US OPEN 2010 - VAMOS RAFA!

US Open 2010

NOTE:
See my next post to continue US Open Rafa coverage

Round 3
Rafa Nadal defeated Gilles Simon
6-4, 6-4, 6-2
Sunday, September 5, 2010

US TV Schedule


At this link
www.usopen.org/en_US
look on right for
US OPEN LIVE
WATCH IT NOW
Also, click on post title at the top to go to the online viewing

RAFA IS BLOGGING AT THE US OPEN 2010
Submit your question at
rafa@timesonline.co.uk

You must be subscribed to The Times to read Rafa's blog.
But there is a way around this.
There are threads at both of the following fan sites
that post Rafa's blogs:
Vamos Brigade
Rafa's Babolat-sponsored forum
It is free to register at these sites and then you can read at your heart's content.

Round 2
Rafa Nadal defeated Denis Istomin
6-2, 7-6(5), 7-5
Istomin was a very worthy opponent
Friday, September 3
Arthur Ashe Stadium

Round 2 pictures of Rafa
zimbio Rafael Nadal
daylife Rafael_Nadal

Rafa answers press questions

Round 1
Rafa Nadal defeated Teimuras Gabashvili
7-6(4), 7-6)(4), 6-3
Tuesday, August 31, 2010

More Pictures of Round 1
daylife Rafael Nadal
zimbio Rafael Nadal


Pictures before Round 1
daylife-Rafael Nadal
zimbio-Rafael Nadal
www.usopenseries.com

USA TV
ESPN2
also The Tennis Channel at times

Free online watching possibilities
www.atdhe.net
www.fromsport.com


www.usopen.org/en_US tv

www.atpworldtour.com

Join Us at Facebook
RAFA-NADAL-BRING-BACK-LONG-PANTS-SLEEVELESS-TOPS

Great information at these Rafa fan websites:

Vamos Brigade

Rafa's Babolat-sponsored forum

Rafa on facebook

Youtube Channel by ATPWorldTour


Round 2 pictures

Rafael Nadal of Spain towels off during his match against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan (not pictured) during day five of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 3, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images North America

The shoes of Rafael Nadal of Spain are seen against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan (not pictured) during day five of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 3, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images North America

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates a point against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan (not pictured) during day five of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 3, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images North America

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates a point against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan (not pictured) during day five of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 3, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (September 2, 2010 - Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images North America

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates a point against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan (not pictured) during day five of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 3, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images North America

Rafael Nadal of Spain waits for a serve from Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan (not pictured) during day five of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 3, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images North America

Rafael Nadal of Spain picks a ball to serve against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan (not pictured) during day five of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 3, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images North America

Round 1 pictures

Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after a point against Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia during his first round men's single's match on day two of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 31, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images North America

NEW YORK - AUGUST 31: Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after a point against TeymurazGabashvili of Russia during his first round men's single's match on day two of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 31, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Photo credit ~ Getty Images Photographer

Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts to losing a point in the 11th game of the first set against Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010. Photo credit ~AP

Rafael Nadal, of Spain, celebrates during the second set of his match against Teymuraz Gabashvili, of Russia, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010. Photo credit ~AP

Rafael Nadal, of Spain, celebrates after breaking the serve of Teymuraz Gabashvili, of Russia, in the third set during a U.S. Open tennis tournament first-round match in New York, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010. Photo credit ~AP

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates winning a point in the second set tie-breaker against Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010. Photo credit ~AP

Rafael Nadal, of Spain, adjusts the tape on his left ankle during his match with Teymuraz Gabashvili, of Russia, in the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010.


NEW YORK - AUGUST 28: Teniis player Rafael Nadal attends the 2010 Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 28, 2010 in the Queens borough of New York City. Photo credit - Getty Images Photographer

I LOVE WHERE I LIVE - ROUGH CUT

I went to an audition tonight and I am making an attempt to re-enter life to feel normalized after an emotionally-charged event - an audition. We sat there and watched and listened to everyone audition. It was posted on their website to start at 6:30 p.m., but it was well under way when I arrived at 6:15 p.m. After being there for five minutes, I felt like leaving. I am no good at singing in public, but I have been trying to put myself out there.

I had recorded my own accompaniment and took a cd player to use, if they allowed it. But I was told "no, we want to hear you sing with a live pianist", although another auditioner sang without any accompaniment.

We were to sing one upbeat song and one ballad - only 16 measures of each.

