You know any post that starts out . . .
Gerardo Castillo, 30 years old, had worked at the Blommer Chocolate Co. for 9 years. His family wanted him to quite ever since an explosion in a roaster killed a fellow worker and injured another. He was fearful himself, but he stayed on . . .
is going to end badly. You'd be right. Continuing with our post . . .
But on the weekend, something terrible happened at Blommer's four story factory on Chicago's Near West Side, after an unnamed substance was added to a batch of chocolate resulting in a chemical reaction that produced ammonia or an ammonia-like substance. Two co-workers were hospitalized. Ammonia and ammonia-like chemicals are extremely irritating to the respiratory tract. They can cause laryngospasm, a condition where the larynx involuntarily locks up to prevent the irritant from gaining access to the lungs. It is like being chemically garroted. The worker can't breathe. If the ammonia gets into the lungs it can cause severe inflammation and an outpouring of fluid from the blood into the lung sacs where gas exchange must take place to maintain loife. The worker drowns in his own body fluids. That is likely what happened to Gerardo Castillo last weekend.
Two days later (yesterday) a fire department hazmat team was called back to the factory to deal with a fire there. In 2005 a neighbor complained about the smell from the factory and an EPA inspection revealed a violation of the limits on the thickness of dust produced by the factory's grinder. But the EPA is not a workplace safety agency.
This was the second fatal accident at this factory in seven years. You'd think the first might have drawn the interest of OSHA. You'd be wrong. The Bush administration OSHA is out of the business of being interested in workplace safety:
OSHA last inspected the facility in 1994, said federal compliance officer Tricia Railton, who was reading from a report. Those safety investigations had to do with workers who were cleaning a piece of equipment that either had not been disconnected or was not marked as being potentially dangerous to the cleaners if turned on. It was not immediately clear if an injury prompted that inspection, Railton said. (Chicago Tribune)
Not only had the Bush administration OSHA not inspected a company with a fatal accident, but it was a company with a prior record of workplace safety violation.
So, yes, this post ends badly:
Castillo left two children, with the youngest, Daniele, 3, still not told as of Monday afternoon that her father had died, [his brother-in-law Miguel] Reyna said. (Chicago Tribune)
OSHA finally sent inspectors to Brommer Chocolate. The day after Gerardo Castillo died.
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Kind of like how the "food protection plan" the FDA came up with last fall wasn't budgeted for (to the tune of $275 million) until Monday, well after all those tomatoes started making people ill.
I used to work night-shifts in a freezer plant with an ammonia leak - there were certain areas of the plant where you had to hold your breath. The advice from the boss was, basically, "don't stay in there too long."
The hardest nights work we ever did was the night before the Health & Safety Inspectorate were due round. We didn't do any production at all that night...
Well Revere lets start with the last name. Was he a legal or illegal? Doesnt matter though, a man is dead and its collateral that his family lost their bread winner. But for inspections its like voting, you go to where the plums and cherries are to do your picking or in this case...inspecting.
That might have been the case here for the accident. Maybe they were satisfied that there were no problems from the previous ones. Besides that was an OSHA violation and not an EPA. The other problem is that Illinois OSHA might have dropped the ball on their inspections. But would it have changed anything if they had inspected? They are inspecting what? How many of them actually understand what you are doing in a workplace and that they are inspecting it for some parameter being out of line.
You seem to be insinuating that it would. How so? If they hadnt been inspected since 1994 til 2000 as you say it might have been that they were considered to be in compliance and each OSHA office makes its own determinations as a regulatory agency when to inspect. With all due respect there are probably 100,000 businesses there in the north of Illinois. That last inspection was during Clintons watch prior to the first death...six plus years Then they failed to inspect for another 8 after the first one? C'mon its typical governmental bullshit and incompetence across the board. Bush has nothing to do with it.
