US SENATOR OBAMA CARED ABOUT DARFUR ~ PRESIDENT OBAMA NEGLECTS DARFURIS

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A speech from the 2006 Rally for Darfur in Washington, D.C.

Million-Voices-Rally-Washington-D-C ~ Barack Obama, Elie Wiesel, Nancy Pelosi, George Clooney and others speak at the Rally for Darfur April 30, 2006 There is no embed for the video, only the link to the video. It is worth listening to. Hear Senator Obama take a stand that he hasn't taken since being President.

Amnesty calls on Sudan to tackle human rights abuses ahead of referendum

Source: Sudan Tribune

January 7, 2011 (NAIROBI) – Sudan must refrain from ramping up military attacks in Darfur and guard against human rights violations during and after the referendum on south Sudan’s independence, which is due to begin on Sunday, Amnesty International has demanded.

The vote on south Sudan independence is the final stipulation of the 2005’s peace deal that ended nearly two decades of civil war between north and south Sudan. South Sudan is largely expected to opt for secession.

The global human rights watchdog on Friday accused the Sudanese government of taking advantage of the fact that the world’s attention has shifted to south Sudan referendum to step up military operations in Darfur region.

According to Amnesty, more than 20,000 people were displaced in December last year by a spate of largely unreported attacks by government forces in several areas in Darfur region, including Dar Al Salam, Shangil Tobaya and Khor Abeche camps in north and south Darfur.

The conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur rumbles on despite numerous international efforts to broker a peace agreement between the Sudanese government and increasingly factionalized rebel groups.

In a media briefing received by Sudan Tribune on Friday, Amnesty said that the International Community had turned a blind eye on these attacks as its attention shifts towards south Sudan referendum.

Separately, Amnesty said that members of Sudan’s National Security and Intelligence Services are still abusing their massive powers, noting the arrest last November of 11 Darfuri activists who are still held in detention without charges or trial.

Amnesty further warned that the persecution of ethnic monitories in the north may increase during and after the referendum. It also noted that women in north Sudan still face “cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment” under the Public Order Law which sanctions flogging and arrest of women on the basis of their clothing and public behavior.

On the north-south issue, Amnesty warned against the implosive nature of the citizenship issue, saying that failure to reach an agreement on the issue of citizenship could lead to “mass displacements, various human rights violations and the separation of families in both the north and south.”

North and south Sudan remain deadlocked over a host of post referendum arrangements, most notably is the issue of citizenship and the status of the contested oil-producing area of Abyei.

Amnesty called on the north and the south to allow people to choose which citizenship they wish to obtain, noting that the conditions for obtaining citizenship must not discriminate on the basis of birth, ethnic origin, religion, gender, marital status or similar other factors.

The organization also called on the authorities in the north and the south to tackle human rights violations effectively during the referendum and to instruct law-enforcement bodies to protect people from intimidation and harassment as a result of their choices in the referendum.

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"...Gration said last month that one crucial effort was to determine the future status of Abyei, a disputed, oil-rich region that will not be voting next week because of disagreements over voter eligibility and logistical delays. If the country splits, the north and the south could both claim ownership of Abyei, turning the region into a potential flashpoint for renewed conflict.

"We are working with both sides to calm the rhetoric and put a plan in place that will give both sides reassurances," Gration said about the Abyei situation. "This is probably not a situation where either side will be happy. We're looking for a solution that leaves both sides angry but neither side mad."

Source: thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/04/kerry_to_spend_week_in_

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Southern Sudan government orders Darfur rebels out of Juba prior to referendum

Source: www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/southern-sudan-government-orders-darfur-rebels-out-of-juba-prior-to-referendum-2011010566279.html

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Sudan’s FM warns of war with Juba over Darfur rebels

December 28, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan foreign minister Ali Karti warned today that South Sudan support to Darfur rebel groups will lead to war with the new country.

If the South Sudan government wants to start its new era with a war that will be the case if it harbors Darfur movements, said the Sudanese official in a press briefing in Khartoum with the visiting Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.

