Premium Essay

Blood Diamonds Research Paper

Submitted By
Words 690
Pages 3
This chart shows the inverse relationship between exports and an increase in gross domestic product. The more a country exports their natural resources the lower their GDP growth is. Where as the least amount of natural resources exported results in a higher GDP growth. This chart helps to validate the “resource curse.”

Blood Diamonds
When thinking about diamonds, many people automatically think of love and happiness due to engagement rings and wedding bands and the commercials that continuously play on television. This is certainly not the case, and many people are missing this fact from this 81.4 billion dollar industry (Baker). Diamonds, especially in the Congo or Sierra Leone, are a symbol of conflict and war, and unhappiness.

The United Nations defines conflict diamonds as diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and international recognized governments, and used to fund military action in opposition to the governments (Armstrong). Conflict diamonds are more commonly known as blood diamonds …show more content…
I remember the first time that I heard about blood diamonds was when I was in tenth grade and we were talking about Africa. I always found this issue fascinating because it seems so preposterous to think about how people can capture children and use them for their army and use them to fight the government. Also while in tenth grade, my teacher put on the movie Blood Diamonds starring Leonardo DiCaprio (Howard). This movie took place in Sierra Leone, one of the major areas affected by blood diamonds. Although there was a story line behind the movie, there was a plethora of factual information provided throughout the movie. The people that suffer from these diamonds are thousands of innocent men, women, and children who are forced out of their homes and used as slaves to dig up diamonds

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Blood Diamonds Research Paper

...Diamonds are a girls best friend according to a Madonna song, but what does diamonds do to the people and country where they come from? In parts of Africa you can see adults and kids in pools of water looking for them. You might think “Then why aren’t these people rich and why do they live in places like these?” While your answer is that they don’t profit from anything they find. You can find Blood Diamond mines in Sierra Leon, Liberia, Angola, the Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivories. Central African republic, and Democratic Republic of Congo. Most of the mines you will find in these countries are illegal. For years civil wars have plagued these countries about these diamonds. Rebel militants come in hoping to occupy the mines for their own use at any cost. Over 5 million civilians have been killed, tortured, raped, mutilated, and abducted in order to get to these mines. When they get to these mines they force you to work for them and you become almost like a slave. What you get in return for this labor is less than a dollar a day, poor living conditions, and disease. Not only do they force adults but they force...

Words: 659 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone

...Africa in Cinema- Final Paper Professor Rice May 2010 Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone This semester, the topic of Child Soldiers presented a very interesting dilemma that several countries in Africa continue to face today. Sierra Leone, in particular, has struck an interest because of the many films and readings that try to depict this story of the civil war. In class, we have viewed two films representing the problems with child soldiers in Sierra Leone which include films titled Blood Diamond and Ezra. Both films represent opposite sides of the spectrum, as Blood Diamond shows the Western view of child soldiers and Ezra represents the first African view of child soldiers. Before discussing the two films, there are also two articles that depict the issues of child soldiers in great detail. In the first article by A. B. Zack-Williams titled, “Child Soldiers in the Civil War in Sierra Leone,” the author describes the reasons behind children even joining rebel based armies such as the RUF, why children are chosen as soldiers against their will, and the examination of policies that are yet to be instilled on this matter. The first valid point that the author makes is the purpose of the RUF (Revolutionary United Front). The focus of this organization is to seek a better life for the people in Sierra Leone. They feel as if their lives have been wasted because of poor housing, malnutrition and no opportunity to succeed and that the government is to blame. With that said...

