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Below is an edited version of the newsletter. ROCK & RAP CONFIDENTIAL No. 224 / October 2008 CELEBRITY POLITICS…On a perfectly pleasant evening at the end of May, my colleague Gavin Martin and I were sitting with most of the E Street Band and a few dozen others in the bar of the Merion Hotel in Dublin after a Springsteen show. It was getting on towards midnight. The room was conversationally loud. I was drinking red wine because I can’t stand Guinness, never mind my last name. The noise level rose noticeably as another troupe entered. It was U2, in...

$920 Billion More to Bail Out the World AIM Column | By Cliff Kincaid | September 28, 2008 While the Global Poverty Act has started getting more serious attention, the implications of passage of the Jubilee Act have been generally ignored. With one socialist “bailout” bill apparently on the way to passage by Congress, two more are pending―both of them sponsored by Senator Barack Obama.

ALASKA's trooper guys and polar bears may think Sarah Palin's as cold as a glacier, but she sure heats up a room. *snip* "It was Rupert and Bono who got Sarah Palin to come. Rupert made the call to Sarah's people, and then she met Bono earlier today." And it was Rupert who piloted Sarah around.

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore (R) listens to Bono during the Clinton Global Initiative, in New York, September 24, 2008. Established by former President Bill Clinton in 2005, the event is designed to bring donors together with people in need to try to solve global problems. Former President Bill Clinton speaks to actress Drew Barrymore after announcing a commitment regarding the improvement of food and nutrition for schoolchildren in developing countries at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting, Thursday, Sept 25, 2008, in New York Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks via video conference during the Clinton...

If you have wondered why celebrities seem to be so important in elections you need look no further than how Gov. Palin is scheduled to meet with several world leaders. As you read the list of top dignitaries you will notice which one gets top billing….is it with Iraq President Jalal Talabani or Pakistan’s newly-elected President Asif Ali Zardari? Is it with the presidents of Georgia and the Ukraine? Maybe the prime minister of India will get top billing. India does have a sixth of the worlds populous and controls the global help-line industry. At least it seems that way...

World leaders, Bono await Palin From correspondents in New York September 23, 2008 02:18pm REPUBLICAN vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is about to take her first tentative steps onto the world stage, with UN talks with the leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The Alaska Governor, who has been pilloried by Democrats who warn she is far too inexperienced in global affairs to serve a "heartbeat" away from the presidency, plans to get in some diplomatic cramming in New York. On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, she is expected tomorrow to meet US anti-terror ally and Afghan...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Palin will meet with the presidents of Iraq, Pakistan, Georgia and the Ukraine, as well as singer and activist Bono during her three-day trip to New York, the McCain campaign announced Sunday. Palin will meet Wednesday with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvilli and Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko together, according to campaign officials. She will then meet with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari before hosting Bono, the lead singer of U2. Later in the day, she will meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The campaign had previously announced meetings set for Tuesday in...

A certain amount of celebrity glow has long been a part of both political parties’ gatherings. But thanks in part to the youthful charisma of Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive nominee, the Democratic convention, which begins on Monday in Denver, is shaping up as an unlikely hot spot for the music world, with multiplatinum rappers, indie-rock scenesters, D.J.’s and Jennifer Lopez arriving by the van- and private planeload to perform, rally or schmooze with the political elite. “It’s the Sundance Film Festival for politicos,” said Laura Dawn, the cultural director of MoveOn.org, who also happens to sing with Moby... Kanye...

After listening to news coverage last night, nearly to the point of nausea, it struck me that I had heard parts of Barack Obama's Berlin speech before. "This is our moment; this is our time." Where have I heard that before? A quick internet search this morning finds that the phrase is a favorite among Barack Obama's speech writing team. After going through only 290 of the 29,000 hits that Google came up with, I can tell you that there have been at least 10 separate events this year at which Barack Obama has used that phrase. January 28, 2008...

Mr Bush wrote that the July 7-9 summit of the Group of Eight major industrial powers, to be held in Japan, needed to take concrete action to tackle AIDS and other scourges afflicting Africa. "My message to my fellow leaders will be that our past promises are just empty words unless we provide meaningful follow-through," Mr Bush wrote. "And if we do, we can continue to help save lives and spread hope across the continent of Africa." Mr Bush said the US was doubling aid to Africa by 2010 and highlighted a $US15 billion ($A15.7 billion) AIDS relief fund launched...

