[datashovel]

Originally when I read I thought "perhaps there was a leak in a barrel or something like this. I glazed over the "following human error" part.

Hypothesizing brings me to conclusion that this has to be caused at least in part by companies probably trying to streamline by merging branches or departments.

If I'm a fly on the wall in the board room I'm sure I hear something like: "Sure, of course it makes financial sense to manage all barrels of stuff headed for water-treatment facility in the same warehouse, and by the same team, as where we keep our barrels full of polio and other harmful viruses. Layoff the other department, close down the other warehouse, and merge the two asap"

[johansch]

Hacker News 2014: Where fiction rises to the top faster than facts.

[datashovel]

I'm sorry, but for me when I read something this horrific nothing works better than a little sarcasm / humor.

I think the points (yes I think sarcasm can be a valid channel through which to voice your concerns) I'm trying to make here are:

1) People making decisions for corporations as large as GlaxoSmithKline tend to be disconnected from the impact of their decisions.

2) There are only 2 reasons something like this can happen. (a) Malice, or (b) incompetence. I reluctantly choose 'b'.

3) In general it's the people who actually make the mistake who get fired, and not the incompetence in the board room that creates the environment where these kinds of mistakes can actually be made.

As a side-note, I live in midwest in U.S. and am not a reporter or involved in media, so I'm pretty ill-equipped to go seeking out facts which I'm sure even a skilled reporter will have a difficult time trying to uncover.

[datashovel]

And while we're at it let's give ourselves a raise for all the money we saved :)

[jedp]

Cue the smoke and evil laughter!

[datashovel]

I think we just got hit by the ycombinator comments "karma nazi".