WHEN HUMANS HUMANITY IS INDIFFERENT THE ANSWER ISN'T MORE INDIFFERENCE

CARING IS HUMAN

The text of the presentation given at our Rhode Island
ACT NOW FOR DARFUR
event
QUIET RIOT FOR DARFURI FAMILIES
is below


Finding shade under the tree

Pictures of March 23, - April 1, 2009 trip to camp Djabal
The website: www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7

Shade - refuge from the sun
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Uploaded by ilovemylifesblog

ACT NOW FOR DARFUR
QUIET RIOT FOR DARFUR
Newport's Easton Beach, Memorial Blvd, Newport, RI 02840
Organizer: Sandra Hammel
April 18, 2009 - 2:00 PM

Events like ours today are happening all over the United States during the month of April – Genocide Prevention Month (450 across the USA).

We are using our voices as our freedoms are intended – to speak of what matters to us. Martin Luther King said "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

Today, we are here to honor our unmet friends of Darfur. The Darfuri people who are dead because of the genocide.

And we are here to honor those who are still surviving from the genocide in Sudan and neighboring Chad. Instead of focusing on numbers of the dead and raped, and the millions without their homes, we will hear the stories of only three families – doing what the numbers fail to do – make this personal.

In preparation for today, I have viewed many pictures and 10 videos on youtube of the SGN –Stop Genocide Now – team’s very recent trip in March through April to Djabal camp of Darfuri displaced people. I have been affected so by seeing the families, pictures showing to me what their lives are like and being able to feel in touch with them. I contrast my life’s problems with theirs. I put myself in their place and wonder could I ever keep up my spirits and manage to be friendly, hospitable and ever smile? They have absolutely not one convenience. Nothing. Only their human spirit and faith that someday this will all be over and they can return to their homes – or where their homes once were. That is all that they want.

Thank you for coming today for our fellow human beings who have had relatively little media attention. Our President repeatedly said during his campaign “This is a defining moment.” And he is right in many ways. President Obama has nearly been in office 100 days. This story is a defining issue because what we choose to do or not do - to help end genocide states by behavior our values, moral fortitude and character. In effect, we have spoken with our failing. Failing to do anything to halt the known 6 year genocide of unarmed Darfuri families. This situation is defining for our world leaders, who have at best, chosen rhetoric - leading to no useful action. In place of choosing political will, our leaders have chosen indifference. HUMANITY BEFORE POLITICS is on the t-shirts of 3 friends, Gabriel, Katie-Jay and Yuen-Lin of Stop Genocide Now, who spent 10 days in Djabal, a Darfuri refugee camp March 23 – April 1, 2009. Unless, our message is clear to our leaders it will be politics before humanity.

Elie Wiesel says "...to remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all...

The collective indifference to this human disaster is numbing and stunning.

Genocide has never happened when there is space on our “To Do” list – making it more probable for us to add Prevention or Stopping Genocide to our list. The holocaust went on for 12 years. Many claimed they didn’t know. We know this time. This time we have an internet to connect grass roots efforts to organize and pressure our leaders to make plans and act to resolve this human disaster. But here we are after years of pressuring and the genocide is worse than ever. On March 4th the ICC put an arrest warrant out on Sudanese President Bashir for crimes associated with the genocide. And on March 4, Bashir immediately revoked the licenses of 16 humanitarian organizations that have been keeping the people alive in the camps. Bashir says that he will protect the people that he is murdering. Now the refugees have been cut off from potable water, food and medical attention for 46 days. Meningitis, cholera and diarrhea are spreading in the camps inside the Sudanese borders.

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No Potable Water and No Food since March 4, 2009 – making a genocide worse

Genocide by Starvation

While in Djabal,
Carol Jordan an emergency and ICU respiratory care specialist explained what occurs during starvation and dehydration. Here is a part of that:

Hunger
When food is not readily available, the body is thrown off balance, which results in weight loss from the digestion of body fat first, then muscle, then vital organs to keep the body alive. Extreme weight loss turns to malnutrition and becomes starvation. The body becomes lethargic and a helpless system is going to end in a painful death.

Malnourished children get a disease caused by protein deficiency.

One of several signs of this is evident in the camp we are going to hear of today – reddish orange hair. I am only mentioning orange hair as one of several signs of this disease – the others are excruciating to hear.

Dehydration

A population of people living where water is scarce and contaminated tip over into dangerous intestinal infections easily.

An example of sudden life-threatening dehydration is cholera. A healthy adult can die from cholera in 2-6 hours because of the acute and massive diarrhea it causes. There is no effective vaccine and antibiotics do not act quickly enough.

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The Darfuris that we are now going to honor are living at Djabal camp, just over the Sudanese border to the west in the country of Chad. I would like to mention some numbers here: eighteen thousand live in camp Djabal. Approximately sixty percent of them are what we in the U.S. consider children. It is not a full life these children live, but they are alive.

As bad as it is for them, it is much better than those Darfuris inside the Sudanese borders. Of course the Stop Genocide Now team that just returned from Chad was not allowed inside Sudan.

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Quiet Riot for Darfuri Families ~ April 18, 2009

HONORING THE DEAD - FLOWER PETALS

March 31, 2009
Dajhima - Mother
Khadija – Daughter
Ibrahim – son
www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day9

Share pictures of school classroom, a clean path, tent 1, and preparing a meal by grinding the meal by hand.

