Live 8
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two top moments for me so far have been Mandela's speech and when Sir Bob brought out the Ethiopian student who was shown on international news reports twenty years ago about ten minutes from death, who has survived and is close to graduating with a degree in Agriculture now. She gave a speech and danced with Madonna on stage. Madonna even kissed her full on the lips! No confirmation yet, though, if the Material Girl slipped her the tongue. 
It would be interesting to hear what PERBerts think of the increase in foreign aid funding being proposed by the Live 8 organizers.
A just released Ipsos-Reid Poll found that once informed that Ottawa is being asked to make a five-fold increase in annual foreign aid contributions -- from $3 billion to $15 billion -- by 2015, 59 per cent of those polled said the money would be better spent on Canada's health care system and on domestic social programs.
The poll results may have been coloured by the cynical view that a large portion of western foreign aid in the past few decades has somehow ended up in the Swiss bank accounts of various African dictators.
INTERESTING TID-BIT: Before he found fame and fortune with the Boomtown Rats, Bob Geldof spent a few years in the mid-1970s in Vancouver toiling as a music critic with the Georgia Strait. Fortunately for him, he was eventually deported back to Ireland for working without a visa.
A just released Ipsos-Reid Poll found that once informed that Ottawa is being asked to make a five-fold increase in annual foreign aid contributions -- from $3 billion to $15 billion -- by 2015, 59 per cent of those polled said the money would be better spent on Canada's health care system and on domestic social programs.
The poll results may have been coloured by the cynical view that a large portion of western foreign aid in the past few decades has somehow ended up in the Swiss bank accounts of various African dictators.
INTERESTING TID-BIT: Before he found fame and fortune with the Boomtown Rats, Bob Geldof spent a few years in the mid-1970s in Vancouver toiling as a music critic with the Georgia Strait. Fortunately for him, he was eventually deported back to Ireland for working without a visa.
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YES!
Finally, we're seeing Pink Floyd!
They still have the chops, and they don't need the pyrotechnics that they were renowned for.
Dave Gilmour looks like Sting's older brother, while Roger Waters bears a startling resemblance to Richard Gere.
Finally, we're seeing Pink Floyd!
They still have the chops, and they don't need the pyrotechnics that they were renowned for.
Dave Gilmour looks like Sting's older brother, while Roger Waters bears a startling resemblance to Richard Gere.
Actually, it isn't about "charity" at all. They aren't asking for donations -- there are no call numbers --- the organizers are asking that people in G8 countries to be politically responsible and ask their leaders to structure debt relief and aid packages in a way that will help end extreme poverty in Africa.hifisex said:
The "woes that our planet faces" actually do have solutions.
It won't work; politicians know that they don't have to make or keep long-term commitments that extend beyond their current time in office.
The music is good though --- not a waste of time at all.
All they are asking for are your names on their petition, which is in the link I posted.
Watching Neil Young perform was another highlight, including the finales with "Rockin' In The Free World" and "Oh Canada". Although at times, poor Neil looked like he was about to have a heart attack onstage. Which is understandable, given his recent health woes.
Watching Neil Young perform was another highlight, including the finales with "Rockin' In The Free World" and "Oh Canada". Although at times, poor Neil looked like he was about to have a heart attack onstage. Which is understandable, given his recent health woes.
Probably cost ya a few bucks a year. They should just continue to starve to death.
A Canadian earning minimum wage can take home more in two weeks than the average person earns in a year in the world's 25 poorest countries. That's adjusted for cost of living.
Whatever it costs, tax-wise, we can afford it.
Divert tax dollars to help the poor and starving abroad?!!!Hell no!!!! We got a fuckin transit system to pay for!!!
What sane person would not support ending poverty in the world? So the discussion is not over if we do it, the discussion is how do we do it?
Then we get these musician and Hollywood types who believe that their fame has somehow bestowed this incredible wisdom upon them and they know how to solve world povertry. Let me call bull shit.
These multi-millionaires standing on stage tell me I should pay more taxes and forgive the debts so we can end poverty. GIVE ME A BREAK.
We have poured billions and billions of dollars into third world countries. It makes the Iraq oil for food program look like a cool-aid stand. We still have poverty levels equal to or greater than what we did when they ran the 1988 concert.
The only program that I think will work will be one that deals directly with those suffering. We need to by pass the Sadam’s of the world, but none of those leaders would ever allow that to happen.
So Geldoff (or what ever the F*** his name is) can get up every 7 or 8 years and have is Live aid event, but all that does is make those who participate FEEL better for participating. It does not solve a thing.
