Bob Geldof wanted to attend the Genoa demonstration. So he flew there on Tony Blairs jet. With Bono. Could there BE anything less cool than this ?

'Bono's'company is now a major player in the media/leisure international finance markets. He's a billionaire fantasist who's been living in an adolescent dream world for most of his allegedly adult life. What more does anyone expect? What's more fun, and more bankable, than playing the rebel within the boundaries of the system, while being careful to never challenge the capitalist property relations that you benefit so abundantly from? Bob Geldof's been playing the same repulsive game for years, and it's worked wonders. For those who confuse social protest with fashion statements it's an illusion that never ceases to work. Lets all just say a big fuck off to corporate music and the even more fucked fashion industry that's it's twin sister. Burn your CD's!

Well what to say... I remember Band Aid twenty years ago, and remember being touched by it. I remember being at a School Xmas party at someone's house, and all of us sat around an upright piano singing the song as one of us plugged away at the chords. Did we really learn anything by this, did we effect change. Well in my case it played a part in a number of ways, some illusional some real. I mean lets look at the lyrics, they are both naive and ethonocentric;
"..and there won't be snow in AFRICA this xmas (what about on top of mountains?), the greatest gift they'll get this year is life (life, while it lasts isn't a gift, its a right, clean water etc) where nothing ever grows (erm...which continent are they talking about? plenty can grow in Africa, which is part of the crime) no rain or river flow(Nile/Congo?) Do they know its xmas time at all ?(Well some of them do as a result of the missionaries, while other are muslim and unlikely to follow a roman pagan festival, while other are for want of a better term 'animist'"
This said there are levels of 'savvy' and we should not mock any attempt to effect a change, no matter how naive. The acorns sewn today can be nurtured. I mean lets face it how many of us have been looked at sideways as radical etc when we actually try and talk of neo-imperialim veiled behind the agenda of Globalisation. Lets hope that the little acorns sewn by Bob and Bono, may at least make a few pose some questions, I do not think they profess to supply any answers. If we consider ourselves politically savvy, it is our duty to see openings and speak up when people are opened and then debate/educate. To further push the point little acorns grow into great oaks, it is then our duty to watch for the acorns; if they are in good ground nurture their growth, if not do what we can to improve their chances of growth.
Let people do what people do, but let us keep our eyes and ears open for any opportunity to speak on issues concerning people marginalised with no voice, but the more ears that are opened by whatever the means the better.