Imogen Tilden, arts editor
St Bob's latest initiative is prompting some to wonder what's the point.
Firegoat says:
A small percentage increase in trade between Europe and Africa would solve a lot of problems so why don't we ask for that? The problem with Bob is that his ideas are too easy, scratch the surface and I don't think you'll find a sophisticated plan to end poverty.
Meanwhile Chrenkoff assesses the wider issues thoughtfully, concluding "Live 8 not so gr8".
Christian perspectives on living
offer, as you would hope, a different perspective, worth quoting at length:
If these celebrity musicians got together and all decided to donate all the proceeds from all their future albums and concerts, we would be a lot farther down the road to stopping poverty in developing nations ...
I do not want to be lectured by Paul McCartney, who is valued at just under $1 billion, about why people should go out and help the poor ... I would be much more willing to get on board if P Diddy (worth around $400 million) sold Bad Boy Entertainment and gave the proceeds to the poor African nation of his choosing ...
Virtually all of these huge charity concerts reek of self congratulation. Take a look at the logo from the last Live Aid concert. It says 'July 13, 1985: The Day The Music Changed The World.' OK can someone tell me exactly how the first Live Aid concert changed the world?"
And finally, this disappointed Spice Girls fan makes his point less elegantly:
Those children are gonna starve regardless of if you put on some bigass concert or not. Despite the efforts of John Lennon and Bono, popular music has never changed shit.
