On June 24th, I told you about a lack of food in Niger.
Today, suffice to say that on the eastern end of the African continent, it's even worse. Some 10 million people across the Horn of Africa- Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya- are facing what is thought to be the worst food crisis in 60 years, after two straight years of drought. Less food means higher food prices for what is there, and that has made food too expensive for many.
You remember when Sally Struthers got on TV and told you about how everyone was starving over there? It's even worse now than it was then.
Let's not mince words: aid organizations need enough money to feed 10 million starving people across three countries, one of which is perpetually politically unstable. That's kind of a lot of money. UNICEF is probably your best bet if you want to contribute.
Showing posts with label charity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label charity. Show all posts
Monday, July 11, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
RNG Week- Congo-Brazzaville
We close out RNG Week in Congo-Brazzaville, where today, leaders from 32 countries in the Amazon, Congo and Borneo-Mekong forest basins wrapped up a weeklong conference on deforestation. The three regions combined contain 40% of the world's forest-held carbon and 80% of rainforests.
Over the course of the conference, they agreed to a declaration recognizing it as a priority and noted the need to be able to access international funding; however, a concrete coordinated plan eluded them. This is more than they expected going in, though, and there will be more opportunities to construct that plan. Further meetings are set for South Africa in December and for Brazil next year.
The international funding is key. Despite pledges from more developed nations of monetary support, the nations at the summit were in agreement that the money wasn't actually reaching them. As a result, despite deforestation having dropped by a quarter over the last 10 years, 5.4 million hectares a year are still being lost, mostly to farmland. (That's 13.34 million acres.)
Congo-Brazzaville itself, for its part, is intending to plant one million hectares of trees- 2.47 million acres- by 2020. They have also banned the use of plastic bags.
If you're so inclined to help get trees in the ground, whether in the rainforest or elsewhere, suggested on this end is the Arbor Day Foundation. The default status of a donation is to plant new trees within the United States; however, they also do rainforest-preservation donations. If you're in Canada, Tree Canada plants domestically; and Great Britain's Plant A Tree Today Foundation primarily plants in Southeast Asia.
Of course, without sustainable development, those trees will come right back down, so:
For South America, try the Amazon Conservation Team.
For Africa, try the Clinton Foundation.
For Southeast Asia, try the World Wildlife Federation.
Over the course of the conference, they agreed to a declaration recognizing it as a priority and noted the need to be able to access international funding; however, a concrete coordinated plan eluded them. This is more than they expected going in, though, and there will be more opportunities to construct that plan. Further meetings are set for South Africa in December and for Brazil next year.
The international funding is key. Despite pledges from more developed nations of monetary support, the nations at the summit were in agreement that the money wasn't actually reaching them. As a result, despite deforestation having dropped by a quarter over the last 10 years, 5.4 million hectares a year are still being lost, mostly to farmland. (That's 13.34 million acres.)
Congo-Brazzaville itself, for its part, is intending to plant one million hectares of trees- 2.47 million acres- by 2020. They have also banned the use of plastic bags.
If you're so inclined to help get trees in the ground, whether in the rainforest or elsewhere, suggested on this end is the Arbor Day Foundation. The default status of a donation is to plant new trees within the United States; however, they also do rainforest-preservation donations. If you're in Canada, Tree Canada plants domestically; and Great Britain's Plant A Tree Today Foundation primarily plants in Southeast Asia.
Of course, without sustainable development, those trees will come right back down, so:
For South America, try the Amazon Conservation Team.
For Africa, try the Clinton Foundation.
For Southeast Asia, try the World Wildlife Federation.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Random News Generator- Zimbabwe
You're expecting Robert Mugabe's name to show up here, right?
Nope. Today, the focus goes to Raoul du Toit, one of six winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize. The Goldman Prize is awarded annually to one person on each of the six inhabited continents (though 'continent' is defined somewhat loosely, with other winners this year coming from Germany, Russia, Indonesia, the United States and El Salvador); each winner gets $150,000 on top of it.
du Toit is director of the Lowveld Rhino Trust. In 1992, poaching along Zimbabwe's border with Zambia had driven Zimbabwe's black rhinocerous population below 600. The poachers seek the rhino's horn, believed in Asia to have medicinal properties but which in fact contains just about the same medicinal property as your fingernail; the horn and the fingernail are made out of the same stuff. du Toit's goal has been to get the surviving rhinos away from the border and into a protected area. He did this by working with cattle ranchers, setting up perimeter fencing so both the ranchers and rhinos had room to do their thing without having to worry about outside threats. This worked out well.
Until 2000, when Robert Mugabe engaged in "land reform", which basically entailed reforming the names on the deeds to a whole bunch of land. Okay, so his name did pop up. Sue me.
