BALTIMORE (Map, News) - And so, just when everybody thought the news out of certain parts of East Baltimore couldn’t get much worse, it does. Maybe. Tacked on to the routine violent crime and needles in arms and blighted housing around the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Kennedy Krieger Institute, we can now add the hazards of sewage sludge. Maybe.

What we know for certain is that Gerald Stansbury, head of the state’s NAACP, is comparing the scientific spreading of sludge in poor black neighborhoods to the murderous, long-ago Tuskegee experiments, in which syphilis treatment was denied to African-American men in order to study the illness. Stansbury told The Examiner he has asked Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler to conduct criminal and civil rights investigations.

What we also know for certain is that U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, of California, was alerted to the study and says her Environment and Public Works Committee will hold hearings this summer on the use of sludge as fertilizer.

And what we also know for certain is that this is not what anybody had in mind when scientists here, using nearly half a million dollars in federal grants, spread fertilizer from human and industrial waste on yards in poor, black neighborhoods.

They wanted to see whether it would protect children from lead poisoning in the soil, whose effects have attacked the brains and nervous systems and cognitive development of untold numbers of victims over the years.

Researchers went to nine low-income families in East Baltimore row houses adjacent to the Kennedy Krieger Institute (and a similarly poor African-American neighborhood in East St. Louis, Ill.) and assured them the sludge was safe. The families, who were given food coupons for helping with the study, let the team rake the sewage sludge into their yards.

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said the chemical elements in the sludge — phosphate and iron, mainly — could bind to hazardous metals in the soil and put children at lower risk from lead. Today, the scientists believe the two-year study was a success, and the lives of many children ultimately saved by the study.

Maybe.

The “maybe” comes from families who reportedly were not told there have been some health concerns over the use of sludge. And “maybe” comes from reaction by the NAACP’s Stansbury. And “maybe” also comes from Thomas Burke, a Hopkins professor, who told The Associated Press that epidemiological studies have never been done to show whether spreading sludge on land is safe.

“There are potential pathogens and chemicals that are not in the realm of safe,” Burke told the AP. “What’s needed are more studies on what’s going on with the pathogens in sludge — are we actually removing them? The commitment to connecting the dots hasn’t been there.”

Again, maybe.

Rufus Chaney, an Agriculture Department research agronomist who co-wrote the Baltimore study, issued a lengthy statement this week insisting to The Examiner the families were provided with information about lead hazards and assured that the fertilizer was safe.

And not only safe — but store-bought.

In fact, the compost is sold in hardware stores everywhere and is approved by the federal government for a variety of uses.

Which means that this dispute seems to have gone beyond pure science to ancient questions about race and class. That’s the message implicit in Stansbury’s comparison of the sludge study to the infamous Tuskegee experiments.

Why did they have to spread sludge in poor, black neighborhoods?

Because those who live in such neighborhoods have no political power to fight any injustices that might have been perpetrated? Because poor people would risk their lives if bribed with food coupons? Because such people’s lives, like the Tuskegee victims, are considered expendable?

Or is it something simpler, something closer to the classic utterance offered by Willie Sutton, when he was asked why he robbed banks.

“Because that’s where the money is,” Sutton allegedly said.

Why experiment with sludge in the area around the Kennedy Krieger Institute? Because that’s where there’s been a high incidence of lead poisoning. Researchers could have gone to some wealthy white area in Montgomery County — but that’s not where children are suffering. They’re suffering in East Baltimore.

So the news out of that troubled community gets worse today — maybe. Or maybe researchers actually managed, as they believe, to open a door to defeating lead poisoning. If we can get past the politics of the moment, drawn from America’s history of racism and our modern suspicions of government and other powerful institutions, maybe we can judge this effort on its raw science.

Michael Olesker can be reached at olesker@baltimoreexaminer.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

10:06 PM MST on Fri., May. 9, 2008 re: "What�s race got to do with it?"

