brilliant, brilliant idea! we, the HP fandom, have more power than people are aware of... well, what are we waiting for? let's save the world! (:

Wow, this is great. I actually help run a club at my high school and a company which sells t-shirts we make to raise money for Invisible Children. I had no idea that so many influential people in the Potter community were also involved with this. Thanks for bringing attention to this!

Wow! Well done to mugglenet and all HP fans! A friend of mine is going over to Sudan soon to do missionary work for the church, so I am very supportive of this. Keep up the good work!

What does it matter if there are people against this? They're entitled to their views just as we are. No-one here is forcing them to agree or to do anything to save lives. It's their own decision. Likewise, I'm confused as to why they're suggesting - no - TELLING other people what to do. Telling Mugglenet not to use HP as a platform for their own ends. Er, surely only JKR has that right? And then telling other people not to get involved. Surely we can make that decision for ourselves? This is freedom of speech, this is a democracy. The whole point to it is that there are different opinions. You don't have to get involved, equally, no matter how right you think you are, you don't tell people not to say something: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

And oh I know I was being partison too.. But just wanna point out the extreme bias. I also think its funny and sad that people blame Bush for the darfur situation when he has done more then Clinton about it even though the situation has gotten worse over the past few years. If we can get rid of Clooney or only use him to spread the word and get angry when he starts calling the united states a terrorist nation.., reform the UN, get human activists that are actully.. HUMAN activists not just people who pick and choose situations that fit their mind blowing socialist agenda, if people stop blaming the USA, stop attacking the USA, stop saying 'USA gets involved in peoples bussiness its nto right,, but oh by the way why isn't the US military in darfur? Those evil bastards", and so on and so on. AND AGAIN Mugglenet. Don't get too political. Please. It's not your style. Matt from VTM is a typical little young socialist. It's a turn off.

Clearly this opens the door to "hot button" issues. I'm glad if I've started a needed debate, but most unhappy if it has become acrimonious. Please remember that the person who disagrees with you probably doesn't want to make sandwiches of the world's poor or push half the contintent into poverty. He probably disagrees with you on the MEANS to be used, and on the likely OUTCOME of the actions you propose. People of goodwill can have such disagreements, and they are best served by applying reason and looking dispassionately at facts and history rather than by questioning motives and slapping an "ignore me" label on the person who disagrees with you. It is also better to have them sooner than later, and it is MOST important not to allow a serious misstatement to stand even though it may support the action you prefer; this is an act of bad faith and on this you will and should be judged.//To Emerson and Company: rather than simply saying "We are raising money to help in Darfur," perhaps you should determine whom you trust or what action you propose and then say "We are raising money which we will send to XYZ," or "We are raising money to campaign for ABC." People will be able to make an informed choice to join you or not.//This is an especially touchy issue because Joanne Rowling, who makes our whole meeting possible, has a history with one of the Non-Governmental Organizations whose motives are generally considered good, but whose means are debated, sometimes bitterly, when they appear to take sides in conflicts.

Reviewing the comments, I find that that someone wrote "apathy is a political choice." This is true. Naievete and ignorance are also choices. They are choices to abdicate our moral responsibilities to others, and history shows that the people who get to make those choices for us are generally those with the bloodiest axes to grind. The history of the twentieth century is full of such abdications, and how trust in the Press and other agencies turned out to be another kind of naievete or ignorance.//Remember this obervation by, of all people, Karl Marx: History repeats itself, the first time as Tragedy, the second as Farce. I am the not a Marxist--indeed I believe that the "investor society" has the best chance of letting "the workers" share the benefits of ownership of the means of production (which means are human, and not just tangible and real property)--but the man did get some things right and this is a point that anyone who knows history can verify. History, not Economics, has become the Dismal Science.

