to all the Rap Stars & anyone who wears Bling...DO YOU KNOW AT WHAT COST?

[ElsewheresDaughter]

this is too disturbing so so tragic and makes me
glad that i NEVER liked diamonds.

click on "jump to photos" at the bottom of the video :cry:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/custom/2005/05/06/CU2005050601042.html


do these people who wear so many diamonds know what HORRORS they support?

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[ElsewheresDaughter]

4. sweatshops are apoor comparsion to childrens arms being chopped off....

[Name removed]

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[ElsewheresDaughter]

16. opps sorry....i understand now...and thanks for the link...

[livinginphotographs]

20. A great place where I buy many of my T-shirts

http://www.nosweatapparel.com/

American Apparel is another company that guarantees to be sweat shop free.

[livinginphotographs]

2. Talib Kweli's newest album

Has a great line about wearing diamonds while children in Africa die. At least some are able to make the connection.

[BlueStateBlue]

Paul Simon's Graceland

has a great track entitled "Diamonds on the Soles of their Shoes".

[wicket]

10. great song

And still so timely.

[BlueStateBlue]

28. True

I actually have that CD in my car today. I think I'll listen to it while I'm out to lunch. I'm getting a little weary of Al Franken...

[ElsewheresDaughter]

18. good album GRACELAND

[fertilizeonarbusto]

3. Because

they are generally shallow asswipes with a Robin Leach sense of what taste consists of mixed in with the very worst (violence, misogyny, conspicuous consumption) of the ghetto/arrabal mentality. I've had my radio dials NAILED to classical, world and jazz for years now.

[MADem]

5. Osama didn't get his dough from his dad's construction biz

He got it from investments in Tanzanian DIAMOND mines. Till death do us part, indeed!

If you want a diamond, have it made out of Fluffy's or Spot's ashes. May cost you more, but it will have purity of heart, and is a lovely way to memorialize a pet. Or a family member, if you can deal with that.... http://www.lifegem.com/

[fertilizeonarbusto]

9. Isn't that a beautiful memorial?

I have a pair of earrings. One is Ms. Goobs Capri, the other Mr. Tug O'Warre.

[Name removed]

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[MADem]

36. Hey, check out my post below

Diamonds ARE Osama's best friend. Get used to it.

And ya know what, Google is your friend, too!

Cynical? I think not. I find you rather interesting, though.

[Name removed]

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[MADem]

43. Excuse me?

You said: i thing is as to why i reacted that way to your point was because Osama is being blamed for every problem in this country nowadays. but the real fact is what he did he did, its over, forget it and start, dont blame on others what you yourself are the reason for. that is what i am trying to say.

I don't sell diamonds and use them to fund insurgents who blow up my fellow servicemembers in a shit war in Iraq. I don't sit in a very pleasant surrounding, hidden from the reach of "coalition" forces, laughing my ass off at the suffering of poor bastards over there in a war not of their choice or making.

It isn't 'over' with Osama. He is the asshole who took down the WTC and killed almost 2K of our friends and neighbors. Just because Saddam had nothing to do with it is no reason to give Osama a pass.

Is English your second language??? Have you read the thread carefully? Have you gone without sleep in the past day or so? You aren't doing a very good job at articulating your viewpoints, frankly.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

