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If anyone still naively believes the Obama administration attaches much importance to human rights on the world stage, they should take a look at its new policy towards Sudan. As the Associated Press reports, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have launched a new strategy of engagement with the barbaric regime of Omar Hassan al-Bashir, already responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths in Darfur. As Obama puts it: “If the government of Sudan acts to improve the situation on the ground and to advance peace, there will be incentives. If it does not, then there will be increased pressure imposed...

But, more broadly, Bell fears that the United States does not "have the right strategy" on Darfur, and he warns that the "status quo plays in favor of the government" of Sudan's President Omar Bashir. The group wants Obama to take action and renew pressure on the regime by coming up with a peace initiative, which would include countries with sway in the region such as Egypt and China, and could eventually lead to a tentative peace deal. Since his nomination, Gration has made some risky moves, indicating some openness towards Bashir -- who is the subject of an International...

CNN) -- We have been part of an extraordinary social phenomenon over the past four years surrounding Darfur: the development of a genuine anti-genocide people's movement. It's succeeded in cultivating a number of true champions in the political sphere, led by three former senators: Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Now that Obama, Biden and Clinton are in office, and another fierce anti-genocide advocate, Susan Rice, is in as ambassador to the United Nations, we felt there finally would be a consequence for the perpetrators of the genocide, the regime officials in Khartoum, Sudan. But rather than the kind...

UNITED NATIONS — As the fighting in Darfur diminishes after years of conflict, senior United Nations officials say they are focused increasingly on the deteriorating situation in another part of Sudan: the south. The shift in alarm has been building for months, but was reinforced late Wednesday when Gen. Martin Luther Agwai, the departing commander of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, told reporters that the war in Darfur was essentially over. “As of today, I would not say there is a war going on in Darfur,” Reuters quoted him as saying. “Militarily, there is not much....

Here are the news stories, editorials, and videos that conservatives dugg yesterday, Thursday, August 20, 2009. Please take a moment to digg these articles at Digg.com, then get back over here! What is Digg? And why should I care?

As a presidential and vice presidential candidate in 2008, Joe Biden repeatedly pledged to use U.S. military force to end the genocide in Darfur. The government of Sudan is rightly listed as a state sponsor of terrorism and poses a threat to U.S. interests. Now that he’s in office, Vice President Biden should persuade President Obama to match their words with action and fulfill his campaign pledge. “I would use American force now. I think it’s not only time not to take force off the table. I think it’s time to put force on the table and use it,” then-Senator...

If we accept the principle that a half truth is not the truth, we then need to consider that the Africa policy of the U.S. Administration is dramatically incomplete in its essence. This is the first lesson we would draw from President Barack Obama's speech delivered in front of the Ghana Parliament on July 11. Hence it is necessary to dissect its policy components making the needed distinctions between abstract principles, applicable anywhere on the planet, and a host of dramatic African realities, so far ignored by Washington's "new direction." There is no doubt that American ideals continue to inspire...

August 14, 2005 -- LONDON — The $21.3 billion United Nations oil-for-food scandal has now widened to include the brother of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Kobina Annan, the Ghanaian ambassador to Morocco, is said by investigators to be "connected" to an African businessman at the center of the scandal. The probe into Kobina's dealings are at an early stage and he has not been interviewed. However, investigators are understood to suspect that Michael Wilson, an African businessman, and Kobina had a business relationship at the time of the scandal. A source close to the investigation said: "We believe Kobina Annan...

Yesterday the President's Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration put his foot in is mouth when he declared that. "What we see is the remnants of genocide," he said, implying the region's worst violence is behind it. "It doesn't appear that it is a coordinated effort that was similar to what we had in 2003 to 2006," he said. President Obama disagrees, As recently as June 5, a day after his Cairo speech, Obama described Sudan as a "genocide that's taking place." After Gration made his little fau pax, UN Ambassador Susan Rice,who served as top Africa official at the...

From Bangladesh to Darfur: How Internalised Racism Has Permitted Lighter Skinned Muslims to Slaughter Their Darker Skinned Co-religionists by Tarek Fatah 23 Apr, 2009 Speech by Tarek Fatah The Durban Review Conference (Durban II) Geneva, Switzerland http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=164051190246 Dear NGO colleagues and delegates, I speak to you deeply disappointed that my colleague Milly Nsekalije, a survivor of the Rwandan massacre could not share her story with all of you because in the eyes of some since she is not 100% Tutsi, she cannot have been a victim of the Genocide. What does it say about the state of racism in our...

