Fire In San Diego

Fox News | 02/21/03 | nicholle

[nicholle]

Fire in San Deigo Oil plant (or refinery) recycling plant [AM edit] per Fox news ... breaking.

[Beck_isright]

"Why do you think it's called "Dope?"

Because "marijuana" has more than 4 letters and is way too much to ask for the average high school or college grad in many states to try and spell.

[OldFriend]

Tele tubbies definitely al quaeda operatives.

[cgbg]

conspiracy nonsense has gotten out of hand

This probably did not happen today, but try to imagine the following scenario:

Terrorist Group X wants to blackmail the US government (privately, not publicly).

They say if you do not do what we say we will give you an example of what we can do. Then events like today happen.

They are "random" geographically, by type of target, by casualty and other impacts. They are a "sample" of what could happen.

This would not be "terrorism" in the sense that its purpose was to terrorize civilian populations. It would just be a threat, a posture in negotiation, or some might call it blackmail.

It would be difficult for the local auhtorities to "connect the dots" and see the big picture, so the events would always be considered "random" by the public. The feds wuld have no incentive to share.

See. Isn't conspiracy theory fun? ;-)

[Slip18]

"B.T.W. I hope you don't mind if I plagerize your latest list and insert it into some future thread... do ya?"

If I had not been taking clothes out of the laundry, I would have been first to ask dirtboy that very question.

[DoughtyOne]

This is probably as good a place to say this as any, so here goes. Some of us look for exits when we enter a club. There are other things we should consider as well. No ladies, I don't mean spotting the nearest restroom. LOL

About fifteen years ago, a walkway collapsed at a Kansas City night club. Many people were hurt. Obviosly the construction was suspect, but then I believe people had been congregating on the walkway, observing festivities below. What had been intended as a causeway between two points turned out to be a temporary observation deck, with far more people congregating there than was normal. The excess weight was too much and the thing collapsed.

When people are out, they need to "think" about what is taking place in their direct vacinity. If things look the least bit suspect to you, they probably are. Move on.

I've been in night clubs that were so crowded you couldn't even dance. It was shoulder to shoulder. It was incredibly hot just from body heat. I became uncomfortable and left. If a fire had started in those places hundreds could have died.

One night's pleasure isn't worth the risk. Bow out and live to play another day. Local officials will never be able to do for you what you can, that's assess the situation on the spot and take adequate precautions for your own safety.

Don't limit that to fire. Think about platforms and other structures before you get on them. Are they stationary or temporary. Can they hold the weight? Have the attendees taken a turn for the worse? Some crowds look pretty tame around 10 p.m., then morph around 12:30 a.m. If the group looks less than what you think is advisable to be a part of, leave. Don't leave your drinks unattended, then return to finish them off, unless you have friends watching them. In a dance club this is easy to do. Don't. You never know what idiot might want to get his kicks by spiking your drinks, then watching your reaction.

My wife and I attended a well known comedy club on the strip in Hollywood a few years back. We arrived early and took a seat in the front (always a mistake in comedy clubs). The first five or so performers were hilarious. It was one of the best comedy club experiences we'd had until about midnight. Then a guy came on who fixated on some blond from the valley. This lady had done nothing other than look attractive. The performer became abusive. It wasn't you normal pick on the patron type of thing, as racial overtones entered into the equasion at one point. And that wasn't the worst of it.

We thought the guy would be gone in a few minutes, so we didn't leave. Well, the next guy was even worse. He fixated on whites. When the white couples got up to leave this guy put his racism in overdrive. Sitting in the front we didn't notice that all the whites had left but us, by the time we exited. And when we turned around, the group of blacks in the club were boisterous and appeared somewhat menacing. We were a little concerned as we exited the club. Needless to say this experince taught us a lesson or six.

When you're out, you need to be very aware of our surroundings. If you don't sooner or later it's likely to cost you.

This applies to clubs, restaurants, the super market and other places. Be aware of your surroundings, especially the people who may have taken notice of you. There are a lot of great people out there. Sadly, not all of them are.

Just use common sense. Don't put your brain on cruise control when you're in a public setting.

[Kathy50]

My husband is a tug boat operator here on the west coast for a large oil refinery and I can tell you, they are nervous. My husband and his crew when on duty are standing watch around the oil tankers 24/7 - They are looking out for small crafts etc.

[dirtboy]

May I quote you on that? LOL!

By all means, use it all you want.

[dirtboy]

Thanks - that's the kind of research we need to get a better picture on this stuff.

[OldFriend]

May your husband and his barge operators be safe!

[Slip18]

I have another suggestion, D-1, since you're on the subject.

While in a hotel, count the rooms next to you to the exits. In case of fire and smoke, you just count the doors with your hands while crawling on the ground to the exit. You may not be able to see it.

Cyber and I do this every single time we visit a hotel.

[DoughtyOne]

Let's say the owner did give permission. That doesn't exhonerate the band crew. The band crew is screwed. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they evaporated into hiding. The band can't pass off it's responsibility here. I have no problem going after the owner of the club, but I want to make sure the band isn't trying to pass the buck. As for the club owner, he can't pass the buck either. It is his responsibility to make sure the band doesn't do something to jeopardize public safety. So the band member's comments are self-serving at best. He should know both his a-- and the owner's are already grass!

[JustPiper]

Plus its been said here before, like you never see your 'car' out on the road, until you by the very same one.
Then you notice they are all over the place.

[Slip18]

I've already copied it and put it in my "special" file. Thanks, dirtboy.

[DoughtyOne]

Excellent advise.

[JustPiper]

Those wascally terrorists are burning out trash now

Can you imagine the stench though? SD is my favorite city in the U.S. Maybe a mobhit hey?

[jmc813]

That was kinda distasteful considering a member of the band is probably dead :-(

[SamAdams76]

For now, I consider this entire string of unfortunate events to be random and not related to any kind of general terrorist threat, but one more such event and I'll begin to wonder.

[Fundamentally Fair]

There were 126,000 non-residential fires in 2000. That’s 345 per day. These all may be connected, but multiple fires in one day are not rare.

[JustPiper]

Excellent advice Doughty. My daughter attends many concerts and even believes the outdoor ones are more safe. I'm going to one with her next week and I just drilled her hours before the one in RI. I asked do you 'ever' pay attention where the exit signs are? Do you know if they are blocked. All my exits at work are locked after 5pm but one and being in Chicago , well Daley's folx are connected and being nothing was done after all the attempts, I moved on to another store.