Well, looking at the Corning company, they specialize in glass wares/technology in general of which heat-resistant kitchenware is a sector as well as bulletproof glass but also mirrors for astronomy. So this seems more like a parallel than sequential development.

There are some interesting cases of companies who have never before even dealt with large scale production suddenly getting awarded military contracts. But tasking some of the largest machine manufacturers of the country such as Ford and Singer with production of military gear during wartime seems hardly surprising.

And I don’t even question the overall narrative of companies doing whatever makes a quick buck. I was more interested in the specific example of a tea company of all places production military goods.

I think Charlie Hebdo comics are often in bad taste and more shock value than critic, but that’s no legitimate reason to massacre people.

More than the attack on Charlie Hebdo itself, which I can “understand” in the twisted sense of a religious fanatic, it was the overall ruthlessness of the attackers that shocked me. I remember vividly seeing a video of one of the attackers walking up to a wounded police officer and executing him at point-blank range.

It’s probably something like the story within the story For the Benefit of Mankind by Liu Cixin.

Such as?

Well, illegal slavery is always an option. The opportunities for legal slavery are minimal, though.

Allowing them to be paid fairly shouldn’t be a big deal but it absolutely is.

Not many people realize it but slavery is still legal in the US. Convicted inmates can be forced to work as part of their punishment.