Dajhima – mother

Family to honor: Dajhima – mother of daugher Khadija and son Ibrahim.
Video of Dajhima on April 1, 2009 - www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day9

Daugher Khadija

I have no picture of son Ibrahim.

Dajhima’s story is her personal story of course, but it is a story that only changes with the names - as it is a story heard from most everyone in the camps.

The story of waking up to bombs falling on what used to be the place where friends would play. It is the story of trying to run as fast as you can, to get away, while choosing to either try to carry or leave behind your children. It is the story of finding out your father didn't make it.

On the day Dajhima retold her story she was attending yet another funeral in the camp - her daughter’s best friend’s mother.

Dajhima’s village was Aattacked during Ramadan 2004
Definition of Ramadan: RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE. PARTICIPATING MUSLIMS DO NOT EAT OR DRINK ANYTHING FROM TRUE DAWN UNTIL SUNSET DURING THE NINTH MONTH OF THE ISLAMIC CALENDAR.

FASTING IS MEANT TO TEACH THE PERSON PATIENCE, SACRIFICE AND HUMILITY. DURING RAMAḌĀN, MUSLIMS ASK FORGIVENESS FOR PAST SINS, PRAY FOR GUIDANCE AND HELP IN REFRAINING FROM EVERYDAY EVILS, AND TRY TO PURIFY THEMSELVES THROUGH SELF-RESTRAINT AND GOOD DEEDS.

In the video from SGN’s visit to Dajhima’s tent recently you see they greet by shaking hands, smiling. They are met with Friendliness and Warmth. There is some laughter. It all felt so normal as a time of greeting as I watched it. Only this was in a residence with canvas over sticks on sandy ground not fit for farming. And the Darfuri people are farmers.

Katie-Jay tells that in person, Dajhima is one of those people who you instantly connect with. Her arms open, cheerfully waving her hands, clasping hers and repeating her daughters name, Khadija, with laughter in between. She repeats the regular greetings, As-salam-mu-a-lai-kum, Al-ham-du-lil-lah… all the while smiling.

Dajhima rushes to wrap her scarf around her and stand tall for the camera. Charismatic and honest, she recounts her story. Katie-Jay said she couldn’t help but grasp her hands and tell Dajhima how sorry she was for her losses. The many in Darfur, and Khadija’s best friend’s mother.

Share pictures of Dajhima and Khadija and the article “When the Extreme Becomes the Norm”

Taken from a video online, Dajhima explains her story in these her own words:
When we were living in Sudan, we had so many things, like vegetables, fruit trees, and things we could prepare to eat. We could cultivate our land. Here is like a desert, nothing grows. Food that we are given is not enough. But there is nothing we can do, but wait for the monthly distribution.

Early in the morning, around 4:00 a.m., they started bombing us, and we had to leave all behind. During the attack, if you were strong - you can carry two of your children. But if not, they were left behind.

The helicopters were bombing from the sky. The janjaweed were riding their horses, and they would surround you and kill you.

During the running, so many people had fallen down. They were dead and injured. If you were holding your son’s hand and he escaped from you, there is no way to get him again because of the masses of people running. So many were injured and so many were killed.

My son Ibrahim and I were separated and it was eight days before I saw him again.

If they saw that you were wearing nice clothing, they would point the gun at you and tell you to remove it all.

They would take everything.

If they saw a girl that was about to be mature, they would take her away.

They killed my father and the son of another family member.

From my family-in-law, they killed six of their men.

There was no time to bury them. We had to run.

When we crossed to the border, some people from Chad helped us and gave us food.

After more than a month, the humanitarians came and brought us to this camp. Camp Djabal.

I thank God for everything. It is part of life.

We are still alive.

Sometimes it is very hard to feel the reality of what is really happening when in the United States. I think of the children in our families going through something like this. I see the pictures drawn by the children of blood dripping from their family members, their own government’s helicopters dropping bombs on their homes with blood drawn coming from them also, janjaweed pointing guns at their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, grand parents, people forced to run over people already on the ground, fires being set to every house in their neighborhood, people laying dead and wounded with blood shown in the children’s drawing. While grateful that this isn't happening on our street, it is happening for Khadija, her mother, Dajhima and Ibrahim. Thinking of them as people just like you and me, Just like your children, Your loved ones - is chilling and sobering.

Flower Petals
At this time, to honor Dajhima’s father, son of another family member and six men from her family-in-law’s family and Khadija’s best friend’s mother -
who are, each one, dead due to inhumanity:

Toss of flower petals in the ocean to the song:
"Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child" sung by Kathleen Emery

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This was the 7th trip for the SGN team to go to Darfuri refugee camps and posting daily videos on their website, as well as on Youtube for all to see. They also have very telling pictures of which I was referring to in the previous story when I talked of the drawings of the children. The photos of these brightly colored drawings also included Big Hearts with the word FAITH on it and with the PEACE sign with two words HOPE and PEACE written. Children and families – no matter where they reside want HOPE, PEACE and use their FAITH to get them through adversity. And Genocide is the Ultimate Adversity.

Honoring the living
with two families

1) Adef and Achta's family...

A video of Adef and Achta:
www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day6

twin boys Bashar and Bashir (were Hissein and Hassan)

The same boy above as below.

