It's not CurrentTV it’s PasséTV!

First Row: The Young Turks (TYT)
Second Row:  Countdown at MSNBC
Third Row: Countdown at CurrentTV
Fourth Row: The War Room

I am in a terrible mood. I am so upset to find out that CurrentTV fired Keith Olbermann today! All of us that followed Countdown every weeknight suspected that something was wrong, but we hoped that whatever differences they were having were going to be resolved. We were wrong.

CurrentTV, which is owned by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, was a struggling television station with a programming suitable for people like Al Gore: boring people. The programming was quite simple and unexcited, long documentaries that they kept repeating again and again to the point of exhaustion. The station mainly served for Al Gore to show his own documentary about Global Warming – commendable and I do recommend it to everyone – however, how many times can a person watch the same programming? Not too many, believe me.

Al Gore and Joel Hyatt created CurrentTV in 2004. Since its birth, CurrentTV, formerly known as INdTV, has been a series of failures that oddly enough, it managed to win a few awards mainly for the documentaries. The company has ventured into many different partnerships; all have failed.

In 2009 it was revealed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission that Comcast owns 10% of CurrentTV; in my view, that explains up to a point the controversies and obstructions that Keith Olbermann faced while at Current.

When Keith Olbermann was offered a position at CurrentTV in 2011, it was not as a mere commentator. CurrentTV did enough fanfare about hiring Keith as the Chief News Officer and at the time it was mentioned that Keith would have total control of his show, Countdown. I am sure that most of the other shows that came after Countdown such as The Young Turks did so because Keith Olbermann was part of Current.

Since the beginning of Countdown at CurrentTV, the set (if that can be called a set) was just a dark room with terrible lighting; even Keith’s make up was terribly done. There was no background, no desk; basically it was a chair and Keith. At first, I thought it was going to change and improve… but it didn’t. Even Keith’s wardrobe was not what we were accustomed to but we were there for Keith, nothing else.

The Young Turks made their debut and recently The War Room followed. It is obvious that their set is well lit and looks like that of any other show. Why then was Countdown's set so depressing and unprofessional? I think it was deliberate. I think they knew Keith was going to complain and bitch about it, but they didn’t care. I think they didn’t care because with the political shows they now have lined up (probably thanks to Keith Olbermann) they feel they don’t need Keith anymore. They are so wrong!

With this business maneuver, Al Gore has just shown the world that he is as bad a businessman as he was a bad Vice President. The man couldn’t even defend himself when the Presidency was stolen from him!

Goodbye CurrentTV… I will stop watching you and so will many others, the only reason I bothered going to that channel was Keith Olbermann, with him out of the picture CurrentTV is out of my life. I can’t say I’ll miss you, but I can say I'll miss Keith Olbermann and as I did before, I will follow him wherever he will land next. Maybe at Oprah Winfrey Network channel?

When Anorexia is not by Choice

I am an animal lover.  Seeing the above pictures not only breaks my heart, but infuriates me.  I can't understand how people can be so cruel as to starve an animal and see them being consumed, day by day, and not feel sorry for them.  Where are the neighbors, friends or visitors that see this and don't report it?  I think that people that are capable of doing this should be jailed, and jailed for a long, long time.  There are no excuses for this... None! 

 

Then, I see these atrocities, these children dying the worst of deaths, painfully and slowly dying of starvation... And the world is doing nothing, we are doing nothing and I am doing nothing!  

We see in the news so many irrelevant, sensationalistic news about if Paris Hilton was seen going wild at a nightclub in one extravagant city at any given country.  Perhaps we are attentive to the latest love affair of the rich and famous.  Maybe what attract us is the latest gossips escaping from Hollywood.  I don't know, but certainly it is not what is taking place in Darfur since it is never in the news.

And we complain... boy, do we complain!!! I complain if my car needs a tune-up and it is going to cost me more than I expected or because now that winter is gone the electric bill is higher... oh, and I constantly bitch about paying at the pump ten cents more per gallon than I did the week before.  We complain because our lives are not like the lives we watch on a TV sitcom or at the movies, because our lives are not "perfect", because we are not wealthy.  We are a society of complainers.

When I see these pictures I truly feel ashamed of myself for being so trivial and so selfish.  These poor people would give anything for their problems to be like mine, instead, they are watching their children die and there is nothing they can do about it.  Imagine what it must feel like not being able to protect your child because you too are dying.  The pain and suffering must be unimaginable!

