Ok, so I know I haven't blogged in ages, but it's just because I really don't have much to say. I'm busy but my life is boring right now. I get up, go to work, come home and make dinner, spend some time with Cassidy then put her to bed, do homework, go to bed and do it all over again. Literally, this has been my life for the past month. But....my class is over this weekend. We have our final group case presentation on Saturday and I write my final on Sunday. Yay. Now I remember why university wasn't for me. Ummm, it's because I don't like school all that much. I am one of those people who learns from atual on the job experience. Oh yeah, here's some exciting news... I finally got my promotion. After 5 months of waiting and hearing every excuse in the book, I am now "the boss" to 4 other people. It's weird approving vacation days. So yeah, other than work and school not much else is going on.
I've been reading Leah's blog and all her friends' blogs and I hear that the Junos are coming to Saskatoon. That's pretty exciting. I'm sure a good time will be had by all and this year, I will make every effort to watch it just so I can stay in the loop. Speaking of music, I watched American Idol last night while I was finishing my case study and it is really bad this season. Sorry to anyone who likes it this time around, but I thought it was really bad. Now, I have no musical talent whatsover and I am the first to admit that so I really have no choice but to judge music by what I like. And I only liked 2 performances last night. And turns out that the one guy I liked (I think his name is Phil) is currently in the bottom 3 on the results show. And that strange pony-hawk hair guy is safe. How does that work? I don't think I'll be tuning in again. While I'm on the subject of TV... Grey's Anatomy is back to it's witty, intelligent, angst-ridden self. Very pleased to see that. That's my plug for the best show on TV. I bought my mom seasons one and two for Christmas last year so she now hosts weekly "Grey's" nights for a few of her girlfriends. It's so cool that my mom has girlfriends. She is so much happier. And it just goes to show that you can be married, have wonderful children (at least one anyway - that would be me) and still need your girlfriends to be a complete person!
i love the new Coldplay song. I don't know what it's called, but I love it.
Cassidy is going to her dad's in Saskatoon for Easter weekend, so I have a weekend to myself. I'll miss her but I'm psyched. No obligations, no responsibilities, no SCHOOL for 3 whole days. The countdown is on. I found a really beautiful church to check out on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. It's my favorite service of the year, and I'm gonna go to this really beautiful old Catholic church. It'll be nice. There's something mesmerizing about old churches, I think. You can almost feel the history in them. So much joy, so much pain, so much faith.
Gwen Stefani rocks. She's so gorgeous.
I booked my trip to Jamiaca this week. (insert huge smiley face here). Anyone got 2K I can borrow?
Well, I think it's my bedtime. Lately if I go to bed any later than 10 pm, I seriously lay in bed at 6 am and try to think of a perfectly reasonable excuse not to go to work. Which would not be good with the new position and all that. It's now 10:24 pm. Good night all.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Let the Madness Begin...
It's that time again. That's right folks, it's time for March Madness. I do love this time of year. I always have and probably always will. You know spring is starting when your TV is monopolized by 65 college basketball teams each shooting for the stars to reach that enviable goal... NCAA Div. 1 National Champion. I love March Madness. I think it started when I was just a little girl. My dad always watches the tournament and when I was around 5 or 6, I asked "Daddy, why do always cheer for the teams that lose?" To this day, BYU hasn't won more than a game in the biggest tournament of the year. For those of you who care, my final four this year consist of Texas, Memphis, Illinios and Florida (who I think will win again). I am still rooting for Gonzaga though. How can you not cheer for a team called Gonzaga? Tough call though, they're up against Indiana in round one. Those Hoosiers are pretty feisty. The bad part of the tournament this year....I'll be in class for most of it. Boo.
It's a new Grey's Anatomy on Thursday! Yay. Apparently, Cristina's old professor comes into town and they once had a "relationship". Should be entertaining. Grey's has a habit of really lightening the mood after a few "darker" episodes. And almost killing Meredith and then killing her mom off definately qualifies as dark. So I'm looking for lots of sarcastic humor this week.
