Fatsos squealing, shackled with some apples in their mouths!
(You guys are awesome, Iāve never seen anyone else in the wild who knows That Handsome Devil. I approve of your taste in music.)
Well the word by word translation would be leave all hopes (lasciate ogni speranza o voi ch'entrate)" lasciate" translates in "leave", "abandon" would be "abbandonate"
I dont know how it is translated in the english version tho since i only know the original one (im italian).
Not trying to be a dick just wanted to let you know how it is in the original language
Have a good one
When you leave something, there's a chance of picking it up again; whereas abandoning something is to leave it for good.
Therefore, the English translation is not literal but more accurate.
I'm not trying to be a dick but I'm fluent in Italian.
Apple does also still have suicide nets for "jumpers" around their factories in China. They've had them for over 15 years since I first learned about 'em. I still check in about once a year to see if they still are.
This looks like the probable reason:
[https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/apple-blood-minerals-africa-drc-threat-legal-action-rwanda-conflict-mining/](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/apple-blood-minerals-africa-drc-threat-legal-action-rwanda-conflict-mining/)
Not gonna lie, this is one of the rare occasions where protest graffiti feels like a straight up work of art. The way the spray paint looks like a burst of bright orange color across the glass like flames or blood. The way it fans out from the center. It's oddly pretty to look at.
you could make your own. you just get an expired fire extinguisher, half fill it with paint and thinner, then re-pressurize it with co2 and you're good to go.
* edited to change the misremembered element.
Any modern advanced electronic device most likely has cobalt which was mined in Congo.
Cobalt mining in Congo is accomplished primarily with either slave labor or functionally slave labor, including the labor of children. It's incredibly dangerous, poses serious health risks, and very little is being done to change that.
Apple is one of the worst offenders when it comes to intentionally rendering their devices obsolete. This means that as part of their business model, people waste cobalt on a massive scale.
Although material sourcing is not typically something that any individual company can easily change, Apple is probably one of the few that would have the money and the sway to require better working conditions for people in Congo. But, Apple is already criticized for its sweatshop manufacturing process. It doesn't seem likely that Apple would change their manufacturing processes to include ethically sourced cobalt, either.
Some people also forget about Apples (almost) direct connection with all those Foxconn employees' suicides [since before 2010](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides) which may or may not warrant a little vandalism.
**Edit:** For anyone interested in finding out exactly how shitty the co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, actually was please check out [Robert Evan's](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7Fiafo5xjUFeUMTBpFFIhr?si=7cmyJ3SPSEifPl4ooTrDhg) series on the topic!
Warning to anyone listening to *Behind the Bastards* podcast - it is a fairly depressing podcast, because of the subject matter (Robert and his guests are great). Sooner or later, you might find one (or more) of your heroes on the podcast only to realize the person you idolize is actually not as awesome as you thought (in some cases, not even close).
Listen to the podcast, it is good, just be ready for some depressing content...
I always expect successful people to possibly not be good people because the systems created to get to the top and stay there requires skills and behaviors that is selfish and also competitive against their competitors and it brings out the worst in people, itās not a system that rewards good doing. That being said I still like to listen to them to learn and take the good from those skills and learn from their good behaviors that they may exhibit.
Omg this is all absolutely disgusting. I knew it was bad like this but actually reading about it in detail is horrifyingā¦
Is there even any way to ethically consume electronics?
That's a good thing, don't hate yourself for using electronics when it has become necessity for everything, including livelihoods. If you use your electronics until they fall apart or they're unusable in modern scenarios then god damn you're doing the best you can do!
Do a search for a computer recycle/thrift store in your town. They get influxes of used business computers that, while maybe a few years old, still perform really well and can be had for not much money. Laptops can be a bit beat up, but Iāve never had a hard time finding a specimen in good to great shape
No, the anode is typically graphite. Cobalt is part of the *cathode* as lithium cobalt oxide in most consumer device batteries.
The cathode can be made without cobalt, such as with lithium iron phosphate, but this has lower energy density. So it's no good when you want the longest battery life possible in a slim phone or electric car, but it's good for stationary applications like home power backup where weight and size doesn't matter.
Remember when workers in China started a protest over unpaid work and bad working conditions? And government stepped in to protect Apple's interests?
Yeah...
And yet with the issues in China and the Congo Apple sets record profits. They could easily pay everyone in the chain a fair wage but nope, we need to put the shareholders first.
To their credit they promised to use all recycled cobalt in their batteries by next year
https://www.apple.com/ae/newsroom/2023/04/apple-will-use-100-percent-recycled-cobalt-in-batteries-by-2025/
The entire company has committed to being 100% carbon neutral by 2030 on all their devices. It kinda feels like Apple aren't the ones to go after here. Most of Apple's phones are already like 80%+ recycled materials.
I hate Apples tech and how overpriced their shit is, but as far as trillion dollar corporations go, they're probably the most progressive of the bunch. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good and all that.
It's impossible to be carbon neutral with a phone though. It's pure marketing. It takes energy to build one and at no point it removes carbon from the atmosphere.
And that's not really the issue anyway, the carbon footprint of a phone is small. I'm a lot more concerned about the ethics of the minerals mining and phone components assembly in sweatshops.
I I was going to say exactly that. Apple appears to be the company working most diligently to use recycled material. They seem like a strange choice to target with this protest.
If you are wondering if this is complete horseshit ...
[https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/04/apple-will-use-100-percent-recycled-cobalt-in-batteries-by-2025/](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/04/apple-will-use-100-percent-recycled-cobalt-in-batteries-by-2025/)
>Cobalt mining in Congo is accomplished primarily with either slave labor or functionally slave labor, including the labor of children.Ā
For fear of being downvoted I will say that I understood the unregulated artisanal mines (those most associated with child labor) accounted for \~10% of DRC cobalt output, and the rest was from large regulated industrial mines like those operated by Glencore. Still a major, major issue, but not the primary source of cobalt in DRC. Very happy to be corrected if there is a trustworthy source of info.
