George C. Looney: Obama Has Kept Campaign Promises on Sudan

An actor reading the script. Good boy, George. Now jet off to your Italian villa and shut the fuck up.

Actor and activist George Clooney said Sunday that President Obama has kept his campaign promises to end genocide and get tough with the government in Sudan.

Clooney appeared on ABC's "This Week" to talk about continuing crisis in the African nation as the country faces a heated secession referendum a week from now.

When asked if Obama has kept his vows to tackle issues in the war-torn nation, Clooney said, "Yes, he has."

"It's a tough one to keep, you know?" he said. "There's -- it's a very complicated situation. It is going to get a lot more complicated. We met with the president. The president seems to be very much on top of the issue.

"And we want to make sure -- and our job is to keep the pressure on to make sure that -- that there's no slippage in that at all," Clooney added.

Clooney's partner in Sudan efforts, John Prendergast of the Enough Project in Washington, said it was "President Obama's moment."

"You know, the United States is the biggest actor in Sudan," Prendergast said. "We can have a major influence on whether or not a deal is struck between the North and the South to prevent a war, and we can have a major influence on whether human rights violations continue in Darfur. That's going to take presidential leadership."

So how does any of that drivel explain this?

About 600 people died in fighting in the Sudan region of Darfur in May, the highest monthly toll since peacekeepers were deployed in 2008, officials say.

The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force said most had died in fighting between Sudan's army and rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem).

The number of deaths has risen sharply since Jem walked out of peace talks last month.

So violence six months ago was higher than any time in two years, but Obama's in charge of things? Huh?

Meanwhile, the Washington Post is expecting violence to explode on Obama's watch.

"This is the first time I have seen the U.S. government devote so many high-level resources to preventing violence before it happens rather than responding to it after the fact," Samantha Power told me in an interview. Power - whose 2002 book, "A Problem From Hell," chronicled the world's failure to deal with 20th-century genocides and mass slaughters from Armenia and the Holocaust to Rwanda and Bosnia - is now an adviser to Obama.

But these efforts and resources may not be enough. Yes, the world is watching: In addition to Washington's diplomatic push, the African Union is trying to broker peace, European nations are sending economic assistance, and 10,000 U.N. peacekeepers are in southern Sudan monitoring the situation. But the sad reality is that even an actively engaged international community may be unable to head off mass violence in the months or years ahead.

A coup in Khartoum, a cattle raid in the south that escalates into tribal violence, a rogue militia commander deciding to start a new conflict in a fragile border region - there is virtually no limit to the plausible scenarios that could lead to renewed fighting in Sudan. Ethnic and economic tensions, the willingness of political leaders to manipulate them and the easy availability of weapons will continue to make the country vulnerable to violence, even genocide.

If the referendum is not held on time or is tampered with by the north, "there is a huge potential for war," former guerrilla soldier Acuil Malith Banggol told me during my recent trip to the south. "Both parties are arming themselves, and there will be more destruction. . . . There is no way southern Sudan is going to accept being humiliated and subject to slavery, racial discrimination and religious discrimination."

So despite all the efforts of Obama and a guy adept at reading cue cards, violence and genocide are soon expected.

Another Broken Campaign Promise: Obama to 'Cooperate' With Sudan

Seems this guy never met a terrorist state he didn't want to appease. No doubt all those Obamatons concerned about the plight of Darfur will be very disappointed.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday will debut the Obama administration's new "incentives and pressure" strategy for Sudan.

The new approach -- which will emphasize cooperation with the state's embattled government, not isolation -- would see the White House take an active role long-standing conflict it has for the most part adjudicated from the sidelines. It would also represent a clear break from the tougher strategy Obama consistently proposed on the campaign trail.

“To advance peace and security in Sudan, we must engage with allies and with those with whom we disagree,” said the policy statement, which The New York Times obtained and first reported.

How about engaging with your real enemies, Baracky? Like Fox News?

Consequently, the president's new strategy could prove exceptionally tough for both the United States and Sudan, given al-Bashir's growing unpopularity. Critics in both political camps are likely to accuse him of doing too little or embroiling the United States further in another international conflict.

So much for Obama's priorities.