It snowed last night. We had no snow. Not even one unmelted snowflake in my yard when I got home last night. Then I wake up (late) this morning, get ready to go in a mad panic, tell Cassidy, yes, she can wear a skirt as long as she wears tights, put my strappy sandals on and walk out the door. Lesson #1: Even if you're in a hurry to get ready, do take the 10 seconds and look out the window before getting dressed. Cassidy and I both had to change and then I spent 10 minutes brushing the foot of snow off my car. It snowed so much that it actually took 10 minutes to brush all the snow off my car. Cassidy cried when she saw all the snow. She is "so tired of all the icky snow and all she wants to do is wear a pretty dress to school." And I just washed my car on the weekend. It is now a slushy, dirty mess outside again. Sometimes Calgary weather is frustrating. But hey, if you don't like it, wait 5 minutes and it'll change.
Anyone watch The Amazing Race? I was quite disappointed Rob and Amber got eliminated. I love those two. They crack me up. Yeah, he's a tiny bit manipulative, but it's not like he's that smart. The people he manipulates are just that stupid. Oh well, my life will go on.
Ummmmmmmm... what else is going on? Not much, I guess. Cassidy got her report card this week and she has improved substantially. I'm quite proud of her. I went shopping the other day and bought her Peter Pan. Not as a bribe to do well in school, but because I love Tinker Bell. Quite the attitude on that cute little pixie.
K, time for me to go and wade through all the mucky slop so I can get my nice cream pants dry cleaned again. Ick.
It's a new Grey's Anatomy on Thursday! Yay. Apparently, Cristina's old professor comes into town and they once had a "relationship". Should be entertaining. Grey's has a habit of really lightening the mood after a few "darker" episodes. And almost killing Meredith and then killing her mom off definately qualifies as dark. So I'm looking for lots of sarcastic humor this week.
It snowed last night. We had no snow. Not even one unmelted snowflake in my yard when I got home last night. Then I wake up (late) this morning, get ready to go in a mad panic, tell Cassidy, yes, she can wear a skirt as long as she wears tights, put my strappy sandals on and walk out the door. Lesson #1: Even if you're in a hurry to get ready, do take the 10 seconds and look out the window before getting dressed. Cassidy and I both had to change and then I spent 10 minutes brushing the foot of snow off my car. It snowed so much that it actually took 10 minutes to brush all the snow off my car. Cassidy cried when she saw all the snow. She is "so tired of all the icky snow and all she wants to do is wear a pretty dress to school." And I just washed my car on the weekend. It is now a slushy, dirty mess outside again. Sometimes Calgary weather is frustrating. But hey, if you don't like it, wait 5 minutes and it'll change.
Anyone watch The Amazing Race? I was quite disappointed Rob and Amber got eliminated. I love those two. They crack me up. Yeah, he's a tiny bit manipulative, but it's not like he's that smart. The people he manipulates are just that stupid. Oh well, my life will go on.
Ummmmmmmm... what else is going on? Not much, I guess. Cassidy got her report card this week and she has improved substantially. I'm quite proud of her. I went shopping the other day and bought her Peter Pan. Not as a bribe to do well in school, but because I love Tinker Bell. Quite the attitude on that cute little pixie.
K, time for me to go and wade through all the mucky slop so I can get my nice cream pants dry cleaned again. Ick.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Justice for Darfur
This article appeared in The Washington Post just over a week ago. It's worth a read.
BAHAI, Chad -- Here, at this refugee camp on the border of Sudan, nothing separates us from Darfur but a small stretch of desert and a line on a map. All the same, it's a line I can't cross. As a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, I have traveled into Darfur before, and I had hoped to return. But the UNHCR has told me that this camp, Oure Cassoni, is as close as I can get.
