U2 : Dublin tribute to Iran's Green Movement

by Jason Wind Wed Feb 08, 2012 19:33

"1. He likened Blair and Brown to Lennon and McCartney!
McCarthy seems to be a sellout but Lennon actually had a radical message."

Best typo for a good while.

JW.

by Declan Cullen Tue Feb 07, 2012 10:51

Every time I see Bono talking, or singing, about peace and world affairs my heart sinks. This is a man who took a woman to court over a hat and some clothes, and made sure he got his pound of flesh. Which says a lot about the so - called man of the people.

I'am one of the lucky ones who's Bono's 'charisma' had no affect on. This guy is nothing more than a globalist sock puppet, plucked from storage any time his globalist mates want to start a PR drive to further certain agendas, in this case Iran.
The thing that Bono won't tell you about the Green Movement in Iran is that it was set up with funding provided by the CIA, and that it's mission was to act as a destabilizing force that would be used against any government formed in Iran that was not cosy up to the US and the UK. So the question is - Who is pulling Bono's strings this time around?.

This singing paradox of a man has been coerced and cajoled by some of the most blood thirty leaders of the 20th and 21st century while at the same time be hailed as a Saint.

Next time you see Bono in a photo, smiling with George Bush Jnr, or shaking the hand of Tony Blair, think about the WMD's lie that has taking the lives of nearly a million Iraqi's and thousands of young men who foolishly because soldiers and gave up their lives to become unwitting pawns in that conflict and the one in Afganistan. Or think of Professor David Kelly who was murdered because he wanted to go public with the fact the Iraq has NO WMD's.

Why has Bono, the great humanitarian, never tried to persuade the great leaders he was so friendly with, not to wage war against the people of Irag and Afganistan, and instead use some the war chest, built up for those illegal wars, for famine relief?

Why has he never commented on the hardship caused by the robbery of this country by the banks? He has never mentioned a word about it anywhere! And I don't suspect he will.

Bono is a elite stooge, he tries to mask that fact with PR contrived, nice sounding and fake well-meaning statements that will appeal to the feeble minded among us, but thankfully no one buys his BS in large numbers any more.

The world has come a long way in the last ten years and his kind need to be consigned to the pages of history along with the tyrants
he was so friendly with, and the fantasy world he lives in.

by JoeMc Mon Feb 06, 2012 21:38

The Belfast Telegraph reports today that U2 grossed £442m from this three year tour :

“The gross figure for the tour, which ended last July, is good news for band members Adam Clayton, The Edge, Larry Mullen and manager Paul McGuinness.
It is also more good news for singer Bono whose investment firm is in for a windfall of over £442m when Facebook is listed on the stock market”

Good news as well I’m sure for the Iranian Green Movement and all its supporters in the “free world“ .

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music/n...0w32o

by umbridge Mon Aug 24, 2009 19:02

Has Harvey just admitted he IS a troll....now theres a step foreward for indy abusers.....now lets get the rest of them to admit. Well done to bonomaniac

by harvey duff Mon Aug 24, 2009 13:36

Bonomaniac forced me to show my hand there with his remark . So this will be the last post from Harvey Duff before he falls off the cliffs .
Apologies to everyone , but I’ve been trying to raise the matter of the Irish left’s SHAMEFUL support for the Iranian Green Movement under a different nom de souris on this site since June , but have been prevented from writing anything critical of the so-called Green revolution which was in fact a coup attempt . The only way I could bring it out was under the guise of this stupid right wing Bono fan whose views coincide with those of the consensus on the Irish left .

by BonoManiac Mon Aug 24, 2009 13:17

Harvey I apologise for my hypothetical comment. Now find something else to do. You are too sensitive for this medium.

Bonio is big and rich and ugly enough to defend himself. He doesn't need you to do it for him. Choosing a life in the public eye has a price. people will say things about you. You're there to be shot down.But the rewards are great and you can get very rich. Thats the faustian pact. Bonio knows that.The thing is, Bonio seems to have taken the faustian pact thing a bit far. He seems to have made another one with some of the worst devils on the planet.

I have no direct affiliation with indymedia.
You should have apologised to them not me.
I'm probably an annoyance to them just like you are.

by harvey duff Mon Aug 24, 2009 12:34

Apologies are in order . I’m sorry Bonomaniac . I still haven’t been able to work out how to do the codes otherwise I’d have said sorry in block caps etc. Apologies for that too. Thanks for the info. Hopefully I’ll get somebody to explain it all to me in layman’s language.
But I wasn’t acting against the best interest of the site when I raised the issue of libel . You are obviously somebody who knows about the workings of indymedia ireland. You should know that your intemperate and provocative comment was a libel and should withdraw it .The language you used set a very bad precedent which could be used to shut the site down if employed against somebody who was prepared to sue.

by Bozo Mon Aug 24, 2009 09:36

Harvey thinks that bono singing a song has changet the world in some respect. He also ignores that which is obvious to all even the dog on the street that he is nicely interwoven with the most corrupt, vile ,agressive, and genocidal maniacs on this earth. Claiming that bono is doing his best is a laugh. If he was really interested in 'Change', he could start the ball rolling.
He said that 'anyone can make mistakes', when asked about his love in with Tony Blair and the invasion of Iraq.
Now, Theres a man with a BIG heart...

