Massive over-reaction guys. He's probably not the brightest lad (what footballers are?), but so what? I'm glad the press don't print everything I say, otherwise I'd have probably been murdered for being racist, fascist, sexist, gayist, lesbianist, or something or other naughty like that. What's more, we don't know the context, he could well have said it as a tongue-in-cheek, throwaway joke, you just don't know. Journalists are bastards.
One other thing; since when have slums become a tourist attraction!? If the England team are there because it looks good or whatever warped thinking the PR people had, then its pretty poor really. Maybe if they gave up a tiny percentage of their wages they might be able to do some real good, but cheap publicity looking at poor people is outrageous.
I think there is a fair bit of charity going on, isn't there? Also the fact that they're showing up there and it's getting in the papers is enough to get people thinking about the favelas.
Some of the favelas are quite gentrified now and tourists do visit them. If you're going to avoid visiting anywhere poor people live, that rules out most of the world really.
It's cool to go against Adam right now, despite no direct quotes from the man himself. Hold judgement guys.
If this is true, then I'm genuinely impressed. In fact, that's ****ing brilliant. Someone tell Ralph to start paddling up the Amazon with a canoe full of Saints shirts right now.
I'm very much aware of that, thanks for pointing that out. A direct quote about him wanting to leave, this is where all the negativity is stemming from, not that quote.
This is true, the older ones quite often have bus routes that pass through. I've been through one in Belo Horizonte on a bus and it was no problem, people just going about their business. I do wish the TV companies would focus a bit less on the Favelas and more on the other amazing things to see and do in Brasil. There is an old saying, which is quite relevant from my experiences there, that goes something like this, "You come to Brasil to find what you weren't looking for"
Thats absolutely not what I meant. This seems to me more about getting positive PR for the England team rather than anything else and that I don't agree with. If any good comes from it for the people that live their then great, I hope it will.
Apparently they've making a "significant" contribution to a sports centre, of course it's a PR exercise though. Nothing wrong with that really, and personally I'm pleased to see the England players being respectful of the environment they are in and making an effort to present themselves in the right way (the "thank you" banner at the training ground is another example).
Including Southampton with its very high number of vagrants, alcoholics and drug addicts living on the streets. The City Council needs to undertake a programme of help and support for these people so that they can recover their lost lives or are we so callous we have just abandoned them?
Or they could use those pointed studs like Southwark council. I couldn't believe it when I saw those. Like the little spikes they put up to stop Pigeons roosting on shop signs etc; Have we really sunk this low as human beings? please log in to view this image
Just today I've been reading about Boris Johnson's opposition to those horrible spikes, so London at least won't be sinking that low for much longer.
Homes not spikes. Good on him, that's what I thought. They probably "tendered" out a contract to some company, after a series of meetings, free lunch included along with the usual other sundry expenses, to spend ratepayers money on this. I love to know how much they cost, probably enough to convert an empty building into a shelter anyway.
There would probably be a Gosport Tea/Shirt party over the side of the ferry in Portsmouth harbour if he did.
It's easy to criticise those spikes, but as usual there is probably a good reason Boris is wrong. They don't put spikes on every flat surface in London, so they're really not deterring people from sleeping rough if they are determined enough to find somewhere else to do it. What they are doing is deterring people from sleeping rough in places that are not suitable for doing so. I'd really rather people got help (which is available, though perhaps not as available as it should be) than resorted to sleeping in doorways.
