he remained on the board of Mr. Falcone’s public company, the Harbinger Group."
    http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/top-harbinger-official-leaves-to-start-own-firm/

    [see "Harbinger" within epgtlo's internal search engine for more information]

    Saturday, November 5, 2011

    Goldman Sachs and Asarco copper price fluctuations-- and Goldman Sachs-speech by arrested Occupy-Wall Street Chris Hedges....."What we are asking for today is simple—it is a return to the rule of law."

    Goldman Fraud Charge Hits Copper Prices
    Copper Investing News 2010
    Grupo Mexico will show benefits from its acquisition of Arizona's Asarco, ... Grupo Mexico won back control of Asarco in December, pulling the US copper ..."

    "By Leia Michele Toovey- Exclusive to Copper Investing News" "As news over impending fraud charges against leading commodities player Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) hit the market last Friday, copper witnessed considerable downside. Risk averse investors jumped from their positions, sending copper plummeting to a three month low.... Hiding behind the Goldman front, negative data is still weighing down copper..."

    Tuesday, April 20, 2010

    Asarco Bankruptcy ends, and bring predictions "... that Grupo Mexico's total copper sales volumes should be propelled 43 percent year-on-year" as METAL PRICES RECOVER

    "Google Web Alert for: asarco
    PREVIEWGrupo Mexico profit seen up on Asarco copper prices ...
    WHAT: Grupo Mexico Q1 earnings results * WHEN: Friday, April 23 * REUTERS FORECAST: Net profit seen soaring year-on-year By Mica Rosenberg MEXICO CITY, ...
    in.reuters.com/article/.../idINN2021866520100420
    "
    "MEXICO CITY, April 20 (Reuters) - Grupo Mexico, the nation's biggest copper miner, is set to report a sharp jump in quarterly results as ...metal prices recover, a Reuters poll showed.  Seven analysts consulted by Reuters estimated the company's (GMEXICOB.MX...) first-quarter net profit at $383 million, about 20 times year-earlier earnings of $19 million. Grupo Mexico won back control of Asarco in December, pulling the U.S. copper miner out of bankruptcy by winning a drawn-out court battle and outbidding India's Sterlite Industries Ltd...).  ...."In the first quarter that Asarco's results are fully consolidated, we estimate that Grupo Mexico's total copper sales volumes should be propelled 43 percent year-on-year," brokerage Grupo Bursatil Mexicano said in a report."

    "Analysts consulted by Reuters expect [Asarco owner --- GMEXICOB.MX] first-quarter net profit will soar almost 2,000 percent"


    See current speech/arrest in front of Goldman Sachs this week...

    Chris Hedges' Speech in Front of Goldman Sachs Leads to Arrest

    By Chris Hedges

    Chris Hedges made this statement in New York City's Zuccotti Park on Thursday morning during the People's Hearing on Goldman Sachs, which he chaired with Dr. Cornel West. The activist and Truthdig columnist then joined a march of several hundred protesters to the nearby corporate headquarters of Goldman Sachs, where he was arrested with 16 others.

    Goldman Sachs, which received more subsidies and bailout-related funds than any other investment bank because the Federal Reserve permitted it to become a bank holding company under its "emergency situation," has used billions in taxpayer money to enrich itself and reward its top executives. It handed its senior employees a staggering $18 billion in 2009, $16 billion in 2010 and $10 billion in 2011 in mega-bonuses. This massive transfer of wealth upwards by the Bush and Obama administrations, now estimated at $13 trillion to $14 trillion, went into the pockets of those who carried out fraud and criminal activity rather than the victims who lost their jobs, their savings and often their homes.

    Goldman Sachs' commodities index is the most heavily traded in the world. Goldman Sachs hoards rice, wheat, corn, sugar and livestock and jacks up commodity prices around the globe so that poor families can no longer afford basic staples and literally starve. Goldman Sachs is able to carry out its malfeasance at home and in global markets because it has former officials filtered throughout the government and lavishly funds compliant politicians—including Barack Obama, who received $1 million from employees at Goldman Sachs in 2008 when he ran for president. These politicians, in return, permit Goldman Sachs to ignore security laws that under a functioning judiciary system would see the firm indicted for felony fraud. Or, as in the case of Bill Clinton, these politicians pass laws such as the 2000 Commodity Futures Modernization Act that effectively removed all oversight and outside control over the speculation in commodities, one of the major reasons food prices have soared. In 2008 and again in 2010 prices for crops such as rice, wheat and corn doubled and even tripled, making life precarious for hundreds of millions of people. And it was all done so a few corporate oligarchs, the 1 percent, could make personal fortunes in the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars. Despite a damning 650-page Senate subcommittee investigation report, no individual at Goldman Sachs has been indicted, although the report accuses Goldman of defrauding its clients. 

    When the government in the fall 2008 provided the firm with billions of dollars in the form of cheap loans, FDIC debt guarantees, TARP, AIG make-wholes, and a late-night label-shift from investment bank to bank holding company, giving the firm access to excessive Federal Reserve aid, access [the corporation] still has, it enabled and abetted Goldman's criminal behavior. Goldman Sachs unloaded billions in worthless securities to its clients, decimating 401(k)s, pension and mutual funds. The firm misled investors about the true nature of these worthless securities, insisted the securities they were pushing on their clients were sound, and hid the material fact that, simultaneously, they were betting against these same securities—$2 billion against just one of their deals. The firm then had the gall to extort from its victims—us—to make good on its bets when the global economy it helped trash lost $40 trillion in worldwide wealth and huge insurance firms were unable to cover their bad debts.

    The Securities Act of 1933, established in the wake of the massive fraud that pervaded the securities market before the 1929 Crash, was written to ensure that "any securities transactions are not based on fraudulent information or practices." The act "prohibits deceit, misrepresentation, and other fraud in the sale of securities." The subcommittee report indicates that Goldman Sachs clearly broke security laws.

    As part of the political theater that has come to replace the legislative and judicial process, the Securities and Exchange Commission agreed to a $550 million settlement whereby Goldman Sachs admitted it showed "incomplete" information in marketing materials and that it was a "mistake" to not disclose the nature of its portfolio selection committee. This fine was a payoff to the SEC by Goldman Sachs of about four days' worth of revenue, and in return they avoided going to court. CEO Lloyd Blankfein apparently not only lied to clients, but to the subcommittee itself on April 27, 2010, when he told lawmakers: "We didn't have a massive short against the housing market, and we certainly did not bet against our clients." Yet, they did.

    And yet nothing has been done. No Goldman Sachs officials have gone to trial. This is because there is no way within the corporate state to vote against the interests of Goldman Sachs. There is no way through the formal mechanisms of power to restore the rule of law. There is no way to protect the ordinary citizen and the poor around the globe from the predatory activity of financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs. Since our courts refuse to put on trial the senior executives at Goldman Sachs, including Blankfein, who carried out these crimes and lied to cover them up, we will. Speculators like those in Goldman Sachs—who in the 17th century when speculation was a crime would have been hanged—must be prevented by law from again destroying our economy, preying on ordinary citizens, hoarding food so the poor starve and running our political process. We are paying for these crimes—not those who orchestrated perhaps the most massive fraud in human history. Our teachers, police, firefighters and public employees are losing their jobs so speculators like Blankfein can make an estimated $250,000 a day. Working men and women are losing their homes and going into personal bankruptcy because they cannot pay their medical bills. Our unemployed, far closer to 20 percent than the official 9 percent, are in deep distress all so a criminal class, a few blocks from where I speak, can wallow in luxury with mansions and yachts and swollen bank accounts.

    What we are asking for today is simple—it is a return to the rule of law. And since the formal mechanisms of power refuse to restore the rule of law, then we, the 99 percent, will have to see that justice is done.

    This article was published at NationofChange at: http://www.nationofchange.org/chris-hedges-speech-front-goldman-sachs-leads-arrest-1320422765.
    Included here in full-text, with citation as Fair Use (creative commons, non-commercial)



    Asarco associated Citigroup (Citigroup and Harbinger Hedge fund were creditors in Asarco's bankruptcy)

    for more on Citigroup and Asarco, search for these key-words within the google-blog's search engine...

    "Robert Scheer, Op-Ed:
    “Can we all agree that a $1 billion swindle represents a lot of money, and the fact that Citigroup agreed last week to pay a $285 million fine to settle SEC charges for “misleading investors” demonstrates a damning admission of culpability? So why has Robert Rubin, the onetime treasury secretary who went on to become Citigroup chairman during the time of the corporation’s financial shenanigans, never been held accountable for this and other deep damage done to the U.S. economy on his watch?”

    Rubin’s tenure atop the world of high fi­nance began when he was co-chair­man of Gold­man Sachs, be­fore he be­came Bill Clin­ton’s trea­sury sec­re­tary and pushed through the re­ver­sal of the Glass-Stea­gall Act, an ac­tion that le­gal­ized the for­ma­tion of Cit­i­group and other “too big to fail” bank­ing con­glom­er­ates.

