Sorry to beat a dead horse - but can you imagine BUSH pulling this off???!!!

Check out the full transcript HERE

Just for reinforcement

URGENT REPORT ON DARFUR: You too, from where you sit, can act like a humanitarian!

Okay folks - so this isn't another subversive entry about "what life means". It's an appeal - to anyone who's looking, even if it's just one. Below is a copy of an email I just sent out - read it, follow the links, pass on the info, do something - ANYthing! This issue is actually under the radar in western media and I hardly understand why that is. SPEAK UP PLEASE!!

Dear friends and family,

I had to reach out and discuss something that is of great concern to me. I'm not sure if many of you know about this or not - as there has barely been any press coverage, but I'm sure everyone knows of the urgent circumstances that have existed for the past few years in Darfur, Sudan. Since 2005, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, president of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been investigating all claims of crimes against humanity there, and since, issued a warrant of arrest for the alleged militia/Janjaweed leader "Ali Kushayb". Well, last week, the ICC also issued warrant for the arrest of Omar Al-Bashir - President of Sudan (see ICC Press release here.)

To the great shock of all humanitarian agencies (most of which are only concerned with humanitarian non-politically affiliated aid), the immediate, insensitive, and quizzical Sudanese governmental response to the ICC issued indictment, was to order all 12 known agencies to immediately shut down all operations and to leave the country. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) , Doctors Without Borders (DWB), and Refugees International were the organizations with the largest numbers of workers and aid officers on the ground - some 7000+ people who have been working in camps in Darfur for years, responsible for (as I understand) 60% of refugees and closely guarded villagers and nomadic groups - some 1.7 million people. They have been primarily providing shelter, fuel/firewood, access to clean water, food, and medical care for people who have no other access to these essential life giving services and resources.


The urgent concerns are:

1) The only action that can be taken by the Darfurians right now is to take to foot. The risk is they will try to migrate into Chad, Central African Republic, Uganda, or Kenya - all places that ABSOLUTELY cannot accommodate more refugees as they are already maximized in this regard, with just as few resources as these nations are already suffering their own strains.

2) Fresh water is running out. The IRC was able to set aside supplies in some camps for up to two weeks of water, but not all were so lucky. Smaller agencies with aiding Darfurians in smaller camps, with less funding simply didn't have the resources to prepare quite so well. This particular issue will soon (in a matter of days) lead to near immediate spread of disease - which furthermore cannot be addressed all all medical care providers from DWB have been removed from the country.

3) Perhaps the most obvious concern is safety. Without any presence of the international community - the people of Sudan are now in complete danger of serious harm that may be visited on then by militia/Janjaweed forces. Women and children who have suffered the greatest and most unspeakable crimes are now in even ever greater danger.

What can we do? Please make your voices heard! You may not realize or believe this - but it makes a huge difference. It's important to know that the confusing and appalling circumstance here is that the IRC, DWB, and other smaller orgs are strictly concerned with humanitarian aid. They ARE NOT in any way affiliated with lobbyists, governmental agencies, or the ICC - their interest is not at all political, it is strictly for the welfare of millions of people who NEED and are dependent on their help!

I just sat in on a truly informative phone conference conducted by IRC development officers in the field issuing reports from their current posts in neighboring Kenya, and answering our questions as best they could. I've taken the time to write this to you guys in my own words, and not to simply send you a forward.

lease, take the time to inform yourselves at the links above, and to support these organizations.

Pass on the word to your friends and family.

Go to this link and sign the appeal to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to "Keep Humanitarian Aid in Sudan" - as the government is under no threat to host them or the other humanitarian agencies!

Write to the New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, or any of your local printed or electronic media source and demand that they cover this very urgent story.

Place a link to the any info or the petition on your online community accounts, your website, or your blogs.

Look up the IRC on Facebook and Twitter.

(Just a little plug for my # 1 hero of human rights advocacy, Albert Einstein...the IRC American chapter was founded by his suggestion in 1933, as a branch his International Relief Association that assisted victims of Hiltler.  It's also his birthday in a couple days...March 14th. Happy Birthday Einstein!) 

Remember Rwanda? The world abandoned those poor people, let's participate and not abandon Darfur. YOUR VOICE COUNTS!

Love, Peace, and Hope,

Berette


FOR A LIST of Humanitarian Agencies Working in or recently ousted from Darfur -

GO HERE

Nip/Tuck?

