People kind of give me weird looks when I mention that all I need for entertainment is my computer and the Internet. But it’s true! I got rid of my TV because I can watch Hulu.com and YouTube any time I want. I don’t have an X-box or Playstation because I can play emulated video games right from my hard drive. No need for a phone, really, when there is Skype, which even has a video-chatting service! Listening to music? The Internet’s got it covered. Watching movies? The Internet’s got that covered, too. It’s quite obvious that the Internet is the true one-stop source for all things entertainment. There’s absolutely no reason to fight it.

What gets me the most, though, is the fact that most of you aren’t fighting it. You’re utilizing it. In fact, you’re probably on the Internet just as much as I am. Yet people still associate web surfing as a nerdy activity. There are almost 30 million Americans who use Facebook, and from the odds of it, you yourself probably have an account with them. If that presumption is a swing and a miss, let’s look at the fact that at least 67 percent of Americans own a computer with Internet access. You might even be reading this article on the Internet right this very moment. So, I don’t get it! If the vast majority of people in America are using their computers, why is there so much nerd hate?

The Internet has exploded at an alarming rate with the advent of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 sparked the advancement of user-generated content on the Internet, and it hasn’t been the same since. The Internet is much more user friendly now. You can take it almost anywhere, and use it at any time. You can upload videos, pictures, and updates and share them to all of your friends. The Internet is no longer just an information portal. It’s now an extension of your every day social interaction. I thought nerds never socialized!

So, think about is this: If using the Internet is nerdy, and everyone uses the Internet, doesn’t that make everyone a nerd? I think it does, but we’re too afraid to admit it. The Internet is too great of a tool to cast aside just to make your social status look clean. We all use it every day. You’re a nerd, just like me. Is there anything really wrong with that?

Visit the Deadbeat Report blog at http://deadbeatreport.wordpress.com.

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C. COLT CRANE
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Not only did “Halo 3″ bring in $170 million on its release date, the game went on to sell $300 million worth of copies in its first week of sales, thereby becoming the highest grossing entertainment product ever. This includes movie sales, music sales and any other entertainment product on the market.

It’s therefore common knowledge that “Halo 3″ was kind of a big deal. However, with the recent release of “Grand Theft Auto IV” on April 29, 2008, Master Chief has been dethroned. Not only did “GTA IV” sell 3.6 million units at launch (edging out “Halo”’s 3.4 million units) it went on to bring in $500 million during its first week of sales.

It’s important to note that one contributing factor to the success of “GTA IV” is the fact that the game was released for both the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 as compared to the “Halo 3″ Xbox 360 exclusivity. The amazing thing about “GTA IV” though is the fact that it was virtually unadvertised. Only by looking online prior to the game’s release could anyone find any game-play trailers.

To market “Halo 3,” Microsoft ran game-play trailers on the television, as well as a huge marketing deal with Mountain Dew and 7-11 convenience stores. The latter of which featured Master Chief’s visage on slurpee cups and soda cans.

However, the leading factor in the massive success of both games isn’t found in marketing campaigns. The measure of a product’s longevity is ultimately found in the product itself.

“Halo 3″ is a great game with millions of fans worldwide. “Grand Theft Auto” is a series that, though its had its share of controversies and political attacks, is still a solid video game series built on innovation by creative and genre bending minds.

The point of the matter is that video games definitely aren’t what they were 20 years ago. The classic days of collecting coins and timing jumps have given birth to a new era of immersive and extraordinary story-telling capabilities. They aren’t a simple trend or pastime any longer when a video game can break the record of “highest grossing entertainment product.” When two video games, within five months of each other, break those records, it signifies a trend in the industry itself.

So it all boils down to this: whether you agree with the opinion that video games are worthy of artistic merit or not, the fact remains that the industry is steadily and consistently becoming a money-making juggernaut. The evidence isn’t in the sales numbers alone, it’s also apparent in the critical reception of video games. “Halo 3″ received nearly perfect scores from gaming Websites and publications. Electronic Gaming Monthly (a leading video game magazine) rated it 10 out of 10 across the board. “Grand Theft Auto IV” has already been heralded as the “highest rated video game of all time” according to Game Rankings, a critic review aggregate. Let’s face it – 3.6 million gamers worldwide can’t be wrong. Video games are quickly becoming a bid deal. The players have spoken . power to the players.