    Rubin’s de­struc­tive im­pact on the econ­omy in en­abling these giant cor­po­rate banks to run amok was far greater than that of swindler Bernard Mad­off, who sits in prison under a 150-year sen­tence while Rubin sits on the Har­vard Board of Over­seers, as chair­man of the Coun­cil on For­eign Re­la­tions and as a leader of the Brook­ings In­sti­tu­tion’s Hamil­ton Pro­ject.

    Rubin was re­warded for his ef­forts on be­half of Cit­i­group with a top job as chair­man of the bank’s ex­ec­u­tive com­mit­tee and at least $126 mil­lion in com­pen­sa­tion. That was “com­pen­sa­tion” for steer­ing the bank to the point of a bank­ruptcy avoided only by a $45 bil­lion tax­payer bailout and a fur­ther guar­an­tee of $300 bil­lion of the bank’s toxic as­sets.

    "
    http://www.nationofchange.org/too-big-jail-1320412438

    for starters, see:
    Jul 27, 2009 ... Citigroup and Harbinger are creditors in Asarco's pending bankruptcy proceeding. They are based in New York and together are owed $300 ...

    epgtlo.blogspot.com/2009/07/citigroup-comment-on-pemex.html

    Jul 30, 2010 ... Citigroup has agreed to pay the SEC $75 million to settle charges that the bank hid exposure to more than $40 billion [1] in subprime CDOs. ...

    epgtlo.blogspot.com/2010/.../asarco-former-principle-bondholder.html
    Sep 17, 2009 ... Citigroup Bank is a "Key Financial Team member" for the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority (CRRMA) that builds El Paso TX highways ...

    epgtlo.blogspot.com/.../citigroup-bank-is-key-financial-entity.html
    Aug 4, 2010 ... ASARCO Bondholder Citigroup's head of Latin America team handled CEMEX acquisition of RMC and a 1.1 Billion$ offer for Grupo Mexico S.Peru ...

    epgtlo.blogspot.com/.../asarco-bondholder-citigroups-head-of.html
    Jul 30, 2009 ... Banking giant Citigroup recommends investment in Mexican state-run oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) via its dollar-denominated bonds. ...

    epgtlo.blogspot.com/2009/.../harbingers-citigroup-recommends.html
    Aug 27, 2009 ... Citigroup's Oil Trader's $100000000 Payday: A Wakeup Call for the Nation ... Google "Citigroup" in search engine for epgtlo.blogspot.com and ...

    epgtlo.blogspot.com/2009/.../bank-associated-with-asarco-bonds.html
    Jul 30, 2010 ... ASARCO former principle-bondholder Citigroup now ordered to pay SEC over ... " Citigroup to Pay $1 for Every $500 in Subprime Exposure It Hid ...

    epgtlo.blogspot.com/2010_07_25_archive.html
    Sep 9, 2010 ... 8: Government argues that 75 mil settlement with former Asarco principal bondholder Citigroup is"fair, adequate, reasonable and in the ...

    epgtlo.blogspot.com/.../2010-sept-8-government-argues-that-75.html
    Aug 4, 2010 ... ASARCO Bondholder Citigroup's head of Latin America team handled CEMEX ... "John Boord heads Citigroup Global Markets' Latin America ...

    epgtlo.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html





    Thursday, November 3, 2011

    Now that Asarco's secret liabilities are behind it, Owner Grupo Mexico says that "Asarco's results were promising".

    Now that Asarco's secret liabilities are behind it, Owner Grupo Mexico says that "Asarco's results were promising".  What about the children remaining behind its Asarco El Paso smelter site, and its community that must socialize the costs remaining from the toxins left behind?   The Company profits go to the owners while the costs of polluting a 30-mile-radius zone in a key NAFTA industrialized-zone have been socialized to an unprepared and unknowing community.  Grupo Mexico plans (below) to spend nearly 1/2 billion dollars on Asarco in the next three years but got away with only spending 52 million to "remediate" its century-old site in El Paso TX.   The clean-up TRUST is not required to remediate ANY of the illegal wastes processed there from 1991-1998 and not required to remediate the deep ground-water beneath that old site (a highly toxic arsenic plume moving in a wide swath -- with some of that groundwater plume already reaching the Rio Grand the width of the company's site according to the TCEQ.)

    "...Grupo Mexico said that Americas Mining the holding company of the mining division that includes Southern Copper and Asarco could list separate securities in capital markets. It did not give details about what kinds of securities AMC could offer, noting this is one of the strategic alternatives AMC is considering.

