17.05.2007

Cold Facts, Hot Arguments

 

Aid to poor countries works, but the rich countries are not keeping their promises. That's the bottom line in DATA's 2007 report. launched by Bono in Berlin.

 

 

The DATA Report finds that the G8 - the leading industrialised countries - increased aid by less than half the sum needed from 2004-2006 to meet their 2010 goals. In 2007 they are planning to do only about one third of what's needed to get back on track. The promises from the G8 Summit in Edinburgh in 2005 are not being met.

 

'The G8 are sleep walking into a crisis of credibility.' said Bono, launching the report with activists Bob Geldof, Herbert Grönemeyer and former Nigerian Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. 'I know the DATA report will feel like a cold shower, but I hope it will wake us all up. These are cold facts, but I know they will stir up some very hot arguments.

 

'These statistics are not just numbers on a page, they are people begging for their lives, for two pills a day, a mother begging to immunize her children, a child begging not to become a mother at age 12.'

 

The report shows how aid is turning around the lives of millions of people - for example every day 1,450 Africans living with AIDS are put on life-saving medications. Due in part to debt cancellation and increased aid, 20 million more African children are going to school for the first time in their lives.

 

 

 

Catch Bono talking with CNN about the report here: http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/blogs/paging...est-issues.html

 

 

Could Linkin Park, Green Day, Nine Inch Nails Be The Next U2?

http://www.u2france.com/spip.php?article10572

 

Are some of today’s rockers modeling themselves after Bono’s band of Irish lads?

 

 

By Chris Harris

 

Everyone’s heard the saying A&R guys have been kicking around for decades to describe the hottest up-and-comers: "the next Beatles." While this title has been liberally conferred upon many acts since the Beatles’ prime, no artist has really been as big a hit or had as profound an influence on pop culture as the Fab Four. But U2 have come pretty damn close.

 

With upward of 170 million albums sold worldwide and three decades of commercial and critical success, there’s no denying that U2 are one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. With the Edge’s soaring, signature guitar chime and the group’s catalog of arena-size anthems, U2 have consistently reinvented themselves, experimenting with and evolving the direction of their unique sound, even at the risk of alienating some of their die-hard fans.

 

They’ve maintained their musical relevance, and the bandmembers have achieved gravity outside the realm of rock and roll. The band — and in particular frontman Bono, who’s become something of a global ambassador — has used its music and celebrity to shine a spotlight on political and social issues and injustices, working closely with organizations like Amnesty International, Make Poverty History, the ONE Campaign, Live Aid and Live 8. Bono has become increasingly involved in campaigning for Third World debt relief and raising awareness of the plight of Africa, including the AIDS pandemic.

 

In 2002, Bono formed DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), an advocacy organization dedicated to eradicating extreme poverty and AIDS in Africa, and he’s met with a host of world leaders to solicit support for the various campaigns he backs. For his part, the Edge founded Music Rising, a campaign to rescue the musical culture of the U.S.’s Central Gulf region following the catastrophic summer 2005 hurricanes.

 

So forget the Beatles — we’re more interested in who’s poised to become the next U2. Here are some notable candidates.

 

Linkin Park: It’s hard to imagine the architects of "One Step Closer" could one day be as internationally influential as a band like U2. But they’re certainly keeping pace with the band as far as album sales are concerned, and aesthetically speaking too, the California hard rockers are definitely on their way. The band’s latest video, for the track "What I’ve Done," resembled U2’s "Vertigo" clip in several ways.

 

(Could Linkin Park follow in U2’s footsteps? Watch right here

 

First, there’s the setting: a dusty, windy desert, where both bands rock out with purpose. Then there’s frontman Chester Bennington’s penchant for Bono-like shades. In the video, he even seems to borrow Bono’s signature microphone-stand manipulation, swaying back and forth and side to side and cradling a pole. And what of the black-and-white cover of Linkin Park’s new record, the Rick Rubin-helmed Minutes to Midnight ? Doesn’t it sort of resemble the cover of U2’s 2000 effort, All That You Can’t Leave Behind? And is it just a coincidence that U2’s next LP will also be produced by Rubin?

 

Minutes to Midnight is also the most political of Linkin Park’s three studio sets, as evidenced by the lyrics to "Hands Held High," on which Mike Shinoda sings, "For a leader so nervous, in an obvious way/ Stuttering and mumbling for nightly news to replay/ And the rest of the world watching at the end of the day/ In the living room laughing, like, ’What did he say?’ "

 

And let’s not forget Bennington’s humanitarian work. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Bennington appeared with Mötley Crüe at ReAct Now: Music & Relief, a concert to benefit Katrina’s survivors, for a rendition of "Home Sweet Home" (the benefit also featured U2, as it so happens; see "U2, Coldplay, Pearl Jam Added To MTV Disaster-Relief Show").

