Where’s the Outrage?

After Rush Limbaugh said that Liberals were pushing to get us into Darfur because the people of Darfur were Black, I thought that I would try and find a good video to post on the pain and suffering of a large group of people. First of all, Rush is a racist. Secondly, he spoke of Darfur as if it was a country. It is not. It is a region of the Sudan. Thirdly, as the world’s only superpower we have to lead the world. We must be a force for good. Not a force for oil interests. Killing hundreds of thousands of men, women and children, causing the starvation of tens of thousands more is something that a civilized nation shouldn’t stand for. Finally, I don’t know of any Blacks in the US who are going to vote Democratic because of any policies in Africa. But Rush knows this and lies to this caller any way. He is painting a picture for his listeners and damn the facts or the reality.

 

 Complex Dynamics of Darfur [6:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Sudan by ecthompson
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This video is almost too sad to post. This video comes with a warning of graphic scenes. I think that they were tastefully done. The Bush administration has had so many failures it is hard to single out the best, worst, biggest. Darfur must be in the top 2 or 3.

Fixing this crap would be relatively easy. We need the will and the money. We don’t have either but we can ask our kids for a loan. We go in with overwhelming force (Powell doctrine) and restore order. Criminals go to the Hague. Set up a temp government. Deliver basic services. Set up democracy institutions. No, really, democratic, not the faux thing that we set up in Iraq. 3 - 5 year commitment for the good of humanity. Not for oil or for profit. No Halliburtons. Just because it is the right thing to do. Damn it.

 

 Darfur [3:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Bush Administration, Sudan by ecthompson
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Update: Think Progress has a great post on this subject.   The US Ambassador to Sudan tells us that the purpose of these sanctions isn’t to punish Sudan but instead to send a message.

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How about too little too late? Yes, almost anything is better than nothing but the Bush administration has been giving lip service to Sadan for several years now while thousands continue to die. If the Bush administration really wanted to liberate a group of people who really would have greeted us a liberators they would have gone to Sadan and stopped the ethnic killings.

Don Cheadle and George Clooney just threw a party at the Cannes film festival and raised something like $9 million for the victims of Darfur.

 

 Bush talks about Darfur [2:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Bush Administration, Sudan by ecthompson
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From WaPo:

In this dusty market town in northern Darfur, a lucky few with satellite dishes can get news of the war surrounding them from CNN or the BBC. Others rely on a tree.

For the past 10 years, Awatif Ahmed Isshag has handwritten monthly dispatches and commentary about life in El Fasher and hung them on a short, wiry tree that scatters shade along the yellow-sand lane by her house.

For the past four years, the dispatches have included items about the conflict in Darfur that appear to represent the only independent local reporting about the fighting in a region where most media hew to the official government line.

Along with advice on how to be a lady, Isshag, a slight 24-year-old with an undergraduate degree in economics, has satirized the local governor and described the suffering of displaced families and gun battles in the markets of El Fasher. She recently wished the town a happy New Year, and compared the security conditions here to the situation in Lebanon. (more…)

Tags: Sudan by ecthompson
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Slower than molasses in a New England winter, charges are being filed in the Hague against some of those who may have committed the crimes in Darfur.

 

 Justice coming slowly [2:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Domestic Issues, Sudan by ecthompson
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It looks like the world community is going to do something about terrible problem in Darfur.  Will it be enough?  Doubt it.

 

 Sudan War Crimes [2:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Sudan by ecthompson
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From CNN.com:

Outgoing U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan will ask Friday how the international community can allow the “horror” in Sudan’s Darfur region to continue and say there is more than enough blame to shared all around.

In a speech to be given in New York, Annan says blame can be shared by those valuing abstract notions of sovereignty over human lives; those whose response of solidarity puts them on the sides of governments and not people; and those who fear commercial interests could be jeopardized.

“The truth is, none of these arguments amount even to excuses, let alone justifications, for the shameful passivity of most governments,” Annan says in the speech to be given to mark International Human Rights Day.

“We have still not summoned up the collective sense of urgency that this issue requires,” said Annan, who pledged earlier this week to make the killings in Darfur his priority until he leaves office on December 31.

Some 200,000 people have been killed in Darfur since the rebels took up arms against the central government in 2003, while another 2 million have been driven out of their homes.  more

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Remember when the Bush Administration said they were going to take a active role in the region.  Secretary Rice made several statements and held meetings.  So, what happened?

Tags: Foreign Affairs, Sudan by ecthompson
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Outstanding blog on Darfur.  We really have to do something but we have an Administration that can’t walk and chew bubblegum at the same time.  They would screw it up.

Truly sobering.

Tags: Sudan by ecthompson
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From CNN:

The online hangout MySpace.com will organize 20 concerts featuring bands promoted on its site as part of a campaign to raise awareness and money for humanitarian relief in Sudan.

The site, which grew in popularity thanks to its early adoption by emerging bands and their fans, has in recent months taken a more active role in promoting social causes, such as environmental awareness and voter registration.

“The crisis in Darfur is a global concern and as a global community we have a responsibility to take action,” Chris DeWolfe, MySpace’s chief executive, said in a statement. “MySpace’s reach gives us an extraordinary opportunity to spread the word and empower individuals to help address the horrors in Darfur.”

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This is very nice but what about New Orleans and our own Gulf Coast?   They still need help down there. 

Tags: Foreign Affairs, Katrina, Sudan by ecthompson
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