The ranches du Toit was working with suddenly had the legs taken out from under them, and by extension, so did du Toit. Subsistence farming encroached on the ranches, and the rhino habitats, and a breakdown in security meant the poachers were back. It was a major setback, but where other conservation efforts gave up, du Toit perservered. He began again, working with any local entity or community available. He envisions a sort of trust fund set up for communities that house a rhino. He would fund that trust with money from international development funds and wildlife tourism, with dividends paid to the communities whenever a rhino is born to them. The $150,000 prize awarded by Goldman is earmarked for that purpose. In this way, du Toit hopes to somehow make the rhino more valuable to the community than to the poachers; to, in effect, outbid the Asian medicinal market.
There's not an entirely happy ending here- poaching is still the major issue, with 71 rhinos falling victim in 2009, with a current surviving population of only 530 under du Toit's watch by the San Jose Mercury News' count ("over 400" by the BBC's count) and 4,800 across Africa- but there is progress; the number poached was down to 21 in 2010. A community watch, while nice, is still inferior in du Toit's mind to harsher measures against poaching. Currently, as he says, "The penalties and fines are still not as much as we would like to see and some of those caught go back and shoot more rhinos to pay legal fees and bribes. That's the blowback from efforts to deal with them." If the poaching can be stifled completely, the unthreatened rhinos would stand to increase their ranks by 10% per year.
The mere fact that this fight is still taking place, the fact that the black rhinos are still out there with a fighting chance, is according to many solely due to du Toit. One of those many is outdoor sporting goods company Orvis, which since 1994 has taken up a number of environmental goals. du Toit recieves some of their attention in 2011; they intend to match any customer donations up to $60,000. If you'd like to nudge the donation thermometer a bit, click that last link and they'll send you through to Paypal.
du Toit and the other winners are to be honored tonight at the San Francisco Opera House.
Nope. Today, the focus goes to Raoul du Toit, one of six winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize. The Goldman Prize is awarded annually to one person on each of the six inhabited continents (though 'continent' is defined somewhat loosely, with other winners this year coming from Germany, Russia, Indonesia, the United States and El Salvador); each winner gets $150,000 on top of it.
du Toit is director of the Lowveld Rhino Trust. In 1992, poaching along Zimbabwe's border with Zambia had driven Zimbabwe's black rhinocerous population below 600. The poachers seek the rhino's horn, believed in Asia to have medicinal properties but which in fact contains just about the same medicinal property as your fingernail; the horn and the fingernail are made out of the same stuff. du Toit's goal has been to get the surviving rhinos away from the border and into a protected area. He did this by working with cattle ranchers, setting up perimeter fencing so both the ranchers and rhinos had room to do their thing without having to worry about outside threats. This worked out well.
Until 2000, when Robert Mugabe engaged in "land reform", which basically entailed reforming the names on the deeds to a whole bunch of land. Okay, so his name did pop up. Sue me.
The ranches du Toit was working with suddenly had the legs taken out from under them, and by extension, so did du Toit. Subsistence farming encroached on the ranches, and the rhino habitats, and a breakdown in security meant the poachers were back. It was a major setback, but where other conservation efforts gave up, du Toit perservered. He began again, working with any local entity or community available. He envisions a sort of trust fund set up for communities that house a rhino. He would fund that trust with money from international development funds and wildlife tourism, with dividends paid to the communities whenever a rhino is born to them. The $150,000 prize awarded by Goldman is earmarked for that purpose. In this way, du Toit hopes to somehow make the rhino more valuable to the community than to the poachers; to, in effect, outbid the Asian medicinal market.
There's not an entirely happy ending here- poaching is still the major issue, with 71 rhinos falling victim in 2009, with a current surviving population of only 530 under du Toit's watch by the San Jose Mercury News' count ("over 400" by the BBC's count) and 4,800 across Africa- but there is progress; the number poached was down to 21 in 2010. A community watch, while nice, is still inferior in du Toit's mind to harsher measures against poaching. Currently, as he says, "The penalties and fines are still not as much as we would like to see and some of those caught go back and shoot more rhinos to pay legal fees and bribes. That's the blowback from efforts to deal with them." If the poaching can be stifled completely, the unthreatened rhinos would stand to increase their ranks by 10% per year.
The mere fact that this fight is still taking place, the fact that the black rhinos are still out there with a fighting chance, is according to many solely due to du Toit. One of those many is outdoor sporting goods company Orvis, which since 1994 has taken up a number of environmental goals. du Toit recieves some of their attention in 2011; they intend to match any customer donations up to $60,000. If you'd like to nudge the donation thermometer a bit, click that last link and they'll send you through to Paypal.
du Toit and the other winners are to be honored tonight at the San Francisco Opera House.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Remember What I Said About Japan Still Not Having It Quite As Bad As Port Royal?