In advertisements and letters to the White House, legislators, activist groups and Sudanese rebel leaders have accused Mr. Obama of abandoning his promises to make Sudan a priority from his first day in office and to stand tough against President Bashir, whom the International Criminal Court indicted this year for crimes against humanity.

Sudanese Women Flogged for Dressing 'Indecently'

What were they wearing that was so indecent?

Why, trousers, of course.

A group of Sudanese women has been flogged as a punishment for dressing "indecently", according to a local journalist who was arrested with them.

Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein, who says she is facing 40 lashes, said she and 12 other women wearing trousers were arrested in a restaurant in the capital, Khartoum.

She told the BBC several of the women had pleaded guilty to the charges and had 10 lashes immediately.

Khartoum, unlike South Sudan, is governed by Sharia law.

Several of those punished were from the mainly Christian and animist south, Ms Hussein said.

Non-Muslims are not supposed to be subject to Islamic law, even in Khartoum and other parts of the mainly Muslim north.

She said that a group of about 20 or 30 police officers entered the popular Khartoum restaurant and arrested all the women wearing trousers.

"I was wearing trousers and a blouse and the 10 girls who were lashed were wearing like me, there was no difference," she told the BBC's Arabic service.

Ms Hussein said some women pleaded guilty to "get it over with" but others, including herself, chose to speak to their lawyers and are awaiting their fates.

Such lovely people.

'Teddy Bear' Teacher Released

Pathetically, she claims to still have "great respect" for Islam. Perhaps she's just mouthing that until she gets out of that hellhole.

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- A British teacher jailed after she allowed her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad was released Monday hours after Sudan's president pardoned her, a British Embassy spokesman said.

The teacher, Gillian Gibbons, said she did not intend to offend anyone and had great respect for Islam.

"She is in British Embassy custody and is with the deputy British ambassador," embassy spokesman Omar Daair said. He would not give her exact location or say when she would leave Sudan.

Gibbons was sentenced on Thursday to 15 days in prison and deportation for insulting Islam because she allowed her students to name a class teddy bear Muhammad, seen as a reference to Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

The teacher's conviction under Sudan's Islamic Sharia law shocked Britons and many Muslims worldwide. It also inflamed passions among many Sudanese, some of whom called for her execution.

UPDATE: More from Hot Air and Michelle Malkin.

'Teddy Bear' Teacher Charged

Well, it appears this report Tuesday was premature and as it turns out the Islamic hellhole of Sudan will indeed be charging Gillian Gibbons with assorted offenses over "insulting" Mohammed.

I guess world condemnation over Darfur just isn't brining enough attention to the Sudan.

A British teacher has been charged in Sudan with insulting religion, inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs.

The Foreign Office has confirmed that charges have been laid against 54-year-old Gillian Gibbons, who is from Liverpool.

She was arrested in Khartoum after allowing her class of primary school pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Lawyers say she faces six months in jail, 40 lashes or a fine if convicted.

Sudanese state media said prosecutors had completed their investigation and decided to charge Mrs Gibbons under Article 125 of the Sudanese criminal code.

The BBC's Amber Henshaw, in Khartoum, said Mrs Gibbons was expected to appear in court on Thursday.

Allahpundit has more on the travesty.

UPDATE: Check out this account of a Brit who received lashes in Qatar.

'Teddy Bear' Teacher May Be Freed

Gillian Gibbons, who had the temerity to grievously offend the delicate sensibilities of Muslims by allowing schoolchildren to name teddy bears after Mohammed, may be freed after all.

Expect mass rioting if this sensible decision is made.

A British teacher arrested for allowing her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad will probably be cleared and released soon, a spokesman for the Sudanese embassy in London said Tuesday.

Gillian Gibbons was arrested Sunday and faced possible charges of insulting religion - a crime punishable by up to 40 lashes. She was questioned by Sudanese authorities on Tuesday.

``The police is bound to investigate,'' embassy spokesman Khalid al Mubarak told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. ``I am pretty certain that this minute incident will be clarified very quickly and this teacher who has been helping us with the teaching of children will be safe and will be cleared.''

