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Thursday, May 28, 2009

ROUND 3 NEXT FOR RAFAEL NADAL AT ROLAND GARROS 09, GERALDINE PAGE AND OBAMA'S PRIORITIES

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Rafael Nadal won his Round 2 match May 27, 2009 with Teimuraz Gabashvili
6-1, 6-4, 6-2
and will play Australian Lleyton Hewitt May 29, Friday in Round 3.

The Order of Play will come out later today.

PICTURES here

I am sorry ~ I don't have time to retrieve the pictures at this time.
You can also find them at the two Rafa fan forums

More Rafa News below in this post


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A Love Once Known Never Dies

One Love
to last forever
in a heart
that suffers
quietly

While the fire of love goes on burning for a lifetime

Written by Sandra Hammel
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This is my favorite scene in this movie
A Trip to Bountiful
Click the
HQ in the lower right corner to see it with optimum clarity.
I am nervous about it being at Youtube, so I may not leave it up long.
Uploaded by ilovemylifesblog

Mrs. Carrie Watts
at 1:31 speaks these words...

"I wasn't in love with my husband...

'course I didn't lie to my husband. I told him I didn't love him...that I'd admired him...which I did. But I didn't love him.

I'd never love anybody, but
Ray
John
Murray,
as long as I lived. And I didn't. And I couldn't help it..."

A Trip to Bountiful was written by Horton Foote who passed away March 4, 2009
Mr. Foote's Bio

Geraldine Page was born November 22, 1924
In 1985, she became the first woman to receive seven Oscar nominations for acting without winning the award. She was awarded the Oscar for the eighth nomination for this role March 14, 1986. She died June 13, 1987. At the time of Ms. Page's death she had been ill with kidney disease and high blood pressure.

Geraldine Page's Bio

Rebecca De Mornay Bio

Geraldine Page Wins Oscar for this role


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More on Rafa
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Rafa's answers the press' questions after the round 2 match
Uploaded by pennyleevelika

NEWS

RAFA NADAL: FIRST THING FIRST, "CONGRATULATIONS BARCELONA"

May 28, 2009

"I am writing [these words] after the Champions League final. All of us staying here have watched it here at the hotel lobby and the first thing I want to do is congratulate all the Barcelona team. What a fantastic team. The closest thing to perfection!!!. And I say this first since it looks like this is the only thing people were really caring today was about the football match. Sure I wanted to watch it, you know I love football and I watch a lot but it was kind of funny to have questions in the press conference about me wanting to change the match today to play earlier," said Rafa on his blog today for Times Online.

Read more


Solving the Riddle

By PAUL MACPHERSON
Published: May 25, 2009

Rafael Nadal has suffered just five clay-court losses in five years. As the four-time defending champion returns to Roland Garros, are there lessons to be learned from those defeats? Or is the Spaniard a lock to again go all the way in Paris?

Rafael Nadal is a man accustomed to getting what he wants or, more to the point, taking what he earns. There is nothing he wants more than a record-breaking fifth consecutive title at Roland Garros, where he is one of the hottest favourites in Grand Slam history. As was the case with Pete Sampras and Roger Federer during their dominant runs at Wimbledon, it’s difficult to build a cogent argument detailing how Nadal can be beaten in Paris. But, as history shows, the Sampras and Federer runs did eventually end.

Does anyone have the mental and physical strength required to beat Nadal at Roland Garros this year? Tattooed in players’ consciousness is Nadal’s jaw-dropping clay-court run since 2005: 150 wins and five losses, coming into Paris. Collectively, the victories tell an amazing tale with no shortage of stunning records and statistics. But when debating whether Nadal will be beaten in Paris this year, here is all you need to know: Nadal boasts a perfect 45-0 record in best-of-five-set matches on clay, has only twice been pushed to a fifth set and never at Roland Garros, where he comes into the 2009 event with an unbeaten 28-0 record.

There’s not much comfort in those numbers for players hoping to upset the Spaniard this year. But what about the five losses in five years: Can any lessons be gleaned from Nadal’s defeats? In trying to identify a game plan to beat the Spaniard, it could be argued that other factors had as much, or more, to do with the five losses than did the play or tactics of the winner.

It may sound harsh to deny Roger Federer full credit for his highly-satisfying win over Nadal in the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid final earlier this month, but as well as the Swiss played, Nadal clearly was not at his best physically after toiling for more than four hours the day before to beat Novak Djokovic in a brutal semi-final. It certainly wasn’t the same Nadal as the one who handed Federer a 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 loss in the 2008 Roland Garros final. Having said that, Federer played very smart, using the elevation in Madrid to his advantage, attacking relentlessly, keeping points short and serving big. “Playing on clay at a different altitude… gives you opportunities to play aggressive,” said Federer, adding that “it’s not so easy to hit passing shots because at times on other surfaces when it´s so slow it´s almost impossible to come to the net [against Nadal].

“We both had trouble controlling the ball, because the points were kept shorter it was better for my game and that’s why I won today. I saw some of those things against Djokovic, that he was struggling in the beginning to control his serve and probably Djokovic should have finished him off in two.”

Perhaps it was Djokovic, who also took a set from Nadal just weeks earlier in Monte-Carlo, who revealed a game plan that could work against the Spaniard, even in Paris, without the benefit of altitude. It worked well enough to earn Djokovic three match points in Madrid before Nadal won 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(9).

