LIVE 8 SCEPTICISM

Aid expert David Reiff isn't convinced endorsed fundraising schemes are a good thing. Here he comments on Geldof's earlier extravaganza, Live Aid:

But every seasoned aid worker knew then, and knows now, that there is no necessary connection between raising money for a good cause and that money being well spent, just as there is no necessary connection between caring about the suffering of others and understanding the nature or cause of that suffering.

Geldof's fundraising shindigs make participating celebrities feel good about himself while gaining them publicity. In the end, it's more about self-promotion than altruism.