Hey PeaceJammers - as you’re all probably very aware right now, the situation in Burma is DIRE, as reports are still coming out that the death toll from last weeks cyclone could reach an unexaggerated one million people. Worse yet, that potential for that number to get uncomfortably larger grows with every hour that the ruling junta continues to be unreasonable, refusing to accept necessary support and aid from the international community. It has become glaringly obvious that helicopters, ships, and all other manner of supplies should be dispatched immediately to help the Burmese people. We’re passing along the following message from the U.S. Campaign for Burma on the PeaceJam Blog and through our PeaceJam mailing list in an attempt to keep spreading the word of just how bad the circumstances Burma’s survivors are facing, and we ask everyone reading this either in blog or e-mail form to pass this message along AS WELL AS take some form of action to help!

**Please spread this message as far and wide as you possibly can.**

Dear friends and supporters,

We are asking for your urgent help, again. We need to send a strong message to China. We are running out of time before a massive wave of disease rushes over the survivors of the Burma cyclone.

We are in a very unusual situation — the world is trying to rush aid to the Burmese people hit by the Cyclone but the regime is refusing all support, leaving hundreds of thousands in imminent danger of disease and death.

We are hearing repeated, urgent cries from inside Burma pleading with caring countries to ignore Burma’s military regime and send immediate aid to the Burmese people. Burmese Buddhist monks, student leaders, and others issued a public appeal for countries to stop waiting for permission from the Burmese military regime and immediately dispatch relief.

The United Nations Security Council has the power to authorize the provision of aid even if the Burmese regime resists — this would permit countries to deliver aid directly to the Burmese people. Tragically, China is blocking this effort at the UN.

Will you help us by sending an urgent email to China’s Ambassador to the UN? It is unconscionable that China would continue to block desperately needed humanitarian assistance.

Please email China’s UN ambassador NOW! Read more details below.

Aung Din, Jeremy Woodrum, Jennifer Quigley, Thelma Young

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More Information on post-cyclone Burma:

The situation in Burma is extremely grave. Eight days after the Cyclone struck Burma and up to 100,000 have been killed, Burma’s military regime is still refusing adequate international aid. Dr. Chris Beyrer, an renown doctor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, yesterday said that tens of thousands of more people are at immediate risk of death from hunger, lack of adequate water, and disease. A great deal of aid is literally sitting at the airport in Rangoon, because the military regime won’t allow the U.N. and others to distribute the aid.

The United States and the rest of the world have essentially offered a Tsunami-style response to the Cyclone, yet the regime — and their ally at the UN Security Council, China — is blocking the aid. The United States has several C-130 transports planes ready to deliver aid inside Burma, and is also ready with assistance from 23 helicopters — all this is being refused, with the exception of one single C-130 transport aircraft. We believe the regime approved this single flight in order to give the appearance of accepting aid when the vast majority is still being refused.

The world can not wait any longer for permission from Burma’s military leader Than Shwe — this is a man that has already recruited up to 70,000 child soldiers, destroyed 3,200 ethnic minority villages, and tortured to death many, many human rights activists.

We ask you to email the Chinese UN Ambassador, because under this extraordinary circumstance, while we do support countries entering Burma to provide aid without the approval of Burmese regime approval or UN approval - UN approval would still be the best way. It is especially imperative that aid reach the Irrawaddy Delta region — helicopters, ships, and all other manner of supplies should be dispatched immediately to help the Burmese people.

As if things weren’t already in disarray in Burma/Myanmar, along comes word that Cyclone Nargis whipped through the country this weekend killing 22,000 (with over 41,000 people still missing) and leaving an estimated ONE MILLION people homeless. Unreal.

ADDED LINK 11:22 AM MST: From CNN.com: Dead are thrown into rivers as the living wait for aid

From the UK’s Times Online: Burma cyclone: victims killed by 12ft tidal wave

From BBC News: Will Burma’s leaders let aid in?

From AFP (via Google News): Burma/Myanmar says cyclone death toll tops 22,000

From the International Herald Tribune: A look at Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta, hit hardest by Cyclone Nargis

As always, more links as the day progresses and time allows.

OpEdNews.com currently features a piece, in part, about 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate (and PeaceJam member) Shirin Ebadi. Click on the title to check out the editorial Real Women Don’t Throw Bombs.

Hello again, friends of PeaceJam!

PeaceJam’s Rocky Mountain Affiliate will be holding teacher training workshop sessions on May 9th and 10th at Regis University. Registration is $150, though TWO people can attend for each registration fee. This cost includes meals, one curriculum, videos, online resources and training. Please note - teacher training workshops are NOT two-day sessions. The training workshops on the 9th and 10th are separate sessions. More info:

The PeaceJam Foundation is excited to offer two curriculum training workshops for the Rocky Mountain Region this Spring! PeaceJam is a Colorado-based organization with an active board of 11 Nobel Peace Prize Winners who work together for one common cause - our youth.

Each interactive training session is tailored to meet the needs of the group and specific programming is available for the elementary, middle and high school levels. The curricula is easily tailored for academic and non-academic environments and is also designed to address Colorado State Content Standards. Each Curriculum works as an ongoing program or can be pulled apart into stand alone units to meet your specific needs.