Yet, there are things we all can do.  It may seem too little, but surely it is more than doing nothing at all.  This is what you can do to help according to The Valentino Achak den Foundation:

1. WRITE A LETTER TO YOUR SENATOR OR REPRESENTATIVE

Every time Valentino and Dave talk to experts on U.S. policy on Sudan, they ask what citizens can do to help. These experts always insist that one of the best things is to write a letter—an actual, personalized letter—insisting that this representative or senator do something about the ongoing genocide in Darfur, and about the gross misconduct of the Sudanese government in Khartoum. Remember that in 2005, the U.S. brought to bear great influence in brokering the peace between the north (Khartoum) and the south (the Sudan People's Liberation Army). When the U.S. wants to influence the Sudanese government, they surely have the power to do so. You can find out what your representatives have or haven’t done on Darfur by checking their individual records at www.darfurscores.com.

After writing a letter, call 1-800-GENOCIDE. This free hotline will ask for your zip code and then connect you to your governor, your senator, or directly to the White House switchboard. For some ideas of what to say to your elected officials, read on.

2. TELL WASHINGTON THAT TRADING INFORMATION FOR DARFURIS IS UNACCEPTABLE 

Many experts believe that one of the primary reasons Washington is dragging their feet in doing much about Darfur is due to Khartoum's help in their War on Terror. To back up: In the 1990s, Osama bin Laden spent six years in Khartoum. Sudan is where he built his network of terror. While being hosted by the Sudanese government, he provided Khartoum with millions of dollars. In the late 1990s, after the bombings of American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, the U.S. exerted great pressure on Sudan to expel bin Laden. They did so. (Again, the U.S. can have great influence in Sudan when they want to.)

After 9-11, the Khartoum government became a very cooperative partner in the War on Terror. The U.S. could count on Sudan's intelligence community to provide information about any suspected terrorists who had worked with bin Laden in Sudan. Because the Sudanese proved themselves useful in Washington's terrorist hunts, many experts believe that the Bush administration was loath to push Sudan too hard on the genocide in Darfur, lest Khartoum cease to be helpful in the War on Terror. These same experts believe strongly that the U.S. need not be so timid. The Obama administration has an opportunity to change U.S. policy in Sudan; Washington can still exert pressure on Khartoum without fear of losing a partner in intelligence-gathering. And even if they do lose this partner, we believe that trading the lives of hundreds of thousands of Darfuris is not worth whatever bits of information we're able to glean from Khartoum's intelligence.

3. SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT SUDAN 

A number of nonprofits are aiding refugees and are working for peace in Sudan. This is by no means a complete list, but these organizations have assisted Valentino and Dave, so we'll start with them:

Save the Children: When Valentino and Dave traveled to Sudan in 2003, they stayed in the compound of Save the Children's base in Marial Bai. Save the Children is involved in many efforts to aid the Sudanese who have suffered as a result of civil war, and has been instrumental in bringing former slaves and abductees back to their villages of origin.

www.savethechildren.org

Concern: In 2003, Valentino and Dave flew on a Concern cargo flight back to Marial Bai. Concern brings food and supplies to war-ravaged areas. Their work in Sudan now focuses on nutrition, water sanitation, and shelter for people affected by the war.

www.concern.net

The UNHCR: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees maintained the refugee camps at Pinyudo and Kakuma mentioned in What Is the What. The agency is now working to help refugees return to their communities in Southern Sudan, and to make the reintegration process a safe and sustainable one.

www.unhcr.org

International Crisis Group: This is a worldwide think tank that monitors, analyzes, and suggests solutions to conflicts and humanitarian crises around the world. Home of John Prendergast, one of the foremost American experts on Sudan—and the expert on whom Valentino and Dave continually rely. We believe that their work in Sudan, and on U.S. policy toward Sudan, is crucial.

www.crisisgroup.org

4. SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS LOBBYING FOR AN END TO GENOCIDE IN SUDAN 

Just a few of these organizations:

ENOUGH: The ENOUGH campaign seeks to unite and strengthen the efforts of grassroots activists, policy makers, advocates, concerned journalists, and others by giving them up-to-date information from on the ground in Darfur and offering practical pressure points to end the violence.

www.enoughproject.org

The Save Darfur Coalition: The SDC includes more than 170 organizations working toward more international involvement in combating the killing in Darfur. Contributions allow them to continue raising awareness in the media and directing pressure toward policymakers.

www.savedarfur.org

Genocide Intervention Network: GI-Net supports African Union peacekeepers currently on the ground in Sudan by channeling private donations into the resources they need and catalyzing government support for the peacekeepers. They also started the anti-genocide hotline 1-800-GENOCIDE.

www.genocideintervention.net

http://www.wfp.org/get-involved

5. SUPPORT THE VALENTINO ACHAK DENG FOUNDATION

The Valentino Achak Deng Foundation aims to empower war-affected Southern Sudanese communities by constructing schools, increasing access to quality education, improving girls’ enrollment in school, creating new teacher-training programs, and promoting literacy for children, women, and men.

