Page 4 The Lion’s Eye March 28, 2012 Nation Kony 2012 Update By Kapy Ll Kulekonskly Kiev aS aes ona Rass ing the KONY 2012 film, and over 75 i views later, the film has sparked a global conversa- tion. As of March 12, the film currently has over 74 million views just on You- Tube and over 16.6 million [8 views on Vimeo. The ; video actually caused the i “KONY 2012” website to [id crash shortly after it began its widespread popular- ity. The 28-minute docu- mentary about Ugandan rebel leader, Joseph Kony, sparked numerous questions, such as: Who are the Invisible Children (IC)? Who is Joseph Kony? What is the LRA? Why the surge of outbreak now? The Invisible Children (IC) Inc. holds its headquarters in San Diego and employs 42 full-time, permanent staff who work alongside hundreds of volunteers to spread awareness and advocacy internationally. The incorporated company began in Uganda in 2005, in Gulu and worked feverishly alongside visionaries like Jolly Okot. Ms. Jolly Okot helped the IC identify the areas of greatest need in northern Uganda at the time. Dependent on local leadership and expertise, the IC worked to develop programs on the ground. There are three members of the executive staff, including Jason Russell, Ben Keesey, and Chris Carver. Jason Russell is one of the co- founders of IC and filmmaker, his creativity influenced IC to redefine the concept of humanitarian work. Ben Keesley serves as Executive Director and CEO of IC. Chris Carver, as COO, oversees all of IC's operations, put- ting the IC in the best possible position to end this war. In 1986, Alice Lakwena, from the Acholi tribe in northern Uganda commenced the Holy Spirit Movement (HSM) in resistance of the begin- ning oppression. The assembly drafted supporters and artificial unions with rebel militias with the intention of entering Uganda’s capital city, Kampala, and liberating the north from government domination. The Holy Spirit Movement had only district support. When Alice Lakwena was exiled, . there was no obvious person to take over leadership of the Holy Spirit Movement. Kony, claimed to be a distant cousin of Alice Lakwena’s and the natural inheritor to lead the Holy Spirit Movement. Soon after Kony presumed managing of the group, he changed the name to the Lord’s Re- sistance Army (LRA). Kony wasn’t able to preserve the group's numbers or district support, so he started thieving food, shelters and abducting children to fill the positions in his army. Consequently, he lost any lingering district support. What had started out as a rebel movement to end the oppression of the north became an oppression of the north in itself. Kony’s tactics are unethical, brutal and inhumane. Kony often forces children to kill their parents and siblings with machetes. Frequently, he abducts girls to be sex slaves for his officers. He has brainwashed and proselytized the children with his vicious lies and manipulated them with his claim to have spiritual powers. When the conflicted in Uganda reached an all-time high, children night commuted; this meant that each night chil- dren and their families would walk miles away from their cities and homes to sleep in school houses, bus depots, or churches to avoid being abducted by the LRA. Over the years, the LRA and Kony have abducted more than 30,000 children in northern Uganda. Jason Russell the co-founder was recently arrested for he was al- legedly found masturbating in public and vandalizing cars in Pacific Beach. Ben Keelsey released a statement announcing the hospitalization of Russell who is suffering from exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition. Clearly with such publicity the campaign and mass media must have taken a severe toll on Russell to manifest such incidents. Though Russull’s personal prob- lems should not reflect on IC or the KONY 2012 campaign, as a whole, or denounce its authentic value. IC recognizes Joseph Kony as the world’s worst war criminal. KONY 2012 is a campaign and film by IC that strives to make Kony famous, not in an effort to celebrate him, but to raise awareness and sup- port for his arrest. The organization works to disarm the LRA and set a precedent of international justice. KONY 2012 ask followers to donate to TRI which is made up of individuals dedicated to the rescue of Kony’s child soldiers. Contrary to popular belief, 100% of your contribution goes straight to advocacy, awareness and events that directly focus on ending the. LRA's atrocities. If you're living in the Delaware Country area and wished to support the KONY 2012 campaign there will be a benefit concert held on March 31 at 5:00 p.m. at the Faith Community Church in Brookhaven. The location is about seven minutes away from Penn State Brandywine. Also, in congruence with KONY 2012, “Cover the Night” is being held April 20. “Cover the Night” is where supporters of the KONY 2012 campaign meet at sundown in their towns with their street team leaders to post posters throughout the towns and demand justice. The Philadelphia street team is meeting on April 20 at 8:30 p.m. at Love Park to begin the process. Josep tesy of usatoday.com) al& World Romney Continues to Dominate the Primaries By Matt Rodgers — Lions Eye Staff Writer - mmr187@psu.edu Mitt Romney won the Illinois Republican Primary on Tuesday, March 20 garnering 47% of pe vote, and adding most of their 54 delegates. Romney now has 534 of the 1,144 delegates needed o secure the Republican Party’s nomination for President this fall. Romney’s only other legitimate opposition Rick Santorum finished in a distant 2nd, receiving 35% of the vote. Ron Paul and Newt {Gingrich finished way behind, not even reaching a double-digit