I came across Mark Lovett, the Global Patriot guy during the recent 12for12k 24 hour event. Mark has had a successful business career and now is devoting a lot of his time to helping others.

Marks idea is that being a Global Patriot is different to being a National Patriot. While a National Patriot is concerned with people and events within a single country or region, the Global Patriot wants to do and create things that are good for everyone.

As someone living in a different continent to where I grew up, I can completely relate to this idea.

Mark reminds us in a post about patriotism that the concept has changed over the centuries and is still evolving today. It is very true that old style National Patriotism has been responsible for many of the wars over the past few hundred years as well as many of the problems we face today.

The key question Mark presents us with today is:

“Can we envision patriotism from a global perspective…embracing patriotism without borders?“

Personally I believe that not only we can, but we have to. That is also one of the features of the 12for12k campaign. While 12for12k certainly supports local charities (the Eye Care for Kids” in Utah being a great example) there has also been support on a global with UNICEF and more to come.

The Global Patriot concept fits in really well with 12for12k and the teams will be working closely together later this year. Both are natural tie ins with social media, which brings people from all over the world together. Maybe in time, social media will show just how artificial traditional borders are – letting people bypass the traditional blocks and communicate together directly.

Personally, I’m proud to call myself a Global Patriot and really pleased to have Global Patriot as Blog of the Week!

Where do you stand? Are you a Global Patriot? How should we be working together to make life better for everyone?

Related posts:

1. 12for12k – Doctors Without Borders
2. 12for12k Global Event #GG24
3. Blog of the Week – Kids are Heroes

We are pleased that the July charity for 12for12k is Eye Care for Kids.

This continues lasts months theme of using Social Media to raise funds for children who need help.

Eye Care For Kids is based in Utah and helps kids throughout the state, focusing (no pun intended) on rural areas and the Native American reservations.

Your contribution to 12for12k this month can make a huge difference. A $25 donation is enough to provide for an eye exam and glasses for a child that really needs them.

Read more about 12for12k and this month’s charity on the 12for12k site.

Ready to contribute and make a difference? You can do it right here:

Related posts:

1. Why Support Eye Care for Kids?
2. 12for12k Hospice of Peel
3. Blog of the Week – Kids are Heroes

First one of the 12for12k blog partners decided he didn’t like UNICEF after originally posting in support.

There have also been attacks on the choice of this charity on Twitter and other social media sites and even the venerable old sage of 12for12k Danny Brown has come in for some stick.

So I find myself wondering what is going on here? What is it about UNICEF that causes so many different opinions, from those that support the organization and those that seem to think it has no merit at all.

I thought it might be worthwile to do a little investigating and see what this organization is all about.

History.

UNICEF was founded in 1946 to help deal with the problem of millions of starving children in the aftermath of the Second World War. Here’s a video, narrated by Sir Roger Moore on the organization’s history:

I don’t think anyone would disagree with UNICEF’s mission – there is no question that the it has saved many thousands of children’s lives since 1946 and played a part in improving the lives of many many more.

So why would the choice of an organization doing such good work, where it’s workers are dedicated enough to literally put their lives on the line (see the clippings I’ve included) in some of the toughest parts of the world cause so much controversy? Surely people working to protect children, often right in the middle of active conflicts, deserve support from those of us safe at home with our families?

I’m inclined to believe that the biggest issue UNICEF has is that it is part of the United Nations. The UN isn’t the most popular organization here in the United States, largely due to its history of poor management, but also because the UN is structured so that the US doesn’t get its way all the time. The fact that any of the five permanent Security Council members (US, UK, France, Russia and China) has a power of veto has often stopped the US from pushing through its agenda. Actually, I see this as a good thing since the US doesn’t have a very good foreign policy track record of late!

So UNICEF is having to operate in the field while carrying the burden of its unpopular owner – easy to see why there is a lack of enthusiasm. Of course, there are also advantages with being part of the UN, worldwide scope, access to government leaders and funding way above what any other childrens charity could hope to attain. I wonder if the huge budget of UNICEF is also an issue for 12for12k supporters? No matter what we were to raise, it is unlikely to show as a big line item on the UNICEF balance sheet.

While I do believe that UNICEF does great work and I’ve personally contributed to 12for12k this month (and certainly encourage you to do the same, because it is a great cause) I am somewhat disappointed that UNICEF has not played any role in the June campaign. The 12for12k Challenge relies on support – not just from supporters and contributors, but from the charities themselves. UNICEF could had actively supported 12for12k on their site and their various blogs, to the benefit of both. It would raise more for UNICEF in June and making more people aware of 12for12k would create a higher public awareness and better results for the charities lined up for the rest of the year. Instead UNICEF has been silent. Not my idea of a partner.

So today, I feel a little let down. Let down by people who could do more to support 12for12k instead of just complaining and by UNICEF which I thought could do so much to help, but has not come through. I’m certainly not feeling let down by the actual UNICEF workers and supporters who are doing great things or by social media users who have made contributions to the campaign.

So please contribute to support the great work being done by UNICEF and please consider becoming an active supporter of 12for12k. It is a great opportunity for us regular people to get together and actually make a difference. Rather than sit back and criticize, get involved and make it better. Go to 12for12k.org for more info.

I’d love to know if you agree with my thoughts. How can we work together to help 12for12k be more effective? What about that Roger Moore video commentary? Would you view UNICEF differently if it was part of the Gates Foundation rather than the UN?

