Please Vote In My Poll

Tony:

Here's another thought.

You state, "The whole point of LIVE8 is the issue of Third World Debt, and after months and months of banter on this site over Capitalism, Bush and Right Wing Politics, the chickens have now come home to roost."

Are you suggesting that every single one of the the hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of people who are going to attend the concerts care about Third World debt?  Are you suggesting that many, if not most, of those people are not simply attending to be able to see Pink Floyd re-unite, or to see some other band they love, and "Third World debt be damned?"

If you are suggesting such, you are either painfully naive or willfully ignorant.  (Though I continue to love you anyway...)  Indeed, how do you know that the person who pays for the free ticket does'nt care more about Third World debt than the one who got a free ticket to begin with, and thus has more reason to attend than the person who sold the ticket?

Peace.

Maani and Tony R,

This Scalping of tickets (especially the free ones)is another sticky subject (as is the bootlegs or pirates records or second-hand vinyl vendors). I fully agree with Tony R about scalping being scandalous. Maani , your stance on the fans being stupid, sucker and traitor is simply shocking: if people are willing to pay fortunes for a ticket , it is most likely because the fans had no choice or stood even a small chance at buying the ticket at normal prices because the way the sales happens and the vultures who profit from are simply scandalous. Like most US citizens you are probably a warm supporter of free enterprise, but this scalping thing is close to organized crime and is certainly mafia-related in some events . It is also cheating and anything but free enterprise because he curbs the rule of offer and demand by speculation, by sitting on pile of ticket and letting the demand go up because of lack of offer!!! Sickening!!!!! I have no proof of this but I believe the biggest scalpers have very close connections - or are even insiders - with quasi world-monopolistic Clearchannel.

Bono may claim justice as much as he wants (his concert tickets were at 60,00 Euros - some $90.00 which in itself is already scandalous), but when U2 came to Brussels early this month , most real fans had to dish out a fortune or stay outside the stadium, because all 60 000 tickets were gone in two hours (can you imagine selling 30 000 tickets in one hour..... even with modern technology?!?!?!) and some tickets where being auctionned at seven times the price some two hours later. But Bono would not consider having concerts without Clearchannel.... Talk about respecting the fans....

BTW, I have never dished out any dough for a scalped ticket except at the face value of the ticket. I have even waited some two or three songs to buy ticket at halfprice, and have the scalper almost spit at me in disgust . But I told him not to even think of it because not only would I break his head , but with the amount of money he made from other suckers, would have him in plain trouble with the police.

I hate Scalpers worse than Formula 1 racing as the sorriest excuse to make a buck!

Tony R,

I inderstand your plea/grief but your leaving the site would be a big blow to the forum (mostly your contributions are on the forum). Please stay on , your older problems were long-past history even when you were Reed Lover, you were never a problem IMHO.

However Bono , Geldof and Lady DI are fakes! stboy24 , have got that one correct, but this does not stop him from being an a**hole!!!! They use the medias to their own avails (who isn't?) but the way to do it is also another matter how those three examples and their reputations should really be re-considered.

TUXON Wrote:

But, if a person for one reason or another has a ticket, but decides not to go himself, should he just throw the ticket's away, give them for free to someone else, or sell them, so the ones who want to go the most desperate, and can afford it will pay the prise they are willing to pay for such an event. no problem with selling those ticket's from me.

If he got them for free , that would be the only sensible thing to do!

At worst , the only other sensible position would be to sell it at face value. But certainly not act like a mafiosi!

I will get back to everyone's comments later, since I am in a hurry right now.  However, I do want to know what Garion's non-answered question was; I will try to answer when I get back this afternoon.

Peace.

Sean makes a good point about these "so-called" members.

These are not people who contribute to the site,merely chancers joining up to sell their tickets.

I am still here as I feel there might be a change of heart.

MAANI: your comment re the motives of those attending the events is irrelevant And to suggest I am naive or wilfully ignorant is very hurtful.

Are you suggesting that every single one of the the hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of people who are going to attend the concerts care about Third World debt?  Are you suggesting that many, if not most, of those people are not simply attending to be able to see Pink Floyd re-unite, or to see some other band they love, and "Third World debt be damned?"

This question gives me the impression that you think I am stupid.What you have written is so obvious that it needs not be said.If there was a prize this week for "stating the bleedin' obvious" you would win it by a mile.When one raffles prizes for charity one doesnt ask whether the purchaser of the tickets is doing it to win a prize or to donate to charity.It is the money that is important.Would you suggest that the bands play to an empty stadium?

C'mon Maani I deserve better than be patronised like this!

You either do this or you dont but dont talk down to me.This is not some philosophical debate,this is real, the here and now (at least to me).

And I seem to have a fair bit of support although maybe not a conscensus.

goose wrote: edit: Re the raffle point, I don't agree at all - plenty of raffles have naff prizes that nobody wants and still people buy tickets for them.

When one raffles prizes for charity one doesnt ask whether the purchaser of the tickets is doing it to win a prize or to donate to charity.It is the money that is important.

Thanks for your words Goose,just to rectify one misunderstanding...the above is what I actually stated about raffle prizes,your"raffle point" seems to be talking about some other statement.

Tony R wrote: goose wrote: edit: Re the raffle point, I don't agree at all - plenty of raffles have naff prizes that nobody wants and still people buy tickets for them. When one raffles prizes for charity one doesnt ask whether the purchaser of the tickets is doing it to win a prize or to donate to charity.It is the money that is important. Thanks for your words Goose,just to rectify one misunderstanding...the above is what I actually stated about raffle prizes,your"raffle point" seems to be talking about some other statement.

OK, I read it wrongly, I see what you mean now.

As reprehensible as this is, I vote yes. I don't think we should prevent people from exchanging commercial goods just as I don't think we should stymie their right to voice their opinions.

I think the people who are willing to pay for those tickets are more concerned with the status of "having attended" or "can afford to pay" rather than the significance of what Bob Geldof is trying to achieve. He said as much days ago when he cited that the objective's event was not to raise funds but to drive people's political consciousness toward's the third world's debt.  

I think we should direct our energies towards that goal and not fret over whether a few bad apples are going to profit from ticket scalping. Don't get me wrong Tony, I admire your passion and am not downplaying your concern. It's just I think we can achieve more by focusing on getting the word out on the plight of Africa rather than bickering among ourselves.