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:: Friday, July 01, 2005 ::

Bob Geldof's Live 8 letter to the G8
Bob Geldof, everybody's favorite Boomtown Rat, has become like one of those cicadas that shows up every so often -- about every 20 years, in Geldof's case -- to make some loud, chirping noise and then disappear back into the woodwork. Geldof's been doing a lot of chirping lately as the organizer of Live 8, the global concert to raise awareness about poverty in Africa. (If you can't make any of the concerts, no worries. Live 8 downloads will be available sometime after 3p.m. Saturday -- though I'm not sure which time zone the 3 p.m. is that the site refers to.)

In his open letter to the leaders of the G8 nations, Geldof reminds these politicians that he wants to shine the spotlight on them, not on the performers. "The 8 of Live8 are not 8 musicians or bands -- they are you, the 8 leaders of the G8.":

We are gathering for you the largest mandate for action in history. Just as people demanded an end to slavery, demanded women's suffrage, demanded the end of apartheid, we now call for an end to the unjust absurdity of extreme poverty that is killing 50,000 people every day in the 21st century. Live 8 is taking place so that you, our elected leaders, right now, in 2005, make the breakthrough demanded by, amongst others, the Commission for Africa in the battle towards making poverty history.

I've got to admire Geldof's self-righteous chutzpah. I'm still hung up on the hubris (my word of the day) and arrogance of the Live Aid and related events of 20 years ago. Imagine what we westerners would think of a group of musicians representing the two-thirds world who had the gall to proclaim, "We Are the World."

But maybe the past 20 years have transformed Geldof. Maybe he's a different kind of cicada nowadays.

Technorati Tag: live8

:: Andrew 20:01 + ::
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