This is for those who care.  Many of you may not or just don't, which I have no bearing of blaming or accusing you, but one day this will affect you.  If you choose to read on, it will only dispel the ignorance that you may have.  There is a little of my political arrogance, be forewarned.

Another tally for our "blessed" administration.

One morning on my pursuit through the broken line of cars driving trying to make it to class on time, I opted to listen to AM radio rather than my typical "this is why I'm fly, popin' my colla, kick it like Tai Bo, am I wrong that I want to get it on 'til I die" music, and overheard an interview with a Sundance Film producer.  With the recent annual Sundance Film Festival that was underway, the radio station had apparently done numerous discussions with directors and producers on many of the films being shown.  The film discussion I had just so happened to listen to was with the directors of "The Devil came on Horseback".  A Grassroots Documentary about a former US Marine Captain by the name of Brian Steidle.  Captain Steidle was given the opportunity to film and access areas of Africa no journalist or outside government could penetrate in Darfur.  The film was a documentary on the genocide and the polities happening in Darfur.  Unfortunately I was not able to make it to the final screening, so I did some research and here you go…

Background of Past and Current Genocide (and my opinions of course)

In 1994, the genocide in Rwanda of over 500,000 Tutsi deaths, over 1 Million
victims and over 800,000 total victim deaths had occurred over a period of 100 days at the hands of the Hutu.  It was not until the Tutsis overthrew the Hutu government and seized power that the genocide ceased.  The UN, in its pathetic attempt to "help" had established the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), but FAILED to do anything before the Tutsi revolt against the Hutu!  Over 1 Million victims and over 800,000 deaths, yet the UNAMIR made no actual attempts to intervene.  Their wasted attempts of money and resources in establishing the UNAMIR failed to provide the Tutsis any means of halting their genocide.  UNAMIR's excuse, they wanted to maintain the "rules of engagement"; their excuse AFTER the castration, raping, and mutilation of unarmed Men, Women and Children.  Men were castrated while struggling for their lives, women were raped and their breasts were cut off and left to die, and children who were being brutally beat to death in front of their parents.

Well, this is what I think, Fuck rules of engagement and fuck the waste of establishing an "Assistance Mission" when no assistance is being provided.  Another example, post Vietnam War, that rules of engagement only work when they are followed by ALL SIDES OF FIGHTING FORCES!  This is why we got owned in Vietnam and this is why we're getting owned in Iraq…Ok, moving on.

"Rules of Engagement", work in a "civilized war" (as if that wasn't an oxymoron).  Not when guerrilla warfare or cultures between the forces are completely different from one another.  And as such, these "rules of engagements" can't be applied.  "Rules of engagement" don't work when innocent lives are taken out of pure hatred.

That was then, this is now…

"The Devil came on Horseback"

Sudan, Africa's largest nation, used to be home to Darfurians.  Darfur, located at the western part of Sudan, is also where the genocide of hundreds of thousands of Black Darfurians is occurring.  It was only 13 years ago that the Rwanda genocide occurred.  We failed to stop it in Rwanda, and we're failing to stop it now!

     How it started

In early 2003, A rebel group of black Darfurians attacked government facilities seeking to end the marginalization that was occurring in Sudan.  In response to the attack, President Omar al-Bashir and the Sudanese Military enacted a genocidal plan targeting all blacks in Sudan regardless of affiliation.

To enact the genocide, Omar al-Bashir paid armed militias called the Janjaweed to minister the genocide.  The systematic genocide began by the Sudanese military bombing the village followed by the Janjaweed who would ride into the village, rape the women and torture the men and children by dismemberment, brutal attacks and castration.  2 million refugees fled out of Sudan.  But because of the constant fleeing from the Janjaweed and the barren land, refugees are forced to rely on the humanitarian aid.  With 50% of Darfur's population on the run and reliant on aid, Omar al-Bashir enacted an even more nefarious plan.  Because there were so many refugees, rather than attacking villages in protected areas, Omar al-Bashir diverted the military to block food aid and healthcare from entering the refugee camps.  Rather than direct genocide of the black Darfurians, the genocide is now by attrition using disease and starvation as his means.

The black Darfurians are forced to remain in these camps and starve to death or die by disease.  If they leave, they risk the likelihood of death by torture and rape.  The black Darfurian genocide is by the hands of Omar al-Bashir.  In the interview that I had heard on the radio, the movie didn't just go into the genocide, but many other mitigating factors as to why the US of A had yet to step in.  Here's a little information, and you can decipher it yourself.  Many terrorist training camps are located in Sudan which possesses links to Al Qaeda.  The Sudanese government had apparently been feeding information to Al Qaeda.  Oh, and whatever you hear, never forget about the black gold.

