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RSS FeedMandela to defend De Beers from bad "Blood"
The international diamond industry must be getting pretty nervous about “The Blood Diamond.”
Word is that Sitrick and Company, Tinseltown’s top spinmeisters, have been hired by De Beers, the world's largest supplier of rough diamonds, to deflect the negative image of their industry portrayed in the upcoming film which stars Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio (“The Aviator”), Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly (“A Beautiful Mind”) and Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou (“In America”).
“Diamond,” produced by Ed Zwick, will not be released until Jan 12, 2007. It’s the wrenching story of two South Africans, a mercenary (DiCaprio) and a fisherman (Hounsou) during the savage ‘90s Sierra Leone civil wars when rebels seized mines to sell “conflict” or “blood diamonds” to buy arms, murdering and mutilating (hand/arm amputation was a popular rebel sport) thousands of innocent men, women and children.
So guess who Sitrick plans to trot out to help stop the bad bling publicity?
None other than South Africa’s activist and first post-apartheid president Nelson Mandela.
“Mandela is going to say that all that stuff seen in the film is in the past, that there are no more conflict diamonds in circulation and that the diamond industry is economically good for South Africa,” a smiling inside source revealed. “And who in their right mind is going to argue with Nelson Mandela?"
Who indeed.
But “Blood Diamond” will be one of those “important issue" awards season frontrunners. Diamonds used to fund wars and fuel massive slaughters is pretty nasty stuff. Imagine what this negative buzz could do to the bling quotient on the 2007 awards season red carpets.
The Academy/Globe consideration screenings in November may start the bad press that could hurt December diamond sales, not to mention Valentine's Day.
As far back as September 2005, De Beers’ honcho Jonathan Oppenheimer warned an industry convention that the movie was likely to attract a huge audience. "Can you imagine its impact on the Christmas-buying audience in America if the message is not carried through that this (conflict diamonds) is something of the past, that this is something that has been managed and taken care of?"
But it shouldn’t be a shock that Mandela would take the diamond dudes side. After De Beers chairman Harry Oppenheimer's death in 2000, Mandela recognized his support for democratic and philanthropic causes in a Time magazine obit, hailing him as "monumentally instrumental in helping our country become the economic leader it is today."
Gosh, who can argue with that?
Photo Credit: Nelson Mandela - seen at the 46664 HIV/AIDS Awareness Concert in 2005 - may show up in Hollywood to help De Beers fight any bad publicity due to "The Blood Diamond."
WireImage/Shayne Robinson
please you guys give up ok
Posted by: Mugu Maga | July 08, 2006 at 11:08 AM
pliz read my article on the similar isuue ie Mbeki is once again wrong
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Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 07:23:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: "elijah kimemia" View Contact Details View Contact Details Add Mobile Alert
Subject: Fwd: letters to the editor.(responce to letter sent earlier that wasnt printed). (Mbeki`s fallacy)
To: africa-oped@yahoogroups.com
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Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 08:09:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: "elijah kimemia"
Subject: Fwd: letters to the editor.(responce to letter sent earlier that wasnt printed). (Mbeki`s fallacy)
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Hi. Just forgot to include my address and contact in the email I just sent my name is Elijah kimemia, P.O. Box 2130,Eldoret. Phone 0720448749,0532030072
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Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 07:33:16 -0700 (PDT)
From: "elijah kimemia"
Subject: letters to the editor.(responce to letter sent earlier that wasnt printed). (Mbeki`s fallacy)
To: mailbox@nation.co.ke, "watchman@nation.co.ke" , "jkisero@nation.co.ke" , "ahmedkeb@yahoo.com" , "corporates@africaonline.co.ke" , "girungu@nation.co.ke" , "isaacngaru9@hotmail.com" , "james@irenkenya.org" , "kamulegeya@ke.pwc.com" , "kategetao@yahoo.com" , "kwamtesi@email.com" , "loriang@nation.co.ke" , "mclay@nation.co.ke" , "mgaitho@nation.co.ke" , "mukoma@ogilvy.co.ke"
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this is a rejoinder to a letter that isent to u early last year. seem that prediction are more true now than before.
