You may have hear about Darfur but you may not really know what people are talking about when the talk about it and the genocide happening there. You may not know that Darfur is a region of Sudan, or that the genocide in Darfur is spilling into neighboring Chad or that one of the primary causes of the genocide is religious intolerance from two waring Muslim factions. Here is a little background form the site www.savedarfur.org:"Darfur has been embroiled in a deadly conflict for over three years. At least 400,000 people have been killed; more than 2 million innocent civilians have been forced to flee their homes and now live in displaced-persons camps in Sudan or in refugee camps in neighboring Chad; and more than 3.5 million men, women, and children are completely reliant on international aid for survival. Not since the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of displacement, starvation, rape, and mass slaughter.
Since early 2003, Sudanese armed forces and Sudanese government-backed militia known as “Janjaweed” have been fighting two rebel groups in Darfur, the Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). The stated political aim of the rebels has been to compel the government of Sudan to address underdevelopment and the political marginalization of the region. In response, the Sudanese government’s regular armed forces and the Janjaweed – largely composed of fighters of nomadic background – have targeted civilian populations and ethnic groups from which the rebels primarily draw their support – the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa"
Obviously this is a huge tragedy and we can not continue to sit aside while it occurs, that is why we are taking part in Global Days for Darfur, a huge movement across the globe to mobilize people in recourse in support of ending the genocide in Darfur... obviously this is a huge and complicated issue so we are going to bring in a guest blogger this week to enlighten us from a more educated standpoint, but we also encourage you to log on to sites like www.savedarfur.org and find out the truth about the horrors of Darfur.
Kill Your Television (Or at least turn it off)
On a completely unrelated topic (though one could say that the televisions medias refusal to cover the Darfur issue is one reason to take part in this...) This is also National TV Turn Off Week! YIPPIE! OK so many of us spend tons of time in front of the television getting stupider... don't believe me?Here are the facts... there are 2.55 people, on average, in a household. There are 2.73 televisions, on average, in a house hold... there are more TV's than people in America. Seriously 50% of American House Holds have three or more televisions. The Average American watches 4.35 hours of television per DAY!
It is pretty obvious that obesity is a problem in this country and the television is not helping! So make a pact with us and turn off the boob tube for seven days... come on you can do it... plus you have TiVO anyways so you wont even miss your favorite shows... In the last week it has become painfully obvious to Adam and Jeremy that television is a negative in our society (24-7 analysis of a mass murder is enough to make even the most calloused heart sink) We hope you will take this challenge and "Kill Your Television," or as the Red Hot Chili Peppers put it "Through Away Your Television." Not sure what to do with your free time? Check out this link... it has some pretty cool ideas... by the way the fact that you don't know what to do with your free time is a clear indication that you are watching way too much TV.
Historic Garden Week in Virginia
Because all this talk of Saving Darfur and Killing Your Television may be a little heavy, and because you may not know what to do with your extra 2 to 5 hours of time when you turn off your TV we would also like to point out that this is Historic Garden Week here in the Old Dominion. On Saturday Adam and his extended family went to check out the azalea gardens at Joseph Bryan Park in Richmond, and Adam highly recommend the experience. There are tons of great gardens to check out in the greater Richmond Area like Maymont and Lewis Ginter Botantical Garden... when the weather is as great as it was this weekend your really shouldn't waste it on TV even if their wasn't a campaign this week, but since there is take it as a sign and go discover the beauty of God's creation.
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