This is what "The Devil came on Horseback" is about.


Timeline of the Conflict

August '06, the UN Security Counsel has "TRIED" to do something by putting 17,300-troops to support and supplement the ill-equipped 7,000-troop African Union Mission in Sudan's peacekeeping force.  However, in retaliation to the "support", Omar al-Bashir launched a major offensive in Sudan the next day. 

September 2006, Omar Al-Bashir states that they "did not want Sudan to turn into another Iraq", by having the UN peacekeeping's presence, so troops were withheld.

October 2006, finally, 200 UN troops were sent in to reinforce the African Union(AU) who has been fighting for peace in Darfur for as long as they an support their troops in 2006, but had to pull out troops in September of 2006.  It wasn't until June of 2006 that Congress appropriated funds of US$173 million dollars to aid the AU and it wasn't until October that our "blessed" president imposed further sanctions prohibiting any US companies from doing any OIL-REALATED business with Sudan (even though were weren't suppose to do business with Sudan since 1997).

January 2007, an apparent 60 cease-fire was enacted and an agreement to "improve humanitarian aid and media access to Darfur."  We'll see where this goes…

my two cents.

So here's something to ponder, why are we initiating a war when we could divert efforts to stopping the genocide of the Sudanese?  Why are we, the "oh great United States of America", not doing anything more to stop the genocide in Darfur?  Why must we pursue a war that has become so far from its initial intention and why must so many innocent die?  The innocent deaths of Americans (innocent because they were sent there to fight a cause they may not believe in), innocent deaths of Iraqis, and innocent deaths of Black Darfurians.  The deaths of the Iraqis and Americans (to a certain point) are something we can prevent because we are initiating the deaths, but the Black Darfurians are dying because we are not initiating anything.  And WHY THE FUCK DID IT TAKE US ALMOST 3 YEARS TO STEP IN!?  It only took us 6 months to get our asses into Iraq!  6 months to start a war that it seems we have no way of being able to end!  It we used 1/100 the military power we have in Iraq, we could stop the genocide in Darfur and keep innocent people from dying rather than maintaining "an American cause" by killing innocent people and getting killed.  WTF ppl…what the fuck.

I know Iraq has oil, and so does Sudan, so why don't we go and stop a genocide while at the same time "look" for weapons of mass destruction and secretly seek oil reserves we know they have?  Whether or not the information about the implications of our blessed government ignoring the genocide in Darfur in exchange for inside information about Al Qaeda is true, this got me thinking…

I know a lot of this shit is about oil and our revenge, but why do so many innocent have to die?  Are we such a vengeful, greedy country that we would rather kill another country because we want revenge and oil?  Do we have so much pride and vengefulness that we would let hundreds of thousands of innocent Darfurians die at the hand of a man who is harboring terrorists?  All the genocide in exchange for a little information from a country that is training people to hate Americans just so we can go into another country that already hates us, kill their people, let them kill our people and act all normal about it.  I don't get it and although I'm trying, I know I never will.  I don't have a solution and I don't know what to do.  But what I do know is that we have started and continued something much greater than what anybody could have imagined because we Americans are known to act on things before thinking about our consequences and we are very prideful.  Maybe I'm naïve, ignorant or just some kid who thinks he knows what he's talking about.  But right now, I'm ashamed and embarrassed of our country…

For more information or if you want to get involved in fight against the genocide in Darfur, here are some sites you should go to.

"The Devil Came on Horseback" – http://www.thedevilcameonhorseback.com/home.html 

UNICEF –
http://www.unicefusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=duLRI8O0H&b=50755

P.S. – I welcome any criticism, for my thoughts are quite bias and likely steaming in ignorance.

As promised to a crazy person i knew, i am posting up an apology to her for not "giving her the credit she deserves."  How this went was that you all know i'm an asshole and well...you either like me or you don't.  And because of my being an asshole, i tease and make fun of this person and one day we made a bet because she said something that i thought was completely crazy.  So after seeing her one evening, she said a series of insanely crazy things, and to end, she ended with the "idea" (i thought at the time) that it was legal for motorcycles to drive between cars anywhere as long as they stay within the speed limits in California.  It wasn’t only legal, but was suggested in the California’s Driving Manual.

So I asked a few reliable and intelligent friends in Cali, and they said it was legal.  So I am going with it and well… because it is true, and I AM WRONG, here is my apology.  But to be honest, I have yet to see the exact words stated in the driving manual.  There you go HUNNAH!  I am sorry and I am wrong.  But I’m still waiting for the proof that it is stated in the manual.