Jimmy Carter Faces Down Darfur Officials

[cal04]

Source: Associated Press

Former President Carter got in a shouting match Wednesday with Sudanese security officials who blocked him from a town in Darfur where he was trying to meet representatives of ethnic African refugees from the ongoing conflict.

The 83-year-old Carter walked into this highly volatile pro-Sudanese government town to meet refugees too frightened to attend a scheduled meeting at a nearby compound.

Carter was able to make it to a school where he met with one tribal representative and was preparing to go further into the town when Sudanese security services interrupted.

"You can't go. It's not on the program!" the local national security chief, who only gave his first name as Omar, yelled at Carter, who is in Darfur as part of a delegation of respected international figures known as "The Elders."

"We're going to anyway!" an angry Carter retorted, telling security officers they didn't have the authority to stop him.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071003/ap_on_re_af/darfur_6

[Cooley Hurd]

1. K&R! Get 'em Jimmy!

:thumbsup:

[annabanana]

2. My admiration for this man just grows and grows...

I think "courage" is NOT too strong a word for him.

[rodeodance]

16. yes.

[emilyg]

89. Yes!!!

[countmyvote4real]

99. I agree. He is a leader for change and always has been.

Sound familiar?

[Tab]

3. You see Jimmy doing humanitarian work

You see Clinton doing humanitarian work
You even see Bush Sr. doing humanitarian work

But can you visualize Dubya doing humanitarian work?

Not a chance in hell.

[kath]

46. Bush Sr sure doesn't do very much, compared to Carter and Clinton. Too busy golfing and fishing.

[Kikosexy2]

47. Whaaaattt???...

you mean clearing brush at a phoney ranch is not humanitarian work?...Well in L.A. County we can use Ole Chimpie to clear plenty of brush in the mountains before fire season...make him useful at least at something???..of course he must wear an orange jumpsuit with matching cuffs and chains...criminals need to be kept in check...

[ChairmanAgnostic]

70. I never understood that.

brush offers small animals, birds, and the ground underneath a form of protection from predators, weather, and more.
Clearing it does little except make the area sterile.

oh.
I just answered my own point.

[hisownpetard]

51. I can't even picture him *saying* it, let alone 'doing* it. nt

[Ken Burch]

66. Visualize Dubya doing humanitarian work?

Hell, I can't visualize him doing WORK.

OR being able to SPELL "work".

[otherlander]

75. Bush Sr.?

Doing humanitarian work? Throwing coins to those living without justice isn't humanitarianism. Humanitarianism means realizing that a society that doesn't allow humans to live with dignity needs to be changed. The true humanitarians are those who try to make those changes. As a president, a vice-president, and an agent of the CIA, Bush Sr. helped, trained, and funded people who would crush those trying to make those vital changes. He's like a company that hires people in China and pays them such shit wages that they can't afford medicine when they get sick, but then tries to make itself look like a saint by giving a few thousand dollars to some medical charity.



Didn't mean to yell at you or anything. Go, Jimmy, go. :hi:

[LuckyLib]

88. Chimpy's humanitarian work will be driving his jeep around the ranch in Paraguay,

smug about how many locals he employs.

[The_Casual_Observer]

97. jr will be doing humanity a great service by going away & never

coming back.

[deacon]

4. as bush hides in a closet vetoeing childrens health care...

[rodeodance]

18. BINGO

[Stuckinthebush]

77. What Deacon said!

Bush is such a small, cowardly piece of shit compared to the giant Carter.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Give'm Hell, Jimmy!!

[Vinca]

6. At last! We've identified a Democratic spine donor. nt

[Totally Committed]

8. The DINO Democrat$ won't want his "spine"... he'$ AIPAC per$ona non grata.

Haven't you heard? And, when AIPAC $ay$ "no", DINO Democrat$ li$ten.

This was an act of bravery and humanity. I might fall over dead where I stand if any other currently elected DINO Democrat were to do anything this gutsy.

TC

[burythehatchet]

80. Jimmy's got some grapes

[NewJeffCT]

9. not quite yet

After Carter called Bush the worst president, he got swift-boated and then quickly backed off his comments.

