Bono to Visit Qatar? / Bono cancels Doha visit

[Utoo]

I'm having Bono over for tea.


Sorry, Qatar. And sorry, Interference, that I created the scheduling conflict that led to this thread.

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

^

can I come over.

 

[gvox]

1. 2000 km is not a huge distance, and the different country thing means nothing in a geographical area where there are many countries sandwiched up against each other. If terrorists attacked multiple locations including luxury hotels in Vancouver and targeted only Australian and British passport holders, it's a bit naive to believe that Australians planning to stay in a luxury hotel in say Winnipeg or Toronto wouldn't at least give it a second thought, or depending on their comfort level, cancel their plans until things quieted down a bit.

2. Terrorism is global., not isolated to India, just this set of attacks were. I do think that it is possible that a group is likely planning an international strike against major cities, that's hardly a stretch. (note: this is not an endorsement of the "War on Terror")

3. Bono is an important figure, of course he is. He's hobnobbed with the Western leaders and could potentially face a threat one day. He's no less (or more, on the value of human life scale) important than any of the tourists who were singled out. If Bono was there and he pulled out his Irish passport...what do you think might have happened, would they have spared him? I doubt it.

4. Having said all that...I don't believe for a second Bono would cancel a trip because of it. Recurring war and strife in Africa hasn't prevented him from visiting the continent. He's been closer to danger than likely most on this board have, and let's not forget that U2 didn't stop touring after 9/11. I think he's more the type to go on with his plans, in order to not give would-be terrorists the psychological power they crave.

 

[The Sad Punk]

What would be great is if this thread got voted 5 stars and everybody panicked and stopped posting in it.

 

[last unicorn]

The reason why Bono cancelled that trip may very well be the video shoot for their (RED) Wire christmas single. If they recorded this song last Wednesday it's very possible they just made that video within the last couple of days. So with (RED) Wire starting on December 1 and U2 obviously being among the featured artists, they had to make a video for this song quickly, so that may have been the "unforseen circomstances". Or maybe not, who knows.

 

[corianderstem]

Bono cancelled his trip so he could sit back at his computer and laugh uproariously over the reactions here.

 

[Addicted To Bad]

Bono cancelled his trip so he could sit back at his computer and laugh uproariously over the reactions here.

Sure, after all rock stars need to relax and have fun every now and then...

 

[coolian2]

Bono cancelled his trip so he could sit back at his computer and laugh uproariously over the reactions here.

Would he be in the 'Qatar is full or terrorists' camp, or the 'I have a clue about the world' camp?

I think the former is a likely candidate.

 

[Rachel D.]

I was actually wondering if he would cancel after I heard about the terrorist attacks in India.

 

[Axver]

What would be great is if this thread got voted 5 stars and everybody panicked and stopped posting in it.

Shame it's only 4 stars at the moment. Terrorists aren't interested in so few stars.

Maybe if Bono was willing to slum it in Doha like the rest of us, he'd be safe!

 

[Sir BonoBjanglz]

Didn't we already establish that his trip was cancelled because Rob Partridge died? His friend and employer just succumbed to cancer. That's a reason not to travel. Terrorist attacks not even in the same place as where he'd planned to go are surely not the reason.


Terrorist attacks have happened in Dublin. Bloody Sunday, anyone? Though Belfast is more of a hotbed for the IRA. Belfast is a lot closer to Dublin than Mumbai is to Doha though Doha's probably safer than Dublin


Of course, at this rate, if something were to happen in Dublin, Ireland, people in Dublin, Ohio would probably be freaking out

Holy crap. I practically live in Dublin, Ohio. I'm freaking out ----because someone actually knows where the hell it is!

Sorry, off-topic due to unforeseen circumstances... resume interesting discussion!

 

[The Sad Punk]

I'm close to Dublin in South Australia. They're building a hotel there just so they can temporarily shut it down.

 

[coolian2]

I'm close to Dublin in South Australia. They're building a hotel there just so they can temporarily shut it down.

I'm 1500 miles from Adelaide....I'm shitscared now.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

I'm 1500 miles from Adelaide....I'm shitscared now.

you should be, bono and i were chatting earlier and he said he wanted to "get that fucker een"

 

[The Sad Punk]

you should be, bono and i were chatting earlier and he said he wanted to "get that fucker een"

Hah, really?

He said that to me, too!

 

[coolian2]

you should be, bono and i were chatting earlier and he said he wanted to "get that fucker een"

Oh noes, I'm only 11,000 miles from Dubin.

 

[Axver]

Oh noes, I'm only 11,000 miles from Dubin.

11,000 miles? Yeah, might as well be next door. Watch your back, EEN. You're not safe.

 

[Cactus Annie]

Do you have any idea of geography?

Cancelling a trip to Doha because of attacks in Mumbai would be like somebody in New York not taking the subway to work because a train derailed in London.

Perhaps you should try and tell the hacks at FIFA. After the trouble in Kosovo 10 years ago they saw fit to cancel all the football qualifiers in every country within the Balkan region. Why cancel the a game in Greece?

But I see that the cancellation was to due to the sad news about their friend.

 

[Cactus Annie]

Doesn't Edun do some business in India? Could they possibly have people in their organization in harms way? Also concerning the terrorist attacks with reports that westerners (Brits and Americans) being targeted this may be beyond internal Indian terrorist activity. Not enough is known yet. I would think with the album work being so close to wrapping up any uncertainity about his security would be unwelcome. Yes, I know he's Irish not British but an awful lot of people seem to think of him as British or even American. I have frequently gotten puzzled responses from people on saying he's Irish because they actually thought he was American. Go figure.

Dana

Funny because when HMTMKMKM was out all those years ago, although I didn't know much about their music back then, for some reason I was under the impression that they were American. My former housemate also used to think they were American. When I was watching a video on YouTube with the Live8 performance of One, these 2 guys were having an argument and one of them said that Bono spoke with an American accent. He's speaking voice has definetely changed since the early days and I have heard other fans say how his Irish accent isn't as broad as it used to be. Sometimes I think he does speak with an American accent.