Attytood and A List of Things Thrown Together Five Minutes Ago note that in the wake of overwhelming criticism of their Live 8 coverage, MTV and VH1 will rebroadcast this weekend selected portions of the Live 8 shows without subjecting songs to commercial or VJ interruption.
I would say "too little, too late," but that thought, unfortunately, has already been claimed by the G8 summit itself.
The New York Times reports that G8 leaders delivered far less aid to Africa than we hoped they would:
But [President Bush's] point man for the summit meeting, Faryar Shirzad, a deputy national security adviser, said later that the aid commitment involved no new money from the United States, only adding up increases previously agreed to. Mr. Bush's opposition also helped doom calls for the rich nations to commit themselves to providing a defined proportion of their national incomes to aid to Africa, a step that would have required much larger contributions from the United States.
How much attention this news will receive is an open question, coming as it does just a day after the London bombings. The issue that the organizers and supporters of Live 8 now face is this: can a campaign that raises awareness instead of money be truly effective? Is it still possible to harnass the amazing outpouring of energy and enthusiasm surrounding Live 8 and to channel it into a movement that leads to real change?
A CNN article titled Music's over, now time for action sets out the stakes of the problem:
But the ultimate success of the Live 8 extravaganza will be judged by whether the world's most powerful leaders, gathering next week for the Group of Eight summit meeting, listen to Geldof's demands for debt forgiveness, trade concessions and $25 billion in aid for Africa.
"History and the generations to come will judge our leaders by the decisions they make in the coming weeks," former South African president Nelson Mandela said after taking the stage in Johannesburg, where the crowd of more than 8,000 people gave him a five-minute ovation.
"I say to all those leaders: Do not look the other way, do not hesitate ... It is within your power to prevent a genocide."
Well, they looked the other way. What do we do now?
Terrific post and tough questions
I'm surprised no one is commenting. Is it out of fear I wonder? We shouldn't be afraid to raise questions like these if so.
what do we do?
we gotta do all the work now. with no help from the higher higher ups. we gotta raise money. we gotta spread the word. we gotta relay the thoughts and concerns from abroad. it's up to us.
thank you, Karl
It seems that the Live 8 organizers are casting the G8 summit as a success...which kind of baffles me.
I guess it's sometimes easier to look at the glass as half full than to wonder why it's still half empty.