Tsunami Aid

Tell me about this broadcast. No I did not see it or know about it.

Here is one link for you:

Tsunami Aid

It was 2 hours, commercial-free and had the feel of the 'Tribute to Heroes' done on 09/22/01. In other words, celebrities took charge of the phones. One could donate by calling an 800 number and talk to a favorite "star." Or you could donate online...

Interspersed among the film clips and brief talks by celebrities were musical performances geared to be appropriate to the occasion. I was most impressed with Eric Clapton/Roger Waters, Norah Jones, Stevie Wonder/India-Aire, and - get this - Madonna opened the benefit with an amazing rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine." The program was first broadcast live, but one can still donate. The performers in the USA were live, but the ones in London and elsewhere were 'live on tape.'

As has been done previously in programs with celebrities, the aim was to provide financial relief (and education really) for those directly affected by the tsunami. (This program was commercial-free because SBC underwrote it ... yeah, I know: good publicity for them!)

Here is a review of the program:

Stars shine for tsunami aid

Wonderful...everyone does as much as they can.....there are no doubt, people who will say take care of our own first....why send all this aid to people who hate us...bla bla bla...but the people don't hate us as much as their governments hate us...I too forget that sometimes... it takes a world class tragedy to get world class action...but when we have one...people seem to step up.

I watched the Canajun variant on this on Thursday. Couldn't get excited about the U.S. one enough to turn on the t.v.

Whatever works to open the wallets is a good thing.

Whole-heartedly approve... though I do wonder why Mother Nature's disasters evoke so much more attention than man's disasters. For instance, the disaster that is Kim Jong IL kills as many people in an average year. :sad: The disaster that was Saddam Hussein couldn't quite match Kim, but still managed to one up the Tsunami 10 times over during his career.

If one really wants to examine the truth of our apathy, consider that across the globe; more people starve to death in an average week…with the total being a sobering 8,000,000 people per year. At any given moment, there are 3 times as many people starving as there are people in the U.S.A.

Absolutely; dig deep for the 5,000,000 or so people who are now homeless, helpless and shell-shocked. But, don't forget about the 840,000,000 who are just as hungry and helpless, though not at all surprised by their lot in life.

Let's see.

One type of disaster is preventable/avoidable. The other is not.

We had a musical thingy here, too - not sure if celebrities answered the phone or not - if yours was like the one here - which I didn't watch, except for the odd minute here and there - I think it is fine - mebbe gets young folk who might not normally think to donate to do so.

I think it raised a lot of money.

I won't vote in your poll, because I am wondering if there is something different about the one you refer to that made it oddish - you seem to imply this, and I am in ignorance about what actually happened in it.

That's all I intended when I added a poll option including the word 'odd.'

It bothers me that it seems to take a cataclysmic event for people to lose their apathy and do something, even if it's simply providing a donation.

That reminds me of the San Francisco earthquake of 1989. I was there and the Red Cross almost immediately descended as well. They put everyone into beds and fed them as well. Psychological counseling was also provided. What bothered me about that? The homeless pointed out the fact that, if this could so easily be done for the rich who 'suffered' in The Marina, why couldn't anything be done for them.

However, I still approve of the televising of these type of events. IMO, they are well worthwhile as well as providing top-notch music ...

Yes - I agree re the what a pity it takes a sudden cataclysm - not the ongoing cataclysm that is poverty, hunger, AIDS in Africa.....and so on...