Comments on: Live Aid Funds Spent On Guns

By: bouke

bouke — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:42:30 +0000

we should all read the book ‘Enough’ – it explains a lot. Look it up.

By: AchtungTree

AchtungTree — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:31:29 +0000

^ What he said.

By: Runtmg

Runtmg — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:20:04 +0000

What an NGO didn’t function properly? Get outta here. All that Live Aid and Live 8 did was make marginal difference in the poor of Africa.

Many of the countries have reneged on their paltry promises of debt relif. As to the topic at hand, it is Capitalism in it’s full brutality and ugliness that has impoverished Africa. The years and years of colonial style enslavement has destroyed Africa and should they get a left wing government in, it will quickly be undermined by foreign countries.

By: AchtungTree

AchtungTree — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:57:06 +0000

I would also argue that the One Campaign approach is different because it only deals with spreading awareness; and that aid is still really vital to improving the situation in places like Ethiopia. Transparency is just what needs to be demanded.

By: AchtungTree

AchtungTree — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:54:18 +0000

I think what often gets failed to be noticed in this situation is that during the famine, Ethiopia was ruled by a communist government that took power rather violently during the 70s; my grandfather was imprisoned under this rule. I’m not justifying that using the aid for buying guns was the right thing to do, especially because the people who bought them were under the leadership of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who has been in power since 1991, and has subtly displayed signs of corruption. So overall it is a really complicated issue unless you know all the background to it; I wouldn’t be too quick to judge the situation.