It has been reported that the U.S. is holding of on further sanctions against Sudan at the request of the United Nations. The U.N. is pushing Sudan to accept more international peacekeepers in their country.

This is expected to delay more sanctions by, at least, 2-4 weeks.

Please understand, these are sanctions. So, the effects of these may not be felt immediately in Sudan. So, any delay only adds more time to Sudan seeing any negative financial impact to its policy of genocide in Darfur.

These sanctions will target 29 Sudanese companies. The U.S. is hoping that they will have the same effect as similar sanctions against Iran and North Korea.

However, as we continue to way, more people will be raped, maimed and killed. The time to act is long overdue. So, world, what are we waiting for?

Popularity: 71% [?]

Though we are reluctant to help Africa and Africans, we too easily go along with the violation of human rights of Africans. The latest comes in the form of FBI and CIA agents interrogating so-called terrorism suspects in an Ethiopion prison notorious for its use of torture.

We may argue that, when we are dealing with grown men accused of terrorism, you can’t handle them with kid gloves. But, what happens when women and children are being detained?

More than 100 of the detainees were originally arrested in Kenya in January, after almost all of them fled Somalia because of the intervention by Ethiopian troops accompanied by U.S. special forces advisers, according to Kenyan police reports and U.S. military officials.

Those people were then deported in clandestine pre-dawn flights to Somalia, according to the Kenya Muslim Human Rights Forum and airline documents. At least 19 were women and 15 were children.

In Somalia, they were handed over to Ethiopian intelligence officers and secretly flown to Ethiopia, where they are now in detention, the New York-based Human Rights Watch says.

…

When contacted by AP, Ethiopian officials denied that they held secret prisoners or that any detainees were questioned by U.S. officials.

“No such kind of secret prisons exist in Ethiopia,” said Bereket Simon, special adviser to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. He declined to comment further.

A former prisoner and the families of current and former captives tell a different story.

“It was a nightmare from start to finish,” Kamilya Mohammedi Tuweni, a 42-year-old mother of three who has a passport from the United Arab Emirates, told AP in her first comments after her release in Addis Ababa on March 24 from what she said was 2½ months in detention without charge.

She is the only released prisoner who has spoken publicly. She was freed a month after being interviewed, fingerprinted and photographed by a U.S. agent, she said. Tuweni, an Arabic-Swahili translator, said she was arrested while on a business trip to Kenya and had never been to Somalia or had any links to that country.

She said she was arrested Jan. 10. Tuweni said she was beaten in Kenya, then forced to sleep on a stone floor while held in Somalia in a single room with 22 other women and children for 10 days before being flown to Ethiopia on a military plane.

Finally, she said, she was taken blindfolded from prison to a private villa in the Ethiopian capital. There, she said, she was interrogated with other women by a male U.S. intelligence agent. He assured her that she would not be harmed but urged her to cooperate, she said.

So, do we honestly think that, by arresting women and children and putting them in harm’s way, we can win the war on terror? I only see this as pouring gasoline on a fire. I do think that we need to fight terrorism but, we need to do it by addressing the needs/conditions that make it easier for a person to consider this course of action. In other words, we need to address the root causes and not engage in actions that on exacerbate the problem.

Popularity: 53% [?]

You want to know how unpopular the Iraq War is in the Arab world? An ally, from whom we buy a huge amount of oil, is now reffering to the war as a “illegitimate foreign occupation”. These are the words of Saudi King Abdullah. To date, this is the harshest language he has used in regards to the war and a direct slam on the Bush Iraq policy.

But, Abdullah used wording that seems even more ominous and should be raising red flags to Bush and Co.

If Arab leaders recover trust in each other and regain their credibility, “the winds of hope will blow on the nation, and then, we will not allow forces from outside the region to determine the future of the region, and only the flag of Arabism will be raised on Arab soil,” Abdullah said.

