"He condemned the protesters who were involved in battles with police on Monday as "a bunch of losers".

Asked about last night’s violence he said: “I think the police handled it very well and I think there were scuffles which is just people rubbing against each other in the wrong way.”

Dismissing the aims of some of those involved he said: “We are there for something as opposed to being there for nothing at all.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4653617.stm

This muttonhead is too much.

The staggering ignorance of basic economics I was willing to bear, the Champagne, the VIP passes, the private jets, the peons to war criminals Tony Blair and George Bush, the hob-nobbing with Likudnik and Suharto-supporter Paul Wolfowitz, the celebration of billionaire scum-pig Bill Gates, all of this I was willing to more or less ignore, but this time he’s gone too far.

As if hijacking the movement with a phony corporate sponsored sideshow that will only worsen poverty in Africa wasn't bad enough, he has to go and rub it in the faces of the people out there putting themselves on the line working to effect REAL change.

When protesters fight back, they’re “idiots”; when police brutalize old ladies, they’re “doing a good job”.

Sir Bob says: let them eat cake.

And here, if it wasn’t already apparent, is liberalism unmasked. Liberalism functions to co-opt radical movements and steer them into safe political arenas where they can be diffused and rendered benign. Liberals don’t show solidarity with their comrades but rather the state, demonizing and marginalizing the core dissenting elements but never hesitating to appoint themselves “leaders” and “vanguards” and “spokespersons” of these same people -- the people that engendered the movement in the first place.

This is classic bait-and-switch.

Liberalism does not seek to fundamentally change capitalist society but rather make it slightly more bearable; in this sense, the liberal may be the worst enemy of progress.

The fact that the corporate media is so supportive of Sir Bob’s campaign should set off alarm bells to anyone with a semi-functioning brain.

Chussudovsky:

“Live 8 is a multimillion dollar undertaking, which will result in huge profits for its corporate sponsors including AOL Time Warner, the US based media giant, the Ford Motor company, through its Swedish affiliate Volvo and Nokia, the cell phone company, not to mention Britain's EMI Music Group, which has entered into a highly lucrative arrangement with the Live 8 organizers.

AOLTime Warner controls the US broadcasting rights which it has licenced to the Walt Disney Company for broadcast TV on ABC and a myriad of affiliated TV and radio stations, including Premiere Radio Networks, XM Satellite Radio and Viacom's MTV Networks (for cable TV). AOL also holds the exclusive online rights for the event on the internet.

TV air-time has been auctioned off around the world. Millions of dollars of advertising revenues are expected from the broadcasting of the event, not to mention the repeats, the video-clips, the internet broadcasting and the DVDs, which will be available commercially.

According to the producers, Live 8 will go down as "the biggest global broadcast in history". The organizers expect --through TV, radio and the internet-- to reach some 5.5 billion people, or 85 per cent of the world's population. The advertising industry places the number of potential viewers at a conservative two billion, approximately one third of the World's population.

By far this is largest media advertising operation in history, which will line the pockets of the promoters, producers, corporate sponsors, not to mention the royalties accruing to the performers and "celebrities". A small percentage of the proceeds might accrue to charitable organizations involved in developing countries but this is not the stated objective of Live 8.

The Ford Motor Company has used the event to promote its "up-market" Swedish car division Volvo, with advertising spots during the US broadcast.

Volvo has also provided for artist transportation to and from the London and Philadelphia concerts as well as a VIP entertainment suite at the Philadelphia concert. (See  http://www.adage.com/news, June 30, 2005).

"The event, said company spokesman Soren Johansson, "fits with the DNA of the company" and "appeals to people’s emotions."

Distorting the Causes of Global Poverty

The concerts are totally devoid of political content. They concentrate on simple and misleading clichés.

They use poverty as a marketing tool and a consumer-advertising gimmick to increase the number of viewers and listeners worldwide.
Live 8 creates an aura of optimism. It conveys the impression that poverty can be vanquished with the stroke of the pen. All we need is good will. The message, which is presented, is that G8 leaders, together with the World Bank and the IMF are ultimately committed to poverty alleviation.

In this regard, the concerts are part of the broader process of media disinformation. They are used as a timely public relations stunt for Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is hosting the G-8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. Tony Blair is presented as stepping up his campaign to convince other G8 nations "to take action on poverty".

The G8's Debt Forgiveness Proposal

Live 8 fails to challenge or comprehend the G8 policy agenda which directly contributes to creating poverty, nor does it question the role of the World Bank, now under the helm of Paul Wolfowitz, the neo-conservative architect of the invasion of Iraq,

In addressing the issue of debt forgiveness, Live 8 fails to address or even acknowledge the impacts of IMF-World Bank "economic medicine" imposed on the World's poorest countries on behalf of Western creditors.

These deadly macro-economic reforms have contributed to the impoverishment of millions of people. They oblige countries to close down their schools and hospitals, privatize their public services and sell off the most profitable sectors of their national economy to foreign capital. In return, the G8 promises to increase foreign aid and provide token debt relief. These reforms kill and the G8 is not the solution but the cause. When actor Will Smith addressed the crowds at the concert venues "to snap their fingers" as a reminder that every three seconds a child dies in Africa, the underlying cause are the deadly macroeconomic reforms.

Bob Geldof sees an increase in foreign aid completely out of context, as a "unique opportunity" to eradicating poverty, when in fact the proposed increase in aid flows by the rich G8 countries will lead to exactly the opposite results.

Concluding Remarks

The concerts serve to usefully distract public attention from the US-UK led war on Iraq and the broader relationship between war and global poverty. Not a word is mentioned in the concerts on the fact that George W. Bush and Tony Blair are considered "war criminals" under international law.

Moreover, Live 8 tends to undermine all forms of meaningful and articulate dissent to the policy G8 agenda. With the exception of the appearance of Nelson Mandela, the concerts are devoid of a broader understanding and commitment.

Live 8 undermines both the anti-globalization and anti-war movements. It diverts public opinion and distracts media attention from the G8 protest movement. It also serves to undermine the articulation of more radical voices against the New World Order.

More generally, the event instills an atmosphere of ignorance among the millions who listen to the music and who have the feeling of doing something positive and constructive. But none of the core elements needed to understand the causes of global poverty are presented.

My message to the Live 8 corporate sponsors, including Bob Geldorf, the EMI Group, AOL Time Warner, The Ford Motor Company, Nokia, MTV, the Walt Disney Company, etc. "Put your money where you mouth is."

If you are really committed to poverty alleviation, give the entire proceeds of this multimillion dollar media operation, including the revenues generated by the corporate sponsors, TV networks, advertising firms, royalties accruing to celebrities and performers, to the people of Africa. Let them use this money as they see fit, without interference from donors and creditors,
My message to Africa. Do not let yourself be deceived by a giant corporate media stunt where poverty is used as a logo, to attract consumers and make money. Default on your debt to the IMF and the World Bank.”

 http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHO20050705&articleId=641