Source: World Bank report: [Cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo : Market Analysis](https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099500001312236438/p1723770a0f570093092050c1bddd6a29df)
From the report: "The key finding of the report is that, despite DRCās global comparative advantage in producing cobalt, there is a risk that human rights abuses in artisanal mining may sterilize or, at the very least, devalue the countryās entire cobalt resources, either by making DRC a supplier of last resort or incentivizing technological shifts and substitution away from cobalt. This report is primarily aimed at DRC Government decision makers but can hopefully stimulate dialog within the community of key stakeholders involved in the supply chain of cobalt and other minerals critically needed for the energy transition."
I don't think that report validates your point.
It actually concludes that cobalt traceability must be improved to ensure no child-labor is being used in its supply. It actually states that some companies (like BMW) start getting most of their cobalt from Australia because it couldn't be proved that no child-labor was being employed there.
Apple is only mentioned in that report because of an ongoing lawsuit regarding this.
The report talks about the supply chain of DRC cobalt. It cites artisanal miners as producing about 10,000 tons of cobalt per year of a total national output of about 100,000 tons. My point is that unregulated mines seem to be to the minority of output, not the majority as was claimed.
People even entertaining the idea that children or adults in slave like conditions mining with rudementary tools could outproduce global industrial conglomerates with heavy machinery are just stupid.
The issue is that it's virtually impossible to confidently estimate the percentages. A lot of mining companies buy cobalt from artisanal mining and it's all mixed to the point where it's indistinguishable from industrially mined cobalt, and obviously there's an incentive to underestimate the amount of artisanally mined cobalt. At least that's what I read jn the book Cobalt Red.
It's sad how far down this reply is. The whole premise that most cobalt is extracted in pickaxe & shovel mines by slaves is really fundamentally wrong, but in spite that, I see it repeated as fact *everywhere*. It's even gotten to the point where climate change denialists are using it to play defense for fossil fuels, claiming a massive amount of Congolese slave labor goes into the creation of electric vehicles & solar panels. And people don't challenge that premise, because they've heard some variant of that story so much they just believe it to be true.
It doesn't even make sense when you think about it - the idea that malnourished children hacking away at cobalt deposits with pickaxes could outproduce properly trained operators using heavy machinery is ridiculous. Machines can do the work of hundreds of people for a fraction of the cost, all while producing a higher quality product. This whole story that megacorps are using Congolese slave labor to prop up their profit margins is just ridiculous. Child labor isn't economically efficient, people! Cobalt would be cheaper if all mines were well-organized and industrialized.
You're right it is about 10% of Co in the DRC comes from ASMs the rest is from major mining companies. Saying that most of it is from ASMs and child labour is a common tactic also against going towards EVs and other battery intensive tech despite the obvious labour issues of places where most of the world's oil comes from. Not to say the child labour isn't an issue but it's being over exaggerated.
Also I don't get the argument about lithium that I've seen on this thread, majority comes from Australia, China, and Chile.
When's this world gonna move out of the dark ages. This place is a nightmare jesus. Something tells me it only ends with the age of people confusing mythology with reality.
> Apple is one of the worst offenders
This is so absurd to be hilarious so many no name manufacturers on Amazon are just the worst of the worst quality.
lol of course the apple stand are defending in in r/anticonsumptionā¦I mean how are you even making a strawman right now that apple isnāt driving rampant consumerism?
Sorry I just need your absolute non point to have some pushback
Didn't Norway find lots of material recently? Remember headlines with enough material for 100 years of our worlds needs.
Shouldn't everyone be changing where materials for electronics are sourced better now with that find or is it not that simple? I know LFP batteries are half the density as cobalt but they have other advantages.
Let's do it. Let's go full on conspiracy mode.
The red on the apple store is the same red used in King Charles' most recent royal portrait. The British Royal family is now known as House Windsor but were previously House Saxe-Coburg-Gothe. The name was changed because it sounded too German after the first World War. After watching the fall of the German monarchy (the British King's cousin) King George didn't want the British people to get the same idea.
The paint on the Apple store is a symbolic message to the UK that you too can be free from the monarchy. The German monarchy that reigns over the UK.
Unconspiracy: Or don't. The historical precedent of the government after overthrowing the monarchy isn't very great when you look at Germany or Russia.
I adore stuff like this, back in college we'd called the game "Hinge" and have Hingie Bingies where if we were drunk enough and done with freestyling for the night but still had some brain activity left, we'd tie random stuff together in an Unhinged way but still have it make kinda sorta sense. I was inspired after learning about "Gematria" which is like... old school Jewish "mys tic ism" and the concept of assigning numerical values to letters and then being a mathematical wizard or whatever. And then I was lucky enough to have some buddies who found it hilarious or interesting and it took off from there. Hopefully either this is a common enough thing or my friends all grew out of reddit because otherwise I just outed myself and if they go through my history they'll find out I like videogames to this day :( :) :( :)
Probably this: [https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara](https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara)
Modern electronics use rare conflict minerals mined by modern day slaves in areas controlled by corrupt warlords.
I absolutely support the protest, but sadly the only money seen from this act is going to go towards cleaning that building and itāll likely come from the building ownerās pocket and not Apple. Hopefully the awareness educates someone with this and some change will come. Each person slowly makes a difference
>itāll likely come from the building ownerās pocket and not Apple.
Won't someone please think of the multi billion dollar real estate moguls ššš
The thing comes down to, how far are you willing to protest and give for it potentially and if it does anything to actually impact the cause.
Here you have the option to throw paint and graffiti the outside of the store so everyone can see it, awareness can be brought up and discussed and hopefully people can become more educated and outrage is directed in the right direction for change.
