Bono in Philly

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Blm, you just outdid me in the senimentality dept.....Bob and Iris...*SNIFF* I need a Kleenex. IMO, Ali probably wasn't there. She's back in Dublin I'm sure, with the kids in school. I mean this is just probably a 24-hr thing for him....hop on the Elevation Express, a 7 hr trip total, maybe 71/2 hrs with a switchover, relax a bit at the hotel, the event--plus a good bit of schmoozing and meet and greets in between---hope the Philly folks have some stories to tell!:drool: --some sleep (unless you're up watching CNN about Burma!) and then back to Dublin tomorrow.
Though it would be nice if she were here. But thatfirst pic on page 1 looked like he was leaving his hotel room, and she wasn't there....accosted by the media outside his own door, LOL..

BTW, Bono Mot, Happy Birthday! This was a great gift I'm sure! And life will only get better. I'm not too far from 40 myself and you're only growing older if you think you are and feel like it. As Bono wrote, "Some days you wake up in the Army"...lol.

You know, not to geek out here, but even after 10 yrs I'm still amazed at the Internet. That we can be all over the place (the US, Venezuela, Europe) and all tune in to this more or less together. It's just fantastic. I WISH we had had this at earlier points in U2's career, or our lives. Remember when ZooTV was the bee's knees in cutting edge technology? When Bono actually made calls to the White House onstage via a phone connected to a cord, and we freaked out? When someone pointed a videocamera at him and filmed him onstage and what we saw was broadcast 80 feet high. That was really space age. Now, ZooTV is downright primative. Now we do stuff like this and it's no big deal. Amazing, huh?

Hopefully someday they will start building a concert archive on their site (maybe they have one?) and you will be able to watch the latest show on their next tour 24 hrs after the show. THAT would be great! One can dream?

PS. Ah, the pics are coming up!:drool: Thanks Unicorn!

Though I am trying to figure out how to put this on a DVD from a simple laptop...it can be done I think?
 
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Bono Mot said:
Off topic:

Comet, please stop posting, because I end up spending *hours* clicking on your little Bonos.

:giggle:

Just kidding...they're lovely!

*click* *click* *click* *click*

:ohmy: *click* *click* *click*
 
I see Bono wasn't wearing his platforms:wink: He looks so tiny next to Bush the Elder.

And the Liberty Medal looks like an Olympic medal.....the Medal of Freedom next!:) (That's the highest US civilian award, am I correct?) Heck, he's got every award now but the Nobel Prize and he'll probably never get that, so might as well throw the MOF in!
 
Unicorn, about the speech (my initial thoughts on content), about fandom, or the Internet? Thanks anyhoo.

BTW, you can call me Teta--it's a name taken from the Star Wars Extended UNiverse (the world of the Star Wars novels.) Empress Teta. It's also very close to my real name. The "40" comes from my 2nd favorite U2 song (Bad being the first.) Thanks for being nice to a PLEBA posting newbie. I'm more of an FYM'er. I only lurk here daily to catch up on the guys' whereabouts--an endearingly despicable habit we 80's fans began doing long ago. Don't ask me why we HAVE to know what the guys are doing as much as possible.....they're like family at this point I guess.

You guys who have been posting pics of them in NYC and Italy this summer ROCK.
 
It's great to see those pictures of young kids looking to Bono for leadership. You know, people are always complaining that kids these days have no good role-models to follow, but I think in Bono they have something better. That is a real-model. In other words, someone who isn't perfect, but does great things anyway, someone who falls on his face but knows how to get up and keep going, someone who although he might forget his wife's birthday has never forgotten how important she is to him, and someone who has never forgotten his friends. I've never liked having so-called perfect people for role models because the kids know they aren't perfect so they don't think they can live up to the standards they set and when they slip up, and they always do, the kids say so much for your perfect role-model and it actually reinforces the idea that those standards are unattainable. But with a real-model, like Bono, they can see that they have a chance to be great too because if Bono is no more perfect than they are, then they have a chance to be like him.
 
AMEN. God knows there are practically NO American heroes right now--just the opposite, and in abundance. We really have hit bottom. Oh, maybe we have famous people, but IMO, Tiger Woods is an inspirational figure for certain reasons, but a sports hero is limited. Obama was a hero for a while but sad to say he is finally getting sucked into the political vortex and is being spit out the other end....yesterday's backstabbing House vote on Iran and MoveOn.org proves this, he is being blackmailed....

