TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, January 14, 2007
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
The Curse of Milhaven by Nick Cave
Jack Pepsi by TAD
Puke + Cry by Dinsosaur Jr.
Hypno Sex Ray by The Cramps
Two-headed Dog (Red Temple Prayer) by Roky Erikson & The Aliens
Cubby Bear by The Moggs
Man in the Box by Alice in Chains

Chill Out Tent by The Hold Steady
Kentucky Slop Song by NRBQ
Do You Believe in Rapture? by Sonic Youth
Shady Lane by Pavement
English Civil War (Johnny Comes Marching Home) by The Clash
Greatest Show on Earth by Outkast with Macy Gray
Sometimes I Wish I Had a Gun by Mink Stole

Mooney by The Kilimanjaro Yak Attack
I Go Evil by Chris Whitley & The Bastard Club
Puttin' on the Dog by Tom Waits
Two Dogs and a Bone by Los Lobos
River City by The Dwarves
Thunder on the Mountain by Bob Dylan
Goodbye Sweet Pops by Archie Schepp
All I Can Do Is Cry by Ike & Tina Turner

Keep on Pushing by The Impressions
Why? (The King of Love is Dead) by Nina Simone
Letter From a Birmingham Jail by Ronny Elliott
A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

UNBRIDLED BLOGGERY

Yippie! I've been upgraded to the snazzy new Blogger system.

What does that mean to you? The major advantage I see is that I now have categories. I've already set up my "big five" categories -- my two weekly columns, my two radio shows, plus my monthly eMusic downloads. I've just gone back a couple of months (more on the eMusic, since there's only a few). But all new posts in the areas will have categories, and you can access them via the permanent links on the right side of the page.

The biggest drawback I've found is that I can't get my Haloscan comments to work. I'll work on that. In the meantime, if you have a comment, just e-mail me.

In other blog news, I'll again be doing a separate Legislature blog for The New Mexican this year. You can find it HERE. (On the maiden post you can find the links to all the Legislature stories I have in today's New Mexican.)

As has been the case the past couple of years, my personal blog here -- normally a strange hodgepodge of music and state politics -- will focus mainly on music, though it still be the home of Roundhouse Roundup, my weekly political column. (Catch that cool category link!)

And I'll still post an occasional link to funny political items like this one in this morning's Washington Post.:

But the big campaign news is all the media attention that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) got after he was photographed shirtless. The Zeitgeist sincerely hopes that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson doesn't read that last sentence.

(OK, someone in my glass house shouldn't call the kettle "black." In fairness to the gov, if he keeps losing weight like he's done in recent weeks, he won't have to worry about stuff like this.)

THAT''S THE NEWS

My story about New Mexico leading the nation in private prisons ran today in The New Mexican. CLICK HERE

Anyway, We're Number One! I wonder if the governor will brag about this fact when he runs for president.

One reader points out that I goofed up on my alphabet soup. "MGC" should be MTC. (That's the company that used to run the Santa Fe jail.)

I also neglected to post the link to my story about Paige McKenzie, the Republican activist who was severely beaten with a tire iron by an unknown attacker. You can find that HERE.

It was great seeing Paige on Thursday and it truly is amazing how she's recovered.

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, January 12, 2007
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Ghosts of Hallelujah by The Gourds
I Told You So by Ramsay Midwood
Devil in the Blue Dress by Bill Kirchen
How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away by Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
The Shakin' Fears by P.W. Long
Love-A-Rama by Southern Culture on the Skids
Cat Scratch Fever by Hayseed Dixie
Animal Hoedown by Harry Hayward

Mean Man Blues by 1/4 Mile Combo
Wanted Man by Johnny Cash
Hama Hama Hula by Jon Rauhouse
Singer of Sad Songs by Waylon Jennings
Life of a Fool by Paul Burch
American History by Cary Swinney
Palestine, Texas by T-Bone Burnett
The Caves of Burgundy by Boris & The Saltlicks

BLAZE 'n' HAZE SET
Rainbows and Ridges by Blaze Foley
Wild Man by Hasil Adkins
A Song for Blaze by Elliot Rogers
She Said by The Cramps
Down Here Where I Am by Blaze Foley
No More Hotdogs by Hasil Adkins
Someday by Blaze Foley
Me and Jesus by Hasil Adkins
Springtime in Uganda by Townes Van Zandt