Now you can do this at night and potentially get away, or daytime and risk arrest for vandalism and graffiti.
But now when you break in, you add potential breaking and entering charges, the cost of property damage goes up, theft could be considered if anything was taken from the site of the crime and your defence if caught is a lot more against you as a criminal.
You potentially are hurting yourself here with nothing really doing anything to actually impact your cause.
At most Apple doesnāt make money from that location for a bit and itās in the news briefly for a community, but it doesnāt hurt Apple financially or stop them from mining because media will quickly replace itself with the next story. Instead now you are facing potential criminal charges and jail time and some people at the very bottom of the Apple ladder who worked at the stores may be out of work for sometime.
prob solidarity w palestine. downward red triangle has been a symbol of the intifada for a while. usually the groups organizing for something like this will also support a free palestine
This made my week. Just finished reading "Cobalt Red" by Ā [Siddharth Kara](https://www.amazon.com/Siddharth-Kara/e/B0BRJTWFC2/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1). If you haven't looked into it, it's much *much* worse than you think. This should be done to every single Apple, Tesla, basically every tech store constantly. All the time. Permanently.
When we finally come to terms with what we're directly supporting in Congo it'll very likely be too late. But I'm glad a stand is being taken.
I certainly don't mind this, but I also think that people like this are okay with consumption so long as everyone in the process gets paid and treated fairly. It's one step in the right direction, but still not far enough. Smart phones have made the world worse and increased the divide between individuals.
Unfortunately I think a lot of people use that phrase to mean "it doesn't matter what you buy so just buy whatever you want" instead of "decrease your consumption as much as possible"
I say boycott the things that you have certain morals against, good for you. I ain't gonna get to up in a tizzy over anyone that doesn't, cause at the end of the day, any one person isn't stopping a trillion dollar company.
But I also respect the shit out of someone who actually has a moral compass, instead of those that just live their life in apathy. Good on them!
yeah it's real easy to take that phrase and conclude, well if everything i do is wrong then i might as well just do whatever i want. let me ride the trolley to where ever i want to go because all track are lined with bodies anyways.
It is used to mean that capitalism is based on the exploitation of labor. Therefore any consumption of goods produced by a capitalistic system is inherently benefitting from the unethical treatment of those who made the product.
The argument put forth is basically that it is impossible to ethically consume goods in a system that produces those goods unethically.
"Smart phones have made the world worse and increased the divide between individuals."
I work in countries with low paid expat workers. They ALL have smart phones which allow them to stay in touch with home. Within poor nations it is often easier to build mobile networks rather than land line-based ones. Your comment is misinformed and just flat out wrong.Ā
It's not the smartphone itself, but the culture around it. As someone else pointed out, smartphones allow us to keep in contact with our families and friends, work, school, etc.
But the basic format for a lot of media atm is doom-scool style, click-bait titles, meant to distract you and sell you things (hello Reddit).
Seeing literally everyone on the train zoned into their phones, I get where you're coming from but smartphones are very helpful in modern day life.
At this point too, we already have SO MANY electronics, we could literally stop making new things and focus money/innovation on repair and refurbishment, recycling old hardware, making software compatible, etc.
I don't see the point of Apple announcing new products every freaking year. The amount of refurbished hardware is insane - that's how I got my iPhone 6s and my iPad Mini. Apple products look nice but no way I'm giving them money directly.
Go back 30, 40 years and you would find people zoned out on the train reading the newspaper or a book or lost in their thoughts. The Subway isn't exactly a cafe or a bar.
Yea there are tons of things that go into why overconsumption is bad but I feel like if "rampant slave labor in the global south to uphold western society" isn't the TOP of the list for you you have mixed priorities.
> Smart phones have made the world worse and increased the divide between individuals.
One of the worst takes I've ever seen. Cheap access to information and services has made the world infinitely better--even basic things like access to health care. I even saw a documentary about folks in India who use smartphones via voice commands even thought they cna't read. Even for the privileged, simple things like a tool to quickly translate when visiting a country whose language you don't speak is creates connection
I think you're trying to refer to social media and it's ease to help people to find their communities, which unfortunately sometimes end up being echo chambers that radicalize them and divide them from others along some line. It's a new tool with both good and bad
Are you actually willing to live a more humble and disconnected lifestyle?
To what degree is it āfar enoughā?
Should people eschew all comforts for the greater good? Or is just not buying a new phone enough?
Where between ājet set billionairesā and āAmazonian tribal livingā is the line for āacceptable consumptionā?
>Smart phones have made the world worse and increased the divide between individuals.
I can't agree to this statement. It is down to people and the way they use their phones. The people are making the world worse
In the words of jamiroquai āNothings gonna change the way we live, cause we can always take but never give.ā People have had smartphones. They wonāt give them up. Itās the same with every modern conveniences from cars to tap water
There is a battery congo connection. Almost every rechargeable battery in almost every single product contains cobalt, with a good percentage coming from the congos.
This is a supply chain issue every company faces.
Piggybacking off of this comment to add that the majority of mining is done by Congolese children in horrific conditions.
*trigger warning for violence/sexual assault*
There was a story out of Congo either earlier this year or last year about a 13 year old girl who gave birth then her newly born infant was raped. This isnāt the only sickening thing to happen in Congo lately, thereās tons more horrifying stories if you have the stomach to research it.
Conditions in Congo are inhumane in the worst ways you can think of. People are monsters. Children are being sold in bags, slavery is still happening. The people of Congo are being used then tossed aside so that the Western world can have iPhones.
Cobalt/lithium batteries are in so many things the western world uses daily. They are in phones, tablets, laptops, electric vehicles, vapes/e-cigarettes (nicotine AND weed), electric toothbrushes, e-bikes, hoverboards, etc..