SONNY Bono, former husband and singing partner of superstar Cher, was clubbed to death by hitmen on the orders of drug and weapons dealers who feared he was going to expose them, a former FBI agent claims. Ted Gunderson, now a private investigator, has told the US Globe tabloid that Bono, who served as mayor of Palm Springs for four years, did not die after hitting a tree on a Nevada ski slope in January 1998 as everyone believed. "It's nonsense for anyone to now try to suggest that Bono died after crashing into a tree. There's zero evidence in...

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was unfased when he met U2 rock star Bono - as he had no idea who he was. The With Or Without You star met the politician at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. on Thursday (24Jan08), as part of his efforts to persuade world leaders to increase aid to developing nations. The U2 frontman and humanitarian has already pressed French president Nicolas Sarkozy to stick to plans to raise development assistance to poorer countries, particularly those in Africa, and he continued his campaign with a low-key meeting with Gates. But the 64-year-old admits he was...

Bono confesses sins to 'father' Al Gore Jan 24 02:09 PM US/Eastern ‘Gulfstream-Flying Rock Star’ Bono Confesses Carbon Sins to ‘Father’ Al Gore Having climate campaigner Al Gore round to your house is to open yourself to a self-flagellating guilt trip, Irish rock star Bono confessed Thursday. Sharing a stage with the former US vice president at the annual gathering of world movers and shakers in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, the U2 frontman joked that their friendship was a source of pressure on the domestic front. "He's been round my house and it's like... here's the recycler Al,...

aving climate campaigner Al Gore round to your house is to open yourself to a self-flagellating guilt trip, Irish rock star Bono confessed Thursday. Sharing a stage with the former US vice president at the annual gathering of world movers and shakers in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, the U2 frontman joked that their friendship was a source of pressure on the domestic front. "He's been round my house and it's like... here's the recycler Al, you know... I've got a posh car, but it runs on ethanol Al," Bono said. Acknowledging that a career in rock music was...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U2 lead singer and activist Bono visited the Pentagon to discuss Africa and the fight against global poverty with U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates, representatives of the two men said on Wednesday. Among the topics at the 20-minute meeting on Tuesday afternoon were U.S. plans to set up a new U.S. military command for Africa, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said. "I think this was a chance for two people who care about the problems facing the continent of Africa to talk about their shared interest in solving those problems," Morrell said of the meeting that was...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Mary Bono, who was married to late singer-turned-politician Sonny Bono and replaced him in Congress after his death, married U.S. Rep. Connie Mack on Saturday, according to Bono's sister. The news of the marriage was first reported by the Asheville Citizen-Times. Bono's sister, Katherine Whitaker, told The Associated Press the couple were married in a private ceremony attended by 35 family members. "It was fantastic," Whitaker said. "It was a very quiet ceremony. A spokeswoman for Mack had said in November that Asheville was selected because it is Whitaker's home. Mack, a Republican representative from Florida,...

When the top spymaster at Britain's supersecret MI5 comes out from the shadows to warn that things are dire and getting worse in jihadland, it's prudent to be very afraid of what tomorrow may bring. Jonathan Evans, in an extraordinary public appearance, reports his outfit is watching more than 2,000 terrorism supporters in the U.K., homegrown and otherwise, a number that is up exponentially over a year ago. And building. It's clear, Evans says, that Al Qaeda masterminds are recruiting hordes of disaffected youngsters and have "a clear determination to mount terrorist attacks." Pooh, predictably yawns a member of Britain's...

Excerpts from interview: There was a plan there, you know. I think the president genuinely felt that if we could prove a model of democracy and broad prosperity in the Middle East, it might defuse the situation. I don't believe that, and in the capacity I had, I told them that. I was wrong. Clinton did exactly the right thing in talking to the Provisional IRA and other extremist elements. Now they have to do the same, in my opinion, with Hamas, and they have to do the same with Al Qaeda.

Big Paychecks for U2 Millionaires Oct. 26, 2007 The Associated Press U2 Ltd., the Irish band's music publishing company, raked in $30 million-plus last year — and $25.8 million of it went to five unidentified "employees," according to documents obtained Friday by The Associated Press. Those "employees" are suspected to be the band members and their longtime manager, Paul McGuinness. But U2's public relations firms in Dublin and London refused to confirm that. While Bono has won accolades worldwide for raising awareness of Third World poverty, he has been criticized for moving U2's corporate offices out of Ireland to avoid...