Its like you are saying that GWB is out there again fucking the little guy. I wasnt aware that GWB was responsible for every on the job work place related accident, incident or death. Everything regulatory with you is Bush? Incompetence on the parts of governmental workers that its impossible to fire? Has to be Bush. I simply cannot fathom how you can find fault with everything in government that is happening to be GWB. Who is next?
I work around propellers, jet intakes, power carts, fuels and we get inspected quarterly. Find a cigarette butt near a tuel truck or fuel area and its an automatic 1000.00 bucks. Hearing protection? Warning first then 1000 for an observed non compliance. And again with all due respect Revere there are a lot of marginal operations out there that to comply would not be there... over regulated means they arent there, under means someone dies. Its a balancing act. So for not having a work related incident/accident/death in 7 plus years I would say they were doing pretty good on either Clintons or Bush's watches. I havent had any thank God because I never let them slack off or do stupid stuff. But we lose an average in the industry for ground related accidents some 600. Permanent type of stuff, dead or otherwise. Sometimes dead is better after one of my industry accidents.
Do watch the video, it has some key information. Things like voluntary evacuations, movement to safe areas, and no fire. To be fair.
http://video.nbc5.com/player/?id=261692
Hi M. Randolph Kruger... I assume you're fresh from Germany, since your last name isn't Smith or Johnson. Honestly, with a Kraut like you in the wings, I wouldn't bother trying to inspect your plant but I guess you're lucky. I'm guessing there are a lot of fair-haired white people at your job since you get inspected so frequently. Gotta keep the obvious voters safe.
Bigotry is AWESOME!
We have had to put up with alot of misanthropic bloodlust from MRK but this bigotry and stupidity above is too much.
OSHA is underfunded by design. This started way back in Reagan's presidency. The most serious problem started back then with the important shift in focus away from protecting the worker to helping the employer inform the worker how to protect themselves.
I don't believe there is anything like "typical" incompetence in anything. I do believe there is lack of vision and compassion in government and business and you get what you pay for.
Oh boys....The chocolate factory has been cited for illegals four times. So there is no bigotry or racism involved. Facts are what they are. I am also singularly well informed on many issues and when you dont see me comment on the liberal view I either agree with it, or I dont know anything about it.
And no Brian I am equal opportunity asshole, I treat everyone the same...and that is like shit. I have two Jews, three blacks, one guy who is a chi-mex with dyed blonde hair, one lesbian whose ex-girlfriend wont leave her alone (she has a child too), and a lot of Catholics and WASP's. I pay them more than anyone else on the airport and I cover their insurance too 100%. So if that makes me a bigot then okay, I'll wear it if it makes you feel better.
FloorSqueeze-very likely you are not an employer so you wouldnt understand. You are one of these people that thijnks the US can only do wrong, be it the environment, or OSHA or the oil companies. Waiting for your next government handout or is it that you feel that you can pay more taxes and get less because thats what it really comes down to? What would YOU do if they outsourced your job or gave it to an illegal? Raise hell about illegals I am sure. You must be a bigot if you bring it up. Not that you could have a legitimate beef with what is going on. Shit no. The guy is a racist.
Here is a nice link to those people you think that I am bigoted against. Nope, just another enemy to deal with as far as I am concerned. Not their race, just their ideals and current plan of action which they have posted. There is no diversity in war. There are two sides and thats it.
http://www.indonesiamatters.com/1662/siti-fadilah-supari/
They want to establish a worldwide Muslim faith system with the idea being to overrun the world. But thats okay, I laugh everytime I see one of these usual bigot statements. You guys never try to find out anything but you do try to throw the paint on the wall and see if it will brush in.