Reflecting on the need for good understanding as well as good intention, I am reminded of an example given by C.S.Lewis: if you see a starving man, you might be moved to give him a good, hearty meal. Unfortunately, if he is truly starving and not just very hungry this will probably kill him.//It's a medical fact and the chain of events involves insulin shock. It killed several hundred French soldiers who managed to complete the march out of Russia after Napoleon abandoned them. Worse, they died in midwinter, when they could not be buried, in a small town that could not cope with the great number of their bodies, and the disease that resulted killed several villagers for each soldier. Ignorance is costly.//While I urge goodwill in the debate at hand, it would be a mistake to regard goodwill as universal; if it were, there would be no slaughter in Darfur and the history of the twentieth century would not be stained by dozens of mass murders whose totals must be measured in the hundreds of millions. Here I urge you to judge people by their actions, and not by their honeyed or harsh words, and to judge the stranger and your next-door neighbor by the same rules. Someone on the other side of the world may not know about the Miranda Rule, but he has the same obligation to know that murder is wrong that you do.

A great cause! I hope it works for the best and helps improve many lives in devastation right now.

I've been a fan of this site since the 3rd movie released. But today is when i actually bothered becoming a member. What is happening here is absolutely fantastic. People need to know what is happening beyond their borders, we need to stamp out the ignorance and this just the way to do it. A lot of the things going on in the world need to stop like stuff in Iraq, Israel and Palestine and definately Dafur. Good luck mugglenet! you've got the support of all HP fans.

thats so kool of mugglenet to do!!! woot! woot! AND THE MOVIE IS FINALLY HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! !!!

I'm really glad that HP fans at least are realizing the horrible situation in Dalfur. I will be sure to do my part to help raise awareness and funds for Dalfur.

This sounds like preaching, HP style. "Learn the ways of Harry Potter or you shall fall to the Dark Side and live your death with Lord Voldemort!" lol

I don't understand why the many ignorant and fluffy folks here think that my disagreement with HP's involvement means I am not into saving lives. What crassness. I've done more about Darfur than most of you combined, I imagine. Stop talking about how awesome this cause is; start doing something. You don't need to incorporate Darfur into every aspect of life and politics in order to do what you can. Don't act like you haven't noticed that the peeps who talk the most are usually the ones who do the last. Congratulations to you, sweet and fluffy bunnies of feel-good causes about which you know little to nothing.

I beg to differ and agree with you Paradou. It is not that we should all incorporate Darfur into every aspect of our life... it truely it is that we should include what is happening in Darfur in our lives. The difference being that Darfur is what young people today can relate too. They don't know how history truely is repeating itself. They read about hte Holocaust in History class and get as bored with it as all the generations after them will more than likely do. With Darfur it is real, it is now and there it is somethings we can do about it today. This is a topic that should be at the forefront of our conversations we have with our children just as drugs, sex and drunk driving are. It should not be sweep under the rug for no reason at all. THere are the few who do talk to much and do so little there always will be. In the end everytime, there will be those few more who by chance heard what those who talk to much say and it will be those few who really do change our world. Please realize it is more likely the sweet bunnies that feed the the masses than the donkeys.

I have read most of the comments on here trying to see where I stand in this. I was kind of surprised that Mugglenet is getting involved in current political issues and asking the fans for their support, but even more surprised that they are taking the Harry Potter name upon them as they strive to help Darfur. I agree with the cause, but I am not sure about using the Harry Potter name to do it. I think (however, what I think doesn't really matter...) that it would have been better to describe the events of Darfur and ask people for help and send them to a separate website, but to not name the group after Harry Potter. It just doesn't feel right. Again, I agree with what they are doing, just not the Harry Potter name part. If fans want to unite, let them. But change the name to something else. Mugglenet is for Harry Potter...lets not ruin what we have.

I just don't understand why we, the U.S., are still occupying a country in which, most of the people (if not all) do not want our help and do not want us there; when there is a country that is begging for our help but is being ignored. It just goes to show where the Republican party's real goal is in the Middle East. It claims that the reason we are there is to help fight terrorism, even though it has caused terrorism to become more of a problem instead of less of one. Us being over their is causing anger towards the U.S, and most people realise that (Oil = $$$$) is the real reason our soldiers are dying over there. The greedy rich republicans are just wanting to get richer bottom line!!! Darfur is a poor country with no (money=oil) and thus the U.S. is ignoring them. I can't wait for a Democratic president to be elected so we can finally leave those people who don't want us there in the first place alone, bring our soldiers back home, and send a democratic hand to those who really need our help not with force but with actual concern and a helping hand. Under the republican party who are mostly out for as much money as they can get and who are bullies and who have caused other countries to hate the U.S our country has been selling out to the bottom line. This has got to stop. To all of those over 18 please vote and vote for someone who will do something and cares about more than money. I am pro-life (except in cases of rape or incest, *pro-morning after pill*) and pro-capital punishment (child murders and child rapists should be executed). {these are the only issues that I somewhat agree with Republicans on. Vote Democratic for our country's sake.

