You Should Watch This Trailer
Our collective friends at Jedidiah and my personal one, Kahana has put together an amazing documentary on surfing in Bangladesh. If your in San Diego this Friday (11/20/09) at the Sunshine Brooks Theater at 8:00pm in Oceanside as a part of the California Surf Festival.
LP
From GOOD Mag: Actions > Words > Thoughts > Ignorance > Apathy
GOOD Magazine’s blog is a gold standard. We just love it. Here is a great post from today.
A new book looks at the surprising and inspiring ways people of all stripes can affect social change.
With his new book Actions Speak Loudest, Bob McKinnon has brought together some disparate names to explain how change is fueled by action—not just talk. From Newt Gingrich to Donovan McNabb, Jeffrey Sachs to Jimmy Carter, the book illustrates the many ways in which changemakers leave their mark. McKinnon also heads up Yellowbrickroad, a communications and marketing company that promotes social change through programming, communications, advocacy, and action. We sat down with him to talk about his new book.
GOOD: What inspired the book?
Bob McKinnon: We all have this implicit promise to leave the world a better place for our children. Generally, over the course of previous generations, we’ve been able to keep good on that promise—but what the data now points to is that we may not make good on that promise. We may actually be creating the first generation of children to lead shorter, unhappier, unhealthier lives than their parents, which, in a country with the resources, ingenuity, and the brainpower that we have, is sort of an unacceptable outcome. So the thought was “What do we need to do to draw a little more attention to this promise and the issues that affect it?”
G: And what did you come up with?
BM: We have a short attention span in terms of being able to deal with multiple issues at one time; we’ve got an “issue of the month” mentality. We talk about childhood obesity for a while or maybe climate change gets a lot of attention. We don’t treat them holistically. Our point was to talk about these issues in one project and for us to show how connected they really are. We then wanted to give people some very specific things to act on in the hopes that small actions can accumulate into something much bigger and more powerful.
G: The book has a lot of contributors. How did you pick what to include?
BM: We wanted to select contributors who had demonstrated an action-oriented approach. There’s a wonderful Helen Keller quote we use in the book: “All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming.” That’s what these people represent. So, our contributors range from Jeffrey Sachs to Jimmy Carter, Rachel Ray to Dave Eggers. Some of them are household names, but there are also people who have experienced the issues that we’re talking about and have a very firsthand knowledge. For example, there’s one written by Richard Castaldo, who was paralyzed at Columbine. I think those are some of the best essays in the book.
G: The book also has a companion website where you’re encouraging user-generated content.
BM: We wanted it to be a resource, so if people are interested in the work of our contributors or the organizations that are listed in the book, they get more information about what these organizations are doing and how you can get involved directly. We also created a widget, which scrolls through the different actions that are encompassed within the book so every time you visit the site, you can be inspired to do something very immediate. People can tell us about their own actions, about what they’ve done to make the world a better place. It’s been a great way to allow people to demonstrate how their actions are speaking loudest.
G: Who are you hoping to reach with the book?
BM: People who love social change and have an interest in a broad variety of issues. Juan Williams, who contributed both a chapter and the foreword, said two really cool things about the book: One is that a person who has this book in their hands is a dangerous American because they’re empowered to make change. The other thing that he said is that when you look at the contributors and what they share in common, these are people who reached into the muck and mire of life and made something more beautiful—a better outcome.
Buy Actions Speak Loudest here.
Biz groups oppose ban on goods made by children and slaves
Here is a story from Change.org about businesses opposing a legislative ban on products made by children and slaves. God bless the free market.
from Amanda Kloer at Change.org:
Rachel Maddow’s choice of “you child labor-endorsing, pro-slavery freaks” to describe business groups’ opposition to a bill that would ban the import of goods made by child labor or slave labor was pretty apt. However, I personally would describe the move as the most stunning display of corporate douchebaggery since Walmart’s “dead peasant’s insurance” fiasco. According to a recent report from Inside U.S. Trade, business interest groups are “worried” that a legislative ban on goods made by children and slaves could prompt the government to more actively seek out and identify consumer goods made by exploited people. And if we started doing that, well then businesses might have to start giving workers their rights, paying them a living wage, not abusing children, and freeing their indentured slaves. And then where would we be?
Here’s Maddow’s analysis (the relevant part of the video starts about 3:30 in):
My colleague (and frequent guest poster) Tim Newman also has a great analysis of the history of legislative attempt to ban goods made with child and slave labor here. Last year, the International Labor Rights Forum took Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland to task for trying to block a voluntary child labor free certification initiative in the Farm Bill. The initiative passed, despite the lobbying of interest groups. History shows that despite the powerful corporate lobby, grassroots activists can be just as powerful a voice for children and workers as high ticket lobbyists can be for corporations.