Once again President Mbeki is Wrong.
Just like the hypothesis put forward by Mbeki about the cause of aids, their seems to be fallacy about his ideas on trade of gold. The idea put forward by Mbeki is based on the wrong premises. He seems to base his idea on the household budget, which states that one should not spend more than he actually saves. This is quite contrary to the idea of the paradox of thrift put forward by classical economist and is actually what seemed to have worked during the great depression.
According to the economist Richard lipsey, the more spendthrift households are the higher the level of national income and employment will be. Thus the idea that Mbeki is putting forward that the release of international Monetary fund gold reserves would cause a crash in price of gold in world market is a fallacy. Though he has concerns of his county at hand. The reverse may actually take place. Which is increased trade in gold. There will also be an increase in propensity to consume and spend brought about by the multiplier effect of economic growth worldwide.
Given that Africa accounts for less than four percent of world trade. It would be wise for us to have our debts cancelled with the above fund so that we can have increased trade with developed nations. On the other hand an increase greater still will be in the consumer use of information technology, which in itself will increase efficiency. But better still this products use gold as their raw materials i.e. microchips.
Before you put me off as an ambitious rookie economist, consider what has happened to oil in the recent decade. Due to the emergence of other economies in the Far East the oil prices have been going up, this is despite the discovery of new oil fields in West Africa and Sudan. Thus contrary to Mbeki idea the prices of gold might just shoot up if the price of oil is anything to go by. Thus though the Gold standard is not with us, there will be an increase in demand by both western government and the rest of the world to meet their demand for gold reserves.
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Posted by: kimemia elijah waweu nganga | June 22, 2006 at 09:43 AM
A few stories from behind the scenes on location in Mozambique and South Africa with the film, The Blood Diamond, can be found on www.diamond-key.com. [The photography credits Djimon Hounsou and Simon, on the left, and Charl Beukes and Simon, on the right, on the home page should be attributed to David McGregor, and are the Intellectual Property of the Amputee Club of South Africa.]
The Blood Diamond is an important film. On the surface, in the reel world, it is a romantic adventure film (set in Sierra Leone in the 1990s); but, behind the scenes it is a social commentary on a number of subjects that are very important in the real world that we live in today.
The film is only one of a number of non-fiction books (Tom Zoellner’s The Heartless Stone); novels (Jon Lamb’s Blood Diamonds); documentaries about children (Stolen Childhoods); documentaries about women (Zulu Love Affairs by Emmanuelle Bidou); and major Hollywood films (Syriana and The Constant Gardener) that have tackled western business for exploiting the African continent for profit and control of natural resources.
But the question has to be asked why it is so different with reference to the diamond industry and the reaction of the representatives of the industry to a film that is yet to be released. www.diamond-key.com/companies/
Starting with the accuracy of this comment about Nelson Mandela’s coming to the defense of De Beers: “The diamond industry is vital to the Southern African economy.”
This is a statement that De Beers allegedly would like to have added to the end title of the film; however, it was said in 1999 in support of initiatives to bring an end to the trade in conflict diamonds. It is not clear if Mandela was even asked or would be amenable to this being used at the present time in a different context.
On the other hand, the film industry has many who endorse its endeavors.
www.diamond-key.com/diamonds
1] Films are a powerful and evocative tool for fostering understanding and tolerance in the world." - Nelson Mandela 2] The ability of films to communicate crucial information, about land mines and other hazards, can also save lives…a community spirit flourishes where thousands assemble to watch a film." - Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations 3] Films have become as essential as water and food - Kofi Mable, Head of Kakuma sub-Office, UNHCR 4] Education helps preserve a reassuring stability in the lives of these children…And film can help foster one of childhood's most precious assets - imagination. - Carol Bellamy, Executive Director, UNICEF 5] For those who have suffered human catastrophe and lost almost everything, the capacity to imagine a better future is essential for mental well-being. Movies can provide a way to escape a narrow, painful daily existence. - Sarah Sheldon, Doctors of the World
Posted by: Muchnick | June 22, 2006 at 08:54 AM
Anyone have any recent articles about conflict diamonds?