Above the year is 2008

Below is a picture from March 2009...

daughter Guisma and (daughter Marymouda died in 2008)

Guisa again

The entire family of Achta and Adef

son Abdelmouni (is pictured only in the family group picture above)

Adef, Gabriel of Stop Genocide Now, Achta and Guisma

March 31, 2009 – the Stop Genocide Now team met Adef and Achta's family in 2008

2) Raouda (12 years old) and Hassanya, her grandmother

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Adef and Achta – 4 children
Guisma, daughter
Bashar and Bashir, twins sons
Abdelmouni, son

In the Youtube video of Day 6 , March 28th of this year, Adef and Achta, the parents greeted Gabriel with smiles and cheerfulness. Lovely and loving family. They shared news of another child dying - Marymouda, daughter died. She was sick for 2 weeks. When they took her to the clinic there was nothing they could do for her.

Another of their babies had died earlier of dehydration, while on his mother’s back on the way from their village to Djabal camp.

Their young daughter, Guisma, basically, was not smiling and laughing as she did last year, when her giggle was contagious and she would get her twin brothers rolling. Achta, their mom, said she had been sick too, but healed.

Share pictures of the family - on green paper

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On the March 31, Katie-Jay Scott of the SGN -Stop Genocide Now - team wrote about 12 year old Raouda and Hassanya, her grandmother.

It affected me immediately.

Katie-Jay wrote the following about them on the SGN website while there:

“I am feeling a bit overwhelmed tonight. I have been trying to think about what to write and how to write it for some hours now.

Tomorrow, we leave after six amazing days in this refugee camp. Six days that have given me the chance to understand and know more than a dozen children intimately. Each one has shared with me their story, and shown me their home. As I spent more time with them, especially the girls, their personalities began to replace their initial shy smiles. They loosened up, laughed more, skipped, danced, and cracked jokes in broken English.

I feel so connected to them and it makes me really, really sad to say goodbye to them. I will be able to send them messages soon. I know that I will be back in the future to see them in person. But it is really hard to say goodbye to such a community.

I was also sad because I realized that even in a refugee camp, disparity can be so severe. While following one young girl to her house after school, we walked through narrow paths littered with animal feces, plastic, straw, and other garbage


rather than the sand that guided us to Adef’s and Achta’s house. This was Raouda.

Raouda’s house was so sad. Mostly sticks, with a torn tent, no bed or extra clothes hanging like many of the others. This twelve year old lived just with her grandmother and when not in school, she took care of most all the chores: water, cooking, cleaning, firewood. She leaves at 6 a.m. and returns around 5 p.m., carrying all she can.

Many of the girls we worked with were excited to show us their humble dwellings and for us to meet their families. This particular refugee looked upon us with very sad eyes as she pointed to her home, cooking area, and resting place, all within only a few steps.

12 year old Raouda

Raouda and her grandmother, Hassanya at their home

The grandmother looked so fragile, and they literally had one mat, and a few plastic bins for storage. Other than that, nothing. At all.”

We moved on quickly to the next little compound, which had an earthen oven, several tukul dwellings (huts), a blackboard, and large, open area to store firewood and dried grass. Katie-Jay shared that even though she knew fundamentally that this difference exists everywhere – this disparity affected her greatly.
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Residences contrasted:

In answering my questions, Katie-Jay shed more light on Raouda’s life in Djabal.
Contrasting Adef and Achta’s residence to Raouda’s and her grandmother’s this is what she said:

Raouda and her grandmother have two structures that are within a few feet of one another. There is no outer fence to provide privacy and it looks like they are situated right at a path that splits into four small paths. The sitting hut is made of all sticks and provides a space that is out of the sun. Just between this and their main sleeping tent is a small pit for cooking over while squatting. The walls of their tent are a mix of torn tarp and sticks, while the roof is three layers of sticks - a ragged tent. They live in the most crowded part of Camp Djabal.

Many families have a little compound or area that is enclosed by partitions made of grass. This part of Chad is more "lush" (relative to the rest of Chad, not necessarily what we would think of as lush) and has grass and more sticks for people to use to build a fence for privacy and weave together walls to replace the torn and ragged tents. In other parts of Chad, Darfur refugees use water and the sand to make bricks for the fence or buildings. All of the structures are single room structures. Traditional ones are round tukuls, but now some are more square with sticks and grass as walls and then make a roof with tents and tarps.

Raouda: “ I don’t remember my village, only where it was. There is nothing there, now.” Raouda was 7 years old when they came to the camp.

Adef and his family live in the far opposite zone. They have much more space than Raouda and her grandmother, Hassanya. Adef and Achta have a straw fence that is about 5 feet tall that surrounds a large area for their home. They have two sitting structures, and when we visited them - there were a handful of men in one, and a handful of women resting in the other. They then have a tent structure for storage and sleeping which is blocked by a smaller fence, almost like a screen for privacy. This is also the area with their kitchen fire pit. They have a few benches and mats for sitting. Raouda and her grandmother offered a tarp for us to sit on. The zone where Adef and Achta live is much cleaner than Raouda’s zone. This may be because it simply has fewer people and more space.

Raouda’s mother lives in another area of the camp.

Her grandmother, Hassanya looked like she was in pretty bad shape when we met her. Limping and old. We didn’t ask her directly why she couldn’t or didn’t help. But it looked obvious that most her life was hard, and she is probably toward the end of it. She definitely didn’t look like she should be going out to gather firewood. (neither did Raouda, but her mother had her go live with her grandmother to care for her, so it is her role currently.)

