KONY 2012 (1 Viewer)

[whitem0nkey]

 

[mr roboto]

Bump.

Well worth the 30 minutes or so to watch.

When the guy who is the #1 most wanted man in the world isn't know by most of the world, he gets to hide.

 

[Papa Georgio]

After watching Machine Gun Preacher I became interested in the facts the movie was based on. I just watched this tonight. Agree that it is well worth the 30 minutes to watch. Guy needs to get got.

 

[SacramentoBob]

Gonna need a TLDR version.

 

[mr roboto]

Gonna need a TLDR version.

Joseph Kony has been building a child army that started in Uganda. He has been responsible for the murder of 30,000 children, the rape and sex trafficking of thousands of girls, and the displacement of many more.A white American activist met one of the survivors in Africa years ago, and promised to do something. He mobilized efforts to find and capture Kony. He got the US to send 100 military advisors to help find him, but the fear is, if he isn't found in 2012, American political support will dry up.They are trying to make Kony famous through signs, social media etc. to raise awareness and find the guy.KONY 2012. Looks like the site is down. Youtube video is going NUTS. dozens of comments PER SECOND right now.

 

[Gordo]

My daughter just showed me the video tonight after her AP History teacher played it in class today. Worth the watch, and a facebook share. I'll probably get the $30 kit, and put up the posters on the targeted night with her.

 

[EYLive]

If they make a PS4 the prize for his capture, that dude'll be dragged into a police station by a within minutes.

 

[wazoo11]

Spreading like wildfire on facebook.

 

[JMon348]

 

[[icon]]

THIS is what Social Media is designed for. Between stuff like Egypt, SOPA, and This.... Facebook and Twitter are making it astoundingly easy to truly facilitate change on a global scale. The power of these tools is unlike anything in human history. It really is pretty amazing when sit back and think about what things were like just 5 or 10 years ago.

 

[whitem0nkey]

While its a great cause some criticism of the Kony2012 Campaign: http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

Of the $8.9 million in donations 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

$751,000 in Computer equipment

$244,000 in "professional services" (DC lobbyists)

$1.07 million in travel expenses

$400,000 in yearly office rent in downtown 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?

 

[scoobygang]

This will help the next time I see a Ugandan warlord at my local Starbucks.

 

[[icon]]

While its a great cause some criticism of the Kony2012 Campaign: http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

Of the $8.9 million in donations 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

$751,000 in Computer equipment

$244,000 in "professional services" (DC lobbyists)

$1.07 million in travel expenses

$400,000 in yearly office rent in downtown 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?

That's a bit shady but you have to understand that this isn't a traditional funraiser/charity. This is an awareness campaign. The goal isn't to funnel money to Uganda. The goal is to use that money to make as much noise as possible here in the states to force the hand of the politicians who would rather waste their time talking #### about each other rather than the real issues. Not justifying stuff like the $400k office but just some thoughts....

$1.7 million in US employee salaries : A bit high no doubt, but that's 34 people making 50k/yr. How many people are in this group?

$357,000 in Film costs - The film is the hook. It's absolutely critical to the campaign. That's not much money when producing films

$850,000 in Production costsThe film is the hook. It's absolutely critical to the campaign. That's not much money when producing films

$751,000 in Computer equipment - This feels high unless they're self-hosting this. Even then, it seems foolish to invest in the infrastructure on a short term campaign.

$244,000 in "professional services" (DC lobbyists) - Sucks that this is needed but the goal here is to get political action. Can't blame them for this being how you do it in America.

$1.07 million in travel expenses. They're flying back and forth to Uganda and around the US on public speaking tours. Again, feels a bit high but not that bad considering it's an awareness raising mission.

$400,000 in yearly office rent in downtown San Diego - SD ain't cheap but seems they could get a cheaper place, no doubt.

$16,000 in Entertainment - They're having to wine/dine these celebs/politiicians/lobbyists.... that ain't free. If anything this feels low. Sucks that you have to grease wheels, but this is America.

 

[Henry Ford]

While its a great cause some criticism of the Kony2012 Campaign: http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

Of the $8.9 million in donations 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

$751,000 in Computer equipment

$244,000 in "professional services" (DC lobbyists)

$1.07 million in travel expenses

$400,000 in yearly office rent in downtown 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?

31% going to direct services is actually reasonable number in global non-profit circles. The American Cancer Society, for instance, is around 15%. Also, the lobbying, film/production costs, and travel costs for this non-profit are much more legitimate expenses than for most, since one of their purposes is to actually get pictures of this scumbag travelling around the world, to get the U.S. Government to commit forces to search for him, and get this guy listed as a global terrorist. That lobbying has worked.I understand the criticism, but I don't think it's entirely warranted.

