Sometimes it’s kids, women, prisoners of war in slave labour camps often policed by child solders...
Sometimes it’s kids, women, prisoners of war in slave labour camps often policed by child solders (kidnapped and indoctrinated into killing): Coltan in the Congo The Congo is a politically unstable area. The Rwandan occupation in the east of the Congo has meant the DRC has been unable to exploit the resource for its own benefit. A 2003 UN Security Council report8 charged that a great deal of the ore is mined illegally and smuggled over the country’s eastern borders by militias from neighbouring Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.[9] Coltan smuggling has also been implicated as a major source of income for the military occupation of Congo. An activist website, Toward Freedom, states that the search for coltan has fueled a brutal conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo; they state that demand for coltan has caused Rwandan military groups and western mining companies to seek hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the rare metal, often by forcing prisoners-of-war and even children to work in the country’s coltan mines. [10] To many, this raises ethical questions akin to those of conflict diamonds. Owing to the difficulty of distinguishing legitimate from illegitimate mining operations, several electronics manufacturers have decided to forgo central African coltan altogether, relying on other sources.[citation needed] The high-tech industry’s demand for tantalum clearly has fueled an increase in coltan mining worldwide – including in the Congo region. Toward Freedom states that the 2000 launch of the Sony PS2 required a large increase in production of electric capacitors, which are primarily made with tantalum, which greatly increased the world price of the powder from $49/pound to a $275/pound, resulting in accelerated mining of the Congolese hills containing coltan. Sales in computers, mobile phones, and DVD players spiked around this same time. Sony claims it has discontinued its use of tantalum acquired from the Congo, and sourced it from a variety of mines in several different countries. Researcher David Barouski states “The coltan ore trades hands so many times from when it is mined to when SONY gets a processed product, that a company often has no idea where the original coltan ore came from, and frankly don’t care to know. But statistical analysis shows it to be nearly inconceivable that SONY made all its PlayStations without using Congolese coltan.” [10] All three countries named by the United Nations as smugglers of coltan have denied being involved. Austrian journalist Klaus Werner has documented links between multi-national companies like Bayer and the illegal coltan traffic.[11] Likewise has Johann Hari written on the connections between coltan resources and the genocide in Congo.12 A United Nations committee investigating the plunder of gems and minerals in the Congo listed in its final report8 approximately 125 companies and individuals involved in business activities breaching international norms. Companies accused of irresponsible corporate behavior are for example Cabot Corporation, Eagle Wings Resources International,[14] George Forrest Group15 and OM Group.[16] Also
The lovely people at the Nautical Group have been kind enough to feature my Kaptan Kadir shot. I…
The lovely people at the Nautical Group have been kind enough to feature my Kaptan Kadir shot. If you have not discovered them yet, then please check out this great group to find some outstanding work. Click on the photograph below to see the shot properly: / Thank you so much to the hosts Nicholas and Elaine for recognising my work, I appreciate the honour and the exposure. Tom
A Vietnam travel agent and a Vietnam tour operator offers l…
A Vietnam travel agent and a Vietnam tour operator offers luxury travel, deluxe vacations, first class holidays and adventure tours in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
16 January and Featured in a True Purple with Purple Satin. Day is off to a good start! / !http://images-0.redbubble.net/img/art/cropped/s…
16 January and Featured in a True Purple with Purple Satin. Day is off to a good start! /
The lovely people at the PostCard Style Group have been kind enough to feature my *Kapta…
The lovely people at the PostCard Style Group have been kind enough to feature my Kaptan Kadir II shot. If you have not discovered them yet, then please check out this great group to find some outstanding work. Click on the photograph below to see the shot properly: Thank you so much to the hosts for recognising my work, I appreciate the honour and the exposure. Tom
Thank you to the Cottage Style Group and the Canon DSLR...
Thank you to the Cottage Style Group and the Canon DSLR Group who both featured my Gardener’s cottage shot. Click on the photograph below to see the shot properly: Also thank you so much to Vickie Emms for selecting my Kaptan Kadir shot to be her Spotlight of the week image in the Islands of The World Group. Click on the photograph below to see the shot properly: Thank you so much to the hosts of these great groups for recognising my work, I appreciate the honour and the exposure. Tom
WOW-IE ~ “YOU-R-WHAT-U-EAT-!” ( chocolate grass = chocolate peacock) / was featured in The Woman Photographer! BOOKS, BOOKS AND …
WOW-IE ~ “YOU-R-WHAT-U-EAT-!” ( chocolate grass = chocolate peacock) / was featured in The Woman Photographer! BOOKS, BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS in The Woman Photographer / Challenge : ’’HER BOOK’’ ( my mom reading in the Garden) / Placed 4th in Top 10 ! “LUXURIATING…on mommie’s cream couch!” / was featured in Mood & Ambience - “ORANGE GLOW” / was featured in ImageWriting - Thank you so much dear Hosts, for issuing thrills in Texas! May 24, 2009 / p.s. / Pups still on strict diet,but healing. Yeah !!! / Chichi chi wow-wow suffering with age/ hot days…me too ! / hitting the 90’s already … / Mom,and family..coasting…new nurse helping mom. / Love ya’ll…. / Warmly, / Dalzenia / a4p
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