Muskogee, OK explosion: I think is very suspicious.

[karlrschneider]

I lived in Muskogee from 1969 to 1979 and was chief pilot for Coburn Industries (the company founded by O. W. Coburn whose youngest son has just been "elected" to the Senate (Tom Coburn) During that period, I became friends with Steve Yaffe, the owner of the place that blew up this evening. He is a Demo, as am I. And during my employment with Coburn, I obviously carried all the Coburn family in my (well, their) airplane all over the world. We had political disagreements which actually became marginally violent one night in Atlanta when I expressed my preference for George McGovern, running against Nixon, and O.W. (Orin William) actually physically attacked me, his own personal pilot, for saying so. It was in his room in the Marriott (the one with the big hollow lobby that goes...25 stories high?)...just after he had 10 dozen hard-boiled eggs delivered by room service. Well, enough minutia...the local news broadcasts are focusing on the Yaffe explosion and there's a lot of comment about "toxic gases" and other such crap. They have big gas-fueled furnaces that melt metal down into ingots. There's nothing there that would involve any seriously toxic chemicals other than the small amount that would normally be associated with scrap metal...

(For DUers who didn't see my other thread, we felt the blast here 20 miles away)...something stinks about this and I'll keep up with it. There are fires still burning, more than 2 hours later.

[shraby]

1. Wasn't there a building in Minnesota

that exploded tonight also? I'll see if I can find the thread.

[karlrschneider]

2. Yes, it's in LBN

.

[bpilgrim]

3. thank you VERY much karlrschneider for keeping us posted!

people like you are what makes DU exponetially BETTER than main-stream media :toast:

peace

[shraby]

4. Found it.

Tue Dec 28, 2004 04:14 PM ET
MINNEAPOLIS, Dec 28 (Reuters) - At least two people were killed and one was injured on Tuesday when an explosion obliterated a suburban office building in Ramsey, Minnesota, leaving behind a crater filled with debris, authorities said.

Witnesses said the explosion leveled the two-story brick building, which housed the offices of a real estate firm and a bank.


<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1105250>

[shraby]

5. Do you have a link to the Oklahoma story? n/t

[Daisey Mae]

6. thanks, sounds pretty fishy......hope you stay safe.....

[karlrschneider]

9. I don't fear the neocons (and Tom Coburn knows how much I despise him)

I've already lived way longer than I expected to so there's nothing they can do to me. I've devoted whatever short time I have left to defeating the bastards, and they know it. :D

[nashville_brook]

7. yeah, thanks for the news and insight

this is very interesting...

(sending good vibes)

[NYC]

8. Did they define "toxic"?

Maybe plastic is burning.

[karlrschneider]

11. There shouldn't be much plastic there. I've been there many times & never

saw any notable quantity of it. It's scrap metal...probably there's some galvanized steel which contains zinc which can be irratible but not really toxic to the point of life-threatening...

[hangemhigh]

10. Okie Lightning

We saw this numerous times in Shawnee, where I grew up. Dawson's Lumber, Van's Pig Stand, Pratt's Foods. Businesses going up in spectacular flame for no apparent reason and coinciding with internal scandal and/or financial malfeasance. Very sad.

[Eloriel]

12. Well, your history with the family is fascinating and all

but it's irrelevent to your very weakly stated case for there being something fishy about this explosion. I don't actually doubt your instincts, but it's kinda disappointing to read all that irrelevent history without a corresponding case made for your suspicions or reasons for them.

[karlrschneider]

15. All I'm saying is that Steve Yaffe is a very outspoken Democrat

in a very red state and his business doesn't have a cache of combustible or explosive items. So perhaps there's a bit of tinfoil here but I find it just a little bit "odd" this place just blew up for what so far is no apparent reason. And no, I don't believe OBL or Iraq is responsible.
Who stands to gain from the appearance of "terror in the 'heartland'"?

[RoyGBiv]

16. Dude ...

It blew less than three hours ago. No apparent reason? The fire isn't even out yet so it is safe for them to try to determine what happened.

We had a grain silo catch fire a few years ago in the town where I once lived. There were explosions associated with it. There were environmental hazards as well, and the only thing there was wheat. Hell, I couldn't breath for weeks after the fire finally went out without feeling nauseated.

I appreciate the sense of vigilance here, but at this point, there's just not enough there to warrant suspicion.

[karlrschneider]

19. Well, I'm just a tinfoil idiot, evidentlly. Thanks for setting me straigh

.

[RoyGBiv]

20. No ...

You're not an idiot ... just on edge. It's understandable in the current political environment. I'm just trying to offer some perspective.

[RoyGBiv]

13. Lead ...

Lead is the primary thing the plant has been cited for releasing into the environment in the past. It's definitely toxic, in various ways.

The television news stories were senationalist, as they are prone to be, but not particularly over the top, imo. I mean, there was an explosion, and it was felt dozens of miles away, and it was in Oklahoma where nothing else ever happens.

By comparison, news about OU arriving for the Orange Bowl got more minutes of coverage.

OnEdit: I work in an office that doesn't really have anything in it but some computers, some electronic equipment, a lot of paper, and the associated items. On our EPA mandated hazard list, we have 27 items marked as toxic or potentially toxic. Our emergency plan calls for notifying a HAZMAT team if the building were to catch fire.

IOW, it's not particular surprising this became a focus of the story. A metals plant has a large number of toxic or potentially toxic chemicals in its inventory that, when they burn, could create health problems for nearby residents. EPA rules and liability issues being what they are, you don't ignore that.

[Wiley50]

14. Karl, I need more info

I looked but couldn't find your other thread. Have you got a link?
Better yet, a link to news story ( I don't have TV )

I used to live in Tulsa. I a was gardner for Rodger Hardesty (big multi-family magnate). Still have family in the area.

[karlrschneider]

17. I think this is the one you're looking for

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1105100

I know Roger, his chief pilot was a good friend of mine 25 years ago.
(I almost took a job flying for him in the early 70s)

[RoyGBiv]

18. Link

Here's a link to a brief story:

http://www.kotv.com/main/home/stories.asp?whichpage=1&id=75086