social justice,
bad08,
poverty,
blog action day
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 12:01AM Today, October 15, is Blog Action Day. It is a day where bloggers all across the web unite for one day and talk about an important issue we're facing as a world. The topic changes every year. Last year the topic was the environment, this year the topic is poverty. I am excited that the the theme this year is poverty because drastically decreasing the level of poverty both in the United States and worldwide is a lifegoal of mine. I'm not sure how I'll do it, but I'm working on it.
Kiva.org
One idea that I am extremely excited about is microfinance via Kiva.org. I have a badge in the righthand sidebar of this blog that says "I'm a loaner." This badge links to my lender profile on Kiva. Kiva is a micro-lending website that connects everyday people in the 1st world (aka "lenders"), with motivated and ambitious entrepreneurs in the 3rd world. The idea is to help these small business owners lift themselves out of poverty by providing them with a small loan to grow their businesses.
Lenders are asked to contribute a small amount of money (as little as $25.00) to an entrepreneur of their choice. Through the help of multiple lenders the money is pooled, and once enough money is contributed to that person, they are issued the loan they need to grow their business. Once the business owner begins paying the loan back, lenders can choose to either put their money back toward helping another person, or they can withdraw their money from Kiva. The beauty of the process is that because it is a loan--not a one-time donation--lenders can continue to assist person after person if they so choose.
The entrepreneur I chose to lend to is Nail Ganbarov, of Azerbaijan. He owns a general goods store, and requested a loan of $1,200.00 to buy additional inventory for his store. By simply lending $25.00 through Kiva, I helped contribute to the loan that will help Nail significantly improve his standard of living. And as soon as the loan is repaid I'll be able to put that money back into Kiva and help another person.
I am very excited about Kiva and other microfinance organizations. I think they are one of the easiest and most effective ways to help combat global poverty. Please look into starting your own lender profile on Kiva.org. You can find more information about Kiva here.
My New Commitment - The 2 Dollar Trade
Signing up as a lender on Kiva is not the only thing I'm committing to do to fight poverty though! The spirit of Blog Action Day goes beyond getting bloggers to talk about important issues for one day a year. The idea is not to see how many blog posts will be tagged "bad08," but instead to motivate people to take action as a result of the concentrated online chatter created by Blog Action Day.
So, in the spirit of Blog Action Day, and with my previously stated lifegoal in mind, I'm making a new commitment. Each month I am going to make a donation to a poverty-related non-profit organization. It may be a local charity, or it may be a worldwide organization. I may donate to the same source for several months, or I may change every month. The amount of the donation will be determined by the number of worthwhile comments I receive each month on this blog. I reserve the right decide what constitutes a "worthwhile comment," but I'm not planning on being too picky. I'll donate $2.00 for each comment, up to $30.00 a month. I would love to be able to commit to more than $30.00, but unfortunately I am but a poor college student.
I admit that there is an aspect of selfishness involved with this commitment. I am looking to stimulate conversation and participation within my weblog. Though this is my "personal" blog, I have transitioned from writing primarily about events in my life to trying to deliver what I hope is desirable content regarding issues I care about.
So in reality I'm proposing a trade: my worthwhile content, for your worthwhile comments.
For more details about the 2 Dollar Trade, go here.
--Joshua Judd
http://blogactionday.org/js/47978273779ed4dbc599944b09c86f63d5ac18a3
social justice,
bad08,
poverty,
blog action day
Monday, October 6, 2008 at 03:27AM Over the past two years I have become increasingly involved with the current movement to secure equal rights among lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered people and their heterosexual sisters and brothers. The more involved I become, the more similarities I see between the LGBT Movement and the Civil Rights Movement. Yet despite the commonalities of the two movements, many are eager to separate the causes, creating a divide where there should be unity.
social justice,
LGBT,
equality,
civil rights
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 08:52PM I took part in a survey today in my Philosophy 101 class. I found one of the questions quite interesting, and I'd like to find out what others think about it.
Here is the question as best as I can remember:
A company has come up with a business plan that will increase profits for the company by 200%, but is also expected to cause extreme damages to the environment. When the CEO of the company is asked whether or not the company should proceed with the new business plan, she says, "I am only interested in increasing profits. Proceed with the plan."
Sure enough, company profits increased 200%, and the environment was damaged.
Did the CEO intentionally damage the environment?
Yes, the CEO intentionally damaged the environment.
No, the CEO did not intentionally damage the environment.
What do you think? Let me hear your opinion in the comments of this post and please feel free to explain why you chose the position you did. I'll update this post with my opinion at a later date.
philosophy,
ethics
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at 08:27PM Great album. Check it out.
Via RCRD LBL:
[Michna] has assembled his own heady full-length for Ghostly titled Magic Monday, stewing together a love of classic Miami bass, instrumental hip-hop, slow-tempo funk, and ambient electronic music into a swamp of milky textures and Cutco percussion fills.
music
Sunday, September 21, 2008 at 05:56PM It's a mixed bag, really. I'm having a great time and I absolutely love ASU. However It isn't all fun and games. Just as I did in high school, I keep plenty busy, but I also have time for fun.

college
Sunday, September 21, 2008 at 04:36PM I don't get sick anymore. I truly cannot remember the last time I fell ill. Yes, I've had a few cases of mild food poisoning here and there, but as far as actually "catching" anything goes, I've been completely healthy. I have no way to know for sure, but I really think my eating habits are what have kept me so healthy.
Ethical reasons for going vegan aside, the heath benefits are substantial. I'm not saying I'll never get sick again, but with all the fruits and vegetables I consume, I don't think I've got much to worry about. So many people I know are either currently sick or are recovering from an illness. The flu, the common cold, allergies, everyone's got something.
Except for me.
veganism
Friday, August 8, 2008 at 06:16PM Some of the humor may be lost on those of you who are not [yet] hardcore twitter users. I love internet humor.
[Via CrunchGear]
twitter
Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 11:40PM
blogging