I, personally, would solve this issue of Kony as well as the criticism the organization Invisible Children is getting by becoming someone of power in the organization, because then I would be able to control most efforts to "stop" Kony, and I would be able to fully understand the criticism the organization is getting and why IC is even getting said criticism, because there must be something truly unreliable about its motives that caused all this negative evaluation. Furthermore, once I was able to get a position of power among the organization, I would not support military intervention like IC is doing now. This is because the Ugandan military is known for not being the most esteemed group of people in Uganda. For example, it says, "The founders of the group, who advocate direct US military intervention in response to the LRA, had been previously criticized for posing with guns alongside members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 2008, an organization widely accused of rape and looting." ("Joseph Kony and More AFRICOM wars over oil") This means that one of the main things that Invisible Children needs to do to avoid any more accusations is to increase its credibility and reliability. Thus, once we do this, then we would be able to move forward without any questions.
This affects me as a citizen because this viral video was sent through the media. Who watches the media? Everyone. And everyone includes me. This video spread like wildfire with a few simple clicks of the mouse. And once everyone heard about it through the Internet, the wildfire spread to our lips. The day after the video went viral, nearly half of the conversations people were engaged in throughout the day were about the Kony 2012 campaign. Also, this affects my life because the organization involved, Invisible Children, is trying to get the government's attention to use money to increase military influence in Africa. The United States government must get this money from somewhere. And that somewhere could easily affect my life, such as pulling this money out of education, which would consequently effect me greatly.
This connects to our unit of study because there are foreign countries that are causing the United States trouble, which happened with several of the first five presidents during their terms. For example, Thomas Jefferson had to contend with Britain, France, and Africa all becoming unrestful and violent. Just as Thomas Jefferson had to do with African pirates, the US government are sending over small fleets of US military in order to calm Africa. Thus, this current day event connects to our unit of study because of foreign conflicts.
I, myself, will make a difference on this issue by participating as much as I can with this campaign, because I do in fact agree with Invisible Children's morals. At my age, I am really not allowed to make as much of a difference as I would like, but I will most likely participate somewhat in "Cover the Night", which is an event where, on April 20th, people go onto the streets at night and cover every wall with posters advertising the Kony 2012 campaign and signs as well as other things. I could also send a letter to the US government offering my solution, though it is doubtful they would listen. Nonetheless, with these small steps taken, I believe that, eventually, Kony can be stopped.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Happy Birthday Mr. Madison! 2nd Article
http://mwcnews.net/focus/analysis/17655-africom.html
This article discusses exactly where the morals of the organization, Invisible Children, lie. To start with, much less than half of the organization's funds actually directly go to stopping Kony. Also, Kony has either been killed or has not been seen in Uganda for the past six years, yet the US forces still demand sending in military forces to "protect the citizens" from Kony and his abductions. As one American human rights worker stated, "“Invisible Children's campaign is…an excuse that the US government has gladly adopted in order to help justify the expansion of their military presence in central Africa. Invisible Children are ‘useful idiots’, being used by those in the US government who seek to militarize Africa, to send more and more weapons and military aid, and to bolster the power of states who are US allies. The hunt for Joseph Kony is the perfect excuse for this strategy - how often does the US government find millions of young Americans pleading that they intervene militarily in a place rich in oil and other resources?” This statement mentions the reason behind the United States's desire to further militarize Uganda, because this area lies on a land rich in valuable resources the United States would love to get their hands on. Therefore, Invisible Children is a toy of the US government in order to encourage people to give their money to the organization so we can send in more military into Uganda, for its rich resources.
I believe that this article may be reliable; it cites all of its sources as well as is on a website, the MWC News, that may be completely reliable. I believe that all the facts in this article were found and are true, and this author appears to have done quite some deep research. Therefore, it is in my belief that this website and article are trustworthy.
