Ar C.J. Walsh Technical Blog – Registered Architect, Fire Engineer & Independent Technical/Building Controller …… International Expert on Accessibility (incl. Fire Safety & Evacuation) for ALL + 'Real' Sustainability Implementation ! …… NO ADS & NO AI HERE !!
2025-04-02: Confirming the observations in my last post, dated 25 March 2025 … check out the most recent Sustainable Development Report on Europe, which was published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) in January …
SUCH WOEFUL PERFORMANCE … And Such Little Time Left !
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A NOTE FOR POSTERITY
There should really have been an 18th SDG: ‘People with Disabilities’. Unfortunately, when the Sustainable Development Goals were initially being developed and agreed within the international framework of the United Nations … Disability Organizations were asleep at the wheel … and either didn’t understand, or weren’t interested in, the SDG’s.
However, IF there had been SDG 18 … universal performance throughout Europe would be shown today as: Major Challenges Remain … which is a nice way of saying that current performance in every country is ‘Abysmal’.
2024-09-06:The International Court of Justice (ICJ) published an Advisory Legal Opinion / Avis Juridique Consultatif on 19 July 2024.
Following is an Extract from that Document … Section VII B … Paragraphs 278 & 279 … which set out, very clearly, the legal consequences for ALL OTHER MEMBER STATES of the United Nations (#UN) concerning their dealings with the State of Israel …
ALL OTHER MEMBER STATES of the United Nations are OBLIGED to comply, and without undue delay … in stark view of the State of Israel’s criminal political and military environment.
Taking note of the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly, the International Court of Justice is of the view that Member States are under an obligation not to recognize any changes in the physical character or demographic composition, institutional structure or status of the territory occupied by Israel on 5 June 1967, including East Jerusalem, except as agreed by the parties through negotiations, and to distinguish in their dealings with Israel between the territory of the State of Israel and the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967. The Court considers that the duty of distinguishing dealings with Israel between its own territory and the Occupied Palestinian Territory encompasses, inter alia, the obligation to abstain from treaty relations with Israel in all cases in which it purports to act on behalf of the Occupied Palestinian Territory or a part thereof on matters concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory or a part of its territory ; to abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory ; to abstain, in the establishment and maintenance of diplomatic missions in Israel, from any recognition of its illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory ; and to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (see Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia (South West Africa) notwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276 (1970), Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1971, pp. 55-56, paras. 122, 125-127).
Moreover, the Court considers that, in view of the character and importance of the rights and obligations involved, all States are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. They are also under an obligation not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It is for all States, while respecting the Charter of the United Nations and International Law, to ensure that any impediment resulting from the illegal presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to the exercise of the Palestinian people of its right to self-determination is brought to an end. In addition, all the States Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention have the obligation, while respecting the Charter of the United Nations and International Law, to ensure compliance by Israel with international humanitarian law as embodied in that Convention.
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Israel’s Expanding Colonial Occupation of Palestine …
Graphic Image, in colour, showing a sequence of Maps – at years: 1917; 1946; 1947; 1967; Present Day – of a Shrinking Palestine with the corresponding Expanding Colonial Occupation by Israel. Not shown are the post-1967 occupied Golan Heights in Syria and Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Click to enlarge.
Notes …
1882 – The first Zionist Colony (Hebrew: ‘Aliyah’, the act of going up towards the holy city of Jerusalem) … Rishon LeZion … established in Ottoman Palestine by Jewish immigrants from what was then the Russian Empire (today’s Kharkiv in #Ukraine).
1916 – Long before World War I ended in 1918 … the British & French (Sykes-Picot) Agreement to carve up the Ottoman Middle East between them. Russia was excluded.
1917 – The Balfour Declaration … British Government statement of support for (‘view with favour’) the establishment of a ‘national home for the Jewish people’ … ‘it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine’.
