Shocking Chart: The 99% Screwed
Uploaded by TheYoungTurks on Mar 19, 2012
Via Think Progress: "In 2010, as the nation slowly ground its way from Great Recession to recovery, 93 percent of national income gains went to the richest 1 percent of Americans. As Reuters's David Cay Johnston pointed out today, this makes the 2010 recovery quite different from the recovery that followed the Great Depression, as then, income gains were widely shared by the population, not concentrated at the very top...".* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down and notes the importance of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian add a bit nuance to the outrage of Ugandans on first seeing the Kony 2012 video.
As some have mentioned the people in Uganda reacted this way for various reasons one the Kony story is something they lived through and now they are trying to rebuild their country after decades of civil war and being terrorized by Joseph Kony- and at times by the Ugandan military itself which has apoor human rights record.
As other Ugandans have said they know how hle Kony is but the atrocities committed in his name on his behalf were often carried out by men or boys who themselves had been abducted and indoctrinated by Kony to do his bidding-
So they reason that trying to ferret out all those who have taken part in these atrocities would result in just more blood being spilt and possibly leading to another civil war and thousands more killed as it would lead to an ongoing self-perpetuating blood feud.
The other factor to keep in mind is that most of Kony's soldiers were or are child soldiers who were taken away from their families, their friends , their community and turned into robotic like killers. So the Ugandans view many of these soldiers as victims themselves and that afterall these soldiers are their brothers ,their sons who were taken from them and forced to commit these atrocities. So a large portion of these people have decided to forgive to give amnesty to and to reintegrate into their communities those who have been willing to leave Kony and turn themselves in.
As we saw in the 1990s in South Africa rather than pursuing anyone who cooperated with the Apatheid Regime the consensus became one of confronting the truth followed by healing and reconciliation.
The people in Uganda who were most effected by the war and atrocities have ageed to a similar proces so some may feel that the KONY2012 campaign might undermine the progress made so far and is therefore seen as outside interference into a situation which the outsiders do not completly appreciate . These people want to move on with their lives as best they can. This does not mean they would not like to bring Joseph Kony and his commanders who knowingly committed atrocities and abductions. But they are not in a hurry to do so this is not their main priority.
Kony 2012 Sparks Outrage In Uganda
Uploaded by TheYoungTurks on Mar 15, 2012
KONY 2012, an activist viral video campaign created by charity group Invisible Children, has received criticism for simplifying complex issues involving Josephy Kony, the government of Uganda, and the Lord's Resistance Army. Now the criticism is coming from actual Ugandans based on public screenings held by Al Jazeera's Malcom Webb. Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur break it down on The Young Turks.
Another reason many people in Uganda and neighboring countries aaffected by Joseph Kony's LRA are put off a bit by the KONY 2012 Video and campaign is that the Invisible Children erroneously suggest that there has not been a concerted effort made by these nations to neutralize in one way or another Joseph Kony .
As the following video from 2009 points out these various countries were acting together to neutralize Kony's army. The ugandan government also allowed for amnesty to those who came back to Uganda while renouncing any violence.
As I have mentioned paposts Kony's army no longer numbers in the tens of thousands or even thousands but has been reduced since 2008 to approximately 900 in 2012 . But of course he and his loyal commanders are still wanted criminals by the International Criminal Court which issued warrants for them in 2005. These were the first warrants handed out by the court which had been just created.
Uganda arrests LRA commander
Uploaded by instablogs on Jan 29, 2009
http://www.instablogs.com/
Uganda arrests LRA commander
The governments of Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Southern Sudan began an operation last month intended to wipe out the Lords Resistance army and capture its leader, Joseph Kony. Soon after, rebel fighters launched attacks that the U.N. says have killed hundreds of people. The group has negotiated a peace deal with Uganda but rebel leader Kony has failed to show up on multiple occasions to sign it. The rebels want international arrest warrants against Kony and his aides to be dropped before they sign the agreement.The capture of the top rebel commander, Okot Odhiambo, indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, is good news to the hearts of the innocent civilians that have been tomented and renews hope that soon, the rebel leader, kony, will be captured.
Uganda in many ways is undergoing a transformation since the end of the civil war and the absence of Kony's army of terrorists as Ugandans turn to reconciliation and rebuilding .So one could surmise that the people maybe vulnerable especially to emotional appeals such as those of religious leaders . So into this moment of uncertainty, of trying to make sense of the past and move beyond it in come those who are only too eager to fill up some of that emotional pain and longing for hope and stability.
So we have Evangelical Christians from the West though especially from the USA who want to influence the political and social and economic outcome of Uganda's rebuilding of its communities. These Evangelica Christians those of the Religious Rightt , the Pentacostals, the members of the New Apostolic Reformation and Doug Coe' the once secretive "The Family" are all willing to step in and try to reshape Ugandan society to fit with these American Religious Right's views of what is good and proper and what is not. These Religious Right leaders discovered that playing up the dangers of homosexuality seemed to resonate with Ugandans as they could after defeating the enemy without they could now defeat the enemy within the fifth column as it were of those who had no respect for Ugandan's traditional pro-Family values.