The Republican National Committee yesterday took the first step toward endorsing a proposal by Irish rock star Bono to spend an estimated $30 billion in U.S. taxes to eliminate global poverty — a move some unhappy conservative RNC members labeled a step toward socialism. But the RNC's Resolutions Committee also pleased conservatives by endorsing a resolution calling on the federal government to devote all means necessary to securing the nation's borders against an influx of illegal aliens.

In 1985, the Live Aid concert actually asked music lovers to do something -- to donate their own money to help the starving in Africa. Throwing money into dictatorships might not have been the smartest way to help Africa's poor, but it had a morality feeling to it -- people were asked to do something selfless in return for their entertainment. It was appropriate that one-hit-wonder Bob Geldof was knighted for his work in spearheading the event. Things have changed in the music business. In 2005 came Live 8, a concert designed to pressure the leaders of the G8 nations...

Arusha, Tanzania–Africa is a continent of despair and desperation. Here, eight year-olds toting AK-47s massacre whole villages and eccentric dictators feast on the organs of the opposition, believing it'll boost their mojo. Tsetse flies nibble on the eyelids of starving children who sport distended bellies like it's their birthright, not to mention the fact that by the time you finish reading this article, another six Africans will die from malaria, five from AIDS, and seventeen from poverty and hunger. Also, the wildlife is beautiful and the people like to dance and sing. That's Africa, and it's in desperate need of...

Prime Minister Stephen Harper getting bashed by Bono yesterday dominated the news from the closing day of the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany. Besides being miffed that Harper -- who claims to be a U2 fan -- couldn't fit a meeting with the international rock star into his schedule earlier in the week, Bono accused Harper of "blocking" a deal on African aid at the G8 summit. The leaders of the world's eight most prosperous democracies pledged $60 billion in aid to the world's least prosperous countries which is largely a reiteration of promises already made. But Bono -- who...

KUHLUNGSBORN, Germany (CP) - Rock star Bono has been refused a meeting at the G8 summit with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss aid for Africa, sources close to the Irish singer said Wednesday. "They made several requests," said the source, who has close ties to Bono's development work. The U2 singer regularly discusses aid issues with world leaders. On Wednesday he met with U.S. President George W. Bush and with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is hosting the summit. But a spokeswoman for Harper said the prime minister is too busy to meet with Bono at the summit. She...

Crusading rocker BONO has lavished praise on American President George W. Bush for pledging $30 million (£15 million) toward the fight against AIDS in Africa.The U2 singer is delighted by the decision to divert government funds towards combating the crisis in the poverty-stricken continent. He says, "Some of my activist friends will be jumping on one leg rather than jumping on two because it’s never enough."But I’m standing up and I’m applauding the president and congress." Bono did, however, acknowledge that Bush’s program requires up to a third of the funds to be spent on abstinence education instead of safe...

Excerpt - NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday overruled regulators who decided that expletives uttered on broadcast television violated decency standards, a major victory for TV networks. The Federal Communications Commission had ruled in March 2006 that News Corp.'s Fox television network had violated decency regulations when singer Cher and actress Nicole Richie blurted out profanities during the 2002 and 2003 Billboard Music Awards' shows. However, no fines were issued. ~ snip ~

BERLIN - The world's biggest industrial countries are failing to keep up with financial promises they made to Africa, rocker-activist Bono said Tuesday, calling a new progress report "a cold shower" for the Group of Eight. G-8 members in 2004-2006 contributed less than half the amount needed to make good on promises to double Africa aid to $50 billion by 2010, according to a report released by DATA — Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa — an advocacy group founded by Bono, the 47-year-old frontman for Irish band U2. "The G-8 are sleepwalking into a crisis of credibility. I know the DATA...

American Idol Gets Presidential - President Bush and his wife, First Lady Laura Bush, thanked "American Idol" viewers for helping raise $70 million during last week's charity special, "Idol Gives Back." The money is earmarked to help impoverished children living in the United States as well as the continent of Africa. "We thank 'American Idol' viewers who have shown the good heart of America," the president said, in a taped appearance, reports the AP. "We thank all the celebrities who participated, including Bono, and all the contestants who sang their hearts out for these children." Last week's moving American Idol...

DUBLIN: Irish rock star and rights campaigner Bono received an honorary British knighthood yesterday in recognition of his services to the music industry and for his humanitarian work. "I couldn't be more proud," the U2 singer said at a ceremony at the British ambassador's residence in Dublin. "I would like to thank Her Majesty's ambassador for pinning this award on me in my hometown, and the band for not bursting my balloon,'' he said in remarks carried on U2's website (www.u2.com). Bono is now a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, or KBE, but as...

