On Saturday, 28 April 2018 02:45:11 UTC+2, RichA wrote:
On Friday, 27 April 2018 12:35:00 UTC-4, Quadibloc wrote:
Since rare-earth ores are as common as dirt, the Chinese monopoly is an
artifact of their willingness to refine them cheaper than anyone else,
so it's less serious than the news stories imply.

Yes, so common the U.S. moth-balled their mines in the 1960's. Lets just say the Chinese mines are to rare-earths what Shinkolobwe was to uranium.

The perceived dangers of mining are measured by a nation's leader's respect for basic human rights. Personal profit over worker's survival usually wins. All it takes is to mentally dehumanize the workers to slave status. Slavery by proxy is as common and unforgivable as scrambling over burnt and crippled bodies to snatch the loot with our own blood-stained hands.

Our obscene Western wealth is largely built on slavery. It continues to this very day as we grasp our new toys and labelled clothing in our brightly lit stores. As soon as China's child and slave-made products become too expensive for our tastes then Africa becomes the next Uranium boom economy.

Economic invasion and suppression is as old as history but without risk to our own [usually disposable] cannon fodder. No headlines of more losses to disturb the Pavlov election process. Nobody remembers the names of the foreign factory workers who died chained to their benches while stitching designer labels. If it occurred nearer home, in a conflict, it would be called a massacre.

Prestigious European building projects are routinely built with slave labour. Western children are routinely cared for and supervised by slaves. Smart Western homes and smart hotels are routinely cleaned by slaves. It just shows how we value our own safety and that of our [precious] children. Have you had your own children's, slave made toys checked for toxins?

In a time of acute vulnerability to online crime all it takes is for the lowest common denominator to open an email. The weakest link in any economic chain is the lowly slave which nobody ever values. Save a dollar on wages. Lose a vast empire overnight to ransomware.