Sure they're sparkly but...
This came to my attention when perusing the resurrected Veritas Lux Mea. While this article it isn't new, I think makes quite an interesting read (I would, wouldn't I.) Photo fromTen Reasons Why You Should Never Accept a Diamond Ring from Anyone, Under Any Circumstances, Even If They Really Want to Give You One
(I've just posted the highlights - see the article for explanations of each point and sources)
1. You've Been Psychologically Conditioned To Want a Diamond
2. Diamonds are Priced Well Above Their Value
3. Diamonds Have No Resale or Investment Value
4. Diamond Miners are Disproportionately Exposed to HIV/AIDS
5. Open-Pit Diamond Mines Pose Environmental Threats
6. Diamond Mine-Owners Violate Indigenous People's Rights
7. Slave Laborers Cut and Polish Diamonds
8. Conflict Diamonds Fund Civil Wars in Africa
9. Diamond Wars are Fought Using Child Warriors
10. Small Arms Trade is Intimately Related to Diamond Smuggling
" Many of the prisoner-laborers who work Sierra Leone's open-pit mines end up in shallow graves, executed for suspected theft, for lack of production, or simply for sport. (© Jean-Claude Coutausse/ CONTACT Press Images)" from Amnesty Internationalrgsc
posted by Rgscarter @ 12:51 PM
7 Comments:
Glad to help another reader. Nice blog you've got here.
yeah, you would.
hey! you can always turn your dead pets and loved ones into diamonds. i bet fatterson would make a good sized rock!
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,55231,00.html?tw=wn_story_related
Ahh yes diamonds...diamonds are a weird thing, but can't you purchase safe diamonds? They don't all have to be blood diamonds do they?
Certainly, Mark, not all diamonds are blood/conflict diamonds and most places go to great lengths to assure buyers that their diamonds are legit. Canadian diamonds are seen as a home grown alternative to blood diamonds. However, points 1-3 and 5 would still apply to non-blood diamonds, and in the explination to point 6 the article states : "6. Diamond Mine-Owners Violate Indigenous People's Rights:
Diamond mines in Australia, Canada, India and many countries in Africa are situated on lands traditionally associated with indigenous peoples. Many of these communities have been displaced, while others remain, often at great cost to their health, livelihoods and traditional cultures." Notice Canada is implicated here.
And here is the link that laura provided about making diamonds out of dead people. And I quote: ""The average person has enough carbon in them to produce between 50 and 100 diamonds," said Bouffard, adding that the company has gotten "hundreds" of requests for information from people interested in turning themselves, their relatives or their pets into jewels. The company expects to finish its first human diamond in 11 weeks.
LifeGem's least-expensive product is a $3,950 quarter-carat diamond. At the moment, the company is only taking orders for blue diamonds, which are irradiated in a lab to achieve the same hue of the famous cerulean Hope Diamond. And if Grandma gets lost or stolen, don't worry: The company stores extra carbon so she can become a gem again.".
Personally I would rather go with the Reef Ball option
Yeah I'm totally cool with the Reef Ball, I think it's one hell of a way to go.
Seriously, why would you want to spen eternity in an urn on the mantle?
actually, i think i would like to be stuffed/put into a tank (an 'auto-icon) so i could look down on my ancestors with a stern, disaproving look for all eternity - like Jeremy Bentham :
"As requested in his will, his body was preserved and stored in a wooden cabinet, termed his "Auto-Icon," at University College London. It has occasionally been brought out of storage at official functions so that his eccentric presence can live on.
The Auto-Icon has always had a wax head, as Bentham's head was badly damaged in the preservation process. The real head was displayed in the same case for many years, but became the target of repeated student pranks including being stolen on more than one occasion. It is now locked away securely."
heh. stealing the head of one of the greatest philosphers in the western tradition is pretty much the greatest student prank ever.
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