Bono the puppet?

Convoy · 09-04-2003, 04:08 PM

I found this at U2 log.. www.u2log.com

Bono�s political career is the subject of a new book being written by journalist Aleksandar Mitic and designer Tony Dosen. The book, titled Bono the Puppet, attempts to answer the question, �Is Bono a hero with a vision or a 21st Century puppet whose vision has been blurred by partiality, deception, and profit?�

It�s unclear if Mitic and Dosen have found a publisher for their title, but their book proposal outlining the content may be read at their web site.

u2sangel · 09-04-2003, 08:22 PM

Nows theres a book I am dying to read NOT!!!!!!!!!!

sue4u2 · 09-04-2003, 09:27 PM

Just another example of people profiting off the fame of someone like Bono. They will probably find a publisher as soon as U2 hit the airwaves again with a new release or if he should win the Nobel Prize or even get alot of publicity, period. That's the way it usually goes. Bono's pretty use to people coming after him at this point. That's not to say it doesn't piss him off.

u2sangel · 09-06-2003, 06:38 AM

Is Albert Goldman ghostwriting this book?I would not be a bit suprised!!!!!

yertle-the-turtle · 09-06-2003, 11:33 AM

I wouldn't read it

but only because I'm completely disinterested in these type of books

Convoy · 09-06-2003, 02:50 PM

I would read it at Barns and Noble just to laugh at it and see that crazy and insane facts they try to use to prove their point.

theSoulfulMofo · 09-06-2003, 04:38 PM

yes its a conspiracy [/sarcasm]

sallycinnamon78 · 06-08-2005, 05:24 PM

I realise this is an ancient thread but as I found some more info, I thought I'd drag it out of the attic. I did search to see if this particular bit had been posted, but couldn't find it.

The book is due in July 2005 - according to the website, so this seems a good time to mention it.

Quote:

Taken from www.bonothepuppet.com

Why Bono:

Out of so many musicians involved in social activism in the last half century, why distinguish U2’s Bono? Why analyze his social activism, why is he so special?
Here’s a Top Ten chart:

1. While Bono led his campaign throughout the world for the erasure of debts to the poorest countries, his band U2 became the world’s biggest grossing music act in 2001. They made $ 61.9 million by touring, new editions and copyright rights. They are well ahead of Dr. Dre in second place with $ 51.9 million, The Beatles with $ 47.3 million, Dave Matthews with $43.4 million and Madonna with $ 40.9 million. U2’s latest Elevation world tour has made a total $ 109.7 million, second in history only to the Rolling Stones 1994 tour. Until early 2002, the four band members had sold more than 100 million albums in their 22-year long career and earned more than one billion British pounds.

2. U2 crowned a year in which it became the biggest-grossing music act in the world by leading the list of nominees for the prestigious Grammy music awards. Eight nominations, including best record, album and song of the year. Among three others, they won the Grammy for the best recording of the year. They have won a total of 14 in their career. Bono said the U2 was "reapplying" for the post of biggest band in the world in 2001, already dubbed by the Rolling Stone magazine as the year "2001".

3. "Bono is the political leader for the century", the George Magazine wrote. "Bono is the world’s second most important politician", Special UN adviser on poverty, Jeffrey Sachs said in Dublin in an address to members of the Institute of European Affairs. If he wasn’t the most important politician in the world, he was "definitely number two", Sachs said. Bono was also named European of the Year of 2001 by the magazine European Voice for his activism in favor of debt-relief for Third World countries. He was chosen to give a keynote address at the 2001 Harvard University Class Day ceremony.

4. "Can Bono Save the World?", headlined the cover of the March 2, 2002, next to the picture of Bono wearing a jacket with an American flag sewn in the lining. "Don’t laugh, the globe’s biggest rock star is on a mission to make a difference", it added, in reference to Bono’s debt-relief efforts. Time argues that Bono’s advocacy has been an important part of the change in the way Americans think about international affairs following September 11, 2001 – with issues such as global health care, education and poverty being discussed with new urgency.