They have been living at Djabal for 5 years. It took them 2 weeks to walk to Tine from their village and be taken by UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) in trucks to Djabal.

Raouda is sad and lonely. She was serious when in school and interviewed on camera. She is introverted, but with other girls she seemed to enjoy herself. On the path walking to their place, KTJ said that they passed by girls her age and they smiled when seeing Raouda. Raouda was hospitable and kind.

She was the most serious, the most sad when at “home”.

The people either sleep on the sand, or on a bed frame made of sticks. The rain and wind come through the tents. The sticks provide protection from the sun and keep it cool. There is no electricity and wood is only used for cooking, so after dark most everyone is at home.

When it rains, there are large "wadis" or dry river beds that surround the camp and they flood. Many talk about how when it does rain, they just don't sleep because there are not enough sleeping beds off the floor. KTJ said: “ I am not sure about Raouda specifically, but they definitely sleep on the ground. They had tarps and sticks trying to make walls, but I am sure that the rain gets in.”

It is desert so it is very hot during the day, but cold at night. Like the deserts here. Keeping warm in the cold months may be an issue for Raouda and her grandmother, as they don't have much. Some people have been given blankets.

Cleaning:
The UN Refugee Agency – UNHCR - when available gives out soap, each month on food distribution day. It's not much and many times they don't get it. Each refugee gets about 15 liters of water a day - that's for everything - washing clothes, cooking, drinking, sharing if needed - and that may not be accurate, it's just an estimate from UNHCR and water is definitely one of the things they say they don't have enough of.

I have always wondered how it is for them regarding having privacy to take care of their hygiene and “bathroom” needs.

KTJ: Some have a latrine area where there is a hole and a woven "screen" that provides some privacy. But there isn't much and I didn't see anything like this at Raouda's.

a kitchen

In answering my question about what they eat, I was referred to a video from their 6th trip – which was last year and this is what I saw. www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact6/day9 People chattering outside a tent waiting for their names to be called. Inside they would receive rations to be scooped into their containers and dragged home. The team followed a mother, Husna who got the following for her family of five to live on for one month:

2.5 ounces of salt
6 cups of sugar
11 lbs of cereal
8 cups of oil
25 cups of yellow split peas
70 lbs of sorghum grain That is it.

A woman preparing the grain for a meal at camp Djabal (March28, 2009)

Remember they have no refrigerator.

When asked what they would be eating back home in their village farms in Darfur:
Answer: tomatoes, millet, maize, okra, papaya

At the camp, some have a cooking hut. Raouda cooks over a hole in the ground.

When I asked if they gather communally and for what activities?

I was told:

They probably eat alone, but I was also told that Darfuris always tell stories about how they share their food when someone doesn't have enough.

And they get together for different ceremonies. There was one when SGN was there, but KTJ wasn’t sure what it was for. They mostly worship on their own. Drumming comes with the ceremonies and there is always singing at school! Always. And always about returning to Sudan.

When I asked: What can Raouda look forward to on a daily basis? Is there a highlight to her day?

Answer: “This is a really hard question. School. School is only thing they have to do.

Raouda expressed missing her home. Her dolls and a stuffed animal. She loved playing JAX.
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Stone Skipping
At this time, I would like to ask you to skip your stone on the water – to set in motion our energy fields – as in quantum physics - sending out our energy of desire to make a difference for Darfuris – while sending the energy toward Sudan and Chad with the intention to replace the pain of genocide with positive change. Change - so needed and as quickly as possible.

Please join me in saying to our leaders and specifically to President Obama :
“We are United States citizens and we are the voices for our Darfuri brothers and sisters. Please, Act Now for Darfur. Thank you President Obama for not remaining silent and indifferent.”

Lighting of the candles
Candles – symbolizing our light and voices being used for those in need of Darfur.
Music: "This Little Light Of Mine" sung by Odetta

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Martin Luther King

Everyone signed the petition to President Obama. The petition was mailed to the Save Darfur Coalition in Washington, D.C., who will deliver them to The White House. The collective number of petition signatures will let the President know we are not silent.

Clean path, little boy with a water container

Teacher preparing lessons for class

School classroom

School yard

March 30, 200 9 - www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day7
School children at camp Djabal

Video of the school they renamed Obama School:
http://www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day8

a residence - a maple seedling at the door

A smile even here.

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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

Urge UN and Sudanese Ambassadors to use their influence to press the government of Sudan to fully restore humanitarian aid in and around Darfur.

Join the solidarity for Dafur at this site

http://fastdarfur.org/

In Sudan - Extermination by Starvation and Dehydration is happening
since March 4, 2009

Genocide will never stop without us being stewards of humanity.

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A wish for Darfuris
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" sung by Eva Cassidy
Uploaded by stressbed

WHAT KIND OF USA CITIZEN ARE YOU?

IS THIS THE KIND OF COUNTRY YOU WANT...

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Please, watch this - it will amaze you, but not in a good way.
This video is of the people in line going to hear Sarah Palin
Governor Palin brings out this kind of behavior to her rallies.

