As you probably already know, on March 6th and 7th, Mr. Mayo’s class is sponsoring a 48 hour Blog for Darfur Marathon. We are trying to get as many people from around the world to leave comments at the Many voices for Darfur Blog. So far we have over 20 teachers and over 300 students who are going to be leaving comments at This Blog.

We are sponsoring this blogging marathon to raise awareness about the crisis in Darfur. If we can get enough comments I am sure we can get some attention and maybe even change some policy. WE NEED YOU to log in on March 6th and 7th and leave thoughtful, well written comments about ideas and plans to help end the genocide. Please tell everybody you know. We need as much support as we can get.

It is our responsibility to do something about this horrible genocide! The time for action HAS COME!

For more information visit the Many Voices for Darfur Blog and the Many Voices for Darfur Wiki.

Also visit The Truth About Darfur Blog, by some of Mr. Mayo’s students.

Recently President Bush explained his plan to equip soldiers in Africa to Be able to defend the people of Darfur. He has taken $12 million out of the $100 million Darfur Budget and given it to Rwandan soldiers in order to train, equip and supply them so they can help out in Darfur. But $12 million will only get so far and I believe we need a longer term plan to stop this genocide, instead of just forking over a few million dollars every few months. Perhaps employing negotiators or sponsoring peace talks would be more effective in the long run.

But even more upsetting then this is the fact that with less than a year left in his presidency, Bush has chosen now to act. He was there when it started five years ago and he was there when it became apparent it was not going a way. And yet here we are, five years later and still, hundreds of thousands of innocent lives are destroyed right before our eyes. The time for action is not now and it will not be tomorrow. The time of action was five years ago!

I appreciate that Mr. Bush has taken it upon himself to try and fix this crisis in Darfur, but he needs to take a more pro-active approach instead of just throwing cash into it. Because money burns. And we don’t need to fight fire with fire. We need to bring the water and right now the best water to douse this fire is negotiation and peaceful intervention.

I read this article about Steven Spielberg and his resignation from the 2008 Olympics. He claims it is because he does not agree with China’s unwillingness to allow aid in Darfur.

China responded defensively saying that they have don’t have and unacceptable human rights record.

Spielbergsaid China “should be doing more to end the continuing human suffering” in Darfur, where fighting between rebellious African tribes and government-backed Arab militias has led to the deaths of as many as 450,000 people and displaced 2.5 million others.

China buys two thirds of Sudan’s oil export so it makes sense that they would not want to upset the current system. They have also blocked most of the UN resolutions to send aid into Sudan. They have been under pressure to allow aid and to stop being so stubborn.

Frederick Douglass was one of the early leaders of the civil rights movement. He was an abolitionist and also believed in woman’s suffrage. Born a slave, he taught himself to read and write and he escaped at age 20. He published magazines and periodicals. He worked with many noted abolitionists and acted as an adviser to President Grant. He died in 1895 after attending a woman’s suffrage movement meeting.

On March 6th, 2008, Mr. Mayo’s class will be sponsoring a 24 hour International Blog for Darfur Day. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness about the situation in Darfur and to try and get world leaders and people in power around the globe to realize that the people of the world do care about Darfur and that we need to do something about it. The way to post is to go to the International Blog for Darfur Day website and leave a comment on the page. Our goal is at least 1,000 comments. For more information on how to post, what we’re doing and other general information you can visit the International Blog for Darfur Day wiki.

On March 6th don’t be left out.

Note: Please don’t leave comments yet. We would like to wait till March 6th so we can get a better idea of exactly how many comments we can get in 24 hours.

Also visit stopgenocide.edublogs.org