FFN_KM_GoldenGlobes_PR_011115_51623785

Earlier this month, Gawker published a really interesting essay called “Why Is South Sudan a Hellhole? Blame George Clooney”. The point of the essay was not that Clooney is a terrible person or anything, but that the Darfur genocide was a complicated geopolitical catastrophe which was made infinitely worse when Darfur became a cause célèbre and South Sudan was partitioned and given “independence.” The point of the essay was also that West should know by now that whenever we jump into these complicated situations without really understanding the facts on the ground, we make it worse. I’m not going to pretend I completely followed everything in the essay, because pretending I understand would be the same kind of mistake the world made.

Which brings me to Clooney’s latest. George cowrote (with John Prendergast and Akshaya Kumar) a New York Times op-ed about how the situation in Darfur/South Sudan – you can read it here. Summary: Darfur is still a hellhole. Sudan continues to attack the people of Darfur through literal scorched earth campaigns (burning villages to the ground, etc) and mass rape and torture. The point of the piece is “don’t forget about Darfur, it’s still terrible.”

While I think it’s noble for Clooney to still be committed to the people of Darfur – he’s paid for satellites to monitor’s Sudan’s activities for years – I also wonder if there’s a slightly superficial urge at work here. George is desperate to be taken seriously, of course, which is why he ended up married to Amal. George wants to be a bigger political player. So is it any surprise that the National Enquirer reports this week that George is looking for ways to “cement” his political credentials? A source claims: “George has big ambitions and aims to get into politics imminently. He wants to do more humanitarian work and hopes to join the Democrats’ 2016 election campaign.” The problem? A lot of people still see George as a boozy womanizer. The source also says, “Surprisingly, it’s an even money bet on what George likes better – alcohol or sex.” Yeah… that’s not a problem for a Democrat, you know?

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
FFN_GoldenGlobesRC2_KM_011115_51623980
FFN_KM_GoldenGlobes_PR_011115_51623785
FFN_KM_GoldenGlobes_PR_011115_51623787