[ms liberty]

7. That is the kind of nation America should be...

Instead we get "AMURIKA," usually followed by the equivalent of "WE'RE #1! WE'RE !1"

And to be accurate, if one were to read the words attributed to Jesus, it could only be concluded that THESE are the actions a Christian would take if they truly followed his teachings.

[NewJeffCT]

10. I can't see Bush doing that

He would wait until he was back in the US and then tell the Sudanese to "bring it on" from the safety of his podium.

[Mad_Dem_X]

11. You go, Jimmy! n/t

[Karmageddon]

12. At 83, Carter still has more balls than Dubya ever will or ever did

[Old Vet]

13. Carter was to good of a man to have been pres....

He has done his best to bring out so many injustices around the world.

[epppie]

14. The Lion in Winter

can be pretty impressive!

[jwirr]

87. I love your description.

[Alizaryn]

15. THAT is caring and the true American face.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

17. Dear George W. Bush:

This is what leadership looks like.

Take notes.

There's going to be a quiz later.

[groovedaddy]

20. He's already had the final exam and flunked

Removal is the only cure!

[madrchsod]

19. he`s doing what real christians do

and he will be remembered as one who sought to bring light into the darkness.

[Divine Discontent]

54. thank you very much, excellent point!

AMEN!

take note, this is what true Christian sacrifice and behavior is like. this man runs circles around dubya.

if b*sh had any sanctity about him, he'd present Carter with a freedom medal for this or something like that...



Jimmy Carter rocks. No one's perfect. Not one of his, but, this guy is pretty awesome. EIGHTY-THREE!

[T Wolf]

21. Over at the Freak-Zone, they are already calling for the President to be shot.

Not all. The original poster there just asked that JC be tasered.

[truebrit71]

23. That's a threat to a President, no? It needs to be reported...

...watch how brave the 87th Chairborne are when one of their own gets tasered and Gitmo'ed....

[T Wolf]

24. Title 18-871 does not apply to Democratic Presidents. Didn't you know

that?

[WorseBeforeBetter]

95. "87th Chairborne" ... LOL.

That made my night! Well, that and my 83-year old former president shouting down a Sudanese security official.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

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[Virginia Dare]

44. We all know the first Bush never targeted anybody..

for assassination too. Come back when you learn to read.

[alcibiades_mystery]

55. Don't you mean "Threat to the President's Life"

You half-literate fuckwit?

[Ken Burch]

67. For what? For NOT ignoring the misery of Darfur?

Christ on a biscuit, that's a TASERING offense now?

[yellerpup]

22. Worthy of the title Hero

Admirable for his ethics and the strongest elder in America. I salute you, Jimmy Carter.

[Sufficient Voice]

25. I'd vote for him again.

[133724]

26. Now This guy is a REAL sailor...

[LibDemAlways]

27. Carter is a humanitarian - Nobel Prize laureat,

builder of homes for Habitat for Humanity, election moniter, respected "Elder" and peace advocate. He has used his stature as a former President only for good and always in service to his fellow man - never for personal gain. He is a role model for the highest standards of ethics and integrity. No other recent President - Clinton included - is as deserving of respect and admiration for the honorable way in which he has served his country since leaving the Presidency.

[Name removed]

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[Virginia Dare]

38. Better than taking it up the butt from these guys...

too bad all the REAL statesmen are gone, I'm sure you wouldn't know one if they spit in your face though.

[mdmc]

28. Carter has been the BEST president in my lifetime

God BLESS him!

[Name removed]

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[Virginia Dare]

39. Yes, we're so lucky to have a brilliant economist in the White House who..

can't seem to find his ass with both hands. Put the crack pipe down son.

[Akoto]

43. You're not serious, right?

Right now, our economic and financial state is absolutely abysmal. The average person is barely making ends meet. The government continues to sanction sending manufacturing and technical jobs overseas. Prices for necessities are continually going up. Foreclosures are rampant. We have the largest national debt in the history of the United States, to the point that our country is practically owned by China. Day after day, we bleed borrowed money for a conflict we never should have started and are not wanted in, thus worsening the situation.

Our country has done anything but "recover." Under Bush, things are far worse than whatever you think Carter had done.

