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[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

Geez man. I hate how you can never trust people. Glad I didn't donate....yet....

Donate to a different charity if you already planned to donate...

 

[RumblingRosco]

I was under the impression we were just trying to keep our military advisers there to help their military with strategy. None of our troops are actually fighting... Is that incorrect?

It's entirely possible that I'm incorrect about us having troops there, but my point still stands that leaving our advisers there, donating money/supplies to Uganda, etc, all cause additional U.S. involvement in foreign affairs, which I've heard nothing but flak about from my friends for years now. I guess, this whole thing seems a bit overboard if this campaign is only to keep our advisers there for longer, so I assumed they wanted a bit more out of this awareness being generated.

But, to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if we don't have at least a few troops in/around Uganda.

 

[Kad5]

It's entirely possible that I'm incorrect about us having troops there, but my point still stands that leaving our advisers there, donating money/supplies to Uganda, etc, all cause additional U.S. involvement in foreign affairs, which I've heard nothing but flak about from my friends for years now. I guess, this whole thing seems a bit overboard if this campaign is only to keep our advisers there for longer, so I assumed they wanted a bit more out of this awareness being generated.

But, to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if we don't have at least a few troops in/around Uganda.

Obama sent in troops to help fight the LRA recently.

 

[noah111]

Spread some memes on my FB and had a bunch of chats with people about it. Yeah, a lot are over with it already, or didn't even start with the bandwagon to begin with.

Pretty crazy situation all around.

 

[Kad5]

Spread some memes on my FB and had a bunch of chats with people about it. Yeah, a lot are over with it already, or didn't even start with the bandwagon to begin with.

Pretty crazy situation all around.

What memes exactly? I'm interested.

 

[Kad5]

From Reddit:

Wow, they are pros at visual propaganda. Their Fundraising ($286,678) pie - extends farther down to trick the brain into thinking they spend a lot on it. Then right next to it, the Media & Film creation piece is barely legible and is made smaller, even though they spent far more money on it ($699,617). They employed the same tactic with Management & General ($1,444,567) by making it look smaller. These people are real pros at shaping the truth to their benefit.

This is shady as fuck what the hell is this bullshit?

 

[shanshan310]

Eeeeh. On one hand, I really think it's important to try to help people, which this program aims to do. On the other hand, I'm not really sure how effective it is. In the end Kony is just another figurehead. Killing him isn't going to end all of Africa's problems or even prevent child soldiers, just in the same way that killing Osama Bin Laden didn't end terrorism or Al Qaeda. But the problem is that people are going to think it has. How often does Uganda, or any of Africa's problems get reported in the news? And how often do you think it will be reported after Kony is dealt with? But the vast majority of people who watched this video and think they have "saved" Africa will probably see the problem as resolved. Asking people to spread the link on facebook, while helping to spread the message, also tends to breed a feeling of "well I shared it, I've already done my part and don't need to do anything else". Its better than not doing anything, but in the long run is it really going to help people?


http://thedailywh.at/2012/03/07/on-kony-2012-2/?fb_ref=newpromocopy

On Kony 2012: I honestly wanted to stay as far away as possible from KONY 2012, the latest fauxtivist fad sweeping the web (remember “change your Facebook profile pic to stop child abuse”?), but you clearly won’t stop sending me that damn video until I say something about it, so here goes:

Stop sending me that video.

The organization behind Kony 2012 — Invisible Children Inc. — is an extremely shady nonprofit that has been called ”misleading,” “naive,” and “dangerous” by a Yale political science professor, and has been accused by Foreign Affairs of “manipulat[ing] facts for strategic purposes.” They have also been criticized by the Better Business Bureau for refusing to provide information necessary to determine if IC meets the Bureau’s standards.

Additionally, IC has a low two-star rating in accountability from Charity Navigator because they won’t let their financials be independently audited. That’s not a good thing. In fact, it’s a very bad thing, and should make you immediately pause and reflect on where the money you’re sending them is going.

By IC’s own admission, only 31% of all the funds they receive go toward actually helping anyone [pdf]. The rest go to line the pockets of the three people in charge of the organization, to pay for their travel expenses (over $1 million in the last year alone) and to fund their filmmaking business (also over a million) — which is quite an effective way to make more money, as clearly illustrated by the fact that so many can’t seem to stop forwarding their well-engineered emotional blackmail to everyone they’ve ever known.