Posted by: skeptical | June 22, 2006 at 07:37 AM
Fairtrade diamonds from Canada can be purchased in the US.
http://securityjewelers.com/canadia.html
Posted by: jay seiler | June 22, 2006 at 05:59 AM
Jim Bobb, Mary Bennett et al
your ignorance is astounding. Mandela was convicted for destroying POWER LINES and for organising a strike in the face of a regime that slaughtered 500 school students in one spree and imprisoned, tortured and murdered so many more in order to maintain their undemocratic, racist and fundamentally unjust domination.
Posted by: Dave | June 21, 2006 at 10:29 PM
i found all the comments on this interesting. what good are diamonds, really? good record player needles? nice engagement rings? apart from their shiny appearance, they don't do me any good in normal life. plus, it's all a fake demand that makes them so expensive. be beers has been scared for years about the massive diamond deposits found in russia, and the huge find of diamond fields in canada......and those diamonds are even better than the south african ones. why should i have to buy a diamond for some girl who's gonna marry me later anyways? maybe i should buy her something useful with that money instead, like put a $3,000 dollar down payment on a car....or a new bedroom suite, or start a fund for our kid's college. it's 2006 folks...giving a girl a diamond to ask her to marry you is nothing more than paying her to do it. will she not marry you if you don't spend money on her? what does that say about her? what does it say about you....reduced to buying a wife. what a pitiful thing to be.
Posted by: mike patterson | June 21, 2006 at 08:32 PM
The criticisms of Mandela on this board are ridiculous. Using the fact that he was in jail as some sort of reason for not seeing him as a moral and honorable man is ludicrous. He was in jail and he was a "terrorist" because he fought those who had a monopoly over the legitimate use of force in South Africa. That happened to be the APARTHEID GOVERNMENT which forced the majority of their people off their land and shackled them into economic slavery. He was arrested fighting for the freedom of the majority of South Africans and, yes, he was in jail. He was that committed and convinced of what he was doing was right. Those on the board who question Mandela's moral legitimacy (or are ignorant enough to suggest that his backing has less weight than some asinine American politician) need to do some research.
Posted by: nathaniel | June 21, 2006 at 08:19 PM
Checkout http://gemesis.com/retail.cfm and http://apollodiamond.com/ for the latest in man made "cultured" diamonds chemically indistiguishable from mined diamonds grown one atom at a time in the lab, using vapor deposition technology. These companies are marketing jewel quality diamonds to finance the development of diamond microchip technology essential in overcoming the next hurdle on computers imposed by Moore's law. DeBeers is so scared that they have started a "natural" diamond campaign to discredit the diamond growers and are providing expensive and sophisticated kits to their affiliated gemologists to help identify "cultured" diamonds. These are not cubic zirconia, they are actually perfect diamond crystals and that is usually what gives them away. They use a "natural" diamond chip and using intense heat and a Carbon rich gas they precipitate diamond atoms right onto the starter chip.Amazing!
Posted by: J Colon | June 21, 2006 at 08:19 PM
The funny thing about Diamonds is that they are not at all rare gems. There are many other gems far more rare than the Diamond. It was De Beers clever marketing ("Diamonds are a girls best friend"), ("Diamonds are forever"), along with holiday campaigns, that propelled Diamonds to their current status. Gotta love capitalism. Someday I hope to present my wife a sandstone, neatly carved in the shape of a small puppy.
