The pompous blowhard -- a serial cheater in real life -- presented himself as the man of peace.
He was no such thing.
From 2005:
C.I.: Thank you, Rebecca, for that editorial report. For those who missed it, "It means no wood" is a play on Blanche DuBois's lines in A Streetcar Named Desire. We now go to Mike of Mikey Likes It! who will give us what The New York Times doesn't.
Mike: Thank you, C.I. as an Irish-American and a Catholic, I've gone beyond amazement, beyond anger, to acceptance of the fact that The New York Times is interested in violence when it pertains to Catholics but not when it pertains to the "loyalists" who are pro-British. Case in point, the lack of reporting on the events of last week when Loyalists erupted in violence during their parade. What was characterized as "some of the worst rioting in years" was not something Times correspondent Brian Lavery was overly interested in sussing out.
C.I.: In fairness Mike, we should point out that Lavery has publicly stated the various "alphabets" to the various groups are confusing to him. ["Editorial: NYT's Lavery, is he joking or unfit for the assignment?"]
Mike: That is correct. Following what Bloomberg.com has called "the worst rioting in a decade," Australia's ABC reports that the loyalists have pulled out of talks with the police that were intended to foster a better relationship between the two groups. Meanwhile The New York Times has found an Irish man they like, Bono. And while they trumpet his "power" today, the sad reality is that the UN is not meeting its obligations so much so that Bono's cheerleading buddy, as reported by The Irish Examiner, Bob Geldof has stated, or understated, "I am not thrilled" by the UN's non-reaction to the issues of poverty, debt relief and aid. On a personal note, since I never signed up for Bono's organization, can someone explain to me why I continue to get almost daily e-mail updates from it? "Together we are all ONE" proclaims the latest e-mail. I am not "one" with the tools for the Bully Boy who need to do some work on rebuilding their credibility quickly after fawning over the Bully Boy and giving him cover only to now whine that "I am not thrilled." Telling you what The New York Times won't, this is Mike.
C.I.: Thank you, Mike. For more on the relationships of Bully Boy, Bono, Blair and Geldoff, you can refer to Bianca Jagger's article at openDemocracy. Now with an update on Iraq, we have Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz.
We continued to document Bono's close relationship with War Criminal Bully Boy Bush.
And we noted Bono's repeated silence on Iraq.
For those who didn't grasp it, the two hooked up over the weekend.
- Bono visits George W. Bush at his Texas ranch; "He has a huge heart ... not to mention a decent voice," Bush said. http://abcn.ws/2s6k32o
- George W. Bush and Bono take to Instagram to document the U2 lead singer's visit to the former president's TX ranch http://abcn.ws/2rKBPvq
From another 2005 piece:
C.I.: Thank you for that, Wally. We now go to Kat who's devoting her music news segment to one issue which she'll provide commentary on. Kat of Kat's Corner (of The Common Ills).
Kat: I asked ahead of time for three minutes to sound off on Rolling Stone's latest cover story. Cover boy Bono, of U2. Bono has seen Bully Boy's heart and it is pure. How else to explain the denial in which Bono lives in even when confronted throughout the interview by Rolling Stone publisher Jann S. Wenner? Wenner points out that Bully Boy's $5 billion in AIDS funding was reduced by Bully Boy to $3 billion and then by Congress to $1.75 billion but Bono can't question his Bully Boy. As Bono plays Eva Braun, Wenner brings the topic back to the promised $5 billion Bono, drones like a Stepford Wife, "The money is still promised. . ." and Wenner cuts him off with, "He makes a lot of promises he doesn't keep." Bono's response? "The money is still promised . . . That money will come through." Bono justifies the funds going to ABC programs, abstinence, be faithful and conodms, saying that it "is pretty much accepted by most religious groups" in this country as if that has anything to do with scientific effectiveness. We're talking about some countries that were already deeply hostile to what they see as a disease that the west has lied about. Various theories abound. After years of stressing condoms, we're now going to go back and say, "Hey, let's also practice abstinence and be faithful"? It's crazy and it's a diversion of funds to what does work. Bono's so far up Bully Boy's ass, he can't see any light. Wenner challenges Bono on why he publicly shamed the Prime Minister of Canada for not living up to his pledge but has failed to do the same with Bully Boy. Bono's defense? "We're not shrinking violets here." On the war, Bono offers that "everyone knows" how he feels about the war. "Do I campaign against the war in Iraq? No. . . . That's the compromise." It's too bad that when choosing subjects to stay silent on, praise for Jesse Helms isn't one of them. Yes, Bono again praises Jesse Helms. Bono has left the planet earth many times. When he was "The Fly" he was living in a land that common sense could not gain entry to. But he's never embarrassed himself, or sold himself out, as much as he does in this interview where he continually presents himself as being slightly to the right of Hillary Clinton. As the displeasure the band has with him continues to become more and more well known, it's obvious why. His talk of "half-a-loaf" is ignorant and uninformed. An illness demands a scientific response, not a feel good lecture. When a saner president is in office in the United States and we revert back to treat a medical illness from a scientific point of view, we'll have to spend months undoing the damage that ABC has already caused. As the deaths continue to mount, one wonders if Bono will look at them and say "Well that's half a loaf! Let's talk about me again! Let's talk about how I won over right wingers and evangicals by meeting with them! It's all about me!" The compromised, self-stifiling, self-deluded Bono.
Bono chose his side, the world should chose their own.