CNN/AP: Bono, Oprah promote new iPod, other merchandise, to fight AIDS

[DeepModem Mom]

Bono, Oprah promote new iPod to fight AIDS
October 13, 2006


Bono and Oprah Winfrey check out a new red iPod nano during shopping trip together in Chicago.

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Talk show host Oprah Winfrey and humanitarian rocker Bono hit the city's "Magnificent Mile" on Thursday for a shopping spree to promote a new line of clothing, accessories and gadgets, including a special-edition iPod, that will raise money to fight AIDS in Africa.

Dozens of "(Product) Red" items will go on sale in the coming weeks by Gap Inc., Apple Computer Inc., Motorola Inc., Converse Inc. and Emporio Armani.

Portions of the product sales will go to The Global Fund, an organization that fights AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

"Some people won't put on marching boots, so we've got to get to people where they are at, and they're in the shopping malls," Bono said in a phone interview. "Now you're buying jeans and T-shirts, and you're paying for 10 women in Africa to get medication for their children with HIV."...

***

With Apple's iPod alone, The Global Fund stands to raise millions of dollars...."We've moved from the philanthropy budgets to the marketing budgets, and guess what, there's no comparison in size," Bono said. "We now have some of the most creative people in commerce -- Steve Jobs, the marketing people at Gap and Motorola -- all working for the world's poor. That is so so cool."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/ptech/10/13/winfrey.bono.nano.ap/index.html

[Deja Q]

1. I'll just donate the money straight up.

No money or flashy gimmicks to detract or distract.

[DeepModem Mom]

2. I might buy some of these things for Christmas presents...

I'd be buying anyway. That may be what they're hoping for.

[Ladydawnelle]

3. They were calling it "BUY RED"

forget it - I saw the TV promo

Maybe they're doing that to immitate the buyblue.org site or to make sure their RICH REPublican pals will DONATE some of that TAX break they got this year! The greedy punks.

Bono is not even American right? I dislike watching him brown nose with the criminal right. But I guess since they are the ones with all the MONEY that's where he'll need to go. I wish he was HALF as passionate about this damn WAR.

[The Stranger]

4. Funny, isn't it, how Bono and his shitty band avoid the real issue -- WAR!

Content to jet around the world in their private planes and play dated, mediocre music.

[Ladydawnelle]

5. Maybe it's just an Irish thing?

LOL

I guess if he can eek out some dough from the greedy right that is great.

I still don't get him. I'd NEVER EVER kiss up to GW DOUCHE for squat!!! ACKKKKKKK!

but that's just me.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

9. The Irish are very, very much against the war.

They were before it even started. I backpacked through Ireland shortly before we invaded Iraq. The anti-war sentiment was unbelievable there. There was massive outrage against the Irish government allowing U.S. military aircraft to stop at Shannon airport en route to the mid-east.

This is one of the photos I took in Dublin:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

11. Sorry, but Bono and "his shitty band" aren't avoiding "the real issue."

AIDS is a very, very real issue. Here's some some stats for you to consider. I dare you to read them and say it isn't a "real" issue.

The latest statistics on the world epidemic of AIDS & HIV were published by UNAIDS/WHO in May 2006, and refer to the end of 2005.
------------------------------------------Estimate-----------Range
People living with HIV/AIDS in 2005 38.6 million 33.4-46.0 million
Adults living with HIV/AIDS in 2005 36.3 million 31.4-43.4 million
Women living with HIV/AIDS in 2005 17.3 million 14.8-20.6 million
Children living with HIV/AIDS in 2005 2.3 million 1.7-3.5 million
People newly infected with HIV in 2005 4.1 million 3.4-6.2 million
AIDS deaths in 2005 2.8 million 2.4-3.3 million

More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.

Africa has 12 million AIDS orphans.

By the end of 2005, women accounted for 48% of all adults living with HIV worldwide, and for 59% in sub-Saharan Africa.

Young people (15-24 years old) account for half of all new HIV infections worldwide - around 6,000 become infected with HIV every day.

In developing and transitional countries, 6.8 million people are in immediate need of life-saving AIDS drugs; of these, only 1.65 million are receiving the drugs.

And as for the "real issue" of the Iraq War, he fundraises for that, as well.

Pavarotti and Bono to sing for Iraq war victims

April 9 2003

Luciano Pavarotti and Bono of U2 will join forces for a charity concert next month in the Italian tenor's home town of Modena to raise funds for people affected by the war in Iraq, the UN refugee agency has announced.

The concert on May 27th will by the 10th "Pavarotti and Friends" collaboration between the tenor and a glittering array of pop stars.

Over the past decade, Pavarotti has performed live concerts in Modena with Sting, Bryan Adams, Liza Minelli, Elton John, Anastacia, Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estafan as well as a string of Italian acts like Zucchero and Ligabue.

Pavarotti and Bono first sang together for victims of the Bosnian war in 1995.

Last year, James Brown and Sting were among the stars who performed with Pavarotti in a concert for the children of war-ravaged Angola.