percentage Romney’s convincing win in Illinois has most experts saying the race is over, and Romney ® lis the pre-eminent Republican nominee. Many have called for Paul and Gingrich to drop out of the rimaries as they have a very small chance of success. The four-man race only divides the Republican ote, and lengthens the primary schedule. Romney and Santorum are the only candidates who garner a respectable percentage and should be the only two left in the race. Romney’s convincing victory in Illinois was a surprise to most pundits who thought it would e a tight race. Romney’s inability to bring the religious conservatives into his camp is the only eason Santorum is still relevant. But Romney’s Illinois success shows that those voters are starting to shift to his side. The convincing Illinois victory has all but assured Romney the Republican candidacy, with ost experts expecting that the conservative shift to be replicated in the remaining primaries. At some oint Santorum is going to have to bow out for the good of the party. Republicans need to designate ore, if not all, time towards fighting for the presidency, not just the nomination. It is evident in Romney’s victory speech Tuesday night that his campaign has shifted some of their arguments toward President Obama. Romney took advantage of his victory in the Presidents backyard to address his views on the Presidents progress: “Three years of Barack Obama have brought us fewer jobs and shrinking paychecks that many of s believed we were in danger of losing something even more than the value of our homes and our 01ks, after years of too many apologies and not enough jobs, historic drops in income and historic ighs in gas prices. A president who doesn't hesitate to use all the means necessary to force through bamacare on the American public, but leads from behind in the world. It's time to say these words, his word, enough, we've had enough.” DON’T FORGET TO VOTE! The Pennsylvania primary is Tuesday, April 24. If you don’t vote, you have no say, and no room to criticize the country you live in. It is your only chance to ex- [press your views about the state of your country and the route you want it to move forward. U.S. Soldier Snaps, Kills 16 Afghan Civilians By Matt Rodgers — Lions Eye Staff Writer - mmr 87@psu.edu United States Staff Sargent Robert Bales snapped on Bunday, March 11 leading to a violent rampage that left 16 Afghan civilians dead in the small Afghan villages of Balandi bd Alkozai. Bales was in his first deployment in Afghanistan, but had already served three tours in Iraq.Bales will face 17 charges of murder. John Henry Brown, Bales attorney, told the AP hat his client had witnessed his best friend lose his leg in a foadside bombing. Bales also said that he does not remember eaving his base in Panjawai and proceeding to the cluster of Villages where he killed 16 men, women and children. Bales was based out of the Joint Base Lewis-Mc- Chord just outside Seattle, Wash. Lewis-McChord is one of he largest military complexes in the US, containing a popula- ion over 100,000 civilian and military personnel. Lewis-McChord does not have a stellar reputation, enduring a handful of soldier-suicides and most notably the Four soldiers who were found guilty in what was called the “thrill” killing of three Afghan civilians in 2010. There are hlso reports that doctors at Lewis-McChord’s Madigan Army Medical Center were urged to weigh the cost benefit of diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), leading to the release of soldiers who were in need of psychiatric help. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a very serious condition that many overlook, even the soldiers hemselves. Many soldiers do not want to admit to needing help because they feel they may be singled but among peers. Blagojevich Begins 14-year Sentence By Dave Serpentine - Lion’s Eye Penn State, Tri-State, National & World Editor - dms5419@psu.edu Bales (Photo courtesy of 5 thesun.co.uk) Former democrat Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, 55, began his 14-year prison sentence at h Colorado federal prison on March 15. Blagojevich served as the Illinois governor from 2003 to 2009 and he has been under in- vestigation by the FBI since 2005. However, his main charge stems from the solicitation of bribes in exchange for Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat, mail fraud, attempting to bride the Chicago Tribute with state funds and abuse of power in attempting to gain campaign contributions from Children’s Memorial Hospital. The FBI began wiretapping Blagojevich in the fall of 2008, around the time when Dbama was announced as the president-elect and Blagojevich began to silicate Obama’s Senate seat. As a result of these counts of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and soliciting bribes, he was impeached in January 2009 and was permanently banned from holding public office in Illinois. Soon after he was indicted by a federal grand jury and Blagojevich was found guilty and sentenced to prison on December 7, 2011. The federal prison is a low-security Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood, near a Den- ver suburb of Littleton, Colo. Blagojevich’s inmate number is 40892-424. Blagojevich must serve at least 85% of his term, which means he could serve at a minimum 11 years. Blagojevich is now the fourth Illinois governor to be imprisoned. Blagojevich’s predecessor George Ryan is also serving a prison sentence; he was convicted of corruption charges. Blagojevich leaves behind his wife, Patti, and his two young daughters Amy and Anne.
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