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Sat 31 May, 2003 03:14 am
Quote:Guardian Unlimited: Geldof back in Ethiopia
Bob Geldof astonished the aid community yesterday by using a return visit to Ethiopia to praise the Bush administration as one of Africa's best friends in its fight against hunger and Aids.
The musician-turned activist said Washington was providing major assistance, in contrast to the European Union's "pathetic and appalling" response to the continent's humanitarian crises.
"You'll think I'm off my trolley when I say this, but the Bush administration is the most radical - in a positive sense - in its approach to Africa since Kennedy," Geldof told the Guardian.
The neo-conservatives and religious rightwingers who surrounded President George Bush were proving unexpectedly receptive to appeals for help, he said. "You can get the weirdest politicians on your side."
Former president Bill Clinton had not helped Africa much, despite his high-profile visits and apparent empathy with the downtrodden, the organiser of Live Aid, claimed. "Clinton was a good guy, but he did **** all."
His comments, made on the first day of a week-long visit intended to put Africa on the agenda of the G8 summit in France at the weekend, caught off-guard some aid organisations that have accused Washington of using its food aid as a covert subsidy for American farmers.
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It's a Rat Trap Bobby!
And you've been Caught!
LOL! I was a big Boomtown Rats fan long before Geldof went all save-the-world on us. Of course, I think he's had a far bigger and more important impact on the world fighting hunger (and the oppressive communist regimes that created that hunger) than he ever could have with his music, so "good on 'im" as they say!
Yeah, I heard about this story, and it made me think about Dubya and his administration...I mentioned this story in another thread (incidentally, Bono supports the relief efforts made by Bush as well), and commented that if the Irish can make Democrats out of Conservatives, they can do anything. Mind you, I was told to look at exactly how this money was being used, but personally, I don't have the patience and I'm Canadian, and I am more curious about the threats to tighten the borders if we decide to loosen our marijuana laws, because that is just silly, especially when you look at the wishy-washy bill in proposal....it is far from legalization.
cavfancier wrote:Mind you, I was told to look at exactly how this money was being used...
Yes, the old, "well, they did the right thing, but for the wrong reasons" tactic. Geldof tossed that aside as well, while suggesting that Clinton did little or nothing for all the "right" reasons.
Interesting Scrat...I stick by Bob....and I hate Mondays too
Pink, off his rocker? Never!
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