Elections In Sudan: Day 4
Posted by Michelle Moquin on April 14th, 2010
The elections in Sudan continue, and if you haven’t been keeping up to date, the elections were extended two days because of ballot issues. But from what I have been reading from the alerts, there are still serious flaws in the balloting process – a free and fair election seems nonexistent with the current president in charge. Here’s an article I found written by a native Darfuri:
A Darfuri Perspective on Sudan’s Dubious Elections
April 13th, 2010 by Niemat Ahmadi
Cross posted from Sojourners’ God’s Politics blog.
As a Darfuri, I recognize the fact that this presidential and parliamentary election in Sudan is an important milestone for the implementation of the North-South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005. Unfortunately, as people of Darfur, we are too familiar with the man controlling these elections; Omar al-Bashir is an indicted war criminal, a brutal dictator who seized power in a coup, and he has oppressed his own people for his entire ruling period of over two decades. There will never be a free and fair election in Sudan while Omar al-Bashir is in charge.
Since last year, there has been widespread opposition to how the population census was conducted. In Darfur, serious flaws with the electoral process led to organized boycotting by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and other war-affected communities. Darfuris who have fled to other parts of Sudan have also been excluded from the count – the Geneva-based Darfur Relief and Documentation Center found that over 95% of Darfuri IDPs in certain parts of Sudan were intentionally excluded from the Sudanese census. Darfuri students have been consistently harassed, threatened, and killed in Khartoum by the ruling government.
The people of Darfur – who make up approximately 20% of Sudan’s population – have been excluded from these elections entirely. Instead al-Bashir is telling the international media that his party, the National Congress Party, has the full support of the population in Darfur. The suggestion that the people of Darfur support Bashir after he led a campaign designed for Darfur’s destruction is beyond offensive. Meanwhile, people in other parts of Sudan, members of the international community, and UN officials are prepared to leave the Darfuri constituency behind in order to get these elections over with. And why not? UN officials have stated that “the war in Darfur is over,” and they are clearly ready to wash their hands of “the Darfur problem.” These statements are divorced from the reality on the ground. Last month, an attack on Jebel Marra in Western Darfur took as many as 400 lives, displaced 100,000 citizens, and left the population with no access to humanitarian or peacekeeping assistance.
Last week, Yasir Arman, the leader of the South’s main political party (the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement), pulled out of the election, concluding that it had been rigged. Most of the other opposition parties have joined him in boycotting Bashir’s manipulated election.
This is a critical time for our people in Sudan, and it’s time for the international community to honor the promises they have made. The U.S. Government can choose to stand with the people of Sudan or to remain silent and move forward, legitimizing the rule of this genocidal dictator. History will judge us for our actions, and it is up to the American people to tell their leaders what they expect from them – a genuine commitment to democracy and human rights.
People of faith have been active since the beginning of the crisis for the rights of the people of Darfur. Emphasizing morality, mutual responsibility, and social justice, the faith community has refused to be silent and has insisted on truth and action. When they speak, the world listens. Now more than ever before, the people of Sudan need your voices. We are asking you to speak with one united voice to say that these elections will not be free and fair, that their result will not take into account the desires of the Sudanese people, and that their winning candidate has paid for his victory in blood. Please pray for the people of Darfur, and encourage your Congressional leaders to act now.
Niemat Ahmadi is a native of North Darfur and is the Darfuri Liaison Officer at the Save Darfur Coalition.
And here’s the latest Election Alert:
Day three of voting continued much as that of the first two days. As noted yesterday, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) extended voting an extra two days so polls will now close on Thursday, April 15. There were continued reports of serious flaws in the balloting process, particularly as it relates to the voter registers, where many voters are finding it difficult to locate which polling place they are registered at. This appears to be particularly true in South Sudan, where by some estimates, some polling locations have had less than ten percent turnout. According to one report by Reuters, at one polling station in the southern town of Torit, there were 1,323 registered voters, but only 29 (or 2%) successfully made it to the poll on the first day.
Opposition leaders such as Sadiq al-Mahdi, of the Umma party described “what is happening now [as] … chaos,” and stated that the election has turned from a celebration into a funeral. Along the same lines, Yasir Arman, who withdrew as the presidential candidate of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) called for the dissolution of the NEC citing “huge mistakes.”
