This is genuinely huge and is negligent homicide at the very least. We need multinational lawsuits to deal with multinational crimes like this.
Knowingly using a material that degrades with heat and humidity and can cause cancer in the manufacture of a heating humidifying healthcare device, and then ignoring all reports for years is diabolical stuff.
It sounds like it’s not just a case of “could cause cancer” it sounds like it straight-up does cause cancer. They’re not just talking about carcinogenic compounds, they’re talking about genotoxic carcinogenic compounds. My understanding is that normal carcinogens carry a risk of developing cancer, but it’s not guaranteed. Genotoxic carcinogens, however, are almost guaranteed to cause cancer because they actually change how cells work.
It’s worse than that. My buddy had one and on a fixed income, had to scrabble and scrimp to pay for a replacement. I just sent him the article and said I hope he sues them.
The recall really fucked CPAP prices. Phillips and Resmed make up probably 99% of the CPAP machine market with a few other companies fighting over the scraps. And to be fair, none of those other companies come close to making a machine as good as a Resmed or Phillips one. Redmed and Phillips probably have a 49.5% share each of the market. So when Phillips was suddenly yoinked from the market, it left a HUGE hole none of the others could fill. To make matters worse it happened during supply shortages. I know Resmed was having problems with getting chips for the modems their machines use to remotely report to doctors. In addition they were switching over to a new model, so production of the older model was ending, too.
To put it in perspective, I picked up a used Resmed Airsense 10 with low hours for about $150 a month or so before the recall. Hell, I’d even see people giving them away on Craigslist sometimes. Nowadays you’re not paying less than $400-$500 for a used machine last I checked. That is close to the price you’d pay for a new machine before. Everything associated with CPAP machines went through the roof, as well, even though there was no shortage for those.
To add insult to injury, you can’t get the parts to fix this things. This is another market where right-to-repair needs to be opened up. I get it, though, they are medical devices and faulty 2nd hand parts could cause injury or even death, but for those of us with the skill and wherewithal, we should have access to the parts. I’ve torn down both my machines and cleaned them out. The main failing part is the blower motor. I mean that thing sees 10s of thousands of hours of use. My main machine has been used on average for 8 hours a day, every day for around 6-7 years, total. Yet replacing it is dirt simple - pull the old one out, unplug it, plug the new one in, put it in the machine, boom, done. Having authorized repair techs would be dirt simple. It just wouldn’t be as profitable as forcing insurance companies and individuals to shell out hundreds of dollars for a new machine. Which circles around to another pet peeve of mine - profit motive and healthcare need to be wholly divorced from each other.
Sorry, this went on longer than I wanted it to, but once I got started, I couldn’t stop.
this person is a grifter who travels to and fro in an RV, collecting donations, as one does, but she claims to be the literal Queen of Canada. Qanon Anonymous is my main source, but I can’t find a good link that isn’t patreon-walled. But it’s a cool podcast.
Don’t forget that we have 8 hour workdays, weekends off, payed time off and other benefits all thanks to union efforts. All of them we take granted for. They were not granted because of the kindness of employers.
And for a view into what jobs could look like without unions “interfering” with the owners’ wishes, look at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. That factory had long hours, horrible working conditions, doors locked to prevent workers from leaving (the owners claimed it was to keep employees from stealing scraps of fabric), and more. When a fire broke out, nobody could open the doors to escape and close to 150 workers died. Many fell to their deaths because they got to high windows and jumped out - hoping to survive the fall rather than be burned alive.
Several likely knew it would kill them and took the quick death. I know I would… I don’t care if it would take several minutes or 10 seconds to kill me, fuck that I ain’t burning alive.
The shirtwaist factory incident definitely needs to be taught from like third grade onwards as an example of why unionization and labor laws are in fact necessary in a capitalist society.
The jury acquitted the two men of first- and second-degree manslaughter, but they were found liable of wrongful death during a subsequent civil suit in 1913 in which plaintiffs were awarded compensation in the amount of $75 per deceased victim. The insurance company paid Blanck and Harris about $60,000 more than the reported losses, or about $400 per casualty.
Jesus fucking Christ not only did they get off, they ended up making money off the whole thing. It really feels like not much has changed in 112 years
And $75 in 1913 is the equivalent of $2,325.95 today. Imagine if a factory was wildly unsafe, caused the deaths of a hundred workers, and then the courts said “their lives are only worth about $2,300 each.” There would be marches like crazy and calls to hold the owners liable for much, much more.
Maybe I’m dumb for not lumping an entire generation of people into this huge group of bad actors who intentionally and maliciously hurt all subsequent generations.
The issue is money. What part of “people don’t have money” is so hard to digest?
The disparity has become much much wider over the years, and that is the issue.
Boomers loved that withered, hateful, hollowed out motherfucker.
(Yeah that’s the electoral college and the popular vote was a lot closer, but that’s a level of support no President has had since in even one election let alone two.)
If you own a home in the area any equity you have there has probably been made pretty worthless. It would make it pretty hard to move if you couldn’t sell your home to afford another.
The article says, “relocating families from among the 100 properties that have been affected by the contamination could cost up to $35 million. The city is looking at other sources, including federal funding, to help pay for the relocation program.”
Here’s an idea:private universities whose endowment has grown year over year are stripped of nonprofit status. Public universities are completely funded by the federal government and education is provided tuition free. Community colleges expand to offer trade school education as well, also free. Students must complete a course of study in the allotted time and work for 2 years before returning for additional education, including graduate degrees.
Because the group was founded and led by a Nazi in 1951 who believed in the exact same thing as the Nazi party but wasn’t a member, therefore avoiding pretty much any and all consequences.
Unharmed, the Nordic Faith Community of Wilhelm Kusserow survived the denazification because he wasn’t a member of the Nazi party. Additionally, he managed to be perceived as a victim by authorities, thereby avoiding post-war reeducation in interment camps. Afterwards he founded the Artgemeinschaft e.V. [rest of name] which adopted almost the same creed as the former Nordic Faith Community.
The article says that the Genesis Coupe is included in the recall, but it doesn’t specify the years like they did with the other models. So I assumed that meant that every year model is affected but I just checked my VIN and it says 0 recalls found.
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