Super genius Ban Ki Moon is one slick explicator!

Some light humour (this one's for Drima - hi Drima!) by Mac Johnson June 21, 2007 - Ban Ki Moon: Super Genius - excerpt:

In Darfur, radical Muslim militias have taken to slaughtering Christian and Pagan farmers for fun and profit. Since radical Muslims elsewhere in the world are generally a peaceful lot, Ban Ki Moon has wisely seen that it must be the weather setting them off. Allah Akbar, it’s hot! Let's kill the infidels.

No really, the man basically said this. He also said that before Global Warming caused a long-term drought in Sudan, the black Christian farmers and the Arab Muslim herders lived in a sort of multicultural slumber party of mutual understanding and admiration. Then Global Warming happened and the farmers put up fences and triggered their own genocide at the hands of the once neighborly camel herders (and you thought good fences made good neighbors). So now I understand that the trouble in Darfur is really something of a cross between “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Open Range,” and “The Weather Channel.” Ban Ki Moon is one slick explicator!

Related reports: UN head links climate change darfur.
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Ex´pli`ca`tor
n. One who unfolds or explains; an expounder; an explainer.

Glad to see the word explicator, used in report above, does not mean fibber. Here at Sudan Watch, I've banged on for years about the water shortages in Darfur and how water will become Sudan's most valuable resource. Just a fraction of the world's climate change budget could help the Sudanese make the most of advanced solar and communications technologies.



Photo: Former US President Bill Clinton with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon at the UN HQ in New York (Photo: Jay Mandal/On Assignment)

Clinton Global Initiative

Former US president Bill Clinton called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, April 2007:

During the 45-minute discussion, Clinton, whose term as the UN special envoy for tsunami relief ended on December 31, and Ban discussed issues ranging from the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, Somalia, Uganda, Congo, Iran, Iraq, to the Middle East peace process, UN deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe told media persons.

The efforts being undertaken by the UN and the Clinton Global Initiative on global problems were also discussed in the meet, she added.

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Apologies

Feel bad and under pressure for not replying to emails since March. Blogging Darfur is not always as easy as it seems. Problems with hyperlinks, reinstalled OSX, added Firefox, lost incoming email dates (unheard of at Apple) still ongoing, month and year ok, no day. If I owe you an email, please don't think I've forgotten. Tough time here lately on all fronts. Huge thanks to Scaryduck for helping guard against predators targeting this site. Bye for now. Hope to catch up soon.

Gen. Martin L. Agwai of Nigeria appointed new Force Commander of AMIS

Late May 2007 news report excerpt [insert link]:

Yesterday Mr. Konare, in consultation with Mr. Ban, appointed Gen. Martin L. Agwai of Nigeria – who has previously served the UN in Sierra Leone and as a military adviser – as the new Force Commander of AMIS.

“The Secretary-General welcomes this decision and looks forward to Gen. Agwai’s close cooperation with the UN to facilitate the deployment of the Heavy Support Package for AMIS and to eventually command the hybrid AU-UN operation in Darfur,” his spokesperson said in a statement issued today.

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Hugs and kisses not war



Photo: The leader of the SLM, Abdelwhaid al-Nur, welcomed by the former French minister Bernard Kouchner, March 20, 2007. (AP via Sudan Tribune)

French air bridge in Chad

June 18, 2007 Islam Online report excerpt:

The first flight of a French air bridge to ferry humanitarian aid to victims of the Darfur crisis touched down Sunday in Goz Beida town, is 90 kilometers from the Sudanese border.

"To start with, we will be transporting from N'Djamena priority items -- mats, water bottles, blankets and so forth -- that are sorely lacking as the rainy season nears," Colonel Jean-Bruno Vautrey, head of the French military in Chad, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

There are 40,000 of Darfur refugees along with two-thirds of the 150,000 Chadians displaced by communal and trans-border fighting are in the Dar Sila region that includes Goz Beida.

Vautrey said the air bridge would continue "so long as the state of the runway is not put in danger and there is a need to fulfill. Aid will be evaluated once a week."

Some 50 French military personnel are currently in Goz Beida.

