Ever wonder how you can change the world without changing the way you live?

Well some very bright young Trinity graduates might have just come up with the solution by creating a loyalty card for charity.

“While studying at Trinity Conor Leen became more aware of the issue of inequality and how as a society, not enough is being done to tackle issues like food poverty. To address the problem of world hunger and to make a positive impact on society Connor and 5 of his fellow Trinity classmates set up the social enterprise Stampify.” @collegetimesct

“Stampify is a social initiative that allows users to donate meals to help fight world hunger by completing a Stampify loyalty card with loyalty stamps from partner businesses,” CEO and founder @ConorLeen

These “partner businesses” are basically coffee shops and they’re everywhere. This is a social movement that can make a difference and any barista can sign up. Basically if you fancy feeling like Bob Geldof and George Clooney at the same time make sure your coffee comes with a Stampify card.  

To use Stampify, you simply pick up a Stampify loyalty card next time you get a coffee and start collecting stamps on it. It’s better than putting a stamp on those regular selfish “freebie for me” cards that you eventually end up using as a filter for your rollies anyway.  

“Chances are that if many of us emptied out our wallets, out will fall three or four half-filled loyalty cards.” @JOEdotie

The main benefit is that you can then mix-and-match loyalty stamps from different cafes to complete the card, before returning it to any of them, feed a child for a week, and feel like Bob Clooney for the rest of the day.

“To provide meals to fight world hunger, we have partnered with international aid charity Mary’s Meals. For every completed card, partners make a donation to Mary’s Meals which is used to feed a child for a week.” @stampifyireland

“For every completed card, a child will be fed for a week in their place of education in some of the world's most deprived countries .... For now the initiative is aiding children in countries such as Zambia, India and Malawi.” @Independent_ie

This all began because one third of our bee species are now threatened with extinction. This is because we have drastically reduced the amount of food (flowers) and safe nesting sites in our landscapes. The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan is about all of us, from farmers to local authorities, to schools, gardeners and businesses, coming together to try to create an Ireland where pollinators can survive and thrive.

Without the pollination service freely provided by our bees and hoverflies, it would be increasingly difficult and expensive for farmers to produce some crops at current scales, and could result in a loss of consumer choice for Irish grown products. The beauty of the Irish landscape would also be affected without pollinators to maintain the diversity of our wild plants and support healthy ecosystems.

To give this some context, the annual value of pollinators for human food crops has been estimated at €153 billion world-wide and at least €53 million in the Republic of Ireland.

The real economic value of pollinators to the Irish economy is likely to be greater than currently estimated. Current evaluations don’t take into account the value of pollinators to forage crops (clovers), in pest control (e.g.,the role of hoverflies in protecting winter wheat crops), or their value to private gardeners and communities who grow a wide range of pollinator-dependent fruits and vegetables.

Maintaining biodiversity in the farm system future-proofs how the land can be used for generations to come. It is important to accept that if wild pollinator species were to be lost from the Irish landscape, they could not be replaced, regardless of monetary input.

So unless you want to live in a Blackmirror episode go out there and make your garden grow, and write to your recently elected local councilor to tell them you love the bees and want to see a pollinator patch in your park.
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This Plan was initiated by Úna FitzPatrick (National Biodiversity Data Centre) and Jane Stout (Trinity College Dublin), and then developed by a fifteen member All-Ireland steering group. For more info check out their website pollinators.ie

I figure there’s no better time than the 4th of July to acknowledge that Trump has finally crossed the line, into North Korea that is, a country as well known for being a cartoon villain as it is for its humanitarian abuses and nuclear missile testing.

A site I like to visit from time to time is the Human Rights Watch page to look through their annual review of human rights across the globe. Here is what they have to say about North Korea:

“North Korea remains one of the world’s most repressive states. In his seventh year in power, Kim Jong-un—who serves as chairman of the States Affairs Commission and head of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea—continues to exercise almost total political control. The government restricts all civil and political liberties, including freedom of expression, assembly, association, and religion. It also prohibits all organized political opposition, independent media, civil society, and trade unions.”

On Trumps visit into North Korea The New Yorker reported:
President Donald Trump praised that nation’s dictator, Kim Jong Un, for his efforts on immigration, telling Kim, “No one is trying to get into your country.”

Barely containing his envy, Trump continued, “Of course, you don’t have Congress to deal with, like I do. They’ve caused all the problems I’ve had on immigration. You’ve got a much better deal. You want to build a wall, you build a wall. No one can tell you you can’t.”

But how exactly would North Korea build such a wall, let’s jump back into the HRW report to find out:
“The government routinely uses arbitrary arrest and punishment of crimes, torture in custody, and executions to maintain fear and control over the population. The government and security agencies systematically extract forced, unpaid labour from its citizens— including women, children, detainees, and prisoners—to build infrastructure, implement projects, and carry out activities and events extolling the ruling Kim family and the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK).”

“The government uses forced labour from ordinary citizens, including children, to control its people and sustain its economy. A significant majority of North Koreans must perform unpaid labour at some point in their lives.

Ordinary North Korean workers are not free to choose their own job. The government assigns jobs to both men and unmarried women from cities and rural areas. In many cases, these enterprises do not compensate them, forcing them to find other jobs to survive and pay bribes to be absent at their assigned workplace. Failing to show up for work without permission is a crime punishable by three to six months in forced labour training camps (rodong dallyeondae).”

The report also highlights while North Korea might not have trouble with people trying to get into the country it has significant difficulty with people trying to get out:
“Kim Jong-un’s government bolstered efforts to prevent people from leaving North Korea without permission by increasing the number of border guards, CCTV cameras, and barbed wire fences on its border with China. Other tactics included jamming Chinese mobile phone services at the border and targeting for arrest those communicating with people outside the country.”

“The Ministry of People’s Security considers defection to be a crime of “treachery against the nation.” Harsh punishments apply to North Koreans forcibly returned by China. The severity of punishment depends on authorities’ assessments of what returnees did while in China. North Koreans caught working or living in China are sent to long term ordinary prisons (kyohwaso) or short-term detention facilities (rodong danryeonda). Those discovered trying to reach South Korea are treated more harshly and may be sent to North Korea’s horrific political prison camp system (kwanliso), where prisoners face torture, sexual violence, forced labour, and other inhuman treatment.”

Seems like Trump has really got his finger on the pulse when it comes to how well North Korea is doing. It’s also downright bizarre that Trump would legitimise the North Korean dictator when the country reacts so heavy handed towards its neighbours in the South, who remain an ally of the US.
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If Trump gets a second term New America will probably end up doing a trade deal with North Korea and Human Rights Violations will not only be ignored but become the norm in the MAGA Empire. The world should be shocked by Trump crossing the line and American voters should be alarmed at the course their country is on, because whether you’re drinking out of toilets at the border or making flip flops in a concentration camp in North Korea, New America is sending a message that it doesn’t care about Human Rights.