1948 – #Nakba (Arabic: ‘catastrophe’) … Ethnic Cleansing / Expulsion of 750,000+ Palestinians … mass killings and violent displacement, with expropriation of lands, property and belongings … no right of return.
1967 – Arab-Israeli War (5-10 June), fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab States, primarily Egypt, Syria, Jordan … after which Israel illegally occupied: the Golan Heights in #Syria ; the West Bank including East Jerusalem in #Jordan ; the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza in #Egypt.
2024-08-27: Have you – Yes YOU – ever noticed increasing references, over the past few years, to the International Rules-Based Order (RBO) in mainstream media … heavily promoted by USA and certain European political cliques ?
Are You Curious WHY ?
What is this #RBO ? Where are these Rules written down ?? Are they enforceable … and if yes, by what internationally agreed mechanism ???
How does the RBO relate, if at all, to the United Nations (#UN) Charter, International Law, the International Court of Justice (#ICJ), or the International Criminal Court (#ICC) ?
How were the #USA / #UK / #NATO able to justify the use of their illegal ‘shock and awe’ force against, for example, #Iraq (2003) … followed by #Libya (2011) and #Syria (2014) ?
How and why is the USA able to prop up and shield the Criminal Apartheid Racist State of #Israel – a Twisted Zionist Polity – and its political and military leaders from international accountability before the UN Security Council, the ICJ and the ICC … for War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide ?
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Read & Weep … Pay Attention & Be Warned …
A very interesting Editorial by John Dugard SC was published in 2023. He is a former Member of the UN International Law Commission, Judge ad hoc of the International Court of Justice, and UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories …
‘ The RBO is something other than International Law. It is an alternative regime outside the discipline of International Law which inevitably challenges and threatens International Law. Charitably it may be seen as an order comprising values of a liberal order. Less charitably, it may be seen as a competing order advocated by some Western states, particularly the United States of America, which seeks to impose the interpretation of International Law that best advances the interests of the West, particularly those of the United States of America. Unlike International Law, it does not seem to be a universal order. Instead, it is an order employed by the West, again particularly the United States of America, to ensure its dominance.’
2024-03-22: In this balanced documentary, October 7 … Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) carried out a forensic analysis of the extreme events on 7 October 2023 … a day which transformed politics throughout the Eastern Mediterranean Region. By examining hours of footage from Closed Circuit TV (CCTV), dash-cams, personal phones and the head-cams of dead Hamas fighters, and listening to the testimonies of hundreds of survivors … the I-Unit reveals human rights abuses by Hamas fighters, and Gazan civilians who later followed after the early morning co-ordinated and multi-pronged attacks into Israel. But the investigation also found that many of the horrific stories presented by Israeli individuals and authorities in the weeks following the attacks were glaringly false.
Also revealed are the severe Israeli intelligence and military failures, and the callous implementation of the Hannibal Directive.
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Colour Image – a screen grab from the Al Jazeera Documentary: ‘October7’ – showing the 10 breach points in the eastern and northern high-walled security barrier which separates the Occupied Gaza Ghetto from Israel. These Hamas attacks took place on 7 October 2023. Click to enlarge.
October 7 is a detailed examination of events which led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people … the significance of which will reverberate, in the Arab world and the Global South, for decades to come.
2024-02-17: A very recent Report: The Fraud of Plastic Recycling – How Big Oil and the Plastics Industry Deceived the Public for Decades and Caused the Plastic Waste Crisis … published by the Centre for Climate Integrity ( www.climateintegrity,org ), in Washington D.C., #USA … raises serious issues about whether Any Plastic Recycling is technically or economically viable at scale … and serious questions, by implication, about Statistical Reliability in the European Union (#EU) concerning Recycling generally, and Plastics Recycling in particular.
Could this also be the Reason why the Global North is so busy dumping Un-Recyclable Plastics in the previously colonized territories of the Global South ???