Bono has developed a reputation as a rock star with a conscience. The leader of the band U2 has cofounded two lobbying groups that raise awareness about Africa’s afflictions, created a fair-trade clothing company, and brokered a deal with several major American companies to donate millions of dollars to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS. But now he is caught up in a controversy over one of his own ventures. Dozens of organizations are asking Bono to stop production of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, a violent video game in which players become hired mercenaries who invade Venezuela, where a...

When it comes to attracting celebrity wealth seeking shelter from taxes, the Cayman Islands and other classic Caribbean tax havens are receding in favor like so many waves on the beach, according to tax experts here and overseas. While old-school, offshore tax havens — the warm ones with tropical fish, off-the-shelf holding companies sporting post-office-box addresses, and scant regulation or transparency — still attract money, they are largely patronized, tax lawyers and entertainment bankers say, by hedge funds and private equity firms looking to protect lush trading profits from taxes. But for earnings derived from intellectual property such as royalties,...

For Anglicans who still haven't found what they're looking for, the Church of England is staging its first "U2-charist" communion service -- replacing hymns with hit songs by the Irish supergroup. "Rock music can be a vehicle of immense spirituality," said Bishop of Grantham Timothy Ellis, announcing plans for the unique service in the central English town of Lincoln in May. A live band is to play U2 classics like "Beautiful Day" and "Mysterious Ways" with special singalong lyrics displayed on a giant screen. Seating for the 500-strong congregation is to be re-arranged so everyone can dance and wave their...

IN two short visits to New York last year the leader of one of Africa’s poorest countries spent $400,000 (£207,000) on hotel bills as members of his entourage drank Cristal champagne and charged tens of thousands of dollars of room service to accounts paid by the Republic of Congo’s mission to the United Nations. Detailed hotel bills obtained by The Sunday Times showed that a Waldorf Astoria suite occupied by Congo President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, chairman of the African Union, recorded £12,000 of room service charges during a five-night stay last April that cost his country £73,000. When he returned to...

In this first Pop Culture post of 2007 we've got updates on the Rosie/Trump feud and how the Steve Irwin family is cashing in on his untimely death. Also, "Atlas Shrugged" a movie? And Michael Jackson sues everybody while the Beach Boys also in some legal jeopardy, some Media Nuggets and hey, Bono a KNIGHT?

A PROFIT WITH HONOR Walk into any Gap clothing store this holiday season and expect to see red T-shirts, red hats and red bracelets. Of course decorating with red is nothing unusual this time of year, but the merchandise is meant to remind customers of something not often associated with the holidays: the global AIDS epidemic. Gap is one of a number of companies this year who are tapping into consumers' growing desire to do good deeds with their purchasing dollars. Other retailers selling products to benefit humanitarian causes include Bath & Body Works, a division of Limited Brands Inc.,...

We had an extended debate at the office today....what was the best "MTv Unplugged" performance? Me? Hands down....Alice in Chains! Before any reasons are discussed ..... I was curious as to anyone else's opinions or preferences on the topic?

Man, I am screwed.  

Exclusive: To celebrate the return of football to the Superdome and aid in the city's rebuilding, U2 and Green Day will debut their special new benefit single on Monday Night Football

I heard the audio of this a while ago on Opie & Anthony's XM Sattellite show but I've never actually seen the video to go with it. Someone has taken words from thousands of Bush speeches and mashed them together so he actually sings U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday. Really creative and must have taken forever to create. http://my.break.com/media/view.aspx?ContentID=111184

LONDON/MPHANDULA, Malawi (Reuters) - Madonna feels responsible for the children of the world and has found herself a "big, big project" to help orphans in Malawi. Gwyneth Paltrow declares "I am African" in a new advertisement for a charity working in Africa. The continent has long been a favorite destination for celebrity campaigners, going back to 1954 when Danny Kaye became UNICEF's goodwill ambassador. U2's Bono and fellow Irish rocker Bob Geldof are Africa veterans, and more recently Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have brought Hollywood gloss to the continent. But the latest flood of stars searching for a good...

FOR a man who won popular support when he castigated the Irish government for its failure to spend our tax in the way that he saw fit, Bono now finds himself standing in a lonely place. Last week the rock-star-turned-campaigner was exposed for taking part in a decision that will deliberately reduce the amount of tax that he and his business partners in U2 will contribute from next year onwards. Since June, the band and its manager have engaged in what is known as ‘tax avoidance’, moving U2’s publishing empire to the Netherlands where it can avail of a near...