Then we get these musician and Hollywood types who believe that their fame has somehow bestowed this incredible wisdom upon them and they know how to solve world povertry. Let me call bull shit.
These multi-millionaires standing on stage tell me I should pay more taxes and forgive the debts so we can end poverty. GIVE ME A BREAK.
We have poured billions and billions of dollars into third world countries. It makes the Iraq oil for food program look like a cool-aid stand. We still have poverty levels equal to or greater than what we did when they ran the 1988 concert.
The only program that I think will work will be one that deals directly with those suffering. We need to by pass the Sadam’s of the world, but none of those leaders would ever allow that to happen.
So Geldoff (or what ever the F*** his name is) can get up every 7 or 8 years and have is Live aid event, but all that does is make those who participate FEEL better for participating. It does not solve a thing.
While I agree that LIVE 8 is not the solution to the world's problems I do think it is an attempt to once again put the issue of Global starvation in the spotlight. Whether it should have been a fundraiser like the first event in 85 or proceeded as it did as an infomercial and a call to arms to protest at the G8 will be debated for some time.
But I do think some people were moved by the words and images shown during the concerts and that they will consider charitable donations to agencies with proven track records working in countries where people are suffering incredible dispair.
It may also spark some discussion among the G8 leaders as to how to attack the problem of world hunger. Or it will amount to a hill of beans and solve nothing.
But what I don't understand in the anger. I don't think I ever have. Most, if not all, of the muscians involved have contributed more to charity that you or I ever will. Sure some of them are annoying, some of them are uneducated but I certainly don't think they are acting out of malice -- which seems to be the only solid reason to get angry at anyone.
I think it was because of the problems with the distribution of funds (ie ending up in the bad guys hands) that they didn't go the telethon route this time and one could argue that this time they took a more reasoned approach --
to whit -- "ok in 85 we raised a ton of money and it ended up in the bad guy's hands. this time we'll agree that that was the wrong approach but we, as part of the western global community, are asking our leaders to try and come to a solution to a problem that is intolerable in a civilized society."
Geldolf may have dissed Paul Martin unfairly but he also did go to great pains to plead, in the run up to the concerts, that this is not to be a Bush bashing event. I think that he sincerely wanted this to be about the issue of starvation and illness in Africa, and while I sometimes get tired of being reminded that there are problems in the world I don't feel that pissing on the messenger is at all fair.
But I do think some people were moved by the words and images shown during the concerts and that they will consider charitable donations to agencies with proven track records working in countries where people are suffering incredible dispair.
It may also spark some discussion among the G8 leaders as to how to attack the problem of world hunger. Or it will amount to a hill of beans and solve nothing.
But what I don't understand in the anger. I don't think I ever have. Most, if not all, of the muscians involved have contributed more to charity that you or I ever will. Sure some of them are annoying, some of them are uneducated but I certainly don't think they are acting out of malice -- which seems to be the only solid reason to get angry at anyone.
I think it was because of the problems with the distribution of funds (ie ending up in the bad guys hands) that they didn't go the telethon route this time and one could argue that this time they took a more reasoned approach --
to whit -- "ok in 85 we raised a ton of money and it ended up in the bad guy's hands. this time we'll agree that that was the wrong approach but we, as part of the western global community, are asking our leaders to try and come to a solution to a problem that is intolerable in a civilized society."
Geldolf may have dissed Paul Martin unfairly but he also did go to great pains to plead, in the run up to the concerts, that this is not to be a Bush bashing event. I think that he sincerely wanted this to be about the issue of starvation and illness in Africa, and while I sometimes get tired of being reminded that there are problems in the world I don't feel that pissing on the messenger is at all fair.
how much did it cost to put on Live 8? couldn't that money have gone directly toward helping eliminate poverty?
and I agree with LD ... why should i pay MORE taxes so that someone in a third world country is better off and can go to work for the multinationals that have just moved more jobs 'off-shore' and put many Canadians and Americans out of work and into poverty???
and i still think the best way to end poverty is to scrap EVERY SINGLE SOCIAL PROGRAM and use all the money saved from that to institute simple things like a breakfast and lunch program so kids don't go hungry!
more than one study has shown that by simply providing good nutrition in the first few years of a child's life will reap greater benefits in terms of intelligence, phyical and mental health and will save the health care system millions of dollars!!!
but the thing is that we have too many Geldorf's in government etc who see their 'legacy' as being more important than simple intelligence and simple measures to help others.
idiots.
