Photos And Video: Texas’s West Fertilizer Co. Explosion Aftermath

At least forteen people were killed in the West Fertilizer Co. plant explosion, 80 miles from Texas on April 17, 2013. (Please click here for Photos And Videos: Deadly Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion)

Authorities were still calling the blast site a crime scene though they said they strongly suspected an accident.

Reuters reported that accoding to the authorities:

“There was no indication of foul play in the fire or the blast it triggered Wednesday night at West Fertilizer Co, a privately owned retail facility that was last inspected two years ago.”

The explosion badly damaged or destroyed nearly 175 homes and other buildings, including a fifty unit apartment complex, a nursing home and schools.

Dozens more homes were reported to have been damaged.

Please click here for the photos and videos:

Florida Man Swallowed By Sinkhole Feared Dead

A man feared dead after he was swallowed by a sinkhole in his suburban Tampa home in Seffner, Florida.

(Please click here for the photos)

Reuters reported that Jeff Bush, 37, was in his bedroom Thursday night when the sinkhole suddenly swallowed him and the entire bedroom into the ground.

The sinkhole was estimated 20 feet across and 20 feet deep.

It caused the home’s concrete floor to cave in around 11 p.m. Thursday.

Fortunately five other people in the house were unharmed.

Bush’s brother Jeremy Bush jumped into the hole and tried to dig to find his brother but he could not find him.

He was rescued by Douglas Duvall of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office who pulled him out from the sinkhole.

The sinkhole is slowly growing and it was feared that the entire house could eventually falls into the unstable ground.

Engineers said the house may have to be demolished, even though from the outside the house seems to be alright.

They took soil samples and ran various tests and found that the entire lot was dangerous.

Reuters reported that,”Authorities had not detected any signs of life after lowering listening devices and cameras into the hole and rescue efforts were suspended after the site was deemed too unsafe for emergency personnel to enter”.

Two adjacent houses were evacuated and officials were considering further evacuations.

“This is not your typical sinkhole,” said Hillsborough County administrator Mike Merrill.

Florida is highly prone to sinkholes because there are caverns below ground of limestone, a porous rock that easily dissolves in water.

This is a disaster.

But when it happens away from buildings and roads, it could turn out to be nice and beautiful places after a long time; please click here for ‘Photos: Amazing Sinkholes Around The World’.

Superstorm Sandy: Before And After Photos

Superstorm Sandy brought destructive force of the powerful wind gusts, torrential rains and massive storm surges that killed at least 64 people and caused billions of dollars in damages throughout the East Coast.

The Battery Park underpass in New York City took on about 12 feet of water during the storm.

Before Sandy:

(Google Maps)

After Sandy:

(Getty)

Before Sandy:

Seaside, N.J., was a bustling destination featuring a roller coaster and Ferris wheel along the Jersey Shore. (Yahoo! Travel/Dan Beards/flickr)

After:

But Sandy swept the roller coaster into the ocean. (Reuters)

Before:

The OC Fishing Pier in Ocean City, Md., survived Hurricane Irene a year ago. (Laura Emmons/The Daily Times)

After:

Only part of the pier held up after Sandy. (AP)

Before:

The historic boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., has seen better times. (Yahoo! Travel/londondreamer2/flickr)

After:

Sandy ravaged the famed boardwalk. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Before:

The Bounty before the storm. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

After: 

The Bounty sank in the Atlantic, 90 miles off Cape Hatteras, N.C.

Related posts:

1. NASA’s Before And After Photos Of New Jersey Coastline.

2. After Sandy, A New Storm May Hit Mid-Atlantic And New England

3. Superstorm Sandy’s Extremes Facts

4. In Photos: Mass Transit Damaged By Superstorm Sandy

5. Photos: Superstorm Sandy Aftermath

6. Photos: Sandy Causes Blizzards In Appalachia

7. Photos: NYC Subways Flooded By Hurricane Sandy

8. Photos: Fire And Water Destroyed Homes In NYC’s Queens Breezy Point And Belle Harbor

9. At Least 50 Houses Flooded By Sandy Destroyed By NYC Fire

10. In Picture: Superstorm Sandy Slams New Jersey Coast, Sends 13 Feet Surge In NYC

11. Photos: Eastern US Braces For Superstorm Sandy

12. Sandy: The Largest Storm To Hit The US?

13. Photos: Hurricane Sandy Left Bahamas, 43 Killed In Caribbean

14. Hurricane Sandy Pounds Jamaica

U.N. Chief: Anti-Islam Filmmaker Abused Freedom Of Expression

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Bern September 11, 2012. REUTERS/Pascal Lauener

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday the maker of an anti-Islam film that triggered violent protests across the Muslim world abused his right to freedom of expression by making the movie, which he called a “disgraceful and shameful act.”

The film, posted on the Internet under several titles including “Innocence of Muslims,” mocked the Prophet Mohammad and portrayed him as a womanizer and a fool.

It sparked days of deadly anti-American violence in many Muslim countries, including an assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi in Libya in which the U.S. ambassador died.

