I'm not sure how many of you heard of this but i just read this article from yahoo.

According to a report by activist site Toward Freedom,for the past decade the search for a rare metal necessary in themanufacturing of Sony's Playstation 2 game console has fueled a brutalconflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
At the center ofthe conflict is the unrefined metallic ore, coltan. After processing,coltan turns into a powder called tantalum, which is used extensivelyin a wealth of western electronic devices including cell phones,computers and, of course, game consoles.
Allegedly, the demandfor coltan prompted Rwandan military groups and western miningcompanies to plunder hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the raremetal, often by forcing prisoners-of-war and even children to work inthe country's coltan mines.
"Kids in Congo were being sent downmines to die so that kids in Europe and America could kill imaginaryaliens in their living rooms," said Ex-British Parliament Member OonaKing.
So where's the connection to Sony? According to Toward Freedom,during the 2000 launch of the PS2, the electronics giant was havingtrouble meeting consumer demand. To pump out more units, Sony requireda significant increase in the production of electric capacitors, whichare primarily made with tantalum. This helped drive the world price ofthe powder from $49/pound to a whopping $275/pound, resulting in thefrenzied scouring of the Congolese hills known for being ripe withcoltan.
Sony has since sworn off using tantalum acquired from theCongo, claiming that current builds of the PS2, PSP and PS3 consolesare sourced from a variety of mines in several different countries.

And Al-Qaeda used PS2 components to guide missile launches....

Sensationalist news piece is sensationalist.

How about they don't kill themselves for minerals then? It's sony's fault?

As sad as it may be, Africans have been killing each other way before Sony even existed.

Chimura


As sad as it may be, Africans have been killing each other way before Sony even existed.

True. If they weren't fighting over PS2 parts, it would be over sliced bread.

emofag


How about they don't kill themselves for minerals then? It's sony's fault?

exactly.

I watched a 1 hour documentary on Coltan on the business channel, and the only fault it is, is of the Congalese people. The businesses do need this material but not under these circumstances, but what can they do.
If Colatan could only be found in America, i doubt the American's would be slaving people half to death for it, they would set up a industry worth working for. It doesnt mean the people in congo are worse than anyone else though, all countrys exploit situations in different ways, the poorer ones just seem to make it all lead to a really early grave.

Indeed very sensationalist and many conflicts are caused by the people over there themselves. What is true though is that Congo has been plundered and saw a big amount of misery because of the greed of the Western world as soon as those discovered the riches over there.

Shhhh...we westerners don't like to think about how our luxuries affect the world.

ys


Indeed very sensationalist and many conflicts are caused by the people over there themselves. What is true though is that Congo has been plundered and saw a big amount of misery because of the greed of the Western world as soon as those discovered the riches over there.

Its not our fault we had better tech. They shouldve rolled a +20 saving throw and not let puppet governments be put in power and large corporations basically enslave their population.

True of course that they could've done something about the situation themselves eventually. Besides that, they weren't as innocent either. When Belgium withdrew from Congo they murdered as many white people as they could. Even those who just were there to help. I've seen some footage where they killed an innocent one with a machete after he begged them not to hurt him (and they promised not to first).

That reminds me of a news story I read today.  Two elderly Canadians (missionaries) get brutally attacked in Kenya.  Really fucked up shit, they were attacked by five men, the husband was beaten with matchets (his arms were basically chopped off, the wife was also beaten and raped several times.

http://www.westislandchronicle.com/article-cp121840045-Family-members-cry-out-as-Canadian-missionaries-attacked-in-Kenya-return-home.aspx

I have to ask what exactely were they trying to accomplish in Kenya?  I can't help but feel they got exactely what they deserved.  They completely misjudged a situation.  They had to make 50 mistakes to be in that position.

Machetes not matchets ...its basically the weapon of choice for most 3rd world criminals.
I guess they wanted to convert or teach some the Kenyans what they believed in.  Still thats no reason to go around chopping people...the mentality of others.