C. COLT CRANE
BizTech Writer

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“Round One . fight!”

The voice echoes through the night air as the fighters surge forward, colliding in a cacophony of violent battle-cries and the vicious clash of steel and bone. The epic struggle swells like a discordant symphony of raw malice. This is the latest edition of “Mortal Kombat.”

Soon after the 2006 release of “Mortal Kombat: Armageddon,” rumors and speculation began surfacing all over the Internet in regards to where the series would go next. Ed Boon, co-creator of the Mortal Kombat franchise, had stated that Armageddon would be the final installment of the titular fighting game.

However, as of April of this year, Midway Games has announced a new Mortal Kombat which is set for release sometime in the fall of 2008 for Sony’s Playstation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Boon also indicated that the game would be a “return to the roots of the series.”

The series is facing a major overhaul with obvious innovations in fighting techniques, new fighting arenas and most importantly new fighters. Joining the cast of classic Mortal Kombatants are none other than some of the most famous super-heroes and heroines of DC Comics.

The official title of the game is “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe” and will feature a balanced character roster from both creative properties. Only four fighters (two from each respective party) have been officially confirmed.

Hailing from Midway’s MK universe are the infamous ninjas Sub-Zero (whose special powers consist of a mastery of the elements of cold and ice) and Scorpion – the hell-spawned, spear throwing specter seeking vengeance. DC Comics comes to the arena with Superman, the Man of Steel himself and Gotham City’s Caped Crusader, Batman.

The announcement of such a crossover fighting game is perhaps the biggest change to the standard Mortal Kombat formula. Along with the inclusion of Batman and Superman, Boon has also stated that “MK vs. DC” will likely include an ESRB rating of teen.

This comes as a surprise considering that the Mortal Kombat series evokes visions of bloodshed and over-the-top finishing moves or fatalities.

Such carnage has always rendered a mature rating for every other game in the MK series.

Though nothing has been confirmed, the toned down rating is likely due to DC Comics’ preference of seeing their beloved characters decapitated and disemboweled.

The ambitious storyline of the game will be written by comic writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray and will feature a brand new re-invention of the Mortal Kombat universe viewed from different perspectives of those involved.

The only true game-play footage features Sub-Zero squaring off with Batman in a forested fighting arena. A playable demonstration is anticipated to be featured at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo.

The news of such a game will likely cause fans of both franchises to speculate about the decision of this type of crossover.

Hopefully, it will be as successful as the Marvel/Capcom fighting games that can still be found in arcades today.

These games featured various characters from the Marvel Comic universe like Spiderman and the X-Men as well as Capcom heavy hitters, Ryu and Blanka of “Street Fighter” fame.

Until more information is available, Mortal Kombat fans can only conceptualize what the Bat-Signal will look like shining in the night sky above Shao Kahn’s fortress, or what it will sound like to hear Scorpion scream, “Get over here!” from atop Metropolis’ Daily Planet.

C. COLT CRANE
BizTech Writer

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Both parties have had their share of failures and successes, but now that the Blu-ray and HD-DVD struggle has been settled, victory may be at hand.

The term “console war” has been around since the release of the Sega Genesis in 1989 and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. These two consoles battled each other in an attempt to win over the legions of gaming fans of the day. The Genesis and the SNES both had their shining features, but in the end the SNES won the battle.

The console wars raged during the latter part of the 1990s and into the new millennium with the release of the Nintendo 64 and the new machine from Sony – the Playstation gaming system. Later still, the Playstation 2 and Microsoft’s Xbox further fueled the flames of the console fracas.

Microsoft definitely got the jump on the current console war – nearly a full year head start, actually. Add that to the unprecedented success of “Halo 3″ and it seemed that Bill Gates and company had put the final nail in Sony’s coffin.

It didn’t help that the initial price tag of the PS3 at its release was $599. The lack of quality games also solidified the PS3’s faltering start.

However, the tides have turned and this may very well be the year of the Playstation 3. This year promises to shine on PS3 owners as quality products finally become available to consumers. Blockbuster first-party titles such as “Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots” and the imminent “God of War III” as well as the extensive online element, Playstation Home, are major factors in Playstation’s chances.