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, heading the Carter Center election observation mission, said that “there will be serious faults in the election, there is no doubt about that, which we’ll assess later on,” and described the election as an “unavoidable step in [the] process,” towards the referendum on southern independence. The State Department described the elections as an “important milestone,” as Special Envoy for Sudan Scott Gration is on his way back to Washington. Both Carter and Gration were sharply rebuked yesterday for their supposed support of the elections in a press conference by opposition parties boycotting the elections.
For the third consecutive day, there were no significant reports of major violence, although four UNAMID peacekeepers have gone missing in Darfur, highlighting the continued lack of security in that region.
Burt: I have a feeling Obama is going to run into a lot of ‘empty’ offices that are posing as regulatory systems in place, that will be quite shocking. On a better note, I think he had some great success at the Nuclear Security Summit yesterday:
Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia today sealed a new nuclear arms reduction treaty, which entails a considerable new reduction of the strategic missiles each side has deployed, The Washington Post reports.
Another success to add to his plate. I’m sure we’ll get some words, to say the least, from the party of no.
Peace out.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)
April 14th, 2010 at 11:19 am
DANGER AT THE HEALTH-FOOD STORE
Isn’t it terrible to think that you can take something to improve your health that instead endangers your life?
Yet, that’s what can happen if you take a dietary supplement contaminated with toxins or dangerous drugs.Don’t make the mistake of thinking that this is an obscure problem, because it is not.
In fact, in 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discovered that dozens of dietary supplements contained active pharmaceutical ingredients — meaning prescription drugs — not listed on their labels.
Experts believe that the more than 140 contaminated products that the agency has exposed so far are just the tip of the iceberg, with many more currently on shelves and available for sale.
Pieter A. Cohen, MD, an associate residency director at Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts, sounded an alarm with his article “American Roulette — Contaminated Dietary Supplements,” in The New England Journal of Medicine last October.
When I called to ask about the report, Dr. Cohen told me that he’d noticed a pattern among patients taking what they thought were “natural” weight-loss pills who were experiencing significant side effects.”We found that these pills actually contained potent prescription medications,” he said.
He added that it’s important for people to realize that when you buy a drug such as aspirin, you know that the FDA scrutinizes such products and therefore, barring manufacturing mistakes, you can rely on the fact that what is on the label is what is in the bottle.
But when you buy a supplement, there’s a greater possibility that it may contain undeclared prescription medications… drugs rejected by the FDA due to safety concerns… toxic metals, such as lead or mercury… bacteria… or pesticides.
A few particular types of supplement are more dangerous — you’ll learn why in a minute. Before that, though, it’s important to know why such potentially harmful products are being sold in stores in the first place — so you know how to protect yourself.
GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION
Supplement manufacturers once had to demonstrate that their products were safe before they could sell them. That’s no longer the case.
Under the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), a federal law, the official presumption is that supplements are safe unless or until proven otherwise.
No clinical trials are required before a product is marketed, and if a problem arises, the burden is on the FDA to prove that it’s unsafe before taking action to restrict its use or to pull it off the market.
Many people erroneously assume “natural” means “safe” and they think, therefore, that these products are less likely to be harmful than pharmaceuticals — but the problems that arise usually are due to ingredients not listed on the label.
Of course, it is illegal to sell tainted products, and reputable companies don’t. But the lack of oversight can make it easy for unscrupulous supplement manufacturers to sell adulterated products.
In one study, researchers found that more than one-third of dietary supplements claiming to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) or to otherwise enhance male “performance” contained undisclosed prescription drug ingredients
– the same ones in those drugs you see advertised on TV. This is bad news — the reason they require a prescription is that it’s dangerous for certain people, such as those on heart medications.
THE WORST SUPPLEMENTS OF ALL
Any type of supplement could potentially be contaminated with poor-quality, even toxic ingredients. But one of the most potent dangers — the presence of active pharmaceutical medications — is most likely to be found in three categories of products:
those for sexual enhancement…for weight loss… and for athletic performance. Also be wary of products marketed not just for general health but for particular conditions — such as diabetes, insomnia or high cholesterol — which are likely to contain numerous ingredients and thus pose a greater risk.
HOW TO BUY SAFE SUPPLEMENTS
Whatever supplement you take, be very particular. Dietary supplements are not required to be standardized in the US, so an herb from one company may be completely different in quality and potency from what is ostensibly the same herb from another company.
In addition, manufacturers are not required to list the country of origin of ingredients — so a botanical medicine “made in the USA” may contain herbs from another country.
