[Acrylic-bob]

Some members have suggested tht the concerts were about "raising awareness".
Whose awareness?

The problems of Africa and the poor of the world have consumed more acres of newsprint and miles of videotape than any other subject. Do we have such a short collective attention span that we need a handful of strutting poseurs to remind us of our obligations every twenty years or so?

Or was it perhaps the awareness of politicians? Errmmm, weren't debt re-structuring and trade issues already on the agenda of the G8 conference before Saint Geldoff stuck his foul-mouthed oar in? Seen in this light Live8 is little more than a bandwagon for the self-satisfied and the sanctimonious, a vehicle for the political enthusiasms of people with more money than sense and more influence than is good in any democracy.