Standing up for Darfur.

(The Huffington Post) April 27  – Five members of Congress and two Darfur activists had themselves arrested Monday outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington, D.C., to draw attention to the continuing humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Uniformed Secret Service officers put plastic handcuffs on Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), John Lewis (D-Ga.), Donna [...]

This week’s outrage from Darfur: 3/25/09.

Darfur refugees suffer as aid groups leave
KHARTOUM, Sudan (UPI) March 23 - The lives of millions of displaced people in the Darfur region of Sudan have been endangered by a move to expel aid workers from the country, observers say.

The groups were banned this month by Sudanese President Omar Hassan Bashir, who accused them of [...]

Never again?

I did it again.
The time again has rolled around during the school year when the seventh graders down the hall are doing their annual unit on the Holocaust.  It’s a mandated part of their curriculum in social studies for seventh grade.
The teacher teaches them all about The Final Solution.  She pulls no punches and lays [...]

Breaking news from Darfur.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) March 4  – The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. He is the first sitting head of state the court has ordered arrested.
The three-judge panel said there was insufficient evidence to support charges [...]

Today’s outrage from Darfur: 2/17/09.

Remember Darfur?  Time to start remembering it here, again.
Darfur war crimes indictment threatens to split international community
(The Guardian) February 16 – Britain, France and the US are up against a united front of African and Muslim countries, backed by China and Russia, over the imminent indictment of Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, for war crimes and [...]

Today’s outrage from Darfur: 12/29/08.

You DO remember Darfur, don’t you?
Up to 6000 child soldiers recruited in Darfur: U.N.
KHARTOUM, Sudan (Reuters) December 23 – Up to 6,000 child soldiers, some as young as 11, have been recruited by rebels and government forces in Sudan’s Darfur conflict, the United Nations said.
Youngsters have repeatedly been seen carrying weapons, even though Sudanese law [...]

Genocidal killer is “at peace with” himself.

Man blamed for Darfursays “I am at peace with myself.”
KHARTOUM, Sudan (The Guardian/UK) December 4 – The man accused by the international criminal court of planning, organising and directing an orgy of violence against civilians in Darfur that left up to 200,000 people dead and 2.5 million homeless has angrily protested his innocence, calling the [...]

A rescue mission for Obama?

Rescuing Sudan: A mission for Obama
by John Pendergast
(Philadelphia Inquirer) November 23 – There is one job President-elect Barack Obama could take on from Day One that – if he were successful – could save billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives. And the small price tag justifies the risk. The [...]

Today’s outrage from Darfur: 10/20/08.

Darfur: UN says 40,000 displaced in last two months
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) October 18 – Some 40,000 civilians have been displaced in Darfur in the last two months by fighting between Sudanese government forces and rebels in the northern and central parts of the wartorn region, said the U.N. on Saturday.
The estimate is based on witness [...]

This week’s outrage about Darfur, 10/5/08.

Sarah Palin lied about Darfur and divestment at the “VeePee” debate last week.
I know, I know.  You’re shocked, right?  I know I am.
Palin Team Opposed Divesting of Holdings to Protest Darfur
(Washington Post) October 4 -

“When I and others in the legislature found out we had some millions of dollars in Sudan, we called for divestment [...]

What keeps me up at night, v. 1.

NAIROBI, Kenya (McClatchy Newspapers) Sept. 30 – The U.S. Africa Command, the Pentagon’s first effort to unite its counterterrorism, training and humanitarian operations on the continent, launches Wednesday amid questions at home about its mission and deep suspicions in Africa about its intentions. U.S. officials have billed the new command, known as Africom, as a [...]

Today’s outrage from Darfur: 9/8/08.

UN threatens to suspend Darfur food aid over attacks by Andrew Heavens
KHARTOUM (Reuters) September 8 – The United Nations on Sunday threatened to suspend emergency food deliveries to parts of Sudan’s Darfur region after a surge of hijackings and bandit attacks.
The U.N.’s World Food Programme (WFP) said “relentless” attacks on its food convoys, workers and [...]

Today’s outrage from Darfur: 9/7/08.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) September 6 – Sudanese forces launched ground and air attacks on two rebel bases in North Drafur on Saturday, killing an unknown number of people, insurgent groups said.
Leaders from three rebel groups said government troops, backed by militias, helicopters and Antonov planes, attacked their bases in Disa and Birmaza, close to a [...]

This week’s outrage from Darfur, 9/3/08.

Global justice threatened by Eric Reeves
(International Herald Tribune) September 1 – As news coverage of Darfur’s horrors again ebbs, as regional rains reach their heaviest in a deadly season known as the “hunger gap,” the regime in Khartoum appears to have outwaited the international community.
The men who have orchestrated ethnic destruction in Darfur now believe [...]

Today’s butchery from Darfur, 8/25/08.

The term “outrage” doesn’t begin to cover this one.
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) August 25 - Sudanese government forces attacked one of Darfur’s largest refugee camps at dawn Monday, killing dozens of civilians, according to rebels and a witness in the camp.
Sudan’s military acknowledged the raid but said soldiers were searching for smuggled weapons.
The United Nations said it [...]

Today’s voice of outrage from Darfur: 8/19/08.

A Wrong Theme for the Beijing Olympics by Taban Abel Aguek
(Sudan Times) August 17 - “One World, One Dream” as the theme for the Beijing Olympics, though only in words, is as beautiful as the Bird’s Nest Stadium where the ceremony for the world sports was officially opened; but ironically it reflects exactly the opposite of [...]

Today’s outrage from Darfur: 8/14/08.

Looks like the Russians aren’t the only ones who’re using the Olympics as cover…
Darfur onslaught to “clear way for Chinese oil hunt,” say rebels by Rob Crilly
NAIROBI (Times Online) August 14 – A major offensive involving 300 Sudanese government battlewagons intended to clear space for Chinese oil exploration in Darfur’s far north has begun, according [...]

No comment.

(H/t to JudiPhilly.)

Today’s outrage from Darfur: 8/13/08.

Rape wrecking communities in Myanmar, Darfur: Nobelists
WASHINGTON (AFP) August 12 - Rape is increasingly being used as a tool of war in ethnic conflicts in Darfur and Myanmar, wrecking families and communities, two women Nobel peace laureates warned Tuesday.
Jody Williams, who spearheaded a campaign banning antipersonnel landmines, and Wangari Maathai, an outspoken advocate for greater democracy [...]

Today’s outrage from Darfur: 8/12/08.

This is some scary stuff, but I’ve heard it before.  Unfortunately.
Dogs of War: Blackwater To the Rescue in Darfur?   by David Isenberg

WASHINGTON (UPI) August 8 – The Wall Street Journal ran an opinion piece on July 29 calling for the use of private security contractors to help transform the 9,000 or so African Union soldiers in [...]