Message boards :
Politics :
Coltan..the hidden cost of your computer and mobile phone.
Message board moderation
Author | Message |
---|---|
Es99 (part ii) Send message Joined: 6 Jul 07 Posts: 291 Credit: 18,010 RAC: 0 |
United Nations and Transnational Corporations: a deadly association The "January 2006 edition of the prestigious British medical Journal The Lancet points out that the ten years of civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has cost between 3.5 and 4.5 million lives. That makes it the greatest humanitarian catastrophe since the Second World War. It is universally recognised that the backdrop to this tragedy is the appropriation of strategic minerals which abound in the Congo: diamonds, gold, columbite-tantalite (coltan), cobalt, etc. It is estimated that the DRC has about 80 per cent of the world’s coltan reserves. The special properties of coltan account for its widespread use in the electronics industry, especially in the making of mobile telephones (one billion of which were sold globally in 2006)." Coltan, Gorillas and cellphones The mining of Coltan is not only fuelling the civil war there but destroying the natural habitat of Gorillas. Coltan Congo War and the Role of Coltan Tens of thousands flee militia violence in eastern DR Congo Coltan is used in Mobile Phones, computers and playstations. War, human rights abuses, child soldiers, human displacement and destruction of the environment are all consequences of our demands for these high tech devices. Account frozen... |
MrGray Send message Joined: 17 Aug 05 Posts: 3170 Credit: 60,411 RAC: 0 |
Oooooh, Good one!!! :) . "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss |
Rush Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 3131 Credit: 302,569 RAC: 0 |
War, human rights abuses, child soldiers, human displacement and destruction of the environment are all consequences of our demands for these high tech devices. No, that's not true at all, because simple demand doesn't cause war nor human displacement. Look at the demand for food in the U.S. and U.K., for example--needless to say, the farmers there haven't had to take up guns to protect their resources. The lack of rule of law hurts, and of course, all of the above could easily and simply be (and, frankly, is) caused by utterly failed property rights and gov't abuse. Which if why I will not be vacationing in Kinshasa. Not to mention there's still that crazy Ebola vector running around loose somewhere. Cordially, Rush elrushbo2@theobviousgmail.com Remove the obvious... |
Es99 (part ii) Send message Joined: 6 Jul 07 Posts: 291 Credit: 18,010 RAC: 0 |
War, human rights abuses, child soldiers, human displacement and destruction of the environment are all consequences of our demands for these high tech devices. Actually..I suggest you read the links I posted where it explains how it is. Account frozen... |
Rush Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 3131 Credit: 302,569 RAC: 0 |
Actually..I suggest you read the links I posted where it explains how it is. I glanced at them, there's nothing in there that I saw that is in conflict with what I said. What I did say was that war, human rights abuses, child soldiers, human displacement and destruction of the environment are not necessarily direct consequences of demand. Most obviously because there are any number of items that are in high demand where none of the above are issues. Because of the rule of law, effective property rights, and little official gov't abuse. Most simply, it isn't demand for mobile phones (or any other good) that causes this stuff--it's too attenuated. The actual cause is people who feel it's OK to impose their will on others by the use of force. Cordially, Rush elrushbo2@theobviousgmail.com Remove the obvious... |
MrGray Send message Joined: 17 Aug 05 Posts: 3170 Credit: 60,411 RAC: 0 |
Most simply, it isn't demand for mobile phones (or any other good) that causes this stuff--it's too attenuated. The actual cause is people who feel it's OK to impose their will on others by the use of force. I doubt they'd do it for kicks if money wasn't involved. "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss |
Rush Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 3131 Credit: 302,569 RAC: 0 |
I doubt they'd do it for kicks if money wasn't involved. Duh. Money is involved. Just like it is in farming and health care and cars and et cetera ad infinitum. The point being there's money involved everywhere, and you don't see child soldiers hanging out in front of Barclay's Bank. Cordially, Rush elrushbo2@theobviousgmail.com Remove the obvious... |
Es99 (part ii) Send message Joined: 6 Jul 07 Posts: 291 Credit: 18,010 RAC: 0 |
I doubt they'd do it for kicks if money wasn't involved. No..Barclays did support apartheid in South Africa though. Oh and more recently: Barclays' millions help to prop up Mugabe regime Account frozen... |
thorin belvrog Send message Joined: 29 Sep 06 Posts: 6418 Credit: 8,893 RAC: 0 |
I doubt they'd do it for kicks if money wasn't involved. I just don't want to believe that you're too ignorant to see that the banks with their money are guilty on producing more poverty than any politics. Banks buy corrupt politicians. Banks buy entire governments. Man open your eyes! You don't have a democracy, you have an oligarchy. It was US banks with the help of the CIA changing young republics especially in Middle America into banana republics, totally depending on export of fruits produced in mono-culture. Big money is responsible of many civil wars, because people don't want to be taken their freedom away by foreign big business. My opinion is: if they wish to help a country, they should help their entire population instead of just exploiting them. As it is done today and was done in the last decades, it's modern days colonialism, nothing else. Of course the citizens are fighting back. But of course in their ignorance they blame the wrong ones. Account frozen... |
AC Send message Joined: 22 Jan 05 Posts: 3413 Credit: 119,579 RAC: 0 |
It was US banks with the help of the CIA changing young republics especially in Middle America into banana republics, totally depending on export of fruits produced in mono-culture. You should read about the United Fruit Company, a.k.a. el pulpo. |
thorin belvrog Send message Joined: 29 Sep 06 Posts: 6418 Credit: 8,893 RAC: 0 |
It was US banks with the help of the CIA changing young republics especially in Middle America into banana republics, totally depending on export of fruits produced in mono-culture. bin there dun that Account frozen... |
AC Send message Joined: 22 Jan 05 Posts: 3413 Credit: 119,579 RAC: 0 |
It was US banks with the help of the CIA changing young republics especially in Middle America into banana republics, totally depending on export of fruits produced in mono-culture. Nice. It even has an audio option :) |
©2024 University of California
SETI@home and Astropulse are funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and donations from SETI@home volunteers. AstroPulse is funded in part by the NSF through grant AST-0307956.