Blood Diamonds are basically diamonds that are used to Fund Conflicts & wars.

These diamonds mainly come from African Countries like the DRC, Sierra Leone and Mali.

The Rebel groups opposed to the Governments in the Diamond producing countries use this precious resource to buy weapons, food and medicine to further their cause.

The Kimberley Process which is a certification process was set implemented in November of 2003 to curb the trade in illicit Diamonds.

It was set up by players in the Diamond industry and NGOs who lobbied for Diamond producing countries to join it.

Read more on the Kimberley process!!!

Has the process worked thus far, mostly yes!!

There is still a flourishing Industry in Blood Diamonds with Countries like Sierra Leone reporting up to 20% of their Diamonds are smuggled out of their country.

Diamonds are small & have extremely high value making it easier for Greedy dealers to use gaps in the system & abuse it.

The main issue has been that the industry has been unable to police itself very effectively.

In Africa, there are issues of Corruption & coercion between dealers and government officials that aid in smuggling.

Now this is where I introduce a new train of thought!!!

Diamonds like Gold & platinum are not only a natural resource but commodities as well.

This is despite the fact that they are not openly traded on an Exchange e.g. the London Metal Exchange (LME) in the case of Gold & Platinum.

The small scale miners in the Diamond producing countries rely on these Diamonds as a source of income.

These same countries can NOT stop them from mining as the miners could even own the land the Diamonds are on.

In fact, most countries encourage the diamond mining as a means of creating wealth among the masses.

Problem is, most of the African Diamond producing countries don’t have the Resource & some the Will to regulate these small scale miners.

These miners are not very worried about who buys their stones.

As it is, they get ripped of during the sale as they normally don’t have a good idea about the world markets.

So unscrupulous diamond traders buy from them & smuggle them out.

Whom do you put the blame on?

I personally think it’s unfair to punish the small miner as he is trying to make a living & as much as you’d blame the dealers, they are in the Diamond business to make money.

Just as there are muggers in the streets who will take your money without pity, there are business people who have no ethics!!

The solution?

From my point of view, I propose that the Diamond producing countries with help from the International Diamond Council should add the “small” people to the Diamond Pipeline & make sure they get fair prices for their stones….sort of like what the Fresh produce industry did with Fair-Trade.

This will seal off quite a few of the holes in the Conflict Diamond industry.

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5. James Brown – The so-called ‘Godfather of Soul’ James Brown was subject to one of the most high profile DNA testing cases in recent history. The testing considered whether alleged children of the musician were in fact fathered by him, and a number of separate DNA paternity tests were processed in order to establish paternity. Of the 12 test submitted, only 2 have turned up to be positively identified as Brown’s offspring – one of which is now a 45-year old woman.

4. Eddie Murphy – Modern comedy legend Eddie Murphy was involved in a high profile DNA testing case which particularly attracted the media spotlight and filled glossy column inches. His test was to establish paternity of the daughter of Melanie Brown (a.k.a. Mel B) of Spice Girls fame during a separation process. It was determined, following the collection and processing of samples from the child, mother and alleged father, that Eddie Murphy was indeed the father of his ex-partner’s child.

3. Anna Nicole Smith – TV personality and model Anna Nicole Smith was thrust to the forefront of media scrutiny in her high-profile celebrity DNA testing case, where the paternity of her daughter was put to question. Initially, partner Howard K. Stern nominated himself as the likely father on national television, sparking the media storm surrounding the testing process - although DNA paternity testing methods ultimately proved ex-husband Larry Birkhead as the biological father of the child.

2. Marie Antoinette – French Queen and icon of history, Marie Antoinette was recently subject to advanced DNA sampling and testing techniques. DNA from a hair supposed to have been that of Antoinette was collected and tested with DNA obtained from the heart of King Louis XVII. Thanks to the advancement of DNA processing technologies, the samples were able to be matched to determine that a genetic link did in fact exist between the DNA samples, confirming the identity of the hair.