Yeah... never mind.
Seriously. Never. Freaking. Mind. Still technically true, per capita, but never mind.
Whoever's up there-- God, Shinto gods, Godzilla-- you can stop now. You proved your point, whatever it is.
(In related news, if we could cut out the talk about the effect on Japan's stock market until we're a bit further into cleanup, that'd be great. The Nikkei is probably the least of concerns for a whole hell of a lot of Japan right now. Businesses that can supply food and water? That's much more useful.)
If you have any spare money laying around, the American Red Cross could use it. This donation link will cover readers in the United States and Canada; other nations, there's surely a charity near you.
Seriously. Never. Freaking. Mind. Still technically true, per capita, but never mind.
Whoever's up there-- God, Shinto gods, Godzilla-- you can stop now. You proved your point, whatever it is.
(In related news, if we could cut out the talk about the effect on Japan's stock market until we're a bit further into cleanup, that'd be great. The Nikkei is probably the least of concerns for a whole hell of a lot of Japan right now. Businesses that can supply food and water? That's much more useful.)
If you have any spare money laying around, the American Red Cross could use it. This donation link will cover readers in the United States and Canada; other nations, there's surely a charity near you.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
We Must Destroy Humanity In Order To Save It
You might have heard that Watson, IBM's Jeopardy-playing computer, is having its way with Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings. The first two days of the three-day competition ran through one complete game. In that game, Watson racked up $35,734, as opposed to Rutter's $10,400 and Jennings' $4,800. Today, Day 3, will feature a second and final match.
What you might not know is where the money won in the game is ultimately going. Watson, of course, has no use for such human things as money. Perhaps it may know that 'making it rain' doesn't necessarily mean producing liquid water precipitation, but it can't actually perform the act. Therefore, everyone's playing for charity: Rutter and Jennings pledging half their winnings, IBM pledging all of theirs. The winner will get $1 million, second place $300,000, and third place $200,000.
So what charities are getting that money?
Rutter will be donating to the Lancaster County Community Foundation in Pennsylvania, which hands out grants to a variety of projects across the county.
Jennings will be donating to VillageReach. They work to provide healthcare to remote communities in developing nations, as well as improve access to these communities (so as to make it easier to provide healthcare access), with a home office in Seattle and field offices in Mozambique and Malawi. They've been ranked #1 in international charities by reviewer GiveWell, and would almost certainly beat out the top-rated domestic charity as well.
Half of Watson's winnings will be going to World Vision, a general-purpose organization in developing nations, providing emergency relief, building up communities, and so forth. They also advertise a child-sponsorship program, but that aspect came into question when, in 2008, Andrew Geoghegan of Foreign Correspondent, a program on Australia's ABC, visited his sponsor child, Tsehaynesh Delago of Ethiopia, and found that, despite that World Vision had claimed, Delago spoke no English and had only recieved as direct support a pen and a denim jacket.
The other half of Watson's winnings is going to my favorite of the four, World Community Grid. They host a number of large-scale research projects, and ask anyone that happens by to donate their computer downtime. When your computer enters sleep mode, it is then given a small chunk of a research project to work on, and will stop when you start using your computer again for your own selfish, greedy, self-serving purposes. Among the most notable of these projects is Folding@Home, which, if you own a Playstation 3, you might already be familiar with.
If you've got any downtime on hand, you can head over right now, pick out a favorite project- AIDS, cancer, clean water, clean energy, muscular dystrophy, dengue fever- and hook your computer up. Doesn't cost a dime; it's like installing a screensaver.
If none of those projects looks good to you, there's another place, BOINC, that offers up another batch to pick from.
What you might not know is where the money won in the game is ultimately going. Watson, of course, has no use for such human things as money. Perhaps it may know that 'making it rain' doesn't necessarily mean producing liquid water precipitation, but it can't actually perform the act. Therefore, everyone's playing for charity: Rutter and Jennings pledging half their winnings, IBM pledging all of theirs. The winner will get $1 million, second place $300,000, and third place $200,000.
So what charities are getting that money?
Rutter will be donating to the Lancaster County Community Foundation in Pennsylvania, which hands out grants to a variety of projects across the county.
Jennings will be donating to VillageReach. They work to provide healthcare to remote communities in developing nations, as well as improve access to these communities (so as to make it easier to provide healthcare access), with a home office in Seattle and field offices in Mozambique and Malawi. They've been ranked #1 in international charities by reviewer GiveWell, and would almost certainly beat out the top-rated domestic charity as well.
