b,121That Red shit is the worst. There aint nothing to stop you dropping 5 bucks on a shirt and dropping $15 on a charity. The sole reason to buy Red branded clothes is to advertise to the world what a caring and wonderful person you think you are.
Back in the '80s, I seem to remember that U2 was really big with aging-baby-boomer types who wanted to stay in tune with current rock. Because of their commitment to social causes (just like the artists back in the '60s and '70s), Bono and company gave the former hippies something to relate to. Ecccch. Even though they're still popular today, I was in college when they were really starting to hit their stride (mid-late '80s, i1Joshua Tree/i1 era), and I still kinda identify them with that era. When they toured in the summer of '88, that fall there were U2 T-shirts all over Loyola University.b,121b,121And how many teenyboppers did YOU know back then who became interested in Amnesty Int'l just because Bono said it was cool? (Well, you gotta find out from SOMEwhere, so you can't fault 'em for that...)
i have a friend who's whole family is deep, deep into U2.b,121so much its disturbing and annoying when we're bbq'ing and they have the Zoo TV Tour dvd on repeat in the background.
Nah, I'll ride for dude. He uses his celebrity, and while it can be annoying, he has certainly generated lots and lots of money for the Global Fund and helped make global health issues mainstream which, imo, only helps. Of course there are people on the ground doing really amazing things, implementing interventions that are saving lives, etc, but folks like Bono are making the issues more visible in places where people might otherwise not even know about them.b,121b,121Can't be mad at that.
Quote:/font1h,121b,121i will follow, pride, new years day, sunday bloody sunday its a beautiful day... i likes them jams. b,121b,121h,121
b,121b,121and while his whole persona is indeed questionable, I know that he was there in Sarajevo shortly after the war when alot of people needed someone like him to just put them back into mainstream or at least get some kind of recognition. I respect him for that.I do find him annoying most of the times though, still. Hating on them/him is very easy because of all the aforementioned reasons.
Quote:/font1h,121b,121As for the whole (red) thing, your average american doesn't give a shit about actually contributing to worthwhile causes. So what better way than to tap into people's vain, shop-a-holic-gotta-have-the-newest-toy urges?b,121b,121h,121
b,121b,121"Gaudiani said Americans give twice as much as the next most charitable country, according to a November 2006 comparison done by the Charities Aid Foundation. In philanthropic giving as a percentage of gross domestic product, the U.S. ranked first at 1.7%. No. 2 Britain gave 0.73%, while France, with a 0.14% rate, trailed such countries as South Africa, Singapore, Turkey and Germany."b,121b,121link
Quote:/font1h,121b,121 suddenly Bono emerges and literally freestyles 80% of the lyrics LIVE on the spot. b,121b,121h,121
b,121b,121Wait, so he's not only a saint but he's Jack Kerouac too?b,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121 POOF b,121b,121h,121b,121b,121I liked 'A Day Without Me' when it came out, but turns out that was more the Steve Lilliwhite production than anything else.
Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121As for the whole (red) thing, your average american doesn't give a shit about actually contributing to worthwhile causes. So what better way than to tap into people's vain, shop-a-holic-gotta-have-the-newest-toy urges?b,121b,121h,121
b,121b,121"Gaudiani said Americans give twice as much as the next most charitable country, according to a November 2006 comparison done by the Charities Aid Foundation. In philanthropic giving as a percentage of gross domestic product, the U.S. ranked first at 1.7%. No. 2 Britain gave 0.73%, while France, with a 0.14% rate, trailed such countries as South Africa, Singapore, Turkey and Germany."b,121b,121link b,121b,121h,121b,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121The biggest chunk of the donations, $96.82 billion or 32.8%, went to religious organizations. The second largest slice, $40.98 billion or 13.9%, went to education, including gifts to colleges, universities and librariesb,121b,121h,121b,121b,121none of these help reduce foreign debt.
The Plan Canada banner at the top of the page for sponsoring children reads "I don't need a band-aid, I need a plan." Yep.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
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Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121 suddenly Bono emerges and literally freestyles 80% of the lyrics LIVE on the spot. b,121b,121h,121
b,121b,121Wait, so he's not only a saint but he's Jack Kerouac too?b,121b,121b,121h,121b,121b,121Woah, now. Bono doesn't suck that bad. b,121b,121h,121b,121b,121You think Jack Kerouac sucks?b,121b,121Plaese to expound.
Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121 suddenly Bono emerges and literally freestyles 80% of the lyrics LIVE on the spot. b,121b,121h,121
b,121b,121Wait, so he's not only a saint but he's Jack Kerouac too?b,121b,121b,121h,121b,121b,121Woah, now. Bono doesn't suck that bad. b,121b,121h,121b,121b,121You think Jack Kerouac sucks?b,121b,121Plaese to expound. b,121b,121h,121b,121b,121Well, I'm just about to leave work, but to put it plainly, it's just bad writing. Innovative, perhaps, but on its own merits, it's bad writing.
Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121As for the whole (red) thing, So what better way than to tap into people's vain, shop-a-holic-gotta-have-the-newest-toy urges?b,121b,121h,121
b,121b,121"Gaudiani said Americans give twice as much as the next most charitable country, according to a November 2006 comparison done by the Charities Aid Foundation. In philanthropic giving as a percentage of gross domestic product, the U.S. ranked first at 1.7%. No. 2 Britain gave 0.73%, while France, with a 0.14% rate, trailed such countries as South Africa, Singapore, Turkey and Germany."b,121b,121link b,121b,121h,121b,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121The biggest chunk of the donations, $96.82 billion or 32.8%, went to religious organizations. The second largest slice, $40.98 billion or 13.9%, went to education, including gifts to colleges, universities and librariesb,121b,121h,121b,121b,121none of these help reduce foreign debt. b,121b,121h,121b,121b,121Neither does red. Besides you stated that "your average american doesn't give a shit about actually contributing to worthwhile causes." I just thought id point out that your average american actually contributes significantly more than aynone else. Even if you were to eliminate donations to religious organisations and education the remaining contributions would still outstrip those of the next charitable nation by a long way.
Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121What he is trying to do is get the World Bank and G8 countries to forgive 3rd world debt. b,121b,121As rich as he is he doesn't have that kind of money. b,121b,121h,121
b,121b,121And we, the tax payers of the world, do?b,121b,121Best be assured, dude is looking after his loot in tax havens.b,121b,121Let him make a gesture he can afford, say donate 95% of his wealth to helping write off the debt of some African nation, then the clonning might stop.b,121b,121Can't stand dudes like this. 'Do as I say, not as I do' is never a good look. b,121b,121h,121b,121b,121i think we the tax payers of the world do have that kind of money, but it would be way to inconventient to actually forgive those debts that are based on exploitive contracts.b,121b,121you could afford giving away what you own aswell if you wanted to, so don't blame him for not doing so. b,121i understand that hes annoying sometimes but the hate on here because he tries to do something with his celebrity status is pretty amazing. b,121of course there are people in grassroots organizations who probably work harder than him for that cause but that doesnt nullify his work. and he cannot be blamed for the masses acknowledging him more than those other people.
I don't understand the logic of NOT forgiving debts because the loans are based on exploitative contracts. So those countries should keep making payments on this arrangement? Who do you think will be bringing the guilty countries to task, how long will it take, what will be the penalties? b,121Maybe I misunderstood your point?b,121b,121I don't get it - what cave are people living in that they need Bono to tell them about the AIDS crisis and economic woes in African countries?
Quote:/font1h,121b,121I don't understand the logic of NOT forgiving debts because the loans are based on exploitative contracts. So those countries should keep making payments on this arrangement? Who do you think will be bringing the guilty countries to task, how long will it take, what will be the penalties? b,121Maybe I misunderstood your point?b,121b,121I don't get it - what cave are people living in that they need Bono to tell them about the AIDS crisis and economic woes in African countries? b,121b,121h,121
b,121b,121i was saying of course could the west forgive the debt that is owed, but companies who make money off those countries simply won't.b,121and we the average western citizens would view it as an inconvenience if the debts would be nullified because we probably really would have to dispense with some of our luxury. b,121b,121and i dont know where you live but where im from most people probably know ne thing or the other about crisis in the 3rd world (not only Africa) but not many really give a shit.b,121b,121im not praising Bono like some saint, hes not even really on my radar, but still i think its pretty cheap to write all he does off as self publicity like usually done on soulstrut
Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121/font1Quote:/font1h,121b,121What he is trying to do is get the World Bank and G8 countries to forgive 3rd world debt. b,121b,121As rich as he is he doesn't have that kind of money. b,121b,121h,121
b,121b,121And we, the tax payers of the world, do?b,121b,121Best be assured, dude is looking after his loot in tax havens.b,121b,121Let him make a gesture he can afford, say donate 95% of his wealth to helping write off the debt of some African nation, then the clonning might stop.b,121b,121Can't stand dudes like this. 'Do as I say, not as I do' is never a good look. b,121b,121h,121b,121b,121i think we the tax payers of the world do have that kind of money, but it would be way to inconventient to actually forgive those debts that are based on exploitive contracts.b,121b,121you could afford giving away what you own aswell if you wanted to, so don't blame him for not doing so. b,121i understand that hes annoying sometimes but the hate on here because he tries to do something with his celebrity status is pretty amazing. b,121of course there are people in grassroots organizations who probably work harder than him for that cause but that doesnt nullify his work. and he cannot be blamed for the masses acknowledging him more than those other people. b,121b,121h,121b,121b,121point taken, I should have said 'stopping the spread of AIDS'. But I still stand by my statement, because in my book, putting a dollar in the collection plate every sunday and donating to your alma mater is not the same as giving to charity. I mean, if you can find some statistic that shows that houses of worship and academic institutions spend more on feeding the homeless/fighting aids/reducing foreign debt than say, installing a new organ or buying new football equipment, then fine, I'll agree with you.
UN-INSU(RED)b,121b,121haha.b,121b,121Douche. b,121b,121But he gets points in my book for a little known act of amnesty... he kept Salman Rushdie safe in hiding in a remote seaside cottage in rural Ireland for 2 years when he was the target of death threats for his controversial 'Satanic Verses' book in the late 80's when there was a Fatwa on his head. The dude was kept and cared for and protected all on Bono's dime and he has definitely always been an outspoken advocate for free speech.
Quote:/font1h,121b,121b,121b,121I don't get it - what cave are people living in that they need Bono to tell them about the AIDS crisis and economic woes in African countries? b,121b,121h,121
b,121b,121There are other health issues in the developing world that affect way more people but get a fraction of the attention and funding that HIV programs get. Malnutrition, is an example. It is because of people like Bono that AIDS is "fashionable" and has the attention and funding that it has.
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