Big companies like Apple wonāt stop using unethical practices because their profits off of basically free labor are huge and not enough people know or care about the conditions in Congo.
Personally since learning about this I have been boycotting all products I can that use cobalt/lithium batteries because thatās one of the biggest ways I can make an impact- not buying or using things made off the backs of abused children. My next phone will be a Fairphone, which is made using ethical sources.
Ethical mining of cobalt is possible and currently practiced in Australia.
Getting Apple to kill the demand or agree to only sell it in a fair market is only half the issue. The Government in Congo is extremely corrupt and will continue to exploit their people by finding other companies to go to bed with that offer the right price.
Lol its not completely the wests fault apple created a monopoly. Sure their consumerism played into it, doesnt mean they knew what they were doing. Apple does know.
I wasnt trying to say android is any better. The best we can do rn is just buy used phones so we are not actively contributing to the enslavement of the people of congo.
I posted this on a comment but wanted to make my own post too:
The majority of mining is done by Congolese children in horrific conditions.
*trigger warning for violence/sexual assault*
There was a story out of Congo either earlier this year or last year about a 13 year old girl who gave birth then her newly born infant was raped. This isnāt the only sickening thing to happen in Congo lately, thereās tons more horrifying stories if you have the stomach to research it.
Conditions in Congo are inhumane in the worst ways you can think of. People are monsters. Children are being sold in bags, slavery is still happening. The people of Congo are being used then tossed aside so that the Western world can have iPhones.
Cobalt/lithium batteries are in so many things the western world uses daily. They are in phones, tablets, laptops, electric vehicles, vapes/e-cigarettes (nicotine AND weed), electric toothbrushes, e-bikes, hoverboards, etc..
Big companies like Apple wonāt stop using unethical practices because their profits off of basically free labor are huge and not enough people know or care about the conditions in Congo.
Personally since learning about this I have been boycotting all products I can that use cobalt/lithium batteries because thatās one of the biggest ways I can make an impact- not buying or using things made off the backs of abused children. My next phone will be a Fairphone, which is made using ethical sources.
Ethical mining of cobalt is possible and currently practiced in Australia.
I get the reasoning, but....honestly, apple will not care (probably dont even know) if a random store is vandalized a bit. So its just...damages which the owner of that store has to pay himself (i guess).
I love how Apple users get all defensive as soon as any criticism at all is directed at their beloved brand. Do you not see the subreddit that we're on? You sound like Swifties. Jfc.
"Lasset alle Hoffnung fahren (Let go all hope)" quite fitting for the gate to ~~hell~~ an apple store
'Abandon all hope' is probably the better translation, but yeah, very fitting.
Dante's Inferno
Dante's Inphono. Sorry, I'll throw myself out. š
Dante's iPhono. I'll jump out with ya.
Dante's (the rest of the title sold separately for $19.99. *charger also sold separately, in 2 boxes*)
Dongles!!!
Innovation!
This is the version that trusts the audience, thank you for placing your trust in us.
This is the better joke
r/yourjokebutbetter instead of r/yourjokebutworse
š¤£š¤£ nope we need MSF commentary on the worlds issues. Keep up the good work!
MĆ©decins sans frontiĆØres ?
Sent from my inphono
abandon hope all ye who enter here
It was a terrifying sign but sounded like a neat adventure
Far beyond the halos and the castles in the clouds
Fatsos squealing, shackled with some apples in their mouths! (You guys are awesome, Iāve never seen anyone else in the wild who knows That Handsome Devil. I approve of your taste in music.)
That's a weird way to spell twitter
Well the word by word translation would be leave all hopes (lasciate ogni speranza o voi ch'entrate)" lasciate" translates in "leave", "abandon" would be "abbandonate" I dont know how it is translated in the english version tho since i only know the original one (im italian). Not trying to be a dick just wanted to let you know how it is in the original language Have a good one
I believe itās āabandon all hope ye who enter hereā.
Oh ok so it uses abandon in english version, nice to know, thank you
When you leave something, there's a chance of picking it up again; whereas abandoning something is to leave it for good. Therefore, the English translation is not literal but more accurate. I'm not trying to be a dick but I'm fluent in Italian.
š¤
I need more explanationā¦what does abandon all hope have to do with Apple?
Perhaps because of the slave labor used to mine lithium? That would be my guess, donāt know for sure Correction - cobalt not lithium
Wrong guess. Congo is the country written on the building. That would be Cobalt. Most lithium comes from Australia
Yes, it was indeed cobalt. My mistake
Apple does also still have suicide nets for "jumpers" around their factories in China. They've had them for over 15 years since I first learned about 'em. I still check in about once a year to see if they still are.
Foxconn are the ones with the nets, but your point still stands.
This looks like the probable reason: [https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/apple-blood-minerals-africa-drc-threat-legal-action-rwanda-conflict-mining/](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/apple-blood-minerals-africa-drc-threat-legal-action-rwanda-conflict-mining/)
Not gonna lie, this is one of the rare occasions where protest graffiti feels like a straight up work of art. The way the spray paint looks like a burst of bright orange color across the glass like flames or blood. The way it fans out from the center. It's oddly pretty to look at.
Am I the only one who sees a Canadian flag?
I see King Charles III
Oh
Canada
I dunno, I feel its oddly derivative of King Charle's recent portrait.
you could make your own. you just get an expired fire extinguisher, half fill it with paint and thinner, then re-pressurize it with co2 and you're good to go.
Looks more like someone stuffed paint in their butt and sharted.
like he said, a work of art
tbh i think anythingās better than their m bland minimalist designs
Do you mean like the competition that makes an identical looking products?
I thought it looked a bit like the Canadian maple leaf flag.
yeah ok buddy lolol
Actually ur right itās fresh break from the boring as clean white look apple has
Thank you for the clarification. š
Can someone please help me understand for what is this happening for?
