Chris Vanderburgh
Bio
I'm a fourth-year political science student at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. I've been working at The Athenaeum, Canada's second oldest student newspaper, in varying capacities for the last three years.
Stories (3)
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Diamonds Are Nice but Conflict Minerals Are Forever
“In America, it's bling-bling, but here in Africa, it’s bling-bang,” says a cool Leonardo Di Caprio in a very well done South African accent. The 2006 drama Blood Diamond set in Sierra Leone features a South African mercenary turned blood diamond smuggler played by Di Caprio and follows his quest for the “largest diamond he’s ever seen.” The intent of the film was not to draw attention to the blood diamond industry but the writer, Charles Leavitt, decided that he wanted to portray the diamond industry accurately. In particular, he managed to piss off global diamond industry giant De Beers, a company that specializes in jewelry, diamond exploration, and diamond mining. For those who don’t know, De Beers quite literally invented the engagement ring. The film managed to actually use De Beers as the “greater evil” that would eventually purchase the diamond sought by Di Caprio’s character. In order to really appreciate the film, you must first understand the subject matter, blood diamonds.
By Chris Vanderburgh8 years ago in The Swamp
The Year of the Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin recently soared past a value of nineteen thousand US dollars per coin. It's a currency, and it's only eight years old. You’ve likely heard of this new “cryptocurrency” before, and if you’re a regular person like me, there is one burning question on your mind: What is bitcoin?
By Chris Vanderburgh8 years ago in 01