Wake up and count the bodies Harvey...Bono dosent care.....he probably never did.
Its called the 'Charities Industry', in case you diddnt know, and He's one of the worlds chief benefactors.
How could you be so naieve to think that the people in Iran could benefit from Bono 'highlighting' their plight when his buddies in Washington are threatening to carpet bomb the country.

Hitler was actually a very, very nice nice guy also, once you got to know him, so long as you wernt of Jewish extraction of course. Im sure He and Bono could share stories. At least Hitler was honest......

by Bonomaniac Sun Aug 23, 2009 20:11

Harvey, if you look on the top left corner of the large contents box you type your comments into, you'll see "HTML" in red and beside it a question mark. Click on the question mark for info on codes.

So now, feel free to apologise to indy for your ugly paranoid (and "libellous") outburst, there's a good chap.

And if you don't have the thick skin required and have an innate tendency to invoke lawyers at the drop of a hat, then might I recommend another pastime other than hanging around in internet fora. They're not very forgiving.

No, I'm not Bazooka joe and I haven't posted anything about YM. I'm just somebody who thinks bono is a total fake in bed with nasty people with self serving financial agendas which serve no-one but themselves.

You don't seem to limit yourself to toppling just the one independent resource rich country either do you? Did you enjoy what happened in Honduras? seems to fit in with that whole agenda. Funny how the media are selling that one versus the Iran question. I bet you are all anxious about Iranian nukes too, even though they don't have any. Care to give me your opinion on some of these topics?

by harvey duff Sun Aug 23, 2009 15:55

Thanks for pointing that out about the codes, Reader. I would apologize in bold lettering underlined and in italics, if you could point out where on the site these simple codes you mentioned can be accessed.

I think it’s important to clear this matter up, because the person doing most of the smearing seems to be working to the same pro- Islamo-fascist mullah agenda as a certain charming troll who has been traducing the reputation of a named individual on this site over the past two years.
This named individual – a supporter of the iranian Green Movement and a tireless fighter for the rights of the Iranian people - has been accused by this troll of being in the pay of BAe, the British arms manufacturer.
With no more “evidence” than Google, the troll has concocted a tissue of lies, smears and innuendo aimed at discrediting the campaign for freedom and democracy in Iran, using similar “nudge nudge wink wink” methods as those now being employed to vilify Bono .The claims made against the named individual have been thoroughly checked out and needless to say they are scurrilous lies. (I do wish that I wasn’t such an idiot when it comes to navigating the site and could emphasis the word LIES in bold lettering)

It wouldn’t matter of course if U2 and Bono were to take up the causes of either the Honduras or Cuban peoples, some would never be satisfied. But to address Paul’s concerns over Africa and the issue raised about double standards. Bono and U2 can’t be everywhere at once. They are neither gods nor devils, just a few guys trying to do their best. As a matter of fact the lads have taken up the question of oppression in Africa against the dictatorship in Zimbabwe for instance, and in support of the people of Darfur.

There’s a good link for those who want to read more here.

“The world's biggest rock star is also Africa's biggest advocate. But Bono knows he has to make the case for aid with his head, not his heart”
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101020304/story.html

by nobo Sun Aug 23, 2009 02:56

What if he spoke against the corporate takeover of the US and the so called civilised world.....ahhh, shur hes their cheerleader....

by no no no Sun Aug 23, 2009 02:25

Such a gesture is safety first gesture politics of the worst variety. Worse than meaningless, it is cynical. It's easy to fight the good fight in Iran against a regime the entire west condemns anyway. What has Bono to say about Honduras? Not so much. If at a U2 concert in LA or New Mexico he had the guts to dedicate a song to those opposing the recent coup there, now that would be something.

by BonoManiac Sat Aug 22, 2009 19:34

If you give me a "firm" promise that
if bono is ever caught with his dick in a ten year old boy, you will shed your apologist ways and immediately denounce him in this forum
then of course I will take you as a man of your word and apologise for making such a hypothetical conjecture about you.

Italics by me :-)

by reader Sat Aug 22, 2009 19:03

Italics are not added by the indymedia collective.

