Wordless Wednesday: Obama Fried Chicken

As reported by Daily Mail

Sasha Obama Respects the Power of Diversity More Than Ohio Gov. John Kasich

It's good to be the king ... and it ain't bad being the First Daughter either! I see that 9-year old Sasha Obama was able to practice her fledgling Chinese with China president Hu Jintao during his visit to the White House earlier this week.

Chinese isn't a language that we had available on the school menu back in the day when I was in school ... and I don't think that my young 'uns here in the Ohio public school system have that as an option either...

...of course, our highest elected officer in Ohio doesn't go in much for diversity when it comes to languages or the people he works with. Newly-elected Governor John Kasich has managed to pick almost two-dozen people to his cabinet ... and he only wanted to work with other white folks. He hasn't selected any people of color to serve in his cabinet. You have to go back to the pre-Civil Rights days of the 1950s to find an Ohio governor who was that afraid of Black or Brown people.

Elections have consequences ... and Black people are about to learn what it means when people like Kasich and Speaker John Boehner get into office. These are folks who don't seem to want to be associated with African Americans in their workplace.

We need to keep a close eye on these folks over the next couple of years ... and I need to learn a few words of Chinese in case I ever run into young Sasha!

Ding Hui is the Jackie Robinson of Chinese Volleyball

A 19-year-old volleyball player from the eastern city of Hangzhou has become the first Black athlete to be called up to represent China, triggering fierce curiosity among his compatriots. Read more.

President Bush: Please LEAD On Darfur

We now have less than two months until the Beijing Olympic Games begin on August 8.

I urge all villagers to write a letter to President Bush asking him to lead on Darfur. The UN Security Council has just returned from its trip to Africa, where it visited the Darfur region.

During June, as President of the Security Council, the United States is in a unique position to exert its influence to ensure that the peacekeepers and civilian police authorized almost a year ago by the UN are deployed immediately.

Write to President Bush now and tell him how crucial his leadership is in urging China and other Security Council members to deploy the peacekeeping force to Darfur.

Darfur and Tibet ask 'Am I Not Human?'

Whether your are a blogger or a blog reader ... our hope is that you will join us on the 27th of each month to participate in our 'Am I Not Human' campaign. We often get caught up in our day-to-day lives or in the latest diversions in the presidential elections. Sometimes, we simply aren't aware of the atrocities being committed against human beings in places like Darfur, Tibet and elsewhere.

Sudan, the historic Nubia, is the largest country in Africa. Darfur is roughly the size of Texas. Sudan scarred having fought a civil war for 21 years that killed millions of people. Unfortunately, Sudan is an oil country with 70% of its oil derived revenue fed to the military while the Darfurian people starve. China is the largest stakeholder in Sudanese oil, purchases 70% of Sudan's exports and is Sudan's largest supplier of arms. China has major clout with Sudan. Yet, we have seen over 400,000 Darfurians senselessly murdered and 2.3 million have been displaced. The people of Darfur ask a simple question, 'Am I Not Human?'


Tibet was administered by Llamas (Tibetan Buddhist high monks) as a free and independent state from 1913 to 1950. In 1949, the People's Liberation Army of China invaded Tibet as a part of their cultural revolution. Millions of Tibetans have been murdered as a direct result of the Chinese invasion and occupation of Tibet. Tibetans are not free to openly practice their their religion. The Dalai Lama is considered by China to be a terrorist instigator. Tibetan buddhists consider him to be the reincarnation of Buddha. However, speaking of him or possessing his photograph is torturously punishable by Chinese law. China recently renewed its crackdown of Tibet as a result of recent protests. The people of Tibet ask a simple question, 'Am I Not Human?'

I hope you take action! Download our E-book to see a number of ways to take action. Stop supporting businesses who support rapists, torturers or murderers. Do your research. Visit links here, here or here to see what you can do to hold inhumane criminals accountable and stopped flat.

Are you up to supporting this human rights campaign on the 27th of each month? What say u?

China's Genocide Games

Villagers are encouraged to check out this article describing the connection between Darfur and China. Obama, Nadar and others have publically tied the Beijing Olympics to the situation in Darfur. Many of us watched the heated protests in Paris, San Francisco and elsewhere during the journey of the Olympic Flame.

It goes without saying that the Beijing Olympics are a powerful target to be pursued by any of us that care about the Darfur genocide. Eric Reeves lays it out for us in his article entitled, 'China's Genocide Games'.

Obama Ties Beijing Olympic Boycott to Crisis in Darfur

Much of the protests against the Olympic Games in Beijing focused around the way that China is handling the unrest in Tibet. I was pleased to see Barack Obama pivot the discussion to include the relationship that China has with Sudan.

