live8, G8, 'make poverty history'...

[swimini]

does any of this mean anything to you where you live? its been constantly in the news over here and does seem to be making a difference, at least in terms of awareness, but as always I am interested in what people in other countries think- particularly you american types.

[swimini]

guess the global imapct intentions of Mr. Geldof have fallen short of the mark. there are concerts all over the world today, theres one in philadelphia with Will Smith, Scisssor sisters Linkin Park and Jay z puls loads more, all with the intention of raising awareness about the issues in Africa and forcing the leaders of the G8 countries to do something to help. are people protesting there? is there national coverage? what do you think?

[AChimp]

I honestly don't give a shit about Africa, and I'm Canadian. :)

[kellychaos]

Selfish Canadians! They charge import taxes on LaBatt when I'm only 3 miles away in Michigan. >:

[Dole]

I just watched about two mins of geldof then madonna and vomited through my own eyes. My probably ignorant view: its good sentiment, but does seem like another chance for the west to feel incredibly self-righteous by portraying africa yet again as a completely helpless continent - plus it gives people like Blair to look incredibly sanctimonius and smug.

[soundtest]

I for one applaud our shining stars for using their power to benefit their fellow man. They are making us all aware of what's really going on in the world, and passing that message on through their music. And now that Tibet is safe and everyone everywhere knows it's Christmas, I'm glad to see them focus their talents on a new effort - bravo!

[theapportioner]

Have we become -so- cynical? It's not going to lead to drastic change but it was a good gesture at least.

Although it's sadly not suprising that yet another missing white person case eats up as many as, if not more headlines, here in the states. Apparently minorities don't get abducted/go missing.

[KevinTheOmnivore]

It was a nice gesture, but what was the substance of it all? I honestly didn't follow it very closely, was the point to raise money for charities and NGOs in Afirca, or was it simply just to "encourage" the G8 to relieve debt....?

It seems like it'll take more than that, and I disagree with Dole on Tony Blair's position on the problem. I saw him on some shitty MTV forum, and he was quite pragmatic and reasonable about Africa, and he acknowledged the fact that ultimately Africa is in Africa's hands, and the "eight men" can only assist in that responsibility.

Forgive me Dole, I know you dislike Tony Blair, but I'd take him anyday over what we have. At least when he screws up he does so with eloquence and grace. :)

[theapportioner]

I think they specifically did not want money - rather they wanted "names and faces". It's basically a very coordinated rally or protest.

[Miss Modular]

Forgive me Dole, I know you dislike Tony Blair, but I'd take him anyday over what we have. At least when he screws up he does so with eloquence and grace. :)

<rant>
Not to mention he actually allows his citizens to criticize him, as opposed to our President's bogus "Town Hall" meetings.
</rant>

[ScruU2wice]

not as much of a rant as an incredibly valid point.

[Dole]

Yes, he's better than George Bush - but that's not much of a recommendation...that like saying he is better than being disemboweled with a spike.
He is a good, convincing public speaker but also a completely fraudulent hypocrite obsessed with his own place in history and prepared to sell out everything the Labour party once stood for - and I voted for him once!

[kahljorn]

What about the poverty in america? For fucks sake. I'm on food stamps. Food stamps are great by the way, they give you 254 dollars a month. I've seriously never eatten better in my LIFE. But all the same, my girlfriend and I have been trying to find jobs for like three weeks, we live in the republican capitol of California. There's only like ten fucking job openings here(for stuff we can do). This counties is one of those crazy largest food producing counties, along with oil(we give our oil to los angeles, then buy it back). But we pay 2.43 a gallon. And there's only ten jobs here. Unless you want to make minimum wage.

My girlfriend was going to get a job as a receptionist/accountant, for knight's pumping which is some septic tank emptying company. Everywhere you go in this town you see little signs for them, especially in new construction areas. They wanted someone to answer all the phones, take care of everything in the office, PLUS do their accounting, and be bilingual, for 8 dollars an hour. What the fuck is that.

It's hilarious, because they know finding jobs is hard right now, so they pay people less, and get better employees for less. And things are getting worse, because companies keep moving oversees. America's supposed to be the buying power or what the fuck ever, but everyone's going poor/er. How are we going to buy anything with no money and no jobs? It makes no sense. I hope they all lose money.
I'm addicted to consumerism.
I put snow peas in my salad.

[Royal Tenenbaum]

Get a fucking job or shut the fuck up.

[Big McLargehuge]

i bet it is real easy to get a job over in the socialist paradise you live in, after all weren't you born and raised to do what ever it is you do?

[kahljorn]

Yea, you dirty winterpegian slutwhore socialist. You're just going to get banged by some rich american who goes to canada for a skiing vacation and bear his child and try to sue him but your stupid socialist government will laugh at you and say, "No, you're a dirty whore, it's your job to get fucked then have ugly children who end up being used as chicken feed for dirty american swine". That's right, pigs CAN own chickens!

[GAsux]

I wish I had the links but I actually read two stories that were critical of the love fest. One basically followed the line that the concert was set up to strictly channel the fundraising. My understanding is there was some kind of ban or at least limits on corporate sponsorship in order to make the handful of sponsors appear above their peers by being more involved.

