SIr Bob Geldof: wanker or what?

[elbows]

And should people choose to use this shit to inform themselves about colonial mindsets and the modern-day remnants of that sort of thinking, also include the abhorrent shit that the cunt David Attenborough said about Ethiopia.

 

[elbows]

Theres also no way to view the situation of the time propelrly without factoring war and global politics into it.

There are gigantic holes in my knowledge about this, but it is possible to find articles from the 1980s that shed some light on some of the angles.

To offer just one example from 1987:

Ethiopia and the Politics of Famine Relief - MERIP

Famine takes root when farmers lose their means of production. In Africa, drought and war have forced huge numbers of peasants to sell off their animals and tools and abandon the land on which they depend, thus bringing local economies to a standstill. Grain yields in Africa declined by...

merip.org

Includes:

A 1983 CIA report forecast the recurrence of famine in much of Africa through the 1990s and warned of the continent’s vulnerability to socialist trends in the face of continued starvation. [1] Under the Reagan administration, economic development revolves around policy reforms designed to bolster private sector development. On his January 1987 trip to Africa, Secretary of State George Shultz spoke of a “new partnership between the US and black Africa based on a shared vision of free enterprise as the basis for economic development.” [2] According to the World Bank, 22 of 34 low-income countries in Africa targeted for assistance by the Reagan Administration have initiated US-sponsored economic reforms, including withdrawals of government subsidies, devaluation of local currencies and decreased support to public sector initiatives.

 

[salem]

I watched the original show on TV as my mum swooned over Freddie Mercury. I'm not sure why it's being criticized now, but it seemed like a good cause at the time. Don't people living in abject poverty want funding to help them out? I doubt they care if it came from some rich people singing.

I think it's a product of it's time and most people watching and supporting were well meaning. 40 years on attitudes change and we've developed our understanding and learned a bit more about global poverty, Africa and it's constituent countries and people etc. The average person has a lot more information available than they did 40 years ago.

With that in mind I think it's fair to have fond memories of live aid and the song and even the good it did at the time while realising there's probably better ways to approach aid and perhaps it's time to move on and in 40 years time the next generation can correct whatever mistakes we're making with the current ideas.

(there's lots written on the actual issues people have with it, I have mixed feelings personally but not strong enough ones to advocate)

 

[bellaozzydog]

No. Student activists in the west have gotten offended on their behalf, so all help must cease.

Ah all those woke, avocado toast and posh coffee types, yeah?

 

[GarveyLives]

"Rather than being chained to Band Aid’s brief glimpse of Ethiopia’s ancient history, (Prime Minister) Abiy (Ahmed) said his country would be better off if it was recognised as one of the fastest-growing economies, its ancient sites were on every traveller’s bucket list, and for building the largest hydropower project in Africa ..."

(Source: as stated in image)

"This little pop song has kept my fading career hundreds of thousands if not millions of people alive."​

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister says Band Aid 40 ‘might do more harm than good’

 

[brogdale]

I was leaving the Gas board showroom in Preston Street, not long after King Rat moved into Davington Priory, and who should come through the door just ahead of me; was wearing a black cape and carrying a cane stick...to pay his gas bill!

Wanker.

 

[burtabraham]

Ah all those woke, avocado toast and posh coffee types, yeah?

I have no problem with Avocado, Toast, Coffee, or those that consume them.

 

[krtek a houby]

I have no problem with Avocado, Toast, Coffee, or those that consume them.

Yeah but you're a weirdo

 

[burtabraham]

Yeah but you're a weirdo

Says the man who obsessively follows me round the boards seeking to provoke a reaction.

 

[krtek a houby]

Says the man who obsessively follows me round the boards seeking to provoke a reaction.

Don't refer to me as a man, thanks.

Nobody is following you around, you weirdo. I'm on Japan time and there's not many posts this time of day, out of boredom I replied to your edgy look-at-me post.


And your advocacy of avocado has been duly noted.

 

[burtabraham]

Don't refer to me as a man, thanks.

Nobody is following you around, you weirdo. I'm on Japan time and there's not many posts this time of day, out of boredom I replied to your edgy look-at-me post.


And your advocacy of avocado has been duly noted.

Whatever. Just leave me alone from now on. This is the second or third time I’m asking.

 

[krtek a houby]

Whatever. Just leave me alone from now on. This is the second or third time I’m asking.

The ignore function is useful.

In the meantime, you're far right, so tend to keep an eye on you. Don't want your lies gaining traction.

 

[burtabraham]

The ignore function is useful.

In the meantime, you're far right, so tend to keep an eye on you. Don't want your lies gaining traction.

Keep an eye on me, huh? How scary! You obviously think of yourself as someone important round here. Pathetic, really.

 

[krtek a houby]

Keep an eye on me, huh? How scary! You obviously think of yourself as someone important round here. Pathetic, really.

What's pathetic is your use of replacement theory, claims that British and Japanese culture and people are dying out, your support for Farage and general baiting the left.

So shove it, plus Geldof and the avocado up your edgelord arse.