 

The band also helped relief efforts for victims of the 2004 tsunami, staging several charity concerts and setting up an additional fund called "Music for Relief" — Bennington visited victims of that disaster in Phuket, Thailand (see "Linkin Park Establish Charity To Help Tsunami Victims"). Linkin Park also participated in Bob Geldof’s 2005 Live 8 concerts, appearing onstage with Jay-Z in Philadelphia.

 

According to Bennington, "There’s nothing you can say that sucks about being compared to U2."

 

Green Day: The Berkeley, California, band — which has influenced the likes of My Chemical Romance and Blink-182 — has come a long way since the dope and dick jokes that pervaded 1992’s Kerplunk. Like U2, they’ve become one of the most important bands in the world and, also like U2, they believe in reinvention, especially during periods when their relevance has been challenged. Their recent work has contained a much deeper message than the joys and perils of self-manipulation; Green Day’s 2004 opus American Idiot was a politically tinged rock opera dealing with the nature of individuality and rebellion and the war in Iraq.

 

In 2005 Green Day performed as part of Live 8, and last year the band collaborated with none other than U2 themselves on a Rick Rubin-produced cover of the Skids’ "The Saints Are Coming". Sales from the single benefited the Edge’s Music Rising campaign. In April, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong headed to New Orleans to help rebuild homes destroyed by the storm.

 

Green Day have also joined forces with the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the most effective environmental organizations in the U.S., for the "Move America Beyond Oil" campaign and other environmental concerns. The work they’ve done has helped raise awareness of the nation’s dependency on oil and offers possible courses of action to reverse the trend.

 

Coldplay: From a strictly political standpoint, of all of rock and roll’s big names, Coldplay are perhaps the most comparable to U2.

 

Chris Martin, who leads the British quartet, has been particularly outspoken on issues of fair trade and has become the face for Make Trade Fair, a campaign organized by Oxfam International to promote trade justice among governments, institutions and multinational corporations. Martin has personally traveled to Ghana and Haiti to see firsthand the effects of unfair trade practices. And when the band performs live, he can usually be spotted with the words "make trade fair" or an equal sign written on his left hand.

 

Martin has been fairly active in politics and has been a vocal critic of Bush and the war in Iraq. He threw his support behind John Kerry’s failed presidential bid in 2004 during his acceptance speech at the 2004 Grammy Awards, when the band’s song "Clocks" was awarded Record of the Year honors. The band also supports Amnesty International.

 

Oh yeah, and Martin’s been known to refer to himself as "Crono," a play on the name of his "hero," Bono.

 

Nine Inch Nails: Trent Reznor has gone from crafting tunes about his personal anguish and misery to addressing social and political themes on his most recent outing, this year’s Year Zero. The concept album revolves around the generally terrifying story of a future society poised on the brink of spiritual, moral, political and environmental Armageddon — his response to Bush’s presidency and the war in Iraq.

 

Reznor, of course, has made no secret of his disapproval of the POTUS; in 2005, he dropped out of performing at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards because of a disagreement with the network over the use of an unaltered image of George W. Bush as a backdrop to the band’s performance of "The Hand That Feeds". The song includes the lyrics, "What if this whole crusade’s a charade/ And behind it all there’s a price to be paid/ For the blood on which we dine/ Justified in the name of the holy and the divine."

 

Reznor — whose work has influenced the likes of Marilyn Manson and Filter — has also thrown his support behind People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which he filmed a public-service announcement for in 2006. Reznor narrated an undercover video exposing the gruesome cat- and dog-fur trade in China and the barbarity of the fur industry throughout the world. "Workers kick and stomp on the cages and jab the animals with sticks to get them out, then their weakened bodies are bludgeoned, hanged, bled or strangled with wire nooses to kill them," he says in the spot. "Many of the cats and dogs still have collars on, proof that they were someone’s beloved companions."

 

System of a Down: Descendants of survivors of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, System of a Down had no choice but to be a political band. Frontman Serj Tankian helped form the Axis of Justice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing together musicians, music fans and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice, and the band frequently promotes awareness of the Armenian Genocide.

