Color me surprised. Blood diamonds making their way into the

[Horse with no Name]

country. Who is watching the ports? Need I say more?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060927/ts_nm/minerals_diamonds_conflict_dc

>>>>snip
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "Conflict diamonds" sold illegally to finance civil wars, may be making their way into the United States, despite an international pact to end trade in the gemstones, the
Government Accountability Office said on Wednesday.
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The United States, the world's largest consumer market for diamond jewelry, does not inspect rough diamond imports to certify their origins, a GAO report said. It added that because of spotty statistics on diamond imports and exports, the country is "still vulnerable to illicit trade of rough diamonds."

Over the last decade, sales of diamonds have bankrolled violent factions in countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. These unpolished and uncut stones became known as "conflict diamonds."

>>>>snip
n response to the GAO report, the Department of Homeland Security pledged to require periodic examination of rough and polished diamond shipments using a random selection process. The department also pledged to work with the State Department to record more detailed information about diamonds that have entered the country.

[Greeby]

1. What do you wanna bet some wealthy rightwingers are makin money off this?

:shrug:

[blm]

8. I'm with you. I'm a woman who just loathes diamond jewelry.

I never see sparkle - just tears and pain and death being worn on someone's wrist.

[malaise]

16. What about South American diamonds?

I have Guyanese gold and diamonds and they're not connected to the bloodletting in poor Africa.

[blm]

17. Sorry - it's just the way I see it.

I understand the beauty of the stones in their natural state, and can appreciate it, but that's about as far as the allure goes for me.

I'll take the sparkle in someone's eyes or smile.

[ck4829]

2. Don't worry about it, Pat Robertson is sure to buy all those diamonds.

:sarcasm:

[razors edge]

3. one word "Debears"

[Jackpine Radical]

4. As in Goldilocks & Debears?

Or deBeers?

[razors edge]

6. I'm out of beers right now

but try one of these, http://friendsofgrassynarrows.com/item.php?499F

these guys have the market boxed, nothing happens they don't control.

[Jackpine Radical]

13. Thanks. Da Bears definitely make my personal Illuminati corporation list

(along with the likes of Krupp, the Rothschilds, and a number of others).

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. What about Da Bears?

Go Bears!

[prole_for_peace]

5. one reason i won't buy jewelry with any diamonds in it.

even teeny tiny ones.

another reason is the fact that diamonds are just expensive because the diamond industry tells us they are "special" and crap. give me a good old cz anytime. don't have to worry about losing it or it being stolen since it is unexpensive

[kineneb]

7. and Austrian glass crystal

is just fine for me. Personally, the colored stones (rubies, garnet, amethyst, peridot, etc.) are far more interesting.

Didn't one of the fundie ministers have interests in African diamond mines? Hmmmm.

[Clark2008]

12. Yep - as mentioned above: Pat Robertson

http://www.sullivan-county.com/news/pat_quotes/diamonds.html

Although the financial success of CBN is well-known, one of Robertson's lesser known organizations is his African Development Company (ADC). ADC is a private venture that invests in various land-based operations in Africa, such as mining and agriculture, with the stated goal of redirecting profits toward humanitarian projects. In Zaire, the ADC operates a diamond-mining project in the center of Zaire's prime diamond mines and forestry concessions.

Zaire is a country with a population of approximately 43 million, most of whom live in poverty. At the same time, Zaire's head of government, Mobutu Sese Seko, a dictator who has plundered the wealth of his nation for over thirty years, is able to live luxuriously surrounded by the comforts of vacation homes, yachts, and champagne. Corruption, health concerns, and human rights abuses in Zaire have long been an international concern, causing many countries, including the U.S., to turn a diplomatic cold shoulder toward Mobutu.

U.S. intelligence agencies have reported that billions of dollars in aid given to Zaire during the Cold War now find a comfortable home in Mobutu's personal bank accounts. Human rights groups around the world have campaigned against the numerous atrocities committed against the Zairians during his thirty-year reign, including the deaths of tens of thousands of citizens. Mobutu has refused to implement any democratic reform that would lessen his power.

President Mobutu continuously campaigns to distance himself from his appalling human-rights record, which has earned him more foes than friends. However, despite the innumerable strikes against him, it seems that Mobutu has attained a new trading partner, Pat Robertson. Mobutu's partnership with Robertson is another of Mobutu's attempts to build ties between his illegitimate regime and the U.S., as a way of gaining international acceptance.

Robertson, the former U.S. presidential candidate, has shown that he is not the least bit uneasy with utilizing Mobutu's personal fleet of planes and yachts, which were purchased off the backs of Zaire's oppressed citizens. Dr. Makau Mutua, projects director of the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, in the February 27, 1995 issue of TIME magazine observed that "Robertson is Mobutu's biggest American catch."

When presented with more of the facts surrounding ADC, one is forced question the nature of Robertson's relationship with such a dictator. Should a "good Christian" profit from diamonds and lumber mined by the functional equivalent of slave labor? While other Christian relief programs donate aid to Zaire via private organizations to avoid any connection with Mobutu's corrupt government, Robertson rushes forth with open arms towards Mobutu.

[Jackpine Radical]

14. That was Pat Robertson, referenced above.

IIRC he diverted donated $$ to buy at least one airplane for his African mining company.

[Nabia2004]

9. I tried pointing that out to my ex wife

but it didn't stop her from buying more.

[Holly_Hobby]

11. Diamonds are nothing but compressed carbon,

right? Why do people swallow the DeBeers crap? Nothing is forever.

[Jackpine Radical]

15. We are Starlight, we are Golden. We are billion-year-old carbon.

Back to Woodstock, everyone.

[Orangeone]

18. I think the "Blood Diamond"

boycott is nonsense. It's really paternalistic. Nobody says don't buy American products because we may use the profits for making wars. It's better to buy diamonds from Africans than to buy from DeBeers, which is a foreign company.

[Horse with no Name]

19. Glad you are in the minority on your thoughts

Supposedly 911 was financed with blood diamonds. Wear them in good health.:sarcasm: