In the previous post, we looked at photos originally thought to depict possible suspects in the Boston bombing case. Most of them have been cleared.However, the FBI has released further photographs which may prove relevant. So far, the feds have not given any sort of detailed explanation as to why these two guys have aroused their particular interest.
Although I hate thinking this way, I can't help noting that these too characters don't seem identifiably Middle Eastern. Thank god for that. I'd rather deal with domestic crazies than with foreign crazies, because foreign crazies might be sponsored by a foreign government, and this country is sick of war.
On the blast in Texas: Jim White, writing in the Emptywheel blog, makes a remarkably good catch: The victims were, in a sense, murdered by Libertarianism. Or as he puts it: "John Galt kills Texans."
Google Maps satellite view of West Fertilizer and its proximity to West Middle School, along with many houses and apartments.Oh yeah? Well, you know who else thought the gummint had a right to tell honest entrepreneurs where they could and could not build fertilizer plants? Hitler.
Who needs pesky safety regulations or zoning laws when there is money to made running a fertilizer plant? Sadly, the small Texas town of West, which is just north of Waco, is suffering the consequences of unregulated free enterprise today, as a massive explosion at West Fertilizer has leveled much of the town. Perhaps the only remotely fortunate aspect of this tragedy is that it occurred at 8 pm local time and so West Middle School, which burned after the explosion, was not full of children.
A look at the satellite image above shows the folly of putting “free enterprise” ahead of sensible zoning laws. At almost 20 miles north of Waco, Texas, one thing that is in abundance in the region is open space (I’ve driven past this spot several times in the last two or three years–it’s desolate), and yet this fertilizer plant is immediately adjacent to a large apartment building (see the photo at the top of this article for how that building fared in the explosion) and very close to a middle school. There is no reason at all for any other building to be within two or three miles of a facility that produces material that is so explosive.
11 comments:
Do you know whether the apartment building and the middle school actually predate the construction of the plant?
I'm not sure whether the location of the plant alone is enough to substantiate your conclusion, but the lax safety practices there certainly do (as well as the lenient regulators who let them skate with only a slap on the wrist).
Joseph,
According to:
http://www.manta.com/c/mmcfc1w/west-fertilizer-co
The West Fertilizer Company has been in business for 55 years, presumably all at the same location.
The nursing home, West Rest Haven, Inc, was first certified in 1986, according to:
http://www.thirdage.com/d/nh/h-35513/west-rest-haven-inc-west-tx
In other words, it was built 28 years *after* the fertilizer plant.
I haven't found construction dates for the Middle School or for the High School yet, but from their photographs on the school district web page (http://westisd.net/), they both appear to be pretty recent construction.
The question isn't "why was a fertilizer plant built near a school and a nursing home?" but rather "why were a school and a nursing home built next to a fertilizer plant?"
Actually, the real questions are "why weren't safety standards enforced at the plant, why weren't local emergency personnel familiarized with the hazards at the plant, and why wasn't there an adequate emergency plan?" All of these certainly point the finger at lack of regulation much better than the "any stick to beat a dog" zoning argument.
Prop: You know who else said that the gummint has the right to tell entrepreneurs where they can and cannot build nursing homes? Hitler.
The Detroit News is saying that 1 is confirmed dead... so chalk up 1 dead to libertarianism, and millions dead to fascism, communism, progressivism, and other leftist political systems. How does that scorecard look now?
More lives have been ruined by libertarianism than by any other system, if by "libertarianism" we mean "unbridled greed" -- which is, I think, a good short definition.
And oh my god -- you're not one of those revisionist assholes who considers "fascism" a phenomenon of the left, are you? I've dealt with that canard endlessly. Your sick fantasy goes against every book on fascism and Nazism I've ever read -- and believe me, I've read more than you ever will.
Just look back, for example, at the native fascist movements in the US during the 1930s. Are you saying the Bund was a leftist organization? Henry Ford, who funded Hitler -- was HE a lefty? Father Coughlin? Robert McKormick? The guys who plotted to overthrow FDR? William Dudley Pelley? General Moseley? All of those guys mentioned in the books of John Roy Carlson? You really think that they were on the LEFT? Gee, if that's the case, then why didn't Carlson (who infiltrated fascist groups throughout that period) say anything about that?
I'm sure you can come up with some abstruse rationale to justify your nonsensical claim. Nuts like you never admit when you're wrong.
Sorta like John galt killing all of those babies and women in the abortion clinic trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell.
You know all of those inspections.
Joseph:
I just like to hold the "reality-based community" to its own standards, that's all.
Conservative Teacher: if ignorance is bliss, you must be in a state of constant orgasm.
That being said, your screen name may be accurate as your IQ appears to be higher than most conservatives given the fact that you actually have the ability to conceive and then type polysyllabic words.
Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, as far as making a cogent and truthful fact based argument, the result is gibberish.
All Tyrants are, and always have been, Right Wing Authoritarians enabled by their fearful weak-kneed strong-man loving fake "Conservative" followers pining away for someone to protect them, to tell them what to do, what to think, and who to hate.
You, and your ilk are the weak, and the bane of this world.
That god there was a terrorist action coinciding with this disaster to refocus peoples attention away from this avoidable disaster.
Otherwise the petrochemical industry might have to make sure things were safe.
Harry
Libertarians are gonna kill ya, I say. Just look at all the bombs that have destroyed countries and thousands/millions of people all over the world in the last 50 years. Those wonderful bombs came from the lovely USA and we know the USA is controlled by Libertarians. Bush, yeah, a Libertarian. Clinton, yeah, a Libertarian. Obama, yeah, a Libertarian.
Joseph, please get your brain in working order, it seems to be skipping over and over on the Libertarian track. It use to be funny, now it's just dumb.
Kitty
The plant hasn't been inspected by OSHA since 1985. OSHA operations are seriously understaffed- aka underfunded. The way it works is if there is a complaint filed they will then go ahead and inspect. EPA has inspected it and found violations back in 2006. Many states have their own inspections, but Texas is too damn cheap (no tax dollars to fund) to have any of their own inspections.
kc
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