Sticking to this side of the Sudanese border is supposed to keep me safe. By every measure -- killings, rapes, the burning and looting of villages -- the violence in Darfur has increased since my last visit, in 2004. The death toll has passed 200,000; in four years of fighting, Janjaweed militia members have driven 2.5 million people from their homes, including the 26,000 refugees crowded into Oure Cassoni.
Attacks on aid workers are rising, another reason I was told to stay out of Darfur. By drawing attention to their heroic work -- their efforts to keep refugees alive, to keep camps like this one from being consumed by chaos and fear -- I would put them at greater risk.
I've seen how aid workers and nongovernmental organizations make a difference to people struggling for survival. I can see on workers' faces the toll their efforts have taken. Sitting among them, I'm amazed by their bravery and resilience. But humanitarian relief alone will never be enough.
Until the killers and their sponsors are prosecuted and punished, violence will continue on a massive scale. Ending it may well require military action. But accountability can also come from international tribunals, measuring the perpetrators against international standards of justice.
Accountability is a powerful force. It has the potential to change behavior -- to check aggression by those who are used to acting with impunity. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has said that genocide is not a crime of passion; it is a calculated offense. He's right. When crimes against humanity are punished consistently and severely, the killers' calculus will change.
On Monday I asked a group of refugees about their needs. Better tents, said one; better access to medical facilities, said another. Then a teenage boy raised his hand and said, with powerful simplicity, "Nous voulons une épreuve." We want a trial. He is why I am encouraged by the ICC's announcement yesterday that it will prosecute a former Sudanese minister of state and a Janjaweed leader on charges of crimes against humanity.
Some critics of the ICC have said indictments could make the situation worse. The threat of prosecution gives the accused a reason to keep fighting, they argue. Sudanese officials have echoed this argument, saying that the ICC's involvement, and the implication of their own eventual prosecution, is why they have refused to allow U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur.
It is not clear, though, why we should take Khartoum at its word. And the notion that the threat of ICC indictments has somehow exacerbated the problem doesn't make sense, given the history of the conflict. Khartoum's claims aside, would we in America ever accept the logic that we shouldn't prosecute murderers because the threat of prosecution might provoke them to continue killing?
When I was in Chad in June 2004, refugees told me about systematic attacks on their villages. It was estimated then that more than 1,000 people were dying each week.
In October 2004 I visited West Darfur, where I heard horrific stories, including accounts of gang-rapes of mothers and their children. By that time, the UNHCR estimated, 1.6 million people had been displaced in the three provinces of Darfur and 200,000 others had fled to Chad.
It wasn't until June 2005 that the ICC began to investigate. By then the campaign of violence was well underway.
As the prosecutions unfold, I hope the international community will intervene, right away, to protect the people of Darfur and prevent further violence. The refugees don't need more resolutions or statements of concern. They need follow-through on past promises of action.
There has been a groundswell of public support for action. People may disagree on how to intervene -- airstrikes, sending troops, sanctions, divestment -- but we all should agree that the slaughter must be stopped and the perpetrators brought to justice.
In my five years with UNHCR, I have visited more than 20 refugee camps in Sierra Leone, Congo, Kosovo and elsewhere. I have met families uprooted by conflict and lobbied governments to help them. Years later, I have found myself at the same camps, hearing the same stories and seeing the same lack of clean water, medicine, security and hope.
It has become clear to me that there will be no enduring peace without justice. History shows that there will be another Darfur, another exodus, in a vicious cycle of bloodshed and retribution. But an international court finally exists. It will be as strong as the support we give it. This might be the moment we stop the cycle of violence and end our tolerance for crimes against humanity.
What the worst people in the world fear most is justice. That's what we should deliver.
By Angelina Jolie
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
BAHAI, Chad -- Here, at this refugee camp on the border of Sudan, nothing separates us from Darfur but a small stretch of desert and a line on a map. All the same, it's a line I can't cross. As a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, I have traveled into Darfur before, and I had hoped to return. But the UNHCR has told me that this camp, Oure Cassoni, is as close as I can get.
