Surely the flammability of the ceiling(?) is the bigger problem. If a sparkler can do this the space is far too combustible.
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The police assume that spray fountains set fire to the basement ceiling, which was covered with pyramid foam. This was the start of a fatal chain reaction that ended in a so-called flashover. According to fire expert Thomas Knecht, the room first fills with toxic smoke gases. The smoke from just one kilogram of foam would be enough to fill several flats with deadly gas. Even on the floor, there would often be no breathable air left.
And then there is the enormous heat. At a certain mixture ratio between gases and heat, the flames would instantly engulf the entire room like a fireball. The expert: “When the flash fire occurs, temperatures can reach 800 to 1000 degrees or even higher.”
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I know we all complain about insane levels of H&S in the UK but I’m not sure this would have happened here which can only be a good thing obviously.
Foam ceilings, fucking hell.
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But would the ceiling have caught fire if not for the dickhead idea of getting sparklers closer and closer to the ceiling?
PS. Yes I do agree with you that the ceiling material does need to be looked at. I’m just being a grumpy old man 
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They’re bombing Caracas right now. Unfuckingbelievable.
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I wonder who did it… Criminals In Authority.
We have had a major push over the years for fire safety. I think it started in a major way after the Manchester Woolworths fire which was around 1979. Possibly it was because the fire brigade union was pushing it so much.
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Yeah many H&S reforms were written with the blood of those who perished before they existed. With a modicum of common sense, H&S regulations help protect us and no doubt foam ceilings in large public places will be rethought in Switzerland (and elsewhere).
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Somehow, American forces have captured Maduro and his wife and flown them out of the country.
Most people would call that kidnapping. So the USA is now a bandit state that kidnaps heads of state of other countries. Mind you, it’s not as if this the first time they have done that.
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Jeezus … I only popped out for a bit of shopping , came back … and he’s gone !
I doubt many will mourn his demise , but this just adds to the sense of international lawlessness that has now taken root. Another terrible precedent has been set here , and for no obvious political motive other than the yanks flexing their muscles across the region.
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US govt just wants to control the US oil reserves and minerals in latin America, according to this US military person.
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If they take them to the states they would then become illegal immigrants so end up in El Salvador or some fucking place.
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I’m sure the people of Venezuela will all hugely benefit from selling these minerals and oil to the US!
wont hold breath though…
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Trouble is the world deserves this because they allow America to do shit like this all the time because they are too scared to miss out on the scraps of trade that rarely benefits their countries interest ( only politicians tend to benefit especially on british politics)…and the other side is regardless of who is in power dems or reps…its the same old shit, feign anger blah blah etc…but all Americans will remain silent alllowing their country to continually start illegal wars and ravage nations whilst enriching themselves
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Pretty sure that the overwhelming majority of the Americans, even the MAGA ones, are very much against this.
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And yet what do they do? Doesnt their constitution have all these wonderful checks in place that is supposed to keep the government in check , you know for the people by the people etc…its all bullshit, because regardless of who is in power , whether its trump , obama , bush or clinton, they manufacture a crisis , spend hundreds of billions on their military and just want to act the hard man on the international stage etc…and each time the average citizen just votes the same way, talking about their constitutional right etc…but does fuck all about it in reality so.long as their gas prices and everything else is low and cosy in the borders of the USA…the damage they inflict around the world means fuck all to them away from the headlines, which soon gets forgotten about when the next scandle hits the media³
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That’s not accurate or true either. As much as I detest their stupidity and weakness that has enabled Trumpism, you can’t tar all of them with the same brush. There are millions of Americans that hate his guts and there have been massive demonstrations against him. Sure, they haven’t done enough but there are a lot of people who have stood up to the cunt.
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America very much has an out of sight out of mind perspective on this stuff. Even self identified isolationists are generally ok dropping bombs in foreign countries and killing civilians as long as US troops are not required to be there for it. The illegality, the lack of any sort of legitimate justification, the likelihood of driving the country further into crisis…it will all be waved away in the US as the powerful immediately pivot to making up defenses for this as needed for US interest and most of MAGA cheer and most of the rest of country shrugs as the story fades from our focus by next week with trump retaining his label as a peace loving isolationist.
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Maduro is a scumbag, but America doing this is against international law.
The oil and rare earth minerals are obviously the reason. The drug stuff is wide of the mark, or at best, 10% of the reason for America doing something.
One thing that isn’t being said much is the influence of China in the region. I think that is a huge reason why America is flexing its muscles. A Hong Kong company controlled the Panama Canal, and last year those rights were sold to Blackrock, an American company, after Donald Trump said he wants the Panama Canal.
Shortly after that small boats started to get bombed, to try to make the drug trafficking aspect the main story, but that is only a footnote to the wider story. Along the way a larger American military build up has been happening, and now this, with Maduro kidnapped.
China sells arms to Venezuela, and I think America would like to gauge the capability of Venezuela’s ambphibious equipment, to gain first hand experience of what might be used against Taiwan down the line, should China make good on its promise to invade Taiwan and bring them to heel. And obviously control of oil and rare earth minerals is a huge reason for the move.
Europe should be discussing what to do if and more likely when America moves into Greenland. There is the Thule military base in northwest Greenland and I would imagine America will be ramping that up, increasing its footprint and influence as we go, rather than an all out invasion.
Europe needs to think through a clear response. My guess is it will be some sort of negotiated shared agreement to carve up the $, but American influence will grow and it will get what it wants.
Europe needs to establish a world class independent deterrence asap, as Russia to the east is a huge problem, and now America to the west does not look like a friend.
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I had seen a survey that claimed that less than 30% were in favour of picking a fight with Venezuela, but generally yeah most are going to shrug their shoulders and look the other way.
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