If this doesn’t sound like the old, “yankee, go home!” cry, I don’t know what does. If Abdullah, the guy who could throw our economy into chaos by hiking oil prices or, even, cutting us off altogether is saying thing like this, the White House has to be concerned. But, with Bush, it appears that he is dead, dumb and blind to the opinions of even some of his closest allies if they run contrary to his own.

Popularity: 39% [?]

France and America seem to have a lot in common when it comes to their citizens of color. Both, to varying degrees, claim to be colorblind. However, when it comes access to opportunity and justice, it appears the amount you receive of each is inversely proportional to the amount of melanin one has. Each have laws on the books guaranteeing equal regard but, for some reason, these laws aren’t on autopilot and require that darker-skinned residents be constantly pushing to actually enjoy those rights.

There is one difference, however. Rather than just marching and protesting about the condition and treatment of black folks, black people in France have actually formed a lobby to address their concerns.

The Representative Council of Black Organizations (Le Conseil Représentative des Associations Noires, or CRAN), formed in the aftermath of the 2005 riots in France.Since that time, they developed a grass-roots organization formed of more than 130 black civic associations around the country.

Their agenda: to make the concerns of their black residents part of the national dialogue by organizing the black vote around those concerns.

The group’s head, Patrick Lozès, offers his perspective on the group and its mission:

“To be black and proud - that’s not being anti-French. It’s simply the liberation of a people who don’t see themselves reflected in their country’s public life - in its theater, television, medicine, and universities - except in negative images.”

Does any of this hit close to home?

However, their strategy is, still, as yet untested:

CRAN’s big test will come in this spring’s presidential and parliamentary elections. While political experts are doubtful that the group will succeed in uniting blacks in a single voting bloc, its leaders say they will make their mark by putting the question of racial discrimination squarely on the campaign agenda.

Nonetheless, I salute CRAN for approaching this issue with honesty and putting the concerns of black folks front and center in their political platform.

Popularity: 27% [?]

What do you do when you don’t finish the job in Afghanistan and have most of your resources mired in an Iraq quagmire? Easy, you ramp up for a war with Iran.

Sadly, most of America is not talking about this and, when it is, the conversation is based on a huge lack of information.

We have been told by this administration that Iran’s enrichment program is about their creation of a nuclear weapon. However, despite their being an oil-rich nation, Iran is actually under an energy crisis. So, it is plausible that they are doing this based on energy needs.

So, what of the President’s claims about nuclear weapons? So far, this is unsupported. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.S. intelligence about Iran’s nuclear program has been unreliable at best.

“Since 2002, pretty much all the intelligence that’s come to us has proved to be wrong,” a senior diplomat at the IAEA said. Another official here described the agency’s intelligence stream as “very cold now” because “so little panned out.”

The reliability of U.S. information and assessments on Iran is increasingly at issue as the Bush administration confronts the emerging regional power on several fronts: its expanding nuclear effort, its alleged support for insurgents in Iraq and its backing of Middle East militant groups.

The CIA still faces harsh criticism for its prewar intelligence errors on Iraq. No one here argues that U.S. intelligence officials have fallen this time for crudely forged documents or pushed shoddy analysis. IAEA officials, who openly challenged U.S. assessments that Saddam Hussein was developing a nuclear bomb, say the Americans are much more cautious in assessing Iran.

American officials privately acknowledge that much of their evidence on Iran’s nuclear plans and programs remains ambiguous, fragmented and difficult to prove.

Now, before we say,”but,it’s the U.N.” or “no one in the U.S. is disputing this claim”, chew on this. The Sunday Times (via their Washington bureau) is reporting that, at present, 4 to 5 U.S. generals and admirals are prepared to quit if Bush orders a strike on Iran. The military leaders, it seems, don’t see an imminent threat from Iran and feel it unconcienable to send an already-stretched military into such a conflict.