In May 2009, the Foundation opened a brand new secondary school in Valentino's hometown of Marial Bai, Southern Sudan. It's the very first secondary school in the entire region. Donations to Valentino’s foundation go directly to support this new school, and to expand the campus into a large educational center, comprising the following:

The nine-classroom secondary school featuring a science lab, computer rooms, solar power, and student dormitories.

A teacher-training college bringing together local teachers, members of the Sudanese diaspora, and Western educators through collaborative teaching methods and symposia.

A library offering literacy programs for children, women, and men, a well-lighted study space for students, and a collection of more than 10,000 books.

A community center for local organizations, women’s groups, and cultural events, as well as classes for vocational training and community health and hygiene.

Sports facilities and programming for youth enrichment.Now that the school is built, we need your help to keep it running and to finish the educational center; please consider making a donation .

To hold a fundraiser, contact info@valentinoachakdeng.org.

To donate by mail, send your tax-deductible check to The Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, 849 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA 94110. You will be sent a notice confirming the donation and a tax receipt.

6. SUPPORT SUDANESE COMMUNITIES IN YOUR REGION

There are Sudanese all over the United States, and it doesn't take long to find a community near you. Volunteer at a local non-profit organization that helps refugees, such as the International Rescue Committee, or use search tools like Volunteer Match. Rest assured that communities of exiles and refugees near you can use your help—financially, logistically, and with the many other adjustments to life in the United States.

7. SUPPORT DIVESTMENT EFFORTS

The Sudan Divestment Task Force is coordinating dozens of "targeted divestment" campaigns around the world. Their approach focuses on maximizing impact on the Sudanese government while protecting Sudanese civilians and the organizations that provide for them. Since U.S.-based pension funds have more than $90 billion invested in Sudan-related holdings, the potential impact is significant. Several states have already adopted the targeted divestment model, and legislation is pending in many others. You can help by getting involved in campaigns in your area—in your city, your state, your school, or your company. The Task Force also has everything you need to know to start a new campaign if none exists where you live.

www.sudandivestment.org

8. SUPPORT THE PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT OF SOUTHERN SUDAN

According to the peace agreement signed between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Army, in 2011 the south will be able to vote on whether or not they want to secede from the north and become their own autonomous country. This is the course favored by Valentino Deng and most Southern Sudanese. But in order for this to happen, the international community needs to maintain pressure on Khartoum. If the current course continues, whereby the world stands idly by and watches Khartoum annihilate its own people in Darfur, there will be little chance that the Sudanese government will honor their agreement to allow the secession of Southern Sudan. Already the Southern Sudanese are preparing for another civil war. But it doesn't have to be this way. If the world supports the Southern Sudanese financially and politically, the nascent government of Southern Sudan will grow stronger, and Khartoum will find it more difficult to violate their agreement.

9. PRESS FOR PUNITIVE MEASURES AGAINST THE REGIME

The same government prosecuting the genocide in Sudan is the one that was primarily responsible for two million deaths in Southern Sudan. How long are we going to allow this to occur without imposing some kind of cost? In July 2009, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity-but much more can be done by the international community to enact punitive measures against Sudan. In your letters to members of Congress, you should demand that they support U.N. sanctions on responsible Sudanese officials and their businesses, and demand that the U.S. declassifies and shares its considerable intelligence with the International Criminal Court to accelerate indictments against those officials.

10. JOIN AN ORGANIZATION

Many advocacy organizations are already working to help end the suffering in Sudan. Here are just a few resources available to you:

For students: With over 600 college and high-school chapters across the nation, STAND (Students Taking Action Now: Darfur) is one of the largest grassroots efforts advocating an end to the genocide in Darfur. Students should visit the STAND website to find out how they can get involved.

www.standnow.org

For congregations: If you belong to a church, synagogue, mosque, or temple, get your community involved in Sudan advocacy. Many national religious organizations have taken up the cause, but it is more meaningful when a local group contacts their congressperson or senator and tells them that this issue is important to them as voters and as people of faith. Congregations can learn more by joining the Save Darfur Congregational Network, which offers Faith Action Packs with specific resources for faith-based organizations.

www.savedarfur/org/pages/organize_your_congregation

For communities: Local groups have played a critical role in pushing for action on Darfur. At the Save Darfur website, you can search for community organizations in your area, or learn how to start your own group.

www.savedarfur.org/page/group
 

Don't wait for others to do something about this and don't wait for tomorrow.  Do whatever you can to help, spread the word and tell others what they can do to help.  Keep this tragedy in the spotlight, bring attention to it and together we will succeed.  Saving a life should be always be a priority, always.

