Then, Now, Next
The UN has worked tirelessly to end wars and prevent conflicts. COVID-19 could make it harder.
09.15.20
True
In 1945, the world had just endured the bloodiest war in history. World leaders were determined to not repeat the mistakes of the past. They wanted to build a better future, one free from the "scourge of war" so they signed the UN Charter — creating a global organization of nations that could deter and repel aggressors, mediate conflicts and broker armistices, and ensure collective progress.
Over the following 75 years, the UN played an essential role in preventing, mitigating or resolving conflicts all over the world. It faced new challenges and new threats — including the spread of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, a Cold War and brutal civil wars, transnational terrorism and genocides. Today, the UN faces new tensions: shifting and more hostile geopolitics, digital weaponization, a global pandemic, and more.
This slideshow shows how the UN has worked to build peace and security around the world:
1
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12
Malians wait in line at a free clinic run by the UN Multidimensional Integrated Mission in Mali in 2014. Over their 75 year history, UN peacekeepers have deployed around the world in military and nonmilitary roles as they work towards human security and peace. Here's a look back at their history.
Photo credit: UN Photo/Marco Dormino
Who would have thought that giving the world access to all human knowledge via the internet, the ability to follow and hear from experts on any subject via social media, and the ability to see what's happening anywhere in the world via smartphones with cameras would result in a terrifying percentage of the population believing and spouting nothing but falsehoods day in and day out?
Those of us who value facts, reason, and rational thought have found ourselves at some of our fellow citizens and thinking, "Really? THIS is how you choose to use the greatest tool humanity has ever created? To spew unfounded conspiracy theories?"
It's a marvel, truly.
Between Coronavirus/Bill Gates/5G conspiracies and QAnon/Evil Cabal/Pedophile conspiracies, I thought we were pretty much full up on kooky for 2020. But apparently not. The massive fires up and down the West Coast have ignited even more conspiracy theories, some of which local law enforcement and even the FBI have had to debunk.
<p>Can we please get off this timeline of insanity?</p><p>Thankfully, there are voices of reason out there. Pretty much any rumor you hear or see gets fact checked pretty quickly, so unless you're so far gone that you think every single fact checking website is "in on it," it's not too hard to find the truth. </p><p>And sometimes, the truth comes in brief, refreshing, not-unattractive packages.</p><p>A firefighter who goes by the TikTok handle @wildlandmike shared a quick response video to a young woman's ridiculous conspiracy-laden video about the Western fires. His delivery is perfect, and Twitter users are going gaga over it. </p><div id="6b3ac" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d5b948fb687ca6519db9831a1bef2c2e"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306358947364839424" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Firefighters: literally fight fire
Also firefighters: fighting conspiracy theories on TikTok https://t.co/Mf97S0tNrS</div> — Cres (@Cres)<a href="https://twitter.com/cres_guez/statuses/1306358947364839424">1600295218.0</a></blockquote></div><p>It doesn't hurt that Wildland Mike fits the "hot firefighter" stereotype, and many of the responses were...well...thirsty. (As a colleague asked this morning, "Do they not let ugly people become firefighters or something?") Good-looking experts spewing facts is a double whammy of attractiveness in the disinformation age. It is what it is.</p><p>But the comments also highlighted the unfortunate fact that this girl making the conspiracy video has an actual reach. </p><div id="a1526" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ec224e18ae7279acb97b8cf6650a5590"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306395241209982976" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@cres_guez Wait... is she trying to say she doesn’t believe there actually are fires? Like we just made them up bec… https://t.co/NXjkAdUg81</div> — Emily Kralj (@Emily Kralj)<a href="https://twitter.com/em_kat30/statuses/1306395241209982976">1600303871.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br></p><div id="888f3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bae7a5a408ab10d24d12967ba1afe843"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306574826170200066" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@cres_guez She’s from my hometown 😅 she’s also posted George Floyd conspiracies. All of her followers are children.… https://t.co/faYHPddCjz</div> — Shelby (@Shelby)<a href="https://twitter.com/Shelby_Delaine/statuses/1306574826170200066">1600346688.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Just for funsies, I looked her up on TikTok. She has 2.6 million followers, SO THAT'S NEAT. Most of her content doesn't appear to be this off the wall crazy, which actually makes it worse. Kids are going to follow her to see her talk about her dog or her having lived in an amusement park and then get hit with a conspiracy theory video. It's also entirely possible that she makes conspiracy theory videos for a joke or as satire or something, but DON'T YOU KNOW SATIRE IS DEAD AND PEOPLE BELIEVE BATSH*T CRAZY THINGS IN 2020, @cierra_mistt??? </p><p>Seriously, is there some kind of humanity reset button somewhere? Has anyone looked for one in earnest? Maybe it's hidden under the edge of Flat Earth or on the belly button of Sasquatch or something. </p><p>At any rate, more firefighters fighting fiction with facts, please. It's the content we all need right now. </p>
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Then, Now, Next
The UN has worked tirelessly to end wars and prevent conflicts. COVID-19 could make it harder.
