Yes, that one member of the audience crossed the line a week ago by about her take on the Lewinsky scandal. But since she is a campaign surrogate speaking on her mom's behalf, she isn't immune to all scrutiny.
During a campaign stop in Pennsylvania, Chelsea Clinton falsely claimed that her mother was the first person to call the situation in Darfur a "genocide."
Actually, it was Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) who in March of 2004. Clinton said nothing about genocide before then, and it wasn't until May of 2004 when she finally that condemned the situation there.
You may have seen this commercial on television. The group released a creative television ad that asked point blank: are you funding genocide? If so, take responsibility:
As listed on the web site, these are the companies that are funding the genocide there:
PetroChina, A Chinese oil company, is one of the worst companies in funding the genocide. With PetroChina's help, the government of Sudan uses its oil revenue to provide arms and funding for the genocide, rather than economic development for its people.
Of US-based investment firms, Franklin Templeton, JP Morgan Chase, Capital Group/American Funds, Fidelity, Vanguard, have the largest holdings in PetroChina.
I strongly encourage all of you to check your portfolio and divest from these companies ASAP. Here are their stock symbols:
You'd think this would grab the attention of the right-wing.
The humanitarian group Iraqi Red Crescent () released a report that showed are on the rise due to the worsening security situation:
Pregnant Iraqi women who have been forced from their homes by worseningviolence are obtaining illegal abortions because they are unable to getmedical care for themselves and their unborn, according to a new reportby a national humanitarian group.
A record number of Iraqis -- most of them women and children -- arefleeing their homes to escape the bloodshed of sectarian violence andanti-U.S. attacks, according to a new report by the Iraqi Red Crescentorganization, the largest aid group operating in Iraq.
Health care is inadequate and difficult to access for those people, according to the IRC report.
"Pregnant women, infants and children are unable to get...requiredmedical care," states the report, which was translated from Arabic,"and criminal abortion became [sic] the norms."
The report also highlighted that rape and drug use are more common -- which are obvious signs of any refugee situation.
In related news, the has increased for the first time in five years, mainly due to the conflicts in Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, the number of internally displaced people in the world has doubled.
Here are the four worst refugee crises in the world, according to the group :
Afghanistan (2.1 million)
Iraq (1.5 million)
Sudan (686,000)
Somalia (486,000)
The worldwide refugee population now stands at approximately ten million. Today marks the eve of .
After finishing in fourth place last year, Iraq vaulted itself two spots as the second most vulnerable country to :
In the third annual"failed state" index, analysts for Foreign Policy magazine and thenot-for-profit Fund for Peace said that Iraq and Afghanistan, whichranked eighth, show that billions of dollars in development andsecurity aid may be futile without a functioning government,trustworthy leaders and realistic plans to keep the peace and developthe economy.
Preventing Iraq frombecoming a failed state is a key part of the Bush administration’sargument for keeping U.S. troops in the country. The administrationsays the troops are needed to keep Iraq from becoming a breeding groundfor international terrorists.
Sudan finished as the number one most unstable country -- no surprise there. According to an intelligence analyst, the US is reluctant to coerce the Sudanese government into stopping the genocide because Sudan provides the CIA with crucial intelligence on insurgents in Iraq.
Without further adieu, here's a of the top-20 most failed states, according to Foreign Policy online magazine. (Notice that half of the top-10 are oil-producing states.):
This article was submitted by Stephen Fox, a political activist from New Mexico.
I am very glad that more and more people seem to recognize the importance of Richardson's breakthroughs regarding the Bush Administration's abjectly failed Iraq policy. These failures have impacted almost every phase of American foreign policy, which has based more on military power than traditional diplomacy for the past six years. Richardson's effectiveness is even clearer now, with Lieberman threatening to attack Iran. I find this posturing and blustering to be totally absurd and even dangerous.
I strongly agree with Richardson's overall focus on diplomacy, and putting economic sanctions on Iran. I agree especially with his innovative idea put forth during the New Hampshire debates. There has been a general silence among nations vis-a-vis China's ghastly atrocities in the human rights realm, and not just about China and Darfur, but towards Tibetans. China has constructed in Tibet dozens of prisons which, for Tibetans, are exactly like Auschwitz and Dachau.
I posited the same idea in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, in correspondence to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, and to many heads of state, that the moral indignation of the nations in the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 should be harnessed into at least the threat of boycott. To be effective, this could be perhaps worded more diplomatically. During the debate, both Senator Edwards and Senator Biden clearly agreed with this point by Richardson.
Make no mistake: this is probably the last chance in human history to do anything constructive about Tibet, to prevent henceforth the genocidal treatment of Tibetans remaining in Tibet, which has since 1969 seen 1.2 million Tibetans killed. This totals roughly 20% of the entire population of Tibet. American political powers could decline to put to use what little remains of our power of moral suasion in the world at large, and we could to once docilely capitulate to dim-witted politicians who say that the Olympics are only about sport, and not about politics, and such claptrap as "a boycott would unfairly punish the athletes." Then we would be no better than many nations who were oblivious to the growing obviousness of the genocide of Jews in Europe before and during World War II.
Actually, the USA was for many years totally oblivious in this regard, whether you blame Roosevelt or anti-Semitics in the State Department, all of which is thoroughly documented in Arthur Morse's book, . In that light, I think Richardson is on the right track! The case is even stronger, when you consider the dead pets and the poisoned cold medicines and toothpaste from China. Those considerations are just not "about politics": as it was about life and death for many.
Sudan has zero incentive to stop the genocide in Darfur because the U.S. will not hold them accountable. According to an , Sudan's government works as a spy for the CIA in Iraq. If the U.S. uses force to stop the killing in Darfur, Sudan will no longer give the CIA the information they need:
Sudan has secretly worked with the CIA to spy on the insurgency inIraq, an example of how the U.S. has continued to cooperate with theSudanese regime even while condemning its suspected role in the killingof tens of thousands of civilians in Darfur.