Bigotry is Here

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Go to this page and consider standing up for the kind of country we thought we were:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Obamashield/index.html

Here is the text of the petition:

The Petition for the Immediate Abandonment of Dangerous, Incendiary Rhetoric, as it Relates to the 2008 Presidential Campaign.

We fair minded citizens, being of all races, creeds, and political dispositions, do hereby state and stand by the following beliefs:

-That bigotries and ignorances of all forms continue to exist in our citzenry in dangerous amounts.
-That, through means ranging from the promotion of inaccurate perceptions to the use of blatant, incendiary rhetoric, Senator John S. McCain, Governor Sarah L.H. Palin, some members of the Republican party, and some members of the media, are in fact inciting the possibility of violent behavior, thus endangering the safety of Senator Barack H. Obama.
-That the 2008 Presidential Campaign, due to the inclusion of Democratic candidate Senator Barack H. Obama, and due to the aforementioned bigotries, constitutes one of the most potentially dangerous situations in modern American political history.
-That this petition is our effort to stop such misleading, untruthful, and dangerous political tactics.
-That the continuation of such rhetoric could be interpreted as a justification of violence, against Senator Barack H. Obama, in the minds of those who hold the aforementioned bigotries.
-That this petition is our effort to further ensure the safety of Senator Barack H. Obama and his family.
-That Senator Barack H. Obama, and his intended policies, do not constitute a danger to our God given freedoms in any significant amount.
-That Senator Barack H. Obama is an American.
-That Senator Barack H. Obama is a Christian.
-That Senator Barack H. Obama's policies, although they have common ground with philosophies held throughout many nations, do not constitute him as a Socialist.
-That, although imperfect, Senator Barack H. Obama holds a high measure of good intent for his fellow citizens.

Furthermore:

-We hereby call for an immediate abandonment, by the aforementioned parties, of all rhetoric which overtly incites American born bigotries as they relate to Senator Barack H. Obama: his life, his religion, his color, and his beliefs.
-We hereby state that, if, in the case of the continuation of such rhetoric, and in the egregious possibility that Senator Barack H. Obama were to be harmed as a result, Senator John S. McCain, Governor Sarah L.H. Palin, some members of the Republican party, and some members of the media, be held accountable in a court of law, and duly charged with incitement to violence.

We act and speak in concert, beginning on this day, October 11th, 2008.

End of text

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At this link there is an international petition that you can sign.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ObamashieldInternational/

The international petition text:

The International Petition for the Immediate Abandonment of Dangerous, Incendiary Rhetoric, as it Relates to the 2008 American Presidential Campaign.

We fair minded citizens of the world community, being of all races, creeds, and political dispositions, do hereby state and stand by the following beliefs:

-That bigotries and ignorances of all forms continue to exist in the citzenry of the world in dangerous amounts.
-That, through means ranging from the promotion of inaccurate perceptions to the use of blatant, incendiary rhetoric, Senator John S. McCain, Governor Sarah L.H. Palin, some members of the Republican party, and some members of the media, are in fact inciting the possibility of violent behavior, thus endangering the safety of Senator Barack H. Obama.
-That the 2008 American Presidential Campaign, due to the inclusion of Democratic candidate Senator Barack H. Obama, and due to the aforementioned bigotries, constitutes one of the most potentially dangerous situations in modern American political history.
-That this petition is our effort to stop such misleading, untruthful, and dangerous political tactics.
-That the continuation of such rhetoric could be interpreted as a justification of violence, against Senator Barack H. Obama, in the minds of those who hold the aforementioned bigotries.
-That this petition is our effort to further ensure the safety of Senator Barack H. Obama and his family.
-That Senator Barack H. Obama, and his intended policies, do not constitute a danger to our God given, American freedoms in any significant amount.
-That Senator Barack H. Obama is an American.
-That Senator Barack H. Obama is a Christian.
-That Senator Barack H. Obama's policies, although they have common ground with philosophies held throughout many nations, do not constitute him as a Socialist.
-That, although imperfect, Senator Barack H. Obama holds a high measure of good intent for his fellow citizens.

Furthermore:

-We hereby call for an immediate abandonment, by the aforementioned parties, of all rhetoric which overtly incites American born bigotries as they relate to Senator Barack H. Obama: his life, his religion, his color, and his beliefs.
-We hereby state that, if, in the case of the continuation of such rhetoric, and in the egregious possibility that Senator Barack H. Obama were to be harmed as a result, Senator John S. McCain, Governor Sarah L.H. Palin, some members of the American Republican party, and some members of the American media, be held accountable in a court of law, and duly charged with incitement to violence.

We act and speak in concert, beginning on this day, October 12th, 2008.

End of text

HOW ON TOP OF THINGS IS JOHN McCAIN?

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John McCain answers DesMoinesRegister.com (Iowa) reporter's questions, including about Sarah Palin
This is worth watching
at 4:50 McCain's demeanor doesn't look like someone who is likely to "reach across the 'aisle'"

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Sarah Palin's progress
7:57

Ifill's Book is no secret
Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama

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Sarah Palin ~ In her own words

Today the Senate passed the Finanacial (we are now calling it a "Rescue" not "Bailout") bill
74 Yes
25 No
Biden, McCain Obama all voted Yes
Barack Obama spoke before the Senate

John McCain didn't speak before the Senate.

John McCain said Barack Obama stood on the sidelines about this bill. Today, that looked the opposite.

