87 Dead in Bangladesh Garment Factory Collapse

[georgephillip]

While conservatives celebrate the murder of children and the creation of private billion$ fortunes.
Think there's a connection?

 

[Fender]

While conservatives celebrate the murder of children and the creation of private billion$ fortunes.
Think there's a connection?

To this thread? No.

 

[georgephillip]

While conservatives celebrate the murder of children and the creation of private billion$ fortunes.
Think there's a connection?

To this thread? No.

Don't see any billionaires in Bangladesh?

 

[Fender]

While conservatives celebrate the murder of children and the creation of private billion$ fortunes.
Think there's a connection?

To this thread? No.

Don't see any billionaires in Bangladesh?

Um... no.

 

[georgephillip]

To this thread? No.

Don't see any billionaires in Bangladesh?

Um... no.

" Who has more money: the six heirs to the Walmart fortune or the bottom 41.5% of all American families put together? Trick question—they're about the same. The Economic Policy Institute calculates that in 2010, six members of the Walton family were together worth $89.5 billion. That amount of wealth is equal to the total value held by a staggering 48.8 million.

Yuk. yuk.

6 Walmart Heirs Worth Same as Bottom 41% of US - Their combined worth is $89.5 billion

 

[Fender]

Don't see any billionaires in Bangladesh?

Um... no.

" Who has more money: the six heirs to the Walmart fortune or the bottom 41.5% of all American families put together? Trick question—they're about the same. The Economic Policy Institute calculates that in 2010, six members of the Walton family were together worth $89.5 billion. That amount of wealth is equal to the total value held by a staggering 48.8 million.

Yuk. yuk.

6 Walmart Heirs Worth Same as Bottom 41% of US - Their combined worth is $89.5 billion

So the Walmart family lives in Bangladesh?

 

[georgephillip]

Um... no.

" Who has more money: the six heirs to the Walmart fortune or the bottom 41.5% of all American families put together? Trick question—they're about the same. The Economic Policy Institute calculates that in 2010, six members of the Walton family were together worth $89.5 billion. That amount of wealth is equal to the total value held by a staggering 48.8 million.

Yuk. yuk.

6 Walmart Heirs Worth Same as Bottom 41% of US - Their combined worth is $89.5 billion

So the Walmart family lives in Bangladesh?

Their slaves live in Bangladesh.

 

[waltky]

More bodies recovered...

Bangladesh garment disaster death toll crosses 800
May 8,`13 -- Dozens of bodies recovered Wednesday from a collapsed garment factory building were so decomposed they were being sent to a lab for DNA identification, police said, as the death toll from Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster topped 800.

Following protests, authorities also began disbursing salaries and other benefits to survivors of the collapse. Also Wednesday, the European Union's delegation to Bangladesh urged the government to "act immediately" to improve working conditions. Authorities said the government has closed 18 garment factories in recent days for failing to meet work and safety standards. Police said 803 bodies had been recovered from the wreckage of the eight-story Rana Plaza building by late afternoon and more were expected as salvage work continued two weeks after the April 24 collapse.

There is no clear indication of how many bodies still remain trapped in the debris because the exact number of people inside the building at the time of the collapse is unknown. More than 2,500 people were rescued alive. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association earlier said 3,122 workers were employed at the five factories housed in the building, but it was not clear how many were there during the packed morning shift when it collapsed. Several stores and a bank were also in the building.

Maj. Gen. Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardy, a top military official in the area, said the operation to recover bodies from the tangle of wreckage could continue for two to three more days before they would ask the local administration to take care of the site. Suhrawardy said they had to send 36 decomposing bodies to Dhaka Medical College Hospital to collect DNA samples because they were beyond identification. Authorities expected to send more bodies for testing in the coming days, with temperatures in the high 80s Fahrenheit (low 30s Celsius) and rain pouring down.

The disaster is the worst ever in the garment sector, far surpassing fires last year that killed about 260 people in Pakistan and 112 in Bangladesh, as well as the 1911 garment disaster in New York's Triangle Shirtwaist factory that killed 146 workers. After hundreds of garment workers protested for compensation Tuesday, authorities started disbursing salaries and other benefits. About 2,000 people gathered at a military athletic field in Savar on Wednesday to receive their salaries, but the process was slow because many had no identity cards, said Faruk Hossain, an inspector for the Industrial Police. He said factory supervisors were helping to identify workers who did not have ID cards or other proof that they were employed by the five factories.