As to the post I stick by what I posted. I would decimate any and all of the enemies of this country as stated, both foreign and domestic. You guys never were in the real world else you would understand and that is these so called peaceful people are trying to kill us. They are setting up shop in Indonesia for starts and with none other than Siti Supari is at the head of the street. What a good wholesome woman. But we are just supposed to sit back and decide that the Saracens and the liberals are right and that every goddamn thing that America under GWB is wrong. Sorry but thats a crock of crap. I personally think that the problems with the libs is that they want no accountability if anything goes wrong. Even GWB said this week that he has made some mistakes and that goes to being human and that is accountability. We have Kucinich trying to impeach the president for something that they all signed on for with minor exceptions. Did the CIA set the President up for the fall after there were no weapons found? There is something to delve into with those government employees. Super lib Obama is just going to make things worse if he is elected. There will be no accountability and he will try to vilify the right at all turns when things dont go the way they are planned. As CIC he is a kid and hiring a ex-military guy as VP isnt going to get this one through. Tony McPeak is not the person I would chose even though the guy is smart and I was under his indirect command for almost three years. But he does get it.
Oh and this IS a rant because I really get tired of being called a racist and bigot when the facts are that I dont see Americans of African descent trying to blow things up, or the legal Americans of Mexican descent taking jobs that belong to Americans because it belongs to them anyway. GWB is a total fuck up when it comes to the border and I think that its going to cost us the farm in the long run. Bigot? Shit, let me give you another one. Anti-personnel mines on the S. border. because it is an act of war under the UN Charter to do damage to another countries economy knowing and wilfully. Guess you never got to see the manual the Mex govt put out on how to cross the borders illegally?
But thats just me boys. I would happily suit up and go out and kill the guys who would screw with your lifestyles, jobs, homes and families. All in a days bigotry.
Some of us know better of you MRK, don't let the above get you riled up.
Yeeeeeehaaaaa Rand - I mean Rambo.
Let me weigh in on the subject of MRK. I will admit, Randy, you pose a dilemma for me. You do often say things that are so outrageous that I have been tempted to pull them. I am pretty lenient but I have limits and when it comes to genocide or the wanton killing of innocent people I don't allow it. You get pretty close at times. On many sites this would be considered prima facie troll like behavior.
On the other hand, you have been around here a long time, pretty much behave yourself, and paradoxically can be an extremely generous, often kind hearted person. You have strong convictions and aren't afraid to set them out, which I don't mind a bit, in principle. I usually just let it go and depend on others to take up the cudgels, which is usually what happens without any intervention from me. I think that on balance the result has been positive in that many of the things you say get discussed and argued about, even if you don't ever seem to be affected by the arguments.
So here's what I'd say to both sides of this. I don't think Randy is a troll in the strict sense, although he does stir things up and does divert the conversation. But he's one of the family around here after all these years. To Randy I'd just note that if you say a lot of the things you habitually say in the way that you say them you have to expect people to react to them in various ways, many of them, IMO, appropriate reactions. You've shown you can take it. In fact I'd say you have shown yourself to be oblivious most of the time. So for both sides, just adjust your expectations of the other and it will all work out fine.
Meanwhile I'll probably keep to my usual hands off policy. I know it aggravates a lot of people but that's what I'm like.
Thank you, thank you. I'll be here until the Rapture. God bless Revere for allowing open and committed discussions. Even in Oz its politically correct. I see those guys got off for trying to penetrate the security area Victoria. I would have just shot them. Next time out there would be no question. I wonder if Rabin would have given me a pass? I mean getting shot at a peace rally is like fucking for chastity right?
He is. He's been doing it for 7-1/2 years now. Now, will he please take 30 seconds out of his busy schedule to fuck an intern (I doubt it will take any longer than that - meeeee-YOWWWW!) so we can impeach his sorry ass? (Sorry, couldn't resist =grin=)
Granted, G-Dub-the-Shrub isn't personally responsible for any single injury or fatality. But his "pro-business" policy (= shameless pandering to the financial interests of large corporations = "feed the greedy and to hell with the needy"), aided and abetted by Congress's rubberstamping of his budget proposals (especially by the Republican-dominated Congress during his first term), has led to across-the-board funding cuts to safety and other regulatory agencies.
The result of those cuts is to make those agencies a big joke - one that isn't a bit funny. The idea is for industries to police themselves - another huge, unfunny joke.