Examiner Reader said:
Where is Jim Smith, County Executive and Martin OweMalley on this. It is completely unacceptable for them to allow men, women, and children to sleep out in the cold. Way to go Jim Smith and Martin OweMalley!! They must not need the homeless vote and or cannot appoint a relative to a high paying administrators position to supervise this problem

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6:49 PM MST on Fri., May. 9, 2008 re: "Sarah�s Hope hangs on eleventh-hour efforts"

Examiner Reader said:
This article is a one-sided, journalistic disaster. Olesker clearly failed to consult anyone outside of St. Vincent de Paul regarding the shelter and the reasons for this change. There were some improvements made by St. V de P, but they were far outweighed by their many failures in the opinion of many community members. As a community member of Baltimore County who is very concerned with the issue of homelessness, it was shocking when St. V de P stopped serving single women at Sarahs Hope, turning them away with no emergency shelter in Baltimore County. Not a single person from the Office of Community Conservation is even referenced in the article to give them a chance the explain their side of the story. The Office of Community Conservation does not make these decisions lightly. To imply that some desire for control was the reason for this decision is absurd and looks to me like attempt to deflect attention from the gross failures of St. V de P in its time at the shelter.

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4:18 PM MST on Fri., May. 9, 2008 re: "Sarah�s Hope hangs on eleventh-hour efforts"

Examiner Reader said:
before you make such a rediculous statement you might want to check your facts about the reasons this happened.

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10:32 AM MST on Wed., May. 7, 2008 re: "What�s race got to do with it?"

Independent Marylander said:
Olesker, who are you trying to convince? Race will always be the 800lb. elephant in the room until a true dialogue can take place where people, black & white, can really say what is on their mind without having to worry about how they are labeled. For black or white folks to bottle up the anger, or worse, pretend it isn't there is counter-productive. Acknowledge there is animosity, anger, distrust, even hatred, then let's figure how to address the problem. Of course, the sensationalist media would not be privy to this dialogue.

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7:33 AM MST on Wed., May. 7, 2008 re: "What�s race got to do with it?"

Examiner Reader said:
Race is never an issue WHEN the scenerio is white victim of crime committed by blacks! But if one were to simply reverse the races in the ALLEGED CRIMES (remember it is Olesker writing the story, so we dont know if these incidents ever actually happened) I bet race would be the central issue and Olesker would have a somewhat different slant to his article. Most likely calling for an end to racism. Olesker even reminded us of possible white racism of 40 years ago, but still refuses to think black racism is present in the incidents of black on white crime he wrote the story about. Why didnt Olesker include exactly what the 5 blacks were saying as they "taunted" the white man before punching him for no reason. They were most likely calling him a white this and a white that! But that wouldnt fit into the premise of Oleskers article The tax payers of Canton should "vote with their feet" if the city will not hear their concerns and forces this violent to school to remain open.

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6:30 AM MST on Wed., May. 7, 2008 re: "What�s race got to do with it?"

Examiner Reader said:
You dont think it is about race.... its a class thing. Well then it is about race. Stop lying and call it what it is. Look at the murder rate... black on black. Look at the school problem. Turn on your TV and read the papers - and you will finally open your eyes.

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8:06 PM MST on Mon., May. 5, 2008 re: "1968 Army-Navy game marked end of proud era"

CADET said:
ridiculing the military itself anyway. Furthermore, I don't find someone who once had allegations, and was fired over them, of plagiarism to be a reliable opinion source. Get your facts straight sir, and shut up otherwise. On another note, every single cadet who lives and works with these athletes, whether they are on a sports team or not, realizes the sacrifice that it is even to attend a military school for four years and we couldn't be happier to see our brothers in arms get an opportunity like this and inspire all of us to new heights. It made me sad to read Olesker's total drivel.

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2:02 PM MST on Sun., Apr. 27, 2008 re: "No remorse for �Little Melvin�"

Examiner Reader said:
I love Lil Melvin, he has counseled me many times. Titi

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7:01 AM MST on Fri., Apr. 25, 2008 re: "Censor Board�s outrage put Waters in spotlight"

Examiner Reader said:
Hardly seems that two decades have passed since my great-aunt Mary (Avara) died. Thank you for resurrecting her in our minds and hearts. Her tenure on the Censor Board in Baltimore is legend in our family. She may never have understood what John Waters was trying to do but she did everything with a passion and spirit that her spunk must have been something that even Mr Waters would have admired. Her total dedication and determination to protect the youth of her era from the evils and filth of a sexual revolution were futile and yet they are the characteristics that made her a permanent piece of Bawlmer legend as surely as John Waters hisself. Hats off to you great-aunt Mary for following your beliefs in the face of such wanton comedy. Linda Robertson

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11:05 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 24, 2008 re: "Wild Bill was one of a kind"

perryhallguy said:
love it. what happened to wild bill anyway?

