Tuesday 10th January 2023

   Grenfell's legacy.

   Since the tragic tower fire in Grenfell exposed how badly its residents were failed, Scottish lawmakers have introduced additional measures to protect people there from the dangers of fire and carbon monoxide leaks. Many residential areas - especially those around the inner city which are frequently home to a less affluent population - made up of typically older properties, that may not be quite as well maintained as they otherwise would be or  could be.

   Scotland has long been campaigning to claim her independence from the United Kingdom. Legal, Judicial, educational, medical, procedural and fiscal systems very often differ from those in English, Northern Ireland and Wales. 

New requirements mean Scotland will be the first country in the UK  to legislate for such vital, life saving equipment across the board. Another claim those petitioning for national independence can proudly disport. The use of early warning devices in the home, for businesses and in public places saves lives. The statistics are undeniable and they've proven to be so successful, that many insurance providers deem them a necessity to obtain cover.

   Every home will be required to install an interlinked system, meaning when one alarm is triggered and sounds, every device will sound, wherever you are in the property. This system is connected using radio frequencies and doesn't require wi-fi to function. Kitchens will need a heat detector, smoke detectors must be positioned in the most commonly used space (usually a living room), in every hallway and landing and if there are any carbon fuelled appliances, that room will need a carbon monoxide detector (although the latter need not be interlinked). Landlords, local authorities or housing associations will be responsible for equipping rental properties. 

Building regulations demand that  newly built properties, extensions and loft conversions include the provisions. Homeowners will probably find mortgage and insurance providers insist upon compliance. Anyone who has ever had to make a claim against their insurance policy, will appreciate how unlikely they were to be successful, if not adhering too a legal stipulation. It's not an excessive expense given that the operational lifespan is about ten years, reducing the potentially steep human price tag. However, the treasury will be providing the fire service with the necessary finances to assist those most at risk. Loans will be made available to social landlords (local authorities and housing associations) as they will probably need to fit a large number of properties within a limited amount of time.

  Although it is not currently a criminal offence to not have the correct devices fitted, using the interlinked system, it would not be possible to sell the property and local authorities can use their statutory powers, to require work on substandard housing. Undoubtedly should a court of law have to ascribe responsibility following injury, disability or loss of life, any failure to comply with minimum legal standards would be a deciding factor. Systems may be powered by long life lithium batteries or mains powered (with a back up battery). Reusable batteries cannot be used and batteries must be in a sealed, tamper proof unit. The systems are widely available, although the government does not endorse any particular manufacturers. They do however detail specific safety standards with which each device must conform, akin to the CE mark that indicates a standard for toys.

   The UK has been amending legal requirements for providers of rental properties and in building regulations, but this is the first inclusion of the interlinked system within legislation. 

These  groundbreaking measures are a response to the notorious Grenfell tower disaster in 2017. Tower fires are utterly terrifying and (fortunately) a horror few people will ever have to know.

Shortly before 1am on 14th June 2017, a ferocious blaze tore through a 24 storey tower block in Grenfell, Kensington, West London. 74 lives were lost that day and 70 more people received hospital treatment for their injuries, in what was the UK's worst residential fire since WWII and the devastating fires of the blitz. 

The entire nation watched in shock, as the tower was rapidly engulfed, burning for 60 hours. Firefighters were unable to reach many of the victims before they were overwhelmed by smoke, or their exit was made inaccessible. They battled the flames for 17 hours before they could reach the top floor. That no more people perished is a testament to the  efforts of police and firefighters, who worked tirelessly under impossible conditions, gaining control after 24 hours.

A full, formal inquest investigated a catalogue of concerns raised by residents prior to the tragedy. There had been only one staircase to serve all 129 flats. It had been more than four years since any  safety checks had taken place. Many fire extinguishers were inoperable having expired whilst others were marked with the word Condemned. Rubbish had been allowed to amount in corridors, there was only one entrance and a single exit with no sprinklers at all. 

As far back as 12 years prior to the disaster, a report had criticised emergency lighting at Grenfell tower.

Just 12 months before their demise silenced them, residents Nadia Choucair(33) and Mariem Elgwahry(27) had complained after an independent assessor identified 40 serious issues with fire safety in the high-rise. They were threatened with legal action by K.C.T.M.O.; an organisation described described as an "evil, unprincipled, mini-mafia" by the Grenfell Action Group, accusing them of ignoring health & safety laws, saying that: "only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of [KCTMO]" adding that they  "predict that it won't be long before the words of this blog come back to haunt the KCTMO management and we will do everything in our power to ensure that those in authority know how long and how appallingly our landlord has ignored their responsibility to ensure the health and safety of their tenants and leaseholders. They can't say that they haven't been warned!".

