A Response

This is a response to one aspect of Brian's long post. In terms of our responsibilities for helping others in need, it is our responsibility. Our leaders have decided that as one of the most powerful nations in the world, it is our responsibility to help others in need who may not have the resources they need. It is not just an ethical & moral responsibility, but we have signed onto the U.N.'s list as one of the five most influential/powerful countries in the world. As one of the central powers in the U.N., we have agreed that it is our nation's duty to help others in need. However, concerning Sudan, all we have managed to do is give money, which only gets half of the job done. We need to send peacekeeping troops, or armed militia in. I understand what you are saying Brian in that it's not our problem because it is not our nation. Technically it is not our problem, but because we are bound by international affairs, it is our duty to help Sudan not only because the people there really need it, but it also makes us look good (the sad part is that everything we do has to look good).

Sudan: Civilians Driven Into Camps, Then the Bush

In the comments of this article, somebody said "Why is the US government not doing anything about this situation?" I want to ask that person then why US government should do something about the issue that is happenning out of the nation. US government doesn't have direct responsibility to help other countries' problem. And people including myself don't know every single detail of the occasion about this process. Sudanese government might not want US's help (just a possibility) or US has no right to do so (another possibility) or US might lose its own people too much, in other words, what it takes is greater than what it earns (the other possibility). Most people don't and can't know all the factors and are complaining about what they just see which is just a tip of an iceberg. In terms of legal process and international or national process by government, there is no such spot where ethic dominate practicality or viablity, in my opinion. It sounds really funny when people criticize government and what they do when they know not much of what's going on in that process. It is even funnier that I am criticizing that kind of people while I don't know what they think when they write those.
by the way, the same person as I mentioned up top also says "Is OIL more important? Are african lives worth less than Irish or Jewish lives?" And I would say Yes depending on the occasion. Life of human being doesn't necessarily have more value than oil and not every human being is equal to a person's perspective. disregarding race, gender or any kind of possible discrimination, a person tends to value his or her family more than stranger his or her friends more than those who live in a different continent. From there, inequality already exists. Equality in terms of indiscrimination on certain basis is somewhat needed but shouting for equality of all human being is simply bullshit. I mean, some people might be able to see everyone equally but that doesn't make everyone equal. I don't want to get into much detail about equality because it takes too much space if I write while I could relatively easily explain through conversation.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/16/5271/
I don't know whether what I said above is relevant or not. please give me as much feedback as possible. And sorry for all the grammatical problem or redundunt wording.

Brian

Sudan Violence Approaches Scale of Rwanda Genocide

it seems that the scale of sudan genocide is increasing (even though this article was written in 2004) but I don't know why people are so concerned about genocide. Why is genocide so bad? Let's think about another factor, overpopulation in this planet. In terms of that problem, isn't genocide pretty pleasant occurence? (disregarding all the morals such as that murder is bad)
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0403-01.htm

U.N.: Put Sudan’s Top Leaders on Sanctions List

I found two articles that seem to be relevant to the topic we are discussing. I haven't heard about "Human Rights Watch" before, at least not that I remember of. Have anyone heard of it before?

http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/1212-13.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0712-17.htm

Media source

My media Source is The Cleveland Plain Dealer, which is just the Newspaper I get back home. And it does an aweful job with its media coverage on Darfur. I have spent a lot of time searching for anything. And what i have found is that the Newspaper doesn't write many articles about the ongoing situation unless it has something to do with Cleveland. This artice is about a lost boy who is living in Cleveland and went to Tri-C. Here is the article- Check it out

http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/opinion-0/119658828995020.xml&coll=2

In an article that came out today on bbc it discussed the lack of commitment that countries have had in support of sudan and stopping the genocide. it even brought up the scary thought that the peacekeepers mission could be a failure. Troops were suppose to be leaving in the next 6 weeks, but it doesn't look promising due to lack of supplies needed. I found it interesting that yet again the UN was missing another deadline, but its not just their fault, the Un works smoothly when everyone works together, but clearly that is not what is happening.

since my last post there has been nothing on newsweek.com about Darfur. I am not surprised. this seems to have been the trend for the whole time that i have been doing this meida watch. It just goes to show how uninformed most people are on the situation.