You add them yourself when posting using simple codes. I think you owe indymedia an apology. And another for sullying their site with talk of libel like a spoilt child because the other kiddies were mean to you.

by Harvey Duff Sat Aug 22, 2009 13:50 harveyduff at yahoo dot ie

Bonomaniac . I’m not sure whether the term ‘libel’ is loaded or not , but it is an accurate term . It is libel to publish something that is untrue about another person so as to expose him or her to contempt. Which is what you did and intended to do in my opinion when you wrote .

“If bono was caught with his dick in a 10 year old boy, I bet you'd still make excuses for him.”

I am inviting you to retract the above statement and apologize to me for making it.

Bonobo wrote :

“You crow about our freedom of the media compared to Iran but you know very well that a few voluntary websites like indy are about as far as media freedom goes in our own excuse for a democracy, and these few bastions of freedom are all likely one libel case from closure if they don't tow the line.”

Yes , I do know that sites like indymedia are often only one libel case from closure . So presumably does Bonomaniac - who the site has afforded the rare privelige of using italic lettering for the publication and repetition of his/her libellous smear . Bonomaniac is not simply some idiotic , moronic troll whose mischief making the indymedia collective has no responsibility for .

by pirate bay Fri Aug 21, 2009 23:20

Of course whoever videotaped the U2 tribute to the "green movement" (whatever exacty the green movement is supposed to be) was breaking the conditions of sale and entry to the gig. Theft is theft. You wouldn't steal a car, you wouldn't steal a handbag, so why would you steal moments of a gig on your video-recorder and then without permission of the artists or host venue authorities abuse the service of youtube to distribute those images and then worst of all use that to promote not the agenda of the "Green Movement" but argue a pop star is not a hypocrite?

anyway.

Interpol has confirmed to the BBC that the new Iranian minister of defense, Ahmad Vahidi, appointed last week has been on their most wanted list since 2007 over the bombing of a synagogue in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1994 some 13 years before, an attack which left 85 people dead. The cogs of justice are slow to turn and grind. Both Argentina and Israel have protested the appointment of Vahidi quite vigorously and the reminder of Interpol's "red notice" may only be seen as an opportunity for us to dwell on the work and professionalism of the international policing authority which after its auspicious start in Austria was moved along with all its files in 1938 to Berlin where it carried on its work until 1945. After the war at the suggestion of Britain the institution was re-instated with many of the same folk and headquartered a while in France.in the town of St Cloud until 1989 when they moved to their current offices in Lyon, France. Incidently in 1977 the French far right leader Jean-Marie le Pen inherited a fortune which included the castle of St Cloud just across the square from Interpol's hq.

It is generally considered bad news by people if they find themselves on an Interpol "most wanted list". It's not quite as worrying as being on the FBI "most wanted" or having a sub-contracted liquidation order out on you courtesy of the CIA's mercenary groups. But it's bad news all the same. Thankfully many of the people on these lists are well-employed and quite safely cooped up in either own states or at least a heavily fortified mansion which would put a martello tower to shame. There have of course been a few examples of people who were on the "most wanted" list who managde to turn their lives around. I could the name of Julia Tymoshenko the pretty woman who helped lead the Ukranian "orange revolution" and then was that state's prime minister in a move to liberalism and western values which most people who praise the "green movement" probably thought was more than enough to forget her murky past.

& it was enough for Interpol who thoughtfully excised the publically accesibly records on her wrong-doing. This hows the mercy of international justice and ought not in any way be considered evidence that Interpol is in fact a politically motivated organisation.

hey! why don't you go there and read it for yourself :- http://www.interpol.int/
Or just read about their latest bit of policing and appeal for citizen co-operation at the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8215293.stm Because remember if you see Ahmad Vahidi about your neighbourhood you should phone either the Gardai or PSNI forthwith. There may even be a cash reward or at least a citation for good citizenship. Don't expect the keys of the city.

If of course you can't be bolloxed with any of that, then why not go to piratebay and burn all the songs of U2. If you're using Eircom you've only got a week before your service is denied and you can resort to complex civil suits at European as well as local level based on ample precedents.
http://piratebay.org

by BonoManiac Fri Aug 21, 2009 16:58

"Bonomaniac’s smear - that my support for freedom of expression would extend to the covering up for paedophilia"

er..that was not actually what I was saying.

My post was merely hypothesizing that you would probably take bono's part even if he was caught red handed in an unthinkable act.

( In fact Im pretty sure you'd do anything to take bono's part. nudge nudge wink wink say no more! )

And as for your erroneous interpretation In fact I don't believe that people like you really support true "freedom of expression" at all, as evidenced by your immediate resort to using the loaded term "libel".

by paul o toole Fri Aug 21, 2009 15:16

Harvey has asserted that because Bono changed a setlist during a show in Italy earlier this year to accomodate or reflect 'change on the ground', that his hero Bono is somehow the leader of the new revolution in Iranian grassroots politics.....
And also that anyone who points a finger in the direction of Sir Bono in an accusitory style is somehow a 'conspiracy' nut.....