And as far as what they do with that money:

The group is in favour of direct military intervention, and their money supports the Ugandan government’s army and various other military forces. Here’s a photo of the founders of Invisible Children posing with weapons and personnel of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. Both the Ugandan army and Sudan People’s Liberation Army are riddled with accusations of rape and looting, but Invisible Children defends them, arguing that the Ugandan army is “better equipped than that of any of the other affected countries”, although Kony is no longer active in Uganda and hasn’t been since 2006 by their own admission. These books each refer to the rape and sexual assault that are perennial issues with the UPDF, the military group Invisible Children is defending.

Let’s not get our lines crossed: The Lord’s Resistance Army is bad news. And Joseph Kony is a very bad man, and needs to be stopped. But propping up Uganda’s decades-old dictatorship and its military arm, which has been accused by the UN of committing unspeakable atrocities and itself facilitated the recruitment of child soldiers, is not the way to go about it.

The United States is already plenty involved in helping rout Kony and his band of psycho sycophants. Kony is on the run, having been pushed out of Uganda, and it’s likely he will soon be caught, if he isn’t already dead. But killing Kony won’t fix anything, just as killing Osama bin Laden didn’t end terrorism. The LRA might collapse, but, as Foreign Affairs points out, it is “a relatively small player in all of this — as much a symptom as a cause of the endemic violence.”

Myopically placing the blame for all of central Africa’s woes on Kony — even as a starting point — will only imperil many more people than are already in danger.

Sending money to a nonprofit that wants to muck things up by dousing the flames with fuel is not helping. Want to help? Really want to help? Send your money to nonprofits that are putting more than 31% toward rebuilding the region’s medical and educational infrastructure, so that former child soldiers have something worth coming home to.

Here are just a few of those charities. They all have a sparkling four-star rating from Charity Navigator, and, more importantly, no interest in airdropping American troops armed to the teeth into the middle of a multi-nation tribal war to help one madman catch another.

The bottom line is, research your causes thoroughly. Don’t just forward a random video to a stranger because a mass murderer makes a five-year-old “sad.” Learn a little bit about the complexities of the region’s ongoing strife before advocating for direct military intervention.

There is no black and white in the world. And going about solving important problems like there is just serves to make all those equally troubling shades of gray invisible.

 

[noah111]

What memes exactly? I'm interested.

Oh man there's just so many. Anyway, here's a more out there example of the backlash I've seen on my stream;

 

[noah111]

So you know what, since you asked;

Some of them I posted, others were shared and in circulation, etc. Kinda become a backlash thing, while still kinda caring about the movement. It's a weird deal all around.

 

[Kad5]

This organization is shady as fuck. I know for sure now.

There should be no reason for them to mislead people in their funding visual.

That's some stupid bullshit.

Fuck Kony 2012.

 

[Karakand]

------------------------------

This is shady as fuck what the hell is this bullshit?

Most of "Awareness Programs" is essentially fundraising too.

 

[Kad5]

Most of "Awareness Programs" is essentially fundraising too.

And the management and general spending?

 

[dmshaposv]

This organization is shady as fuck. I know for sure now.

There should be no reason for them to mislead people in their funding visual.

That's some stupid bullshit.

Fuck Kony 2012.

Your posts make you sound like a "Im-not-mr-jump-on-bandwagon-fuck-that-shit!"

I think the core objective of Kony 2012 is to get people to know who the person is and start talking about him. It has done that already. Don't buy the action kit or give donations if you are cynical as fuck.

 

[Kad5]

Your posts make you sound like a "Im-not-mr-jump-on-bandwagon-fuck-that-shit!"

I think the core objective of Kony 2012 is to get people to know who the person is and start talking about him. It has done that already. Don't buy the action kit or give donations if you are cynical as fuck.

I understand that but I don't support IC.

If people want to help this cause then people really need to donate to another organization.

 

[shanshan310]

More Kony memes being posted on my facebook feed too...

EDIT: is this NSFW? I can't tell...

 

[Karakand]

And the management and general spending?

Wages, rents, office supplies, payroll taxes, utilities, misc. travel, licenses, etc.

 

[DECK'ARD]

Your posts make you sound like a "Im-not-mr-jump-on-bandwagon-fuck-that-shit!"

I think the core objective of Kony 2012 is to get people to know who the person is and start talking about him. It has done that already. Don't buy the action kit or give donations if you are cynical as fuck.

The core objective of Kony 2012 looks to be making money, most of their activities seem to be aimed at that.

At a rough estimate that video would be pulling in $15,000 a day by kickbacks from advertising with the rate of views it is getting.