 

[wazoo11]

THIS is what Social Media is designed for. Between stuff like Egypt, SOPA, and This.... Facebook and Twitter are making it astoundingly easy to truly facilitate change on a global scale. The power of these tools is unlike anything in human history. It really is pretty amazing when sit back and think about what things were like just 5 or 10 years ago.

What about Darfur, Thailand, Burma, Afghanistan, the Ivory Coast ect..

 

[SacramentoBob]

$751,000 in Computer equipment - This feels high unless they're self-hosting this. Even then, it seems foolish to invest in the infrastructure on a short term campaign.

I'm building a greenfield data center where I work, and it will cost only slightly more than this. Seems like a huge expense.

 

[[icon]]

THIS is what Social Media is designed for. Between stuff like Egypt, SOPA, and This.... Facebook and Twitter are making it astoundingly easy to truly facilitate change on a global scale. The power of these tools is unlike anything in human history. It really is pretty amazing when sit back and think about what things were like just 5 or 10 years ago.

What about Darfur, Thailand, Burma, Afghanistan, the Ivory Coast ect..

 

[urbanhack]

Bump.Well worth the 30 minutes or so to watch.When the guy who is the #1 most wanted man in the world isn't know by most of the world, he gets to hide.

 

[[icon]]

$751,000 in Computer equipment - This feels high unless they're self-hosting this. Even then, it seems foolish to invest in the infrastructure on a short term campaign.

I'm building a greenfield data center where I work, and it will cost only slightly more than this. Seems like a huge expense.

Gotcha. yeah this seems a bit ridiculous. Seems like they could buy 25 iMacs (30k), Some printers and #### ($10k) Build a website ($10k), Host it remotely (12k) and call it a year. (and those numbers feel like they're on the high side).

 

[SacramentoBob]

$751,000 in Computer equipment - This feels high unless they're self-hosting this. Even then, it seems foolish to invest in the infrastructure on a short term campaign.

I'm building a greenfield data center where I work, and it will cost only slightly more than this. Seems like a huge expense.

Gotcha. yeah this seems a bit ridiculous. Seems like they could buy 25 iMacs (30k), Some printers and #### ($10k) Build a website ($10k), Host it remotely (12k) and call it a year. (and those numbers feel like they're on the high side).

In their defense, it might not be a short term campaign. It could be a stepping stone to future campaigns. Still seems expensive without knowing what they bought and why.

 

[wadegarrett]

guy who made the video must be loving this thing blowing up

 

[ren hoek]

There's something unsettling to me about a sweeping social movement, powered by sympathy and the idea of peace, that ultimately boils down to sending a bunch of dudes with guns, who themselves rape and pillage innocent people, to kill/capture someone.

http://i.qkme.me/36hdpo.jpg

 

[Wu-banger]

The #2 person on the list behind Kony was also from Uganda....... Kinda makes you wonder if there government really cares about stopping these types of warlords ...I'm guessing its wide spread corruption.and a bigger issue than Kony.

 

[Charlie Frown]

 

[Wu-banger]

Also he needs to included some advertising and sponsors in the video ASAP to boost up the fund now that its caught on.

 

[byrshan]

There's something unsettling to me about a sweeping social movement, powered by sympathy and the idea of peace, that ultimately boils down to sending a bunch of dudes with guns, who themselves rape and pillage innocent people, to kill/capture someone. http://i.qkme.me/36hdpo.jpg

What option would you prefer? Kindly asking Kony to stop?

 

[SacramentoBob]

الشعب يريد ترجمة هذا المقطع للعربية الشعب يريد ترجمة هذا المقطع للعربية الشعب يريد ترجمة هذا المقطع للعربية الشعب يريد ترجمة هذا المقطع للعربية الشعب يريد ترجمة هذا المقطع للعربية الشعب يريد ترجمة هذا المقطع للعربية الشعب يريد ترجمة هذا المقطع للعربية الشعب يريد ترجمة هذا المقطع للعربية الشعب يريد ترجمة هذا المقطع للعربية الشعب يريد ترجمة هذا المقطع للعربية الشعب يريد ترجمة هذا المقطع للعربية الشعب يريد ترجمة هذا المقطع للعربية الشعب يريد ترجمة هذا المقطع للعربيةazx100ful 2 seconds ago

Not sure I agree with all of that.

 

[Chadstroma]

Good to see this exploding in attention. It is long over due.

 

[ren hoek]

There's something unsettling to me about a sweeping social movement, powered by sympathy and the idea of peace, that ultimately boils down to sending a bunch of dudes with guns, who themselves rape and pillage innocent people, to kill/capture someone.

http://i.qkme.me/36hdpo.jpg

What option would you prefer? Kindly asking Kony to stop?