What I am Editing to
Unbelievable jam by the Dirty Projectors
Awesome mash up by WALE, he is going to be huge
LP
myparentswereawesome.com
This stuff makes my eyes water. This blog is dedicated to the epicness of our parents when they were younger.
http://myparentswereawesome.tumblr.com
The above picture is my grandmother (age 20) and my grandfather (24). Enjoy. And send in your own pics if you have them.
- JJ
Make room Bill and Warren.. because I’m poor and awesome
At IC, close to 80% of our funding comes from donations of $20 or less. It is a tough road, but it has given us a flexibility and democratic freedom that most non-profits don’t enjoy. We may eat cardboard and ramen noodles, but we’re still here kickin’ ace. Here is a NYTimes article about the new growth of small donors.
New Fame for the Everyday Donor
AFTER years in the shadows, the everyday donor is emerging as philanthropy’s newest hero, the driver of a more down-to-earth approach to charity. Sure, Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffett, Bono and other celebrity mega-donors still have their place, but now high-profile charities are homing in on smaller donations, while new charities are being organized around the principle of modest giving.
“This is one of those all-hands-on-deck moments where we absolutely need to engage everyone, whether they are able to give 50 cents or $50 million,” said David Saltzman, executive director of the Robin Hood Foundation, famous for annual benefits where billionaires routinely hand over $20 million.
Americans have always been generous givers, and small donations have always played their part. After a tsunami devastated parts of southeast Asia in 2004, individuals in the United States donated $2.78 billion of the $6.2 billion raised for relief efforts — and the median gift was $50, the average gift $135. Yet multimillion gifts and lavish campaigns and events often commandeered the spotlight and the press coverage.
“We are deluded by the attention paid to the large contributors in our country,” said Wendy Smith, author of “Give A Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform the World.”
“Small checks coming through the mail are the bread and butter for most organizations.”
The American Homeless: Invisible in the Land of Milk and Honey
This article about American homelessness was featured in the UK paper The Guardian. (If you’ve never heard of The Guardian before, check it out: it’s a great source of international and American news. Yes, I know, it’s odd that we need to check out British newspapers to learn about America. CNN, with its visibly partisan slant and endless flow of articles about water skiing dogs and love-affairs-turned-deadly, can only inform an educated person for so long.) The article outlines the criticisms recently hurled at the US government by UN housing investigator Raquel Rolnik. “The housing crisis is invisible for many in the US,” Rolnik said. How, she asks, is the US government able to spend billions of dollars bailing out banks and big business while its own citizens are living home-less, smothered by feelings of hopelessness and despair?
Good question.
How the internet ruined everything: Newspapers, Books, Movies, Music
by Daniel Lyons, NEWSWEEK
The past decade is the era in which the Internet ruined everything. Just look at the industries that have been damaged by the rise of the Web: Newspapers. Magazines. Books. TV. Movies. Music. Retailers of almost any kind, from cars to real estate. Telecommunications. Airlines and hotels. Wherever companies relied on advertising to make money, wherever companies were profiting by a lack of transparency or a lack of competition, wherever friction could be polished out of the system, those industries suffered.
Remember all that crazy talk in the early days about how the Internet was going to change everything and usher us into a brave new techno-utopia? Well, to get to that promised land, we first have to endure a period of what economist Joseph Schumpeter called “creative destruction,” as the Internet crashes like a tsunami across entire industries, sweeping away the old and infirm and those who are unwilling or unable to change. That’s where we’ve been these past 10 years, and it’s been ugly.
Let’s start with newspapers. You wouldn’t think that in an information age the biggest victim would be purveyors of information. But there you go. Newspapers are getting wiped out in part because they didn’t realize they were in the information business—they thought their business was about putting ink onto paper and then physically distributing those stacks of paper with fleets of trucks and delivery people. Papers were slow to move to the Web. For a while they just sort of shuffled around, hoping it would go away. Even when they did launch Web sites, many did so reluctantly, almost grudgingly. It’s hard to believe that news companies could miss this shift. These companies are in the business of spotting what’s new, right? Yet they were blind to the biggest change (and the biggest opportunity) to ever hit their own business. Watching newspapers go out of business because of the Internet is like watching dairies going out of business because customers started wanting their milk in paper cartons instead of glass bottles.
Newspapers are getting wiped out because the Internet robbed them of their mini-monopolies. For decades they had virtually no competition, and so could charge ridiculous amounts of money for things like tiny classified ads. This, we are told by people who are wringing their hands over the demise of newspapers, was somehow a good thing. Good or no, it’s gone, thanks to Craigslist, which came along and provided the same service at no charge. Whoops.
