This sh*t is true! I’m not f*#king with you. My brother sent me this article from gamepolitics.com.
I went on to research it further and came across this article on towardfreedom.com. It seems that Sony used a metal ore called coltan to produce a bluish-gray powder called tantalum, which is defined as a transition metal. This tantaum was used to make the PS2 and other products. This coltan was being mined (exploited) in parts of war-torn Africa by Rwandan Militias looking to finance their war. The Militias used POW’s and children to mine this coltan to sell to many companies (including Sony) to make everything from cell phones to laptops and… PS2s. I am not bullsh*tting you check it out:

In the rugged volcanic mountains of the Congo the conflict known as Africa’s World War continues to smolder after ten grueling years. The conflict earned its name because at the height of the war eight African nations and over 25 militias were in the combatant mix. But more recently the conflict was given another name: The PlayStation War. The name came about because of a black metallic ore called coltan. Extensive evidence shows that during the war hundreds of millions of dollars worth of coltan was stolen from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The UN and several NGOs claim some of the most active thieves were the Rwandan military, several militias supported by the Rwandan government, and also a number of western-based mining companies, metal brokers, and metal processors that had allegedly partnered with these Rwandan factions.

After it is refined, coltan becomes a bluish-gray powder called tantalum, which is defined as a transition metal. For the most part, tantalum has one significant use: to satisfy the West’s insatiable appetite for personal technology. Tantalum is used to make cell phones, laptops and other electronics made, for example, by SONY, a multi-billion dollar multinational based in Japan that manufactures the iconic PlayStation, a video game console. And while allegations of plundering coltan from a nation in desperate need of revenue seem bad enough, the UN also discovered that Rwandan troops and rebels were using prisoners-of-war and children to mine for the “black gold.”

“Kids in Congo were being sent down mines to die so that kids in Europe and America could kill imaginary aliens in their living rooms,” said British politician Oona King, who was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2005.

Wow! sounds like the movie “Blood Diamond”. Man it is so easy for these gigantic companies to not give a sh*t and deny knowing that they knew where the metal came from. The bottom line is that they just don’t give a sh*t, and they never will. There is a power and a responsibility that these huge corporations need to be held accountable for. They have the power save and destroy the planet. But who is regulating them? Who is making sure that this kind of repulsive sh*t isn’t happening? I would like to think that if people knew that Sony was using this metal to make the PS2… and where this metal came from, that people would not buy it… and help stop the need for this metal. But I don’t have that kind of faith. I know… I’m a f*#king pessimistic bastard! I also quite aware of the mentality of the masses. No one gives a sh*t unless it’s happening in their backyard!..and how many people in the Congo own PS2s?

Arsis (their a metal band stupid)… help me see the light!!!!!!!

Tags: Africa, Blood Diamond, coltan, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, government, Japan, metal brokers, military, militias, PlayStation War, PS2, Rwanda, Sony, tantalum, UN, western-based mining companies

This entry was posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 at 9:16 pm and is filed under General News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.