Taking an opposing view to Andy Murray, who caused Nadal some discomfort in Monte-Carlo with high, bouncy topspin, Djokovic instead worked his way into a winning position by hitting flat and deep, making it harder for the left-hander to run around his backhand. Hitting low and deep also denied Nadal the time and bounce to rip his most vicious topspin forehands. Djokovic also flouted conventional wisdom by hitting wide to the Nadal forehand – a wing most players avoid like the plague. But what’s the point of consistently hitting to Nadal’s backhand? If the rally goes long enough eventually he’ll find a ball to run around and open up the court like a can of peaches.

Willing to hit to the forehand court, Djokovic reduced Nadal’s ability to run around his backhand and unleash his favourite forehand. And well-executed blows wide to the forehand that took Nadal out of court left the backhand court exposed, allowing the Serb to hit clean winners. Taking a different approach to Federer, Djokovic was also willing to hang with Nadal in extended baseline rallies. From the club player to the ATP World Tour pro, when an underdog goes up against a more fancied opponent there is a tendency to play too aggressively in the belief that the only way to win is to take chances on every point. Despite never having beaten Nadal on clay, Djokovic was often willing to dig in from the baseline and not give away free points. Indeed, Nadal threw in 50 unforced errors in the match, including 11 unforced forehand errors in the first set. But don’t expect to see those numbers again anytime soon.

“I’m very disappointed that I can play this well and still not win a match,” Djokovic said. “I think that I’ve played my best tennis on this surface.” Despite pushing Nadal that close, Djokovic was unable to identify what he could have done differently on the match points he held. “If I knew I would probably win,” he quipped in exasperation.

Former Roland Garros champion Gaston Gaudio and Russian Igor Andreev, two of the four players to have recorded clay-court wins over Nadal in the past five years, tell DEUCE that they are doubtful that anyone can beat Nadal at Roland Garros this year.

“On clay Rafa is almost unbeatable,” says Gaudio, who is the only player to have beaten Nadal three times on clay, but not since 2005. “He is in great shape physically. It is hard to predict who could beat him, but I don’t think there is anyone that could do that at the moment. He is pretty much invincible on clay. I don’t really know [how you go about beating him]. He has no weaknesses. You have to attack and hope not to make many mistakes. I beat him when he was not at the top.”


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DO ONE THING TO HELP END THE GENOCIDE IN DARFUR

CALL

1-800-GENOCIDE

and

MORE OPPORTUNITIES...

Write President Obama

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/


You can also call or write to the President:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Comments to President Obama:

202 - 456-1111

The White House comment line is available

9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. weekdays


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To call the USA Secretary of State

202-647-6575

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Tuesday, May 26, 2009

NADAL VS GABASHVILI LAST MATCH OF THE DAY AT ROLAND GARROS - GENOCIDE PUT ON BACK BURNER OF OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

Two Subjects included in post

Rafael Nadal at the French Open

Darfur,
President Obama and Questions Answered by Jan Pronk of UN

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Rafael NADAL defeated Marcos Daniel in Round 1
Monday, May 25, 2009

7-5, 6-4, 6-3


Rafael Nadal plays his Round 2 match
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.


It is scheduled to be the 5th match of the day, however the 2nd match is to finish a match that's score is 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 5-3.

The first match begins at 11:00 a.m. Paris time. On my sidebar is the time for Spain, which is the same in Paris, France. The USA EST/DST is 6 hours behind Paris time.


Rafa's blog and fans' questions answered can be found at

timesonline.typepad.com/rafael_nadal


Email questions to Rafa rafa@timesonline.co.uk

Full schedule for Wednesday May 27, 2009

www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule


Partial Schedule:
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Court Suzanne Lenglen

11:00 a.m. Start time in Paris (6 hours ahead of USA EST/DST)


1 Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Dinara Safina (RUS)[1]
v. Vitalia Diatchenko (RUS)


Start Time Not Before 12:00 noon
2 Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.
Christophe Rochus (BEL)
v. Fabrice Santoro (FRA)

To Finish 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 5-3

followed by
3 Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.
Robert Kendrick (USA)
v. Gilles Simon (FRA)[7]


4 Women's Singles - 2nd Rnd.
Nadia Petrova (RUS)[11]
v. Maria Sharapova (RUS)


5 Men's Singles - 2nd Rnd.
Rafael Nadal (ESP)[1]
v. Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS)

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Rafa Nadal Round 1 - Roland Garros 2009
Above 3 photo credits: Terra



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Photos of Round 1 - Rafa Nadal v Marcos Daniel May 25, 2009,
practicing prior to Round 1, Press Conference, Promotional, Babolat Contest,
Photo credits to Getty, Matthew Stockman, AFI, Associated Press, DPPI Antone Couvercelle and Art Seitz, Belga, Corbis, Babolat and unknown
Press Conference after Rafa's Round 1 match on May 25, 2009 can be viewed at this link
www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/news/interviews

Transcription of Presser

RAFAELNADAL

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. This question is not about the game. It's about your dress. You are in pink today. Why you are in pink today?

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. Yeah, same like always, why I was white and yellow two weeks ago. Because it's better than dress the same color every week, no?

Q. The start of the game was a bit difficult today. Any reason?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, always tough, you know, beginning here. Roland Garros always is difficult. Yeah. I say, no, I expect a tough match, and it's normal, now. And when I start, normally I didn't start to play my best here the last four years. But the important thing is be with positive mentality and try to win, no? And I win. I won in three sets. That's important.

