Darfur News' shared items in Google Reader

Michael Abramowitz and Andrew Natsios: Bearing Witness: Sudan at the Crossroads

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 07:00:00 PDT

Drawing on their recent witnessing trip to southern Sudan, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Michael Abramowitz and Andrew Natsios, former Presidential Envoy to Sudan, assess threats of violence in the region.

Michael Abramowitz and Andrew Natsios: Bearing Witness: Sudan at the Crossroads

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 07:00:00 PDT

South Sudan registration peaceful

(author unknown) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 04:52:00 PST

Registration centres for a referendum have opened peacefully, but officials warned that some fear intimidation and fraud.

Sudan: the oil map

Black Kush — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 22:48:21 PST

National Geographic Magazine

CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANCE OF EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF U.S. SUDAN POLICY

(author unknown) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:13:00 PST

This week, the National Security Council Deputies Committee will meet to review progress of the Obama Administration's Sudan policy. A group of anti-genocide and human rights organizations collabor...

Minawi, Hasabu Discuss Repatriation, Reconstruction in Darfur

(author unknown) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:00:00 PDT

Minawi, Hassabu Discuss Repatriation, Reconstruction in DarfurPosted on Tuesday, September 01 @ 00:15:00 BST by admin Staff writerSenior Assistant to the President, the head of the Transitional Darfur...

CHAD: Fighting the river

(author unknown) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 09:12:21 PDT

NDJAMENA 20 October 2010 (IRIN) - Rising floodwater in Chad’s capital N’djamena - coming in the midst of a cholera outbreak - has engulfed household wells and toilets and displaced thousands of people, raising the threat of infection, according to UNICEF.

Il Jebel Marra è ancora zona interdetta agli aiuti umanitari.

Mauro Annarumma — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:33:51 PDT

Ci sono intere aree del Jebel Marra che non possono essere raggiunte dalle organizzazioni umanitarie, interi villaggi in preda alla violenza senza scampo dei militari sudanesi e delle milizie ribelli che in queste aree stanno intensificando gli scontri per il controllo della regione.
Le Forze Armate sudanesi attaccano anche con lanci di bombe dal cielo, in aree interedette anche alle Nazioni Unite, perchè sono ufficialmente in corso operazioni militari governative.
Lo ha riferito Georg Charpentier, coordinatore degli affari umanitari delle Nazioni Unite alla stampa, la settimana scorsa.

Leggi anche:
- As UN Admits Burning of Darfur Village, It Had a Health Center But Now “No Access”

Firma l'appello on-line di Italians for Darfur! http://www.italianblogsfordarfur.it - Per informazioni sulla campagna on-line scrivi a: blog[at]italianblogsfordarfur.it

Italians for Darfur alle Falde del Kilimangiaro parte I

Andy Pandy — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:14:19 PDT

Italians for Darfur alle Falde del Kilimangiaro parte I

Source: www.youtube.com

Italians for darfur e Tony Esposito ospiti alle Falde del Kilimangiaro per sostenere la causa del Darfur. Sudan365 A beat for peace - contro ogni genocidio -

Darfur Peacekeeper’s personal story

(author unknown) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 03:35:00 PST

Hey everyone, One of our friends sent over a first-hand account of his experiences as a Peacekeeper in Darfur. Here's what he had to say: "It was a year ago that I went to Darfur as a peacekeeper for ...

Sudan - A Ticking Time Bomb?

Drima — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 10:25:28 PDT

As the date for the Southern Sudan referendum approaches, we Sudanese await the fate of our country’s future, and whether things will go smoothly, or the country will descend back to chaos.

Thing is, both sides are already preparing for war. Moreover, if war does indeed break out again, this time, unlike in the 90’s, the fighting will probably reach Khartoum.

This is because over the past few years, the Southern Sudanese have been busy modernizing their military, which now apparently includes an air force capable of striking within the Sudanese capital.

On a personal level, that is what worries me as Northerner, since Khartoum is my hometown.

On a regional and international political level, one only needs to take a look at this map to understand why this potential ticking time bomb is a huge deal.

Yup, those are nine countries around Sudan.

Clearly, the stakes are high, but what has been quite baffling to me are the mixed reactions I kept getting from my fellow Northern Sudanese in Khartoum when I was there just three weeks ago.

