Thanks. Good stuff. But... @ about :29 ... "¿Se quebró... se quebró el vidrio?" [ "Did it break... did the glass break??" ]
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>McLennan Co Commissioner Ben Perry: list of unaccounted has not yet been cross-checked with those who are hospitalized.... Contd</p>— Kirsten Crow (@kirstencrow) <a href="https://twitter.com/kirstencrow/status/325301202768244736">April 19, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Worst part of that video was seeing the first responders trucks get engulfed by the blast and knowing that they were on the ground trying to prevent this. Very sad.
Texas fertilizer company didn't heed disclosure rules before blast The fertilizer plant that exploded on Wednesday, obliterating part of a small Texas town and killing at least 14 people, had last year been storing 1,350 times the amount of ammonium nitrate that would normally trigger safety oversight by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Yet a person familiar with DHS operations said the company that owns the plant, West Fertilizer, did not tell the agency about the potentially explosive fertilizer as it is required to do, leaving one of the principal regulators of ammonium nitrate - which can also be used in bomb making - unaware of any danger there. Fertilizer plants and depots must report to the DHS when they hold 400 lb (180 kg) or more of the substance. Filings this year with the Texas Department of State Health Services, which weren't shared with DHS, show the plant had 270 tons of it on hand last year. A U.S. congressman and several safety experts called into question on Friday whether incomplete disclosure or regulatory gridlock may have contributed to the disaster. "It seems this manufacturer was willfully off the grid," Rep. Bennie Thompson, (D-MS), ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said in a statement. "This facility was known to have chemicals well above the threshold amount to be regulated under the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Act (CFATS), yet we understand that DHS did not even know the plant existed until it blew up." link
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KhAydMLv6AA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> That explosion looks just like a Russian FOAB bomb detonating.
President in Texas this week, not scheduled to visit West. Obama Still Not Scheduled to Visit West, Texas by KEITH KOFFLER on APRIL 22, 2013, 8:34 AM President Obama is still not scheduled to visit the devastated community of West, Texas, where an explosion at a fertilizer plant five days ago killed 14 – including 11 emergency responders – and wounded approximately 200 people. Up to 75 homes were damaged, as well as an apartment complex that was decimated. Obama so far has sent prayers and money to the town, but not himself. According to Bridget Johnson at PJ Media, Texas senator Ted Cruz said it is “doubtful” that Obama will visit the town. He will have ample opportunity. The president, along with First Lady Michelle Obama, will be in Texas two days this week, heading to Dallas Wednesday for a Democratic National Committee fundraiser and then remaining in the city overnight. On Thursday, he is scheduled to attend the dedication ceremony for the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas. But he may be on a tight schedule as he is supposed to attend the Planned Parenthood Gala in Washington Thursday evening. http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2013/04/22/obama-scheduled-visit-west-texas/
^ Quick! Build a Planned Parenthood Ballroom in West to host the gala! EDIT: My apologies. I should have posted that in the D&D thread about this.
basso, http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/state&id=9074641 President Obama, first lady to visit West, Texas, after fertilizer plant blast Updated at 12:00 PM today GOOD.
West explosion investigation: Over 70 agents searching for cause By KIRSTEN CROW kcrow@wacotrib.com | Posted: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 3:01 pm Scores of state and federal investigators continue to search for clues to what led to a massive explosion at a West fertilizer plant, killing 15 — including a 96-year-old man who died in the hours following the blast — injuring about 200 and leaving a 93-foot-wide, 10-foot-deep crater in its wake, officials said Tuesday afternoon. “This is much like an archeological dig we are going through, as we go through this fire scene,” said Kelly Kistner, assistant state fire marshal. “There are over 70 agents, state and federal, that are on the ground out there ... going through this blast scene.” Authorities are trying to identify the heat source that started the fire, and what material first ignited. Once determined, investigators will be able to classify the blaze as accidental or incendiary — or, if never found, undetermined. Officials have ruled out a natural cause to the fire, such as a lightning strike, Kistner said. Using blast patterns and evidence analysis, investigators have also determined that a railcar filled with ammonium nitrate “is not the cause of the fire or the cause of the explosion,” Kistner said. “It is a victim of the explosion,” he said. On Monday alone, investigators interviewed as many as 70 people, Kistner added. Authorities are still inventorying the materials that were at the plant at the time of the explosion and the materials that remain there now. The amounts at the site do not pose a hazard, Kistner said. “Most of those have been mitigated, but we do have other agencies that are right there that are monitoring those situations for us,” said Robert Champion, special agent in charge from the Dallas division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Both the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the ATF are investigating the fire and explosion. Authorities have also called in fire protection engineers. West Mayor Pro Tem Steve Vanek said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon that all houses and buildings in the area of the blast have been cleared and officials do not expect to find any more bodies of people killed by the explosion. http://m.wacotrib.com/mobile/west-e...cle_afab6b58-c265-505f-be9f-594fad7d2089.html
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>The Gene and Jerry Jones Charity gives $100,000 to the Salvation Army to help with relief in West, Tx <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23cowboysnation">#cowboysnation</a> <a href="http://t.co/AERrVGdEry" title="http://bit.ly/11lgL7E">bit.ly/11lgL7E</a></p>— CowboysTalkLine (@CowboysTalkLine) <a href="https://twitter.com/CowboysTalkLine/status/327169050176274433">April 24, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
declared a criminal act. nuts http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...osion-was-criminal-act-feds-n572231?cid=sm_fb
So, they ruled everything else out...so it must be criminal? Doesn't sound very convincing to me. Maybe they ruled out something else that actually happened by mistake? How can they be so sure?
Sounds like we'll never know what happened. If it was criminal, no way they're going to catch anyone now.