A British defence source confirmed that there were deep misgivings inside the Pentagon about a military strike. “All the generals are perfectly clear that they don’t have the military capacity to take Iran on in any meaningful fashion. Nobody wants to do it and it would be a matter of conscience for them.

“There are enough people who feel this would be an error of judgment too far for there to be resignations.”

A generals’ revolt on such a scale would be unprecedented. “American generals usually stay and fight until they get fired,” said a Pentagon source. Robert Gates, the defence secretary, has repeatedly warned against striking Iran and is believed to represent the view of his senior commanders.

The threat of a wave of resignations coincided with a warning by Vice-President Dick Cheney that all options, including military action, remained on the table. He was responding to a comment by Tony Blair that it would not “be right to take military action against Iran”.

So, while the march to war is on, again, ask yourself: where’s the proof?

Popularity: 41% [?]

I have always been taken aback by some of the stereotypes about black people. In this country, to be “mainstream” or have the “All-American look”, white skin (or a reasonable facsimile) is a requirement. However, if you want to explore the more “exotic”, you find a darker face. Obviously, this stratifies a society. It assigns places of prominence and respectability to those of the lightest hues and places the darker hues on lower rungs. Because, after all, the darker one is, the less respectable and compentent they are.

Well, this is not just true in America but, the world over. So, in the country whose black population is second only to Africa, we should not find it surprising that, to paraphrase m favorite radio host, Joe Madison, black people in Brazil are “undervalued, underestimated and marginalized.”

Mark Wells cites several examples of this thinking. One fine example of this is on display as we speak. Every year, Brazil has “Carnaval”, which attracts people from all around the world. More often than not, people go there to see the abundance of shapely brown flesh on parade. What this saysis that when you want to show the hedonstic and sexually-charged side of Brazil, bring out the black folks but, when you want to show the “respectable” side, use only whites, please.

Sound familiar?

Another interesting fact that he notes is the apparent shock and dismay of white Brazilians when displays of black pride are put forth:

Perusing through various readers’ forums throughout the Internet, books and journals, I am amazed to read how many white Brazilians express shock when they see something that prominently displays images or input of black Brazilians. I frequently see comments such as:

“How racist a magazine Raça Brasil! A magazine for blacks?!?!”

“How racist! A T-shirt that says 100% negro.”

“A TV channel for blacks (TV da Gente)!! That is segregation and exclusion!!”

Actor Milton Gonçalves, director of the 1970 novela Irmãos Coragem remembers how he was accused of being racist because he tried to include black actors on the show. He experienced these same sentiments in 2004 when he participated in Joel Zito Araújo’s 2004 film Filhas do Vento, which featured a 90% black cast.

Gonçalves became indignant when a journalist asked him where the white actors were. After all, according to the journalist, with some many blacks in the production, it “ran the risk of becoming a ghetto”. An irritated Gonçalves replied that during his 50 years in the business, he always looked for black actors in white films who didn’t portray thieves, slaves or service workers.

Sounds a lot like those who complain about Black History Month, the existence of the Congressional Black Caucus or why black students on predominately white campuses create culturally-specific groups.

In the end, when you’re black, the world is not as big as you think.

Popularity: 32% [?]

Sometimes, there is no conspiracy. Sometimes, just sometimes, things are actually as they appear. We are not in Iraq to “free the people”. If that were the case, we would have taken Saddam out of power, without destroying Iraq’s infrastructure, and left the people to work it out for themselves. We are not there for democracy. If we wanted to bring that to the Middle East, why didn’t we start with “allies” like Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Pakistan? Do you think it’s to fight the “war on terror”. If so, why go to war with a country with no substantial ties to terrorism, thereby making it so that bin Laden is still a free man?

We are in Iraq for one reason - oil.

Unlike the press in America, the press in Britain must not be owned by companies with business interests closely aligned to the government because there, unlike here, they actually report the news.