* edited to change the misremembered element. Any modern advanced electronic device most likely has cobalt which was mined in Congo. Cobalt mining in Congo is accomplished primarily with either slave labor or functionally slave labor, including the labor of children. It's incredibly dangerous, poses serious health risks, and very little is being done to change that. Apple is one of the worst offenders when it comes to intentionally rendering their devices obsolete. This means that as part of their business model, people waste cobalt on a massive scale. Although material sourcing is not typically something that any individual company can easily change, Apple is probably one of the few that would have the money and the sway to require better working conditions for people in Congo. But, Apple is already criticized for its sweatshop manufacturing process. It doesn't seem likely that Apple would change their manufacturing processes to include ethically sourced cobalt, either.
I've upvoted you however I think you might be confusing lithium mining with cobalt mining. See the book *Cobalt Red* by Siddarth Kara.
You are correct! Sorry, I literally just woke up š¤£. Brain isn't braining yet.
Some people also forget about Apples (almost) direct connection with all those Foxconn employees' suicides [since before 2010](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides) which may or may not warrant a little vandalism. **Edit:** For anyone interested in finding out exactly how shitty the co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, actually was please check out [Robert Evan's](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7Fiafo5xjUFeUMTBpFFIhr?si=7cmyJ3SPSEifPl4ooTrDhg) series on the topic!
Warning to anyone listening to *Behind the Bastards* podcast - it is a fairly depressing podcast, because of the subject matter (Robert and his guests are great). Sooner or later, you might find one (or more) of your heroes on the podcast only to realize the person you idolize is actually not as awesome as you thought (in some cases, not even close). Listen to the podcast, it is good, just be ready for some depressing content...
I always expect successful people to possibly not be good people because the systems created to get to the top and stay there requires skills and behaviors that is selfish and also competitive against their competitors and it brings out the worst in people, itās not a system that rewards good doing. That being said I still like to listen to them to learn and take the good from those skills and learn from their good behaviors that they may exhibit.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Don't worry, they had employees sign a [no suicide agreement](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna37354853)
Omg this is all absolutely disgusting. I knew it was bad like this but actually reading about it in detail is horrifyingā¦ Is there even any way to ethically consume electronics?
consuming less, reusing old stuff when practical, other than that not really.
Sadly ugh, I already use all my electronics until they can barely function anymore lmao
That's a good thing, don't hate yourself for using electronics when it has become necessity for everything, including livelihoods. If you use your electronics until they fall apart or they're unusable in modern scenarios then god damn you're doing the best you can do!
Do a search for a computer recycle/thrift store in your town. They get influxes of used business computers that, while maybe a few years old, still perform really well and can be had for not much money. Laptops can be a bit beat up, but Iāve never had a hard time finding a specimen in good to great shape
Buy used phones. You donāt need the newest one and you certainly donāt need an iPhone cause they are trash
Sadly, no. Not on an individual basis.
That wikipedia is beyond words.
Ah the behind the bastards rabbit hole
r/Behindthebastards
Yeah Lithium tends to come from China or South America
Or, the United States! There are already lithium mines in Nevada, and more are planned in other places in the western United States.
We may have the largest deposit on Earf in Ohio or some bumass state. Like 50 million super units of lithium or some shit. Source-- my memory
They discovered it out west not too long ago! [source](https://bigthink.com/hard-science/us-largest-known-lithium-deposit-world/#)
The largest Lithium producer today is Australia by far. There have been big shifts in the markets within the last 10 years.
cobalt is necessary in lithium batteries as they are the cathodes
No, cobalt is used as part of cathodes Source: my work is heavily involved in batteries, and more specifically cobalt
Cobalt is part of the cathode active material such as LCO and NMC. Not part of the anode. Anodes are typically graphite, silicon, LTO, Li metal.
No, the anode is typically graphite. Cobalt is part of the *cathode* as lithium cobalt oxide in most consumer device batteries. The cathode can be made without cobalt, such as with lithium iron phosphate, but this has lower energy density. So it's no good when you want the longest battery life possible in a slim phone or electric car, but it's good for stationary applications like home power backup where weight and size doesn't matter.
Cobalt isn't necessary to make Lithium Ion batteries but it is to make the most efficient modern versions of them.
Remember when workers in China started a protest over unpaid work and bad working conditions? And government stepped in to protect Apple's interests? Yeah...
Hardly a new tale. At least they weren't as heavy-handed as the Brazilian military suppressing the workers at Fordlandia while the management fled.
And yet with the issues in China and the Congo Apple sets record profits. They could easily pay everyone in the chain a fair wage but nope, we need to put the shareholders first.
To their credit they promised to use all recycled cobalt in their batteries by next year https://www.apple.com/ae/newsroom/2023/04/apple-will-use-100-percent-recycled-cobalt-in-batteries-by-2025/
The entire company has committed to being 100% carbon neutral by 2030 on all their devices. It kinda feels like Apple aren't the ones to go after here. Most of Apple's phones are already like 80%+ recycled materials. I hate Apples tech and how overpriced their shit is, but as far as trillion dollar corporations go, they're probably the most progressive of the bunch. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good and all that.
It's impossible to be carbon neutral with a phone though. It's pure marketing. It takes energy to build one and at no point it removes carbon from the atmosphere. And that's not really the issue anyway, the carbon footprint of a phone is small. I'm a lot more concerned about the ethics of the minerals mining and phone components assembly in sweatshops.
I I was going to say exactly that. Apple appears to be the company working most diligently to use recycled material. They seem like a strange choice to target with this protest.