There are mainly two camps. The first is enthusiastic about the idea of separation and wants all Southern Sudanese to “get lost,” leave the North and have their own country. The second camp keeps insisting that separation is simply not going to happen and that the majority of Southern Sudanese don’t want it either, which sounds ridiculous to me and so out of touch with what the majority of Southern Sudanese feel.

Also, I have friends working in the oil industry who have “insider info,” which doesn’t seem credible at all, because what I hear is very conflicting. On one hand, I am told by some that the North has enormous oil and natural gas reserves, and that its economy won’t be affected much if the South separates. On the other hand, there are those who tell me the exact opposite, and that the Northern economy is going to be severely affected.

It all seems so black and white. I haven’t experienced any shades of gray during my conversations with the numerous Sudanese I’ve talked to about this topic, some of whom are well-connected to insiders within the government. Even Omar Al-Bashir’s ruling NCP seems split in its rhetoric, whereas Sudanese TV has been busy broadcasting messages of love and unity, unlike any I’ve seen before. Many of the TV shows and events simply just made me go “eh, where was all this love for the Southerners before, and where did it appear from all of a sudden?”

It’s pretty confusing to me to be quite frank, and I’m not sure who to believe, or what to expect. I don’t want to make any predictions, but at the end of the day, I don’t think the NCP is dumb or stupid. If anything, they’ve repeatedly proven themselves to be very smart cunning strategists. Plus, China has some significant influence and certainly won’t want the oil to stop flowing. Nobody wants that. It’s neither in the interest of the North nor the South anyway. But then again, history might repeat itself.

Whatever happens, I just hope it won’t be ugly.

Meanwhile, let me leave you with this article which covers important details I didn’t go into (h/t: Nobody), and this cool music video on the issue:

Sudan365: Keep the Promise

Il Sud Sudan prepara le milizie rurali alla difesa dai guerriglieri LRA

Mauro Annarumma — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:11:45 PDT

In risposta al susseguirsi delle sempre più numerose incursioni delle milizie del Lord's Resistence Army, il governo del Sud Sudan ha deciso di armare le proprie milizie di autodifesa con nuove e più efficaci armi da guerra, che andranno a sostituire i machete e le armi da taglio finora utilizzate solo a scopo difensivo nelle aree rurali del sud.
Ex comandanti del SPLM dovrebbero seguire l'addestramento delle milizie alle nuove armi e occuparsi del ritiro delel stesse al termine dell'emergenza, almeno fino alle elezioni del gennaio 2011.

Firma l'appello on-line di Italians for Darfur! http://www.italianblogsfordarfur.it - Per informazioni sulla campagna on-line scrivi a: blog[at]italianblogsfordarfur.it

Heather Robinson: The Original Darfur

(author unknown) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:05:31 PDT

Escaped slave and human rights champion Simon Deng arrived in Washington D.C. today, leading a group of several dozen determined activists who walked with him 300 miles from the United Nations in New York to the Capitol building to raise awareness about a planned January 11, 2011 referendum to grant independence to South Sudan.

Sudan steps up hunt for kidnapped Hungarian in Darfur

(author unknown) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 07:35:45 PDT

Source: Reuters KHARTOUM, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Sudanese police set up roadblocks in North Darfur's capital El Fasher on Friday as they stepped up the hunt for a kidnapped Hungarian peacekeeper seized from his home in ...

Emmanuel Jal - Warchild

Stephen Timmer — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 07:23:32 PDT

Emmanuel Jal - Warchild

Source: www.youtube.com

Emmanuel Jal, child-soldier of Sudan turned Hip-Hop artist, has incorporated his experiences into "Warchild," due out May 13, 2008 (Sonic360/Fontana/Universal). The inspirations for the 13 songs on "Warchild" are rooted in Jal's impossible past.

www.runforguaafrica.com...I am trying to run for the kids of war torn South Sudan. There are so many areas of the world that need help - Haiti, Pakistan, Congo, Niger, Bangladesh, our backyards...but I am trying to help these kids who have been through hell. Please give donate $1 or whatever you can. Emmanuel Jal is their voice and I am their feet. Thank you...