An electrical fault with a refrigerator on the fourth floor being identified as the source of the fire holds little significance in light of the litany of failures that elicited a perfect storm during the early hours of that June morning. 

Heavy, airtight fire doors and thick walls were intended to contain a fire until fire crews could address it, in which case only residents in the affected unit needed to be alerted or evacuated. Most of Grenfell's 600 occupants were asleep at that hour. Without any kind of warning, they had no way to know the danger they were in until it was far too late. An over-reliance on these features is employed at Grenfell and in buildings the length and breadth of the country, with standard procedures advising occupants to "stay put". Would you feel happy remaining inside a building as the flames are licking at your windows?

Many more lives were lost than should have been, primarily due to the aluminium composite rain screen cladding that had been fitted to the exterior two years earlier in an attempt to improve energy efficiency - or that's where the blame came to a rest anyway.

Harley Facades; the construction company responsible for applying this facia stated that "from a selfish point of view", his company's preference was to use cheaper aluminium Composite material. An alternative cladding with better fire resistance was refused due to cost. High-rise tower blocks are overwhelmingly inhabited by  

72 victims of uncaring policies, punishing the poor 

highly flammable cladding and an air gap beneath it, incurring the stack effect essentially fanning the flames of what had by then, become an inferno. Emergency services were alerted shortly before midnight, when witnesses were woken by residents shouting and screaming for their lives. Accounts of people throwing children from windows and tying bedsheets together to make their escape, make for grim reading. More than anything, the speed with which the smoke and flames took control, shocked everybody. Traumatised survivors told reporters that no alarms had sounded. It's yet ANOTHER example of the lethality presented by capitalist pragmatism. Persistent demands to impose more and more cost cutting measures puts profits before safety and the lives of people. 

The government immediately demanded a public enquiry and I can personally attest to witnessing hundreds of tower blocks nationwide, being stripped of exterior cladding. 

  The Grenfell tower disaster:

How the Grenfell fire unfolded

 ⚠️Video timeline of the Grenfell tower inferno: Watch as 24 floors are gutted within half an hour, by a real-life raging inferno.Keep in mind that parents trapped in their homes on the upper floors, had no other option than to hold their kids, knowing in their hearts how it was the end for each and every one of them.⬇️

Remembering the victims.

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The nightmare pill

Wednesday 8th March 2023

  The nightmare pill.

   Have you ever had one of those dreams where you know a terrible disaster is imminent, but you either can't tell anyone or they just won't listen? Well, this has been my life for the past twenty years or so. Yes, it's bizarre and no doubt, it sounds like I'm being overly dramatic. I probably wouldn't have believed me either.

   Despite being marketed as a "safer" option than benzodiazepines for the treatment of insomnia, none of these medicines are intended for long term use. Prescribing medical practitioners are advised to limit their patient's use of the drug to a maximum of 14-28 days. All these medicines prevent the patient from obtaining complete sleep cycles, with their rhythm oscillating between slow-wave and REM phases of sleep. Such a deficit impedes regeneration of the immune system and the cognitive abilities of the brain to retain thoughts and memories, among other vital functions. Consequently, sleep obtained by taking such medicines, is little better than none at all. 

https://thoughtcatalog.com/eric-redding/2016/01/44-people-share-their-crazy-and-dangerous-ambien-horror-stories/

  

 Irrespective of prescribing guidelines advising doctors, countless patients take these drugs on a daily basis for years on end, having become hopelessly addicted after years of use. It's impossible that they can be getting anything but relief from withdrawal symptoms (which admittedly does feel good) and a psychosomatic effect , given the tolerance they must have acquired. Ironically, withdrawal symptoms can be so severe that benzodiazepines are needed to assist with tapering, reduction and the management of potential seizures. Incidences of over prescribing have continued increasing in frequency alongside a staggering popularity for recreational use. 