Bono Avoids Taxes, Joins with Forbes Breaking from NewsMax.com U2 and its lead singer Bono have been pushing the U.S. and EU countries to fork over more money for Third World nations to relieve debt and fight AIDS. But when it comes to paying their fair share of taxes to help those efforts, U2 wants a free ride. That's the word from Ireland, where the group has been based since it was founded in the early 1980s. The Irish Examiner reports that U2 and Bono are furious that Ireland is doing away with its law exempting artists and authors from...

Reprinted from NewsMax.com Monday, Aug. 7, 2006 10:05 a.m. EDT U2's Bono Buys Stake in Forbes Media The privately held Forbes said Monday it sold a minority stake in its media holdings to private equity firm Elevation Partners, which includes the singer Bono as a partner, for an undisclosed amount. Elevation is buying the stake in a newly formed company, Forbes Media, LLC, the publisher of Forbes magazine, Forbes.com and other media properties. "This investment by Elevation Partners will now accelerate our pursuit of a number of very exciting opportunities for growth," said Forbes Chief Executive Steve Forbes, who is...

Although the World Bank is a frequent target of the academic left, the multilateral government agency actually functions in a manner not altogether dissimilar from that of the UN. Specifically, it subsidizes government agencies all over the world. On July 30th, World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz spoke to a packed auditorium at the Heritage Foundation about the issue of foreign aid. According to Dr. Wolfowitz, $20 billion in World Bank funding has gone to development efforts this year in third world countries. Dr. Wolfowitz noted that “half a billion people have escaped extreme poverty,” adding, “more than half from China...

Prime Minister Tony Blair's first visit to California has a bit of everything: serious environmental discussions, business meetings, a foreign affairs speech -- and a star-powered, incredibly eclectic gathering of world thinkers, leaders and luminaries in posh Pebble Beach. The tony, private event, a five-day management retreat for 250 executives of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., is set to bring together a VIP guest list for the ages to chat about issues like volunteerism, technology and politics. Among them: Blair, Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres, former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Oakland A's...

The Irish rock star Bono has been unwittingly caught up in a row over a computer game that features a fictionalised invasion of Venezuela to counter a “power-hungry tyrant� who has seized control of the country and its oil. The computer game is played from the perspective of a mercenary who is dispatched to Venezuela with the guidance: “If you see it you can buy it, steal it, or blow the living crap out of it.� Called Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, it is made by Pandemic Studios, based in Los Angeles, in which a private equity firm established by...

Sharon Stone Blasts Bush on AIDS Sharon Stone took no prisoners Thursday night in her opening remarks at the annual Cinema Against AIDS dinner in Cannes. Speaking before several hundred of the wealthiest people in the world, Stone — a vision in white linen with a Medusa’s nest of blond hair extensions — opened the 25th annual AmFar dinner with a thunderbolt against President Bush. “Our president has spent $167 million on abstinence programs,” she said. “And zero dollars on sex education. Zero dollars on teaching about safe sex.” Her remarks, part of an impassioned plea, were met with thunderous...

The gospel according to U2 and Bono http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=509842006 STEPHEN MCGINTY * US church uses U2's songs to attract young worshippers * U2 lyrics are being used by Episcopal Churches from California to Maine * The U2 Eucharist was devised by the Rev Paige Blair "I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined and heard my cry." - Bono, U2 Lyric BONO has declared that he is not a man of the cloth, "unless that cloth is leather". But the words of the charismatic U2 front man are nevertheless ringing out from pulpits across the United States. The Irish rock band's...

Bono has revealed that he was worried that Sir Bob Geldof would get so worked up while talking to the Prime Minister Tony Blair that he would spit on him. The U2 frontman apparently had to separate Geldof from Blair when the discussion concerning the efforts surrounding the Live 8 concerts became too heated. He said: "I had to call him off Mr Blair. Literally spittle coming out, invective coming out, and Tony reaching over to me saying, 'I believe you've a greatest hits coming,' just to get a break from Geldof. "I have seen Geldof try to bite prime...

WASHINGTON, February 10, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The lead singer of the famous rock band U2 which just this week claimed an incredible five Grammy awards, has praised President George W. Bush and Americans for their generosity, especially post 9-11. His remarks came at the February 2 National Prayer Breakfast. [...] Bono offered some personal remarks about his struggle with faith and journey with God, and how he was led to be an advocate for the poor and those afflicted with AIDS. But unlike his colleagues in the entertainment field he did not condemn President Bush for efforts at poverty and...