Click here to download the registration form for the May 9th and 10th PeaceJam Rocky Mountain Region Teacher Training Workshops

Here’s hoping that yesterday kicked off another fine week for all the PeaceJam faithful … Out here at HQ, we’re looking at bright skies and potential 70 degree temperatures - always a good thing for the mind and the soul, and certainly a great way to celebrate Earth Day!

So, have you heard the one about SIX Nobel Peace Prize winners going to Loyola Marymount University in a few months? That’s right! In case anyone missed the multiple mentions on the front page of the PeaceJam website, we’ve got a monumental Global Call to Action Conference coming up September 11th-13th at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. During this conference, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Shirin Ebadi, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Jody Williams and Betty Williams will officially launch PeaceJam’s Global Call to Action movement with 3,000 PeaceJam youth leaders from around the world. We’ve got our own informational website together, complete with a link to apply for this historic event on-line! Also, you can read a bit about the Global Call to Action conference via the LMU newspaper, The Loyolan.

In absolutely fantastic news, one of Heartland Affiliate’s PeaceJam advisors, Beth Nickle, was recently awarded the distinction of being named the Springfield Public Schools’ Teacher of the Year! Beth is a teacher at Baily Alternative School in Springfield, Missouri — Congratulations from everyone at PeaceJam HQ, Beth! Read more about Beth and this recognition (from the Springfield News-Leader).

In other PeaceJam news:

From MLive.com (Everything Michigan): Students volunteer in the Kalamazoo community while attending PeaceJam at Western Michigan University

From the Kalamazoo Gazette on Shirin Ebadi’s trip to the Great Lakes Affiliate PeaceJam youth conference this past weekend (via MLive.com): Nobel winner says war steals from education

The Upper Midwest still has press coming in from Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s PeaceJam conference a week ago, as well - From the Twin Cities Daily Planet: Archbishop Desmond Tutu applauds PeaceJammers

More news when it’s fit to blog …

It’s a warm, sunshiny morning here in Colorado - all the better for Gary the Blog Guy to let everyone know to head over to the Think MTV website today to check out this video piece about PeaceJam … Nifty nifty, indeed. More news as it’s fit to blog …

Photo by Steve Floyd

Another weekend has come and gone, and this one brought with it the goodness of the Upper Midwest’s youthrive PeaceJam Youth Conference with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Here’s what folks had to say about the event:

From the International Herald Tribune: Archbishop Tutu tiptoes away from talking about Bush legacy at public talk

From Minnesota’s KARE TV: Peacemaker Brings Wit and Wisdom to Minnesota

Minnesota’s Twin Cities Daily Planet has a good piece describing Tutu’s Friday night public talk - click here to take a gander

Minnesota Public Radio reported on the Arch’s public talk as well: Desmond Tutu avoids politics while talking about peace

From African Path: Desmond Tutu: Q&A on World Issues in Minneapolis … African Path also did a piece on Archbishop Tutu and the public talk itself - Desmond Tutu: Making Enemies Out of Our Friends

From the Minneapolis Star Tribune: Archbishop Tutu brings message of hope

From Mshale, Minnesota’s African Community newspaper: Tutu Condemns War Spending, Calls Enemies ‘Family’

From the Minnesota Daily: Desmond Tutu visits Minneapolis, promotes peace

From Minnesota’s Post-Bulletin: Nobel Prize winner Tutu brings message of peace to juveniles at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Red Wing

If Gary the Blog Guy finds more links, he’ll post ‘em here.

Happy Monday, PeaceJammers … Media/press details about this past weekend’s Upper Midwest PeaceJam Youth Conference are forthcoming. First, allow us to share a link to a CNN commentary piece written by Nobel Peace Laureate/President of East Timor/PeaceJam member/all around nice guy Jose Ramos-Horta:

Link to CNN Commentary: How would-be assassin’s bullets changed me

Hang tight. More soon …

Lots of buzz in Minnesota these days as Archbishop Desmond Tutu heads this weekend’s Upper Midwest Affiliate PeaceJam Youth Conference:

From Minnesota’s Pioneer Press: Archbishop Demond Tutu tells young people they are one with God

… and there’s this nice feature piece by Cynthia Boyd of MinnPost.com: School’s stage play is one of several peace events in Archbishop Tutu’s busy weekend. (The play, “13 Stars of Light,” was written by teaching assistant Jeff Snyder and will be performed this weekend by students from St. Paul’s Bridge View School)

Here’s a rather long piece from the Minneapolis Star Tribune: Youth activists’ hopes riding on Tutu’s message of peace

March 31, 2008 was a Global Day of Action for Tibet, as Tibetans and Tibetan supporters campaigned worldwide in an attempt to stop the Chinese Government from parading the Olympic Torch through Tibet. In the dozen days before the Global Day of Action for Tibet, online global advocacy organization Avaaz.org pulled together petitions with over 1.5 MILLION signatures calling for dialogue between China and His Holiness, The Dalai Lama.

With that, the day for public demonstrations of support for Tibet and the Tibetan people was set. Hundreds of gatherings took place all around the world, including cities in Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Portugal, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay. Here in Colorado, the Tibetan Association of Colorado organized a gathering that took place in the city of Boulder at the County Courthouse Building. Below is a brief video of the gathering, featuring PeaceJam co-founder Dawn Engle. The beautiful Tibetan flute heard throughout the video is live audio of Nawang Khechog’s performance at the Rally. Enjoy!