Geldof blasts Bush and Mugabe

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

Geldof blasts Bush and Mugabe

Jules · The biggest Geldof fan in the world, bar none!

I saw this and entirely agree. What does the Africa Commission think or want to try and do about him and others like him in Africa? How will they get rid of these governments? They're going nowhere in Zimbabwe and the like until they do...

Jules · The biggest Geldof fan in the world, bar none!

Report in the Independent today, Geldof on excellent form:

Geldof in four-letter tirade against West over African poverty
By Anne Penketh, Diplomatic Editor

12 March 2005

The air in the Great Court of the British Museum turned blue yesterday when Bob Geldof launched into a four-letter tirade as he challenged rich countries to dig deeper into their pockets to relieve poverty in Africa. Geldof, a member of the Prime Minister's Commission for Africa, said Tony Blair should tell President George Bush that proposals outlined in the commission's report would cost the United States "**** all" to free the African continent of the shackles of war, poverty and disease.

Mr Blair and the rock star were on a panel presenting the 460-page report to an audience of diplomats and aid workers. Geldof made an impassioned case for the commission's package to be implemented, arguing that for the rich members of the Group of Eight, the cost per day of doubling aid to assist African recovery was equivalent to "half a stick of chewing gum".

The commission's main recommendations, expected to be the centrepiece of the Gleneagles summit in July, challenge rich countries to double aid to Africa, end trade barriers and stamp out corruption. It urges the international community to immediately double foreign aid to Africa to $50bn (£25bn).

But Mr Blair faced questions about whether he would continue to press the Americans to stump up the necessary finance, after the US rejected a core UK-backed proposal on funding in the report. Referring to Geldof's four-letter outburst, Mr Blair said: "Because I'm a politician in a suit, I wince at the occasional word but actually what he said is really what I think."

Commission sources shrugged off Geldof's language, saying: "He didn't swear any more than he usually does." Earlier, on Radio Four's Today, Geldof said he would "keep on crapping on" about helping relieve African poverty.

Mr Blair, who is calling for a "new partnership" between donor countries and Africa, sees the report as part of a process that will culminate in the Doha Round of global trade talks in Hong Kong this December. But he made it clear he was committed to pursuing the commission's agenda, with or without full G8 backing.

"There can be no excuse, no defence, no justification for the plight of millions of our fellow beings in Africa today," he said. "There should be nothing that stands in our way of changing it. That is the simple message from the report."

Aid agencies have welcomed the report, which has been described as ambitious without being radical because many of its recommendations would hold donor countries and African states to respect existing mechanisms to help the continent break out of poverty.

Richard Dowden, director of the Royal African Society, said that report, for the first time "integrated in a single analysis what Africa has to do, what the rest of the world must do to support Africa and what the rest of the world must stop doing to stop damaging Africa".

But like many others, Mr Dowden was sceptical about the implementation of the recommendations, which have time-frames. British officials say because the commission includes leaders in power, including a majority from Africa, that is an incentive for success.

franna · V Deep

quote:
Originally posted by: ArrGee
Live Aid founder Bob Geldof today launched into a four-letter-word tirade against President George Bush

50% of the American public does that every single day, to no effect whatsoever. While it's charming that when BG does it in public, he gets press coverage, my reaction is pretty much: "So? Tell me something new!"

Aside from which, BG has zero influence in America. His only hope is to press Blair into pressing Bush, and frankly, I don't know that Bush cares much about Blair's opinion on the matter.

Africa / America is Bono's job.

franna · V Deep

quote:
Originally posted by: Jules
Referring to Geldof's four-letter outburst, Mr Blair said: "Because I'm a politician in a suit, I wince at the occasional word but actually what he said is really what I think."

Once again, Blair shows he's a hottie. I hereby publicly confess my lust for your PM. I wonder if "Prime Minister's Questions" is on C-SPAN tonight? Must check the TV schedule....

Jules · The biggest Geldof fan in the world, bar none!

This one's from the Mirror. In fact he's in all the papers today

BOB THE GOB'S BLAIR RANT ON AFRICA

Mar 12 2005

Sir Bob's four-letter rant at Blair over African poverty

By Rosa Prince Political Correspondent

BAND Aid star Bob Geldof yesterday told Tony Blair to deliver a four-letter message to President George Bush to act now to save Africa.

The Boomtown Rats rocker shocked the unveiling of a report by the Prime Minister's Commission for Africa by insisting it would cost the US "f*** all" to help wipe out poverty in the continent.

Turning to Mr Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown, he said: "Tony and Gordon have to prepare to ring up George and say, 'Do this, George, do this one thing for me, it's going to cost you f*** all, do it for me'."

The singer, who swore on live TV during the Live Aid concert 20 years ago, turned the air blue again when he poured scorn on the PM's plan to make the report the blueprint for Britain's chairmanship of the G8 summit at Gleneagles in Scotland in July.

"F*** Gleneagles," he said. "Do you know how much it costs? Half a stick of chewing gum for each citizen of the G8 countries."

Geldof further stunned the audience of aid workers and diplomats in London by launching into a tirade against African leaders.

He described Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe as an "ageing creep" and attacked Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni for wanting to stay in office for life.

He added: "The Africa Commission will only ever deliver results if each and all of its participant countries subscribe to a collective commitment to govern well." Far from disapproving of Geldof's colourful language, Mr Blair also startled the audience by giving his words full backing.

He said: "Because I'm a politician in a suit, I wince at the occasional word - but actually what he said is really what I think."

The bold Africa Commission report commits the continent's leaders to tackling devastating conflict, corruption and bad governance in return for rich nations agreeing to double aid, adopt fair trade and 100 per cent debt cancellation.

Mr Blair added: "Africa can change for the better and the report shows how.

"The issue now is do we together, in Africa and among the wealthy nations of the world, have the will to change Africa for the better?"

Mr Brown said: "Africa is a continent ripe for progress at a moment of opportunity but tragically weighed down by poverty, conflict and disease."

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who sat on the Commission, said it aimed to help end "senseless violence" which blocked progress and "create an enabling environment to break the shackles of poverty".

But Peter Hardstaff, of the World Development Movement, said: "The Commission falls well short of the radical break with the past that is necessary if Africa's fortunes are to be turned round. What matters is action."

Airy Ramiarison, an economist at Madagascar's University of Antananarivo, said debt relief plans were nothing new. "Maybe instead of suggesting a new initiative, the rich countries could just stick to the promises they have already made."