The air bridge was announced earlier June by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner who stressed the "urgency" of the situation in the region with the onset of the rainy season.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed the air bridge, hoping it would "help avoid any critical gaps in our operation to feed thousands of people".

GLOBAL COOL - Blair's film debut premiered at International Film Academy awards ceremony

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, pictured here below, has just finished his film debut in a climate change short film directed by Shekhar Kapur. In the movie, titled Global Cool, Blair plays a “carbon crusader” - his co-star is Sienna Miller.



‘I’ve been preparing for this role for the last ten years. So it was great to be part of "Global Cool". But remember, I was only one of a billion people saving the planet in this movie - and they are all stars,’ Blair said.”

The film was premiered at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony at Yorkshire.

[Source: Apologies, mislaid link to above newsclip from Michael, June 11, 2007. More at mangalorean.com]

Norway - rated the world's most peaceful country

Photo: Fjord (Corbis)

The Quartet of peacemakers: the US, EU, UN and Russia

Could this be the first EU president? Many are speculating on Tony Blair's next move as the EU prepares to create a prestigious new title of "President of the European Council" in its next treaty.



According to Mark Mardell's Euroblog, the presidency couldn't happen for another two years even if agreed by end of EU Summit on Saturday.

June 18, 2007 BBC report excerpt:

"... Europe does look more like what Tony Blair said it should be, with Angela Merkel in power in Berlin and Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. Now there are pro-American and reform-minded leaders in Paris and Berlin as
well as London.

So, despite the mutterings about Blair's "betrayals", he will surely be missed in Europe.

The proof is that as the EU prepares to create a prestigious new title of "President of the European Council" in its next treaty, it is looking around for a former European head of government who could be a global spokesman for all 27 EU government heads, and one big name has not yet been ruled out.

That name is Tony Blair."

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The Quartet of peacemakers: US, EU, UN and Russia

June 20, 2007 AP report via knbc - excerpt:

James Wolfensohn, a former president of the World Bank, stepped down in April as international Mideast envoy for the Quartet of peacemakers - the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia. The position envisioned for Blair was said to be enhanced in contrast to Wolfensohn's role.

Members of the Quartet may meet in Paris next week, although Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has a scheduling conflict and the meeting could be postponed.

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Appreciation and thanks



Photo: Mr Blair was made an honorary paramount chief in Sierra Leone, May 2007. (AP via BBC)



Photo: British helicopters prepare to move ashore at Aberdeen beach in the north-west of the Sierra Leone capital of Freetown, 2000. (AFP/Bob Bishop/Yahoo May 29 2007)

Rebels of the world, come to Uncle Jose

Brilliant. Great thinking. From The Sunday Times - Rebels of the world, come to Uncle Jose, June 17, 2007: John-Paul Flintoff speaks with Jose Maria Aznar, the former Spanish leader. Excerpt:

Since leaving office he has run the Foundation for Social Analysis and Studies, a Madrid-based organisation known as the Popular party’s ideas lab.

Earlier this month in Prague it put together an unprecedented conference for dissidents from around the world to meet leaders and former leaders such as Aznar himself. The key speaker was his old amigo, George W Bush.

Note, the last line:

"Does he think the expected Blair Foundation will operate on similar lines to his own? The thought does not seem to have occurred to him and with a hearty laugh he finally drops the amigo act: “I don’t know. But mine is the best.”

Heh. He's funny. I reckon The Blair Foundation will be hot. (Afterthought: also hot, much to Gordon Brown's dismay, would be Tony Blair as permanent European President. Heh.)

U.N. Head Links Climate Change, Darfur

Recently on television news, I saw the great American media baron Ted Turner talking about masses of money changing hands more now than ever before. Seems he's divesting of media to concentrate and invest in nuclear and environment.

My point is, the climate change spending budget will be humongous and, coupled with the world's munitions spending, represents an historic opportunity for making poverty (and war!) history. Surely if world peace could be agreed, and amnesty's sorted, it would leave those who refuse to give up illegal weapons to be treated as criminals.