5. Following September 11, U2’s album "All That You Can’t Live Without" and their live concerts have become cultural touchstones and Bono’s songs such as "Walk On" and "Stuck in a Moment", have struck a chord with Americans. He has become a spokesman for America and the post-September 11 Idea of America: "Just as guests of America, we’ve always loved coming here. But this year, I’ve rediscovered my love of America, the great idea, as opposed to the great country. I actually believe in the idea of America, and I’m really encouraged that the idea might catch on. That would a real fitting memorial to the people who lost their lives on September 11", Bono said. He has become a prominent defender of American policy. "I see an America that has rehabilitated in a way that was unimaginable to me 10 years ago. Back then the US was the neighborhood bully, inept in the foreign policy, beating up on the wrong guy everywhere. With the Joshua Tree, we were writing about Central America and the dark side of the US. Now, America looks smart and dare I say it, sexy again".

6. Political and humanitarian activists in the past, such as John Lennon, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, and Bob Geldof have all worked from outside the establishment, the argument being politicians and businessmen are the enemy. This had created numerous problems for fundraisers, as the example of the Bangladesh benefit concert had proved. But Bono works with and within the system in order to attract it to his projects. He has pioneered a new kind of celebrity activism. He goes beyond the traditional approach "raise money, raise public anger, pile the pressure on the politicians". He is a lobbyist, not a fundraiser. He doesn’t just show up at a charity dinner, he works the Capitol Hill like a lobbyist. He schedules meetings, he writes letters, he follows up. At the end of the day in Washington, he loses his voice not from singing…but from talking. Instead of an action "now" of his predecessors, Bono recognizes that global policy changes slowly, and that he has to address issues in politicians’ language: "We don’t argue compassion. We put it in the most crass terms possible: we argue it as a financial and security issue for America…There are potentially another 10 Afghanistans in Africa, and it is cheaper by a factor of 100 to prevent the fires from happening than to put them out".

7. He has established excellent contacts with the Washington decision-makers. A testimony to Bono’s influence in Washington are words by George Bush, expressed in Bono’s company: "I’m traveling in some pretty good company today, Bono. Here’s what I know about him: first he’s a good musician, secondly, he is willing to use his position in a responsible way. He is willing to lead to achieve what his heart tells him, and that is nobody – nobody – should be living in poverty and hopelessness in the world. Bono, I appreciate your heart and to tell you what an influence you have had, Dick Cheney walked in the Oval Office, he said "Jesse Helms wants us to listen to Bono’s ideas". The US president then pledged $5 billion dollars to aid the fight against world poverty. Bono has established a particular contact with two crucial Washington policymakers, the arch-conservative Jesse Helms and U.S. Finance secretary Paul O’Neill. Talking about how he got Helms on board of the train on the debt-relief issue, Bono says he had told him about the biblical origin of his Jubilee debt-relief program. Helms was moved by Bono’s words and even wept. "America needs to do more", was Helms’ reaction. In May 2002, Bono, who had become known as "The Pest" by his new friends at the White House, went on an two-week hugely mediatised tour of Africa’s misery spots with O’Neill. Since hanging out with the politicians in Washington, Bono has grown to defend them in front of the critics: "You don’t understand. These people get home really late. If they went into business, they’d be a lot wealthier. We should pay them more and expect more from them. I have to confess, I’ve got a respect for them that I really don’t expect". He has even called James Wolfesohn, head of World Bank, "the Elvis of Economics". "I always ask who is the Elvis of economics, who is the King? Mr Wolfesohn is like Elvis (…) he is a bold and moral man".

8. Bono has become a privileged interlocutor to some of the world’s most influential leaders - among others Bill Clinton, George Bush, Tony Blair, Vladimir Putin, Jacques Chirac, Kofi Annan, Pope John Paul II, and Bill Gates. In the November 2002 issue of the British "Q" music magazine, Bono has been named the "most powerful figure in the global music industry", for "being able to bend the ears of the worlds leaders" and for his "lobbying activities".

