thanks Jen.

It's sad isn't it Jackson, that this guy has been doing these things (and many more) for 26yrs and hardly anyone knew his name before this campaign.

Shows the power of 'going viral'

Thanks Jen.

I have heard of this evil man and the LRA, but it has not been mentioned on any news programme that I've watched for ages. 

Made me cry. 

Me too

Me 3...........Thanks for posting Jen..xxx

WOW! Well done Jen for putting that up.

Saw that on Facebook, glad it's getting a lot of publicity and that people know who this evil 'man' is!

I just e mailed it to everyone on my e mail contacts. Would be a brilliant thing if in April everywhere was covered in these posters!

i knew that it went on  but didnt know it was mostly down to this  bloke, i made the point  with the mc cann case , tragic as that was/is, that had maddie not been a pretty  little white girl, but a black ugandan, the press coverage would have been  about zero.

i got hassled for weeks for  having that view, its a view i still hold.

Jackson you are right though.  I've heard about this kind of thing years ago and on top of them kidnapping the children they then train them up and send them back to kill their own families yet it's not a 'big issue'....well not big enough to highlight it more.

I'm glad you put this post up, I saw this at work today, very thought provoking. I hope they catch this bastard! I think everyone should see this and know about it.

There's all sorts of evidence to support that view: I remember ages ago Private Eye pointing out that at the same time that Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman went missing (before it was known that they'd been murdered), a girl in the West Midlands went missing under very similar circumstances. However her disappearance got virtually no press coverage outside her local area. Needless to say, she was black...

With Madeleine McCann, the problem was more general. I've mentioned before that I read an article the Christmas after her disappearance that listed the children that had gone missing in Britain that year. Of the hundreds (most of which were runaways who were soon found), there were 41 long-term disappeared, of which at least 3 were babies, None of them had got any significant national press coverage...

http://standingagainstoppressi...cam-behin-kony-2012/

Hmmmm, from someone who believes that 9/11 was an 'inside job'?! 

Did they? Didn't know that Perhaps I should read through their previous posts

Are you referring to Grant Oyston, or that blog that's just quoting him?

Ah, maybe I'm wrong, but it was 'standingagainstoppression' who said it. It wasn't clear that he/she wasn't also the author of the piece, especially as they were thanking people for their supportive comments!  

Yeah, he does seem to be taking credit for someone-else's work...

Grant Oyston's responsible for a site that's been collecting criticism of KONY 2012 (http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/). He's been getting a lot of press attention, such as from The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/poli...012-what-s-the-story (and this article also goes into the problems with KONY 2012 in great depth).

The really interesting question about KONY 2012  - and one which it appears the Grauniad will be addressing shortly - is: Why has this particular campaign gone so big, so quickly?

Thanks Eugene. I shall have a read. 

I would guess it's because of the 8year lead upto it by the guy who made the film.... It's not like someone decided i know i'll make a viral video .. hmmm what can i make it about....

If every deserving cause out there had someone behind it  who felt like that guy does they too would have the coverage that the invisible children now have.

I honestly dont think it will end here... i think this is a key point in in the history of humaity we care..... together... we act

An interesting little side point:

In one of Grant Oyston's blog pieces (see my link above), he mentions being in touch with the KONY 2012 filmmaker who - rather ironically - seems to have unintentionally backed-up one of Oyston's main criticisms: the fact that less than a third of Invisible Children's budget actually goes on their charity programmes...

I’ve had many great conversations the last few days, received plenty of death threats too, and had the opportunity to speak with Jason (the filmmaker behind the campaign) and Ben (the CEO of Invisible Children) by phone.* It’s been an adventure.

[...]

*As an aside, Jason offered to fly me out to San Diego to meet with IC, and later in the conversation, offered to fly me to visit their projects in Africa. It would’ve cost Invisible Children at least $3000 in flights alone. I would’ve loved to go, but said no only because if I donated to IC, I wouldn’t want my money going towards flying a blogger to Africa. But that’s a whole different conversation.

But that's just it: a lot of campaigns do have some very dedicated people behind them. That really isn't enough to explain why this particular campaign has touched a nerve.

