Water Charity Adverts
Discussion
Ok, I know I'm going to sound all scrooge, but those ads are really starting to annoy me. You know the ones showing some poor little kiddie in Africa and the voice-over starts "This water is teeming with parasites but she has no choice but to drink it even though it may kill her". I end up shouting 'FFS, boil it first!' at the TV, which gets me odd looks in Currys.
Am I being monumentally stupid or could they just boil the water first? I know a nice clean pump is infinitely better, but do they really have no choice? Surely boiling it rather than risking death is a good idea? Or am I missing something blindingly obvious?
Am I being monumentally stupid or could they just boil the water first? I know a nice clean pump is infinitely better, but do they really have no choice? Surely boiling it rather than risking death is a good idea? Or am I missing something blindingly obvious?
There are far too many charity adverts, full stop. How can they afford it?
TB Towers has a preferred charity and it's UK based helping UK people in its own unique way. Personally I won't be giving to another, and I suspect I speak for the immediate clan too.
All that happens when one of those ads appears is that whoever is watching it changes channels. We already know what's out there and that the world's politicians had a choice back at the last-but-one S Africa climate junket to spend $1 trillion on providing clean drinking water for the third world, or opting for the useless Kyoto idiocy. Not surprisingly the idiots chose idiocy.
The ads might have a better purpose, politicians could be made to watch them for a couple of hours each day.
TB Towers has a preferred charity and it's UK based helping UK people in its own unique way. Personally I won't be giving to another, and I suspect I speak for the immediate clan too.
All that happens when one of those ads appears is that whoever is watching it changes channels. We already know what's out there and that the world's politicians had a choice back at the last-but-one S Africa climate junket to spend $1 trillion on providing clean drinking water for the third world, or opting for the useless Kyoto idiocy. Not surprisingly the idiots chose idiocy.
The ads might have a better purpose, politicians could be made to watch them for a couple of hours each day.
When we owned them they did fine, they wanted independence so we gave it to them, a few years later they're on the phone begging for money, I have an opinion, we re-colonise and run the place before china takes them all over or we leave them to it.
Quite frankly how an entire continent with that much mineral wealth can f
k everything up so badly astounds me, I do wonder if there's a gene in them that makes them susceptible to corruption because it seems that's all they do.
Quite frankly how an entire continent with that much mineral wealth can f
k everything up so badly astounds me, I do wonder if there's a gene in them that makes them susceptible to corruption because it seems that's all they do.SC7 said:
What annoys me more is that despite the monumental amounts of money we keep throwing at Africa, the situation never seems to improve.
It won't either. Half the world was starving when I was born, it still is. In fact, because of the assistance, the populations in some of these regions of starving has increased! A simple statistic of which is the bearing of more famine afflicted children.
Don't get me wrong, it's terrible - I can vouch that (must be getting on for 20 years ago now) I published and assisted heavily on a book on the 80's Ethiopian famine relief regarding one of the, if not the greatest mercy airlift the world has ever known.
Nothing changes. Drought is a major cause but so are wars, neither will go away.
The real problem is just how much of the money actually gets to where it should be going... and just how much of it goes towards more and more and more of those heart-wrenching images that now seem to be on 24/7?
Do I give to overseas aid? No. When I saw how one major UK charity used (sorry, wasted) its money, and used it to get a prime position in the High Street, that was it for me.
Call me old fashioned - charity begins at home - the air ambulance and so on.
Silent1 said:
When we owned them they did fine, they wanted independence so we gave it to them, a few years later they're on the phone begging for money, I have an opinion, we re-colonise and run the place before china takes them all over or we leave them to it.
Quite frankly how an entire continent with that much mineral wealth can fk everything up so badly astounds me, I do wonder if there's a gene in them that makes them susceptible to corruption because it seems that's all they do.
Hugely un PC and correctQuite frankly how an entire continent with that much mineral wealth can f
k everything up so badly astounds me, I do wonder if there's a gene in them that makes them susceptible to corruption because it seems that's all they do.thinfourth2 said:
Silent1 said:
When we owned them they did fine, they wanted independence so we gave it to them, a few years later they're on the phone begging for money, I have an opinion, we re-colonise and run the place before china takes them all over or we leave them to it.
Quite frankly how an entire continent with that much mineral wealth can fk everything up so badly astounds me, I do wonder if there's a gene in them that makes them susceptible to corruption because it seems that's all they do.
Hugely un PC and correctQuite frankly how an entire continent with that much mineral wealth can f
k everything up so badly astounds me, I do wonder if there's a gene in them that makes them susceptible to corruption because it seems that's all they do.It was f
ked up before we colonised, then we shook things up and fked it in a whole new way. then we 'lfet them to it' and the whole thing found ever newer ways of fking up.I think that captures the true picture, but an historian with a more detailled knowledge of the continent may be able to elucidate further.
Caulkhead said:
otolith said:
Yes, stick it in the kettle, plug it in...
Lack of firewood and deforestation are issues in many of these places.
In the ad I'm talking about, the kiddies run past a load of trees. . . .Lack of firewood and deforestation are issues in many of these places.
otolith said:
Caulkhead said:
otolith said:
Yes, stick it in the kettle, plug it in...
Lack of firewood and deforestation are issues in many of these places.
In the ad I'm talking about, the kiddies run past a load of trees. . . .Lack of firewood and deforestation are issues in many of these places.
Caulkhead said:
No idea, but they had a cooking pot over a fire in the background. Next time they send a film crew to film a mother feeding her baby water that'll probably kill her, they should get them to take a few bags of hexy stoves with them. . . . .
Presumbly with which to trade, not to gift. That would be charity after all.Caulkhead said:
No idea, but they had a cooking pot over a fire in the background. Next time they send a film crew to film a mother feeding her baby water that'll probably kill her, they should get them to take a few bags of hexy stoves with them. . . . .
The ad was actually filmed in Tottenham using local actors back in August, so the water was clean.The fires you saw in the background were an unscripted bit of local colour.
scenario8 said:
Caulkhead said:
No idea, but they had a cooking pot over a fire in the background. Next time they send a film crew to film a mother feeding her baby water that'll probably kill her, they should get them to take a few bags of hexy stoves with them. . . . .
Presumbly with which to trade, not to gift. That would be charity after all.Its not just you OP im just as evil these ads are every other ad break they must be costing tens of thousands and as the ad says just a few quid could save that childs life yet they are throwing away thousands on adverts.
And dont get me started on the hundreds of charity plastic bags that come through my letter box every year and go straight into the bin how many clothes do they think I have?
And dont get me started on the hundreds of charity plastic bags that come through my letter box every year and go straight into the bin how many clothes do they think I have?
Going off topic, because the water charity work is not predominantly about emergency relief, but I think there is a question of whether there are certain bits of the planet which will never be able to support human populations without periodic catastrophic famines. The question is, should we be helping people try to make a life there? Is there any other option for them?
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