My first song was good considering I didn't lose control of being relaxed, as is my typical behavior. That didn't happen until the second song. I suppose part of that was me, but part of that was the accompanist. He was good, but he didn't know how to "blues" up the music for Bring It On Home to Me - a Sam Cooke song. And I am used to the accompaniment that way. At first I thought he was playing it too fast, but I tried to slow him down and it still wasn't working. It was more the style he was playing. Too many notes, too fancy for a simple bluesy song. It overpowered the spirit of the song and I couldn't "feel" the music as I do when I sing and accompany myself. There is soul in the music and he was putting no soul in the way he play the keyboard. You get used to things that allow you to feel the music, meaning I can get lost in the music and not be so conscious of those watching me. And that is when my breathing gets nervous - when I start thinking of all eyes on me. And once that happens it is hard to reign in the nerves and sing relaxed. So the notes start to shake. I can't hold out anything longer than long enough to sing the syllable, because sustaining the note makes the shaking voice so evident.

Surprisingly the applause was long enough to keep going until I got to the back of the room where I had been seated. And one of auditioners, turned around and gave me a thumbs up and an affirmative "that was good". But it wasn't good. Because I do it so much better at home. With soul. Relaxed. Not tensing up the throat. So, tight sounds were coming out.

I asked one of the three "judges" at break time, if there would be more auditions later and she said yes. I said, I wanted to try again because I hadn't done too well. And her body language seemed to say otherwise. We'll see. But, the second song really didn't make me feel successful.

But I tried.

And that is good.

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Uploaded by ilovemylifesblog
This is better watching it at Youtube. You won't get the black bars at the top and bottom, there. Double click the video and it will take you to Youtube.

This work is a work in progress and is in rough cut form at this time, so I ask you to honor my request not embed, link anywhere or download it, until I get the final cut done. I am reserving these things for myself. My Apple computer is in the repair shop at the moment, so I can’t work on it. But I want to share what I have so far with all who also love this beautiful part of Planet Earth.

I’ll see how this “honor system” request works.

This video is to show my love for where I live. Most of the video clips and photographs were shot in Newport, Rhode Island with others being shot in the adjacent town of Middletown. I live in the town of Portsmouth, but claim Aquidneck Island as my home. Aquidneck Island includes three small towns: Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth.

I have no credits on the video itself at this time.

Music:

Al Green ~ ”Here I Am”

Odetta ~ “Hear Me Talking to You” from the CD Blues Everywhere I Go

Please support artists who don't ban youtube use.

Credits:

Videogaphy and photography ~ Sandra Hammel

The opening song is extracted from video that I took at the Newport Jazz Festival, August 12, 2007. It is Al Green singing “Here I Am” as clips of him singing at the 2007 festival are edited in. The view after showing Al sing is the view the artists see from the main stage at Fort Adams park.

Included in the tribute video:

Newport Jazz Festival at Fort Adams State Park

Narragansett Bay – views from many places, including a ride on a sailboat

showing the shoreline of Newport

Views of Jamestown on Conanicut Island

Eastons Beach, also known as Newport Beach, First Beach

Newport Bridge – renamed The Claiborne Pell Bridge

Island Moving Company on St. George’s – prep school lawn

Black Ships Festival Taiko Drumming – New York City group

Touro Park’s stone structure

Brenton Cove

Sachuest Beach, also known as Second Beach

Sachuest Wildlife Refuge

Third Beach

Newport Art Museum

One of the Darfur events I have organized include:

Americas Cup Avenue

Washington Square – important scenes of Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad” were shot here

See link below

Cliff Walk and views from it

Trinity Church

Touro Synagogue

The International Tennis Hall of Fame grounds

Goat Island

Ocean Drive – Brenton Point Park view

Newport National Golf Course

Ida Lewis Yacht Club

Views from Kings Park

My beloved sunset and cloud photos

My son when he was 11 years old

Ducks at Brenton Cove

Websites

www.newport-discovery-guide.com/newport-ri-attractions-washington-square

Washington Square

www.flickr.com/photos

Church at corner of Spring Street and Memorial Boulevard ~ where JFK and Jackie were married

www.jamestown-ri

Jamestown, Rhode Island – great website

www.gonewport.com

Newport's tourist website

WHY DO I DO THAT?

I love to write, whether it be in my personal journals, here on the blog, or on scraps of paper. I love to dance. I love to sing, I love to play the piano. I love to make videos. I love to photograph about everything.

But, what happens is that the things I love don't get done because, though they now make it on my list of "to do", I do the things that I don't love first. Why do I do that? The things, that when I die, won't matter that they got done are the things that crowd out what makes me feel full, most free, thrilled to be alive. There is no time left to do what I love because of my pattern of daily behavior.