so this is what?

a clue to reality

I've felt strongly about this subject for a while now, and I am so glad to see Mugglenet and Harry Potter fans are trying to help. The best way to help is to spread the knowledge. If you want to help you can also purchase the documentary called "Invisible Children". The money goes to that part of Africa, trying to save the kids who have to live there everyday.

That's shweet! Harry Potter: Saving Lives! Jsut wonderign, but did anyone else notice that now the timer for OOTP movie is going insane? I think that's pretty nifty!

The more I read all these comments, the more I'm sure this was a bad idea. As much as think that Darfur needs help, I'm not sure that sending them a ton of money is the way to do it. If it was that easy to save Darfur, don't you think it would have been done by now? From what I understand, most of that money doesn't even reach the people who need it anyway. Honestly, the only thing that may help would be military occupation. And we all know how popular THAT would be. While I can see that Mugglenet was trying to use their power for good, it just seems a little off to me. What's next? Campaigning for Peta?

Well, I'm not american, my mother is,and I live in Italy. I have to agree that the republican politics are creating a lot of hate towards the US and that yes, there ought to be more action and less talk in matters such as this, were we are called to help in a concrete manner I really think that it is great that HP inspires us to get into action. I wonder if any of you know a way for me to help from were I live....

It's great that the Harry Potter community can get together to help people. It's a really great feeling. :)

Awesome. Thank you, Mugglenet, for being a part of such an important cause. Harry Potter can change lives!

I could go into my own personal tirade about Iraq, but that's a subject that belongs into an entirely different thread. But a certain infamous dictator once said: "Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it." Now, onto Darfur... Emerson's attempt is probably well-meaning, but I have to agree with the posters who say that lighting a candle, sending an email or writing a letter are hollow gestures. They do nothing other than allow you to say that you actually 'did something' to earn the right to wear some cliched ribbon on your sleeve. Here's a good article on the background of the conflict (however condensed) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/h i/africa/3496731.stm. Wikipedia also has a good summary: http://en.wikipedia.org/w iki/Darfur_conflict. Please note that Clinton did not do anything because he had been out of office for several years before this conflict started. And, for the anti-USA crowd, note that the USA has led the assertion of genocide while the UN has found 'no evidence' and the USA has (and has had since 1997) economic sanctions on Sudan - meaning the USA does not purchase Sudanese oil. There are many people 'trying to do something about it' but the attempts are ineffective. Why? Well, for starters the UN has a horrible track record. For example, they've issued countless 'stern warnings' to Israel without follow-up. It takes so long for the UN to react that it's a joke. That and China and Russa continuously use their Security Counsel votes to block any real resolutions. So, if you really, really want to make an impact, then don't buy anything made in China - that includes the 'Save Dafur' shirts, the ribbons and the candles you light during your vigils. It's the money you put in China's pocket and purchases the oil that funds the government that sanctions the genocide.

On China: China right now has a surplus of foriegn exchange, much of it invested in US Treasury bonds (and probably bills and notes). Disinvesting is probably not a bad idea, but it's not likely to be effective. A worldwide boycott of Chinese goods might be. Bear in mind that it will raise the price of cheap clothing that a lot of poorer people rely on; to help that you can reduce the demand for clothing by not filling your closet with things that you'll wear just a few times. But this will take a long time to be effective--several years, at least. //For the next few months, you can pressure your government and your national Olympic authority to press China on the issue. You can also get behind the Bush program to develop clean coal technology jointly with China; if they can get the energy within their borders, they will be less likely to buy it outside. But then again, they might just like buying friends in Africa.

well, I could not be more "d'accordo" as to say "in agreement" (just can't find the right word) ^_^ with "winky" and "greyniffler" ! I really don't Understand a thing, though, why do you americans keep voting for Bush??? He is a lousy dungbomb, in my opinion! Really needs a nice batbogey hex

This is amazing! I've been working for causes like this my whole life, and now to combine my favorite story/movie into this cause is brilliant!!! Good job, guys! We need more action out there!