    Banamex said that floating AMC shares would allow Grupo Mexico to raise capital. ....Mr Muniz [CFO of Grupo Mexico] said that Asarco's results were promising and that the mines in Arizona would be able to increase copper output to 280,000 tonnes by 2016...."

    http://www.steelguru.com/metals_news/Grupo_Mexico_scraps_plan_for_mining_unit_merger/233777.html

    Caveat emptor : ASARCO EL PASO CLEAN-UP TRUSTEE PASSES THE BUCK TO BUYERS


    "... the realities of more than 100 years of contamination have left a legacy. One audience member asked whether the stacks and their surroundings would be safe for children.

    "I'm not going to say that," Puga said. "The new owners have to say that.""

    God help us all, and all the little children who will be playing on the playgrounds and elementary-school-yard on top of the existing Asarco lands in the new "smart code" neighborhoods.   Because the children have a high surface volume to body ratio they will intake more dusts and aerosols per pound of body than an adult, and have it affect them and their own babies' development throughout their lives.   Simply covering the ground with asphalt will not stop the off-gassing of materials beneath the developments and "will not make it safe" [KVIA interview with UTEP Geologist].

    El Paso ASARCO Clean-up Trustee admits that the ASARCO stacks contain contaminants

    The El Paso ASARCO Clean-up Trustee admits that the ASARCO stacks contain contaminants that would require sealing the stacks to make these safe, rather than just letting the stacks stand.

    "But Puga said money from his $52 million budget could be spent only on remediation efforts. It is possible, however, that something like sealing the stacks to prevent the spread of contaminants would qualify, he added."
    The Trustee/TRUST did not test the CONTOP/Acid Plant's primary metal stack for contaminants, but wrote it off to the Bankruptcy court's decision releasing the TRUST from fiduciary-responsibility to test-for and/or remediate for the illegal chemicals illicitly incinerated by Asarco in El Paso TX from 1991-1998 -- in fact, the Bankruptcy courts totally publicly ignored that such incineration of D.O.E. and other wastes ever happened.

    http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_19242239

    EPA to retest Illinois ASARCO zinc smelter site for Beryllium and other contaminants

    After Asarco El Paso TX was secretly-caught by the EPA and Federal DOJ to be running a multi-state illegal and unpermitted hazardous waste disposal/incineration operation from 1991-1998, the EPA made ASARCO do a demolition and clean-up of all buildings/stacks related to its El Paso Asarco zinc plant.  We are not told how much Beryllium is on site; but, we note that recently the EPA is re-testing an Illinois Asarco Zinc plant site (active until 1994) that is contaminated with beryllium.  Beryllium is extremely toxic and there is a Federal Program to compensate all workers thus exposed to it on-the-job.

    Why isn't the Federal DOJ/Bankruptcy Court/EPA requiring the TRUST doing El Paso Asarco's "clean-up" to look for and report the levels to the public of Beryllium?
    Interested Taylor Springs [IL] residents learned during a meeting Oct. 20 with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that a thorough study of the Asarco Superfund site is set to begin.... Within the month, residents can expect to see technicians in required protective clothing [sampling] sediment and surface water from Shoal Creek Middle Fork, ground water from 14 existing monitoring wells and six additional yet-to-be-installed wells, air quality samples, and samples of fish, plants, and animals that may have been affected by site contaminants....Asarco is the 533-acre site of which about 100 acres is covered with residue from former zinc smelting and zinc oxide operations [up to 1994]. The residue includes zinc slag, plant cinder wastes, calcine clinker, sinter clinker, and coal. The primary contaminants are arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc.
    http://www.thejournal-news.net/articles/2011/10/27/news/news03.txt

    Friday, October 21, 2011

    Globeville CO ASARCO site accepted materials from El Paso TX Asarco site during illegal-waste burning years (1991-1998)

    Recent documents released by the EPA show that the Globeville CO ASARCO site accepted materials from El Paso TX/East Helena MT Asarco sites during illegal-waste burning years (1991-1998).

    Have the Globeville Asarco community tested for any of those illegal materials?


     "Google Alert:
    Open house planned on Asarco site Your Hub
    Officials plan to discuss Globeville Asarco redevelopment at meeting.
    yourhub.denverpost.com/.../0PN6unW4KoCp5OZYFrkCoJ-st...
    "

    Thursday, October 20, 2011

    Washington State got nearly 200 million from Asarco while El Paso TX got less than 40 million

    google alert
    "
    Dept. of Ecology plan aims to clean up Tacoma Smelter Plume properties
    Tacoma Daily News
    In December 2009, the state of Washington obtained a $188 million bankruptcy settlement from Asarco. About $94 million is slated for the Tacoma Smelter ..."

