Mitt Romney’s famous last words as a Republican presidential candidate…
“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.”
Here is another video feature by Time Magazine covering a family of four sons and their father who are all firefighters. Watch their emotional stories about 9/11, where one son fell victim to this tragedy.
I am unable to embed this video, so you may view it via this link.
As always, Time puts out some incredible work, photography, and film. In putting aside all the controversy which has arisen over the past decade… what truly matters are the victims of this tragedy. Here are four very power recounts of the events which occurred ten years ago by four survivors of this catastrophic event.
I am unable to embed this piece, so please click on this link to view. The rest of this site is well worth viewing, as well. Time photography is always superb.
Seven Indian officials responsible for the worst technological disaster in history, had been released on bail after a court refused to give them stronger punishments. They were found guilty of a huge gas leak in 1984 at a U.S. owned plant (Union Carbide India Ltd), which resulted in the deaths of up to 20 thousand people. They never did any jail time, and were only fined $2,000.
Following a public outcry, the Central Bureau of Investigation filed the curative petitions for a direction to frame charges against Mr. Mahindra and others for culpable homicide not amounting to murder that would attract a maximum imprisonment of 10 years. The court just now rejected these petitions stating that it is too far past the time of the event.
The Gas Leak….
During the night of December 2-3, 1984, a storage tank containing methyl isocyanate (MIC) at the Union Carbide pesticide plant leaked gas into the densely populated city of Bhopal, India. It was one of the worst industrial accidents in history.
Union Carbide India, Ltd. built a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India in the late 1970s in an effort to produce pesticides locally to help increase production on local farms. However, sales of pesticide didn’t materialize in the numbers hoped for and the plant was soon losing money. In 1979, the factory began to produce large amounts of the highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC), because it was a cheaper way to make the pesticide carbaryl. To also cut costs, training and maintenance in the factory were drastically cut back. Workers in the factory complained about the dangerous conditions and warned of possible disasters, but management did not take any action.
On the night of December 2-3, 1984, something began to go wrong in storage tank E610 which contained 40 tons of MIC. Water leaked into the tank which caused the MIC to heat up. Some sources say that water leaked into the tank during routine cleaning of a pipe but that the safety valves inside the pipe were faulty. The Union Carbide company claims that a saboteur placed the water inside the tank, although there has never been proof of this. It is also considered possible that once the tank began to overheat, workers threw water on the tank, not realizing they were adding to the problem
By 12:15 a.m. on the morning of December 3, 1984, MIC fumes were leaking out of the storage tank. Although there should have been six safety features that would have either prevented the leak or contained it, all six did not work properly that night. It is estimated that 27 tons of MIC gas escaped out of the container and spread across the densely populated city of Bhopal, India, which had a population of approximately 900,000 people. Although a warning siren was turned on, it was quickly turned off again so as to not cause panic.
Most residents of Bhopal were sleeping when the gas began to leak. Many woke up only because they heard their children coughing or found themselves choking on the fumes. As people jumped up from their beds, they felt their eyes and throat burning. Some choked on their own bile. Others fell to the ground in contortions of pain.
People ran and ran, but they did not know in which direction to go.
Families were split up in the confusion.
Many people fell to the ground unconscious and were then trampled upon.
Estimates of the death toll vary greatly. Most sources say at least 3,000 people died from immediate exposure to the gas, while higher estimates go up to 8,000. In the two decades following the night of the disaster, approximately 20,000 additional people have died from the damage they received from the gas.
Another 120,000 people live daily with the effects from the gas, including blindness, extreme shortness of breath, cancers, birth deformities, and early onset of menopause. Chemicals from the pesticide plant and from the leak have infiltrated the water system and the soil near the old factory and thus continue to cause poisoning in the people who live near it.
Just three days after the disaster, the chairman of Union Carbide, Warren Anderson, was arrested. When he was released on bail, he fled the country. Although his whereabouts were unknown for many years, recently he was found living in the Hamptons in New York. Extradition procedures have not started because of political issues. Anderson continues to be wanted in India for culpable homicide for his role in the Bhopal disaster.
One of the worst parts of this tragedy is actually what has happened in the years following that fateful night in 1984. Although Union Carbide has paid some restitution to the victims, the company claims they are not liable for any damages because they blame a saboteur for the disaster and claim that the factory was in good working order before the gas leak. The victims of the Bhopal gas leak have received very little money. Many of the victims continue to live in ill health and are unable to work.
Holding signs and chanting “We love sluts!” approximately 2,000 protesters marched Saturday in Boston, as the city officially become the latest to join an international series of protests against sexism and rape, known as “SlutWalks.” (May 7)
“We got Bin Laden but at what cost and who’s next. Can the president send the Navy Seals to kill the likes of Qaddafi, Hugo Chavez, Kim Jong Il…” quoted from FOX Business “Who Will the President Kill Next?”
Seriously… is FOX really comparing what Bin Laden has done to this country, on US soil, to the likes of Gaddafi? Chavez? Kim Jong Il? Mind you, they are all far from being saints, but relative to what each has done directly to the US, there is no comparison.
Yes, there are several conspiracy theories which point the destruction of the Twin Towers at other parties other than Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. However, for the sake of this blog post, let’s go with the predominant theory that the Twin Towers were the victims of a terrorism attack by OBL and his groupies from Al-Qaeda in order to make a point here.
Since 9/11/2001, Bush, the FBI, the government, and especially the families of those who perished on that most devastating day have been hunting for OBL. On May 1st, 2011, they all finally got what they wanted. At first, praises were sung for President Obama, but now the likes of FOX News and their lack-of-common-sense cohorts are now criticizing Obama for sending in the Seals and killing OBL.
WTF….
I mean, SERIOUSLY! Did this man not kill nearly 3,000 innocent people? And on American soil! Brought down three buildings – two of which were architectural phenomenons. And these fools want to berate the shooting of an unarmed mass murderer of thousands of innocent people? The pain that these families of the 911 victims must now be going through by listening to this crap. I can only imagine that the majority of them would have loved to have been the Navy Seal that took down Osama.
And now, FOX Business is comparing OBL to the infamous deeds of Gaddafi… Chavez… Kim Jong Il…. That’s comparing apples to oranges. Or Trump to Lincoln. Or the Happy Hooker to Mother Theresa… I think you get my point.
If FOX, Glenn Beck, and their other idiotic whiners and criers did not like the way this all went down… then why didn’t they do it themselves…..
Please, for the sake of the families of 911… muster up a small amout of respect and put a lid on it.
