Tag: CONGO

Apple and Intel have both decided to stop using conflict minerals to manufacture products, as part of the Conflict-Free Smelter program. Conflict minerals include valuable commodities such as gold, titanium, tungsten and tin, which generate massive revenues used to fund wars in Central Africa, and, more specifically, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Beginning next year, all U.S. ...

Left-wing activist pranksters the Yes Men are no strangers to stoking the ire of politicians, companies, and lobbying groups. But they may have thrown stones at the wrong multinational corporation when they targeted Apple with a satirical site extolling the virtues of the iPhone 4cf -- a fictional, "conflict-free" design. A dedicated spoof site promised that the iPhone4cf is exactly like the ...

The violent conflict between governmental and rebel forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo may not make the front pages of many Western news outlets, but it has definitely caught the attention of U.S. lawmakers. As the AP reports, a newly passed American law, which was signed into effect in conjunction with Obama's economic overhaul, will now require all gadget manufacturers to disclose ...

Thanks to Apple's rabid PR push and to media coverage, almost every little detail of the iPhone 4 has been documented -- except for one minor factoid, that is. The phone, like several other luxury electronics on the market, may contain minerals supplied by bloodthirsty Congolese paramilitary groups. Most of us should recall the controversy over the origins of so-called "blood diamonds," or ...

The movie 'Blood Diamond' helped alert the world to the horrors of the illegal diamond trade, which predominately occurs in war-torn African countries where the proceeds benefit terrorists and militias. Eve Ensler, a playwright most widely known for 'The Vagina Monologues,' is now trying to warn the world of another product produced amid conflict and strife. Ensler contended during an interview ...