Blood Diamond

[Testsubject]

If anyone wants to watch a good movie, watch this one. This movie really lets you know how ****ed up Africa really is, and the stuff thats going on over there with the militia groups is just a disaster. Great movie.

[Snrf]

my friend recommended making my gf watch Blood Diamond to ensure she never wanted another diamond. I was like "dude, you do not know chicks..half of them wouldn't care if their diamonds came with a dead african attached"...lol.

true though

[audis4]

ya, I just saw this last night, pretty good/sad.

[JDMSilviaSpecR]

Is it out on DVD yet?

[Testsubject]

Is it out on DVD yet?

.........Yes

[Testsubject]

ya, I just saw this last night, pretty good/sad.

Ya, it is sad, its an eye opener for sure.

[Random]

ill have to check that out, my bud just recommended that to me too..the preview looked good...

[Rye_guy]

I have yet to see this, however it was on my list of movies to steal off the internet and burn.

[Receiver84]

my friend recommended making my gf watch Blood Diamond to ensure she never wanted another diamond. I was like "dude, you do not know chicks..half of them wouldn't care if their diamonds came with a dead african attached"...lol.

true though

Funny sh!t!!!!

[ChiTownTommy]

yea it is a great movie

[firmechicano831]

Thank you for lettting us know. I will take a look at it.

[Testsubject]

you do not know chicks..half of them wouldn't care if their diamonds came with a dead african attached"...lol.

true though

Scandalous!!

[LawMan018]

One of the better movies I've seen lately, almost shed a tear on how sad it was... Very moving movie...

[DNoMac]

Agreed, saw it a few weeks ago. The black dude from Gladiator is a great actor. Leo aint' bad either

[Tock]

Ya, and our very own TV evangelist, Pat Robertson, has been in the middle of the action, making a buck while supporting brutal African dictators. Sad to see creeps like this begging for $$$ while they're supporting evil dictators . . .

From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Rob...se_controversy

Charles Taylor, gold, diamonds and racehorse controversy
Robertson repeatedly supported former President of Liberia Charles Taylor in various episodes of his 700 Club program during the United States' involvement in the Liberian Civil War in June and July of 2003. Robertson accuses the U.S. State Department of giving President Bush bad advice in supporting Taylor's ouster as president, and of trying "as hard as they can to destabilize Liberia."[21]

Robertson was criticized for failing to mention in his broadcasts his $8,000,000 (USD) investment in a Liberian gold mine.[22] Taylor had been indicted by the United Nations for war crimes at the time of Robertson's support.

Prosecutors also said that Taylor had harbored members of Al Qaeda responsible for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. According to Robertson, the Liberian gold mine Freedom Gold was intended to help pay for humanitarian and evangelical efforts in Liberia, when in fact the company was allowed to fail leaving many debts both in Liberia and in the international mining service sector. Regarding this controversy, Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's public policy said, "I would say that Pat Robertson is way out on his own, in a leaking life raft, on this one."[23]

Robertson has also been accused of using his tax-exempt, nonprofit organization, Operation Blessing, as a front for his own financial gain, and then using his influence in the Republican Party to cover his tracks. After making emotional pleas in 1994 on The 700 Club for cash donations to Operation Blessing to support airlifts of refugees from Rwanda to Zaire, it was later discovered, by a reporter from The Virginian-Pilot, that Operation Blessing's planes were transporting diamond-mining equipment for the Robertson-owned African Development Corporation, a venture Robertson had established in cooperation with Zaire's dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, whom Robertson had befriended earlier in 1993. According to Operation Blessing documents, Robertson personally owned the planes used for Operation Blessing airlifts.

In 1993, Mobutu was denied a visa by the U.S. State Department after he sought to visit Washington, D.C. Shortly after this, Robertson tried to get the State Department to lift its ban on the African leader.

An investigation by the Commonwealth of Virginia's Office of Consumer Affairs determined that Robertson "willfully induced contributions from the public through the use of misleading statements and other implications" and called for a criminal prosecution against Robertson in 1999. However, Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley, a Republican whose largest campaign contributor two years earlier was Robertson himself, intervened, accepting that Robertson had made deceptive appeals but overruling the recommendation for his prosecution.[24] No charges were ever brought against Robertson. "Two years earlier, while Virginia's investigation was gathering steam, Robertson donated $35,000 to Earley's campaign--Earley's largest contribution."
---------------------------------


A bunch of Baptists report on Robertson's African Development Corporation & other curious stuff:

http://www.baptistpillar.com/bd0043.htm

Pat Robertson And Diamonds

Televangelist Robertson's Humanitarian Planes Used For Diamond Mining Firm

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) -Airplanes sent to Zaire by evangelist Pat Robertson's tax- exempt humanitarian organization were used almost exclusively for his diamond mining business, say two pilots who flew them.

