Save Darfur

Brittany and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad cup of brown mystery goo

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure, its warm and kind of frothy"

“It sort of looks like chocolate, but with coffee grounds in it”

"Smell it”

This is when I walked in. Brent and Natalie were standing in the back galley holding a plastic cup filled with the unidentified frothy liquid.

“Where’d you get that from?” I asked

“The guy in 21A handed it to me”

“Someone should smell it”

Brent grabbed the cup and held it up to his nose

“Oh no…”

He ran to the lavatory, dumped the contents into the toilet and shut the door. I caught a whiff of it as he ran by.

“Oh no” I repeated and proceeded to gag

I understand that people get sick unexpectedly and I'm glad that the man in 21A had the foresight to use a plastic cup and not the seatpocket, trust me, I appreciate that.

That being said, if you are handing someone a cup of vomit, it is common courtesy to inform them as to what the cup contains. A simple "Hey, thats my vomit in there" will do. In doing so you will enable us to be prepared and dispose of the cup properly (preferably while donning a biohazard suit and goggles). God forbid we hit turbulence while carrying the contents of your stomach in a plastic cup. The horror.

Also if you are throwing up foamy coffee grounds, you might want to seek the advice of a doctor in the near future.

Free Tibet Campaign

As posted on the Students for a Free Tibet website;

SHOW CHINA THE WORLD IS WATCHING! Despite the outcry from the global community, the Chinese government has continued to defend its brutal attack on Tibetans at Nangpa Pass. If Chinese soldiers can get away with shooting innocent children, some of whom are as young as seven years old, where would they stop? Would they shoot anyone who choses freedom over oppression? Join SFT's photo campaign and people from all around the world who are asking the Chinese government one simple question, CHINA: WOULD YOU SHOOT ME TOO? In doing so, you are helping to expose the true nature of China's brutal rule in Tibet and showing the Chinese leadership that the world is watching, especially in the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Please take photos of yourself, your family members, and friends holding signs with the slogan, CHINA: WOULD YOU SHOOT ME TOO?

Send photos to: photos@studentsforafreetibet.org. Downloadable images will be available shortly on the SFT website.

These are the pictures Nadia and I took. (Thanks for your help Guam!) Everyone is welcome to join the campaign. China can ignore one voice, but they can't ignore us all.

Tibet will be free.

An update

I know what you are all thinking...

After reading that last gripping post, I left you on the edge of your seats, biting your nails, wondering, "Hey, whats happening in Darfur now? How could she leave us hanging like this?"

Well, cast your worries aside my friends, because I have the information you crave!

Here is the latest update regarding the deployment of UN troops into the region.

Enjoy!

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D4B9AD10-FC1B-47BD-BAC1-4109B22D3860.htm

By the way, I'm back to work as of Friday morning. Back to the hectic schedule of work, school, work, cry, work, school, cry. It was nice knowing all of you, I'll probably re-emerge sometime after Christmas. I have a feeling that I will burn out fairly quickly, so when I do see you again, please refrain from staring at my missing chunks of hair and try to ignore my hysterical crying.

The Tragedy of Darfur

Darfur, the word conjures images of burning villages, emaciated children and brutal violence. The number of people that have been killed and displaced in the region is impossibly high.

What is happening in Darfur is genocide.

The government sponsored Arab Janjaweed is methodically exterminating the black Africans in the region. The Janjaweed militias enter villages on the backs of camels carrying with them Kalashnikovs, AK-47s and machetes. They brutalize the Darfurians and burn their homes to the ground.

Many die and the rest are forced to flee. Most go to refugee camps across the Chad border. Life in the refugee camps is unimaginably hard. It is difficult for many aid agencies to gain access to the camps, which sometimes leaves hundreds of thousands of people without the much needed food aid.

The Sudanese government denies its role in the violence and has routinely rejected the deployment of United Nations troops into the region. Journalists are denied entry, further isolating the country.

What is happening in Darfur is unacceptable. UN peacekeepers need to be deployed to the region, economic sanctions need to be imposed and the world needs to pay attention to what is happening to these vulnerable, neglected people.

A Few Acorns Short of a Whole Tree

Katie and I noticed a car pulled over on the side of the road when we were driving on Deerfoot this weekend.