United Nations Blames Darfur on Food, Water Shortage
IslamOnline.net & Newspapers 18 June 2007

U.N. Head Links Climate Change, Darfur
AP report via Guardian June 17, 2007

"It is no accident that the violence in Darfur erupted during the drought," Ban said. (Reuters)

Pope Benedict XVI On Peace, a Call From Assisi

Great timely calls for world peace are starting to happen in the run up to historic concerts July 1 and 7. Princess Diana would have loved to have seen land mines eradicated from our beautiful planet.

Here is an excerpt from a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave Sunday to the crowds gathered at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, where the Pope led the praying of the midday Angelus.

I consider it my duty to issue an urgent and heartfelt appeal from this place to stop all armed conflicts that are bloodying the earth. ...

"May Weapons be Silenced and May Hate Yield to Love"

(Source: Catholic Online, CA - ASSISI, Italy, June 19, 2007, Zenith)
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Who does not want world peace?

Often, I wonder about who is not interested in world peace and why. Soon the World Bank will have a new boss. I say, why not pool the world's munitions budget through the United Nations to take good care of our planet and make poverty history? Surely the world's war industry can diversify into water, energy, agriculture, peacekeeping and policing of borders.



No choice really. I'm convinced a new world order has now arrived, made possible through the past three decades of developments in digital and satellite communications technology. Today, I believe it is feasible for billions of us to insist that world leaders get together and agree on world peace within the space of days (by July 7, 2007 to be precise!)

UN: Gandhi's birth anniversary October 2 to be declared 'International day of non-violence'

Wonderful news. The United Nations General Assembly will declare October 2 - the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi - as 'International Day of Non-Violence' in recognition of his role in promoting the message of peace around the world.

A resolution reaffirming the universal relevance of non-violence, initiated by India and co-sponsored by more than 120 of the 191 members of the Assembly, is expected to be adopted unanimously on Friday. The resolution says that

"The Assembly decides, with effect from the 62nd session of the General Assembly (which begins in September next) and guided by the Charter of the United Nations, to observe the International Day of Non-Violence on October 2 each year, with the International day being brought to the attention of all people for its celebration and observance on this date."
It invites all member states, NGOs and individuals to commemorate the day and to disseminate the message of non-violence, "including through education and public awareness."
The resolution also requests the Secretary-General to recommend ways and means by which the UN systems can assist member states in organising activities to commemorate the day.

(Source: Times of India 14 Jun, 2007 - hat tip writingcave.com)

Joanna Lumley's Darfur and Chad Crisis Appeal for DEC

My favourite British actress Joanna Lumley is working with the UK’s leading aid charities through the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) in making an appeal to hundreds of thousands of newspaper readers.

To donate to the Darfur and Chad Crisis Appeal visit www.dec.org.uk

Joanna Lumley is heavily involved in charity work including The Druk White Lotus School in Kashmir and mental health charity Mind.

Annan to head Gates group to boost Africa food

Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan said on Thursday he would head a new green group bankrolled by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates to help reverse Africa's declining food production and double output. - Reuters Cape Town via Megite

UK Blair looks for progress on EU treaty

The Prime Minister has said he expects some "tough negotiations" at next week's EU summit in Brussels. European leaders will convene on 21 June to discuss the future of proposals on the draft EU treaty. (10 Downing Street)

Paul McCartney rocks with new songs at "secret" NY show

Reuters report by Christian Wiessner, June 13, 2007 - excerpt:

Paul McCartney stormed the stage of a small ballroom on Wednesday and delivered a 20-song set featuring Beatles favorites and select cuts from his newly released album “Memory Almost Full.”

The free show for about 700 fans at the Highline Ballroom in New York’s Chelsea district was hastily arranged, with McCartney’s website only announcing the gig on Tuesday. Passes were distributed through a give-away on the website and to fans who lined up on Wednesday outside the venue.

The show’s intimate setting had McCartney in a relaxed mood and he reminisced about writing certain songs.

“I remember writing this next song in a little house we used to live in Liverpool. I was standing in the front parlor looking out through the little lace curtains and thinking, ‘I’m going to be a star,’ like you do, but it never happened,” he quipped before performing “I’ll Follow The Sun” from the 1964 release “Beatles For Sale.”

Before performing “Here Today,” from his 1982 album “Tug of War,” McCartney said the mournful ballad was originally written for his one-time writing partner and fellow Beatle John Lennon, slain by a deranged fan in 1980 just a few miles away.

