[Radix] Follow up on China disaster meeting

[James Lewis]

Radixers all:

There may be no single reason why a building might fail, in 
earthquake or not, in the same way as there's often more than one 
reason for a major accident, and our references to the causes of 
vulnerability are invariably in the plural. Corruption conceals 
itself within very many other activities than building construction, 
so to ignore the possibility of its pervasive and varied practices as 
a reason for building failure in earthquakes is, in my view, to deny 
reality. Much more than simply what can happen on site, and more 
powerful than the implications of building at speed, we would be 
failing in our various roles if we were not to take on board 
corruption alongside our many other concerns. And certainly, and 
especially in the absence of a free media, "people power" and its 
leaders need all the support they can get.

It's very good that, at last, this uncomfortable subject is out in 
the Radix open.

James