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Angelina Jolie Pleads For International Intervention in Darfur
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RobertaFisk
06/05/09

In reply to Angelina Jolie Pleads For International Intervention in Darfur
I read the article, and while well-written, it can pretty much be summed up as "do something!" When exactly is she asking the Security Council to do? I did my undergrad thesis on Darfur and the western response, and combed through six years worth of articles and press releases, and it is ALL "something has to be done," "the west should do something," "if this doesn't get better, we will consider doing something." Specifics would help the discourse here. A lot.
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Scout
06/05/09

@RobertaFisk: it is always the over simplified "do something" statement with issues such as this: think Israel/Pakistan, atrocities in the likes of Rwanda, The Congo et al, the environment, poverty.....yet very few things actually get resolved.

sadly the way our societies and governments are set up, there can be no one sweeping change because it requires everyone talk about it to have it even recognized and so money can be raised only to have everything come to a halt or impasse....a purgatory....where everyone is waiting for something to happen

crickets
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la.donna.pietra
06/05/09

@Scout: Or the US can take the Iraq route, in which we definitely did something. Turns out it wasn't the right thing to do, but still.
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AlmostDream
06/05/09

In reply to Angelina Jolie Pleads For International Intervention in Darfur
I'm curious what everyone here who is calling for "action" actually thinks should happen. Obviously the refugee camps need to be better secured and funded, but in terms of Al-Bashir, what is the suggestion?
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la.donna.pietra
06/05/09

@AlmostDream: If I could wave a magic wand? Bring him to a UN trial a la the Nuremberg trials, and hurry up while they're at it. Seize whatever assets he has, particularly in UN countries (and put pressure on those that aren't), and give them to aid organizations to help bore wells in South Sudan, etc. Do the same for high-ranking members of his administration. Then, dump his sorry ass in a camp without any resources at his disposal.

I'd also like to dump fire ants in his pants, but we can negotiate on that one.
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RobertaFisk
06/05/09

@la.donna.pietra: Well, he's already been indicted by the International Criminal Court. By bring him, do you mean capture him and forcibly bring him to stand trial?
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AlmostDream
06/05/09

@RobertaFisk: The ICC doesn't have that authority.
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RobertaFisk
06/05/09

@AlmostDream: I know that - that's why I was wondering what la.donna.pietra meant by "bring him to a trial." If there were such things as UN trials, they likely wouldn't have that authority either.
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RobertaFisk
06/05/09

@RobertaFisk: Unless you were referring to something like the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia as a "UN trial" in which case you were correct and sorry if I sounded like a bitch.
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AlmostDream
06/05/09

@RobertaFisk: That's exactly my point. I don't think people fully understand the options here, because arresting him isn't one of them, at least not as long as he's still President and stays in Sudan. I just get tired of hearing "something needs to be done" when realistically the best thing that can be done for the actual people is to make sure the camps are well funded. The ICC thing is just a distraction and has actually hurt the people of Darfur.
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RobertaFisk
06/05/09

@AlmostDream: But what about the example of Slobodan Milosevic? He was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal while still president and relatively soon after brought to trial. These things do happen, even if such bodies can't march up to the presidential palace and drag him out in handcuffs.
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la.donna.pietra
06/05/09

@RobertaFisk: That was down the lines of what I was thinking of, yes, but I admit I'm sketchy on the details of actual implementation.
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Diziet_Sma
06/05/09

In reply to Angelina Jolie Pleads For International Intervention in Darfur
I meant to say above that, if people feel helpless and want to do something, donating to Refugees International would really be helping. They are in the process of lobbying Congress for action right now.
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Diziet_Sma
06/05/09

In reply to Angelina Jolie Pleads For International Intervention in Darfur
What's happening in Darfur needs to be dealt with ASAP. But there is a wider concern that will impact on any good that is done in Darfur - stabilizing South Sudan, so the 2 million people displaced during the long civil war can return.

I just worked with Refugees International, which made me realize that unless the world steps in to aid South Sudan - build infrastructure, homes, supply schools, dig more water bore holes, help finance and train a police force, build and supply more health centers, and so on - so it's displaced people can return and therefore place the country in a strong position for the election in 2011 (where the North and South Sudanese will vote on whether to unite or not). . . it's likely that internal conflicts will grow, spreading outwards, until the whole region could become destabilized; Darfur will descend back into hell, and other countries could follow. What we've seen so far will be nothing.

One fact for you: it's harder and more expensive to dig a water bore hole in South Sudan than it is in Afghanistan. Why? No roads. South Sudan is an area the size of Texas, but has only 10 miles of road.

[www.refugeesinternational.org]
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nessalicious
06/05/09

In reply to Angelina Jolie Pleads For International Intervention in Darfur
I've said it before and I'll say it again, please all Jezebels, read What Is The What, and you will get a window into the horror and suffering that went on, and still goes on today in Darfur.