Why do I do that?

Here's a little thing I did that is part of those things I love.
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IF WE ONLY HAVE LOVE ~ QUAND ON A QUE L'AMOUR from ilovemylifesblog on Vimeo.

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If you double click the video it will enlarge. To get it to return to the small size, click the esc key on your keyboard.

NOTE: I don't know what is going on with the internet. I don't think it is my computer. My videos aren't loading on the blog, Facebook is haywire, my emails won't load....you get the idea. So, you may have to click on the video link to see it, until the internet feels better.

Recorded at home with very minimal knowledge of Apple's Garage Band. No sound editing. Roland FP-4 keyboard. External microphone used for keyboard and vocal.

Lyrics

If we only have love
then tomorrow will dawn
and the days of our years
will rise on that morn'

if we only have love
to embrace without fears
we will kiss with our eyes
we will sleep without tears

if we only have love
with our arms open wide
then the young and the old
will stand at our side

if we only have love
love that's falling like rain
then the parch desert Earth
will grow green again

if we only have love
for the hymn that we shout
for the song that we sing
then we'll have a way out

If we only have love
we can reach those in pain
we can heal all our wounds
we can use our own names

if we only have love
we can melt all the guns
and then give the new world
to our daughters and sons

if we only have love
then Jerusalem stands
and then death has no shadow
there are no foreign lands

if we only have love
we will never bow down
we'll be tall as the pines
neither heroes nor clowns

if we only have love
then we'll only be men
and we'll drink from the grail
to be born once again
then with nothing at all
but the little we are
we'll have conquered all time,
all space,
the sun
and the stars

~ For Jacques and Claudette of France ~

Song composed by Jacques Brel.
Keyboard and vocal: Sandra Hammel

Video and photos by Sandra Hammel
in Newport, Rhode Island, USA
Narragansett Bay, Brenton Cove, Eastons Beach (statue), Newport (Pell) Bridge, opening with hollyhocks blooming along a sidewalk of a Newport Street .

♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩

Heath Ledger had a musician friend, Ben Harper. Below is Ben Harper's "band".

These young people have no problem following their passions, apparently
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Fistful of Mercy from Fistful of Mercy on Vimeo.

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If you double click the video it will enlarge. To get it to return to the small size, click the esc key on your keyboard.
Fistful of Mercy
Ben Harper, Joseph Arthur, Dhani Harrsion
Fistful of Mercy

Live

West Seattle scene: Fistful of Mercy a traffic-stopper at Easy Street

Source for below

Earlier this week, we introduced you to Fistful Of Mercy, a brand new super group consisting of Ben Harper, Dhani Harrison, and Joseph Arthur. However, other than the names of the parties involved, we didn’t any other details, such as what the band had planned or even what they sounded like. Hell, if you didn’t know who was involved and only saw the band’s name, you’d probably think we were talking about someone on this year’s Warped Tour bill.

Well, the trio made their debut performance on Tuesday in Los Angeles, which was then broadcast on KCRW yesterday. You can find video from both events below. As you’ll see, Fistful Of Mercy are anything but a death metal band. In fact, it’s pretty evident why Pop & Hiss described them as “a quirkier take on the Crosby, Stills and Nash model,” who collide “folk, blues, eccentric pop and gorgeous three-part vocal harmonies.”

So when can we expect to hear more from Fistful Of Mercy? According to Pop & Hiss, the trio’s debut LP, titled As I Call You Down, will arrive on October 5th via Harrison’s Hot Records West label. There’s no word yet on additional touring, but we have to assume more dates will be coming.

As mentioned, you can watch the band performing three cuts below. A full stream of the KCRW broadcast is available here.

♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩ ♫♬♩

Clicking post title will take you to Cherokee Morning Song

BECOMING INVISIBLE ISN'T WELCOME

Becoming invisible.

That is what getting old means in a society possessed by infatuation with youth.

I think about this because I am entering the winter of my life.
And it is taking some effort to embrace with the same abandon that youth can offer.

This story ends with a musician who found his way to a place to die that was his place of abandon.

The same person has done this video
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Uploaded by Thespadecaller

Text with the Thespadecaller video at youtube ~

A video featuring the art and paintings of Cuzona Allport, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Berthe Morisot, Vincent Van Gogh, John Singer Sargent, and Spadecaller.

The lyrics are a traditional variation of a poem entitled The Brookside written by Richard Monckton Milnes (Lord Houghton) c. 1850 and the tune was created by Barbara Barry (1984).