1. Thomas Jefferson – Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States of America, and is widely considered as one of the leading Founding Fathers of the modern constitution. However his image has been somewhat marred by allegations with origins of over 200 years that he had fathered children to his slave, Sally Hemmings. After DNA samples were recovered from relevant parties, it was determined that the alleged child Eston Hemmings did in fact share genetic material on the male side with Thomas Jefferson, although no firm conclusions were drawn as to whether that connection was with Jefferson personally.

In conclusion, it is clear to see from the above examples, the power of DNA testing and the role this has, and will continue to have, in our lives.

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Take a globe, spin it, and stop it with your finger while trying to hit the Northern hemisphere. What is your finger pointing at? The chances are it’s probably Siberia or some other part of Russia. That’s not surprising – the Russian Federation is the biggest country in the world! It occupies the territory of more than 17 square kilometers.

As you already learned, Russia is located in the Northern hemisphere in the Eastern part of Europe and Northern part of Asia. If you ever decide to cross it from East to West on foot, (Baltiisk is 9 thousand kilometers away from Welen) you would have to walk for 10 months. Just imagine it – walking for 300 days! However, if you aren’t planning anything like this yet, read on – I will tell you everything you need to know.

Russia is a perfect country for those who often get tired of the weather in their own city. Hot? Why not go to the Russian islands in the Arctic Ocean. It rarely gets warm there because they, just like the main part of the country, lie in the artic and sub arctic climatic zones. You will be able to touch the permafrost, hear to the snow screeching under your feet, or ride a sleigh pulled by deer. Are you cold already? Head on to the South-West. If you’re not in too much of a hurry, we can go through all of the climatic zones – from the coldest to the hottest ones. Take your time! See the endless green cover of taiga, walk along the Ural Mountains into the deciduous woods, inhale the spicy smell of steppe herbs, and let the sand of Caspian desert get into your shoes. Now it’s time to check out the Caucasus Mountains - our last trek. You’ll see the waves slamming the cliffs, dolphins jumping out of the water, shrieks of sea-gulls, oe the gentle quaver of palm leaves – welcome into the subtropics of the Black Sea!

Everything stated above is in Russia. It’s big. It’s no wonder that the sun rises in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy when it’s already the middle of the working day in Moscow. There are 11 time zones in Russia! The gap between Moscow time and Greenwich Mean Time is +3 hours, between Moscow and Kamchatka is +9 hours.

The western part of Russia – the Kaliningrad district – is a very special one. It’s totally detached from the rest of the state’s territory. To get there from Russia, a person would have to cross 2 foreign countries! This district was established in 1945 after the Potsdam Conference of three military allies - USSR, USA and Great Britain. The leaders of these countries agreed to liquidate the state of Western Prussia whose northern part was given to the USSR after World War II. Kaliningrad had been called K?nigsberg until the Russians came. Frankly speaking, Russian history is looming with really interesting and mysterious events!

It’s hard to say just how old Russia is. There’s only one thing we know for sure – Moscow has just turned 850! Nine centuries were enough to let Russian history and art penetrate the world culture. Some historical sites located on the territory of the Russian Federation are included into the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage. These are the Moscow Kremlin, Red Square, the historical center of Saint-Petersburg, the unique wooden architectural monuments of Kizhi, the historic and cultural complex of Solovetskie islands, the monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal lands made of snow-white stone, and a lot of other grandiose architectural complexes.

A lot of great people were born in Russia – but I won’t fill your head with endless names of famous scientists, inventors, writers, etc. Let’s take a quick look at Hollywood instead – many American movie stars have Russian roots. Leonardo DiCaprio’s grandmother was Russian – just like the ancestors of Sylvester Stallone, David Duchovny, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford and Stephen Spielberg. Besides, the founders of Metro Goldwyn Mayer spent their whole childhood in Russia.