(more…)
History tells us how to move forward
In his awe inspiring book, Bury the Chains, Adam Hochschild chronicles the rise of the Abolitionist movement in England, how the entire nation rallied behind a small team of revolutionaries who made it their utmost purpose to end the horrific slave trade. We certainly don’t consider ourselves of equal stature with great men like William Wilberforce and John Newton, but we can’t help but identify with their vigor and singularity of mind in speaking out for the rights of others. And when you read about the dynamics of the 12 men who spearheaded the movement, we can’t help but see the IC office in our heads.
These men spent endless, sleepless nights rallying protests and demonstrations, doing national tours speaking at churches and community meetings sharing the shocking truth of the slave trade. This was in the 19th century. Read below, and tell me this doesn’t give you chills. This book was a major catalyst in brainstorming the Global Night Commute.
“The movement they forged is a landmark for an additional reason. There is always something mysterious about human empathy, and when we feel it and when we don’t. Its sudden upwelling at this particular moment caught everyone by surprise. Slaves and other subjugated people have rebelled throughout history, but the campaign in England was something never seen before: it was the first time a large number of people became outraged, and stayed outraged for many years, over someone else’s rights. And most startling of all, the rights of people of another color, on another continent. …As tens of thousands of protesters signed petitions to Parliament, Fuller (a leader in slave sugar trade) was amazed that these were “stating no grievance or injury of any kind or sort, affecting the Petitioners themselves.” His bafflement is understandable. He was seeing something new in history.”
pg 5 of Bury The Chains, Adam Hochschild.
Good intentions are not going to cut it
Director/Filmmaker Tori Hogan created a ten part series investigating the effectiveness of international aid. The one on Religious aid is my favorite. Check them out by clicking the play button.
- Laren
Switchfoot lyrics are better than yours
Switchfoot’s new cd Hello Hurricane just came out, and we are soaking in it here at the office. These guys have blessed us with their support over the years (which is just crazy because we’ve been major fans since before IC existed), and their new CD is rich in depth and art. Foreman’s lyrics are ache-inducing. I think I heard somewhere that he said, ‘if a song isn’t worth crying over, it’s not going on this record.’ That is a high bar to set, but the truth he sews into his music is hard to argue with, and hard for your deeper self to dodge. Listen with caution, and hearts wide open.
- JJ.
Red Eyes, by Switchfoot:
what are you waiting for,
the day is gone?
I said I’m waiting for dawn
what are you aiming for
out here alone?
I said I’m aiming for home
holding on, holding on
with red eyes
What are you looking for?
all of my days are spent
within this skin
within this cage that I’m in
nowhere feels safe to me
nowhere feels home
even in crowds I’m alone
holding on
every now and then I see you dreaming
every now and then I see you cry
every now and then I see you reaching,
reaching for the other side
what are you waiting for?
People are interesting
Story from The Guardian.co.uk:
The morning I finally decided to give up using cash, the whole world changed. It was the same day news broke about the banks’ misbehaviour in the sub-prime mortgage market, so when I began telling people of my plans, they assumed it was in preparation for some sort of apocalyptic financial meltdown. However, having long viewed credit as a debit against future generations, I was infinitely more worried about what George Monbiot called the “nature crunch”. Nature, unfortunately, doesn’t do bailouts.
I suppose the seeds of my decision to give up money – not just cash but any form of monetary credit – were sown seven years ago, in my final semester of a business and economics degree in Ireland, when I stumbled upon a DVD about Gandhi. He said we should “be the change we want to see in the world”. Trouble was, I hadn’t the faintest idea what change I wanted to be back then. I spent the next five years managing organic food companies, but by 2007, I realised that even “ethical business” would never be quite enough. The organic food industry, while a massive stepping stone to more ecological living, was rife with some of the same environmental flaws as the conventional system it was trying to usurp – excess plastic packaging, massive food miles, big businesses buying up little ones.
My eureka moment came during an afternoon’s philosophising with a mate. We were chatting about global issues such as sweatshops, environmental destruction, factory farms, animal testing labs, wars over resources, when I realised I was looking at the world the wrong way – like a western doctor looks at a patient, focusing on symptoms more than root causes. Instead, I decided to attempt what I awkwardly term “social homeopathy”.
Invisible Children NYC Exhibit: From Darkness to Sight
An Invisible Children experience of what life is like for an invisible child soldier in Africa’s longest-running war.
This first ever Invisible Children exhibition will feature a collaboration of photographic work, sculptural installations, along with media by Invisible Children, Inc. founders Jason Russell, Laren Poole and Bobby Bailey.
From Darkness to Sight is an experiential narrative of Invisible Children’s story; from the initial trip to Uganda and the founders’ discovery of the night commuters, to the creation of a powerful youth movement that is not only changing lives, but also ending a war.
The exhibition is showing at the PARC Foundation Gallery from Wednesday, November 4th through Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009. Check out the PARC Foundation website soon for more information.