While plenty of high-quality herbs are imported, others are farmed under conditions we’d consider unacceptable, such as using toxic pesticides or grown in soil contaminated with lead or mercury.
STEPS TO TAKE
Work with a doctor who is trained in evaluating the products. For instance, naturopathic physicians are well-schooled in how to identify quality natural-product manufacturers.
Look for supplements with a USP stamp on their labels. The US Pharmacopeia (USP) is an independent organization dedicated to quality control that tests products and visits sites of companies that join their program.
Dietary-supplement manufacturers are not required by law to follow USP standards, but some do so voluntarily.
Single-ingredient products can be a safer choice. Other than multivitamins, the supplements with more ingredients have a greater likelihood that they’ll contain contaminants or have harmful side effects.
Look for evidence of supplements’ safety and effectiveness from objective, third-party sources. For example, visit reputable Web sites such as http://nccam.nih.gov/health/supplements and http://www.ConsumerLab.com.
Start taking only one new supplement at a time. This allows you to know what might be causing any side effects such as a rash, diarrhea, constipation or insomnia.
Avoid weight-loss, erectile dysfunction and athletic-performance supplements unless recommended by your doctor or trained practitioner.
Report any suspected adverse effects from a supplement to the FDA — this is especially important given that, at present, such reporting is the best mechanism we have to get dangerous products off the market.
File a report at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/HowToReport/ucm053074.htm.
Talk to your doctor. Make sure he/she is aware of and up-to-date on all supplements you take, and discuss dosage, possible interactions and other safety issues.
Source(s):
Pieter A. Cohen, MD, associate residency director, Cambridge Health Alliance, Somerville, Massachusetts, instructor, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
April 14th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Michelle
That was a great article about women you printed yesterday. I sent it to my mother. She was amazed that I was into women’s issues.
I didn’t tell her you were so hot!
April 14th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Coming Home
We have many Guam folks who need to return home. They need to come home and help us move forward. These are folks who have seen different as well as the same.
These are folks who have seen where Guam is ahead. These are folks who have experienced the void of Guam island life. These are folks who can help us determine real with ideal. Their eyes can help us adjust our vision.
Hafa adai
April 14th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
I’m on statins. If you are or are being advised to this is a must read.
=================
Common statin linked to severe muscle problems
The feds are warning statin users of yet another potential muscle problem… and as usual, telling patients to go right on taking these meds anyway.
Wouldn’t want to alarm anyone, right?
Too bad–because the warning speaks for itself, and it’s a pretty loud alarm for anyone who’s been taking Zocor or its generic equivalent, simvastatin. While muscle problems are a common side effect with all statins, the feds say patients who take high doses of this stuff have an even higher risk of more severe muscle injury.
That “high” dose isn’t an overdose or off-label amount prescribed by rogue doctors… but simply the highest approved dose of 80mg.
And if the idea of muscle injury isn’t enough to convince you, the feds say simvastatin can also cause rhabdomyolysis –-a condition in which muscle fibers break apart and rush through the blood stream.
That, in turn, can lead to kidney damage and even failure. It’s usually caused by severe trauma, alcoholism or abuse of drugs like cocaine and amphetamines. But now, as it turns out, it can also be caused by a statin.
That places these meds right up there with heavy drinking and drug abuse, at least in this regard.
The only thing that would make this drug worse is a combination pill with another bad med… and believe it or not, that exists too.
And yes, it really is worse.
The drug Vytorin is a harrowing blend of Zocor and Zetia. This dangerous duo has been linked to narrowed arteries, complete ineffectiveness and even cancer, among other problems.
You’ll also find simvastatin in Simcor, which combines it with the vitamin niacin. That particular combination has been linked to muscle problems in people of Chinese ancestry. The feds say patients of Chinese descent shouldn’t take high doses of Zocor along with any niacin products, and that even lower doses might not be safe.
But really, it doesn’t matter whether you’re from China or Charlotte, or if you’re taking simvastatin on its own or in a combination drug… because the end result is the same: completely unnecessary risk.
If you’re worried about your cholesterol levels, you don’t need to look for a new med… just a new approach. Lifestyle changes and proper nutrition will beat out these meds any day of the week, hands-down.
And they come with no risk other than better living.
The doctors and researchers at the Health Sciences Institute have an extensive online library of cholesterol- lowering tips and strategies.
Just visit hsibaltimore.com and enter the keyword “cholesterol” into the “Find a Cure” box for access to some terrific free information.