 

Every year (with the exception of 2006), System of a Down have organized "Souls" concerts to raise money to support the cause. System’s song "P.L.U.C.K. (Politically Lying, Unholy, Cowardly Killers)," from 1998’s self-titled debut, touches upon the genocide, and in the CD’s booklet, the band dedicates the track "to the memory of the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated by the Turkish Government in 1915." The song "Holy Mountains," from 2005’s Hypnotize, is also about the genocide.

 

"B.Y.O.B.," the Grammy Award-winning single that was featured on Hypnotize’s counterpart LP, Mezmerize, questions the integrity of war and was believed to be a direct attack on Bush’s international policies.

 

Last spring, the band asked its fans to contact Bush, urging him to properly characterize the Armenian Genocide as "genocide" in presidential statements. Tankian said at the time that "the constant, ridiculous denial of the Armenian Genocide by not only Turkey but by consecutive U.S. administrations made me aware of the world of disinformation and injustices around the globe."

 

But with the future of the heavy-metal act unclear (they announced they’d be going on an indefinite hiatus a year ago; System don’t seem a very likely candidate for the title of "the next U2."

 

U2: It’s not as though the Irish rockers are going anywhere anytime soon, and they’ve shown no signs they’re ready to renounce their place as rock and roll royalty. They’re hard at work on their next album — what will be their 12th studio release — with Rubin at the boards, and Bono’s humanitarian efforts have not waned one bit. Bono just joined the Irish government’s Hunger Task Force as part of his continuing efforts to raise awareness of world poverty.

 

 

"the Next U2" :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

:blink:

Or alternatively,

 

 

None of the Above.... :puke2:

:huh:

Bono's Fender, Customised and Up For Auction

 

Bono's Fender guitar, customised with his own illustrations for Prokofiev's 'Peter and the Wolf', is to go under the hammer this week to raise funds for the Irish Hospice Foundation.

 

In 2003 Bono painted a series of illustrations to accompany a special fund-raising edition of Prokofiev's classic tale, which also featured Gavin Friday's narration and the musical direction of Maurice Seezer.

 

Now one of Bono's Fender guitars has been illustrated with his paintings - and signed - and this unique piece will be up for bids in the Rock Couture Charity Auction at the Gibson Hall in London on Thursday - and online through eBay.co.uk

 

 

 

Did you read that Superman :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub:

:w00t: I know I did ....

I want that for my birthday :teresa: :teresa:

 

 

 

(....or the dvd :huh: )

me too :yahoo:

http://www.pollstar.com/news/viewnews.pl?NewsID=7990

 

 

Stars Boo Live Earth

Updated 04:10 PDT Sat, Jun 02 2007

Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant and The Who's Roger Daltrey have joined Bob Geldof in criticising the Live Earth concerts due to take place across the globe in July.

Tennant's scathing attack on former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's initiative to raise awareness about climate change included claims that the idea is flawed because of the environmental damage the shows will cause. "I've always been against the idea of rock stars lecturing people as if they know something the rest of us don't - it looks arrogant," he explained. "It's not as if they have a private source of information. To state the obvious as if you are the only person that knows it is intellectually weak."

Tennant was broader in his criticisms of rock stars using their position to get involved in global issues, hitting out at Bono - who isn't involved in Live Earth - for his high-profile role in similar political activism.

"Bono uses his celebrity, but in doing so he increases his celebrity. I've never been totally convinced that the rest of U2 feel comfortable with that." Tennant's comments almost echoed Live Aid and Live 8 supremo Bob Geldof's views on Gore's initiative.

"I hope they're a success. But why is he actually organizing them? To make us aware of the greenhouse effect?" the former Boomtown Rat said in an interview with Dutch national daily De Volkskrant. "Everybody's known about that problem for years. We are all f***ing conscious of global warming," Geldof continued.

Daltrey had his own straightforward idea of how to solve the problems of the greenhouse effect. "My answer is to burn all the oil as f***ing quick as possible and then the politicians will have to find a solution."

 

 

01.06.2007

Out Of Africa

 

U2 are in Africa, writing songs with Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno.

 

The band have set up a studio in Morocco’s medieval city of Fez where they have been writing and recording from morning till night for the past couple of weeks.

 

‘There’s no word on what the new material is for,' according to one of the team in Fez. ‘But they’re on a roll and the ideas are coming think and fast.’

 

The band met up with Eno and Lanois after flying down to North Africa from Cannes where 'U23D' was previewed earlier this month. It’s not the first time they have been in this ancient city. They visited in 1991 with director Stephane Sedanoui to shoot the video for Mysterious Ways.

