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| Usama Bin Vulcan Sighted |
Americans sometimes snicker at the "conspiracy theories" which circulate in the Arab media, or on "the street". Fareed Zakaria and Tom Friedman are pretty good at distilling them.
Here's a real life conspiracy, involving government, computer manufacturers, dictatorships, and "environmentalists", working to keep the Arab Spring under-boot.
CONSPIRACY AGAINST ARAB INTERNET
- E-Waste Advocates claimed that 80%-90% of the used computers sold to Africa, Mideast, and Asia were burned in primitive conditions, ignoring photos of talented Geeks of Color, ignoring cell phone repairs, etc... showing photos of children sitting on modest piles of junk.
- Original Equipment Manufacturers, wanting to sell more new equipment, paid for shredding investments
- E-Waste Advocates asked Shredders to pay them a percentage of what they shred, in return for continuing the message that "ewaste" was 80-90% illegal and bad
- Arab dictatorships cited the E-Waste Watchdog press as an excuse to seize working used computers, the only ones the average Egyptian, Tunisian, Iranian, etc. can afford.
- USA Shredder who donates to E-Waste Watchdog also donates to Obama campaign. Soon after, EPA "Environmental Justice" regulators begin implementing laws to impede exports
- USA congressional representatives who receive $$ from Original Equipment Manufacturers (e.g. Green in Texas) draft laws banning export for repair (get this - UNLESS the shipment is from the OEMs! Read it!)
- E-Steward Watchdog standards are written into the first draft of VERMONT law, specifically targeting Fair Trade Recycling companies in a way which benefits the Shredding company from out of state.
Perverse Outcomes of the "War on Reuse" Conspiracy:
