Could we not separate news and politics?

For me today's news is people have died , injured , some still missing, families are homeless .

I certaintly don't consider such suffering as something to chat about

As for politics, I am surprised it isn't brought up on cooking threads, perhaps it is I don't read thrm

To everything there is a season etc for me today is a time to mourn

So - suggesting we have a Politics thread is wanting to close down political interaction

Newspapers, the media etc are not people chatting/discussing things on a forum.

Perhaps it is because you don't read them Annie

It does rather sound as if you are telling people how to think and believing, in the process, that you are not being political.

As for politics, I am surprised it isn't brought up on cooking threads, perhaps it is I don't read thrm
I think that knitting has been brought up on politics threads though

It could probably be brought into cookery threads if someone has the will to do so (price of ingredients, possible scarcity of obtaining olives after Brexit etc etc).

whenever people say "Idont DO politics" I ask them if they DO life.Every part of life is affected by politics,from bus ses and schools ,housing ,health ,payrates and everything inbetween.There is no escape from it.IF as some of these residents say ,the shoddy refurb is to blame for the fire spreading so quickly then of course its political ...and putting off the discussion only allows those to blame for those cuts to budgets to come up with many excuses .They must be made to take the blame where it is due

But surely it would be remiss if the discussion then didn't go on to try and find ways to prevent it happening again. Which is politics. Not necessarily party political politics - but it is politics
Yes, of course posters should have the opportunity of discussion of what went wrong and what could be done to try to ensure such tragedies did not happen again - no-one would say that is wrong.
But perhaps on a different thread?

It's not a case at all of telling people how to think, it is a case of posters wanting to comment, express their horror and sympathy on a thread and, as so many people do not want to join in the political threads, not being put off doing so or feeling it is not the right place to do so.

GG, no way would I think of telling people what to think and brlieve , I could never reach your high level

I just don't think you can direct people like that. Someone will say something which will illicit a comment wherever you put it.

I find quite a few people think they are not being political. I was in the supermarket near my mother's one day reading the front of the newspapers, deciding which I might have, when the women stood next to me pointed to the screaming headlines of one which said something about benefit scroungers. "We have plenty of those round here" she said to me. I am absolutely sure she did not think anyone would think her rude for saying that - after all her friends no doubt agree - but it left me at a bit of a loss with how to reply to this complete stranger - as far as I am aware it wouldn't be above average in that area (if that) and average is very low. . If I had told her what I really thought of her comment I think she would have thought I was being very political while I don't doubt that in her own mind she thought she was just making conversation. I think there are some on here who think their political comments are just conversation too.

I was in the supermarket near my mother's one day reading the front of the newspapers, deciding which I might have...

There's politics and then there's party politics and the blame game.

Anyway, GN must have had a reason to combine the two headings into one - it would be nice to know the reasoning behind it.

I suppose you could say that Tim Farron has resigned is News - but also Politics so we would be back to square one.

Is this political?

skwawkbox.org/2017/06/14/video-boris-johnson-telling-fire-safety-panel-get-stuffed-grenfell/

It really does feel like a couple of people wanting to suppress political discussion. You are right Jalima it really wouldn't matter which heading it was under; if it has a political aspect it will be discussed politically.

It will be Jen. I think he may regret that.

How do you separate the man from his politics?
He's the man that some people on here should be the next PM, taking over from May.

Most things have a political dimension - even - or perhaps especially - the fire in London.

The way high rise flats are built/renovated, the availability of safety features within them, the number of times they are inspected, the extent to which the emergency services have the necessary equipment to deal with high rise fires, and how much notice is taken of residents who have raised serious concerns, etc., etc., depends almost entirely on whether such matters are deemed to be of importance to local and national governments.

Just in case those that don't like to read links haven't seen this one posted by durhamjen:

Video has emerged of then-London Mayor Boris Johnson defending his cuts to fire services in London before a fire-safety panel of London Assembly Members.

When challenged to explain how cutting fire stations, firefighter positions, fire safety officers could possibly not put the lives of London residents at risk, Johnson at first tries to defend the indefensible by simply asserting that his recklessness works and improves safety.

Then, when challenged further, he tells a Labour AM,

Oh get stuffed.

And some of the residents of this block of flats and their neighbours also seem to see this as a political issue. I have seen one or two individuals expressing the view that, as "working class people", their safety appears not to have been prioritised. It is astonishing that even the most basic safety features - such as fire alarms and unimpeded access for emergency services - seem to have been absent from this building.

I went to view a new property about 5 years ago before buying my current home. It was a second floor flat in a two storey block. There was no alternative exit other than the main stairwell. I asked to salesperson how people would get out in a fire and she said, You stay in the flat and close the door and wait for the fire brigade to arrive. I knew immediately there was no chance I would be buying there.

That is what the people in the Grenfell Tower had been instructed to do. Who decided on this procedure? Total madness in my view. If you can leave the building surely you should do so as quickly and safely as possible. I imagine it is to avoid people being crushed in the rush, but with the right fire escape routes it should be possible to vacate even a tower block. I do hope others will now be checked and regular fire drills put into operation.

Yes I watched the link DJ posted and that man is the current Foreign Secretary, who some would make PM. Actually it would be good if he followed his own directive to the panel member. How can you have a serious debate with someone who seeks to shut down discussion with an insult?

I guess some people just want to say how terrible, awful etc the event is but not make any comments on why the event happened, how it could be avoided etc. Not much of a discussion then . I think it goes without saying such incidents are horrible and tragic, so not allowing discussion about it seems a bit pointless.

And wet

Do you know, whitewave, I haven't heard that description of people as being wet since the end of the Thatcher era! It's very evocative.

I wonder why every news story however sad, tragic, funny or happy needs to be turned into a political wrangle?

I didn't say that we shouldn't discuss events I jut think it would be nice (just now and again) if one could express sadness, regret or whatever without someone jumping in with blame. Yes there probably is blame to be laid at "someone's" feet for this tragic fire but why jump straight to the conclusion that the blame is with the government for cut backs to the fire service before anyone knows the facts?

It reminds me a bit of my late grandad who as an ex miner hated Mrs Thatcher so much she would be blamed for anything from the failure of his tomato crops to the fact that his favourite football team had been relegated.

It's not "jumping in with blame" it's just discussing the event - how it was caused, what should we do to avoid it in the future? If you were one of those involved you'd want those questions answered. Such questions are not easy.