1. 10:42 21st Mar 2012

    Notes: 1

    Tags: quoteafricaKonymusic

    A singer may be innocent; never the song.
    — John Berger
     

  2. 10:18

    Notes: 4

    Tags: africakonycharitypovertyinternational development

    The White Savior Industrial Complex

    And we also agree on something else: that there is an internal ethical urge that demands that each of us serve justice as much as he or she can. But beyond the immediate attention that he rightly pays hungry mouths, child soldiers, or raped civilians, there are more complex and more widespread problems. There are serious problems of governance, of infrastructure, of democracy, and of law and order. These problems are neither simple in themselves nor are they reducible to slogans. Such problems are both intricate and intensely local.

    The White Savior Industrial Complex is a valve for releasing the unbearable pressures that build in a system built on pillage. We can participate in the economic destruction of Haiti over long years, but when the earthquake strikes it feels good to send $10 each to the rescue fund. I have no opposition, in principle, to such donations (I frequently make them myself), but we must do such things only with awareness of what else is involved. If we are going to interfere in the lives of others, a little due diligence is a minimum requirement.


     

  3. 07:25

    Notes: 5

    Tags: facebookfunnyKONYpinterestnarcissist

    The More Facebook Friends You Have, the Bigger Asshole You Are

    Hey, kids. Tradge news. I know you thought that your 700 raccoon-eye duckface bathroom self-portraits were establishing you as a rigorous thinker and a pillar of the internet — the Christiane Amanpour of“What’s in my purse?”, if you will — but, turns out, you’re just another “toxic narcissist.”

    Broadly, the more Facebook friends you have, the more of a complete dick you are.

    It’s not as though, if they weren’t furiously uploading thinspo to Pinterest, all these kids would be volunteering in the Sudan. And even though the whole Kony 2012 epidemic was obviously super obnoxious (finally, a way to make African child soldiers all about MEEEEE!!!), legions of 15-year-olds reposting that stupid video seems at leastslightly more productive than the previous iteration — which was, I guess, hushed clutches of self-satisfied rich people sitting in parlors discussing the “Negro problem.” At least it’s visible. At least it’s something.

     

  4. 22:18 14th Mar 2012

    Notes: 4

    Tags: warkonyafricainvisible children

    The Road to Hell Is Paved with Viral Videos

    For all its goodwill, Invisible Children’s Kony 2012 film is dangerous propaganda, pure and simple. It’s not a call to make a notorious celebrity out of Joseph Kony — it’s a call to war.

     

  5. 15:35 12th Mar 2012

    Notes: 1

    Tags: violencekonykony 2012warnews

    GOOD interview with Invisible Children

    Invisible Children talking about using violence to stop Kony from using violence…

    -

    “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary, the evil it does is permanent.” Gandhi

    -

    GOOD: Invisible Children supports the Ugandan army, the UPDF, in their pursuit of Kony. But it’s been shown that the UPDF has committed its own atrocities in the past, including rapes. Why are you supporting them?

    JENKINS: That’s a great question. Yes, it’s true that the Ugandan military has committed crimes in the past. We do not deny those crimes. But in terms of the pursuit of the LRA in the last six years, they’ve made a marked change and are attempting to be spotless.

    We were involved in five years of peace talks with Kony. We want peace. But the truth is that Kony abused the peace process, used it to regain strength, and then went to wreak havoc. At that point, if someone’s busting into your house with a gun and robbing you, you can only talk for so long before you start using force. Force is an absolute last resort, and our campaign is trying to get him to surrender. We don’t want a bloodbath. A peaceful end to this is the dream.

    GOOD: Assuming it does come down to conflict, why continue supporting the Ugandan army since most reports say Kony has fled Uganda?

    JENKINS: Great question. That’s because the UPDF is the only force able to go after Kony. Congo is a failed state, Central African Republic has no military, South Sudan just became a country and has no military. There’s nobody else there to stop him. The only people there are U.N. peacekeepers, and they have a “do no harm” policy, meaning they can take no offensive action. The only thing they can do is protect their own base. The UPDF is all that’s there. And they have received permission from regional governments to operate in their nations to attack the LRA.

     

  6. 15:25

    Notes: 5

    Tags: konykony 2012

    image: Download

     

  7. 18:43 9th Mar 2012

    Notes: 11

    Tags: KONY 2012KonyInvisible ChildrenVisible ChildrenUgandaAfricaInternational Development

    Okay, its time to really break this KONY 2012 topic down….

    Lets clarify a few things:

    Posting this does not mean I hate little Ugandan kids (thanks Chels).

    (See, look, I love kids..)

    Nor does it mean I don’t respect Invisible Children as an org.

    But, Invisible Children asked for awareness, and here it is.

    The Video - Anything to get the people of the world more conscious of their surrounding and world issues is good by me.

    Invisible Children is a nonprofit org primarily comprised of filmmakers whose focus is to raise awareness about child soldiers.  I have been a big fan of the org for a while, I think they are amazing souls and incredibly talented. 