Three airplanes were flown to Zaire in September 1994 by Operation Blessing. However, chief pilot Robert Hinkle said only one or two of the roughly 40 flights during his six months in the country could be considered humanitarian. All the rest of the flights were mining-related, he told The (Norfolk) Virginia-Pilot.

Robertson's spokesman first denied the accounts by Hinkle and a co-pilot, Tahir Brohi of England. Later, Gene Kapp, vice president for public relations at Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network, said the planes turned out to be unsuitable for medical relief and that Robertson reimbursed Operation Blessing for their use.

"Without Mr. Robertson's generous overture, Operation Blessing would have incurred further expenses with its aircraft," he said.

Robertson refused to be interviewed directly, the newspaper said in Sunday's editions. Calls to his office on Sunday were not answered.

Hinkle, from Chandler, Ariz., said he had assumed the flights would be for humanitarian work.

"We hauled medical supplies one time," Hinkle said in a telephone interview. "It might have been about 500 pounds at the most. It was a very minimal amount." The planes were capable of carrying about 7,000 pounds, he said.

Notes that Hinkle kept during most of the flights contain entries for 36 flights, the newspaper said. Of the 17 that mention the purpose of the trip, 15 are related to diamond mining.

Robertson's company, African Development Co., based in the Zairian capital of Kinshasa, sought to dredge diamonds from a remote jungle riverbed. Robertson is the president and sole shareholder of the company.

The company ended up losing millions of dollars, and is now the center of a lawsuit in which Robertson is trying to recoup some of his losses from a mining equipment manufacturer.

Zaire was a hot topic on "The 700 Club," Robertson's daily religious TV show, with regular reports in in 1994 on the work done by six Operation Blessing volunteer medical teams sent to help refugees from Rwanda.

During one broadcast in December 1994 Robertson showed snapshots taken on a trip to Zaire. The newspaper said Robertson didn't tell viewers the airstrip was built so planes could bring in mining equipment.

--Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 4-28-97



Also, these pregnant comments from
http://www.skeptictank.org/robem2.htm

One of Pat Robertson's Latest Frauds


OFFICIALS MUM ON ROBERTSON DIAMOND MINE OPERATION PROBE

A yearlong investigation of televangelist Pat Robertson's activities in Africa is now over, but state officials are sitting on the final report pending a review by attorneys, reports the Virginian-Pilot newspaper. The probe focused on possible inappropriate activities involving Robertson's Operation Blessing outreach, and a private corporation he operated known as the African Development Co. Based in Zaire, the firm was established by Robertson during the rule of the late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. The two men established close ties, and Mobutu wined and dined Robertson during one visit to the country; ADC also received vast forestry and mineral concessions, but the diamond mining operation eventually went bankrupt. Mobutu, after a quarter-century of iron fisted rule, died last year in exile from cancer. He left Zaire bankrupt and impoverished, and since 1994 had even been considered persona non grata in the United States.

In April, 1997 two pilots who worked for Operation Blessing charged that planes linked to Robertson and his ministry flew mostly to haul equipment for ADC's private diamond operation. Robert Hinkle, the chief pilot told reporter Bill Sizemore that of about 40 flights within Zaire during the half-year period he was there, "Only one or at most two" were related to the humanitarian mission of Operation Blessing. The rest were "mining-related."

"We got over there and we had 'Operation Blessing' painted on the tails of the airplanes, Hinkle told the Virginian-Pilot, "but we were doing no humanitarian relief at all. We were just supplying the miners and flying the dredges from Kinshasa out to Tdshikapa."

If so, that activity could jeopardize Operation Blessing's special tax exempt status. It also highlights Robertson's network of projects and corporations mixing religion, politics and private business.

The story in the Pilot prompted complaints by Virginia State Senator Janet Howell (D-Reston) and an investigation by the Virginia Office of Consumer Affairs. At issue is Operation Blessings charity exemption from the 4.5% retail sales tax, as well as a break from the 3% motor vehicle tax and the 2% aircraft sales tax.

Conflict of Interest?

Another aspect of the Robertson probe is the role of Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley, and Governor Jim Gilmore. Both men received campaign contributions from Robertson during the 1997 statewide elections; in addition, Robertson was a member of Gilmore's transition-advisory team. Earley received $35,000 from Mr. Robertson, and Gilmore $50,000. Contributions to the Gilmore campaign from other associates of Robertson also attracted public concern.

According to the Pilot newspaper, the Attorney General's office is keeping the report on Robertson and Operation blessing sealed, insisting that while the investigation is over the contents still remain as "working paper" which are shielded by attorney-client privileges. Sen. Howell, expressing irritation by the continued secrecy, said that the investigatory process has dragged on "long enough," and noted that the tax exemption status for Operation Blessing is up for renewal again next year. "We need to have the facts," Howell added.

