-Or-

Read this.

They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky is a true book about Sudan, and a powerful portrait of war, as seen through the eyes of three children: Alephonsion Deng, Benson Deng, and Benjamin Ajak, all of whom currently reside in San Diego, California.

These "Lost Boys" are appearing around the country (The U.S) all year working very hard to get the word out.

Check out http://www.theypouredfire.com/ for more information and appearance schedules.

Read all about it.

So if you're unsure of what life is life for a someone living through genocide read all about it. This book was actually insightful and very readable. Its not a blow by blow and its not graphic... of course you have to wonder about the portions of the story that was omitted.

Dave Eggers's What Is the What is the novelized autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, from his pre-war life in southern Sudan to his resettlement in the United States.

Are there Devils amoung us?

Far be it from me to take up a cause... so for right now I'll just classify this news article as a "Cause of Interest".

But in my constant attempt to read the real news I came across this brief artilce on the BBC news website.


Sudan head accused of war crimes

Sudan's president has been accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo told judges at The Hague that Omar al-Bashir bore criminal responsibility for alleged atrocities committed over the past five years.
The three-judge panel must now decide whether there are reasonable grounds for an arrest warrant to be issued.

Sudan's foreign ministry said it did not recognise the ICC or its decisions.
"This document is certainly politically motivated," one cabinet minister, al-Samani al-Wasila, told BBC Arabic TV.

Accusing Mr Moreno-Ocampo of taking sides, the official recalled that he had previously likened Sudan to a Nazi state.

ACCUSATIONS AGAINST BASHIR Genocide:
Killing members of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups
Causing these groups serious bodily or mental harm
Inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about these groups' physical destruction Crimes against humanity:
Murder
Extermination
Forcible transfer
Rape
Torture War crimes:
Attacks on civilians in Darfur
Pillaging towns and villages

"We shall adopt all measures necessary to ensure the security of our country and people, the head of the state and Sudan's sovereignty," he added.

Sudan has refused to hand over two suspects who Mr Moreno-Ocampo charged last year, Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmad Harun and militia leader Ali Kushayb.
It has also labelled Mr Moreno-Ocampo a criminal, and warned that any indictment could stall peace talks and cause mayhem in Sudan.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he expected Sudan to "ensure the safety and security of all United Nations personnel and property" there despite the allegations.

The White House urged all parties in Sudan to "remain calm", saying it would "monitor the situation" in The Hague.

US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe stressed that the US was not part of the ICC.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged Khartoum to co-operate with the ICC.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo on the accusations
There was no immediate formal reaction from Russia or from China, which is Sudan's biggest arms supplier.

Some 300,000 people have died as a result of the conflict in Darfur since 2003 while more than two million people have fled their homes, the UN estimates.

Sudan's government denies mobilising Arab Janjaweed militias to attack black African civilians in Darfur since rebels took up arms in 2003.

'Absolute control'
Mr Moreno-Ocampo's report found "reasonable grounds" for believing Mr Bashir bore criminal responsibility on 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
He had allegedly "masterminded and implemented a plan to destroy in substantial part the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa groups, on account of their ethnicity" after they rebelled.

"His motives were largely political," Mr Moreno-Ocampo said.
"His alibi was a 'counterinsurgency'. His intent was genocide."

Pro-government militias allegedly followed Mr Bashir's orders to attack and destroy villages from the three groups, pursuing survivors into the desert.
Those who reached camps for displaced people faced further violence, Mr Moreno-Ocampo alleged:

"In the camps Bashir's forces kill the men and rape the women. I don't have the luxury to look away. I have evidence."
Mr Moreno-Ocampo accused the Sudanese president of using his "absolute control" of the state apparatus to conceal the truth and protect his subordinates "in order to secure their willingness to commit genocide".

The UN has already raised the security alert level for its staff in Darfur. The joint United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (Unamid), which has 9,000 troops, has been struggling to contain the violence.

The ICC was set up in 2002 as the world's first permanent war crimes court.
Other international courts have previously indicted Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic and President Charles Taylor of Liberia.

Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/7504640.stmPublished: 2008/07/14 15:30:19 GMT© BBC MMVIII

Walking on water

If you've walked over the Brooklyn Bridge lately you probably walked on water. Hold on. You may not be able to turn water into wine just yet. Its not so much a miracle as it is art. Artist Olafur Eliasson has created four giant man made waterfalls in different locations in lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Governors Island.

Eliasson was commissioned by the Public Art Fund. The water falls will be on display until October 13th. The 90 to 120-foot tall falls will operate from 7am until 10pm 7days a week. The falls will be lite after dark. If you'd like to view all four falls at once you can take them all in at the Brooklyn Bridge Park, pier 1. Take the A or C train to Cadman Plaza West and walk 2 blocks to Furman Street then on block south to Doughty street. From this vantage point, you should be able to view all four water falls.

Go to NYCwaterfalls.com for more information


I love this town...

Home at Last

New York, New York ... a city so nice you have to say it twice. I don't know about other people's home town but I can't imagine they come close to this. Aside from the parking tickets and the crowds... the tiny apartments and the even smaller amounts of space to take a deep breath...

There is no place like home. I've missed it. Mind you I can never remember why I left when I'm back... but I'm sure one year of paying the ridiculously high rent will remind me. Writing this blog can take up a lot of time but I want to keep track of my loving feelings. This way when I get the bright idea to move to some godforsaken whole in the wall, like New Jersey maybe I'll have a good reference point.