“I’d like to dedicate it tonight to fallen heroes John, George (and) Linda,” McCartney said, referring to Lennon as well as Beatle guitarist George Harrison, who died of cancer in 2001, and McCartney’s first wife, who died in 1998.

“But as for me, I still remember how it was before, and I am holding back the tears no more,” he sang to a hushed crowd.

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John Lennon’s music helps Darfur effort

Los Angeles Times report by Randy Lewis, June 14, 2007 - excerpt:

Initially, Amnesty International officials had approached Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, for permission to use his “Imagine,” a song she’d never approved for any philanthropic project.

“I’m not afraid to say no,” said the 74-year-old Ono. “There are so many people and organizations (who’ve had) that same request, and I’ve said no to everybody. ... The Amnesty International people brought (this proposal) to me and I responded very quickly, because I had been doing some projects with them before that and had a very good feeling about them. ... So in this case it was a big ‘yes.’”

Big indeed. Beyond giving her thumbs-up for “Imagine,” she opened the door to Lennon’s entire solo catalog. The result is 23 performances from such established stars as U2 (“Instant Karma”), Christina Aguilera (“Mother”) and Green Day (“Working Class Hero,” which has been released as a single) and comparatively new arrivals including Corinne Bailey Rae (“I’m Losing You”), the Postal Service (“Grow Old With Me”) and Regina Spektor (“Real Love”).

“Imagine” rates two performances, one by pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne, the other by latter-day surfer dude Jack Johnson.

The vituperative “Gimme Some Truth” also appears twice, in a version by Mexico’s Jaguares and a duet by two offspring of rock royalty, Jakob Dylan and Dhani Harrison, George’s son.

“Instead of just the big, big names,” Ono said, “the “now’ people are in here, too. I like the fact that they cover it all, and I’m sure John would have been very happy.”

Yes, me too. Love and peace.
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"Imagine" a better Karma



Photo: Yoko and John Lennon some 40 years ago. (Credit: Kevin Robillard, diamondbackonline.com)

Reuters' political activism against China?

Recently, I've noticed odd little messages in some of Reuters' photo captions. Here's a good example, published at Yahoo News, June 13, 2007:

A student turns a somersault near one of the mascots for the 2008 Beijing Olympic games at an Olympic education model school in Miyun County of Beijing June 8, 2007 file photo. What do the conflict in Darfur, forced evictions, media freedoms and the rights of migrant laborers have in common? The answer is China and the 2008 Olympics. (Jason Lee/Reuters)

I wonder why the reporter decided to add his personal question and answer, and why Reuters allows such reporting.

Transcript of debate between John Prendergast and Alex de Waal

Click here for a transcript of June 7, 2007 Part 1: What To Do About Darfur? A debate between John Prendergast and Alex de Waal. (Via POTP)



Prendergast and Gosling want to end the genocide in northern Uganda, a country in East Africa that has been ravaged by war for nearly a generation. (Photo and caption by Politico/John Shinkle June 12, 2007)
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Endgame in Africa

Click here for a Profile of American human rights activist John Prendergast (pictured above and below) by Jonathan Foreman, Men's Vogue, November 2006, and see a slideshow of photographs from the front lines in Darfur and Chad.



Holding the line - John Prendergast contacts rebel leaders on a Thuraya satellite phone and contemplates a trek further into Darfur (Photo and caption via Wikipeda by mensvogue.com)
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Notable Quote

"Everything I've said is bullshit," laughs Prendergast.

(Source: 'Actorvists' make people care politico.com June 12, 2007)

Live Earth Istanbul on Sale

Al Gore joined actress and Live Earth Istanbul spokesperson Sebnem Donmez on June 13, 2007 at the Cirigan Palace to raise the curtain on Live Earth Turkey.



The concert will be held at The Seven Towers Fortress, a historic Byzantine site in Istanbul on 07/07/07. (Via liveearth.spaces)

G9 and the People's Republic of Bono

Photo: Bono and Bush rub shoulders at the G8

Don't miss Brendan O'Neill's article "Welcome to the People's Republic of Bono" posted today at spiked and copied at Ethiopia Watch,sister blog of Sudan Watch.