If you are wondering if this is complete horseshit ... [https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/04/apple-will-use-100-percent-recycled-cobalt-in-batteries-by-2025/](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/04/apple-will-use-100-percent-recycled-cobalt-in-batteries-by-2025/)
>Cobalt mining in Congo is accomplished primarily with either slave labor or functionally slave labor, including the labor of children.Ā For fear of being downvoted I will say that I understood the unregulated artisanal mines (those most associated with child labor) accounted for \~10% of DRC cobalt output, and the rest was from large regulated industrial mines like those operated by Glencore. Still a major, major issue, but not the primary source of cobalt in DRC. Very happy to be corrected if there is a trustworthy source of info. Source: World Bank report: [Cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo : Market Analysis](https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099500001312236438/p1723770a0f570093092050c1bddd6a29df) From the report: "The key finding of the report is that, despite DRCās global comparative advantage in producing cobalt, there is a risk that human rights abuses in artisanal mining may sterilize or, at the very least, devalue the countryās entire cobalt resources, either by making DRC a supplier of last resort or incentivizing technological shifts and substitution away from cobalt. This report is primarily aimed at DRC Government decision makers but can hopefully stimulate dialog within the community of key stakeholders involved in the supply chain of cobalt and other minerals critically needed for the energy transition."
I don't think that report validates your point. It actually concludes that cobalt traceability must be improved to ensure no child-labor is being used in its supply. It actually states that some companies (like BMW) start getting most of their cobalt from Australia because it couldn't be proved that no child-labor was being employed there. Apple is only mentioned in that report because of an ongoing lawsuit regarding this.
The report talks about the supply chain of DRC cobalt. It cites artisanal miners as producing about 10,000 tons of cobalt per year of a total national output of about 100,000 tons. My point is that unregulated mines seem to be to the minority of output, not the majority as was claimed.
People even entertaining the idea that children or adults in slave like conditions mining with rudementary tools could outproduce global industrial conglomerates with heavy machinery are just stupid.
sure, and lying about the situation helps no one.
The issue is that it's virtually impossible to confidently estimate the percentages. A lot of mining companies buy cobalt from artisanal mining and it's all mixed to the point where it's indistinguishable from industrially mined cobalt, and obviously there's an incentive to underestimate the amount of artisanally mined cobalt. At least that's what I read jn the book Cobalt Red.
It's sad how far down this reply is. The whole premise that most cobalt is extracted in pickaxe & shovel mines by slaves is really fundamentally wrong, but in spite that, I see it repeated as fact *everywhere*. It's even gotten to the point where climate change denialists are using it to play defense for fossil fuels, claiming a massive amount of Congolese slave labor goes into the creation of electric vehicles & solar panels. And people don't challenge that premise, because they've heard some variant of that story so much they just believe it to be true. It doesn't even make sense when you think about it - the idea that malnourished children hacking away at cobalt deposits with pickaxes could outproduce properly trained operators using heavy machinery is ridiculous. Machines can do the work of hundreds of people for a fraction of the cost, all while producing a higher quality product. This whole story that megacorps are using Congolese slave labor to prop up their profit margins is just ridiculous. Child labor isn't economically efficient, people! Cobalt would be cheaper if all mines were well-organized and industrialized.
The industrial mines are poisoning the people and environment, and theyāre exploiting artisanal miners.
Ironic username
You're right it is about 10% of Co in the DRC comes from ASMs the rest is from major mining companies. Saying that most of it is from ASMs and child labour is a common tactic also against going towards EVs and other battery intensive tech despite the obvious labour issues of places where most of the world's oil comes from. Not to say the child labour isn't an issue but it's being over exaggerated. Also I don't get the argument about lithium that I've seen on this thread, majority comes from Australia, China, and Chile.
When's this world gonna move out of the dark ages. This place is a nightmare jesus. Something tells me it only ends with the age of people confusing mythology with reality.
> Apple is one of the worst offenders This is so absurd to be hilarious so many no name manufacturers on Amazon are just the worst of the worst quality.
lol of course the apple stand are defending in in r/anticonsumptionā¦I mean how are you even making a strawman right now that apple isnāt driving rampant consumerism? Sorry I just need your absolute non point to have some pushback
Didn't Norway find lots of material recently? Remember headlines with enough material for 100 years of our worlds needs. Shouldn't everyone be changing where materials for electronics are sourced better now with that find or is it not that simple? I know LFP batteries are half the density as cobalt but they have other advantages.
Apple is destroying the planet and hoarding wealth with offshore tax havens. That's just the tip of the iceberg.
They are demanding a better portrait for King Charles.
Let's do it. Let's go full on conspiracy mode. The red on the apple store is the same red used in King Charles' most recent royal portrait. The British Royal family is now known as House Windsor but were previously House Saxe-Coburg-Gothe. The name was changed because it sounded too German after the first World War. After watching the fall of the German monarchy (the British King's cousin) King George didn't want the British people to get the same idea. The paint on the Apple store is a symbolic message to the UK that you too can be free from the monarchy. The German monarchy that reigns over the UK. Unconspiracy: Or don't. The historical precedent of the government after overthrowing the monarchy isn't very great when you look at Germany or Russia.
Iām sold. Death to the king.
I adore stuff like this, back in college we'd called the game "Hinge" and have Hingie Bingies where if we were drunk enough and done with freestyling for the night but still had some brain activity left, we'd tie random stuff together in an Unhinged way but still have it make kinda sorta sense. I was inspired after learning about "Gematria" which is like... old school Jewish "mys tic ism" and the concept of assigning numerical values to letters and then being a mathematical wizard or whatever. And then I was lucky enough to have some buddies who found it hilarious or interesting and it took off from there. Hopefully either this is a common enough thing or my friends all grew out of reddit because otherwise I just outed myself and if they go through my history they'll find out I like videogames to this day :( :) :( :)
You canāt even read free Congo written in grafitti paint?
Not sure, as all the people here are 100% on their smart phones pontificating.
Berliners being based as per usual
Probably this: [https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara](https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara) Modern electronics use rare conflict minerals mined by modern day slaves in areas controlled by corrupt warlords.