You know, these pics are realy moving...I HAVE to get off and watch the speech again, is the archive up yet?
 
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Teta, I was refering to your analysis of Bono's speech and some of your more emotional comments on certain details. I have similar feelings and cannot wait to listen to the speech again.

There is a transcript of the speech at @u2 com and a link to an audio file of the speech in the EYKIW forum. Bono said he had only five minutes, but I'm not sure how long he was speaking in the end, seemed like at least 10 minutes, but I'd have to watch it again or listen to it to be sure.

Has anyone else noticed that there were a lot of empty seats in the beginning of the ceremony and much more people in the audience when Bono was speaking? Maybe they brought some of the GA people to the front?! It's strange because all the tickets were said to have sold out, read it today in the media as well.
 
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Hi Teta040 and unicorn:wave:

Teta040- was that a dig about beating you on the sentimentality? cuz that is NOT the way I meant it. Have had a lot of stuff going on this past couple months, in the loss dept and guess I am feeling quite sensitive about things. I agree with your post very much!! (being over 40, myself ):up:

Unicorn, I agree that he is such a role model-yes, there aren't many and every day listening to the news is just so super depressing. People are SOOOO screwd up. It really takes a LOT of effort to show and teach kids the way to be. Bono is incredible, I loved when he said to the Data group-he is their servant . He is humble and his beliefs are simple- and he practices what he preaches. Not much more can you ask of the man. Sorry to rant on....
 
What time is it in your neck of the woods, lol. Here in Albany, NY it's about 10:30. I am a night owl by nature. Heck, I would have stayed up all night for this!

If you're tired Unicorn that's OK. Do you have kids you dropped off on the hubby to put to bed?:wink:

"Yes, dear, the world really DOES stop when Bono speaks!" Mere mortals cannot understand.
Before I got this laptop, and when I lived at home, the family learned long ago to read my kitchen counter notes about me recording events with U2 on TV...it was total war and I won by stubbornness. I took no prisoners....that VCR and TV were MINE.

Good night, if you're leaving us!

*EDIT*

PS. No Blm, I was dead serious. I was a bit embarrassed at blathering and glad that someone felt similar to me. That was a compliment believe me!
 
PPS. Blm--see above. And whatever you're going through, *HUGS* (my gifs don't work with Explorer, sorry.) Having lost a brother and my mother a yr and half ago I can relate. It isn't east muddling through the aftermath--I've said to friends it's like Katrina--as bad as the event is, what follows is worse--the getting past it. I'm still young (38) but dealing with having both parents gone and only a sister hasn't been easy. But offer it all up to God and He will watch over you.

(Have to quote Bono again...."All God wants is a willing heart and for us to reach out to Him")

I note in the speechhe said he wasn't a philosopher exceot after a few pints but over the course of this decade the man has certainly uttered enough awe-inspiring quotes. Just his National Prayer Breakfast speech.....that deserved the book treatment it got. If anyone (maybe the non-Yanks on here) hasn't watched/read that speech, will someone please provide a link. It is in the book "On the Move." It is perhaps his finest non-concert public moment ever. "God is in the cries of those trapped in the rubble of war"---SOB.

Anyone think that this speech started out a little subdued in tone and really got going towards the end? I think it was b/c Bono is used to audience feedback.....he can't "read" quiet....and everyone hanging on his every word.
 
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Ahh. Just got in from a great night. Bono's speech was one of the best Ive heard from him mixing both humor with sincerity.

I took pictures but being dark out and in the GA they didnt come out all that great.
 
Bono’s Liberty Medal Acceptance Speech


Won't take long. I'm the Fidel Castro of speechifying. We've got a few hours, don't we?

Right. Thank you. Thank you Mr. President. (George H.W. Bush) Thanks Joe. (Joseph Torsella, President and CEO, National Constitution Center) and everyone here at the National Constitution Center. It's an inspiring place. In the words of Robert Zimmerman - Bob Dylan – "ring those bells…ring those bells."