Don't believe it? Read the history of the robber-baron capitalism of the 1800s, or Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. (A case can be made for Sinclair's sickening descriptions of the meat-packing industry being single-handedly responsible for the birth of the FDA, as Rachel Carson's Silent Spring is often said to have given birth to environmental awareness and the beginnings of pollution regulations).
This past Sunday, 60 Minutes ran a segment on grain-elevator explosions. The laws regulating the buildup of grain dust in those facilities are so ridiculous as to be essentially nonexistent, and there are so few inspectors that much of the time, all they can do is a cursory walk-through. ("OK, the place looks clean from the outside; here's your license renewal.")
The result has been an increase in such explosions in the years since The Newt and his right-wing cronies set up the Contract on America in 1994 and got down to finishing what Ronnie Raygun started in 1980.
End of rant. Obama for President.
Randy, you know that I am a big fan, I love reading everything you have to say, however as much as I don't want to, I will now that have to take issue with you about the Sydney incident. I kid you not, if the Chasers had gone to jail there would have been an uproar, the Australian public would not have accepted it. There was never any threat to Bush, it was a joke. Everyone took it as a joke. The fact that a bunch of comedians walked through three barricades is a scream. Come spend some time in OZ and then you will understand. I do however, think that The Chasers could not have done the same thing anywhere else in the world.
My two cents: My father was a construction super way back when (70's-80's). He would give workers orders to wear protective gear and supplied them with gear, which many workers would ignore because they were uncomfortable or interfered with the bit of work in front of them. (We're talking hard hats, ear, air filters). When OSHA came around, the parent company was fined for employee infractions. Please tell me why? If grown men, union members, choose to risk their lives because wearing a hardhat is too inconvenient, why should their employer pay the price? Maybe things have changed and employees are fined as well. If that's the case, never mind.
My problem with OHSA is the adherence to the letter of the law, the appearance that they are "doing something" by issuing fines for minor violations and most likely sweeping major problems under the rug because of politics.
tony: My problem with OSHA is that they don't do what they are supposed to do: work hard to prevent workers from being maimed and killed on the job. Too often, as you observe, they have hidden behind a narrow vision of their task. Citing employers for not having split toilet seats is a ploy to alienate employers and the public and trivialize the mission. Dangerous workplaces are commonplace as are injured and killed workers. This is a national disgrace. Employers have control over both the workplace and the worker. They can encourage and enable workers to take precautions but they can't do everything. It is human nature to cut corners and the safety equipment is often uncomfortable, badly designed and sometimes ineffective. That needs to be taken care of but meanwhile the bigger problem, lack of will on the part of this administration is something that can and should be done.
Tony...Good point. Let the lawsuits be their guides on whether they are doing enough. This deal in Illinois stinks a bit and I am trying to find out why. It pisses Revere off that the guy got kilt. I want to know why he got that way. Ever notice that the employer always gets sued? It should be the other way around. If they do something stupid (most of the time its human generated) and it results in a fine then the worker should pay it for not following procedures.
Unions can generally tell you what they need to do the job properly but they couch it always with raises, more people etc and raise the prices beyond competitive. But it goes always back to the courts. If illegals were involved and they were not literate in English as the written and spoken word, or if they were the same and legal then who is responsible? And yes Revere is right, my bite is worse than my bark. But if you get on the end of that bite there isnt much I would or couldnt do. Genocide is in the eyes of the beholder. If say everyone in a mosque says death to America and 1/2 go out and belly bomb a town piece by piece, do you let them continue to operate. If its out of another country do you do the same. Brothers and systems you can watch all night long here in the US on Friday night on the internet TV. Some are in English and all I hear is death to the UK, death to Australia, death to the US. I think they kind of run out of countries about Zimbabwe. Basically put, if they are in that mosque and are putting that out on the airwaves then there is no difference that Obama sitting in church with the Reverend Wright. The latter now having become a liability he has thrown his friend under the bus, and that same has taken up the reins of his church again. Parsing.