I played in some moments in the third a little bit better, so just try to keep improving to play better in this match.

Q. Is there a chance that in the third round you could come up againstLleyton Hewitt. You've played each other eight times before, and you've won four each. What do you make of him as a player?

RAFAEL NADAL: What?

Q. Lleyton Hewitt. You could facehim in the third round.

RAFAEL NADAL: I understood. Only the last.

Q. (Through translation.)

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I'm sure Lleyton is a great champion in this sport. He has very good career. So always is a pleasure to play against him, but right now we are in second round,yeah? Not yet. I have to wait.

Q. Do you feel that the heat change, the condition if compared to last year maybe or two years ago where it was pretty cool here, the condition of play?

RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, much better, no? I prefer to play with these conditions than raining or cold, no?

So it's much better for us, I think.

Q. Do you feel more confident or less confident than last year when you started Roland Garros?

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I don't know. Important feelingis

Q. There is no difference?

RAFAEL NADAL: Every year is different, no? But I never compare, two years, so I don't know.

THE MODERATOR: Spanish questions.

Q. Yesterday you were telling us you're a bit nervous, anxious. Was it the way you felt today when you walked on the court?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, not really. Maybe at the beginning to start with. The court is big, and at the beginning, I didn't quite get the best feelings, but I won in three sets. That's very positive. I should have won more easily, but at 54,when I had to serve, then I had to serve again sometimes I missed some opportunities to win the set earlier, but it was a difficult match.

I had practiced well before, but I know that I can improve, and I hope I'm going to continue improving for my next match.

Q. My question is not about your game but about Fabrice Santoro. He's playing his 20th tournament here. What do you think about him, about his careeron the tour?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, he is a legend on the tour. He plays with his very own personal style. Two hands. He was a very charismatic player on the tour,and he's a model for all of us. 20years, long career. That's fantastic. We all wish we can play for20 years.

So he had a beautiful career, and he really deserves a tribute.

Q. What can you tell us about the way Marcos Daniel plays after your game?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I don't know. His backhand is better than his forehand, but I think I made it a bit easy for him. That's my opinion.

Q. How fit are you as compared to the previous years?MyP2P.eu :: Grand Slams - Roland Garros

RAFAEL NADAL: Oh, comparing again. Well, physically, I feel well, I don't want to compare with last year, because I can't remember. That was a year ago, you know.

But I feel good, and last year, I played a match well, I didn't play well, really, and little by little I felt better. This year well, it's not a very good start. I'm not going to say it's positive. I would have preferred to start with a very positive start, but I hope this tournament is going to be long enough for me to give me time to adapt and to improve and get good feelings all along the tournament.

Q. About the fact you didn't play that well, are there any compartments in the game where you felt you were not at your best?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, my leg game was not that good. I didn't play well with my legs. But, you know, in sports it's in a tenth of a second you have to catch the ball and everything can change in a game. You need to be present there, on time. If you play well, you have the feeling you'll be on top of the next ball, but today I was a bit short in my shots. I was not very precise. It wasn't neat and clear during this match,so this is what I need to improve.

I need to play more I need my shots to be longer, and I do need to improve on that.

Q. You played at the hottest hour of the day. Now, for the upcoming matches, what would you prefer? Would you prefer to play at a different hour because of the heat? Isit affecting you?

RAFAELNADAL: No, I have no problem with that. I can play at any hour, and this is perfectly bearable temperature.



Photo credit: Associated Press



Photo credit: CBS Sportsline


Photo credit: CBS Sportsline


Photo credit: CBS Sportsline


Photo credit: CBS Sportsline

Photo credit: CBS Sportsline

Photo credit: CBS Sportsline

PHOTO CONTEST by Babolat "My Tennis Wins with Babolat"
From May 24 to July 15, 2009

Take a picture of yourself biting your tennis racket and email it to
mordstaraquette@babolat.com

The prizes are pictured above.

View the pictures at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/babolatvs

Rafa will select the ten winners. Note in your email that you belong to the forum sponsored by Babolat.
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Video of interview with Rafael Nadal in June 2009 Vogue USA.

Uploaded by meriko

Video of Round 1 match Rafa vs. Marcos Daniel

www.youtube.com/watch?v=coRoSr8SNFc

Roland Garros 2009 Videos

www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/multimedia

Training at Roland Garros

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cKZE4tX1Wo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV8ZuqreOes


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Rafa Fan Forums

The Original Forum from Rafa's Website - this forum is now sponsored by Babolat

vamosbrigade.com

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Join the fast for Darfur


Water only fast

In this fast only water is consumed.

Refugee rations fast

Cracked Wheat - Daily, 7 oz. (weight not volume) (686 Calories)
Farina Wheat Cereal - Daily - 1.17 oz (weight not volume) (123 Calories)
Yellow Split Peas - Daily 1/6 Cup (82 Calories)
Oil - Daily 2.4 TSPNs (96 Calories)
Sugar - Daily 2 TSPNs (30 Calories)
Salt - Daily 1/10 Teaspoon per day.

