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Palins' Darfur Lie--Alaskans Know Better

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SunsetDreams Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-06-08 05:15 PM
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Palins' Darfur Lie--Alaskans Know Better
Palins' Darfur Lie--Alaskans Know Better
Shannyn Moore
Posted October 6, 2008 | 05:14 AM (EST)

I watched the Palin-Biden Debate with over a thousand Alaskans at the Bear Tooth Theatre in Anchorage. Our collective response was filtered through years of the Palin experience combined with the recent disillusionment courtesy of intense national media scrutiny. The debate hit a nerve when the Darfur Genocide was brought up. Palin said she led the charge to divest the Alaska Permanent Fund of Sudanese investments.

The Alaska Permanent Fund was created in 1976 in order to set aside a share of oil revenues to benefit current and future generations. Alaskans have been encouraging the Permanent Fund Corporation's Board to diversify our investments and move to a socially responsible investment model. I, along with many other concerned Alaskans, testified last year at the annual permanent fund board of directors meeting held in Anchorage. Norway's successful Petroleum Fund and it's ethics board were held up as a shining example of how divestment could both be socially responsible and profitable-investment with a conscience. I was told by Mike Burns, Executive Director , that if I wanted the investment charter to include more than just a financial directive, I would need to take it up with the legislature. The genocide in Darfur seemed urgent and evidence enough to stop investing in companies who ignore slaughter to maximize profit. If there was a chance Alaskans could help end far away atrocities by divesting our $36 Billion portfolio from these businesses, we should. My testimony was met with ambivalence; the feeling you get when someone in customer service tells you it's 'not their department.' It occurred to me if the Darfur victims' age were recorded in trimesters instead of years, the ongoing Genocide of Innocents in Africa might get the same attention and support as abortion legislation.


More here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shannyn-moore/palins-darfur-lie-alaskan_b_132125.html
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