“We want the South to have a healthy start, safe and stable and we do not want it to be a party to what is going on between the government and the Darfur movements,” Karti further said.

The minister pointed out to government allegations that the southern Sudan ruling SPLM harbors Darfur rebels groups and supports them with logistics and weapons. Since last November, Sudanese warplanes also bombed different areas in southern Sudan saying they hit Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) fighters.

Minni Minnawi, the sole signatory of Darfur Peace Agreement and former Senior Presidential Assistant is now based in Juba. His forces clashed with the Sudanese army recently in different areas in Darfur and he is considered as “legitimate target” by Khartoum.

The government says JEM rebels are now trained by the southern Sudan army SPLA and Ugandan army, but the rebels and Juba denied the allegations.

Southern Sudanese are expected to vote for secession in a referendum on self-determination scheduled to be held on 9 January. The ruling party in the semi-autonomous region called to vote for separation accusing the National Congress Party (NCP) of not making unity attractive.

Karti stressed that the self-determination right aims to realize peace and not war he also said that his government will respect the outcome of the vote.

Officials from the ruling NCP to begin by President Omer Al-Bashir repeated pledges today that Khartoum will respect the result of the referendum which is expected to be widely in favor of secession.

The visiting Amr Moussa said the Arab League said there was no indication that north and south would return to war.

“I don’t see any indication that the parties have the willingness to go back to war,” Moussa said, adding “What is going on between them is far away from war. There is a political good will.”

The Arab League chief who will dispatch some 87 observers to monitor the referendum said the regional organization will “respect the result of the referendum and what the voters decide,” he said.

Related posts ~

1. Sudan’s FM warns of war with Juba over Darfur rebels
2. Sudan’s spy chief demands Juba to arrest Darfur rebels in Southern Sudan
3. South Sudan army denies supporting Darfur rebels
4. Khartoum’s army bomb South Sudan, targeting Darfur rebels
5. JEM rebels deny accusations of being supported by South Sudan

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our humanity in the balance

"WE GOT TO STOP TALKING ABOUT IT AND ACT" JOE BIDEN re DARFUR

SILENCE KILLS IN ITS COMPLICITY TO KILLING BY TREACHERY

Sandra Hammel

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This week, Vice President Joe Biden travels in Africa, meeting with several heads of state and other high ranking officials to discuss a host of global and regional issues.

Some of Joe Biden statements about Darfur:

This is incredible…what’s happening. And I promise you...I promise you.

We're all going to sit here 5 and 10 years from now and we’re going to be saying "Why didn’t we do the things that we can do?" You know, we got to stop talking about it. A lot of talk goes on about it. You’re going to have thousands and thousands and thousands of people die. We got to stop talking and act.

and

We cannot let months and years continue to tick away while they continue to suffer. (July 2008)

Send a letter to Vice President Biden, urging him to make the situation in Sudan a priority during his trip to Africa. Go to http://action.savedarfur.org/campaign/vptrip


Post this video on the WhiteHouse Facebook page: www.facebook.com/WhiteHouse

Tweet this: VP #Biden, as you travel in Africa, build and use leverage towards lasting peace in #Sudan @WhiteHouse @StateDept http://bit.ly/bwDIxP

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Uploaded June 7, 2010 by stopgenocidenow

Gabriel Stauring and his team at Stop Genocide Now put together this powerful video on behalf of Sudan Now. The video highlights statements that Biden has made over the years regarding Darfur.

You can download the video at:
http://gallery.me.com/threadsuns1#100239


Here are a few actions that you can take to maximize this powerful
advocacy tool. These are time-sensitive actions so please act quickly:

- Post it on your organization's website
- Send it out in email blasts
- Twitter link to with message: VP #Biden, as you travel in Africa,
build and use leverage towards lasting peace in #Sudan @WhiteHouse @StateDept

Another effective action is to post the video at
http://www.facebook.com/WhiteHouse

Biden’s Africa trip is all about Sudan

Posted By Josh Rogin Monday, June 7, 2010 - 8:37 PM

Source: the cable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/06/07/biden_s_africa_trip_is_all_about_sudan

Vice President Joseph Biden is leading an interagency delegation to Africa this week, but his final stop at the 2010 World Cup is not the point of the journey. Biden is there to get involved in Sudan policy and lend some senior-level supervision to an issue that has split the Obama administration for months.