This article discusses exactly where the morals of the organization, Invisible Children, lie. To start with, much less than half of the organization's funds actually directly go to stopping Kony. Also, Kony has either been killed or has not been seen in Uganda for the past six years, yet the US forces still demand sending in military forces to "protect the citizens" from Kony and his abductions. As one American human rights worker stated, "“Invisible Children's campaign is…an excuse that the US government has gladly adopted in order to help justify the expansion of their military presence in central Africa. Invisible Children are ‘useful idiots’, being used by those in the US government who seek to militarize Africa, to send more and more weapons and military aid, and to bolster the power of states who are US allies. The hunt for Joseph Kony is the perfect excuse for this strategy - how often does the US government find millions of young Americans pleading that they intervene militarily in a place rich in oil and other resources?” This statement mentions the reason behind the United States's desire to further militarize Uganda, because this area lies on a land rich in valuable resources the United States would love to get their hands on. Therefore, Invisible Children is a toy of the US government in order to encourage people to give their money to the organization so we can send in more military into Uganda, for its rich resources.
I believe that this article may be reliable; it cites all of its sources as well as is on a website, the MWC News, that may be completely reliable. I believe that all the facts in this article were found and are true, and this author appears to have done quite some deep research. Therefore, it is in my belief that this website and article are trustworthy.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Happy Birthday, Mr. Madison! Article 1
http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/chatfield/chatfield-on-stopping-joseph-kony/article_302f7f43-d3b5-575b-ad3a-20c04f62690e.html
The video that went viral, called Kony 2012, was a campaign attempting to raise awareness of a man named Joseph Kony, who is the leader of a religious group in Uganda, Africa, called the Lord's Resistance Army. He is said to kidnap children and use them as child soldiers, among many other horrible things, to do his "dirty work". This viral video has, naturally, been put under much scrutiny by the media and everyone else. Many people question the organization behind this campaign, called Invisible Children, and where it puts its money. However, according to this article, more than 80% of the spending in their organization from 2007 to 2011 went directly to benefiting the cause. So in no way is this one of those "slacktivist", overnight campaign, but in actuality it is a deep, thoughtful campaign meant to go straight to a very worthy cause.
I believe this author is completely reliable, though where they get their statistics is questionable, as they don't even mention it. Also, I have heard multiple times of different statistics than what this author seems to be telling me, but I have more reason to trust this author than other places because it is from the North County Times, which are a very reliable newspaper network that is known for its trustworthines.
The video that went viral, called Kony 2012, was a campaign attempting to raise awareness of a man named Joseph Kony, who is the leader of a religious group in Uganda, Africa, called the Lord's Resistance Army. He is said to kidnap children and use them as child soldiers, among many other horrible things, to do his "dirty work". This viral video has, naturally, been put under much scrutiny by the media and everyone else. Many people question the organization behind this campaign, called Invisible Children, and where it puts its money. However, according to this article, more than 80% of the spending in their organization from 2007 to 2011 went directly to benefiting the cause. So in no way is this one of those "slacktivist", overnight campaign, but in actuality it is a deep, thoughtful campaign meant to go straight to a very worthy cause.
I believe this author is completely reliable, though where they get their statistics is questionable, as they don't even mention it. Also, I have heard multiple times of different statistics than what this author seems to be telling me, but I have more reason to trust this author than other places because it is from the North County Times, which are a very reliable newspaper network that is known for its trustworthines.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Right to Free Speech is Being Witheld
Kaitlyn DeShon
North County Times
"Ohio man given choice of Facebook apology or jail"
http://www.nctimes.com/news/national/backpage/ohio-man-given-choice-of-facebook-apology-or-jail/article_3ab472cf-3ef0-55ea-b19d-9c276a9dd368.html
A man posted what a judge deemed to be rude and annoying comments on his personal Facebook page about his wife. He was given the choice between spending 60 days in jail or posting apologizing comments every day on his page for a month. This is because the judge said that he was is contempt of a previous order prohibiting him from causing his wife any mental abuse. However, several freedom of speech experts say that this is a violation of his rights, and due to the freedom of speech he should be able to post anything he desires on his Facebook page. The man denies he violated any order given to him.
