A new video from the Enough project with Ryan Gosling and John Prendergast discussing genocide in Darfur and what you can do to help stop this crime against humanity.

Check it out right now HERE on Youtube.

Sometimes campaigns at the college level are drawn out and take a great deal of time and energy. In the middle of the summer I began working on a resolution to introduce at the first meeting of the Muhlenberg Student Council. The resolution called for a divestment of Muhlenberg funds from the "highest offending" companies working in Sudan to perpetuation the genocide in the Darfur region.

Hard work pays off, over time. It took a few weeks to get it passed through the Student Council (with all but one vote) followed by meetings with administrators, articles in the student newspaper, and meeting with a group of members of the Board Of Trustees.

Over half a year later, the Board of Trustees voted in favor of the following resolution to:

not knowingly make direct investments with Category One highest offender companies engaging in business in the Sudan as defined by the Sudan Divestment Task Force.  Furthermore, if Muhlenberg commingled investments are invested in Category One companies, letters will be submitted to managers of these funds requesting that they consider removing such companies from the fund or create a similar actively managed fund with commingled holdings devoid of such companies.

Via CNN.

Users can now view refugee camps through the popular Google Earth service. 

The maps will aid humanitarian operations as well as help inform the public about the millions who have fled their homes because of violence or hardship, according to the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, which is working with Google on the project.

Users can download Google Earth software to see satellite images of refugee hot spots such as Darfur, Iraq and Colombia. Information provided by the U.N. refugee agency explains where the refugees have come from and what problems they face.

I think this has the potential to do good by raising awareness about refugees around the world. 

That was the title of today's provocative policy seminar at the libertarian Cato Institute where the moderator marveled that panelists could say things that you'll only hear at CATO, such as Edward Luttwak's insistence that we just let African states disappear.

The panelists were actually refreshing in that they took a critical look at the impact of aid in all its forms (humanitarian, economic development, military, non-governmental, etc) from the West to sub-Saharan African states.

International Olympic Committee Chairman Jacques Rogge continues to ignore the facts on the ground surrounding the continued human rights abuses committed by the Chinese government.

As representatives from Reporters Without Borders protested China's human rights violations at the official flame-lighting ceremony in Greece, a Chinese activist was sentences to the maximum five years in prison for writing a letter about human rights in China. 

And if that wasn't ironical enough, as if to prove the protesters point, "China state television cut away to a prerecorded scene, blocking millions of Chinese views from watching the tumultuous start to the Games in their nation."

The crackdown in Tibet last week, where over 100 Tibetans have been killed, only underscored how human rights in China have NOT improved since the IOC awarded them the games in 2001. The Chinese government always counters that such episodes are domestic issues and are of no concern to other countries.  Yet, when your country is hosting the world's games, then those issues are international issues.  When your country supports a Sudanese government that's committing genocide, then that's an international issue. 

For more, check out Human Rights Watch, which meticulously documents the continued human rights abuses in China.

After taking a few Chinese politics and cultural courses, as well as three levels of Mandarin, I had an inkling and understanding that the Beijing Olympics would stir things up for China. 

Since focus has shifted towards the country in preparation for the games, China has taken heat on Darfur, Tibet and even Taiwan (to an extent) while the world watches.  The AP-by-way-of-Los Angeles Times reports that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao accused Dalai Lama supporters of creating the violent instances of unrest that have occurred recently.  The Dalai Lama has said he would resign if people perpetuated the violence.

It will continue to be interesting to see how China reacts to different pressures while the world's focus is on them.  China's usual brand of force and retaliation will be more difficult to carry out, especially considering the U.S. dropped China from its list of top 10 human rights offenders.

I’ve already been exposed to quite a bit of Olympic buzz and it’s only January.  From the Olympiad rings that float below NBC’s logo on TV to discussions of whether amputees with prosthetics should be allowed to compete, there’s been a lot of talk.  However, leave it to Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times (recently returned from a five-month book leave) to use that buzz to put some focus back on Darfur.

In his second column since his leave, Kristof points out China’s responsibility for the genocide in Darfur and highlights an international campaign, one that most likely will find its way onto college campuses where Darfur activism abounds, is labeling this year’s summer Olympics in Beijing “The Genocide Olympics.”

As the conflict in Myanmar continues to develop, it's clear that the country's government is doing their best to close off their actions from the outside world.

From the Reuters’s coverage: 

Save Darfur has become such a rallying cry to end the genocide in Western Sudan that it has even spawned its own advocacy organization: Save Darfur.  Yet, in the overarching debate of Western intervention in “developing” countries’ affairs, particularly in African countries, the impact of language is often ignored or dismissed.  However, the language we use to describe the West’s normative and positive policies is incredibly important.

So, I received an email from the Save Darfur coalition about the new ad that began airing today. I wanted to share it on my blog because I think it's really powerful and highlights Sudan's broken promises and empty agreements to the international community.

The images in the ad remind us that people in the Sudanese region of Darfur are STILL suffering.  This is the world's WORST humanitarian crisis and the death toll is rising....

My main concern is that people (especially young people) do not know what is going on. Going to a small private school in Florida.. i found that many of my peers did not even know what was happening outside of our little community. With that said, I think we need to help educate our peers to truly make a difference. If we don't then we'll be really kicking ourselves when we are our parents age. Why? Because we didn't do ENOUGH to help this horrible humanitarian crisis. So please help pass this on. 

Watch the Ad and Pass it On

For the past four years, Sudan's government has broken promise after promise to the international community time while the people of Darfur continue to suffer.  Our latest TV ad emphasizes the need to keep the pressure on Sudan to end this cycle of lies that keeps the death toll rising in Darfur.

The best way to keep pressure on Sudan to cooperate is by building our movement and demanding action. By passing on the video of our new ad, you can help grow our cause and move world leaders to action.