Comments on: Why I’m not supporting Live 8

By: Cary

Cary — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 16:11:44 +0000

G8 & Live 8 aren’t going to fix all of Africa’s problems, by a long shot, but getting more anti-viral Aids medication into Africa can only be a good thing…if you guys have some grand scheme for how to overthrow multiple African Governments I’d love to hear it, but otherwise I personally think you should keep your complaining to the vast majority of the population who aren’t trying to help AT ALL. However misguided you may find their techniques, supporters of Live 8 have at least put their money where their mouth is…

Just my 2 cents.

By: zimpundit

zimpundit — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 22:03:00 +0000

Good points raised in both the post and comments. I’m a Zimbabwean blogger who’s trying to become that blogger who, in the words of site admin, is going to “start a Live-8 style push to highlight whatâ€™s going on in Zimbabwe because I want to be the first to promote it.”

I’m currently trying to get people to inundate Mugabe’s office with “furious faxes.” See this and help out if you feel led; http://zimpundit.blogspot.com/2005/07/furious-faxes.html

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 05 Jul 2005 18:52:17 +0000

Well said. Thank you for INTELLIGENTLY stating why you are not supporting Live 8. One thing I find ghastly about the help Africa movement is the lack of intelligent planning or follow through.

What will throwing more money at the problem do? Obviously, we are dealing with either rogue governments or warlords or whatever else. Point is, we are dealing with bad people. Deal with them first, then maybe NGO’s and whoever can go in help. But if they continue to get shot up or have their food and other supplies ransacked, I doubt we will see any group going in there.

Unfortunately, military intervention will be decried as imperialism and we’ll have the same problem over.

By: site admin

site admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2005 01:38:31 +0000

I agree Andy, it was just all the emails I got from people asking me to highlight their Live 8 blogs and sites.

By: John (SYNTAGMA)

John (SYNTAGMA) — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 12:13:39 +0000

Come to think of it, Duncan, the G8 is as daft as Live8. It was set up by that French would-be aristocrat, Giscard d’Estaing ~ yes, he who produced the swaggering “European Constitution” so decisively rubbished by his own voters and the Dutch. G8 was never meant to be a world government. But egotists like Tony Blair have used it to promote their occasional chairmanship as President of the World (for a day). Personally, after Live8 and G8, I can’t wait for the AfterEight.

By: site admin

site admin — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 02:43:34 +0000

Just to add I’ve just been reading the morning paper here and an article I read hit the spot about Live 8:
“Oh Lord, this will mean more Mercs for jerks”
Without going through the whole thing it details which African leaders by which types of Mercede Benz…again governance is what’s killing Africa, not the G8.

By: John (SYNTAGMA)

John (SYNTAGMA) — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 15:56:10 +0000

The eight men sitting round the table at Gleneagles this week simply don’t have the power to enforce the outcomes that Live8 and its supporters are demanding. They are all constrained in various ways. Bush can’t suspend the enterprise culture of the US by a snap of his fingers. Probably Blair has the most raw power of any of them, which is why he’s been leading the show. As Hugh points out, Africa isn’t a single entity. Each country has its own priorities. The difference between the Islamic north and sub-Saharan Africa is profound. So the question is wrong. Africa can’t be treated as a sick person. It’s like many people in various states of health.

By: kelly

kelly — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 15:38:00 +0000

And here I thought I was the only one looking at the Live 8 happenings in bewilderment.

By: Hugh Fraser

Hugh Fraser — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 07:04:04 +0000

Live 8 was the most effective brain-washing programme Iâ€™ve ever seen. Snap your fingers every three seconds for an African child. Sing along. Thought leadership by heroes. Crowd conformity. Moral satisfaction. You really could start to believe the simple message, that somehow all thatâ€™s stopping â€˜Making Poverty history NOW!â€™ is a group of 8 world leaders.

By: IO ERROR

IO ERROR — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 06:33:31 +0000

You know, I just wrote virtually the same thing this afternoon (Live 8 not the way to save Africa) with some more information.

In order for Africa to prosper, peasants need to become the real owners of their primary asset â€” land â€” over which they currently have no property rights. -- Moeletsi Mbeki

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Jul 2005 04:09:25 +0000

support, don’t support, just stop listening to coldplay loser

By: david

david — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 16:42:53 +0000

I agree with you, Duncan, and I appreciate someone as “public” as you saying such in a very public forum.

By: site admin

site admin — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 15:28:56 +0000

Sure, it’s not limited to Africa, but the net result in Africa speaks for itself. I can’t wait for a blogger to start a Live-8 style push to highlight what’s going on in Zimbabwe because I want to be the first to promote it. And while I’m at it, I think it was Swaziland, but I could be wrong, where 1/3 of the entire population is dying of Aids, and I’ll tell you now: no amount of money will fix the problem, only good governance will address it. Money is never the solution: the best people to fix problems are people themselves, and people are led by their Government.

By: Mark Wade

Mark Wade — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 15:23:49 +0000

Thanks Duncan,

Unfortunately, tho’, this PC BS isn’t limited to Africa, is it…

My feelings about being PC is that it’s killing people all over the world and is just a pathetic attempt to “get people to like me.” But – “they’ll” put a “spin” on whatever needs to be spun because humanity appears to have some very sick motives underlying everything. And God, or whatever Higher Power we might believe in, is being completely lost in the shuffle.

Damn shame – all of it!

Have a great day,

Mark

By: John (SYNTAGMA)

John (SYNTAGMA) — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 14:35:44 +0000

You’re absolutely right, Duncan. Most of those dictators claim to be Marxists who stand for helping “the people”, as Mugabe does. But Marxism is just an inversion of an aristocratic society, with the proles replacing the peasants. The only type of society in human history that has delivered prosperity deep into the lower classes is a middle class one ~ the despised bourgoise of the communists. They spread power widely and create businesses, hence employment, and depend on a constant stream of go-getters rising from the lower tiers of society. The Western, free, democratic model is the only one which will work in Africa or the Middle East. But how many of those who support Live 8 with their emotions actually want that? Most see an anti-enterprise, neo-Marxist solution, run by the government (corrupt as it may be) as the future. Few attending today will support property rights (essential for creating the capital for small businesses), rule of law (for stability and continuity), and a black, bourgoise platform ( to provide the owner-managers of enterprises) as the way forward. All other schemes will simply drain into the parched African plains, as they have done in the past.