Geldof gives U.N. 4/10 on poverty relief

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beau2ifulday

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Regardless of whether or not I agree with him in this case, I find it a little trite that he should be so quick step up and criticise the UN when he was so quick to praise the 'grand' efforts of the G8 leaders. There's been alot of backlash to Geldof in the media here recently because of this type of thing.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Rocker turned aid activist Bob Geldof gave world leaders an unflattering four out of 10 on Thursday for helping Africa beat poverty.

The Irish campaigner, who championed the Live 8 global music campaign in July to "make poverty history", also said rich countries were backsliding on commitments to level the playing field on trade.

Two
months after lauding leaders of the Group of Eight industrial powers for agreements on debt and aid at a meeting in the Scottish town of Gleneagles, he said a U.N. summit under way in New York had failed to live up to their ambition.

"I'm not thrilled," Geldof told a joint news conference with Prime Minister Tony Blair at U.N. headquarters.

"We have actually seen a clawback on the language on trade at Gleneagles."

Blair said it was time to call the bluff of leaders who promised to scrap tariffs and trade barriers that price poor African nations out of the market.

He said world trade talks in Hong Kong in December would be the test of rich nations' commitment to help the poor.

"If we have a failure ... it will echo right around the world. I am not prepared to have that, not without the most monumental struggle," Blair, who chairs the G8 in 2005, said.

On Wednesday, U.S. President George W. Bush said in a speech to the summit he was prepared to drop all trade barriers if other trading powers did the same. Trade experts say the challenge was unlikely to be taken up.

Bush also insisted the United States was committed to the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, despite earlier U.S. attempts to have the phrase deleted from the summit document.

Geldof said the U.N. summit had failed to give new impetus to meeting those objectives on alleviating poverty and disease.

"If that was the benchmark, then I feel a sense of disappointment ... it was suborned by other factors," he said.
 
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Thanks for the info......I've been following this UN get together but had not heard Geldorf's remarks.

carol
wizard2c
:|
 
I chalk up Bob's remarks to frustration at the possibility that these developed nations will once again drop the ball for the world's poorest people

resulting in the untold pain and suffering of millions of people, including children and the senseless deaths of tens of thousands of them.

But I wish he would use a bit more finesse.:up:
 
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