=========================
I don’t like everything on this site. But I found this to be very interesting
Phillip
April 14th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Anna
Why are you encouraging people to return to Guam? We don’t have ambulances to help the ones already here.
——————————
Senator Tenorio Requests Oversight Hearing On Guam’s Ambulance Shortage
Written by Josh Tyquiengco
Tuesday, 13 April 2010 11:49
Guam – Guam News
Guam- Due to growing concerns from the community, Senator Ray Tenorio is requesting for an oversight hearing on the shortage of ambulances on Guam.
Currently, only four ambulances were operational at the beginning of the week. In a release from his office, Senator Tenorio says he has written a letter to Senator Adolpho Palacios, who is in charge of the committee overseeing the Guam Fire Department, on the matter.
The senator is hoping the legislature can take immediate action to correct this shortage.
Budget talks for GFD are also scheduled for later this month, but Tenorio want the oversight hearing to happen before then.
He says “The Legislature and the people of Guam need to know how we can fix this problem before it costs a life.”
—————————
Did i cut that up alright Michelle?
Sui
April 14th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Did anyone find that commercial by Tiger offensive. And where is the support for the wife of his kids?
April 14th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Subject: Take two aspirin…
Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays.
These excerpts are published each year for their amusement.
Here are last year’s winners…
5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just
before it throws up.
April 14th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Tthe girl was nothing when Tiger met her. the only thing that has changed is she had two kids by a rich man.
This will entitle her to millions when she decides to divorce him. if she did not know her husband was fucking around with that many girls in the picture, she was stupid.
This whole mess is tired and over done. She needs to take the kids and her payout and go the hell back to europe!! ?
April 14th, 2010 at 1:55 pm
This is dedicated to everyone who ever attempted to get into a regular workout routine.
Dear Diary,
For my birthday this year, my Husband (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me.
Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.
I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.
My husband seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.
________________________________
MONDAY:
Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god – with blond hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!
Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!
Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week-!!
________________________________
April 14th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Anonymous
You are obviously a stupid person. How would anyone know if a slick son of a bitch was cheating on them?
What does it matter where she came from? He owes her the respect of not cheating on her with sluts.
April 14th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Excuse me but that NANNY ONLY married him for his money anyway! You think she actually LOVED HIM?
He was HER come up and all of a sudden she is too good?
She USED him and popped out some babies quick so she will have better standing to get more of the million$$$ she married him for. You people need to get a life!
Would you have said the same if she was a black woman?!
April 14th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
I love it when Guam is part of humor. check this out.
======================
Ignore Dad, and tragedy is your fate
By W. Bruce Cameron
POSTED: 04/13/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Dear Daughter: Though you are over 21, I am denying you permission to go on vacation to Guam, of all places, for the following reasons.
1. I never heard of anyone going to Guam for vacation. People go to Guam to fight the Battle of the Pacific. I’ve seen your pictures of their luxury hotels and fabulous beaches, but what the tourist bureau hasn’t told you is that you’ll have to wade ashore with an M-1 rifle.
2. In the movie “Taken,” the daughter goes to Europe against her father’s wishes. He’s forced to get on a plane and save her, in the process wiping out a lot of French people. It’s a very instructive movie because it proves that when dads are mad they can take out a French hoodlum with a single punch. It also proves that if you don’t listen to your father, you will be kidnapped. Because the French economy has enough problems already, I don’t think I should go over there and start killing everybody. They are likely to have difficulty understanding why I am shooting up France when you’re in Guam.
3. When I was in junior-high geography class, we never even studied Guam. For that matter, we didn’t really even study geography. So I had to look it up on the Internet, and the thing is a tiny speck of land in the middle of an absurd amount of ocean! I doubt an airplane could even find the place. Why can’t you vacation someplace closer? There’s a great hotel right down the street from me. You could help me clean out my garage.
4. In the movie “Die Hard 4,” the daughter rebels against her father and winds up getting kidnapped. To get her back, Bruce Willis has to destroy America. I’m OK with doing that, but in one part he is hanging on to the outside of a jet plane while it flies around blowing up everything that got built under the stimulus package. I am not going to fly on the outside of a jet — the seats in coach are bad enough.
5. President Barack Obama canceled his trip to Guam. He said it was because of the health care debate, but how do we know it wasn’t because of Guam?
