Michael Jackson Is Still Helping the World

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

To many, he was the King of Pop. To critics of his lifestyle and quirks, he was Wacko Jacko. But to those in the nation's capital and worldwide focused on the plight of the hungry in Africa, Michael Jackson was the ambassador of hope. And the proof—legal documents handing to USA for Africa the profits from the 1985 hit "We Are the World" that he and Lionel Richie wrote—is going up for auction. "He was a bigger philanthropist than most people gave him credit for," USA for Africa Executive Director Marcia Thomas says of Jackson, whose death in June shocked the world. "He didn't do it for the credit. He did it because he felt it was the right thing to do."


" 'We Are the World' marked what at that time was a high point in rich-world concern about poor people in the developing world," adds Nancy Birdsall, president of the Washington-based Center for Global Development. "That sort of awareness helps to open the way not only for more effective foreign assistance but for other changes in policy, such as trade and migration, that can have a big impact on poor people's lives," she adds.

The song has made "tens of millions," says USA for Africa, and now two legal documents transferring his rights and profits to the group, signed by Jackson, are expected to bring in a combined $50,000 at the Alexander Autographs auction at the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut.

The in-person and online auction, benefiting VH1's Save the Music Foundation, includes a huge number of rock-and-roll and Hollywood artifacts and is organized by an auction house noted for its historical and political offerings. "History isn't made just by statesmen and politicians," says Alexander boss Bill Panagopulos. "Actually, rock and entertainment far outsells historical material if you count total dollar sales and number of pieces sold, although I believe that the most expensive single item ever sold is in the historical realm. Most valuable autograph is Shakespeare's, if you could get one. Most consistently expensive: Lincoln," he adds.

Illustration by Ed Wexler for USN&WR.
Source: http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2009/10/19/michael-jackson-is-still-helping-the-world-.html

Poverty May not Happen, But Recession Still Threat US Economy

Young generation of internet may will not worry to the recession like this young millionaire Ewen Chia.
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The global recession hasn't avoided fair trade businesses. World of Good has had to cut back on staff here in US, but they have avoided any cutbacks in purchasing from their artisans across the globe.

From the San Francisco Chronicle, reporter Carolyn Said has this profile on the fair trade company.

For Indian beadworkers who craft intricate necklaces and earrings, Haitian metalworkers who recycle oil drums into sculptures, and Guatemalan weavers who make rainbow-hued tapestries, the economic downturn that has choked off consumer spending could mean a devastating plunge back into poverty.

Priya Haji is determined to stop that from happening.

As CEO and co-founder of World of Good, a small Emeryville company that creates market opportunities for craftspeople from the developing world, Haji has acted nimbly to respond to the recession without slashing the orders her far-flung workers depend on.

"Other retailers can quickly turn off their factories to reduce excess inventories, but fair traders can't do that," said Haji, 39, whose calm demeanor belies her fervent sense of purpose. "We have a commitment to pay a fair price and fair wages to producer groups."

Thousands of artisans in 70 countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe fabricate the handmade jewelry, clothing, housewares and art that World of Good sells online and in stores.
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Don Shaffer, CEO of San Francisco's RSF Social Finance, which provides financing to World of Good, said he appreciated that Haji refused to cut corners at the expense of her artisans. RSF expanded its loans to the company so it could continue to prefinance its inventory.


"They have stuck to their commitments through good times and bad, which a lot of other folks wouldn't do," he said. "World of Good is a shining example of a fair-trade organization functioning at a very high level as a business and having a tremendous social impact."

Some coping mechanisms have been painful. Haji said she had to trim staff, bringing the Emeryville workforce to its current size of about 25 people.

Source: http://povertynewsblog.blogspot.com/