Naples, North Dakota

A few years back, I penned a few posts on why I thought Tennessee was a lot like Italy.  And that was before the church goin', God-fearin' rich lawyer who owned Linguality Inc., decided not to pay me $22,000 -- something that most freelancers in Italy experience on a daily basis.  Call it job (in)security.  But, the longer I live in Italy, the more I realize that the USA is playing a nice game of catchup-after all, the USA is an even older democracy than Italy's united states.  And I don't mean just on the soccer field.
After an Italian TV show uncovered the truth behind Italy's Terra dei Fuochi - the Land of Fires surrounding Italy's most populated city, Naples, it seems our new Prime Minister is sending troops to the Triangle of Death to try and do away with the illegal toxic waste dumps that were burning in broad daylight for decades.  
Meanwhile, half way 'round the world, in North Dakota, another TV Report - this time revealed on The Rachel Maddow Show - has uncovered illegal radioactive waste dumps - fortunately, in very remote areas, but nonetheless on Indian reservations and in an abandoned gas station no less -- But this time, we even know who the culprit is.  The gas & oil companies.  

AP Photo from N Dakota Health Dept
showing the abandoned gas station
now stuffed with radioactive filters from fracking & drilling for oil

Naples, Italy should be so lucky that their plight comes from the plucky side of oil drilling. But still, North Dakota's ridiculous policy of charging $1000 / bag for disposal, has brought this on themselves.  So, who knows where the next glow-in-the dark dump will be uncovered? And, will we be sending in the troops to do away with it?

For more on the toxic waste dump, here's an article on the illegal oil waste field in the Washington Times.  

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