All Beauty Taken From You In This Life Remains Forever by Chris Whitley & The Bastard Club
Unbroken Love by Andy Fairweather Low
Magic Glasses by Ed Pettersen
Silverlake Babies by Eleni Mandell
If I Could Only Fly by Merle Haggard
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: HAZE 'n' BLAZE

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 12, 2007

Late last year, two albums were released featuring never-released or long-out-of print recordings from late, great, American wild man originals — Hasil Adkins and Blaze Foley.


Besides the fact that they both played guitar and they’re both dead — Foley was shot to death in 1989, while Adkins died in 2005 just shy of his 68th birthday — one might conclude that Blaze and Haze don’t have much in common. But both men’s music generally was overlooked by the mainstream. And both artists inspired worshipful cults. In my view, the worship is well-deserved, and these new albums should be seen as sacraments.

*Best of the Haze by Hasil Adkins. The crashing strum of an out-of-tune guitar with a menacing backwoods voice declaring, “Well I’m gonna tell you what happened” is the foreboding start of this record. It’s as if you’ve found yourself in a nightmare in which you’re trapped in a hillbilly’s still house on the wrong side of the cosmic tracks — where the guy talking has one hand on the neck of a battered guitar and the other hand on a shotgun.

How can you describe Hasil Adkins? I don’t think I can top All Music Guide, which called him a “frantic one-man band who bashed out ultra-crude rock & roll tunes about sex, chicken, and decapitation into a wheezing reel-to-reel tape machine in a West Virginia shack.”

Probably the best known of those groups who went on the Adkins diet is The Cramps, whose trademark “psychobilly” sound sprang from the Haze.

He started out in the 1950s, recording his bizarro-world one-man rockabilly for tiny regional labels. It was those early 45s that inspired The Cramps and others and eventually led to Adkins recording long-players in the ’80s and ’90s on the Norton label (plus an album on Fat Possum Records and a live recording from the Chicago-based Bughouse label).

Unfortunately, despite the title of this album, you won’t find those scratchy-but-sublime old recordings here. What Best of The Haze offers is a bunch of tracks from early-’90s sessions for a never-released album on the now-defunct IRS label (once the home of R.E.M., Concrete Blonde, and Wall of Voodoo, among others).

He’s older in these recordings but hardly mellower. There are some re-recordings of classic Haze “hits” (including the opening cut “She Said” and “This Ain’t No Rock ’n’ Roll Show”), a couple of cover songs (Hank’s “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and Elvis’ “Teddy Bear”), a Christmas tune (“Santa Claus Boogie”), and even a gospel tune (“Me & Jesus”).

But the best is “Wild Man” — another re-recorded old song that shows Adkins as the ultimate dirty old man. The song basically consists of Haze frantically strumming his guitar, apparently tuned to the key of H, and singing — sometimes almost screaming — “verses” that repeat the phrase “you call me a wild man” and stopping every so often to speak lines like: “Now you wouldn’t take your clothes off would ya? [pause] Well, if you did, it would be all right!”

*Cold, Cold World by Blaze Foley and The Beaver Valley Boys. While it’s not hard to see why an acquired taste like Hasil Adkins never made a splash in the mainstream, Blaze Foley should have been a star.


Only thing is, Blaze lived as crazy as Haze sang. He was essentially homeless, sleeping under pool tables at bars. He patched up old shoes with duct tape.

But this hard-drinking, even harder-living Texan (born Michael David Fuller) wrote what can only be called some mighty songs. His best known surely is “If I Could Only Fly,” the stunning title track of Merle Haggard’s best album of this century. Hag, who also recorded that song with Willie Nelson about 20 years ago, reportedly has contemplated releasing a whole album of Blaze songs.

Haggard’s not alone. John Prine sang Foley’s “Clay Pigeons” on his last album. Both Lucinda Williams and Townes Van Zandt wrote songs about Foley (“Drunken Angel” and “Blaze’s Blues,” respectively). And there have been several little-noticed Blaze tribute albums, featuring performances mainly by the singer’s Austin pals, released in recent years.

