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This article first ran on Beliefnet in February of 2001.

Introduction Interview

"Ah, I always take you to the most glamorous places," said Bono with a laugh, as he hugged me in greeting one afternoon in September of 1999. He was being ironic, of course. I'd jetted around the United Kingdom with the band U2--a galvanizing force on the popular music scene for more than two decades--as I'd covered the group for Rolling Stone and other publications. That September, however, we were meeting in a completely nondescript conference room in Washington, D.C., and Bono was about to address a conference on the plight of highly indebted poor countries.

Now, a year and a half later, most people who care are familiar with the extensive, hands-on work Bono has done with the Jubilee 2000 coalition to have the world's richest nations forgive the onerous debts of the most impoverished ones.

I often wonder if religion is the enemy of God. It's almost like religion is what happens when the Spirit has left the building.

Bono got involved partly to complete the work begun by the Band Aid and Live Aid events back in the '80s; partly to find a dignified, compassionate way to mark the new millennium; and partly out of his own spiritual convictions. In many ways, that last motivation intrigued me the most. In his debt-relief efforts, Bono did not travel the typical celebrity route of writing out checks or performing benefit concerts. Instead, he was meeting incessantly with politicians, bureaucrats, and world leaders--often behind the scenes--to lobby for legislation.

It's one thing to confer with Pope John Paul II, former President Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, or even conservative senators like Jesse Helms and Orrin Hatch. It's quite another to sit for hour after hour with the under-secretary of this-and-that or academic economists or World Bank functionaries, as Bono did--that's the labor of a true man of faith. "I never thought it would get this unhip," he complained to me at one point.

"I've successfully avoided talking about my faith for 20 years," he said after we completed this interview, which he did by phone from Ireland. "But with you, I felt I had to. I said, 'I can't turn this guy down--he's been on every blinkin' boring story!' And I thought to myself, it's OK to open up a little bit. The problem is, when I do these kinds of things, the way it turns out in the tabloid papers here and in England is, 'Bono Pontificates on the Holy Trinity.' And then we're off! But at the same time, I can't let them gag me. These are the unformed, unfocused thoughts of a student of these things, not a master."

Fair enough. Ladies and gentlemen, Bono Ungagged.

Introduction Interview

While the Jubilee 2000 Coalition accomplished a great deal, it failed to achieve its ultimate goal of complete debt forgiveness. The coalition has disbanded, but the work goes on. What is the current initiative, and what is your involvement in it?

This year might turn out to be even more of a millennium year for us than last year. There's a chance that if we focus on the HIV/AIDS crisis, particularly in Africa--that's the shock to the system that might allow for deeper debt relief.

I've had two meetings with Tony Blair in the last few weeks, and he realizes that he is in power at a time of great importance. This is akin to the bubonic plague or Hiroshima or the Holocaust. I think he is going to, along with your new president, work with the industrialized nations and the African leadership to really have a go at this problem. And debt relief will be part of that package.


Do you have the same level of rapport with the Bush administration as you did with Clinton?

Yes. In fact, if you look at the cover of The New York Times when debt cancellation went through [Congress], the headline was--and for me it was an amusing triumvirate--"The Pope, U2 and George W. Prevail." We worked very hard to get both Republican and Democratic authorship on that package, and I'm confident the Republican leadership will follow through. In the second debate, [Bush] mentioned debt cancellation as one of the ideas he was excited by.

Because debt relief became a religious issue, you were able to meet with many politicians with whom you probably agree on nothing else. What was that like?

I really have had to swallow my own prejudice at times. Because I was suspicious of the traditional Christian church, I tended to tar them all with the same brush. That was a mistake, because there are righteous people working in a whole rainbow of belief systems--from Hasidic Jews to right-wing Bible Belters to charismatic Catholics.

The idea of turning your music into a tool for evangelism is missing the point. Music is the language of the spirit anyway. Its first function is praise to creation.