So, it would probably surprise you to read the following: in just a few days, the Iraqi Parliament will vote on a law that would give 75% of Iraq’s oil profits to western oil companies.

These rights would last for the next 30 years. So, if you think that we’re leaving Iraq anytime soon, think again. You think that we are going to be able to leave when companies like BP, Shell and Exxon have set up shop in Iraq? Do you think that the insurgency in Iraq will stop when they know that their country (or countries, if Iraq is broken up), will see their national oil supplies sold off to foreign interests?

Now, supporters for this policy say that the 75% is a short-term amount and that this will, eventually, taper of to 20% (which is still twice the average for these deals). But, how are they going to do any of these without a significant military presence?

So, ladies and gentleman, get ready for many more years in Iraq because, hey, somebody’s got to defend that oil!

Popularity: 22% [?]

What if I told you that in the time it takes you to read this post, three African children died?

It had nothing to do with AIDS, starvation or war. The cause was something much more preventable — Malaria.

Malaria kills more children each year than HIV-AIDS. Every year, some 750,000 African children die from the disease. That’s one child every 30 seconds. The saddest part about all of this is that most of these deaths are preventable.

In addition to vaccines, something as simple as a net over a child’s bed may keep him/her from being bitten by a mosquito carrying this disease.

The NBA Cares, in conjunction with the United Methodist Church and Sports Illustrated, has launched the “Nothing But Nets” campaign. A $10 donation will buy a net for a child. If you are reading this, I urge you to check out their site and, if you feel so inclined, make a donation. I will be putting in a $50 donation right after I post this blog entry. I know, individually, we can’t save the world but, together, we can save a lot of folks, if we try.

Popularity: 58% [?]

Over the years, one of the greatest problems on the African continent is the huge amount of debt burdening many countries there. This has adversely affected the ability of some countries to provide things like infrastructure, education and health care to their citizens because most monies go towards servicing debt.

A big push has happened recently to get the debt of African nations forgiven so that they may “get back on track”, so to speak.

Well, it appears that China’s influence and money may threaten these efforts. China has started to aggressively lend to many poor African countries. As a result, other rich nations are concerned. China is looking to lock up oil and mineral rights throughout the continent and does so without any real concern for the issues of human rights. For example, China has oil dealings with the Sudan, a country in which at least 200,000 people have been killed in a genocide.

Once again, Africans find themselves exploited for their resources. I fear that this does not bode well for their countries.

Popularity: 14% [?]

I’ll let you in on a secret. I have purchased one diamond in my entire life. It was a small stone inside a pendant I bought for my wife for having my son. However, I still bear some guilt for it because I am not sure if that diamond may have come at the cost of life or limb to some brother or sister on the African continent.

I have long been against purchasing diamonds. My wife and I got engaged in the mid-90’s and we were both clear that no diamond engagement rings (yes, she bought me one, too) would be purchased.

So, needless to say, with that one exception, I have erred on the side of believing that avoiding diamonds may help save lives.

Well, this weekend, a new movie is coming out, entitled “Blood Diamond”. The movie deals with the role of conflict diamonds in the civil war in Sierra Leone in the mid-90’s. Of course, the diamond industry is in an uproar over the film so, they try to put a softer face on the issue to stem the tide of criticism.

Enter Russell Simmons.

Simmons went on a 9-day trip to visit diamond mines in South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique. Simmons says that he is worried that too much negative attention is being placed on conflict diamonds, inferring that his sponsor for the trip, De Beers, has no dealings in these diamonds and that the diamond industry is doing good by countries like South Africa and Botswana.

The human rights group Global Witness says Simmons, out of ignorance, is being played by the diamond companies and these companies have something to hide in terms of violations of human rights.

Who knows, I could be wrong but, I would lean more towards the human rights folks. Because it’s Africa, a lot of foreign interests are able to exploit situations and people for material gain. I sincerely doubt that companies like De Beers are putting African life ahead of profits.

Popularity: 21% [?]