More telling was an article which in essence polled the opinions of folks all over Africa. While most were flattered by the concern, they felt that the G8 impact was minimal. Eliminating debt and donating money would not eliminate the corruption that has crippled the continent. Virtually every respondent indicated they would have been better served with efforts to improve basic infrastructure, education, etc.

They kind of viewed it as the rich getting richer and felt like it didn't matter how much Madonna or the Pet Shop Boys babbled because at the end of the day they'd still be living in their impoverished towns with no change to their daily lives.

It reminded me a lot of the "Choose or Die" nonsense.

[Krythor]

Maybe an invasion would work! Then the blacks can have their stupid money and we can get back to making our own right guys.

The aimless cynicism of this board is unbelievable sometimes.

[Sethomas]

Kahl's posts make me glad for having read The Wealth of Nations. The socialist in me just cries.

[Chojin]

The aimless cynicism of this board is unbelievable sometimes.
Yes, who would have expected such a thing from a site called I-Mockery?

[Krythor]

The key word was 'aimless.'

[Chojin]

The term 'mockery' is pretty broad.

[Ant10708]

You better just listen Kry. Chojin is a VET on this board and Helm is hilarious.

[Helm]

Listen, Ant guy, I can teach you to be funny if you want, 'cause I'm hilarious.

Step 1: Stop whining.

[Ant10708]

Being funny is to hard already.

[Helm]

Step 1: Stop whining.

[Ant10708]

Jonah Goldberg article


July 06, 2005, 8:09 a.m.
“We Care!”
Grace on the cheap.

According to Bob Geldof, two billion people watched his snazzy Live8 concert thingamajig. Therefore, he declared, "It's now for the leaders to act." He also added, "Now feel the force of the gale that's hit you." At the top of Geldof's gale-force demands: debt relief for African nations.


O.K., so here's what I'm confused about. People watched a concert, which was chockablock with acts supposedly popular with the young 'uns and old 'uns alike. From Snoop Dogg, Will Smith, and Coldplay to the more aged likes of Madonna, Sting, and Bono. There were even a few troubadours with last names (or at least two first names), such as Elton John.

And the spectacle was impressive, so much so that Chris Martin of Coldplay declared it "the greatest thing that's ever been organized probably in the history of the world." (You've heard of the Normandy invasion, the Manhattan Project, the Marshall Plan, various moon landings, the 2,000-year-old Catholic Church? Impromptu flea markets! We've got a major-league telecast here.) Passing over Martin's slight overstatement, no harm will come from conceding that it was a very nice concert for those interested in such things.

But tell me, how exactly was Live8 a monumental demonstration of support for helping Africa?

Perhaps we could organize an ice-cream and candy giveaway at the local mall to show that children are against the deficit? Anyone who shows up is for raising taxes. Or, hey — and I'm just thinking out loud now — maybe Madonna could invite everybody to show their concern about global warming by coming to her mansion (pick one) and helping themselves to whatever's in her fridge.

You see my point? Presumably this was a concert most of the attendees wanted to go to anyway. To say that two billion people favor debt relief for Africa is akin to saying that everyone who watches Desperate Housewives is pro-choice because the producers are.

You may be wondering how much money this intercontinental jam session raised for the sick and dying of Africa. Alas, not a farthing. Sir Bob Geldof was very explicit about this point. Live8 was intended to raise consciousness and exert political pressure on the G8 summiteers. No one was allowed to actually raise money for the masses of starving people in Africa. None of the dollars spent on the concert by fans, corporate sponsors, or television networks will reach Africa. Charities couldn't rattle tin cups outside the porta-potties and concession stands. This was solely an effort to prod the West to get behind the slogan, "Make Poverty History."

Nice line. But, uh, how? I'm sure Geldof, Bono, and a few others have some ideas worth listening to. But I somehow doubt the Madonna and Snoop Dogg fans in the audience had formed a particularly cogent consensus on how to "Make Poverty History." In fact, I doubt you could get even a fraction of them to agree on a recipe for apple brown betty.

Very smart people have been trying really, really hard to make poverty history for a long time. Heck, they've been working very hard to make Africa just ever-so-slightly less hellish for a very long time. Debt relief is probably part of a potential solution, but without ending Africa's tendency to produce horrible, greedy dictatorships, debt relief is more akin to paying off a drug addict's credit cards.

Even if the concert goers were speaking with a single voice, they weren't saying anything of much use, except "we care" — and aren't we special people for it? Geldof summed up the attitude perfectly when he said, "Something must be done, even if it doesn't work."

This concert was an exercise in boosting the self-esteem of the audience. Included in the ticket price was grace on the cheap. t-shirts cost extra. Live8 was an appeal to the vanity of people who collectively aren't concerned enough about Africa to watch a classical music concert.

Geldof's heart is in the right place, I'm sure. But what he really did was successfully bribe a bunch of people to be props in a publicity stunt. And I somehow suspect that the G8 leaders do feel the force of the gale that's hit them — and it feels a lot like a gust of hot air.

[theapportioner]

Publicity stunt or not, it appears to have worked.

[Ant10708]

Poverty is History!

But it does seem to have worked. So now will there be more of these type of events organized for other causes?