hope..... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2704889.stm Bono hails Bush's Aids funding Bono says Europe needs to match the US contribution U2 frontman Bono has welcomed US President George Bush's decision to spend more on Aids prevention in Africa and the Caribbean. The US leader is to increase the country's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief budget by $10 billion (£6.28bn) to $15 billion (£9.43bn) over the next five years. President Bush said on Tuesday the budget would help prevent seven million new infections. "If we can turn the president's bold long term vision into near term results we're excited," Bono said in a statement. "Any delay in increased funding means more lives lost and an even bigger cheque in the future." Bono was working with Nelson Mandela on an Aids benefit concert The singer says the US needs to spend $2.5bn (£1.5bn) out of this year's budget to help tackle the Aids crisis. He said Europe must also match the US contribution. But he said the American donation was a big step in the right direction. "The president's emphasis upon anti-retroviral treatment represents a true paradigm shift and is to be wholly welcomed," he said. Debt campaigner Bono, whose band U2 have been one of the biggest rock groups in the world since the mid-1980s, has become an outspoken fundraiser for Third World problems in recent years. He was instrumental in the Drop The Debt campaign, which wiped out millions of dollars of international debt owed by Third World governments. The 42-year-old also tried to set up an Aids benefit concert in South Africa for next month, but the project was recently shelved. The Irish star also recently travelled the world to lobby world leaders, including French President Jacques Chirac, to encourage them to contribute more aid relief to developing countries.
touche...fair point. i'm not intending this to be a boost for bush...this just happens to be an issue i care a lot about...and bono is a guy i really like...and i'm hoping that this is the beginning of some type of solution for dealing with that horrible problem.
High ticket prices? Tickets on the floor were like 45$ when they last came to Houston, what are you talking about??? I like Bono, I worry about the AIDS epidemic, I'm glad Bush has a plan for helping out, and I like that he wants to push developement of Hydrogen engines(didn't he say that last year too?).
i'm thinking his work in bringing attention to the African AIDS crisis is a bit more signficant than ticket prices to concerts...
yes that will be the day when europe actually donates something to the rest of the world. they talk big but do little.
In Austin, every seat was $80 excluding Ticketmaster charges unless the seat was behind the stage (yes U2 sold $45 tickets behind the stage!). A few lucky fans (max. 2,000) were allowed onto the floor for $45. That's 2,000 out of what 16,000 at the show? edit - there were more than 2,000 $45 tickets, but again they were behind the stage. $80 is freaking BS.
I agree. When Bono talks about debt relief, I just find him hypocritical. That's just me. Bono should donate money from one of the highest grossing tours ever and give it to Africa.
I don't think debt relief will do much for these countries, the governments will simply squander whatever chance they get. Reforms need to come first. But Bono is right in bringing attention to the AIDS crisis. It's getting worse. Why shouldn't he use his fame to do it?
I don't think Bono giving money is as significant as nations doing the same. We are talking about billions, I don't think Bono has that kind of cash. He is donating time though. It's not like he's going to Iraq and saying "alls well," he is trying to stop AIDS in Africa. He also happens to be self deprecating about his celeb status. Status, that's what we don't have and why we can't go around and do the things he is doing. I don't see how there can be backlash when a celeb is doing what he can for something we all agree is a good cause.
Personally, I think you can trot it back in. Foreign Aid is just more corporate welfare in a nifty disguise. Those other countries just do more of it. Most of that money never really leaves the country. http://www.tda.gov/abouttda/report99/fs_comp99.html
Look, whatever. Similarly, I think that someone who says that Europe 'never does anything' can probably hush it up, right about now.
That chart is pretty misleading. Most statisticians would fault the chart for the way its physically set up. But that's besides the point. The U.S. GNP is so much higher than every other counrty, that even a lower percentage is much more in real dollars than other countries would be able to contribute. Not to mention "foreign aid" is usually just a trading tool used by corporations. Also we can't contribute as high of a percentage to "foreign aid" because we have much more to contribute to here at home, into the military, or whatever other things that gov't spends money on.
i'm wondering if that chart includes military expenditures for efforts in somalia, bosnia and places like that....
Hydrogen engines later, gas guzzling SUV tax subsidies now.... I worry about AIDS. I worry about Mad Cow Disease too. How can beef and sex be deadly for you?