Half of Watson's winnings will be going to World Vision, a general-purpose organization in developing nations, providing emergency relief, building up communities, and so forth. They also advertise a child-sponsorship program, but that aspect came into question when, in 2008, Andrew Geoghegan of Foreign Correspondent, a program on Australia's ABC, visited his sponsor child, Tsehaynesh Delago of Ethiopia, and found that, despite that World Vision had claimed, Delago spoke no English and had only recieved as direct support a pen and a denim jacket.
The other half of Watson's winnings is going to my favorite of the four, World Community Grid. They host a number of large-scale research projects, and ask anyone that happens by to donate their computer downtime. When your computer enters sleep mode, it is then given a small chunk of a research project to work on, and will stop when you start using your computer again for your own selfish, greedy, self-serving purposes. Among the most notable of these projects is Folding@Home, which, if you own a Playstation 3, you might already be familiar with.
If you've got any downtime on hand, you can head over right now, pick out a favorite project- AIDS, cancer, clean water, clean energy, muscular dystrophy, dengue fever- and hook your computer up. Doesn't cost a dime; it's like installing a screensaver.
If none of those projects looks good to you, there's another place, BOINC, that offers up another batch to pick from.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
I Live In A Giant Snowbank
So we've got blizzard conditions in eight states. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has told my entire state to stay off the roads. The roof of the Metrodome has collapsed due to the weight of the snow piled on top of it. The gist is, if the snow doesn't get you, the wind will.
Basically, I'm glad I have a roof over my head. Because there are people who don't. Imagine having to live out in those kind of conditions.
While you ponder that, I'm just going to leave out a couple of links to Habitat for Humanity, Homeless International, and the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, and you just do with them what you will.
Basically, I'm glad I have a roof over my head. Because there are people who don't. Imagine having to live out in those kind of conditions.
While you ponder that, I'm just going to leave out a couple of links to Habitat for Humanity, Homeless International, and the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, and you just do with them what you will.
Friday, October 22, 2010
It Got Worse, Somehow
Just when you thought Haiti had suffered enough with the gigantic earthquake shaking half the country to rubble including the presidential palace and the vast majority of the foreign aid promised it- which wouldn't be nearly enough anyway- never actually getting there because of various political pissing matches, all this coming after the country was exploited and attacked and occupied by Columbus-era Spain (warning: graphic descriptions), Napoleon-era France, Wilson-era America, and two domestic dictators, suffering slavery, smallpox, poverty and death and misery all around...
...yeah, now there's a cholera outbreak too.
They would like some money that ISN'T tied up in political gamesmanship, and they do really still need it, so go here, or here, or maybe here, and see if there's anything you can scrounge up. A buck or two, even. The little $1, $2 donations do add up.
...yeah, now there's a cholera outbreak too.
They would like some money that ISN'T tied up in political gamesmanship, and they do really still need it, so go here, or here, or maybe here, and see if there's anything you can scrounge up. A buck or two, even. The little $1, $2 donations do add up.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Go Hug Your Children, Right Now
Some years back, if you're a fan of Anderson Cooper, you may have seen his 2005 series on Anderson Cooper 360, 'Starving In Plain Sight', concerning a famine that was hitting the country of Niger at the time.
The actual report, for some reason, isn't on YouTube, but there is a follow-up he did two years later in 2007 for 60 Minutes:
There may be a rerun on the horizon. If you'd like to help try and head it off, I'd suggest CARE. No sense waiting until a potential famine becomes an actual famine.
The actual report, for some reason, isn't on YouTube, but there is a follow-up he did two years later in 2007 for 60 Minutes:
There may be a rerun on the horizon. If you'd like to help try and head it off, I'd suggest CARE. No sense waiting until a potential famine becomes an actual famine.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Rapid-Fire Book Club, Ling-Ling Edition
Out today and added to the bookshelf, Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring Her Home, by Laura and Lisa Ling.
Amazing writing from both of them. Amazing and chilling. Even though I knew how it was going to end, that little nugget of information kept trying to fly the coop over and over again. Every few pages, I'd have to remind myself "This has a happy ending. This has a happy ending. You know it has a happy ending. The ending did not change while you were asleep last night."
It should also be noted that part of the proceeds will be split among three organizations, so if nothing else, at least go ahead and help one or more of them out:
*Liberty in North Korea (LiNK)
*Committee to Protect Journalists
*Reporters Without Borders
Amazing writing from both of them. Amazing and chilling. Even though I knew how it was going to end, that little nugget of information kept trying to fly the coop over and over again. Every few pages, I'd have to remind myself "This has a happy ending. This has a happy ending. You know it has a happy ending. The ending did not change while you were asleep last night."