09.15.20
True
In 1945, the world had just endured the bloodiest war in history. World leaders were determined to not repeat the mistakes of the past. They wanted to build a better future, one free from the "scourge of war" so they signed the UN Charter — creating a global organization of nations that could deter and repel aggressors, mediate conflicts and broker armistices, and ensure collective progress.
Over the following 75 years, the UN played an essential role in preventing, mitigating or resolving conflicts all over the world. It faced new challenges and new threats — including the spread of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, a Cold War and brutal civil wars, transnational terrorism and genocides. Today, the UN faces new tensions: shifting and more hostile geopolitics, digital weaponization, a global pandemic, and more.
This slideshow shows how the UN has worked to build peace and security around the world:
1
/
12
Malians wait in line at a free clinic run by the UN Multidimensional Integrated Mission in Mali in 2014. Over their 75 year history, UN peacekeepers have deployed around the world in military and nonmilitary roles as they work towards human security and peace. Here's a look back at their history.
Photo credit: UN Photo/Marco Dormino
popular
He promised to die 'broke.' $8 billion dollars later, the world is a better place for it.
09.15.20
On September 14, Charles "Chuck" Feeney signed the paperwork to shut down Atlantic Philanthropies. The ceremony was attended via Zoom by the philanthropies' board which included former California Governor Jerry Brown, Bill Gates, and Nancy Pelosi.
While most would think the shuttering of a philanthropic endeavor would be a sad event, it was just how Feeney planned. It marked the competition of four-decade mission to give away almost every penny of his $8 billion fortune.
Feeney has saved $2 million to live on for the remainder of his life.
<p>"We learned a lot. We would do some things differently, but I am very satisfied. I feel very good about completing this on my watch,"<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2020/09/15/exclusive-the-billionaire-who-wanted-to-die-brokeis-now-officially-broke/#10d208d63a2a" target="_blank"> Feeney told Forbes.</a> "My thanks to all who joined us on this journey. And to those wondering about Giving While Living: Try it, you'll like it."</p><p>Feeney was one of the first signatories on the Giving While Living pledge that encouraged the super-wealthy to give away 50% or more if their fortunes while still living.</p><div id="a7a2c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="148766b3512bb4d5ddecba697870adf0"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1305928562743144448" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">End of an era--Chuck Feeney's Atlantic Philanthropies ends its work. Impossible to overstate the impact Feeney's ge… https://t.co/HnpBrYMaUz</div> — Stephen Kinsella (@Stephen Kinsella)<a href="https://twitter.com/stephenkinsella/statuses/1305928562743144448">1600192606.0</a></blockquote></div><p>His generosity was the inspiration for Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to sign their giving pledge in 2010. "Chuck was a cornerstone in terms of inspiration for the Giving Pledge," Warren Buffett told Forbes. "He's a model for us all. It's going to take me 12 years after my death to get done what he's doing within his lifetime."<br></p><p>Feeney co-founded retail giant Duty Free Shoppers in 1960 which now operates in 11 major airports and 20 Galleria stores. In 2017, nearly <a href="http://cnn.com/travel/article/best-franchises-for-travelers/index.html" target="_blank">160 million travelers</a> visited Duty Free Shopppers locations.</p><p>In 1984, he secretly transferred his entire stake in the company to Atlantic Philanthropies which he started two years earlier.<br></p><p>Not even his business partners knew that he no longer owned a portion of the company.</p><p>From there he began donating his massive fortune completely anonymously with the plan of giving it all away before he died. His cover was blown in 1997 when a lawsuit required him to reveal his charitable donations.</p><div id="bc7aa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6c871b54bb5201d78b7480c59fffc790"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1305968359234830336" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Here's what Warren Buffett, the chairman & CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, The Gates Foundation and The Giving Pledge sa… https://t.co/663Xiy1FP2</div> — Forbes (@Forbes)<a href="https://twitter.com/Forbes/statuses/1305968359234830336">1600202095.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Feeney was able to amass even larger sums of cash because he was incredibly frugal.<br></p><p>"Until he was 75, he traveled only in coach, and carried reading materials in a plastic bag," <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/05/nyregion/james-bond-of-philanthropy-gives-away-the-last-of-his-fortune.html" target="_blank">a New York Times feature read.</a> "For many years, when in New York, he had lunch not at the city's luxury restaurants, but in the homey confines of Tommy Makem's Irish Pavilion on East 57th Street, where he ate the burgers."