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Short Extract From This Report’s Introduction …
Plastic Pollution is one of the most serious Environmental Crises facing the world today. Between 1950 and 2015, over 90% of plastics were landfilled, incinerated, or leaked into the environment. Plastic Waste is ubiquitous – from our rivers, lakes, and oceans to roadways and coastlines. It is in ‘the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink’. One study estimates that humans ingest up to five grams, or the equivalent of one credit card worth of plastic per week. Some of the largest Oil and Gas Companies are among the 20 petrochemical companies responsible for more than half of all single-use plastics generated globally. #ExxonMobil, for example, is the world’s top producer of single-use plastic polymers.
Underpinning this Plastic Waste Crisis is a decades-long campaign of #Fraud and #Deception about the #Recyclability of #Plastics. Despite their long-standing knowledge that recycling plastic is neither technically nor economically viable, petrochemical companies – independently and through their industry trade associations and front groups – have engaged in fraudulent marketing and public education campaigns designed to mislead the public about the viability of plastic recycling as a solution to Plastic Waste.
By deceiving consumers, policymakers, and regulators about the viability of Plastic Recycling, petrochemical companies have ensured the continued expansion of plastic production, which has led to a Plastic Waste and Pollution Crisis for communities across the country. The costs of managing and cleaning up Plastic Waste are largely borne by municipal and state governments – and those costs are projected to increase exponentially in the coming decades, given that Plastic Waste generation in the United States of America is expected to increase from 73 million metric tonnes in 2019 to more than 140 million metric tonnes by 2060.
If not for the Big Oil and the plastic industry’s lies and deception, municipalities and states would not have invested in plastic recycling programmes and facilities – many of which have been shut down due to foreseeable economic losses. The industry not only misled municipal and state agencies to believe that Plastic Recycling was a viable solution to Plastic Waste but also discouraged them from pursuing other, more Sustainable Waste Management Strategies (e.g., waste reduction, reuse, bans, alternative materials) in favour of plastic recycling.
Fossil fuel and other petrochemical companies should now be held accountable for their deliberate campaign of deception and the resulting harms, much like tobacco and opioid companies that employed a similar playbook. Based on the growing body of evidence, municipalities and states are likely to pursue litigation, which could put an end to the industry’s deception, make the companies pay for the devastating harms they have caused to communities, and open the door to real solutions that are currently out of reach.
2023-10-10: Referencing only those texts in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 38/17 of 1983 (previously UN A/RES 37/43 of 1982), which specifically mention, and directly/indirectly relate to, Palestine …
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The General Assembly,
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Reaffirming the obligation of all Member States to comply with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the resolutions of the United Nations regarding the exercise of the right to self-determination by peoples under colonial and foreign domination,
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Recalling further its relevant resolutions on the question of Palestine, in particular resolutions 3236 (XXIX) and 3237 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974, 36/120 of 10 December 1981, ES-7/6 of 19 August 1982 and 37/86 of 10 December 1982,
Recalling the Geneva Declaration on Palestine and the Programme of Action for the Achievement of Palestinian Rights, adopted by the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, held at Geneva from 29 August to 7 September 1983,
Considering that the denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, sovereignty, independence and return to Palestine and the repeated acts of aggression by Israel against the people of the region constitute a serious threat to international peace and security,
Deeply shocked and alarmed at the deplorable consequences of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and recalling all the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, in particular resolutions 508 (1982) of 5 June 1982, 509 (1982) of 6 June 1982, 520 (1982) of 17 September 1982 and 521 (1982) of 19 September 1982,
Calls upon all States to implement fully and faithfully all the resolutions of the United Nations regarding the exercise of the right to self-determination and independence by peoples under colonial and foreign domination ;
Reaffirms the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for their independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial domination, apartheid and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle ;
Reaffirms the inalienable right of the Namibian people, the Palestinian people and all peoples under foreign and colonial domination to self-determination, national unity and sovereignty without foreign interference ;