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The FTC ultimately brought a case against TrimSpa and it was announced in January of 2007 that TrimSpa settled with the FTC for $1.5 million. In addition, TrimSpa was banned from making any further claims about the “health benefits, performance, efficacy, safety or side effects” of Trimspa’s supposed miracle ingredient, hoodia gordonii, unless it came up with some evidence.

Although hoodia is extremely popular today, very few people actually know much about it. As a result, there are many companies out there who are taking advantage of this and are marketing hoodia gordonii as some kind of miracle weight loss pill. Despite all the hype, all hoodia gordonii does is suppress appetite. It does not burn fat, increase metabolism, or “magically” melt the fat away.

All these claims being thrown around have really got the FTC’s attention, as shown by the TrimSpa case. The TrimSpa case is sure to be just the beginning of more cases to come. The hoodia industry is in complete disarray right now. Most companies are exaggerating what hoodia gordonii can do. Certainly, TrimSpa is not the only one. Even more disturbing than all these exaggerated claims is the authenticity of the hoodia diet pills that are sold today.

A consumer advocacy group did a study in 2006 where 17 of the most popular hoodia brands were tested for authenticity. Only six brands were shown to have authentic hoodia gordonii! That’s a shocking statistic when you consider the failure rate was slightly higher than 60%.

So just what does all this mean to the hoodia weight loss industry?

It means there could be a dramatic change in the landscape of the hoodia industry if the TrimSpa case is any indication. Currently, almost every company that sells and markets hoodia diet pills exaggerates to some extent what hoodia gordonii can actually do. Furthermore, the majority of the hoodia diet pills on the market today contain very little, if any, hoodia gordonii.

The crackdown by the FTC on such prominent companies as TrimSpa is good news for the consumer. With future cases that are certain to be brought about by the FTC, companies will have no choice but to straighten up their act or face stiff fines or possibly be forced to quit selling their hoodia products all together.

The only companies left standing will be those who are honest about what hoodia gordonii can do and who sell authentic hoodia gordonii. We may be surprised to find only a few left standing given the current state of the hoodia weight loss industry!

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Have you heard about the Carbon Copy Pro Marketing System and wondering if it’s a scam or legitimate? This article will give you an unbiased review of the system.

CarbonCopyPro is an automated marketing system put together by Jay Kubassek with the help of Mike Dillard. Jay was once a marketer of Liberty League. He then decided to move on to become involved with Wealth Masters International.

Jay has had his up and downs in the industry and after he achieved success, he decided to create his own marketing system. Jay claims, “After 4 years, $400,000 of marketing testing, and millions of dollars in earnings, we have perfected the most powerful, automated, turn-key, sales and marketing system on the planet.”

So what is CarbonCopyPro and what does it have to do with Wealth Masters International?

CarbonCopyPro is a marketing system that has been developed by Jay and his associates to try to help solve many of the problems that most people face in a home based business. They claim that with Carbon Copy Pro there is no phone calling, no selling, and no cold calling.

Basically what Carbon Copy Pro has done is create a funnel system that invites prospects to their company. CarbonCopyPro was released after The Reverse Funnel System by Ty Coughlin, but it works very similarly. Marketers of Carbon Copy Pro pay a stiff monthly fee to utilize Jay Kubassek’s branded sites.

The marketers advertise the system where prospects are driven to a website that acts to “pre-qualify” them. The prospects pay a $49 application fee and then fill out a questionnaire.

The prospects do all of this in order to find out the real cost of the program which is Wealth Masters International. The cost to join is $1,500. The goal of this Jay claims is to weed out the “tire kickers”. If a person is not willing to pay the $49 fee, they will certainly not be willing to pay the $1,500 to join WMI.

Your total start up investment into this program will be about $2,000, plus advertising. There are also co-ops to be a part of as well.

So in conclusion, while the Carbon Copy Pro system is not a scam, there are some definite negatives to the system. That is that you are branding Jay Kubassek and his program. The goal of online marketing is to brand yourself, not someone else. For new online marketers who are completely satisfied with spending their money to drive traffic to someone else’s site, Carbon Copy Pro could work just fine for them. However, there is no such thing as a completely automated system. At some point you will have to start branding yourself to achieve success online. The other downside would be the significant monthly costs involved with the program. Again, when you are paying to use someone else’s system, it is going to cost you.

