#cellphones and children

[gooogoogaagaaa]

PETITION TO STOP UNETHICAL COBALT MINING IN CONGO!!

Sign and share with as many people as you can!!!!! Many people, including little kids, are mining in unsafe and unethical conditions in Congo. Sign this petition to stop these horrible conditions and violations of human rights and advocate for boycotting companies that profit from these horrible conditions eg. tech companies, vapes etc!!!!!

[fruitiermetrostation]

Need a phone to help your children as they brave the world on their own?

Then get them the NTT DoCoMo FOMA SA800i, annouced 2005 for spring 2006! Comes with features such as a GPS and an attack alarm triggered by the pull-out ring.

[reasoningdaily]

Children still mining cobalt for gadget batteries in Congo

A CBS News investigation of child labor in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo has revealed that tens of thousands of children are growing up without a childhood today – two years after a damning Amnesty report about human rights abuses in the cobalt trade was published. The Amnesty report first revealed that cobalt mined by children was ending up in products from prominent tech companies including Apple, Microsoft, Tesla and Samsung. 

There's such sensitivity around cobalt mining in the DRC that a CBS News team traveling there recently was stopped every few hundred feet while moving along dirt roads and seeing children digging for cobalt. From as young as 4 years old, children can pick cobalt out of a pile, and even those too young to work spend much of the day breathing in toxic fumes.

What's life like for kids mining cobalt for our gadgets?

So, what exactly is cobalt, and what are the health risks for those who work in the DRC's cobalt mining industry?

What is cobalt?

Cobalt – a naturally occurring element –  is a critical component in lithium-ion, rechargeable batteries. In recent years, the growing global market for portable electronic devices and rechargeable batteries has fueled demand for its extraction, Amnesty said in its 2016 report. In fact, many top electronic and electric vehicle companies need cobalt to help power their products.

The element is found in other products as well.

"Cobalt-containing products include corrosion and heat-resistant alloys, hard metal (cobalt-tungsten-carbide alloy), magnets, grinding and cutting tools, pigments, paints, colored glass, surgical implants, catalysts, batteries, and cobalt-coated metal (from electroplating)," says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More than half of the world's supply of cobalt comes from the DRC, and 20 percent of that is mined by hand, according to Darton Commodities Ltd., a London-based research company that specializes in cobalt.  

Health risks of chronic exposure 

According to the CDC, "chronic exposure to cobalt-containing hard metal (dust or fume) can result in a serious lung disease called 'hard metal lung disease'" – a kind of pneumoconiosis, meaning a lung disease caused by inhaling dust particles. Inhalation of cobalt particles can cause respiratory sensitization, asthma, decreased pulmonary function and shortness of breath, the CDC says.

The health agency says skin contact is also a significant health concern "because dermal exposures to hard metal and cobalt salts can result in significant systemic uptake." 

"Sustained exposures can cause skin sensitization, which may result in eruptions of contact dermatitis," a red, itchy skin rash, the CDC says.

Despite the health risks, researchers with Amnesty International found that most cobalt miners in Congo lack basic protective equipment like face masks, work clothing and gloves. Many of the miners the organization spoke with for its 2016 report – 90 people in total who work, or worked, in the mines – complained of frequent coughing or lung problems. Cobalt mining's dangerous impact on workers and the environment

Some women complained about the physical nature of the work, with one describing hauling 110-pound sacks of cobalt ore. "We all have problems with our lungs, and pain all over our bodies," the woman said, according to Amnesty.

Moreover, miners said unsupported mining tunnels frequently give way, and that accidents are common.  

Miners know their work is dangerous, Todd C. Frankel wrote late last month in The Washington Post. 

"But what's less understood are the environmental health risks posed by the extensive mining," he reported. "Southern Congo holds not only vast deposits of cobalt and copper but also uranium. Scientists have recorded alarming radioactivity levels in some mining regions. Mining waste often pollutes rivers and drinking water. The dust from the pulverized rock is known to cause breathing problems. The mining industry's toxic fallout is only now being studied by researchers, mostly in Lubumbashi, the country's mining capital."

"These job are really desired"

Despite the dangers and risks of working as miners in the cobalt industry, at least of the some miners in the Congo "love their jobs," according to Frankel.

"When I talked to the miners there, none of them want to lose their jobs or give up their jobs. They love their jobs," Frankel said Tuesday, speaking on CBSN. "In a country like Congo, mining is one of the few decently paying jobs to be had there, and so they want to hold onto these jobs."

They also want fair treatment, decent pay, and some safety, "and they would love for their kids to not work in the mines," he said.

"It's a poverty problem," Frankel said. "These parents I talked to – they don't want their kids working in these mines. The problem is that their school fees – schools cost money, and you know, food costs money, and they sort of need their kids to work in there."