LYRICS:

I wandered by a brookside
I wandered by a mill
I could not hear the water
The murmuring it was still
Not a sound of any grasshopper
Nor the chirp of any bird
But the beating of my own heart
Was the only sound I heard

The beating of my own heart
Was the only sound I heard

Then silent tears fast flowing
When someone stood beside
A hand upon my shoulder
I knew the touch was kind
He drew me near and nearer
We neither spoke one word
But the beating of our own two hearts
Was the only sound I heard

The beating of our own two hearts
Was the only sound I heard

Click post title to another video by Thespadecaller
called Pink Floyd If

FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA - I CAN'T THINK OF A MORE IMPORTANT LEGACY THAN TAKING EFFECTIVE STEPS TO END GENOCIDE

If you are a Darfur activist, for sure, I ask you to watch this video. And if you don't know about genocide, Darfur and the effect of our silence on this humanity-defining issue, I ask you to stop and think how you would feel if the whole world, the people of each community, nation, leaders of the countries didn't care enough to take any steps to stop the wiping out of your life, your family members' lives, your neighborhood, your community, your whole reason for being simply because of your ethnicity. We as a human race have done this silent treatment about genocide for every genocide this planet's people has tolerated. And in 2010 we still tolerate genocide because we and our leaders' political will is so weak that even those who should do better, don't. Example of one of those leaders: Barack Obama. I can't think of a more important legacy than for a leader to stand up - to stand alone if he or she must - and begin taking effective steps to end genocide.

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Uploaded by Thespadecaller

Text by Thespadecaller

This Spadecaller video subtitled "Anti-social Studies," features quotes exclusively written by eighth grade students about Oskar Schindler, the holocaust, and related topics. About the music: John Williams composed the score for the epic movie, Schindler's List. Williams was awed by this amazing film, and felt it would be too challenging. He said to Spielberg, "You need a better composer than I am for this film." Spielberg replied, "I know. But they're all dead!" The main theme is played on piano by John Williams; and following Spielberg's suggestion, he hired Itzhak Perlman to perform it on the violin. End of Youtube text

When I visited the Dachau concentration camp near Munich, I spent the entire day there. As I stood in the room where two ovens had been placed to burn human bodies of the victims of the silence of genocidal acts for 12 years from 1933 until 1945 - I stood beside German high school students who were there for a field trip. The Germans teach about their history in school apparently. I never learned anything about the USA genocide on the native Americans in all the years of my education - all the way through my masters degree. I learned about it well into my adult years - on my own. I never had a lesson or textbook that taught about the slave trade in the newly formed country with its Declaration of Independence and Constitution. I think it is time we teach about our history - all of it - not just some of it.

THIS IS LOVELY

I love it when youtube video moves me. Thespadecaller always does an artful presentation.
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Uploaded by Thespadecaller
I especially like the slow tempo of the video. It is perfectly suited to the whole effect.

Do yourself a blessing and click on the video and see it at youtube.

The text from Thespadecaller

Lyrics:

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.


The song was originally written as an instrumental piece and titled "Silent Story." It is sung by Daniel P. Collins. The melody is based on a traditional Irish tune and was written by Rolf Lovland with lyrics by Brendan Graham. This Spadecaller video features photos and artwork by Matthew Schwartz.

RAFA NADAL LEAVES CINCINNATI - NEXT STOP US OPEN

This may be "history" as far as Rafa's fashion style on the tennis court,
but it will forever be "Rafa's signature look".
What he wears now is nothing unique
and is no "signature look" - though he is just as likable.

❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦❦

Cincinnati 2010

Quarter Final Marcus Baghdatis defeated Rafa Nadal
4-6, 6-4, 4-6
Friday, August 20, 2010

Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a forehand to Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus during Day 5 of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 20, 2010 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America

Rafael Nadal of Spain charges the net to return a drop shot by Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus during Day 5 of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 20, 2010 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America

Quarter Final pictures of Rafa at zimbio

Quarter Final pictures of Rafa at daylife

USA ESPN2 is airing this,

but delaying it until Friday, at 10:00 p.m. or until the Little League Baseball game is over, apparently Watch it live free here
www.atdhe.net
www.fromsport.com

Watch online for a fee www.tennistv.com


Semi Finals
Saturday, August 2, 2010
USA EST/EDT
Roddick versus Fish 2:00 p.m.
Baghdatis versus Federer and 7:00 p.m.

www.atpworldtour.com

www.usopenseries.com


www.usopen.org/en_US tv

• 
• 
  
• Click on image to enlarge
  
• 
  
• Order of Play
• TV Schedule

Pictures
At zmbio ~ Rafael Nadal

Nadal saves match point to reach ATP Quarter Finals

Round 3
Rafa Nadal defeated Julien Benneteau
5-7, 7-6(6), 6-2
Thursday, August 19, 2010