We had a meeting in the White House, and President Clinton invited Pat Robertson, who I think had referred to him as "a devil" and hadn't visited the White House in eight years. I saw him in the room with Andrew Young, who said, his voice trembling, that this is the most important thing that's come up for him since the civil rights marches in the '60s. Clinton said, "This is a very odd bunch of people. But if you guys could agree to meet a few more times, you could really change the world."

I'm actually starting to like more and more people who have convictions that are unpopular. Now at what point does an unpopular conviction interfere with your own human rights? Forced female circumcision, for instance. The Catholic Church's stance on contraception. The list goes on. You know, God has some really weird kids, and I find it hard to be in their company most of the time.

When I went to meet the pope, I brought a book of Seamus Heaney's poetry, which he had inscribed for the pontiff. The inscription was a quote from [Heaney's] catechism, from 1947. It said, "Q: Who is my neighbor? A: All of mankind."


Now, for all its failings and its perversions over the last 2,000 years--and as much as every exponent of this faith has attempted to dodge this idea--it is unarguably the central tenet of Christianity: that everybody is equal in God's eyes. So you cannot, as a Christian, walk away from Africa. America will be judged by God if, in its plenty, it crosses the road from 23 million people suffering from HIV, the leprosy of the day. What's up on trial here is Christianity itself. You cannot walk away from this and call yourself a Christian and sit in power. Distance does not decide who is your brother and who is not. The church is going to have to become the conscience of the free market if it's to have any meaning in this world--and stop being its apologist.

During U2's Zooropa tour, you would often call prominent figures by phone from the stage. In London, you were dressed as the devil character you invented, MacPhisto, and, as you tried to call the Archbishop of Canterbury, MacPhisto remarked that religious leaders were some of his closest friends.

It's true. I often wonder if religion is the enemy of God. It's almost like religion is what happens when the Spirit has left the building.

God's Spirit moves through us and the world at a pace that can never be constricted by any one religious paradigm. I love that. You know, it says somewhere in the scriptures that the Spirit moves like a wind--no one knows where it's come from or where it's going. The Spirit is described in the Holy Scriptures as much more anarchic than any established religion credits.

For all that, U2 has often been seen as a Christian rock band.

We really f--ked that up, though. We really f--ked up our corner of the Christian market. I think carrying moral baggage is very dangerous for an artist. If you have a duty, it's to be true and not cover up the cracks. I love hymns and gospel music, but the idea of turning your music into a tool for evangelism is missing the point.

Music is the language of the spirit anyway. Its first function is praise to creation--praise to the beauty of the woman lying next to you, or the woman you would like to lie next to you. It is a natural effusive energy that you shouldn't put to work. When those people get up at the Grammys and say, "I thank God," I always imagine God going, "Oh, don't--please don't thank me for that one. Please, oh, that's an awful one! Don't thank me for that--that's a piece of [crap]!"

The most powerful idea that's entered the world in the last few thousand years--the idea of grace--is the reason I would like to be a Christian.

God has some really weird kids.

Though, as I said to [U2 guitarist] The Edge one day, I sometimes feel more like a fan, rather than actually in the band. I can't live up to it. But the reason I would like to is the idea of grace. It's really powerful.

You've also been drawn to the spiritual struggles of rockers like Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Marvin Gaye.

I was never tormented in the way those early rock and rollers were between gospel and the blues. I always saw them as parts of each other. I like the anger of the blues--I think being angry with God is at least a dialogue. You know, [Robert Johnson's] "Hell Hound on My Trail"--the blues is full of that. And [it runs] right through to Marilyn Manson.

These are big questions. If there is a God, it's serious. And if there isn't a God, it's even more serious. Or is it the other way around? I don't know, but these are the things that, as an artist, are going to cross your mind--as well as "Ode to My New Jaguar." [laughter] The right to be an ass I will hold on to very tightly. I just have to be allowed that.