Hey Kristof... You're Late! Posted in: Gerald A. Honigman By Gerald A. Honigman Monday, March 23, 2009 While The New York Times' Nicholas Kristof is no stranger to these positions throughout the year, he frequently comes out with his gems of Middle East wisdom right around Bike Week here in Daytona Beach, Florida, when tens of thousands of Harley enthusiasts arrive to also spread their hot air exhaust around town. This year Nick was a few weeks late. Like others of his ilk--Thomas Friedman (better of late), David Ignatius, Richard Cohen, just to name a few, who are also obsessed...

Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province is in grave danger of becoming a big village of tents as the country grapples with the largest displacement of people since the creation of Bangladesh (1971) and Partition (1947). Some estimates suggest the number of displaced could go as high as 1.5 million. A UN official told the Los Angles Times newspaper the situation was “approaching” that of Darfur and the Congo. Millions of people fled their homes in the Congo (1960-66) and Sudan’s Darfur (2003) during ethnic conflicts. “First came the Taliban, then came the army. After that, trouble started,” Sardar Ali, 42, a...

Actress Mia Farrow is ending her hunger strike after 12 days. The star, known for her role in the 1968 hit film "Rosemary's Baby," tells "Entertainment Tonight" her doctor has ordered her to come off the liquid diet because she is putting her health in danger. Farrow began fasting almost two weeks ago to bring awareness to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. The 64-year-old said she was told to stop the fasting immediately because she could have started suffering seizures had she continued. She added, quote, "I am fortunate. The women, children and men I am fasting for do not...

Mia Farrow has ended her hunger strike to show solidarity with the people of the war-hit Darfur region of Sudan, because of "health concerns". In a statement posted on her website the 64-year-old said: "I have been instructed by my doctor to stop my fast immediately due to health concerns." The actress fasted for 12 days over the Sudanese government's decision to expel foreign aid agencies. On Friday entrepreneur Richard Branson took over Farrow's hunger strike.

Who has the responsibility to bring peace to Darfur? Friday 17 April 2009 By Justin Ambago Ramba. The negative role played by the Arab countries, scholars, organisations and journalists during the Sudanese civil wars between the northern and southern parts of the country is a clear indication that the Arab communities and organisations are too naïve and completely intoxicated with Arab supremacy and biasness that they can never critical analyse any ills committed by their fellow Arabs towards the indigenous black African people of the Sudan, and Darfur is no exception. An Arab intellectual or even a professional journalist for...

Sudan has expelled a foreign journalist for reporting on the country's Darfur crisis and arms industry. Canadian-Egyptian reporter Heba Aly, who wrote for US news agency Bloomberg, Boston-based Christian Science Monitor newspaper and the United Nations news service IRIN, left the country last week. She told colleagues that officers from Sudan's security service contacted her and ordered her to leave days after she made enquiries about a Khartoum-based arms manufacturer, according to a Reuters report. Sudan's security service released a statement to Reuters saying Aly had been "practicing activities outside her assignment which harm Sudan National Security". Action had also...

I’m generally not a fan of Mia Farrow. I much preferred Diane Keaton in Woody Allen movies. Though Madame Farrow did spend part of her life with Frank Sinatra, which is pretty cool. I must however, commend her recent remarks about Darfur and President Obama’s do nothing-read- speech-only approach. Excerpts from her recent interview with Fox News: During the campaign trail both he [Obama] and Biden made a lot of promises to help the region of Darfur, and nobody voted for him more excitedly than I but nothing has been done…. After March when the humanitarians were expelled I kept...

Eight activists protesting the expulsion of aid groups in Darfur have been arrested in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington. Humanitarian leaders and five U.S. lawmakers, including Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison and Maryland Rep. Donna Edwards, were led away in handcuffs Monday from the embassy after crossing a police line. The activists are urging world leaders to take a stand against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's decision to expel 16 aid agencies from Darfur.

Rep. Lynn Woolsey, a Marin Democrat, was arrested at the Sudanese embassy this morning with four other members of Congress.