And an "8 year lead up" isn't necessarily an advantage. As many critics have been pointing out, one of the big problems with KONY 2012 is that it's badly out of date: Kony hasn't been in Uganda for 6 years.

From an interview with Arthur Larok of Action Aid, as quoted in the Guardian article:

"Six or 10 years ago, this would have been a really effective campaign strategy to get international campaigning. But today, years after Kony has moved away from Uganda, I think campaigning that appeals to these emotions … I'm not sure that's effective for now. The circumstances in the north have changed."

It sounds like the LRA have been chased out of Uganda, but are still operating, in their brutal manner, in the DRC, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. As long as the relevant governments approve, the US advisers will operate in those countries.

The objection against using force to combat these people, who appear to be psychopathic, murderous nutjobs, and to bring them to justice, based mostly on them not being able to operate in Northern Uganda anymore, seems a bit bizarre, tbh. 

But (as I understand it) that's not what IC's campaigning for - their key aim is to force the US to keep their advisors working with the Ugandan government. That's part of the criticism: IC are still insisting on keeping the focus on Uganda, even though the problem has moved on...

Yes, but the Ugandan Army has been pursuing the LRA in the Congo, presumably still supported by the US advisers. I realise that the film concentrated on Uganda and the US government support, but this is what the UN should be doing and it just isn't! 

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/...AF,,4ddb89f52,0.html

From Obama's letter:

For more than two decades, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has murdered, raped, and kidnapped tens of thousands of men, women, and children in central Africa. The LRA continues to commit atrocities across the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan that have a disproportionate impact on regional security. ...

In furtherance of the Congress's stated policy, I have authorized a small number of combat-equipped U.S. forces to deploy to central Africa to provide assistance to regional forces that are working toward the removal of Joseph Kony from the battlefield. I believe that deploying these U.S. Armed Forces furthers U.S. national security interests and foreign policy and will be a significant contribution toward counter-LRA efforts in central Africa.

On October 12, the initial team of U.S. military personnel with appropriate combat equipment deployed to Uganda.

During the next month, additional forces will deploy, including a second combat-equipped team and associated headquarters, communications, and logistics personnel. The total number of U.S. military personnel deploying for this mission is approximately 100.

These forces will act as advisors to partner forces that have the goal of removing from the battlefield Joseph Kony and other senior leadership of the LRA. Our forces will provide information, advice, and assistance to select partner nation forces.

Subject to the approval of each respective host nation, elements of these U.S. forces will deploy into Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The support provided by U.S. forces will enhance regional efforts against the LRA. However, although the U.S. forces are combat-equipped, they will only be providing information, advice, and assistance to partner nation forces, and they will not themselves engage LRA forces unless necessary for self-defense. All appropriate precautions have been taken to ensure the safety of U.S. military personnel during their deployment.

 

from - http://content.usatoday.com/co...ganda/1#.T1q8i4dmLd4

Having the Ugandan army in the Congo probably isn't a good idea. It's certainly not something the Congolese are likely to be happy about.

From that UNHCR article you linked-to:

"There are unconfirmed reports that Congolese authorities have called on the Ugandan army to leave Congolese soil by mid-June."

I totally agree with you that the UN should be taking the lead: so why aren't IC campaigning for that? Or for African leaders to do more? This is another of the criticisms: that IC are looking for a US solution to an African problem...

I agree that IC seem to think that US help is going to be the answer to all the problems. Probably too simplistic, especially in that region, where brutality on all sides is well known. It's a bloody mess, quite literally, but at least IC are doing something to keep this in the news/on people's consciences. 

If IC were just conducting an information campaign, I doubt there would be so much concern and cricitcism. However, IC are fund-raising for their own agenda and projects, so inevitably those are going to come under scrutiny.

It's possible but i doubt IC are stupid enough to be doing anything dodgy with donated money while at the same time launching a worldwide campaign.... So many people will see the donation part of that video and immediately go off to check out how they operate and weather they are above board.

Some will, some won't. I would imagine that the majority of the millions who changed their facebook page and mailed the clip to their "friends" didn't bother to check the money details first.

Fundraising update: Invisible Children raised $5million in the 2 days after uploading that film onto YouTube...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worl...y2012-video-70m-hits

Damn it. Now I'm full of doubt!