And again, why the focus on one man whilst ignoring the rampant corruption of the Government and the exact same crimes of the military who are meant to catch him?

The video is slanted, the infographics are slanted, none of this sits right at all.

 

[Hot Coldman]

If you've informed yourself, cynicism should have nothing to do with your decision to support KONY2012 or not.

 

[Kad5]

Still skeptical but at least the message is good.

 

[captainnapalm]

It's a dangerous, dirty world we live in. This organisation clearly feels it has to do whatever it takes to protect children in that part of Uganda, including embracing a lesser of two evils. The idea that they're doing all this, spending their time going to Africa and getting involved with the people there just to make money, is absurd. Is this the latest get-rich quick scheme then - spend your days in war-torn African countries?

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

Some of those pictures are great because it's so true. Some girl from uni on my FB feed was OHH SOOO UPSET about this and then went back to posting about celeb gossip and I'm sure never thought about it again.

I'm honestly surprised so many people never knew about this before, either. Maybe it's just because I'm a film geek and there's been lots of films set in that region and about the conflict.

 

[shanshan310]

It's a dangerous, dirty world we live in. This organisation clearly feels it has to do whatever it takes to protect children in that part of Uganda, including embracing a lesser of two evils. The idea that they're doing all this, spending their time going to Africa and getting involved with the people there just to make money, is absurd. Is this the latest get-rich quick scheme then - spend your days in war-torn African countries?

I'm less concerned with the money part, and more concerned about them focusing on one man - a figurehead - instead of the conflict as a whole.

 

[DECK'ARD]

It's a dangerous, dirty world we live in. This organisation clearly feels it has to do whatever it takes to protect children in that part of Uganda, including embracing a lesser of two evils. The idea that they're doing all this, spending their time going to Africa and getting involved with the people there just to make money, is absurd. Is this the latest get-rich quick scheme then - spend your days in war-torn African countries?

Embracing an evil that happens to be a corrupt regime with a military committing the same crimes with impunity is quite a dangerous game. The Government getting Kony would legitimise them, and in the eyes of everyone after painting such a slanted, simplistic picture of the situation it would all be over.

It seems very misguided, and with some very real questions about why the need for all this money and where it is really going and into whose hands.

A charity where only 37% is going where it is needed would raise alarm bells whatever the cause, let alone to people who happily pose with guns and bazookas and think a murderous regime is the best way of getting a murderous man.

 

[noah111]

I'm less concerned with the money part, and more concerned about them focusing on one man - a figurehead - instead of the conflict as a whole.

I've come to realize that any big movement or awareness 'event' usually always has some sort of single unified figure or object that embodies the entire 'mission' of the movement. This is the exact same.

It's catchy, smart, easy, etc. It's unfortunate that people are so stupid these days that the only way they will pay attention to a dire cause is through marketing and a well edited high budget heart-tugging flick.

 

[shanshan310]

I've come to realize that any big movement or awareness 'event' usually always has some sort of single unified figure or object that embodies the entire 'mission' of the movement. This is the exact same.

It's catchy, smart, easy, etc. It's unfortunate that people are so stupid these days that the only way they will pay attention to a dire cause is through marketing and a well edited high budget heart-tugging flick.

But people are going to think "mission accomplished" when (if) Kony is brought to justice, and then continued support will fail. He is a terrible man, but he isn't responsible for all of the atrocities in Uganda and Africa. They aren't going to disappear when he goes, and I think this marketing is leading poorly informed people into thinking otherwise.

And yes, it is unfortunate

 

[Dead Man]

But people are going to think "mission accomplished" when (if) Kony is brought to justice, and then continued support will fail. He is a terrible man, but he isn't responsible for all of the atrocities in Uganda and Africa. They aren't going to disappear when he goes, and I think this marketing is leading poorly informed people into thinking otherwise.

And yes, it is unfortunate

You would have to be an idiot to think one individual is responsible for the situation in central Africa.

 

[G.O.O.]

I really hate the way they did their vid. It really didn't need to be this long, but he needed to talk about the world connecting, his fucking kid and all the emotional crap.

That being said, I shared. The cause is good, even if the way they're doing it isn't.

 

[LabouredSubterfuge]

Has Facebook caught him yet?

 

[captainnapalm]

Embracing an evil that happens to be a corrupt regime with a military committing the same crimes with impunity is quite a dangerous game. The Government getting Kony would legitimise them, and in the eyes of everyone after painting such a slanted, simplistic picture of the situation it would all be over.

