Kony 2012 campaigner Jason Russell detained for @#$%& in public

One of the co-founders of Invisible Children, the San Diego-based charity which is campaigning for the arrest of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, has been hospitalised after police said he was detained for being naked and @#$%& in public.

Jason Russell, 33, was picked up by police in San Diego at around 11.30am on Thursday after receiving numerous calls from the public about a man vandalising cars, being apparently under the influence of a substance and making sexual gestures while wearing only his underwear.

According to local TV station NBC, San Diego police spokeswoman Lieutenant Andra Brown told a press conference in the city that Russell was co-operative as he was detained by officers. "He was no problem for the police department. However, during the evaluation we learned that we probably needed to take care of him. So officers detained him and transferred him to a local medical facility for further evaluation and treatment," she said.

more: [www.guardian.co.uk]

Wow! 11:30 in the morning. He really does have a problem.

@#$%& 2012

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[www.giyf.com]

Wearing only underwear yet naked-- that makes sense.

A brief statement by the group in the wake of Russell's detention said that being at the centre of a massive media storm may have taken its toll. "Jason Russell was unfortunately hospitalised suffering from exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition. He is now receiving medical care and is focused on getting better," said Invisible Children's chief executive Ben Keesey in the statement.

"The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday. Jason's passion and bis work have done so much to help so many and we are are devastated to see him dealing with this personal health issue."

Considering the typical knee-jerk reaction when a representative of an organization makes the news for the wrong reasons is to immediately distance the organization from the individual, I think it's rare and admirable (and compassionate) that IC didn't hesitate to express complete support and understanding.

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MR/F Guestmap: [www.mapservices.org]

Note to self - be glad I didn't drive into PB for lunch yesterday...although it would have made for some interesting dashcam footage...Ingraham at Riviera Drive is pretty much the main way into that area from Pt. Loma...

I'm still trying to get the rationale behind the making of the film. It's flawed in so many ways that I wonder why it was even made and made available.

D & C

Mike Daisy
Kony 2012
Greg Mortenson, Three Cups of Tea

In common - injustice towards young people in foreign lands tugs at the heart strings like few other things. Take some good intentions and unsettling truth, stretch it, throw in some ambition and greed, voila.

My filter: if the helper has made himself/herself the story, bigger than the cause itself, beware. Emotion sells.

BTW - listening to "Retracted" on TAL, it's very good.

[www.thisamericanlife.org]