chrisjh Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 strange i remember that day very clearly my abiding memory is what a sanctimonious **** Bob Geldolf was and the intervening 30 years have done nothing but reinforced that, i enjoyed the concert mate of mine offered me a ticket but i couldn't go.not sure the millions raised did that much good when you look at Africa large tracks of it are as bad as ever, i have read reports that suggest it actually made thing's worse, still Queen were incredible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinach Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 At least it didn't fall to tax payers to directly fund . You wouldn't be the only one to dislike him, but the fact is he tried. The subject of crisis intervention work after you leave then the answer is probably no. What would you have done. Count the dead and move on would be cheaper and you wouldn't have had a concert to remember. John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 I don't know the answer to the African problem but throwing money at it does not seem to work. I'm not sure how much the aid agencies help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secretagentmole Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 I don't know the answer to the African problem but throwing money at it does not seem to work. I'm not sure how much the aid agencies help. Simply put it is a question of supply and demand. There is too much demand for too little food supply. A Famine is natures way of reducing the number of mouths. Happens all the time in the wild. Now the humanitarians have greased so many warlords palms in order to get food to the starving masses that the area is now in a constant state of turmoil, add to that the fact they are still breeding excessively and raising more children than there is food and guess what, more famines (the wars do not seem to reduce numbers sufficiently). If we were starving I cannot see any Africans rushing round to organise a charity spear dance or whatever to buy us food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 A couple of years ago, I read that very, very little of the money actually reached those in need. If memory serves - by the time various people had taken their slice of the money - fees for allowing aid to be transported through their village etc - only peanuts arrived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno22rf Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 "Sir" Bob (actually not entitled to be called Sir) found it all worth it-he made a speech in 2008 about world poverty and was paid $100,000 for it-be interesting to know how much of that he donated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobbyathome Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 sir bob eh? well the concert was good in its own right but did Africa benefit from it ? well it did but not much has changed although sir bob was in a band that was not very good had a couple of hits and has spent the rest of his life promoting starving Africans and making a great living out of it so who did better the Africans or bob? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velocette Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Carefull what you say on this one chaps,,,,we don,t want to be accused of racism do we ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 (edited) A couple of years ago, I read that very, very little of the money actually reached those in need. If memory serves - by the time various people had taken their slice of the money - fees for allowing aid to be transported through their village etc - only peanuts arrived. I've heard that as well, but I think thats pretty much the norm for disaster relief whatever and where ever. It just makes me cynical about giving to these things. Down near Merthyr there is a little village who's name still makes me shudder every time I drive past it, Aberfan. I'm told most of the money that was contributed by the public after the school disaster there in 1966 is still sitting in a bank account somewhere. It was a huge amount by the standards of the time, so great was the public wave of sympathy. A commitee was set up to administer it. Rather than help aleviate the suffering it has been the cause of division and resentment. The money has caused as much bad feeling as you could ever imagine and it still is today. People say the only people to benefit from the fund have been the members of the committee that run it. I don't know personally, I don't want to slag anyone off from hearsay but it still remains a contentious issue fifty years on. Edited July 13, 2015 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpkiller Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Cant take anything a tax dodger says about charity seriously Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 (edited) We probably all thought it was a good cause and made a real difference back then, which it possibly did. I was 25 and still green behind the ears in such matters and was undoubtedly swept along the path of righteous indignation, but can't remember whether I donated or not. I certainly didn't buy the single. The cynicism of the intervening years has seen me refusing to give to charities of most causes. Edited July 13, 2015 by Scully Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les*1066 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Did Live Aid make a difference? No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jam1e Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 If it made a difference, they wouldn't still be scrounging on TV adverts.... Nothing to do with racism. They say they're "starving", but they still had, (and have) the strength to keep humping, resulting in umpteen kids by each family! The money should have/should be spent partly on food initially, then on education and tools for crop growing, then education regarding the humping.... Having spent many years going into the UK general publics houses as part of my job. It really ****** me off, all this money going abroad, when our own children are living in genuine poverty. Albeit, some scummy chav families would rather spend the tax payers money on fags, drink, and dope. Rant over..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobbyathome Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Carefull what you say on this one chaps,,,,we don,t want to be accused of racism do we ! my post had nothing to do with racism I was just pointing out the fact that slob bob has done very well Africa hasnt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Funker Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 These people seem to be incapable of helping themselves with regards to feeding and watering themselves. There always seems to be a new drama we have to give money for.I'm aware of how harsh that sounds but the honest truth is that I couldn't care a toss about anyone in Africa, we have our own problems closer to home that should probably take primacy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazooka Joe Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 If it made a difference, they wouldn't still be scrounging on TV adverts.... Nothing to do with racism. They say they're "starving", but they still had, (and have) the strength to keep humping, resulting in umpteen kids by each family! The money should have/should be spent partly on food initially, then on education and tools for crop growing, then education regarding the humping.... Agree...a couple running about around their feet, one on the boob, & another in the oven is a common sight on the TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 According to some religious bloke on the Sarah Cox show on R2 this morning, Live Aid saved millions of lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweedledee Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Africa will never do well! Unless it's governed and run right it will always fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Africa will never do well! Unless it's governed and run right it will always fail. spent over 20 years there from 1977..................amen to the above.........."governed and run right" is open to interpretation....!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshie Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 "Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him forever" doesn't seem to apply in Africa. It would appear they don't want to learn how to fish/dig wells/farm when well meaning people are happy to send them stuff. In all the pictures, they are sitting round with flies on their eyes and at death's door, yet amazingly still have the energy to breed like wildfire. A headache is enough to put my wife off sex. I'm sorry, but unless someone is willing to help themselves at least partly, I wonder why anyone else should help them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryman Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Back in the day when good old Bob started this i thought that all that money would save them, here we are decades later an older and they still seem to be in the same situation. The only ones who seem to have done well are the ones who live here in the UK on Visas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweedledee Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 I know people who shipped out a 35 massey to help them cultivate.when it ran out of diesel they cut the tyres off to make sandals. You could pump money in for the next hundred years and it still won't change Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 These people seem to be incapable of helping themselves with regards to feeding and watering themselves. There always seems to be a new drama we have to give money for. I'm aware of how harsh that sounds but the honest truth is that I couldn't care a toss about anyone in Africa, we have our own problems closer to home that should probably take primacy. I'm sad to say that you are spot on. 50 years ago, like many other youngsters, I sincerely cared about such things. I volunteered and went to Africa to teach them how to dig wells and maintain a clean water supply together with adequate sanitation. Sadly, despite my investment in time, money and sweat the psyche of the indigenous people is to sit back and watch it rot rather than make any effort to help themselves. Nothing seems to have changed 50 years on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris1961 Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 Should have spent money on birth control then there would be less mouths to feed none of us like to see little sinba and his ten brothers and sisters starving why do they still have kids when they can't feed them I hate all the scrounging advertisements on tv which cost thousands of pounds I have no sympathy left in me for these poor wreches to many times have they had famin what has happens to all the tools that was provided rant over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secretagentmole Posted July 13, 2015 Report Share Posted July 13, 2015 (edited) We went out there and stuck a plaster on an open wound 35 years ago. We greased so many warlords palms that the place has been in constant turmoil. The problem is that in the past they needed to have a dozen kids to have 3 or 4 survive. These days with our intervention 10-12 survive and all these extra mouths have to be fed. There are charities out there who are putting water and irrigation in so that they can feed themselves. Like it or not a famine is natures way of addressing the imbalance between people and food! And don't kid yourselves, if we were starving and needed food after they had done the charity spear dance it would be new Mercs all round again! Edited July 13, 2015 by secretagentmole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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