US Islamist Congressman Keith Ellison was arrested as he was protesting for aid groups to be allowed into Darfur to help his Muslim brothers. He was asked to leave and would not, subsequently he was arrested. Would Mr.Ellison of showed so much passion if it were not Muslims involved? I doubt it.

UNITED NATIONS — Actress Mia Farrow, a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, announced on Tuesday that she will begin a hunger strike next week to show solidarity with the people of Sudan's conflict-torn Darfur region. "On April 27 I will begin a fast of water only in solidarity with the people of Darfur and as a personal expression of outrage at a world that is somehow able to stand by and watch innocent men, women and children needlessly die of starvation, thirst and disease," Farrow said in a statement. A spokesman for Farrow said she would stick with the hunger strike as...

Humanitarian Crisis in Darfur by: Alanna Hultz, April 06, 2009 President Barack Obama plans to withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq by August 2010 and the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes. During a live chat sponsored by the Brookings Institution, Brookings expert Elizabeth Ferris responded to questions about how these two decisions will affect the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Iraq and Darfur. The discussion started off with Ferris explaining the current situation in Iraq and Darfur. Ferris said “the Bashir government has expelled 13 international aid agencies and three...

If you wanted to find a single story that summed up everything wrong about the politics of the Arab and Islamic world, it is this little item from the New York Times about the Arab summit meeting in Doha, Qatar. As the Times puts it, the Arabs are divided about everything … except their support for Sudan’s Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the architect of a campaign of rape and murder in Darfur that earned him an indictment from the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. There may be a warrant for al-Bashir’s arrest sitting in...

Arab League chief says Darfur crimes different than ones committed in Gaza Sunday 29 March 2009 March 28, 2009 (DOHA) – The Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa rejected criticism that the pan-Arab organization is taking conflicting positions with regard to crimes committed in Sudan’s Western region of Darfur and the Gaza ones.

DOHA, Qatar – Qatar's leader embraced Sudan's president in a red-carpet welcome Sunday as he arrived to attend an Arab Summit in his most brazen act of defiance against an international arrest warrant on charges of war crimes in Darfur.

Arabization of Africa, and Its Killing Fields - by Bankie F. Bankie March 27, 2009 • We Will Islamize America and Arabize Africa – Dr Hassan Abdallah Turabi from Darfur, SudanThe whittling away of the remains of settler colonialism is proceeding with the increased development of Southern Africa. There is no parallel process of decolonisation in the Afro-Arab Borderlands, rather an internationally co-ordinated aggressive action is underway, to coral the Sudan liberation movements in places such as Darfur and in eastern Sudan, into a peace ‘laager’, with the generous dispensation of petro-dollars. Given that the area of ‘ambiguous relations’(i.e. the...

Though Sudan's ruthless president, Gen. Omar Hassan al-Bashir, is now subject to arrest by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity, he defiantly intends to continue traveling to friendly Arab and African countries and China. For safety's sake, however, says an aide (Sudan Tribune, March 11), his plans "will be surrounded by as much secrecy as possible." Gen. Bashir's most recent crime against humanity was expelling the most vital foreign aid organizations providing food, water and medicine to the survivors of Darfur.

Pro Israel, pro USA black Muslims refugees from Darfur. Listen at 4:00. American and Israeli flags. hatip Atlas Shrugs. Happy Purim/Chag Sameach

So I¡¯m bunking with George Clooney in a little room in a guest house here in eastern Chad, near Darfur in Sudan. We each have a mattress on the floor, the¡°shower¡±is a rubber hose that doesn¡¯t actually produce any water, and George¡¯s side of the room has a big splotch of something that sure looks like blood. He¡¯s using me to learn more about Darfur, and I¡¯m using him to ease you into a column about genocide. Manipulation all around - and, luckily, neither of us snores. (But stay tuned to this series for salacious gossip if he talks in...

After months of deliberation, the pre-trial chamber judges finally decided to issue the warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity for alleged atrocities committed in the Darfur region of Sudan. The question now is what will happen next? The stakes could not be higher. On the one hand supporters of the global court will be hoping that the arrest warrant will be enough to persuade Sudan's politicians to hand the country's leader over. Over the last few months rumours that a coup is on the cards have been circulating around Khartoum. But insiders say that senior members of the...

