The More You Know,The Less Gold Glows

The recent Hollywood release, Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio, may be on your holiday viewing list. The film has received widespread media attention because it highlights how the illegal diamond trade has helped to fuel and finance armed conflict in parts of Africa.

Gold mining, too, bears the scars of conflict, destruction, and human rights abuse. For example, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), armed groups fighting for control of gold mines and trading routes have tortured and killed civilians and used gold sales to buy weapons. Rather than bringing prosperity to the nation, gold has been a cause of enormous human suffering in the DRC.

Use these helpful facts and figures about Gold Mining that we are seldom aware of:

• Gold mining is one of the dirtiest industries in the world. The production of a single gold wedding ring generates 20 tons of mine waste.
• As with "blood diamonds," gold mining bears the scars of conflict, destruction, and human rights abuse. Gold mining fueled a war in the Democratic Republic of Congo that led to more civilian deaths than any war since World War II.
• In places as diverse as Guatemala, Ghana, Peru, and Indonesia, local communities and indigenous peoples have encountered intimidation, abuse, and even violent suppression when voicing opposition to mining projects.
• The majority of gold is used to make jewelry. Jewelers should ensure that they are not selling their customers gold that has been produced at the expense of communities and the environment.
• Jewelers can take an important step by endorsing the No Dirty Gold campaign's "Golden Rules" and supporting an independent certification system to weed out "dirty gold."

Here are some recent news articles about the Blood Diamond film:

• "Measuring a diamond's true price," The New York Times, 17 December 2006
• "Diamonds are for never?" The New York Times, 14 December 2006
• "Ice that draws fire," The Montreal Gazette, 20 December 2006
• "Blood diamond tells necessary story," The Baltimore Examiner, 14 December 2006

Champions are made from something they have deep inside them -- a desire, a dream, a vision.

I missed the Olympics badminton finals between Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan yesterday. But, the news told me that Lin Dan won Chong Wei easily and he even saluted Chong Wei for 'challenging' him. Good for him, but my heart aches for Chong Wei. His body language told me that since the preliminary rounds, his working his butt off to try to win all the matches. However, when it comes to the match with Lin Dan, all his hard work seems to evaporate into thin air. It leaves me wondering whether the faults lay on Chong Wei, or the Malaysia coach. Is Lin Dan just unbeatable?

Embracing the competitive sports' spirits is advisable. I believe many youths participated in sports not to win but for the love and fun of the sports itself. Recognizing that many administrators and officials in universities around the world are emphasizing on participation rates over victories. I wonder what is our Ministry of Youth and Sports stand on this.

Eventually, everyone who participates is a winner, by all means. Yet, when we ask coaches and parents whether how important winning is to their child or student's success in sports, many of them would clearly respond, 'VERY'. So, enhancing the 'Winning isnt't everything, it's the only thing' mentality. Is it true that players who believe winning is essential to success make the world best record holders?

Nevertheless, whether playing to win or winning the play, the ultimate stand is that creating balanced competitiors and competitions are necessary. Not forgetting, celebrating and rewarding players who work hard on their goals. This leaves me to wonder how the Ministry of Youth and Sports is going to reward our national player, Lee Chong Wei? Did they learned anything from Chong Wei?