Words: 1488 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Bato Balani

...JUNIOR 1 S Y 2000 - 2 0 0 1 V o l . 20 N o . 1 C O N T E N FOR LOVE OF DIAMONDS These brilliant gems are not only for fashion but find many uses in other industries as well. CHEMISTRY: BUILDING BLOCKS OF MODERN CIVILIZATION Understand the significance of chemistry throughout man’s history. NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY: TOWARDS A SAFE ENERGY SOURCE Is nuclear technology a boon or bane of science? Read on. T S ib er s, De ar BB su bs cr ng ga zin e is ma ki Ba to Ba la ni ma e ma ga zin e. to yo ur fa vo rit lled so me ch an ge s a new section ca c g the changes is Amon s wi th sc ie nt ifi .” It de al “P se ud os ci en ce pt io ns th at an d mi sc on ce ve no tio ns , my th s, e. Al so , we ha pu la r at on e tim we re po ” se ct io n to “C yb er wo rld ex pa nd ed ou r ac tiv ity se ct io n. e a we b- lin ke d in cl ud wi ll th es e ch an ge s We ho pe th at re nc e stu di es mo ur sc ie he lp ma ke yo jo y! re fu n! En re le va nt an d mo Th e Ed ito r MEDICINE’S POTENT MIXTURES AND SOLUTIONS Chemistry plays a major role in our existence through important medical applications. R E G U L A R F E AT U R E S 3 Science & Technology News 5 Filipino Scientists and Inventors BOARD OF ADVISERS Violeta Arciaga, Jaime F. Bucoy Jose C. Calderon, Victoria V. Cervantes, Juanita M. Cruz, Belen P. Dayauon Medical Facts and Fallacies 9 Livelihood Technology / I’d Like to Know 10 Cyber World CONSULTANT ...

Words: 8787 - Pages: 36

Premium Essay

De Beers

...DeBeers “A Diamond is Forever” Prepared April 16, 2012 For decades, De Beers has been the preeminent name in diamonds. Thanks to a stockpile of the world's rough diamond supply, indelible marketing schemes and even negotiations with foreign governments for their diamonds, De Beers has been the most important name in one of the world's most lucrative businesses for almost a century. This paper will review the billion dollar rise and fall of a monopoly that has crushed competitors and cash-strapped governments since the 1800s. Diamonds became a symbol of love thanks to De Beers, which is fitting, since De Beers became what it is today because of a love story: the love of money. In the beginning, the diamond trade took place mostly in India and Brazil. With the discovery of diamonds in South Africa, the trade simultaneously took off and became much less profitable. Up until the mid-1800s, diamonds were a rarity and could be seen only on the hand of a monarch. But the diamond rush that began in South Africa in the second half of the 19th century flooded the market with diamonds, killing demand. It would take some ingenious plotting and advertising to keep the diamond's reputation as intrinsically valuable and desirable, which is where De Beers comes in (Goldschein, 2011). Company History and Overview De Beers got its start when English-born businessman Cecil Rhodes, broke into the diamond business in South Africa by renting water pumps to miners before buying diamond fields...

Words: 6593 - Pages: 27

Free Essay

Reptile Blood a Cure?

...“Reptile Blood a cure” Amy Parsons HCA/210 September 10, 2012 Cathy Wilburn Abstract In this paper, I will inform you of the ways that Reptile blood has been tested in hopes of finding cures for different diseases. There are several people testing the reptilian blood in experiments to help find a cure for a number of diseases. The thought of using a reptile’s blood to cure someone is a strange one. However, it was brought to the attention of Dr. Mark Merchant, of McNeese State University, that crocodiles, as well as other reptiles, heal with a great deal of quickness. He wondered how they could fight with such aggression and remain healthy. They fight to the points, sometimes, that they rip off limbs and expose bone and muscle. Then they swim off, into mucky, filthy water and yet they still do not get any kind of major infection. Humans exposed to the same type of battles and the same disgusting water they would have a devastating outcome, possibly death. This gave him and others ideas to check into their blood to see if they had something humans lacked. In 1998, Dr. Merchant found that American Alligators have a powerful antibiotic in their blood. Dr. Merchant demonstrated the “unscientific” evidence suggesting that reptile are resistant to bacterial infection. He identified reasons these creatures were immune to infection. Like humans, they have a natural defense system against invading bacteria, viruses, and fungi, which involves a group of proteins...