Below is Obama's Economy Plan that has been on Barack Obama's website since he started running for President:
Source: www.barackobama.com/issues/economy

• Jumpstart the Economy
• Provide Middle Class Americans Tax Relief
• Trade
• Job Creation
• Support Small Business
• Labor
• Protect Homeownership and Crack Down on Mortgage Fraud
• Address Predatory Credit Card Practices
• Reform Bankruptcy Laws
• Work/Family Balance

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The Problem

Wages are Stagnant as Prices Rise: While wages remain flat, the costs of basic necessities are increasing. The cost of in-state college tuition has grown 35 percent over the past five years. Health care costs have risen four times faster than wages over the past six years. And the personal savings rate is now the lowest it's been since the Great Depression.

Tax Cuts for Wealthy Instead of Middle Class: The Bush tax cuts give those who earn over $1 million dollars a tax cut nearly 160 times greater than that received by middle-income Americans. At the same time, this administration has refused to tackle health care, education and housing in a manner that benefits the middle class.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden's Plan

Jumpstart the Economy

• Enact a Windfall Profits Tax to Provide a $1,000 Emergency Energy Rebate to American Families:Barack Obama and Joe Biden will enact a windfall profits tax on excessive oil company profits to give American families an immediate $1,000 emergency energy rebate to help families pay rising bills. This relief would be a down payment on the Obama-Biden long-term plan to provide middle-class families with at least $1,000 per year in permanent tax relief.
• Provide $50 billion to Jumpstart the Economy and Prevent 1 Million Americans from Losing Their Jobs: This relief would include a $25 billion State Growth Fund to prevent state and local cuts in health, education, housing, and heating assistance or counterproductive increases in property taxes, tolls or fees. The Obama-Biden relief plan will also include $25 billion in a Jobs and Growth Fund to prevent cutbacks in road and bridge maintenance and fund school re­pair - all to save more than 1 million jobs in danger of being cut.

Provide Middle Class Americans Tax Relief

Obama and Biden will cut income taxes by $1,000 for working families to offset the payroll tax they pay.

• Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families: Obama and Biden will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers the tax relief they need. Obama and Biden will create a new "Making Work Pay" tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family. The "Making Work Pay" tax credit will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans.
• Eliminate Income Taxes for Seniors Making Less than $50,000: Barack Obama will eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This proposal will eliminate income taxes for 7 million seniors and provide these seniors with an average savings of $1,400 each year. Under the Obama-Biden plan, 27 million American seniors will also not need to file an income tax return.
• Simplify Tax Filings for Middle Class Americans: Obama and Biden will dramatically simplify tax filings so that millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than five minutes. Obama and Biden will ensure that the IRS uses the information it already gets from banks and employers to give taxpayers the option of pre-filled tax forms to verify, sign and return. Experts estimate that the Obama-Biden proposal will save Americans up to 200 million total hours of work and aggravation and up to $2 billion in tax preparer fees.

Trade

Obama and Biden believe that trade with foreign nations should strengthen the American economy and create more American jobs. He will stand firm against agreements that undermine our economic security.

• Fight for Fair Trade: Obama and Biden will fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs. They will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world and stand firm against agreements like the Central American Free Trade Agreement that fail to live up to those important benchmarks. Obama and Biden will also pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements and stop countries from continuing unfair government subsidies to foreign exporters and nontariff barriers on U.S. exports.
• Amend the North American Free Trade Agreement: Obama and Biden believe that NAFTA and its potential were oversold to the American people. They will work with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to fix NAFTA so that it works for American workers.
• Improve Transition Assistance: To help all workers adapt to a rapidly changing economy, Obama and Biden will update the existing system of Trade Adjustment Assistance by extending it to service industries, creating flexible education accounts to help workers retrain, and providing retraining assistance for workers in sectors of the economy vulnerable to dislocation before they lose their jobs.
• End Tax Breaks for Companies that Send Jobs Overseas: Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that companies should not get billions of dollars in tax deductions for moving their operations overseas. Obama and Biden will also fight to ensure that public contracts are awarded to companies that are committed to American workers.
• Reward Companies that Support American Workers: Barack Obama introduced the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 with Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to reward companies that create good jobs with good benefits for American workers. The legislation would provide a tax credit to companies that maintain or increase the number of full-time workers in America relative to those outside the US; maintain their corporate headquarters in America if it has ever been in America; pay decent wages; prepare workers for retirement; provide health insurance; and support employees who serve in the military.