At zimbio - Rafael Nadal

At daylife ~ Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a forehand to Julien Benneteau of France - Round 3 - of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 19, 2010 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty

Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after winning a point in his second set tiebreaker against Julien Benneteau of France - Round 3 - of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 19, 2010 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America

Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after winning a point in his second set tiebreaker against Julien Benneteau of France during - Round 3 - of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 19, 2010 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America

Rafael Nadal of Spain has his right foot attended to by a trainer after winning the second set against Julien Benneteau of France during Day 4 of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 19, 2010 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America

Round 2
Rafa Nadal defeated Taylor Dent
6-2, 7-5

Pictures Round 2 - At zimbio _ Rafael Nadal

Round 1
Rafa had a bye

USA TV
The Tennis Channel
ESPN2

Website
www.cincytennis.com

www.usopenseries.com

Free online watching possibilities for Rogers Cup - Toronto
www.atdhe.net
www.fromsport.com

Watch online for a fee
www.tennistv.com

Click image to enlarge

• Results
• Live Scores
• Match Schedule
• Draws
• Order of Play
• TV Schedule
  

Great information at these Rafa fan websites:

vamos brigade

Rafa's Babolat-sponsored forum

Rafa on facebook

Youtube Channel by ATPWorldTour

Highlights of Monday night in Cincinnati - August 26, 2010

Join us at
RAFA-NADAL-BRING-BACK-LONG-PANTS-SLEEVELESS-TOPS

Pictures of Rafa from Toront0's Rogers Cup
daylife

NOTICE:

I am busy trying to get a job, so I can't keep this post up as I typically do.
Sorry, but I do this for fun and I need money to live.
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Tell Barack Obama to live up to his words
www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Uploaded by saulpaulus
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Tell Barack Obama to live up to his words

If you are an organization submitting comments on behalf of your membership, please use our Organization Contact Form. Uploaded by rp4obama

You can also call or write to the President:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Please include your e-mail address

Phone Numbers

Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461

Darfuris Release Statement on Current Situation

Posted by Katie-Jay on August 16th, 2010

One hundred fourteen Darfuris and 27 Associations and Organizations in North America issued a statement today calling on the international community to act on their Responsibility to Protect (R2P), particularly the United States:

“Currently, our people in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp of Kalma are under threat of violence, homelessness, and lack of basic life subsistence. The threat is coming from the local government of South Darfur and from central government in Khartoum. Similar conditions are faced by IDPs in Hamideyeah in the Zalengi area of West Darfur.

The Government of Sudan is intent on dismantling these camps by force. The Government officials in South Darfur made their intentions very clear in defiance of all international protocols and conventions that protect IDPs. This is a continuation of the crimes of genocide in Darfur.

We believe strongly that the Government of Sudan, sadly, has perfected reading in advance the reaction of the international community, and the United States in particular.

The Government of Sudan, headed by a President indicted for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, continues using same tactics used by other genocidal perpetrators through history to finish the job. They will not stop till they are stopped.

The Government of Sudan feels absolutely immune to any accountability. Furthermore, the officials in Khartoum and South Darfur audaciously state their plans in dismantling the IDP camps in meetings with UNAMID and NGOs representatives.

We believe that what is happening in Darfur has direct relation to the U. S. policy in handling Darfur’s crisis.

The international community has an obligation to protect the Darfuri civilians. This Responsibility-To-Protect (R2P) should be exercised now to stop the on-going genocide in Darfur.”

Download the full statement.

Darfuri leaders believe continuation of crimes of genocide in #Darfur relates to misdirected US #Sudan Policy http://bit.ly/b63Ym9 @presssec

Take Immediate Action by Email, Facebook, Twitter

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As Darfur violence surges, Obama Administration Addresses Sudan Crisis with ‘Lack of Urgency’ Advocacy groups outraged over drift in administration policy

Posted by Katie-Jay on August 6th, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : August 6, 2010
CONTACTS:
Jonathan Hutson, jhutson@enoughproject.org, 857-919-5130
Janessa Goldbeck, goldbeck@genocideintervention.net, 202-559-7405
Ann Brown, abrown@savedarfur.org, 301-633-4193

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Human rights advocacy organizations expressed dismay today following reports that the Obama Administration is not approaching the situation in Sudan with the urgency it demands. In a New York Times article published yesterday (“Violence Said to Be Rising in Sudan’s Darfur Region” by Neil MacFarquhar), a senior State Department official was quoted saying, “There is no sense of urgency that this is a crucial moment [in Sudan].”