and I agree with LD ... why should i pay MORE taxes so that someone in a third world country is better off and can go to work for the multinationals that have just moved more jobs 'off-shore' and put many Canadians and Americans out of work and into poverty???
and i still think the best way to end poverty is to scrap EVERY SINGLE SOCIAL PROGRAM and use all the money saved from that to institute simple things like a breakfast and lunch program so kids don't go hungry!
more than one study has shown that by simply providing good nutrition in the first few years of a child's life will reap greater benefits in terms of intelligence, phyical and mental health and will save the health care system millions of dollars!!!
but the thing is that we have too many Geldorf's in government etc who see their 'legacy' as being more important than simple intelligence and simple measures to help others.
idiots.
I agree that this is indeed true. but it is also true in the third world as well where one does not get to talk about the "first few years" but is instead reduced to talking about the first few days or weeks of a child's life.LonelyGhost said:
I also think you should pay more taxes because you are part of the wider world whether you like it or not. I believe that a society or a civilization is judged by the way we treat those less fortunate than ourselves. And while I agree there is poverty at home it does not mean that we need turn our back on the rest of the world.
Many of us made contributions to the tsnami relief effort and it made a significant difference. there is still work to done but the after effects would have been much worse if the global community had not responed as quickly and effectively as they did. and you know what, my quality of life did not rapidly disintegrate because i aided someone in a situation less fortunate than mine. In fact it increased.
Yes it cost money to put on LIVE 8. As I stated earlier there will be a debate as to whether it should have been a "telethon" to raise money but becuase of the difficulty in tracking the aid money and ensuring that it got where it needed during the Ethiopian famine a decision was made to try and get the issue onto the agenda (in a meaningful way) during this year's G8.
The point is that charity doesn't work. Just giving money to alleviate immediate needs is fine and necessary, but the only cure is institutional change --- developing real programs that help in the long term. That is what governments are for, and why they get together at conferences like the G8.
That is why they decided publicity is the best thing.
If citizens of our countries don't ask our leaders to do some serious planning, nothing will ever happen.
That is why they decided publicity is the best thing.
If citizens of our countries don't ask our leaders to do some serious planning, nothing will ever happen.
Exactly
Western countries should pick the most democratic and economically free country in Africa, and they should all immediately negotiate free trade agreements, and, say, triple the # of student visas issued to that country, and then over 10 years its economy will flourish and be thespringboard from which the rest of the Continent follows...
You could throw every dollar in the world at Zimbabwe or Sudan, and these places would still be hell-holes because of their politics.
I supose someone will say I don't love the starving African children now
If Bono or Geldof or Madonna want to end poverty in the 3rd World, they should not be focusing on G8 leaders or asking for handouts. They should confront the corrupt kleptocracies that pass for governments in Africa. The Africans themselves, given political and economic freedom will solve their own problems far better than any washed up musician. The fact of the matter is that Africa is rich in resources, and once the people there have the same opportunities we take for granted, they will break free of poverty.luckydog71 said:
Western countries should pick the most democratic and economically free country in Africa, and they should all immediately negotiate free trade agreements, and, say, triple the # of student visas issued to that country, and then over 10 years its economy will flourish and be thespringboard from which the rest of the Continent follows...
You could throw every dollar in the world at Zimbabwe or Sudan, and these places would still be hell-holes because of their politics.
I supose someone will say I don't love the starving African children now
Didn't watch any of it. Other than Neil Young, and the Hip 5 or so years ago, I wouldn't pay a dime to see any of them. Besides, when was the last time these Canadian "artists" did a free concert to support ridding Canada of poverty? How many tickets to their concerts do they donate to those who cannot afford to go but would like to? Geldof is a pretentious, one-hit twit who needs these things every so often just to appear fractionally relevant as he has no day job or career to speak of. Bono's living a pipedream if he really thinks poverty in Africa will be eradicated. Africa's a bottomless pit, there's no limit to what can be spent supporting these people, as unfortunate as it is, and they keep having babies to boot. POVERTY IN AFRICA WILL NEVER, EVER GO AWAY.
I'll tell you what, get rid of poverty, fix the healthcare system, and make sure CPP will be around forever in Canada, and then feel free to throw our leftover tax dollars towards foreigners who will ultimately be on permanent assistance or welfare on our dime.
I'll tell you what, get rid of poverty, fix the healthcare system, and make sure CPP will be around forever in Canada, and then feel free to throw our leftover tax dollars towards foreigners who will ultimately be on permanent assistance or welfare on our dime.