March 2009 Update on the racist Arab Muslim [Arab league backed] dictator Al Bashir's arrest warrant for genocide, crimes against humanity     Ban urges Sudan to ensure safety of UN bodies Reuters - [March, 4, 2009]UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Khartoum to cooperate with all UN entities and ensure their safety after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday for Sudan's leader.http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5234A520090304   World court issues arrest warrant for Sudan's Bashir Christian Science Monitor [Mar. 4, 2009]‎http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0305/p90s01-woaf.html   Court issues war crimes warrant for Sudan's Bashir The Associated Press  [Mar. 4, 2009]‎...charges...

Here is a CNN report by Nic Robertson on the horrific atrocities being committed by the Sudanese Army against refugees in Sudan. Robertson talks with a former Sudanese Soldier who describes what he was ordered to do - including using rape against children as a method of torture and genocide. It is difficult to imagine the suffering of these refugees. In America we often take for granted just how abnormally good our lives are here when compared to so many across the world. If any place ever proved the complete impotence of the United Nations to deal with crimes against...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CNN) -- The International Criminal Court at the Hague issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for a five-year campaign of violence in Darfur. Bashir is charged with seven counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The warrant does not mention genocide, but the court may issue an amended warrant to include that charge later, ICC spokeswoman Laurence Blairon said. Five counts are for crimes against humanity and include murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape, Blairon said. The other two are for war crimes, for intentionally directing attacks against civilians and...

Daily Darfur: A Little Propaganda with your Wheaties this Morning? Start your morning the right way with a dose of vehement propaganda: Check out this translation of an op-ed from a pro-government newspaper in Sudan... I'm not quite sure if this self-professed (Arab) expert on the American political system is threatening Obama himself, or saying that some other power will do it if he steps out of line...perhaps both? When speaking of "the lobbies," he is almost certainly harping on (ridiculous, racist, and absurd) prominent Sudanese anti-Semitic propaganda that accuses an "international Zionist conspiracy" of ruling the world. Scary stuff......

Gaddafi, addressing a meeting on ways to expand cooperation between the United Nations and African Union, urged the Court to stop its proceedings against Bashir: "Why do we have to hold President Bashir or the Sudanese government responsible when the Darfur problem was caused by outside parties, and Tel Aviv [Israel], for example, is behind the Darfur crisis?"

Libyan President Muammar Gadhafi said Israel is to blame for the crisis in Darfur. Gadhafi, president of the African Union, said Tuesday that "foreign forces," including Israel, are to blame for the genocide in the Sudan region. "We discovered that some of the main leaders of the Darfur rebels have opened offices in Tel Aviv and hold meetings with the military there to add fuel to the conflict fire," the Libyan state news agency Jana quoted Gadhafi as saying, Ha'aretz reported. Gadhafi urged the International Criminal Court to stop proceedings to decide whether to issue a warrant for the arrest...

Fresh from his meeting with Biden, and while reading from his notes, Clooney told reporters at the White House that he asked the administration to appoint a "high-profile full-time envoy" to Darfur, reporting directly to the White House.

Every Messiah needs his disciples. Barack Obama can count on one in Ann Curry. Reporting from a camp in Chad for refugees from Darfur in a segment on Today this morning, Curry proclaimed that “Obama’s message of hope has reached even here.” Her evidence? The fact that a sign had been tacked up on the door to a mud-brick structure renaming it “the Obama schoolhouse.” The video clip shows a sign in Arabic. Someone had helpfully translated it, scrawling “Obama” in chalk on the entranceway. View video,

Back in November I suggestion that Durban II, and Obama's decision to attend or not will be an early test of his true intentions regarding the Middle-East, as well as the appeasement of Islamo-fascism and anti-Semitism. Over the weekend we got Obama's answer and it is not good. The President decided to participate in the Planning sessions of the Durban II conference thus legitimizing the hatred against Jews and Israel displayed at this conference. This week the United States went to its first "Planning" meeting for the follow-up " Durban conference. One by one each of the hateful provisions were...

Hollywood star George Clooney and Mia Farrow on Tuesday stepped up their campaigns to highlight the Darfur conflict with visits to eastern Chad where hundreds of refugees have fled. Clooney is about to go to eastern Chad, while Farrow has just returned from the area where she met refugees. Clooney, on his fifth visit to Darfur and Chad, told AFP it was the "right time to be here to support the people. "We are waiting for the indictment of (Sudan President) Omar al-Beshir," by the International Criminal Court (ICC), he added. Since ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the...