The comment comes on the heels of an alarming resurgence of violence in Darfur and just months before south Sudan is scheduled to vote for its own independence—a landmark event that, if mishandled, could plunge Sudan back into all-out war.

The Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, Genocide Intervention Network, and the Save Darfur Coalition, offered the following statements:

John Prendergast, Co-founder of the Enough Project, said, “The US and other key countries have largely turned away from serious political engagement in Darfur in favor of the North/South issues. US Special Envoy Gration has fallen into the same trap which has doomed previous diplomatic efforts by allowing the Khartoum regime to play the North/South crisis against the one in Darfur. The old adage of walking and chewing gum at the same time on Darfur and the South seems unattainable to the internationals attempting to address Sudan’s interrelated ills. By not focusing on an all-Sudan solution, they end up with no solution at all, and the crises bleed on.”

Mark Hanis, President of Genocide Intervention Network, said, “Where is Candidate Obama, who promised the American people that he would address the crisis in Sudan with ‘unstinting resolve’? It will take more than rhetoric to ensure that the people of Sudan are not plunged again into war. Voters demand that the president and his administration do the right thing.”

Mark Lotwis, Acting President of the Save Darfur Coalition, said, “It is disturbing to hear that the there is no sense of urgency in the Obama administration in implementing an effective Sudan policy. I recently returned from Darfur and South Sudan and know that conditions on the ground have deteriorated, the Darfur Peace Process is stalled, and critical preparations for the referendum are not being made. The president needs to provide his entire team—Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Clinton, Ambassador Rice and Special Envoy Gration—with a new direction that makes all of Sudan an urgent priority now.”

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Enough Project – Enough is a project of the Center for American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded in 2007, Enough focuses on crises in Sudan, Chad, eastern Congo, northern Uganda, Somalia, and Zimbabwe. Enough’s strategy papers and briefings provide sharp field analysis and targeted policy recommendations based on a “3P” crisis response strategy: promoting durable peace, providing civilian protection, and punishing perpetrators of atrocities. Enough works with concerned citizens, advocates, and policy makers to prevent, mitigate, and resolve these crises. Visit www.enoughproject.org.

Genocide Intervention Network – Genocide Intervention Network is working to build the first permanent anti-genocide constituency, mobilizing the political will to stop genocide when it occurs. Accessible online at www.GenocideIntervention.net, Genocide Intervention Network empowers individuals with the tools to stop genocide.

The Save Darfur Coalition – an alliance of more than 190 faith-based, advocacy and human rights organizations – raises public awareness about the ongoing crisis in Darfur and mobilizes a unified response to promote peace throughout the Darfur region and all of Sudan. The coalition’s member organizations represent 130 million people of all ages, races, religions and political affiliations united together to help the people of Sudan. Please join the movement at www.SaveDarfur.org.

Stop Genocide Now/i-ACT is a grassroots community dedicated to working to protect populations in grave danger of violence, death and displacement resulting from genocide. Through active education, advocacy and policy change SGN resolves to change the way the world responds to genocide. All of our projects focus on and utilize the strength and power in grassroots connectivity. For information, visit www.stopgenocidenow.org.

Investors Against Genocide is a non-profit organization dedicated to convincing mutual fund and other investment firms to change their investing strategy so as to avoid complicity in genocide. The organization works with individuals, companies, organizations, financial institutions, the press, and government agencies to build awareness and to create financial, public relations, and regulatory pressure for investment firms to change. The ultimate goals are that the Government of Sudan ends its deadly genocide in Darfur and that investment firms avoid investing in genocide. For more information, visit www.investorsagainstgenocide.org.

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DARFUR - THE GENOCIDE THAT THE LEADERS HAVE CHOSEN TO NEGLECT THOUGH THEY KNOW

POLITICS AND PROTECTING OWN INTERESTS MORE IMPORTANT TO OBAMA THAN WHAT HE USED TO STAND FOR

The Disappearing Genocide

Source for this article:
http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/77140/darfur-victims-who-cares-the-disappearing-genocide

Victims in Darfur are longer seen, heard, or helped.

• Eric Reeves
• August 20, 2010 | 12:00 am

Last month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant with additional charges against Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir: three counts of genocide in Darfur. It was an important historical moment. Never before had the court leveled genocide charges at a current head of state. But, for policy and opinion-makers in Washington, the event was merely a footnote lost among a host of other competing priorities.