Editor: J. Schapiro

Color Me Blind

It was back in December of 1992 when the world was horrified at the atrocities being committed by the Bosnian Serbs against the Bosnian Croats and particularly the Muslim community. It was an ethnic cleansing that lasted approximately three long years and where approximately 8,372 civilians died.

The murdering of civilians at the hands of the Serbian army was terrible, but as it usually happens when a group of men dominate another and where violence and hate is rampant, murdering was not the only crime these killers committed. Among the cruel acts the Serbs routinely committed was rape, beating, robbery, assault and torture to women and children. When the Serbs didn’t murder their victims, they deported them to concentration camps much like Hitler did with the Jews during WWII. The Serbs left a path of destruction in all the towns previously occupied by the Croats and Muslims, destroying their houses, businesses, places of worship and ultimately their lives.

It took 6 years for the International Criminal Tribunal to judge that the crimes committed by the Serbs against Croatians and Muslims were Crimes against Humanity and to classify it as genocide but the ICT failed to established that the “accused possessed genocidal intent.” This is the equivalent of ruling that a murder wasn’t premeditated, that provoked the ire of the world.

It took 10 years for the United States to publicly declare what took place as genocide, and to offer our support for the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Shortly after that, calm returned to the region if not peace in its entirety.

For those that don’t know where the countries of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina are, they are in Europe.

The Serbian-Bosnian conflict is considered to be the worst European massacre since WWII.


_________________________________________________________________________________


Eight years later in February 2003 there was a civil war in another continent, the African continent, in the region of Sudan. This time the conflict was between non-Arabs and Arabs. The Janjaweed militia, supported by the government began eliminating not only the insurgents, but all non-Arab civilians as well. The massacre that took place included dismemberment of women, men, children and even babiesl raping, burning whole communities alive and shelling of over one million people.

The Janjaweeds, with the support of the Sudanese government, controlled the water and food supply driving the surviving non-Arab populations to seek refuge in the neighboring country of Chad. The United Nations Security Council tried to protect them and offered humanitarian help. However, due to the remoteness where many hundreds of thousands of the victims were, the government of Sudan was able to cut all help from reaching them and practically starved them to death.

During July 2005, there was an attack in the town of Adré, in Chad where there were many Sudanese refugees.  300 non-Arabs refugees were killed in that attack, but the Sudanese government denied any involvement or responsibility for the attack.

In 2006 in an attempt to bring peace to the region, President George W. Bush signed an agreement with Minni Minnawi, the leader of the Sudanese Liberation Army at the time, but two different smaller political groups in Sudan rejected the agreement and the attempt failed.

The genocide in Sudan continues to this day. It is estimated that about 400,000 people have been killed and about 80,000 have died from starvation. These figures are only a conservative number since no one knows what other atrocities may have taken place outside the public eye or unreported.

In 2005 the Security Council formally referred these events to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court but without mentioning any specific crimes, to issue a warrant against the Sudanese government. There were two members of the Security Council that declined to vote on the ICC resolution: United States of America and People's Republic of China.

Three years after that, in 2008, the ICC Prosecutor included ten charges of war crimes, three counts of genocide and five counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes and issued a warrant for the arrest of al-Bashir, the President of Sudan. The Arab League, composed of 21 countries and the African Union have made public their support and solidarity with al-Bashir.

Amnesty International has issued a report accusing Russia and the People’s Republic of China of violating the UN arms embargo against Darfur, Sudan. There have been reports, the latest witnessed by American actor George Clooney, of aerial attacks to villages in Darfur. There are many pictures of the equipment being used by the Sudan Air Force where it can be seen that the helicopters and airplanes used in these attacks are Russian made. According to Wikipedia, Airforces Monthly Magazine in it’s June 2007 issue confirmed that China and Iran have financed and delivered new aircrafts to Sudan.

Due to the involvement of Russia and China in this conflict, the international community and United States specifically are being very cautious and practically are not getting involved at least not directly or openly and if they are, it's been very quietly.  Too quietly.

The genocide continues to this day. Thousands of innocent people keep dying by the relentless air attacks perpetrated by the Sudanese government or by starvation. Thousands are hiding in the caves of Darfur almost forgotten by the world except when, as it happened almost a month ago, someone like George Clooney shines a light in this sinister crime that is taking place far away in the Dark Continent... unfortunately, we have shown that when it comes to black people, we have a very short attention span.