But as for OSHA, do we even need them? If they are so ineffective we either fund them or find them a new job. I actually had my Chi-Mex smoking a cigarette while looking into the back of a CFM-56 that had a "wet start" meaning it didnt light off. I made my point when I asked him which funeral home he wanted to operate out of. Gaseous atomized jet fuel and a cigarette in it...jeez. He knew better and most of the time a word is enough. Its when you get people who deliberately circumvent the rules that something happens. Chain of events.
I find no fault in what any of the guys above say. Slapshotting bigot across my bow is a fast way to get my back up. But thats the military in me. I am very cautious about what I say because this IS Revere's living room and he invites us in. If he ever said back off I would. Contemplation of genocide is being cooked up with all the trimmings on the other side of the world and reaching out to them is onlyh going to prolong the inevitable. We are going to scrap and I think very soon at that. This time with the full accord of the UN Security Council. I also think that they dont have a workable fusion or fission weapon but I do think they have a large dirty bomb capability. The could air burst that over Israel and that is good enough to start a major war. But here is my absolute end read on it. WE get them before they get us or we pay the piper later. Reach out to them and it gives them time to create a weapon. Why wait to stop it? Think of El Baradei as the UN OSHA inspector Revere. He is trying to stop something before it starts.
My former job, union shop aircraft maintenance (good wages, stable workplace) had voluntary safety officer posts per shift. Good idea, got to read up and be extra aware of safety issues, with the idea toward prevention. Quickly came to realize that training was sorely absent, other than self taught, and that safety positions in this country do not even begin to compare with countries like Sweden, where safety officers have a seat on the Board of Directors. Ironically, I introduced myself to visiting maintenance VP's who completely ignored me and bluntly brushed me off.
We had two slip/fall injuries resulting in long-term coma, and it wasn't until one guy died (fell 35 feet while polishing a vertical stabilizer, graveyard shift) that the entire hangar was covered with harnesses, netting, proper safety gear, etc...
Is it our culture that disregards safety until too late, or is it not important enough to elevate to corporate officer level status, ie: VP of safety dept. Not a bad course to offer at university level. Only until it gets serious enough, will OSHA become effective, beyond politics.
In 1992, near where I was going to university in Ohio, a large warehouse which regularly had completely untrained workers driving its forklifts had a load fall off a forklift and kill one of its workers.
OSHA fined the business a whole whopping $50.
Yup. A whole fifty dollars.
OSHA have been a sick joke from long before Bush, Jr. And in general, the US has the fewest and most pathetic employee rights and worker protections of any fully industrialised country, which really doesn't seem to strengthen the US economy any, either.
Kruger,
You're a dick. How does the nationality or legal residency of an individual matter in this case?
Adam-Now I will assume that you are just an liberal wannabe and an unusually disrespectful one. But thats a lib for you. I guess retarded is when you cant put 1 and 1 together like they did in first grade. If they cant understand the language or read that they shouldnt do certain things, then it has all the thing in the world to do with it. But that is just me. I can understand that an undocumented worker, working for below minimum wages might not both legal or literate. Far too siimple. Lets complicate it a bit.
Now Dinstuhls here in Memphis makes fine chocolate too and sense we are so inbred down here we only have to call to find things out from our buck toothed banjo playing relatives. Ammonia bicarbonate is a normal product used in the manufacture of confections in quantity. You are apparently supposed to ease it into the mix slowly and being mindful of the heat being produced. Seems that you do it too quickly and it outgasses (cause of death?) or it starts a fire or gets very, very hot. Fires are uncommon, more of a smoldering of sugar and whatever else is in there. So you can see Adam its very germane to the discussion. If they cant understand the processes, then how can they possibly keep it from happening? It happened once and then it happened again so its a prima facie that something isnt right.