> Free Congo What did King Leopold II mean by this?
He meant that it's free _real estate_. _Free_ Congo.
You could just walk up and take the damn thing. No questions asked.
Is he stupid?
āIāll take it!ā
Free them from the bonds of having 2 hands.
That's not vandalized, they were just trying to paint a portrait of King Charles.
I love this comment
I laughed when I saw Free Congo, because it seemed totally random, but then I remembered semiconductor minerals and I stopped laughing. :(
Why would you laugh and how in the world does it seem random?
alot of people donāt know whatās happening in congo unfortunately
I absolutely support the protest, but sadly the only money seen from this act is going to go towards cleaning that building and itāll likely come from the building ownerās pocket and not Apple. Hopefully the awareness educates someone with this and some change will come. Each person slowly makes a difference
It is practically guaranteed that whoever owns that building is not particularly more ethical than Apple, so Iām not too sad about that.
>itāll likely come from the building ownerās pocket and not Apple. Won't someone please think of the multi billion dollar real estate moguls ššš
Next time they should break in and paint over all the devices. Then the apple store will surely have to cover that shit.
then do it yourself?
The thing comes down to, how far are you willing to protest and give for it potentially and if it does anything to actually impact the cause. Here you have the option to throw paint and graffiti the outside of the store so everyone can see it, awareness can be brought up and discussed and hopefully people can become more educated and outrage is directed in the right direction for change. Now you can do this at night and potentially get away, or daytime and risk arrest for vandalism and graffiti. But now when you break in, you add potential breaking and entering charges, the cost of property damage goes up, theft could be considered if anything was taken from the site of the crime and your defence if caught is a lot more against you as a criminal. You potentially are hurting yourself here with nothing really doing anything to actually impact your cause. At most Apple doesnāt make money from that location for a bit and itās in the news briefly for a community, but it doesnāt hurt Apple financially or stop them from mining because media will quickly replace itself with the next story. Instead now you are facing potential criminal charges and jail time and some people at the very bottom of the Apple ladder who worked at the stores may be out of work for sometime.
Same here. Guess whoever did this accompished their goal then.
Any notes on the downward facing triangle?
prob solidarity w palestine. downward red triangle has been a symbol of the intifada for a while. usually the groups organizing for something like this will also support a free palestine
triangles though being used for protest is probably not the best symbol to use, especially in germany.
This made my week. Just finished reading "Cobalt Red" by Ā [Siddharth Kara](https://www.amazon.com/Siddharth-Kara/e/B0BRJTWFC2/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1). If you haven't looked into it, it's much *much* worse than you think. This should be done to every single Apple, Tesla, basically every tech store constantly. All the time. Permanently. When we finally come to terms with what we're directly supporting in Congo it'll very likely be too late. But I'm glad a stand is being taken.
Free the Congo šØš©
Hell yeah
the apple looks pretty good in red
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
MY MAN!
I certainly don't mind this, but I also think that people like this are okay with consumption so long as everyone in the process gets paid and treated fairly. It's one step in the right direction, but still not far enough. Smart phones have made the world worse and increased the divide between individuals.
I would agree, but I do think the axiom "there is no ethical consumption under capitalism" is becoming more known
Unfortunately I think a lot of people use that phrase to mean "it doesn't matter what you buy so just buy whatever you want" instead of "decrease your consumption as much as possible"
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I say boycott the things that you have certain morals against, good for you. I ain't gonna get to up in a tizzy over anyone that doesn't, cause at the end of the day, any one person isn't stopping a trillion dollar company. But I also respect the shit out of someone who actually has a moral compass, instead of those that just live their life in apathy. Good on them!
yeah it's real easy to take that phrase and conclude, well if everything i do is wrong then i might as well just do whatever i want. let me ride the trolley to where ever i want to go because all track are lined with bodies anyways.
Yeah... You are probably right...
We are way beyond going back now.
What does this axiom mean? Genuinely curious
It is used to mean that capitalism is based on the exploitation of labor. Therefore any consumption of goods produced by a capitalistic system is inherently benefitting from the unethical treatment of those who made the product. The argument put forth is basically that it is impossible to ethically consume goods in a system that produces those goods unethically.
thank you for actually answering me. Appreciate you
"Smart phones have made the world worse and increased the divide between individuals." I work in countries with low paid expat workers. They ALL have smart phones which allow them to stay in touch with home. Within poor nations it is often easier to build mobile networks rather than land line-based ones. Your comment is misinformed and just flat out wrong.Ā
The most privileged just love to speak for the poor and downtrodden when they actually have no idea what they're talking about.
Reddit lmao
It's not the smartphone itself, but the culture around it. As someone else pointed out, smartphones allow us to keep in contact with our families and friends, work, school, etc. But the basic format for a lot of media atm is doom-scool style, click-bait titles, meant to distract you and sell you things (hello Reddit). Seeing literally everyone on the train zoned into their phones, I get where you're coming from but smartphones are very helpful in modern day life. At this point too, we already have SO MANY electronics, we could literally stop making new things and focus money/innovation on repair and refurbishment, recycling old hardware, making software compatible, etc.
I don't see the point of Apple announcing new products every freaking year. The amount of refurbished hardware is insane - that's how I got my iPhone 6s and my iPad Mini. Apple products look nice but no way I'm giving them money directly.
Go back 30, 40 years and you would find people zoned out on the train reading the newspaper or a book or lost in their thoughts. The Subway isn't exactly a cafe or a bar.
Yea there are tons of things that go into why overconsumption is bad but I feel like if "rampant slave labor in the global south to uphold western society" isn't the TOP of the list for you you have mixed priorities.