MORE

 

[georgephillip]

It's a damn shame there's never a Walton decomposing when you need one:

"In 2007, the six inheritors—who are the children of Walmart founders Sam and James Walton—boasted riches equal to the bottom 30% of Americans. But their assets have ballooned in value in the intervening three years.

"'It's just one example of the prevalence of income inequality in America," writes the Huffington Post. 'The top 1% of American earners saw their incomes spike 275% between 1979 and 2007, while the bottom one-fifth of Americans saw their wealth grow by only 20%.'"

They don't call it disaster capitalism for nothing.

6 Walmart Heirs Worth Same as Bottom 41% of US - Their combined worth is $89.5 billion

 

[Fender]

" Who has more money: the six heirs to the Walmart fortune or the bottom 41.5% of all American families put together? Trick question—they're about the same. The Economic Policy Institute calculates that in 2010, six members of the Walton family were together worth $89.5 billion. That amount of wealth is equal to the total value held by a staggering 48.8 million.

Yuk. yuk.

6 Walmart Heirs Worth Same as Bottom 41% of US - Their combined worth is $89.5 billion

So the Walmart family lives in Bangladesh?

Their slaves live in Bangladesh.

If Bangladesh doesn't want to toughen their labor laws, maybe they have their reasons? You bleeting hearts are just jealous of rich people, at least admit it.
So you don't want Walmart employing people in poor countries?

 

[georgephillip]

So the Walmart family lives in Bangladesh?

Their slaves live in Bangladesh.

If Bangladesh doesn't want to toughen their labor laws, maybe they have their reasons? You bleeting hearts are just jealous of rich people, at least admit it.
So you don't want Walmart employing people in poor countries?

I want rich people who employ people in poor countries to provide for basic human rights, including the right to expect all eight stories of the building they are working in to remain upright. Why don't you?

I suspect the government of Bangladesh doesn't toughen labor laws because it serves the economic interests of its richest 1% first and foremost just as every government has done since "civilization" began.

Possibly what's needed is a wall of separation between private wealth and the state?

Finally, has it ever occurred to cold-hearted cons that rich people are the problem in this world?

 

[Katzndogz]

George Phillip is angry that people in Bangladesh got a job when WalMart should be supporting them. Even though none of them ever worked for WalMart.

 

[georgephillip]

In fact some of them do work for Walmart.
Walmart should support human rights.

 

[sitarro]

Their slaves live in Bangladesh.

If Bangladesh doesn't want to toughen their labor laws, maybe they have their reasons? You bleeting hearts are just jealous of rich people, at least admit it.
So you don't want Walmart employing people in poor countries?

I want rich people who employ people in poor countries to provide for basic human rights, including the right to expect all eight stories of the building they are working in to remain upright. Why don't you?

I suspect the government of Bangladesh doesn't toughen labor laws because it serves the economic interests of its richest 1% first and foremost just as every government has done since "civilization" began.

Possibly what's needed is a wall of separation between private wealth and the state?

Finally, has it ever occurred to cold-hearted cons that rich people are the problem in this world?

It's not "cold-hearted cons" that are pushing for the killing of millions of children a year......that's all you ........... hypocrites. Shouldn't you be celebrating the loss of life in one building collapse......it's almost a perfect abortion.

 

[georgephillip]

Sounds like a subject for another thread, but maybe cons and libs are coming at abortion from the wrong perspective. When life begins isn't something both sides will ever agree on. When life ends is. The law tells us life ends when the electrical potential in our brains is no longer measurable: brain dead. Why not apply the same standards to the unborn? When the electrical voltage of the unborn child's brain first becomes measurable, life begins

If libs were willing to accept that, I wonder if conservatives would accept marriage as a human right?

 

[Dragonlady]

It's completely outrageous that conservatives care more the unborn Americans than they do about living people in countries they exploit and abuse for cheap goods.

The customers of the people who buy clothing from the companies subcontracting to these countries need to demand that the clothing be made in humane conditions. If it were cats of dogs doing this work, Americans would call it cruel and inhumane. People are deserving of decent conditions where going to work isn't risking your life.

 

[georgephillip]

In fact members of the US Congress have expressed much indignation at consumer items sold in this country that contained hair from slaughtered dogs or cats. I think Trent Lott shed some crocodile tears over every puppy he ever owned when the subject was in the news, but obviously the exploitation of children is something corporate tools like Lott get reelected from.

 

[waltky]

Squabble over Bangladesh Reform Plan...

European, US Retailers Split on Bangladesh Reform Plan
May 14, 2013 — Major U.S. retailers, including Gap Inc., declined to endorse an accord on Bangladesh building and fire safety backed by Europe's two biggest fashion chains, a trans-Atlantic divide that may dilute garment industry reform efforts.