Total of 1,017 Calories

People Fasting in Solidarity are listed at
fastdarfur.org

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Support UNICEF's Emergency Programs in Sudan

DONATE AT unicefusa.org/site/Donation

UNICEF is working around the clock to meet the needs of children following the suspension of 16 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by the Government of Sudan. The biggest impact will be in Darfur, where an estimated 2.7 million people--half of them children--have been displaced from their homes and where the suspended NGOs were key partners in the provision of lifesaving services.

You can help by using this form to make a secure, tax-deductible donation to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, supporting UNICEF's efforts in Sudan. $50, $100, $250, $500 or any amount you can give will make a difference.

If you prefer, print a form to send your donation by mail or call 1.800.FOR.KIDS (1.800.367.5437) to donate by phone.



Jan Pronk answers your questions

Source: http://bechamilton.com/?p=550

In this 30-minute podcast I ask former UN Special Representative to the Secretary General for Sudan, Jan Pronk, questions that you submitted through the website, plus a few follow-up questions of my own. (My apologies for the poor sound quality at the beginning of the interview - it gets better once Pronk starts speaking at about 1.15 minutes in.)

Until you get time to listen, here are the questions we covered and some select highlights:

What do you think accounts for the drop in violent deaths that the CRED report suggested took place after April 2004?

Pronk explains different phases of the crisis and the improvements that came once the Security Council started addressing it, humanitarians got in there etc. But he also notes that one reason for the drop is that by the time he arrived in Sudan in “people had been killed already . . . there weren’t too many more people left to be killed.”

When I re-stated something he had referred to as an “improvement” in the statistics in camps once there was humanitarian access, he was very quick to pull me up on the use of the word “improvement” and to make clear that it was more accurate to call it a “new situation” that was partly due to humanitarian access, but also partly because “so many had been killed already” and that “to a certain extent the Government, together with the Janjaweed, had gotten what they wanted . . . they had wanted to empty that part of the country in order to make it available for themselves . . .”

Pronk made reference to R2P and also talked about how people within the UN system asked members of the Security Council about Darfur, but that throughout 2003 “they continuously refused to put it [Darfur] on the agenda of the Security Council . . .”

I asked who was blocking it and why. He said the requests were directed at the U.S. and U.K. - and that “later on we understood that they were afraid to make life too difficult for the government in Khartoum which was involved in a peace negotiation with SPLM/SPLA in southern Sudan . . . I understand it as a [sic] reasoning; I think it’s wrong reasoning . . .”

What can the Obama Administration can do to assist UNAMID?

His reply started with: “UNAMID is in disarray.”

He said UNAMID needs to get up to the authorized troop level and be given the equipment - in particular military helicopters - that it needs, and has been promised. “It is as if the international community thinks ‘they are only Africans’ . . ” he said.

In terms of what the Obama Administration can do to change this:

1. Get the force up to standard in terms of size and resources

2. Implement sanctions “to make life difficult for those who are responsible for the policies in Darfur”. Until this happens they can continue to make it difficult for whatever UNAMID contingent is there to operate effectively.

3. Demand that the Government of South Sudan starts to step up and take responsibility for Darfur now that they are part of the Government of National Unity.

Regarding the first point, I asked what Western countries can do to increase troop numbers to the authorized level when the GOS won’t let Western troops into Darfur. He said that there needs to be political pressure on, in particular, Asian countries - Bangledesh, Nepal - to increase numbers. But he also had a novel idea (which you should listen to properly rather than just rely on this brief summary) about getting GOS consent to re-deploy the (primarily non-Western) troops from UNMIS in South Sudan to UNAMID in Darfur. Then Western troops could be deployed to UNMIS to replace them, since the GOS “does not have the right to question the composition of UNMIS in the South.”

On the third point, I questioned whether the GOSS has the leverage to push on Darfur given their fear about the future of the CPA. You can listen to his answer, but in short, he acknowledges they are in a difficult position but thinks they have more leverage than they realize.

How many military helicopters are needed?

They only have four and they need “some dozens . . . it is outrageous that they have not been made available - as if there are no [military] helicopters in the world.”

Why, after almost 3 months, have the agencies that were expelled not been re-admitted. What can and should governments do to change this?

He talked about needing a strong and, most important, unified response. “The fact that the United Nations has divided the U.N. presence into two missions is of course not helpful. The Government of Sudan always tries to divide and rule. . . The U.N. has weakened itself. It was [a] stupid decision, asking the people of Sudan to stay together and then to make yourself into two missions in that specific country. I never understood the political wisdom of that decision . . .”

What do you see as the prospect for a united Sudan?

You need to guarantee:

1. Peace in the South

2. Peace in Darfur

3. Development

4. Guarantees of fundamental rights (He commented: “In the period I was there, I really had the impression that they (the Government of South Sudan) were doing good things . . . they really did a good job in the first two years. . “)

“If these four conditions . . . would be met, there’s a chance for unity. If these conditions would not be met, I bet the people in the South would vote for independence. . . .”

Saving Lives - Sudanese demonstrate at the White House

On Friday, Sudanese from across the US came together to demonstrate in front of the White House. Check out a slideshow of photos from the event.

ABC news covered the event:

On Friday, a small group of Sudanese immigrants gathered in front of the White House to express their disappointment in Obama for not being active enough on Darfur from the outset of his presidency.

“I voted for him,” said protestor William Deng, of the Southern Sudan Project. “And I did it because I knew he was going to do something about Darfur. But now he’s silent, he’s never done anything. And I feel, I regret that he doesn’t do anything about our issues.”