I don't know the perfect solution, but it makes me very uncomfortable that people can so easily give money to a nonprofit as if they are the sole authority on how to handle a humanitarian venture like this. Like it was said in the article, support the cause but don't support KONY 2012. edit: who do these people think they are?It pisses me off that people don't care about human rights abuses until it's trendy to do so. Post a video about civilian casualties in Iraq and people bury their head in the sand, but post a trendy video where the filmmakers pat themselves on the back over how good they are at social media and the sheep can't line up fast enough. It's sickening to me. It seems like the makers of this video fail to realize that Obama is a war criminal himself. It's not right to get all weepy over one humanitarian cause and turn a blind eye to the human atrocity that our very own state commits. Over 100,000 dead Iraqis now according to Wikipedia. Those bodies should count too.

 

[byrshan]

There's something unsettling to me about a sweeping social movement, powered by sympathy and the idea of peace, that ultimately boils down to sending a bunch of dudes with guns, who themselves rape and pillage innocent people, to kill/capture someone. http://i.qkme.me/36hdpo.jpg

What option would you prefer? Kindly asking Kony to stop?

I don't know the perfect solution, but it makes me very uncomfortable that people can so easily give money to a nonprofit as if they are the sole authority on how to handle a humanitarian venture like this. Like it was said in the article, support the cause but don't support KONY 2012.It pisses me off that people don't care about human rights abuses until it's trendy to do so. Post a video about civilian casualties in Iraq and people bury their head in the sand, but post a trendy video where the filmmakers pat themselves on the back over how good they are at social media and the sheep can't line up fast enough. It's sickening to me. It seems like the makers of this video fail to realize that Obama is a war criminal himself. It's not right to get all weepy over one humanitarian cause and turn a blind eye to the human atrocity that our very own state commits. Over 100,000 dead Iraqis now according to Wikipedia. Those bodies should count too.

You're tiring.

 

[ren hoek]

Just go give them a bunch of money and feel good about yourself.

 

[whitem0nkey]

a response to criticism

https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150614970287933

Visible Children: Viewed Critically

by John Rudolph Beaton on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 11:30am ·

This is my own personal, response and does not reflect the views of any person or any organization besides myself.

http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

The above link. It is being posted as a response to KONY 2012. And so I would like to respond to it. This is my own personal, response and does not necessarily reflect the views of IC.

I believe dialogue is extremely important and so I invite everyone to bring your concerns, comments, or compliments here and I will address them as best I can.

"Visible Children: Viewed Critically"

I will try to keep this succinct an address each point one at a time. Let me know if I miss any.

1) The article links multiple times to this Foreign Affairs piece: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/136673/mareike-schomerus-tim-allen-and-koen-vlassenroot/obama-takes-on-the-lra?page=show -

This piece has many inaccuracies that are addressed here: http://www.theresolve.org/blog/archives/3071031127

X

2) "Last year, the organization spent $8,676,614. Only 32% went to direct services (page 6), with much of the rest going to staff salaries, travel and transport, and film production."

This is a gross misrepresentation of how Invisible Chilren uses their financials. Invisible Children’s financial statements are online for everyone to see. Financial statements from the last 5 years, including our 990, are available at www.invisiblechildren.com/financials. The organization only spent 16.24% on administration and management costs in FY2011.

X

3) "This is far from ideal, and Charity Navigator rates their accountability 2/4 stars because they haven’t had their finances externally audited. But it goes way deeper than that."

Charity Navigator gives Invisible Children's programs its highest rating of 4 stars. IC's Accountability and Transparency score is currently at 2 stars due to the fact that they currently does not have 5 independent voting members on our board of directors--theycurrently have 4. IC is in the process of interviewing potential board members, and their goal is to add an additional independent member this year in order to regain our 4-star rating by 2013.

X

4) "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”"

Not to put to a fine a point on this, but... BS. At least for the part where they claim Invisible Children supports the UPDF and SPLA. IC never have supported the UPDF or SPLA with money and they do not hide their obvious human rights abuses. The UPDF IS the best equipped group even though they do not operate in Uganda anymore. Anyone who argues otherwise does not understand how ineffective the SPLA (S. Sudan military), FACA (Central African Republic Military), and FARDC (Congolese military) are.

IC does not defend any of the human rights abuses perpetrated by the Ugandan government or the Ugandan army. None of the money donated through Invisible Children ever goes to the government of Uganda. Yet the only feasible and proper way to stop Kony and protect the civilians he targets is to coordinate efforts with regional governments.