On Wednesday, Biden will become the senior-most Obama administration official to meet with Southern Sudanese President Salva Kiir. The purpose of the meeting will be "to talk about the necessary steps to fully implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and to plan for post-referendum Sudan," a senior administration official told The Cable, adding that the conversation will be "mostly about the future of southern Sudan." That's an indication that the Obama team is getting concerned that the January 2011 elections, when the South is widely expected to vote to separate from the North, a result that could spark violence or even a return to civil war.

There are Sudan meetings woven throughout Biden's seven-day journey through Africa. He already spoke about the future of southern Sudan with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, it's sure to come up in his Tuesday meetings with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, and the vice president's office has said Sudan will be at the top of the agenda during Biden's meeting Thursday with former South African President Thabo Mbeki.

Sudan Special Envoy J. Scott Gration is on the trip with Biden, along with Assistant Secretary of State for African affairs Johnnie Carson and the National Security Council's senior director for Africa Michelle Gavin, among others.

The elevation of the Sudan issue to the top levels of the White House is exactly what leading Sudan activists have been demanding of the administration for months. They are fed up with what they see as deep divisions inside the Obama team about how to approach Sudan.

"It really is time for the president, the vice president, and Secretary of State [Hillary] Clinton to get more directly involved in this issue," said John Norris, executive director of the Enough Project. But it's still not clear whether Biden's involvement will lead to a sustained level of attention for Sudan at the top levels of the White House, Norris cautioned.

The divisions inside the administration are not new, but were reinforced last month during what multiple administration sources describe as a vigorous and heated internal debate over whether or not to send a U.S. government representative to the re-inauguration ceremony for Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

Multiple administration sources tell The Cable that Gration and Carson were among those who advocated internally for sending a representative to the inauguration (which was also a ceremony to inaugurate Kiir, the State Department is quick to point out). Administration officials who argued against sending an envoy included U.N. ambassador Susan Rice and the NSC's Samantha Power.

An administration official told The Cable that Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg supported the decision to send an envoy. But NGO sources contradicted that account, saying that Steinberg, at least at one point, argued against it.

It was Secretary Clinton who ultimately made the decision to send the chief consular officer at the U.S Embassy in Khartoum to attend Bashir's inauguration. Sending a junior-level representative was a compromise, but one that apparently left both sides equally unhappy.

"Our presence at this ceremony should not be confused in any way with our continuing pledge that President Bashir should respond to the warrant for his arrest for war crimes in Darfur," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said. "We have nothing to do whatsoever with President Bashir."

The decision and that explanation puzzled and irritated advocacy leaders.

"President Obama has said that genocide has been committed in Darfur by the Bashir-led government. The ICC indicted Bashir for war crimes," said John Prendergast, cofounder of the Enough Project and an increasingly outspoken critic of the administration's Sudan policy. "The Obama administration has thus broken with precedent in bestowing a measure of legitimacy by sending a U.S. diplomat, however low-ranking, to the inauguration of an indicted war criminal head of state."

Prendergast said that the Obama team had argued that it was necessary to keep lines of communication open to ensure the safe return of the American hostage being held in Sudan, but dismissed that assertion because there was nothing the U.S. side got in return for attending the ceremony.

Officials have also argued that not sending an envoy would have broken protocol, another claim advocacy leaders dismiss.

"The issue of war crimes charges makes this an entirely different kettle of fish, whether or not that's in the protocol book," said Norris, who added that not sending a representative would have sent the message that Obama was serious about the ICC.

The Sudan advocacy community has had increasingly strained relations with Gration, who is seen as being too soft on the brutal Khartoum regime and too powerful inside the administration, using his personal relationship with Obama to exert control over the issue often outside the purview of officials above his station, including Clinton.

Sometimes, the internal tension has spilled over into public, such as when ABC News reported that Rice was "furious" in June when Gration said that Darfur was experiencing only the "remnants of genocide." The State Department quickly confirmed that its official position is that genocide is ongoing.