“Freedoms of expression should be and must be guaranteed and protected, when they are used for common justice, common purpose,” Ban told a news conference.

“When some people use this freedom of expression to provoke or humiliate some others’ values and beliefs, then this cannot be protected in such a way.”

“My position is that freedom of expression, while it is a fundamental right and privilege, should not be abused by such people, by such a disgraceful and shameful act,” he said.

A California man convicted of bank fraud was taken in for questioning on Saturday by U.S. authorities investigating possible probation violations stemming from the making of the video. He has denied involvement in the film and has now gone into hiding.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by David Brunnstrom

I agree with the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that freedom of expression should not be abused to provoke or humiliate some others’ values and beliefs.

I protest over what Sam Bacile did as well as over the violence and killings during the protests over the film in some countries.

Muslims must protest but it must be done in a peaceful assembly or in other peaceful ways because that is how good Muslims should behave.

Related Post:

1. Peaceful Assembly Over ‘Innocence of Muslims’ Is A     Waste Of Time But Bersih Is Not?
2. Muslims Protest Over ‘Innocence of Muslims’

Ecuador’s Tungurahua Volcano Erupts (Photos)

There is an increased activity at the Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador.

It is already releasing ash and lava.

The Tungurahua volcano has been in an active state since October 1999.

Ash and steam billow from the Tungurahua volcano, seen from Huambalo, Ecuador, early Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano spews large clouds of gas and ash near Banos, about 178 km (110 miles) south of Quito August 19, 2012. The authorities are encouraging residents living near the volcano to evacuate due to increased activity of the volcano, according to local media. The Tungurahua volcano has been in an active state since October 1999. REUTERS/Carlos Campann

Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano spews large clouds of gas and ash near Banos, about 178 km (110 miles) south of Quito August 19, 2012. REUTERS/Carlos Campann

Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano spews large clouds of gas and ash near Banos, about 178 km (110 miles) south of Quito August 19, 2012. REUTERS/Carlos Campann

Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano spews large clouds of gas and ash near Banos, about 178 km (110 miles) south of Quito August 19, 2012. REUTERS/Carlos Campann

Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano spews large clouds of gas and ash near Banos, about 178 km (110 miles) south of Quito August 19, 2012. REUTERS/Carlos Campann

A house covered with ashes is seen in the skirts of the Tungurahua volcano after it spews large clouds of gas and ash near Banos, about 178 km (110 miles) south of Quito August 19, 2012. REUTERS/Carlos Campann

 

Lava erupts from the Tungurahua volcano, seen from Huambalo, Ecuador, early Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Mass Killing at Sikh Temple, USA

A distraught women is helped to a car outside of the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin August 5, 2012. A shooting during Sunday services at the temple left at least seven people dead, including a gunman, and at least three critically wounded, police and hospital officials said. REUTERS/Tom Lynn

On Sunday, August 4, 2012 there was another mass shooting in the United States.

The shooter, Wade Micheal Page was shot dead by the police.

The tragedy happened at a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, south of Milwaukee.

6 people were killed in the incident and four others were injured.

It was reported that this happened because the shooter is a white supremacists.

Page played guitar and sang for white power bands like End Apathy and Definite Hate.

He sang about getting rid of the enemies of the white race and through his Internet postings, he told others to do the same.

Violence and hate is part of the culture of ‘white power music’ and these people hate the coloured and the black people.

Because of human rights and freedom, ‘white power music’ that spread violence and hate is allowed.

So, too much freedom and human rights are not always good.

And this is why we must not watch or listen to anything that has violence because we may get influence to do bad things.

On Friday July 20, 2012, a man killed 12 people and injured 59 others during the ’Batman – The Dark Knight Rises’ premiere at a mall in Aurora, Colorado.

I guess the United States should not let people buy gun freely. 

Earthquake Kills 15 In Italy

On Tuesday May 29, 2012, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit northern Italy with its epicenter not far from the city of Modena.

The earthquake was felt across northern and central Italy, including in the city of Milan.

At least 15 people died in the disaster.

Some historic buildings were damaged in the earthquake.

Reuters reported that,”The town has been largely damaged. There are people under the rubble, we don’t know how many,” a police officer from Cavezzo told Reuters.

On May 20, 2012 an earthquake with its epicenter also not far from the city of Modena killed 7 people.

Also on Tuesday, a 3.8 magnitude earthquake was also felt through western Bulgaria, with its epicenter near Pernik but no casualties or serious damage was reported.

People walk past a collapsed building, after an earthquake, in Cavezzo near Modena May 29, 2012. REUTERS/Giorgio Benvenuti

Rescue workers patrol a damaged building, after an earthquake, in Medolla near Modena May 29, 2012. REUTERS/Giorgio Benvenuti

People walk past a collapsed building, after an earthquake, in Cavezzo near Modena May 29, 2012. REUTERS/Giorgio Benvenuti

Rescue workers gather in front of a damaged building after an earthquake in Medolla near Modena May 29, 2012. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

Frankfurt Occupy

German riot police close an anti-austerity demonstration that was not allowed in front of Frankfurt’s famous town hall “Roemer” in Frankfurt, May 17, 2012. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

German police said they detained 150 demonstrators in Frankfurt on Thursday, May 17, for defying a ban on their protest against austerity policies implemented to tackle the euro zone debt crisis.

