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Background on Darfur

It’s tough to miss the headlines about Darfur these days, especially when George Clooney gets involved. But do you know what’s going on?

An estimated 400,000 people at least are dead from the fighting there and two million are said to be displaced—enough to fill Houston , the fourth largest city in the United States.  

They’re living in refugee camps and fleeing to neighboring countries as violence has escalated to include rape, slaughter, women held as sex slaves and burned villages. The United Nations calls what’s happening war crimes, others call it genocide.

Who’s fighting whom?
It’s complex. But in a nutshell, rebel groups felt the government was ignoring Darfur and discriminating against Africans in favor of Arabs, who dominate the government, so they attacked in 2003. Since then they’ve been fighting with the janjaweed, the government-aligned militia accused of much of the violence. The government denies an association with the janjaweed.

Where’s the help?
Efforts are underway but with little success. A peace agreement to disarm the janjaweed is stalled, and 20,000 United Nations peace keepers can’t enter Sudan. The government emphatically rejects foreign interference. The under-funded African Union peacekeeping troops (made up of representatives from African nations) are there but it’s unclear what kind of impact they are having.

What’s next?
U.S. Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice has threatened sanctions as has the House of Representatives. Pressure is coming from the international community, George Clooney and Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel to let in the U.N. China, however, did not support a U.N. resolution. They’re Sudan’s biggest buyer of oil.

Big picture
A U.N. chief sees no peacekeeping mission there in sight and the African Union will leave at the end of the year.

Spotlight on Hugo Chavez

While addressing the United Nations this week, Hugo Chavez called President Bush “the devil” and said he could still smell “sulfur” lingering at the podium where Bush had stood the day before.

The remarks even had some Democrats defending Bush, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who called Chavez “an everyday thug.”

So who is Chavez?
He’s the president of Venezuela, a federal republic. He’s been elected twice since 1998, although he initially attempted to take power in a failed coup back in 1992 and ended up in prison. He’s at the helm of a Bolivarian Revolution there, a movement toward social democracy, where capitalist ideals are married with equal benefits for all. Support for him is split and some worry he has too much power. And while oil riches are pouring into the country, almost half of the 25 million people live below the poverty line.

Why is he in the spotlight now?
Lately he’s been on what is seemingly an international anti-U.S. public relations tour. Recent stops include Cuba, where he celebrated Fidel Castro’s 80^th birthday, China and Syria, where he rejected the “American empire’s imperialism.” He’s a supporter of Iran and has threatened to cut of oil supplies to the United States if it were to attack Iran.

Basically, he’s not a fan and has been rallying other leaders who are disgruntled with the U.S. He accused the U.S.of plotting to kill him; The United States government has called him dangerous. Nonetheless, last winter he sold oil at discounted rates to poor people in the Northeast, and he says he’ll double the program this year.

The big picture
Venezuela is home to one of the largest oil reserves in the world, and is the fourth largest supplier to the United States behind Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia, respectively. China recently pledged $5 billion toward oil infrastructure in Venezuela.

Oil prices could spike by $11 a barrel according to some estimates if he cuts off supply to the U.S. And while he’s already garnered much attention on the international stage, it’s likely this is just the beginning as he wants a seat on the U.N. Security Council.

Changing of the guard

Three international leadership changes took focus this week, spanning the globe from Great Britain to Mexico to Iraq.

Britain’s Blair says he’ll step down
British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced Thursday he’ll resign his post within one year, succumbing to recent pressure to do so from his own party, the Labour Party. Popularity of the party has been slipping in the polls and earlier in the week eight junior aides resigned to underscore their discontent with Blair.

So here’s how it works across the pond: The Queen invites the ruling party’s leader to become Prime Minister (Britain is a constitutional monarchy). He or she serves until losing the backing of the House of Commons, forcing resignation or a general election where citizens vote. The Labour and Conservative parties comprise the majority of the House of Commons (more powerful) and the House of Lords, the two houses of Parliament.

Mexico confirms President-elect
After more than two months of protests, allegations of election fraud and a recount, Mexico’s top court confirmed conservative Felipe Calderon the country’s President-elect. He won by less than 1% of the vote. The court says they found no evidence of fraud, a decision that cannot be appealed, but his left-leaning opponent will not acknowledge the win and questions of fraud still linger for some. Calderon’s election stems a tide of leftist leaders who have risen to power in the region recently.

Possibly his biggest challenge will be stimulating Mexico’s economy, as 40% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Iraqi government gains control of armed forces
Leadership of the Iraq armed forces transferred hands Thursday, from coalition forces to the government. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signed paperwork to make it official, and other military divisions will be transferred over with time.

The big picture
The United States may gain an ally in Calderon but could lose a key ally in Tony Blair. Question is, could the discontent in Great Britain with Blair’s handling of the Middle East foreshadow the November elections in the United States?

I'll take two verbal sections, please

SAT scores dropped seven points in 2006, marking the biggest decline from one year to the next since 1975. The mean score: 1021.

That’s just for the math and verbal (now called critical reading) sections. Last year marked the introduction of the new SAT, which includes a written portion, worth another 800 points.

The College Board, founded in 1900, is the not-for-profit group that administers the SAT. They blame the drop in scores on the new test, saying it impacts behavior and consequently scores.

In 1933, Harvard began using the SAT, adapted from an earlier IQ test used in the Army, to select scholarship candidates from outside the prep-school circuit.

Breaking it down
Gender: In 2006, boys scored only slightly higher than girls on the verbal section but were much stronger in math, scoring a total 1041 vs. 1004. Math scores have been trending higher in general in the last 10 years while verbal scores have suffered. Girls out-scored the boys in the new writing section, 502 vs. 491.

Race/ethnicity: Asians scored the highest overall out of all the groups while blacks scored the lowest.

Race/ethnicity	Mean score
Asian	1088
White	1063
Other	1007
No response	993
American Indian	981
Other Hispanic	921
Mexican American	919
Puerto Rican	915
Black	863

States: From a scoring perspective, you’ll find the best SAT takers in… drum roll… North Dakota and Iowa. North Dakotans clocked 617 on math and 610 on verbal. Iowans came in second with 613 math / 602 verbal. But only 4 percent of the students participated, versus 88 percent in New York (510 vs. 493).

Future of the test
A test that was meant to equalize the admissions field has come under controversy in recent years, as some question its ability to assess skills and point to bias and fairness issues. Some students hire tutors to prepare for the test while others don’t.

Just this week the New York Times reported that a growing number of colleges are abandoning admissions test requirements all together, and last spring the College Board announced a slew of scoring errors.

Interestingly, the SAT used to be called the Scholastic Achievement Test and then the Scholastic Aptitude test. Now it’s simply the SAT.

Still, about 1.5 million kids took the SAT last year.