That's because, two years after candidate Barack Obama criticized then-President Bush for a policy of “reward[ing] a regime in Khartoum that has a record of failing to live up to its commitments,” he has appointed a special envoy who is the very embodiment of such accommodation. Indeed, former Air Force General Scott Gration publicly complained in mid-July that the genocide charges would “make my mission more difficult.” In part as a consequence of such attitudes, the United States and much of the international community have been visibly incapable of responding effectively to the interlocking crises in Sudan. Their attention has been sliding from emergency to emergency—from the expulsion of humanitarian aid from Darfur in March 2009, to the frantic damage-control efforts during President Al Bashir 's fraudulent reelection campaign in April 2010 , to the multiple agreements that must be finalized before the January 2011 referenda on South Sudanese self-determination—and they have been outmaneuvered by a Sudanese regime that has successfully played these crises off each other. There's a very real chance that this state of affairs could have catastrophic repercussions for the north and the south, including a resumption of the country's civil war. And, in addition, there is a hidden cost: This lack of focus is producing terrible, perhaps permanent consequences for the people of Darfur.

Here's the situation there right now: Humanitarian indicators, especially in North Darfur, are ominous, particularly malnutrition levels ; yet both U.N. agencies and International Nongovernmental Organizations (INGOs) refuse to speak about conditions candidly. In the wake of the March 2009 expulsions, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs no longer produces its comprehensive, detailed accounts of humanitarian conditions throughout Darfur. The 13 expelled international humanitarian organizations, which together provided approximately half the aid capacity in Darfur, have been only partially replaced; and the overall quality and capacity of aid operations remains much reduced. Malnutrition studies have been held hostage by Khartoum with no effective protest, despite the importance of such data for work in the field. Regime officials have demanded, and been granted, a role in the collection, analysis, and promulgation of humanitarian data—and have made clear they are willing to use their veto power if studies are judged too damning. And, most importantly, access for aid workers is at an all-time low, and shrinking rapidly, chiefly for lack of security.

The humanitarian community lives in fear following the expulsions, and rightly so. Two senior expatriate workers for the vital International Organization for Migration were recently expelled, apparently in retaliation for the ICC’s action last month, further reducing humanitarian capacity. The killing and abduction of humanitarians has continued to increase from already intolerable levels. And the U.N. peacekeeping mission that is supposed to be protecting them, UNAMID, is itself hamstrung by inadequate resources, a lack of trained personnel, poor morale, and brazen obstruction of its investigations by Khartoum's security forces. It has become the target of militia elements clearly aligned with the regime, and, at this point, 27 UNAMID peacekeeping personnel have been killed. Many others have been wounded and abducted. And there are questions as to whether UNAMID's mission can be sustained in light of harassment from Khartoum—even though withdrawal would lead to uncontrollable violence.

How is it that these depredations have become largely invisible? In addition to self-censorship by aid organizations and the U.N. , Khartoum 's strategic use of insecurity and its refusal to grant access even to secure areas has denied most of rural Darfur and many camp areas the presence of international eyes and ears. In the past, these were essential ways of keeping events in Darfur before the world, a fact not lost on Khartoum. The regime's response has been what Human Rights Watch has called "Chaos by Design," the deliberate engineering of insecurity as a means of controlling the movement of international aid workers and the civilian population. As a well-informed U.N. official pointed out to me recently in explaining Khartoum 's tactics, "The reality is that the same groups, affiliated through a well-known set of leaders, are responsible not only for the kidnapping of [the American woman aid worker abducted on May 18, 2010 ], but also the Rwandan killings [in the June 21, 2010 assault on UNAMID peacekeeping personnel] , and the [June 22, 2010] abduction of the [two German aid workers from] Technisches Hilfswerk ."

Moreover, Khartoum has grown even more restrictive in allowing journalists and others to travel to Darfur. Wire reports and news dispatches now very rarely have a Darfur dateline, and then, only from the well-controlled Nyala and El Fasher urban areas. There is very little reporting, except by Darfuris themselves, on the remaining non-Arab or African populations, a huge percentage of which are in camps for the displaced or refugees inside Chad. The latest U.N. figures indicate a total of three million people who have been forced from their homes, and that total shows no signs of diminishing, despite various mendacious claims by Khartoum. Indeed, more than 500,000 civilians have been newly displaced since January 2008, when UNAMID formally took up its mandate of civilian and humanitarian protection.