I agree with Jolie and hope that something, concrete and effective, happens today to stop it.
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SomeAuthorGirl
06/05/09

In reply to Angelina Jolie Pleads For International Intervention in Darfur
It was a short but elegant article. Her point that it has been downgraded to a "low intensity" conflict should only illustrate that the UN has allowed Bashir to be successful in his crimes through their inaction.
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LatinaMasFina
06/05/09

In reply to Angelina Jolie Pleads For International Intervention in Darfur
Despite my mixed feelings regarding Angelina, her continued focus and vocalization about the horrors in Darfur are beyond admirable. It reminds me of the scene in "Hotel Rwanda" when Don Cheadle's character is told by the UN that no one is coming to help them. I cried in that part because "we" don't care enough to act. And lives, real lives, are being destroyed. And no one's coming to help.
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SomeAuthorGirl
06/05/09

@LatinaMasFina: I admire her also. I have mixed feelings about her abilities as an actor; not as an activist.
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Scout
06/05/09

@SomeAuthorGirl: there are MANY more people who work much more tirelessly under more difficult and oppressive situations who deserve accolades

more than she.

her celebrity allows her certain privilege, like getting to "write" an article in TIME uhm, hello? I know many activists who could never, have never, been allowed that privilege. Nevermind how much more difficult it is for them, as "normal" people to garner / raise funds, gain access and continue with their work.

Now, I think we all agree that any way which shines a light on the darkness of the world is good, but please, please do not treat this woman as a Saint. It is insulting.

ditto for Bono
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JessicaLovejoy: Laughing, riding, cornholing!
06/05/09

In reply to Angelina Jolie Pleads For International Intervention in Darfur
Surely if she just stood in front of warlords long enough and grilled them with that gaze, they'd find themselves unable to stop from cutting their own throats.
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la.donna.pietra
06/05/09

@JessicaLovejoy: Laughing, riding, cornholing!: I bet Angelina has an epic Mom-glare. You know, the one that she levels on you such that you stop doing whatever and just quietly sit down?
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Penny
06/05/09

In reply to Angelina Jolie Pleads For International Intervention in Darfur
He's an evil, evil man. This has been going on long enough.
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AJ
06/05/09

In reply to Angelina Jolie Pleads For International Intervention in Darfur
It's moments like this that I wish the real world was like The West Wing. Because then I could be certain that we would intervene. But in truth, even with all the evidence, I have my doubts about whether the Security Council will step up when the violence has been allowed to continue unchallenged for this long.
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AtomiClash: humanitarian misanthrope
06/05/09

@AJ with the AbbyNormal Brain: Bartlett would have totally brought the smackdown on this situation years ago.
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AJ
06/05/09

@AJ with the AbbyNormal Brain: Also, the phrase "rape as a weapon of war" reminded me of an article I read earlier this year by Claudia Card. It's somewhat problematic, especially her conclusion, but definitely an interesting read if anyone's interested.

[www.iupress.indiana.edu]
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ObtuseIntolerant
02/17/09

In reply to Sarah & Bristol Palin Discuss Sex, Pregnancy & Abstinence Education
This kinda warms me to the Palins. At least on a NON-political level. I am not a "God's Will" sort of person but in this case, maybe her getting reamed in public over all her hypocrisy was a bit of it. And maybe it's had an effect. Dare to dream?
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PaintedTrollop
02/17/09

In reply to Sarah & Bristol Palin Discuss Sex, Pregnancy & Abstinence Education
Is it Todd or Sarah that Greta is hot for - or both of them?
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Flackette Goes Retro
02/17/09

In reply to Sarah & Bristol Palin Discuss Sex, Pregnancy & Abstinence Education
My family has always had guns in the house, but they were LOCKED UP away from us when we were children. People who don't lock these things far away from kids are idiots.
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whynotshesaid
02/17/09

In reply to Sarah & Bristol Palin Discuss Sex, Pregnancy & Abstinence Education
Good for Bristol. I'm holding out hope that she, like the Bush twins (especially Jenna, for whom I have developed a bit of fondness after she wrote that book about the single mom with AIDS), will continue to be more reasonable in their public stances on touchy topics than their cray-cray right-wing parents.
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victoriasauce
02/17/09

@whynotshesaid: I love Jenna Bush. She seems so genuine and caring. It's kind of mind-blowing when I think of who her father is.
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Shamrockette
02/17/09

In reply to Sarah & Bristol Palin Discuss Sex, Pregnancy & Abstinence Education
After reading the headline, I thought it was going to be 'same old, same old'.

But then while I was reading your post, I seriously did a doubletake and my mouth dropped.

"WHAT?! SARAH PALIN SAID SOMETHING REALISTIC AND RESPONSIBLE?!"

The Palin. It baffles.
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