Invest in the Manufacturing Sector and Create 5 Million New Green Jobs

• Invest in our Next Generation Innovators and Job Creators: Obama and Biden will create an Advanced Manufacturing Fund to identify and invest in the most compelling advanced manufacturing strategies. The Fund will have a peer-review selection and award process based on the Michigan 21st Century Jobs Fund, a state-level initiative that has awarded over $125 million to Michigan businesses with the most innovative proposals to create new products and new jobs in the state.
• Double Funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership: The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) works with manufacturers across the country to improve efficiency, implement new technology and strengthen company growth. This highly-successful program has engaged in more than 350,000 projects across the country and in 2006 alone, helped create and protect over 50,000 jobs. But despite this success, funding for MEP has been slashed by the Bush administration. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will double funding for the MEP so its training centers can continue to bolster the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers.
• Invest In A Clean Energy Economy And Create 5 Million New Green Jobs: Obama and Biden will invest $150 billion over 10 years to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial scale renewable energy, invest in low emissions coal plants, and begin transition to a new digital electricity grid. The plan will also invest in America's highly-skilled manufacturing workforce and manufacturing centers to ensure that American workers have the skills and tools they need to pioneer the first wave of green technologies that will be in high demand throughout the world.
• Create New Job Training Programs for Clean Technologies: The Obama-Biden plan will increase funding for federal workforce training programs and direct these programs to incorporate green technologies training, such as advanced manufacturing and weatherization training, into their efforts to help Americans find and retain stable, high-paying jobs. Obama and Biden will also create an energy-focused youth jobs program to invest in disconnected and disadvantaged youth.
• Boost the Renewable Energy Sector and Create New Jobs: The Obama-Biden plan will create new federal policies, and expand existing ones, that have been proven to create new American jobs. Obama and Biden will create a federal Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) that will require 25 percent of American electricity be derived from renewable sources by 2025, which has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs on its own. Obama and Biden will also extend the Production Tax Credit, a credit used successfully by American farmers and investors to increase renewable energy production and create new local jobs.

New Jobs Through National Infrastructure Investment

Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that it is critically important for the United States to rebuild its national transportation infrastructure – its highways, bridges, roads, ports, air, and train systems – to strengthen user safety, bolster our long-term competitiveness and ensure our economy continues to grow.

• Create a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will address the infrastructure challenge by creating a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank to expand and enhance, not supplant, existing federal transportation investments. This independent entity will be directed to invest in our nation’s most challenging transportation infrastructure needs. The Bank will receive an infusion of federal money, $60 billion over 10 years, to provide financing to transportation infrastructure projects across the nation. These projects will create up to two million new direct and indirect jobs and stimulate approximately $35 billion per year in new economic activity.

Technology, Innovation and Creating Jobs

Barack Obama and Joe Biden will increase federal support for research, technology and innovation for companies and universities so that American families can lead the world in creating new advanced jobs and products.

• Invest in the Sciences: Barack Obama and Joe Biden support doubling federal funding for basic research and changing the posture of our federal government from being one of the most anti-science administrations in American history to one that embraces science and technology. This will foster home-grown innovation, help ensure the competitiveness of US technology-based businesses, and ensure that 21st century jobs can and will grow in America.
• Make the Research and Development Tax Credit Permanent: Barack Obama and Joe Biden want investments in a skilled research and development workforce and technology infrastructure to be supported here in America so that American workers and communities will benefit. Obama and Biden want to make the Research and Development tax credit permanent so that firms can rely on it when making decisions to invest in domestic R&D over multi-year timeframes.
• Deploy Next-Generation Broadband: Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we can get broadband to every community in America through a combination of reform of the Universal Service Fund, better use of the nation's wireless spectrum, promotion of next-generation facilities, technologies and applications, and new tax and loan incentives.

Support Small Business

• Provide Tax Relief for Small Businesses and Start Up Companies: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will eliminate all capital gains taxes on start-up and small businesses to encourage innovation and job creation. Obama and Biden will also support small business owners by providing a $500 “Making Work Pay” tax credit to almost every worker in America. Self-employed small business owners pay both the employee and the employer side of the payroll tax, and this measure will reduce the burdens of this double taxation.
• Create a National Network of Public-Private Business Incubators: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will support entrepreneurship and spur job growth by creating a national network of public-private business incubators. Business incubators facilitate the critical work of entrepreneurs in creating start-up companies. Obama and Biden will invest $250 million per year to increase the number and size of incubators in disadvantaged communities throughout the country.

Labor

Obama and Biden will strengthen the ability of workers to organize unions. He will fight for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Obama and Biden will ensure that his labor appointees support workers' rights and will work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers. Obama and Biden will also increase the minimum wage and index it to inflation to ensure it rises every year.

• Ensure Freedom to Unionize: Obama and Biden believe that workers should have the freedom to choose whether to join a union without harassment or intimidation from their employers. Obama cosponsored and is strong advocate for the Employee Free Choice Act, a bipartisan effort to assure that workers can exercise their right to organize. He will continue to fight for EFCA's passage and sign it into law.
• Fight Attacks on Workers' Right to Organize: Obama has fought the Bush National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) efforts to strip workers of their right to organize. He is a cosponsor of legislation to overturn the NLRB's "Kentucky River" decisions classifying hundreds of thousands of nurses, construction, and professional workers as "supervisors" who are not protected by federal labor laws.
• Protect Striking Workers: Obama and Biden support the right of workers to bargain collectively and strike if necessary. They will work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers, so workers can stand up for themselves without worrying about losing their livelihoods.
• Raise the Minimum Wage: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time workers earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs.

Protect Homeownership and Crack Down on Mortgage Fraud

Obama and Biden will crack down on fraudulent brokers and lenders. They will also make sure homebuyers have honest and complete information about their mortgage options, and they will give a tax credit to all middle-class homeowners.