I want to thank my wife, Ali. And I also want to thank the members of U2 for not firing me when they hear I'm in Philadelphia this evening because they're in the studio expecting me, and I know they won't fire me because it is Philadelphia and we've played everywhere here. From 70 people to 70,000 people here. An important city for the U2ers, as well as these both Live 8 concerts which really turned my life upside down.

I've got 5 minutes to talk and I can spend that doing the shout-outs, but I want to thank Ngozi. (Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Finance Minister of Nigeria and current member of DATA's Policy Advisory Board) Really for what she said, for what she is and for what she does. This is the kind of leader we all want to work for. This is the reason we in DATA do what we do. We love you dear.

I must tell you it's a bit humbling for me to be here where it all got started. Where America got started. Because along with a mayor, a governor, a former president, and so many others that served the cause of freedom while I, it has to be said, have served the cause of my own ego. President Bush, you may remember that when you were in office in 1992 and U2 was touring America, I used to do this bit every night in the show where I would bring a phone out and I'd ring you up at the White House. You never took my calls, Sir. You had far too much sense. That's the truth. Now your son, he did not have your sense. He not only took my call, he had me over to lunch. And then I wouldn't leave. I think he's been regretting it ever since because when I come over to the house, I'm not exactly what you call "house trained" - even White House trained. I'm not exactly what you call a good guest either. I can be rude and I ask for things before we even sit down for tea, like billions of dollars to fight AIDS in Africa. Things like that.

I'd like to think that I've always left the White House with more than I arrived. Not only budget commitments, cutlery, silverware, candelabras, one or two Bush family photos, -OK one Gilbert Stuart portrait…of George Washington; it was in the bathroom – nobody could see, I'll give it back.

I have to say that people took risks in working with us. And want to say that current President Bush was not only gracious, he was passionate. Passionate about doing more for the poorest of the poor, and smart enough to know that he wasn't just letting a rock star run amok with his staff. He knew that DATA, the organization being honored tonight, was bursting with energy. Filled to the brim with the best and the brightest people – policy people, campaigners, I salute you. Your servant. (bows)

Still, it is risky working with rock stars, children, animals. People we wouldn't have expected had us in their offices again and again hammering out new initiatives, like the Millennium Challenge Account, which rewards poor countries that were tacking corruption. And, like Ngozi was talking about, was looking for investment, you know aid as investment. And we also worked with President Bush on a historic AIDS initiative where now I can tell you that it's not just one million that you heard about, it's now one-and-a-half million Africans who owe their lives to the two pills a day that they receive from the United States of America. It's a great thing.

I might add that this can only happen because in Congress, heroic Democrats and Republicans put down their politics and put in their political capital to make things happen for people who don't have a vote. And it couldn't have happened without the leadership of president number 43, but number 42 as well. I just had the pleasure of telling William Jefferson Clinton, whom you travel with so much, that thanks to his and other G8 leaders supporting debt cancellation, and as a result of inspired African leadership, there are now as you heard earlier, and I can confirm it, 20 million African children going to school that wouldn't be otherwise. Twenty million African children – WOW! That's worth shouting about. That's the America I love.

And that's why I'm so honored to be here to receive this award – a punk rocker from the north side of Dublin. An organization that until very recently had its data in haversacks and had its office in Kinkos around the corner. No, I want to thank the organization and people like our instigator and part-time flame thrower, Bobby Shriver and Jamie Drummond who's sitting there who are something special. Jamie, if you've noticed, Jamie and I have accents. Subtle. We come from "over there" across the water. But we're over here because we're fans of America. And, in that sense, we're no different than the two-and-a-half million Americans who have now joined the ONE Campaign which began its life in this great city of Philadelphia in 2004 right in front of Independence Hall. We're fans of America.

I'm also a fan of Benjamin Franklin. Which I noticed earlier – Franklin who wore John Lennon glasses before anybody, before they were cool. Franklin who went electric before Dylan. Franklin who said, as you heard earlier, God grant that not only the love of liberty, but a thorough knowledge of the rights of man may pervade all the nations of the Earth so that a philosopher may set his foot anywhere on its surface and say "this is my country." Well, in case you hadn't heard, I am not a philosopher, I am a rock star, though after a few pints, this rock star starts thinking he's a philosopher.