 

More news from Morocco on the way.

 

 

 

 

Makeover plans for U2 hotel on ice as Council raises questions

 

U2’s plans to turn the Clarence into "the most spectacular hotel in Europe" are on hold, after council officials issued a deadline to the supergroup to respond to a lengthy list of questions about the project.

 

Dublin City Council’s planning department says the status of the planning application is currently dormant, as it awaits a response from the owners, due before the end of September.

 

Bono and the Edge, who own the hotel in trendy Temple Bar in Dublin, want to take over the five protected structure buildings adjoining the Clarence and to erect a spaceship-like glass dome "skycatcher" building on the top in a €150m revamp.

 

It would quadruple the size of the hotel, transforming it into the biggest in the city, visible from both north and south of the Liffey.

 

The department has written to the hotel owners, the Clarence Partnership, requesting answers to what it describes as 18 key questions.

 

The department points out that under Section 57 of the Planning and Development Act states that authorities will not grant planning permission for the demolition of a protected structure, save in exceptional circumstances.

 

It states that it requires the strongest justification to do so and wants the owners to address this matter in detail. A hefty portion of the queries relate to the ambitious skycatcher glass dome, a Viking boat-shaped atrium stretching from the basement to the rooftop.

 

The council has also asked the applicants to clarify the numbers and purpose of all proposed openings onto both Wellington Quay and Essex Street East. The council wants more information and details on drawings and plans and requests clarification on the nature of the proposed retail area. Alise Devlin of the planning department said the Clarence Partnership must provide this information before the end of September. "We made the request on March 26 and they have six months from that date to respond," she said.

 

"We have not heard anything back from them yet, but that is not very unusual in these cases. So at the moment, the status of the application is dormant."

 

Bono plans to demolish the Georgian building and transform the 44-bedroom boutique hotel into a nine-storey, 141-bedroom five-star hotel and spa complete with signature restaurant, bar and fresh food market.

 

The new hotel will encompass the former Dollard printing works and four other Georgian buildings on Wellington Quay.

 

Objectors to the plan include An Taisce, the heritage trust, who say the proposal is completely inappropriate for both the protected structures and their historic city-centre location, and the Irish Georgian Society, which believes that the development would dwarf adjoining buildings and dominate the Liffey quays.

 

The Clarence hotel was established in 1852 and bought by Bono and the Edge in 1992. Despite being the hotel of choice for international celebrities, it has incurred losses of €1.2m.

 

http://www.u2france.com/spip.php?article10627

Harper gives cold shoulder to anti-poverty activists

 

KUHLUNGSBORN, Germany — Prime Minister Stephen Harper has given the cold shoulder at the G8 summit to a trio of celebrity anti-poverty activists led by Irish rock star Bono.

 

The U2 front man, accompanied by fellow Irish rocker-activist Bob Geldof and Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour, met on the sidelines of the summit on Wednesday with U.S. President George W. Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

 

After meeting with Bush, Bono praised the U.S. president for announcing plans last week to pour $30 billion US over five years into Africa to fight AIDS.

 

But Harper appears to sing from a different songbook.

 

The celebrity trio has requested to meet with the prime minister several times over the last few days, but has received no response from the Prime Minister’s Office, said Taylor Thompson, a spokeswoman for DATA, an aid organization co-founded by Bono and Geldof.

 

Thompson said Canadians are known as “great, generous people,” but Harper’s team “is not currently doing them justice.”

 

Sandra Buckler, Harper’s director of communications, didn’t respond when asked if the PMO received the requests. At an earlier briefing with reporters, she said a meeting with Bono at the summit was unlikely.

 

“The prime minister has spoken in the past with Bono via telephone. Obviously, the prime minister has a very full agenda over the next two days. After the G8, I see no problem with them having a chat,” she said.

 

Former prime minister Paul Martin frequently met with Bono, who appeared with Martin on the day he was named Liberal leader in 2003.

 

But in 2005, Bono said he was "crushed" at Canada’s failure to meet its commitments to increase development aid.

 

Since taking office, Harper has declined to meet with such celebrity activists as French actress Brigitte Bardot, who opposes Canada’s seal hunt.

 

"It’s not in my nature to take photos with famous people," Harper said in March 2006, when he turned down a meeting with Bardot.

 

The prime minister did pose for a photo last week with California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, even though he refused to hold a news conference with the “Governator.” Harper handed Schwarzenegger an Ottawa Senators jersey and received an Anaheim Ducks jersey in return.