21. and it was" Tanzanite" NOT diamonds that were linked to Osama & terrorism

http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2002/02/03/rmtanzan.htm

Jewelry retailers nationwide have halted the sale of tanzanite because of reports the gem is connected to terrorist activity financed by Osama bin Laden.
Major retailers like Zales, Wal-Mart, home-shopping channel QVC and Tiffany's are among those that have stopped selling the gem.
At Jewelry Expressions in Kingston, a dozen of Nick Malvai's customers have come to him with their concerns.
"Is it true tanzanite is linked to terrorist activity conducted by Osama bin Laden?" they ask, says Malvai. "If so, then they don't want it." Malvai's tanzanite inventory comprises 0.2 percent of his stock.
At Zales in the Galleria at Crystal Run, a sign on the counter says the company's no-sell policy went into effect New Year's Day.
"There is a large amount that is smuggled that makes it very difficult to find out whose hands it's falling into," said David Sternblitz, director of investor public relations for Zales. "The decision was made to protect our customers until we find out if its being used to fund terrorism."
The Wal-Mart stores in Middletown and nationwide discontinued sales Jan. 25.
"We removed it from our showcase,'' a sales clerk said Thursday.
The popularity of the purplish-blue gem soared when fans of the hit film "Titanic'' learned the heart-shaped pendant Kate Winslet hurled into the sea was actually tanzanite. Soon, the United States was selling $380 million of tanzanite jewelry a year.
The alleged link to terrorism is partially based on reports from miners and residents in Tanzania, the only source of the rare and fashionable gem. They say Muslim extremists loyal to bin Laden buy stones from miners and middlemen, smuggling them out of Tanzania to free-trade havens such as Dubai and Hong Kong.

[MADem]

30. No, DIAMONDS--Osama's BEST FRIEND!!

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/3001.html

While U.S. officials agree Ghailani is an important catch, they are still trying to figure out what role the 5-foot-3 Tanzanian played in al-Qaida at the time of his arrest. Some say he was an emerging leader, others aren't so sure.

Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden has always found a use for Ghailani, from laundering money in West African diamond markets ahead of the Sept. 11 attacks, to planning the U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa, to linking up in eastern Pakistan with up and coming al-Qaida plotters.

The arrests of Ghailani and Khan are believed to have helped disrupt plans to launch attacks in coming months _ computers from the two contained photographs of potential financial targets in the United States _ in New York, New Jersey and Washington _ and London's Heathrow Airport, as well as pictures of underpasses beneath several buildings in London.

http://www.professionaljeweler.com/archives/articles/2005/feb05/0205nd.html

Antwerp Court Convicts in Conflict Diamond Case

A Belgian court sentenced eight people to up to six years in prison for smuggling conflict diamonds from Africa into Antwerp, according to Reuters. They also were fined $81.77 million for failing to declare the diamonds to customs officials.

Ringleaders Samih Ossaily and Aziz Nassour were sentenced to three and six years in jail, respectively, for importing diamonds from conflict areas of Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The court sentenced six other members of the ring to up to 30 months.

In November 2001, The Washington Post reported that Ossaily and Nassour bought smuggled diamonds from Sierra Leone and also worked with terrorist group al Qaeda. At the time, Ossaily, a naturalized Belgian originally from Sierra Leone, denied the allegations, saying he had no connection to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden or his network and that he never smuggled diamonds through Antwerp.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

37. opps ...thanks for educating me

[MADem]

38. So many "patriotic Americans" are up to their eyeballs in diamond

...trade, from Pat Robertson's connection to Charles Taylor and bloody diamonds, and then there's Pat's connections to powerful folks in DC...if they ever start following the money, I think you'll find a shitload of it at RNC HQ!!!

Good article here: http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/liberia/2002/1230al.htm

Even the rightwing Standard acknowledges the connection (you need to subscribe to get the full article, I recommend that you don't, you can get the gist in what they give you in the first few paras): http://www.weeklystandard.com/check.asp?idArticle=5068&r=vdohw

Another edifying article: http://www.centurytel.net/tjs11/mil3/diam.htm

[ElsewheresDaughter]

39. yup i remember reading about Pat's connection in Greg Palast's book.......

The Best Money Democracy Can Buy.

again thanks for the links

[MADem]

40. You are most welcome

I guess the new patriotic gem is either a lifegem or a fabulous fake from Target!

[NightOwwl]

29. Thank you for the link to LifeGem.

I didn't know something like that existed. My beloved cat passed away 8 years ago and I still think of him often. What a beautiful way to way to honor him.

[MADem]

31. I think it is a rather cool idea

It is still pricey, but what the heck. Eventually, with economies of scale, the price will drop, the variety of coloration will increase, and it may just become the new way of thinking about "family jewels!!"

[TlalocW]

6. I read about the DeBeers family in Bill Maher's book

I'll never buy a diamond - even if/when I get married, I'll be talking my fiancee into wearing something that doesn't have blood on it.

