Join Long Islanders on May 12, 2007 from 1-4pm at Farmingdale Lanes bowling alley. Bring your friends and family to this fun-filled event aimed to raise awareness and charity to Darfurians in need. With your support you can help us reach our goal of $10,000. Attendance fee is $10 pp.(lunch is included.) Time is running out. Together we can help "Strike Out Genocide!"
Hosted by: Long Island Darfur Action Group.
LIE to exit 49S or Northern State to exit 40S. Travel south on Rt. 110 for 2 miles. Make a right onto Conklin St. Farmingdale Lanes is 1/2 a mile on the right at 999 Conklin St. (516/631)-249-4300
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Sunday, May 6, 2007
May 4th Meeting Summary
Great attendance at the meeting on May 4th and I felt that we really are beginning to take action!
- Announcement that a request to "officially" host this committee has been submitted for the 2007-2008 school year.
- Update on the 400,000 pennies project. Decision needs to be made about the charitable organization the money will go towards.
- Public Service Announcement writing. Each committee may want to write one for their activity. We could record them in the radio studio and/or have them scripted on index cards and read/played at WUSB, 90.1FM.
- Discussion about how to structure future meetings: announcements, committee updates, then committee break-out sessions....
- Committees then got to work. From my understanding the following occurred (feel free to add/correct any of this!):
400,000 Pennies - discussion as to where to put more water jugs, need for signage to promote the project, possible letters to teachers asking for them to announce in class.
New committee - Street Market Idea - Sell tables to vendors in the gym, possibly arts and crafts. More is being looked into.
Pizza Sale - Possibly scheduled for Monday, May 21st.
Comedy Hypnosis - Contacted High School East to arrange for a date to use the Little Theater. Should hear back soon.
- Announcement that a request to "officially" host this committee has been submitted for the 2007-2008 school year.
- Update on the 400,000 pennies project. Decision needs to be made about the charitable organization the money will go towards.
- Public Service Announcement writing. Each committee may want to write one for their activity. We could record them in the radio studio and/or have them scripted on index cards and read/played at WUSB, 90.1FM.
- Discussion about how to structure future meetings: announcements, committee updates, then committee break-out sessions....
- Committees then got to work. From my understanding the following occurred (feel free to add/correct any of this!):
400,000 Pennies - discussion as to where to put more water jugs, need for signage to promote the project, possible letters to teachers asking for them to announce in class.
New committee - Street Market Idea - Sell tables to vendors in the gym, possibly arts and crafts. More is being looked into.
Pizza Sale - Possibly scheduled for Monday, May 21st.
Comedy Hypnosis - Contacted High School East to arrange for a date to use the Little Theater. Should hear back soon.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
April 20th Meeting Update
Committees were decided upon to start putting together events:
- 400,000 Pennies Campaign
- Dine-In
- Cool beans
- Comedy Hypnosis
The bulletin board was started (and finished on Monday 8th period!). It looks great!!!
We will meet again on Friday, May 4th.
- 400,000 Pennies Campaign
- Dine-In
- Cool beans
- Comedy Hypnosis
The bulletin board was started (and finished on Monday 8th period!). It looks great!!!
We will meet again on Friday, May 4th.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Friday, April 13, 2007
Summary of April 13th Meeting
We held our second meeting on Friday, April 13th and discussed the following:
- Informed all members present about the existence of this blog
- Heard from Brittany regarding the past events and future plans of the now defunct Human Rights Club
- Mentioned the upcoming Darfur Awareness week and the possibility of wearing green all week and selling "Save Darfur" buttons for a $1. I will try to make the buttons but cannot guarantee that I'll have them done in time.
- Recapped fundraising ideas that were discussed at the last meeting
- Decided on focusing on the 400,000 pennies project and a possible Dine-In.
- Dan was charged with speaking with the librarian to see if we could use space for the penny collection and a display.
- Discussed making the bulletin board and will aim to do so next Friday.
- Hung up flyers throughout the building.
Next meeting is Friday, April 20th.
- Informed all members present about the existence of this blog
- Heard from Brittany regarding the past events and future plans of the now defunct Human Rights Club
- Mentioned the upcoming Darfur Awareness week and the possibility of wearing green all week and selling "Save Darfur" buttons for a $1. I will try to make the buttons but cannot guarantee that I'll have them done in time.
- Recapped fundraising ideas that were discussed at the last meeting
- Decided on focusing on the 400,000 pennies project and a possible Dine-In.