9. He is knowledgeable about the issues he’s discussing. Paul O’Neill says, "he’s a serious person. He cares deeply about these issues, and you know what? He knows a lot about them?" At Harvard, Bono met Jeffrey Sachs, who has been updating Bono with grad-school know-how ever since. Bob Geldof said him and Bono "for a summer, had a high-level tutorial until we completely knew this boring shit backwards". One producer in the entertainment industry said "It’s amazing that he can read and understand all those economics books". Bono responds: "I go to bed with World Bank reports". This makes a strange combination of a rock singer with someone who knows the issues. Bono has exploited this. He understands the importance of mastering his subject of discussion, but he never relinquishes his rock star image. As Geldof says, "He’s charming, he’s persuasive. And the politicians can go home to their daughters and say: "I had a meeting with Bono today".

10. Bono has been perhaps the most controversial musical activist to date. He has been praised by Helms, Bush, O’Neill, The Time – the entire U.S. mainstream – while being criticized by his fellow U2 members, who apparently, believe the continual campaigning puts in danger the band’s "cool". U2’s guitarist, The Edge, has been pleading with Bono not to meet US conservatives, like Bush or Helms. Bono responds: "I said I’d have lunch with Satan if there was so much at stake. It is very important not to play politics with this. Millions of lives are being lost for the stupidest of reasons: money. And not even very much money. So let’s not play." Other critics point out that Bono likes money as much as other stars do and that the social campaigning is part of his marketing strategy. Some ask whether Bono’s campaigning has had much effect, while the authors of this book will denounce him as a hypocrite and a puppet of his political interlocutors and partners.

CPTLCTYGOOFBALL · 06-08-2005, 06:13 PM

"1. While Bono led his campaign throughout the world for the erasure of debts to the poorest countries, his band U2 became the world’s biggest grossing music act in 2001. They made $ 61.9 million by touring, new editions and copyright rights. They are well ahead of Dr. Dre in second place with $ 51.9 million, The Beatles with $ 47.3 million, Dave Matthews with $43.4 million and Madonna with $ 40.9 million. U2’s latest Elevation world tour has made a total $ 109.7 million, second in history only to the Rolling Stones 1994 tour. Until early 2002, the four band members had sold more than 100 million albums in their 22-year long career and earned more than one billion British pounds"

This is the argument that really pisses me off. Why do people think that because you have made money and actually WANT to make money and live comfortably(ok very comfortably), that anything you are doing or trying to do for people is somehow hypocritcal? (It doesn't say that in so many words, but why is it even brought up then?)

There's a sense from some people that Bono has to rid himself of all worldly possessions before he can be taken seriously with his african work.

If you don't believe me, check out some of the posts at this political forum

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/se...;o=time;s=bono

As for being a puppet, Bono is smart enough to know that he is being used to a degree by politicans(Paul Martin anyone?) but has said that he is "not a cheap date" It's tit for tat-Politicans get the photo-ops and bono get's some concessions for debt relief. Everyone's happy(yeah, right!)

sallycinnamon78 · 06-08-2005, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CPTLCTYGOOFBALL
[B]
This is the argument that really pisses me off. Why do people think that because you have made money and actually WANT to make money and live comfortably(ok very comfortably), that anything you are doing or trying to do for people is somehow hypocritcal? (It doesn't say that in so many words, but why is it even brought up then?)

There's a sense from some people that Bono has to rid himself of all worldly possessions before he can be taken seriously with his african work.

Mate - you're shooting the messenger here! I couldn't agree with you more, about that side of things. I peronally am really sick of hearing people whining and moaning on about Bono's fortune, as if it means he can't put his time, effort, and yes, money, towards seeking a solution.

I get highly irritated. My housemates moan about him all the time and I do get annoyed - they only do it to wind me up.