Cold, Cold World is graced by Gurf Morlix, a fine artist in his own right who plays guitar and bass and sings backup here. The songs were recorded in 1979 and 1980 — at a time when some thought Foley might reach some level of mainstream success.

The album has some pretty country songs like the title song and the mournful “Picture Cards” (which has similarities to “If I Could Only Fly”), some breezy, bluesy stuff like “No Goodwill Stores in Waikiki” and “Slow Boat to China,” and even some topical numbers like “Election Day” (later recorded by Lyle Lovett) and “Officer Norris” (a protest against a cop).
Foley’s wry humor is all over the album, especially on songs like “Christian Lady Talkin’ on a Bus,” “Big Cheeseburgers and Good French Fries,” and “New Wave Blues” which starts out, “There goes that tongue again, back in my ear again.”

The man should have been a star.

THE GOURDS!

ANTS ON THE MELON
Originally uploaded by Robotclaw666.

I didn't realize there were so many Gourds fans in Santa Fe, but it was a great turnout last night at the Santa Fe Brewing Company and the band delivered.

It took a couple of numbers for them to warm up, but then a Cajun-flavored tune kicked them into an overdrive that rarely faltered.

It also was great to see Boris & The Saltlicks, who opened the show/

The Brewing Company is hoping to bring The Gourds back for an outdoor show if this winter ever stops.

See more photos on my FLICKR SITE.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: ICY ROADS, RATS & WEASELS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 11, 2007

A writer known as “the lean gray wolf” of investigative journalism says the New Mexico press seemed forgiving toward Gov. Bill Richardson after the recent hundred-year snowstorm left travelers stranded on highways crossing the state.


Dan K. Thomasson, a former editor of the Scripps Howard News Service, said in his syndicated column this week that the state administration’s response to the snowstorm could detract from Richardson’s prospects as a presidential candidate.

Thomasson isn’t just any run-of-the-mill ink-stained crank. He broke the story of President Kennedy’s affair with a Mafia moll and was literally thrown out of the Chappaquiddick police station for demanding to see the accident report on the drowning death of Mary Jo Kopechne.
Described by The Albuquerque Tribune, a Scripps Howard paper, as a frequent visitor to the state, Thomasson apparently was in Santa Fe around New Year’s.

“In this land of enchantment where the deer and the antelope still play and the politically corrupt Santa Fe Ring once held sway, the old timers are betting that the next entrant in the Democratic sweepstakes will be Bill Richardson, the former congressman, Energy secretary and now governor,” Thomasson wrote.

“Before getting too excited about that prospect, consider that Richardson’s administrative expertise got severely tested by the politician’s nightmare — a snowstorm that discombobulated the state and its capital for days longer than it should have, leaving New Mexicans grumbling from Gallup to the Colorado line,” Thomasson wrote.

He noted the only downtown Santa Fe streets cleared by Jan. 1 were the ones near the hotels hosting Richardson’s inaugural ball. Of course those streets are the city’s responsibility, not the state’s. And it probably was a wise idea to clear an area where thousands of people — that is, thousands of potential lawsuits — were about to converge.


Even given the rarity of such a storm here, the Indiana native said it doesn’t look good for our governor if the snow response is any indication of the way he’d respond to more serious emergencies. But, referring to the nation’s first presidential primary, he wrote, “If the warming trend continues in the East, perhaps he won’t have to embarrass himself by mentioning how he handled what is normally an every day New Hampshire occurrence.”

Rats ’n’ weasels: With cockfighting in serious jeopardy in the coming legislative session (Richardson finally came out against this family activity, which is legal in only New Mexico and Louisiana), fans of the fighting birds might have to consider other entertainment.

Author Nick Tosches in King of the Jews, his 2005 biography of gangster Arnold Rothstein, wrote about a Water Street (that’s New York, not Santa Fe) gaming establishment run by a saloon owner named Christopher “Kit” Burns in the 1860s.

“Sportsman’s Hall offered four sporting events: rat killing by a weasel, rat killing by a dog, rat killing by a man, and dog fighting,” Tosches wrote.