- Dan was charged with speaking with the librarian to see if we could use space for the penny collection and a display.
- Discussed making the bulletin board and will aim to do so next Friday.
- Hung up flyers throughout the building.
Next meeting is Friday, April 20th.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Google Earth maps out Darfur atrocities
Google Earth maps out Darfur atrocities - view article at http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/04/10/google.genocide/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
Story Highlights
• Google Earth highlights atrocities in Darfur region of Sudan
• Google official: Tool can be "catalyst for education and action"
• Google Earth has 200 million users
• Official: Technology will make it harder to ignore genocide
By Elise Labott
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- If you Google the word Darfur, you will find about 13 million references to the atrocities in the western Darfur region of Sudan -- what the United States has said is this century's first genocide.
As of today, when the 200 million users of Google Earth log onto the site, they will be able to view the horrific details of what's happening in Darfur for themselves.
In an effort to bring more attention to the ongoing crisis in Darfur, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has teamed up with Google's mapping service literally to map out the carnage in the Darfur region.
Experts estimate that 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million more have been displaced since the conflict flared in 2003, when rebels took up arms against the central Sudanese government.
The new initiative, called "Crisis in Darfur," enables Google Earth users to visualize the details in the region, including the destruction of villages and the location of displaced persons in refugee camps. (Interactive: See how the new technology works)
Elliot Schrage, Google's vice president of global communications and public affairs, joined museum director Sara J. Bloomfield to make the official announcement about the new feature.
"At Google, we believe technology can be a catalyst for education and action," Schrage said. " 'Crisis in Darfur' will enable Google Earth users to visualize and learn about the destruction in Darfur as never before and join the museum's efforts in responding to this continuing international catastrophe."
The Google Earth mapping service combines 3-D satellite imagery, aerial and ground-level maps and the power of Google, one of the Internet's most widely used search engines, to make the world's geographic information user friendly. Since its inception in June 2005, nearly 200 million people have downloaded the free program.
Using the high-resolution imagery of Google Earth, users will be able to zoom into the Darfur region for a better understanding of the scope of the destruction. (Interactive: See where Darfur is located)
More than 1,600 damaged and destroyed villages will be visible, as will the remnants of more than 100,000 homes, schools, mosques and other structures destroyed by the Janjaweed militia and Sudanese forces.
The Holocaust museum also has compiled a collection of photos, data and eyewitness testimony from its archives and number of sources, including the U.S. State Department, nongovernmental organizations, the United Nations and individual photographers. That material also will be available when Google Earth users visit the Darfur site.
The "Crisis in Darfur" initiative is the first of what is expected to be several collaborations between the museum and Google Earth to highlight the dangers of genocide around the world.
The museum also announced Tuesday the creation of a mapping project with Google Earth on the Holocaust, when Nazis killed 6 million Jews during World War II.
That project will use Google Earth to map key Holocaust sites, such as Auschwitz, Dachau, Bergen-Belsen, Treblinka, Warsaw and Lodz with historic content from its collections to illustrate the enormous scope and impact of the Holocaust. Each place links to a featured article with related historical photographs, testimony clips, maps, artifacts and film footage.
"Educating today's generation about the atrocities of the past and present can be enhanced by technologies such as Google Earth," Bloomfield said.
"When it comes to responding to genocide, the world's record is terrible. We hope this important initiative with Google will make it that much harder for the world to ignore those who need us the most."
Story Highlights
• Google Earth highlights atrocities in Darfur region of Sudan
• Google official: Tool can be "catalyst for education and action"
• Google Earth has 200 million users
• Official: Technology will make it harder to ignore genocide
By Elise Labott
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- If you Google the word Darfur, you will find about 13 million references to the atrocities in the western Darfur region of Sudan -- what the United States has said is this century's first genocide.
As of today, when the 200 million users of Google Earth log onto the site, they will be able to view the horrific details of what's happening in Darfur for themselves.
In an effort to bring more attention to the ongoing crisis in Darfur, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has teamed up with Google's mapping service literally to map out the carnage in the Darfur region.
Experts estimate that 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million more have been displaced since the conflict flared in 2003, when rebels took up arms against the central Sudanese government.
The new initiative, called "Crisis in Darfur," enables Google Earth users to visualize the details in the region, including the destruction of villages and the location of displaced persons in refugee camps. (Interactive: See how the new technology works)
Elliot Schrage, Google's vice president of global communications and public affairs, joined museum director Sara J. Bloomfield to make the official announcement about the new feature.
