So here it is - Jihud and Diamons are forever; now it took one of our Ohio representatives to start the investigation. Maybe now we will know where and why Israel has all these diamonds they do not mine; however, it should be noted this KGB plant in the FBI without a doubt is no Catholic he was about as Catholic as that Japanese Sharpshooter......nice fronts. And of course the Catholic Church had been infiltrated way back in 1960 - but the same murderers - this same secret society that murdered JFK, Lincoln, and the Czar - where they getting all the diamonds? Saba I look at McVeigh and I think he is about as Scotch as say a McHugh in disguise? The name game......but this FBI Agent working for KGB/Mossad paid in diamonds? NBC News NEW YORK, July 1 � �For centuries, diamonds have been a symbol of love. But in some parts of the world, they've become an instrument of war. They're called "conflict diamonds" � sold to pay for armies terrorizing some of the poorest people on earth. Human rights groups have been trying to halt the trade, and many jewelers will tell you they try not to buy or sell conflict diamonds. Should you believe them? Dr. Bob Arnot reports. � � �� � � � � � � � � �"IF YOU HAVE a glass of wine tonight, you're going to know exactly where that bottle of wine came from. Why shouldn't you know where that diamond is coming from?" says Rep. Tony Hall, D-Ohio. � � � �Almost anything you buy � running shoes, furniture, groceries � comes with a label telling you where it's from. Why not diamonds � perhaps one of the most expensive items you'll ever buy? � � � �"There's no paper trail," says Hall. "There's no system to stop conflict diamonds." � � � �Conflict diamonds are diamonds that are financing wars in Africa and costing millions of innocent people their lives and limbs. Hall says the only way to stop this bloodshed is to stop buying diamonds from these war zones. � � � �"You should ask the question, 'Where is this diamond from?'�" says Hall. "If that jeweler says, 'I don't know,' don't buy a diamond there until he finds out." � � � �But how do you find out? Right now, after a diamond is cut and polished, there's no way to know. For the past three years, Hall has pushed legislation so consumers can make sure the diamonds they are buying are not linked to human suffering. � � � �In Sierra Leone, rebels � funded by diamond profits � have waged a campaign of terror, hacking off the limbs of civilians. � � � �In Angola, again, diamonds are paying for weapons in fighting that has driven millions of people from their homes. � � � �And the biggest losses are in the Congo � it's estimated that in the last three years, 2.5 million people have lost their lives because armies are fighting over the country's diamonds and other mineral resources. � � � �"If you didn't have diamonds in the Congo, you wouldn't have this war," says Alex Yearlsey of the London-based Global Witness, a human rights group that has brought international attention to conflict diamonds. � � � �Diamonds in the Congo are the major resource, the major reason the conflict has been going on for so long. When "Dateline" visited, we saw a little girl, Vamilia, who was shot in the leg and watched her parents were killed in front of her. � � � �It's important to keep in mind that not all diamonds cause despair. The majority of diamonds are clean and even benefit the countries that produce them. But conflict diamonds are a significant number. � � � �In the United States, whether it's the 15 percent that the human rights groups claim or the 4 percent the diamond industry asserts, sales of conflict diamonds adds up to well more than $100 million. Although it's not illegal to buy or sell conflict diamonds in this country, the United Nations and the United States have imposed some import bans and humanitarian groups have expressed outrage � all pressure that the jewelry industry is well aware of. � � � �"We're working so hard for a meaningful solution to this problem," says Matt Runcie, who heads the Jewelers of America, a trade organization of 11,000 jewelry stores. � � � �Runcie says no jeweler can make any guarantees until a system is in place to make sure diamonds are clean. � � � �"The truth is, however, that today, retail jewelers in America cannot provide the complete assurance that consumers have every right to seek in connection with the sale of an individual diamond," says Runcie. � � � � � � � � � � � � 'DATELINE NBC' INVESTIGATES � � � �So what are jewelers telling customers who ask about conflict diamonds? "Dateline" went on a shopping trip with hidden cameras to find out. We visited Tiffany's, Cartier and Harry Winston � three premiere diamond sellers on New York's Fifth Avenue. They were all willing to tell us about color, clarity and carat size, but listen to what happened when we asked where the diamonds were from. � � � �At Tiffany's, one saleswoman told us just what the Jewelers of America advises its members to tell customers. "We make every attempt possible not to buy from anyone that would purchase from those areas," she says. � � � �Dateline: "So you can't really guarantee it?" � � � �Tiffany saleswoman: "No one can." � � � �But a few feet away at the same Tiffany's store, a salesman did assure us that we were not about to buy conflict stones. � � � �Tiffany salesman: "We only buy from reputable