“Sportsmen complained that rat killing by a weasel was too slow, as the weasel, who was a natural-born rat killer, devoted too much time to the chase. Rat killing by a dog was a better spectacle, and it made for better gambling. ... As for rat killing by a man, Burns often found it difficult to find a man willing to get into the pit, chase down a big fat river rat, seize it, and take off its wild vicious head with a chomp of a jaw. Some men would do anything for a bottle. But such men were not always adept in the pit. ... Long-moneyed bettors cheered whenever the rat took a piece of hand, lips, cheek or nose.”

Dog fighting has been illegal in this state for years. However, I don’t believe there’s anything on the books concerning rat fighting.

Cockfighting proponents say if their opponents succeed, next thing you know, animal-rights activists will go after rodeo, hunting and fishing.

But don’t worry. I understand they’re having a hard time lining up sponsors for that anti-fishing bill.

Friends of the Earth: Santa Fe lawmakers — all of them Democrats — made good grades on The Conservation Voters of New Mexico’s scorecard for the past two legislative sessions.

In the House, state Rep. Peter Wirth scored a perfect 100 percent, based on his votes on various measures. Close behind were House Speaker Ben Luján and Rep. Luciano “Lucky” Varela, who both got cumulative grades of 92 percent. Rep. Jim Trujillo came in last for Santa Fe with a 70 percent rating.

On the Senate side, John Grubesic scored a 95 percent rating while Nancy Rodriguez got 83 percent.

Emerging women: Players in both major political parties in New Mexico often grumble privately that it’s hard to recruit qualified candidates for state office. However, a group of Democratic women has been recruiting and training women for just that purpose.

EmergeNew Mexico, an organization co-chaired by Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and former Attorney General Patricia Madrid, just completed a seven-month program designed to train Democratic women in how to plan, fund, organize and win political campaigns. Twenty-three women who successfully completed the program will take part in a graduation ceremony at the Roundhouse Rotunda on Saturday.

Some of these might be returning to the Capitol. According to a press release, EmergeNew Mexico is a part of a national group that claims 60 percent of its graduates go on to win elections.

Meanwhile, some believe that Emerge leaders Denish and Madrid, who ran against each other for lieutenant governor back in 1994, might emerge as rivals again for governor in 2010.

THE GOURDS TONITE!

One of my favorite bands, The Gourds from Austin, Texas, will be playing the Santa Fe Brewing Company tonight.

Also on the bill is New Mexico's own Boris & The Saltlicks.

And if you get there at 6 p.m. you can catch a screening of Lexie Shabel's We Like to Drink, We Like to Play Rock 'n' Roll.

It costs $10 in advance (not sure if those are still available) or $15 at the door.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE DENISH RUNNING FOR GUV IN 2010

Here's a link to my profile of Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and her desire to run for governor in 2010. CLICK HERE

I also wrote a sidebar about the history of lieutenant govs running for governor or higher office.

Speaking of which, I just got off the phone with former Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley, who agreed there's great difficulty with a sitting light guv running for governor.

"Whatever baggage the governor has, that's going to be your baggage too, no matter what his accomplishments were," Bradley said.

In his case, Bradley noted, it was Gov. Gary Johnson's call for drug law reform that hurt him in the Republican primary -- even though Bradley didn't back Johnson on this issue.

He also said it's tough to run from that position because after eight years voters often are looking for a change, and the lieutenant governor usually is seen as part of the old administration.

Here's my side bar:

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 10, 2007

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish not only wants to be New Mexico’s first female governor, she wants to be the first lieutenant governor to be elected governor.

Although several have tried, no lieutenant governor in the state’s history has succeeded in winning a governor’s race in this state.

In 2002, Walter Bradley, who served in the No. 2 post for eight years under Gov. Gary Johnson, lost the Republican primary to state Rep. John Sanchez.

In 1994, incumbent Democratic Gov. Bruce King was challenged in a bitter primary race by his lieutenant governor, Casey Luna. King won the primary but lost to Johnson in the general election.

Roberto Mondragon, who had served two previous terms under King, ran unsuccessfully for governor that year on the Green Party ticket.

