good article about african aid by bill o reilly

[NYRangers78]

you dont like o reilly fine. thats your opinion...doesnt change the fact that even bono admitted that the first live aid was an unorganized disaster and that people who were supposed to be helped werent helped...if arianna huffington wrote this piece would be saying the same thing??

in essence live aid was run by bleeding heart liberals who didnt know how to get done what they needed to get done...otherwise the aid wouldve gotten to the right people...and yes the un is corrupt. the oil for food scandal is proof of that.

and theres no reason to just throw money around just to throw it around if it really isnt going to solve anything ....but thats what i love about liberals, when something is wrong, lets throw money on top of more money to fix the problems instead of getting to the real root of the problems. im not necessarily applying that logic to africa but it does seem to be the case a lot of the time. live in new york youll see what i mean..


and america should not go in unilaterally, they should enlist the help of all of europe..

 

[timothius]

you dont like o reilly fine. thats your opinion...doesnt change the fact that even bono admitted that the first live aid was an unorganized disaster and that people who were supposed to be helped werent helped...if arianna huffington wrote this piece would be saying the same thing??

Sure Bono may have admitted this. But just a reminder that Live Aid was 20 odd years ago. It's hardly relevant to the discussion now as the worlds geo-poiltical structure has changed quite a lot. Would it be fair to use examples of communist USSR in reference to modern day Russia? No. It's only helpful to create an "argument" using cheap talking points.

in essence live aid was run by bleeding heart liberals who didnt know how to get done what they needed to get done...otherwise the aid wouldve gotten to the right people...and yes the un is corrupt. the oil for food scandal is proof of that.

You do know that the oil for food scandal, whilst to be condemned and a horrible event, is peanuts to the 8.7 billion dollars which the US has completely in Iraq in the few months immediatly following there invasion of Iraq. Also I am not mentioning the millions of gallons taking without being metered either. However that is oll irrellevent because I do not see the corralation between Iraq and Africa.

and theres no reason to just throw money around just to throw it around if it really isnt going to solve anything ....

*cough*War in Iraq*cough*

but thats what i love about liberals, when something is wrong, lets throw money on top of more money to fix the problems instead of getting to the real root of the problems. im not necessarily applying that logic to africa but it does seem to be the case a lot of the time. live in new york youll see what i mean..

I'm not in the best position to talk about New York etc. But if fiscal responsibility is the issue we can always have Clinton vs Bush rd 176 if you really want to.

and america should not go in unilaterally, they should enlist the help of all of europe..

Even those bleeding hearts France and Russia? Seriously if we want to solve Africa's problems America IS NOT the country to lead the effort.

 

[echo0001]

So.

Because nobody has the organizational skills, and because the full and far-reaching aid infastructure is not in place, and because no nation is willing to commit to supplying these things, and because we can't seem to come up with a truly effective solution, and because the U.N. is corrupt\inept.....what? We sit back in our Lazy Boys, refuse more aid, and watch Africa go down in flames?

Somebody mentioned military force. Excuse me--this is not some small country like Iraq we're talking about (and you can see how well we're doing there ); it's an entire continent. You're talking about enough troops to secure, and deliver, aid to the ones who need it. I don't think we have that many troops. I don't think we can afford that many troops.

Sending our people in there to fight every local warlord in Africa would be a interminable struggle. Sending outside military forces into Africa (to fight) is the worse suggestion yet.

Barring any better answer, it looks like we're going to have to rely on the liberals and humanitarians who are willing to do what little is now possible; waiting for somebody who can\will do it all seems to be truly pointless.

Throwing money around may seem like a drop in the ocean--but when all you can come up with is drops...well, enough drops can make an ocean.

btw, the only way Bill O'Reilly is going to get any serious attentin from me is if he gets down on his knees and kisses my ass, and even then only for long enough to slap his face off.

 

[NYRangers78]

fine maybe europe should lead the effort for africa....but to me theres no doubt they should be working together to end the horrible things going on there...im not saying nothing should be done in africa guys...i would like to see the problems there solved just as much as everyone here...

 

[Rono]

fine maybe europe should lead the effort for africa....but to me theres no doubt they should be working together to end the horrible things going on there...im not saying nothing should be done in africa guys...i would like to see the problems there solved just as much as everyone here...

I think it Africa is a mess because of what European left behind after the collonytation ( sp ) we left behind a robbed continent, robbed from Money, men and honour. Left there with our tails between our legs, leaving behind a big gap of power.


BTW, aid without free and fair trade will not help anyway. It is just a way to make politics. You kiss my butt and you can get money.

 

[A_Wanderer]

If Europe had had a decent chance to colonise Africa before the rise of nationalism and have a proper go of it as they did in India (infrastructure, government and education ~ the liberal tradition of the British Empire lives on to this day, as does the marks of massacres, rebellions and subjegation) then things could be very different indeed, alas that never happened and decades of nationalism and colonial hangover on the backdrop of a Cold War has left its mark on the continent.

