War, Murder, Rape... All for Your Cell Phone

by Actual News Geezer | September 14, 2006 at 03:48 am | 621 views | add comment | 0 recommendations

Turns out your beloved new cell phone depends on exotic metals mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where government soldiers oversee the exploitation, mutilation, and murder of workers. Fascinating article in Alternet today.

So, why should we care? Because without cassiterite rock and the other ores mined in the Congo we would be unable to manufacture the linchpins of our global "weightless economy" -- computers and telephones.