6. The movie “Jaws” starts out with a woman your age going swimming without her father’s permission and getting eaten by a giant shark. We don’t actually get to see her father denying her permission — they probably edited that part out — but you can be sure I would never let you hang out with boys at the beach at night and then go swimming in an ocean crawling with gigantic flesh-eating fish.
The lesson here (how many times do we need to go over this?) is that if you don’t listen to your father, you will be ripped to pieces by a shark for sure. And obviously if the woman in the movie had managed to make it back to shore, she would have been kidnapped and taken to France.
7. In the movie “Titanic,” a woman goes on a long boat trip, and there is no indication her father told her it was OK, so naturally the boat sinks. She does manage to survive, but before that happens there’s a song by Celine Dion that lasts longer than the Battle of the Pacific and is just as pleasant to listen to.
If you don’t want to suffer through a song like that, you should listen to your father, who is much more pleasing to the ear. To prove it, I’ve left a rendition of the song “Don’t Go to Guam My Garage Needs Cleanin’ ” on your voicemail.
8. Do you not remember the trip your sister took to Europe? It was a complete disaster because she didn’t call me every day. She could not possibly have had fun — I don’t care what she claims. You can’t have a good time if you forget to call Dad. If you’re cleaning my garage, you don’t have to use a phone, you can just yell.
I hope this settles the matter.
Contact W. Bruce Cameron at wbrucecameron.com. For his previous columns, visit denverpost.com/brucecameron.
======================
Hafa adai
Lea
April 14th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Yes, yes, take the money that you had nothing to do with earning. You deserve nothing but the best.
After all you came from being another guys nanny to being a rock star. He owes you everything. Without you he would have been……..well, he would have still been number 1 in the world.
Tiger, give her a good ass fucking and send her on her way.
April 14th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Anons1,2,3
Do you anons have to be so shrill? Anon3 Maybe some could agree with you, But did you have to go there with the ass comment?
April 14th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
OMG I love her! Why would she want his dirty dick in her again ever anyway?? yuck..after being with so many sluts how could she ever have sex with him again.
She is young, pretty and she can do fine without him. She has been a class act through all of this I would have done much worse to him than a golf club to his mouth believe me!!
April 14th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
CAN BREAD CAUSE DIABETES?
We know that food — specifically too much of it and the resulting weight gain — causes type 2 diabetes.
But could what we eat be a cause of type 1 diabetes? Perhaps, says a new study that has linked wheat consumption to development of type 1 diabetes in young people (generally age 40 and younger), in a finding that has surprised many doctors and scientists.
This is research that Daily Health News contributing editor, Andrew L. Rubman, ND, says is “quite amazing and hugely important.”
Unlike the more common type 2, type 1 diabetes is a progressive autoimmune disorder that people develop early in life.
Some cases have clear genetic roots, but scientists have believed that environmental factors could also play a role — including, possibly, something in the diet. This small study from the University of Ottawa demonstrates that one factor may be wheat consumption.
WHEAT AND DIABETES LINK
The study included 42 men and women, mostly young adults, with type 1 diabetes and a control group of 22 similar young people who did not have diabetes or any other known autoimmune disease. Researchers wanted to see how the immune systems in those with diabetes would respond to wheat.
What they learned: Twenty of the 42 diabetes patients were “high responders” to wheat, which was demonstrated by heightened immune system activity. According to the researchers, this response was found at a “significantly higher” rate than in the control group. Also, nearly all patients in this group carried a gene known to increase risk of diabetes.
WHEAT AND WHAT ELSE?
Wheat cannot be said to actually have caused the onset of diabetes in these patients, Dr. Rubman said, but the study does make a case that wheat consumption (specifically gluten found in wheat, rye and barley) could play a role in turning the genetic diabetes switch to “on” for those who carry the risk gene.
Other factors may be involved too, he noted, while affirming that this study provides an early seed of knowledge that may someday help people avoid diabetes onset, or at the very least reduce the distress it causes.
While there is more to learn, it is a healthy habit for all, especially children, to limit wheat consumption, rotating it with assorted other grains in order to minimize its impact on the body.
Dr. Rubman says that gluten avoidance might prove useful for people who already have type 1 diabetes because it may reduce the impact of the disease. If you have this type of diabetes, try a gluten-free diet for four to six months to see if symptom severity and blood sugar control improve. If the answer is yes, Dr. Rubman advises staying gluten-free for life.
Source(s):
Andrew L. Rubman, ND, medical director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, Southbury, Connecticut. http://www.SouthburyClinic.com.