So, not a philosopher, but let me set my foot here and say to you tonight this is my country. With humility and pride in my own country, let me say America is my country in the sense that anyone who has a stake in liberty has a stake in the United States of America. For all you've been through, good and bad, this is my country too. For every time I wince, or gasp or punch the wall, when I read something that galls, there's another time I'm reminded of your generosity, your resilience, your innovation, your work ethic, your compassion. Although today, today I read in The Economist an article reporting that over 38 percent of Americans support some kind of torture in exceptional circumstances. My country – NO! Your country – tell me no. (Crowd answers back "no") Thank you.

Today as you pin this great honor on me, I ask you – I implore you as an Irish man who has seen some of these things close up, I ask you to remember you do not have to become a monster to defeat a monster. Your America is better than that. Your America is the one where Neil Armstrong takes a walk on the Moon because he can. Your America is the one where so many Irish people discovered their value. Your America is the one where a brave military fought and died for freedom in places like Omaha Beach, and in the Pacific, where president number 41 here – a true World War II war hero served. Your America gave Europe the Marshall Plan. Your America gave the world the Peace Corps, JFK, RFK, MLK, the Special Olympics, Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffet, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen – the bard and the boss – Steve Jobs, local hero Will Smith, the meditations of Mark Rothko, the poetics of Allen Ginsberg, Edward R. Murrow, Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, Mary J. Blige, Frank Gehry, of thee I sing, all of thee.

Hey, these are the reasons I'm a fan of America – and one more. America is not just a country. It's an idea, isn't it? It's a great and powerful idea. The idea that all men are created equal. That "we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." These are great lyrics, Mr. Jefferson. Great opening riff. The Declaration of Independence has a great closing line too – "we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." Well the men who made that, the men who signed that pledge, had a lot to lose by signing - like their lives. So what then about you and me? What are we ready to pledge? What are we ready to pledge ourselves to? Anything? Anything at all?

What about this idea of liberty? Not liberty for its own sake, but liberty for some larger end – not just freedom from oppression, but freedom of expression and worship. Freedom from want, and freedom from fear because when you are trapped by poverty, you are not free. When trade laws prevent you from selling the food you grow, you are not free. When you are dying of a mosquito bite for lack of a bed net, you are not free. When you are hungry in a world of plenty, you are not free. And when you are a monk in Burma this very week, barred from entering a temple because of your gospel of peace, it is an affront to the thug regime, well then none of us are truly free.

My other country, America, I know you'll not stand for that. So, look I'm not going to stand here, a rock star who just stepped off a private plane, and tell you to put your lives on the line for people you've never met or your fortunes – I haven't. But our sacred honor might just be at stake here. That and a whole lot else. So what, then, are we willing to pledge? How about our science, your technology, your creativity…America has so many great answers to offer. We can't fix all the world's problems. But the ones we can, we must.

Enough of my voice. Listen to the voice of young Africa. Good night.
 
BTW....the Dylan/"Ring those bells" reference was to Dylan's classic "Chimes of Freedom"...a GREAT song. If you want a really gorgeous and stirring version of it, Bruce Springsteen did a classic cover version which is on his epic Live DVD collection from a few years back. I'm sure someone can google this and find a link, I REALLY want people to hear the Springsteen version. He used to highlight it on his '80's tours the way U2 used to do "Amazing Grace."

Does anyone have the speech archived yet? I want to see it again....
 
u2jesusgirl said:
Bono’s Liberty Medal Acceptance Speech


Won't take long. I'm the Fidel Castro of speechifying. We've got a few hours, don't we?

Right. Thank you. Thank you Mr. President. (George H.W. Bush) Thanks Joe. (Joseph Torsella, President and CEO, National Constitution Center) and everyone here at the National Constitution Center. It's an inspiring place. In the words of Robert Zimmerman - Bob Dylan – "ring those bells…ring those bells."

I want to thank my wife, Ali. And I also want to thank the members of U2 for not firing me when they hear I'm in Philadelphia this evening because they're in the studio expecting me, and I know they won't fire me because it is Philadelphia and we've played everywhere here. From 70 people to 70,000 people here. An important city for the U2ers, as well as these both Live 8 concerts which really turned my life upside down.