This short history trip brings us to today’s current struggle of console conquest. The two prominent consoles had a vital tool that could either make or break their chances of survival. This key came in the form of which DVD format was supported by the two consoles. Sony incorporated Blu-ray technology into its Playstation 3 powerhouse, whereas Microsoft and the Xbox 360 opted to support HD-DVD. The DVD fight is over and the outcome may very well determine the better console.

In order to survive this wind of change, Microsoft has announced that they will release an add-on which will support Blu-ray technology that will be similar to the previous Xbox 360’s HD-DVD add-on.

Ironic isn’t it, that the determining factor may very well be DVD format rather than the consoles’ true purpose – video games?

C. COLT CRANE
BizTech Writer

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“GTA IV” will be available for both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. The “Grand Theft Auto” series has been around since 1998, and the games have always been an enjoyable source of gaming entertainment.

Along with amazing game-play and wide, “open world” play options, the series has also been the source of extreme controversy due to its mature thematic elements. In fact, the series has been openly criticized for its violent content and has received condemnation from numerous sources, such as anti-gaming lawyer Jack Thompson, who refers to the games as nothing more than “. murder simulators.”

Even the Sex Workers Outreach Project USA, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of sex-industry workers and to the promotion of a safe working environment for the industry, sought to ban the release and subsequent sales of “Grand Theft Auto” due to its content.

However, amid the controversies that surround the titular series, it is important to also take a look at what the series has accomplished within the gaming industry and how it has paved the way for other games.

The release of “Grand Theft Auto III” for the Playstation 2 back in 2001 made the transition to a three-dimensional gaming interface.

Not only did this transition bring a fresh new look and feel to the games (which had previously featured a “top down” perspective similar to the Nintendo’s 1987 title “The Legend of Zelda”), it also brought a massive amount of freedom to the gaming industry. This freedom came in the form of an open-ended world for the player to traverse. It allowed for the player to drive any car or vehicle that happened to be on the screen. It even allowed the player to play for hours upon hours without even touching the game’s narrative.

After “GTA III” came “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” and “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,” both of which added to the proven game-play model of their predecessor.

Years later, it is hard to imagine what the gaming industry would be like without the innovations that “Grand Theft Auto” brought to the table.

With a little effort, one could even surmise that games such as “Super Mario Galaxy” and even the “Halo” series might not exist today without “GTA.”

Now that “Grand Theft Auto IV” (which is actually the sixth installment of the series) is nearly upon us, take some time to consider the full impact of the series upon today’s gaming culture – the good as well as the bad.

C. COLT CRANE
BizTech Writer

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New Pakistani leader may cause complications for U.S. military

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – The new top official in Pakistan’s terrorism-racked northwest frontier has demanded that the United States end missile strikes in the country and called for negotiations with militants – an approach that would dramatically alter the American-inspired war on terror there.

Amir Haider Hoti, who took the oath of office Tuesday as chief minister of the North West Frontier Province, said in an interview with McClatchy Newspapers that military action should now be used only as a “last resort.”

Hoti’s demands, if he carries them out, could severely undercut U.S. strategy in Pakistan. President Bush has relied on an alliance with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to attack Islamic militants in the tribal areas.

But Musharraf’s party was drubbed in Pakistan’s February parliamentary elections, and there are growing concerns in Washington that the country’s newly elected leaders will reverse the military-dominated strategy, which has caused an angry public backlash in Pakistan.

U.S. airstrikes take toll on citizens

BAGHDAD – In Baghdad’s Shiite Muslim slum of Sadr City, U.S. airstrikes aimed at militants plague the population.

After a week of violence between the U.S.-backed Iraqi Security Forces and the militia of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the American military is targeting mortar teams and rockets that have bombarded the heavily fortified Green Zone, home to U.S. and Iraqi government headquarters.

Multiple citizens have been injured and killed in the U.S. airstrikes.

The American military said the airstrikes were targeting militants who were using rooftops to fire rockets into the Green Zone said Lt. Col. Steve Stover, the U.S. military spokesman for Baghdad operations. They try to avoid civilians at all costs, he added.

Russian blogger arrested for thread

SYKTYVKAR, Russia – Savva Terentyev doesn’t hide his disdain for police. The anger threading through a rant he posted on a friend’s blog made that clear. Bad cops, the young Russian songwriter wrote, should be taken to this city’s downtown plaza and burned alive.