Overview of Sudan and Related issues

This is an article that I found very informative about the Sudan and the issues surrounding it.
www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2004/rp04-051.pdf

Children's Rights

I think one of this biggest issues with the issue in Sudan as that children are being recruited into different militia groups. Currently, there are over 30 armed militia groups in Sudan. The UN has identified over 12 of whom have violated children's rights through physical abuse, murder, and sexual violence. One way to possibly stop the violence is through helping the children of Sudan. Many of them are being kidnapped and brainwashed into becoming militia men and dying at very young ages. If these militia groups continue to recruite these children, there would be no end to the number of militia groups in Sudan. By cutting of the militia groups' ability to recruite children, their forces will be weakened.

Here's the link to the short Sky News article: http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1284086,00.html

Guys don't forget to start working on your articles this weekend. It would make it a lot easier for me and we could print earlier if they could be in by around 3 on Tuesday! Thanks!

Here is an article that was posted on the 29th. It is interesting because it talks about how China is dealing with the crisis in Darfur. Still not getting an overwhelming amount of articles however. here is the link : http://www.newsweek.com/id/72924


On a different note, for the group project, have your articles sent to the person in charge of your group. If that person could then edit the artiles/information and then send them to my e-mail that would be great. If they could be sent in by sometime before 3 15 Tuesday that would also be great. Thanks!

Ok so this article is really great, again it is on Darfur but there have been some recent developments in terms of predictions for the future:

"On 26 November, the International Crisis Group (ICG) launched a report cautioning that new dynamics in Darfur could result in an Arab insurgency. "

Facts:

"Since 2003, fighting that has pitted government forces and allied militia against rebel groups in Darfur has led to 200,000 deaths and the displacement of more than 2.2 million people."

News about current Peace Talks

And discussion of the Hybrid Forces:

"Guéhenno said the hybrid force still lacked critical mobility capabilities, including one heavy and one medium transport unit, made up of 18 helicopters; and one light tactical helicopter unit, comprising six helicopters.
In addition, Guéhenno said the Sudanese government, which has been reluctant to accept non-African units, had still not replied to UNAMID’s list of troop contributors."

http://www.IRINnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75548



this is just a very brief summary, please check it out for yourself I think it helps alot with trying to understand the steps being taken towards peace and problems with the attempts thus far.

Lost Boy Speaker Update

Ok so everything is set for Dut Deng to come feb 14th to speak. I also talked with Ms. Jefferys and there is a possibility that we can bump Mrs. Meigs so he can give a short chapel talk that night, then later people can come talk to him individually during that free block. Also i think everything is set for the movie to be shown during the previous two Hum Dev periods, and we will hopefully have it mandatory for as many people as possible so that they know the history of the group. So now all that we will do it start planning for the fundraising....any ideas?
here is the latest email from him-

Corey,

Thanks you so much for yr wonderful reply. in terms for what you had all said is looking fine. Feb,14,008, I give very brief and precisely speech and then I can give a room to more questions, conversations, and I can even stay more hours if you all like its. Ann, pass darely greetings to everyone you meet in yr wonderfully School.

God bless you all

Dut L Deng

since i last posted, this is the only article that is on the newsweek website. i think this just proves that there really is not a lot of awareness at all.


http://www.newsweek.com/id/72258

Serbian Treatment of The Mentally Ill

This is not relevant to anything in Africa, but I just saw one of the most horrific news casts. On NBC they just showed a brief story on the way Serbs have been treating their mentally ill, with grown men in cribs, and children tied down within their own cribs.
The Mental Disability Rights International has been checking into this i guess, and have discovered problems in other countries such as Romania, Hungary, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Turkey, Uruguay, Argentina and Serbia's province of Kosovo. <<"They eat, they go to bathroom and die in those cribs," Laurie Ahern, MDRI's investigator, said as the group showed a graphic video of the patients and poor conditions in Serbia's mental institutions.>> This is so frightening, this is not just a suggestion please read this

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21790870/

there are some links of things you can do to help, if anyone wants to do something with me please let me know.

Divestment in Sudan

If you go to Sudanesedivestment.org you can find a list of companies that are supporting scrutiny in Sudan. Most of the companies i found to either be Oil or Power/Energy companies. These companies are from countries around the world, not just the United States. Checkout sudandivestment.org for more information. This website is a great cool as it lists why the companies are on the list and details of each company. check it out

This is not Darfur related, but it is similar in its particular human rights concern, and is also in Africa. This article is about a child soldier who escaped from FDLR and is finally going home after a long difficult process. It gives some background about what is going on, and then goes on to discuss the issues that former child soldiers have as they go through the rehabilitation and readjustment processes. Pretty horrific that a child would have to go through this, but also fairly fascinating to read about the lasting effects, not just the immediate part of their terrible situation.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75258