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12:33 PM MST on Wed., Apr. 23, 2008 re: "The bitter truth: Can one talk about the issues?"

Examiner Reader said:
amen

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1:57 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 22, 2008 re: "The bitter truth: Can one talk about the issues?"

Examiner Reader said:
Karl Marx said that religion is the opiate of the masses.

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10:14 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 22, 2008 re: "The bitter truth: Can one talk about the issues?"

Examiner Reader said:
wish people felt the same passion about to 40,000 killed and over 2 million injured every year in car crashes

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9:27 AM MST on Mon., Apr. 21, 2008 re: "Maybe somebody knew something, maybe"

the sludgeman said:
what are the address of the lawns where the sludge was applied? If the sludge is so safe and can be bought at home depot , why the half-millon dollars for the study? What is a food coupon?

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6:52 AM MST on Mon., Apr. 21, 2008 re: "Are slots in Maryland the wave of the future?"

Rocko the Magnificent said:
O'Malley "had the wonderful luxury of sitting back and doing nothing to help us" with the enormous BGE rate hike with which he promised he was going to help us. Don't you love turning the hypocritical politicians own words against them! I know that I do.

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5:30 AM MST on Mon., Apr. 21, 2008 re: "The death of dreams in the light of Columbia"

Examiner Reader said:
Columbia: high taxes, small plots of land, pregnant teens, people praising convicted criminals of being good people, people claiming there aren't jobs. I don't want my kids growing up in that riff raff.

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10:21 PM MST on Fri., Apr. 18, 2008 re: "The death of dreams in the light of Columbia"

Columbia said:
I have live in Columbia for 11 years and I knew Bryan Adams very well....The situation with him is very said he just lost his son not to long ago in Aug'2007, Bryan Loved his son very much I even went to school and college with he went to HCC all he kept saying is im just trying to make it for my son... and when i got pregnant he was there for me and told me everything was going to be alright ) and I love him for that and I know he was going thur sumthing and i just wish that he could of got a chance to gt back on his feet from his son death but of course you could never get over something like because that was a gift from god.

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5:06 PM MST on Thu., Apr. 17, 2008 re: "Maybe somebody knew something, maybe"

Blackman 2 said:
From the thirties till the seventies an experiment on African American men took place. African American men infected with Syphilis were observed so that scientist could track how the disease progressed in Blacks. This experiment took place even after a cure was found which was not made available to the men. It would be nice to believe that the racism that would lead scientist to experiment on African Americans has dissipated, however this is not the case. In East St. Louis and Baltimore the federal government experimented with a sludge made of human waste as a tool for limiting lead exposure. The neighborhoods used in the experiment were primarily African American. Full disclosure of what was in the sludge used on lawns was not made. Were it not for the freedom of information act we would not know what took place. Vigilance is the price for freedom and equality. We must always be on guard against those who would take advantage of the poor and disenfranchised. We must also focus on tho

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7:34 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 15, 2008 re: "A decade too late to the punch"

Examiner Reader said:
These children live in a culture thick with attitudes of victimhood and hopelessness, raised by single parents with bad attitudes, tuned into violent music performed by people with bad attitudes (or found that adopting a bad attitude sells), so-called leaders who promote victimhood and agression as legitimate responses to perceived injustice (even when there isn't any e.g. the Tawana Bradley and the Duke lacrosse team affairs); in short, a culture in denial. Major contributing culprits in are folks like Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond, Jerimiah Wright, Al Sharpton, Charlie Rangel, and local NAACP officials who disappear when things like this happen when they should be out there promoting self-relaince, assumption of personal reponsibility, the value of learning, the importance of being responsible parents. Bill Cosby is one of the few voices to be heard and he has been marginalized by the so-called leaders and the main-stream media. There's not much hope as long as this scenerio contin

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5:10 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 15, 2008 re: "A decade too late to the punch"

