Am I Not Human: Darfur

With aid groups barred from the Sudan, raising awareness is more crucial than ever.



Please add your signature to the many petitions calling for the President to end the genocide in Darfur. Here is one you can sign now

On behalf of the people of Darfur who are barred from communication, as well as lacking access to their technology, we ask:

Projects that have been active in aiding Darfuri refugees, that
can still use your help:


http://www.darfurdreamteam.org/

http://www.mercycorps.org/

http://www.enoughproject.org/

http://www.darfurstoves.org/

Thriving Newspapers Are Grassrooted

(PSFK) Though pundits everywhere are touting the death of the newspapers everywhere, it surprised us to learn that some are actually thriving, we just might not recognize their names. Despite often being left out of the conversation, many of the country’s ethnic publications continue to buck the industry trend. One in particular, El Diario La Prensa, is not only the nation’s oldest Spanish language publication, but also the fastest growing newspaper in America during two out of the last three years. On The Media recently sat down with executive editor Alberto Vourvoulias to find out the secret behind their success.

It was interesting to see the ways that class factors into this discussion. While El Diario maintains a presence on the web, since most of its readers don’t have desk jobs, print remains the primary source they turn to for their news.

-Read More at Liberator Mag

Shouldn't Inter-religious marriages be allowed in Lebanon?

From care2:

Sponsored by: Secular Society

"Imagine a country where civil weddings between inter-religous couples are only legal if they occur outside its borders. That country is Lebanon.

Civil weddings are recognized, but they cannot take place inside the country. Marriage, divorce and inheritance are regulated according to the conventions of Lebanon's 18 recognized religions."


Would you lend your voice to help Lebanon see the necessity of Interfaith tolerance?

Click here to lend your voice.

Keep Humanitarian Aid In Sudan

From Mercy Corps:

On Wednesday, the government of Sudan asked several humanitarian aid agencies, including Mercy Corps, to suspend operations in Darfur, a move that would threaten humanitarian assistance to millions of vulnerable men, women and children.

Mercy Corps provides lifesaving support to more than 200,000 people in displacement camps who have been forced from their homes by the violence in Darfur. Help keep aid workers where they are most needed in Sudan.

Add your name to the petition to ask United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to urge the government of Sudan to reverse its decision.

Please help, by signing this petition, and spreading the word.
Our participation is vital.

http://www.actioncenter.org/take_action/21

Bring Omar al-Bashir to Justice

SARA BENNETT
Amnesty International, USA
5 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10001
(212) 633-4160
sbennett@aiusa.org

RE: Bring Omar al-Bashir to Justice

Dear Sara Bennett:

It is time to end the atrocities in Darfur and bring the criminal perpetrators to justice. Not even sovereign governments are above world opinion and global standards on humanity. The International Criminal Court (ICC) took necessary action in de-legitimizing the rouge regime in Sudan.

The Obama administration should be made aware that international enforcement of the ICC indictment requires all the nations of the world, including China. The regime could be consider hostile and extreme, in the extent of its ruthless self-perpetuation.

Here is my report.
Sincerely,
Eddie Griffin, International Human Rights Activist


Omar al-Bashir & Janjaweed Charged with War Crime in Darfur

THE HAGUE, Netherlands –

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. He is the first sitting head of state the court has ordered arrested.
Al-Bashir's government denounced the warrant as part of a Western conspiracy aimed at destabilizing the vast oil-rich nation south of Egypt.

African and Arab nations fear the warrant will destabilize the whole region, bring even more conflict in Darfur and threaten the fragile peace deal that ended decades of civil war between northern and southern Sudan. China, which buys two-thirds of Sudan's oil, supports the African and Arab positions.

"Every country in the world is on notice that there is a serious risk of genocide occurring in Darfur. Under the [United Nations] Genocide Treaty, states are obligated to take every conceivable action they can to prevent genocide," says Betsy Apple, who specializes in crimes against humanity for the New York-based group Human Rights First.

Background Notes:

Oil companies like China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and China Chemical and Petroleum Corporation (Sinopec Corp.) go unnoticed in its commercial dealing with the government of Sudan.