Terentyev meant his remarks for a small circle of friends who vent and muse on each other’s blogs. He had no idea local police were watching.

The blog on which Terentyev posted his message was run by Boris Suranov, a Syktyvkar journalist whose newspaper had irked local authorities. Police were regularly checking entries on the blog when they came across Terentyev’s posting.

Terentyev, who will be tried this week on charges of inciting hatred and faces up to two years in prison, says he never dreamed his Web comments – no matter how coarse – could constitute a crime.

NATIONAL

FED chairman says recession may be here

WASHINGTON – A worsening short-term outlook for the U.S. economy suggests that growth has stalled and may even contract in the first half of this year, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday, sending a strong signal that a recession may have arrived.

The U.S. economy may be in recession. That’s usually defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth, although recessions are called after the fact by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which measures recession as a protracted slowdown in a wide range of business activities.

Bernanke’s testimony was the strongest evidence yet that the economy may have slipped into what a majority of mainstream economists now expect to be a mild recession. The Fed chairman expects economic activity to strengthen over the second half of the year as steep interest-rate cuts and a fiscal stimulus package passed by Congress with tax rebates to consumers start to be felt.

Officials rally for tougher gun laws

CHICAGO – Public officials rallied for tougher gun laws Tuesday in the wake of yet another teen shooting, but of the nearly 1,000 Chicago public school students who joined them at the James R. Thompson Center, many said the solutions are more complicated.

In the chanting, sign-waving crowd, Corine Minniefield, a junior at Banner Linc Academy, said that school officials need to get truants and drop-outs back in the classroom and that police need to tighten up their protection.

So far this school year, 20 students died by gun violence, a tally that does not include dropouts such as Shannon Brown, a former Fenger High School student who died hours before the rally, after a shooting on the Far South Side.

Although not all the students agreed tougher gun laws would stem the violence, they think something must be done.

Americans are gamers

SAN JOSE, Calif. – A report Wednesday from the NPD Group, a New York-based market research firm, reveals that 72 percent of the U.S. population played videogames last year, up from 64 percent in 2006.

And among the people playing games, 58 percent said they played online.

The online participation included everything from children’s game sites and casual word, card and puzzle games to the hard-core, role-playing games such as “World of Warcraft” and online racing and combat games through consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The number of online gamers relative to the total U.S. population is 42 percent so far this year, up from 40 percent in 2007.

LOCAL/BSU

Suspect in kidnapping found directing traffic nude

Boise Police officers got some unanticipated traffic assistance Tuesday morning from a kidnapping suspect: Lowell Rudlaff, 44, was found directing drivers naked at the intersection of Fairview Avenue and Liberty Street.

Officers said a man entered a facility described as an assisted living center for the mentally ill and tried to abduct a child that he knew. The child’s father fought briefly with the man, Boise Police Lt. Tony Plott said, causing him to flee without the child before authorities arrived on the scene.

A short time later, two Boise officers saw a man directing traffic at the intersection of Fairview and Liberty in the nude. Officers initially took the man into custody in connection with the public exposure, Plott said, but charged him in connection with the kidnapping when they discovered it was Rudlaff.

AIDS study to look at high rate in Canyon County

CALDWELL – Because of alarming findings about the rate of advanced AIDS among Hispanics in Southwest Idaho, Idaho State University-Boise is joining with local partners to provide a community meeting on the concerns along with free HIV testing.

The partnership comes after researchers learned that in the Treasure Valley over the last two years, 45 percent of people coming to local hospitals already very ill with late-stage AIDS but without having had any previous diagnoses of HIV were Hispanics residing in Health District 3. That includes Canyon, Owyhee, Adams, Payette, Gem and Washington counties.

WHAT THE?

Excuse me, son, what do you think you’re doing?

A 17-year-old began siphoning gasoline out of a parked car in Lambertville, Mich., unaware that it was an unmarked police vehicle, and that a sheriff’s deputy on a stakeout was sitting inside.

World/National/What the? stories courtesy of MCT Campus Wire Services unless otherwise credited. Local/BSU stories are courtesy of the Boise State Web site at www.boisestate.edu. All stories are compiled by News Writers.