A cinque mesi dal referendum in Sud Sudan, esce "Renewing the Pledge", il nuovo dossier in italiano co-prodotto da Italians for Darfur

Mauro Annarumma — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 04:11:47 PDT

disegno di Emilio Caccaman,
siciliano, editore e disegnatore di fumetti,
che da anni sostiene la campagna per i diritti umani in Darfur
(clicca sull'immagine per vederla a migliore risoluzione).

A cinque mesi dal referendum sull'indipendenza del Sudan, il Sudan è drammaticamente impreparato all'evento, secondo quanto emerge dal nuovo rapporto pubblicato da una coalizione internazionale di 26 organizzazioni umanitarie e sui diritti umani, tra cui, per l’Italia, Italians for Darfur Onlus.

Sul sito è ora disponibile l'edizione in Italiano dello stesso, grazie ai bloggers della rete di supporto all'associazione, ed è scaricabile all'indirizzo "Renewing the pledge"

Il rapporto chiede un'azione urgente dei capi di Stato africani che si sono riuniti in uno dei più importanti summit dell'Unione Africana in Uganda, dal 19 al 27 luglio scorso.
Nel nuovo rapporto unificato Renewing the Pledge: Re-Engaging the Guarantors to the Sudanese Comprehensive Peace Agreement, la coalizione internazionale avverte: “Le lancette battono velocemente verso quello che potrebbe essere il più importante appuntamento nella storia moderna del Sudan – due referendum in Sudan che potrebbero sfociare nella rottura del più grande stato africano.” In aggiunta al referendum sull'indipendenza del Sud, un altra votazione avrà luogo simultaneamente nell'area di Abyei, per determinare se unirsi o meno al Sud Sudan.

LINK: scarica il dossier in italiano "Renewing the pledge", un'altra iniziativa della campagna internazionale SUDAN365.

Firma l'appello on-line di Italians for Darfur! http://www.italianblogsfordarfur.it - Per informazioni sulla campagna on-line scrivi a: blog[at]italianblogsfordarfur.it

Call phones from Gmail

Jason — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 10:52:27 PDT

(Cross-posted from the Gmail Blog)

Gmail voice and video chat makes it easy to stay in touch with friends and family using your computer’s microphone and speakers. But until now, this required both people to be at their computers, signed into Gmail at the same time. Given that most of us don’t spend all day in front of our computers, we thought, “wouldn’t it be nice if you could call people directly on their phones?”

Starting today, you can call any phone right from Gmail.

Calls to the U.S. and Canada will be free for at least the rest of the year and calls to other countries will be billed at our very low rates. We worked hard to make these rates really cheap (see comparison table) with calls to the U.K., France, Germany, China, Japan—and many more countries—for as little as $0.02 per minute.

Dialing a phone number works just like a normal phone. Just click “Call phone” at the top of your chat list and dial a number or enter a contact’s name.

We’ve been testing this feature internally and have found it to be useful in a lot of situations, ranging from making a quick call to a restaurant to placing a call when you’re in an area with bad reception.

If you have a Google Voice phone number, calls made from Gmail will display this number as the outbound caller ID. And if you decide to, you can receive calls made to this number right inside Gmail (see instructions).

We’re rolling out this feature to U.S. based Gmail users over the next few days, so you’ll be ready to get started once “Call Phones” shows up in your chat list (you will need to install the voice and video plug-in if you haven’t already). If you’re using Google Apps for your school or business, then you won’t see it quite yet. We’re working on making this available more broadly - so stay tuned!

For more information, visit gmail.com/call.

Posted by Robin Schriebman, Software Engineer

UN Chief Urges Rwanda Not to Withdraw Sudan Peacekeepers

(author unknown) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:21:50 PDT

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is seeking to ease tensions with Rwanda's government over a leaked U.N. report alleging that Rwandan troops might have committed acts of genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the 1990s.

SPLM Spokesman: Government Blocking Referendum Preparations

(author unknown) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:17:59 PDT

The spokesman for the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) political movement of south Sudan said his party is “panicked and disturbed” over the referendum commission’s lack of progress ahead of the scheduled 9th January vote.

Obama Is Still AWOL on Sudan

(author unknown) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:04:04 PDT

The country may soon return to war, and the perception of U.S. indifference isn't helping. Wall Street Journal Op-ed By JOHN PRENDERGAST For a second-tier foreign policy issue, Sudan has seen its share of first-tier finger-pointing over the last decade. Congress has blamed the White House, administrations have blamed activists and Congress, ...