Another official, State delegate Barnie K. Day said that the "working papers" seal being used by the Attorney General was a ploy widely employed in Virginia. "There's nothing that says you can't be open," said Day, adding that the present laws permit "officials (to) hide things if they want to, but people who want to be open can still do it." The Pilot added that Del. Day suggested that the Attorney General should make public the results of the Operation Blessing investigation "to avoid any suggestion of favoritism toward Robertson."

Unanswered Questions: Evangelism or Just Doing Business?

Robertson was President and sole stock holder of African Development Co. which was chartered in Bermuda (a center for offshore banking-corporate activity) in June, 1992. In the summer and early fall of 1994, Robertson began soliciting support for the Operation Blessing outreach in Africa on his Christian Broadcasting Network, and eventually dispatched six volunteer teams of medical personnel to treat refugees from Rwanda. Donations were asked from viewers in order to fund a "Flying Hospital" plane.

In August, 1996, the Operation Blessing ministry purchased three DeHaviland Caribou planes. The ministry retained ownership of two of the cargo transports, while a third was transferred to another Robertson corporation known as Africa Air. What happened next has prompted considerable speculation. A month after purchasing the airplanes, all three (painted with the Operation Blessing name) were flown to Zaire, and reportedly put up for sale. From September, 1994 until February, 1995, the three planes were allegedly then used mostly in in-country flights ferrying mining equipment and support materials used by African Development Corp. According to the chief pilot, only two flights were related to any humanitarian enterprise; they consisted of a medicine delivery, and retrieval of stranded missionaries.

In October, 1994, Operation Blessing purchased a Lockheed L-1011 and began outfitting that plane as its "flying hospital." But the two Caribou planes, unsold and still linked to Operation Blessing, reportedly continued working mostly on behalf of ADC.

What was going on during this time period with Robertson and Mobutu? The African strongman had been in charge since 1964 when, with the help of the Central Intelligence Agency, he emerged successfully in the civil war which had torn apart the nation, formerly Republic of the Congo. In 1971, Mobutu renamed the country Zaire, and turned it into a base of operations for efforts to fuel the civil war in neighboring Angola. He quickly developed a reputation for ruthlessness and megalomania, renaming himself Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku wa za Banga, "the all-powerful warrior who, because of his enduring and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake." For twenty years, his domestic policy outraged human rights advocates, and by 1993 his shoddy record resulted in the withdrawal of economic assistance from France, Belgium and even the U.S. In 1994, the U.S. Department of State charged that Mobutu was behind massive violations of human rights including torture, murder, censorship and religious persecution.

During this time, Mobutu also systematically drained Zaire of its money and natural resources, embezzling up to $6 billion dollars which he transferred to accounts in Switzerland and Belgium. In one year alone according to the World Bank, $400 million-- a quarter of the nation's entire export revenues -- mysteriously vanished off the books of the government run mining conglomerate. Mobutu was even dubbed the "President of Kleptocracy" for his thieving and predatory manners.

That didn't stop Robertson, though, from either defending the dictator or seeking financial gain in Zaire. Robertson continually tried to portray Mobutu as a loyal US ally in the war against international communism. He also emerged as Mobutu's close friend, and probably his most valuable asset in a deceptive campaign to maintain his stature with some ruling circles in the United States. Robertson was wined-and-dined by Mobutu on the dictator's presidential yacht, and entertained at one of his lavish estates. Robertson received extensive lumber and mining concessions along the upper Zaire River. He also operated a 50,000 acre farm outside of the capital city, Kinshasa.

Even with this, African Development Corp. lost money and had to be shut down. Robertson nonetheless maintained close ties with Mobutu, orchestrating a public relations effort in the United States to rehabilitate the dictator's image and obtain a Visa permit. In 1996, as rebels under the command of Laurent Kabila were closing in on Mobutu's last strongholds, Robertson reportedly dispatched a personal representative "offering his assistance and cooperation," according to the Pilot.

Robertson: Mobutu Groupie, "Schmoozing With Dictators"

This latest probe into Robertson's blending of politics, evangelism and business should also call into the question the televangelist's newly found commitment to human rights, especially as an ardent spokesperson for the Freedom From Religious Persecution Act.

Robertson has been using his "700 Club" program to constantly hit what he terms "religious persecution of Christians," particularly in Islamic countries -- an obstacle to his goal of a vast, worldwide evangelism effort by the year 2000. And Robertson's Christian Coalition has been an adamant supporter of FFRPA on Capitol Hill as well.

But does his enthusiastic boosting of FFRPA translate into a general commitment for human rights? Critics say no, especially in light of Robertson's close relationship in Africa, Asia and elsewhere with despotic ruling elites and dictators like Mobutu Sese Seko. It seems that, at least in Zaire, the lure of diamonds outshone the prospect of supporting human rights and political democracy.

**

[Testsubject]

Agreed, saw it a few weeks ago. The black dude from Gladiator is a great actor. Leo aint' bad either

I cant stand DiCaprio, but he did a really good job in this movie, I dont think there would have been a better guy for the part.