By the way, I dont normally start off conversations by calling someone a dick. I do promote those types of people to stop by though for an up close and personal recommendation of what respect is. Respect is always given automatically unless someone tips that balance.
I am beggining to think Randy needs banning for a week or two. His genocidal fantasies and hatred of other people are rather annoying. I'd like to invite him over to the UK where he can bomb us all to his hearts content, because we certainly count as enemies of his America.
Anyway, at my work, here in Scotland, our american owners sent across a "troubleshooter", to chivy us all on. He hates the country and I think most of us. Moreover, he told one of our guys to climb up about 20 feet up some equipment. Our guy told him no, because it wasn't safe to do without harness etc. The American troubleshooter just doesn't seem to get that we actually have employment rights and health and safety legislation.
Oh, and we've had incidents that if they had gone wrong, could have killed 3 or 4 people, in the 3 years I've been there. But we had sensors and alarms, and in 2 cases, dumb luck nobody was standing where things fell.
The point about inspections is that ideally you put in experts who can point out all the things that are wrong. Having fatalities means things may well need looking at, and inspections help keep people on their toes. This is not rocket science, we've had factory inspections and legislation here in the UK for something like 150 years, for obvious reasons. In every industry there is a top tier of companies which do behave and rarely have accidents, and then you have a great many which couldn't care less, don't train their employees and generally do stuff illegally. Inspections would catch them out, if the inspection agencies were more gung ho and better funded.
Yep, the founders of the sweatshops finally got it together and said that debtors prisons were better for the kids. Attaboy to the UK.
Guthrie-Genocide is in the eye of the beholder. There is no such thing as civilized war and I am here to tell you that. All of that crap is in effect about 30 seconds before and about a day after you are in one. Facts are facts.
Its good to see that someone in Scotland doesnt just go out and jump off a cliff cause someone told them to. Your arguments are typical liberal responses but I never ever hear anyone come up with anything substantial. Luna has it down pat I think and that is a 50 dollar fine to a big company is nothing. But they are limited by what they can fine and as I said its left up to the courts in the wrongful deaths or injuries. But it had to be GWB at some point because he has to micromanage every part of government.
As for banning I really dont care if you are annoyed. Good. If the superperfect liberal UK and all of the other countries have it so right, then how did we get to where we are? We are like an unwanted cousin except when you need something from them. The circumstances in the above are not fully known but what IS known that they didnt follow procedure now on the introduction of that stuff into the mix. But they will not find the people involved in the wrong. Nope, they'll say the employer was at fault because their procedures were inadequate to keep someone from doing something stupid. Maybe we should use electroshock or waterboarding to make the point with these people? No, dont need to do that. We have attorneys that will sue the company, put all of those other people out of work permanently and then we dont need any procedures anymore. Or they'll move their production offshore or down to Mexico where these rules simply dont apply at all.
Great... keep up the good work in the UK. And how much of the country works for the government?
President Moron is the best mentally retarded figure head money and fix elections can buy.
RMK,
Your assumption that "illegals" are illiterate that you make a few posts up is ill informed. See the link -
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,361861,00.html
Why so much hate? Regardless of the guy's nationality or work status, does he deserve that?
Regarding OSHA's unwillingness to enforce...anything, really:
When I first moved back to the area I live in now (2 years ago)I started working for a company that dealt with wood products as an electrician.
When I walked in the door I could put my hands on at least 5 safety violations without taking a single step.
A good example being:
The fuel storage area (5 propane tanks and a 200 gallon gasoline tank) was within four feet of a junction box. A junction box I only discovered because I dug through a six foot drift of fine sawdust trying to follow a conduit. Of course they didn't bother to connect the wires properly, instead opting for the "Twist 'em together and wrap 'em in duct tape." method.
There were many others just as bad, that's just the easiest to explain.
Foreman more or less told me to piss off. It's always been that way.
So I called the owner of the company and told him just how bad all the stuff was and what it'd take to fix it.
