Ad hominem attacks, discreditation and the increasingly shrill attempts to gather support against the rapid popularity of Dambisa Moyo's book "Dead Aid" [recently] are raising the question: Has the time come for 'aging western academics and rock stars' to retire gracefully from the scene? [more inside]
posted by infini on May 25, 2009 - 57 comments

From A-lister to Aid worker: Does celebrity diplomacy really work? Rock stars," asked Homer Simpson, with his customary sagacity, "is there anything they don't know?" Only these days, of course, it's not just rockers but movie stars and businessmen – and indeed anyone with an above-average public profile – who, for one reason or another, are intent on telling the rest of us how the world should be changed for the better. Or at least, that's how it seems. So much so that a conference of eminent professors of international relations assembled recently in The Hague to explore the modern phenomenon of what they call "celebrity diplomacy", amid fears that it has reached the point where superstar lobbyists are damaging the traditional workings of international diplomacy and global politics.
posted by infini on Jan 16, 2009 - 16 comments

Where's the money? [YouTube] In a short interview with the BBC, Bob Geldof and Bono discuss ongoing efforts to get G8 members to fulfil commitments made at the Gleneagles summit, their own credibility or lack of, and whether or not the current focus on climate change is taking attention away from the situation in Africa. This Guardian article has more details.
posted by teleskiving on May 16, 2007 - 39 comments

Pretty much all of Live8 broken up into individual songs, minus the annoying vjs
posted by tsarfan on Jul 8, 2005 - 54 comments

It was 20 years ago today...
Bob Geldof just introduced 'billionaire philanthropist' Bill Gates onto the Hyde Park stage, and he then introduced Dido... Can Live8 overcome the millstone of worthiness, and make a real diiference in the way international trade operates? Can we really make poverty history? Post any and all Live8 comments, links and counterpoints - apparently, it's all about the awareness, man...
posted by dash_slot- on Jul 2, 2005 - 106 comments