X

5) "Still, the bulk of Invisible Children’s spending isn’t on supporting African militias, but on awareness and filmmaking. Which can be great, except that Foreign Affairs has claimed that Invisible Children (among others) “manipulates facts for strategic purposes, exaggerating the scale of LRA abductions and murders and emphasizing the LRA’s use of innocent children as soldiers, and portraying Kony — a brutal man, to be sure — as uniquely awful, a Kurtz-like embodiment of evil.”"

See above points about how IC does NOT support African militias and the irony of the FA piece accusing us of manipulating facts.

X

6)" As Chris Blattman, a political scientist at Yale, writes on the topic of IC’s programming, “There’s also something inherently misleading, naive, maybe even dangerous, about the idea of rescuing children or saving of Africa. […] It hints uncomfortably of the White Man’s Burden. Worse, sometimes it does more than hint. The savior attitude is pervasive in advocacy, and it inevitably shapes programming. Usually misconceived programming.”"

Our programs are Ugandan inspired and Ugandan led. As in they were created by Ugandans for Ugandans. Nobody is more aware of the dangers of the "White Man's Burder" messiah complex than Invisible Children. Our programs actively seek to empower Ugandans to help themselves. Every. Single. Program. that IC starts is based on the advice of those who live in the communities and who came before us and know a lot about said particular projects. The only saviors here are the Ugandan people themselves. And soon to the Central African, Congolese, and South Sudanese people once the LRA is removed from their homelands.

X

7)"Still, Kony’s a bad guy, and he’s been around a while. Which is why the US has been involved in stopping him for years. U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has sent multiple missions to capture or kill Kony over the years. And they’ve failed time and time again, each provoking a ferocious response and increased retaliative slaughter."

This has been taken into account and IC, Resolve, Enough and many other organizations have written extensive reports expressiong the important of protecting civilians. The military interventions did not slaughter the civilians, the LRA did. If the civilians were adequately protected by military forces, these slaughters would not have happened.

X

8) "The issue with taking out a man who uses a child army is that his bodyguards are children. Any effort to capture or kill him will almost certainly result in many children’s deaths, an impact that needs to be minimized as much as possible. Each attempt brings more retaliation. And yet Invisible Children supports military intervention. Kony has been involved in peace talks in the past, which have fallen through. But Invisible Children is now focusing on military intervention."

A very valid point. I would love to hear suggestions from the author on how they would stop Kony. The fact of the matter is that peace talks have failed six times and every time Kony uses the lull in fighting as a chance to rebuilding his forces and abduct and kill more people. So what is better? Another peace talk so this fight can drag on, or militarily ending this thing once and for all? Nobody wants violent solution. We all prefer peace. But what happens when peace talks fail repeatedly? What happens when peace talks actually exacerbate the problem?

X

9) "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."

IC is not naive. They understand the complexities of this situation. The author fails to understand to power of public opinion and social media. His loss.

X

That's all I got, my friends. Please re share this or reply to it. I would love to start a dialogue on this.

Much love,

John "Pockets" Beaton

 

[SacramentoBob]

It pisses me off that people don't care about human rights abuses until it's trendy to do so.

Well aren't you the hipster?"I was against human rights abuses before it was cool to be against them".

 

[mr. furley]

this has been going on for a very long time

the LRA i mean

and children in war, generally

why this guy, this particular group and why now?

 

[mr roboto]

There's something unsettling to me about a sweeping social movement, powered by sympathy and the idea of peace, that ultimately boils down to sending a bunch of dudes with guns, who themselves rape and pillage innocent people, to kill/capture someone.

http://i.qkme.me/36hdpo.jpg

What option would you prefer? Kindly asking Kony to stop?

I don't know the perfect solution, but it makes me very uncomfortable that people can so easily give money to a nonprofit as if they are the sole authority on how to handle a humanitarian venture like this. So you don't have any answer, but want people who know nothing about the situation to research alternatives, which you couldn't list either? Like it was said in the article, support the cause but don't support KONY 2012. edit: who do these people think they are?It pisses me off that people don't care about human rights abuses until it's trendy to do so. A trend indicates that people are starting to pay attention. It's hard to care about something that you've never heard about. Post a video about civilian casualties in Iraq and people bury their head in the sand, but post a trendy video where the filmmakers pat themselves on the back over how good they are at social media and the sheep can't line up fast enough. They've been working on this cause for YEARS. They are marketing the living hell out of it, being creative, and GIVING AN ACTUAL ACTIONABLE STEP! It's sickening to me. It seems like the makers of this video fail to realize that Obama is a war criminal himself. Oh, come on. Every leader of a nation in conflict has blood on his/her hands. It's not right to get all weepy over one humanitarian cause and turn a blind eye to the human atrocity that our very own state commits. Over 100,000 dead Iraqis now according to Wikipedia. Those bodies should count too. I agree we shouldn't overlook other issues, but that doesn't mean people can't support this one.