[ieoeja]

49. And what interest rates were you paying before Carter?

You must also recall that inflation was double-digit the year BEFORE Carter took office. It was single-digit and dropping his last year in office, moving at a 3% per annum rate his last quarter.

I assume you recall Nixon's price controls during Vietnam? Are you suggesting that Ford and Carter should have retained PRICE CONTROLS?!? You must surely recall they lifted those price controls which led to the rapid inflation until market forces reclaimed control.

And don't forget to recall that wages actually outpaced inflation during Carter's presidency unlike during every president since Carter.

I know that I recall the military reformation in 1980 when the military was purged of those suffering from post-Vietnam malaise -- a reformation people usually mistakenly attribute to Reagan failing to notice that it took place the year BEFORE Reagan took office. And let us recall the creation of Delta Force. Do not forget the communist coup in Yemen and subsequent two day civil war restoring the Red Sea coast to pro-western control with the assistance of the US Marines Carter sent into Yemen.

And easily most important, the final end to hostility between Israel and its most powerful enemy, Egypt. After decades of repeated invasions by Arab armies, no Arab army has invaded Israel since the Camp David Accords.

That last led to something you probably know nothing of. I had a friend in the Pentagon in 1991. EVERY Muslim nation we approached for assistance in Desert Shield/Storm cited President Carter's even handed approach to their nations during Camp David and the Iranian Hostage crisis as the reason they trusted the United States and would happily support us.

Of course, we betrayed that trust by remaining in the Middle East after the war. For which reason the 1993 and 2001 WTC attacks were launched against us. But that would be the fault of president's Bush, Clinton and Bush, not Carter.

[mdmc]

58. thanks for posting my friend

peace and low stress to you and yours.

[trogdor]

52. The cut-and-paste Rangers are back!

Nice Astroturf, son. You mow that every week? Were you even alive when Carter was President? I was. I notice you have your profile blocked, so I'll assume you're some College Republican type doing your "community service" work. I also remember the recession of '81 that was worse than anything that happened during the Carter era. I wonder if you can tell me what rocket scientist caused that to happen? Hmm? Cat got your tongue?

[mdmc]

57. I disagree with you my friend

Welcome to DU.

I think that the rich might have made out under Ray-gun, GHWB, Clinton, and Chimp, but that the working class was much better off under Carter.

I think that our economy was stronger and American workers had a much better life under Carter.

Every President after Carter has harmed the working class and benefited corporations.

[loudsue]

29. There is still some good in this world....

you just have trouble finding it when republicans rule. Any republican representative would have been over there trying to see if there were some young Africans they could put into the sex trade.

:kick:

[bananas]

30. "The Elders"

http://www.theelders.org/history.aspx

1999. Peter Gabriel begins a conversation with Richard Branson about The Elders – a new gathering of world leaders who will come together to guide and support our ‘global village.’ For their model they looked to traditional village elders, trusted by their people to resolve conflict within their communities. In 2001 Gabriel and Branson take their idea to Nelson Mandela and Graça Machel. Mandela is immediately enthusiastic and, with the help of Graça Machel and Desmond Tutu, sets about bringing together the group of Elders you see here today.

Never before has such a powerful group of leaders come together . Free from political, economic or military pressures. The only agenda of The Elders is that of humanity. And their only purpose is to ease human suffering in three essential areas:
Offering a catalyst for the peaceful resolution of conflict.
Seeking new approaches to seemingly intractable global issues.
Sharing wisdom: reaching out to grassroots Elders and to the next generation of leaders. Listening and helping to amplify voices for good all over the world.

[Name removed]

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[rateyes]

37. Well, this is your second post (at least) with a second name....

take your copy and pasted drivel back to freeperland, troll.

[Virginia Dare]

41. I guess you prefer the brilliant statesmanship of "President" Bush..

sit around with your thumb up your ass while millions die. You would have supported any military action taken by Clinton, right?

[quoddy woman]

42. The elders

There is not a whole lot of respect for the elders in our own
population, as I have noted first hand. Rather we are
marginalized, talked down to and ignored.. OH, gee, let's have
a little regime change folks...that's been working so well for
us.And we certainly know what's best for the entire planet. 
Tell you this "bigdad," I'd rather be hacked to
death trying to make a more peaceful world than to be stung to
death by gnats!