A Bangladeshi rescuer stands amid the rubble of a garment factory building that collapsed on April 24 as they continue searching for bodies in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, May 12, 2013. Three weeks after the collapse of a building housing garment factories, which killed more than 1,100 people, Western brands that rely on Bangladesh to produce clothing cheaply disagreed over how best to ensure worker safety.

Gap said it was ready to sign on "today'' to an agreement already endorsed by European companies, including Italian clothing retailer Benetton, Britain's Marks & Spencer, Sweden's H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB and Spain's Inditex SA, but first wanted a change in the way disputes are resolved in the courts. “With this single change, this global, historic agreement can move forward with a group of all retailers, not just those based in Europe,'' Eva Sage-Gavin, an executive in Gap's global human resources and corporate affairs department, said in a statement.

A Bangladeshi rescuer stands amid the rubble of a garment factory building that collapsed on April 24 as they continue searching for bodies in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, May 12, 2013.

A series of deadly incidents at factories, including a fire in November that killed 112 people, has focused global attention on safety standards in Bangladesh's booming garment industry, the world's biggest exporter of clothing after China. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, called on Bangladesh to shut one factory and examine another after its own inspections found safety problems. Major brands and retailers set a May 15 deadline to join the agreement after talks in Germany last month. As of Tuesday morning, the only U.S. company to announce it had signed on was PVH, which owns brands including Calvin Klein.

Europe accounts for about 60 percent of Bangladesh's clothing exports, so even without participation from the big U.S. retailers, the agreement may bring some change in a country that has seen at least three deadly garment factory disasters in the span of six months. Mohammad Atiqul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the deal was a bit of good news in the “worst time for us.” “We believe this decision will motivate other big buyers across the West and the USA to join their hands with us,'' he told Reuters.

Li & Fung Ltd, which supplies dozens of major retailers, including Walmart, said it was "continuing to look at'' the European pact, but declined to give details. Bangladesh is second only to China in Li & Fung's global supply chain. “We don't think the answer is to move away from Bangladesh,” Bruce Rockowitz, Li & Fung's group president and chief executive, told reporters after a shareholder meeting in Hong Kong on Tuesday. “The answer is actually to invest more and try to make safety better and work with the government on doing a better job on monitoring buildings,” he added.

Sourcre

See also:

Walmart to inspect vendors factories...

Walmart to Inspect Bangladesh Factories
May 14, 2013 - The world's largest retailer, Walmart, is ordering inspections of all 279 of its suppliers' factories in Bangladesh and will publicly announce the results.

Walmart is acting after a building containing garment factories in Bangladesh collapsed last month, killing more than 1,100 workers. Walmart says it will no longer buy goods from any factory that fails safety inspection and does not make proper repairs.

Walmart is acting separately from a joint agreement by several top global clothing retailers and brands to demand better working conditions in Bangladesh. They include H&M, Zara, Tesco, Calvin Klein, and Izod. They have set a Wednesday deadline for all retailers to sign on to the agreement.

Last month's building collapse killed 1,127 people. Nearly 2,500 people were pulled alive from the rubble, including a 19 year-old girl who survived in the wreckage for 17 days. Bangladesh authorities have arrested nine people in connection with the collapse.

The government says it has since shut down 18 garment factories for safety reasons. It also plans to raise the minimum wage for garment workers and allow for the easier formation of labor unions.

Walmart to Inspect Bangladesh Factories

 

[sfcalifornia]

It's completely outrageous that conservatives care more the unborn Americans than they do about living people in countries they exploit and abuse for cheap goods.

The customers of the people who buy clothing from the companies subcontracting to these countries need to demand that the clothing be made in humane conditions. If it were cats of dogs doing this work, Americans would call it cruel and inhumane. People are deserving of decent conditions where going to work isn't risking your life.

Unreal, isn't it? Conservatives don't give a shit about anybody but themselves even in our own country. Once that baby is born, they don't give a shit if it has food, if it has healthcare, if it is educated.... They couldn't possibly be expected to give a shit if the products they consume were made humanely by some poor Bangladeshi thousands of miles away.

 

[sfcalifornia]

So, don't shop at Wal Mart. This is an internal problem in Bangladesh. It is their laws and building standards. It has nothing to do with us.

Of course you would think it has nothing to do with us because you're heartless and uncaring.

It has everything to do with us because we consume the products they make. It is up to us to demand buildings be built to standard and humane labor laws enforced. You might not give a shit about wearing someone else's blood on your back but I do and I won't stand for it.