The bitterly ironic truth is that Darfur has been doubly betrayed by the international community's response to the ongoing crisis in southern Sudan . The first betrayal came during the 2003–2004 negotiations to finalize the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005. Darfur was excluded from the issues to be negotiated in this comprehensive peace because it was considered too complex and because Khartoum would not agree to any addition to the negotiating agenda. Much of the world obligingly played down the atrocities being committed throughout Darfur in the interests of seeing the CPA through to completion. There was, however, no lack of knowledge about the genocidal character of counter-insurgency in Darfur ; the International Crisis Group was one of several important organizations that, early on, reported the ethnically targeted destruction of civilians with no connection to military actions:

“Government-supported militias deliberately target civilians from the Fur, Zaghawa, and Massalit groups, who are viewed as ‘Africans’ in Darfur and form the bulk of the SLA and JEM [rebel groups] ethnic base. … The latest attacks [by the government-supported Arab militias] occurred deep inside the Fur tribal domain, against unprotected villages with no apparent link to the rebels other than their ethnic profile.” (December 2003)

This was only one of many reports publicly available that proved simply too inconvenient for those seeking to secure the CPA; in the end, there was almost no international pressure on Khartoum to halt the genocidal counterinsurgency during its most violent phase. When the world finally turned its attention from South Sudan to Darfur, the consequences of previous inaction were all too apparent. The vast majority of African villages in Darfur had been destroyed, typically with a terrifying completeness. Mortality was already in the hundreds of thousands.

What's more, in the intervening years, our diplomatic failures have made it more likely that the Darfuris' expulsion will never be reversed. Since the beginning of the genocide, Arab militia members have been seizing land from the displaced populace. Now, Arab groups from neighboring countries such as Chad and Niger have taken up residence, with Khartoum 's encouragement, on the land of the displaced, often as payment for their efforts in the counterinsurgency. Recent reports make clear that this is becoming the new status quo, and those few Darfuris attempting to return to their lands are finding intolerable insecurity. Camps for displaced refugees are themselves increasingly encountering shortages of food, clean water, primary medical care, and a lack of adequate sanitation and hygiene. Following last year's poor rains, an inadequate rainy season this year will likely deplete the ground reservoirs in many locations and precipitate disastrous water shortages amid dense concentrations of human beings.

Yet, despite the extreme vulnerability of Darfur, it is the lurching diplomatic efforts toward South Sudanese self-determination that dominate current international attention, and they too are belated and insufficiently coordinated. Meanwhile, far too many observers ignore the continuing reports from Darfur of large-scale, ethnically based human destruction, which has diminished significantly since 2003–2005, but nonetheless continues, most recently in the Jebel Marra region.

This state of affairs is not tenable. The Darfur peace process itself is thoroughly muddled, as Arab League countries (Qatar, Egypt, Libya) continue to fight over which country will sponsor the talks; disputes within the African Union continue to fester (the chief U.N. peace mediator, Djibril Bassolé of Burkina Faso, is being undercut by the AU's ambitious Ibrahim Gambari of Nigeria, who heads UNAMID ); and the dysfunctional U.S. special envoy, Scott Gration, speaks of dealing with Khartoum's génocidaires by rewarding them with cookies, gold stars, and smiley faces.

Meanwhile, the rebel groups themselves have proved hopelessly fractious following the agreement that was railroaded through in Abuja in 2006, and they can lay very little claim to representing Darfuri civil society during the past year's negotiations. Cruel and selfish calculations have too often governed the behavior of rebel leaders, who are increasingly divided by ethnicity, ideology, and even personality. And, insofar as Darfuri civil society has tried to assert itself in the peace process, it has been largely obstructed by Khartoum.

On top of that, we have no idea how many are dying each month in Darfur: UNAMID merely counts the violent deaths it encounters during its highly circumscribed travels, and even it reports that many hundreds have died in the last couple of months. Mortality from malnutrition and disease that are a function of earlier violence—as well as violent mortality beyond the reach of UNAMID—are simply statistically unknown. Events there are occurring inside a black box.

Fewer aid workers observing, many fewer news reports, a high degree of self-censorship, and Khartoum's active obstruction of movement and access throughout Darfur have all rendered the situation largely invisible. In the words of a U.N. official speaking confidentially about the attenuated humanitarian response to desperately needy Darfuris, their plight is "[n]ot seen, not heard, not helped, therefore not recorded." All of this ensures that we know far too little about what is happening in Darfur, and this state of affairs is not likely to change in the foreseeable future. The longest genocide of the past century—and once the best reported—is disappearing.

Eric Reeves, a professor of English Language and Literature at Smith College, runs blocked::sudanreeves.org" target="_blank" href="http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/controlpanel/blogs/sudanreeves.org">sudanreeves.org

Source for this article:
http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/77140/darfur-victims-who-cares-the-disappearing-genocide