    How sad for El Paso TX that they got around 32 million dollars for cleanup of an unpermitted and illegal multi-state hazardous-waste disposal operation (ASARCO from 1991-1998) while Tacoma WA got three  times that amount. 

    Doesn't pay to be a mexican-american community does it.  The surface water supply (Rio Grande) is now fully compromised by the Asarco El Paso arsenic-plume.  Paltry 32 million; and, the Federal Dept. of Justice Bankruptcy Trustee during the Bush Administration allowed this to happen by looking the other way and letting the Asarco Bankruptcy Courts totally ignore the Asarco hazardous-waste operation-liabilities.






    Wednesday, October 19, 2011

    google alert

    "
    Judge orders Grupo Mexico to refund $1.3B in copper deal
    Arizona Daily Star
    Grupo Mexico, parent company of Tucson-based Asarco, must return $1.3 billion in shares to Southern Copper Corp. for forcing the unit to overpay for a ..."

    El Paso Times editorial applauds ex-workers help with chemical testing


    Nothing was found. 110 years of smelting; over a decade of illegal unpermitted hazardous waste incineration for profit -- some of it of D.O.E. origin ----- and, nothing bad turned up with the Trust's chemical testing.   That is good news for the "smart-code" walkable neighborhood developers who want to site an elementary school and kids playgrounds on the former Asarco ground....

    but hardly believable.  Incredulous.  Makes fools of people who are demanding to know what they were exposed to at Asarco El Paso during the illegal-haz-waste burning years....

    google alert:
    "
    Asarco cleanup Exsmelter employees big help El Paso Times
    But more testing, especially on the 123-acre plant site of Asarco s total 580-plus acres, is prudent.
    www.elpasotimes.com/opinion/ci_19140539
    "

    Saturday, October 15, 2011

    According to this article Asarco El Paso was incinerating stuff until 2005 and that clean-up "A tremendous financial success"

    "Mike Casbon, who is based in Indiana with multi-national contractor ERM Inc., has spent much of the past 10 months in El Paso, Texas, helping oversee the demolition of a copper smelting facility that is spread out over 200 acres.

    ERM hired Brandenburg Industrial Service Co., Chicago, as its demolition subcontractor for the project. Malcolm Pirnie, Highlands Ranch, Colo., was the lead remediation contractor.

    Metals were smelted at the site, adjacent to the border with Mexico, from 1887 until Asarco closed the facility in 2005. In part because owners prior to Asarco smelted lead on the site, decontamination has been a vital part of the demolition and recycling process, said Casbon.

    While the decontamination process has been costly, the variety and volume of metals harvested has yielded generous returns. That harvest has included some 3,500 tons of copper; 1.5 million pounds of lead; 44,000 ounces of silver; and 1,200 ounces of gold.

    Much of this material has been harvested and sold during a time of record-high metals prices, benefiting the trust entity that now owns the land.

    In addition to recycling metal for an eager scrap market, Casbon indicated that the project has also entailed recycling sulfuric acid, Douglas fir timber and some salvageable equipment.


    Casbon said the efforts of ERM, Brandenburg and others working on the project have provided a tremendous financial success for the Asarco site land trust. Rather than spending down the trust’s $52 million cash reserves for the project, work done thus far has provided an additional $25 million to the trust’s value.

    The 2011 C&D Recycling Forum was Sept. 25-27 at the Turf Valley Resort and Conference Center in Ellicott City, Md."
    http://www.cdrecycler.com/cdr-forum-rising-and-falling-LEED-Asarco-Nationals-Park.aspx

    Saturday, October 8, 2011

    Shades of "Fire down Below" illicit poisoning of community(s): Asarco Encycle (Dona Park Corpus Christi) that EPA secretly told DOJ 1998 sent massive secret hazardous wastes to El Paso TX and East Helena MT

    — Test results of soil taken near the site of a shuttered zinc smelting plant produced no elevated levels of chemicals of concern, the Texas Commission on Environmental Equality reported. [as they say on Saturday Night live News,..... "REALLY!!"]

    The commission has investigated residents' claims for about a year that parts of the Dona Park neighborhood were a dumping ground in the 1980s for toxic chemicals from the ASARCO/Encycle plant on Up River Road.....

    ...The Texas Department of State Health Services also is working with residents, having taken voluntary blood and urine samples to test for harmful chemicals.

    The most recent tests inspected soil in drainage pathways leading from the former plant out into the neighborhood, said Omar Valdez, project manager with the commission."
    http://www.caller.com/news/2011/oct/05/tests-near-former-zinc-smelting-plant-show-no-of/


    Tests near former zinc smelting plant show no elevated levels of ...
    Corpus Christi Caller Times
    ... chemicals from the ASARCO/Encycle plant in the 1300 block of Lantana Street. TCEQ officials tested the site, and nearly 3500 neighborhood homes nearby. ...

