Blood Diamonds

Honey, you’re better off wearing pearls.

Last weekend, I saw the much-talked about ‘Blood Diamond‘ movie, over which I have mulled before. The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds mined in war zones and sold to finance the conflicts. Even though there is a great deal of violence in this movie, it captures the reality of the country to a remarkable degree. It is a soul stirring film which tells you some facts about blood diamonds and Sierra Leone. Archer says at one point in the movie: " God has left Africa long back". This perhaps sums up the tragic situation there.

Blood diamonds, often called conflict diamonds, are mined in war torn African countries by rebels to fund their conflict. The rebels grossly abuse human rights, often murdering and enslaving the local populations to mine the diamonds. Sierra Leone's diamonds have been blamed for prolonging the brutal civil war that lasted 11 years. I was astonished to know that Wars have costed an estimated 3.7 million lives. The most worrying aspect of the war in Sierra Leone is the international community’s belated response.Although the United Nations first identified the conflict diamond issue in 1998 as a source of funding for war, it was the diamond industry that took steps to address the conflict diamond issue by convening a meeting to plan a process by which diamond origin could be certified. Finally, in 2003, an international certification scheme alled the Kimberley Process was launched, making it illegal to trade in conflict diamonds.

It is very important to develop ethical and fair diamond trade in countries like Sierra Leone as it will help miners and their communities benefit from their country's beautiful natural diamond resource. Botswana is a perfect example of this. Botswana used to be a poor farm country but today its government works hand in hand with the Diamond industry to give Botswana a living standard 7 times higherthan its neighbors. Recent figures show that the illicit diaomond trade has fallen to approximately 1%, which isa very good sign.

Kayne West’s song and video about “blood diamonds” makes us take an honest look at ourselves and ask: Is my fascination with diamonds contributing to the violence in Sierra Leone? But U.N. efforts alone won’t stop the senseless killing in Sierra Leone over illicit diamonds. People can stop this by purchasing legitimate and conflict free diamonds.

As the UN website says, war is the price of peace and the countries like Angola and Sierra Leone have already paid too much. We should let them live a better life. Diamonds are forever, but lives are not!

Tragedy at Virgina Tech 4-16-2007

"No society that feeds its children on tales of succesful violence can expect them not to believe that violence in the end is rewarded" - Margaret Mead.

Cho Seung-hui, a 23-year-old South Korean and resident alien, pointlessly ended the lives of 32 innocent people at Virginia Tech. The death toll makes it the deadliest shooting in U.S. history. I recently watched the hideous footage of the Columbine High School massacre which occured on another April afternoon eight years ago. A coupleof teenage students carried out a similar shooting rampage ending the lives of 13 people. In both the incidents, the shooters committed suicide. The main motivation of the killers is very unclear. They are very disturbed people who developed hatred towards other students due to various personal reasons.

Of all the settings where a gunman might walk into a building and attack innocent people, you naively assume that a college campus would rank near the bottom of the list. It's just shocking that one insane person can causeso many senseless deaths and have an impact like this which lasts forever. As President Bush said, "Schools should be places of safety and sanctuary and learning. When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every Americanclassroom and every American community ". Whenever I used think of to Virginia Tech, their excellent Engineering program and the Football team comes to mind. Now, sadly, after this tragedy, Virgina Tech is remembered forever for these shootings.

As colleges and universities learned on Monday, it often takes a tragedy to expose just how many weaknesses there are in the system. A society that feels the need to arm itself with lethal weapons for protection from society, is no society at all. It's all about fear. The obvious comment is sadly true - that a country that refuses politically to accept gun control is bound to experience more of such awful and frightening events. The right to bear arms in America is seen as an important civil liberty, and the debate concerns how far to impose restrictions on that right. I feel that US should have tighter gun control laws.

The debate can wait for a while. I really liked the professor/poet Nikki Giovanni's stirring Convocation address at VirginiaTech yesterday. Here is an excerpt:

"We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through
all our sadness ... We are the Hokies ... "

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who was affected by this tragedy!!

Mount Washington

Mount Washington is located in the white mountians in the state of New Hampshire and it is the highest peak in the northeastern U.S. What makes this mountain so interesting is the fact that it is the home of the world's worst weather. Notorious for its frequent bad weather conditions, Mount Washington's climate can rival that of Antarctica. Convergence of several storm tracks and location are the main reasons for it's erratic weather. The mountain summit is the site of a non-profit scientific observatory. I was amazed to know the weather records at the summit. Winds exceeding hurricane force occur on an average of 110 days per year and the summit also retains the world record for wind speed, 231 MPH.

The weather on the summit can go from sunny and calm to foggy and rainy in a matter of minutes. You can hike, bike, drive or take the cog train to the summit. Many people visit the summit every year to experience not only the weather there, but also the journey to the summit itself. I wanted to hike this mountain, but due to lack of time, I ended up taking the auto road. It was quite an adventure. The auto road opens for a short time every summer and the entry is dependent on weather conditions on the summit. Most of the days, the weather is horrible and so the road is always closed. I got lucky on my third attempt.It was 85 °F and I did't bother to carry my jacket. Wrong move!! The mostly-paved road ascends almost a mile in elevation to the 6288' summit at an average gradient of 12%. The drive on the Mount Washington Auto Road is a drive unlike any other and itself is worth the trip. The fog grows as you keep driving and soon beautiful vistas, blue mountains and un-obstructed views will greet you. The summit was cold with a temperature of 50 °F. I was shocked at the difference in temperature between the base and the summit. The summit is called 'City Among the Clouds'. You find the observatory, cog railway station and couple of other buildings there. In the observatory, they have these chilling photos and videos of the winter life at summit. I spent couple of hours at the observatory, listening to the 'The Story of the World Record Wind'. Then, the weather started to turn bad and it was time to head to the base.

A trip to Mount Washington is an unforgettable experience. I was one of the many who went there to experience the weather, grand views, and sheer thrill of ascending Mount Washington. You see a bumper sticker saying “This Car Climbed Mt. Washington” on most cars in New England. I never used to understand what's the big deal in driving to the top of a mountain. I guess now, after taking the auto road and driving myself, I know why people brag about driving up a hill. It is infact, quite an adventure!!