Blaming teenagers for Congolese genocide

I ran into this article today...

http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/playstation-2-component-incites-african-war/1231745

The deal: Today's electronic devices contain "tantalum electrolytic capacitors." If you know what that is, fine; if you don't, just say it's a really good component. Inside one of these is a little bit of tantalum powder, which is made from Coltan ore. The Congo is rich in this, so various warlords are likewise getting rich off it...and inciting genocide in the process.

And yes, Playstation 2s contain many tantalum caps. So do cell phones, MP3 players, car GPS devices, Blackberries...basically, all the little yuppie totems so beloved by our Republican friends. But I note they're essentially blaming kids for causing that war, and not 32-year-old MBAs whose purses contain more computing horsepower than was on all the Apollo missions put together. Great.

there's more Ta in your computer's power supply than in 200 playstations...and I seriously doubt Sony manufactures any discrete components. Those have been purchased OEM for decades.

But the article's really fucking great, y'know...there's a picture of a Playstation, there's a quote from some Brit about how Congolese kids have to die so American kids can sit on the sofa and shoot aliens...REAL fair and balanced.

And can you just imagine a computer withOUT any tantalum caps in it? It would be the size of a dorm refrigerator!