The Sudan Tribune reported:

Dozens of US activists and members of the Sudanese diaspora marched in front of the White House on Friday just days before two members of the US Senate arrived in Khartoum to meet with top aides of President Omer Al-Bashir.

Protestors held signs saying “Save Lives Now”, “El Bashir & NCP to ICC”, “Restore Aid Now,” and “End the Genocide.”

Source: http://blogfordarfur.org/2009/05/25/saving-lives-sudanese-demonstrate-at-the-white-house/

Photo credits Natasha Ghent-Rodriguez

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Write to President Obama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Tell him we need his leadership for the short and long run
on the issue of genocide and the
6 year old genocide on the unarmed Darfuri civilians, families.

President Obama can be called:
202-456-1111
or
1-800-GENOCIDE

Find USA elected politicians contact information at this link:
www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Check this out
www.darfurscores.org
Your elected officials get graded on Darfur


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JOIN OTHERS TO PUT AN END TO GENOCIDE
www.enoughproject.org
www.savedarfur.org
www.standnow.org


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Sunday, March 29, 2009

WHAT IF PRESIDENT OBAMA CARED ABOUT THE PEOPLE OF DARFUR?


WOULD HE DO SOMETHING?

To STOP this MASS MURDER IN PROCESS


THE WONDERFUL people at http://www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day6
are making it all real for us to understand on a human to human basis what it is like to try to stay alive during a genocide. And they are asking us to act each day to get a hold of our leaders and say YOU ARE FAILING. SINCE 2003, THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON. IT IS NOT ALL RIGHT AND WE WANT YOU TO START DOING WHAT IT TAKES TO BEGIN TO END THIS MASS MURDER IN PROCESS.

The following is taken from their website:

"Wake Up, Brush your Teeth, Call your Leaders"

Each day we will have a new action item for you to participate in during i-ACT. However, we are also offering a single action, for each of the 10 days, that you can take. As part of an Urgent Call-in Campaign to pressure the Obama Administration we want to keep the phone lines busy. At least once a day please call President Obama at 202.456.1111 (9am-5pm EST Monday-Friday), State Department at 202.647.6575 (call anytime to leave a message), or text Secretary Clinton at 90822 and tell them:

“I am from _____ and I want the Obama Administration to uphold his promises of action for Darfur with ‘unstinting resolve.’ Work to get aid back into Darfur. Support an effective Peacekeeping Force. Support the ICC. ”

Make the pledge by commenting below. Tell us how many times you will call and with whom during i-ACT. If you are a teacher call with your students. If you are a student, maybe use the loud speaker at school. Get creative in your pledges and actions. We need more people to call. Each and every one of us counts, and the people of Darfur are counting on us.
If you are from another country and have a phone number for our leader, please share it here and we will post it on the full action item!

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Day 5 Action: Ban ki-Moon, Don’t Do it!

John Norris from ENOUGH has brought to our attention in a recent post, Bad Moon Rising, that the United Nations Secretary General BAN KI-MOON is thinking about meeting with Sudan’s indicted war criminal, President Bashir. We need to act fast to make sure that this does not happen at the Arab League Meeting in Doha. Inevitably, as Norris notes, pictures will be leaked and a media blitz from Bashir and his colleagues will follow. Contact Secretary General Ban ki-Moon and send him the message: Don’t meet with Bashir, an indicted war criminal, you will be legitimizing his regime and their actions.

Contact him the following ways:

  1. Leave a message on the United Nations general comment line: 212-963-4475 and Press * to leave a message.
  2. Contact Ban ki-Moon’s Special Assistant on the Prevention of Genocide, Francis Deng, and urge him to pressure the Secretary General not to meet with Bashir. Phone: 917-367-2078; Email: DengF@un.org.

Today, when you Wake Up, Brush your Teeth, Call your Leaders, add the above ask to your message! Pressure from all sides must come.

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i-ACT 7: Day 6, Reunion with Adef's family
Uploaded by iACTivism


Action to take
DAY 6 Action - Fast For Darfur

NOTE: this action is for March 29 - Sunday

Posted by Webmaster on March 28th, 2009

For today—Sunday’s—action, we are reverting to what feels symbolic and trivial, compared to what is happening to the people of Darfur. The team here will be fasting, in solidarity with the children in this camp and the more than one million people that will go without food soon inside of Darfur. We will also make a small donation ($25 each) towards nutrition, through USA for UNHCR.

We are requesting that you join us in the fast and also send in the donation towards nutrition. Besides this, in order to work on the political will that is missing, we would like you to call your Senators’ office and tell them about your fast, and that you expect them to be your LOUD voice in Washington. Action is needed now. Click here to find the phone number for the Senator of your state.

Please donate to improve nutrition in the camps:
Make checks out to: USA for UNHCR
On memo line, write: SGN - Fast for Darfur

Send to:
Stop Genocide Now
1732 Aviation Blvd. #138
Redondo Beach, CA 90278

100% of tax-deductible donation will go to UNHCR’s work to improve nutrition at Darfuri refugee camps.

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From the journal entries from Chad
We Hope for Stronger, Not Weaker
Posted by Katie-Jay on March 28th, 2009

It’s hard to see it when I am in front of them. When I return to our little compound at night and look through past slides, it becomes apparent. When I toggle between pictures from today and from last January of our friends here in camp Djabal, the difference is like night and day. The children are growing smaller, sicker, and more fragile as they age, not stronger as we hope for all children.