Being contrarian just for it's own sake is kinda tired, don't you think?

 

[ren hoek]

I can't explain why this video triggered my spidey sense Mr. Robot, it just did and I don't trust it. Still think the point stands that a video shouldn't have to be cutesy and make the end user feel good about himself for him to wake up and realize something is wrong.

 

[ren hoek]

The Kony movement http://t.co/g5sNkIFb

 

[mr roboto]

I can't explain why this video triggered my spidey sense Mr. Robot, it just did and I don't trust it. Still think the point stands that a video shouldn't have to be cutesy and make the end user feel good about himself for him to wake up and realize something is wrong.

I am cynical of these social justice movements when it's the cool thing to do. But that's how you get publicity in this age and without it no one would pay attention.

 

[ren hoek]

Not that this makes anyone right or wrong but it certainly seems relevant. This is a 5+ year old article.

http://ilto.wordpress.com/2006/11/02/the-visible-problem-with-invisible-children/

 

[whitem0nkey]

The Kony movement http://t.co/g5sNkIFb

I noticed the more you use the word hipster in a demeaning way, the more likely you allure people towards your point of view.

 

[EYLive]

The Kony movement http://t.co/g5sNkIFb

Nice.

 

[EYLive]

this has been going on for a very long timethe LRA i mean and children in war, generallywhy this guy, this particular group and why now?

I was wondering the same thing. There have been warlords raping, enslaving, and killing their own countrymen for ages.Awareness is good but if Koney is kicking it in a compound or village somewhere in Africa where there's no electricity or plumbing, what good will twitter and youtube do? The locals know who he is. It's not like there are bounty hunters in Uganda wishing they knew what this dude looks like so they can nab him.

 

[cstu]

Couldn't be worse than Obama.

Oh wait, he's black too?

/Jim11

 

[cstu]

While its a great cause some criticism of the Kony2012 Campaign: http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

Of the $8.9 million in donations 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

$751,000 in Computer equipment

$244,000 in "professional services" (DC lobbyists)

$1.07 million in travel expenses

$400,000 in yearly office rent in downtown 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?

Oh, call it what it is - corruption. If even $1M made it to the people who need it I'd be amazed.

 

[cstu]

$751,000 in Computer equipment - This feels high unless they're self-hosting this. Even then, it seems foolish to invest in the infrastructure on a short term campaign.

I'm building a greenfield data center where I work, and it will cost only slightly more than this. Seems like a huge expense.

Gotcha. yeah this seems a bit ridiculous. Seems like they could buy 25 iMacs (30k), Some printers and #### ($10k) Build a website ($10k), Host it remotely (12k) and call it a year. (and those numbers feel like they're on the high side).

In their defense, it might not be a short term campaign. It could be a stepping stone to future campaigns. Still seems expensive without knowing what they bought and why.

Let me guess - one of the directors cousin's is in computer hardware sales.

 

[-fish-]

I've been working actively with the Ugandan government and its court system since 2007 through a 501©(3) charity that I was fortunate enough to help form. I am ecstatic at the attention this is receiving.

Kony and the LRA basically destroyed this country. The average age of the population is about 15. Many of them are orphans and uneducated. Something like 85% of the population is under 30 because of 20 years of war.

Shameless plug if you want to provide direct help to some of the children of Uganda: My link

 

[Dexter]

Didn't read the thread, but I'll vote for anyone over Obama. KONY 2012!!!

 

[Fiddles]

Kids at the gym were making signs about this tonight. Probably heard more about Kony today than ipad.

 

[Jojo the circus boy]

While its a great cause some criticism of the Kony2012 Campaign: http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

Of the $8.9 million in donations 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

$751,000 in Computer equipment

$244,000 in "professional services" (DC lobbyists)

$1.07 million in travel expenses

$400,000 in yearly office rent in downtown 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?

Some updated numbers:http://pastebin.com/ArQTUGNa

 

[Native]

THIS is what Social Media is designed for. Between stuff like Egypt, SOPA, and This.... Facebook and Twitter are making it astoundingly easy to truly facilitate change on a global scale. The power of these tools is unlike anything in human history. It really is pretty amazing when sit back and think about what things were like just 5 or 10 years ago.

So true. And to think five years ago, we didnt know what to do with Facebook other than to update our status every five minutes - "going to take a nap". "Feeling grumpy". Gonna order pizza".