TlalocW

[liberalitch]

13. I always encourage folks who are looking for engagement rings ...

If they MUST have a diamond to look at estate sales, antique stores or go with Heirlooms. Those diamonds are already out of the ground and you may be helping someone out who's in a pinch money-wise.

I personally (if the commie and I were ever to tie the knot) would want a garnet , my birthstone, in a setting designed by the commie.

[liberalitch]

7. SHHHHHHHH! We're not allowed to comment here...

on the fact that rap stars (once they leave the places that spawned their "creative abilities") have no grasp on reality OR world affairs. That is because many times they are presured by their peers not to do the school thing (not gangsta enough) or they are raised by people who don't care what suffering goes into making them pretty. IT'S A VERY SELF CENTERED LIFESTYLE!

I have students who wear $200 shoes everyday, have blackberries but will not buy a notebook and a pencil.


oh, well... as long as they look good I guess it's not important to pass Human Geography.

[Name removed]

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[liberalitch]

25. That's what I'm trying to do here.....

but I can't get people's heads out of their asses
No wonder they can't hear me

[ElsewheresDaughter]

26. that's the purpose of this thread post......attempt to enlighten

[stevedeshazer]

8. They're also supporting murderous thugs

...like Mobutu Sese Seko, Pat Robertson's good friend.

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

[Mizmoon]

11. God Bless those Rotary Club people

what a wonderful thing they did for those chldren.

[Lisa0825]

12. I'll never have another diamond.

When I found out about this, during a discussion with my best friend, I decided I'd never have another diamond. If I ever get married again, I either want a pretty fake, (which I will be truthful with when complimented so I can tell people WHY), or an alternative semi-prescious stone.

My best friend just got engaged. She chose rose quartz for her ring.

More people are learning about this. It just isn't happening fast enough

[jilln]

19. apparently the chocolate trade is similar

[caty]

22. Diamonds I can live without, but---

Chocolate? Oh no--say it ain't so!!!!!!!!

[meganmonkey]

23. Aaah! BUt there are ways to get fair trade chocolate! Don't despair!

http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/

[Coexist]

33. but I live in Florida, that would be a melted mess by the time I got it

is all organic chocolate fair trade certified? I know you can get ftc coffee at Target at a great price - but I haven't seen chocolate.

[meganmonkey]

34. Not all organic chocolate is certified fair trade, but a lot is...

I think the success of the fair trade Coffee business is helping the chocolate follow suit - check around local stores in your area, even some of the bigger regular grocery stores carry it (in their 'fancy candy' section) if you don't have a natural food store or co-op around.

The other benefit of fair trade chocolate is that it is generally of MUCH higher quality than typical american chocolate. Although it is more expensive, I find I am satisfied with just a couple squares at a time. So it balances out as far as $, and it's better for the waistline ;)

(edit: spelling)

[jilln]

35. Yeah, it's so...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1272522.stm

http://www.stopchildlabor.org/internationalchildlabor/chocolate.htm

http://www.foodrevolution.org/slavery_chocolate.htm

But as stated by others, you can buy fair trade ... and if you have any health food/Whole Foods type stores anywhere near you it should be available there so you don't have to mail-order.

[livinginphotographs]

32. Chocolate, coffee....

I'm sure there are other products as well that we take for granted.

As someone else said, fair trade chocolate is available, as is fair trade and beast-of-burden free coffee as well.

From what I understand, though, it's pretty hard to trace a diamond's origin, though, so it's safer just to not buy them.

[meganmonkey]

24. I have always said that any guy who would propose to me with a diamond

doesn't know me well enough to marry me.

The ONLY way I would wear a diamond is if it was something special passed down throught the family. And even then I might have to really think about it.

It is a sad, sorry business. And it is boosted by this arbitrary worship of diamonds. :shrug:

[wicket]

44. same here

I'm an emerald gal myself :)

[digno dave]

27. Buy Canadian diamonds!!!

[formernaderite]

42. The bling is a cultural thing...

I'm lucky my wife has never been into any material manifestations of success. If any change in ghetto-bling culture is to be made...someone hit up the hip hop artists and get them on board.