Words: 929 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Diamonds as an Alternative Investment

...| Are diamonds investor’s best friend? | Study on polished diamonds as an alternative investment. | | Presented by:Daria GoldobinaStudent number:080006193Supervised by:Anh L. TranIn partial fulfilment of the:BSc Business Studies, Cass Business SchoolDate:24th March 2011I certify that I have complied with the guidelines on plagiarism outlined in the Course Handbook in the production of this dissertation and that it is my own, unaided work.Signature:__________________________________________ | | This work is dedicated to the memory of my beloved grandfather Ivan Smolin. He was a sweet, kind and sensitive man who devoted his life to studying precious stones and metals. He enriched my life with passion to beauty. If God wanted us to bend over he'd put diamonds on the floor Joan Rivers Contents Acknowledgements 3 Executive summary 7 I Introduction 10 Ground for discussion 10 Objectives 10 Methodology 11 II Literature review and hypothesis development 12 Overview 12 Introduction 12 History of diamonds 12 Industry structure 13 DeBeers cartel 15 Diamond valuation 16 Diamond valuation process 16 Determinants of diamond prices 18 Diamond as an investment 19 Types of investment 19 Problems associated with investing in diamonds 20 Benefits associated with investing in diamonds 20 Alternatives to investing in diamonds 23 Hypothesis development 25 III Methodology 26 Data collection 26 Primary research 26 Secondary...

Words: 19903 - Pages: 80

Free Essay

Vesicare

...Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Submitted By: Latrell Jackson December 16, 2013 Submitted To: Dr. Diane Hamilton BA 530 Pfizer Pfizer develops and produces medicines and vaccines for a wide range of conditions including in the areas of immunology and inflammation, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and pain. Pfizer's products include Lipitor (atorvastatin, used to lower LDL blood cholesterol); Lyrica (pregabalin, for neuropathic pain/fibromyalgia); Diflucan (fluconazole, an oral antifungal medication); Zithromax (azithromycin, an antibiotic); Viagra (sildenafil, for erectile dysfunction); and Celebrex/Celebra (celecoxib, an anti-inflammatory drug) (Pfizer, 2010). Pfizer is made up of three main divisions; pharmaceutical, animal health, and research & development divisions. This paper will focus on the pharmaceutical division, with the emphasis on Viagra, which markets prescription and over the counter medications (Pfizer, 2010). Pfizer’s Pharmaceuticals segment includes its human pharmaceuticals and animal health businesses, as well as Capsugel, a producer of two-piece capsules used in manufacturing prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals and nutritional supplements (Pfizer, 2010). Most of the company’s human pharmaceutical revenues come from products in three major therapeutic classes: cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, and central nervous system disorders. The company also has products for the treatment of diabetes, erectile...

Words: 826 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Bpa Paper

...Some chemicals are toxic in human bodies and that is why chemical-specific legislations are becoming increasingly common across the country. Legislations seek to regulate production and selling of products containing such harmful chemicals in interstate commerce efficiently regulating those products nationwide. Products containing phthalates, mercury, brominated flame retardants, and many other chemicals have been the subject of such bills but products containing bisphenol A (BPA) have attracted most attention in 2009 (Beveridge & Diamond, 2009). BPA is a monomer used to manufacture various everyday products. Research has found out that BPA is toxic on humans and products containing BPA leach a significant amount of BPA to their users. This paper gives a brief introduction of BPA, describes the debate surrounding its safety, and analysis information gathered by “the work group for safe markets” on BPA leaching from popular baby bottles. It is presumed that food and beverages from containers manufactured with BPA are harmful since BPA leaches into them and should be avoided. Uses of BPA and its Toxicology BPA is a monomer commonly used in the production of epoxy resins, polycarbonate plastic, among other uses (Association of Plastics Manufacturers). These products are in turn used to manufacture everyday products such as baby bottles, sports bottles and sippy cups (using polycarbonates); and the inner linings of containers for food and beverage packaging (using epoxy resins)...

