Fox never ceases to amaze me...it takes talent to turn efforts to relieve poverty in Africa into an anti-environmentalist rant. lol.
Live 8 is important because its raising awareness and drawing attention to the issue. Prior to President Clinton, Africa was just a place on the map the Presidents ignored. Even Clinton ignored it when the critical moment came in Rwanda.
To his credit, President Bush has tried to help Africa, but not enough people care for politicians to focus on it and spend taxpayer dollars there. Live 8 is simply trying to raise awareness and encourage action; in spite of the other political beliefs/efforts of these performers, that is certainly commendable.
I agree, except that most people do in fact know thatv Africa is freakin' poor. They just don't know what to do about it. One of the problems is aid money going into the pockets of dictators rather then the country itself.
A point I would've made had you not. We've sent a great deal of aid to various African countries in the past, yet just like Oil for Food, most only went into the pockets of the dictators. Although it's nice to think that they're truely concerned for those that live under them, the reality is a stark difference. I think what's good, is there actually being competition to which "support Africa's children" organization to send my donation too. I mean really... Live 8's doing something, there are all those "for only 20 dollars a day" lol heck I even saw a "for only 9 dollars a day" organization on TV last night. At least someone's getting fed... Gov't money sure never did the job.
Ryan... what hurts is w/ the deficit as it is, I just saw president Bush endorse sending like $1.2 (or 1.6 can't remember) billion MORE to africa to help them over there. Live 8 may be donating to a cause who's progress they ultimately hinder w/ their environmental politices... But what's better, Live 8 realizing they need to be more environmentally lax? or us giving 1.2-6 billion away when we need it here...
lol Ryan, sorry i forgot to put my name up- that last anon one was me
Nice. Good points.
We're already stingy as far as foreign aid goes, at least as a percent of our GDP.
But even from a realist perspective, not the touchy-feely stuff, we should think of African development projects as investments, investments in an area rich in natural and human resources. In the past, the West has just exploited those resources, but if we can get African countries to become more equal trading partners, it will help both parties in the long run.
Also, helping Africa helps our internatoinal standing, which has been greatly damaged by recent foreign policy decisions.
I agree we need to be more careful about where the money goes (as we should have been in Iraq and countless other countries during the Cold War), but that should not deter us from trying to help our fellow humans in Africa.
Commenting by HaloScan
