"crazy eights"

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well, at this point, everyone and their mother's uncle has probably opined on the Live 8 concerts and the upcoming G-8 summit... so i won't deign to repeat the various viewpoints already espoused, ranging from hopeful to cynical to indignant to defensive... ad infinitum... my worthless 2 cents on this (which would be the equivalent of 2.66 nigerian nairas or 1.526 kenyan shillings) is that it does seem disingenuous to engage in the party atmosphere of a rock concert while millions of people are dying, but at the same time, how else can we actually engage the next-to-non-existent attention span of liberalized Westerners to the plight of Africans? there are a whole host of factors that play into the situation in Africa, and to simply insist on throwing more foreign aid in their direction belies the systemic roots of poverty and the unequal distribution of wealth... corruption on the ground, stifling trade agreements, the absence of democracy, the inherently unjust effects of capitalism -- these are just a few of the many complex issues that remain (and will remain) unaddressed, despite all the media coverage and the good intentions of all those involved (this i do not doubt)... i won't get into any blue-sky theorizing here, but if i can be forgiven for being idealistic (and for "infringing" copyright): "there are people dying, but if you care enough for the living, make a better place for you and for me"...

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