Strongly condemns those Governments that do not recognize the right to self-determination and independence of all peoples still under colonial domination and alien subjugation, notably the peoples of Africa and the Palestinian people ;
Endorses the declarations and programmes of action on Namibia and Palestine adopted respectively by the international conferences on these questions and calls for their immediate implementation ;
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Reaffirms that the practice of using mercenaries against sovereign States and national liberation movements constitutes a criminal act and calls upon the Governments of all countries to enact legislation declaring the recruitment, financing and training of mercenaries in their territories and the transit of mercenaries through their territories to be punishable offences, and prohibiting their nationals from serving as mercenaries, and to report on such legislation to the Secretary-General ;
Strongly condemns the continued violations of the human rights of the peoples still under colonial domination and alien subjugation, the continuation of the illegal occupation of Namibia, and South Africa’s attempts to dismember its Territory, the perpetuation of the racist minority régime in southern Africa, and the denial to the Palestinian people of their inalienable national rights ;
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Strongly condemns the constant and deliberate violations of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, as well as the expansionist activities of Israel in the Middle East, which constitute an obstacle to the achievement of self-determination and independence by the Palestinian people and a threat to peace and stability in the region ;
Further strongly condemns the massacre of Palestinians and other civilians at Beirut and the Israeli aggression against Lebanon which endangers stability, peace and security in the region ;
Demands the immediate and unconditional release of all persons detained or imprisoned as a result of their struggle for self-determination and independence, full respect for their fundamental individual rights and compliance with article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights under which no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment ;
Urges all States, specialized agencies, competent organizations of the United Nations system and other international organizations to extend their support to the Palestinian people through its sole and legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, in its struggle to regain its right to self-determination and independence in accordance with the Charter ;
Reiterates its satisfaction at the material and other forms of assistance that peoples under colonial régimes continue to receive from Governments, organizations of the United Nations system and intergovernmental organizations and calls for a substantial increase in this assistance ;
Urges all States, specialized agencies and other competent organizations of the United Nations system to do their utmost to ensure the full implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and to intensify their efforts to support peoples under colonial, foreign and racist domination in their just struggle for self-determination and independence ;
Requests the Secretary-General to give maximum publicity to the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and to give the widest possible publicity to the struggle of oppressed peoples for the achievement of their self-determination and national independence and to report periodically to the General Assembly on his activities ;
2017 Speech at the National Press Club, Washington D.C., by Prof. John J. Mearsheimer, Political Scientist & International Relations Scholar: Changes in the Israel Lobby & American Policy – Washington Report on Middle East Affairs ( www.wrmea.org ) … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8Mgdm_6-e0
1.Previously known as the International Community … before the #USA #NATO #UK #EU / #Ukraine / #Russia #ProxyWar … now known as the ‘West’, the ‘Hegemons’, the ‘War Mongers’, the ‘Ex-Colonial Powers’ (Footnote A), the ‘Slave Masters’, the ‘Climate Disruptors’ … and that tiny little speck in the Persian Gulf Region is #Israel (an Apartheid, Criminal State in blatant breach of so many United Nations Resolutions).
[ 2023-10-31: Right now, when unified and concerted global action on Climate Disruption is urgently required … this fracture in the ‘International Community’ is becoming more serious as a result of Israel’s Barbaric and Sadistic War Crimes in the Gaza Ghetto. ]
[ 2023-12-15: The #GlobalSouth, as well as general populations in the ‘West’, are witnessing irreparable damage being caused to the ‘Social and International Order’, referred to in Article 28 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (#UDHR), by the actions of Israel and its criminal accessories USA and UK. ]
[ 2024-02-22: Nada Tarbush Speech at U.N. Meeting of the Arms Trade Treaty, in Geneva | Western Support for Israel is Underpinned by #Racism … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDh1VBlhoSs ]
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Home Truths From Afar …
2015 University of Chicago Lecture by Prof. John J. Mearsheimer, Political Scientist & International Relations Scholar: The Causes & Consequences of the Ukraine Crisis … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4&t=1034s
Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits & 1936 Montreux Convention …
During this War in Ukraine, Türkiye has the right to block passage of Warships and Military-Aid Vessels.
