Joey Cheek, Team Darfur, & ivoteyouvote.com

Note from GG: The Olympics are still on & Team Darfur is still in China. Congratulations to all the athletes--from all countries. Postings on medals, stories, & the like from Team Darfur as soon as they are available & GG recovers from staying up too late looking at the full moon (hey, it's still here tonight, Sunday, 17 August). See Parts I & Deux.

More video next week, but for now, please take a look at lovely Joey Cheek & this (fairly) new video. From www.ivoteyouvote.com.

Joey Cheek, Olympic Gold Medalist and Founder of Team Darfur talks about how important it is to get friends and family involved in our democracy, and how easy that is through www.ivoteyouvote.com.

xoxo, GG

Stories from the Children of Darfur

Don't forget about the Team Darfur athletes! GG will be watching some of their events over the rest of the Games; she's dismayed by the lack of cat-oriented programming on NBC, though. GG's editor is keeping quiet about ideas about cats & dogs & China for now. No need to upset GG.

Here is a link to TD's website & to both English & French language versions of the Stories From the Children of Darfur initiative, partnered by Darfur Peace & Development Organization (whose staff, partners, & friends are very dear to GG & her editor). Team DarfurRight to Play. Unfortunately, the has other worthy projects; check here for 16th of May Foundation links are disabled at the moment with odd looking hypertext, possibly due to Chinese interference--this is a recurring problem. Perhaps someone should have thought about that when granting the Olympic Games to a totalitarian regime? Grrrrrr.

GG will include news about Chinese interference on the Internet & Team Darfur (along with other organizations) as soon as possible.

Team Darfur Partners with Darfur Peace and Development Organization among others...

GG urges everyone to check this out. Not enough attention is being paid to the great athletes who belong to Team Darfur. There are wonderful organizations who are partners with Team Darfur, among them Darfur Peace & Development Organization.

xoxo, GG

Les athlètes engagés du "Team Darfur"

We can't resist plugging something French. Don't forget about Team Darfur! They have videos, blogs by athletes, & flickr photo sharing. Not enough people are looking at these...please do. If athletes who are preparing for the most important moment in their lives can actively engage in this activity, surely more people can watch a 2:00 minute (or less) video. C'mon people! GG

REPORTAGE: L'association d'athlètes olympiques "Team Darfur" entend profiter des JO pour demander à la Chine de faire pression sur le Soudan. (Reportage : G. Meyer, N. Handel)

Talib Kweli Performance for Darfur

Talib Kweli is donating his performance to Darfur to ask that the world does not turn a blind eye to genocide. To learn more about what you can do, please visit www.darfurolympics.org.

Team Darfur Member Will Carry Flag into Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium

Great news! Lopez Lomong will carry the flag into Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium. This is great courage & leadership by the U.S. athletes. Bon courage & bonne chance in your events.

From the AP:

Former 'Lost Boy' Lomong chosen to carry U.S. flag

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Associated Press

DALIAN, China -- Eight years ago, Lopez Lomong didn't even have a country. Now he'll be carrying the flag for his adopted nation, leading the U.S. Olympic team at opening ceremonies Friday night. Lomong, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, won a vote of team captains Wednesday to earn the honor of leading America's contingent into the 90,000-seat Bird's Nest Stadium.

The 1,500-meter track runner will be the flagbearer only 13 months after becoming a U.S. citizen.

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"When we were in Africa, we didn't know what was there for us as kids--we just ran. God was planning all of this stuff for me, and I didn't know. Now I'm using running to get the word out about how horrible things were back in Sudan during the war. Sometimes these things are not on CNN, so if I put out the word, I hope people can get the information. Right now, similar terrible things are going on in Darfur; people are running out of Darfur, and I put myself in their shoes." From Lopez Lomong's home page.

Joey Cheek's Visa Revoked

Image, Susan Walsh, AP

We are behind on our Beijing Olympic updates, please bear with us. Most of you already know that Joey's visa was revoked. Read here Jill Savitt's Dream for Darfur statement. In addition, the good GG (see "Bad GG video--GenGen Genocide under posting "Those Cute Olympic Mascots") will be posting news, updated videos, & relevant links throughout the Olympics.