• Create a Universal Mortgage Credit: Obama and Biden will create a 10 percent universal mortgage credit to provide homeowners who do not itemize tax relief. This credit will provide an average of $500 to 10 million homeowners, the majority of whom earn less than $50,000 per year.
• Ensure More Accountability in the Subprime Mortgage Industry: Obama has been closely monitoring the subprime mortgage situation for years, and introduced comprehensive legislation over a year ago to fight mortgage fraud and protect consumers against abusive lending practices. Obama's STOP FRAUD Act provides the first federal definition of mortgage fraud, increases funding for federal and state law enforcement programs, creates new criminal penalties for mortgage professionals found guilty of fraud, and requires industry insiders to report suspicious activity.
• Mandate Accurate Loan Disclosure: Obama and Biden will create a Homeowner Obligation Made Explicit (HOME) score, which will provide potential borrowers with a simplified, standardized borrower metric (similar to APR) for home mortgages. The HOME score will allow individuals to easily compare various mortgage products and understand the full cost of the loan.
• Close Bankruptcy Loophole for Mortgage Companies: Obama and Biden will work to eliminate the provision that prevents bankruptcy courts from modifying an individual's mortgage payments. They believe that the subprime mortgage industry, which has engaged in dangerous and sometimes unscrupulous business practices, should not be shielded by outdated federal law.

Address Predatory Credit Card Practices

Obama and Biden will establish a five-star rating system so that every consumer knows the risk involved in every credit card. They also will establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights to stop credit card companies from exploiting consumers with unfair practices.

• Create a Credit Card Rating System to Improve Disclosure: Obama and Biden will create a credit card rating system, modeled on five-star systems used for other consumer products, to provide consumers an easily identifiable ranking of credit cards, based on the card's features. Credit card companies will be required to display the rating on all application and contract materials, enabling consumers to quickly understand all of the major provisions of a credit card without having to rely exclusively on fine print in lengthy documents.
• Establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights to Protect Consumers: Obama and Biden will create a Credit Card Bill of Rights to protect consumers. The Obama-Biden plan will:
  • Ban Unilateral Changes
  • Apply Interest Rate Increases Only to Future Debt
  • Prohibit Interest on Fees
  • Prohibit "Universal Defaults"
  • Require Prompt and Fair Crediting of Cardholder Payments

Reform Bankruptcy Laws

Obama and Biden will reform our bankruptcy laws to protect working people, ban executive bonuses for bankrupt companies, and require disclosure of all pension investments.

• Cap Outlandish Interest Rates on Payday Loans and Improve Disclosure: Obama and Biden will extend a 36 percent interest cap to all Americans. They will require lenders to provide clear and simplified information about loan fees, payments and penalties, which is why they'll require lenders to provide this information during the application process.
• Encourage Responsible Lending Institutions to Make Small Consumer Loans: Obama and Biden will encourage banks, credit unions and Community Development Financial Institutions to provide affordable short-term and small-dollar loans and to drive unscrupulous lenders out of business.
• Reform Bankruptcy Laws to Protect Families Facing a Medical Crisis: Obama and Biden will create an exemption in bankruptcy law for individuals who can prove they filed for bankruptcy because of medical expenses. This exemption will create a process that forgives the debt and lets the individuals get back on their feet.

Work/Family Balance

Obama and Biden will double funding for after-school programs, expand the Family Medical Leave Act, provide low-income families with a refundable tax credit to help with their child-care expenses, and encourage flexible work schedules.

• Expand the Family and Medical Leave Act: The FMLA covers only certain employees of employers with 50 or more employees. Obama and Biden will expand it to cover businesses with 25 or more employees. They will expand the FMLA to cover more purposes as well, including allowing workers to take leave for elder care needs; allowing parents up to 24 hours of leave each year to participate in their children's academic activities; and expanding FMLA to cover leave for employees to address domestic violence.
• Encourage States to Adopt Paid Leave: As president, Obama will initiate a strategy to encourage all 50 states to adopt paid-leave systems. Obama and Biden will provide a $1.5 billion fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help states offset the costs for employees and employers.
• Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities: Obama and Biden will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve a million more children. Obama and Biden will include measures to maximize performance and effectiveness across grantees nationwide.
• Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides too little relief to families that struggle to afford child care expenses. Obama and Biden will reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making it refundable and allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50 percent credit for their child care expenses.
• Protect Against Caregiver Discrimination: Workers with family obligations often are discriminated against in the workplace. Obama and Biden will enforce the recently-enacted Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines on caregiver discrimination.
• Expand Flexible Work Arrangements: Obama and Biden will create a program to inform businesses about the benefits of flexible work schedules; help businesses create flexible work opportunities; and increase federal incentives for telecommuting. Obama and Biden will also make the federal government a model employer in terms of adopting flexible work schedules and permitting employees to request flexible arrangements.

Barack Obama's Record

• Housing: In the U.S. Senate, Obama introduced the STOP FRAUD Act to increase penalties for mortgage fraud and provide more protections for low-income homebuyers, well before the current subprime crisis began.
• Predatory Lending: In the Illinois State Senate, Obama called attention to predatory lending issues. Obama sponsored legislation to combat predatory payday loans, and he also was credited with lobbying the state to more closely regulate some of the most egregious predatory lending practices.
• American Jobs: Barack Obama introduced the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 to provide a tax credit to companies that maintain or increase the number of full-time workers in America relative to those outside the US; maintain their corporate headquarters in America; pay decent wages; prepare workers for retirement; provide health insurance; and support employees who serve in the military.

For More Information about Barack's Plan

Read the plan for small businesses
Read the plan to protect homeownership and crack down on mortgage fraud
Read the Speech

OBAMA - BIDEN 2008

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