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2.Expansion of the BRICS Group of Emerging Economies … Brazil, Russia, India (Bhārat), China & South Africa …
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3.Global Competition With China’s 2013 Belt & Road Initiative …
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4.Europe After Brexit … a complex extrication process which has caused significant disruption to neighbouring countries … and considerable bad feeling among an even wider group of European Union Member States.
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5.African Countries finally throwing off the Yoke of France (and Emperor Macron) … and telling both of them to take their Military Bases back home …
2023-08-21: In an earlier Post here, dated 2022-12-19, I presented a Road Map for Sustainable Fire Engineering (#SFE) … which finished on an Urgent Call to Action targeting three specific, fundamental aspects of a Creative Fire Engineering which is capable of answering the challenges of our Complex Built Environment in the 21st Century … under severe threats from Global Climate Disruption, Climate Synergies leading to near-term Climate Tipping Points … and a startling lack of Global Resilience, refer to the CoVID-19 Pandemic, and Supply Chain Chaos initiated by an old-fashioned Cold War I Warrior in Washington’s White House.
Mainstreaming a Transformed Fire Engineering
Ethical Practice of Fire Research and Science
Reliability of Fire Statistics …
Colour Image showing the #SFE Road Map’s Conclusion, Page 31 in a series of 36, from the updated (June 2022) Presentation on Sustainable Fire Engineering ~ its essential and critical role in realizing a Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Built Environment For ALL. Click to enlarge.
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From Any Point Of View … the Final Report of ‘EU FIRESTAT’, a project financed by the European Parliament and commissioned by European Commission Directorate-General DG GROW, is a white elephant … a plodding hippopotamus … a retrograde step … a bitter disappointment !!! Completed in July 2022, it comes nowhere near outlining a viable system for the development of urgently needed Harmonized European Fire Statistics … which must be managed and co-ordinated by #Eurostat, in Luxembourg.
The #FIRESTAT Objectives were extremely limited …
‘ The review proceeds from the assumption that fire incident data can serve a number of important purposes – helping to reduce fires and losses, identifying opportunities for safety interventions and education programs, guiding the allocation of public resources to areas of greatest need and impact, and monitoring progress of safety initiatives.’
Nowhere, in this Report, is there any reference to Sustainable Human and Social Development. Where there are references to ‘sustainability’, these are specifically concerning the long-term financial resourcing of statistical systems.
And nowhere is there even the faintest understanding that Fire Engineering has an essential and critical role in the realization of a Safe, Resilient & Sustainable Built Environment For ALL. Fire Engineering Performance Indicators, Targets and Benchmarks must be developed to facilitate that realization ; and Reliable Fire Statistics are their starting point and basic ingredient.
The Report’s Executive Summary (in English, French, and German) covers the limited range of the Project pretty well … and it is almost easy to read. The ‘great and the good’ of Conventional Fire Engineering, both organizations and individuals, were involved in this Project …
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Colour Image showing the cover of the EU Project ‘FIRESTAT’ Final Report, completed in July 2022, with the full title of the Project: ‘EU FIRESTAT – Closing Data Gaps & Paving The Way For Pan-European Fire Safety Efforts’ in the middle of the Page ; the European Commission Logo at the top of the Page ; and against a background of an EU Flag in the lower half of the Page, the list of 9 International Fire Safety Organizations in the Consortium which carried out the Project. Click to enlarge.
The Final Report’s Boxed Recommendation 3, on Page 8, lists 8 Variables / Statistics to be collected as a Tier 1 / 1st Priority across Europe, from Ireland all the way down to Türkiye :
Number of Fatalities ;
Number of Injuries ;
Age of Fatalities ;
Primary Causal Factor ;
Type of Building ;
Incident Location ;
Incident Date ;
Incident Time.