We have been talking a lot about what needs to be done, this article is a little old but it gives 2 perspectives, an american from mass and a newspaper editor from Cairo. I found the similarties and differences very interesting....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6058920.stm

Protests in the area

Ok so i dont know if anyone has gone to this website, but i think it is actually really helpful.
its just savedarfur.org, It has a lot of good information that can help us with our own individual and organizational level. I think it will really help us with our project this next week, it has some good ideas like dollars for darfur... i also researched any events in the area and there was actually quite a few and ithink it would be awesome if we took a group down...Here is the link...check it out!!
http://www.savedarfur.org/page/event/search_results?type=simple&orderby=zip_radius&zip_radius%5b0%5d=12545&zip_radius%5b1%5d=100&radius_unit=miles&country=US

well, since we are (or were) on the subject of the UN, here is my article from Newsweek:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/68956


All articles on Darfur, even the non-factual ones, are becoming less frequent on the website.

UNAMID hybrid troops to U.N

After reading an article about the security councils decision to send hybrid troops to Darfur on Savedarfur.org, I found that there are two problems that will effect the arrival of those troops. UNAMID needs support, espiecally from countries like the U.S and its allies. The UNAMID does not have the equipment it needs to sucessfully intervene in Darfur. The other problem is that there is an inbalance between AU and UN troops. The AU commision chairman wants an all-african force and he believes it could complicate the infiltration. Just some info for those who are curious...For more check http://www.savedarfur.org/newsroom/policypapers/enough_how_to_get_the_un_au_hybrid_force_deployed_to_darfur/

Rwanda Genocide

This article is quite relevant in our current discussions regarding both legal systems of justice for prosecution against genocide and current global affairs in Rwanda. It talks about how the Rwanda has "dismissed the unfounded claim" that Amnesty International has made saying that they are unfit for trying genocide suspects abroad. Some believed that domestically persuing these cases as opposed to subjecting them to international action is essential to calming the longstanding tensions. read it for yourself its fairly short but interesting.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75118

UN Envoy In Burma

I found an article in the Boston Globe about the arrival of Ibrahim Gambaria, a UN envoy, in Burma. The visit did not last very long though. Take into note "More Stories Like This" on the left side of the page. It includes more articles related to Gambaria and the events leading up to his arrival.

"UN Envoy's visit to Burma strained by expulsion order"

Rules of Engagement

After our conversation in class today I thought it was nessecary to post the actual Rules of Engagement in Warfare for the United States, in order to clear up a lot of the confusion that was evident in class. Here is the site: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/call/call_96-6_roeappa1.htm

Peacekeeping Deferred

Sky News Reports, April, 2007:

Last Spring, US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte visited Sudan. His reponse to the state of Sudan was not a positive one. He states, "The denial of visas, the harassment of aid workers and other measures have created the impression that the government of Sudan is engaged in a deliberate campaign of intimidation." From this it definitely seems that several levels of the eight of genocide are present. Oxfam says that it is "the world's greatest humanitarian crisis." The Sudanese government is also denying was also resisting any peacekeeping officials to enter the country. Here's the link: http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1260697,00.html.

"Saving" Darfur

here is a really interesting article about fundraising.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/67923

Overhelping?

I guess one of the challenges of providing aid to other nations is making sure you're actually HELPING. And not, uh, kidnapping their children.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/02/world/africa/02chad.html?ref=africa

Raising Money and Awareness at Millbrook

After reflecting on the film I think it would be a great thing if we could somehow donate money to the Lost Boys. Im not completely sure if this is possible but i would really liked to. Maybe we could do a group project where we are in charge of raising money and sending it to them. I think it would be great to help those who need it. I would be willing to do alot of organizing and even if we dont do a group project i would be willing to do some work outside of class as well. Let me know if anyone is interested.

The lost boys have a website with ways to take action and additional information and links etc. about the film and the crisis. Definetly a good thing to have as a follow up:

http://www.lostboysfilm.com/

hello

I actually found an article with fact in in!

http://www.newsweek.com/id/67326

and heres another one about a movie coming out soon.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/62115

One more thing, a suggestion: maybe someone should switch to the news source the Sudan Tribune, it has instant updates across the top like a news channel, and it is obviously a source that is coming from within the conflict itself which could make for an interesting perspective. If not, maybe we could all just check it out once in a while if we need extra news peices or confirmation of something...do what it what you will.

