I decided to write about something nobody seems to care about today; Africa. For centuries Africa has been a source of cheap natural resources, whether slaves, diamonds, gold or other minerals. During the so-called colonial period, western powers exploited African nations for ivory, gold, human beings and whatever resources they could use. In post-colonial Africa, little has changed.
The Democratic Republic of Congo elected Patrice Lumumba in 1960 in a fair and open election. He was elected in June of 1960 and was assassinated in January of 1961 more than likely by the CIA. He is said to have had ties to the USSR which is probably true. However, following his election, the Congo was in political turmoil mostly because of the remaining Belgian influence. Lumumba turned to the United Nations for support and when none came, he turned to Moscow. Not for ideological reasons, but out of necessity. After his assassination, it was business as usual.
Typically, western banking interests and their allies in global corporations pay military strongmen in African nations to foment revolutions that cause long-term political instability. This allows western interests to exploit natural resources. In today's Congo, cobalt is the major product. Children are "hired" to work 12 hour days in the cobalt mines for $1.00 a day. This exploitation of children has been going on for decades, if not longer. Under Belgian rule if the children resisted one of their hands was cut off. Things are much more humane now- they are just beaten. It's estimated that the Congo sits on something like $25 Trillion worth of natural resources. Unfortunately, only western business interests seem to profit.
Where's the outrage? Where's the UN? Where's George Clooney and Bono? Without cobalt, drones cannot fly. But this goes far beyond military applications. As the video points out, cobalt is necessary for smartphones and color televisions. Unlike diamonds, these are necessities of western life. Whatever regime is in power in any given country determines who the UN representative is...so it's unlikely that they will help. The UN has a history of backing whoever the IMF and World Bank tells them to. The UN charities such as UNESCO are just fronts to make sleazy foundations like the Clinton Global Initiative or the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation look good. But, they're just Africans, so I guess nobody cares anyway.