It should also be noted that part of the proceeds will be split among three organizations, so if nothing else, at least go ahead and help one or more of them out:
*Liberty in North Korea (LiNK)
*Committee to Protect Journalists
*Reporters Without Borders
Monday, March 29, 2010
Fuigmism
Fuigmism is one of the most insidious diseases in America today. It can devastate communities, pit neighbors against each other, and it often proves extremely difficult to cure.
What is fuigmism?
FU, I've Got Mine.
Well-functioning societies, regardless of their industrial status, at some level require a shared sense of community, of teamwork. I help you, you help me. Members of a community must be willing to help each other achieve mutual goals. When someone becomes for whatever reason unable to contribute to society (e.g. temporary injury/sickness or job loss), it's incumbent on the rest of us to help them become able again and ready to once again contribute, and if their potential contribution has become permanently limited (e.g. permanent injury/sickness or retirement), it's incumbent on the rest of us to not take advantage of them in their reduced capacity.
That's how it's supposed to work, anyway.
Fuigmism happens when this sense of community breaks down. It occurs when someone becomes not so much unable to contribute as unwilling, and yes, they are two different things.
Some of the symptoms of fuigmism:
*Repeated requests to know what's in it for you even if no monetary investment is asked of you
*Rationalization that if you've gotten to where you've gotten in life under your own power, so can everyone else under theirs
*Failure to recognize just how many things are in fact helping you out in your daily life
*Lack of sympathy for those more unfortunate than you coupled with never having suffered their misfortunes yourself
*Overuse of the word 'bootstraps'
*General disregard for anyone that isn't you or a loved one
Fuigmism comes and goes in American life. During the 80's, it more or less swept the country, with Patient Zero arguably being lifelong carrier Donald Trump. It was the Me Decade, the Gordon Gekko era of 'greed is good'. Sure, he was the primary factor in the death of the USFL when he ignored the salary cap and and made the league move games from spring to fall so as to force a merge with the NFL, sure he went bankrupt and needed to be bailed out, sure he was slimy as all get out, but deep down, you kinda wanted to be him anyway. You wanted to be the guy that could coat anything in gold just for the fun of it. You wanted to be the guy whose house Robin Leach would fawn over in his over-the-top rich-guy British accent this week. You wanted to be the guy that owned the casino, that flew in the private jet, that could name things after himself at will.
But look at Trump now. He hasn't really changed since then, but now he just seems tacky and disgusting. Oh, great, you gold-plated your toilet again and invited another dozen celebrities everybody hates to go admire it. Must be nice.
Who is most likely to be afflicted with fuigmism? The upper middle class. Statistically, even though the poorest among us are expected to have to contribute the least, they, proportionally, contribute the most, according to this 2009 graph regarding charitable giving, which counts both financial contributions and volunteer work. (Volunteer work is officially valued at $20.25 an hour.) A separate reading done in 2008 found similar findings, as do most studies done on the subject. The poor give the most, but then giving drops off sharply from the lower middle class, middle class, and then bottoming out at upper middle class. A small uptick occurs when you reach the richest members of society, but not nearly enough to match the poor.
Why is that? The poorest know what each other are going through, and help out in a shared sense of necessity. Everyone must pool resources or everyone's in big trouble. Past that, though, once the sensed necessity of community decreases, fuigmism takes over. One loses touch with the problems afflicting those on society's bottom rungs. Once one becomes rich enough, some among them feel an urge to give back, and do so (my local library was funded by Andrew Carnegie), but between the two extremes, there is a giant donut hole. It's similar to how bacteria has trouble surviving at very cold or very hot temperatures, but flourishes and ruins food at room temperature.
So what's the cure for fuigmism? Simple: start giving a damn about those around you. Or at least, care more than you currently do. It's that simple. No sense overcomplicating things.
You can start here.
What is fuigmism?
FU, I've Got Mine.
Well-functioning societies, regardless of their industrial status, at some level require a shared sense of community, of teamwork. I help you, you help me. Members of a community must be willing to help each other achieve mutual goals. When someone becomes for whatever reason unable to contribute to society (e.g. temporary injury/sickness or job loss), it's incumbent on the rest of us to help them become able again and ready to once again contribute, and if their potential contribution has become permanently limited (e.g. permanent injury/sickness or retirement), it's incumbent on the rest of us to not take advantage of them in their reduced capacity.
That's how it's supposed to work, anyway.
Fuigmism happens when this sense of community breaks down. It occurs when someone becomes not so much unable to contribute as unwilling, and yes, they are two different things.
