Scenario:

You provide aid to Ethopia, dropping food and supplies. The initial drop of food and supplies kills thousands of people. The resultant mandatory relocation (for their own good) kills another 250,000 Ethopians in the process. The whole thing is a disaster. Years later, the British Government hold a comittee and ask Bob Geldoff to join. Good Press. 

A group of charities learns about it and sets up a coalition campaign called Make Poverty History. They plan to hold a march in Edinburgh of which over 250,000 people will attend. One of the largest marches in history to that date. This march will co-incide with the G8 summit in 2005. Terribly bad press. But the press is in the business of writing the news both good or bad, right?

Wrong. Here’s what happened. The Story of how the British Government and the Media subverted one of the most imortant Marches in History. 


Richard Curtis asked his friend, Bob Geldoff, to organize a charity concert. This concert was held on the same day as G8 to celebrate it. 

Curtis also enlisted the help of his brother-in-law Mathew Freud who worked in Press PR, whose father in law (rupert murdoch) owns the sun newspaper. A british tabloid. 

A newspaper campaign began for another Live8 Concert hosted by Bob Geldoff. The Campaign used the story of Birhan Woldu. Led by The Sun, several publications began to 
report that the life of Bierhan Woldu had been saved by Live Aid in 1985. What was not disclosed is that her life was actually saved from the brink of starvation in 1984, 10 months before the live aid concerts. 

The Sun Journalists claimed that they alone rediscovered Bierhan in 2005, failing to disclose that she had been filmed throughout the intervening 20 years by the orginal Canadian Journalist who also contributed to her education. 

Two months before the march. Geldoff anounnced the Live 8 concert. With the full backing of the British Government. 

On july 2nd 2005, over 250,000 attended the march in Edinburgh for Make Poverty history. But the entirety of the Press was in Hyde Park covering the events of Live8.

In between events, there was supposed to be intervening footage that illustrated the message of Make Poverty History. However, the BBC was forced to conduct interviews with famous
people during the intervals instead. People like Bob Geldoff. 

The next day. No newspaper had any room to report on the march and it goes largely unremarked. The famous people get paid a lot of money for their services and the newspaper makes billions out of the stories of Live8 throughout that entire week and everyone (except the folks at Make Poverty History) is happy. 

On the Wednesday 6th July. The make poverty history march plans to march again in Gleneagles where the G8 summit was actually being held. 

Coincidentally, another Live8 concert is planned for that day in Murrayfield. Hundreds of miles away from Gleneagles. 

The result is that pop concerts are very good for taking away the limelight of events that hold strong political messages. 

Later. A documentary was commissioned (which is to be made by the filmmakers Brook Lapping, which was owned by Bob Geldoff’s company Ten Alps) by the BBC to make an ‘impartial’ documentary covering the events of Live 8. 

And let’s not forget the increase in album sales for the Record Companies. 


Elton John (Universal): 111% sales increase in records. 
U2 (Universal): 116% 
Mariah Carey (Sony BMG): 170%
Madonna (Warner): 200%
Sting: Universal: 300% 
Robbie Williams (EMI): 320%
Annie Lennox (Sony BMG): 500%
The Who (Universal): 863%
Pink Floyd (EMI): 1343%

4 Years later the promises of Live8 are not on course to be met. Over all of the aid made for the benefit of Africa, only $7 billion of the $21 Billion is actually given. 





This is why Live Aid and Live8 are completely bullshit. Bob Geldoff (and Bono) is about as Charitable as Rupert Murdoch. This is just one of the methods the Media can use to avoid a major event that was important to history appearing in the news.

The Live8 Concert allowed politicians to make a deal with Celebrities that they could walk away from when the spotlight was turned off. The British government did not want the Make Poverty History campaign given any attention and so struck a deal to make a more popular event in history through Bob Geldoff’s live8. Everyone came out on top. The British Government subverted Make Poverty History, Celebrities enjoyed HUGE increases in album sales and gained good publicity for themselves and Bob Geldoff made a tonne of extra money which was supposed to go to Africa. everyone won. Except for you: the mindless spender. And the Africans. Who still suffer to this day.

The problem with the adult connection to his childhood imagination is that we’re all too eager to grow up in the name of ‘maturity’. And, because of this, we become pre-occupied very quickly with things that suck away our maturity. Such as image, reputation. Not only that but we worry our minds with things such as paying the bills, mortgage, overheads, things of that nature generally.

The child? A child has no real concept of image, reputation or maturity in general. They’re not concerned with how silly something is or how silly they might look and – i believe – it is because of this that Children in general are far more creative than we are. The trouble is that, as a child, we are programmed by society far too quickly.

  Parents will give their daughters dolls and cooking sets to play with whilst they will give their sons cars and guns to play with. All programming that reduces creativity and – as a child – I was given boats and spaceships to play with. School further programs us in many ways (not just with academic education, but socially too). We’re taught from a young age that we should act like Adults and be Serious. This is all very well and good if your intent is to become a bank clerk. But as designer’s it’s not conducive to our future creativity.

Act like a child more often is my advice. After all, there’s no point in being an adult if you can’t be childish sometimes.