</p><p>He currently lives in a modest apartment in San Francisco with his wife, doesn't own a car, and wears a $10 Casio watch. On a table in his apartment he has a small, Lucite plaque that reads: "Congratulations to Chuck Feeney for $8 billion of philanthropic giving."</p><p>Feeney gave nearly half of his fortune to education, including $1 billion to his alma mater Cornell. He has given $860 million to social change and human rights causes, $700 million to promote global health, $62 million to abolish the death penalty, and $76 million on a campaign to support the passage of Obamacare.</p><p>He has personally supported Sinn Féin, a left-wing Irish nationalist party.</p><p>"I see little reason to delay giving when so much good can be achieved through supporting worthwhile causes," Feeney said. "Besides, it's a lot more fun to give while you live than give while you're dead."</p><p>The super-rich are often rightfully the target of criticism for having ungodly wealth while others struggle to get by. But Feeney is a fantastic example of the power of wealth and how industriousness and greed don't necessarily have to go hand in hand. </p><p><br></p><p><br><br></p>
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Katie Neeves (L) photo by Jayne Walsh, JK Rowling (R) photo by Sjhill, CC BY-SA 3.0
Dear JK Rowling,
I am writing this letter to say a big thank you to you. You may think it strange that a gobby trans woman such as me would wish to thank you after all your recent transphobic outpourings, but let me explain…
I certainly don't thank you for your lengthy essay last month where you describe the abuse you have suffered (for which you have my sympathy) and in which you stated that you do not hate trans people, while at the same time peddling even more anti-trans mis-information. Sadly, your diatribe directly caused some trans children to self-harm and other to attempt suicide.
<p>I certainly don't thank you for your latest book in which I am told (as I have no intention of buying a copy) that a central character is a man who dresses up as a woman in order to abuse women. Apparently, at one point he talks about being "pre-op", a term that would be used for transgender people, not crossdressers.Either way, your key message in the story is that crossdressers or trans people are dangerous people, which in reality, couldn't be further from the truth!We are not a threat to anyone.We just want to live our best lives in peace.</p><p>What I do thank you for is for the inspiration that you give me, as every time I see a transphobic message from you, it spurs me on with my mission to reach out to other trans people to let them know that it's OK to be trans and also to educate as many non-trans people as I can to show them that trans people are just ordinary people who want to be safe, loved and happy – just like everyone else. </p><p>Happiness and peace can only come from within and I found both 2.5 years ago when I admitted to myself that I am a transgender woman, after living for 48 years as a man and living with gender dysphoria since the age of 3.I only hope that you may one day find the same inner peace and happiness that I have found by finally being able to live my truth and that you will no longer feel the need to cause harm to a group of people who you clearly do not understand.Even though there is a small minority of very noisy anti-trans campaigners who feel the same way as you, thankfully, the vast majority of people in the UK are hugely supportive of trans people and for that, I am extremely grateful.</p><p>Love from,</p><p>Katie x</p><p><br></p><p><em>This article originally appeared on Cool2bTrans. You can read it <a href="https://cool2btrans.co.uk/dear-jk-rowling-an-open-letter/" target="_blank">here.</a> </em><em>Katie Neeves is a writer and activist. <a href="https://cool2btrans.co.uk/about-katie/" target="_blank">You can read her full bio here.</a> You can find more from Katie via the links below:</em></p><p><em></em>Website: <a href="http://www.cool2btrans.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.cool2btrans.co.uk</a></p><p><a href="http://www.cool2btrans.co.uk/" target="_blank"></a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-neeves-trans-ambassador-43626814/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-neeves-trans-ambassador-43626814/</a></p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-neeves-trans-ambassador-43626814/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a>Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/cool2btrans" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/cool2btrans</a>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/cool2btrans" target="_blank">@cool2btrans</a></p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/cool2btrans" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a>Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cool2btrans/" target="_blank">cool2btrans</a></p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/cool2btrans/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a>TikTok: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@cool2btrans" target="_blank">@cool2btrans</a></p><p>https://www.youtube.com/c/Cool2BTrans</p>
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