Thoughts on 3 Billion and Counting

[Hugabee]

Deborah is really pushing a documentary film her boyfriend, Dr. Rutledge Taylor ("Dr. Rutledge") has made.  It is called 3 Billion and Counting.  The film is about the horrors of malaria around the world.  Great, important topic for a documentary film.  However, the movie is very much in favor of using DDT, which was banned in the United States for environmental reasons.

I certainly would like to kill the mosquitoes that spread malaria.  I have some questions about using DDT however.  Anybody have any thoughts on this?  Has anybody seen the film yet?

Hugabee

[Woops]

source

Deb and Dr. Rutledge on The Daily Buzz
Debbie Gibson and Dr. Rutledge will be on the nationally syndicated morning show “The Daily Buzz” Thursday, September 23, at 7:45 am ET. Tune in to hear more about “3 Billion and Counting” and Debbie’s new album. Go to http://www.dailybuzznow.com for check below for your local station.

Back on topic:

I really don't have any opinion since I haven't seen the documentary.

[Erica]

To be honest I am really not that interested in seeing the movie.   That isn't my kind of movie to go pay 10 dollars to see.

Erica

[Hugabee]

To be honest I am really not that interested in seeing the movie.   That isn't my kind of movie to go pay 10 dollars to see.

Erica

Erica, in all due respect, this might be an important movie to see.  Also, Deborah herself is involved in the movie (the theme song) and is really promoting it.  My only question is on whether promoting more usage of the insecticide DDT is really a good thing.  I do not have the expertise to know for sure.

I live in Milwaukee.  I will see the movie if it comes to my general area, such as Chicago.

Hugabee

[Eric]

Other, more environmental friendly, solutions might be considered. Spreading vaccination throughout Africa would be much more costly than spreading DDT but environmental friendly and much more efficient.

One thing is for sure, a documentary is never impartial. It shows results from scientific research here and there but it's mostly about expressing someone's opinions on a particular subject.

I think the main goal of that documentary is to create awareness towards the issue of Malaria in Africa but would it also be about promoting the use of DDT ? That I don't know and therefore would love to see it to figure it out for myself !

[Out of the Blue]

One thing I do know is that the evironmental lobby in this country and in others has become so powerful and influencial that it's more or less getting its way all the time.  Not all of their efforts are to everyone's greater good either.  Some of their ideas aren't out of being altruistic but are pushing a very narrow political and social agenda.  They point the finger of blame almost solely at the U.S. and the western world but completely ignore China and Russia, both of whom are by far the world's largest polluters.  I have had an ongoing problem with termites and I just can't get rid of them.  The exterminators come out and do a treatment and a month later they are back if not even sooner.  One of the guys that was doing the spraying told me that they used to have some really good chemicals that would take all of them out with one treatment and it would last for years.  Now the EPA forces them to use chemicals that just don't work.  I don't know much about DDT except that it worked to kill mosquitos and bed bugs.  Now that DDT isn't around anymore we are being over run with these parasites.  People think that we have this endless supply of pesticides and if the EPA bans one then we can just fall back on another one that will do the job just as good but that's just not true.  They are just going to have to use some common sense and quit caving in to every lobbying group that comes along.  I'm not talking about using something like Agent Orange or anything like that but come on, give us something that's going to do the job.

[Woops]

source

Daily Buzz interview delayed
Skype interview + live TV show = technical issues.

The interview with Debbie Gibson & Dr. Rutledge discussing “3 Billion and Counting” will air tomorrow at 7:45 am ET. Then stay tuned at 8:15 am ET for interview with Gibson talking about her new album.

[Woops]

source

reBuzz: Friday- 9/24
Here’s a quick recap of some of the guests, products, and other things we mentioned on today’s show.
Debbie Gibson & Dr. D. Rutledge Taylor:
In the new documentary 3 Billion and Counting, Dr. D. Rutledge Taylor challenges myths and lies that have caused millions of needless deaths in his attempt to rehabilitate the reputation of the pesticide DDT so that it can be used more widely in the developing world to battle malaria. Debbie Gibson lends her support by scoring the film. To learn more about3 Billion and Counting visit 3billionandcounting.com. For more on Debbie’s new album, visit deborah-gibson.com

[Eric]

Found these things today, canadian views on the subject :

http://torydrroy.blogspot.com/2010/09/3-billion-and-counting.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DrRoysThoughts+%28Dr+Roy%27s+Thoughts%29&utm_content=Twitter

http://uncleadolph.wordpress.com/2010/09/11/3-billion-malaria-deaths-and-counting/

[BRinLA]

They actually had a screening of the movie this afternoon up in LA. The movie actually made you think which is alot more than I can say for most movies today. Very intersting and very detailed.

Then a Q&A with Rutledge and Deb. Then a meet and greet. Only about 8 people in the theater. Then myself and a friend I met during the TWYH era by the name of Billy got a very cool meet and greet. She is just as nice as ever. We also got to meet Rutledge. What a nice person he was and What a nice couple they make. Story and pictures to follow. It has been nearly 9 years since we met her last and she is just as nice as ever. Out of the times that we have met her this was one of the very best meet and greets if not the best.

Defintly one of the very best sundays away from work I have had in a long time.

[Out of the Blue]

Those are good photos.  Any day that you meet Deborah is a good day.  She doesn't have the "celebrity" attitude that many in Hollywood do.

[Woops]

The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick (not Flint)

Dr. Rutledge and Debbie Gibson were in New York recently to promote is new documentary 3 Billion And Counting, which features an original song from Debbie called, Rise. The two stopped by Sirius OutQ’s morning show with Larry Flick and Keith Price to discuss the movie, bed nets, DDT, malaria and what you can do to be informed. This video features audio from that interview and stills and footage from that morning.

