KONY 2012

[STR33T]

I did not write this.

"The problems with the 'Kony 2012' campaign: Ok so let's get this out of the way first, the basic idea of the campaign is great, to raise awareness of a war criminal that uses children as soldiers and sex slaves. Unfortunately the whole campaign seems to be missing the bigger political picture, I think this is nicely demonstrated in the statement of its second goal: 'That the U.S. military advisers support the Ugandan Army until Kony has been captured and the LRA has been completely disarmed. They need to follow through all the way and finish what they have started.' This statement not only suggests that the campaign is in favour of U.S. intervention but is completely uncritical of the Ugandan Government and its army, both of whom are by no means 'the good guys' in this. I can't be bothered going into too much detail but here are a few key points:

1) The Ugandan Government is a dictatorship with Yoweri Museveni as the president since 1986. Among many of its human rights violations the regime tortures prisons, oppresses other political parties and the press and also wishes to introduce a bill that would have 'convicted homosexuals' put to death.

2) In the civil war in which Yoweri Museveni gained power child soldiers were used by his army (National Resistance Army) which is now the army of Uganda but under a different name. (http://www.teachkidspeace.org/doc315.php)

3) The Ugandan army, or rather its high ranking officers have being using 'ghost soldiers' (soldiers who are no longer on the pay-roll) to siphon off funds, making the war even more profitable for them than usual, giving them a vested interest in its continuation. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3514473.stm)

4) (kinda the same point again) War is profitable, especially for large arms economies such as the U.S. and the UK. 'U.S. Military adviser support' may as well say 'we want to US and its arms manufactures /dealers to sell the Ugandan Government shit tons more weapons'. I'm sure there's many more points that could be made, and this is still a really basic explanation that barely goes into any detail, but even a single one of these points is enough to be critical of the campaign and its support of the Ugandan army. If the campaign really wants to be truly supportive of human rights it needs to recognise that Kony is not the only war criminal, all warmongering is a crime against humanity" Unknown

Additionally,

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 government officials) - what do the children actually get?

Their rating on Charity Navigator is because they haven't had their financial books independently audited, and have no independent board members ...which is not a surprising given the use of cash noted above.

Source: Their own finacials -> Pages 6 and 12 http://c2052482.r82.cf0.rackcdn.com/images/737/original/FY11-Audited%20Financial%20Statements.pdf?1320205055

Source For Ratings: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=12429 http://c2052482.r82.cf0.rackcdn.co/

[STR33T]

Theres ALWAYS two sides to every story. This viral film has caught the attention of heaps of young folk but you are all far too late. Watching that Kony video is essentially watching old news. They started filming in 2003, and northern Uganda has been free of LRA violence and war for over five years. In fact, the LRA have signed a peace accord! They are rebuilding and are restoring the peace.

Yes the leader is still out there however the recruitment of children has decreased 80%. This isn't due to the Invisible Children organisation, its because Ugandan military and the ICC have intercepted. The Invisible Children group are trying to pass a bill that allows America to militarise the region... They are providing misinformation to woo idealistic followers. The group have combined multiple regional conflicts to make it appear that this is one rapidly increasing issue. When confronted about their dodgy tactics, the head spokesperson stated;

“I agree with you that leading people to believe that the war is still happening in Uganda is not ethically right. It's something we've been addressing internally, focusing on getting all staff and supporters on the same page (of communication)."

If you read the news, or even had an ounce of interest in the on-going unrest in Africa you would already know this and not be fooled. Yes, awful things happen to people in 3rd world countries but this has been occurring for centuries, it isn't a recent occurrence.

I think its only fair if I am to make such comments I provide sources (unlike the people over at Invisible Children...)

SOURCES: Michael Kirkpatrick, a long-time Independent Global Citizen, he has resided in Uganda and other regions of Africa. He has no political, religious or financial agenda. He wrote this article and gave an in-depth insight to whats really going on. He also questioned important members of Invisible Children about their motives. http://www.blackstarnews.com/news/122/ARTICLE/6586/2010-06-02.html

Charity Navigator is a website that breaks down the proceeds and donations given to Invisible Children and subsequently shows what percentile of that is REALLY going towards these impoverished kids. A measly slither of what is going into the founders pockets. http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=12429

I've read an interesting passage from Northern Ugandan man however it is not 100% verified - he has advised the Northern Ugandan parliament have listed IC as their main priority on their "fraudulent activity" list. (See 2nd comment, username Livingstone). http://www.topix.com/forum/city/stuart-fl/TQJSGHMES035Q6OI0

THIS article asking Invisible Children why they were pressuring poor AND illegal piece of legislation has since been removed and deleted. http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/2010/03/oklaholdout-update-letter-from-lisa-dougan/

ADDITIONALLY - There were members of Invisible Children were saying what their "allowance" could purchase them, it was on a forum on the official website, and this has also been REMOVED.http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/?p=5901

[RooTxBeeR]

Do it everyone! check it out. I dont got time or the ability to read these mini walls atm, I shall check them out later.

[Emmet]

I get why people are cutting into the campaign, but the fact is its not just about uganda and some war criminal... its the fact that this is building up to be a massive movement, bigger than what we`ve seen before, which means if something happens again people will realise, if this is successful, that campaigning can be very successful again, fair dues to the organisers, they`re not just trying to find and imprison a criminal leader, they`re putting down the building blocks for future campaigns. Also to the spending, tbh spending to me doesnt really make a difference as to where it goes if the end result is the same. Ive seen too many charities pouring money into a region and it not have any effect. Which is better? Cutting the head off a snake or simply creating a dependency on foreign aid?

[Baydestrian]

http://guyism.com/li...video-scam.html

Also,

Invisible Children has been condemned time and time again. As a registered not-for-profit, its finances are public. 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 far from ideal for an issue which arguably needs action and aid, not awareness, and Charity Navigator rates their accountability 2/4 stars because they lack an external audit committee. But it goes way deeper than that.

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.

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.” He’s certainly evil, but exaggeration and manipulation to capture the public eye is unproductive, unprofessional and dishonest.

Above was taken from http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/post/18890947431/we-got-trouble

[greatblack]

I get why people are cutting into the campaign, but the fact is its not just about uganda and some war criminal... its the fact that this is building up to be a massive movement, bigger than what we`ve seen before, which means if something happens again people will realise, if this is successful, that campaigning can be very successful again, fair dues to the organisers, they`re not just trying to find and imprison a criminal leader, they`re putting down the building blocks for future campaigns. Also to the spending, tbh spending to me doesnt really make a difference as to where it goes if the end result is the same. Ive seen too many charities pouring money into a region and it not have any effect. Which is better? Cutting the head off a snake or simply creating a dependency on foreign aid?

i agree, if this is successful, it could set a new precedent for what we can and can not do to help a cause. I personally think its time the internet shows that it does has its own voice haha.

[LoudBimmer]

Do you people realize that this has been going on for past 26 years? What make's you think that 30 minute video and some "shares" on facebook will do anything.

Do you also realize it will cost US billions of dollars and thousands of soldiers life's to accomplish this? What will US gain? NOTHING

[TeamHT]

I am not even wasting time watching the video. Making him famous, blanketing the nation with violence only shows these idiots should be beaten. The people who post these, share the link, buy the shirts or even wear the bracelets are the same people not donating time or money to their communities, active in politics, or follow through with the shit they post.

[certifiednut]

Kony was never the worst one, general butt naked has always been worse

[LoudBimmer]