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With such astounding numbers it is hard to imagine that a pastime of the mid-1970s has evolved into one of the fastest-growing entertainment industries. It is also difficult to fully appreciate the innovations of key video games and their creators that have allowed the industry to reach such a pinnacle without reviewing the industry’s history.

In 1972, the newly-founded company known as Atari released the first successful video game, called “Pong.” It was a coin-operated arcade machine. Pong was a simple concept: two horizontal bars represented ping-pong paddles and bounced a dot between them, thereby simulating an actual game of table tennis.

Upon its release, “Pong” sold 6,000 units and made Atari a household name.

However, it wasn’t until 1980 that video games effectively made the jump into mainstream American pop culture. A Japanese-based company, Namco, released a game featuring a yellow circle with a mouth that traversed a maze littered with ghosts. As the yellow character traversed the labyrinth, it had to eat a certain number of pellets to advance to the next stage.

Originally titled “Puck-Man” in Japan, Namco feared that ne’er-do-wells would change the “P” to an “F.” It immediately changed the name to the widely-recognizable “Pac-Man” for a U.S. release.

The arcade industry was a thriving business during these early days of video gaming, but the industry practically died out at the latter-end of the decade. This became known as the “crash” that nearly crippled the industry.

Several video game companies declared bankruptcy as a result of poor sales and video games began to be viewed as a curiosity and a passing fad.

In 1981, Nintendo hired Shigeru Miyamoto, a creative designer, to develop an arcade game that would ultimately be the basis for the rebirth of the industry.

Miyamoto decided that the major element that was missing in the current video game market was the ability to tell a story.

Miyamoto then created a game that featured a stubborn gorilla that had kidnapped the girlfriend of its trainer.

The object of the game was to help the gorilla trainer, named “Jump-man,” rescue his girlfriend from the clutches of “Donkey Kong.”

The creation of “Donkey Kong” not only revitalized the ailing gaming industry, it also saw the creation of Nintendo’s soon-to-be famous mascot, “Mario” previously known as “Jump-man.”

Miyamoto is perhaps the most influential name in video games, even by today’s standards.

Not only is he responsible for the creation of one the industry’s most beloved characters, he is also responsible for the success of Nintendo’s business venture into home video game consoles, with the creation of “Super Mario Bros.” This blockbuster was released with the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES.

The NES paved the way for future home consoles, such as the Super NES and the Sega Genesis, which in turn led to the Nintendo 64 and the Playstation.

From there it is easy to see how the current generation of video gaming has come about with the release of the Playstation 3, the Xbox 360, and the Nintendo Wii.

The video game industry is where it is at today due to the risks and innovative minds of many influential and creative people.

Without “Pong” there would be no “Madden NFL” and without “Super Mario Bros.” or “The Legend of Zelda” there would definitely be no “Halo” or “World of Warcraft."

C. COLT CRANE
BizTech Writer

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Both formats, released in 2006, were backed by two projects from companies such as Toshiba and NEC Corporation of America for the HD DVD format along with Sony and Phillips for the Blu-ray format.

With these two formats battling to obtain HD video supremacy, consumers were either forced to wait patiently for the battle to end or fork over large amounts of money to be able to experience the HD movie experience.

In the beginning HD DVD players ranged from $499-$799, while the Blu-ray players were anywhere from $500-1,500. Eventually movie buffs could purchase a combo player in 2007 for $1,199.

Sony (which also had a large involvement with the Betamax format) and Phillips started the Blu-ray format. Working with two different prototypes eventually led to the Blu-ray format. The HD DVD format was run by the DVD Forum that was chaired by electronics company Toshiba.

The DVD Forum was split over whether to use the more expensive blue lasers like Sony and Phillips or go with a less-expensive version made on dual-layer DVD-9 disks.

In the beginning, Blu-ray was backed by companies such as LG, Sony and Pioneer. Companies like RCA, Kenwood and Microsoft backed the HD DVD format.

Microsoft and Sony’s involvement added to the format battle with the release of the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360, since the two systems supported the format that the companies backed.

Each format had exclusive support of three of the companies from the big six movie studios: Sony, News Corp, Walt Disney, Time Warner, Viacom and General Electric (Universal Movie Studios).