Here's what else they had to say. The authors, I mean, not my housemates:

Quote:

Taken from www.bonothepuppet.com

Bono Vox, the singer of U2, has been one of the world’s most popular and headline-grabbing pop stars of the year. What has distinguished Bono from other megastars, however, is the level of coverage his political or humanitarian career has received above and beyond his musical career. After making more than 60 million dollars with his band mates in 2001, Bono has switched a centre stage of another kind.

From discussing the eradication of AIDS with US President George W. Bush, to visiting Africa’s misery spots with US Finance Minister Paul O’Neill and promulgating debt reduction for third-world countries, along with attending world social forums - including Davos and Monterrey – Bono has been at the media forefront of most global social issues.

The Time magazine cover Can Bono Save the World? was not even slightly sarcastic from the point of view of its editors. Bono was depicted as a 21st Century Hero, a mediator between the world’s most powerful politicians and the world’s most disadvantaged people. A hero with a vision?

Among journalists and other skeptics, the authors of this book proposal – Aleksandar Mitic and Tony Dosen – have decided to go one step further than the daily newspapers who occasionally mention the difficulty of Bono’s mix of pop and politics. After following Bono’s political career for years and gathering material, the authors have decided to write a book called Bono the Puppet, which properly defines the political activities of an otherwise fantastic singer and songwriter.

sallycinnamon78 · 06-08-2005, 06:31 PM

If that pisses you off... look at what THIS muppet had to say, in the feeback section... (not me!)

Quote:

By A Prat:

Dear Bono Puppet people:
I wrote an article called "Bono Bloody Bono" that you may or may not have seen a few years back.
I'm looking forward to the book. Watching Bono grovel for Soros at the WEF and then scoring the Super Bowl gig the next day was hard to take. Here was the buffoon sporting the Stars and Stripes at half-time.
From walks in the rose graden with Bush to grovelling and playing jester for a Canadian Prime Minister Chretien in need of a public relations boost to shrilling for the Soros front "Drop the Debt", our man Bono has done handstands for some of the shadiest crimminals around.

Good luck. It's time that the likes of Bono were exposed.

Bono is a meat puppet whose desire for fame & wealth meshes wonderfully
with the folks who are excited to use him as cover for the further destruction of the planet.

Here are my thoughts on this 'Bono The Puppet' nonsense:

CPTLCTYGOOFBALL · 06-08-2005, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sallycinnamon78

Mate - you're shooting the messenger here!

Oh I know Sally,It wasn't directed at you. Sorry if it came across like that.

On the positive side, I've never been to a book burning before.

On the negative side the library likely wouldn't take kindly to having their books burnt(I'm not buying it!)

sallycinnamon78 · 06-08-2005, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CPTLCTYGOOFBALL

Oh I know Sally,It wasn't directed at you. Sorry if it came across like that.

No problem - it was probably just me being tired and oversensitive (it is 4am here).

This chap appears to be having a field day:

Quote:

Taken from... you know where... yep. www.bonothepuppet.com

by Aleksandar Mitic> Septembar 23, 2004
An Interview for the News Scotsman

What is the downside of Bono’s political activity?

Been there, done that – could be the resume of Bono’s political career to date. His political themes have spanned from Northern Ireland to Argentina, his political partners have gone from Amnesty International to US Congress, his political stance on US foreign policy has gone from harsh criticism to rock solid defense. He has been compared to Woody Allen’s Zellig, a person popping out everywhere, being at a focus of world events, hanging out with the world’s key actors.

He can open doors of the White House, from Bill Clinton to George W. Bush, he became the favorite musician of the most conservative US Congressman Jesse Helms and of the most powerful Treasury minister in the world, US Secretary Paul O’Neill.

However, he seeks to “change the world” and be the symbol of the alterglobalization movement, while those involved in that movement reject him as a puppet of the powerful few. Some protestors have even created huge sarcastic puppets with the figure of Bono and they are waving them during protests against big business and political summits. Bono indeed goes to these summits, but he is on the other side of the fence from the protesters. His contacts and pals at the summits include the world’s most powerful economic figures: from Bill Gates to James Wolfesohn of the World Bank or economic shock-therapy guru Jeffrey Sachs.