Millions of dollars have been raised for the UN High Commission for Refugees and other charities. The proceeds of this year's concert will go to people affected by the war in Iraq, where the UN agency is preparing for a refugee crisis.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[The Stranger]

20. Rock came of age as protest music against an illegal war.

I'm not talking about just helping "people affected by the war in Iraq," I'm talking about a massive, overwhelming statement and concert/tour/gathering to oppose the waging of the illegal war in Iraq. If the fucking Dixie Chicks can say what they have said, then Bono and his shitty band can and should a fuck of a lot more.

[ripple]

22. Your logic is astounding

Bono has been very outspoken about his disapproval of the Iraq war. Hell, don't you remember him singing Sunday, Bloody Sunday at the Clinton museum dedication, with B* in attendance, looking quite uncomfortable?

If you consider U2 a 'shitty little band', that's your opinion and although I disagree, I respect that. To question the integrity of a man whose efforts have literally saved millions of lives is another story altogether. Not knowing what sort of music you listen to, I challenge you to look at your favorites and come up with one artist - just one- that has done more to ease global suffering than Bono. I'm referring to action, not just talk.

It's especially confounding that you mention the Dixie Chicks as shining examples that Bono should strive to emulate. I applaud the the Dixie chicks for speaking out about their political views, but how many lives did they save today or yesterday? How many will they save tomorrow?

The war is here. I didn't and don't support it, but that doesn't change the reality of the situation. It's up to all of us to do what we can to minimize the suffering of the innocents caught in the crossfire. Similarly, AIDS is here and it'a a global crisis that needs to be addressed now, rather than later.

Perhaps you have a difficult time walking and chewing gum at the same time, in that you apparently have a problem with people disagreeing with a war, while also promoting humanitarian assistance to ease the suffering of those affected by the war. Thankfully, Bono is capable of doing more than one thing at a time.

I think Bono and Oprah are on to a fantastic idea. Get people where they go, rather than trying to find a way into their homes and hearts.

[The Stranger]

23. Holy shit, you tell me my logic is "astounding," and then you drop

a gem like "The war is here" and "that doesn't change the reality of the situation"?

If Bono really wanted to make a difference and save lives (hundreds of thousands, if not a million or more lives, given the endless war that is going on and the blowback it will likely insire), he would speak out against the WAR -- the elephant standing in the middle of the room -- that is what takes real courage, that is what could actually cost you album sales to the warmongering right wing, that is what makes some not like you so much and sing your saintly praises on internet message boards. He would be on the right side of the issue. Singing a song from 1983 and winking while the Emperor supposedly "feels uncomfortable" isn't going to cut it.

Rock came of age protesting an illegal war. To play it (even if your band is stilted and your creativity is limited to repeats from the 1980's and The Edge's guitar arpeggios) and not protest the current illegal war is a shame. It flies in the face of what so many rock artists stood for, for decades. Any time I hear a war-mongering, hate-mongering, torture supporting "American" insulting the Dixie Chicks or Sean Penn or even John Fogerty (or think about anyone who played Woodstock) and other courageous, true Americans, I wonder why can't someone like Bono lift a fucking finger and stage a concert, invite all of his friends (and even Oprah), and perhaps even I could stomach his pedestrian lyrics and his pathetic moaning into the microphone.

Maybe you are okay with "the war being here," and the torture of innocent Iraqi citizens held by a corrupt military, the murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, the massacres of those families unlucky enough to be near an IED detonation, the bombing of civilian neighborhoods, schools, homes, families, the "shock and awe" devastation of an entire nation, the occupation that has killed over 2,500 young Americans and hundreds of thousands (and will lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands more), but I am not.

[ripple]

25. I am NOT "okay" with the war

In fact, I am vehemently opposed to it. That still doesn't change the fact that millions of Iraqis who have managed to survive in Iraq are suffering tremendously as a result of our nation's illegal and immoral actions.

THE IRAQI PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING HORRIBLY. MANY ARE LIKELY TO DIE WITHOUT HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION, ESPECIALLY AS SECTARIAN VIOLENCE (AKA: CIVIL WAR) WORSENS AND MORE PEOPLE ARE FORCED OUT OF THEIR HOMES.

WHAT PART OF THAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?

Perhaps you're ok with sitting back and saying "the war is wrong, so fuck 'em", but I believe that as human beings, we have an inherent responsibility to ease human suffering wherever it exists, regardless of the cause. One can be opposed to the Iraq war, while also being in favor of providing humanitarian assistance to those affected by the war. The two concepts certainly aren't mutually exclusive. Judging from your last post, you seem to be opposed to the war very much for humanitarian reasons, so I honestly don't understand why you would condemn Bono for doing what he can to ease the human suffering brought about by the war.

