From the monthly archives:
Who the hell is this guy? I can’t even describe the disgust and shock I felt after watching this. And some people say there’s no free speech in Britain. People like him have serious mental issues and they represent everything that’s wrong with Islam today. This is what we should strive for instead.
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Isn’t this just lovely?
Dec 19, 2006 (CAIRO) — The United Nations evacuated more than 70 aid workers from the largest refugee camp in Darfur, Sudan on Tuesday after gunmen looted their compounds, leaving some 130,000 refugees virtually without humanitarian help.
It was the largest single instance of an aid worker evacuation since the U.N. launched its large-scale humanitarian campaign in war-torn Darfur in 2004. Over the past year, worsening violence has made delivering vital aid to hundreds of thousands of residents difficult or impossible.
A group of over 20 gunmen raided several humanitarian compounds in the South Darfur refugee camp of Gereida late Monday, harassing staff and stealing vehicles, communication equipment and money, the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.
… “More than 400 (workers) have been evacuated this month, the situation is getting worse and worse,” said OCHA spokeswoman Dawn Blalock on the telephone from Sudan.
A handful of aid workers chose to remain in Gereida, but the “the vast majority” left the camp, Darfur’s largest with some 130,000 refugees, she said.
The attacks were “preventing humanitarian organizations from providing life-saving assistance” to refugees, said UN humanitarian coordinator Manuel Aranda da Silva in the statement
Great! Okay so who were those damn gunmen? Were they Janjaweed, rebels or just a bunch of thieves? Meanwhile Coffee Anan is chilling and drinking Coffee somewhere doing his best to make sure “never again”.
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One of the best documentaries on Islam I have come across. Here it is: Part 1, 2 and 3. It dives deep into how the Sunnah, Hadith and especially the Quran are interpreted differently by different Muslims all over the world. It even delves into the controversial “Pigs & Apes” Quranic verse. After the documentary is over, one might question, “so which interpretation is correct?” That’s where the principles of Ijma and Qiyas come in. Ijma is the consensus of Islamic scholars regarding various aspects of the Sharia. A group of Islamic scholars get together, discuss and come up with a consensus regarding a certain issue. The problem with how Ijma is carried out today is that it’s only carried out by a number of Islamic scholars or so called “scholars” and is being monopolized by them rather than being open for more Muslims to participate in. Another problem is that the principle of Ijtihad is almost non-existant now in many parts of the Muslim world. It was because of Ijtihad that the Islamic civilization achieved many wonders. It’s not a big surprise that there’s little Ijtihad taking place nowadays in the Muslim world. After all, illiteracy is very high and when illiteracy is very high, those who read will be the only ones able to interpret Islamic sources as they please. Moreover Islamic scholars in the past always had and continue to have a habit of defining who and who cannot engage in Ijtihad. Such definitions themselves are a form of monopoly in my opinion. More to come. Meanwhile I’m busy and my computer is still screwed. I’m using my brother’s computer right now. He went out for a while and he’s not using it at the moment. Laters. Watch the 3 part documentary. Peace. Oh ya and Darfur still burns.
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Hey people. Sorry for not updating. My PC got screwed and I’m hoping to fix it by 2moro. I’m blogging from a cyber cafe right now and I gotta run. Blogging to resume as soon as possible. Apologies.
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Dec 12, 2006 (WASHINGTON) — Tony Blair has backed imposing a no-fly zone over Sudan’s Darfur region while military planners in Washington are also developing plans for air strikes and a naval blockade to pressure Khartoum to stop the violence, the Financial Times reported.
The British prime minister declared his support for a no-fly zone for the first time during his visit last week to Washington, during which he told President George W. Bush that they had to deal with Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president, in the next two to three months.
“If rapid progress is not made, we will need to consider alternative approaches, with international partners,” Blair warned on returning to London.
Military planning has moved ahead, one official said, adding: “The Americans mean business.”
Blair said he would seek United Nations backing for a no-fly zone which would be enforced by the US and UK.
Military action in another oil-rich Muslim country almost four years after the Iraq invasion would be risky. But some officials in Washington and London suggest it may be the only way to deal with the situation in the western Sudanese region, where between 100,000 and 400,000 people have died through famine and slaughter and 2.5m more have fled their homes since 2003.
A no-fly zone would be designed to prevent the Sudanese government from using its air force or helicopter gunships in attacks against villages in Darfur. Such attacks have been alleged by UN monitors and human rights organisations.
No decisions over possible military action over Darfur have been reached, and such a course would be considered only if Mr Bashir resists UN demands for the deployment of a “hybrid” force of UN and African Union peacekeepers.
Opposition from the US military is said to be strong. Analysts and diplomats are also sceptical the US and UK will conclude that military intervention against Khartoum’s wishes would rescue a complex situation.
China, which consumes almost two-thirds of Sudan’s oil exports, is said to be concerned its image is being tarnished by its close association with Khartoum. But envoys doubt that Beijing would back any UN plan that might affect its oil purchases.
Blair spoke in Washington of his fears that the violence and “terrible suffering” in Darfur might destabilise the whole region and called for “tougher action”, but with UN approval.
Andrew Natsios, the US special envoy for Sudan, flew to Khartoum at the weekend to make another diplomatic push, though US officials doubted Mr Bashir would allow the deployment of peacekeepers.