So, for instance … the only Fire Statistic related to the Human Condition of Fatalities and Injured which would have been gathered after the 2017 Grenfell Tower Fire in #London was … Age of Fatalities … which, in the context of what actually happened on that tragic night and knowing the very large numbers of People with Activity Limitations (2001 WHO ICF) and other Vulnerable Building Users who died, or were injured, in the fire … is a very serious error, and entirely ridiculous !!??!! FUBAR !!
Essential Variable / Statistic Correction: Age, Gender and Vulnerability of Victims (whether Fatality or Injured). This is critical information and, whatever the resource implications, must be collected.
And if that wasn’t bad enough … this cack-handed approach to the development of Harmonized European Fire Statistics opens up the probability of another Morán with a computer, after a similar fire incident, again showing that a similar High-Rise Residential Tower could be evacuated down a single, narrow, badly designed staircase in 7 minutes. Say no more !!!
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J’Accuse / I Accuse the International Fire Engineering Community of being intentionally and maliciously Deaf, Dumb and Blind to the desperate Fire Safety Needs of People with Activity Limitations, including People with Disabilities, and other Vulnerable Building Users !
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Concerning Incident Date … the Consortium appears to be completely unaware that the European Standard Short Format Date is … Year-Month-Day (YYYY-MM-DD) !! See 4.2.2. in the Final Report. Sloppy, Sloppy, Sloppy.
Generally concerning Tier 1 Statistics … where is there any serious consideration of the deep and substantial Green / Environmental / Climate Disruption Mitigation and Adaptation Measures being imposed on the Design and Operation of New and Existing Buildings … which are already causing serious fire safety problems ??? See many previous Posts on this Technical Blog.
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Colour Image showing #IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report Figure 5a: ‘Limiting warming to 1.5 C and 2 C involves rapid, deep and in most cases immediate greenhouse gas emission reductions’ … from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 6th Assessment Report. Current emission reduction policies will result in global warming of approximately 3.2 C, which is far off target. Click to enlarge.
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The Final Report’s Boxed Recommendation 3, on Pages 8 & 9, goes on to list 6 Extra Variables / Statistics to be collected as a Tier 2 / 2nd Priority across Europe, from Portugal all the way up to Finland :
Number of Floors ;
Area of Origin ;
Heat Source ;
Item First Ignited ;
Articles Contributing to Fire Development ;
Fire Safety Measures Present.
Concerning Fire Safety Measures Present … my patience is at an end ! I am heartily sick and tired of pointing out that there is no such thing as a ‘Fire Door’ ; it does not exist !! It is ALWAYS a Fire Resisting Doorset !!! See 4.4.3.
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This EU ‘FIRESTAT’ Report properly belongs to the Twilight Zone of the last Century … and in today’s Recycling Bin !
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And Even More Worrying …
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Concerted Resistance to answering the Fire Safety Needs of Vulnerable Building Users ;
The mistaken view that ‘Sustainability’ is merely a graft-on / optional extra to Conventional Fire Engineering ;
Constraining Building Fire Safety Performance within the boundaries of Current Fire Codes ;
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Is the EU ‘FIRESTAT’ Final Report another disturbing sign of the growing Trend towards #GREENWASHING in International Fire Engineering ?
2023-06-28:Sustainability is not an abstract concept, divorced from current geo-political realities. Lasting Peace and Robust International Law are fundamental prerequisites for Sustainable Human and Social Development … a truth forgotten, and/or conveniently set aside, by all parties to the savage and immensely destructive #USA #NATO #EU / #Ukraine / #Russia #War.
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USA, 60 Years Ago …
In the tense atmosphere of the Cold War with Russia, and just after the Cuban Missile Crisis a few months earlier … a short extract – inspiring words – from President John F. Kennedy’s Commencement Address at the American University, Washington D.C., on 10 June 1963 …
” … I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived – yet it is the most important topic on earth: World Peace.