Guisma and Marymouda (Adef Children).JPGOumar seemed skinner, as if he had been sick for a sometime, but we don’t know for sure. When I saw his mother again, Genie, she had Hydar with her. In a little over a year, he looks no bigger or stronger; his little shoulder poking through a tank.

Gabriel and Yuen-Lin saw again our friends Adef, Achta, and their children. Well, some of them. Marymouda died. She got sick. When they took her to the clinic there was nothing they could do for her. Guisma was not smiling and laughing as she was last year. Her giggle was contagious and she would get her twin brothers rolling. Achta, their mom, said she had been sick too, but healed. It seems her sole and laughter have not returned.

One of Guisma’s twin brothers looks so different.

The lucky ones who made it here are still struggling to survive on the little that we, as the international community, have been able to provide. Food distribution starts next week. That means that many of the people we have visited in the last few days have no food, as it usually runs out before the end of the month.

Please join Gabriel and Yuen-Lin as they fast in solidarity with the refugees. It can be whatever type of fast that works for you. I will not be joining them myself, as I have developed a small ear infection that kept me from the field this afternoon. I hope to return with full strength tomorrow. Nobody worry, I am fine! I just keep thinking, what if I were a refugee and felt like this?

Peace, ktj


With the children

Posted by Webmaster on March 28th, 2009

This is the third day we visited refugee camp Djabal. We are doing work for the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program, which will connect students in the US with students in the refugee camps in Eastern Chad, starting with camp Djabal. It is fun collecting the profiles of Darfuri children and spending time with them at school and at their homes. They are so much like the children I’ve worked with in the US. They’re very much like my own kids.

cu stu blue scarf.JPG There is one huge exception, though. All of the children we’ve been talking to have to grapple with some facts and memories that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. They’ve all seen their villages destroyed; they say nothing is left standing, where it was once their homes. They’ve all seen families and friends killed, leaving voids that we visitors just cannot see. They’ve had to walk weeks across the desert, with some not making it. They’ve had to settle in to a life of receiving and survival, when they really want to produce and thrive.

At times I feel powerless and ineffective. What can I do that goes beyond the symbolic and seemingly trivial? I really wish I knew what it took to bring about change for these children, even if it seemed almost impossible to reach. That way, we could go all out and exhaust ourselves, but going in the right direction. For now, I truly believe that our leaders and experts could bring about change, but the political will is missing. It is not easy to pin down how we can create that will.

For today—Sunday’s—action, we are reverting to what feels symbolic and trivial, compared to what is happening to the people of Darfur. The team here will be fasting, in solidarity with the children in this camp and the more than one million people that will go without food soon inside of Darfur. We will also make a small donation ($25 each) towards nutrition, through USA for UNHCR.We are requesting that you join us in the fast and also send in the donation towards nutrition. Besides this, in order to work on the political will that is missing, we would like you to call your Senators’ office and tell them about your fast, and that you expect them to be your LOUD voice in Washington. Action is needed now.Thank you for standing with these children.

Peace,Gabriel, for the i-ACT team

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This is my United States Postal Service version of my letter to President Barack Obama, which I mailed Saturday, March 28, 2009

GENOCIDE FLOURISHES WITH OUR COMPLICITY





The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama,

The last time (March 12, 2009) I wrote a letter to you about the emergency regarding the Darfuri people and the NGOs being expelled from Sudan since March 4, 2009, I received a response that you are working on the economy. I found this very disappointing that my letter received a response that had nothing to do with my letter's subject. I wrote using the http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact form. And I also sent a second copy through the United States Postal Service to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

Please, tell me if there is contact information for the Sudan Special Envoy Scott Gration.

President Obama, two United States citizens and a Malaysian citizen are together in Chad (starting March 23) through April 1st including a trip to a Darfuri refugee camp, camp Djabal. They post daily journal entries, photographs and videos from there. The videos are posted on their website, as well as on Youtube. They are Gabriel Stauring, Katie-Jay Scott and Yuen-Lin Tan. Here are links to Day 4, 5 and 6 of their time there: http://www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day4
http://www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day5
http://www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day6

They are also on Twitter: http://twitter.com/iact

We are so very grateful that Gabriel, Katie-Jay (their seventh trip) and Yuen-Lin are doing this for the Darfuri people and for us to be better informed. I so wish you, President Obama, could be there with them. Or at least following them online on this trip. March 26th in your online “town meeting” while talking about health care, your mother and your appreciation for nurses, you mentioned your daughter Sasha having meningitis when she was younger. I know that meningitis is one of the diseases that is spreading through the IDP camps. This is a connection that you have personally with the Darfuri people. But may I respectfully point out that your family wasn’t living in a refugee camp with doctors ordered to leave?

I so appreciate reading the daily journal entries from Chad of these three dedicated citizens who care so genuinely for our Darfuri brothers and sisters. It helps me - brings me closer to understanding what it is really like there for the Darfuri people.

Genocide has never happened without the complicity of millions or billions of human beings going about their daily business.

Two days ago, a comment was left at my “Dear President Obama – A Letter sent March 12, 2009” on Youtube regarding Darfur http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XBDP3ZdmEE by a 24 year old which reads: “As important as this is President Obama needs to sort out our economy before we go trying to save other countries”. I respectfully disagree wholeheartedly. I believe President Obama, you are quite capable of doing both.

