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Last night, the section with Lenny Henry - great tv, very moving.

Nah sorry...Every bloody time its the same..Lenny Henry tries to "do" Funny, concerned, angry and then tears. Call me a cynic but it all looks too staged as he tries to re launch his career...

that's bollocks.he's been doing this stuff from the start of comic relief.seems a very decent bloke to me.
i aint seen last nights yet,but last weeks was very good.

I would agree that 95% of CR stuff is dire and embarassing - that dancing thing for example is quite frankly cringweworthy, but I thought last nights bit in the slums was very real, very moving, humbling to watch and a fucking wake up call,  for me at least.

I thought he was going to buy them a proper house,not another slightly better mud hut in the slums.It made me well up though.

It just whiffs of celebs upping their profiles to me....

Talking of giving houses, perhaps Lenny would like to lead by example, I remember when he owned a big place outside of Devizes which was left empty 50 weeks a year

It could be worse, he couldve checked them into the Premier Inn.

Seriously though, it was good

:Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick: :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick: Like it!!!!

It was remarkably good for that sort of documentary.  My instincts are to be cynical, and I wasn't sure about it all, but it was straightforward in the main, and the 'celebs' were all different in their responses.  I don't like Angela Rippon's bossy 'bonhomie', but I was gald she expressed anger (and i heard her on 5Live about it earlier in the day).  I would give Lenny H the benefit of the doubt - I think he was genuinely frustrated and upset at what he saw.  But I thought Samantha janus was the most authentic, in her being clearly out of her depth and not knowing what to say or how to react.....which in some ways is the only way one can genuinely respond to such awful, desperate, widespread deprivation.

The problem with LH's response - as with all 'sponsor a child' type stuff, is that it temporarily helps one family (and assuages a bit of guilt for the donor, or makes them feel a bit good), but thousands of others are untouched, and some will become very envious of the good fortune of the one helped.

But the positive thing is it caught the attention, presumably, of a large number of viewers, and hopefully will prompt generous responses from them, in a way it just wouldn't have had celebs not been involved.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/review-of-aid-spending-sees-poor-nations-cut-adrift-2229629.html

We give billions each year to countries.....yes you read it right billions.
Most of it is squandered on red tape,and fraud......some eventually gets to the poor not much though.
Last year we gave India over 200 million in aid.......this is a country that has three times as many billionaires as the UK.....it is about time our money....because thats what it is, our money goes direct to projects to help the poor.
Its a sad state of affairs when children are starving to death or die because of dirty water....yet more than the amount we give in aid is spent on the Indian space program.....
As for Lenny Henry and Co i take my hat of to them for doing there best....but just like live aid where £50 million was raised it is obscene to think that Paul Mcartney alone has ten times that much in just his account alone......for what it is worth i think it's great as a nation we feel bad and try to help these poor people.....just wish that more pressure was put on there own leaders to help there own more.
India as a nation should hang it's head in shame.....its the most advanced country in terms of buisness growth but nought is happening in terms of ridding poverty.

I would try to give more if i knew it was helping the poor....even the Red Nose situation is one where i really do doubt that the money all goes to where it should.

Simply not true. There's corruption and waste, but it's a tiny percentage.

The money does go to the poor. There are more poor people in India than in the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa. 

You're right. It is sad and completely preventable. If you think that by cutting UK aid, then India would cut their space programme and give that money to the poor, you would have a point. If you're worried about children dying, then the space programme is a red herring.


Mostly fair enough. And you're right - we should be pushing the Indian government to do more.


The money makes a big difference and is mostly well spent. If you look at the Comic Relief website, it's pretty transparent where the money goes.

Sorry, this is a really boring post. The Indian thing is difficult, because they are an increasingly rich country, so giving them money doesn't make sense. But babies are dying for stupid, avoidable five-quid reasons and we can stop that happening. And I think we should. And the fact that the Indian government are twats about babies dying doesn't really change that.

Good post Iffy

Brilliant post Iffy

Asian's aren't known for their humanity.

The poor in Asia are often looked down upon by their wealthier country men as second/third class citizens who are not worth worrying about. I see it here in Thailand all the time. Charitable funds are skimmed all the time and those skimming seem to think that as "higher class" citizens, they have more of a right to that money than those who are "lower class".

The ignorance of these people is such that they actually believe they are superior because they are wealthy. They actually believe that their lives are more important than the lives of others. It can be infuriating to see but if you challenge them you are challenging something that has been indoctrinated into them and that they fervently believe.

I've never been to India but I have met many Indian people and it is all much of a muchness. The Indian culture (from my experience) seems to revolve around doing whatever it takes to get what you need without consideration for others. Cheating, lying, stealing is all just a part of life. I actually have Indian clients who refuse to work with Indian people because of it.

Iffy is right. Stopping the charitable payments will do nothing to encourage them to look after their poor more. The sad reality is that they just couldn't give a flying one.

Ok Iffy....good points and i take them.
But you have not said what you mean.....a bit is good...a bit is bad but on the whole the Indians need our money.......fair enough....there are no red herrings.....what is a red herring about more bein spent on a fucking stupid space program....than saying no to our money and using that instead.

Pardon the pun but its not rocket science.....stop spending huge amounts on trivial shite and feed your country....is that a red herring.

I didn't once say in my post we should stop the money we give India.

They don't think like that though Leefer.

The poor in India are considered by many to be no better than vermin. Take a population that is largely greedy and with a strong sense of entitlement, mix in a measure of religion, and you have a large percentage of the population who think that the poor DON'T DESERVE help!

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-29/world/india.manned.space.mission_1_chandrayaan-chandrayaan-1-space-agency?_s=PM:WORLD

4.8 Billion for fucks sake(3.5 million pounds roughly)..............dont make excuses for that iffy.....its inexcusable.

Thats BILLION..........think even in a vast country that would go some way to relieve a bit of suffering.

I dont care how they think Bangkok......fact is we shouldnt be giving millions....when they are wasting billions.

the answer is to offer funding to developing countries in a way that encourages socialism, not in a horrible free market sell us as much shit for as cheap as possible with no thought of the consequences evil world bank way.

You know you're right and I know you're right.

But we can talk about till the cows come home. That's the way it is and it ain't gonna change any time soon.

What does refusing to donate to the poor because their rich are cunts do to help?

Ben....whatever take you have on it.....the above figures are obscene and really makes me angry.

By the way Ben....i would give my last pound to any suffering person......would you buy someone groceries if they were wasting there money on a new car?
We are not donating to the poor.....we are donating to the Indian government....who obviously are not poor...hence the space program!!...ime off to footy :D

oh sorry I thought we were tlaking about directed aid, like programmes that stuff like comic relief does.

Government funding has nothing to do with helping poor people and everything to do with encouraging trade in our benefit. Well some of the time.

Also I'm still far to drunk from last night to be thinking about such complex issues. Leave me alone.