[Stevepol]

45. Welcome to DU quoddy.

[gateley]

63. I think the elders and quoddy woman are married -- note the similarities.

THAT being said (and I hate being catty) I think they present SOME vaild points. Baby with the bathwater and all...

[madrchsod]

60. well that was an interesting sentence

"I'd rather be hacked to death trying to make a more peaceful world than to be stung to death by gnats"! stick around guoddy woman, seems you have a lot to contribute :hi:

[ieoeja]

50. Gorilla.

It's gorilla not guerilla. But that is a common enough mistake.

More seriously though the Black Africans being slaughtered by the Arab Africans are largely Muslim, not Christian. This war is racist, not religious.

Where did you get the idea this was a religious war?

I had someone recently claim that Saddam was behind 911! He backed up this claim with quote (without telling me where he heard that quote). So I looked up the quote and found it in a 911 commission report. The very next sentence in that report was, "this claim is, of course, ridiculous".

Yes, the guy took a quote from a report stating that Saddam had nothing to do with 911 to prove that Saddam was responsible for 911. When he informed me that he was just quoting the excerpt he saw on the Fox News Channel, I suggested the same thing I am going to suggest to you. If you (repeatedly) find that your news source is lying to you, maybe you should consider using a different source for your news.

I will never get why, after a source has been proven to have lied to people over and over again, certain people will still continue paying attention to that source. What part of "lie" do these people not understand?

[donsu]

31. hugs and kisses for Jimmy

nt

[geiger]

32. we're going anyway

we're going anyway....

[rateyes]

40. We haven't had a president with the courage of Carter...

since Carter. Hey Jimmy: :patriot:

[lovuian]

48. Good Going Jimmy

this is horrible whats going on in Darfur

[Lena inRI]

53. Sending you loving reverence, Mr. Carter. . .

. . .

as we suffer the HUGE VOID OF PRINCIPLED LEADERSHIP in our United Corporate States of America.

Jimmy is a proud standard bearer for humanitarians like his mother, Lillian, his original role model for genuine global humanitarianism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillian_Gordy_Carter

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2007-07-12-jimmy-carter-book_N.htm

Miss Lillian is smiling down on you, Jimmy. . .and my heartfelt thanks for giving my kids and me yourself as a warrior of peace.

:
loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya:

[southtpa]

74. one act doesn't make you great.

Carter was a terrible president. The only time I didn't vote democrat was his re-election. But of course I didn't vote for Reagan because I knew what a piece of shit he was before he even ran for governor.

[Baby Snooks]

94. Terrible in what way?

The only thing I can think of that was terrible about his administration was the acquiesence to Khomeini although some believe, in retrospect, that it probably was acquiescence to the CIA. The Bush CIA.

We were told Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Who knows what Carter was told about the Shah. The instability of the world is not the result of Carter. It is the result of the Bushes.

Our economy was not good. But our economy is not good now. At least Carter was realistic. He didn't hide the problems behind ballooning deficits in order to benefit the rich while plunging everyone else into poverty the way both Bushes did. Clinton's mistake was listening to Greenspan. Happy days were here again during Clinton's administration. But low interest rates in the end have produced the economy we are now faced with. Low interest rates only benefit the corporations who borrow from the banks to cook their books to hide the debt. Subprime for corporations means below prime which means they get lower interest than anyone else. While growing numbers of Americans are losing their homes to foreclosure, the corporations are having at it again.

Jimmy Carter was if nothing else the people's president. He cared about everyone. Not just the rich. Of all the presidents we have had since Nixon, who by far was the worst until the Bushes were elected, Carter was and still is the best president. We simply didn't appreciate him. Some apparently still don't. I get irritated by the association of Clinton and Bush. Some of us don't find the humor in the joke about the adopted son. Especially if they also adopted a daughter-in-law.

The Elders chose Jimmy Carter. Not Bush. And not Clinton.

[Lugnut]

56. K&R for Pres. Carter

Too bad he can't share his spine with his fellow Democrats.

[lateo]

59. Hero

Carter has big brass balls for doing this.

[robcon]

61. Way to go, Jimmy!

He's in his eighties, but he's still eager to take on the dictators.