It seems very misguided, and with some very real questions about why the need for all this money and where it is really going and into whose hands.

A charity where only 37% is going where it is needed would raise alarm bells whatever the cause, let alone to people who happily pose with guns and bazookas and think a murderous regime is the best way of getting a murderous man.

Surely the other 63% is also covering costs for them to travel and connect with people there and generally spread the message? And if he is living off the money as well, isn't that ok, if he's devoting his work to a good cause? If it can be proved, however, that he's cashing in and living large from donations, that's a different story.

I think anything that gets people to stop and think about all the bad stuff going on in the world and maybe care for a moment can't be a bad thing. Most of the time people are just on auto-pilot.

It's also a very worthy social experiment. Can the internet viral phenomenon be used for more than just videos of toddlers getting their finger bitten and cats falling over?

 

[Johnlenham]

My Fb is also blowing up with this shit, still havent bothered watching the video yet.
Some good backlash memes popping up in retaliation though and that America viral war strip a few pages back is pretty impressive haha

 

[iKeepPlaying]

It's a dangerous, dirty world we live in. This organisation clearly feels it has to do whatever it takes to protect children in that part of Uganda, including embracing a lesser of two evils.

I almost shed a tear... almost.

The idea that they're doing all this, spending their time going to Africa and getting involved with the people there just to make money, is absurd. Is this the latest get-rich quick scheme then - spend your days in war-torn African countries?

There're human beings that would sell their mothers for 2 cents. Don't come with that "spending their time going to Africa and getting involved with the people there just to make money" BS.
You're just a delusional puppy. You think you can change the world by giving 20 bucks to a shady organization? I got news for you. The world doesn't work like that.
Go and walk down the street, I bet you'll find some homeless guy. Feed him, give him some clothes, wash him. You won't spend more than 20 bucks on that and you'll be doing a lot more than just donating it to this crap.
But no, you won't do that, because you are probably just like the 90% of the people donating or "raising" awareness of this issue. Lazy people, which won't move a single finger other that to retweet it, post it on their facebook wall or post it on GAF.

 

[captainnapalm]

I almost shed a tear... almost.



There're human beings that would sell their mothers for 2 cents. Don't come with that "spending their time going to Africa and getting involved with the people there just to make money" BS.
You're just a delusional puppy. You think you can change the world by giving 20 bucks to a shady organization? I got news for you. The world doesn't work like that.
Go and walk down the street, I bet you'll find some homeless guy. Feed him, give him some clothes, wash him. You won't spend more than 20 bucks on that and you'll be doing a lot more than just donating it to this crap.
But no, you won't do that, because you are probably just like the 90% of the people donating or "raising" awareness of this issue. Lazy people, which won't move a single finger other that to retweet it, post it on their facebook wall or post it on GAF.

Aren't you hardcore, not shedding a tear for children forced to leave their families and mutilate and kill others.

As to the rest, awareness in itself is a good thing. Like I said earlier, I'm interested to see how it works as a social experiment. It might not do anything, or it might only lead to a better idea that does do something. It's bigger than just the Kony issue, when viewed in that context.

If only 10 of the 10 million people who view the video do something pro-active about it, it was still a good thing. I really don't get this immediate negativity and sarcasm and mocking from so many people.

 

[Dead Man]

I really like Takei's response:

Many fans have written and commented about KONY 2012 and Invisible Children. I applaud the fact that fans are researching and thinking critically about the movements they are asked to support. I caution, however, that "research" should not be limited to articles on reddit or tumblr, or blogs that cite political science students in Canada.

I do not endorse any particular organization, but do support the idea of publicizing KONY's name far and wide. For those interested, here is IC's official response to critiques.

 

[iKeepPlaying]

Aren't you hardcore, not shedding a tear for children forced to leave their families and mutilate and kill others.

As to the rest, awareness in itself is a good thing. Like I said earlier, I'm interested to see how it works as a social experiment. It might not do anything, or it might only lead to a better idea that does do something. It's bigger than just the Kony issue, when viewed in that context.

If only 10 of the 10 million people who view the video do something pro-active about it, it was still a good thing. I really don't get this immediate negativity and sarcasm and mocking from so many people.

No, it's not because I'm hardcore. It's because in my own country people are suffering. How the fuck I'm supposed to try and "fix something" on other country when in my own homeland, people are living on the streets? That's the kind of shit that makes me upset.
If you can't get that... sorry. But, I respect your opinion.