Above all, Sudan watchers worry that the U.S. government is failing to prepare for what could be a very bloody aftermath to the January referendum. They also lament that details of the "benchmarks" upon which the administration's Sudan policy is supposed to be based have never been revealed publicly and are said to be still undefined.

Back in October, Clinton said when announcing the administration's new Sudan policy: "Assessment of progress and decisions regarding incentives and disincentives will be based on verifiable changes in conditions on the ground. Backsliding by any party will be met with credible pressure in the form of disincentives leveraged by our government and our international partners."

But despite what many, including Rice, see as lots of backsliding, no disincentives can be seen and, as the discussion over sending the envoy illustrates, the internal policy debate seems to be at a stalemate.

"If they're fighting on an issue like that, it's hard to believe there's great clarity on the larger issues," said Norris. "We're at something of a standstill. They seem to be stuck at how do you calibrate how exactly you deploy the pressures or incentives."

Those frustrations are shared by some on Capitol Hill.

"I have expressed concern at different times, including in the run-up to last month's election, that the administration has not spoken out more forcefully about abuses by the NCP or sought to hold them accountable," said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-WI, referring to Bashir's ruling National Congress Party. "Although I am not opposed to engagement, we need to be firm and to ensure any engagement is based on evidence that the NCP is willing to cooperate and has made concrete progress on previous promises."

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We Are All the Keepers of Justice.

In Sudan, there is an emergency.

Silence kills in its complicity to killing by treachery.

Uploaded March 19, 2009 by ilovemylifesblog

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Monday, June 7, 2010 Round-up of

Darfur In the News

Reuters: Bashir says Darfur peace talks are final round. Sudan's president said on Saturday the current round of Darfur peace talks would be the final negotiations with any armed group. Qatar-hosted peace talks are due to open on Sunday but the leaders of the two original Darfur guerrilla groups are both refusing to join. Smaller factions who have few forces on the ground are participating. "The current Doha round will be the last for any armed group and there will be no legitimacy through the gun, only through the ballot box," Bashir told a meeting of his ruling National Congress Party late on Saturday.

Rueters Africa : Uganda says Sudan's Bashir not invited to AU meeting. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who faces the risk of arrest on war crimes charges, has not been invited to next month's African Union conference in Uganda, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said in a statement. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has an indictment against Bashir over crimes in Sudan's western Darfur region and African states that are signatories to the agreement establishing the court are obliged to arrest him. Museveni's office issued a statement late on Saturday saying Sudan would be represented at the conference by "other government officials" and not Bashir.

AFP: 41 killed in Darfur fighting: Sudan tribal source. Clashes between rival Arab tribes in Sudan's western region of Darfur killed 41 people in three days, a tribal leader told AFP on Sunday. According to Ezzedin Eissa al-Mandil of the Misseriya tribe, the fighting broke out on Thursday when "members of the Rezeigat tribe attacked one of our villages west of the town of Kass" in South Darfur. "They killed one person and returned on Friday, with fighting taking place from morning to night. There were also clashes on Saturday and in total 41 people were killed and 17 wounded," Mandil told AFP. The claim could not be immediately confirmed with the Rezeigat tribe or the governor of South Darfur. But a spokesman for the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur said UNAMID had received reports of fighting between the Nuwayba tribe, a branch of the Rezeigat, and the Misseriya tribe, without casualty figures.

Sudan Tribune: Sudan in critical stage, requires AU intervention-envoy. Sudan's much anticipated referendum is just months away, but preparations for this historic event remains a critical issue that requires the intervention of African Union (AU) members, Mr. Jonas Gahr Store, the Norwegian Foreign Minister has observed. "The peace process in Sudan is in a decisive and critical phase. We can already see that this will be a key issue on the international agenda the next 12 months," Mr. Store said. According to the Norwegian Foreign Minister, if Southern Sudanese opted to vote for their independence, the process must be peaceful, and that both the north and south should cooperate, particularly on the distribution of oil revenues.

Times: South Sudan Moves Toward Independence. The referendum in January 2011 which, if the vote goes as predicted, could be followed by official secession as early as that July. The North will likely resist the South splitting away, for fear that it will lose territory and oil, most of which will lie - as far as the North is concerned - on the wrong side of any new border that's created. But in theory, the question of whether to separate or not will be one for the South alone to answer - and, as most Southerners see it, independence would finally put a merciful end to centuries of subjugation and neglect. But independence will hardly solve all of the South's problems. Kiir must build a functional state out of his war-ravaged land - and without infrastructure, institutions or even much know-how. The fear is that, in a place where war has become a way of life and guns seem as plentiful as people, still more violence could follow.

Rueters: Sudanese paper halts printing in censorship protest. A Sudanese newspaper said on Sunday it would suspend publication for one week in protest at stringent censorship by authorities, as five other papers were censored in Africa's largest country, journalists said. Journalists from six independent or opposition papers told Reuters they were visited and directly censored by the security forces late on Saturday night. Other papers said they were called and told not to write about specific news including the strike by doctors over pay and working conditions and the International Criminal Court, unless it was from a government source. "We will suspend our newspaper for a week in protest at the pre-(publication) censorship," said Faiz Al-Silaik, acting editor in chief of the Ajras Al-Huriya paper, aligned to the former southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement

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Genocide will not end
until
enough people
pressure our elected officials to take a stand

Contact President Obama

For organizations
www.whitehouse.gov/contact/organizations

For everybody
www.whitehouse.gov/contact

You can also call or write to the President:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
They request that you include your e-mail address

Phone Number
Comments: 202-456-1111
and
1-800-GENOCIDE

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Uploaded by ilovemylifesblog

Websites with the goal to help Darfuris get justice
www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact
ionsudan.net
www.whilewewaitsudan.org
www.radiodabanga.org

ABOUT GENOCIDE - DEAR MR. PRESIDENT - WHERE IS SENATOR OBAMA?

Here are three messages sent to President Obama recently

#9 email sent to President Obama during the grassroots Sudan Sham 2010 grassroots campaign

March 5, 2010

It is not that we can’t make a difference, it is that we choose not to make a difference. What will our legacy be? Will our legacy be any different than all the others that tolerated genocides that this planet has hosted? Sandra Hammel

Dear President Obama,

I have been working as a community organizer, leading my state regarding the issue of raising awareness and moving people to use their voices to get our leaders to have the political will to prevent and end genocide since 2004. I am frustrated with your administration’s placating words, promises, little proof of observable resolve and lack of leadership. From the rhetoric during your campaign, I expected much more. I have a Darfuri associate who like me works to bring awareness of what is going on, but he has actual daily contacts with Darfuris still in Sudan. The news has not been good leading up to these elections to take place in April. The intimidations being used by the government of Sudan is horrifying and certainly these elections are not going to be free and fair. Bashir will only “use” these elections to say to the world in effect “See, world, we had an election and I won, so I am legitimate.” Only we know different.

Mohamed Suleiman helped me with this translation:

If you want peace, work for justice

إذا كنت تريد السلام ، أعمل من أجل العدالة

Please, don’t forget the marginalized Darfuri people, Mr. President. They know everything you have ever said or neglected to say about their situation.

Here is a Darfuri saying, that Mohamed shared with me:

Nowhere to hide for those who take else's life

يا كاتل الروح وين بتروح

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

Sincerely yours,

Sandra Hammel

Use Your Voice to Stop Genocide RI

Leading Rhode Island in Sudan Sham 2010 campaign

See 50 days of actions running up to the Sudan April 11, 2010 Elections at the website:

http://sudansham2010.org/

GENOCIDE WILL only STOP WITH US - Our leaders have taught us this

My twitter:

@ilovemylife5

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#7 email sent to President Obama

March 2, 2010

Dear President Obama,

With April elections fast approaching, it is clear that conditions on the ground are neither free nor fair. Please directly show us your leadership in the Sudan ongoing genocide. Fundamental human rights and civil rights have been violated and have escalated running up to the April 11, 2010 Sudan elections. There is a real danger for resumption of full-out war between the north and south, and the genocide in Darfur continues on your watch, with millions of people living in squalid camps and exposed to horrible violence. The time for credible multilateral consequences in support of genuine democratic processes and verifiable commitment to peace is now. The US must lead.