Let’s play ball!

It is incredible how many people are still protesting against the Health Care Reform Act and carrying big signs denouncing the unconstitutionality or their outrage for this bill.

I can understand up to a point that the people feel upset that they will be forced to get health insurance. What I can’t understand is their outcry that they don’t want government to get involved in their health issues… That outrage of course lasts until they reach their golden years and retire. The sad thing is, these seniors and retirees that are screaming that they don’t want government “making their health care decisions” have Medicare, and God forbid that someone takes that away from them! What do these people think Medicare is? Medicare is what all of us would have been entitled to if it wasn’t for all the morons that were against single payer or public option. The stigma of the government involved in our health issues was greater than the benefits we could have enjoyed.

Since we couldn’t get the public option or single payer because of all the false allegations that the political liars used to instill fear on the elderly and the gullible, we now have to pay for private insurance… because the rights of the health insurance companies were far more important than our own personal interests.  We have the Tea Party and Republicans to thank for that one. The same people that didn’t want to have a single payer or public option and don’t want to be forced to get health insurance claiming it is unconstitutional. Why is health insurance unconstitutional and not, let’s say, automobile insurance? Why is it that health insurance is an evil thing that government shouldn’t mandate or impose on all of us when not having it affects us ALL yet, it is OK to be forced to have auto insurance for every single vehicle we own?  Why is it OK for one type of enforced insurance but not the other?

When a person that doesn’t have health insurance is hospitalized and can't or won't pay the bill, we end up ‘picking up’ that tab. Every year hospitals nationwide ‘lose’ millions of dollars in unpaid balances incurred by uninsured people incapable or unwilling to pay their debt. The reality is that no hospital really loses money, they just increase the price of their services making all of us that have insurance to pay for those that didn’t. And all of us, those that incurred in the bill and those who see their premium increase pay again in the form of taxes, the government assumes a lot of those loses... kind of a bail out for hospitals.

If you have an automobile or motorcycle and you have a traffic accident, chances are that there will be two cars involved.  Usually, the person that hits pay for the repairs or medical needs of the injured through their insurance and their insurance premiums most likely will increase when they renew their policies.  Automobile insurance companies raise the premiums nationwide according to the accident ratio within that city or state.  Most of us hate them, but since it is the law to have it, we conform... Except if you live in New Hampshire where having automobile insurance it's an option, I think I will move there!

It seems that for Americans protecting an object is far more important than protecting themselves.  We hear people say all the time when their vehicles have been stolen things like "thank God I had insurance!"or "I don't worry because I'm insured."  Why don't they think the same way when it comes to their own person, their own bodies?  Once again, an object is far more important than a person.  No wonder they granted "personhood" status to corporations and we, the workers, have become the property of these corporations!

And now, here we are again fighting against the “Obamacare” as it has been "baptized". This bill has been taken to the Supreme Court to deem it unconstitutional.  It is sad that most likely they will win and repeal the law, after all the Supreme Justices enjoy having Public Option until the day they die.

I believe that is a shame. Many people that could be insured with preexisting conditions will  have no insurance and that includes babies and children. These people once again will have no insurance and perhaps due to being uninsured they may lose their lives.  We can place this injustice on those same people that are constantly yelling how precious every life is: the pro-life people. Once again they have proven that the only life they care for are the one before it passes the birth canal, once you take a breath you are on your own!

I suggest that all the judges and politicians that are fighting and claiming Obamacare as unconstitutional to have their insurance revoked. No more government insurance for them since it is so evil. We progressives and liberals are always trying to work for the people and if these people don’t want insurance especially insurance provided by the government, then we should take that burden away from them. The same can be said about all the senior citizens that have fought so vehemently against government subsidized insurance; let’s cancel their Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps. What do they think those are, manna?  I am sure they will be thrilled since in their opinion they do not use any government assistance and want government out of their lives, let’s be nice and give them what they want.

Let’s repeal Obamacare but do what I suggest above. All congressmen that are against Obamacare, revoke their insurance. Every citizen that has signed anything against Obamacare, let’s cancel his or her government provided insurance. Let’s start playing their game. Let's begin by automatically canceling health insurance of all the fat cats in Congress that have done nothing but inflict fear in their constituents and of all the seniors that claim that government should stay away from their health insurance.  When they stop getting these benefits, they will be begging for the Single Payer Option, not Obamacare which is the watered down version of what was original intended… Let the games begin!