And unfortunately another group having discovered that Uganda has a great deal of untapped wealth that is oil and gas these businessmen and women want to have a compliant nation to work with so they can plunder at their leisure. If a more radical and Bible thumping form of Christianity will make the Ugandans more compliant then these entrepeurners would be all too happy to finance their endeavours. First come the missionaries and the military followed by the business opportunists. Africans knows all too well how this works, they were conquered by the British, the French, the Germans, the Dutch etc. The occupation of Africa by these various Western powers was far from benign . Millions were slaughtered or sold into slavery or kept as cheap labor. Now it is the American Empire looking for plunder and cheap labor and corrupt self-serving governments which may help to crush any resistance or dissident voices .
Update: Ugandan antiGay bill and Hate Mongering by the media and the influential and a significant portion of Ugandans .
A year ago with the hate against Gays becoming hysteria after more American Evangelical and Religious Right leaders went to Uganda to preach against the Gay Agenda a Ugandan Gay activist David Kato was beaten to death with a hammer in his home.
The police claimethe murder had nothing to do with Kato's Pro- Gay activism.
Rachel Maddow on The Murder of Outspoken Ugandan Gay Activist linked to US Evangelical Christian Right
Uploaded by SuchIsLifeVideos on Feb 4, 2011
Rachel links the murder of Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato to American religious right hatemongers Scott Lively & a Richard Cohen staffer who went to Uganda under the guise as experts to spread the message that homosexuals were out to recruit children and spread disease.
Ugandan gays mourn activist's killing Afrol News.com January 27,20
Uganda gay activist David Katoand check out more articles on the fight for Gay rights in Uganda and the Congo,Malawi,South Africa and other African nations:
© SMUG/afrol News
afrol News, 27 January 2011- David Kato, a Ugandan activist fighting for sexual minorities' rights, was killed in his home by a mob today. Shocked Ugandan gay activists promise to keep on "the struggle for justice and equality."
Mr Kato earned international fame when his photo was prominently featured on the front page of the Ugandan tabloid 'Rolling Stone' under the title "Hang them". The front page represented the strongest expression in the anti-gay hate campaign building up in Uganda.
Until now. Today, Mr Kato indeed was found dead in his home. Preliminary reports from Kampala indicate the gay activists had been beaten to death by a mob.
The activist, it seems, had to pay the highest price for lending his face to the struggle for sexual minorities in Uganda. Mr Kato had achieved some extraordinary gains in a hostile environment. Following his complaint, Uganda's Supreme Court had stopped the 'Rolling Stone' tabloid from publishing photos of more alleged homosexuals.
The Court on 3 January ruled that "the exposure of the identities of the persons and homes of the applicants for the purposes of fighting gayism and the activities of gays...threaten the rights of the applicants to privacy of the person and their homes."
The court case, fronted by Mr Kato and his organisation Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), caused a more diverse public debate in Uganda, with a large part of the public for the first time becoming against the hate speech propagated by 'Rolling Stone'.
The case and massive international pressure also contributed to a more balanced debate about the planned legislation criminalising sexual minorities in Uganda. While the country last year was steering towards a death penalty for homosexual acts, the debate now also included voices defending minority rights.
Congo Kinshasa discusses criminalising gays
afrol News, 29 October - The Kinshasa parliament is in the process of discussing legislation that will prohibit homosexuality, or "unnatural sexual practices." But the debate climate in Congo is much calmer than in neighbouring Uganda.
Read more
Uganda
Uganda tabloid urges "hanging of homos"
afrol News, 15 October - A Ugandan tabloid has published photos of 100 allegedly homosexual men, including their addresses and workplaces, calling for their hanging. The weekly was sold freely around the country.
Malawi
Malawi gays released after pardon
afrol News / IPS, 1 June - Five months and a day after their arrest, the gay Malawian couple who dared to publicly declare their union with a traditional engagement party were pardoned by the President and released without conditions.
Malawi | South Africa
SA church urges freeing of Malawi gay couple
afrol News, 26 May - The bishops of the Anglican Church in South Africa are calling on President Jacob Zuma to seek the release of a gay couple sentenced to 14 years imprisonment by a Malawi court over their sexual identity.
Malawi
Malawi gay couple gets maximum sentence
afrol News, 20 May - The Blantyre court today gave a young gay couple the maximum sentence of 14 years of imprisonment over "gross indecency" and "unnatural acts". The sentence may lead to cut in donor aid to Malawi.
Malawi
Uproar over Malawi gays' conviction
afrol News, 19 May - Yesterday's conviction of a gay couple of "gross indecency" and "unnatural acts" has caused an international uproar. Malawi's donors are disappointed and South African trade unionists prepare for protests.
Malawi
Malawi gay couple to be tried
afrol News, 22 March - The two Malawi men detained for three months over homosexual acts will face a full trial in April, a Blantyre court ruled today. The two risk prison sentences of up to 14 years.
Malawi
Gay rights activist arrested in Malawi
afrol News, 3 February - Malawian police have arrested a gay rights activist for putting up gay-rights posters in Malawi's main city Blantyre, in protest of the continued detention of a newly-wed gay couple.
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