    Saturday, October 1, 2011

    Talk about a conflict of interest...

    Encycle-Asarco TX asked its SALES REPS to "screen out" illegal wastes such as radioactive materials, organics etc....

    'The sales representative Is responsible for pre-screening wastes during his or
    her Initial contact with the client. The sales representative should immediately
    screen out those wastes which are not covered by the company's permit;
    e.g., organics, radioactive wastes, etc.
    Submitting a waste for analysis and
    characterization is time-consuming and expensive
    for both ENCYCLE and the
    client. It Is Important from an economic standpoint as well as building good
    customer relations that the wastes submitted for characterization have a
    reasonable likelihood of acceptance.'
    9159004.pdf on EPA asarco documents site

    " Google Alert - asarco"

    "
    Asarco Related Documents | Region 6 | US EPA
    EPA Region 6 has created this page to help people locate information about the ASARCO property in El Paso, Texas. While you will find links to many ...
    www.epa.gov/earth1r6/asarco_encycle/
    "

    Thursday, September 22, 2011

    Eerily like Asarco's escape from criminal accountability for running a multi-state unpermitted illegal haz-waste disposal operation, now Wall Street Banks seek immunity from criminal accountability...

    "The same Wall Street banks whose irresponsible actions led to our nation's economic collapse are now pressuring all 50 states to give them legal immunity. The banks want to block any criminal or civil accountability for actions that have yet to be investigated.  Attorneys General from Delaware, Minnesota, Nevada, and New York have been fighting back."

    -- Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway


    Asarco El Paso Acid Plant/ConTop stack demolished without publishing results of stack tests



    http://klaq.com/el-paso-times-smaller-asarco-smokestack-comes-down-video/

    Wednesday, September 21, 2011

    "A lawsuit accuses a Baltimore medical institute of exposing children to lead poisoning in the 1990s"

    "The Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, is facing a
    class-action lawsuit accusing it of knowingly exposing more than 100
    young black children to lead poisoning in the 1990s during the course of
    a scientific study on lead abatement measures in homes with lead paint.
    The children, aged 1 to 5 years, were living in supposedly "lead-safe"
    housing in poor neighborhoods of Baltimore, but according to the lawsuit
    were actually selected by the institute because of lingering lead dust
    problems. "What they would do was to improve the lead hazard from what
    it was but not improve it to code," Thomas F. Yost Jr., one of the
    lawyers who filed the suit, told The New York Times."

    http://the-scientist.com/2011/09/19/institute-sued-over-lead-poisoning-study/

    Monday, September 19, 2011

    Press Release from EPA: "EPA Advancing Clean Up at 15 Hazardous Waste Sites" ASARCO EL PASO NOT MENTIONED

    Asarco El Paso texas not mentioned.........and we got the worst of the worst secret hazardous wastes for over seven years.

    "News Releases from Headquarters

    EPA Advancing Clean Up at 15 Hazardous Waste Sites, Proposing 11 Sites for Action

    Release date: 09/15/2011

    Contact Information: Stacy Kika, kika.stacy@epa.gov, 202-564-0906, 202-564-4355

    WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adding 15 hazardous waste sites that pose risks to people’s health and the environment to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites. EPA is also proposing 11 sites to be added to the list. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country with the goal of protecting people’s health and the environment through long-term and short-term cleanup activities.

    To date, 1,652 sites have been listed on the NPL. Of these sites, 350 sites have been cleaned up, resulting in 1,302 sites currently on the NPL (including the 15 sites added today). There are 62 proposed sites (including the 11 announced today) awaiting final agency action.

    With all NPL sites, EPA works to identify companies or people responsible for the contamination at a site, and require them to conduct or pay for the cleanup. For the newly listed sites without viable potentially responsible parties, EPA will investigate the full extent of the contamination before starting significant cleanup at the site. Therefore, it may be several years before significant EPA clean up funding is required for these sites.

