(07-06-2005) "You're infuriating," Bono tells Canadian PM - Reuters*

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"You're infuriating," Bono tells Canadian PM


GLENEAGLES, Scotland, July 6 (Reuters) - Irish rock star and anti-poverty activist Bono injected undiplomatic language into a gathering of the world's most powerful men on Wednesday, telling the Canadian prime minister his refusal to promise more foreign aid was "infuriating".

Bono, like his fellow Irish rock star Bob Geldof, had openly pressed Canada's Paul Martin to give a date by which his country would raise its overseas assistance to 0.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product.

Martin refuses, saying it could be too expensive, and stuck to his guns during a meeting with Bono on the margins of a summit of the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations in Scotland.

"He's very difficult to deal with because he won't agree to things that he doesn't believe he can deliver, although that is very frustrating and annoying and infuriating," Bono told reporters while standing next to Martin.

Canada currently spends the equivalent of 0.26 percent of GDP on foreign aid. Martin says he would rather commit to small increases he knows he can afford than make long-term promises.

"We will ultimately (reach) the 0.7 percent, but we're not going to do it ... until we can basically say to Canadians 'Here's how we're doing it and here's when we're going to do it and there are no caveats and conditions'," Martin said.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L06285985.htm
 
and as a canadian, i agree with martin on this.

martin's been responsible for balancing our budget for the past decade or so, and if there's any man in this country i trust to keep our books in the good condition - it's him.

funny how bono goes after martin, but does nothing against bush.

who by the way is the only neanderthal who doesn't think humans have anything to do with global warming.
 
Zoomerang96 said:
and as a canadian, i agree with martin on this.

martin's been responsible for balancing our budget for the past decade or so, and if there's any man in this country i trust to keep our books in the good condition - it's him.

funny how bono goes after martin, but does nothing against bush.

who by the way is the only neanderthal who doesn't think humans have anything to do with global warming.

Since when did "keeping our books in good condition" become the Canadian Dream, the goal to aspire to? Surely we can reach higher than good book-keeping...it's utterly ridiculous to find contentment in "making the numbers work" while people, people like you and I, are dying needlessly.

We should be ashamed as a country...Canada can be much more than a solid financial report. Why are we daring to dream, and failing to deliver on this most critical issue?

Martin says Candians cannot afford to help Africa? I'm one Canadian who says we simply can't afford not to.

:down:
 
Another inaccurate, attention-grabbing headline from a major media outlet...saying "you're infuriating" is much different than saying "your refusal to do x is infuriating".
 
angelordevil said:


I'm not sure, but I do know that cynicism and sarcasm is tired and done.

!?!?

what is that supposed to mean?? i only said i agreed with our PM that we can't 7ust go throw money blindly at africa cause that won't help either.

martin has said canada will get to .7 in the future, he 7ust doesnt know when. you cannot fault a politician for not promising something he cannot keep.

i have no idea how that's perceived as sarcastic.
 
We as Canadian's do not have any balls. We are so out of touch with the world and what is going on. We are becoming are own little island and never take a stance on anything. Just kind of hang out and pretend we are important but never say or do anything. It wasn't always so. Both my grandfathers fought in WW2 and were willing to put there lives on the line for the greater good of the world. We as Canadians were respected for that all around the world. And now today, no one is putting their lives on the line. We're putting our money on the line. M-O-N-E-Y. It comes and it goes. And who is Paul Martin to say what to do with my tax money. He was just busted for all that ADSCAM fraud. Billions of dollars up in smoke. Imagine what that could have done for Africa. Sad, it's really sad that we feel we don't have enough money to help out another human being. But I bet you flip a few dollars every year to a crackhead on the street corner so he can go get high. But you won't flip a few bucks to a child who needs food. I'm ashamed at the selfishness of Canada. The next time a terrorist blows up a building and all the Third world dances in the streets and burns American and Canadian flags, ask yourself where this hatred comes from????
 
dserink said:
And who is Paul Martin to say what to do with my tax money

paul martin thinks he's prime minister of canada, because that's what his office title is. heads of state decide how money is allotted.

look, i believe bono is doing the right thing here by pressing hard. he should, and i'm glad he is.

but history has shown time and time again that those who aren't used to money simply don't know how to handle it.

i can give examples if you wish?

what needs to be done is the installment or creation of a design that will REALLY WORK.

and please don't discount what canada already does in terms of helping out the rest of the world. while we're far from perfect, our track record speaks for itself wouldn't you agree?
 
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There is a plan called the Millennium Development Project, led by Jeffrey Sachs.
 
does it address my concerns?

honestly i don't know cause i'm not familiar with it.

what are its principles?
 
