Darfur 2008 Youth Conference in Vancouver

Have a look at this: http://ubc.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6747563946

And this! www.darfur2008.org.

The beauty of Google Reader

Someone just introduced me to Google Reader--it's amazing! It basically encourages me to read up on Darfur more frequently--it can really simplify the task. What Reader does is it lets you select various blogs and news sites that you will receive updates from on a regular basis--without clogging your email inbox. Just do a search for "reader" and you'll find it (and it's by no means the only service of its kind). It should give you some fairly simple set-up instructions.

Anyway, when you start looking for news and blog sites to add to your Reader, here are some suggestions you might find interesting:

http://coalitionfordarfur.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

http://platform.blogs.com/passionofthepresent/atom.xml

http://darfurdaily.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

http://www.sudanreeves.com/backend.php

***
http://enoughproject.wordpress.com/feed/

http://www.crisisgroup.org/rss/rss_reports.cfm

http://feeds.feedburner.com/MeskelSquare

http://www.ssrc.org/blog/feed/

Now, I don't immerse myself in all of these. In fact, they make it easier to SKIM which is nice.
The last four feeds (under ***) may include non-Darfur topics.

Also, some regular news sites:

Sudan Tribune
AlertNet
ReliefWeb
BBC
Google News, etc etc etc....

Go nuts!

Film at the Norm

The Devil Came on Horseback

7:00 pm, Thursday Nov. 29

The Norm theatre, UBC

$5 admission

THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK
exposes the tragedy taking place in Darfur as seen through the eyes of an American witness who has since returned to the US to take action to stop it.

**Winner**
Best International documentary, Jury Prize- Brit Docs
Best Documentaty, Nomination, 2007 IFP Gotham Awards
Best Female Filmmakers- San Digeo Film Festival
**Official Selection**
Sundance Film Festival, United Nations Association Film Festival

Bring your friends!!!!!

Substantial proceeds from this film will go to the non-profit organization GlobalGrassroots.org. STAND would like to acknowledge the generous support of the AMS Resource Groups Allocation Committee for this event.

BUY TICKETS EARLY and get a good seat!!!

To get tickets e-mail me at justi_lynn*at* hotmail.com or come to SUB room 215 from 12-1pm on Tuesday Nov. 27

watch the trailer online at www.thedevilcameonhorseback.com

"Genocide Oil? Darfur and Oil Exploitation in Sudan"

"Genocide Oil? Darfur and Oil Exploitation in Sudan"

a lecture by Philippe Le Billon

Thurs, Nov. 22 at 12pm

NORM THEATRE, S.U.B.

Free! Refreshments provided!

This lecture looks back at the impact of oil exploitationon war and genocide in the Sudan. It first looks atthe role played by oil in the initiation ofhostilities in Southern Sudan, and the resolution of that conflict in 2005. It then discusses the case ofDarfur, through oil revenue allocation issues, recentoil contracts and exploration, and broadergeopolitical dimensions.

Philippe Le Billon is an Assistant Professor of Geography at UBC and the Liu Institute for Global Issues. His research focuses on political economy of war and reconstruction; geographies of violence; governance of extractive sectors; and corruption. He especially focuses on these topics as they relate to African regions.

STAND has benefited from the support of both Safeway and Think! coffee who are supplying the refreshments for this event. Thanks both!

 For some reason Blogger hates me right now.  I'm trying to do some updating, but it is thwarting that ambition.  Stay tuned--I'll figure this out...

Update for Oct 17

NEXT MEETING: TUESDAY OCTOBER 23rd in the SUB 215.
12-1pm.

Upcoming Events:

AWARENESS WEEK, Oct. 22-26
We need a lot of "tablers" to mind the display over the week in the SUB Concourse. We are doing this together with Oxfam and Amnesty, so we'll only need one STAND rep there at a time. If you can help out, please email ubc@standcanada.org with
a) The times you would be available (between 8:30-4 Monday thru Friday)
b) roughly the max. number of hours you can set aside for this even (even 1 is a big help! I know life is busy).

Showing “The Devil Came on Horseback”
[People are now working on this. We will send the call out for promo help when it's needed.]

Fall Speaker Event
(UPDATE: Philippe Le Billon has offered to speak to us about oil--thoughts?)
Theme: the China-Russia-Sudan connection. Co-sponsor with commerce Student Society?? Econ SS? Development/Economics...
Speaker suggestions: ask your poli-sci/african studies/economics professors for connections
-contact operations@standcanada.org, and ask for a list of speakers for UBC, and what support they might be able to get us.
-we also need food for this event—could seek donations from local businesses
Possible Venue: Liu Norm, Scarfe, Freddy Wood, Ballroom, Partyroom;
Timing will depend on 2 factors: room availability and speaker availability—so we need to look into both of these starting now.

Darfur/Darfur art exhibit? (www.darfurdarfur.org)
We are looking into local museums and art galleries for a place that this photo display might be mounted.

Other jobs that need doing:
a. Webmaster: Make use our Facebook Group, Blog, AMSlink, etc. Find new ways of interacting with the web and promoting our cause. Also, this may require fielding emails and updating membership database.

b. Someone to look into AMS funding. This might be Tanzina, our treasurer, or could be somebody else. We just need a list of what sorts of grants are available from the AMS and the Resource Centre Groups, and how to apply for them.

c.Divestment people. Check http://www.standcanada.org/index.php/take_action/divestment_campaign for some helpful background on this. You do not need to be a commerce or econ student in order to work on this campaign, although we'll take those as well!! Main goal: to get our funds out of the worst-offending companies that are currently operating on Sudanese soil, and funding the military which has killed so indiscriminately in Darfur.

So far, Freedom of Information requests have been sent to each of the boards at www.pensionsbc.ca, and we will engage further with them in the near future.

***
To get involved with any of the above projects, just email ubc@standcanada.org and say so! Don't be shy. We are all just a bunch of students, but collectively, we are capable of great things.

www.standcanada.org
standubc.blogspot.com
www.crisisgroup.org

Darfur documentary airing on CBC this Thursday

There will be a CBC Documentary airing this week on Thursday
October 11, 2007 at 9pm on CBC-TV, repeating Saturday October 13 at
10pm ET on CBC Newsworld. It's called Darfur: On Our Watch.

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/darfur/

Here is an excerpt from the documentary:
http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/media/darfur_excerpt.wvx

-from Mark Moraes of STAND UVic