Again, Bono has made it very clear that he is opposed to the war. His particular area of interest happens to involve fighting disease and poverty, therefore he tends to focus most of his efforts in that direction. The fact that he happens to be a rock musician doesn't obligate him in any way to follow the script you've laid out for him. He's successfully saved millions of lives doing things his own way. That certainly isn't cause for shame. I appreciate the Chicks, Fogerty, and Penn's spirited opposition to the powers that be, but none of them can come even close to what Bono has achieved on a humanitarian scale.

Since you seem to be such a fan :eyes: of what you referred to as Bono's "pedestrian lyrics" , this seems to be as good a time as any to share some:

Peace On Earth

Heaven on Earth, we need it now
I'm sick of all of this hanging around
Sick of sorrow, sick of the pain
I'm sick of hearing again and again
That there's gonna be peace on Earth

Where I grew up there weren't many trees
Where there was we'd tear them down
And use them on our enemies
They say that what you mock
Will surely overtake you
And you become a monster
So the monster will not break you

And it's already gone too far
Who said that if you go in hard
You won't get hurt?

Jesus can you take the time
To throw a drowning man a line
Peace on Earth
Tell the ones who hear no sound
Whose sons are living in the ground
Peace on Earth
No whos or whys
No one cries like a mother cries
For peace on Earth
She never got to say goodbye
To see the color in his eyes
Now he's in the dirt
Peace on Earth

They're reading names out over the radio
All the folks the rest of us won't get to know
Sean and Julia, Gareth and Ann and Breda
Their lives are bigger than any big idea

Jesus can you take the time
To throw a drowning man a line
Peace on Earth
To tell the ones who hear no sound
Whose sons are living in the ground
Peace on Earth
Jesus sing a song you wrote
The words are sticking in my throat
Peace on Earth
Hear it every Christmas time
But hope and history won't rhyme
So what's it worth
This peace on Earth

Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth

[Chovexani]

14. Wow, you're special. (n/t)

[Garbo 2004]

7. Or maybe it's because the AIDS ribbons are......red? n/t

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

10. Damn you and sensical thinking!

For shame!

[Raine]

6. This is WONDERFUL...

a very good thing. :thumbsup: I see they're already raised 12 million since they started in Great Britain in the spring.

[Norton]

8. How shameful of the "alleged" liberals here....

to look a gift horse in the mouth! Why don't you jack-asses pick on someone who isn't even involved? Raine is right, it's a very good thing Bono is doing and I'm not a U2 fan in the least. Sometimes I can't tell the difference between a conservative pig and a liberal pig!?!

[Raine]

16. Yeah, really.

I just don't get all bad attitudes directed to these people who have done something good. :mad:

[breakaleg]

12. What Bono has done for Aids and Africa is outstanding.

I think this campaign is a very good thing because it gets people who probably wouldn't ordinarily donate, to contribute to a wonderful cause.

[Vinca]

15. I admire what these people do tremendously, but when will

"celebrities" trumpet the cause of 45 million plus Americans without health care?

[Nihil]

17. What you said ...

... and, in addition, why don't these "concerned celebrities" start doing something
for everyone rather than just the "celebrity" causes like frigging HIV/AIDS?

There are shitload of problems in the world that rank higher than AIDS so
if you want to be truly "humanitarian" rather than just glory-seeking then
do something about them instead.

Posers.

[mondo joe]

18. What number does AIDS rank? And what are the top 10 problems

they should be concerned about instead?

[Nihil]

19. For a start ...

1. CLIMATE CHANGE (primarily CO2/CH4 based)
2. Lack of (potable) water
3. Famine
4. Peak Oil
5. Sea-level rise
6. Heavy metal pollution from coal power stations
7. Deforestation
8. Over-population
9. Over-fishing
10. Ocean pollution (plastic/bio/chem)
...
57. AIDS

So FY for the single-issue blinkers.

[mondo joe]

21. LOL! AIDS is #57?

Sounds like you're just crabby because someone has a cause other than yours.

[Nihil]

24. AIDS is a whole lot less important than the planet.

And the fact that you think I'm "crabby" about it just shows
how little you grasp the situation.

[LiberalTexan]

26. Bono is king of forgotten causes

I think Bono challenges us to not forget problems that are STILL out there and STILL an affront to our humanity that thirty years later we've still got no cure for AIDS, no real help for those that suffer without the resources for medication, and affecting the women and children of this world without a seeming end.

You know, if you pick 50 of your favorite pet causes, the message gets diluted and you become just a big, self-righteous asshole and people get tired of hearing from you. But, here on this thread, if you pick a cause that has spanned 30 years, you are considered an asshole because it wasn't the cause that someone else would have picked.

I am with every fiber of my person against this war. This war is here and now. True. We care about every single American soldier and every single Iraqi that dies. True. So, we should direct all of our energy to that and forget others who are suffering? Bono has spoken out against what's going on in Darfur, too. Is he an asshole for that?

I go to sleep each night with 1,000 different injustices on my mind-- as I'm sure many of you do, too. So, why are we blasting someone who is tackling a few of those injustices?? I expected more here. Are we becoming as cynical as the Rush Limbaugh generation? *shudder*