 

Harper has also appeared several times on the television show of comedian Rick Mercer.

 

Geldof earlier this week attacked Canada’s aid record. The outspoken singer, who co-founded DATA with Bono and organized the Live 8 series of concerts in 2005, accused Canadian officials this week of blocking the G8 from making specific aid commitments at the summit. The prime minister’s office denies the allegation.

 

At the 2005 G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, the group pledged to double aid to Africa by 2010-11.

 

Harper says Canada is on track to meet the commitment, but DATA says the government will need to increase aid funding by $479 million over the next two years to keep its promise.

 

The PMO has promised to provide figures to counter DATA’s claim, but has yet to do so.

 

Alleviating poverty and disease in Africa was one of the priorities on the agenda of Merkel, the summit host, but it has been overshadowed this week by a rift between the United States and Europe on climate change and a threat by Russia to aim nuclear missiles at Europe.

 

Of the G8 countries, only Japan and Britain are on track to meet the commitments made at Gleneagles, according to DATA.

 

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national...581c&k=8023

NOTEBOOK: Bush meets rockers

 

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/aponline/46789.14Bush-G8-Africa-Bono-Geldolf.sff.jpg

By TERENCE HUNT

AP WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT

 

 

President Bush, left, greets, producer Bob Geldof, center, and U2 lead singer Bono, right, at the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, Wednesday June 6, 2007 (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

HEILIGENDAMM, Germany -- President Bush is a celebrity in his own right, but he took time Wednesday to gaze at some stars.

 

Bush met with Irish rocker and anti-poverty activist Bono, music producer Sir Bob Geldof and Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour before the start of the G-8 summit of major industrialized nations.

 

"Hanging out with good company, aren't I?" Bush said before retiring inside the Kempinski Grand Hotel Heiligendamm.

 

Bush apparently had Bono on his mind. Earlier, he shouted to aide: "Where's Bono? Bono for president."

 

Anti-poverty campaigners such as Bono, front man for the band U2, have pressed summit leaders to meet commitments to increase aid to poorer countries.

 

Bono has made that case in Washington, too.

 

At last year's National Prayer Breakfast, he told Bush and members of Congress that it's unjust to keep poor people from selling their goods while singing the virtues of the free market.

 

At the time, Bush praised him as a "doer." "You're an amazing guy, Bono. God bless you," Bush said.

 

--

 

First lady Laura Bush visited a library in Schwerin to promote new ways for kids to learn about the United States.

 

But the German children seemed more interested in learning about the wife of the American president.

 

"What do you do in your free time?" one student asked.

 

The first lady said she likes to read, exercise and spend time with her two dogs and cat. "I have two beautiful grown daughters who are 25 years old, and I like to be with them, of course, in my free time," she added.

 

What about sports?

 

"I like to hike," she said. "I like to go for walks. And I actually work out with a trainer and lift weights. It's good for ladies to build their bones."

 

If the question was about sports on TV, Bush clarified that she and the president like to watch baseball.

 

"How is it with George W. Bush by marriage?" one student asked.

 

"By marriage? It's great," the first lady said to laughter. "It's very good. I love my husband very much, as you might imagine, and I have a lot of opportunities, because he's president of the United States, to do things like this today."

 

If that question was a bit personal, so was the next.

 

"How old are you?" she was asked.

 

Smiling, she said: "Don't tell anyone. 60. Very old."

 

---

 

Send in the clowns.

 

As thousands of protesters swarmed near the summit site in Heiligendamm and police used water cannons to scatter them, authorities had a notably more colorful problem in nearby Bad Doberan.

 

Police there chased away more than 100 protesters wearing rainbow-colored wigs and face paint and carrying balloons.

 

They are part of a group that calls itself the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army.

 

"We're just sunny, happy people who want to rescue the world from hunger, pollution, hierarchy, and capitalism," said one protester.

 

Why clowns?

 

Because, according to the group's Web site, everyone is really a lawless clown just trying to escape.

 

"Nothing undermines authority like holding it up to ridicule," the site says.

 

 

Merkel Quarrels With Bono, Geldof Over African Aid

 

By Andreas Cremer

 

June 7 (Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel clashed with campaigning rock stars Bono and Bob Geldof over aid for Africa, as a meeting called to discuss development commitments by the Group of Eight descended into acrimony.