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I wish it weren’t the case but, it’s not everyday that I get a CD from an artist that I can just pop in and comfortably listen to from beginning to end. There is usually a song or two that I just can’t force myself to get through. Not at all the case with Blueprint. Every track is enjoyable and was pretty easy for me to listen to from start to finish.

Blueprint is a nicely varied, mix of 13 tracks that are very well written songs by this clearly outstanding artist. With many of the songs displaying a lot of the kind emotion that makes for a really great listen. Clearly drawing from what I can only imagine are him own personal experiences. At different points touching on the most real emotions like love, heartbreak, pain, failed relationships and unattainable romance. They’re all here.

If you’re a Jay-Z fan, or just a fan of Rap music this is a CD your collection simply should not be without.

While the entire CD is really very good the truly standout tunes are track 6 - U Don’t Know, track 8 - Heart Of The City (Ain’t No Love), and track 13 - Blueprint (Momma Loves Me).

My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 1 - The Ruler’s Back. This is a great track!

Blueprint Release Notes:

Jay-Z originally released Blueprint on September 11, 2001 on the Roc-A-Fella Records label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. The Ruler’s Back 2. Takeover 3. Izzo (H.O.V.A) 4. Girls, Girls, Girls 5. Jigga That N***a 6. U Don’t Know 7. Hola Hovito 8. Heart Of The City (Ain’t No Love) 9. Never Change 10. Song Cry 11. All I Need 12. Renegade - (featuring Eminem) 13. Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)

Personnel includes: Jay-Z, Eminem, Q-Tip, Slick Rick, Biz Markie (rap vocals); Josey Scott (vocals); Victor Flowers (organ); Bink (programming). Producers include: Kayne West, Just Blaze, Trackmaster, Timbaland, Bink.

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Firstly, do you know where they got the name dereon from the house of dereon? The name dereon was created in tribute to her grandmother Agnez Dereon.

Well we all know where Beyoncé Knowles started of right? Back when Beyoncé Knowles was still on the Destiny’s Child, her mother Tina would design and sew their outfits, especially when the group was first starting out and did not have much money or access to designer clothing. Part of what called attention to Destiny’s Child, besides their obvious talent, was their one-of-a-kind fashions. Their style set them apart, yet gave the group cohesion as a similar style, color or garment was worn by all the members.

After every successful hit of the Destiny’s Child, the house of dereon also got recognized. The house of dereon clothing line was first introduced on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The house of dereon mixes hip-hop influences, such as its use of denim, with ultra feminine flourishes like embroidery and ruffles.

In an interview, Beyoncé revealed where she got the inspiration of the house of dereon. She said that the house of dereon was inspired from three generation of clothing line, the generation of her mother Tina Knowles and the generation of her grandmother Agnez Dereon. Beyoncé said “We wanted to take elements from my grandmother’s legacy–the beaded lace, lush colors, fine fabrics–and mix them with clothes from my mother’s generation and my generation.” Additionally in the house of dereon clothing line’s design are styles that allude to Agnèz Deréon’s era, such as retro pencil skirts.

Well that’s only a few introduction of the history of the house of dereon, but if you want to know more about the house of dereon, just visit www.streetzwear.com.

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Turks & Caicos Islands Real Estate has plenty to offer you. From single houses in the inlands to ultra-luxurious beach front properties that cost million dollars to simple and elegant single bedroom condos/apartments to swanky and lavish water front sprawling villas, you can choose the property that fits your budget and choice.