 

[timothius]

I think it Africa is a mess because of what European left behind after the collonytation ( sp ) we left behind a robbed continent, robbed from Money, men and honour. Left there with our tails between our legs, leaving behind a big gap of power.

Good points. But as I said to NYRanger that was in the past. The governments of Europe now are completely different and realise the errors made in the past and the need to fix these things.

I think we really need to look at South Africa as our gateway to the continent, we really need to work closely with them to gain a foothold into the continent, not only politically but physically in terms of infrastructure etc.

This can be done no doubt, but we need people in the fucking continent. It won't be solved in the corridors of Washington, nor the corridors of the UN's head office.

 

[Rono]

I think India looking to do well,..for 8 % of the popelation and that stupid caste system is a fine example for a good functional society.

 

[A_Wanderer]

It is doing a whole lot better than Africa is.

 

[Rono]

It is doing a whole lot better than Africa is.

for 8 % of the population,..the rest is starving or living from scratch, like in Africa.

 

[Rono]

repeating myself, sorry.

 

[Scarletwine]

you dont like o reilly fine. thats your opinion...doesnt change the fact that even bono admitted that the first live aid was an unorganized disaster and that people who were supposed to be helped werent helped...if arianna huffington wrote this piece would be saying the same thing??

in essence live aid was run by bleeding heart liberals who didnt know how to get done what they needed to get done...otherwise the aid wouldve gotten to the right people...and yes the un is corrupt. the oil for food scandal is proof of that.

and theres no reason to just throw money around just to throw it around if it really isnt going to solve anything ....but thats what i love about liberals, when something is wrong, lets throw money on top of more money to fix the problems instead of getting to the real root of the problems. im not necessarily applying that logic to africa but it does seem to be the case a lot of the time. live in new york youll see what i mean..


and america should not go in unilaterally, they should enlist the help of all of europe..

This is so much crap I don't know where to begin.
First Bono never admitted on O'Reilly that Live Aid was a disaster. I have it on tape and rewatched to make sure I was correct. What he said was they didn't realize that it wouldn't help enough because of the huge debt repayments the continent was making.

Second at least the blleding liberals tried to do something and did help if not enough. That's while all the conservatives sat on their freaking hands.

The UN was not corrupt in the OforF it was member countries and their corporations, including the US.

 

[NYRangers78]

maybe he never said it was a disaster but he basically gave the impression that it was. bono basically admitted that the money never got to where it went to.....and if u dont think the UN is corrupt, then i have a bridge in brooklyn to sell you. years ago it wasnt. but now? i wouldnt believe the U.N. for anything as long as annan is in charge.

 

[financeguy]

bono basically admitted that the money never got to where it went to.....and if u dont think the UN is corrupt, then i have a bridge in brooklyn to sell you.

The UN is a convenient whipping boy for the neo-cons, as it takes the attention off their own corruption, stories about the UN get put out on Fox, and people like you yap them up, all the time shouting "USA, USA, USA".

 

[NYRangers78]

USA..USA..USA !!!...

 

[Sherry Darling]

NYRangers, you're getting some very basic facts wrong, which leads me to two questions. 1. How old are you? No offense at all intended, but I'm curious. You sound very young, but you never can tell over the Net. 2. What are your *sources*? You haven't even attempted to cite any. LOL.

I'll start with one basic fact that you have wrong: Bono did indeed say Live Aid was not that he'd hoped, but do you know what reason he gave for that? If you did, I suspect you would not be attempting to support the arguement you've made.

To be topical, O'Reilly's article is a predictable mush of wrongness. I'll try to deal with him later if I have time.

 

[Jamila]

Any time you think Bill O'Reilly can provide a factual and balanced viewpoint, especially on a complex situation like Africa's current challenges, how she got into them and how she can best get out of them, you know you got a problem.

 

[Jamila]

- Bill O'Reilly

That's all I can say.

 

[cardosino]

The UN is a convenient whipping boy for the neo-cons, as it takes the attention off their own corruption, stories about the UN get put out on Fox, and people like you yap them up, all the time shouting "USA, USA, USA".

Actually the oil-for-food corruption scandal (key player Kofi Annan's son, get the connection here?) has been well documented by every reputable news source.

I love how Euros, the creators of the problems in Africa via their rampant corrupt brutal colonialism, whine about wanting more US money, but they don't want the US actually involved in determing how it's distributed. They'd rather just give our money with no strings so that the unfair trading laws which benefit them and the corrupt leaders who will buy from them will continue to do so.

 

[financeguy]

Actually the oil-for-food corruption scandal (key player Kofi Annan's son, get the connection here?) has been well documented by every reputable news source.

I love how Euros, the creators of the problems in Africa via their rampant corrupt brutal colonialism, whine about wanting more US money, but they don't want the US actually involved in determing how it's distributed. They'd rather just give our money with no strings so that the unfair trading laws which benefit them and the corrupt leaders who will buy from them will continue to do so.

Where in my post did I say there wasn't corruption in the UN? All I said that it is CONVENIENT for certain people that the UN corruption issue is being targeted AT PRESENT, and I stand by that statement.