President Bush hasdenounced the killings in Sudan's western region as genocide and hasimposed sanctions on the government in Khartoum. But some critics saythe administration has soft-pedaled the sanctions to preserve itsextensive intelligence collaboration with Sudan.
"Intelligencecooperation takes place for a whole lot of reasons," said a U.S.intelligence official, who like others spoke on condition of anonymitywhen discussing intelligence assessments. "It's not always betweenpeople who love each other deeply."
Sudan's motivation behind this strategy is very basic. The Sudanese government knows that if the U.S. is stretched thin in Iraq, they may not be in a position to intervene in Darfur without pushing the military beyond a breaking point. So Sudan's strategy is simple: keep the U.S. out of Darfur by doing everything possible to keep them in Iraq.
So what is the U.S. thinking, you ask? It just comes down to what is more important to Bush -- stopping the genocidein Darfur, or working with homicidal military regimes to assist in awar that many say cannot be won anyway.
An insight into the violence and chaos in Darfur has been provided through anew project in which the public can use online satellite imagery to viewdestroyed villages and obtain information about refugee camps and otherhumanitarian efforts.
The project is a joint effort undertaken by the internet search giant Googleand the US Holocaust Memorial Museum located in Washington DC. It utilizes theGoogle Earth service which allows users to view high resolution satellite imagesby moving their computer mouse.
Watch how quickly the governmentmakes Darfur a "more important" issue now as it will probably become viral.
While Bush continues to talk about the war on terrorism, it seems his onlyfocus is on Iraq. Genocide and terrorism is rampant in many parts of the world,but why aren't we addressing those areas with such fortitude as we are in Iraq?Perhaps because they don't have anything we want or need?
Darfur has been getting a lot of attention these days (mainly from theHollywood people), and this story about a top U.S. diplomat urging a truce inSomalia is a promising start.
Reuters:
BAIDOA, Somalia (Reuters) - The top U.S. diplomat for Africa met withofficials of Somalia's interim government on Saturday to urge them to open upthe political process to all Somalis who eschew violence and extremism and clearthe way for a reconciliation conference in Mogadishu.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer met withPresident Abdullahi Yusuf, Prime Minister Ali Mohamed and parliamentary leaders,urging them to foster an inclusive political process.
Frazer's arrival under heavy security marked the first time a high-ranking U.S.official has visited Somalia since 1994, when Washington pulled out of adisastrous peacekeeping mission after the downing of two helicopters and thedeaths of 18 American soldiers.
It seems like two extremes, Somalia two helicopters and 18 deaths and we're out,Iraq tons of equipment and 3000 deaths and we're staying. I understand itisn't that simple, but with the money we are spending in Iraq, we could probablysave many lives around the world with food and other forms of support. Thepresident has got to stop talking about the war terrorism as if it only existsin Iraq.
Disclaimer: First I would like to apologize for exposing anyone to thisdespicable individual, despicable to say the least. Her hateful ways equal thatof some of history's most notorious evil dictators, militant hate and warmongers. I truly believe if there were a puppy in her way, rather than walkaround it, she would not merely "nudge" it out of the way, but hauloff and kick it.
Who is this person? (with butterflies in my stomach and wincing) Ann Coulter.I do not think she is worthy of getting any publicity, however this particularpiece of hers should be broadcast worldwide, to show exactly how much of ahateful jackass she really is (at least to those that think she's just a"speaks her mind kind of gal")
reported on her article ""
She has quite a few charms in the article such as "Who's runningthis holocaust in Darfur, FEMA?"
"These people can't even wrap up genocide," Coulter writes."We've been hearing about this slaughter in Darfur forever -- and theystill haven't finished. The aggressors are moving like termites across thatcountry. It's like genocide by committee. Who's running this holocaust in Darfur,FEMA?"
If your stomach can handle more, or if you want to see it with your own eyes,just go to If you want to see an extension of "Ripley's Believeit or Not", poke around her ,and don't pass up her chat link (yes, there are more people like her)
Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM) just bolstered his foreign policy credentials ahead of his eventual announcement of whether he will run for president in 2008. Richardson is responsible for :
The Sudanese government and rebels in the war-ravaged western region ofDarfur rebels have agreed a ceasefire as a first step towards endingthe violence that has affected millions of people, a senior US officialsaid in the capital, Khartoum.
Thegovernment has also agreed to ease entry visa requirements for aidworkers, and stop the requirement for exit visas, Governor BillRichardson of New Mexico State, who has been in Sudan on a four-dayvisit, said. He has been leading a delegation from the US advocacygroup, the Save Darfur Coalition.
"President[Omar El-] Bashir agreed to the start of a peace process that includesa 60-day cessation of hostilities," Richardson told reporters. "Allparties must agree to the ceasefire - the rebel leaders I spoke to saidthey would. A ceasefire is a critical step toward ending bloodshed inDarfur."
America for Richardson, a group trying to convince the Governor to run for president, is obviously thrilled by this display of leadership. "He's making our job easy for us," , a Richardson supporter. On the New Mexico Governor's web site, his staff issued a that detailed the ceasefire agreement.
This is not the first time Richardson has helped broker a landmark agreement. the 1994 Agreed Framework, an agreement with North Korea during the Clinton Administration. Had it not been for that agreement, North Korea would have as many as today. No new nuclear weapons were created along the Korean Peninsula during the remainder of the Clinton presidency.
By far, Richardson has more foreign policy experience than any other '08 Democratic candidate -- even including Joe Biden.
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