Here's the interview

[BRinLA]

For the benefit those that don't visit her main webpage where this will also be posted soon, here is what we experienced at the screening of the movie this past sunday. If you scroll back 2 or 3 posts above this you will see pictures from this event.

As a long time Deborah Gibson fan and living in Los Angeles, I have been fortunate enough to meet Deborah on a number of occasions. I think it was in 1991 when I attended one event where I met a fellow Deb fan by the name of Billy Watson. Over the years, we became friends and we have gone to support Deborah when she has appeared locally. Billy and I stayed in contact since then and I think the last time we went to see her in person was in 2001.

This past Friday, I saw a post on Deborah’s facebook page stating that there was going to be a screening of a movie called “3 Billion and Counting” on Sunday Sept 26th up in Hollywood. The movie was made and narrated by Deborah’s boyfriend Rutledge Taylor. Since I had my day free, I called Billy and we made arrangements to attend the screening. We also were told that there was going to be a Q&A and meet & greet with Rutledge and Deborah after the movie.

We arrived at the theater and saw the movie. The movie was about malaria and the banning of the pesticide DDT. The movie was very informative, very detailed and definitely made you think which is much more than I can say for many of the current main stream movies today. I would definitely recommend “3 Billion and Counting” to friends and family. If any one here has the opportunity to see the movie, I would recommend it. The song that Deborah wrote called ‘Rise” was played during the end credits and it was great. It would be great to see this song appear on a future release.

After the movie ended, we approached the table out in the lobby and spotted Deborah. She looked great as usual, very nicely dressed and tall with her high heels on. She said hello immediately and seemed to say something like “those are some familiar faces.” She really did seem to remember us from many previous meetings. She shook both of our hands and then asked us how we liked the movie. We told her about what I had mentioned above. She then introduced us to Rutledge. He was a nice guy and they make a great couple. He asked us how we liked the movie and we told him that we enjoyed it and that it makes you think about this problem.

We then got to have a very nice chat with Deborah for probably a good 15 minutes or so. I asked about the ‘Mrs. Vocalist CD” and she gave us all the details about the release. She told us it would be sold not only in Japan, but here in the U.S. as well and that it will be released in November. If the CD does well, I hope a CD of original songs from her will soon follow. It would be nice to have some new music from her.

continued below....

[BRinLA]

Billy and I then talked about previous meetings with her from many years ago. She seemed to remember some of them. I then told her, “I know I’m a bit late, but we just wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday.” I got a very big thank you and a nice smile. I asked if she had a chance to enjoy her birthday and she said that she was working. We then had a little small talk about many subjects such as music and a couple of other topics.

She was then nice enough to ask us if we had anything for her to sign. We both brought along a few items to be autographed and she was nice enough to sign all of them. One of the items I brought along were two copies of the IN NEW YORK magazine from 2003 where Deborah’s picture is on the cover. I was originally going to give a copy of the magazine to Billy, however when Deborah saw the magazine, she told me that she did not have a copy and would really like to have one. So she asked if I had an extra copy. How in the world could I say no to her? She has been so nice to us in the past and was so nice to us on Sunday, of course I said yes and let her have the magazine. We then got to have pictures taken with her. The autographs and pictures came out great.

We had a little more small talk and the meet & greet finally came to an end. In all the previous times we had met her, we would usually get a very polite thanks and appreciation for coming out to support her. However this time, we both got a very nice hug from her and a thank you for coming out and supporting the movie. I think that was definitely the best part of the meet & greet along with getting to chat at length with her. We then gathered all of our items and said our final goodbyes to Rutledge and Deborah. We then headed for home. She seemed to really appreciate us coming.

Because of my job, it’s a very rare occasion when I have a Sunday off. The timing could not have been any better. So being able to take advantage of that on a Sunday afternoon made it a great day away from work. Billy and I were the only two fans there which is kind of a shame. She is so talented and so nice, it’s a shame more people don’t pay attention to her. On the drive home, Billy and I both agreed that of all the times we have been fortunate enough to meet Deb, this was probably one of the very best if not the best meet & greet. It was so great to be able to talk to her in such a relaxed atmosphere. It was almost like talking to an old friend we had not seen in a while.

Now for some very well deserved thanks:

A very, very big thank you to Bob Merrick for maintaining a very informative website and keeping us informed of up and coming events, especially this one. Keep up the great work!

A very big thank you to Dr. Rutledge. It was nice to see a movie that was about a subject I did not know much about. It was informative, very detailed and made you think, which is what a good movie is supposed to do. I hope the movie is a success for you. It was also nice meeting you and chatting with you after the movie.

Last and certainly not least, to Deborah because you are always so consistently nice to us each and every time we meet you. You honor all autograph and picture requests without blinking an eye or complaining. It’s really very beautiful to see how nice you are to your fans. I hope the new CD “Mrs. Vocalist” is a big success for you so that a whole new generation of music fans can discover your amazing talent. After hearing the song “Rise” at the end of the movie, it is obvious that you still have a knack for writing a beautiful song and still have that amazing voice. I hope we have the opportunity to hear that amazing voice live in concert some time soon because seeing you live in concert is seeing you at your very best.

Thanks again Deborah for being you and for a great meet & greet at the “3 Billion and Counting” screening and thanks to everyone for putting this all together.

Sincerely,
Bruce R

[Woops]

She told us it would be sold not only in Japan, but here in the U.S. as well and that it will be released in November.