African nations have elected Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as head of the African Union, a move likely to further bolster the 53-nation bloc's opposition to a war crimes trial for Sudan's president. The Libyan... has strongly opposed attempts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges relating to the conflict in western Sudan's Darfur region. Shortly after prosecutors in The Hague last July accused Bashir of involvement in genocide, crimes against humanity and murder and asked judges to issue an arrest warrant, Gaddafi discussed with Sudanese leaders ways to block what he described as...

Last fall's contentious presidential campaign may give a boost to a bill that failed last legislative session despite bipartisan support. Members of the Legislature wanted to take a stand against genocide in Darfur by banning state investments in companies that support the government of Sudan. An effort to do that failed last year after top state investment managers balked at the restriction and some Republican legislators stopped a divestment bill in committee. This year the effort is back, with the bill's sponsors thinking the high-profile issue will have more success. "It should be fundamental that we don't support regimes such...

Fascism in the Arab world - Pan-Arabism, etc. (Part 4)   Colonial Citizens: Republican Rights, Paternal Privilege... by Elizabeth Thompson - 2000 - History - 402 pages...pan Syrianism... pan Arabism... najjada... Lebanese...The fascist nature of the groupshttp://books.google.com/books?id=5L7QGODjdEkC&pg=RA1-PA193   The Baath Party and FascismThe Ba’ath Party and Fascism. (Leadership Cult). ...Unity has taken the form of a pan- Arabism that envisions the elimination of artificial boundaries fixed by imperial powers after the First World War and the foundation of a single Arab State. The nationalism of the Ba'ath calls for an unquestioning faith: a questioning of reason, a doubting of Party...

The new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, has presented her credentials to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon. Afterwards, she told reporters she will pursue a few main priorities. Repeating what she told Congress during her confirmation hearing earlier this month, Ambassador Susan Rice said the United States' goals at the United Nations are four-fold. "Strengthening the capacity of the organization to engage effectively in complex peace operations at a time when the burdens and challenges placed on the institution are greater than ever," Rice said. "Advancing our national and collective agenda to address climate change and the challenges...

to the UN: Mind your own business. You have done nothing to correct humanitarian disasters in Darfur and Zimbabwe so obviously humanitarian issues are not a concern. now get your nose out of Gaza

Braving bitter cold, tens of thousands marched in London last weekend to protest against Israel’s attack on Gaza. Brought together by the Stop the War Coalition, the demonstrators wanted an immediate ceasefire. There were anti-Israel protests elsewhere in the world. Given the media coverage, the Israel-Palestine conflict and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan might seem to be the most devastating conflicts in the world today. This coalition judiciously chooses the wars it opposes. It was formed on 21 September 2001 to oppose the US-led military response following the attacks in the US 10 days earlier. Not surprisingly, the coalition...

STUTTGART, Germany — A pair of Air Force C-17s will soon be delivering equipment in support of an international peacekeeping mission in Darfur, where hundreds of thousands of people have died in recent years as a result of ethnic conflict. On Monday, President George W. Bush authorized the airlift effort, which will be coordinated by the newly formed U.S. Africa Command and the State Department. The airlift will be AFRICOM’s first high-profile operation since it stood up in October as the military’s sixth unified command. "We’re moving Rwandan peacekeeping equipment to Darfur," said spokesman Vince Crawley from AFRICOM headquarters in...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2009/01/20090105-4.html For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary January 5, 2009 Statement by National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley White House News In Focus: Africa Today, President Bush announced his approval of the airlift of equipment for the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). The President also authorized the waiver of the 15-day congressional notification requirements to allow the airlift assistance to proceed immediately, because failing to do so would pose a substantial risk to human health and welfare. The U.S. provision of airlift will deliver equipment and vehicles that are critical...

President Bush met with the First Vice President of the Government of National Unity of Sudan and President of the Government of Southern Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit today in the Oval Office of the White House. TRANSCRIPT The White announced that Bush family pet cat India, aka Willie or Kitty, passed away on Sunday. India was a beloved member of the Bush family for almost two decades. ANNOUNCEMENT

Darfuris sold into slavery, group saysUnited Press International17 Dec 2008 - (UPI) -- Hundreds, possibly thousands, of Darfuri women have been kidnapped by Sudan-backed Arabic militias and sold into physical and sexual slavery