Barack Obama called for President Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies for the Olympic Games in Beijing. Obama said a boycott "should be firmly on the table," but that a decision should be made closer to the Games.

Here is Obama's full statement:

"If the Chinese do not take steps to help stop the genocide in Darfur and to respect the dignity, security, and human rights of the Tibetan people, then the President should boycott the opening ceremonies. As I have communicated in public and to the President, it is past time for China to respect the human rights of the Tibetan people, to allow foreign journalists and diplomats access to the region, and to engage the Dalai Lama in meaningful talks about the future of Tibet. I am also deeply concerned about China's failure to support efforts to halt the genocide in Darfur. Regarding the Beijing Olympics this summer, a boycott of the opening ceremonies should be firmly on the table, but this decision should be made closer to the Games."

Please join the Electronic Village and others tomorrow as we participate in a Blogblast entitled, 'In Solidarity: Global Day for Darfur'.

In Solidarity: Global Day for Darfur

Have you been listening to the noise surrounding the Olympic torch over in Europe. Protests from people that are upset about China disregard for human rights took it out on the eternal Olympic flame. Many villagers recall that PurpleZoe led us on a Blogging Day of Action for Darfur last year. Well, villagers ... let's do it again!

This time our lead is coming from Danielle. My blog will join Danielle (ModernMusings.com) on April 13th for the In Solidarity: Global Day for Darfur campaign. I am hopeful that other bloggers who read this post will join in this effort. The Strategy is to Educate, Motivate and Activate toward ending the genocide in Darfur.

• Educate through analysis of reports and news materials, compilations of facts through viral multimedia like podcasts and videos posted on YouTube and linking to articles, blog posts, and viral media to expand public knowledge of the Darfuri genocide. Any and all aspects can be focused on; such as the root causes of the murder, who is behind it, and what the international community has done to promote the murder and to end it.


• Motivate through the capacity within humanity for empathy. Motivate through love. Pull at heart strings, communicate the sameness of Darfuri families and your own, and share the simple, common fact that we are all the same and the suffering of the Darfuri people is felt within our hearts. Motivate through the anger for the greed, the murder, and the lack of action.


• Activate through petitions, open letters, letters to all our elected officials as well as U.N., Sudanese and Chinese officials, and speaking out to the corporate sponsors of the Beijing Olympics as China plays a key role.

Please reach out to Danielle if you want to add your blog to this unified effort on April 13.

Bring The Olympic Dream to Darfur - Anheuser Busch

Villagers understand that it is important for us to stand up for one another all throughout the diaspora. This includes our brothers and sisters in Alkebulan. We are concerned about the ongoing genocide in Darfur. One of the levers of change is China. The Chinese government has immense influence with the Sudanese government. We want China to overtly use their influence to end the genocide.

How do we move China? The same way that we move anyone ... through their pocketbook. We need to deal directly with the sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. We need to encourage the sponsors to urge Chinese government to use their influence to end the genocide in Darfur. As such, I joined with a number of progressive bloggers to write the sponsors listed at the bottom of this post.

I received my second corporate response. The first came a few days ago from Staples. The second response came from Anheuser-Busch and read as follows:

Dear Wayne,

Thank you for contacting Anheuser-Busch. For nearly 25 years, Anheuser-Busch has been a proud sponsor of the Olympic Games. Over that time period, many organizations have used the high profile nature of this world-wide event to raise awareness for their causes. We respect the rights of these organizations to voice their concerns and appreciate your comments as well.

Our association with the Olympic Games is to support the athletes who bring the world together in the spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.

Sincerely,
Anheuser-Busch

Anheuser-Busch appreciates my concerns but doesn't even mention Darfur in the response. Ah well, the journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step as they say in Chinese folklore.

Wordless Wednesday: Darfur

Today we made a commitment to Blog Against Genocide in Darfur. We shared the details on this global tragedy earlier in the year. Today, I encourage all villagers to Join us in this Day of Action for Darfur.

Mail letter to our Frat Boy (props to Field Negro for this nickname) in the White House. You may need to send him the map so that he knows where to find Darfur. I don't think that Frat Boy knows much about world geography beyond Iraq or Iran.

You may need to remind him that Sudan is the largest country in Africa, located just south of Egypt on the eastern edge of the Sahara desert. The country's major economic resource is oil. But, as in other developing countries with oil, this resource is not being developed for the benefit of the Sudanese people, but instead, for an elite few in the government and society.

One aspect of the conflict that we need to understand is the impact China has on the situation. I suspect that the issue of China's support of the Sudanese government will become much more visible as we get closer to the 2008 Olympics being hosted by China.

Villagers, do you think that it is time to consider a boycott of the Olympic games if China doesn't act on their influence over Sudan to stop the genocide?

King is Ours; Not 'Made in China'!