This connects to what we are studying in class because it pertains to the United States government, and it especially pertains to the Revolutionary War because it talks about people being angered by the government undermining their natural rights, which the Declaration of Independence states. The natural right in this situation is the right to freedom of speech, which can easily be put under the category of "the pursuit of happiness", which is stated in the Declaration of Independence. In both the time of the Revolutionary War and this modern scenario, the people are upset with the government witholding their proper rights.
This connects to my life as a citizen because of course I am effected by anything involving the Internet, which Facebook certainly does. I do not have a Facebook account, but many of my friends do as well as my family, so I am very familiar with it. Also, the right to freedom of speech is, surprisingly, often around me in other news and things that happen at my school. Therefore, this connects to my life as a citizen in many different aspects.
My personal opinion is that the judge should not make this man make the choice between a jail sentence and being forced to post comments on his Facebook page where the government decides what he says. This is a very clear violation of the freedom of speech. For example, when the article says, "threatened with jail time ... unless he posted daily apologies for a month," it shows that the judge is forcing him to make a choice that in either way would violate his rights to freedom of speech, and I find that unacceptable.
North County Times
"Ohio man given choice of Facebook apology or jail"
http://www.nctimes.com/news/national/backpage/ohio-man-given-choice-of-facebook-apology-or-jail/article_3ab472cf-3ef0-55ea-b19d-9c276a9dd368.html
A man posted what a judge deemed to be rude and annoying comments on his personal Facebook page about his wife. He was given the choice between spending 60 days in jail or posting apologizing comments every day on his page for a month. This is because the judge said that he was is contempt of a previous order prohibiting him from causing his wife any mental abuse. However, several freedom of speech experts say that this is a violation of his rights, and due to the freedom of speech he should be able to post anything he desires on his Facebook page. The man denies he violated any order given to him.
This connects to what we are studying in class because it pertains to the United States government, and it especially pertains to the Revolutionary War because it talks about people being angered by the government undermining their natural rights, which the Declaration of Independence states. The natural right in this situation is the right to freedom of speech, which can easily be put under the category of "the pursuit of happiness", which is stated in the Declaration of Independence. In both the time of the Revolutionary War and this modern scenario, the people are upset with the government witholding their proper rights.
This connects to my life as a citizen because of course I am effected by anything involving the Internet, which Facebook certainly does. I do not have a Facebook account, but many of my friends do as well as my family, so I am very familiar with it. Also, the right to freedom of speech is, surprisingly, often around me in other news and things that happen at my school. Therefore, this connects to my life as a citizen in many different aspects.
My personal opinion is that the judge should not make this man make the choice between a jail sentence and being forced to post comments on his Facebook page where the government decides what he says. This is a very clear violation of the freedom of speech. For example, when the article says, "threatened with jail time ... unless he posted daily apologies for a month," it shows that the judge is forcing him to make a choice that in either way would violate his rights to freedom of speech, and I find that unacceptable.
Monday, January 30, 2012
The Internet is Protected from SOPA and PIPA
Kaitlyn DeShon
"Congress Indefinitely Postpones 'SOPA, PIPA'"
North County Times
Friday, January 20, 2012
Jim Abrams Associated Press
http://www.nctimes.com/news/national/nation-congress-indefinitely-postpones-sopa-pipa/article_656197c4-5e54-5140-b7a6-4c965f0264c0.html
This article talks about how Congress was debating on whether or not to pass the Protect Intellectual Property Act, or PIPA, and the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. Congress was responding to the Internet petitions that happened on large sites, like Google and Wikipedia. When these sites heard about the online piracy preventing acts, they protested by shutting down their sites for a day, or in Google's case, organizing a petition drive that attracted over 7 million people. These acts changed the minds of several important Senators and Representatives that had originally been co-sponsoring the bills. The petitions and protests of the millions of angry citizens caused Congress to indefinitely postpone what to do with SOPA and PIPA. Several representatives have suggested other methods of dealing with online piracy, which costs the country millions of dollars a year.