Poverty also drives children into the mines instead of school – an estimated 40,000 of them work in brutal conditions starting at very young ages.

The thousands of miners who work in tunnels searching for cobalt in the country "do it because they live in one of the poorest countries in the world, and cobalt is valuable," Frankel wrote in the Washington Post article.

"Not doing enough" 

CBS News spoke with some of the companies that use cobalt in their lithium-ion batteries. All of the companies acknowledged problems with the supply chain, but said they require suppliers to follow responsible sourcing guidelines. Apple, an industry leader in the fight for responsible sourcing, said walking away from the DRC "would do nothing to improve conditions for the people or the environment."

Read company responses here

Amnesty said in November, however, that "major electronics and electric vehicle companies are still not doing enough to stop human rights abuses entering their cobalt supply chains." 

"As demand for rechargeable batteries grows, companies have a responsibility to prove that they are not profiting from the misery of miners working in terrible conditions in the DRC," the organization said. "The energy solutions of the future must not be built on human rights abuses."

An estimated two-thirds of children in the region of the DRC that CBS News visited recently are not in school. They're working in mines instead. 

CBS News' Debora Patta spoke with an 11-year-old boy, Ziki Swaze, who has no idea how to read or write but is an expert in washing cobalt. Every evening, he returns home with a dollar or two to provide for his family.

"I have to go and work there," he told Patta, "because my grandma has a bad leg and she can't."

He said he dreams of going to school, but has always had to work instead.

"I feel very bad because I can see my friends going to school, and I am struggling," he said.

Amnesty says "it is widely recognized internationally that the involvement of children in mining constitutes one of the worst forms of child labour, which governments are required to prohibit and eliminate."

[batwynn]

Today starts day one of two days of hell. Please send some good vibes our way and protect us from shitty drivers. Thank you 🥲

[t-ierrahumeda]

After spending the whole day with my niece I reaffirm my never wanting to have a child.

[voids-ideas]

Today me and my 9 hours of screen time did a presentation on the negative effects of phone use on children

[ericfoltin1972]

Not a Cell Phone in Sight!!

Not a Cell Phone in Sight!! Just kids living in the moment!

[the-kitten69]

[mymarifae]

when will bootlicking americans learn that the police and military are literally not here to help us... they're not your heroes. they don't deserve your praise and your respect. the absolute lack of care during the uvalde shooting. i hope all those cowards burn in hell.

[majimemegoro]

kadokura talks about The Lord pretty frequently but how funny would it be if he was Actually catholic

[funbearer]

[petpeevescomic]

Pet Peeves 6/23/22, in which CJ has a proposition. (Check out “Aren’t You Finished Yet? A Pet Peeves ‘Singles’ Collection” at link in bio!) . . . . #cellphone #customerservice #verizon #comicstrip #humor #momlife #parenting #parents #moms #dads #dadlife #marriage #children #kids #family #ParentWin #webcomic #calvinandhobbes #snoopy #dogs #dogsofinstagram #familylove #familyfun #fun #funny #love https://www.instagram.com/p/CfKrtVPsZIR/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[grunge-mermaid]

you know my parents are getting radicalized when I semi-facetiously refer to a ministry of education policy as "baby steps to fascism" and instead of being told I'm being dramatic, they agree with me

[teratomarty]

My brother is a librarian, and his library is one of the ones that hosts Drag Queen Story Time.

He is also 6'3", 300 lbs of Heavy Weapons Librarian.

This week, some karen showed up to take video of said storytime. She was unmoved by the director of the library telling her their policy against taking video in the children's room.

My brother was also unmoved. Specifically, he was unmoved from his position directly in the line of karen's cellphone. She got video of an acre of blue broadcloth shirt, and that's it.

Other people who showed up to scowl at the drag queen decided they had other things to do that day when my brother scowled at them. He inherited our Mama's scowl, and it's a good one.

Sometimes, an ally looks like a big fat bald white guy. Sometimes, an ally looks like a wall.

[awingedllama]

Functional Wall Phone

info

• free. always

• can be used by children-elder

• includes most cellphone interactions

• incoming calls can be toggled on and off by shift-clicking. if calls are enabled, phone will ring about once a day. calls include telemarketer, NPC you know would like to come over, Landgraab Power Company shutting off your power, prank call, 'unknown' caller. will add more calls in future. suggestions welcome

• some interactions will be greyed out until requirements are met (i.e. your sim needs a romantic relationship to be able to ask someone on a date)

• animation isn't perfect but i hope it's good enough

• ts2 and ts3 phone require main package (awingedllama_FunctionalWallPhone) to work

download

as always, if you notice something wrong send me a message (preferably dm, not ask)

will add more kinds of phones! currently on my list i have a 1920s phone and a rotary phone

i want to do table phones as well, but i'm figuring out the best way to go about it

note for creators: you can copy/edit my tuning as much as you like and make it your own, but if you want to create a functional phone using mine as a base, please link back to this post. i have no tou, but in case something breaks in a patch, people should have the updated version

[aphrodites-fav-daughter]

Going to Victoria’s Secret with Percy Jackson…<3

“stay here” you said to your boyfriend. You stood in front of a child play area.

