Category: Local/State
Massive fire breaks out at ExxonMobil refinery in Texas, air quality being monitored
| April 7, 2016 | 8:20 pm | environmental crisis, Local/State | Comments closed

https://www.rt.com/usa/338851-fire-exxonmobil-baytown-texas/

The cause of the fire remains unknown, but ExxonMobil did confirm to KTRK that there were no injuries, adding that they were observing the air quality for any hazards to public health.

The black smoke billowed high enough to be seen miles away, near Houston.

The first reports of smoke at the facility came from the US Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Service and other local eyewitnesses, KFGO reported.

The ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown is the second-largest of its kind in the US and includes a chemical plant.

Texas Cop Slams 12-Year-Old Girl to the Ground (VIDEO)
| April 7, 2016 | 7:58 pm | Local/State, police terrorism, political struggle | Comments closed

03:52 08.04.2016Get short URL

A video posted online of a police officer using absurdly excessive force on a 12-year-old student in San Antonio, Texas, has resulted in the suspension of the cop.

Brandon Brooks

Texas Cop Suspended After Assaulting Black Teens With Gun at Pool Party (Video)

According to media reports, the officer, breaking up a confrontation between the girl and another student, stated that he was kicked by the girl. The officer then grabbed her from behind, spun her around and propelled her head sharply to the concrete floor, rendering the child briefly unconscious.

An investigation has been launched on the officer’s actions. The officer was placed on paid administrative leave after officials saw the video of the incident.

“We need to find out all the details as to what occurred, but I can also say that we will not tolerate excessive force in this district,” said Leslie Price, San Antonio Independent School District spokeswoman.

The use of excessive force by police officers remains an ongoing problem in the United States. Last year, a sheriff’s deputy in South Carolina was fired after he was caught on video knocking a student out of her classroom chair and on to the floor.
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/us/20160408/1037671702/Texas-Cop-Slams-Girl-Ground.html#ixzz45ByDvVtW

University of Texas dean to quit over gun law
| February 26, 2016 | 7:57 pm | Local/State, political struggle, Texas "Open Carry" | Comments closed

University of Texas dean to quit over gun law

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35673426

University of Texas anti-gun protestImage copyright AP
Image caption Some student groups have rallied against the law

A dean at the University of Texas is stepping down over a new state law which will allow concealed handguns to be carried on university campuses.

Frederick Steiner said the policy was not “appropriate” for higher education and “did not make logical sense”.

Texas passed the legislation last year and it goes into effect in August.

Many higher education officials and students have objected to the law, with concerns it may discourage students from attending universities in Texas.

Supporters of the law argue it is “critical” to self-defence and upholding constitutional rights.

But for Frederick Steiner, dean of the Texas School of Architecture, guns should not be allowed on university grounds.

“I grew up believing there was an appropriate place for guns and it was not in a place of higher education and higher learning,” he told Fox News.

Warning to staff

“I thought I would be responsible for enforcing a law I don’t believe in,” said Mr Steiner, who has been at the school since 2001. He says he plans to return to the University of Pennsylvania, but not until the law is passed in August.

Greg Fenves, president of the University of Texas, has said he does not support guns on campus but he must enforce the law.

Gun rights activists Phil Newsome, left, and Jason Mosley, right, carry guns and flags as they march near the University of Texas, on 12 December 2015, in Austin, Texas.Image copyright AP
Image caption Supporters of the new gun law say it upholds their constitutional rights

Mr Fenves said that the law would make it more difficult to keep faculty and students at the university.

Long-time dean Frederick Steiner agreed, saying it was “already part of the conversation when I was trying to recruit and retain graduate students.”

Meanwhile, staff at the University of Houston have warned professors there to be careful discussing sensitive topics and drop them from the curriculum if they “sense anger” from students who may be armed.

According to the Houston Chronicle, they have been instructed to “not ‘go there’ if you sense anger; limit student access off hours; go to appointment-only office hours; only meet ‘that student’ in controlled circumstances”.

According to the law, private universities are allowed to ban guns on campus.

At Least 1 Killed, 3 Injured in Blast at Texas Chemical Plant
| January 18, 2016 | 7:53 pm | Labor, Local/State | Comments closed

At Least 1 Killed, 3 Injured in Blast at Texas Chemical Plant

© Flickr/ andersbll

At least one person was killed and three more injured in an explosion that occurred at Texas chemical plant, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Houston Chronicle newspaper reported on Saturday that the explosion took place at a tank holding an oil-based cleaning solution at the plant of the US chemical company PeroxyChem in the city of Pasadena, Texas. According to the newspaper, one of the injured people broke his arm, while the others had been affected by  chemicals.