The Turks & Caicos Islands are a small (group of eight islands) land segment towards the southern tip of the Bahamas. The islands are still British Dependent Territory and until recent years have remained relatively unknown. Currently, the flavor of the Glitterati (Donna Karan, Bruce Willis, Cindy Crawford, and Keith Richards among a host of others) who have visited or bought second homes in the islands, the Turks & Caicos Islands Real Estate is creating ripples across the world. So, if you haven’t heard much of it yet, keep your eyes and ears open!

Land of Beaches and Wonderful Activities

With eight main islands namely - Providenciales with majority of inhabitants; North Caicos with small hotels, guest houses, upcoming resorts, and independent villas;Middle Caicos a resort island with vacation villas available for rental; South Caicos with room rentals and small hotels; Grand Turk Resorts consisting of rental villas, guest houses and bed and breakfast; and lastly Salt Cay that offers small hotels, resort, rentals properties and guest houses, Turks & Caicos Islands pack quite a punch! East and West Caicos are inhabited.

Of course, one of the most valuable and irreplaceable possessions of the islands are its talcum powder white sandy beaches that are spread across an area of 230 miles! Azure blue waters of the North Atlantic Ocean gently caress your feet as you wade in the cool and calm waters looking for seashells or frolicking with your loved ones. With over 350 days of sunshine, and average temperature remaining comfortably between 25-27 degrees Celsius, the islands make for the ideal getaway from the snowy, cold conditions prevalent across many European countries. The Turks & Caicos Islands also enjoy a varied terrain from sand dunes to lush green vegetation making the vistas more interesting and providing scope for more activities.

You can indulge in a number of outdoor sports such as horse riding, tennis, shopping, fitness, scuba diving, snorkeling, sailing, surfing, diving, boating etc. Moreover, the islands have some very nice Spas and exciting nightlife that add the touch of glamour and entertainment to your stay here. Since, tourism is the mainstay for the islands; you will find many International style hotels and each having its own unique style and surrounding. Islands cuisine along with international cuisines is served at most of the restaurants. Renting Turks & Caicos Islands real estate makes for a good shorter-term income earning option.

Explore the Real Estate Market

The Turks & Caicos Islands real estate market holds immense appeal for the American buyers and this trend has gained strength since the first quarter of 2006. As an investor you may have different reasons for investing in the properties on the islands. Many buyers believe that the real estate makes a good hedging option against the slow down of domestic economy. Many others want to invest in order to take advantage of a rising real estate market, while others are intrigued by the prospect of making an investment that provides then substantial returns within a short span of time. Not only does the Turks & Caicos Islands real estate market provide all this, but it is also fast gaining reputation as a alternative getaway destination to now expensive Belize and Bahamas!

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Aside from drinking plenty of water, eating judiciously, and exercising regularly, people should also consider undergoing detoxification, a process which can eliminate toxins and other harmful substances that have accumulated inside the body. Here are some ways on how you can detoxify.

Eat Plenty Of Fiber

People who do not eat vegetables usually are constipated and they find it difficult to pass stool. Ideally, a person has to move bowels at least once a day so that no fecal matter or waste materials are left inside the gut to rot. It is important to note that these toxins and wastes can get reabsorbed by your body if they are not immediately eliminated.

Fiber is important in helping the colon move the stool. Since fiber attracts water, it makes your stool bigger, denser and easy to move and eliminate. Good sources of fiber are apples, green leafy vegetables, psyllium seed husks and whole grains.

Laxative Tea

Constipated individuals usually drink laxative tea to help them pass their bowel every once in a while. These types of tea, which usually contain the herb senna, also help others detoxify or cleanse their gut. Laxative tea works by stimulating peristalsis, or muscle contractions in the colon that help food particles and other waste materials pass out of the system.

Some individuals use laxative tea to lose weight. Although this might be effective because the food that you eat will immediately be pushed out of your colon, drinking laxative tea regularly might also have adverse effects. In some people, their colon’s ability to contract and move is impaired altogether because of too much drinking of laxative tea.

Enemas and Colonic Irrigation

Of all the means of detoxifying, colonic irrigation or enemas might bring very unpleasant experiences. This type of cleansing program usually inv