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U2 - BONO WARNS U.S. GOVERNMENT NOT TO FORGET THE WORLD'S POOR
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BONO WARNS U.S. GOVERNMENT NOT TO FORGET THE WORLD'S POOR
U2 frontman BONO has urged the U.S. government not to forget the world's poor despite the country's current turbulent economic climate.
The human rights campaigner joined former U.S. president Bill Clinton at his 4th annual philanthropic summit in New York on Wednesday (24Sep08) and accused the West of abandoning their duty to help impoverished nations.
The singer also criticised the Bush administration for using $700 billion (GBP388 billion) to bail out Wall Street investment bankers instead of clearing Third World debt - branding the move "mad".
He told the summit, "It is extraordinary to me that you can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion (GBP13.8 billion) to save 25,000 children who die every day of preventable treatable disease and hunger. That's mad, that is mad."
Clinton added, "This crisis is not an excuse to walk away from the world's challenges, but a compelling reason to intensify our efforts to meet them, around the corner and around the world."
In 2005, the G8 vowed to raise $50 billion (GBP27.7 billion) in annual aid by 2010, with GBP25 billion (GBP13.8 billion) going to Africa. However, as the U.S. financial system faces its biggest crisis since the Depression era of the 1930s, the G8 will fall $40 billion (GBP22.2 billion) short of its promised sum.
But Bono believes there should be no room for compromise.
He adds, "Bankruptcy is a serious business and we all know people who have lost their jobs. But this is moral bankruptcy."
25 September 2008 12:07
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View all comments (2) - Comment on this story
@THEGREATROBYNIE
Sorry, but the way you are thinking is very selfish. Why? Because your country
is mainly responsible for the situation in Africa (and the rest of the third
world countries), along with Great Britain and other western powers - your way
of life made the rest of the world poor, sick and hungry - I am not kidding,
this is generally what the rest of the world thinks about your country - you
Americans think you rule the world, and sadly it's true, you also have the
power to change it, and you go wrong way for decades - you think "if I'm ok,
then everybody else is too, or who gives a s... for the rest of the world, as
long as I'm ok" - now you have the opportunity to feel how people in Africa are
feeling everyday - you may lost your job or healt insurance, but that won't
kill you in the long run, you won't be hungry, you won't die of pneumonia or
ordinary cold, this situation with the Wall street is just temporary, with the
elections going on, and everything...you must understand that US has the
obligation towards third world countries mainly because all the resources of
the third w. counries the US hold as their own and usually threats those
countries with war, it also uses their population as a cheap work-power,
forcing them to live and feed their whole family for only a couple of cents a
day...think about how low must they feel, how hungry they must be, and then
look around yourself and see how you live and what you have and they
don't...you are accustomed to live in a certain luxury and you have no idea how
it is to be happy if you have food on your table (if you have the table in the
first place...) once daily...consider all these things and then read your post
again - do you feel selfish?
I usally support Bono on his issues of extreme poverty in Africa, but America
first, and foremost obligation is to make sure that we don't turn into a third
world nation ourselves with our economy as bad as it has gotten. And yes I
blame Bush for that, but Bono don't talk to me about people losing their jobs,
when that's just happened in my family, so now we are in need of government
help at the moment, and living on about $5.00 a day, unless my husband finds
employment soon. And if he doesn't then our credit will be maxed out, and
where will we be. We can't even get medical help, of food stamps. I'm sorry,
but America needs to take care of Americans, and if bailing Wallstret out helps
protect jobs here, that's not mad, that is one responsible thing Bush has
done. He needs to stop the war, and bring our money back home, and then maybe
America can keep it's promise.


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