Examiner Reader said:
I say leave the kids behind Shiela. If the kids don't want to learn they are not going to, school is boring to them, I know it was to me I went because my parents made me. Kids see their parents with GED's and living off welfare and surviving, so they feel it's ok to do as well. Stop being so nice to the people, our tax dollars go to lazy people who don't want jobs and want free money because they don't want a job that illegal immigrants are doing. That sets a really good example. And kids are influenced by lots or propaganda out there like movies, music videos, and mainly their peers. If something isn't cool, guess what? they probably aren't going to want to do it. And then you have the Upper-class rich people who give their kids everything they want money, cars, whatever. Their mentality is my parents will buy me a new one, or get it for me. Imagine what that does to someone knowing that get something at the drop of a hat. What are they going to do when the money runs out o

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12:09 PM MST on Mon., Apr. 14, 2008 re: "The death of dreams in the light of Columbia"

baltimoron said:
Afraid in Columbia? Give me a break! I grew up in Wilde Lake and Harpers Choice and those areas aren't the least bit dangerous. The Mall? The worst thing that happens there is a bit of shoplifting, and that one stabbing there about a year ago. Columbia is a great area, but maybe I am just too used to Baltimore now that I have been living here for a few years.

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9:26 AM MST on Mon., Apr. 14, 2008 re: "The death of dreams in the light of Columbia"

Examiner Reader said:
Mr. Olesker, it's sad to say but there are many areas in Columbia which I avoid. I live in Clary's Forest but do not shop or go near the Harper's Choice or Wilde Lake Village centers. For groceries, gas, etc., I drive to the Ellicott City area along Route 40. When going to the Columbia Mall, I do so in the morning when the stores first open because going later in the day when the school day is over is very dangerous. Need I say more?

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6:22 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 10, 2008 re: "Trash talk fails to solve problems"

Examiner Reader said:
The trash problem and the dirty City has been around for years. All you get from the officials is words and no action. Get the trucks and sweepers out of downtown and back into the neighborhoods. Time to bring bank the cans on wheels with sweepers. 3-4 guys on a truck doing nothing. The they are to busy taking there trucks to the bank or markets on tax payer time.

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9:29 PM MST on Wed., Apr. 9, 2008 re: "Golden Radio Buffs may be near silence"

Examiner Reader said:
Both my children have listen to old radio shows on CD since they were old enough to listen. They are now in there early teens , they are still listening to these shows each night to fall asleeep to... These shows are now on there I-pods. These shows will live forever.

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7:22 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 9, 2008 re: "Perilous days for TV news"

Examiner Reader said:
When you let yourself become the left wing PR vehicle for any liberal cause or politician you lose credibility with the viewing public in spite of how easily the viewing public is persuaded. WE are stupid and lack critical thinking skills, just not that stupid. The print newsapapers are not far behind. Both venues spend their integrity on "making up" the news instead of reporting it.

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3:53 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Perilous days for TV news"

Examiner Reader said:
The viewers will not come back and they will not make another dime, because the TV news is hanging itself. Local is Legislative, but not foe the pubs, They cant see dems are pubs and pubs are dems on the local level. We are all just human regardless of class and race, we want safety, health, a roof and to eat good food.

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2:47 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Perilous days for TV news"

Examiner Reader said:
The problem with the local tv stations is that they tend to go beyond what they're suppose to be doing. As far as the national and international news, that is available any time of the day or night. What would be correct for the local tv stations to do is to do away, first of all, with weather reports every five minutes. The weather people are on more than the news anchors. The news anchors would do everyone a favor if they restrained themselves and concentrated strictly on local news such as the legislature, the Baltimore City and county councils in the state, all criminal activities, fires, etc., etc. In this day and age, we don't need a bunch of local telecasters giving us the world news, which we already know. We want hard core local news without getting a weather report every five minutes. Their viewers will come back if they do that.

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12:36 PM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Perilous days for TV news"

Examiner Reader said:
Well Mike, sounds like it's time for you to retire and start watching Fox!

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10:56 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Perilous days for TV news"

Examiner Reader said:
Consider the source of this piece, folks. Mike's a guy that doens't let the facts get in the way of his "stories".