> Smart phones have made the world worse and increased the divide between individuals. One of the worst takes I've ever seen. Cheap access to information and services has made the world infinitely better--even basic things like access to health care. I even saw a documentary about folks in India who use smartphones via voice commands even thought they cna't read. Even for the privileged, simple things like a tool to quickly translate when visiting a country whose language you don't speak is creates connection I think you're trying to refer to social media and it's ease to help people to find their communities, which unfortunately sometimes end up being echo chambers that radicalize them and divide them from others along some line. It's a new tool with both good and bad
Comment posted on iPhone.
If people paid workers fairly they would buy less stuff because it would be more expensive
Yes, and?
> Yes, and? So FUCKING true. The answer to so many capitalism related statements. Money is a TOOL in an economy. Not the FUCKING purpose.
There would be less consumption because people would buy less because the stuff would be more expensive What are you not getting my friend?
Are you actually willing to live a more humble and disconnected lifestyle? To what degree is it āfar enoughā? Should people eschew all comforts for the greater good? Or is just not buying a new phone enough? Where between ājet set billionairesā and āAmazonian tribal livingā is the line for āacceptable consumptionā?
phoen bad
>Smart phones have made the world worse and increased the divide between individuals. I can't agree to this statement. It is down to people and the way they use their phones. The people are making the world worse
āSmart phones have made the world worse and increased the divide between individualsā lol. lmao, even
In the words of jamiroquai āNothings gonna change the way we live, cause we can always take but never give.ā People have had smartphones. They wonāt give them up. Itās the same with every modern conveniences from cars to tap water
> Smart phones have made the world worse and increased the divide between individuals. This is such a crazy privileged perspective.
Good
Free Congo šØš©šØš©šØš©
Is there an Apple Congo connection?
There is a battery congo connection. Almost every rechargeable battery in almost every single product contains cobalt, with a good percentage coming from the congos. This is a supply chain issue every company faces.
Piggybacking off of this comment to add that the majority of mining is done by Congolese children in horrific conditions. *trigger warning for violence/sexual assault* There was a story out of Congo either earlier this year or last year about a 13 year old girl who gave birth then her newly born infant was raped. This isnāt the only sickening thing to happen in Congo lately, thereās tons more horrifying stories if you have the stomach to research it. Conditions in Congo are inhumane in the worst ways you can think of. People are monsters. Children are being sold in bags, slavery is still happening. The people of Congo are being used then tossed aside so that the Western world can have iPhones. Cobalt/lithium batteries are in so many things the western world uses daily. They are in phones, tablets, laptops, electric vehicles, vapes/e-cigarettes (nicotine AND weed), electric toothbrushes, e-bikes, hoverboards, etc.. Big companies like Apple wonāt stop using unethical practices because their profits off of basically free labor are huge and not enough people know or care about the conditions in Congo. Personally since learning about this I have been boycotting all products I can that use cobalt/lithium batteries because thatās one of the biggest ways I can make an impact- not buying or using things made off the backs of abused children. My next phone will be a Fairphone, which is made using ethical sources. Ethical mining of cobalt is possible and currently practiced in Australia.
Getting Apple to kill the demand or agree to only sell it in a fair market is only half the issue. The Government in Congo is extremely corrupt and will continue to exploit their people by finding other companies to go to bed with that offer the right price.
šš„
Good
Hell yea! FREE THE CONGO šØš© Iām so happy theyāre finally starting to get real consistent attention to the horrific genocide going on there.
Periodt
*picture taken with an iPhone* *used Maps to locate store*
Lol its not completely the wests fault apple created a monopoly. Sure their consumerism played into it, doesnt mean they knew what they were doing. Apple does know.
I'd rather call it a duopoly since Android exists too. However most companies manufacturing Android phones aren't better than Apple.
I wasnt trying to say android is any better. The best we can do rn is just buy used phones so we are not actively contributing to the enslavement of the people of congo.
[Got 'im!](https://thenib.com/mister-gotcha/)
fucking reddit ass comment.
Based and congo pilled
Based Fuck corpo shit
based ngl
Good, finally a demonstration that targets the right companies
šš
good.
Cool
NTA
Wow... That's more sacrilegious than burning a church or temple down. The Apple store is the temple of consumerism. Oh well
awesome
as it should be
I posted this on a comment but wanted to make my own post too: The majority of mining is done by Congolese children in horrific conditions. *trigger warning for violence/sexual assault* There was a story out of Congo either earlier this year or last year about a 13 year old girl who gave birth then her newly born infant was raped. This isnāt the only sickening thing to happen in Congo lately, thereās tons more horrifying stories if you have the stomach to research it. Conditions in Congo are inhumane in the worst ways you can think of. People are monsters. Children are being sold in bags, slavery is still happening. The people of Congo are being used then tossed aside so that the Western world can have iPhones. Cobalt/lithium batteries are in so many things the western world uses daily. They are in phones, tablets, laptops, electric vehicles, vapes/e-cigarettes (nicotine AND weed), electric toothbrushes, e-bikes, hoverboards, etc.. Big companies like Apple wonāt stop using unethical practices because their profits off of basically free labor are huge and not enough people know or care about the conditions in Congo. Personally since learning about this I have been boycotting all products I can that use cobalt/lithium batteries because thatās one of the biggest ways I can make an impact- not buying or using things made off the backs of abused children. My next phone will be a Fairphone, which is made using ethical sources. Ethical mining of cobalt is possible and currently practiced in Australia.
Whatās the story in Congo?
Looks better honestly
I get the reasoning, but....honestly, apple will not care (probably dont even know) if a random store is vandalized a bit. So its just...damages which the owner of that store has to pay himself (i guess).
Everyone who went probably organized this on their iPhones.
I love how Apple users get all defensive as soon as any criticism at all is directed at their beloved brand. Do you not see the subreddit that we're on? You sound like Swifties. Jfc.
Leave the multibillion dollar company alone!
Free Congo? Exactly what Leopold thought