Posted by: Lee | June 21, 2006 at 08:18 PM
When I was around 12 years old -in 1976-I remember seeing an image in National Geographic of a group of diamond mine workers somewhere in Africa sitting around a table sorting diamonds. Behind each worker was an armed guard pointing a rifle at each worker's head. The article further explained that when the workers went to the bathroom their feces were checked in cased the worker had managed to swallow any diamonds in an attempt to smuggle them to the black market.
From that day I never wanted a diamond engagement ring. It upset me that these men had to work under such conditions for something that seemed so superfluous.
To this day I want to choke whenever I see a DeBeers ad on TV. I esp. love the ones for the
3 diamond anniversary ring-"to show her you'd marry her all over again"-because -you know the first diamond you gave her when you asked her to marry you the first time doesn't mean anything anymore-and we at DeBeers need to convince you to buy more of our overinflated gems. Aghhh!
Whatever happened to the idea that the wedding bands themselves are really the most important symbol-not the engagement ring and not the 3 diamond anniversary band?
What finger do you wear the 3 diamond anniv. band on? And do you just throw out the engagement ring at that point?
Mandela's involvement in this is sad.
Posted by: Theresa | June 21, 2006 at 07:48 PM
Mandela is a murdering pig. How dare he lecture anyone in this country about civil rights. This thug killed innocent women and children and should still be in jail.
Posted by: Jack Long | June 21, 2006 at 07:38 PM
Mr. Mandela is just another relic of a bygone age, when violent revolutionaries were adulated regardless of what they did. Mr. Mandela is an unrepentant murderer, who was imprisoned, but whose wife continued necklacing and other brutal practices. He was given cachet by romantics who fantasize that the acts these people commit are harmless, as if someone can press a reset button, and the dead will rise for a replay.
Now that "the victories" are celebrated, Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) and the Union of South Africa are basket cases, whose situations belie any reasons for celebration of Mr. Mandela's achievements.
Mr. Mandela is just another old power hungry scalawag, who succeeded beyond his wildest dreams in becoming infamous to the detriment of all whom he purported to "help." But people with arrested juveniile mentalities will heed this "hero."
I don't know what DeBeers is paying him. But apparently he has shown more deference to protocol than the practitioners of shakedown in the U.S., who demand payoffs so that they will not cause disruption. It's getting old. This is a fitting conclusion to the "legacy" of Mr. Mandela. Love it makes the world go round, but money greases the wheels. Mr. Mandela will demonstrate that thesis for us.
Posted by: Harry Waller | June 21, 2006 at 07:29 PM
Blood diamonds? No problem, Comrade Mandela will pocket his blood money and make it all better.
Then Oprah will do an "extra special" Christmas Special to showcase the humanity of this little monster who should have rotted in prison along with his murderous "Lady Mandela."
Posted by: Wyatt Wingfoot | June 21, 2006 at 07:13 PM
Wow. There is no Soul in Nelson Mandela. My faith in him has been shattered. To try to convince us that blood diamnds no longer exsit ? A diamond last forever, but your Soul lastes only as long as people believe in you.
I feel sorry for you Nelson.
Tyrone
Posted by: Tyrone Johnson | June 21, 2006 at 07:05 PM
In reference to the people claiming that Mandela was a terrorist, let me make sure we understand what was going on. The South African government in the 1950'a and 1960's was brutally enforcing apartheid, running forced and slave labor camps, forcing people to move in the country, separating families, and carrying out arrests without warrants, imprisonment without trial, and summary executions. To say that Mandela had no right to violently respond to the government's terror and supression is equivalent to saying that Washington and Jefferson had no right to a violent revolution. As far as the woman who claimed that in 1962 Mandela was consorting with Libya, the PLO, and Iran, let me remind you that in those days Libya was a French protectorate, the PLO did not exist, and Iran was ruled by the shah. People really need to know what they're talking about before they spout off.
Posted by: Kirk M | June 21, 2006 at 07:00 PM
Wow, there are a lot of knowledgeable and intelligent posters on here! Too bad
98% of Americans don't know the truth about Mandela, thanks to the media giving the relentless impression that he's a beautiful hero.