Bono is indeed seen by analysts, experts and fellow pop stars as a symbol of hypocrisy and double standards of the policies of the international humanitarian world.

Why would you class him as a puppet?

Bono is like a puppet playing in a publicity stunt. He has become the “king of the photo op” for all top world figures. His presence next to George Bush, Tony Blair, Paul O’Neill, James Wolfesohn or Jesse Helms is sure to attract huge attention of the world’s top media. The message Bono and his pals are sending is always positive marketing for them. Indeed, Bono more than anyone else serves to legitimize the policies and politics of those he talks to and gets a picture with. He sometimes tickles them a bit, but then – in front of cameras -- “makes peace” with them and compliments their newly-found “will to change the world”.

So, Bono is using his humanitarian activism to rally the attention of the huge international media machinery. In the process, Bono profits himself from the publicity, but also provides media attention to his partners-interlocutors who use their meetings with the U2 singer to persuade the public opinion about the “political correctness” of their otherwise controversial stances. Bono thus becomes a puppet in the “cleansed” hands of the powerful few.

What you think he is doing wrong?

There’s no logic or clearcut position in Bono’s political activism. One day he was a pacifist rocker, then he became a rocket-launcher. One day he criticized US foreign policy, then he met Clinton and started loving it. One day he praised Islamic fighters, then he wanted to exterminate them.

What is constant in his activism is the “play it safe” current. He can criticize or preach, but will never dare go against the politically correct line, or dare touch an issue that has not been prominent in the media. He will not dare oppose the predominant thought of the day.

If he was truly concerned about human rights, he would oppose – as Amnesty International suggested -- US military support to states with blatant violations of fundamental rights: like Saudi Arabia, with its tragically laughable lack of democracy, or Indonesia with its military acting with nearly total impunity in its actions. He would go to the Serbian province of Kosovo, now under UN administration and whose majority Albanian population he supported during the 1999 NATO air strikes. There he could see what Kosovo looks like five years after the war: a reversed “ethnic cleansing” with 130 Christian churches – most centuries old – destroyed by explosives, more than a 1,000 killed Serbs, some 2,000 of them kidnapped, only 150 returning Serb refugees out of the total of 226,000 who have fled extremists’ violence. He would raise voice against the violence of the kind that rocked that province in the heart of Europe as recently as this March, when some 4,000 people, mostly powerless elderly were expelled from their homes as 900 of their homes were burned. He would make a statement about the ghettos of Kosovo, a 21st century Apartheid system. But he won’t. It’s not profitable, it’s not politically correct, it would hurt his interests and allies. And – what’s most important - there’s no one to direct him, to show him the way, to plug him and play.

Also, take the consistency of Bono’s activism for example. In recognition to his wartime support, Bono received in 1997 an honorary Bosnian passport from then Muslim president Alija Izetbegovic, who died recently while under investigation by the International War Crimes Tribunal (ICTY) in the Hague for crimes committed against Serbs and Croats. Izetbegovic was also under investigation in his own country for establishing close links with some of the most radical elements of the Al-Qaida network, who had come to Bosnia for “humanitarian” reasons, as had Bono. Five years later, that same Bono will support US bombings of Afghanistan and the fight against now “terrorist” Al-Qaida.

After the 9/11 attacks, Bono’s “good guys” and “fighters for multiethnicity and tolerence” became “bad guys” who – in his opinion - deserved to be bombed. Bono became a propagandist once again and reinforced his image of a new hawk in Washington, a very useful tool in the media wars.

In the meantime, we know that some of those who Bono supported as Izetbegovic’s “freedom fighters” include:

- Sheikh Ahmad Omar: the man who kidnapped and slaughtered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

- Souleiman Abou Ghaith: Al-Qaida’s spokesman and one of Ossama Bin Laden’s closest allies.

