Bloody awful!
This movie portends to be a serious and relevant documentary aiming to influence the broader thinking community and relevant policy makers, but resolves as unsubstantiated and dangerous rubbish. Poulsen focuses on cassiterite, which is common, no issue. Coltan is more important for mobiles, but for most of the last 20 years the largest share of coltan actually came from Australia, Brazil and Canada. None of the serious minerals are extracted from the Bisie region, and the stuff he shows being mined is trivial and almost irrelevant. In fact Poulsen does not show conflict at Bisie. A few odd unattributed bullets. A lot of fit men working and cooperating together with much camaraderie, under the protection of the army for a few bucks on the side. Sure it is a pretty basic market, but what Poulsen would bring in is a big MNC, with jobs for a few. Poulsen would stop work for all the men at Bisie, and no alternatives are considered and offered for these poor folk. What happens to these poor men when they are thrown out of work by a conflict mineral declaration on a website somewhere? Real conflict and killing could result. All Poulsen alluded to was the "innuendo" of a problem, the bottom line is that Poulsen does not establish, justify or show anything remotely problematic. And the minerals used in mobiles don't actually come from here! This is shameful and shallow. His exploitation of the boy Chance is contemptible. His challenge on the Nokia HQ is childish and laughable, Michael Moore he is not. One can only feel sorry for all the bleeding hearts who swallowed Paulsen's shallow analysis. The problem IS Paulsen and his mobile phone, it's all about him and the bleeding hearts who have been duped by him. There is nothing in it for Chance and his country folk if his minerals are declared conflict minerals on a website on the other side of the planet. The real challenge here is to enable the locals to commercialize their industry formally, legally and quickly, not to drive it underground. Conflict minerals indeed, the beneficiaries of Paulsen's naïveté might actually be the opposite of what is intended ... Or does Mr P actually plan for the rich few to get wealthier on higher cassiterite prices for the stuff mined elsewhere?
Interesting postscript; as a consequence of this movie and the facile political pressure which has ensued, the real heavy criminals have been inspired to move in and a real bloodbath has developed. A case where misguided idealism and unsubstantiated claptrap had actually caused a new and huge problem. Poulsen and his colleagues should be ashamed of themselves.
This movie portends to be a serious and relevant documentary aiming to influence the broader thinking community and relevant policy makers, but resolves as unsubstantiated and dangerous rubbish. Poulsen focuses on cassiterite, which is common, no issue. Coltan is more important for mobiles, but for most of the last 20 years the largest share of coltan actually came from Australia, Brazil and Canada. None of the serious minerals are extracted from the Bisie region, and the stuff he shows being mined is trivial and almost irrelevant. In fact Poulsen does not show conflict at Bisie. A few odd unattributed bullets. A lot of fit men working and cooperating together with much camaraderie, under the protection of the army for a few bucks on the side. Sure it is a pretty basic market, but what Poulsen would bring in is a big MNC, with jobs for a few. Poulsen would stop work for all the men at Bisie, and no alternatives are considered and offered for these poor folk. What happens to these poor men when they are thrown out of work by a conflict mineral declaration on a website somewhere? Real conflict and killing could result. All Poulsen alluded to was the "innuendo" of a problem, the bottom line is that Poulsen does not establish, justify or show anything remotely problematic. And the minerals used in mobiles don't actually come from here! This is shameful and shallow. His exploitation of the boy Chance is contemptible. His challenge on the Nokia HQ is childish and laughable, Michael Moore he is not. One can only feel sorry for all the bleeding hearts who swallowed Paulsen's shallow analysis. The problem IS Paulsen and his mobile phone, it's all about him and the bleeding hearts who have been duped by him. There is nothing in it for Chance and his country folk if his minerals are declared conflict minerals on a website on the other side of the planet. The real challenge here is to enable the locals to commercialize their industry formally, legally and quickly, not to drive it underground. Conflict minerals indeed, the beneficiaries of Paulsen's naïveté might actually be the opposite of what is intended ... Or does Mr P actually plan for the rich few to get wealthier on higher cassiterite prices for the stuff mined elsewhere?
Interesting postscript; as a consequence of this movie and the facile political pressure which has ensued, the real heavy criminals have been inspired to move in and a real bloodbath has developed. A case where misguided idealism and unsubstantiated claptrap had actually caused a new and huge problem. Poulsen and his colleagues should be ashamed of themselves.