 

Merkel's talks with Geldof, who helped organize the Live Aid concerts, and Bono, co-founder of Debt AIDS Trade Africa, a lobbying group that campaigns to eradicate ``extreme'' poverty and AIDS in Africa, were marred by dissent, according to a German official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

 

``It was a tough meeting and we're now having a row with the chancellor's office about their aid numbers,'' Bono said in an e-mailed statement today. Geldof, asked about the Merkel meeting, told reporters: ``It was very frustrating.''

 

Bono and Geldof met with Merkel yesterday at Heiligendamm, northern Germany, where she is hosting a summit of G-8 leaders including President George W. Bush and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair. Merkel has made development in Africa and combating climate change the two pillars of her summit agenda.

 

Merkel has said she aims to build on the G-8 summit two years ago at Gleneagles, Scotland, where leaders pledged to double annual aid to Africa to $50 billion by 2010. While spending has increased, it isn't currently on course to meet that target.

 

`Very Ambitious'

 

``I feel bound by the goal of 2010,'' Merkel told reporters today. ``Levels and targets agreed there are very ambitious.'' The German government last week pledged to raise development aid by 750 million euros ($1 billion) through 2010, the biggest increase in the development budget to date.

 

``We're not convinced that the G-8 have a robust plan,'' on aid to Africa, said Bono. ``We agree on the goal but not on the path to achieve it,'' he said.

 

Africa is the only continent to become poorer in the past 25 years, according to the United Nations. More than 300 million Africans live on less than $1 a day, and fewer than half of the children on the continent complete primary school, the UN said.

 

Bush and Blair today called on fellow G-8 leaders to recommit themselves to helping Africa.

 

As well as tackling climate change, leaders ``have got to focus on recommitting ourselves to the Gleneagles process on Africa, on making major steps forward there in relation to things like HIV/AIDS and education,'' Blair told reporters after a breakfast meeting with Bush.

 

Scaled Back Aims

 

The Financial Times newspaper today cited a draft summit communique as saying the G-8 would scale back aims to help about 10 million AIDS patients get access to antiretroviral drugs by 2010, instead pledging to help 5 million people. Asked if the report was true, Blair replied: ``Not that I'm aware of.''

 

Bush, pointing to a U.S. commitment of $30 billion to fight AIDS and malaria, said it's ``important we don't forget those who are dying.'' G-8 member states should join the U.S. and the U.K. in ``saving lives'' in Africa, Bush said.

 

Germany's contribution is ``certainly too little,'' Claudia Warning, who as head of Germany's lobby for non-governmental organizations took part in yesterday's meeting with Merkel, said in an e-mailed statement today. ``The difference between this and the promises that have been made is too great.''

 

The Merkel talks were ``frustrating,'' whereas exchanges with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and French President Nicolas Sarkozy were ``encouraging and positive,'' Oliver Buston, DATA's European director, said in a telephone interview.

 

Prodi agreed yesterday to set aside 400 million euros in the 2008 budget for the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria after his talks with activists. Italy already promised 260 million euros for this year, which it didn't deliver.

 

Germany is still considering how to use some of the proceeds from emissions trading to further increase aid to Africa, the German official said.

 

Geldof criticized the German leader's ``wait-and-see language.''

 

``Now is not the time for caution, it's time for bold action,'' Geldof said in a separate statement. ``These are going to be a very difficult two days.''

 

To contact the reporter on this story: Andreas Cremer in Heiligendamm, Germany at acremer@bloomberg.net .

 

 

Here is a link to a sky news vid, which features Bono - Bob Geldof is ranting on about how the world leaders broke their promice etc and how Bono was getting depressed :lol: http://news.sky.com/skynews/video/videopla...0-1269485,.html

Thanks for posting this :teresa:

08.06.2007

'Keep the Promise!'

 

The P8 Festival in Rostock last night culminated with Bono duetting - in German - with the mighty Herbert Grönemeyer. Details and video links here.

 

The show, organised by Grönemeyer to ramp up the political pressure as Germany hosted G8 leaders in Heiligendamm, saw Bono on stage in several musical combinations.

 

Opening with Youssou N'Dour and Bob Geldof on Marley's 'Redemption Song', they were joined by Campino from Die Toten Hosen for The Beatles' 'You Never Give Me Your Money' and finished up with more Marley and 'Get Up Stand Up'.

 

The logistics backstage were 'pretty complex', according to one of the team. 'We were running between three rooms: in one Bob, Youssou and Bono were rehearsing their set, in another it was G8 media interviews, and in another Bono was practising his German wth Herbert!'

 

As the 60,000 fans thought the show was coming to an end, Grönemeyer introduced his signature number 'Mensch', bringing Bono back on - in German.