"At Google, we believe technology can be a catalyst for education and action," Schrage said. " 'Crisis in Darfur' will enable Google Earth users to visualize and learn about the destruction in Darfur as never before and join the museum's efforts in responding to this continuing international catastrophe."
The Google Earth mapping service combines 3-D satellite imagery, aerial and ground-level maps and the power of Google, one of the Internet's most widely used search engines, to make the world's geographic information user friendly. Since its inception in June 2005, nearly 200 million people have downloaded the free program.
Using the high-resolution imagery of Google Earth, users will be able to zoom into the Darfur region for a better understanding of the scope of the destruction. (Interactive: See where Darfur is located)
More than 1,600 damaged and destroyed villages will be visible, as will the remnants of more than 100,000 homes, schools, mosques and other structures destroyed by the Janjaweed militia and Sudanese forces.
The Holocaust museum also has compiled a collection of photos, data and eyewitness testimony from its archives and number of sources, including the U.S. State Department, nongovernmental organizations, the United Nations and individual photographers. That material also will be available when Google Earth users visit the Darfur site.
The "Crisis in Darfur" initiative is the first of what is expected to be several collaborations between the museum and Google Earth to highlight the dangers of genocide around the world.
The museum also announced Tuesday the creation of a mapping project with Google Earth on the Holocaust, when Nazis killed 6 million Jews during World War II.
That project will use Google Earth to map key Holocaust sites, such as Auschwitz, Dachau, Bergen-Belsen, Treblinka, Warsaw and Lodz with historic content from its collections to illustrate the enormous scope and impact of the Holocaust. Each place links to a featured article with related historical photographs, testimony clips, maps, artifacts and film footage.
"Educating today's generation about the atrocities of the past and present can be enhanced by technologies such as Google Earth," Bloomfield said.
"When it comes to responding to genocide, the world's record is terrible. We hope this important initiative with Google will make it that much harder for the world to ignore those who need us the most."
Sunday, April 8, 2007
What is the What
I just finished reading an excellent book called What is the What.
This book, written by Dave Eggers, is the novelized autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, from his pre-war life in Marial Bai, to his resettlement in the United States. Separated from his family, Valentino becomes a refugee in war-ravaged southern Sudan. His travels bring him in contact with enemy soldiers, with liberation rebels, with hyenas and lions, with disease and starvation, and with deadly murahaleen (militias on horseback)—the same sort who currently terrorize Darfur. More information can be found at http://www.valentinoachakdeng.com/
Preface by Valentino Achak Deng
This book is the soulful account of my life: from the time I was separated from my family in Marial Bai to the thirteen years I spent in Ethiopian and Kenyan refugee camps, to my encounters with vibrant Western cultures, in Atlanta and elsewhere.
As you read this book, you will learn about the two and a half million people who have perished in Sudan's civil war. I was just a boy when the war began. As a helpless human, I survived by trekking across many punishing landscapes while being bombed by Sudanese air forces, while dodging land mines, while being preyed upon by wild beasts and human killers. I fed on unknown fruits, vegetables, leaves, animal carcasses and sometimes went with nothing for days. At certain points, the difficulty was unbearable. I hated myself and attempted to take my own life. Many of my friends, and thousands of my fellow countrymen, did not make it through these struggles alive...
This book, written by Dave Eggers, is the novelized autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, from his pre-war life in Marial Bai, to his resettlement in the United States. Separated from his family, Valentino becomes a refugee in war-ravaged southern Sudan. His travels bring him in contact with enemy soldiers, with liberation rebels, with hyenas and lions, with disease and starvation, and with deadly murahaleen (militias on horseback)—the same sort who currently terrorize Darfur. More information can be found at http://www.valentinoachakdeng.com/
Preface by Valentino Achak Deng
This book is the soulful account of my life: from the time I was separated from my family in Marial Bai to the thirteen years I spent in Ethiopian and Kenyan refugee camps, to my encounters with vibrant Western cultures, in Atlanta and elsewhere.
As you read this book, you will learn about the two and a half million people who have perished in Sudan's civil war. I was just a boy when the war began. As a helpless human, I survived by trekking across many punishing landscapes while being bombed by Sudanese air forces, while dodging land mines, while being preyed upon by wild beasts and human killers. I fed on unknown fruits, vegetables, leaves, animal carcasses and sometimes went with nothing for days. At certain points, the difficulty was unbearable. I hated myself and attempted to take my own life. Many of my friends, and thousands of my fellow countrymen, did not make it through these struggles alive...
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