    They posted their KONY 2012 video with hopes that people would wake up, learn more about the topic and engage in the issue. What happened? All the people sitting at their desks at work in NY, SF, Dubai, Quito, wherever found something actually interesting and worthwhile on their radar. Finally!

    Well, unfortunately for some of those more sensitive people who now have dedicated their life to the cause after 25mins… I am here to show you there is another side. There is always another side when talking about international development, poverty, destruction, aid etc.

    In development issues, especially in Africa, no situation is as simple as Invisible Children portrays. Maybe not everyone who’s watching the video understands the complex history, rampant corruption, conflicting cultures, and widespread poverty that one single African country like Uganda has (aside from the mess of problems the whole continent faces).

    The Critique - What they are doing is engaging the public, not fighting bad guys

    Let’s take a look at a few examples:

    Uganda: #StopKony2012 - For Most Ugandans Kony’s Crimes Are From a Bygone Era 

    “To call the campaign a misrepresentation is something of an understatement”

    “Many African critics are unsurprisingly crying ‘neo-colonialism!’ This is because these campaigns are disempowering of their own voices. After all, the conflict and suffering affects them directly regardless of if they hit the re-tweet button or not. “

    Taking ‘Kony 2012′ Down A Notch

    “But there’s one glaring problem: the campaign reflects neither the realities of northern Ugandan nor the attitudes of its people.”

    “Indeed, this post is not intended to take aim at Invisible Children as an organization but rather to debunk some of the myths its ‘Kony 2012′ campaign is propagating.”

    Joseph Kony is not in Uganda (and other complicated things)

    “Coming back to the “Kony 2012” video and its celebrity endorsements, what are the consequences of unleashing so many exuberant activists armed with so few facts? Defining Uganda in the international conversation by issues that are either geographical misfires (Save northern Uganda!) or an intentional attempt to distract the international community (Death to the gays!), do a disservice to the many critical problems Uganda has.”

    “In addition to the problems of poverty and nodding disease Izama highlights, Uganda is barely (if at all) democratic, and the president Yoweri Museveni ushered himself to a 4th term last year, taking him to over 25 years in power. Corruption is rampant, social services are minimal, and human rights abuses by the government common and well documented. Oh, and oil is on the way.

    Stopping Kony won’t change any of these things, and if more hardware and money flow to Museveni’s military, Invisible Children’s campaign may even worsen some problems.”

    Visible Children

    “Is awareness good? Yes. But these problems are highly complex, not one-dimensional and, frankly, aren’t of the nature that can be solved by postering, film-making and changing your Facebook profile picture, as hard as that is to swallow. Giving your money and public support to Invisible Children so they can spend it on supporting ill-advised violent intervention and movie #12 isn’t helping. Do I have a better answer? No, I don’t, but that doesn’t mean that you should support KONY 2012 just because it’s something. Something isn’t always better than nothing. Sometimes it’s worse.”

    Kate Heryford, Development Economist

    “I think the social media influence is a bit scary. I mean no one checked it and everyone donated before knowing about the organization itself. I think it’s awesome that people are taking a stock in how good organizations are, checking into their charity finder results and wanting to know more about how they are evaluating their programs and successes, but clearly this shows us that the whistleblowers of the world need to be more on edge.”

    The Reality - Everyone knows this guy is terrible and should be arrested but it’s not that simple.

    Since you are all bleeding hearts about Uganda, child soldiers and making a difference, you should not be upset. Taking the time to outline more of the problem is important to help everyone be more informed so we can take the right action. If you actually care about changing the world, this post shouldn’t upset you. If you actually care about changing the world you should be open to hearing as much as possible to do what’s best for those in need.

    The destruction Kony has left behind and continues to leave behind is overwhelming.  I hope that readers, along with Invisible Children, realize that this campaign can do a lot more than just make Kony famous. This campaign can spur global and local organizations and government officials to realize that poverty, unemployment, violence, and disease are not going to change with Kony’s arrest. In this moment, millions of passionate and capable people around the globe are looking at Uganda together. Can we actually make a change or will we all just go back to what we were doing before the KONY 2012 video went viral?

    -

    Alyssa McGarry holds a Master’s Degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. She currently works in Guatemala helping rural communities access better education.

     

  8. 11:57 7th Mar 2012

    Notes: 3

    Tags: invisible childrenvisible childrenKONY

    KONY 2012 Viewed Critically

    Is awareness good? Yes. But these problems are highly complex, not one-dimensional and, frankly, aren’t of the nature that can be solved by postering, film-making and changing your Facebook profile picture, as hard as that is to swallow. Giving your money and public support to Invisible Children so they can spend it on supporting ill-advised violent intervention and movie #12 isn’t helping. Do I have a better answer? No, I don’t, but that doesn’t mean that you should support KONY 2012 just because it’s something. Something isn’t always better than nothing. Sometimes it’s worse.

     

  9. 08:59

    Notes: 1

    Tags: Invisible Childrenkonyafricajusticepovertychild soldiers

    KONY 2012 is a film and campaign by Invisible Children that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice.