Uno, dos, tres, catorce!

Live 8 is currently underway. Watch free online here.

So my computer crashes and Blogger doesn't save all that I've updated here. Argh. I look forward to one day in the future when these types of technology glitches are a distant memory like I do now upon the pre-internet period. It seems prehistoric.

Today, I have watched rock, rap, r&b, country, reggae, opera, and punk being performed simultaneously in London, Philly, Berlin, Paris, Toronto, and Rome. Concerts are also being held in Moscow, Tokyo, and Johannesburg. If we just step outside of time for a minute to look at how incredible this is, a moment when a billion people in the world are focused on the plight of a continent that has been ignored for half a century, we can see that people are pretty much the same. No amount of flagwaving and Rovian bile can change that fact.

I am amazed at how many on the right shamelessly criticized this event. The "white" lineup included Snoop, Jay Z, Black Eyed Peas, Destiny's Child, Mariah Carey, Will Smith, Craig David... the list goes on and on and on and on. So, nix that criticism. Another criticism was that rock stars don't know anything about anything. Twenty-five years ago, Live Aid organizers still had smooth faces and irrational idealism. That idealism has matured into a more pragmatic form, and they actually know what they're talking about. None of this Don Henley plants a tree b.s.

A third criticism is that it isn't going to make a difference. That one takes the cake. It already has worked. The campaign has been in full gear for a couple of months now. G8 leaders have already pledged millions of dollars to alleviate the poverty and combat the diseases that run rampant on the continent, in addition to the substantial debt relief they've already legislated.

Then there is the fact that 8 men in a room have the power to decide the fate of the world. But, I think, just maybe, the fact that the G8 leaders have been forced to listen to a bunch of rock stars and their fans means that they don't have as much control as they think they do.

Weird Update: I just realized that I actually drank with Bob Geldolf in Dublin- Cafe Seine on Dorset Street. For twelve hours today I've been trying to figure out where I've seen that guy before. I had some bizarre encounters with musicians in the various times I've been in Dublin, and I guess this is one of those times.