Photo: The current Vanity Fair, guest-edited by Bono

Quantum Physics Supports World Peace!

Loved Soldier of Africa's blog post on the Movement to Critical Mass for World Peace (hi Werner!) And, this excerpt from Sonia's Metaphysical Musings:

"Quantum Physics Supports World Peace - Physicists tell us that according to the laws of wave mechanics, the intensity of any kind of waves that are in phase with each other is the square of the sum of the waves. In other words, two waves added together are four times as intense as one wave, ten waves are one hundred times as intense, etc.

Since thought is an energy, and all energy occurs as waves - we believe that 80,000 people all thinking the same thing together are as powerful, in terms of creating the reality that we all share, as the random chaotic thought of the 6.4 billion people (80,000 times 80,000) that will soon inhabit the planet.

Therefore, 80,000 people who believe that only love prevails, will create a laser of intent that will change the planetary reality."

Call me a metaphysical nerd, but I thought this was beyond cool! I went straight to the web-site: www.OnlyLovePrevails.com, read everything I needed to know, and signed up."

Sonia ends, saying "Choose Your Reality!" Heh. Glad I found it, thanks.

Bono’s poverty-fighting plan promoted by two ex-Senators

More good news. Two former U.S. Senate leaders who were once adversaries, Bill Frist and Tom Daschle, joined to promote an effort to make global poverty a central issue of the presidential race. (Source: www.election.pro )

Sudan accepts joint AU-UN Darfur force : UN Security Council 15-member 7-day visit starting June 15, 2007 Addis Ababa, Khartoum, Kinshasa, Ivory Coast

Great, let's hope it's true. Sudan has agreed to a revised AU-UN plan for a joint AU-UN peacekeeping force to be sent to Darfur. Under the revised plan, the AU will run day-to-day operations, while the UN is expected to have overall control of between 17,000 to 19,000 peacekeepers.

Today, AP news agency quotes Said Djinnit, the AU's top peace and security official, as saying:

"In view of the explanation and clarification provided by the AU and the UN as contained in the presentation, the government of Sudan accepted the joint proposals on the hybrid operation."

The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in Addis Ababa says the mood was cheerful at the AU headquarters after the announcement was made. Full report (BBC).
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June 12, 2007 - TEXT- Conclusions of AU-UN, Sudan on the Hybrid Operations

June 12, 2007 - AFP report - Sudan accepts AU-UN force in Darfur

June 12, 2007 - Alex de Waal commentary Time to get serious
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UN Security Council 15-member delegation 7-day visit starting June 15, 2007 Addis Ababa, Khartoum, Kinshasa and Abidjan, Ivory Coast

From June 4, 2007 dpa report:

A United Nations Security Council delegation beginning in mid-June will visit five African capitals, including Khartoum and Kinshasa, for talks on settling conflicts there, the council president Belgian Ambassador Johan Verbeke said Monday. The 15-member delegation arrive in Accra on June 15 and then travel to Addis Ababa, Khartoum, Kinshasa and Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

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Sudan tells France it prefers AU/UN peace efforts



Photo: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, right, meets Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, left, for talks on Darfur on Monday June 11, 2007 in Khartoum, Sudan. Ending a five-day tour in Africa, Kouchner, a co-founder of the international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres, appeared to use his clout as a prominent humanitarian figure to boost France's role in helping solve the Darfur crisis. Kouchner appealed to the Sudanese president and other top officials on Monday to allow a hybrid U.N. and African operation into Darfur to ease the humanitarian suffering in the war-torn Sudanese region. (AP Photo/Alfred de Montesquiou)

Also, from AP report "Sudan, France discuss Darfur force" (via China Daily June 12, 2007):

The French minister's talks with al-Bashir appeared unusually cordial, and the two men embraced and joked in front of the cameras at the start of their meeting.

As a humanitarian worker, Kouchner often operated clandestinely in southern Sudan during a separate civil war there, building ties with several former southern rebels who now hold government positions in Khartoum.

"We are very glad to greet you officially in Sudan now," al-Bashir told Kouchner, adding that their relationship went "back a long way."