The article and discussion are literally about machines moving stuff.

Not, though. According to Wikipedia:

“The status and designation as a "felon" is considered permanent and is not extinguished upon sentence completion even if parole, probation or early release was given.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony

And a felony is defined differently in different states. And since such a wide variety of crimes are classified as felonies it is really hard to usefully draw any conclusions other than “person convicted of a felony at some point in their life” which is hardly useful. Could be a stone cold killer, could be a tax evader. Who knows? A felon is a felon.

Thank you for engaging constructively on this discussion.

Given that “felon” means “person that’s been convicted of a felony at some point in their life” and the fact that “felony” covers such a wide variety of crimes, it is a genuinely useless indicator of context.

If this is your belief, I strongly advise you to reconsider your life choices and priorities

Sounds like this meets the definition of racketeering

That is hilariously incorrect.

I had an adverse childhood, my dad died when I was 8, and my mom was literally not around, she was on the other side of the country and not interested. I was in care. I was passed around middle and high schools like a hot potato, nobody wanted me, simply because I was in care. The folks in care told me I was going to do exceptionally well in life, as my IQ tests were incredible - they were the only really structured approach to testing at the time. I ran the computer labs at all the schools I was at (C64 FTW!), because I was known as a “whizz kid” and could be trusted with that, but before ever setting foot in any of those schools I was already “branded” because I was in care. The teachers, all of them bar one, literally didn’t give a fuck. The one that cared, cared deeply. He was the music teacher, steadfastly wore punk t-shirts to class, and taught me drums and percussion. I still think of him often, but music lessons are not enough.

As for the rest of the bastards, my questions and educational needs were ignored, I was told to “just don’t bother” by many. I was great in the computer lab of course, English, and history. I struggled with many other subjects, but was deeply motivated to do well in school - I saw all the _other_ kids in care around me and was absolutely positive that I did not want to end up like that, but as I said I simply was ignored. Not only can I not do math until today, the “European schools (Netherlands, to be precise) experience” traumatised me to an extent where any kind of formal learning causes some kind of brain freeze and I simply cannot. I was relentlessly bullied at and outside of school, until I learned to stand up for myself, at which point it went in a kind of binary fashion directly to outlandish punishments for standing up for myself. Punching back in self defence can, in fact, land you in a straitjacket and in isolation for a week, who knew?! That was also where my deep distrust and rejection of any kind of authority figure or structure comes from.

I never finished school, I emancipated myself from care and dropped out when I was 17, and got the fuck out of the Netherlands. I am, until this day (54 years old now), unable to get a degree as I dropped out and as I am unable to study in a traditional sense. I was homeless and living rough a few months later, and it took me years to fight my way out of that shit. By good fortune and stubbornness I was able to learn and work in stage lighting, and did that for many years. I designed shows, clubs, bars, and ran the lights at too many events to count. I was at the forefront of the (then new up and coming) move away from pure analog lighting and into digital control and moving lights.

I eventually pivoted into IT professionally, again at a time when this was all new for everyone, and managed to build a career. I did well for a very long time and love the work. As a certified Old, I now struggle to get the contracts I need to keep going, companies want young blood and believe that deep skill and experience is overrated, so we will see what the next stage of life will bring.

Nothing special about European schools. They suck just as much as all the others.

Its spam

I appreciate your attitude here. Mine is opposite. Dangerous driving injures, maims, and murders both perpetrators and innocents alike. Criticise bad driving loudly and often. You might save lives. I had to tell my mother in law that her daughter, my wife, lost her life in a road traffic accident. There are few aspects to serious road traffic accidents that are not horrific, and speaking up may save lives. Every year, 1.19 million people die as a result of a road traffic accident. Between 20 to 50 million people suffer non-lethal injuries, many of those leading to disability.[1]

[1] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/road-traffi...

“Toothpaste is a strong abrasive” is fact, not vibes.

https://www.batemandentistry.com/blog/posts/what-about-all-t...

Have you seen the scripts in question? Are you in any kind of way able to make such a value judgement over this persons work? Have you considered the impact of your choice of words on others?

Data to back up your assertion that it’s only Berlin? I can speak for Düsseldorf, which is a total nightmare. Literally everything folks talk about regarding issues in Berlin also happens as a matter of course in Düsseldorf.

A friend of mine is high up in the NRW civil servants apparatus and he confirms it’s fucked across the board in NRW.