Asked about the potential punishments - six months imprisonment or 40 lashes - he said: ``My impression is that the whole thing could probably be settled amicably long before we reach stages like these ... Our relationship with Britain is so good that we wouldn't like such a minute event to be overblown.''

Gibbons was arrested after one of her pupils' parents complained, accusing her of naming the bear after Islam's prophet and founder. Muhammad is a common name among Muslim men, but giving the prophet's name to an animal would be seen as insulting by many Muslims.

What's more insulting is these people are so sensitive that this would becme an issue in the first place.

The Dreaded Teddy Bear of Blasphemy

The nonstop outrage from the Religion of the Perpetually Offended continues.

Now it's just beyond stupid.

A British schoolteacher has been arrested in Sudan accused of insulting Islam's Prophet, after she allowed her pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Colleagues of Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, said she made an "innocent mistake" by letting the six and seven-year-olds choose the name.

Ms Gibbons was arrested after several parents made complaints.

A spokesman from the British Embassy in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, said it was unclear whether she had been charged.

Embassy officials are expected to visit Ms Gibbons in custody later.

"We are in contact with the authorities here and they have visited the teacher and she is in a good condition," an embassy spokesman said.

The spokesman said the naming of the teddy happened months ago and was chosen by the children because it is a common name in the country.

"This happened in September and the parents did not have a problem with it," he said.

'Very sensitive'

The BBC's correspondent Amber Henshaw said Ms Gibbons' punishment could be up to six months in jail, 40 lashes or a fine.

The school has been closed until January for fear of reprisals.

Fellow teachers at Khartoum's Unity High School told Reuters news agency they feared for Ms Gibbons' safety after receiving reports that men had started gathering outside the police station where she was being held.

The school's director, Robert Boulos, said: "This is a very sensitive issue. We are very worried about her safety.

These people are insane.

Michelle Malkin has more.

UPDATE: Also at LGF

Blaming the Jews for Darfur

You had to figure eventually some intellectual titan would blame the Jews for Darfur. I'm just surprised it took this long.

Sudan: Jews behind Darfur conflict

Sudan's defense minister, Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein, has accused "24 Jewish organizations" of "fueling the conflict in Darfur" last week in an interview with a Saudi newspaper.

Hussein was interviewed during an official state-visit to the Saudi kingdom last week.

A journalist from Saudi Arabia's Okaz newspaper asked Hussein: "Some people are talking about the penetration of Jewish organizations in Darfur and that there is no conflict there?"

"The Darfur issue is being fuelled by 24 Jewish organizations, who are making the largest amount of noise over the issue, and using the Holocaust in their campaigning," the Sudanese defense minister replied.

Hussein added that the Darfur conflict was driven by "friction between farmers and herders and shepherds. Among the biggest problems is that of water, which is used to exploit the differences and fuel the conflict."

"Are these Jewish groups supporting (the rebels) financially?," the interviewer from Okaz asked Hussein.

"Yes, they provide political and material support through their control over the media and across American and British circles," Hussein said, adding that Jewish groups were using "all means to fuel these conflicts."

He added that Western reports of 200,000 people dying in Sudan were false, and said: "We talk about 9,000 dead as a result of either government or rebel actions."

George Clooney was unavailable for comment.

British Company Tried Selling Uranium to Iran

As if the Brits didn't have enough problems on their hands, now it appears some are attempting to sell uranium to Iran.

A British company has been closed down after being caught in an apparent attempt to sell black-market weapons-grade uranium to Iran and Sudan, The Observer can reveal.

Anti-terrorist officers and MI6 are now investigating a wider British-based plot allegedly to supply Iran with material for use in a nuclear weapons programme. One person has already been charged with attempting to proliferate 'weapons of mass destruction'.

During the 20-month investigation, which also involved MI5 and Customs and Excise, a group of Britons was tracked as they obtained weapons-grade uranium from the black market in Russia. Investigators believe it was intended for export to Sudan and on to Iran.

A number of Britons, who are understood to have links with Islamic terrorists abroad, remain under surveillance. Investigators believe they have uncovered the first proof that al-Qaeda supporters have been actively engaged in developing an atomic capability. The British company, whose identity is known to The Observer but cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, has been wound up.

Read the rest.