PARC Foundation Gallery
29 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012
www.theparcfoundation.org
CBS New Video: Sudan Report… soooo powerful
This story, from CBS’ 60 Minutes, is powerful personal journalism about the genocide in Darfur. It includes Invisible Children supporter John Prendergast as well as other incredible people doing important work in that region. Please watch. It’s only 15 minutes, and what is happening in Darfur is connected to what the LRA has been doing for 24 years. The same criminals that are responsible for the Sudanese tragedy are bankrolling the LRA. Watch the story here.
Youtube: Inspiring genius
Stephen Wiltshire from London is a star among savants. Stephen is autistic. He did not speak his first words “pencil” and “paper” until he was 5. Yet, when he was 11 he drew a perfect aerial view of London after only one helicopter ride. The filmmakers of this short decided to test his ‘living camera’ on the city of Rome. And a helicopter ride.
NYTimes: Nicholas Kristof on Schools vs Troops
MORE SCHOOLS, NOT TROOPS
by Nicholas Kristof
New York Times, Oct 28, 2009
Dispatching more troops to Afghanistan would be a monumental bet and probably a bad one, most likely a waste of lives and resources that might simply empower the Taliban. In particular, one of the most compelling arguments against more troops rests on this stunning trade-off: For the cost of a single additional soldier stationed in Afghanistan for one year, we could build roughly 20 schools there.
It’s hard to do the calculation precisely, but for the cost of 40,000 troops over a few years — well, we could just about turn every Afghan into a Ph.D.
The hawks respond: It’s naïve to think that you can sprinkle a bit of education on a war-torn society. It’s impossible to build schools now because the Taliban will blow them up.
In fact, it’s still quite possible to operate schools in Afghanistan — particularly when there’s a strong “buy-in” from the local community.
Greg Mortenson, author of “Three Cups of Tea,” has now built 39 schools in Afghanistan and 92 in Pakistan — and not one has been burned down or closed. The aid organization CARE has 295 schools educating 50,000 girls in Afghanistan, and not a single one has been closed or burned by the Taliban. The Afghan Institute of Learning, another aid group, has 32 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with none closed by the Taliban (although local communities have temporarily suspended three for security reasons).
In short, there is still vast scope for greater investment in education, health and agriculture in Afghanistan. These are extraordinarily cheap and have a better record at stabilizing societies than military solutions, which, in fact, have a pretty dismal record.
(more…)
We are on tour with Biffy Clyro in the UK
Biffy Clyro
Manchester Orchestra
Their new album is accompanied by a behind the scenes documentary where the boys spend most of their time in our merch looking good, and somewhat hairy.A great music video: Miike Snow
We have to appreciate creative filmmaking, and the visual journey this music video takes you on is worth a look and a listen.
The band is called Miike Snow.
Spread a smile with MJ style
Meet Davis. He is a little boy from Uganda who loves Michael Jackson. His dance moves made us miss Michael so bad, we had to make a little tribute video. Send this video to your friends and spread smiles today.
We’re in INSTYLE
Many thanks to Guess, Vanity Fair, Kristen Bell, Pete Wentz, and Rachel Bilson! We are getting a lot of coverage from the event last week, and the wonderful shirts that Guess have made for us are getting great press. What an honor it is to have these amazing organization’s and people’s support. We are so grateful.
If you want to get one of these shirts, all of the proceeds go to Invisible Children. aaaaaand, they are made from cotton grown in Uganda. Click here to check them out.
TED Talk: We stopped being wise
Don’t know if you guys love TED talks yet, but seriously, get on it. Turn off Dating In The Dark for five minutes, and go to ted.com and commence the mind-blowing process. It is an unparalleled collection of the world’s brightest thinkers explaining what they believe and why they believe it. About business. About life. About the way the world works. Watch it, learn it, and be wise.
This one was found by our girl Margie.
Our man: Luis Moreno-Ocampo, in his words
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is regularly criticised for being too selective or too slow in the pursuit of war criminals. Here, its prosecutor gives his side of the story, explaining how the court goes about its work, and answering his critics on the cases concerning Sudan’s President Omer el Beshir, Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony and Congolese former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba – with a combination of patience and passion for seeing justice done. Read the interview here.
Facebook and Schools4Schools for World Peace
Check out peace.facebook.com. The social networking site is keeping track of how many connections it establishes between Albania and Serbia, Israel and Palestine, Turkey and Greece, and India and Pakistan. They are quantifying the social connections between regions of the world that have historically hated each other. They are hoping that the more we know about each other, the more we are exposed to the other, the more we will understand and the less we will fight.
AND, one of the programs they are featuring is Invisible Children’s Schools for Schools, because S4S bridges the gap between western kids and the kids of Northern Uganda. Yeah, we’re proud.
The largest social network in the world features Invisible Children. I’m so stoked I had to say it again.
Twitter Visualized
If Twitter were 100 people, here is how it would breakdown. So interesting. Check out the whole story at informationisbeautiful.net