LIVE AMMO

Be grateful they didn't arm the rebels with Phil Collins songs:

How Bob Geldof's Live Aid funds went to Ethiopian rebels

MILLIONS of dollars raised through Bob Geldof's worldwide Live Aid project were siphoned from the mouths of Africa's starving into the arms of guerillas fighting the then Ethiopian government, according to a former senior Ethiopian rebel leader who has admitted taking part in the scam.

Comments

[Tony T]

Top phrase: " This is a heavy trick."

It is also waiting for the book & fillum rights:

Mr Araya, who fell out with the rebel leadership in late 1989 and was forced to flee the country before spending a decade in African refugee programs waiting for Australia to accept him, now lives in a small flat in Perth's Doubleview.

He said instead of the cash and food being handed out to the poor and dying, the vast majority of it went into the pockets and bellies of the warlords, who were also being supported by the CIA. Taking on the role of a Muslim merchant, he convinced the authorities that he was a pivotal man to deal with. He had access to vast amounts of cash and food.

"I was acting as a merchant, as a Muslim, and they (NGOs) don't know me because my name was Mohammed," he said. "The money, much of it, the leaders put it in their accounts in Western Europe . . . Some of it was used to buy weapons. The people did not get half a kilogram of maize.

"I received a great amount of money from the NGOs and automatically it was taken by (rebel leaders). This is a heavy trick, assigned by the top leaders."

When the NGOs wanted to check on whether the food was being processed and organised to be distributed into regions, Mr Araya would show them warehouses full of sacks stacked on top of each other. "But if you go there, half of the warehouse is stacked full of sand," he said.

We ought to make a fillum about this, instead of the usual rubbish in which alienated Aussies struggle to come to terms with their drug addicted past, tortured present and hope-lite future. Played by hot looking youngsters.

[Bwca Brownie]

Baz Luhridd is making a fillum of it. Our Nic will play the dedicated Medecin Wizzout Fronteres brain surgeon, and Hew Jackman will play Geldof. Cate Blanchett will play Mother Teresa.
Ethiopia

[Tony]

Matthew Newton to play a gnu.

[Hangover Black]

Unintended consequences. Foresight ain't great when you're wearing rose coloured glasses.

[Lou]

That's kinda depresssing if true and unsurprising as well.

[Big Ramifications]

I dunno if there's a full transcript out there, but Geldof's response in the story I read could be summarised thus:
“These allegations make me sad and angry we must keep giving money to Africa it would be a tragedy if we don’t.”

I remember Huey Lewis and the News refusing to take part in benefit concert because they were suss as to where the money was really gonna end up. Pretty sure it was Huey Lewis and the News.

Huey Lewis for GG!

[Pure win for the headline, Tony. One of your best.]

[Yobbo]

I think i play darts with that guy.

[Tony]

Are Kevin McGinty and Big's mate with the funny name on the same darts team, too?

[Nabakov]

"It is also waiting for the book & fillum rights"

Shit yeah. Along with this:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Books/Nonfiction/War-military/Other/auction-273253217.htm

The best unwritten part of the above story is that the authour had a wild war zone emergency sex relationship with her protagonist until he was killed in situ.

Strikes me you could sell the screen rights for a lotta these kind reckless westerners involved in third world fuckup tales and then plough the money back into the cause du jour, thereby generating more potential stories. I believe they call it a viscous (sic) cycle.

[Yobbo]

Actually I checked up on Jan Sonder-Sodersen. Lena's brother.

She was extremely impressed to know he's famous on the internet.

[Big Ramifications]

Cool! A famous grade cricketer.

[Tony T]

Once you gross, I mean grace, I mean gross, the pages of the AGB you got it made, baby.

Nabs, the film firmament is screaming out for an enterprising entrepreneur to pitch a proj about the New Australians of Paraguay.

[Tony]

Wait! I'm thinkin' Fitzcaraldo & Aguirre meet Sirens.