salomeU2000
The Fly
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By Devlin Smith
On January 28th, US Pres. George W. Bush stepped up to the podium to deliver his State of the Union address and unveiled a five-year, $15 billion plan to fight global AIDS. This was one of many milestones, struggles and triumphs faced by DATA in the first half of 2003, some of which are broken down below.
Bush Funding Plan
On the heels of his State of the Union announcement, Pres. Bush had planned to visit several African nations but postponed the trip because of the conflict in Iraq. Nearly six months later, the president is set to tour Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and Nigeria from July 7 to July 12, promoting economic development and the fight against HIV/AIDS, including the $15 funding plan.
As the president packs his bags, his plan is being amended and scrutinized in Congress, $1.7 billion in cuts possible. ?This threatens?and makes meaningless the president?s intent to make his trip,? Bono said in a teleconference prior to Bush?s trip. ?We have to make sure that his intentions are not undone and we are watching the process. We are not fooled by photo ops?the only thing that impresses us is getting the check cashed, not the check signing.?
To that end, DATA has launched the Keep America?s Promise to Africa campaign, asking people to send letters to the president, their senators and representatives to ensure that president?s AIDS initiatives are fully funded. Bush?s legislation, which has passed the House and Senate, just establishes the framework but it is up to Congress to fund the plan.
The president?s proposal for an Emergency Relief Fund for AIDS in Africa would more than double the $1.5 billion a year the administration now spends on global AIDS and proposes giving $500 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. Prevention, treatment and education are among the initiative?s goals.
G8
In early June leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Russian Federation and the European Union gathered in Evian, France, for the annual G8 Summit. On behalf of the DATA agenda, Bono and Bob Geldof met with Britain?s Tony Blair to urge summit attendees to fund the fight against AIDS.
In an opinion piece published in The Daily Telegraph, Bono called for action. ?It?s not hard to be evangelical about the facts. It?s hard for the heart not to be moved by the immense loss of lives. It?s hard for the head not to see the security implications of the destruction of the African family, African economies, African hopes,? he wrote.
At the end of the three-day summit, G8 leaders reaffirmed support for a Global Fund to fight AIDS and pledged to make cheaper drugs to combat diseases like HIV/AIDS more easily available in developing nations.
DATA released a statement responding to actions taken at the summit. ?The G8 have made some progress on AIDS, but on debt relief, trade reform and development in general this summit lived up to very low expectations,? Jamie Drummond, DATA executive director, said.
Several key issues were put off to be handled at other meetings or by other organizations. ?The Europeans put off a real commitment on AIDS for three weeks; the world must wait until the September WTO meetings for progress on trade reform; and poor countries must wait until the IMF and World Bank meet for any progress on debt relief,? Drummond said.
Geldof, a DATA cofounder, also weighed in on the summit. ?From our point of view the things that we were heading up were debt and trade and there was absolutely zero on that,? he said. ?In fact there wasn?t even any agreed language on trade. They?ve put that off to the IMF and World Bank which is basically parking it.?
Following the G8 summit, EU leaders met to discuss plans to match the United States? $15 billion AIDS funding initiative. ?The United States took a decision that I would not hesitate to call historic,? French President Jacques Chirac said as he announced his country would triple its contribution to the Global AIDS Fund to $177 million a year. Unfortunately, due to budget problems from the 15 existing and 10 joining EU member nations, the bloc was unable to match the US.
AOL Celeb Candids
For the Academy Awards, AOL gave celebrity attendees digital cameras, asking them to take pictures that would be posted on AOL. For every Celeb Candid posted, AOL made a donation to DATA.
According to an AOL spokesperson, the response from celebrities and AOL members was ?terrific? and the program continued at the Cannes Film Festival and the premieres of Matrix Reloaded and Terminator 3. More premiers, events and award shows will get the Celeb Candids treatment over the next two years.
The photos, taken by stars like Colin Farrell, Jada Pinkett Smith, Meryl Streep and Adrien Brody, are available only to AOL members at keyword Celeb Candids but some shots from the Academy Awards appeared in People.
DATA Updates Its Web Site
By Deborah Kreuser
Since its beginning a year ago, the DATA web site has undergone a few user-friendly changes. Some of the highlights are:
1. A new interactive piece on the home page that you can click on and hear a short clip of Bono speaking about the need for clean water in Africa.
2. A new page called ?From the Grassroots? which spotlights various groups around the USA who are actively organizing in their communities in support of DATA?s agenda for Africa.
3. DATA Europe which describes the different activities DATA is involved in throughout Europe, available in English, French and German.
