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AP Photo|Sang Tan

Betsy Apple, the Director of the Crimes Against Humanity Program at Human Rights First and Eric Sears, a program officer in the same program, recently wrote at the Huffington Post that China continues to downplay the link between it’s arm sales to Sudan and the genocidal depopulation technique being administered in Darfur.

Last week the Chinese foreign ministry dismissed the findings of a new Human Rights First report that identified China as the single largest provider of small arms to Sudan, promising the world that its arms sales are “always highly prudent”.

Whenever a word such as prudent is used I always sense of cover up and Chaplin’s voice speaks to me, “More than logic; We need compassion”.

Prudence is a word stuck in logic.

Look at the definition of the word Prudence:

1 : the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason ~ One can reason anything right or wrong.

2 : sagacity or shrewdness in the management of affairs

3 : skill and good judgment in the use of resources ~ The third definition is more in line with China’s policy. They want to secure Darfur’s oil of which they hold the majority of. By selling the arms used to murder and displace people living in the vicinity of their oil wells is China utilizing it’s resources in good judgment?

4 : caution or circumspection as to danger or risk ~ When the genocide or depopulation campaign started in 2003 so did China’s arm sales to Sudan, hardly a drop of logic is needed to put the two together in regards to caution as to risk or danger.

The article also rightly states that the Beijing Olympics are becoming a pr nightmare for China. That is why we have designated the Olympic Sponsors a primary target.

Email or call the Olympic Corporate Sponsors.

Send a letter to companies sponsoring the 2008 Olympics, hosted by China. (Dream for Darfur’s email system will let you do this with the touch of a button.)

Pledge to turn off the commercials of Olympic Sponsors during the Games.

Olympic corporate sponsors have been silent about China’s financing of the Darfur genocide, even as the sponsors are spending billions to enhance China’s image as Olympic host. If sponsors continue to ignore China’s complicity in the Darfur genocide, we will ignore their million-dollar ad campaigns.

Write to the UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace.
Mr. Adolf Ogi represents the UN Secretary-General in contacts with international sports bodies. Tell him you are concerned that the world will gather for the Olympics while the people of Darfur are being slaughtered.

Petition the International Olympic Committee.
Urge the IOC to work with the international community to ensure that China uses its leverage with the government of Sudan to help stop the genocide in Darfur, and avoids tarnishing the 2008 Games in Beijing.

I have just finished gathering up all participants in yesterday’s BlogBlast. I am overwhelmed at the strength of our movement.

Bloggers became activists. I am still reeling.

Modern Musings is going to work this blogblast by extending it through spotlights, additional information and there is another Darfur related movement in the mix, collaborating with the UltraViolet Underground on that one.

We are far from done. Humanitarian work feeds the soul and I’m hungry.

Here is the latest compilation of all the conscious bloggers who have expended their time and effort to educate, motivate and activate for our Darfurian family.

I am especially grateful for the promotion of the action items.

If you haven’t added your name to be counted, please do so now.
Email or call the Olympic Corporate Sponsors.

Send a letter to companies sponsoring the 2008 Olympics, hosted by China. (Dream for Darfur’s email system will let you do this with the touch of a button.)

Pledge to turn off the commercials of Olympic Sponsors during the Games.
Olympic corporate sponsors have been silent about China’s financing of the Darfur genocide, even as the sponsors are spending billions to enhance China’s image as Olympic host. If sponsors continue to ignore China’s complicity in the Darfur genocide, we will ignore their million-dollar ad campaigns.

Write to the UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace.
Mr. Adolf Ogi represents the UN Secretary-General in contacts with international sports bodies. Tell him you are concerned that the world will gather for the Olympics while the people of Darfur are being slaughtered.

Petition the International Olympic Committee.
Urge the IOC to work with the international community to ensure that China uses its leverage with the government of Sudan to help stop the genocide in Darfur, and avoids tarnishing the 2008 Games in Beijing.

I am so grateful to all participants, my rainbow warriors. You gave my thoughts wings.

Today is the Day!

Dear President Bush,

Robert Weissman

On April 13th there will be a Mighty Roar within the Blogosphere Proudly Declaring Genocide No More! Our mission is to educate, motivate and activate toward ending the genocide in Darfur.