Thank you to everyone who is so excited about this project! First off let me emphasize that while sending aid to Darfur is an amazing thing to do, that's not what we're doing. We are not fund raising. We are putting pressure on leaders who like the Ministry of Magic have ignored genocide. Second, we are putting pressure on businesses who are funding that genocide. We in the HP Alliance see the connection that our world has Ministries that need to be woken up. We also see that there are Lucius Malfoys out there who's money and influence are causing tremendous suffering and death. We are in full support of Republicans and Democrats and President Bush's statements that the genocide in Darfur needs to end. We just need them to put action behind their words. This action does not require a war or thousands of troops. I understand that the genocide in Darfur is frightening to many. It was frightening for many in the Wizarding World to acknowledge that Voldemort had returned. But please, your fear is contributing to an apathy that is anathema with the principles of Dumbledore's Army and everything that Harry Potter fans hold dear about Harry Potter. That love is our weapon and that the Dark Arts must be fought. So once more: this is not a fund raising project. And this is not a partisan issue. This is an issue against genocide. Please take a stand on this issue. If you do not wish to, please be polite enough to not ridicule those are doing it. It is hurtful and unhelpful at a time when we need help. However, it is amazing to see so many fans of Harry Potter coming together. That's what's truly inspiring. There are so many people who continue to respond positively to Emerson's post and it's fantastic. Thank you for joining us in being the real Dumbledore's Army.

friendoffawkes, in the PotterCast link, point 5 part b it says: "b. Hold a Fundraiser: Fundraising for organizations such as the Genocide Intervention Network and for the peacekeeping forces in Darfur, can prove to the government that we’re serious about ending the violence. For more ideas, visit: www.genocideintervention. org/fundraise". I realize that the main goal of the HP Alliance is putting pressure on leaders but just thought I'd mention that fundraising *is* being suggested and that might be what people are referring to. Has JK Rowling authorized that her characters be used in this manner?

while I really think that it is a good thing to take action on important issues, I also am confused by this exessive stress on the HP caracters, who, after all are just fictionary

Fourfan: correct, we are encouraging that people fund raise, but it's not the primary thing we are asking people to do. The fund raising element, however, always raises skepticism and understandably so. In this case, the money is going to help guard women who are collecting firewood from being raped by janjaweed militia. And as essential as this is, fund raising for this is not our primary focus. We are simply mentioning that is something valuable that people can do. The primary focus that we're working on is getting people to contribute to www.24hoursfordarfur.org, getting involved with www.fidelityoutofsudan.co m, contacting their local governments, and if they live in the US calling 1-800-GENOCIDE.

what the heck is wrong with the site!!! I can't even read any of the comments b/c the print is so tiny!!!

Lidietta writes that she cannot understand the “exessive stress on the HP caracters, who, after all are just fictionary� But is Harry Potter’s world that different from our own? Other than the flying brooms and shrieking shacks, both worlds are going through “dark and difficult times� where we have a choice between what is right and what is easy. Here are is one parallel that I find powerful around the issue in Darfur: How could people have spent so long denying Voldemort's return? Cedric Diggory, Bertha Jorkins, and Barty Crouch Sr. were murdered. Mad Eye Moody was kidnapped by a famous Death Eater. Voldemort's most loyal followers escaped from Azkaban, And of course, the two most celebrated figures in the Wizarding World, Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter told them that Voldemort had returned. But while all the evidence was pointing towards the fact that Dumbledore and Harry were right, people preferred to not hear about it. "it's hard to convince people he's back, especially as they really don't want to believe it in the first place." (Ootp 94) They didn't want to think about going back to the "torturing..terror every where, panic, confusion..." (GoF 527) that used to dominate the last time Voldemort had power. And so they chose not to believe Harry and Dumbledore. They chose to let the media and government lie to them about the truth. And that's very similar to what so many of us are choosing to do with the genocide in Darfur. Darfur For those of you who dont know, Darfur is a region in the Sudan (a country in northeast Africa) that has been facing genocide for over three years. Quick history: the people of Darfur were being abused by the government of Sudan. So a small group of them started to rebel....just a small group. The Sudanese government responded by basically saying, "well...why should we have to deal with this rebellion or even have to deal with the rights of people in Darfur? Let's just get rid of them. Let's just...