Back in 1978, Lt. Gov. Bob Ferguson, who served under Gov. Jerry Apodaca, ran for governor but lost to King in the primary.

The only lieutenant governors to assume the governor’s chair were Tom Bolack — who took the office after Gov. Ed Mechem stepped down to take a vacant U.S. Senate seat — and the state’s first lieutenant governor, Washington Lindsey, who assumed power after the state’s first governor, Ezequiel C de Baca, died.

The most successful lieutenant governor in terms of achieving higher office was Joseph Montoya, who was elected to four two-year lieutenant governor terms in the 1940s and 1950s. Montoya later was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and to the U.S. Senate.

Mack Easley, who served under Gov. Jack Campbell in the early 1960s, went on to win a state Senate seat and later was appointed, then elected to the state Supreme Court.

Mike Runnels, who served under Gov. Toney Anaya in the 1980s, was elected district attorney of Cibola, Sandoval and Valencia counties in the 1990s. But he lost two bids for the District 2 congressional seat once held by his father, Harold Runnels.

THIS JUST IN: CEASE-FIRE IN DARFUR

Gov. Bill Richardson's office just sent this press release announcing he's negotiated a cease-fire in Darfur.

But, a word of caution from Associated Press writer Nedra Pickler, who noted that President Al bashir "rebuffed " Richardson's call for United Nations troops in Sudan.

Richardson’s other main objective was to get a cease-fire, and he
claimed accomplishment by issuing a joint press statement with al-Bashir that said both sides in the fight agree to a 60-day cessation of hostilities while they work toward lasting peace. However, many issues were outstanding, including whether al-Bashir would uphold his verbal agreement with Richardson when he has a history of breaking commitments.There is broad skepticism around the world about al-Bashir’s commitment to peace after years of support for local militia attacks on innocent civilians in Darfur. More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million forced to flee their homes in violence that President Bush has labeled genocide.

Here's the raw release:

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson Gets Commitment for 60-Day Cease-Fire in Darfur Region of Sudan

KHARTOUM, SUDAN – New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today announced that he has secured a commitment from Sudanese President Omer Hassan Al Bashir to agree to a 60-day cessation of hostilities in the Darfur region to allow for a new political process under the Darfur Peace Agreement and the auspices of the African Union and the United Nations. Governor Richardson also spoke this week with rebel leaders who said they would agree to a cease-fire. If all parties follow through with the cease-fire, the A.U. and the U.N. will convene a Peace Summit on March 15 under the framework of the peace agreement.

Governor Richardson also secured the following commitments from President Al Bashir:

· Agreed not to have the National military aircraft painted in white markings normally reserved for international organizations.

· Agreed that government forces would attempt to improve security conditions in all areas of Darfur with special emphasis on El Geneina, and would provide protection to food and other humanitarian convoys.

· Agreed to expedite procedures for entry visas for all humanitarian aid workers as well as goods. He also agreed to terminate the requirement of exit visas for humanitarian aid workers.

· Agreed to allow and facilitate travel by journalists from all over the world to Darfur.

· Governor Richardson and President Al Bashir reiterated that gender-based violence and such crimes must be condemned and prosecuted regardless of which party or organization was responsible. President Bashir said he would welcome a significant contribution of female members to the AU/UN hybrid operations. In addition the Justice Minister offered analyze and extend existing efforts to support Sudanese women against all gender-based violence.

Joint Press Statement on the conclusion of the visit by Governor Bill Richardson to the Sudan

7th – 10th January 2006

H.E Bill Richardson Governor of New Mexico accompanied by a delegation sponsored by and including members of the Save Darfur Coalition, the leading United States-based Darfur peace advocacy organization, conducted a visit to Sudan to discuss ways to secure peace in the Darfur region of Sudan and the protection of all civilians and other non-combatants. The Governor and the delegation visited EI Fasher and Nayala in Darfur, for meetings with internally displaced persons in Darfur, rebel groups that are signatories to the (DPA) as well as those which are not as of yet, international agencies, the United Nations, and humanitarian aid as well as the Wali of North Darfur and the Deputy Wali of Southern Darfur States and held meetings in Khartoum with H.E President Omer Hassan Al Bashir,Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mr. Ali Ahmed Karti and a number of high ranking Sudanese officials.