[BootinUp]

62. Carter

goes without saying he will be remembered for his efforts in human rights for a long time.

[gateley]

64. I am humbled by this man. nt.

[ooglymoogly]

65. Jimmy Carter is a national Treasure

but as far as the thugs are concerned he is a loose cannon. Truth is anthrax to them.

[Solly Mack]

68. Get the feeling Carter would die for what's right? Me too.

[MasonJar]

69. Jimmy, you are the man!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sonias]

71. I love President Carter - a very humble publc servant still

First a big round of thanks to President Carter. He always tries to use his influence for good. Good man and a good heart.

You will never read anything like this about bushie. When the bush boy finally leaves our White House, the rest of his life will be wasted like most of it was before his power in the W/H. No one in the world in their right mind will ask that one for any kind of negotiation or foreign policy help. He'll be hated forever.

Sonia

[MissDeeds]

72. Hell yes!

Now that's what being a leader is all about. Fearless. God, I admire that man.

[BlooInBloo]

73. Is there a limit on how many Nobel Peace Prizes one can receive?

[Redstone]

102. Is there a limit on how many times one asshole can disrupt another DUers' threads?

Redstone

[colorado_ufo]

76. WHAT * A * MAN!!!

Go get 'em, Jimmy! Best ex-president, ever.

[flyingfysh]

78. here's one thing Carter did most people don't know about

The CIA has an unsavory history of overthrowing elected governments and installing dictators. But under Carter, they did the reverse: Carter asked them to look into how to get rid of the apartheid regime in South Africa and bring full citizenship to blacks. This was described in a recent book on the CIA (I forget the title, sorry). I think this effort had a lot to do with the downfall of apartheid, if I remember correctly.

[stevedeshazer]

79. That man has guts.

What an awesome story.

I can only hope to live as long as he has and still have the passion and conviction he showed us all this day.

I hope he lives to be a thousand years old, and serves the second term as President that he deserves.

[trashcanistanista]

81. I cast my first vote for Carter when I turned 18,

He was and always will be a good man. I hope history remembers him as such.

[juno jones]

82. I was to young to appreciate Carter

when he was around. At the time our high school debates (was on the team, but a bit of a slacker, a researcher, not a debater...) centered around energy and alternative forms of energy. Yeah, they were right, energy should been thought about in the 1970's. So handy they forgot about it cum 1981.....

I just thought it was evolution, you know, that time would bring on even more 'modern-thinking'; presidents'. I took it for granted. By the time I could vote, Ronnie Raygun was in....


Go Jimmy.

[Lucinda]

83. May they all be safe

I truly love that man.

[llmart]

84. What a class act.......

oh, that we could have someone like him in office right now. He was NEVER an embarrassment to the United States like the asshole we have squatting in the White House now is.

[fob]

85. THE single most influence as to why I am a Democrat.

Mr. Carter, I stand with you and support you.

I would also like to take this opportunity to plug my primary charity...www.cartercenter.org and will send a little extra on my next donation.

FOB - Proud Carter Democrat

[jwirr]

86. A truly brave man. Thank you President Carter.

[Mojambo]

90. Hero - (He·ro)

-Noun, plural -roes

1. A Person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.



That sounds about right...

[RestoreGore]

91. Thank you, President Carter!

[Baby Snooks]

92. The Elders

http://theelders.org/

Of the three former presidents, only Carter was asked to be an Elder. Says quite a bit about him. But also about Bush and Clinton.

[usregimechange]

93. kick!

[TheModernTerrorist]

96. wow

now THAT is a real politician.

...it's sad the scraps we've been given as of late -_-"

[SeattleGirl]

98. Wow! He is such an amazing man.

Wasn't our best president, but he has done so much since he left office.

Jimmy, :yourock:

[illinoisprogressive]

100. see. why doesn't the msm on tv ever report stuff like this. it's so cool

[etherealtruth]

101. My feelings for Jimmy Carter ...

... are as close to hero worship as I get.

He is one awesome human being!

[tom_paine]

103. Can't he do shit like that HERE?

Call me selfish, but damnit, wheer the hell is the Sudanese Jimmy Carter to come and demand to see the Ohio election records (well, they've been mostly destroyed by Bushies...can't leave evidence, you see)?