This is a great cause! For a long time now I've been itching to do something like this, and that Harry Potter helps the situation makes it all better!

Continued from above… Let's just exterminate all of them. And let's teach everyone to be afraid of us." And so they started hiring a militia known as the janjaweed to go into Darfur and systematically burn down every home in every village, leaving nothing behind. The men get systematically killed. The women get systematically raped (and sometimes killed as well). And so do the children. These are people that are ordinary people....who are just being systematically destroyed. In the course of three years, the world has watched as the Sudanese government and their janjaweed militia have killed over 400,000 innocent people and displaced over 2 million. And this is not just any displacement. This is getting kicked out of their homes and displaced in the middle of the desert. It's horrible. It's beyond horrible. It's maybe the most horrifying thing that is happening in the world right now. And it's not like we're talking about something that happened. It's happening right now. It happened today. It happened yesterday. It will happen tomorrow. Innocent children being slaughtered by the hundreds and by the thousands. Women and men tortured, killed, raped, etc. It's happening, and still the world is asleep at the wheel. Sure some leaders get up and make a few speeches that this is genocide...but they have done virtually nothing to end what should have been ended over 3 years ago. There are practical things that could be done that are not being done. And most of those things don't involve violence. There are ways of pressuring Sudan to stop this genocide. And yet, we have done so little. And why? Because the leaders in the US and Europe and all over the freakin' world do not feel enough pressure to stop this genocide from their citizens. They don't realize that we care. That we will support them. We can show them our support. HP Alliance House Parties We can wake them up the way Harry and Dumbledore's Army woke up the leaders of the Ministry to Vo...

friendoffawkes, when you're done, can I use your soapbox? I have a mama cat who needs a place to have her kittens.

Do we have to show a relevance and connection to and from everything? Isn't HP suppose to be fiction, a fantasy world? Why can we not leave it at that? Shouldn't HP be a way of escape for the readers, not just another reminder of just how crappy things are out there? Please, leave it alone

Continuation…. We can wake them up the way Harry and Dumbledore's Army woke up the leaders of the Ministry to Voldemort's return. We can wake everyone up from this denial. And when I say "we" I mean you and I. I mean HARRY POTTER FANS. The media is watching Harry Potter fans this month! They are watching us more than they are watching the children in Darfur who are being massacred. We can speak for them. We can do something. We can make this story huge. We can do it by taking time out of Harry Potter week when every newspaper in the Western World will be running a story on Harry Potter and throw house parties where we celebrate Harry Potter and actually do practical things that will notify our leaders that we care about this genocide ending. We can do it...every one of us...and we can have thousands of Harry Potter fans do it. Can you imagine? Thousands of Harry Potter fans working to save the lives of tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of innocent people? Of course, it won't be just our efforts alone....we can't do that....but we CAN make a big impact. A real difference. We can show that evil actions on a wide scale like this will not go unseen and unheard.

just what I meant to say, jjallman!!! When I read harry potter, I just want to zone out, this way, we are sort of ruining the whole magic... In any case, I think that it is very important to talk about these problems, since a lot of people aven't got a clue of what is going on in the world. I also belive that we sholdn't need a book to open our eyes to the awful reality of things...

anyamarcos: when you're done using the soapbox, why don't you...uh....stfu?

Wow, I had no idea that Harry Potter had something to do with such things.. I think it's really cool, and I seriousely consider joining it.. but I probably won't be home much in this summer, so I don't think I'll have the time.. (We've just moved, so I have a long way to my friends, so long that I've to stay over the night) - but if I ain't too busy travelling back and forth to my friends, I'll probably join it.. (got to have a bit more info about it, before I join, though) :D

This is a really good idea. It is amazing how influential a book can be. JK Rowling should be proud that her story can cause such an impact on our world.