U2 - Pride

Friday, February 29, 2008

It's rock 'n' roll cinema, but not as we know it. Noel McAdam had a sneak preview of the new U2 film - only showing in one Ulster cinema - and his verdict is: boy, it sure does rattle and hum
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/reviews/article3477438.ece


Dubliners like a good debate and a recent hot topic of discussion has been the U2 Tower, the development in the city's docks area that has earned its nickname through the involvement of Bono and other members of the Irish rock ban

http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/article3453319.ece

Highlight | The News is NowPublic.com

http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/artman2/publish/movie_reviews/Reviewed_U2_3-D_22170208.p

http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/artman2/publish/movie_reviews/Reviewed_U2_3-D_22170208.p

Rwanda's Prostitutes Love Bush

Prostitutes may or may not be George Bush's natural lovin' constituency but Rwanda's prostitutes have wonderful things to say about him, although their clients, regard the American president as a walking criminal against humanity.

Bush is in Africa today, to start a five-country tour, he will be welcomed by prostitutes for saving the lives of more than a million people with HIV.

The $15bn President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) is in its fifth year and is a "revolution" that is transforming Africa, it is the most significant aid programme ever, in Africa.

Bush's contribution will be, extending millions of lives, even though the programme, has been criticised for emphasising abstinence in Aids education and using religious organisations to deliver the aid.

"This is the best thing that ever happened to the poor people I work with," said Father Phillips, a priest overseeing the distribution of life-saving antiretroviral drugs in Nairobi, Kenya. "It's one of the few times I've seen US government money, really reach down to the poorest of the poor. It's kept a hell (tut tut, Father, language) of a lot of people alive."

Dr Venter, head of HIV Clinicians Society in South Africa, is providing 200,000 people with ARVs, is one of a number of Aids doctors, almost disbelieving in praise of Bush. "I look at all the blood this man has on his hands in Iraq and Palestine, I can't quite believe myself but I would say, it's a bold experiment from the last person in the world I would expect to do it, and it is saving a lot of lives. To intervene on such a scale and make such a difference is huge," he said.

Pepfar's ultimate target of providing treatment and care to 20 million people with HIV, in Africa and the Caribbean. It is already supplying ARVs to about 1.5 million people. Congress doubles Pepfar's budget later this year.

The US programme owes its success to combining large amounts of money to fund drugs, with broadening assistance beyond the individual with HIV. Pepfar is supplying medical equipment and training large numbers of healthcare staff. It is also reaching into households, hit by Aids with programmes, to put children through school and help those with HIV to carry on working.


In Rwanda - on Bush's tour, one of Pepfar's 15 priority countries - Dr Bigwaho, the head of the national Aids council, says the US programme, is the major contributor to a tenfold increase over the past four years, in the numbers of Rwandans on ARVs to nearly 50,000 people. Today about 70% of Rwandans who need the drugs receive them. "The impact is huge. The average life expectancy of Rwandans has improved by four years because of Pepfar," she said. "The impact is also really big in the health sector, because of the equipment and training. It is putting children through school."

An American group, CHF International, is using money to pay for 39,000 children to go to school in Rwanda, because Aids orphans and other young people left without support, are more likely to prostitute themselves, like colleagues in the USA, to survive.

Ms. Smith, in Kigali - who says she is personally keen on a change in the White House - says the unprecedented amount of money provided by George, has changed how Rwanda deals with Aids.

"The scale of the money coming in, has really changed everything. If someone in a household has HIV, it used to be we only focused on them. Now we look at the health of everyone in the household, because if a parent has HIV, that has implications for their ability to provide and care for their children. We can now treat the children for other diseases, because that is a consequence of HIV in the household," she said.

But religion has come in for strong criticism because its Aids education programme, ABC - Abstinence, Be faithful, Condomise - pushes the first two over the third.

Democrats including Senator Obama want to scrap the emphasis on abstinence, when legislation comes up for renewal later this year. Many Aids workers in Africa, think the Bush administration's obsession with the issue is misplaced but say its impact is minimal because government programmes in most countries emphasise the use of condoms.

