Trump taking another step backward - Conflict mineral ban to be lifted?

[packman]

The leaked draft of a presidential memorandum Donald Trump is expected to sign within days suspends a 2010 rule that discouraged American companies from funding conflict and human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo through their purchase of “conflict minerals"

https://theintercept.com/2017/02/08/leaked-memo-trump-conflict-minerals/

[guillaumeb]

1. Is Ivanka coming out with a line of jewelry?

That might explain the urgency here.

[JustAnotherGen]

2. The only hope I have

Is other countries will pick up the mantle. Been involved in this for 5 years. I'm on the importer side many many layers back from the country of origin.

You can see our work here:

http://www.conflictfreesourcing.org

There are really good people around the world who care. If Samsung, Apple etc etc hold the moral line - then our Fed Gov can go fuck themselves.

[applegrove]

3. My god. Sister knows a guy who was in charge of the emergency

room in the Congo where the killed and deposed president's body was taken the night he was killed by bodyguards. Coup plotters locked down the ER and took the dead body out to use the thumbprint to unlock state government coffers many nights in a row. They stole millions that way. The guy in charge of ER got locked in there for days. Then was put in prison and tortured for years. Released and went to South Africa where an attempt was made on his life. He then made it to Canada with his family members. He is so traumatized he cannot work and will never be able to practice medicine again. Now the son of the killed president is president. A culture of exploitation will continue with Trump undoing such conflict mineral laws.

[milestogo]

4. You mean in 2001, not recently.

Joseph Kabila has been president since his father was killed in 2001.

[applegrove]

5. That has got to be it. He did not know his older kids well because

of all the time in jail. They did not live with him and his new family in south africa. They are now just out of high school in Toronto. They probably moved to Canada 5 to 8 years ago. I was trying to look it up. Anyhow. Very scary story. Maybe the bodyguards were just after money not political power. My sister and her church sponsored him and his family to come to Canada. He was Director of the ER at one of the best hospitals in Kinshasa. Now his wife works as a social worker in Toronto and he just tries to make it through the day.

[ProudLib72]

6. Time for the major networks

to rerun Blood Diamond.