“We are very concerned that [Mr Bashir] is buying more time to continue with military operations in Darfur. We need a different game plan,” one official told the FT, referring to what the US is calling “Plan B”, believed to be a package of sanctions and coercive action.
(FT)
It seems that whatever is being planned, it’s purpose is to put a stop to the violence. DUH! Okay so conduct a naval blockade, bomb the Janjaweed and bomb Sudanese military air craft. Cool, great, the attacks against innocent Darfurians will stop or will at least hopefully decrease. Lovely, it’s all good, nice (no sarcasm)… But THEN what?!! You see that’s the main point. Then What?? What happens after that? UN troops go in? Ya defintely, cause they’ll surely be welcomed with wide open arms. What happens if/after bombs are dropped? Will the root causes be addressed? Will the different rebel factions reconcile and come to an agreement? Will Omar al-Bashir suddenly hold free democratic elections? The root causes of this complex ugly conflict still aren’t paid attention to and I don’t think air strikes will do anything to halt violence in the long term run. Things might improve for a while, yes but that won’t last for long. Blogging to resume on Saturday night or Sunday. Busy with some stuff including podcast. Cya!
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I got invited but I received the invitation kinda late and I only had one week to do everything. Looks like I’m gonna miss it. No word from Indian embassy yet which means no visa which means me can’t go for it this Friday 
Nontheless though, I’m glad the guys at Global Voices actually invited me. The thing comes with fully paid expenses! Next year hopefully I’ll get invited again and at least a month early so I’ll have enough time to make the required preparations. 
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A post by Raccoon, all Sudanese people should check out.
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One more of this. I was there and it was MAD! Best party EVER!
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A post by Noli Irritare Leones that you should check out.
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… in self-defense apparently. It’s still lovely though because I’m sure the victims’ families will totally understand and that ought to make things much sweeter than they already are.
Dec 11, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The African Union said on Monday it killed two civilians a day earlier in Sudan’s Darfur region in self-defence after a crowd of protesters tried to storm a military base.
Separately, unidentified gunmen had kidnapped two AU military personnel on Sunday in Darfur’s main town and were holding them at an unknown location, the AU said.
Public anger has risen against the 7,000-strong AU force, which is accused of failing to stop the violence in Darfur.
…El Fasher was the scene of deadly clashes over the past week between Janjaweed militias, which the Sudanese government is accused of backing, and a former rebel group. Khartoum denies supporting the Janjaweed.
Sigh! Really and truly. I mean it. Big sigh! This is such a screwed up situation. These are the AU troops we’re talking about. Imagine if UN troops stepped in. Jihaaaad will pursue and the big mess will only get bigger. I’m trying hard not to be cynical. I really am but the reality is just staring me in the face and laughing at me. I HATE it and I want to choke it. Grrrr… That’s why me thinks the idea of placing UN troops outside Darfur’s borders in Chad and African Central Republic (CAR) is a good one. At least fleeing Darfurians will hopefully be able to find more protection.
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From the Elder of Ziyon:
UPDATE: Now that the voting is in full wing and it is clear that I’m not in the running, I have a new goal: to beat The Sudanese Thinker. We’ve been neck and neck since the beginning and I don’t want to check his/her blog out because I’ll probably like it. So help me reach my much more modest goal of beating TST and getting a chance for fourth place!
Hmmmmm…
VOTE VOTE VOTE AND VOTE SOME MORE. Me wana stay in 4th position!! 
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WTFishhhh????!!! (via LGF)
Who is responsible for the situation?
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most important reasons why these crises and problems continue to simmer. The day when Israel was founded created the basis for our problems. The West should finally come to understand this. Everything would be much calmer if the Palestinians were given their rights.
Do you mean to say that if Israel did not exist, there would suddenly be democracy in Egypt, that the schools in Morocco would be better, that the public clinics in Jordan would function better?
I think so.
Can you please explain to me what the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has to do with these problems?The Palestinian cause is central for Arab thinking.
In the end, is it a matter of feelings of self-esteem?
Exactly. It’s because we always lose to Israel. It gnaws at the people in the Middle East that such a small country as Israel, with only about 7 million inhabitants, can defeat the Arab nation with its 350 million. That hurts our collective ego. The Palestinian problem is in the genes of every Arab. The West’s problem is that it does not understand this.
Holy Mohammed, Jesus, Marry & Joseph, I’m in absolute shock!!! What kind of idiotic retard says this kind of crap??! Him apparently. I swear to the Lord, this man represents all that is wrong with our region and its people. Gee and his network does business with Israel at the same time. I mean seriously how retarded can this guy be? Sandmonkey puts it nicely.
Get it? We don’t have democracy or advancment because we have low self-esteem and our egos are hurt because of Israel. It’s all the Jooz’s fault, not our own. I mean, how can we advance or succeed when our egos are hurt? That’s the insight of the man who controlls the news in the region top news-source: We are immature cry-babies! Oh, and the west should treat us as such! Get that, West?
Read the whole interview. It’s super revealing and takes you into the retarded mind of Al-Jazeera’s editor in Chief.
UPDATE: There’s a really good debate going on here in the comments section about the Sudanese refugees who fled Darfur and ended up in Israel.
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SudaneseThinker
SudaneseThinker