The argument is over for me, if this is where it goes to.

Some people in the islands off the South Pacific still believe that the world is flat.
People who think Bono is somehow doing some good, when actually covering the 'truth' according to himself is doing more harm than good. Paying tax actually saves lives...Bono himself says so. He dosent pay his share..he hides it from the taxman.
He supports the US/UK military invasion killing 2.3 million innocent Iraqis.
I could reiterate but its a waste of time....on Bono...I mean......Harvey...

by Bonobo Fri Aug 21, 2009 13:11

Ok harvey now you show me how much your sort REALLY love freedom and democracy by tossing around words like "libel" just as soon as somebody uses their freedom to say something you don't like.

You crow about our freedom of the media compared to Iran but you know very well that a few voluntary websites like indy are about as far as media freedom goes in our own excuse for a democracy, and these few bastions of freedom are all likely one libel case from closure if they don't tow the line.

Thats all the freedom we get over here. And knowing this, funny how quickly your type always resort to words like "£ibel" when the serfs speak up a little and the sandbox gets a little rough .

The law has been used to take away the freedoms of poor people in this country and all other western democracies ever since it was invented, largely for that exact purpose.

I posed an exaggerated hypothetical conjecture about the predictability of your responses out of exasperation at your blatant blinkered bono bias. That is all. feel free to pose your own hypothetical conjectures. And enjoy it while it lasts. It's called freedom of speech. Y'know, what bono is supposedly advocating for the Iranians.

As opposed to what western corporate kleptocracies actually encourage in practice once they are established. Which involves lots of state use of gardai and the courts and collusion by media to muzzle people. (see shannon / corrib etc) The law is used to harass peaceful activists all the time even here.

Maybe you need to read a bit more of the site Harvey.

Leave the Iranians alone to sort out their own country. They don't need our interference. I think they can get the reforms they want on their own without US special forces going around sewing dissent and causing mayhem inside their country. Or bono spinning in the media.

It is akin to the US coming into Ireland during the troubles and giving weapons and money to dissident groups on both sides and encouraging them to go out and make trouble for the government. And then some popstar cheerleader pushing in public for people to topple the Irish government. Useless as they are, its still not on.

Its up to the people of Iran to sort things out not foreign interests who want their resources or who wish to prevent the notion of true independence and not playing ball with western interests to spread. Systematic campaigns against Cuba / Venezuela / Bolivia are other examples of this dirty behaviour

Have a read and learn about the full extent of the US's record for "freedom bringing" here:
http://www.flagrancy.net/timeline.html

by li'l lulu Fri Aug 21, 2009 12:37

The 'free & independent' media answer to their owners & advertisers, for instance, the vilification of Shell to Sea protestors & suppression of important facts are evidence of this. Even a wee pic of Biffo on the lav had to be censored.

by harvey duff Fri Aug 21, 2009 11:58

Yesterday I compared the freedom of the press and media in Ireland to the suppression of liberty by the Islamo-fascist tyranny that continues to rule Iran. It didn’t take long for an anonymous poster to test this site’s commitment to freedom to its limits . Bonomaniac’s smear - that my support for freedom of expression would extend to the covering up for paedophilia - is an outrageous libel . Whether or not this post is coming from the same source that launched the smear campaign against Yassamine Mather last year I cannot say , but it certainly gives some indication to the depths the opponents of freedom and democracy will go to in their desperate need to throw dirt at U2 and cover up for the appalling crimes of the Iranian regime .

by BonoManiac Thu Aug 20, 2009 19:02

If bono was caught with his dick in a 10 year old boy, I bet you'd still make excuses for him.

Long live crony capitalism and toppling of governments that don't play ball with it by any means necessary.eh harvey?

not a squeak out of bono about the blatant coup in honduras by those corrupt right wing types. Very selective fellow our bono

wonder why he seems to frown so much upon democratically elected people who actually try to help their people, like chavez?.

as for amnesty, perhaps they were just being stupid, or desperately whoring for publicity or money at whatever cost.

And seamus heaney, well, god love him, he's not exactly an expert on global politics is he?

Harvey, just listen to the music and enjoy that. It's the best bono has to offer the world. Just because you like a few pop songs, it doesn't oblige you to do his dirty work for free and sully yourself trying to defend the indefensible for an uncaring millionaire who doesn't give a rats ass about you or anyone else except perhaps himself and his rich pals.

by harvey duff Thu Aug 20, 2009 16:44

But the big difference is that we have a free and independent media here in Ireland . Importantly, we also have a left wing press here that has , as I mentioned above , done sterling work in exposing the huge electoral fraud carried out by the regime of the Islamo- fascist mullahs in Iran .When the left wing press and the so-called corporate media can agree on the nature of the mullah regime and the need for the overthrow of that corrupt Islamic dictatorship , surely that means something . We also have a thriving and vibrant alternative media here in Ireland with Indymedia Ireland to which anybody can post their opinions or views . A quick check on the archives shows that to date there have been no articles written for this site that are at odds with the views held by the corporate and leftwing media on the matter of June’s stolen election . A few pro- regime trolls may have thrown about some cheap defences of the mullah regime as comments to the articles , but these have been easily and firmly rebutted .