4. The Press page which provides readers with a daily dose of the most current information available from national and international sources on debt, trade and AIDS issues facing Africa. Most notable is the daily update from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
For more information visit www.datadata.org
By Devlin Smith
On January 28th, US Pres. George W. Bush stepped up to the podium to deliver his State of the Union address and unveiled a five-year, $15 billion plan to fight global AIDS. This was one of many milestones, struggles and triumphs faced by DATA in the first half of 2003, some of which are broken down below.
Bush Funding Plan
On the heels of his State of the Union announcement, Pres. Bush had planned to visit several African nations but postponed the trip because of the conflict in Iraq. Nearly six months later, the president is set to tour Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and Nigeria from July 7 to July 12, promoting economic development and the fight against HIV/AIDS, including the $15 funding plan.
As the president packs his bags, his plan is being amended and scrutinized in Congress, $1.7 billion in cuts possible. ?This threatens?and makes meaningless the president?s intent to make his trip,? Bono said in a teleconference prior to Bush?s trip. ?We have to make sure that his intentions are not undone and we are watching the process. We are not fooled by photo ops?the only thing that impresses us is getting the check cashed, not the check signing.?
To that end, DATA has launched the Keep America?s Promise to Africa campaign, asking people to send letters to the president, their senators and representatives to ensure that president?s AIDS initiatives are fully funded. Bush?s legislation, which has passed the House and Senate, just establishes the framework but it is up to Congress to fund the plan.
The president?s proposal for an Emergency Relief Fund for AIDS in Africa would more than double the $1.5 billion a year the administration now spends on global AIDS and proposes giving $500 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. Prevention, treatment and education are among the initiative?s goals.
G8
In early June leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Russian Federation and the European Union gathered in Evian, France, for the annual G8 Summit. On behalf of the DATA agenda, Bono and Bob Geldof met with Britain?s Tony Blair to urge summit attendees to fund the fight against AIDS.
In an opinion piece published in The Daily Telegraph, Bono called for action. ?It?s not hard to be evangelical about the facts. It?s hard for the heart not to be moved by the immense loss of lives. It?s hard for the head not to see the security implications of the destruction of the African family, African economies, African hopes,? he wrote.
At the end of the three-day summit, G8 leaders reaffirmed support for a Global Fund to fight AIDS and pledged to make cheaper drugs to combat diseases like HIV/AIDS more easily available in developing nations.
DATA released a statement responding to actions taken at the summit. ?The G8 have made some progress on AIDS, but on debt relief, trade reform and development in general this summit lived up to very low expectations,? Jamie Drummond, DATA executive director, said.
Several key issues were put off to be handled at other meetings or by other organizations. ?The Europeans put off a real commitment on AIDS for three weeks; the world must wait until the September WTO meetings for progress on trade reform; and poor countries must wait until the IMF and World Bank meet for any progress on debt relief,? Drummond said.
Geldof, a DATA cofounder, also weighed in on the summit. ?From our point of view the things that we were heading up were debt and trade and there was absolutely zero on that,? he said. ?In fact there wasn?t even any agreed language on trade. They?ve put that off to the IMF and World Bank which is basically parking it.?
Following the G8 summit, EU leaders met to discuss plans to match the United States? $15 billion AIDS funding initiative. ?The United States took a decision that I would not hesitate to call historic,? French President Jacques Chirac said as he announced his country would triple its contribution to the Global AIDS Fund to $177 million a year. Unfortunately, due to budget problems from the 15 existing and 10 joining EU member nations, the bloc was unable to match the US.
AOL Celeb Candids
For the Academy Awards, AOL gave celebrity attendees digital cameras, asking them to take pictures that would be posted on AOL. For every Celeb Candid posted, AOL made a donation to DATA.
According to an AOL spokesperson, the response from celebrities and AOL members was ?terrific? and the program continued at the Cannes Film Festival and the premieres of Matrix Reloaded and Terminator 3. More premiers, events and award shows will get the Celeb Candids treatment over the next two years.
The photos, taken by stars like Colin Farrell, Jada Pinkett Smith, Meryl Streep and Adrien Brody, are available only to AOL members at keyword Celeb Candids but some shots from the Academy Awards appeared in People.
DATA Updates Its Web Site
By Deborah Kreuser
Since its beginning a year ago, the DATA web site has undergone a few user-friendly changes. Some of the highlights are:
1. A new interactive piece on the home page that you can click on and hear a short clip of Bono speaking about the need for clean water in Africa.
2. A new page called ?From the Grassroots? which spotlights various groups around the USA who are actively organizing in their communities in support of DATA?s agenda for Africa.
3. DATA Europe which describes the different activities DATA is involved in throughout Europe, available in English, French and German.
4. The Press page which provides readers with a daily dose of the most current information available from national and international sources on debt, trade and AIDS issues facing Africa. Most notable is the daily update from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
For more information visit www.datadata.org
