A Look at the Crisis in Darfur

This past week, my high school's STAND (Students take action now: Darfur) group held a meeting to the public in which U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Rich Williamson spoke. I went to the presentation because I am learning about genocide in my social studies class, and I wanted to see our government thinks they are actually doing. Other than just being a boring speaker, he presented the idea that the U.S. has been trying to do a lot in Darfur, but can't really get anything accomplished. He said that the "situation in Darfur is very complicated," which for some reason means that we can't do anything. I know that there is a civil war going on between the north and the south, and there are about 500 ethnic groups in the country, but if we call a situation a "genocide" as Bush did, it is the obligation of our country to do something to help stop it.

At the presentation, Williamson also referred to a Chinese diplomat that he recently conferred with an "SOB," which didn't look good seeing how he is supposed to be impartial in his international affairs. Williamson also said that both Obama and McCain have plans for Darfur which well be more than has been done in the past 8 years, so that something to be aware of once the election has taken place.

Other than the speech given by Williamson, we heard from a Darfurian man who is now a leader in the Lost Boys of Sudan organization in Illinois. What he talked about as well as some of the stories Mr. Williamson told really hit the heart, which is what the point of the entire meeting was: raising awareness about the genocide in Darfur. To see more of about what is going on in Darfur, watch the video below. Also, if you want to find out what you specifically can do to help, click here.


(Movie) Youtube.com

Blog Action Day

For this year's Blog Action Day, the issue that is at hand is poverty. Now in the past few months, the economic crisis in the United States has worsened considerably, and more and more people are becoming part of the poverty. The unemployment rate has risen to 6.1% at the end of September, which is the highest it has been in several years. But the poverty of the United States of America cannot even compare to what situations other people around the world are facing.

Africa, home to over 800 ethnic groups, has many of the poorest nations on the earth. Specifically I will further examine South Africa's economy and lifestyle as a model for much of the rest of the continent. In South Africa, the unemployment is still at about 25%, which may be a decrease from a decade ago, but is still extremely high. After all, that means that 1 out of every 4 people there are unemployed. If you were to travel to South Africa, you might not notice that the poverty is so great, because the upper and middle classes are actually fairly wealthy. It is the lower class that fights poverty the most, and if you travel to one of their slums, you will see what I mean.

The poverty in South Africa can be traced back to Apartheid in the country, where blacks did not get to see any of the financial income of the country. Back then, unemployment was a crime equivalent to treason for a black person. Even with the end of Apartheid, the situation did not get much better. There was no way that the government could just take the land from the wealthy whites and hand it off to the blacks. So still today, millions of people in South Africa live in slums like these. Their houses are nothing more than shacks with metal walls and roof, and a dirt floor. The sewage system is virtually nonexistent other than the streams running throughout. And there is trash everywhere.

The conditions that I just mentioned are what many South Africans have to live through everyday of their lives. And the next time you think that America is in poverty, remember the slums across all of Africa.

The Race Is On

We are only a few months away from the next Presidential Election, and the race is just starting to heat up. Last Tuesday night was the second of three debates between Barack Obama and John McCain. According to a poll by CNN, Obama came out of it as the victor. For anybody watching the debate at home, there was a clear distinction between the styles of both Senators. Barack Obama, who is a more charismatic public speaker, seemed to be more energized toward the entire audience, while McCain on the other hand, focused specifically on the person who asked the question in the town meeting style debate. McCain's main argument still deals with Obama's lack of experience as he demonstrated in this quote, "And in his short career, he does not understand our national security challenges.... We don't have time for on-the-job training, my friends." To watch the whole debate, click here.

With Obama's win at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, Obama is now ahead in CNN's National Poll of Polls with a lead of 48% to McCain's 44%. On CNN's Election Center, there is also an interactive link about the possible outcome given who wins which state based on the number Electoral College votes each state holds. To win the election, one must obtain 270 Electoral College votes. But as was the case in the 2000 election between Gore and Bush, the popular vote does not always get the most Electoral Votes. The third and final Presidential debate will be held on October 15, at 9:00 p.m. ET, at Hofstra University, NY.

Heartbreak in Wrigleyville

Throughout this past season for the Chicago Cubs, fans were very hopeful of the possibilities come October. The Cubs managed to win the National League Central Division with a record of 89 wins to 74 losses. In the month prior to the playoffs, Carlos Zambrano threw a no-hitter, and yet even this momentous game was not enough to drive the beloved Chicago team to its 1st World Series championship in 100 years.
When the playoffs began last week, the Cubs started off slow, losing their first two home games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. After the losses, it was a win or go home situation for the Cubbies, and only one team in the history of the game had pulled off an upset of coming back from a 2 game deficit, the Boston Red Sox of 2005. With this thought looming over the players' heads, they headed to Los Angeles to meet their fate. In a decent outing from star pitcher Rich Harden, the Cubs still could not manage to win, and lost their dreams of a championship with a 3-1 loss.
Perhaps the bad luck of the Cubs is from the curse of the Billy Goat, maybe it's just their destiny to not win. No one really knows why the Cubs have struggled so much for the past century, and no one really cares why. All the fans want is for the Cubs to win the World Series, and all I can say for now as big fan of the Cubs, is that we are very disappointed.