mineral

Viral Video: Conflict-Free Technology vs. Blood Phones

Kara Swisher in News on June 28, 2010 at 1:31 am PT

The controversy around minerals from the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo that are used in a variety of popular consumer tech devices seems to be getting another round of much needed attention. It should get much more than that, as you will see from the videos after the jump.

For Shame: The Congo Nightmare Continues

Kara Swisher in News on August 11, 2009 at 9:09 am PT

Eve Ensler, playwright, activist and creator of V-Day, appeared at the the seventh D: All Things Digital conference in late May to talk about the links between what goes into making mobile phones and human rights violations. There, she shed much needed light on the dire situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where some of the worst atrocities are now being committed on the population in a terrible civil war. She predicted it would get worse without massive international intervention. Tragically, she was right.

V-Day Founder Eve Ensler: The Full D7 Session

Kara Swisher in D7 on June 18, 2009 at 10:04 pm PT

Onstage in an interview at the seventh D: All Things Digital conference, Eve Ensler shed much-needed light on the dire situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Ensler’s aim is to end the use of rape as a weapon of war there, in part as a consequence of the region’s coltan trade. Coltan, or columbite tantalite, is a mineral essential to the manufacture of a wide array of consumer electronics, such as mobile phones and laptops. It is well worth hearing about exactly how some of our everyday gadgets come to us at a terrible price.

V-Day Founder Eve Ensler: The Full D7 Session

Kara Swisher in D7 on June 18, 2009 at 12:21 am PT

Onstage in an interview at the seventh D: All Things Digital conference, Eve Ensler shed much-needed light on the dire situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Ensler’s aim is to end the use of rape as a weapon of war there, in part as a consequence of the region’s coltan trade. Coltan, or columbite tantalite, is a mineral essential to the manufacture of a wide array of consumer electronics, such as mobile phones and laptops. It is well worth hearing about exactly how some of our everyday gadgets come to us at a terrible price.