 Although the number of people addicted to Z drugs is significant, it's not the biggest concern users should be aware of. Pharmacies are legally obliged to clarify the many side effects that can befall patients. Warnings in the UK mainly consist of verbal advise from doctors and pharmacists, whilst in the US, black box warnings and many times the size of the packaging itself. They describe all the usual unpleasantness associated with hypnotics, but one specific peculiarity has been intentionally suppressed since its inception. One that everyone, whether they take the drug or not, needs to be keenly aware of.

   It's impossible to suggest that I misused this drug in any way. I used it no more than two nights out of seven. Upon those occasions, I took a single 7.5mg pill, as prescribed, without any alcohol or any other possibly contra-indicated substance. To the best of my knowledge, I had experienced a fairly good night's sleep, waking feeling normal with nothing out of the ordinary to report. Then, one morning a friend of my then partner, knocked on my door. Thinking nothing of it, I opened the door and invited him inside. Before I could close the door behind him..BAM! He punched me square in the face. Now, I can take a punch, so my response was a combination of shock and confusion. I'm a very agreeable person. Definitely not the kind of person who has angered a queue avengers waiting for their turn to hit me. 

  Raised voices, accusations and denials ensued. Apparently, I had called his GF numerous times during the night, making increasingly severe threats. Calls made to someone I had never met, but yet even more baffling - how did I even know her phone number? I simply couldn't believe this was a behaviour I was capable of and still struggle to believe it to this day. 

  When he played me a recording of the calls, hearing my voice like that I was forced to admit my guilt. There was absolutely no denying it was my voice, but why or how it occurred was and still is, inconceivable. 

   Before too long I discovered from talking to friends, that these sort of bizarre incidents in conjunction with the memory loss, while under the influence of Zopiclone, were more common than we could have imagined. The common characteristics in all occasions were:

💊The use of a single 7.5mg dose of Zopiclone.

💊Behaviour out of character to the individual.

💊Absolutely no recollection whatsoever of the events.

   During the ensuing years, obscure reports of violent and embarrassing stories involving both celebrities and everyday people, began to hit the headlines. Oprah Winfrey was mocked, when she blamed the drug for racist remarks she had made on Twitter. Also alleging to be affected by the medicine, was Chris Pratt who challenged WWE star Dave Bautista to a fight. 

 An airplane was forced to make an emergency landing, when one passenger who had used the drug to alleviate their fear of flying, physically attacked the cabin crew. Further accounts portrayed hotel rooms being destroyed, patients facing domestic violence charges and all manner of peculiarities. 

 Until you've personally experienced such an episode, I can understand how hard it would be to accept the deniability that is warranted in what has been dubbed "The Ambien defence". This is unlike other instances of amnesia such as that caused by alcohol, where it's possible that remnants of events can return in drips and drabs with time. It's not like the effects felt from benzodiazepines, barbiturates, anaesthetics, opiates, Ketamine or just getting messed up, or overindulging.

 The truly terrifying business effectively steals your body for a period of time, to do absolutely anything with and you can never know. "Body snatching".

 Manufacturers Merck were making obscene profits from their product, maintaining that it was a "very rare side effect". In truth, many people were either too embarrassed to report anything, or were simply unaware that anything had befallen them, besides a full night's sleep. 

 Initial reports that did become public, were considered funny due to how bizarre it sounded. As time progressed, the more problematic nature of sleep eating, having (potentially involuntary or forceful) sex whilst unconscious, sleep cooking and even sleep driving, offered an indication of where this was heading.

   Then one day when I searched the internet for the latest news concerning the matter (which usually led with a selection of rehab and detox facilities), everything had changed. Suddenly, the first results the search engine churned out were for lawyers. Finally after nearly 2 decades, the other foot had fallen... a terrible disaster I had foreseen all those years before had come to pass. It was truly like some kind of horror movie. Patients using the drug had awoken to discover the person they loved and that loved and trusted them most in the world -their soul mate - was dead. Butchered by them in utterly heinous ways. Scientists had investigated this "very rare side effect" and discovered that everything that we had been saying was true. Thus it's now become an accepted alibi in defence of crimes, where it could be proven the phenomenon was in effect.

  However, the important thing to keep in mind is that whether a court of law accepts this alibi or not, that person still has to live each day for the remainder of their life, imagining that terror and suffering they inflicted upon their trusting partner. To my mind, such a sentence is a fate worse than death.

 Whether you take Zopiclone, Zolpidem or another nonbenzodiazepine, consider whether it's really a gamble you're prepared to take. This pill could lead you into a nightmare world from which there could be no waking up.

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