Furthermore, the types of situations such as in Sudan create the very places for terrorists to meet and organize, which means it is in our own interest to bring peace to this multi-year genocide.

Thank you for your political will to make a difference with this deeply defining issue.

Sincerely yours,

Sandra Hammel

Use Your Voice to Stop Genocide RI

Leading Rhode Island in Sudan Sham 2010 campaign

My twitter:

@ilovemylife5

Facebook: Sandra Hammel

the "Sandra Hammel" currently with the Red, White and Blue Sudan Sham Election 2010 avatar

GENOCIDE WILL only STOP WITH US - Our leaders have taught us this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVsvZPry_0Y

My January 1, 2010 video for the Darfuri people

INGREDIENTS OF A GENOCIDE - PERPETRATORS, UNARMED CITIZENS AND A WORLD THAT TURNS THE OTHER WAY

"The Most Important Office is That of Private Citizen" Louis D. Brandeis

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#4 email sent to President Obama

February 27, 2010

Dear President Obama,

Enough Project's recent paper, A Peace Process Play-by-Play, includes the following two paragraphs that are very relevant to the USA grassroots Sudan Sham 2010 campaign that I am participating in daily:

President Bashir is also deeply focused on using the April 2010 national elections as a means to legitimize himself, help fend off war crimes charges from the International Criminal Court, and minimize threats to his rule within his own party. A “successful” election in Darfur, ironically financed in no small part by the international community, would allow Bashir to again argue that he should not be held accountable for his repeated and flagrant violations of international law.

It is also clear from comments of the U.S. special envoy that President Bashir hopes to use the JEM agreement to pave the way for lifting of U.S. sanctions. One can only hope that any consideration of altering the current sanctions regime is based on demonstrable changes on the ground, as per the U.S. policy on Sudan, not simply the willingness for Khartoum to sign a piece of paper.

To those of us citizens who are up-to-date of what takes place in Sudan, we feel we are more concerned than our leaders. “We ARE the ones we have been waiting for” as you said while campaigning to be our President, but we also need our leaders to lead in matters of such importance.

President Obama, I know you are working on many important issues. I support the “public option” in the health care reform. I am thoroughly appalled by the misbehaving congress people who are more inclined to “play games” than to do the work that we deserve to be done. And the media so often ill-informs us, when we so need to be informed. On and on. However, letting this issue regarding crimes against humanity, genocide and victims languishing for far too long - go on and on, while you are in a position that could make the difference is unacceptable.

Please, go into your heart and contemplate better ways to deal with this deeply defining issue. These are our brothers and sisters and we must not forget all of the genocides in the past that when we felt safe that we weren’t going to be asked to do anything about them any longer, we have always said “Never Again”. And we know we don’t mean that, because we are letting it happen again on our watch.

Shame on us.

It is time to be who we can be. We can stop genocide. Yes we CAN.

Sincerely yours,

Sandra Hammel

Use Your Voice to Stop Genocide RI

Leading Rhode Island Sudan Sham 2010 campaign

GENOCIDE WILL only STOP WITH US

I contacted the President using Organization form:

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

THANKS TO RACHEL MADDOW FOR SPOTLIGHTING THE UGLY BEHAVIOR TOWARD PRESIDENT OBAMA by USA CITIZENS - "TRAWLING FOR ASSASSINS"

TO USA CITIZENS

DOMESTIC BIGOTS ARE NO BETTER
THAN FOREIGN TERRORISTS

I have plans to write another letter to President Obama, expressing my feeling of being let down by his not matching his words and actions since President to before he was President - regarding genocide and the extreme situation for the Darfuris and southern Sudan.

Then I saw this on television tonight:

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Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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I agree with the message in this video.


I still will write my letter to President Obama, but I will keep in mind that I must write with the respect that he merits, while reserving no truths from being expressed from my heart.

