Find out more at the Enough Project
Happy New Year! I hope that 2011 finds you all ready to fight for progressive principles. I personally am not so much of a resolution-making kind of gal. But one of the things that occurred to me as I sent off our family holiday cards literally around the globe (my niece is in Shanghai, my cousin is in Africa, my husband's family in Europe, our friends in Australia) is that I want to focus more on our (the US) role as a global neighbor and participant. Certainly, there are elements of our foreign policy that are cringe-worthy, but there are areas in which to be proud too. Like, for example, George Clooney's action in the Sudan:
George Clooney, Google, the United Nations and the Harvard Human Initiative are among those who have teamed up to start Satellite Sentinel, a project to monitor the country of Sudan via satellite in the hope of preventing civil war.
The oil-rich Southern region of Sudan is slated to vote on a referendum for independence next month and many are concerned that the vote may spark civil unrest and war. The point of Satellite Sentinel, according to a press release from the site, is to "capture possible threats to civilians, observe the movement of displaced people, detect bombed and razed villages, or note other evidence of pending mass violence."
Starting on January 9th through the 15th, the Sudanese will participate in an election and the stakes couldn't be higher. As the video said, we reacted too slowly in Darfur, in Rwanda and millions and millions of people died. Please let us not have another genocide on our hands because we could have done more and waited too long.
Clooney will be on This Week to raise awareness of the events in the Sudan, along with Enough! founder John Prendergast. But if you're not interested in being a good world citizen, perhaps you're more inclined to listen to the massive amygdala stylings of Michele Bachmann and Darrell Issa on Face the Nation. Issa--who has promised a 112th Congress full of hearings on anything and everything he can stick on President Obama--is actually getting a three-fer, appearing also on State of the Union and Fox News Sunday. Oh joy. And if that's not enough getting your hate on, Allen "How is it I'm not in jail?" West will join Issa on Fox News Sunday. Maybe they all should be watching Fareed Zakaria, who will be asking the question "What makes a good leader?" on CNN.
ABC's "This Week" - Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers; actor George Clooney and John Prendergast, co-founder of the Enough Project, an initiative to end genocide.
CBS' "Face the Nation" - Reps. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.; Darrell Issa, R-Calif.; Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.; and Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y.; Rep.-elect Mike Kelly, R-Pa.
NBC's "Meet the Press" - Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen.-elect Pat Toomey, R-Pa.
NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Kelly O'Donnell, Andrew Sullivan, John Heilemann, Gloria Borger. Topics: What Must President Obama Do This Year to Get Competitive for 2012? Year's Resolutions for Palin and her GOP Rivals, for Hillary Clinton, and the Royals
CNN's "State of the Union" - Issa; Reps. Steve Israel, D-N.Y.; Elijah Cummings, D-Md.; Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa.; Tim Kaine, Democratic National Committee chairman.
CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - This special features interviews on what makes a great leader with 5 leaders from diverse arenas (global politics, national politics, military, business and academia). Sitting down with Fareed this week to share their vast experiences are: Tony Blair, Lou Gerstner, Christie Todd Whitman, Rick Levin and Admiral Mike Mullen
"Fox News Sunday" - Issa; Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich.; Sen.-elect Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep.-elect Allen West, R-Fla.
So what's catching your eye this morning?