This event connects to what we are learning in class because SOPA and PIPA, which are government acts enacted in order to prevent further online piracy, which is illegal and costs the country millions of dollars a year. This event parallels the Tea Act, the Townshend Acts, the Quartering Act, Stamp Act, and Proclamation of 1763. In these historical events, the British government put into force the acts in order to gain money that was lost. The colonists protested all these acts because they thought of these as unfair and went against their rights, as did the modern people against PIPA and SOPA. This is shown when in the article, it says, "...a loose affiliation of hackers known as 'Anonymous' shut down Justice Department websites for several hours and hacked the site of the Motion Picture Association of America after federal officials issued an indictment against Megaupload.com, one of the world's biggest file-sharing sites." (Abrams NCTimes). This shows that after a major act, the people got angry, and even got very, very dirty. They hacked into government websites and shut them down just to prove the point that they were angry. This relates to the events that led up to the Revolutionary War because the Patriots, who were very angry at the British government, decided to get dirty and violent with their protests, injuring British soldiers and tax collectors. In other words, people as closely connected to the British government as they could get in the colonies.
This connects to my life because I have had to deal with SOPA and PIPA myself. I use the Internet every day, and I was there when Wikipedia shut down their site in protest. It affected me, as well as nearly everyone at school and in my life. I have seen it on television, over the Internet, as well as simply face-to-face complaining about how "horrible" SOPA and PIPA is. Overall, this connects to my life because it directly affected it.
I believe that this will show Congress and the government just how powerful the Internet is, and how powerful the people can become when Congress decides to change it. This can effect our future because our nation's government is all about not one aspect of life being monopolized, or becoming too powerful. There are three branches of government because of this. In the economy, the government will step in in order to make sure no company becomes a monopoly, or even close to it. This could be the same mindset for the Internet. If they realize that the Internet has become too powerful, then they could pass more bills trying to control it. Therefore, this can effect our future very much.
"Congress Indefinitely Postpones 'SOPA, PIPA'"
North County Times
Friday, January 20, 2012
Jim Abrams Associated Press
http://www.nctimes.com/news/national/nation-congress-indefinitely-postpones-sopa-pipa/article_656197c4-5e54-5140-b7a6-4c965f0264c0.html
This article talks about how Congress was debating on whether or not to pass the Protect Intellectual Property Act, or PIPA, and the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. Congress was responding to the Internet petitions that happened on large sites, like Google and Wikipedia. When these sites heard about the online piracy preventing acts, they protested by shutting down their sites for a day, or in Google's case, organizing a petition drive that attracted over 7 million people. These acts changed the minds of several important Senators and Representatives that had originally been co-sponsoring the bills. The petitions and protests of the millions of angry citizens caused Congress to indefinitely postpone what to do with SOPA and PIPA. Several representatives have suggested other methods of dealing with online piracy, which costs the country millions of dollars a year.
This event connects to what we are learning in class because SOPA and PIPA, which are government acts enacted in order to prevent further online piracy, which is illegal and costs the country millions of dollars a year. This event parallels the Tea Act, the Townshend Acts, the Quartering Act, Stamp Act, and Proclamation of 1763. In these historical events, the British government put into force the acts in order to gain money that was lost. The colonists protested all these acts because they thought of these as unfair and went against their rights, as did the modern people against PIPA and SOPA. This is shown when in the article, it says, "...a loose affiliation of hackers known as 'Anonymous' shut down Justice Department websites for several hours and hacked the site of the Motion Picture Association of America after federal officials issued an indictment against Megaupload.com, one of the world's biggest file-sharing sites." (Abrams NCTimes). This shows that after a major act, the people got angry, and even got very, very dirty. They hacked into government websites and shut them down just to prove the point that they were angry. This relates to the events that led up to the Revolutionary War because the Patriots, who were very angry at the British government, decided to get dirty and violent with their protests, injuring British soldiers and tax collectors. In other words, people as closely connected to the British government as they could get in the colonies.
This connects to my life because I have had to deal with SOPA and PIPA myself. I use the Internet every day, and I was there when Wikipedia shut down their site in protest. It affected me, as well as nearly everyone at school and in my life. I have seen it on television, over the Internet, as well as simply face-to-face complaining about how "horrible" SOPA and PIPA is. Overall, this connects to my life because it directly affected it.
