Wack

[andika]

Ha Ha. Sometimes I lose my faith and trust in religious conservatives to be simultaneously mercenary, evil, and vulture-like without a hint of irony, but luckily I always hear something that puts me back on track. Tonight I've been doing a little research for a piece about the regulation of conflict diamonds (or to be more dramatic, blood diamonds

Comments

[afterglowey]

Fascinating! I knew very little about Liberia until I read a fiction book by Russell Banks called The Darling, but it definitely spiked my interest, considering Taylor is a main character in it.

[andika]

I looked it up -- it sounds interesting, maybe I'll put it on my list! Did you like it?
The report I mentioned also talked about Graham Greene's 1948 novel, 'Heart of the Matter' which is a detective story based on diamond smuggling in Sierra Leone (it was already a big problem then -- he was posted there during World War II), and a travel memoir (according to Wikipedia quite sketchy) in the late 30s ('Journey without Maps') about a trek through Liberia, which mentions the early mineral explorers there.

[afterglowey]

I did love it! But I lent it to a friend who didn't...

[opheliathemuse]

Dear god.

[andika]

I know -- that's all I can really say too.

[danadocus]

heh, i love your sense of humour in the face of it all. while i do know christians who i greatly respect, it seems like war is one of the guiding principles of some brand of christianity.

[andika]

The religious people I know who are good and who I respect all seem as though that is independent of their faith - they would be as good and decent whether or not they were religious.

Whereas many people high up in Xtian and Islamic religious hierarchies appear (to me at least) to use doctrine to consolidate their power more. Opportunistically.

[danadocus]

yes. well said.