Snow and Minerals

Snow! eh-actually I'm not a big fan. I like the summer, fall ,and spring. But it did prove to be fun today as my sister and I went and took pictures out in the snow. We found this old window and the pictures came out really cool. She's getting so good with that camera :)

Remember when you saw the movie Blood Diamond? I remember thinking that I would either never buy a diamond or I would be obnoxious about making sure they were conflict free. That wasn't really a life changing moment for me because I'm really not a frequent diamond buyer. But what if something that I used on a daily basis was fueling conflict?

The minerals that are found in our cell phones, laptops, and other electronics- tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold- are being mined from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The money that is being poured into the Congo is being used by the government to fuel the deadliest war since World War II. More than 5.4 million people have been killed there in the last 15 years. When we buy cell phones or other electronics, we are putting money into the hands of armed groups who are murdering and raping innocent Congolese men and women.

There ARE practical ways to help. The Enough Project is a great source for more information. Look at the bottom of the page for a link to the Enough Project where you can send a message out to the top electronics companies asking them about there minerals. You can also email your Senate and House reps. and ask them to sign either the Congo Conflict Minerals Act (S. 891) or the Conflict Minerals Trade Act (H.R. 4128).

Go enjoy the snow if you have it or the sun if you are lucky enough to have that.

Thanks for reading!

Lungs and Terrorists

Running in cold mountain air feels like someone strapped a man onto your chest and he is pressing your lungs in with his large biceps. Nonetheless, my sister, sister-in-law, and I went running last night. We all have various reasons that we want to get into shape, mine being the least admirable. My sister is getting in shape for lacrosse season, my sister-in-law is getting in shape for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk, and me- well I'm getting into shape so that I can train them to get in shape, of course. This past semester, I had gotten into ok shape, but once that cold air hits your lungs, you feel like you've never moved a day in your life. Good times. Hopefully, with continued persistence, my lungs will adjust, and I'll be able to run more than a half a mile.

Anyway, so today I watched a Vangaurd on the terrorist group, the Tamil Tigers. They are the terrorist group that invented the suicide bomb and have used it more than Hamas and Hezbollah combined. They are from Sri Lanka, where 80% are Buddhist and the remaining 20% are Hindu. The Tamil people decided that they wanted to have their own province in Northern Sri Lanka, but the government would not give it to them, so they began taking out high ranking government officials. The problem now is that the Sri Lankan government assumes that every Tamil person is in support of the Tamil Tigers and so just as the terrorist group is killing innocent people, so is the government by killing innocent Tamil people. Sri Lankan journalists have been murder for speaking out against the governments actions.

I don't have a practical way that you could help the Tamil people or the innocent people that the Tamil Tigers kill. I figure being aware is a step in the right direction, and then also praying for the people.

Hopefully I'll have time to go running again today. Good ole lungs, they'll come around.

And Charlie Brown says: “In the book of life, the answers aren't in the back.”

Thanks for reading!

Welcome

Grab your quilt or fleece blanket and have a seat. Welcome to my new blog. I'm really more of a quilt person myself. There's just something cozy about wrapping yourself up in something that someone handmade at one point. And almonds- which I used to hate till recently. I was strictly a pecan-peanut girl, until my friend exposed me to their charm. And bonus- they're good for your heart!

Tonight I am at home in NC, listening to this band called Calexico, and watching these Vangaurd documentaries on different issues around the world. Check out Vangaurd on Hulu.com. The one I just watched was on the cocaine addiction in Europe and how the cocaine gets to Europe. After South America, the drugs get shipped to west Africa before being transported to the UK, Italy, and other European countries. The people in west Africa are being told that they can get better jobs in Europe, especially Italy, if they just move. Once in Italy, however, they are either forced into prostitution or forced to transport or sell drugs by the Italian drug mafia, the Camorra. A group of Nigerians gained control in the business and now run as a violent competitor to the Camorra. This is mainly in Castel Volturno, Italy. They get the drugs across the border by swallowing small bags of cocaine and then pooping it out once they are in their destination.

I think it's crazy how consumers across the globe do not realize how their habits effect different parts of the world. Cocaine is just one extreme example, but what about jeans, or jewelry, or cell phones? Is buying an item at its cheapest price really going to benefit us in the end? Or would it be better to save up our money to be able to buy something from a company with better factory standards?

We can not keep consuming at the rate that we do. We have to do our research to figure out where products come from and what kind of conditions the people who are making the products are under.

So before you go out shopping for the holidays, check out different companies websites to see if they have any information on their factory standards or accountability. And if they don't have that information or you are not satisfied with their standards, then email them about it. And then keep emailing them. And then take that into consideration when you see that company's name on something. This is a simple way to "make a difference" globally.

Thanks for reading!