If I gave anyone the idea that I am against helping the victims of culture-against-culture violence in Darfur, let me clarify: I am much in favor of helping. But I ask that you understand what that will entail, and that an action that does not persist as long as the attacks persist may do more harm than good, as will an action that is not strong enough to resist the extreme depravity and violence of the aggressors. (Those who quail at the very few casualties in Iraq please take notice!)//I recommend reading the Strategypage.com page on Darfur: http://www.strategypage.c om/qnd/sudan/articles/200 70708.aspx . The articles cover 2007; there are links to pages going back into the twentieth century. One good thing: apparently the Chinese >can< be shamed into action if their weapons get into janjaweed hands.

The URL in the previous article was damaged. If you remove the spaces introduced in two places, it should work. Oh, and that page and the other Sudan pages contain no "soldier humor," but the dispassionate descriptions of violence might not be everybody's idea of PG-13. It could all be published in any big city newspaper's front page.

Thank you greyniffler!

Hey Rob, how's the site's official cat-killer doing? :-)

Please stop using the beloved books of many to enforce your leftist agendas. I like how your doing it though, pick the least divisive of the HP alliances platforms and use it to bring people into their more radical ideologies. By action on Darfur do you mean more political season ads like savedarfur.org did in '06, or do you actually want to bring these people to justice, I hate to break it to the HP Alliance who claims love is their only weapon, the monsters perpetrating this genocide don't respect love, they respect a bigger military force than their own. The UN is useless in stopping genocide as they proved in Rwanda, while their charter is tough on genocide, the reality is that corrupt group of do nothings just don't call it genocide so they are not required to act. Also the fact that Sudan is a rotating head of the UN Human Rights Council will put a halt to any action since they have refused international involvement in the matter. So that only leaves one option, using military force to violate Sudan's sovereignty and topple the government that is perpetrating this genocide. Lets only hope that it goes quick before the left demands us to pull out early and leave the citizens to slaughter. May I ask, why the big hub bub over Sudan, where the government there is only responsible for the death of a fraction of the amount of civilians that the Saddam regime in Iraq was. Bush went about that all wrong, he should have made it about ending the killing of civilians, which he did and was ignored, then maybe everyone would have gotten behind him. Also, look up the bill called the "Sudanese Relief Act of 2002" sponsored by Trent Lott and signed by Bush, its all about the do nothing feel good activism the left is all about. And going to Joe Wilson for authority on this is like having Meryl Streep testify to congress about how hard life is on the farm. He lied in his report and testimony to congress and only got to go on his trip to Niger because of his wife. So...

That HP alliance myspace page is scary, and I am very disappointed that such a fine site like mugglenet, whose objectivity was so superior to certain "other" HP websites would associate them selves with such a radical leftist agenda. I don't mean Darfur, but the many other points of theirs. LORD WALDEMART just shows this. Funnier still that after they denounce a store that provides low prices for poorer people that claim to want to fight poverty. You can help fight poverty in neighborhoods by opening WalMarts and providing people a place to buy more stuff at lower prices. If you want a business or corporate analogy from HP, look at Fred and George, two capitalists who are doing just what made the Waltons a success, selling quality stuff for good prices. And you also make no mention of the hundreds of millions in donations that Lord Waldemart and his family give to charity every year, but then again that doesn't fit the agenda so no wonder. Then to compare Serious' torture and incarceration to anything being done by the US is a flat out lie and you owe it to the people who read your stuff to tell them the truth. Such as Serious is a citizen of Britain, subject to the legal protections of the Ministry. He was put on trial, and thanks to the scheming of Petigrew, found guilty and sent to Azkaban, a place that in addition to its guards have no real life analogy. Compare that to someone who is captured fighting Americans on a battlefield, who are not subject too the legal protections of the Constitution much less even Geneva, who are "tortured" with underwear on their head or barking dogs and their is no comparison. By doing so HP alliance, "other" HP websites and now Mugglenet are at fault for these and many other gross inflations of "facts" and completly taint the otherwise positive aspects of a website that makes literature fun for a new generation.