Here are two great quotes that relate to both the philosophy behind the concepts we have been studying, and also the conflict in Darfur. Just thought Id throw it out.

Abdel Magid Dosa, coordinator and legal consultant of the Sudan National Movement for Reformation and Development, said: "We are serious about being here; we are all aware that war is not in man's nature, rather it is peace that is the nature of man.

Ibrahim Abdallah, a representative of the Justice and Equality Movement faction led by Idriss Ibrahim Azraq, broke ranks with the others, saying the "right to self-determination is the final solution" for the Darfur crisis.

This is a phenom article, it gives background history of Darfur, updates on the current peace talks, an analysis of deeper causes and specific information in a very concise fashion. I highly reccormend it

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75059

CNN

CNN’s reporting on Darfur has increased. They have covered the peace talks between the rebels and the Sudanese government closely. One article, entitled “Rebel Absence Delays Darfur Talks,” refers to the current struggles of the rebels to maintain to the ceasefires that are called. But, I feel like of the articles that I read, none of the articles talk about the people or the problems. CNN does a good job including the political issues, but they do a poor job of discussing the issues between the people. They only briefly mention that the people have an issue with the Muslim leaders of the country. But, they do include good information from people international sources. They include links to different stories about Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, and other international leaders and their beliefs about the actions in Darfur.

But, I feel like they also exclude the UN’s response. And that leads me to my question from CNN’s reporting. Do they want people to question the UN’s interaction or are they afraid to report on it. I know it’s complicated, but it needs to be addressed. Furthermore, if they make the lack of response from the UN knowledgeable, wouldn’t that force people, especially governmental leaders to deal with them?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/10/04/darfur.cartertutu.ap/index.html

Darfur relief

what i have been asking myself over the past week or so is what can anyone do about Darfur. Personally i believe that the U.N should be doing the most intervention. Although i believe the U.N should intervene somehow i dont know what they should do. After reading an article from my news source The Australian, i found that U.N has taken some action in Darfur. In August of this past summer, they said they would send in around 26,000 hybrid United Nations and the African Union troops to Darfur in order to seize fire. I think this is a major step in the right direction. I do not know if they actually sent the troops but am interested to see if they are going to or have already. I think the U.N understands the amount of corruption in Darfur and is really focusing in on this human rights situation.

This is an interesting article on Darfur and it's PR (in facebook at least) from Newsweek. I am having trouble finding recent articles on Darfur that are strait fact. heres the link:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/62168

The Congo

I know that Goodwin has the New York Times as his source but I thought that thi article was very interesting and so I had to post about it. Yesterday's paper had an article about the Congo and how the Genocide that has happened in Rawanda has spiled over into the Congo and many of the Hutu rebels are now reacking havok in the Congo. Just recently the Congo national army said that they would kill any opposition that they have. They gave the rebels an ultimatum and told them to turn in their weapons and join the national army. This I thought was a step in the right direction because it shows the country of Congo taking the initiative to take control of th problem and end it. This type of action I think is very affective and it was proven to be so because many of the rebles have now put down there weapons and there are strides for creating peace in what is now a killing zone.

IRIN

If anyone wants a rediculous amount of information I would love some help sorting through mine. I searched Darfur, and it came up with 1,674 reports that either have Darfur in the text or are directly related to it. It is also set up interestingly, in that it has a section for each continent. So you can just click on the sidebar link that says Asia, or Africa, and it will take you to the current news about that continent. oh my site is IRIN (irinnews.org)

Finally!

Alrighty, So i found this web page very helpful, you're sites might also have similar background but if i doesn't definitely check this out!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/820864.stm

Yay I can post!

Anyway, I went onto www.newsweek.com and i found very little about Darfur. The most recent articles were written on the 22, and had little to do with Darfur (it was just mentioned briefly). The article that i thought realted to the class most was this one: http://www.newsweek.com/id/43336 because it had to do with education and schools which we touched on.

How to Post

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Human Rights Media Watch

These are the news sources being tracked by the Human Rights class:
Sam – Washington Post
Chris –
Anna – Al Jazeera
Isabel – Times of London
Nick –
Goodwin – New York Times
Devin – IRIN
Phoebe – BBC
Brian – Common Dreams
Hannah – Int’l Herald Tribune
Jane – Newsweek
Beau – The Australian
Leisy – Cleveland Plain Dealer
Will – Sky News
Wojo – Time Magazine
Molly – Boston Globe

You can post articles and comment on them here!