I hope this works out for Darfur...

Interesting, and appreciate Dag's comments.

Yeah. I'm under no illusion that peace and love will break out at the watering hole. Just hoping for the best.

Appreciate dag's comments too. They were sorta kinda what I was getting at, with my doubt, but much more lucid.

On water, I've seen a lot of articles about it being the new oil; well, those are my words, at least I think they are, but it is a very important factor for haves and have nots, not that that isn't obvious. Let's say, of increasingly more importance in the machinations of various factions.

Dag, your knowledge and insight make you an invaluable source for those of us trying to understand world politics.

One thing the Bush administration has accomplished for many of us is an increasingly skeptical and questioning regard of government proclamations.....even for those of us who have always been skeptical.

It's about time.

One of my most favorite current artists (and there aren't many 'current' ones) is Emmanuel Jal. He grew up as a child soldier in Sudan, later Kenya. His album Ceasefire is a great mix of hip-hop, blues, jazz, whatahaveyou... not your typical album for sure.

Here is an article about him from 2005. I thought this might be a good place to write about him, as he's heavily invested in peace efforts in Sudan:

Continued...

And here are two more links. The first is his basic personal web site:
http://www.emmanueljalonline.net/

And here is his music myspace page. You can hear four of his songs there:
http://www.myspace.com/emmanueljal

One of them is "Vagina" (featured also in the movie Blood Diamond:

"... To Mr. oil, diamond and gold miner,
stop treating Mama Africa like a vagina,
She's not your whore, not anymore,
You take the riches and leave the people poor |:,

Never ever forget the genocide in Rwanda,
child soldiers and broken hearts in Uganda
Massacre taking place in Sudan
Young girls and women getting raped even now
Young children working in the mine fields
politicians allowing bad [?...can't tell what...]
and then they steal and then they kill...
and the innocent suffer...

To Mr. oil, diamond and gold miner
Stop treating Mama Africa like a vagina
She's not your whore, not anymore
You take the riches and you leave the people poor.

I see the government but who's pulling the strings?
Who's pulling the civil wars and uprisings?
Who's benefiting from our sufferings?
Could it be Mr. oil, diamond and gold miner?
Or is it the pharmaceutical companies?
Beneficiaries of the treatable disease?

Faceless, shameless, they remain nameless
But one thing for sure, they won't remain blameless
One thing for sure, they won't remain blameless
One thing for sure, they won't remaing blameless...

And the last link: National geographic featuring Emmanuel Jal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64cyNKlB9oE&mode=related&search=

Sorry, crew. Maybe I'm a natural pessimist, but since I haven't seen significant progress in South Sudan in the past decade, I'm not a bit inclined to think all that water is going to do anything to stop the violence in Dafur. Seems like people get a taste for violence, and don't need a reason to continue. It's all they know. They may not be as thirsty, but i don't expect any other changes.

A friend of mine from Connecticut worked for the Peace Corps in Liberia during the 60's. She has maintained contact with many of the friends she made there and, as a psychologist, had an interest in how the constant war had affected the children.

One of her friends sent her drawings done by teen boys who had known nothing but war. Their drawings had a cartoon quality, but the content was always violent, including slicing open the stomachs of pregnant women and tearing out the fetuses, bloody pictures of body parts, guns, sadistic cruelty.

It seems beyond belief that someone like Emmanuel Jal can survive with the ability to see beyond the killing and to go on to try to make a difference. There are always a few who can work past their background and affect the future in a positive way. I think these few exceptional people have been largely responsible for keeping the human race going for millenia without killing each other off.

He is an inspiring young man. Amazing that he survived with his humanity intact beneath the violent childhood he endured.

More on the subject -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6908224.stm

No doubt the main reason for conflict was shoratage and lack of resources in this area, which lead to clashes among many tribes .
we hope this exploring will end this war. As I know the people of Sudan are very good and peaceful.