Albert's just announced the completion of his Live 8 Photo Gallery. Proceeds from photos sold from this gallery will benefit famine relief in Niger.

Why not go over now and pick a couple out for yourself or someone special? Prices are low (pricing list below), so it's a prime opportunity to pick up an Albert Yee original as well as help save some lives.

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live8 philly

The days leading up to Live8 in Philadelphia were some of the most antsy days I can recall. I wanted everything to be just right. Get there early, take pictures all over the place, write posts on the hour every hour describing the sets, sights and sounds. But not everything goes as planned. But the event itself was more than I could have dreamed.

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?

live8 philly

Joe Trippi has issued his personal apology via this entry on his blog. It reads:

I've heard that there have been problems with some of the bloggers getting credentials that we promised to them. With 9 concerts happening all over the world in one day, we should have expected that there would be issues like this.

While it may not have been my fault that some people didn't get credentials, it doesn't matter - i'll take the blame. I personally apologize to everyone who thought that they would get credentials, showed up to the concert, and then got left out. It was certainly not our intent for this to happen and I am very, very sorry.

We absolutely appreciate everything that everyone in the blogosphere has done for Live 8 so far. You are part of an historical worldwide movement to save lives and change the world. Thank you for your time, your effort, and your voice. I hope that you have learned as much about the community of humanity as I have while being involved in this project.

Thanks,
Joe

I was so excited to be a fully credentialed member of the press covering this gigantic trans-continental event. I had seen a photo of what the press pass looked like the day before. Attached to a lanyard, a circle with the Live 8 Guitar/Africa symbol at center, sparkly and holographic. The problems started the night before when we were told that we would not be able to get our paws on them until an hour before the Philly acts started, well after things got started down by the stage.