The poster above who complains about double standards in the media would really have to draw in groups like Amnesty and the likes of Seamus Heaney into the conspiracy as well as at least three Nobel peace laureates who have actively supported the Green Movement for peace and democracy - if he/she is to be consistent with these claims of double standards . Surely the media is only doing its job in reflecting society’s consensus in favour of the movement for freedom (yes it does exist) taking place in Iran .

I did sense that there was an element of conspiracy theory spinning involved in some of the posts by the smear campaign against U2 . To illustrate the point , I made what I thought would have been taken as a joke in one of my previous posts -it was about the face of Satan appearing if you played one of Bono’s songs backwards at a slow speed . Paul O’Toole seems to have taken me seriously if his Bono bashing post of yesterday is anything to go by :

“Bono is a fraud, hypocrite, and if there is evil.... it is Bono.”

Then today Paul asks me to get a grip !

by DoubleStandards Thu Aug 20, 2009 10:15

I presume bono would be equally happy for protestors to take over the streets of washington or london without the authorities taking any action to stop them whatsoever?. Or maybe if lots of them decided to come along to the next G8 / G20 meeting and take similar action to the Iranian protesters without being beaten up by the huge numbers of police there. (yeah right!!)

Talk about a huge double standard. Whether or not you like the nature of the particular regime in Iran, If what was happening there was happening in any of our great western democracies, you could be sure of a huge police clampdown. Hell, we can't even hold a protest in mayo or shannon against war or corporations stealing our resources without being filmed, harassed and put on watch lists, or beaten up by the police or shady mercenaries.

You don't hear bonehead speaking out about shell and the gardai / govt conduct in erris
You don't hear him say a peep about 1.5 million troops being shuttled through shannon on their way to to kill brown people while all protesters are harassed. Bah!

by Paul o toole Thu Aug 20, 2009 09:38

......The fact that the band was able to adapt such a superb set so adroitly to changing events in the real world shows , to me at least , that the lads still have their fingers on the pulse of the movement for freedom and democracy throughout the world.....

Aw jeez, he changed his set list....and now he's credited for leading the revolution....get a grip Harvey. He dedicated a song...woopeeee bono. No effect.

Milan is not Washington, or Dublin.
Bono is the worst of what 'art' should be.....it should stand outside politics, not kiss its feet as Bono and U2 are so 'adroitly' adept at.

If this shows you 'that the lads still have their fingers on the pulse of the movement for freedom' . Firstly...i wasnt awarethere was a 'movement for freedom', and that bono was the forerunner in this movement. Secondly..'fingers on the pulse'

All must be peace and love on your planet Harvey..just leave the co-ordinates here, see if i can get on a rocket today and come visit.

by paul o toole Wed Aug 19, 2009 19:02

If bono supported democracy i would have little problem with your assertion.
Bono will let himself be used to 'support' Iranian Democracy movements in the interests of his US friends in residence who aim to overthrow the present government. Just like they overthrew Democratically elected Mosadek.
If U2 or Bono supported democracy they might support all the fledgeling democracies who are emerging in spite of US and UK trying to undermine and take down and as in the case of Chavez in Venezueal they said that 'the Venezuelans diddnt vote for the right guy'...
...and in the previous election Colon Powell the Whitehouse 'Dove' said..'...'The venezuelan people are not ACTING IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE uNITED sTATES oF aMERICA'...

Where is Bono, the lover of 'Democracy' when his buddies trot out tripe like this???
He is only supporting Iranian democracy so as to lead the way for an invasion from the west to 'Rebuild Iran' in their prefered image.

Bono is a fraud, hypocrite, and if there is evil.... it is Bono.

Believe the propaganda...

by harvey duff Wed Aug 19, 2009 14:26

Correct lulu , it’s good to see that somebody is taking a serious and balanced view on this thread . The public's eye should of course remain focused on the theft of the Iranian election by the Islamo-fascist mullahs and the continued repression of that country's movement for liberty . Since June there has been an ongoing concerted and calculated smear campaign against those who say the election was in fact a fraud which some people reading this thread may be aware of . Among those presently being smeared is the Iranian female spokesperson of an Iranian rights group . Surely that's the context we should see this continued vilification of Bono and the lads in .

