Two statements about Afghanistan:

[mopinko]

1. an unrelated aside.

my son is a rock hound who tells me there is a thriving gem business going on over there. many of our troops are doing it.
it's a great region for stones. and after there is a bomb, many are just tossed about.
villagers come out after blasts to sort through the debris.
he says sometimes the heat of the blast changes the stones, usually burning out impurities.

i have no idea how true this is. the kid reads some strange shit.
but he did buy some of these stones. forget the name, but it has traces of petroleum in it.
they were going for pretty good money on ebay.