history of blood diamonds
The
Awful Truth About Blood Diamonds Revealed By Author Janine Roberts
Delves into the horrors of diamond mining. Extremely timely book to
coincide with the release of the Leonardo DiCaprio film Blood Diamond.
New York, NY (found at PRWEB
) February 20, 2007 -- The mining industry, led by De Beers, fears that the
Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Blood Diamond will spoil the romantic excitement of
diamond rings. It's estimated that the World Diamond Council spent over fifteen
million dollars for a spin campaign aimed at lessening the film's impact. One of
the efforts touted in the campaign is the US Clean Diamond Trade Act and the
Kimberley Process, provisions that are supposed to ensure the elimination of
blood diamonds and guarantee that the diamonds we buy are morally clean. Yet,
the US General Accounting Office reported in September 2006 that these
guarantees are worthless illusions. There are no verifiable checks done on most
diamonds.
Janine Roberts, journalist and human rights activist, has been researching and
writing on De Beers and the history of blood diamonds trade for over twenty
years, and this explosive book reveals the very secret and unromantic world of
the diamond industry, one that is dominated and controlled by a handful of
mighty corporations. Glitter & Greed (April 2007, ISBN: 1-932857-60-5,
$15.95), just out in paperback with new information about the dangerous and
deadly mining conditions faced by diamond miners, is the most expansive and
explosive expose ever on diamonds.
In addition to some startling revelations about the history of blood diamonds
industry that have come to light in the last few years, Roberts reveals
unsettling news about the dangers of diamond mining that the major diamond
corporations don't want you to know. While these companies tout their compliance
with the US Clean Diamond Trade Act and the Kimberley Process as proof they no
longer selling tainted gems, Roberts presents evidence exposing the complicity
of diamond industry leaders who have chosen profits over principles. They claim
they no longer deal in diamonds used to fund wars-but this is not the only way
to create blood diamonds. De Beers produces millions of them by mining its
diamonds in a cut-rate way that wrecks the lungs of the men in its mines,
causing incurable misery and death.
The Clean Diamond Trade Act and the Kimberley Process does nothing to protect
the diamond mineworkers of South Africa from dangerous working conditions not
permitted in other mines. The book provides powerful evidence that De Beers'
mines are often filled with a deadly dust that cuts and scars the lungs of its
mineworkers, which could easily be removed if De Beers employed normal
dust-suppression methods. De Beers currently holds a legal exemption in South
Africa from the mandatory dust suppression method of spraying water when
drilling, on the grounds that the dust in its mines is uniquely harmless.
Glitter & Greed is the book that De Beers and the Oppenheimer family-who
control the cartel-did not want, that its top people tried to stop. If you have
ever wondered what tales might lie behind the glitter of a diamond ring, read
this account of the most international media investigation ever launched.
About the Author - Janine Roberts
Janine Roberts has been investigating the history of blood diamonds business for
more than 23 years, during which time she has led numerous newspaper
investigations and produced several documentary films, including The Diamond
Empire, which led to her invitation to testify before the United States
Congress. She was also a principal speaker at the first post-apartheid
conference of Southern African diamond mineworkers.
About The Disinformation Company:
Based in New York, The Disinformation Company (www.disinfo.com)
is active in book publishing, film/DVD distribution and other home
entertainment. Recent book releases include Jim Marrs' The Terror Conspiracy,
Graham Hancock's Supernatural, Circle of Six, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low
Price, and Everything You Know Is Wrong. Disinformation books are distributed to
the trade by Consortium Book Sales & Distribution (www.cbsd.com).
About the Book:
GLITTER
& GREED
April 2007 -The Disinformation Company
408 pages
ISBN 1-932857-60-5
Trade Paperback
$15.95
