I think it isn’t that these other things you mentioned aren’t war crimes, but rather that this particular instance involves a lot of evidence that could prove that this was a war crime unequivocally.

1. You heard other people say that, not me. Go respond to other people who are saying that instead of responding to someone who is NOT saying that (me).

2. What is your argument here? Honestly I’m confused about what your stance is. How far do you extend this moral equivalency? A strong case can be made that Russia’s oil industry is a vital part of its war machine, but I don’t think you could say the same about a Ukrainian coffee shop. Is it just as bad to kill a child by bombing a school as it is to kill an adult by bombing a weapons manufacturing facility?

From my perspective Ukrainian strikes are carried out in self defense against military related targets, while Russian strikes are often purposefully hitting targets not related to the military.

You can learn more about Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilians here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attacks_on_civilians_in_the_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine

I think your implication that a strike on Russian oil infrastructure that kills a civilian working there is equivalent to a strike on a Ukrainian apartment building is wack.

IIRC the reason most caps used to be unrecyclable (many still are) is that they had a liner in them made of a different material. Because such caps were composite materials (using different types of plastic for the liner and the cap), they would make an impure product if recycled. The same problem applies if the cap and bottle are different types of plastic, which used to be more common.

Wish we got a more complete understanding of the truckers’ side in this article - why is it so hard to turn off your engine instead of idling?

The guy quoted in the article says that some trucks need to operate their lift gates 15 or 20 times in a day. First of all, turn on your engine to operate the gate and then turn it off when you’re done… Secondly, if it is impacting business too much to take that extra time to turn the engine on and off, invest in an auxiliary power source to operate the lift gate.

Maybe I’m missing something?

So what do you suggest? No cars allowed at all? Even in European countries with strong public transportation cars are still useful and allowed (except in crowded city areas). It’s hard to imagine life out in the boonies without access to a car…

I think we should pursue better public transportation primarily, but I also think efforts to make electric vehicles better are an important piece of the puzzle to transporting ourselves sustainably.

I think there may be more to Ukraine’s abstention than being “too busy with their own shit,” probably they don’t want to annoy the US govt and risk having military aid further reduced.

Don’t understand why anyone was still on the masts when they hit the bridge…

They had lost power and all sails were furled, so they couldn’t have been moving very fast. And according to this article the ship was taller than the maximum clearance under the bridge. So it seems like someone fucked up big time not getting crew out of harms way.

Sure, I can agree that division of labor is crucial. But I work in a factory where what I suggest is somewhat of a reality. Cross training is a purposeful practice because it creates a more flexible/robust workforce. Jobs that are the worst to work are typically shared amongst a large number of people so that nobody has to do it all day, which promotes worker wellness and thereby efficiency. Ergonomic and safety concerns are addressed so that workers stay healthy and can work more efficiently.

The place I work is a B corp.

Your implied stance that people should only do one thing ever doesn’t make sense to me. For the more specialized roles at my facility that are potentially odious, they generally have a much easier workload, and they aren’t doing only that one task anywhere close to all day most days.

So let’s not say that people should give up on making factories places where workers can be happy. You can have efficient workers who know how to do more than one thing.

I think we are generally in agreement that standing in front of a blast furnace all day would suck pretty badly. But I am not sure such work must always be miserable. To be fair I have never worked with a blast furnace, but I don’t see why someone’s job should be to do the same thing every day for years on end. Management should switch up worker roles frequently, perhaps multiple times a day if the task is particularly odious. And if there are ergonomic or environmental reasons it isn’t tolerable or safe, those reasons should be addressed, such as providing better PPE or custom built tools.

Adding extra incentives is part of making factory work sustainable in the long run, but it’s going to take more than an extra $(insert number)/hour to make workers safe and happy. And I really don’t think we should give up on trying to make factory workers safe and happy.

Fair to point out that Trump and Lutnick suck bad and aren’t really going to do anything to help factory workers. I guess that point feels obvious to me so I gloss over it in my comments. When I read an article like this, my takeaway may not always be the author’s intended point.

I still resist the idea that it must always be better to “escape” the factory and work elsewhere.

You say you aren’t shitting on factory work. But you also seem to feel that the ability to exit the factory is fundamental to having a good life. I agree that people should be able to choose what field they work in, so no I don’t think that every person should feel locked in to factory work, but I do think that we should focus on how to make factory work appealing, unlike it is now.

We need to be talking about more than just worker protections (although that is where policy needs to start and I agree they are the foundation for any further progress). We need to talk about government recommendations for management practices, grants for labor research, and possibly incentives for progressive management styles. We need to make factories into places that people don’t want to escape.

And as consumers, we need to push for the reality we want to see. If we have the ability, we should do our best to support companies with better labor practices - for example, the B corp and the Well certifications require certain employee wellness minimums, so when buying mass produced goods, prioritize ones with a certification like that.

So then it would seem more productive to bash the Trump administration’s labor policies than to bash the idea that there should be factory workers. The take away from this article for me is not that it is crazy for people and their children (once grown) to work in factories, but that we need to advance the policies you point out to make that into a reality that is sustainable.

Alright folks, I agree that this dude is tone deaf. Buuut…

Coming from a factory worker - life in the factory doesn’t have to be as shitty as it currently is in my opinion. I see it as a failure of management that factory work is so soul sucking.

And as a society we rely on the efficiency that factory production brings - my understanding is that without factories, an economy is generally less able to support artists etc.

I feel like the core idea that many people will be working in factories isn’t necessarily bad…

This is awesome! Are these all from “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” or were there other sources for the text?

Brought to mind the song “Radio Silence” by Zella Day

The sad thing about this is that probably for most of these folks this will only further confirm their views. Trump and his allies were pushing the idea that FEMA is corrupt and ineffective while Biden was still in office. The Trump admin will argue that this is FEMA’s fault, not Trump’s. His voters will eat it up.

The bees were on a different lower down roof from the main roof (which is the one that burned). The article notes that bee wax melts at 70C and they didn’t see any of that under the hives, so they know temperatures stayed below that. So the bees were likely only exposed to some smoke and maybe some slightly elevated temperatures.

Have these all used the same candle or do you switch candles sometimes?

Would you ever use a candle that isn’t white?

Very cool. I wonder how durable these electrodes are once coated in nanowires.

As I understand it: The long term vision is that by increasing the cost of imported goods, domestic goods will have an easier time being competitive. The short term vision is that tariffs can be used to bully other countries into doing things the U.S. wants.

Here is an excerpt from another source summarizing the requirement for integrated pest management:

"These plans address three levels of pest management. Level A is based on the expectation that a well-designed and healthy organic system will naturally have fewer pest problems. It focuses on pest and disease outbreak prevention practices such as cover crops, crop rotation and providing habitat for ladybugs and other beneficial insects.

If Level A practices are not sufficient, Level B focuses on the introduction of insect predators and parasites, mulching, grazing, mowing, solarization and other mechanical and physical practices.

If additional pest management is needed, Level C includes the use of natural and synthetic pesticides on the National List."

https://www.safefruitsandveggies.com/organic-regulations/#%3A~%3Atext=Organic+farmers+are+required+to%2C-regulations%2Forganic%2Fhandbook.

Also, the list you have linked is so so much less bad than the list of allowed chemicals for conventional farmers, which I can’t even find online… Best way I have found to view it is here: https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/pesticides/f?p=CHEMICALSEARCH%3A46::::

Bottom line is that conventional pesticide use is much less transparent and less tightly regulated.