NationStates Jolt Archive

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=acfU_8y9TNGA&refer=top_world_news

Organisers are claiming that over 200,000 folk took part and I beleive them. Their aim was to create a ring of people around the centre of Edinburgh - this was allready achieved by 12:00. It took me an hour and a half just to get started on the walk there were that many people. It was good fun, everbody was well natured (that I saw anyway) and hopefully it won't be a waste of time/effort.

Here's some pics I took (large)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/proMonkey/ed2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/proMonkey/ed1.jpg

(all the others are pretty blured/crap).

Anybody else go on the March?

Yes, I went to the march in Dublin. No pics tho. It was much faster than the anti-war marches I went to.

Did it occur, perchance, that instead of inconveniencing commuters and causing worries about security, the 200,000 people could probably have put 1,000,000 manhours into some sort of project to actually actively help Africa?

Did it occur, perchance, that instead of inconveniencing commuters and causing worries about security, the 200,000 people could probably have put 1,000,000 manhours into some sort of project to actually actively help Africa?
Most people don't have the ability or inclination to do that. The marches are a way for we ordinary people to register our feelings on the issue.

Most people don't have the ability or inclination to do that. The marches are a way for we ordinary people to register our feelings on the issue.

It seems like you just said 'Most people don't have the inclination to actually Make Poverty History, instead preferring to lambast national leaders who are holding talks on the matter.'

It seems like you just said 'Most people don't have the inclination to actually Make Poverty History, instead preferring to lambast national leaders who are holding talks on the matter.'
You forgot a rather important word that Swimmingpool used. He said "ability or inclination'.

While it may be that they don't want to do it themselves, I am quite sure that there are at least some that would help if they could, but cannot, and trying to convince others to support the view is at least a little bit better than just sitting on one's ass and doing nothing, I would think.

It seems like you just said 'Most people don't have the inclination to actually Make Poverty History, instead preferring to lambast national leaders who are holding talks on the matter.'
Yes. We are lambasting our leaders for not satifactorily doing the job they were elected to do.

You forgot a rather important word that Swimmingpool used. He said "ability or inclination'.

While it may be that they don't want to do it themselves, I am quite sure that there are at least some that would help if they could, but cannot, and trying to convince others to support the view is at least a little bit better than just sitting on one's ass and doing nothing, I would think.
It's not really about convincing other members of the public to support our cause. Almost nobody is against government action to Make Poverty History. We don't really have that "I'm too much of a selfish individualist bastard to help anyone else" lobby that exists in America.

The marches are really about sending a message to our leaders.

Did it occur, perchance, that instead of inconveniencing commuters and causing worries about security, the 200,000 people could probably have put 1,000,000 manhours into some sort of project to actually actively help Africa?

And what would you suggest then? The whole idea of the project was to focus enough attention on the G8 leaders that they would be obligated to do the right thing by Africa and cancel out the debts. I think that's worth incoveniencing a few commuters.

You forgot a rather important word that Swimmingpool used. He said "ability or inclination'.

And what would you suggest then? The whole idea of the project was to focus enough attention on the G8 leaders that they would be obligated to do the right thing by Africa and cancel out the debts. I think that's worth incoveniencing a few commuters.

Yes. We are lambasting our leaders for not satifactorily doing the job they were elected to do.

Funny, last time I checked, I thought national leaders were elected to rule over their own nations? I mean, there's been plenty of talk of sovereignity lately.

Anyways, what I would suggest is that those 200,000 people sit down and think about it and figure out how that time and a minimum of resources could be used to help Africa. If they come to the conclusion that making a noise is the best policy, good for them. I severaly doubt, however, that of all those people not ONE can come up with a better way to help out. I'm not going to start throwing suggestions on specifics out because I'm one person, I'm not going to have all the answers, and it'll probably be easy to pick holes. Which is why it might have been better to spend a million man hours to come up with other ideas.

Hey, call me crazy though for wanting action rather than noise.