Some of the symptoms of fuigmism:
*Repeated requests to know what's in it for you even if no monetary investment is asked of you
*Rationalization that if you've gotten to where you've gotten in life under your own power, so can everyone else under theirs
*Failure to recognize just how many things are in fact helping you out in your daily life
*Lack of sympathy for those more unfortunate than you coupled with never having suffered their misfortunes yourself
*Overuse of the word 'bootstraps'
*General disregard for anyone that isn't you or a loved one
Fuigmism comes and goes in American life. During the 80's, it more or less swept the country, with Patient Zero arguably being lifelong carrier Donald Trump. It was the Me Decade, the Gordon Gekko era of 'greed is good'. Sure, he was the primary factor in the death of the USFL when he ignored the salary cap and and made the league move games from spring to fall so as to force a merge with the NFL, sure he went bankrupt and needed to be bailed out, sure he was slimy as all get out, but deep down, you kinda wanted to be him anyway. You wanted to be the guy that could coat anything in gold just for the fun of it. You wanted to be the guy whose house Robin Leach would fawn over in his over-the-top rich-guy British accent this week. You wanted to be the guy that owned the casino, that flew in the private jet, that could name things after himself at will.
But look at Trump now. He hasn't really changed since then, but now he just seems tacky and disgusting. Oh, great, you gold-plated your toilet again and invited another dozen celebrities everybody hates to go admire it. Must be nice.
Who is most likely to be afflicted with fuigmism? The upper middle class. Statistically, even though the poorest among us are expected to have to contribute the least, they, proportionally, contribute the most, according to this 2009 graph regarding charitable giving, which counts both financial contributions and volunteer work. (Volunteer work is officially valued at $20.25 an hour.) A separate reading done in 2008 found similar findings, as do most studies done on the subject. The poor give the most, but then giving drops off sharply from the lower middle class, middle class, and then bottoming out at upper middle class. A small uptick occurs when you reach the richest members of society, but not nearly enough to match the poor.
Why is that? The poorest know what each other are going through, and help out in a shared sense of necessity. Everyone must pool resources or everyone's in big trouble. Past that, though, once the sensed necessity of community decreases, fuigmism takes over. One loses touch with the problems afflicting those on society's bottom rungs. Once one becomes rich enough, some among them feel an urge to give back, and do so (my local library was funded by Andrew Carnegie), but between the two extremes, there is a giant donut hole. It's similar to how bacteria has trouble surviving at very cold or very hot temperatures, but flourishes and ruins food at room temperature.
So what's the cure for fuigmism? Simple: start giving a damn about those around you. Or at least, care more than you currently do. It's that simple. No sense overcomplicating things.
You can start here.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Wait Till Next Month
Remember when I asked you to help give $250,000 of Pepsi's money to build a North Korean refugee house in Los Angeles, Freedom House? Good news and bad news.
BAD NEWS: It didn't win. There were two winning spots and LiNK, the charity in question, came in 4th.
GOOD NEWS: It's a brand new month.
The slate is wiped clean for March and hey, presumably the two winners aren't going to be in contention again, right? And with two winning positions again.... well, it came in 4th last time. You do the math.
Well, first vote- once a day, remember- then do the math.
BAD NEWS: It didn't win. There were two winning spots and LiNK, the charity in question, came in 4th.
GOOD NEWS: It's a brand new month.
The slate is wiped clean for March and hey, presumably the two winners aren't going to be in contention again, right? And with two winning positions again.... well, it came in 4th last time. You do the math.
Well, first vote- once a day, remember- then do the math.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Olympics: Day 9- Who's Terry Fox?
Today, let's rewind all the way back to the Opening Ceremony.
No, no, we already talked about the cauldron. Back up a bit further to when the Olympic Flag was brought in. Eight Canadians were selected to help carry the flag into BC place, among them Donald Sutherland, Bobby Orr, and Jacques Villeneuve.
Also among them: Betty Fox, mother of one Terry Fox of Winnipeg. If you're American, this was likely just some random footnote, some guy you've never heard of. In fact, Meredith Vieira confused him with Michael J. Fox.
If you're Canadian, though, there's a good chance you either welled up or commenced with a standing ovation. On the Penny Arcade boards during the Ceremony, I was hearing speculation that the final torchbearer might be not just Betty, but a Terry Fox hologram.
So who's Terry Fox?
In 1977, Fox lost his right leg to a form of cancer called osteosarcoma; it was amputated to keep the cancer from spreading. This was not a good thing for a man who would participate in just about any sport you placed in front of him. Track, swimming, basketball, baseball, soccer, rugby, it was sports. After losing the leg, Fox wanted to keep participating in sports, but as an amputee, competitve sports would be a problem.
The solution: run solo. In fact, not just run solo, but run coast-to-coast across Canada. And while he was at it, raise money for cancer research. He called it the Marathon of Hope, with the goal of raising $1 (Canadian dollars, of course) from every Canadian citizen.