 

[dafrocka]

I'd like to bring your attention to the non-profit that is organizing this marketing blitz, Invisible Children.

I went through their financials in the original thread on the front page, and I'd like to share it with you...

Of the $8.9 million they spent in 2011, this is the breakdown:

$1.7 million in US employee salaries
$357,000 in Film costs
$850,000 in Production costs
$685,000 in Computer equipement
$244,000 in "professional services" (DC lobbyists)
$1.07 million in travel expenses
$400,000 in office rent in San Diego
$16,000 in Entertainment etc...

Only 2.8 million (31%) made it to their charity program (which is further whittled down by local Ugandan bureaucracy) - what do the children actually get?

 

[Dead Man]

I'd like to bring your attention to the non-profit that is organizing this marketing blitz, Invisible Children.

I went through their financials in the original thread on the front page, and I'd like to share it with you...

Of the $8.9 million they spent in 2011, this is the breakdown:

$1.7 million in US employee salaries
$357,000 in Film costs
$850,000 in Production costs
$685,000 in Computer equipement
$244,000 in "professional services" (DC lobbyists)
$1.07 million in travel expenses
$400,000 in office rent in San Diego
$16,000 in Entertainment etc...

Only 2.8 million (31%) made it to their charity program (which is further whittled down by local Ugandan bureaucracy) - what do the children actually get?

In their defence, they do not seem to be about providing for the kids directly, rather raising the call to take people in to custody.

 

[Roofy]

I'm absolutely amazed that they were smart enough to use enough buzz words, repetition, and imagery to create a great viral campaign but didnt think to launch it after the apple announcement.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Probably the same as yours. I've read tons of the articles linked in that reddit thread and here and the organisation sounds shady as fuck. I'm sure the story in the video is sad, but I'm not going to link people to a video that's going to suggest they donate money to a shady organisation.

Worst thing is it's flooded Google to make finding other previous information about him from governmental, NGO, media, impossible to find. for someone not trying to do a creative google search.

The donation of money is a bit odd, truthfully the best things to deal with Kony are things normal charities don't buy or have access to...well excluding American ones (wonder if anyone gets that joke). To help his victims people should just look at alternate charities. Heck if people want they could reupload the video stripping out IC donation info and finding other ones to replace.

Kony's a godawful son of a bitch who needs a good killing though. I'm not sure how making a viral video will help that, since it's been US policy for awhile.

 

[Kareha]

 

[Hot Coldman]

I'm loving these meme pics and such. That Predator one, I'm tempted to try it. :lol

 

[GTP_Daverytimes]

I'm absolutely amazed that they were smart enough to use enough buzz words, repetition, and imagery to create a great viral campaign but didnt think to launch it after the apple announcement.

The video is up to 37 mill, so i say people are still watching.

 

[planar1280]

Holy Shit


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQJCLk-CDow

in 2010 Invisible Children was called a front as a PRO-WAR lobby group

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

I'm loving these meme pics and such. That Predator one, I'm tempted to try it. :lol

Predator one gave me a really good laugh. Too many people on my FB are movie fans so it won't work sadly.

BUT Delroy Lindo in Congo (which is one of the best cameo roles of all time, seriously its great what he does with a short nothing character) could work (then again not with my FB feed).

The scene in question
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GWGouymBxk

 

[Sirpopopop]

I'm less concerned with the money part, and more concerned about them focusing on one man - a figurehead - instead of the conflict as a whole.

The conflict as a whole isn't going to be solved by one man, or even one state. You can't credibly expect a non-profit to solve the problems afflicting numerous sub-Saharan Africa countries.

What's the problem with a non-profit focusing on just one person and one group doing horrible things in Africa?

I don't see anyone saying, "Kill Kony. Save the Cheerleader. Save the World."

 

[planar1280]

Someone responded to my criticism of Kony by saying they spent so less on charity because they are not really a charity but an awareness group. How do I respond to this guy...no words

 

[K0NY]

What the hell's going on here? My internet has been slow.

 

[iKeepPlaying]

What the hell's going on here? My internet has been slow.

:lol
You gotta be kidding me.

 

[Cindres]

What the hell's going on here? My internet has been slow.

Whaaaaaaat?

 

[Fari]

What the hell's going on here? My internet has been slow.

How are Kamsung and Kitsubishi doing?

 

[ZROCOOL]

What the hell's going on here? My internet has been slow.

:lol ok you got me. GJ