Both sides agreed that ending the conflict in Darfur is Sudan's and the international community’s highest priority. Peace, they agreed, can only come through a political settlement that is joined in by and addresses the needs of all parties, on the basis of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) of 5 May 2006 reiterating their support for preserving Sudan's territorial integrity and the importance of respect for Sudan's sovereignty.

Both sides agreed that there was a compelling need for a comprehensive cease-fire to launch a political process based on the DPA that would lead to a durable end to the conflict as soon as possible. Both agreed to a 60-day cessation of hostilities by all parties within the framework of the DPA, accompanied by a start in African Union/United Nations diplomatic efforts, within the framework of the DPA, to begin narrowing the gaps between the non-signatories, including government approval of a field commanders' conference attended by the African Union and United Nations. This would be followed at the appropriate moment by an African Union/United Nations – sponsored peace summit, again in the framework of the DPA, no later than 15 March 2007. Simultaneously, both agreed that the UN needed to expedite as quickly as possible the provision of UN personnel agreed in Addis Ababa and further specified in Abuja in November 2006. President Bashir re-affirmed his commitment to continue to facilitate the deployment of UN personnel and equipment consistent with his agreement with the Secretary General of the UN on Phases II and III, including the eventual conclusions of the Tripartite Committee as stipulated in the DPA.

The two sides noted that Governor Richardson had secured a commitment from commanders of the Justice and Equality Movement and of the Non-Signatory Front to participate in a process including a 60-day cease fire agreement within the framework of the DPA. Governor Richardson and Save Darfur Coalition expressed their grave concern to all parties with whom they met about continuing and increasing attacks on civilians and other non-combatants.

They reiterated that gender-based violence and such crimes must be condemned and prosecuted regardless of which party or organization was responsible, noting that Governor Richardson and the Save Darfur Coalition emphasized the need in all their meetings for implementing mechanisms to ensure that "zero tolerance" policies towards gender-based violence be applied in practice, quickly and robustly. Governor Richardson noted with appreciation President Bashir's commitment to welcome a significant contribution of female members to the AU/UN hybrid operations. Both sides expressed their grave concern at allegations of gender ­based violence by United Nations personnel in South Sudan.

Governor Richardson and the delegation also met with the Under-Secretary of Justice, the Rapporteur of the Advisory Council for Human Rights and Dr. Attigatt who presented a briefing on Sudanese Government efforts to institutionalize protections for women. The Governor and the delegation accepted the offer to work with the Ministry to analyze and extend existing efforts to support Sudanese women against all gender-based violence.

President Bashir and Governor Richardson also agreed that more light needs to be shed on the full situation in Darfur. President Bashir agreed to allow and facilitate travel by journalists from all over the world to Darfur.

The two sides underscored the need to disarm all armed groups, including the Janjaweed, pursuant to the provision of the DPA, and further agreed not to have the National military aircraft painted in white markings normally reserved for international organizations.

President Bashir agreed that government forces would attempt to improve security conditions in all areas of Darfur with special emphasis on El Geneina, and would provide protection to food and other humanitarian convoys. They also agreed that humanitarian aid agencies have greatly assisted the Government and people of Sudan by providing much needed emergency and development aid in Darfur and other parts of Sudan. President Bashir agreed to expedite procedures for entry visas for all humanitarian aid workers as well as goods. He also agreed to terminate the requirement of exit visas for humanitarian aid workers. President Bashir noted with satisfaction the strong statements by the Save Darfur Coalition to rebel commanders condemning attacks by their members on humanitarian aid operations and agreed to initiate an ongoing dialogue with the Save Darfur Coalition aimed at ending the violence in Darfur and on achieving a political solution to the crises.

The two sides agreed to apprise African Union Special Envoy Salim Ahmed Salim and United Nations Special Envoy Jan Eliasson of these developments, so that the African Union and United Nations will facilitate the commanders meeting and launch the political discussion and to maintain regular communication assessing progress on these important initiatives to identify areas of difficulty on which further engagement may be necessary to ensure rapid progress and durable outcomes.

Both sides agreed that an improvement of relations is in the mutual interest of both countries.