I believe that this will show Congress and the government just how powerful the Internet is, and how powerful the people can become when Congress decides to change it. This can effect our future because our nation's government is all about not one aspect of life being monopolized, or becoming too powerful. There are three branches of government because of this. In the economy, the government will step in in order to make sure no company becomes a monopoly, or even close to it. This could be the same mindset for the Internet. If they realize that the Internet has become too powerful, then they could pass more bills trying to control it. Therefore, this can effect our future very much.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Church Man is Asked to Beat a Child
Kaitlyn DeShon
12/12/11
North County Times
"Officials: Calif. parents asked man to beat child"
http://www.nctimes.com/ap/national/officials-calif-parents-asked-man-to-beat-child/article_a42083d4-e41b-5970-9f26-0fcefd9e0158.html
Religion
The parents of a 15 year old boy suspected him of smoking. Upon finding a lighter in his possession, the distressed parents called Paul Kim, an apparently reliable church man. They dropped their son off at his house. Kim beat the child with a metal pole, causing intense bruising on his legs. An adult at the child's school noticed these marks and called the police. Kim was arrested for this crime, and suspected of doing similar things to children for parents around the neighborhood.
This connects to what we are studying in class because it states that this man is apparently known for being reliable and a consistent church-goer. This has to do with religion. Also, it represents society and culture because it shows how some people in our society punish their children. Another connection is that the thirteen colonies were very religious and had strict rules about their churches. They even had strict laws on what to do on Sundays, which is considered the Lord's Day. Obviously, these rules have been lost over the years in most societies, including this one where this church man beat people.
This connects to my life as a citizen because all parents must punish their children at one point or another, yet beating is severe, not to mention illegal. I have been punished for things I have done as a child. Also, many teenagers have been influenced by adult temptations such as alcohol or smoking. In this instance, it was smoking. However, this son is not the only one who has been influenced by this.
I believe that this man obviously should not have beat this child, instead the parents should have confronted their son about the lighter found in his possession. This man is putting a bad name on religion and church, because people cannot help but stereotype other groups of people. If they had only confronted him and perhaps gotten help for him, they would have, of course, avoided the arrest of this man and avoided the harm of their own child. These people are simply sick to do this to their own child and should have charges pressed against them also. As you can see, I think that this man should be arrested as well as the parents of the beaten child. They should also have gotten help for their son.
12/12/11
North County Times
"Officials: Calif. parents asked man to beat child"
http://www.nctimes.com/ap/national/officials-calif-parents-asked-man-to-beat-child/article_a42083d4-e41b-5970-9f26-0fcefd9e0158.html
Religion
The parents of a 15 year old boy suspected him of smoking. Upon finding a lighter in his possession, the distressed parents called Paul Kim, an apparently reliable church man. They dropped their son off at his house. Kim beat the child with a metal pole, causing intense bruising on his legs. An adult at the child's school noticed these marks and called the police. Kim was arrested for this crime, and suspected of doing similar things to children for parents around the neighborhood.
This connects to what we are studying in class because it states that this man is apparently known for being reliable and a consistent church-goer. This has to do with religion. Also, it represents society and culture because it shows how some people in our society punish their children. Another connection is that the thirteen colonies were very religious and had strict rules about their churches. They even had strict laws on what to do on Sundays, which is considered the Lord's Day. Obviously, these rules have been lost over the years in most societies, including this one where this church man beat people.
This connects to my life as a citizen because all parents must punish their children at one point or another, yet beating is severe, not to mention illegal. I have been punished for things I have done as a child. Also, many teenagers have been influenced by adult temptations such as alcohol or smoking. In this instance, it was smoking. However, this son is not the only one who has been influenced by this.
I believe that this man obviously should not have beat this child, instead the parents should have confronted their son about the lighter found in his possession. This man is putting a bad name on religion and church, because people cannot help but stereotype other groups of people. If they had only confronted him and perhaps gotten help for him, they would have, of course, avoided the arrest of this man and avoided the harm of their own child. These people are simply sick to do this to their own child and should have charges pressed against them also. As you can see, I think that this man should be arrested as well as the parents of the beaten child. They should also have gotten help for their son.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)