Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind the source for blindness news and information since 1907

On Sunday, October 3, Germany will close its twenty two billion dollar tab that was opened at the end of World War One.  That bill was given to them during the Treaty of Versailles when the Allied Powers–mainly America, Britain, and France–set war reparations.  The reparations were meant as compensation and to punish Germany for starting the four year war that claimed the lives of ten million soldiers.

German newspapers are saying that finally, at least in the financial sense, the First World War is over for Germany.  It took them 92 years to be able to make that statement.

The initial sum of the reparations was set at 226 billion Reich marks, but was later reduced to 132 billion, which was 22 billion pounds sterling at the time.  With inflation, that 22 billion would be worth over 270 billion today.  Quite a bit of money, for sure.

What’s also interesting is that the bill would have been settled much earlier if Hitler has agreed to pay it during his dictatorship.  But as we all know, he had some big plans for that money.  The country’s split into East and West Germany also delayed reparation payments, but they started up again after reunification in 1990.

The upcoming payments are made mostly to private individuals and corporations who now own the debenture bonds.

I think it’s amazing that something like this was still going on.  I consider myself a history buff and I was shocked to see that Germany’s debt was still outstanding nearly a century after the treaty was signed, even with the delays between then and now.  It goes to show that war leaves some long-lasting scars in many different ways.

To read the original article, please go to http://uk.news.yahoo.com/38/20100929/twl-first-world-war-officially-ends-on-s-6ae0455.html

In our July 6 issue of the magazine, there was an article written about conflict minerals being mined in the Congo being used to fund the civil war that has torn the region apart.  Now, a United States law has passed that requires the companies who use those minerals–normally tech companies that produce smart phones and complex electronics–to declare whether or not their products contain any minerals mined from conflict regions.

The minerals–gold, tungsten, tantalum, and tin–can still be used by the companies, but the law requires that they disclose the original location where those minerals were mined so that consumers know what is in the goods that they’re buying and the companies can be held accountable.

The good news is that various large tech companies are already on board.  Executive Vice President and General Counsel of HP is pleased that there will be greater transparency throughout the industry regarding business practices and the overall supply chain, and that this effort will hopefully reduce funding for the groups responsible for civil war in the Congo.  Apple CEO Steve Jobs asserted that the company already has a policy of requiring their suppliers to certify that they do not use conflict minerals.

Other countries may be joining the United States as well.  There are already groups in the United Kingdom who have been fighting for such a law to pass for some time.  One group, Global Witness, is actually suing the British government for not recommending to the UN that local businesses who deal in conflict minerals be given official sanctions.

Overall, this movement is incredibly positive.  We are beginning to recognize that the things we take for granted, like the small circuitry in our phones, could really mean life or death for people half way around the world.  By holding companies to a higher standard and demanding transparency we are actively trying to cut off funding for an atrocious civil war.

The real problem arises when you begin talking about regulation, though.  Who will be responsible, and how easy is it to side step them?  Conflict diamonds have been scorned by the public for years, but they are smuggled and change hands so quickly.  They are then combined with other diamonds so often that it is nearly impossible to know how many are actually being sold and if international measures have affected their sale or just forced operations to go deeper underground.  This new law involving conflict minerals is definitely a step in the right direction, but in order for it to have any impact, we’ll need to continue walking forward.

To read the original article, please go to http://www.fastcompany.com/node/1674382/print

New handheld phones and media devices have gotten exceedingly complex and can handle massive amount of data compared to only 5 years ago.  Part of that can be attributed to advances in software production, but a large factor is the materials used to produce these new gadgets.

Tantalum, a very rare mineral, is a refractory metal that is mainly mined in Australia.  Tantalum is important because it helps to create a very reliable capacitor, which makes the many functions of today’s smart phones and computers possible.

While most of it is mined in Australia, about one fifth of the world’s supply exists in one of the world’s most war-torn areas: the Congo.  The Congo has been host to one of the longest and bloodiest ongoing conflicts on the planet.  In 2007, experts estimated that nearly 45,000 people were dying every month. 

I’m sure that many of you are aware of conflict diamonds, also called blood diamonds.  They were mined in Africa and sold to fund militias and war lords so that they could stay in power and continue to terrorize the people of their country.  Now, it seems that Tantalum has achieved a similar status.  A group called The Enough Project is trying to bring this to light, so that large corporations will no longer continue to purchase the rare mineral from the Congo.  While popular companies like Apple and Intel, who use Tantalum in most of their high tech products, say that they are assured by their suppliers that their Tantalum is not obtained from the Congo, the information is unreliable, as no one is checking its source when it is brought to the smelter.

As long as there is demand for a substance, whether it’s oil, shiny stones, or sought-after minerals, that is held in the hands of the people propagating the bloodshed that goes on in the Congo, they will always use it to benefit themselves and to gain more power.  While regulation will represent an added expense, it’s necessary to help cut off the funding to groups who want nothing more than to continue violence in an already-bruised and bleeding nation.

To read the original article, please go to http://www.fastcompany.com/node/1664584/print