Dodd Frank and The Spine Africa Project
The Dodd Frank Bill was passed and signed into law in July 2010 by
President Obama. The bill itself is over 2,300 pages and implements
regulations on everything from domestic banking to international trade. However,
it is one small paragraph, Section 1502, that may have the largest global impact.
Section 1502 addresses what international governments have deemed "conflict
minerals". Conflict minerals are minerals derived from mines in countries
where the proceeds are going to fund rebel groups and where working conditions
border on slave labor. These circumstances could not better describe The
Democratic Republic of Congo. Geologically, the DRC may be one of the
richest countries on the planet as it is rich with minerals that are essential
for today's electronics manufacturing, as a matter of fact, the cell phone you
hold so closely is most likely composed of minerals and parts exported from DRC.
Lumumba|51
Patrice Lumumba was the first elected Prime Minister of the Congo. He ascended to power in the Congo on June 30, 1960, the date of Congo' s independence from Belgium. Within ten weeks of being elected, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup. He was subsequently imprisoned and assassinated on January 17, 1961 by Western powers (United States, Belgium, France, England and the United Nations) in cahoots with local leaders such as Moise Tshombe and Joseph Desire Mobutu.
Lumumba is a member of the Tetela ethnic group. He was born on July 2, 1925, in Katako-Kombe in the Sunkuru district of the Kasai Province. Growing up, Lumumba attended a Protestant Missionary school as well as a Catholic missionary school and became a part of the educated elite called évolués. Lumumba contributed to the Congolese press through poems and other writings. His occupations included a postal clerk in Kinshasa and an accountant in Kisangani. Lumumba's organizational involvement were varied. He served as head of a trade union of government employees, he was active in the Belgian Liberal Party and in 1958, Lumumba founded the Congolese National Movement (MNC in French). Also in 1958, he was invited to the first All-African People's Conference in Accra, Ghana, organized by Kwame Nkrumah. He met nationalists and pan-africanists from various African countries and became a member of the permanent organization set up by the conference.
Lumumba's party won national elections in May of 1960 which led to his ascendancy to Prime Minister on June 30, 1960. Read more on www.FriendsoftheCongo.org...
Reflection: The life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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| photo credit: hiphopspy.com, quote credit: wikipedia |
All I'm saying is simply this, that all life is interrelated, that somehow we're caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny.......
The Opinionated Diva on "The Crisis in Congo"
Imagine growing up during the Holocaust or World War II. These types of world events only happen once, and the lesson is to never let history repeat itself. Can you imagine 6 million people being murdered in one country? Again? Can you imagine a World War? Again? Can you imagine more than 1,000 women being raped everyday as a systematic weapon of war? If you ask the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), they don’t have to imagine. They are living it.
Congo is home to the second largest rainforest in the world and its natural resources include diamonds, copper, tin, gold, oil, and the list goes on. One of the most prized natural resources proves to be coltan. It has also proven to be deadly. According to the United Nations, 60-80% of the global reserve of coltan (used to manufacture cell phones, computers, and various electronics) can be found in the eastern Congo region, Kivu. Since 1998, millions have been, and continue to be, murdered (estimates range from 5.4 to 6.9 million and counting) forced to flee, murdered, raped, or both. Minerals are seemingly more valuable than humans.