At the time, in addition to the amputated leg, Fox had a heart condition, left ventricular hypertrophy, or 'athlete's heart', carrying symptoms of dizzy spells, double vision and shortness of breath. Long story short, Fox's doctor warned him that with the kind of stress his heart would be under during the Marathon of Hope, he might not complete the run and in fact die trying. Fox's response was, he's already got those symptoms anyway, so why not.
So with a bad heart and a different leg than he started life with, Fox set off applying for sponsors to help pay for the run (which he promptly got, though he turned down unsolicited endorsements; they would detract from the goal of public awareness) and set off for St. John's, Newfoundland.
On April 12, 1980, Fox dipped his prosthetic leg in the Atlantic Ocean, with the intent of dipping it into the Pacific Ocean once he arrived at his destination of Victoria, British Columbia (not far from Vancouver). He also took two bottles of Atlantic Ocean water- one to keep, one to pour into the Pacific. His intended pace was a standard marathon every day- 26.2 miles. Every day. Across Canada. With the entire country cheering him every step of the way, recieving a hero's welcome when he entered Ontario.
He would not make it.
On September 1, Day 143, near Thunder Bay, Ontario, Fox was forced to stop. The cancer had returned, and progressed to his lungs. His right lung had a tumor the size of a golf ball; his left lung had one the size of a lemon. He had run 3,339 miles at a pace of 23.3 miles per day, just short of half of his goal.
It was enough for Canada.
On September 9, CTV organized a telethon on Fox's behalf; they raised $10.5 million CAD in one day. It was only the start; by February 1981 Canadians had raised $24.17 million CAD- which, by the way, would meet Fox's goal of $1 per Canadian.
Fox would live to see it, but not by much; the cancer claimed him on June 28th, at the age of 22.
Every year since, a Terry Fox Run is held in various locations around the world; to date nearly $500 million CAD has been raised in his name. If you'd like to add to that, head on over. Fox has been awarded the Companion of the Order of Canada, the Order of the Dogwood, Canadian of the Year, Canadian of the Decade, and when CBC ran a TV special, The Greatest Canadian, Fox placed second, behind only Tommy Douglas, and conspiracy theories exist as to why Douglas beat Fox.
In case you're wondering, Wayne Gretzky placed 10th, just behind Alexander Graham Bell, who in turn placed two spots below Don Cherry, commentator for Hockey Night In Canada.
On the 25th anniversary of the Marathon, Canada introduced a one-dollar coin honoring the run.
And you will see Fox's name again in these Games. The Terry Fox Award will be handed out on Day 16, next Saturday, to be awarded to "someone who is the epitome of determination in motion, who pushed on no matter what the pain or obstacles in their path and touched Canada and the world by displaying humility and selflessness in their treatment of others both on and off the field of play – a veritable hero.”
You will also see Fox on ESPN; as part of their 30 For 30 series, Steve Nash will narrate the documentary Into The Wind.
Oh, and one more thing.
Steve Fonyo, a man from Montreal who lost his left leg to cancer at age 12, was inspired by Fox, taking note of the fact that Fox had to stop near Thunder Bay. He resolved to finish the job Fox started, and over the course of 14 months, from March 31, 1984 to May 29, 1985, Fonyo completed the Journey For Lives, running the same St. John's-to-Victoria route. He was originally called a copycat, and ran in Fox's shadow, but once he made it past Thunder Bay, he won his own amount of respect, eventually raising $13 million CAD, and was awarded an Order of Canada of his own later in 1985. However, he would have it revoked in 2009 after it turned out that, run or no run, he was no Terry Fox; he battled a cocaine addiction and was convicted on a series of charges including impaired driving, driving without a license, aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, writing bad checks, violating probation, and violating parole.
No, no, we already talked about the cauldron. Back up a bit further to when the Olympic Flag was brought in. Eight Canadians were selected to help carry the flag into BC place, among them Donald Sutherland, Bobby Orr, and Jacques Villeneuve.
Also among them: Betty Fox, mother of one Terry Fox of Winnipeg. If you're American, this was likely just some random footnote, some guy you've never heard of. In fact, Meredith Vieira confused him with Michael J. Fox.
If you're Canadian, though, there's a good chance you either welled up or commenced with a standing ovation. On the Penny Arcade boards during the Ceremony, I was hearing speculation that the final torchbearer might be not just Betty, but a Terry Fox hologram.
So who's Terry Fox?
In 1977, Fox lost his right leg to a form of cancer called osteosarcoma; it was amputated to keep the cancer from spreading. This was not a good thing for a man who would participate in just about any sport you placed in front of him. Track, swimming, basketball, baseball, soccer, rugby, it was sports. After losing the leg, Fox wanted to keep participating in sports, but as an amputee, competitve sports would be a problem.