Villagers, some things simply don't make any sense. Having a monument shipped to Washington DC from China with a sticker that says, "Made in China" makes no sense. Don't we have any talented African American artists that can have opportunity to shine with this unique project?

I have just signed an online petition: "King is Ours!" and I'm asking you to do the same.

The planned monument to our beloved Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has been awarded to an artist from a country with a reprehensible history of civil rights violations against its people. The granite to be used for King's sculpture will be harvested using slave labor--Chinese workers are not even provided masks to protect their lungs from the silica dust. They die in droves because the Chinese government considers them just as important as the students who protested in Tienamen Square. The world watched the tanks roll over them. No human rights, No civil rights, and yet the honor of sculpting Dr. Martin Luther King?
Villagers, some things simply don't make any sense.

We cannot sit back and watch an artist famous for his statues of the murderer Mao Tse Dung, and tool of a government that labeled King a "reactionary running dog," sculpt the King Monument. Would we allow an artist famous for his statues of Hitler to sculpt Ann Frank? Combine these facts with another: There is not ONE national monument to a leader of any country anywhere on this planet with the name of an African American artist on its base.

Villagers, some things don't make any sense. Perhaps it is time for us to demand the right to interpret and present our own historic proclamation in this first ever national monument to an African American man or woman. Please take a moment to read about this important issue, and join me in signing the petition. It takes just 30 seconds, but can truly make a difference.

Villagers, some things don't make any sense. What say u?

LeBron & Darfur Genocide

LeBron James is only 22-years old. That is a fact that we should keep in mind over the coming weeks as he is in the NBA spotlight. However, when you publically proclaim that you have a desire to become the "first" billionaire athlete, then you come under more scrutiny. Michael Jordan made a conscious effort to be apolitcal in his career. Money ruled with Michael Jordan. He once said, "Republicans buy gym shoes too" when asked why he wouldn't endorse a Democratic candidate.

LeBron James seems to be using the Jordan playbook. His actions appear to say, "Chinese people buy gym shoes too". Using that twisted logic it is unfortunate that there aren't many hardwood floors in Darfur. Maybe if Nike had more market share with the Darfur children and families that are being ripped apart we might have more heroic stance taken by LeBron.

The Christian Science Monitor recently reported that LeBron refused to be a witness against Darfur genocide. The Cleveland Cavaliers' Ira Newble recently wrote an open letter criticizing China's role in the Darfur genocide, urging fellow basketball players to pressure China to change its policy ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics. "China cannot be a legitimate host to the premier international event in the sporting world -- the Summer Olympic Games -- while it remains complicit in the terrible suffering and destruction that continues to this day," the letter stated.

Only two of Newble's teammates refused to sign onto his letter: Damon Jones and LeBron James. James, one of the NBA's most recognizable faces, is a perennial all-star and was named a tri-captain of the 2006 USA World Championship Team.

In a Christian Science Monitor op-ed yesterday, New York University history professor Jonathan Zimmerman explained, "James said he didn't have enough information about the issue to take a stand. Mr. Jones wouldn't comment." But he also noted, "Jones has an endorsement contract with an up-and-coming Chinese shoe and apparel company. James has a $90 million deal with Nike, which has huge business interests in China."

China is Sudan's largest trading partner. Brookings Institution scholar Roberta Cohen wrote, "Were China to use even a small part of its leverage to call Sudan to account, it would go a long way toward saving lives in Sudan."

In July 2005, the Center for American Progress Action Fund teamed up with the Genocide Intervention Fund to call citizens to "be a witness" of the genocide and ask major television networks to report on the massacre. James now appears in Nike advertisements calling others to be a witness ... of his basketball stardom. Perhaps King James should read Luke 12:48 (...to whom much is given, much is expected...).
What do you think villagers? Is it unfair to expect more of atheletes in the spotlight than we expect of ourselves? Do we want our athletic heroes to have a conscience ... or just entertain us with their skills and commercials?

Is Your Website Blocked in China?

During my travels in the blogosphere I came across a website (greatfirewallofchina.org/) that works to document censorship on the Internet.

The goal of this website is to be a watchdog and keep track of which and how many or how many times sites are censored. They seek our help to keep the censorship transparent. Each blocked website will automatically be added to the great firewall on their homepage.

It turns out that my blog cannot be seen by folks on the Internet in China. I guess that explains why my global map over on the left never has any visitors from that part of the world. Of course, it could also be that my blog is only published in English!

3/9/07 Update - According to the NeoWorkz widget at the top of the page, our Village has been viewed recently from folks in Beijing, Taiwan, Jinan and Shinzhen! I learned today that the 2011 Olympics will be hosted by Shinzhen. Amazing how the Internet can bring us all so much closer together.

Have any of you been to China? Care to share a comment on your experiences?