So I've always been dead set against plastic surgery, and now...well, I'm perhaps still dead set against it for myself, only because I'm really a coward when confronting the idea of going under a knife while unconscious. I mean...think about that!

Anyway I just heard the funniest thing:

"If its saggin', baggin', and draggin' - get it sucked, nipped, and tucked"
~Dolly Parton~

Now that's all this vapid line of life threatening procedures needed! A cute AND funny tag line.
Thanks Dolly, now if I suffer later on from S-B-D, I may just consider this.

What it means to PRIORITIZE!!!

Quick note to get some stuff off my chest here. I'm a bit exhausted by the near daily forwards now advising me to lift my fists in outrage, to march, or to boycott some product or service because of an idiot who has again successfully enraged people of color by expressing an ignorant disdain for non-whites. Are we really doing this now? Are we going to give up our time, energy, and attention to this (rather than to real problems or to our victories), to validate EVERY single minor allegation or sign of racist sentiment???

Listen - Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are educated and successful representations of us, of ALL of us, black, white, red, and blue, and one of them IS the leader of the free world. Yes, it's true. Believe it. Can we focus now on mobilizing everyone we can to roll with the changing hand of power and hopefully the driving philosophies that could possibly save our world and NOT to attention seeking idiots???!! Please???

I just bought Vanity Fair and Vogue magazines, both featuring Barack and Michelle on the covers – photographed by Anne Leibovitiz. I spent some down time looking at these photos and reading the articles – I did, and you know, it made me feel like I was above the nonsense. And gasp, I bought them both at Barnes & Noble.


Want something to foward around? Humanitarian agencies are being kicked out of Darfur as we speak!!!

Read about it HERE

Sign the Petition HERE . I just did.

And the Congo is on a real fast track to hell!!!

Read About it here at the NY TIMES - "The Invisible War"

For God's sake folks - a swapped around book in a Barnes & Noble window in ONE neighborhood in all of Florida???!!! Offensive yes...grand scheme importance? None.
PLEASE PRIORITIZE!!!!

the Barnes & Noble Picture...

So no doubt you've seen or heard this one today...

-----Original Message-----

Barnes & Noble

Let us not be lulled into a sense of complacency, due to the recent political success of President Obama!

Racism still exists in this country. Like all things, nothing is perfect on this planet, in this world.

We have an obligation to be active on issues that simply cannot be ignored.
Along these lines we should all actively spread the word of how Barnes and Noble apparently feels about black people or at least our President.

Please forward this to as many people you think should be aware of it and would be offended by this.


Boycotting Barnes and Noble will show the economic effect of people who will not tolerate racism.


Barnes and Noble had this as their store front display in Coral Gables, FL, in the Miracle Mile Mall. I am totally disgusted and I think it isimportant that we all find a different place to buy our books. Obviously this is a place of extreme ignorance. How far have we really come?

God bless the CP race!


----
AND I SAY:

Is this a joke? I’m sorry but I don’t agree with this at all.

1)
As a photographer I have to note that if this was indeed a B&N window and I wanted to point out this outrage to the world, I would have ensured that there was an entire storefront photo to help market my outrage. Since this is not the case I have to question whether if this is a joke or not (considering there are so many folklore sights out there invalidating this issue)

2)
This has indeed put B&N in quite the tricky position of having to apologize as an institution for an occurrence at ONE store in one of the more racist states in the country, where it may have been a stupid prank by a customer or store worker. And so now, I should boycott the ENTIRE company (that does not sanction nationwide uniform corporate displays) for this supposed act????

3)
I live in New York and if you walk into ANY B&N here you feel proud of Barack Obama who has all but been immortalized in full show more than any other figure I’ve ever seen in ANY bookstore!

4)
The world now knows how overly sensitive we’ve become to the jokes, snears, and primate comparisons (which of course are not to be tolerated), but be careful that those who mean to offend us also mean to distract us in time wasting matters, lest we keep our attention steadfastly on continuing to build positive symbols of our obvious greatness, while enjoying the discounts off the very books that document just that. Ha!

It’s time to LIVE IN GLORY people. Pick the battles carefully, do no wear yourselves out on a win that may not count. The only satisfaction won here as I see it is the attention the prankster fool is getting out of this.

Long live the HUMAN race!