What kind of peace do I mean ? What kind of peace do we seek ? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children – not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women – not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
I speak of peace because of the new face of war. Total war makes no sense in an age when great powers can maintain large and relatively invulnerable nuclear forces and refuse to surrender without resort to those forces. It makes no sense in an age when a single nuclear weapon contains almost ten times the explosive force delivered by all the allied air forces in the Second World War. It makes no sense in an age when the deadly poisons produced by a nuclear exchange would be carried by wind and water and soil and seed to the far corners of the globe and to generations yet unborn.
Today the expenditure of billions of dollars every year on weapons acquired for the purpose of making sure we never need to use them is essential to keeping the peace. But surely the acquisition of such idle stockpiles – which can only destroy and never create – is not the only, much less the most efficient, means of assuring peace.
I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war – and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task. …”
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Fast Forward 60 Years To The Present …
The #GroupFeeling towards #China (#PRC) in the same Washington D.C. is an irrational and disturbing mixture of paranoia, panic, fear, jealousy, and war fever. All too easily, other countries have been sucked into the Hegemonic Agenda of President Joe Biden – an old fashioned, mid-20th Century Cold War Warrior. Pax Americana, USA #Exceptionalism, weaponisation of the #Dollar, widespread #Sanctioning (at this stage, who isn’t being sanctioned ?), illegal #Trade restrictions, and blatant #HumanRights hypocrisy (see the recent UN Report on the USA #Guantánamo Detention Facility in #Cuba) are all being quietly rejected by the Global ‘South’ and ‘East’.
But who today, in the ‘West’, understands China’s assertiveness … and why it must be uncompromising ? The #USA’s ideologically-driven ignorance has led, in the past, to enormous blunders … Viet Nam, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, etc., etc.
On 25 November 2020, I was very pleased to give a Virtual Presentation to a private discussion group …
Colour Image showing the Title Page for CJ Walsh’s Presentation: ‘Resilient China After Century Of Humiliation’. In the centre, an aerial view over the city of Wuhan. Below, the Title Block for the presentation. At the top, a list of the countries responsible for China’s humiliation. Click to enlarge this image. Use the link below to download the Full Presentation of 10 Pages.
Click to download Presentation, 10 Pages, PDF File 5.55 MB
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Using #Taiwan to bait China and ramp up military tensions can only end badly for the ‘West’. China’s ‘Century of Humiliation’ is over … President Xi Jinping, and the Communist Party of China (#CPC) Central Committee, will certainly not allow that sad history to repeat itself.
The proposal by NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) to open an office – any type of office – in #Japan is not only ridiculous … it is preposterous.
China is not an enemy of the European Union (#EU) … Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission) and Josep Borrell (High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) would do well to remember that !
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[ Footnote 1: Use of Cluster Munitions in Armed Conflicts …
The Convention on Cluster Munitions (https://www.clusterconvention.org/) – adopted in Dublin on 30 May 2008, and became binding #InternationalLaw when it entered into force on 1 August 2010 – was born out of a collective determination to address the humanitarian consequences and unacceptable harm to civilians caused by cluster munitions. States Parties to the Convention are committed to the full universalization of the #CCM and to promote its norms, as well as to fully implement it. Its implementation contributes to advancing the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (#SDG’s) and the promotion of International #Peace and #Security, #HumanRights and International Humanitarian #Law.
Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 1 – General Obligations & Scope of Application
1. Each State Party undertakes never under any circumstances to:
(a) Use cluster munitions ;
(b) Develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer to anyone, directly or indirectly, cluster munitions ;
(c) Assist, encourage or induce anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a State Party under this Convention.
Question: If the vast majority of NATO Member Countries have ratified this Convention … why has the USA been permitted to supply these munitions to Ukraine ?? ]
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[ Footnote 2: Xi Jinping’s Visit to Ireland in February 2012 …