As mentioned, the diamond industry is a total racket. Absolutely true. Also, I've heard the mining conditions are sub-human. I need to do some more research into that.
From what I've been told, absolutely nobody can tell the difference between a mined diamond and a man-made one with a naked eye. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong...
Posted by: Lou | June 21, 2006 at 06:56 PM
The comments are better than the story. I didn't know so many people were aware of Mr. Mandela's real history. His wife's statement about the matchbooks and "necklace" is far more emblematic of his record than anything since his release from prison. He is no more a hero than the dreaded Christophe in Haite, which "liberated' the island from the french.
But he was the Hero image put forward by the media and various governments while they were bringing down apartheid.
I'm not surprized de Beers would hire him, and I'm not surprized he would take the job.
Posted by: Randolph Phillips | June 21, 2006 at 06:47 PM
Mandela is a bloodthirsty butcherous murdering monster of women and children. It gives you some idea of just how sick the world we live in is that this guy is offered up as a secular saint by the media.
Posted by: Texas Arcane | June 21, 2006 at 06:26 PM
When asked about all the ANC's broken promises, Mandela replied, "Sometimes you have to lie to get the woman." Mandela and the ANC are lining their pockets and blaming the white South Afrikans while the hope of a nation withers.
Posted by: James | June 21, 2006 at 06:19 PM
Don't forget that a few years back DeBeers physically removed the Kung Tribesmen, who speak click language, were depicted in the movie "The Gods Must be Crazy" and have lived on the same land for 10,000 years, from their land in Botswana. When Iman, model and David Bowies wife, found out, she stopped representing DeBeers. The Kung Tribesman want to go back and now are suffering from alcoholism, poverty, and AIDS. They were an indegenous people that lived off the land just a few years ago, If they go back to hunt, they are jailed and beaten. Survival.org has tried to help them to no avail and their time is running out....all so thier land can be mined for diamonds.
Posted by: dejah thoris | June 21, 2006 at 06:19 PM
john papineau, I have an update for you. I sincerely doubt that Nelson Mandela continues his close friendship with Yasser Arafat. That ugly little terrorist has been in stable condition since November 11, 2004, when he assumed room temperature in the land of euro-weenie surrender-monkeys.
Posted by: ADStryker | June 21, 2006 at 05:45 PM
If you guys want blood free diamonds buy Canadian. No Candians were killed by war for these jems. Go to
http://www.aber.ca/aberflash.html
and see for yourself.
Posted by: Bunny | June 21, 2006 at 04:32 PM
Nelson Mandela, another killer-turned hero. Just like Che and all the other butchers that ignorant people have chosen to elevate to the status of popular hero. Ridiculous, yes, but commonplace. Mandela is just another old despot with blood on his hands and money on his mind. Let him preach to us about how good diamonds are. Do you think anyone, for even a second, cares whether or not they come from a bloody civil war? People will still buy engagement rings, anniversary gifts, and Rolex watches. Were it not diamonds funding genocide, it would be gasoline, rubber, wood, gold, slaves, or drugs. No one in the West cares where their pretty bauble came from and Nelson Mandela won't change that one way or another. De Beers may be blacklisted, but they still advertise and operate in the United States, not to mention control the vast majority of the world's diamond industry. Even the U.S. governement doesn't care enough to actually go after them. Nelson Mandela is full of hot air and an old windbag. Don't worry about him, or who pays him to talk for them, because no one is listening.
Posted by: Kevin | June 21, 2006 at 04:05 PM
One way I've dealt with the diamond issue is to buy simulants and my fav site is www.sonadiamondjewelry.com. They have lab-created diamonds that are gorgeous and no one had to lose a hand in the process! (I'm a customer only, not anyone asked to do this.) I'm just so happy with my bling, without the high financial and moral cost, that I had to share!
Posted by: Jo Wilson | June 21, 2006 at 03:43 PM