I do see it as a sign of the maturity of the left wing in Ireland that they have on the whole rejected these smears .Neither have they jumped into the trap of arguing that my enemy’s enemy is my friend . The SWP , Socialist Party , WSM and Socialist Democracy have all identified the election’s theft for what it was and have decisively supported the people of Iran and their cries for freedom and democracy . When U2 gives artistic expression to this great Iranian movement for liberation we should not quibble too much about Bono not paying his income tax in my opinion . How many people I wonder could honestly put their hands on their hearts and say they wouldn’t do the same in his situation.

Stay focused and keep rocking!

Harvey

by li'l lulu Wed Aug 19, 2009 13:03

Amnesty has become a cash-hoover, which is shown by its honouring millionaire 'rockers' - all very nice, but perhaps they should have honoured those who have supported their organisation for years, some of them far from affluent. Too many Amnesty staff are supercilious & up themselves when dealing with the public.
At the same time, at least U2's attention keeps the public focused on Iran, as the media move on to the next 'sensation'.
Don't forget the human rights abuses right here in Ireland; the sinking of the 'Iona Isle' & jailing of Shell to Sea's pacifist protestors bodes ill.....

by paul otoole Thu Aug 13, 2009 00:44

If Bono cared for the poor, he'd have condemned his friends Blair and Bush but no, he courts them and kisses their arses. He said that anyone can make mistakes when asked about the illegal invasion of Iraq..
Wether his music is good or not is irrelevent. The fact that he obeys the 'law', is also irrelevent.
Bono supports the deafening silence the west maintains in the face of his genocidal maniac friends. 2.5 million killed, 7 million homeless, 5,000,000 orphans in Iraq alone....he calls this Iraqi Genocide 'a mistake' . Anyone who supports this is a sick psychopathalogical.
individual
He purports that Ireland gained wealth due to clever government planning and tax structures...which he now refuses to participate by paying his tax, when they removed his tax exempt status- that Bono and U2 enjoyed for the last 32 years - they moved their business to Holland. The 26 million he collected last January for his three two hour gigs in Dublin last week or so, went straight to his bank account in Holland...6 months before he earned it.....and fools will keep paying his corrupt-corporation millions each time he comes to town.

He's a sweatshop owner, a real-estate developer, a lobbyist, a corrupt businessman, a tax-dodging entrepaneur, a humanitarian poseur and if he is as you say he is, then paying his taxes would save more lives than telling us to cough up. As we buy his records and dvd's.
Defend him all you want. Hes been fooling you all for years...and looks like hes done a fairly good job so far.
Seeing Bono as a humanitarian is as logical as seeing GW Bush as a peace activist.

by harvey duff Wed Aug 12, 2009 15:08 harveyduff at yahoo dot ie

Much of the bitter , resentful criticism of the band on this thread seems to come from the usual smearers who , from the comfort and freedom of the West , cannot see the plight of the people of Iran and their ongoing struggle for freedom and democracy . And then there’s the simply daft conspiracy theorists who see the CIA at work everywhere . (Play I Will Follow backwards at a slow speed ; the face of satan will appear on your ipod screen and direct you)

If there's one thing a lot of people can't seem to understand it's the ability to care about other people at the same time as being successful rock stars brimming with rough and raw energy . Bono is either accused of being a huge ego on legs or , when he doesn’t discuss the amount of work and donations that he makes to charity , he is secretive and manipulative with a secret pro-US agenda. Bono and the guys ,in other words , are damned if they do and damned if they don’t . Amnesty International has always respected U2’s decision not to reveal the exact amounts of their “sizeable donations” , but even if the band gave all of their earnings away some people would still not be happy.

I’m old enough to remember the Amnesty Conspiracy of Hope tour with U2, Sting and the Police, Peter Gabriel, Joan Baez . Within months of that tour , four of the six prisoners of conscience the artists had adopted were released, Amnesty's membership nearly tripled within a matter of weeks, and the concerts raised $3 million . Because of their profile , Bono and the lads are able to highlight issues that the mass media would otherwise largely ignore . Just because the lads are successful and rich , should they simply ignore issues like the struggle for freedom and democracy in Iran ?

I can understand some folk may have got a bit fed up with some of the band’s old material , but I urge them to listen again . Iran’s Green Movement for peace and democracy has made this long-time fan at least hear songs like Sunday Bloody Sunday with a fresh ear .

by UpTheDuff Wed Aug 12, 2009 05:49

I don't know WHAT amnesty were thinking and as for seamus heaney....he should stick to dodgy poetry.
I guess you aren't the only person bonehead has fooled. Apart from all his other fans of course.
Face it, looking for the good in Bono is like trying to find a huge six foot invisible rabbit!
I wish you luck Harvey!! Now hop it.

by notfooled Wed Aug 12, 2009 00:03

moussavi or the son of the ex-shah?
bono wants to bring capitalism to world not democracy or freedom

by paul o toole Mon Aug 10, 2009 19:39

A kid dies every 3 minutes of starvation in Africa. Needlessley, by the way.....-according to Bono himself.