He shook his head wrapping his arms around you.

“Please Perce” you begged your boyfriend. You really didn’t want him with you when you enter Victoria’s Secret. You were fine with any other place, just not here…

“No…” he pouted squeezing his arms around your body

“please…” you asked with puppy eyes, a trick you had mastered.

Fine," he grumbled and let go of you. "Do you have everything you need in case of a monster attack?"

Yes, mother," you sighed at his protectiveness, "I have everything."

"Your dagger?" He questioned. " Your cellphone? What about-"

"Percy!" You interrupted him. "I'll be fine. We don't even have cellphones. You're only a couple of feet away from the entrance," you reminded him.

Ever since the war with Gaea, he's become way more overprotective in thoughts of losing you.

You thought it's adorable, but he could sometimes cross the line.

"You're right," Percy shook his head to himself. "You're a big girl."

You kissed his cheek, and then walked into Victoria Secret. You threw a quick look over your shoulder to make sure Percy isn't following.

He wasn't were you last saw him. He was with a little girl, helping her up a pair of steps that lead to the slide.

Your heart melted at the sight, he looked so cute with children. Your mind even wandered to the thought of Percy and you having kids one day, that little girl being your daughter.

You smiled to yourself, heading to the panties section. You chose a few pairs of panties, and then headed to the bras section.

You wanted to make this quick, you didn't want to make Percy wait long. You already knew what you were looking for.

"Uh, sir," you heard a female employee near you speak behind a rack of bras. "We need to ask you to leave. We're having complaints from other customers."

"I can't," you heard, this voice being much deeper and more masculine. "I'm here with my girlfriend."

"I'm sorry, sir, but until you have proof, we need to ask you to leave."

The people around you began to mutter, some pointing.

You almost laughed at the guy behind the rack of bras, thinking what type of pervert would come in here and claim he had a girlfriend when he clearly didn't. 15

Behind the rack, the figure rose to his feet, beet red.

You continued to think what a lunatic the guy is for spying on girls.

That was until the pervert turned out to be your boyfriend.

Percy sent you an bashful look. 41

You sighed. "Ma'am, he's… he's with me," you spoke, your face flushing red.

The employee nodded and left to fix the underwear close by, but she kept an eye on the two of you.

Percy wouldn't meet your eye.

"I told you to stay and wait," you scolded him.

"But I wanted to be with you, (y/n)."

You tried to muster some anger, but you couldn't. He only wanted to spend time and be with you. You began to think how sweet it was. You kissed your boyfriend, catching him by surprise.

You pulled away, looking at the selection of bras to choose.

Percy chose one, picked it up, and held it to his chest. "How about this one, (y/n)?" He asked, the bra he chose being blue with jewels decorating it - almost like seashells. "I would look hotter in this than you," he smirked. He slid his arms through the loops, looking down.

The employee near by looked ready to call security to escort both of you out.

"Percy!" You attempted to scold, but ended up in laughter.

He took off the bra and placed it back. Only this time, he chose an even larger sized bra. "This one fits much better," he felt himself as if he had boobs. "Yup, much better," he said as he smiled innocently at you.

There's nothing innocent in that smile.

The employee spoke to the mall security guard from a far distance, throwing glances in your direction.

"Uh… Perce," you began to place down the panties and bras you selected. "Put that back, we're leaving."

"Why?" He looked at you confused. "Aren't you buying these?"

"I was but not anymore," you said as he took off the bra. He followed your gaze and then understood what you meant.

"Come on." You laced your hand with his and started to take off running leaving behind your cute pantries you sadly didn’t buy.

“Hey!!” You heard from behind you, Percy took off in a sprint dragging you along to the bathroom and locking yourselves in a stall.

“Fuck. I love you…” Percy exclaims before kissing you, your mouths moving in perfect alignment. You guys were soulmates… your hands reached up each other’s shirt’s ,he pushed you against the wall before taking his hands out of your shirt and gripping your ass causing you to moan lightly, gifting him the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth. “Percy…” you grumbled in between kisses. “Yeah?” He replied in a haze.

“we forgot Annabeth at Cotton on Kids…”