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8:54 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Perilous days for TV news"

Examiner Reader said:
You cant be that naive, can you? It has been proven progressives such as yourself only tolerate other progressives and therefore you never hear an opinion different from your own. You crack me up Olesker, you were caught reporting falsehoods as fact for a paper that reports their "vision" of the news instead of simply letting the facts dictate the story. Local television news is just as biased as your old newspaper when it comes to their reporting, they can barely give the, who, what , when, where, and why accurately. Let alone offering the straight story. Now you bemoan the demise of newspapers and TV news. You and your ilk are the very reason for its demise. Try being professional when writing and leave you personal biases out of your articles. The public sees through you elitists in the media and has grown tired of the slanted reporting. We simply want the facts, and not the facts as filtered by agenda driven journalists.

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7:43 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Perilous days for TV news"

Examiner Reader said:
Do your job Olesker

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6:55 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Perilous days for TV news"

Examiner Reader said:
Olesker, is there any truth in this article, or are you still making things up and attributing them as facts to "prove" the angle you wish to push.

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6:39 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "McCain banks on Vietnam, but his future is bound to Iraq"

lrlmc said:
Once again Olesker you show how arrogant you are. You have the nerve to say at the end of your trash article exactly what McCain's pain SHOULD say. Once and for all Olesker SHUT UP. You were wrong at the other paper and you are wrong at this paper. You are part of the reason that I stopped reading the other paper, and I may well stop reading this one because you are such and arrogant ass. You build the man up in the first part of your rant so the reader actually believes that you have a micron of respect for those who fought for your right to rant in the first place. Then, just like the VC, you sneak in with the disrespectful and maddeneing assertion that you know better than the veterans themselves. You know what a former POW's pain should stand for ? Now you are not only smarter than everybody else, but you also have gained a "journalist's" version of ESP. Do yourself a favor and limit your opinions to Little Melvin the drug dealer and leave heroes like McCain and Dole alone.

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4:50 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 8, 2008 re: "Perilous days for TV news"

EXAMINER READER said:
Long live the 4th estate.

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10:36 AM MST on Mon., Apr. 7, 2008 re: "McCain banks on Vietnam, but his future is bound to Iraq"

Examiner Reader said:
how are the neocommie going to handle someone who acyually served in the military and is a so called hero,since they are all CHICKENHAWKS. what are they going to talk about, the war on drugs? and how to loose it,since it employees so many of them.

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2:57 PM MST on Thu., Apr. 3, 2008 re: "Golden Radio Buffs may be near silence"

Larry Harris said:
Bet nobody remembers The Lone Ranger had a nephew named Dan, whose horse was named Victor!

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6:33 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 3, 2008 re: "Marriott crew: �We�re not supposed to talk about them�"

Examiner Reader said:
On "Marriott Crew": Very brave of you to relay the mood of the hotel for its true feel. Though these people in the hotel seem oblivious to what has happened, I can promise you God is not. There is a difference between what a man has done and what God has done. This is not God's doing. The state needs to reform the abuse laws and legislation to protect its children. This man will be punished for what he has done, but there are others like him, and other children like these. And other families who are crying out for help like this mother.

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4:41 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 3, 2008 re: "Lamenting the fading signal of radio�s golden age"

Examiner Reader said:
Once again holy than thou Olesker shows himself as the terrible, ignorant, uninformed plagiarist everyone knows him to be with this idiotic lament over the downfall of Old Time Radio and the ascendency of the Talk Show. Old Time Radio can now be heard anytime anyone wants to listen to it on the internet, and is more accessible to more people who want to hear it than ever before.

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4:28 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 3, 2008 re: "Lamenting the fading signal of radio�s golden age"

Examiner Reader said:
The Golden Age of Radio died with the advent of Television when many of the most popular radio shows such as the Lone Ranger, Suspense, Jack Benny jumped to the new media and found even greater fame and popularity. But the Golden Age of Radio live on today and even greater than it has in the past 40 years. It lives on the internet where fans can access thousands of radio shows that they could never hear before at such websites as the Internet Archive where such famed radio programs as Suspense, Nero Wolf and Richard Diamond live on forever.

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5:04 PM MST on Wed., Apr. 2, 2008 re: "Marriott crew: �We�re not supposed to talk about them�"

Examiner Reader said:
Marriott Crew piece: Pretty horrible piece... not needed in th