    The following 15 sites have been added to the National Priorities List:

      · Blue Ledge Mine (abandoned mine) in Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest, Calif.;
      · New Idria Mercury Mine (abandoned mercury mine) in Idria, Calif.;
      · Armstrong World Industries (ceiling tile manufacturer) in Macon, Ga.;
      · Sandoval Zinc Company (former zinc smelter) in Sandoval, Ill.;
      · Gary Development Landfill (former landfill) in Gary, Ind.;
      · Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp – Columbus (former pressure –treated railroad products manufacturer) in Columbus, Miss.;
      · Red Panther Chemical Company (former pesticides formulation plant) in Clarksdale, Miss.;
      · Horton Iron and Metal (former fertilizer manufacturer and metal salvage) in Wilmington, N.C.;
      · Garfield Ground Water Contamination (contaminated ground water plume) in Garfield, N.J.;
      · Chevron Questa Mine (molybdenum mine) in Questa, N.M.;
      · New Cassel/Hicksville Ground Water Contamination (contaminated ground water plume) in Hicksville, Hempstead, and North Hempstead, N.Y.;
      · North Ridge Estates (former WWII medical facility) in Klamath Falls, Ore.;
      · US Finishing/Cone Mills (former textile operation) in Greenville, S.C.;
      · Alamo Contaminated Ground Water (contaminated ground water plume) in Alamo, Tenn.; and
      · Falcon Refinery (inactive refinery) in Ingleside, Texas.

    The following 11 sites have been proposed to the National Priorities List:
      · Jervis B. Webb Co. (former manufacturer) in South Gate, Calif.;
      · Seam Master Industries (adhesive manufacturer) in South Gate, Calif.;
      · Continental Cleaners (former dry cleaners) in Miami, Fla.;
      · Leeds Metal (former scrap metal facility) in Leeds, Maine;
      · Compass Plaza Well TCE (contaminated ground water plume) in Rogersville, Mo.;
      · Eighteenmile Creek (contaminated creek) in Niagra County, N.Y.;
      · Southeastern Wood Preserving (former wood treating operation) in Canton, Miss.;
      · Metro Container Corporation (former drum recycler) in Trainer, Pa.;
      · Corozal Well (contaminated ground water plume) in Corozal, Puerto Rico;
      · US Oil Recovery (used oil recovery facility) in Pasadena, Texas; and
      · Bremerton Gasworks (former gasworks facility) in Bremerton, Wash.

    Federal Register notices and supporting documents for the final and proposed sites:
    http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm

    Information about how a site is listed on the NPL:
    http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/npl_hrs.htm

    Superfund sites in local communities:
    http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/index.htm

    "Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at EPA"

    http://blog.epa.gov/administrator/ <cid:part1.03080205.08050909@gmail.com>

    "The EPA has taken considerable steps to make sure all Americans have a
    voice in the conversation about the environmental and health issues
    facing them. Just this week we unveiled an environmental justice plan
    called EJ 2014, to outline our work in the years ahead. .....we awarded
    $6.2 million to organizations across the country that train local
    residents and place them into good, green jobs cleaning up their
    communities....."

    EL PASO TEXAS not mentioned

    Saturday, September 10, 2011

    Asarco El Paso could be theoretically modeled after Tacoma Asarco site "more than 1,000 square miles" contaminated

    "For close to 100 years, the Asarco Tacoma Smelter emitted arsenic, lead and other heavy metals into the air. These windborne emissions contaminated more than 1,000 square miles covering four counties and 26 cities and towns, including University Place.

    Since the smelter’s designation as an EPA Superfund site in 1983, efforts have been underway to clean up heavily contaminated soils.

    According to Cynthia Walker, State Dept. of Ecology (DOE) project manager, exposure to high levels of arsenic can contribute to cancer and cardio vascular diseases while high exposure to lead is linked to neurological and developmental problems. Since 2000, the DOE and Pierce County Health Department have worked on education campaigns regarding handwashing and other measures along with providing free soil sampling and clean up at play areas at existing and new schools, childcares, parks and similar areas."

    http://universityplace.patch.com/articles/e-mail-to-the-editor-mayor-recaps-flood-control-district-presentation

    The El Paso TX City Council with Beto O'Rourke (now running for Federal House of Representatives) voted to make the Asarco El Paso site a walkable neighborhood (i.e. zone it "smartcode"), with future designs for school(s) and playgrounds.  Was this "smart"?

    Friday, September 9, 2011

    More evidence of what ASARCO did between 1991 and 1998 slowly being demolished and removed

    the evidence not just being covered up - but removed

    Google alert:
    "Asacro/Encycle Zinc Smelting Plant Demolition Continues
    KIII TV3
    One of the last things to come down at the site will be iconic Asarco smoke stack, all 315 feet of it. After towering over the community or decades, ...
    "

    Thursday, September 8, 2011

    Fwd: October 6 - Public Hearing on the Texas Rail Plan [Asarco Ferromex UP BNSF modal station]

    Fellow Texan:

    The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is in the process of developing a comprehensive rail plan for Texas. The Texas Rail Plan will serve to guide future actions of TxDOT in cooperation with our rail partners as we work to meet the freight and passenger rail needs of the state.