The poor of Sub-Saharan Africa are being defrauded to the tune of $160 billion annually in unpaid corporate tax.
If half if this was paid up to Africas poorest which 'Sir' Bono says he gives a damn about, the starvation could end.
He could care less Im afraid, otherwise he would pay up. He dosent, simply because he dosent give a damn about those suffering from poverty, but pretends to by telling all countries across the globe to pay up from taxes he himself refuses to contribute to....he is a fraud and a hypocrite.
Anyone who defends him is also either stupid, ignorant, manevolent or all three. Hiding behind his well constructed media image of a giver, is fodder for the fools and the masses who adore this twit, living in the media bubble created by his friends to sustain him and his type. So long as he keeps mums on his pals and their involvement in global injustice his carreer will continnue to thrive, protected. He serves a purpose....and that is that.

He has sweatshops in Lesotho also. He and Ali have clothes made there and each kid makes merchandise between 3,500 and 4,500 dollars/day....he pays them 80% minimum wage is for the reigion. Google... 'Bono Sweatshops'.

If you look at the GFI website, the latest report shows the trillions in oil , gas , coal ,gold, diamonds, cobalt, steel, departing Africas shores daily as the locals starve. Local warlords and despotic mini dictators are installed and maintained by the same people who rob the poor of what is rightfully theirs and we send them old clothes and listen to Sirs Geldof and Bono tell us how we are supposed to become 'aware' of the plight of the poor. They neglect to highlight the real corruption....because it is their buddys who asset-strip the continent.

If Bono paid his taxes in Ireland which already has generous corporate tax levies 12.5% described by some as 'a haven'. And if he paid personal tax like every other working Irish citizen is compelled to do, i would still dislike him. He is the grease in the cog that is the most likley one to jam the machine......and he has kept it from squeaking for decades.

by Harvey Duff Mon Aug 10, 2009 16:08

George and Party Girl seem to know more than Amnesty International does about U2's commitment to human rights.

In 2005 U2 were honoured with Amnesty's Ambassador of Conscience award. When bestowing the award , Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan said, "U2 has arguably done more than any band to highlight the cause of global human rights. ....They have inspired and empowered millions."

Nobel Literature Laureate Seamus Heaney, said at the time.

"U2 have sung themselves to where great singing comes from, that place where art and ardency meet in the light of conscience…."

The previous poster - who for some unfathomable reason gives him/herself the title “statin’ the obvious” - thinks that U2 is somehow “sanctioned by the system” nowadays . And yet Amnesty chose Bono to announce this year’s winner of the prestigious Ambassador of Conscience Award – Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Laureate who is currently under house arrest in Myanmar.

And where did Bono make that announcement? In this country’s capital , Dublin , during a break in the band’s performance last month . I would have thought this might be something all Irish people could be proud of. But perhaps that’s a little too obvious for some people !

by Statin' the Obvious Mon Aug 10, 2009 02:16

U2 are the "legitimate voice of dissent", their targets are increasingly those sanctioned by empire the Iranian state, AIDS, solving world poverty without seriously redistributing wealth (eg. rich folks avoiding paying taxes in ireland!)

They're a long way from themselves in the mid-80's when they took on Reagan's war on central America. More invested and sanctioned by the system so playing it safe these days.

by PartyGirl Sun Aug 09, 2009 21:54

merely examining US rhetoric and behaviour, IMF and world bank policies and combining with bono's expressed positive views on these institutions and free market capitalism in general and extrapolating a little to draw a reasonable conclusion.

I don't believe bono's views are purely human rights based. More likely just profit based given his record and getting rid of the iranian government would likely further the ends of his friend capitalists in the west and also the Israelis. The fact that it's what many people in Iran want too is just a convenient excuse to up the ante. There is no guarantee a west supported government would be much better for the Iranian people. The shah certainly wasn't!

Bono's video game was a bit of propaganda which tried to paint Venezuela, another oil rich nation his pals would like to get their mitts on, in a bad light. Coincidence?

by harvey duff Sun Aug 09, 2009 14:22

It never ceases to amaze me when so-called progressives in the West come out with the “ my enemies enemy is therefore my friend” rationale to justify ignoring the howls for freedom and democracy coming from countries like Iran .The responses to my post from George and Party Girl , above , are not untypical ,so let's take a look at them . We'll start with George's screed.

No mention does George make of the brave struggle for freedom and democracy in Iran nor of the millions who poured onto the streets in defiance of the Iranian thugocracy who stole their votes so as to put the mullah’s favourite Ahmadijan in power .Not a word about hangings , stonings , whippings . Instead we get George's clear – although clumsily expressed , it must be said - attempt to smear Bono and the lads with being puppets of the US.