His response? "It hasn't burned yet, and the building is insured."
After about ten minutes of trying to talk him into fixing it, I was finally informed my services were no longer required.
Figured I should at least give OSHA a call for the sake of the people that worked there that, presumably, would prefer to not be exploded/electrocuted/etc to pad his profit margin.
OSHA promptly showed up 8 months later, inspected, fined him 500 dollars, and never came back.
The fine? None of the employees had steel toed boots on.
I'm not sure how people get OSHA is putting companies out of business by protecting the workers.
Not unless his profit margin was razor thin (It isn't.) or they actually made him fix anything and it cost enough to bankrupt him. (They didn't and it wouldn't have.)
Another "fun" story of OSHA being evil liberal bastards that just hate corporations:
http://www.wkrg.com/news/article/lp_plant_explosion/13625/
or http://www.southalabamian.com/news/2008/0508/front_page/002.html
It's not mentioned in the news story, but the reason for the explosion was that when being constructed, it was apparently too much bother to hook up half of the equipment alarms.
Yes, someone had called OSHA about that before the explosion.
Everyone knows cutting corners and obliterating your workers is part of the American Dream! The commies just wanna starve us out!
Gerardo rip. He was a good young friend, what a bad feeling and convulsing emotions when his family gave me the news, This very simple hard working united family originals of coahuila Mexico, with lots of humility I have the privilege of working together with them at blommer for some yrs. many of gerardo's brothers sisters, his father uncles and cousins work or have worked any other time at blommer, hard working people almost never complain because the fact they are the two only minorities working forever there polish and Mexicans, their poor English to communicate properly and in need of the job, all them beautiful people unbelievable hard working people credit to those old polish ladies, people that gave their blood to the blommer company, spite of the bad conditions of the factory, hot like hell, hot chocolate everywhere, no ventilation, I was feets away down the 3th. flooer of the explotion time ago when the other death happened, the explosion of the Stupid Old Cocoa bean Roaster so strong that demolished the wall of the room exposing it from outside the factory building the big hole and bent steel beams, Victor Casillas lost his life on this explosion, so many times the fire department had to fight back hard when this old machinery got fire, Old crap. Victor Casillas rip, Adrian the other victim on that time almost died he was in comma for a while, still young fellows like gerardo they left young wife with two young kids ,both Victor and Gerardo Good soccer players, healthy people. Gera was working enclosed in a small room catching the black cocoa powder, that is the cocoa liquor after been compressed and because it comes very hot out of the presses they use nitrogen to cool it down, now what the family told me is that there was a leakage of the Nitrogen that in same way cause the poisoning of Gera, did N combined with other substances cause it or what? because it seems the poisonous element was odorless still waiting for the forensics report, they holding for like two more months,Gera found like if he fell asleep all skin purple by work bench at the bag filler even the coworker firs on the scene himself fell to the flour in the spot unconcious due to the horrible scene, or may be still the poisonous substance still enclosed there, this is a small room belive me.. Now , I use to work there and the environment conditions, were bad, like hell your supervisors lack a communication, screaming to old and young coworkers the same, and the fast pace of work make that even worse than unhealthy and risky at all time.
There are everywhere too many people without the right legal status to work properly in this country and had been abused time and time again, risking their live since the moment they make the hard decision to move for a better living, unrefutable fact of nature you have to move in order to survive, only choice, but when some body, for years keep them exploiting all over and over, without remorse, then what is left, now who is the guilty one, and then they say, hey!!!.. don't get lawyers we are going to fix it good, yeah.. right..
And don't come to me with the romantic feelings of the smell of the chocolate that impregnates the downtown, every time I going there the smell brigs to memory frustrating times, even when I am enjoying my marathon, (better organization this year I hope, please).