The investigation into the circumstances of the deadly explosion was underway.

The newspaper added that the plant had been last inspected in 2014.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/us/20160117/1033266691/blast-texas-chemical-plant.html#ixzz3xeQa2wex

Why do Norwegians use ‘texas’ to mean ‘crazy’?
| October 23, 2015 | 9:55 pm | Analysis, Local/State | Comments closed

cowboy hatImage copyright Istockphoto

Norwegians use the word “texas” as slang to mean crazy, it has emerged. But when did this start happening, and how unusual is it?

To most of the world, Texas is known as a big state in southern America.

But to Norwegians, it is also a word that frequently crops up in everyday conversation – often in the phrase “Der var helt texas!” [That was very completely/totally texas!].

The word is slang for “crazy” or “wild” and is used to refer to a chaotic atmosphere, Texas Monthly first reported.

It became part of the language when Norwegians started watching cowboy movies and reading Western literature, according to Daniel Gusfre Ims, the head of the advisory service at the Language Council of Norway.

“The genre was extremely popular in Norway, and a lot of it featured Texas, so the word became a symbol of something lawless and without control,” he says.

Its first usage dates back to 1957, when it appeared in a novel by Vegard Vigerust called The Boy who wanted to buy Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. The author writes “he would make it even more texas in the village?”.

Nowadays, the word is widespread all over Norway. It’s frequently used in the phrase “helt texas” [completely crazy], which has appeared in Norwegian newspapers 50 times this year, he says.

CowboyImage copyright Istockphoto

It’s often used negatively, but not always. “It could be a party out of control, a class out of control, or traffic. It could also be used someone who had sold many products,” he says.

Gusfre Ims says this language phenomenon – metonymy, where a thing or concept is called not by its own name, but by another name which is associated with it – is pretty common in Norway, and language generally.

Norwegians also use the term “hawaii football” to describe an “out-of-control” match, he says. The word “klondike”, a region in Canada associated with the gold rush, is used to describe economic expansion, and also has a hint of something going out of control.

He also points to terms such as “Armageddon” and “champagne”.

“People don’t mean the place in the Bible, or the area in France,” he says.

Erin McKean, the founder of the online dictionary Wordnik, agrees that words are often adopted into language in this way.

“I’m not surprised Norwegians would use this kind of geography to convey a quality. This is how we make language – emphasing one aspect of the word, or using metaphors,” she says.

McKean says there are plenty of examples of the English language using perceived characteristics of people from other places, which is a common occurrence with neighbouring countries.

Texas road signImage copyright Getty Images
Image caption Texas, Norway?

“Dutch courage is associated with having to drink to be courageous. A Dutch treat [when people pay for their own share of an expense] isn’t exactly a treat. We talk about taking French leave, or an Irish goodbye.

“The closest thing to we probably have to ‘texas’ in America is berserk from the Norse warriors, but that’s apparently Icelandic, although disputed,” she says.

McKean says people tend to take these expressions with a pinch of salt.

“I think Americans think the Norwegian texas thing is quite funny. Texans like to think of themselves as larger than life and extreme in some way – and it’s a short hop from extreme to crazy,” she says.

Anne Ekern, of the Norwegian consulate in Houston, agrees.

“The reactions we have had, have been on the positive side,” she says.

But Gusfre Ims wants to reassure any Texans in doubt.

“What Norwegians think about Texas has nothing to do with the expression. We know Texas is not a lawless society. It’s just a fixed phrase,” he says.


Support the USW members who are on strike for safer work conditions!
| March 18, 2015 | 9:10 pm | Action, Local/State, National, USW | Comments closed

Please sign the petition supporting the USW members who are on strike:

 

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/we-support-the-usw-strike?source=c.em.mt&r_by=8638452

Houston Socialist Movement: Rally against Republicans!

You can view the videos of the Rally against Republicans held on 2/28/2015 in Houston which was organized by the Houston Socialist Movement at the following links:

http://youtu.be/eH5gteUx_HQ

 

http://youtu.be/dQZmH5LH-ug

 

http://youtu.be/55MI956srIc

 

http://youtu.be/SugVZPSzoJE

 

http://youtu.be/NeqoRM8X2d4

 

http://youtu.be/HekqSmY0QHw

 

http://youtu.be/CKpvEzZOm-Q