Here are some links I have found that you can use to build your contribution that will be published on April 13th.

Be sure to entitle your post In Solidarity: Global Day for Darfur, this essentially creates the blogblast since our work will show up in a search together.

I strongly recommend using the action items listed below. There are 5 specific actions sponsored by Dream for Darfur that are user friendly and targets China and the Beijing Olympics as well as the United Nations. Directing your readers to these actions will dramatically increase our impact, but you are of course free to post any other action that you have unearthed. In every case, we should take all actions presented on April 13th.

Since acting for the betterment of humanity feels so gooood and is addicting, Modern Musings will be joining forces with the UltraViolet Underground in the coming weeks for a dual campaign for Darfur and Tibet.

Educate
Reports and Studies
Five Years On: No Justice for Sexual Violence in Darfur : This is a full report by the organization Human Rights Watch available online as well as a pdf file.

Trip to Darfur Travelogue : The Res Publica Team that runs Darfurgenocide.org conducted a six-week trip to Darfur and the surrounding areas. This travelogue describes their encounters with the Darfuri people, political leaders as well as the Sudanese Liberation Army.

Creating a Peace to Keep in Darfur - A Joint Report by the ENOUGH Project and the Save Darfur Coalition : This is a very detailed report suggesting real and tangible suggestions on ending the genocide in Darfur as well as healing her.

News Items and Commentaries
UN Peace Missions Falter in Africa : This article explains that the United Nations along with the African Union currently have 7,467 troops in Darfur but are being strangled into incompetency due to the lack of donations from UN member states. Kofi Anaan warned that the United Nations has taken on too many peacekeeping missions with too limited support from member countries.

China’s Genocide Games : This article goes into the connection between Darfur and China. In effective activist campaigns you have to hit them where it hurts. With the heated protests that have been seen throughout the journey of the Olympic Flame and the Chinese response, The Beijing Olympics are a powerful target to be pursued.

Rape widespread in Darfur : This article demonstrates that women and girls [as young as 11] live in constant fear of sexual violence and rape in Darfur. These most shameful acts of violence are committed by Sudanese military as well as the Janjaweed.

Facts and Stats

Sudan - The Quick and the Terrible: A Frontline presentation gives a history of the region and crisis.

International Crisis Group - Crisis in Darfur : A plethoria of information about Darfur with reports, action suggestions, news reporting and so much more.

Viral Videos
Our Choice, Too: On the Edge in Darfur : Produced by the Pulitzer Center in association with Azimuth Media, World Security Institute.

What will it take to Stop Genocide in Darfur? : “A live panel presentation at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum including Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, Samantha Power, Ambassador Michael Ranneberger, and journalist Jon Sawyer. Moderated by James Rosen. Panelists discussed possibilities to end genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. This program was originally Webcast live from the Museum on April 17, 2006. It was re-broadcast via LinkTV on April 23, 2006.”

International Musicians Mattafix’s video for their song “Living Darfur” filmed on the border of Chad and Darfur.

Voices from Darfur from the Save Darfur organization

Organizations dedicated to ending the genocide in Darfur

• 24 Hours for DarfurSave Darfur
• Darfur Genocide
• Amnesty International
• Eyes on Darfur
• Human Rights Watch
• Crisis Group
• United States Holocaust Museum
• Dream for Darfur

Activate

All actions sponsored by Dream for Darfur

1. Write to the ambassadors of the US, the UK, Russia and France to the UN.
Urge them to help China insist that Khartoum stop its obstruction.
2. Email or call the Olympic Corporate Sponsors.
Send a letter to companies sponsoring the 2008 Olympics, hosted by China. (Dream for Darfur’s email system will let you do this with the touch of a button.)
3. Pledge to turn off the commercials of Olympic Sponsors during the Games.
Olympic corporate sponsors have been silent about China’s financing of the Darfur genocide, even as the sponsors are spending billions to enhance China’s image as Olympic host. If sponsors continue to ignore China’s complicity in the Darfur genocide, we will ignore their million-dollar ad campaigns.
4. Write to the UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace.
Mr. Adolf Ogi represents the UN Secretary-General in contacts with international sports bodies. Tell him you are concerned that the world will gather for the Olympics while the people of Darfur are being slaughtered.
5. Petition the International Olympic Committee.
Urge the IOC to work with the international community to ensure that China uses its leverage with the government of Sudan to help stop the genocide in Darfur, and avoids tarnishing the 2008 Games in Beijing.