I think blommer enjoys privileges of some kind from the city, they have been in this location for a while, I remember from time to time they just told you hey, here your paycheck less the amount of money we gave for charity, so easy they always trying to show the good face, I just can't believe OSHA gives Carta Blanca to this Company, I got to know Joe Blommer, Rick Blommer, they are cordial people but, still unfair to the employees inside, any moment another victim is waiting to be counted also the health problems to what one is exposed inside, like the acid from the cocoa liquor cause your hair to fall damage your skin perforate your lungs and digestive system, employees are the living evidence.. apart from various people been mutilated because of the obsolete machinery, and those machinists on maintenance frustrated, hiding o back of the shop drinking their vodka. nice.
Oh boys....The chocolate factory has been cited for illegals four times. So there is no bigotry or racism involved. Facts are what they are. I am also singularly well informed on many issues and when you dont see me comment on the liberal view I either agree with it, or I dont know anything about it.
And no Brian I am equal opportunity asshole, I treat everyone the same...and that is like shit. I have two Jews, three blacks, one guy who is a chi-mex with dyed blonde hair, one lesbian whose ex-girlfriend wont leave her alone (she has a child too), and a lot of Catholics and WASP's. I pay them more than anyone else on the airport and I cover their insurance too 100%. So if that makes me a bigot then okay, I'll wear it if it makes you feel better.
FloorSqueeze-very likely you are not an employer so you wouldnt understand. You are one of these people that thijnks the US can only do wrong, be it the environment, or OSHA or the oil companies. Waiting for your next government handout or is it that you feel that you can pay more taxes and get less because thats what it really comes down to? What would YOU do if they outsourced your job or gave it to an illegal? Raise hell about illegals I am sure. You must be a bigot if you bring it up. Not that you could have a legitimate beef with what is going on. Shit no. The guy is a racist.
Here is a nice link to those people you think that I am bigoted against. Nope, just another enemy to deal with as far as I am concerned. Not their race, just their ideals and current plan of action which they have posted. There is no diversity in war. There are two sides and thats it.
http://www.indonesiamatters.com/1662/siti-fadilah-supari/
They want to establish a worldwide Muslim faith system with the idea being to overrun the world. But thats okay, I laugh everytime I see one of these usual bigot statements. You guys never try to find out anything but you do try to throw the paint on the wall and see if it will brush in.
As to the post I stick by what I posted. I would decimate any and all of the enemies of this country as stated, both foreign and domestic. You guys never were in the real world else you would understand and that is these so called peaceful people are trying to kill us. They are setting up shop in Indonesia for starts and with none other than Siti Supari is at the head of the street. What a good wholesome woman. But we are just supposed to sit back and decide that the Saracens and the liberals are right and that every goddamn thing that America under GWB is wrong. Sorry but thats a crock of crap. I personally think that the problems with the libs is that they want no accountability if anything goes wrong. Even GWB said this week that he has made some mistakes and that goes to being human and that is accountability. We have Kucinich trying to impeach the president for something that they all signed on for with minor exceptions. Did the CIA set the President up for the fall after there were no weapons found? There is something to delve into with those government employees. Super lib Obama is just going to make things worse if he is elected. There will be no accountability and he will try to vilify the right at all turns when things dont go the way they are planned. As CIC he is a kid and hiring a ex-military guy as VP isnt going to get this one through. Tony McPeak is not the person I would chose even though the guy is smart and I was under his indirect command for almost three years. But he does get it.
Oh and this IS a rant because I really get tired of being called a racist and bigot when the facts are that I dont see Americans of African descent trying to blow things up, or the legal Americans of Mexican descent taking jobs that belong to Americans because it belongs to them anyway. GWB is a total fuck up when it comes to the border and I think that its going to cost us the farm in the long run. Bigot? Shit, let me give you another one. Anti-personnel mines on the S. border. because it is an act of war under the UN Charter to do damage to another countries economy knowing and wilfully. Guess you never got to see the manual the Mex govt put out on how to cross the borders illegally?
But thats just me boys. I would happily suit up and go out and kill the guys who would screw with your lifestyles, jobs, homes and families. All in a days bigotry.