Related posts:

1. 12for12k – UNICEF Believe in Zero
2. 12for12k Special 12 hour video-a thon
3. 12for12k

12for12k has teamed up with the UN – playing with the big guys now – specifically UNICEF’s Believe in Zero Campaign. The Campaign is looking to dramatically reduce the number of children who die everyday from completely preventable causes – to bring the number to zero.

I’ll be posting more about this later, but to learn more, head over to the 12for12k site.

I fully understand that times are tough for many right now – our family being no exception. The point of 12for 12k is that many small contributions add up to make a difference. So please consider making a small donation (I have!) – you can do it right here:

Related posts:

1. UNICEF & 12for12k
2. 12for12k – Doctors Without Borders
3. 12for12k Special 12 hour video-a thon

I’m a huge believer that people should be free to do as they wish, assuming they don’t do anything that will affect other people in the process. If two people (any two people) want to get married, what is it to do with me?

So I’m rather surprised and a bit dismayed at the vote in California to uphold the ruling that marriage is only for heterosexual couples. I certainly hope that civil rights organizations are able to put this crazy decision right at some point – the California decision is a big step backwards. And what about the 1,800 couples already married in the state? How can you say they are married but not allowing the same thing for others?

Here in New Hampshire we have same sex marriage going through the legislature. I hope that Governor Lynch has the bollocks to sign it.

So what’s next for California? A ban on mixed race marriage? Sometimes the law is indeed an ass!!

Do you agree or are your views different to mine? How should this issue be resolved at a national level?

photo credit: laverrue

No related posts.

Danny is kind enough to discuss his thoughts on Social Media marketing and how it fits in with a marketing plan. We also chat about the 12for12k charity and the exciting plans that are being put in place for the rest of the year.

Thanks to Danny for taking part – I hope you find his insights to be interesting.

Click on play on the little media player below:

Related posts:

1. Blog Of the Week – Danny Brown
2. Labeling News Interview – Carl Brown
3. Totally Incorrect Podcast – August 09

One thing is for sure – none of us are going to be around for ever and a lot of us are going to be needing special care when our time here is almost done.

Hospice of Peel is a special place in the Toronto area that provides both in hospice and at-home care for those needing it. The organization depends on donations to carry out its good services so this is an opportunity for people to help.

There is much more information over at the 12for12k site.

And seeing as our time here is limited, it is important we make the most of every day. This includes making a difference to people’s live by helping great causes such as 12for12k. It looks as though things are slowing down a bit, so we need to step it up! Maybe it is time for Danny Brown to raffle off his hat!

Just as an update, I’m really pleased that Totally Incorrect is now an Official Blog Partner of The 12for12k Challenge.

Related posts:

1. 12for12k – UNICEF Believe in Zero
2. 12for12k
3. UNICEF & 12for12k

The idea is to select a different charity each month during 2009 and raise at least $12,000 to support that charaty’s efforts.

The charity for April has been Yehu Microfinance, dedicated to supporting mothers and their families in Kenya. As it says on their site:

“Yehu is a microfinance organization in the rural coastal region of Kenya for the poor, run by the poor. It provides financial and other support services for small businesses owned by very poor people.

Yehu operates in conjunction with Choice Humanitarian, an international NGO specializing in village development. Yehu was created based on the principles and procedures of the world-renowned Grameen Bank.”

Microfinancing has been proven to be very effective in reducing poverty in developing nations, see the Wikipedia article here.

There will be a new charity for May announced soon. You will still be able to donate to Yehu at the 12for12k site.

Related posts:

1. UNICEF & 12for12k
2. 12for12k Hospice of Peel
3. 12for12k Global Event #GG24

I saw this at BBC News – it seems that an increasing number of adults who were baptized as children want to get the deed undone.

The argument is that since they were baptized as young children, no-one consulted them and it should be their decision whether or not they wanted to take this step.

Read the BBC News report here.

I’m sure this idea is far more common over in the UK than here in the US, where just about everyone claims to be a practicing Christian. When I was growing up in the UK, I don’t every remember having any friends who attended a church (other than one kid who was a Jehovah’s Witness) but without exception we had all been baptized when very young. I think if we were asked if we wanted to be baptized, we would all say no, but I don’t think any of us would want to go through the trouble of getting debaptized.

This has gotten me wondering where the idea of baptizing infants came from. Certainly in the days of the early church a lot of people, including Jesus himself, were baptized as adults when they can make the decision themselves. I can only imagine the practice came into common use during times of much higher infant mortality where it would be considered a kind of insurance policy.

As would be imagined, both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church are not too keen on this idea. There is however an organization, The National Secular Society, that suggests a workaround. If your local vicar won’t help out, just make your own Debaptism Certificate. There is a report on this, along with a TV news clip on their site

Me? No problem as far as I’m concerned. I was baptized into the good old Church Of England, but as a wedding photographer I get to attend more churches than any of my old UK friends ever have!

No related posts.

But anyway, I saw a tweet on Twitter by @EdHans, who is a guy I’ve chatted with on and off (more off than on these days) on technology forums for years. Ed has well established Christian views and is a super smart and good guy.

So when Ed linked to an article at the Uncommon Descent site, I knew it would be worthwhile to read. Needless to say it was very interesting. I have never thought of a racial aspect to Darwin’s theory (I’m not sure there even is one) but that is really the basis of the article.

If you have a few minutes read the article; regardless of your religious views you will find it thought provocing. Here is the link. I’ve bookmarked the Uncommon Descent site and added to my Google Reader feeds – I’ll be reading more for sure.

No related posts.