    We have traveled throughout the state this year conducting seven rail visioning workshops and ten public meetings to hear your ideas and get your input regarding the future of our state's rail system. Through this process we have developed a draft of the Texas Rail Plan that is ready for your review and feedback at the link referenced below.

    We will hold a final public hearing on October 6, 2010, at 1:30 p.m. (CST) at the TxDOT Auditorium in Building 200, Room 1A-1 at 200 East Riverside Drive, Austin, Texas. If you are unable to attend the hearing, we encourage you to visit our website at: http://www.txdot.gov/public_involvement/rail_plan/default.htm to review the draft document and provide comments. The mailing address, if preferred, is also available at this link.

    Following the public hearing, and a 30-day comment period, we will analyze the feedback and finalize the plan for submittal to the Texas Transportation Commission for adoption. Afterwards, TxDOT will submit the Texas Rail Plan to the Federal Railroad Administration for coordination with the National Rail Plan.  The plan will also be made available to the Texas legislature for their consideration.

    TxDOT values your participation in laying the foundation for the Texas Rail Plan and creating a vision for the future of rail in Texas. We hope you will participate in this important planning process.

       All other inquiries may be directed to AskTxDOT@dot.state.tx.us

    Texas Department of Transportation * 125 E. 11th Street * Austin, TX 78701 * (512) 463-8585

    Asarco: "Fifth Circuit upholds expense reimbursement for non-stalking horse"

    Google Alert:
    "
    Fifth Circuit upholds expense reimbursement for non-stalking horse ...
    Lexology
    Factually, in Asarco, the debtor conducted a sale of a potentially valuable asset ... ASARCO, 2011 US App. LEXIS 16892 at 11. In addressing the substantive ...

    Monday, August 29, 2011

    Texas: Rick Perry Sought State Profits From Teacher Life Insurance Scheme


    "Perry was promising the state big money in exchange for helping Swiss banking giant UBS set up a business of teacher death speculation." [note that UBS was also involved in analyzing Railroad Revenue from Mexico Pacific port Lazaro Cardenas... ]

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/25/rick-perry-texas-life-insurance-scheme_n_935666.html 

    "Rick Perry Sought State Profits From Teacher Life Insurance Scheme

    WASHINGTON -- Two weeks before Thanksgiving in 2003...According to the notes, which were authenticated by a meeting participant,....Perry was promising the state big money in exchange for helping Swiss banking giant UBS  set up a business of teacher death speculation....When the retirees died, those policies would pay out benefits to Wall Street speculators, and the state, supposedly, would get paid for arranging the bets. The families of the deceased former teachers would get nothing...."

    See also[search for "UBS" in blog search engine and/or search for railroad] [note, there is an Asarco Swiss Bank associated with Asarco Inc. and Asarco SA]

    "*  Analysts at UBS project KCSM revenue from Lazaro Cardenas [Pacific port in Mexico] rail traffic will soar from some $30 million in 2007 to almost $100 million by 2015, and $255 million by 2025;

    *  In terms of lifts, UBS projects an almost two-million 20-foot equivalent container throughput by 2025, compared with some nine million currently at Long Beach/Los Angeles, 1.8 million at Seattle, and some 1.5 million at Oakland. The U.S. West Coast ports, meanwhile, already are operating at near capacity with little room for expansion;"

    "Wal-Mart, whose second biggest market is Mexico, has it’s eyes on Lazara Cardenas as a crucial North American port of entry."

    [in 2005 Asarco sold several hundred acres of land next to its El Paso Asarco TX smelter site to WAL-MART, who had just been fined million dollars for failure to handle storm runoff on its properties nationwide.  Now that site and the Asarco industrial-smelter-land-itself has been rezoned "smartcode" (i.e."walkable") and a New Mexico Developer who has a long record internationally-of-developing-with-Wal-Mart is converting some of that acreage to rapid bus transit, businesses, a Wal-Mart, senior citizen housing etc -- all the while completely ignoring the EPA-DOJ Asarco confidential-for-settlement-purposes-only 1998 73 page document stating that Asarco ran an unpermitted illegal and secret multi-state hazardous-waste disposal operation for profit from at least 1992-1998.  That land would still be contaminated with those still undisclosed chemicals.   Grupo Mexico (owns Ferromex and Asarco) wants to run a rail line from the Pacific coast of Mexico up along the northern edge of Mexico, to enter the USA at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry, just under ten miles from the El Paso Asarco site.]

    http://epgtlo.blogspot.com/2009/04/grupo-mexicos-ferromex-bidding-on-45-yr.html