This ugly head rearing of racism in this country has been going strong towards Barack Obama since his Presidential campaign started. And it is not lessening, but getting bolder and bolder.

It is blatant. It needs more attention that the Rachel Maddow show, but thanks to her for doing what she can.

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Strange Fruit sung by Billie Holiday.
This video uploaded by MonsieurBaudelaire

Text from the same song of BedsUniversity at Youtube:

As a child brought up in financially impoverished community, the artist remembers creating makeshift toys from the discarded items of others; old tyres being a particular favourite. Often such items were decorated in an attempt to personalise them.

In many cultures the "tyre swing", is associated with childhood memories of play, often being found in woodland clearings or near water.

The upheavals in 1980-90's South Africa witnessed the establishment of the 'tyre necklace', a punishment which involves placing a tyre soaked in petrol around the victim's neck and setting it alight.

These things, amongst others, inform the making of this work. The title of the piece and soundtrack references a dark period in American History.

"Strange Fruit" is a song most famously performed by Billie Holiday that condemns American racism, particularly the practice of lynching and burning African Americans that was prevalent in the South at the time when it was written.

In her autobiography Lady Sings the Blues, Billie Holiday suggests that she, together with Lewis Allan, her accompanist Sonny White and arranger Danny Mendelsohn put the poem, written by Abel Meeropol, to music.

The "strange fruit" referred to in the lyrics are the bodies of African American men hanged during a lynching. They contrast the pastoral scenes of the South with the ugliness of racist violence. The lyrics were so chilling that Holiday later said "The first time I sang it, I thought it was a mistake. There wasn't even a patter of applause when I finished. Then a lone person began to clap nervously. Then suddenly everyone was clapping."

Lyrics of Strange Fruit

Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swingin' in the Southern breeze
Strange fruit hangin' from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant South
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolia, sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh

Here is the fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

Project work by 2006 graduate Terry Massiah.

I am not what I consider a religious person. But I do consider myself a deeply spiritual person and one who tries to live with love and compassion for myself and for others. So, it is rare I quote Bible scriptures, but here I have included a passage:

Matthew 7 - Jesus speaks here

A Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

²¹"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' ²³Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

The Wise and Foolish Builders

²⁴"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

²⁸When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Wikipedia includes this topic -Racism_in_the_United_States

There are regular radio and television commentators who would not be unhappy if President Obama was assassinated. Some have been routinely using rhetoric to incite and inflame such an idea.

What is Happening in the USA is Directly Related
to the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsis in Rwanda

The radio was majorly used as an instrument to incite neighbors to use garden tools and 10 cent Chinese machetes to kill approximately one million human beings in 100 days. See the Media Propaganda section for basic information on this issue: wikipedia Rwandan_Genocide

Here are the first and second sentences from the section:

Media propaganda

According to recent commentators the news media played a crucial role in the genocide: local print and radio media fueled the killings, while the international media either ignored or seriously misconstrued events on the ground.^[9] The print media in Rwanda is believed to have started hate speech against Tutsis which was later continued by radio stations.

^[9]

1. ^ http://www.comminit.com/en/node/189378/36

My first letter to President Obama is read in this video:


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Dear President Obama - A Letter Sent March 12, 2009
Uploaded by ilovemylifesblog

When I was set up to receive comments on this video, I received comments that were self-absorbed at best. I was told I would never receive a response by one poster.

I received a reply July 25, 2009 and two more replies to more of my letters. I have sent several letters regarding Darfur and his inaction. I am sure any more of my letters will simply reap the same letter in response, as I have three copies of this letter so far. Two from USPS, addressed to Dear Friend. One of those with an envelope with my name and address typed on it and the latest with my name and address handwritten on the envelope. In the email response to my email letter to him, the response greeting included my actual name, not "Dear Friend". All of the letters are the same text.

The first letter of response from President Obama:

Click to enlarge
Any bigoted comments will be deleted.
As explained in an earlier post, this is my home online
and just like in my virtual home,
I don't allow bigoted comments.

I figure if you want to express yourself anyway you want,
you can do it on your own blog.

Just not here.

Shalom.