And I'm Irish, my ancestors had no involvement in colonialism that I'm aware of. Even if they did, I wouldn't feel responsible for it.

Most European countries already give higher %'s of their budgets than the US, so your last point is moot.

 

[NYRangers78]

im a 26 year old registered republican but i consider myself more independent than anything. the source im using is the article were discussing, the o reilly article.

ive watched the o reilly interview with bono and ive read the transcript...the impression i got was that bono was dissapointed with it and if o reilly is using facts about stuff that went wrong with live aid and the lack of organization than im assuming that what bono was mad about was that...im sure bono and all the others meant well, but it just didnt pan out help who it should have. and o reilly is not only giving his opinions, hes giving facts given to him by the charity watchdog group. charity navigator.

like i said before, people hates america, and hate bush, blah blah blah...but when they need money to fix problems or political pressure to be used upon some other country, its call that evil america to do all the dirty work and give all its money no strings attached.

 

[80sU2isBest]

The UN was not corrupt in the OforF it was member countries and their corporations, including the US.

You should rephrase that, if you are interested in accuracy. I'll rephrase it for you:

The UN's Kofi Annan is implicated in the Oil For Food Scandal in that his son was involved and Kofi tried to stop the investigation from proceeding. Government officials from some member countries were involved, but there has been no evidence or even accusation that any government official from the US was involved. There were also corporations involved, some US corporations amongst them.

There, is that what you meant to say?

 

[cardosino]

Where in my post did I say there wasn't corruption in the UN? All I said that it is CONVENIENT for certain people that the UN corruption issue is being targeted AT PRESENT, and I stand by that statement.

Not only is it CONVENIENT it's also a WELL-PLACED and a VALID concern.

And I'm Irish, my ancestors had no involvement in colonialism that I'm aware of. Even if they did, I wouldn't feel responsible for it.

"CONVENIENT"

Most European countries already give higher %'s of their budgets than the US, so your last point is moot.

"moot" - To bring up as a subject for discussion or debate, to discuss or debate.

Yes, all the points here are indeed moot. Or are you falling into the typical American misuse of the word "moot" ? Convenient indeed.

 

[cardosino]

You should rephrase that, if you are interested in accuracy. I'll rephrase it for you:

The UN's Kofi Annan is implicated in the Oil For Food Scandal in that his son was involved and Kofi tried to stop the investigation from proceeding. Government officials from some member countries were involved, but there has been no evidence or even accusation that any government official from the US was involved. There were also corporations involved, some US corporations amongst them.

There, is that what you meant to say?

Not convenient....

;-)

 

[BVS]

im a 26 year old registered republican but i consider myself more independent than anything. the source im using is the article were discussing, the o reilly article.

ive watched the o reilly interview with bono and ive read the transcript...the impression i got was that bono was dissapointed with it and if o reilly is using facts about stuff that went wrong with live aid and the lack of organization than im assuming that what bono was mad about was that...im sure bono and all the others meant well, but it just didnt pan out help who it should have. and o reilly is not only giving his opinions, hes giving facts given to him by the charity watchdog group. charity navigator.

like i said before, people hates america, and hate bush, blah blah blah...but when they need money to fix problems or political pressure to be used upon some other country, its call that evil america to do all the dirty work and give all its money no strings attached.

You still don't have your facts straight. The reason Bono alluded to Live Aid as a failure is that the amount of money it raised was nothing compared to what the problem needed.

 

[cardosino]

Any time you think Bill O'Reilly can provide a factual and balanced viewpoint, especially on a complex situation like Africa's current challenges, how she got into them and how she can best get out of them, you know you got a problem.

I used to think the same about Jesse Helms

 

[NYRangers78]

You still don't have your facts straight. The reason Bono alluded to Live Aid as a failure is that the amount of money it raised was nothing compared to what the problem needed.

yeah because of the money africa owes to european countries on debts and everything, but i bet a lot of it has to with what o reilly is talking about with aid being stolen and people not getting what they needed because of all the corruption in africa and not just the debts.

 

[Scarletwine]

You should rephrase that, if you are interested in accuracy. I'll rephrase it for you:

The UN's Kofi Annan is implicated in the Oil For Food Scandal in that his son was involved and Kofi tried to stop the investigation from proceeding. Government officials from some member countries were involved, but there has been no evidence or even accusation that any government official from the US was involved. There were also corporations involved, some US corporations amongst them.

There, is that what you meant to say?

No.

I don't believe they've found any evidence to implicate Kofi although yes his son was involved. The US also stymied any investigation into the scandal. It was convenience to help keep Sadaam contained and docile.

I'd say Vice President DICK Cheney is a gov't official as he was head of one of the US countries involved.

 

[NYRangers78]

No.

I don't believe they've found any evidence to implicate Kofi although yes his son was involved. The US also stymied any investigation into the scandal. It was convenience to help keep Sadaam contained and docile.

I'd say Vice President DICK Cheney is a gov't official as he was head of one of the US countries involved.

do u mean us corporations? and do u mean haliburton?

 

[Scarletwine]

Yes sorry ,thanks
US corps - gov't same thing anymore