The cB Newspaper 2nd issue, July, 2005 Options

[cBNewsStaff]

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Editors’ Notes

First, the cB News team would like to thank our readers, especially those who took the time to give us encouraging comments and suggestions as to how we can improve in the future. Those messages provided us a sense of accomplishment and pride in our works. Again, we thank you, and we will always look forward to serve the cB community to the best of our abilities.

As with any service, ours has the potential to excel or stagnate, and while we aim for the former, we welcome any constructive criticism as much as we welcome praise. Any thoughts about the newsletter can be sent to a member of staff, and rest assured that your ideas will be discussed and, where possible and practical, gelled into our current routine.

Also, please note that we are still interested on taking on more staff, so if you enjoy journalism and want to become more involved in the CreateBlog community, please PM an application form (which can be found here) to either Fae (uninspiredfae) or James (Marchhare2UrAlice). We welcome all serious applicants!

Now, enjoy the read!

- The cB News Team (sans reporters, who are listed next to their articles)

Administrators: Fae [uninspiredfae], James [MarchHare2UrAlice]
Editors: Anna [Azarel], Justin [CrackedRearView], Meli[ChasingLife87], Nicki [tweeak]
Runners: Kiera[mzkandi]

(Note: Recent additions to the cB News Team are not listed.)

Table of Contents

01 Editor's Notes
02 Unveiling: xquizit - cB News Staff
03 The createBlog Health Forum - cB News Staff
04 createBlog Superlatives Results, Issue #2 - cB News Staff
05 It's Getting Controversial - Radhika [not_your_average], Kiera [mzkandi]
06 Flamboyant Rockstars and World Leaders End Poverty - Carolina [ichigofan]
07 File Sharing: Taking a Placemat from a Garage Band - Justin [CrackedRearView]
08 An iPod Society - Justin [Sadolakced Acid]
09 Losing Close Friends: Inevitable or Impossible? - Carolina [ichigofan]
10 The Offspring's Greatest Hits Album Review - Brie [Despise]
11 Today's Films - Sammi [Headphones]
12 Featured Poems - cB News Staff
13 The Ramblings of a Server - Justin [Sadolakced Acid]
14 Advice Abby - "Abby"

Discuss and reply at this thread, if you must.

This post has been edited by xquizit: Jul 18 2005, 12:56 PM

[cBNewsStaff]

Flamboyant Rockstars and World Leaders End Poverty
by Carolina [ichigofan]
July 2005

Flamboyant Rockstars and World Leaders End Poverty



It has taken more than five years and called upon the star power of Hollywood names, such as Brad Pitt, and leading evangelicals, like Pat Robertson, but the potent campaign built by Granola Belt charities, flamboyant rock musicians and movie celebrities, number-crunching economists, conservative and liberal religious groups – not to mention the Dalai Lama – has finally helped persuade the world's wealthiest nations to forgive the debt of some of the world's poorest nations; this movement has been named the ONE campaign.

The ONE campaign, along with six other commissions and reports, has already called for the elimination of the more than $40 billion in debt that has burdened the world's poorest countries for decades. Experts agreed that the money could never be paid back and that simply keeping up with interest payments would continue to force countries to charge fees for elementary schools and health care at even the most rudimentary clinics.

However, policy makers from Washington to Berlin were hesitant, torn between memories of corrupt governments, which misspent and pocketed much of the aid themselves, and contemporary fears that debt relief was just the opening salvo in a campaign that would require far more money than they hoped to spend.

In the end, the reluctance broke as the campaign grew in numbers: about 150 million people at the last count. Led by Bono, renowned Irish rock star, the ONE campaign managed to form enough strategic alliances, especially with conservative groups as well as the Bush administration, so that success proved inevitable.

With flashy celebrities leading the way, the ONE campaign has implored the Bush administration, through both videos and live performances, to contribute as much money as it can to help the ONE cause. In one instance, Penélope Cruz, Jamie Foxx, and several other celebrities joined Mr. Pitt and Mr. Robertson in a television advertisement urging Americans to demand that the government give at least one percent of the national budget, about $25 billion, to reduce poverty. Other stars, including Paul McCartney, Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, and Madonna, contributed by banding together and holding live rock concerts, known as Live 8, around the world to ensure a summit meeting of leaders of the Group 8 (G8) nations.

"Give credit where credit is due," said Max Lawson, the debt expert for Oxfam, the charity that has been one of the movement's leaders. "The Bush administration has increased its aid budget, but it has to do much, much more."

Neither the Bush administration nor the cabinet of Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair, which has pushed the hardest for debt relief among the leaders of the rich industrial powers, has ceded the moral high ground to their critics. President Bush said this week that poor countries trying to improve their governments "shouldn't be burdened by mountains of debt," making it clear that corrupt and incompetent countries were ineligible.

If those standards had been applied when governments granted some of the original loans, the poor nations of Africa, Latin America, and Asia would not be in such a mess, according to Jeffrey D. Sachs, the Columbia University economist who led a United Nations-sponsored report on poverty, and helps the movement with its economic statistics.

So begs the question: “Why do we need to help?”

If we don't help, the world's debt will increase in the same fashion as before. Diseases will continue spreading, increasing the percentage of death in many countries, including the United States. Though it may seem unfeasible for a 16 year old to help a billion people, it is possible. By signing the ONE campaign, we are giving our voice to eight powerful nations that decide the fate of people around the world. With just ONE vote, ONE opinion, and ONE cry, we are helping people around the world live their life to the fullest. In return, we get the satisfaction of philanthropy, and we bring meaning into our lives. The ONE campaign is not asking for our money [although the ONE bracelet and other merchandise is available for purchase], it simply asks that we're aware of the issue, and that we help.

By visiting www.live8live.com, you can find out more about the march to Edinburgh, Scotland, which will hold the G8 meeting. There will be a 2-mile poster along the march displaying pictures of the people who support the ONE cause. Visit the website, upload your photo [for FREE], and voice your cry around the world. I have uploaded my picture, and I’m proud to be a part of the movement. I've signed my name on the ONE petition, and I hope you will, too. So, visit www.one.org and ‘help make poverty history’.

Credits: Banner, Quotes, Statistics - www.one.org