What: A rally consisting of concerned Americans and a diverse coalition of partner groups committed to fighting Aids and poverty in Africa and around the world.

When: 1:30 p.m. Sunday May 16th

Where: Independence Mall, 5th and Market Streets, Philadelphia PA (Rain location: The Trocadero, 1003 Arch Street)

Who: Speakers include U2 lead singer and DATA co-founder Bono, NBA star Dikembe Mutombo, Philadelphia 76'ers President and GM Billy King, Grammy award winning gospel artist Michael W. Smith, Richard Stearns (World Vision), Ugandan Nurse Agnes Nyamayarwo, and David Beckmann (Bread for the World).

rundschau-online.de: Die Pressefreiheit ist nicht nur ein Menschenrecht, sondern auch eine wirksame Waffe gegen Armut, Unterdrückung und Korruption.

Auf diese Kurzformel lassen sich die Plädoyers von Prominenten wie Dalai Lama, Rocksänger Bono und Weltbankpräsident James Wolfensohn zum Internationalen Tag der Pressefreiheit am 3. Mai bringen. Sie engagieren sich für die Freiheit der Medien in Interviews und Artikeln auf der Webpage des Weltverbandes der Zeitungen (WAN).

u2log.com: The Irish Independent reports that Bono had lunch with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at his home in Killiney on Saturday (May 1). Blair is in Dublin for events related to the EU expansion.

u2tour.de: Am Mittwoch dieser Woche war Bono in Berlin, um die deutsche Hilfsinitiative Gemeinsam für Afrika zu unterstützen und um als Gastredner beim Awards Business for Excellence Dinner für die Organisation D.A.T.A. (Debt AIDS Trade Africa) zu werben.

Bono verwendete in seiner Rede deutliche Worte, insbesondere an Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder appellierte er mehrfach. U2.com hat nun die komplette Rede von Bono veröffentlicht. tagesspiegel.de hat die Rede übersetzt - beides findet Ihr auf u2tour.de. Bono eröffnete seine Rede mit den Worten "Guten Abend. My name is Bono, ich bin ein Rock Star ... ich bin ein Dubliner". Björn vom U2tour.de Team war vor Ort und hat nicht nur einen Bericht geschrieben und Photos gemacht - er erhielt auch ein Autogramm samt Selbstporträt von Bono!

Foto: Björn vom U2tour.de Team

Bono, on The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2002

"If everyone gets together, this idea of bringing water to Africa is not far-fetched. It's possible, and we can do it right now. I tell you, it will revolutionize that continent."

When you sing, you make people vulnerable to change in their lives. You make yourself vulnerable to change in your life. But in the end, you've got to become the change you want to see in the world.

interference.com: Ireland's unofficial ambassador, U2's Bono became embroiled in Canuck politics in November when he spoke at the ruling Liberal leadership convention. Many political pundits were stunned by Bono's political wits, with some tired hacks remarking that PM in waiting Paul Martin might be upstaged. Bono's influence on Canadian politics went further when his remarks were debated in the House of Commons.

New Democrat Party, Member of Parliament, Libby Davis brought up the extravagant rock artist in relation to Canada's seeming lack of commitment to the Global Fund. "As Bono also pointed out, Canada's commitment to the global fund is one-third below what our obligation is. Yet the global fund was completely missed out of the throne speech. It was not mentioned in the budget. Again, why was the global fund ignored? Are these commitments simply Liberal window dressing that mean nothing for the people that they are intended to help? Where is the Liberal commitment? Why does it not come through?" The Speech from the Throne, outlining legislative agenda and the budget are bell weathers of where the party intends to take the country.

In Bono's convention speech he asked Canada to invest three times our current amount. "I told him [PM Martin] earlier today that if Canada puts in its fair share of three times the current amount by the way, they'll embarrass the rest of the world into doing the same."

The rocker applauded Canada's commitment to providing cheaper generic drugs for poor African nations facing the AIDS/HIV pandemic. However the bill remains in committee and is so seriously flawed that it is almost laughable—pharmaceutical companies have the choice to opt out of providing the generic drugs to Africa.

MP Davis again ripped the Liberals by using Bono's remarks in the House of Commons on the failure of this bill. Proving how entertaining Canadian politics is, she said, "I might add that we are sending his [PM Martin's] answer to Bono, so I hope he thinks about his reply. The bill that is supposed to provide affordable drugs to Africa is fatally flawed. It contains the first right of refusal for big drug companies, something that the NGOs and the experts know fatally flaws and undermines the bill." Though the PM was present he did not rise to MP Davis's challenge.

Bono told Canadians that "we need more Canadas" and he promised that should our PM fail he would "be the biggest pain in[PM Martin's] ass a year down the line [PM Martin] is going to regret tonight."

The New Democrat Party has written to Bono requesting that he put his ass kicking promises to good measure. At a music industry function I attended a few nights later, the topic of Bono's speech came up. The consensus around the table was that the fix was in, with one hot well connected industry babe making the sucky-sucky motion as to the whole relevance of Bono’s appearance. Is Bono a true promise anything politician or will he live up to his fighting words?

In the spring of 2000, when we were working to secure $435 million in debt relief for the developing world that President Clinton had promised, a friendly legislator took Bono and me to a private office near the U.S. Capitol. "I think we can make a deal at about $200 million," the lawmaker said. He had been told that by "certain people." We knew that the prior offer was just $60 million to $70 million. "Declare victory and go home," our friend advised.

Bono said, "No, we need the full $435 million." There was an awkward moment. "And another thing," Bono continued. "If 'certain people' fight it, tell them U2 will come to their districts, get 50,000 kids in a stadium and put their photo on 30-ft. screens with the caption, 'This guy killed African women and children.'"

That's punk rock. And that's why Bono is a hero. Not because he's a rock star, but because he's a rock star who is willing to spend time on things that are tedious and boring—like long sessions with Senators and Administration officials and meetings at the World Bank and the IMF on torpid Washington Saturday mornings.

Why?

Here's the answer. When Bono and his wife Ali first went to Africa, they worked in a refugee camp for a month. On the day they were leaving, a man approached him carrying a baby. "This is my son," the man said. "Please take him with you when you leave. If you do, he will live. Otherwise he will die."

I have heard Bono tell that story several times. Each time, I think he is haunted by the unacceptable fact that any father should be faced with such a choice and by the horror that this unjust moment is repeated every day across Africa. He has dedicated his life to making sure that such extreme poverty comes to an end.