Click

MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY

Why the devil not? Where it'll do some good, write off that debt, give people a fair chance, help folk to help themselves. Oh, and I'm serious about that.

The Make Poverty History campaign combines the might of all the world's major charities that deal with famine-ravished, disaster-hit and war-torn areas of the globe. It has produced some pretty slick advertising, and also some shit fronted by Bono and Geldof that turns my stomach. Nonetheless, no right minded person can have an argument with the sentiment of those publicity campaigns, the most thought-provoking one being the "click" advert. This ad featured a number of global stars, but the imagery and message is simple: every three seconds, a child will die as the result of extreme poverty, "click". This and the other ads in the campaign can be viewed at the Make Poverty History website (www.makepovertyhistory.org) as Macromedia Flash files.

I took a screen shot of the "click" ad last night, and look who happened to be on at that split second:

It had to be him!

Anyway, looking at this campaign, fronted by stars of stage and screen such as George Clooney, Bradley Pitts, Liam Neeson, Kylie, Hugh Grant, Kate Moss, Justin Timberlake and his bit, Cameron Diaz and her bit... it makes you think what sort of impact exactly the same campaign would have if they called on the stars of the UK big (and small) screen. Who could we have? Let's think (and I apologise to those who aren't familiar with UK "stars"). OK, let's go:

David"Del BoyJason

DameJudiDench

Davina"thescreamer"McCall

StephenfuckingFry

Hughbastard Lawrie

Tiger Tim Henman

Cliff "How much publicity will I get?" Richard

Billy FUCKING FUCKING FUCKING Connolly

Who else? Mercifully, I don't watch too much TV, so I don't know who any of these shitheads are anymore.

Third World debt
Personal debt is shit. It can get out of control and is the cause of much upset and worry for many people. The problems mount and can escalate to such an extent that the affected person feels like their carrying the debt of a Third World country. In many respects, the prospects of clearing their debt are about the same.

This country has a thriving economy that is based on people being in huge amounts of debt, this is reflected in the success of the finance sector. It is also reflected in the continuous ads for loans and stuff and Garfer has some interesting points to make about these finance companies over at Tunnock's Teacakes.

I was excited to receive some post today. I received a replacement pair of Tweezerman tweezers for the ones that I thought my parents had mistakenly thrown away: this new set cost me £15 and the old ones turned up the following day. I also got some marketing shite from Liverpool Football Club store, advertising the new snazzy away strip. And last, but by no means not least, I received an invitation to apply for a credit card from a company called "aqua". This is their sales pitch:"We believe that everyone should have the chance to carry a credit card. Go fish for... Sensible credit limits Typical 32.9%APR variable." Sensible? How the fuck do they get that?

Fuck off you fucking thieving cunts. Taking advantage of poor folk who are desperate for some credit. These shits should be closed down. And let's see who they're owned by.... Halifax Bank of Scotland.

Bastard shitting banks can go shit off, the shitting shitters.