A man got out of the car carrying a small wire cage. He put it on the ground and let out a little black squirrel. The poor squirrel must have been disoriented from his first car ride because instead of taking off towards the tree line, he darted towards the highway.

Now not to worry my animal loving friends, although I didn’t see it happen, I’m confident that the little squirrel waited patiently on the side of the road for a break in traffic, looked both ways and hopped over to the other side.

However, the question remains, why this man would decided to set a squirrel free on the side of one of the busiest highways in the city?

There are so many other places that would have been more practical for a freeloading squirrel.

Perhaps the man could have left him at a park, where he could have taken up residence in a hollowed out tree. He could have taken him to Banff, where the squirrel could have scammed tourists in a Get-Rich-Quick scheme and happily retired in the Bahamas. Or as a last resort he could have at least left him at the Brick on 16th Ave. Anything would have been better than the highway.

Unfortunately this man decided that his little friend would stand the best chance if he started out his new life dodging semi-trucks.

I hope that if the squirrel ever runs into that man again he thumps him with a few acorns and says, “Thanks for trying, but next time…don’t help!”

On Notice/Dead to Me

On Notice/Dead to Me:

(as ripped off from my good friend Stephen Colbert, of the Colbert Report)

Katie - The human incubator for a number of diseases, one of which you so generously spread to me. If you had allowed me to put you in quarantine like I wanted to do originally I never would have gotten sick. You are harboring terrorists (of the microscopic kind) and I do not negotiate with terrorists or those who harbor them. When you get home tonight you will find all of your stuff wrapped in plastic in the alley.

Christie - Because I never get to see you anymore. I'm sorry, but we just can't both go to school and work at the same time. To solve this I took the liberty of withdrawing you from your courses and sent a letter of resignation to your work. So it is safe to assume you are now free this weekend then?

My Middle Eastern Politics Prof - Stop making us feel guilty for being privileged, spoiled, white kids who know nothing of the outside world. No, we didn't all read the 100+ page report published by Johns Hopkins University regarding the number of Iraqi civilian deaths. This is not because we hate Arabs as you so subtly implied, it is because we don't have time. Also, no more making us buy textbooks that you wrote. I don't want to give you any more money until your teaching begins to reflect it.

The Angry Palestinian Guy in My Middle Eastern Politics Class - Stop being so angry. You are not going to fight any stereotypes by being another angry Palestinian guy. Try something more constructive, like interpretive dance.

Winter - Stop being so cold you jerk. My car still doesn't have heat and I'm freezing.

Rappers - Stop buying diamonds. You complain about how oppressed black people are and how much suffering they endure. Well, if you really believe this than stop buying diamonds that are mined by malnourished children from the poorest African countries. The diamonds that are then sold for a profit, which goes entirely to the local warlord, who uses the money to finance his militia and participate in the small arms trade, who then uses the weapons bought through the arms trade to further oppress the malnourished children. I don't know if you see the hypocrisy in that, but I do. And you're On Notice.

A day in the life...

Rick Mercer's Day in the life of a Westjetter

http://www.cbc.ca/mercerreport/backissues.php?season=4

Week of October 24th, 2006

I wish he was on my flight, I would have made him hand out the pretzels. That would have sucked the life out of him fairly quickly.

Boo...

Boo...and not in the traditional "scared you!" kind of way. Boo to the myriad of awful costumes I saw at school this year.

I've compiled a list of suggestions for Halloween costumes that I think might help...

1. Unless Hugh Hefner signs your paycheck, please refrain dressing as a playboy bunny. I have a feeling the you will not be gracing the cover of his magazine anytime soon.

2. I think we can all agree that we've pushed the pirate trend as far as it should go. There are plenty other violent characters from the past aside from pirates. May I suggest a Viking...or a mongol.

3. I have seen far, far too many slutty cops, nurses and firefighters. For a costume that is a little more creative, why don't you dress up as a slutty mailman, or pet groomer, or janitor? I think you can see where I am going with this.

4. While on the topic of sluttyness in general, Halloween is not supposed to be an excuse for you to be scantily clad all day. If you are dressed as Adam or Eve, then by all means, the nudity is a necessity. This does not apply however, to cats. There is no need for you to expose yourself when dressed as a cat. Let the frostbite be your punishment.

5. To the guy at school who was dressed as Puss in Boots; you are my hero.