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War on Want’s outcry over JCB machines demolishing Palestinian playground needs redress.
Before I start, let me state for the record that I have no affiliation with JCB. Try as we might, the company is not an advertiser on DemolitionNews, and never has been. Furthermore, I am not a right-wing Tory boy or an anti-Palestinian. And as a left-leaning media type, nor am I the sort to sit idly by while anyone’s human rights are violated (I’ve been on marches, y’know).
But what started out as some poor journalism reporting of JCB’s supposed involvement in human rights violations has now escalated with the no doubt well-meaning War on Want charity throwing its considerable weight behind the argument.
This story relates to the simple depiction of a JCB machine being used by the Israeli military to demolish a Palestinian playground in the town of Silwan.
Never mind the fact that JCB may have sold the machine for non-military purposes; never mind that it may, in fact, have been sold to a previous owner and since purchased second-hand by the Israelis; never mind that the machine in question may be years old and long since out of contact with its manufacturer. According to war on Want and, specifically, its campaigns and policy director Greg Muttitt, this makes JCB “complicit in attacks on children and communities”.
“It is unacceptable that a British company like JCB should profit from human rights violations.”
Attacks on children and communities? This doesn’t sound like the actions of a world-renowned British manufacturer. Nor does it sound like the actions of a company that donates millions to charity each year. Nor does it sound like the actions of a company that has a reputation for being among the first to respond to natural disasters with machine donations around the world.
But there, tucked into the darkest corner at the bottom of War on Want’s statement is a clue to real reasoning behind this story – The fact that the company was a major contributor to the Conservative Party’s election campaign.
OK, perhaps the British government and its counterparts across the pond may not be doing enough to interject in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But please don’t drag one of the UK’s last bastions of manufacturing excellence into a political mud-slinging contest. JCB has continued to manufacture much of its product range here in the UK when economic and strategic sense must surely have suggested otherwise. It is a major employer, runs its own academy to encourage engineering learning and is an integral part of the Staffordshire community. And, for the record, it s NOT a war criminal.
We rarely beg for comments on DemolitionNews (most of you don’t need encouragement in that area) but we feel particularly strongly about this issue and we would like you to show your support using the Comments area below. Even if you are not a JCB customer and even if you are a JCB competitor, please take just a few seconds to air your views.
Exclusive video gets up close and personal with demolition of Terrace Apartments.
Earlier this week we brought you the news that work was underway to demolish the Terrace Apartments complex in quake-hit Chrisctchurch, New Zealand.
Now, thanks to photographer Matt Jenkinson, we’re able to get you up close to the action with this exclusive new video:
MJ Finnigan brings curtain down on Widnes’ Queens Hall.
The morning of February 8th 2012 saw the final curtain call for one of Widnes’s oldest and most iconic music venues.
Along with steel girders and masonry a million memories came tumbling down as Specialist Demolition contractors MJ Finnigan Ltd based in Manchester brought down the last remains of the Queens Hall theatre that had previously played host to some of the worlds most famous musicians, most notably The Beatles, The Stone Roses and The Happy Mondays.
Based in the heart of Widnes this once thriving and popular entertainment venue, has been demolished Following several safety concerns over the condition of the derelict fire damaged building. The client, Halton Council made the decision to proceed with the demolition works which also mark a significant investment in the regeneration of the area.
Work started on site on before Christmas with the company carrying out the removal of significant quantities of asbestos and undertaking soft strip works in preparation for the main demolition and the 10 week project is currently on schedule for completion for around mid February.
Overnight possession for heavy-lift bridge removal.
Regular readers will recall that just over a month ago we brought you exclusive photos showing the removal of a pedestrian overpass bridge in Dundee by world demolition contractor of the year, Safedem.
And now, thanks to Safedem MD William Sinclair, we are able to bring you an even more exclusive time-lapse video of the delicate operation, complete with a musical soundtrack written and performed by my multi-talented son, Freddie Anthony:
Company hired for ill-fated high school demolition faces bankruptcy after contract was taken away.
The trustee for the company hired, then fired, in the demolition of Queen Elizabeth High School in Halifax has applied to put the firm into bankruptcy.
Demolition Resources Ltd. was placed into receivership in June, just days after the provincial government pulled away its $2.2-million contract to demolish the historic school on Robie Street.
