Blood diamond

People near the military-controlled diamond fields in Marange live in constant fear and in abject poverty, benefiting little from the diamond riches that surround them. The beneficiaries of this diamond wealth are largely members of the military, government-appointed corporate entities, and officials in President Robert Mugabe’s inner circle.

Fuelling the fire

India is the second largest arms importing country in the world, just after China. Pakistan has been, for a long time, a standing customer of European arms, making it the eleventh largest arms importer in the world. Given this, the region is indeed a lucrative market for the arms industry to engage in. Armed conflicts between the two nations have been used by eager European arms producers, aided by their governments.

Vs. Sharia

There is a world of difference between sexists and bigots who believe religion gives them the go ahead to think that gays are perverts and unveiled women whores and a state that puts those beliefs into laws, under which gays are executed and badly veiled women are fined, imprisoned or have acid thrown in their faces by Hezbollah and Basiji thugs. When this is the case, speaking of personal beliefs is at best misleading.

Do you know who made your guitar?

After dedicating decades of their labour in unventilated rooms full of fumes and solvent; enduring forced overtime and below-minimum wage pay; incurring injuries and lung diseases; and undergoing the abuse of their managers, these workers found themselves padlocked out of their factory. It turned out that Cort had moved its operations overseas, for much cheaper and non-unionised labour in Chinese and Indonesian factories.

Not a fair deal

The West must not validate a dictator by buying gas or other resources from him; but instead make him understand that gas purchases are based solely on the democratisation process and on improvements in the human rights situation.