Sticking to this side of the Sudanese border is supposed to keep me safe. By every measure -- killings, rapes, the burning and looting of villages -- the violence in Darfur has increased since my last visit, in 2004. The death toll has passed 200,000; in four years of fighting, Janjaweed militia members have driven 2.5 million people from their homes, including the 26,000 refugees crowded into Oure Cassoni.
Attacks on aid workers are rising, another reason I was told to stay out of Darfur. By drawing attention to their heroic work -- their efforts to keep refugees alive, to keep camps like this one from being consumed by chaos and fear -- I would put them at greater risk.
I've seen how aid workers and nongovernmental organizations make a difference to people struggling for survival. I can see on workers' faces the toll their efforts have taken. Sitting among them, I'm amazed by their bravery and resilience. But humanitarian relief alone will never be enough.
Until the killers and their sponsors are prosecuted and punished, violence will continue on a massive scale. Ending it may well require military action. But accountability can also come from international tribunals, measuring the perpetrators against international standards of justice.
Accountability is a powerful force. It has the potential to change behavior -- to check aggression by those who are used to acting with impunity. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has said that genocide is not a crime of passion; it is a calculated offense. He's right. When crimes against humanity are punished consistently and severely, the killers' calculus will change.
On Monday I asked a group of refugees about their needs. Better tents, said one; better access to medical facilities, said another. Then a teenage boy raised his hand and said, with powerful simplicity, "Nous voulons une épreuve." We want a trial. He is why I am encouraged by the ICC's announcement yesterday that it will prosecute a former Sudanese minister of state and a Janjaweed leader on charges of crimes against humanity.
Some critics of the ICC have said indictments could make the situation worse. The threat of prosecution gives the accused a reason to keep fighting, they argue. Sudanese officials have echoed this argument, saying that the ICC's involvement, and the implication of their own eventual prosecution, is why they have refused to allow U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur.
It is not clear, though, why we should take Khartoum at its word. And the notion that the threat of ICC indictments has somehow exacerbated the problem doesn't make sense, given the history of the conflict. Khartoum's claims aside, would we in America ever accept the logic that we shouldn't prosecute murderers because the threat of prosecution might provoke them to continue killing?
When I was in Chad in June 2004, refugees told me about systematic attacks on their villages. It was estimated then that more than 1,000 people were dying each week.
In October 2004 I visited West Darfur, where I heard horrific stories, including accounts of gang-rapes of mothers and their children. By that time, the UNHCR estimated, 1.6 million people had been displaced in the three provinces of Darfur and 200,000 others had fled to Chad.
It wasn't until June 2005 that the ICC began to investigate. By then the campaign of violence was well underway.
As the prosecutions unfold, I hope the international community will intervene, right away, to protect the people of Darfur and prevent further violence. The refugees don't need more resolutions or statements of concern. They need follow-through on past promises of action.
There has been a groundswell of public support for action. People may disagree on how to intervene -- airstrikes, sending troops, sanctions, divestment -- but we all should agree that the slaughter must be stopped and the perpetrators brought to justice.
In my five years with UNHCR, I have visited more than 20 refugee camps in Sierra Leone, Congo, Kosovo and elsewhere. I have met families uprooted by conflict and lobbied governments to help them. Years later, I have found myself at the same camps, hearing the same stories and seeing the same lack of clean water, medicine, security and hope.
It has become clear to me that there will be no enduring peace without justice. History shows that there will be another Darfur, another exodus, in a vicious cycle of bloodshed and retribution. But an international court finally exists. It will be as strong as the support we give it. This might be the moment we stop the cycle of violence and end our tolerance for crimes against humanity.
What the worst people in the world fear most is justice. That's what we should deliver.
By Angelina Jolie
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
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