and remember to be decent to everyone
all of the time.
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I liked the article. It was pithy and plausible. The rich bear much more responsibility for the current state of society than "terrorists". Never forget it.
This time it is very difficult for the anti-capitalist!
The building was not originally constructed by capitalism, but by government, by socialism. Capitalism did not update the building with better insulation, to keep the poor people inside it warm while using less energy; that was done by government, by socialism.
And the building can be seen by everyone, not only by the capitalist class; this building was not invisible to those who don't have so much money.
But aha! Some rich people looked upon this building and found it ugly! (Before government fixed it up a little, before socialism fixed it up a little).
So it is all the fault of these some rich people! Not the fault of government. Not the fault of socialism.
Because people who work in waste management are gross & disgusting individuals? Is that why that's funny? if so then haha, holy zingers, that was a great one!
From accounts going back years, of residents complaining about the danger, the council and the management company they contracted to manage the building, have been behaving like slum lords. Ignoring the dangers, not carrying out the proper inspections and so on.
Corbyn is also right to question whether the cuts in funding to councils has had an impact in this too. It is likely another contributing factor.
What is WRONG with you folks? When did you lose your humanity. You missed the entire point of what this young man in the video was saying. He had a right to be upset. They used inferior material that caused the fire to flash over and burn faster... all so that the people in the wealthier sections could look at something nice.
You all are as horrible as that witch reporter who called out the young man for using the F word. I am sick of this country and its spoiled citizens. It’s a break to go to Africa with Doctors without Borders where folks are grateful for drinking water.
Geez! Get OVER yourselves!
Greed is the undoing of the wealthy.
Who wants to undermine health insurance for millions, and then blame it on "socialism"?
The rich are willing to kill innocent civilians and bystanders to get what they want. To use terrorism, in other words.
Unless of course it was the infamous Council of Rich People who made that decision. I hate those guys.
Are you people who are defending the rich going to say the same when such catastrophies happen to YOU? Have you seen the crap materials used in new housing here? In the lovely U.S.A. you don't even have to be poor to live in substandard housing. Are you, or anyone you care for a teacher, policeman, librarian, nurse, MIDDLE CLASS? Or do you not have anyone that you care for enough, to be upset if they die for the glory of trickle down economics, and the Corporate Profits God?
Guess compassion ain't a virtue in the Money religion, eh?
Are government officials not humans with agency? Are elected officials not put into place through votes made by the public?
This is just a way to rationalize a society's unwillingness to fix its own government. Because fixing government is hard and it takes work as well as self reflection. Blaming vague, faceless "rich people" for all problems is just a lame cop out.
Because face it: if you can not name the rich person or rich persons by name for an action, you are basically saying that just having a lot of wealth makes a person magically responsible for any tragedy you want to point to. If an apartment building burns down in Seattle due to similar factors, is it partially Dan Savage's fault?
He is pretty rich, you know.
Charles, the Plaza Roberto Maestas complex you were raving about in that piece was constructed with THE EXACT SAME Reynobad aluminum cladding as Grenfell Tower.
Please explain how this material is both "the future of Seattle" and "what turned an ordinary fire into a towering inferno that killed 12 people."
Bravo, that's trolling on a whole different level.
what was the fire suppression system? why did it fail? did it fail?
@27: Shut up about all that bullshit, the money did it.
I'm tiiired of people looking at a multi-step occurrence and saying "that one step I don't like totally caused it."
And the refurbishment didn't include a sprinkler or alarm system, despite a similar fire in Camberwell in 2009. The Tory government didn't do shit after that. They pointedly refused to require sprinkler retrofits in older buildings.
Astonishing that most ( even you Catalina?) seem to know exactly what happened..oh that building code shit? Fuck it who cares about facts…
It was neoliberalism!
The 2009 Grenfell Tower Fire in West London which was until ~2 days ago labeled the worst fire in London history is almost a match for the emerging details here.
A tower block that was originally built before the income demographics of London went off the rails that was beautified externally to match the neighborhood around it. Building management people who ignored a stacking list of external problems in the building in terms of safety and maintenance and ignored huge fines levied for not fixing those problems. External cladding materials that went up like a Roman candle.
A clear and present danger was brought forward as there are many tower blocks like this in London and it seems absolutely nothing changed.
But if you want to talk building codes.......
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/…