Senator Obama has criticised the large numbers of "faith-based" organisations funded such as Phillips' Eastern Deanery Aids Relief Programme, which distributes ARVs to 7,000 people in the poorest parts of Nairobi. Its $3.3m slice of Pepfar's $386m budget in Kenya last year has funded expansion, to a network of more than 10 clinics and 300 staff.

Church policy and programmes do not distribute condoms - but the Kenyan government's emphasis is on condoms. "The prevalence of Aids has dropped significantly in Kenya. It's down to the various education campaigns by the government, by communities and that people saw that people were dying. You can draw your own conclusions," said Phillips, a leading church figure.

Mr. John Dunlop, who heads one of the health team in Rwanda, said the relationship had less to do with evangelicals in Washington, than with practicalities in Africa. "These are very pious communities; the church runs through every component of life. So if you ignore these church networks, as a means of pushing out messages of change, you're ignoring a huge resource," he said.

The HIV budget in Kenya will rise to more than $500m this year. It already pays for 90,000 people to receive ARVs, nearly half of all those taking them in the country, as well as home care for those with HIV, including food and finance, so they can make a living.

Mr. Warren Buckingham, head of the Pepfar programme in Kenya, found himself pressing the Kenyan government, on behalf of the very people, the American Judea-Christian right most despises. "If there is resistance it is not in Washington. The people we have to push, are the public health officials here, to recognise neglected populations and highly stigmatised groups, gays, intravenous drug users, sex workers," he said.

In a busy Kigali bar, Linda, a 24-year-old HIV-positive prostitute, explained that she had originally was fearful of being tested because she didn't want to know that she might soon die. "Then they said, they could make us well, they have these drugs. So I got tested and I have the drugs," she said.

So whom does she like?

"The American, Georgy Bush and don't you bring no Senator Obama round my door but you can always bring Bill Clinton, he is the best of them all, I hope his wife gets elected."

U2 & Bruce Springsteen - I still haven't found what I'm look

This is a very great video!!! I'm most likely one of Swedens biggest U2 fans. I reserved The 20th Anniversary Edition of The Joshua Tree Remastered Super Deluxe Limited Edition Box 2CD+1DVD+56 page book and 5 photos about three weeks before the release date. The Joshua Tree was available the 9th march in 1987 and it's the best album they have ever made so far i think.
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My two fav artists, seeing the Boss in London Wed, cannot wait - these guys should definately do a tour together.

U2 are currently writing a new album and almost certain to tour later.

Bono the Prophet

Sightings of Bono

Cool clip...thanks for posting it.

I'm a fan since I was 11 ('81).

U2 has been the soundtrack to my life.
That line has become a cliche' but it's true.

I can't say enough great things about them but although I've seen them Sooo many times since '85, I found that The (ATYCLB) Elevation Tour in 2001 was very Spiritual and the Vertigo Tour while very good was more on the Political side.


I don't know the story behind the film, but what it spoke of to me is the way we can be touched by people we don't even know, they can even enter our dreams. But in the end it's not about them - its about us, what they represent about our own longings. Didn't it seem significant that once the character actually met him, she no longer needed the book, and he no longer haunted the perimeters of her life as he had? It wasn't really about him after all and she had come back home to herself. IMO.

Davos Annual Meeting 2008 - A Unified Earth Theory

It's true, we should all take this matter seriously because when ice melts and water rises, also heavy rain and oceans waves will erode soil of any land, flooding will occur and people will be forced to move to another land. The result of that occuring is people who lost their habitat will be forced to move somewhere else, major problem of overcrowding, where are people gonna go to seek refuge? hellooooooooo, wake up, taste that salt water as it creeps up to your ankle!!



This is an amazing video session. I am going to tell my friend and assciates to come her to view it. I helped produce both Live8 and Live Earth viewing gatherings in San Francisco. Communication, community action and creating political will to meet basic human needs and goals is the key it success for humanity.

U2 Lara Croft Elevation