The Grove

[Gils]

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[mikesiva]

The Notting Hill race riots of 1958...never to be forgotten.

[MarcusGarveyLives]

The Notting Hill race riots of 1958...never to be forgotten.

This is Patrick Digby, the man alleged to have murdered Kelso Cochrane from Antigua in 1958.

[Gils]

The history of poor accommodation in Ladbroke Grove go's back as far as the 18th century, it is that very undesirable nature which allowed Caribbean immigrants, and other foreigners mostly from the commonwealth, to take up residence and then establish communitys within North Kensington in the first place.

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey ... /pp340-355" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"

As the video in the OP demonstrates, poor accommodation and the scarcity of jobs was the the excuse used to attack new arrivals during the 1950's and these two issues still feature prominently in todays discussions on inequality.

The main traffic artery into West london is the A40 and the most westernly 23 arces of that is serviced by the westway flyover which runs adjacent to Paddington, Royal Oak, Westbourne Grove, Ladbroke Grove, Latimer Road, the newly built Wood Lanes and then Shepherds Bush stations. It was completed in 1973 and much of the land it went through was occupied by a Caribbean community who were to be rehoused as a result of its construction - as were foreigners from Morroco, Ireland, Portugal, India, Pakistan and West Africa who all lived alongside the existing white working class population.

During the sixties, prior to the Westway this area of land was known as shanty town because..... well because it was riddled with poverty and Afro-Caribs. Generally viewed as an eyesore by the authorities who promised the people that inhabited the land - significantly more Afro Carib than at present - new services and amenities to make up for their displacement. Over the 50 years of my existence the land that was given to this community for housing, youth and community centres has been slowly clawed back through the stealth of RBKAC's planning imperitives and government legislation.
Acklam playground, Bay 56, The Tabernacle, Powis Sq playhut, Metro Youth Club and Community Centre, Lancaster Youth Club and the Black Peoples Information Centre exist now only in memories while Hornimans Venture playground, Maxilla and Meanwhile Gardens have all been threatened with closure or had funding reduced as a consequence of government cuts. The Caribbean community has now been reduced in size and political activity, making way for newer immigrants - this however, in no way diminishes the ongoing issue of land theft in Kensington and Chelsea from it's less wealthy residents by property developers in concert with local authorities and with the blessing of central government. Or the preventable loss of so many innocent lives and the suffering the Grenfell tragedy has brought to the people who are now left to mourn an as yet undisclosed number od dead.

http://westway23.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"

As you probably will have read, Kensington and Chelsea is the richest borough in the country - due to house prices - so its fair to assume every metre of land can be equated to potential profit on the balance sheet od said organisations. In this context the events of the last 3 weeks come as no surprise to anyone who can familiarise themselves with the historical circumstance's they have evolved out of.

http://www.colvillecom.com/page/all-saints-road" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"

Currently we have local and government authorities who are basically refusing to release a figure for the number of victims at the crime scene that was once Grenfell Tower - probably for fear of nationwide rioting - and a inquiry which is yet to begin that is being led by a judge who claims to be uncertain as to his terms of reference. Considering these are the same authorities who were not present on the ground for a full 5 days after the most tragic event in english history and the nature of extended spending cuts to emergency service's in general under successive governments it should become obvious why the local community view their intentions with more than just scepticism.

Fortunately GAG have kept records of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation - the administrator of Lancaster West Estate where Grenfell is situated - and RBKAC's questionable conduct for some time which judge Moore - Bick, the general public and international community at large may all examine in their own time.

https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"

[mikesiva]

Very interesting info there, Gils...because the media keep telling us how rich Kensington and Chelsea is, British people tend to forget that a lot of poor people live in North Kensington.

Conveniently forgotten is the fact that that borough's council deliberately tried to remove poor people from the borough, by attempting to force them to take up social housing in places like Peterborough. And by deliberately keeping places like Grenfell Tower in a bad condition, they were trying to drive poor people out of the borough.

[mikesiva]

The public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster is facing fresh criticism after the Government announced it would not consider broader questions around social housing.

Downing Street set out the terms of reference of the probe led by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, which will include scrutiny of building regulations and the actions of Kensington council (RBKC) both before and after the blaze that killed at least 80 people.

But the inquiry will fall short of considering the wider questions raised by the fire, including the impact of Britain’s social housing shortage.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 94701.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mikesiva]

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[MarcusGarveyLives]

Justice4GrenFell#1 - Don't Just Agonise, Organise!
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Justice4Grenfell: Why we don't need a day of rage!
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Grenfell MediaWatch Update: Politics of Validation
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Grenfell MediaWatch Update: A Tale of 2 Nicks, Bick and Bill
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Grenfell MediaWatch Update: Owning the rules of the game
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Grenfell MediaWatch Update: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
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Grenfell MediaWatch Report - June 2017
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Grenfell MediaWatch Update: Broken Promises
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Grenfell MediaWatch Update: Threats and Tributes
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[MarcusGarveyLives]

Hundreds arrested ahead of Notting Hill Carnival (click for more)




"Today's operation is aimed at ensuring that those who intend to cause trouble at Carnival are prohibited from doing so," Ch Supt Robyn Williams said.

[mikesiva]

'The Chair of the Grenfell inquiry has been condemned for walking away from a lawyer who tried to ask a question on behalf of survivors prompting cries of “rubbish” and “don’t just walk away” as he left. Sir Martin Moore-Bick delivered a 45-minute statement on the opening day of his controversial investigation but declined to respond to Michael Mansfield. “I think it is disrespectful to survivors,” Mansfield told HuffPost UK after the event. Karim Mussilhy, a survivor of the blaze whose uncle Hesham Rahman died in the fire, will be a core participant in the inquiry. He reacted with frustration to the incident. Speaking after the inquiry opened, he told HuffPost UK: “He wasn’t even listening to him. Small things make a big difference. Listen, it’s two seconds of your time, just listen. You don’t have to agree with anything anyone is saying. You should just listen to what the people are saying.” He added: “For me, it would have made a massive difference that small gesture at the end. I have more confidence in the criminal investigation than I do the public inquiry.” He added: “That’s the issue, isn’t it? We weren’t listened to before and now we feel like that is happening again. Why do they think that what they have to say is more important than what we have to say? At the end of the day, we are the ones that have gone through this tragedy. He did say in his speech that some of the core participants will have to be witnesses and speak and give their accounts. “They only want to listen to us when it suits them, when it benefits them. That is why loads of members of the community are here because it’s not their public inquiry, it’s our inquiry, our questions and our terms of reference. We are the ones that need answers.” Moore-Bick turned his back on Mansfield at the close of his speech, in which he told survivors he hoped he could “count on that cooperation” that would allow the inquiry to run smoothly as he aimed for an interim report in easter 2018. He said: “We share a common goal. We are all searching for the truth about the cause of the fire and the massive loss of life it caused and we owe it to those who died and those who homes have been destroyed to work together to achieve that goal.” Another survivor said: “We should know who is going to be on the panel, not have to wait another week. Moore-Bick was just reading from a rule book today. It was a waste of time. He was rude. He just got up and walked away. He didn’t have to stay for all the questions, but he could have taken just one.” Mansfield rose and politely asked: “Sir, before departing, I wonder if I may make a quick request on behalf of survivors...” Moore-Bick then left and Mansfield said: “Obviously not.”'

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/g ... a0e13f43ec" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;