The end of the Cold War pretty much saw the defeat of Communism as a way of life for the majority of the world. The last large Communist Entity left
is China, which has increasingly become infiltrated and converted into Capitalist ideals. The few remaining Communists are but tiny outposts of their
departed predecessors. They will eventually be converted as time moves on.
The situation in the Middle East will soon be stabilized during or after the next Administrations term of service. It has nothing to do with religion
or ethnicity, but is purely motivated by wealth. (Please do not respond to my opinion in this paragraph in this thread, this is not the topic)
In technology, the diamond is a dream material. It can make
computers run at speeds that would melt the innards of today's computers. Manufactured diamonds could help make lasers of extreme power. The material
could allow a cell phone to fit into a watch and iPods to store 10,000 movies, not just 10,000 songs. Diamonds could mean frictionless medical
replacement joints. Or coatings — perhaps for cars — that never scratch or wear out.
Scientists have known about the possibilities for years. But they've been held back because mined diamonds are too expensive and too rare. And
they're hard to form into wafers and shapes that would be most useful in products.
Manufacturing changes that. It's like the difference between having to wait for lightning to start a fire vs. knowing how to start it by hand.
.............
That's right — making diamonds. Real ones, all but indistinguishable from the stones formed by a billion or so years' worth of intense pressure,
later to be sold at Tiffany's.
The company doing this is Apollo Diamond, a tiny outfit started by a former Bell Labs scientist. Peer inside Apollo's stainless steel-and-glass
machines, and you can see single-crystal diamonds literally growing amid hot pink gases.
This year, Apollo expects to grow diamonds as big as 2 carats. By the end of 2005, it might expand to 10 carats. The diamonds will probably start
moving into the jewelry market as early as next year — at perhaps one-third the price of a mined diamond.
An American company has developed a very efficient and accurate way of creating various sizes and forms of diamond cheaply. Given a few years of
research, diamonds will be as big a part in the lives of society as plastic has been. The choice of whether to share the exact process to which it can
be done with the rest of the world is one we must study. DeBeers is attacking this company through a campaign to convince people that their diamonds
are fakes and tacky.
Apollo's other problem is De Beers, which doesn't like
what Apollo is doing one bit. De Beers launched a public relations campaign and an education program for jewelers, all aimed at portraying mined
diamonds as real and eternal — and CVD or Gemesis diamonds as fake and tacky.
Both Apollo and Gemesis want to market their gems as "cultured diamonds," taking a cue from cultured pearls. De Beers is fighting that label.
"It's misleading and unacceptable," says De Beers executive Simon Lawson. "It makes people think (manufacturing diamonds) is an organic process,
and it's not."
First of I fail to see having military armored trucks and tanks, as well as civilian security vehicles, being able to withstand explosive attacks as
tacky or fake. Imagine a police vehicle that can go into the middle of a gang shootout or even a domestic terrorist attack with the ability to
eliminate the threats and not compromise the safety of the people driving it as well as the vehicle itself not being damaged at any point that would
hinder its performance.
I also see the label of cultured diamonds in another view. To use created diamonds would completely eliminate the need to accept ANY diamonds from the
biggest conflict zones in the African continent, of which diamonds are probably the biggest influence of instability of their people.
DeBeers, a British company obviously cares nothing for the suffering of the African People otherwise they would embrace this technology with open
arms. Jewelry that can be produced and sold at a much lower cost than naturally mined diamonds will begin to take over the market. As a matter of fact
these gems can be made more perfect than any naturally mined diamond could ever hope to achieve.
Once the primary means of payment is removed from corrupt and evil regimes of dictator nations in the African continent, they will have less of a
means to purchase their weapons from the developed world. If they wish to continue on with their power, they will be forced to apply a better standard
of human rights and stability in order to draw international business so that they may prosper through a free and open market.
If this technology is kept to the US, we will be able to force Democracy and Capitalism all across the globe. The money we make simply from selling
the machines and products that will make Perfect Jewelry, safer vehicles, homes that may be able to physically withstand direct impacts from a
tornado, can be used to fund the laser weapons that can be fired with precision from the sky into any enemy threat and eliminate it. Aerial and ground
patrols would be invulnerable from attacks by conventional weapons of the pre-diamond era. Perhaps it would even reach a point where structures can be
made impervious to enemy missile strikes.
Humanitarian missions carrying food aid and medical supplies could proceed with minimal escorts to areas of need in natural disaster areas and
international relief efforts.
Possible civilian products that would save lives:
Bicycle/Motorcycle helmets
Framing and walls for housing
Coating on Vehicles to reduce collision damage?
Future engine parts that won wear down as easily?
Other Capitalist nations are going to be upset that one nation will gain such an economical lead if they don't share the technology.
But if we share the technology we will be allowing anyone in the world, including ruthless evil regimes such as those who have been destroying the
land of Africa for decades to acquire more deathly and oppressive means to carry out their various acts of genocide and torture as well as corrupt
civilized governments who may sell it to terrorists and militias that will use the weapons against innocent people..
I suppose my question is, should this be a technology that should be shared? If we don't we will unfortunately open up the possibility that our own
elected leaders may use this technological advantage to commit evil acts for which they will fear no possible repercussions?
I suppose this could be the very reason stable nations would justify having a nuclear deterrent. If you have no hope of defeating an approaching
aggressor, you should have the right to destroy them utterly with one weapon. It is not as if you attempted to invade them, after all you cant even
fight back against them without losing most, or all of your defensive capability.