Party girl’s snide smear couched in terms of human rights ,of course , is a smear all the same .
From her assumed name and right-on sounding post we can gather that Party girl was perhaps at one time in her career something of a rocker .Now she seems to have morphed into a mind reader !

“Of course bono is in favour of toppling the iranian government, but its not really from the point of view of human rights.”

Oh really ? How then to account for U2’s green stage and set , and the clear statements from Bono and the band that they do support the Green Movement for freedom and democracy in Iran ? Party girl doesn’t feel that she has to say.

by PartyGirl Sun Aug 09, 2009 02:34

Bono's investment in the FPS video game market: "mercenaries 2: world in flames"
Its plot? well the US is being squeezed by an evil dictator in venezuela. You are charged to go in there and kick his evil ass and restore the status quo for the US. I wonder will the young trailer park boys playing this ten hours a day have a good geopolitical understanding by the time they sign up at 17 as economic conscripts for america's next oil invasion?
http://www.greenleft.org.au/2006/675/6231

Interesting to note, the advertising budget alone for "red" was more than what actually trickled down to the people it was supposed to help

And telling people to watch more TV is pretty cynical advice for a human rights campaigner isn't it bono?

The fact is, in order to sell more records, big stars have to pretend to give to charity but when you add up what they actually give, subtract the probable extra record sales due to good publicity and work it out as a percentage of earnings, it is usually paltry.

Oh and bono, what about the extra nurses that all that dodged tax would pay for here in Ireland, the country that made you a star and bought so many of your records?

Of course bono is in favour of toppling the iranian government, but its not really from the point of view of human rights. it's about getting at its natural resources. *cough shah *cough. Standard neocon capitalist thinking

I miss the old U2 before bono's stupid behaviour turned me so off that I could no longer stomach listening to him sing anymore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMymOnFr5dM

by george - an teach bán Sat Aug 08, 2009 15:21

1. He likened Blair and Brown to Lennon and McCartney!
McCarthy seems to be a sellout but Lennon actually had a radical message.
All Blair and Brown want it to is redefine British liberalism vis-à-vis the Labour Party and run the country themselves.

Michael Collins is going to roll himself right out of his grave.

2. He’s more publicity whore than social change agent:

3. He launched a new push to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa with partnerships with American Express, the GAP, Converse footwear, Giorgio Armani, etc. This “line” will include sports shoes, T-shirts and sunglasses — some produced in Africa, some with African materials. A slice of the revenue — numbers vary by company and product — will go to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

* The above mentioned clothes will be made in sweatshops like Gap’s factory in Lesotho which pays is workers roughly $0.34 a day, whose waste runs off into the near by waterways.
* Also RED is not creating new jobs or industry on the Continent
just more lip service.
* AND once factory workers reach 25 they lose their jobs and most
become prostitutes and get and spread HIV

All this for a slice? What will it be like 10% of a slice of pizza? Puh-lease.

I can see it now JUSTIFYING that people who are dying can go on ahead and die unless they can PAY for medicine to say their lives all so Big Pharma can make enough money for their CEOs to buy yachts.

If Bono is such a man of the people then WHY isn’t he advocating Big Pharma to subsidize these people? It’s because HIV makes BIG $$$$. All those people who need to take eleven pills a day for the rest of their lives. Do the math; if one pill is $2 then it $22 a day for a lifetime for every sick person. CHA-CHING

4. He’s done Photo-Ops with G.W. Bush at the White House, at the WEF and
I am sure other places. All smiley and holding hands . . .

5. Live8 alone:

6 concerts in 6 cities = roughly $400,000 each= $2,400,000 USD

100 tons of trash generated = $50,000 USD clean up and years of landfill waste

money that could have been given directly to the GlobalFund instead
of hosting a giant feel good party = $0 USD

Nothing is priceless

6. U2 Limited edition I-pod — made in a Chinese sweatshop.

7. More Photo-Ops at the World Economic Forum—any place where you get a free state of the art laptop with registration is E.V.I.L.

8. Performed at a fundraiser for Rick Santorum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Santorum

9. Self proclaimed “friend” of former Sen. Jesse Helms

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Helms

10. U.S. Flag waving at the Super Bowl as we bomb Iraq and cut all but .04% of US funds to the CONTINENT of Africa (except for guns), etc.

11. Invited Pat Robertson to be a ONE spokesperson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Robertson

by harvey Sat Aug 08, 2009 14:24

A still pic here showing the magnificent U2 set bathed in green . This was taken at the Irish rockers' Milan gig in early July. The fact that the band was able to adapt such a superb set so adroitly to changing events in the real world shows , to me at least , that the lads still have their fingers on the pulse of the movement for freedom and democracy throughout the world.

http://www.u2start.com/photos/view/1269