There is not enough money in the world that can give us back our dignity if we continue on the path of least resistance regarding this human disaster of the Darfuri people that now has heaped upon it another disaster with the expulsion of the humanitarian aid men and women.

I plead with you, please, do read this letter. Please do not send a response about all the other deeply pressing issues that we face in the United States of America. Genocide will stop when enough leaders use their will to make ways to end it. My hope is that you, President Obama, will reach into your heart and realize that although “’we’ are the ones we’ve been waiting for”, we need your leadership to help we citizens move forward on this true crisis of our existence as the human race. Genocide never happens when we have an opening in our schedule to add something to our “to do” list. We are counting on you, Mr. Obama, to do what you said:

"The United States has a moral obligation anytime you see humanitarian catastrophes…we have the most stake in creating an order in the world that is stable...in which people have hope and opportunity and when you see a genocide whether it's in Rwanda, or Bosnia or in Darfur - that's a stain on all of us, that's a stain on our souls...I was the first along with Senator Brownback to focus on ratcheting up sanctions and getting an envoy in there who was serious. We worked diligently to get the Darfur Peace and Accountability act passed…I think the level of commitment and the way that I’ve spoken out on this issue indicates not only knowledge, but also passion in bringing an end to this crisis. It’s very encouraging to see activism based not on self-interest, but on moral imperative and it’s especially heartening to see young people engaged in expressing their idealism through this movement …We can't say 'never again' and then allow it to happen again. And as President of the United States I don't intend to abandon people or turn a blind eye to slaughter.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEd583-fA8M November 2007

With much respect,

“The Most Important Office is That of Private Citizen” Louis D. Brandeis
“Now, Let’s Go Change the World”. Barack Obama

P.S. I am not one of the “young people engaged in expressing my idealism through this movement”, as I will be 60 years old April 2nd.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source for the following article:

http://www.cfr.org/publication/18908/stopping_bashir.html?breadcrumb=%2F

Stopping Bashir: Obama's "Never Again" Moment of Truth

Authors:
Stewart M. Patrick, Senior Fellow and Director, Program on International Institutions and Global Governance
Kaysie Brown, Deputy Director, International Institutions and Global Governance

March 23, 2009

During the presidential campaign, candidate Barack Obama called the crisis in Darfur a "stain on our souls," promising vigorous action to save its victims if elected. But since taking office he has been more cautious than President George W. Bush. Overwhelmed by the global economic downturn and internally divided over this issue, his administration has been slow to react to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's most recent provocation: expelling humanitarian aid groups in retaliation for the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against him for crimes against humanity.

Bashir's defiance is staggering--the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations can't even touch an eyelash of his, or so he says--and his intent is clear. By expelling aid workers in Darfur, he hopes to divide the international community and blackmail the UN Security Council into deferring the ICC's indictment. This gambit creates a moment of truth for the Obama administration.

Beyond resisting calls for a deferral, Washington must regain the initiative it has lost to Bashir. Although President Obama has appointed a special envoy for Darfur, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has publicly promised to hold Bashir accountable for every innocent death, the president has postponed more forceful action pending a comprehensive review of Sudan policy.

Unfortunately, the crisis is not standing still. The president must begin dictating rather than merely responding to events. The boldest way to do so is to declare Bashir beyond the pale, launch a full-bore campaign to isolate him diplomatically, and ultimately bring him to justice.

Some, positing a trade-off between peace and justice, recommend deferring the ICC indictment, as permitted under the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court. Proceeding with Bashir's prosecution, they warn, will jeopardize prospects for peace in Darfur and the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended the long-running civil war between northern and southern Sudan in 2005.

This argument represents a triumph of hope over experience. It flies in the face of what we know about and can expect from Bashir and exaggerates the prospects of peace in either place without regime change in Khartoum.

In fact, support for Bashir's arrest and prosecution reflects realism, not idealism. The United States has three national interests in Sudan: stopping mass atrocities in Darfur; ensuring stable peace between northern and southern Sudan; and preserving intelligence cooperation with Khartoum in the struggle against global terrorism. The best way to advance all three is to arrest Bashir and to transfer him to The Hague, not to bargain with a known killer who has no record of keeping his word.

Bashir is committed to total victory in Darfur, where five thousand people already die each month, according to ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. That number could now surge, as one million victims lose access to food aid and medicine. An indicator of Bashir's callousness toward Darfur is his 2006 appointment of the genocidal Ahmed Haroun, former minister of the interior, as minister for humanitarian affairs. This is akin to naming Joseph Goebbels as head of concentration camp welfare. Haroun was indicted by the ICC in 2007 for crimes against humanity and war crimes, after which Bashir appointed him to lead an investigation into human rights abuses in Darfur.

Nor can Bashir be counted on as a faithful custodian of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Since its signature in 2005, Khartoum has worked to undermine its terms, fomenting violence in the strategic oil-rich region of Abyei and sabotaging the planned referendum on southern independence, scheduled for 2011. This includes delaying steps necessary for a functioning national election this year. It is nave to imagine that Bashir, freed of indictment, would suddenly live up to his side of the bargain.

Finally, Washington cannot hope to maintain an effective intelligence-sharing arrangement with Khartoum if Bashir remains in power. Such a relationship is critical, given ongoing threats from al-Qaeda affiliated groups in North Africa and the Horn. Unfortunately, the steady deterioration in Sudan-U.S. relations jeopardizes such cooperation.