Current Pledged Participants of April 13th’s In Solidarity: Global Day for Darfur

I have created a slideshow that can be placed in your sidebar if you are planning on participating on April 13th for the In Solidarity: Global Day for Darfur.

The Mission is to build upon Amnesty International’s global efforts within the blogsphere.

The Strategy is to Educate, Motivate and Activate toward ending the genocide in Darfur.

Educate through analysis of reports and news materials, compilations of facts through viral multimedia like podcasts and videos posted on Youtube and linking to articles, blog posts, and viral media to expand public knowledge of the Darfuri genocide. Any and all aspects can be focused on; such as the root causes of the murder, who is behind it, and what the international community has done to promote the murder and to end it.

Motivate through the capacity within humanity for empathy. Motivate through love. Pull at heart strings, communicate the sameness of Darfuri families and your own, and share the simple, common fact that we are all the same and the suffering of the Darfuri people is felt within our hearts. Motivate through the anger for the greed, the murder, and the lack of action.

Activate through petitions, open letters, letters to all our elected officials as well as U.N., Sudanese and Chinese officials, and speaking out to the corporate sponsors of the Beijing Olympics as China plays a key role.

I will be adding some facts, links and viral media in the coming days which anyone can grab and use. I will also have some fact sheets and other materials to spread. Since we are building a movement, I will prominently display all participants’ contributions and continue with the link love.



I will add new participants to the slideshow. The code for the slideshow can be found here entitled In Solidarity: Global Day for Darfur.

If you want to add the code to your sidebar let me know in the comments since one measurement needs to be changed in the html code depending upon the size of your sidebar.

Pledged Participants

Last night I experienced a vivid, empathic nightmare. Malicious, vile, brutality was being inflicted on an innocent girl while her mother removed herself from maternal instincts in a room down the hall. The girl’s cries were muffled even though coming from the bathroom, she had been through this before and didn’t want to provoke further attack. She was placed in the hallway to absorb her “lesson”.

She sat on the floor with silent tears streaming down her broken face. Her breath was far too heavy for a five year old. I could see and sense her spirit shrinking. I was confined to observance. I couldn’t reach her with my body so I sat down opposite of her. I matched my breath with hers sending her as much love and compassion that I am capable of. This energy was transferred through multicolored tendrils of smoke. The vibrancy diminished though when it reached this little girl.

My heart sank and I began to sob as I tried to bridge the gap between pure intention and tangible action. I slowly crawled toward her in time with her labored breath. The moment I was within reach suddenly the abuser approached, her face winced and I faded as he stepped on my head in front of her ordering her to go to bed. With a calmness that sunk the soul she said “I can’t see.”

I awoke from the nightmare so shaken. A few days ago, while studying for a midterm, I listened to Anne Deavere Smith on Ted Talks. Anne is a storyteller who brings to life American stories in her performances. She told the story of Paulette Jenkins, the mother of the abused child of my dreams. The child died and her story lingered in my subconscious and produced my nightmare. That little innocent, powerless girl lived this nightmare of existence.

There are millions of people throughout the world that are enduring nightmares of malicious, vile, brutality with many of us confined to observance. Thoughts of love and compassion dwindle in substance when met with the reality of distance. Only tangible action can awaken humanity from the nightmare.

A five year old child living in Darfur has led a life colored red with the blood of relatives and neighbors. Children who have not known peace in their existence. These children are our children. My children. The awareness of the genocidal murder of our brothers and sisters in Darfur needs to be expanded so that tangible action can be provoked from the power of empathy. China needs to be pressured.

Last week I received an email from Amnesty International concerning the upcoming Global Day for Darfur. On April 13th, thousands of people from around the world will stand in solidarity for Darfur. There will be a exhibition on the National Mall in D.C. entitled Displaced which will feature the artwork of youth and speeches by Darfur activists.

I decided to create a blogblast for Darfur and sent out a prelimary action alert to Wayne of the Electronic Village, Purple Zoe of the UltraViolet Underground and Vanessa of Vanessa Unplugged. Wayne forwarded the message to fellow bloggers and we have confirmation that these blogs will participate: