In Congo, 1,000 die per day: Why isn't it a media story?
Scape @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 12:14 pm
Over the last 7 years almost 4 million people have died in the Congo.
In Congo, 1,000 die per day: Why isn't it a media story?
Sudan: The Passion of the Present
Arctic_Menace @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 12:17 pm
Wow, who knew? I can't believe that it wouldn't have made the news!!!!!!
I'm pissed off now. 
The Hoser @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 12:19 pm
It doesn't make the news because the news is controlled by some dumb fucking greedy mother fuckers who are to worried about their hair to give a shit about the thousands dieing daily in Africa!
The Hoser @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 12:19 pm
Makes me wonder... If America is so bent on spreading democracy, wouldn't Africa be a better place to start?
Arctic_Menace @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 12:28 pm
The Dark Canuck The Dark Canuck:
Makes me wonder... If America is so bent on spreading democracy, wouldn't Africa be a better place to start?
Why they won't start there? Africa has aids, too much stife and famine, and there is nothing of value there. Except for some gold and diamonds in some regions. In other words: " What's in it for us?" type of attitude.
Scape @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 12:32 pm
What the world media are missing is one of the deadliest conflicts since World War II: 3.8 million people have died in the Congo since 1998, dwarfing not only the biggest of natural catastrophes, such as December's South Asia tsunami, but also other manmade horrors, such as Darfur. Democratic Republic of Congo is one of, if not THE, greatest supplier of COLTAN. A metal necessary to the function of cell phones.
COLTAN
$1:
"Coltan (columbite-tantalite) is a black tar-like mineral. It is used to produce tantalum mostly for use in capacitors, which are used in a vast array of small electronic devices, especially in mobile phones, laptop computers, pagers, and the like.
"Much of the world's supply of coltan comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A recent UN Security Council report charged that a great deal of it is illegally mined and smuggled out of Congo by armies from Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, occupying the eastern region of Congo. One estimate has the Rwandan army making $250 million in 18 months from the sale of coltan, even though Rwanda has no coltan deposits.
"Not only does this help finance these armies' war efforts in Congo, it is alleged, but it also has severe environmental repercussions on the forests and wildlife of the area.
"They are alleged to sell this mineral, and others that they mine, in order to finance their occupation; 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 in Australia.
"All three countries named by the United Nations as smugglers of coltan have denied being involved."
"Much of the world's supply of coltan comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A recent UN Security Council report charged that a great deal of it is illegally mined and smuggled out of Congo by armies from Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, occupying the eastern region of Congo. One estimate has the Rwandan army making $250 million in 18 months from the sale of coltan, even though Rwanda has no coltan deposits.
"Not only does this help finance these armies' war efforts in Congo, it is alleged, but it also has severe environmental repercussions on the forests and wildlife of the area.
"They are alleged to sell this mineral, and others that they mine, in order to finance their occupation; 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 in Australia.
"All three countries named by the United Nations as smugglers of coltan have denied being involved."
So there is a bonafide consumer interest here so why the silence? Perhaps it's because people don't care about black Africans killing black Africans.
Regarding the Torture of Others
xerxes @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 1:44 pm
European nations have a bit of a bad history in Africa, what with all the colonizing and such. And the only Asian nation doing anything in Africa is China who is supplying weapons to whoever can pay for them (ie. Zimbabwe).
The Hoser @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 1:47 pm
And about Canada, we never went on this whole "Spreading Democracy" thing that the US seems bent on. I just wonder that, if their goal is to spread democracy and freedom, why not start with Africa? Africa is a thousand times worse than Iraq and they do nearly nothing, it just doesn't make sense. Well, that is, if their goal is to spread democracy it doesn't make any sense...
xerxes @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 1:52 pm
It makes snese becuase there isn't as much oil in Africa as there is in the Middle East.
Constantinople @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 1:58 pm
So I'm just wondering something here. If the U.S. supposedly mucks up everything they do, why the hell do you want us in Africa?
You can't have it both ways so why don't you shut the hell up and do something yourself.
The Hoser @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 1:58 pm
Which is my point. It only doesn't make sense if America is in it to spread democracy. Which means it's about superficial goods under the guise of spreading democracy, then.
The Hoser @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 2:01 pm
Constantinople Constantinople:
So I'm just wondering something here. If the U.S. supposedly mucks up everything they do, why the hell do you want us in Africa?
You can't have it both ways so why don't you shut the hell up and do something yourself.
You can't have it both ways so why don't you shut the hell up and do something yourself.
I never said that I wanted America in Africa... I just that if America was really in it to spread democracy they would have started in Africa, that would be the logical solution. But they didn't, which means that they're in it for somthing else.
Constantinople @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 2:04 pm
So a country has to be undergoing genocide on that scale in order to be on our "list" of countries to turn into a democracy?
bootlegga @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 2:13 pm
Because no Americans are starving there. If that were 1000 Americans, it would be on the news everyday.
Constantinople @ Sun Jun 19, 2005 2:23 pm
bootlegga bootlegga:
Because no Americans are starving there. If that were 1000 Americans, it would be on the news everyday.
If 1,000 Americans were dying per day, we wouldn't be what America is today. We'd be the Congo. And no one would care.