Now, trustee Green Hunt Wedlake Inc. has petitioned for bankruptcy and called a meeting of the Amherst company’s creditors on Feb. 29 in Halifax.
Trustee Peter Wedlake did not return calls from The Chronicle Herald on Thursday.
But Demolition Resources owner John Morrissey said in an interview that he is still weighing whether to proceed with a $4.2-million lawsuit already filed against the Nova Scotia government.
“The actions of the province were unnecessary and unfounded and more or less shut the company down,” he said.
Demolition Resources employed about 50 and, according to Morrissey, was coming off several strong years when it won the Queen Elizabeth contract, which was slated to be done by spring 2011.
But Morrissey said the provincial government delayed the project for months. That, along with other forms of mismanagement, pushed the work badly behind schedule, he said.
Read more here.
Remains of Ohio girl missing since 1999 found during demolition of suspect’s house.
The skeletal remains of a 14-year-old Ohio runaway who went missing in 1999 have been found after the home where she was last seen was demolished, according to police.
The Lima News reports that Lima police on Saturday said the remains of Nicholle Coppler were found in a crawl space as the home’s foundation was being dug out. Allen County Coroner Gary Beasley said they were identified through dental records.
The home was owned by Glen Fryer, who had been suspected in Coppler’s death. The newspaper reports he was 55 when he killed himself in 2002 while awaiting sentencing for raping a girl.
The home was demolished after the state took possession due to unpaid taxes. Coppler’s remains were the only ones found.
“I knew in my heart it was Nicholle,” said the girl’s mother, Krista Coppler, who now lives Florida. “I knew in my heart she never left that house.”
Read more here.
Excavator operators; prepare to turn green with envy.
Over the past quarter century, we have witnessed numerous displays of excavator precision. We have seen them playing a passable round of golf and climbing poles. Hell, we even saw one removing a woman’s clothes once.
But this video – from the intriguingly-named Bobcat Ninja – is right up there with some of the best that we have seen:
In the history of non-stories, this one takes the biscuit.
In a week in which the UK has been offered diplomacy advice by international statesman and sure-fire Nobel Peace Prize contender Sean Penn, a story accusing JCB of involvement in war crimes really is the icing on the “what the Hell” cake, particularly when it carries the headline “UK firms demolish Palestinian homes”.
According to the report, the Israeli military has been “caught” using JCB machinery to demolish Palestinian property.
“British-manufactured JCB machinery were used by the Israeli army to demolish a Palestinian community center and a children’s playground in occupied East al-Quds (Jerusalem), the Electronic Intifada reported. Meanwhile, JCB machines were seen in action demolishing two homes, a mosque and a barn in Umm Fagarah on November 24th last year.”
Of course, all of this may well be true and who are we to argue with such well thought out and researched journalism, particularly when it’s accompanied by a photo of a JCB machine surrounded by Israeli militia.
But – and you’ll have to forgive our stupidity here – isn’t that what JCB equipment has been designed to do? Regardless of whether it’s British-manufactured, demolition equipment has just one purpose in life; to demolish things.
That doesn’t mean that JCB supports the Israeli regime. It doesn’t mean the company is anti-Arab. Nor does it mean the company should expect to find itself in front of a war crimes tribunal any time soon.
What it does prove is something we have known for quite some time; journalism is not what it used to be.
Another great time-lapse video on Pennsylvania Turnpike bridge demolition.
On November 4, 2011, the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened four prestressed concrete beam bridges, replacing under deck steel trusses which had opened in 1957.
The trusses were nearing the end of their design life and were deemed structurally deficient. This demolition video shows one of the bridges over the Pohopoco Creek in the Mahoning Valley.
The meticulous demolition took two days to complete, finishing on January 13, 2012. Urban Engineers provided construction management for this award-winning project.
Edinburgh City Council video gives unique insight into last September’s three-tower blast.
Regular readers of DemolitionNews will recall the initial footage of the North Sighthill Multis that were brought down in a controlled explosion by Safedem at the end of September last year.
Now, Edinburgh City Council have released a great new video that not only contains some never-before-seen high definition footage of the blast but also a look behind the scenes at some of Safedem’s renowned community liaison works.
