Bob Geldof hawking his new cause
Aside from looking rode hard and put away wet, ole Bob Geldof has a brainstorm! He's going to put on a show to convince the taxpayers of the developed world to shovel more bucks into the African kleptocracies. It's an oldie but a goodie! Bruce Anderson is similarly impressed in the (UK) Times - Silly, even sillier. And Geldof:
BEING A pop singer must be boring. Nothing to do but make hideous music, count the takings and fend off screaming teenage females; no wonder some of the pop tribe try to alleviate spiritual dissatisfaction and search for profundity.That's uncharitable, Bruce. The lefties can't get along without a designated victim class, even if it is little hard on the victims.
In the case of Bob Geldof, however, the search has led to a profound shallowness. On the eve of the G8 summit, Geldof intends to hold a Live 8 concert. He would like his young followers to believe that the West is to blame for all of Africa’s difficulties: if we would stop encouraging Africa to participate in global trade and content ourselves with providing enough aid, solving the continent’s plight would be as easy as wailing into a microphone.
If aid were the answer, the problem would have been solved long ago. Over the past few decades aid donors have spent hundreds of billions on Africa — to what end?
Since 1980, over the whole world, the number of those living on less than a dollar a day has halved. In sub-Saharan Africa, it has doubled. This is not because of too little aid. The explanation lies in too much corruption, theft and oppression. Africa suffers from systematic misgovernment that condemns at least 100 million people to misery, in the midst of natural resources that could make them prosperous. Africans would have no difficulty in coping with free trade, if only they were governed properly.
The new Live 8 initiative is good news for Parisian couturiers, German carmakers and Swiss bankers. For Africans, it is a delusion and a deception. Geldof and his friends are using that benighted continent as a catwalk.At least Shirley was good looking. Here's an easy test, Bob. How much of our taxes would you like to send to Bobby Mugabe?
P. J. O’Rourke said that American actresses’ political views fall into three categories: silly, very silly and Shirley MacLaine. For pop stars, it is silly, very silly and Bob Geldof. He must be disappointed that some other group has already taken the name Simple Minds.