They splashed paint at the police.

There are lots of demonstrations and riots all over the world.

People who are not happy with their governments just go to the streets or set camps in their cities. 

Don’t they trust their political leaders anymore or did the leaders tell them to demonstrate?

They caused trouble to the innocent people around them.  

They are teaching bad value to kids like me.

I don’t think the end can justifies the means.

German riot police carry left wing politician Dieter Dehm as police close an anti-austerity demonstration that was not allowed in front of Frankfurt’s famous town hall “Roemer” May 17, 2012. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Paint spattered supporters of the Frankfurt Occupy Camp sit in the street after being moved by police officers during the removal of the occupy camp in front of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, May 16, 2012. The camp which has been occupied for eight months, was cleared ahead of the so called “Blockupy” days, where clashes between anti capitalism demonstrators and police are expected. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

German riot police stand in front of a traditional costume shop as their colleagues close an anti-austerity demonstration that was not allowed in front of Frankfurt’s famous town hall “Roemer” May 17, 2012. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Paint spattered supporters of the Frankfurt Occupy Camp wait for being taken away by police officers during the vacation of the occupy camp in front of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

German riot police remove a protester during an anti-austerity demonstration that was not allowed in front of Frankfurt’s famous town hall “Roemer” in Frankfurt, May 17, 2012. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

World Longest Train Tunnel – Photos

Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) is the longest train tunnel in the world and it is located in Switzerland.

The tunnel is being constructed beneath the Swiss Alps and is still under construction.

It is scheduled to become operational at the end of 2016.

The length of the tunnel is 57 KM.

Seikan Tunnel in Japan used to be the longest train tunnel; now it is the second longest after Gotthard Base Tunnel.

Here are some REUTERS’s photos of the Gotthard Base Tunnel :

Workers cycle past the northern entrances of the NEAT Gotthard Base tunnel near Erstfeld May 7, 2012. Crossing the Alps, the world’s longest train tunnel should become operational at the end of 2016. The project consists of two parallel single track tunnels, each of a length of 57 km (35 miles) REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

A worker stands beside mobile maschinery during the installation of the railway tracks in the NEAT Gotthard Base tunnel near Erstfeld May 7, 2012.  REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

A worker prepares tools and material during the installation of the railway tracks in the NEAT Gotthard Base tunnel near Erstfeld May 7, 2012. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

A worker stands on the special train ‘Helvetia’ in the NEAT Gotthard Base tunnel near Erstfeld May 7, 2012. The train, which is 481 metres (1578 ft) long and weighs 787 tons, is constructed to produce concrete for the installation of the railway tracks in the tunnel. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

An Austrian and a German national flag fly on mobile machinery during the installation of the railway tracks in the NEAT Gotthard Base tunnel near Erstfeld May 7, 2012. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

A Late April Snowstorm In U.S. Northeast – Photos

Ice and snow coat tulips, a result of a blast of snow and wind, along Milestrip Road in Orchard Park, New York April 23, 2012. A late-April snowstorm struck a wide area of the U.S. Northeast on Monday, raising the threat of downed trees and hazardous roads and causing scattered power outages in several states. REUTERS/Doug Benz

It is already spring but it snows again in western Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and western New York.

I think the REUTERS’s photo of the ice and snow coated tulips is very, very beautiful.

It reminded me of the beautiful AP’s photos of the freezing weather in Florida on January 7, 2010 >>> please click here.

Ice and snow coats a tulips, a result of a blast of snow and wind, along Milestrip Road in Orchard Park, New York April 23, 2012. REUTERS/Doug Benz

A blast of snow and wind hits Court Street in downtown Buffalo, New York April 23, 2012. REUTERS/Doug Benz

Birds perch on a branch during a spring snowstorm in Pembroke, N.Y., Monday, April 23, 2012. A spring nor'easter packing soaking rain and high winds churned up the Northeast Monday morning, unleashing a burst of winter and up to a foot of snow in higher elevations inland, closing some schools and sparking concerns of power outages. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

Don Buckley takes his dog Gracie for a walk during a spring snowstorm in Akron, N.Y., Monday, April 23, 2012. A spring nor'easter dumped up to six inches of snow east of Lake Ontario on Monday, and parts of western New York could see more than a foot of snow before the late-season storm moves on. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

A flowering Dog wood tree in Johnstown, Pa., is covered by a fresh blanket of snow, Monday, April 23, 2012. (AP Photo/The Tribune-Democrat, Todd Berkey)

Snow blankets the trees and a road in Jackson Township, Pa., Monday, April 23, 2012. (AP Photo/The Tribune-Democrat, Arlene Johns)

Michael Stilson of Windber, Pa., shovels wet-heavy snow along Graham Ave. in Windber, Somerset County, Monday, April 23, 2012. (AP Photo/The Tribune-Democrat, Todd Berkey)