 

[burtabraham]

What's pathetic is your use of replacement theory, claims that British and Japanese culture and people are dying out, your support for Farage and general baiting the left.

So shove it, plus Geldof and the avocado up your edgelord arse.

You’re obsessed. Please don’t speak to or about me again. Pretty sure cross thread beefs are against the board rules. I can’t imagine stalking me around the place is permitted either.

 

[krtek a houby]

You’re obsessed. Please don’t speak to or about me again. Pretty sure cross thread beefs are against the board rules. I can’t imagine stalking me around the place is permitted either.

Nobody's stalking you. Like Geldof, you're not as important as you like to think you are. But fash, fash adjacent, red brown posters don't get an easy ride here.

Back on topic, this dreary tune gets wheeled out and resprayed every few years. It's time to leave it in the 80s, along with the dubious lyrics and those who clearly don't give a fuck about Ethiopians and how they feel.

Tam Tam Pour L'Ethiopie was always the better song.

 

[editor]

The ignore function is useful.

In the meantime, you're far right, so tend to keep an eye on you. Don't want your lies gaining traction.

Keep an eye on me, huh? How scary! You obviously think of yourself as someone important round here. Pathetic, really.

MOD MODE

Your interactions are contributing nothing to this debate. You're both now on mutual ignore

 

[krtek a houby]

 

[not henry]

I have noticed a few times when guitarists are not playing their instruments, they still put the capo on and change key. I think these mime artists should be congratulated for their attention to detail

 

[xenon]

Never really got the hate for Geldof. The Brexit thing was embarrassing and the "give me your money" is highly parodyable but what else.

 

[xenon]

Why is anyone digging up a 40 YO old charity song to criticize anyway. Has it been re-released?

There was a caller from Ethiopia who rang LBC to say how the image of her country had effected her living in the UK. Presenter asked saying people didn't really know much about the place other than famin. She kinda said well there is alleged genecide going on there now.

 

[pbsmooth]

Why is anyone digging up a 40 YO old charity song to criticize anyway. Has it been re-released?

There was a caller from Ethiopia who rang LBC to say how the image of her country had effected her living in the UK. Presenter asked saying people didn't really know much about the place other than famin. She kinda said well there is alleged genecide going on there now.

Yes, it’s been re-released - kinda the whole point of the debate over whether it’s still relevant now!

 

[krtek a houby]

MOD MODE

Your interactions are contributing nothing to this debate. You're both now on mutual ignore

(Sorry to go back off topic, but...) clearly not, as I can still see their posts.

Plus, other posters who am supposed to be on mutual ignore with are reacting to my posts.

What's happening here?

 

[WouldBe]

(Sorry to go back off topic, but...) clearly not, as I can still see their posts.

Plus, other posters who am supposed to be on mutual ignore with are reacting to my posts.

What's happening here?

Mutual ignore means you mentally ignore each other, the boards don't physically block each others posts.

 

[Elpenor]

I don’t know if these are new revelations or not or merely confirm what was already known but certainly more evidence for the wanker view of Geldof

A No 10 letter from October 2003, reporting on a telephone conversation between Blair and Geldof, said: “The PM spoke with Bob Geldof today. Geldof argued that unless we found a way to allow Africans to make livelihoods at home they would come to our shores, resulting in massive social upheaval. African leadership had been very weak.”

The fact Geldof was opposed to a chair from Africa was particularly “tricky”, she added. “He is scathing about the ability and worthiness of virtually all African leaders and sees the audience as primarily the US,” she noted.
“He therefore does not want an African co-chair, content to ride with your name to give it credibility.”

Live Aid campaigner Bob Geldof was ‘scathing about African leaders’, files reveal

Singer urged Tony Blair not to appoint African co-chair to commission on aid, UK government papers show

www.theguardian.com

 

[Pickman's model]

Mutual ignore means you mentally ignore each other, the boards don't physically block each others posts.

It's certainly mental.

 

[eatmorecheese]

I don’t know if these are new revelations or not or merely confirm what was already known but certainly more evidence for the wanker view of Geldof

Live Aid campaigner Bob Geldof was ‘scathing about African leaders’, files reveal

Singer urged Tony Blair not to appoint African co-chair to commission on aid, UK government papers show

www.theguardian.com

It's incredible that this arrogant musician could have such an influence over Blair and Co.

That whole episode got me out of trying to start a career in the international development field. Blair calling Africa a 'scar on the conscience of the world' was part of the arrogance.

 

[Boo Radley75]

He was on Jools Holland's Hootenanny, last night. Clearly off his tits on speed. Pacing up and down in the background when he wasn't playing and bruxing like a bastard.

 

[Pickman's model]

It's incredible that this arrogant musician could have such an influence over Blair and Co.

Not really when you consider the influence the likes of sir Jimmy Savile obe kcsg wielded over margaret thatcher and then Prince charles

 

[PTK]

Not really when you consider the influence the likes of sir Jimmy Savile obe kcsg wielded over margaret thatcher and then Prince charles

The influence of Jimmy Savile is something for which I have not heard an explanation.