China buys Sudan’s oil from Gen. Omar al-Bashir, who came to power in a 1989 coup, and is held in power only by the weapons he buys from China to suppress dissidence and rebellion. The International Criminal Court gave notice of possible genocide in Sudan's Darfur region. The ICC took steps to indict Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes. The court's chief prosecutor accused Mr. Bashir of masterminding a campaign of rape and murder targeting people in Sudan's violence-wracked Darfur region.

Murder, rape, and pillage are being systematically carried out by Janjaweed militia, which has left over 300,000 Durfurians dead and 2,000,000 dislocated and homeless. A recent BBC report states that in a recent Janjaweed attack upon a convoy left six people dead and 28 wounded. So, we know that the atrocities continue.

The Christian Science Monitor makes the argument that Omar al-Bashir is actually stealing the oil from the people of Sudan, like a thug dictator who plunders his country’s treasury, and that China’s willful complicity is that of knowingly buying stolen and plundered goods. The Sudanese president has since defied the Big Eight and bullied the African Union into silence.


"He is suspected of being criminally responsible ... for intentionally directing attacks against an important part of the civilian population of Darfur, Sudan, murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians, and pillaging their property," court spokeswoman Laurence Blairon said. If al-Bashir is brought to trial and prosecuted, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.


The Court had previously issued two arrest warrants against Sudanese Minister Ahmed Harun and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kushayb, which remain outstanding. The Sudanese authorities not only failed to arrest these two men, but have also openly protected them.

Today’s decision follows the request submitted by ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo on 14 July 2008. The Sudanese government has been defying the ICC at every step of the way, including by fuelling an “anti-ICC” campaign within the African Union and the League of Arab States, following the Prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant against Al-Bashir. Its efforts to obtain a deferral of investigations and prosecutions by the Security Council, in accordance with Article 16 of the ICC Statute, have nonetheless been fruitless to-date.

On 21 November 2008, the ICC Prosecutor requested the issuance of arrest warrants against the rebel leaders who allegedly planned and ordered the 29 September 2007 attack against members of the African Union peacekeeping mission (AMIS) in northern Darfur, Sudan. The judges have not yet decided on this application.


Reference: The Darfur Files at http://eddiegriffinbasg.blogspot.com/search?q=Darfur

From: Roots of Humanity’s AM I NOT HUMAN CAMPAIGN

[Excerpt from http://rootsofhumanity.blogspot.com/search?q=Darfur]

Bush, who hands the reins to successor Barack Obama on January 20, will also talk — in person and by videoconference — with the bloggers “to discuss their use of blogs to push for democratic change and greater freedom,” said Carroll.

Those from Egypt and Venezuela will join in by teleconference, while those from Belarus, China, Cuba, Iran and Myanmar will be in the Roosevelt Room in person, said the spokesman.

The bloggers from China, Cuba, Iran and Myanmar now live in the United States, he said.

Does anyone know who the US-based bloggers are?

Happy Bornday ACCESS Charity

Three years ago today ACCESS charity was born with a goal to provide the children of the world with education. The ACCESS acronym stands for: Allowing Children a Chance at Education with School Supplies. The members consider ACCESS their chance to bridge the gap in the world.

Enjoy the video.

Commonthreadz Inspirational Campaign For Afrikan Youth Artists

Commonthreadz is running a campaign that sells tees bearing art created by Afrikan children who have been orphaned. In addition to the power recognition will have on the psyches of these children, Commonthreadz is also collecting the profits, and giving it to the youth artists. It's being said, one teeshirt will feed an orphan for a month. The psychological value alone makes this a cause to support.




Click the image to visit, and spend your coinage on a noble cause.

After Deportation...

Curious about what happens to the undocumented after their deportation, Citizen Orange joined a soup kitchen run by the Catholic church that exclusively serves deportees.
The soup kitchen requires the presentation of papers confirming deportee status, but as Citizen Orange describes it, is a peaceful place to be that can afford some respite to the battered spirits of deportees contemplating the decisions they're faced with.

Read the entire story over at Citizen Orange