A hard line from Washington is essential to stiffen the resolve of wobbly members of the international community, and to embolden fence-sitters within Sudan's ruling National Congress Party who may be in a position to depose Bashir. But those individuals are unlikely to help remove him unless the world community stands firm on the ICC indictment, ratcheting up pressure on a regime whose days they make clear are numbered.

President Obama can take five concrete steps to regain the initiative in the face of Basir's intransigence. First, he should openly dismiss any possibility of Security Council deferment and insist that any country that is able to do so should remand Bashir to the court. This includes U.S. ally Qatar, host of the 2009 Arab League summit, which Bashir plans to attend. Second, Obama should engage Beijing on tighter UN sanctions for Bashir's criminal regime, which by its actions is now endangering long-term Chinese interests in Sudan. Third, he should welcome the African Union's creation of a new Darfur panel under former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has promised that "war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other abuses will be punished resolutely." Fourth, he should commit U.S. logistical support for the UN peacekeeping mission and jointly with Europeans, declare a no-fly zone in Darfur enforced by Western warplanes. Finally, he should shore up the ICC's global standing, by signaling willingness to consider eventual U.S. membership, pending a bipartisan review of its performance and adequate safeguards.

As Pulitzer Prize winner and current National Security Council official Samantha Power observes, mass atrocities present the United States with a "problem from hell." But it is not one we can wish away. Rather than negotiating with Bashir, Washington needs to lead an all-out push on the Security Council and among Arab and African countries to isolate the Sudanese leader and ultimately remove him from power.

Stewart Patrick and Kaysie Brown are director and deputy director, respectively, of the Program on International Institutions and Global Governance at the Council on Foreign Relations.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



END THE GENOCIDE

"The United States has a moral obligation anytime you see humanitarian catastrophes.. we have the most stake in creating an order in the world that is stable...and when you see a genocide whether it's in Rwanda, or Bosnia or in Darfur - that's a stain on all of us, that's a stain on our souls... I was the first along with Senator Brownback to focus on ratcheting up sanctions and getting an envoy in there who was serious. We worked diligently to get the Darfur Peace and Accountability act passed…I think the level of commitment and the way that I’ve spoken out on this issue indicates not only knowledge but also passion in bringing an end to this crisis. It’s very encouraging to see activism based not on self-interest but on moral imperative…We can't say 'never again' and then allow it to happen again and as President of the United States I don't intend to abandon people or turn a blind eye to slaughter.” November 2007 Hear Barack Obama say these words.


Write to President Obama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

You can also write to the President at:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

President Obama can be called:

202-456-1111
or
1-800-GENOCIDE

The White House comment line is available
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. weekdays

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find USA elected politicians contact information at this link:
www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday, March 30, 2009
UPDATE:

Order of Play

STADIUM start 11:00am
J Tipsarevic (SRB) vs [6] J Del Potro (ARG) - ATP

Not Before 1:00 PM
[1] R Nadal (ESP) vs [Q] F Gil (POR) - ATP
[4] A Murray (GBR) vs N Massu (CHI) - ATP

Not Before 4:30 PM
[1] S Williams (USA) vs [17] J Zheng (CHN) - WTA

Not Before 7:00 PM
[12] F Gonzalez (CHI) vs [18] R Stepanek (CZE) - ATP

Not Before 8:30 PM
E Makarova (RUS) vs N Li (CHN) - WTA

GRANDSTAND start 11:00am
[13] C Wozniacki (DEN) vs [4] E Dementieva (RUS) - WTA
[10] A Radwanska (POL) vs [5] V Williams (USA) - WTA

Not Before 2:00 PM
[11] D Ferrer (ESP) vs [17] M Cilic (CRO) - ATP
[20] I Andreev (RUS) vs [16] S Wawrinka (SUI) - ATP
[32] F Lopez (ESP) vs [8] F Verdasco (ESP) - ATP

Not Before 5:30 PM
[WC] M Lopez (ESP) / R Nadal (ESP) vs [6] B Soares (BRA) / K Ullyett (ZIM) - ATP


Link to pictures to Rafa's match with Gabashvili

End of UPDATE.

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It just feels wrong, to put this here. My mind is on the above issue. I am a tennis fan, particularly a Rafa Nadal fan.

And I am a college basketball fan, too. However, I have watched no basketball games during the best time of the college basketball season, so far.

Here's a bit from Miami...


Photo credits: unknown of above two pictures of Rafa at a press conference



Rafa and Richard Gasquet while at a practice session
I read that Gasquet pulled out of Miami
By the way...

Miami - Tennis

Round 2 March 28, 2009

Rafa Nadal won over Teimuraz Gabashvili

6-2, 6-2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rafa will play Gil in Round 3

www.sonyericssonopen.com

Free live streaming online at

http://www.channelsurfing.net/watch-wabuk-1.html

Or pay at

http://www.tennistv.com/


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now to add to the mix on this post

here is a video by Peigi McCann

.................................................

.................................................

See it in big screen

The wonderful interaction between Frankie and The Stranger

from the movie Dear Frankie

set to the Scottish Donovan Leitch's song, Happiness Runs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DO SOMETHING TO STOP A CRIME

Call 1-800-GENOCIDE


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