The solution: run solo. In fact, not just run solo, but run coast-to-coast across Canada. And while he was at it, raise money for cancer research. He called it the Marathon of Hope, with the goal of raising $1 (Canadian dollars, of course) from every Canadian citizen.
At the time, in addition to the amputated leg, Fox had a heart condition, left ventricular hypertrophy, or 'athlete's heart', carrying symptoms of dizzy spells, double vision and shortness of breath. Long story short, Fox's doctor warned him that with the kind of stress his heart would be under during the Marathon of Hope, he might not complete the run and in fact die trying. Fox's response was, he's already got those symptoms anyway, so why not.
So with a bad heart and a different leg than he started life with, Fox set off applying for sponsors to help pay for the run (which he promptly got, though he turned down unsolicited endorsements; they would detract from the goal of public awareness) and set off for St. John's, Newfoundland.
On April 12, 1980, Fox dipped his prosthetic leg in the Atlantic Ocean, with the intent of dipping it into the Pacific Ocean once he arrived at his destination of Victoria, British Columbia (not far from Vancouver). He also took two bottles of Atlantic Ocean water- one to keep, one to pour into the Pacific. His intended pace was a standard marathon every day- 26.2 miles. Every day. Across Canada. With the entire country cheering him every step of the way, recieving a hero's welcome when he entered Ontario.
He would not make it.
On September 1, Day 143, near Thunder Bay, Ontario, Fox was forced to stop. The cancer had returned, and progressed to his lungs. His right lung had a tumor the size of a golf ball; his left lung had one the size of a lemon. He had run 3,339 miles at a pace of 23.3 miles per day, just short of half of his goal.
It was enough for Canada.
On September 9, CTV organized a telethon on Fox's behalf; they raised $10.5 million CAD in one day. It was only the start; by February 1981 Canadians had raised $24.17 million CAD- which, by the way, would meet Fox's goal of $1 per Canadian.
Fox would live to see it, but not by much; the cancer claimed him on June 28th, at the age of 22.
Every year since, a Terry Fox Run is held in various locations around the world; to date nearly $500 million CAD has been raised in his name. If you'd like to add to that, head on over. Fox has been awarded the Companion of the Order of Canada, the Order of the Dogwood, Canadian of the Year, Canadian of the Decade, and when CBC ran a TV special, The Greatest Canadian, Fox placed second, behind only Tommy Douglas, and conspiracy theories exist as to why Douglas beat Fox.
In case you're wondering, Wayne Gretzky placed 10th, just behind Alexander Graham Bell, who in turn placed two spots below Don Cherry, commentator for Hockey Night In Canada.
On the 25th anniversary of the Marathon, Canada introduced a one-dollar coin honoring the run.
And you will see Fox's name again in these Games. The Terry Fox Award will be handed out on Day 16, next Saturday, to be awarded to "someone who is the epitome of determination in motion, who pushed on no matter what the pain or obstacles in their path and touched Canada and the world by displaying humility and selflessness in their treatment of others both on and off the field of play – a veritable hero.”
You will also see Fox on ESPN; as part of their 30 For 30 series, Steve Nash will narrate the documentary Into The Wind.
Oh, and one more thing.
Steve Fonyo, a man from Montreal who lost his left leg to cancer at age 12, was inspired by Fox, taking note of the fact that Fox had to stop near Thunder Bay. He resolved to finish the job Fox started, and over the course of 14 months, from March 31, 1984 to May 29, 1985, Fonyo completed the Journey For Lives, running the same St. John's-to-Victoria route. He was originally called a copycat, and ran in Fox's shadow, but once he made it past Thunder Bay, he won his own amount of respect, eventually raising $13 million CAD, and was awarded an Order of Canada of his own later in 1985. However, he would have it revoked in 2009 after it turned out that, run or no run, he was no Terry Fox; he battled a cocaine addiction and was convicted on a series of charges including impaired driving, driving without a license, aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, writing bad checks, violating probation, and violating parole.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Remember When I Said I'd Tie Everything To The Olympics?
I lied.
Well, maybe not totally; North Korea is participating in the Olympics, so... screw it; yeah, I lied.
Go vote for this. It's part of a contest Pepsi's doing where people vote for what charities get $250,000. This is for LINK, which seeks to build a halfway house for North Korean refugees that have made their way to the United States.
It's currently in 4th position; the top two get the money. You can vote daily until the end of the month.
Well, maybe not totally; North Korea is participating in the Olympics, so... screw it; yeah, I lied.
Go vote for this. It's part of a contest Pepsi's doing where people vote for what charities get $250,000. This is for LINK, which seeks to build a halfway house for North Korean refugees that have made their way to the United States.
It's currently in 4th position; the top two get the money. You can vote daily until the end of the month.
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