Words: 2276 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

Science for Everyday Life

...Julia DeWitt SC250-05: Science for Everyday Life Unit 9 Assignment August 05, 2014 When I hear the word “scientist” there are multiple things that run through my thoughts. I picture someone in a lab coat trying to discover a cure to a disease like cancer or the next plague that comes along. There is this image of dry ice coming out of test tubes and beakers surrounding them. Maybe even a bunch of stressed out yuppie looking guys who had way too much coffee, desperately trying to find the vaccine to stop the zombie apocalypse. I also picture Beaker from the Muppet show. He did a wonderful job forming an image of what a scientist probably was to me as a child. He was insecure and he made a mess. My cousin is a scientist so then there is an image of this very stern but sarcastic guy testing and testing and retesting. That image sounds so boring but I’m grateful there are brilliant minds like him out there. Scientist come in many different forms. They study and discover many different things. Over time there have been many types of scientist and they weren’t all wearing lab coats. Leonardo da Vinci was one I found interesting due to my love of art. He combined art and science in his sketches. He has amazing futuristic designs and even envisioned flight. Sadly he was a chronic procrastinator and had frequent disasters with his experiments of new techniques (Leonadoda-Vinci). Galileo Galilei was an Italian scientist who developed the telescopes and started to observe...

Words: 1591 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Health Care Waste Management Scenario in West Bengal

...storage, transport, treatment and disposal. Apart from the above, a good amount of bio-medical wastes such as disposable syringes, saline bottles, I.V. fluid bottles etc. are picked up by rag pickers and are recycled back into the market without any disinfection. It is imperative, therefore, to adopt an appropriate environmentally safe method for the disposal of the hospital wastes. Sources of generation of Bio-medical wastes: Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Veterinary Hospitals, Dental Clinics, Pathological & Diagnostic Laboratories, Blood Bank etc. Type of Health Care Waste: These are of two types (i) Infectious Wastes (ii) Non-infectious Wastes INFECTIOUS HEALTH CARE WASTES (Bio-medical Waste): · Human anatomical / surgical waste, · Animal waste · Pathological waste including tissues, organs, blood and body fluids, microbiological cultures, Cotton,Swabs etc. · Used Syringes, I.V. tubes, Blood bags and other items contaminated with blood and body fluids. · Items such as plaster, casts and bandages, when contaminated...

Words: 3321 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Literature Review On Diabetic Retinopathy

...A REVIEW ON RETINAL FEATURE SEGMENTATION METHODOLOGIES FOR IABETIC RETINOPATHY Dr. N. Jayalakshmi1 K. Priya2 HOD and Professor, Research Scholar, Saveetha Engineering College, Research & Development Centre, Chennai , India Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India Abstract--Diabetic Retinopathy is a most common diabetic eye disease, which occurs when a blood vessel in the retina change. There are two stages of the disease. The early stage is Non proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and later is Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). In NPDR, various problems may occur, such as macular edema which is swelling in the central retina and retinal ischemia which occurs due to poor blood flow. PDR is the advanced stage of NPDR, new blood...

Words: 2529 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Passover Observation

...is, “In Matt 26:28 and Mark 14:24, Jesus identifies the (content of the) cup with his blood of the covenant (τοῦτο ἐστιν τὸ αἷμά μου τῆς διαθήκης). In Luke 22:20 and 1 Cor 11:25, Jesus identifies the cup with the new covenant in his blood (τοῦτο τό ποτήριον ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη ἐν τῷ αἵματί μου). One question that is brought up as a result of reading the narrative in . Is Jesus relating the wine to his body in a literal sense. “Jesus identifies his blood with the cup. In the NT, αἷμα may refer to the red fluid within the body’s circulatory system; however, it more often has metaphorical connotations. It may denote “the death of a person, generally as the result of violence or execution…This metaphorical corollary is especially true when αἷμα is found with ἐκχύννω in 23:35 and 26:28. Thus, in his saying over the cup, Jesus also speaks of his violent death.” The reason this has to be clarified is that it could easily lead a person to say the cup is his blood in a literal sense. D. A. Carson in his practical counsel to Pastors said, "make sure that your own theology of the Lord’s Supper is stable, mature, exegetically grounded, and thought through. I suspect that one of the reasons why we settle for mere rote in our celebration of the Lord’s Supper is that we have not done the work that would enable us to be much fresher and more evocative.” In personal reflection this paper and the research to get to this point has helped become more stable and avoid a rote celebration of the...