Where does Canada rank over the last few years???????

It has been 34 years since the United Nations began to ask its wealthiest members to devote the equivalent of 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product to foreign aid every year. Except for a small handful of generous countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), none has come close. In fact, many have gone backward. Canada spends 0.26 per cent of GDP, way down from 0.46% ten years ago. This is despite Canada having the strongest economic growth in the G7, and a budget surplus of over $9 billion this year.

I'm glad you brought that up.
 
Well, this article makes it sound like Bono flat out insulted Martin, but that's not the case. If you read it in context, Bono is saying that Martin only promises what he knows he can deliver. Bono says that at least he knows what he's getting with Martin, but it can be 'infuriating' to work with someone like that. Does this mean Bono would rather hear some big fluffy numbers instead of the truth?
 
Yeah, if Martin sounds like a broken record during his talks (never changing his figures or rhetoric), then I could see how that would be frustrating for Bono.
 
Zoomerang, you aren't very bright. Look at Bush's efforts re: Africa vis a vis Martin's.
 
ajcro said:
Zoomerang, you aren't very bright. Look at Bush's efforts re: Africa vis a vis Martin's.

you have absolutely no idea what you're starting.
 
ajcro said:
Zoomerang, you aren't very bright. Look at Bush's efforts re: Africa vis a vis Martin's.

Its incredible that you call zoomerang 'not very bright', yet you post a comment like that.

You should probably stop getting your facts from Fox news.

Regarding Martin, although i think Canada should increase its spending to 0.7 per cent of GDP, atleast he's bring straight forward with Bono. Unlike some of the other Nations who promise but never deliver.
 
Zoomerang96 said:
and as a canadian, i agree with martin on this.

martin's been responsible for balancing our budget for the past decade or so, and if there's any man in this country i trust to keep our books in the good condition - it's him.

funny how bono goes after martin, but does nothing against bush.

who by the way is the only neanderthal who doesn't think humans have anything to do with global warming.

I was thinking the same thing as well.
 
Seconds said:


Its incredible that you call zoomerang 'not very bright', yet you post a comment like that.

You should probably stop getting your facts from Fox news.

Regarding Martin, although i think Canada should increase its spending to 0.7 per cent of GDP, atleast he's bring straight forward with Bono. Unlike some of the other Nations who promise but never deliver.

Martin is a conservative hiding in liberal clothes. I seriously don't know where he is coming from, or the likes of Zoomerang. What do we want Canada to be? An isolantionist/protect-our-own economy-at-all-costs kind of country? That sounds an awful lot like the United States at the moment. In fact, I think Martin is absolutely going against the Canadian tradition of taking a world-view approach to policy, and is instead aligning himself with the richest countries who share the least.

Martin as a socialist liberal is huge illusion he's constructed. And half of Canadians realize this, as the last election, and recent opinion polls clearly show. Since the Liberals came into power in 1993, they have slashed health care spending, nearly dismantled the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), and privatized the national air service.

All of this, and we're not even started on the corruption of the Liberal government, where millions of dollars magically vanished in the sponsorship scandal...a time where Paul Martin was Finance Minister and controlled the purse strings.

I'm a liberal at heart, a socialist by nature. I don't find any of those attributes in Martin, nor do many other Candians. He's holding power by the slimest (or slimiest) of margins in Parliament, and will go down in history as the leader of the country who lead the least; a man who repeatedly dithered and failed to act when crucial global issues were tackled better by an Irish rocker with a heart.

Some say we should be proud, for at least Martin is not making promises he can't keep; he's therefore, by default, not the ugly politician we throw around as a cliche.

Of course, the flip-side of this is the fact that he makes no promises at all. No risks, no guarantees...no guts.

Where is the Canada I know on this issue? Why are we falling into a black hole of diminished expectations from our prime minister?

:madspit:
 
AngelorDevil, fair enough. But who would you prefer as a leader?

Would things be better if we had Harper as a leader? We would be in Iraq right now if Harper was Prime Minster.

So what's the next choice? Obviously not the scum separatist Duceppe.

So what do we have left? Layton? No thank you.

Not much to choose from. So I'll stick with Martin. He may not be great, but he's the best thing we got, IMO.
 
Seconds said:
\

Not much to choose from. So I'll stick with Martin. He may not be great, but he's the best thing we got, IMO.

It's a sad day when we settle for mediocrity when we deserve so much more.

It's also sad that you're right about the current situation. I just think it's time for people with vision to step up and lead us out of the doldrums.
 
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