dealers and diamond-cutting markets." � � � �Dateline: "So the Congo and Sierra Leone, no?" � � � �Tiffany salesman: "No." � � � �And just down Fifth Avenue at Cartier, we were told by two saleswomen that we were not buying diamonds from war zones - - again, a claim we were told no jeweler can make. � � � �Cartier saleswoman: "We don't buy from them." � � � �Second Cartier saleswoman: "We don't get diamonds from there, I don't think." � � � �Our next stop was Harry Winston, who is famous for outfitting stars for the red carpets at the Oscars and Golden Globes. The founder's nephew told us the store would not tarnish its image by selling conflict diamonds. � � � �Winston salesman: "No, we have no part of that. I know what you're talking about." � � � �But can he really be sure? Like most retailers, Harry Winston gets its diamonds from wholesalers whom the company won't identify but who buy diamonds around the world and bring them to the United States. � � � �Besides Winston, "Dateline" contacted half a dozen other retailers, and they all said basically the same thing � their wholesalers assure them the diamonds they're getting are clean. Should those assurances give jewelers and consumers the confidence that the diamonds they are buying are conflict-free? � � � �Just up the street from Harry Winston, our undercover team went to a international wholesaler, Cora Diamonds, which cuts and polishes rough diamonds in New York. � � � �First, a leading salesman bragged about Cora's A-list customers. � � � �Cora salesman: "Winston. I mean all the jewelers." � � � �But what he told us next really got our attention. We asked if he had any stones from Kisingani in the heart of Congo's war zone. At first, he said no. � � � �Cora salesman: "No, we do not. No, No. I don't know if it's so PC to have things from Kisingani today." � � � �But then he said, "We have an office there." � � � �Dateline: "In Kisingani? � � � �Cora salesman: "Yes." � � � �Dateline: "So you can still get stones out of there?" � � � �Cora salesman: "Well, yes. We can get stones out of there. But it's a bit problematic." � � � �By anyone's definition, diamonds from Kisingani are conflict diamonds. When we later contacted Cora, the same salesman told "Dateline" that the company does not have any offices in Kisingani and does not deal in conflict diamonds. He also declined a request for an on-camera interview. � � � �We also received a letter from the company's lawyer saying the salesman may have been referring to a separate company owned by relatives of the owner of Cora, which once had offices in the Congo. But in a second letter, the lawyer said he was mistaken � the relatives had no offices in the Congo. And, he said, neither company deals in conflict diamonds. The downtown of Kenema, Sierra Leone, is lined with diamond merchants. Control of the diamond areas is the main issue in the brutal 10-year civil war in this west African country that has killed or maimed hundreds of thousands of people. � � � �So who is buying these stones? We decided to find out for ourselves. We borrowed two rough, uncut diamonds from a dealer who told us they were worth about $1,000 and, more important, were from Sierra Leone, where diamonds have taken a terrible toll. � � � �Then, we went to Manhattan's 47th Street, the largest diamond district in the United States, with hundreds of wholesalers and retailers. Thousands of rough and polished stones are traded and bought there every day. Business here is often done with cash and a handshake. Would anyone there care where the diamonds came from? We posed as middlemen, brokers ready to sell conflict diamonds. � � � �At the first store, a salesman said he did not buy conflict stones but wasn't sure whether Sierra Leone was a conflict country. � � � �Dealer: "I'll have to check that out and make sure it's OK." � � � �The next dealers asked where the stones were from, and again we said Sierra Leone. But this time, it didn't seem to matter. � � � �Dealer: "Sierra Leone. I thought so. I wasn't sure." � � � �They offered us $800 cash for the larger stone. � � � �Dealer: "If you want $800 in cash, tell me now, I'll give you the money." � � � �Not only were they very interested in buying this stone; they wanted more. � � � �Dealer: "The idea is not to one-time buy. They have access. I'd like to establish contact." � � � �We took the stones to another dealer. � � � �Dateline: "Buy diamonds?" � � � �Dealer: "Yes." � � � �After the dealer examined the diamond under an eyepiece, he also seemed eager to buy the stone. But he offered us only $200 because he said there was a crack. � � � �Cash? He didn't seem to care where the diamonds came from, but he was interested in getting his hands on more of them. � � � �"If you have a big package, you come talk about thousands of dollars," says the dealer. � � � �If the industry can't be relied on to police itself, Rep. Hall says, it's up to the consumer to put pressure on jewelers to make sure the conflict diamonds don't make it into U.S. stores. � � � �The congressman's bill, which would require certifying diamonds at the point of origin, has its supporters. Actor Martin Sheen recorded a public service announcement asking for support of the Clean Diamonds Act. This page is too big to be shown completely.
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