Words: 1408 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Mkt 447 Slingshot Academy / Tutorialrank.Com

...MKT 447 Entire Course (UOP Course) For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com MKT 447 Week 1 Individual Advertising Past and Present Paper (UOP Course) MKT 447 Week 1 DQ 1 (UOP Course) MKT 447 Week 1 DQ 2 (UOP Course) MKT 447 Week 2 Learning Team Advertising Plan and Creative Brief (UOP Course) MKT 447 Week 2 DQ 1 (UOP Course) MKT 447 Week 2 DQ 2 (UOP Course) MKT 447 Week 3 Individual Effective Advertising Planning and Implementation Paper (UOP Course) MKT 447 Week 3 DQ 1 (UOP Course) MKT 447 Week 3 DQ 2 (UOP Course) MKT 447 Week 4 Learning Team Advertising, Creative, and Media Strategies Paper (UOP Course) MKT 447 Week 4 DQ 1 (UOP Course) MKT 447 Week 4 DQ 2 (UOP Course) MKT 447 Week 5 Individual Future Trends in Advertising Paper (UOP Course) MKT 447 Week 5 Learning Team Final Advertising Campaign Presentation (UOP Course) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MKT 447 Final Exam Guide (UOP Course) For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com Multiple Choice: Choose the correct response for the following questions. 1. As a consumer you are exposed to hundreds and maybe even thousands of commercial messages every day. These messages may appear in the mass media, as even sponsorships, telemarketing calls, or even as e-mails. The correct term for all these commercial messages is: 2. Which of the following is the best example of a tangible good? 3. In commercials for Wal-Mart...

Words: 1772 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Loyola College

...10/25/2013 Department of Physics | Loyola College | JOURNAL | PHYSICA | JOURNAL | PHYSICA | CONTNETS * About college * About physics department * Students club * Science news * Science facts * Picture of the day * Puzzle * Riddle ABOUT COLLEGE Glorious college: Loyola College Loyola College was founded by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1925, with the primary objective of providing University Education in a Christian atmosphere for deserving Students, especially those belonging to the Catholic Community. Although this college is meant primarily for Catholics, it admits other students irrespective of caste and creed.  The College aims at training young men and women of quality to be leaders in all walks of life, whom we hope will play a vital role in bringing about the desired changes for the betterment of the people of our country, more particularly of the dalits and other poorer and marginalized sections of society. The College trains young men and women to serve their fellowmen in justice, truth and love. Loyola College became autonomous in July 1978. The College, however, continues to be affiliated to the University of Madras and is autonomous, in the sense that it is free to frame its own course of studies and adopt innovative methods of teaching and evaluation. The University degrees will be conferred on the students passing the examinations conducted by the college. In Loyola, we look at education differently...

Words: 5054 - Pages: 21

Free Essay

Sierra Leone

...Research Paper Sources Poverty in Sierra Leone Cassandra Jones Professor Tiffani Davis Sociology 300 September 1, 2012 Sierra Leone Sierra Leone is located on the West Coast of Africa near Guinea, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau and Gambia. Sierra Leone was founded in 1462, by a Portuguese explorer Pedro da Cintra sailing the West African coast. While there Pedo observed the mountains and thunderstorm that sounded like a lion’s roam in the distance. He therefore name Sierra Leone in his native language Sierra Leoa. The name was later changed in 1787 while under British rule Sierra Leone by English Jack Tars. The country is comprised over six million people of different ethnic backgrounds and religions that primarily speak English which is the official language. Many tribal languages are also used and in Freetown which is the capital of Sierra Leone, Krio is the second language spoken. It is a form of pigeon English encompassing tribal words. Sierra Leone also known as the Republic of Sierra Leone maintains a constitutional democracy which is composed of a President Ernest Bai KOROMA and legislative, judicial and executive branch. A constitutional democracy is a system of government based on popular sovereignty in which the structures, powers, and limits of government are set forth in a constitution. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/constitutional+democracy. Sierra Leon is also one of the poorest countries in the world with the shortest life expectancy. To understand...

Words: 1576 - Pages: 7