- Mohammed Haydar Zammar: an Al-Qaida man suspected of recruiting Mohamed Atta, the kamikaze of the first plane that hit the World Trade Center on September 11.

- Anas al-Kanderi and Jassem al-Hajeri: the attackers and murderors of US soldiers in a 2002 attack on the Kuwaiti island of Failaka.

- Slimane Khalfaoui: one of Al-Qaida’s top men in France suspectedof links with aborted terrorist attacks during the Millenium festivities in Strasbourg, France and Seattle, Washington.

- Mahmud Mendah Salim: the man suspected by the US of participating in the 1997 terrorist attacks against American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

- El Fatih Al Hassanein: arrested in the US under the suspicion of participating with Sheikh Abdel Rahman in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. He was a close friend of Izetbegovic’s, who awarded him a Bosnian passport.

Or consider Bono getting big publicity in newswire reports for criticizing US policy in Africa at the World Economic Forum in New York, only to repeat the publicity stunt the day after by showing off his Stars and Stripes jacket at the patriotic Superbowl half-time ceremony in New Orleans.

Bono has not been immune from criticism from journalists, fellow pop stars, activists or analysts. He has always felt uncomfortable about the need to justify his political activism. He thought that the period of revisiting his image and mining his own hypocrisy in the early 1990s was enough to repel these criticisms. Yet, his continued activism, which has flourished to unprecedented heights in the last several years has drawn a new wave of critical reflection about Bono’s mission: from those who would ironically ridiculise his image with a simple phrase “After U2, the UN?” to those who have come to see the “new improved, political Bono” as a dangerous man, or perhaps even a smart but dangerous puppet in the hands of the powerful few.

In 2001, Bono became a privileged interlocutor of the US administration and Congress in Washington, and has established special, warm relations with the conservative Jesse Helms, perhaps the most influential congressman on Capitol Hill. In respect to his political authority, Bono was invited to attend several key international conferences on poverty and aid in the last several years. In 2002, Bono took his lobbying one step further and went on a two-week trip to Africa with US Finance Secretary Paul O’Neill. The world's most powerful finance minister and one of the world's biggest rock stars went on tour of misery spots of Ghana, South Africa, Uganda and Ethiopia. The “unlikely pair”, as they became known, was of course accompanied by a huge media following, including the Rolling Stone magazine and MTV.

Finally, the question is, where are the results? A lot of talk, a lot of op-ed pieces, a lot of publicity stunts and photo ops, but very few results. Or even worse, as some analysts have pointed out, Bono’s activities are masking the real criticism of policies in the fight against AIDS, debt in Africa or the monopolies of the leaders in the pharmaceutical industry.

CPTLCTYGOOFBALL · 06-08-2005, 06:47 PM

lol-"Bono Bloody Bono". At least that's a catchy name.

So Bono's in cahoots with the 9/11 terrorists. Give me a break.

And your emoticons are the most violent one's I've ever seen. I like it!

biff · 06-08-2005, 07:27 PM

"There’s no logic or clearcut position in Bono’s political activism. One day he was a pacifist rocker, then he became a rocket-launcher. One day he criticized US foreign policy, then he met Clinton and started loving it. One day he praised Islamic fighters, then he wanted to exterminate them."

Uh, yeah. That's just so succinct.

All of this is very old; I've read it all before. So apparently the book is finally coming out, but they are still featuring the same quotes as they did two years ago. I'll believe it (at laugh at it) when I see it.

09-04-2003, 04:08 PM	#1
Convoy Acrobat Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 482 Local Time: 05:50 PM	Bono the puppet? I found this at U2 log.. www.u2log.com Bono�s political career is the subject of a new book being written by journalist Aleksandar Mitic and designer Tony Dosen. The book, titled Bono the Puppet, attempts to answer the question, �Is Bono a hero with a vision or a 21st Century puppet whose vision has been blurred by partiality, deception, and profit?� It�s unclear if Mitic and Dosen have found a publisher for their title, but their book proposal outlining the content may be read at their web site.