Two of the most likely scenarios that lead to Blu-ray winning the format war would be the Sony Playstation 3 and Warner Brothers, the largest distributor of DVDs, dropping the HD DVD format.

The Playstation 3, which was released in the United States on Nov. 17, 2006, incorporated a Blu-ray disc player as a standard feature of the unit. Xbox 360 users had to purchase a standalone player. As of Feb. 19, about 10 million of the Sony units have been sold compared to about 1 million of the HD DVD players, including the Xbox 360 add-on players.

Warner Brother’s move to go strictly to the Blu-ray format caused a domino effect in the market. On Feb. 15, Wal-Mart announced that it would start phasing out HD DVD completely by June 2008.

Netflix, the world’s largest online movie rental service, announced on Feb. 11 that it would also begin stocking only the Blu-ray format.

What seemed to become a long, drawn out war comparable to the VHS/Betamax battle, the HD DVD/Blu-ray war only took a couple of years to complete, ending with Toshiba’s announcement that it is terminating development and marketing of the HD DVD format.

As part of Toshiba’s plan, it is going to continue holding spare parts for eight years after sales have stopped. Shipments of players will end this month.

However, Toshiba will continue to make recordable HD DVD disks.

DEREK SELF
BizTech Writer

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It was estimated that Americans would spend between $13 and $17 billion on Valentine’s Day this year. While American consumers were giddily celebrating the holiday of love, central Florida had to recall lollipops made in China.

Why exactly did they have to recall these Pokemon Valentine pops? Because two of the products were found to contain metal pieces. Investigators concluded that the metal was baked inside at the factory in China. They are still unsure if the metal was placed intentionally in the candy or not, but from my perspective, recalls to China are becoming an all-too-common refrain, accidental or not.

The “New York Times” reported in 2007 that China was responsible for 60 percent of product recalls in the United States. These products varied from pet food to toothpaste, but the most freightening product recalls were the 24 different kinds of children’s toys. There has been no proof of any intentional animosity toward the U.S., but the poor regulation of toy quality is alarming.

Because of so much outsourcing, the Unites States has had to give up some of its ability to regulate product quality. We’ve given the responsibility for keeping our children safe over to another country and the outcome is looking ugly. As a nation we’ve fallen into a casual consumer mentality that is becoming dangerous to more than just ourselves.

We need to be assessing our purchases for more than just our own sake, especially if we wish to remain a respectable and ethical leader in the world. In 2000 and 2001 the U.N. had to put a stop to the importing of a metal from the Congo – coltan ore.

Coltan ore is a metallic component that when refined is used in cell phones, laptops and Playstations as well as other products. It was discovered that the metal ore was being mined illegally anywhere it could be found in the Congo, including wildlife reserves.

The process of mining the ore is highly damaging to the environment. It requires the removal of trees and the destruction of riverbeds.

When the demand for the ore grew the price leapt as well. In a region where the average person lives off 20 cents per day the prospect of making $80 per day sent a stampede into the forest to try to strike it rich. As mining towns sprang up, so did opportunities for exploitation.

The Congolese people were abused by neighboring countries while the environment suffered at the hands of the Congolese themselves. Wildlife on the Okapi Faunal Reserve, such as Apes, were killed recklessly both for food and by accident, while trees died from having their bark stripped during the mining process – all this because of a heat-resistant metal conductor demanded by the Western world.

While a culture and the environment were being exploited, cell phone companies in the United States kept purchasing the metal.

There is no evidence that the companies knew what was going on, but whether they did or not, it’s a poor reflection on our ethics in purchasing global resources.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame the United States for the entire fiasco in the Congo; much of the exploitation has to do with hundreds of years of war and poor government.

But it was the U.S. demand for technology that raised the price of the ore. American companies didn’t stop purchasing the product from Africa until the environmental side of the mining began to become public. An embargo was placed on ore mined in the Congo and companies did their best to cover up for their faux pas.

When did technological advancements and pleasure become more important to us than our children or the environment?

We’ve been given a wake up call. We can’t keep claiming ignorance from where our products originate, what is in them or who is making them. Because of the recalls in the last year we can’t simply assume a product is safe. As long as there is a demand for a product it will be filled in the quickest, cheapest way possible. Things won’t change until the consumers start demanding better regulation of products and stop blithely purchasing.

ABBIE KIRCHER
Opinion Writer

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