06-08-2005, 07:27 PM	#15
biff Rock n' Roll Doggie Premium Gold Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I may have lost my way Posts: 3,906 Local Time: 01:50 PM	"There’s no logic or clearcut position in Bono’s political activism. One day he was a pacifist rocker, then he became a rocket-launcher. One day he criticized US foreign policy, then he met Clinton and started loving it. One day he praised Islamic fighters, then he wanted to exterminate them." Uh, yeah. That's just so succinct. All of this is very old; I've read it all before. So apparently the book is finally coming out, but they are still featuring the same quotes as they did two years ago. I'll believe it (at laugh at it) when I see it. __________________

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09-04-2003, 08:22 PM	#2
u2sangel War Child Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: 21 Duke Street Dublin eating a gorgonzola sandwich! Posts: 604 Local Time: 05:50 PM	Nows theres a book I am dying to read NOT!!!!!!!!!!

09-04-2003, 09:27 PM	#3
sue4u2 Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: hatching some plot, schmeing some scheme Posts: 5,796 Local Time: 12:50 PM	Just another example of people profiting off the fame of someone like Bono. They will probably find a publisher as soon as U2 hit the airwaves again with a new release or if he should win the Nobel Prize or even get alot of publicity, period. That's the way it usually goes. Bono's pretty use to people coming after him at this point. That's not to say it doesn't piss him off.

09-06-2003, 06:38 AM	#4
u2sangel War Child Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: 21 Duke Street Dublin eating a gorgonzola sandwich! Posts: 604 Local Time: 05:50 PM	Is Albert Goldman ghostwriting this book?I would not be a bit suprised!!!!!

09-06-2003, 11:33 AM	#5
yertle-the-turtle ONE love, blood, life Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: York, UK and Singapore Posts: 11,746 Local Time: 01:50 AM	I wouldn't read it but only because I'm completely disinterested in these type of books

09-06-2003, 02:50 PM	#6
Convoy Acrobat Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 482 Local Time: 05:50 PM	I would read it at Barns and Noble just to laugh at it and see that crazy and insane facts they try to use to prove their point.

09-06-2003, 04:38 PM	#7
theSoulfulMofo Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 4,490 Local Time: 10:50 AM	yes its a conspiracy [/sarcasm]

06-08-2005, 06:13 PM	#9
CPTLCTYGOOFBALL Acrobat Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 496 Local Time: 01:50 PM	"1. While Bono led his campaign throughout the world for the erasure of debts to the poorest countries, his band U2 became the world’s biggest grossing music act in 2001. They made $ 61.9 million by touring, new editions and copyright rights. They are well ahead of Dr. Dre in second place with $ 51.9 million, The Beatles with $ 47.3 million, Dave Matthews with $43.4 million and Madonna with $ 40.9 million. U2’s latest Elevation world tour has made a total $ 109.7 million, second in history only to the Rolling Stones 1994 tour. Until early 2002, the four band members had sold more than 100 million albums in their 22-year long career and earned more than one billion British pounds" This is the argument that really pisses me off. Why do people think that because you have made money and actually WANT to make money and live comfortably(ok very comfortably), that anything you are doing or trying to do for people is somehow hypocritcal? (It doesn't say that in so many words, but why is it even brought up then?) There's a sense from some people that Bono has to rid himself of all worldly possessions before he can be taken seriously with his african work. If you don't believe me, check out some of the posts at this political forum http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/se...;o=time;s=bono As for being a puppet, Bono is smart enough to know that he is being used to a degree by politicans(Paul Martin anyone?) but has said that he is "not a cheap date" It's tit for tat-Politicans get the photo-ops and bono get's some concessions for debt relief. Everyone's happy(yeah, right!)

06-08-2005, 06:47 PM	#14
CPTLCTYGOOFBALL Acrobat Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 496 Local Time: 01:50 PM	lol-"Bono Bloody Bono". At least that's a catchy name. So Bono's in cahoots with the 9/11 terrorists. Give me a break. And your emoticons are the most violent one's I've ever seen. I like it!