I've got 5 minutes to talk and I can spend that doing the shout-outs, but I want to thank Ngozi. (Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Finance Minister of Nigeria and current member of DATA's Policy Advisory Board) Really for what she said, for what she is and for what she does. This is the kind of leader we all want to work for. This is the reason we in DATA do what we do. We love you dear.

I must tell you it's a bit humbling for me to be here where it all got started. Where America got started. Because along with a mayor, a governor, a former president, and so many others that served the cause of freedom while I, it has to be said, have served the cause of my own ego. President Bush, you may remember that when you were in office in 1992 and U2 was touring America, I used to do this bit every night in the show where I would bring a phone out and I'd ring you up at the White House. You never took my calls, Sir. You had far too much sense. That's the truth. Now your son, he did not have your sense. He not only took my call, he had me over to lunch. And then I wouldn't leave. I think he's been regretting it ever since because when I come over to the house, I'm not exactly what you call "house trained" - even White House trained. I'm not exactly what you call a good guest either. I can be rude and I ask for things before we even sit down for tea, like billions of dollars to fight AIDS in Africa. Things like that.

I'd like to think that I've always left the White House with more than I arrived. Not only budget commitments, cutlery, silverware, candelabras, one or two Bush family photos, -OK one Gilbert Stuart portrait…of George Washington; it was in the bathroom – nobody could see, I'll give it back.

I have to say that people took risks in working with us. And want to say that current President Bush was not only gracious, he was passionate. Passionate about doing more for the poorest of the poor, and smart enough to know that he wasn't just letting a rock star run amok with his staff. He knew that DATA, the organization being honored tonight, was bursting with energy. Filled to the brim with the best and the brightest people – policy people, campaigners, I salute you. Your servant. (bows)

Still, it is risky working with rock stars, children, animals. People we wouldn't have expected had us in their offices again and again hammering out new initiatives, like the Millennium Challenge Account, which rewards poor countries that were tacking corruption. And, like Ngozi was talking about, was looking for investment, you know aid as investment. And we also worked with President Bush on a historic AIDS initiative where now I can tell you that it's not just one million that you heard about, it's now one-and-a-half million Africans who owe their lives to the two pills a day that they receive from the United States of America. It's a great thing.

I might add that this can only happen because in Congress, heroic Democrats and Republicans put down their politics and put in their political capital to make things happen for people who don't have a vote. And it couldn't have happened without the leadership of president number 43, but number 42 as well. I just had the pleasure of telling William Jefferson Clinton, whom you travel with so much, that thanks to his and other G8 leaders supporting debt cancellation, and as a result of inspired African leadership, there are now as you heard earlier, and I can confirm it, 20 million African children going to school that wouldn't be otherwise. Twenty million African children – WOW! That's worth shouting about. That's the America I love.

And that's why I'm so honored to be here to receive this award – a punk rocker from the north side of Dublin. An organization that until very recently had its data in haversacks and had its office in Kinkos around the corner. No, I want to thank the organization and people like our instigator and part-time flame thrower, Bobby Shriver and Jamie Drummond who's sitting there who are something special. Jamie, if you've noticed, Jamie and I have accents. Subtle. We come from "over there" across the water. But we're over here because we're fans of America. And, in that sense, we're no different than the two-and-a-half million Americans who have now joined the ONE Campaign which began its life in this great city of Philadelphia in 2004 right in front of Independence Hall. We're fans of America.

I'm also a fan of Benjamin Franklin. Which I noticed earlier – Franklin who wore John Lennon glasses before anybody, before they were cool. Franklin who went electric before Dylan. Franklin who said, as you heard earlier, God grant that not only the love of liberty, but a thorough knowledge of the rights of man may pervade all the nations of the Earth so that a philosopher may set his foot anywhere on its surface and say "this is my country." Well, in case you hadn't heard, I am not a philosopher, I am a rock star, though after a few pints, this rock star starts thinking he's a philosopher.

So, not a philosopher, but let me set my foot here and say to you tonight this is my country. With humility and pride in my own country, let me say America is my country in the sense that anyone who has a stake in liberty has a stake in the United States of America. For all you've been through, good and bad, this is my country too. For every time I wince, or gasp or punch the wall, when I read something that galls, there's another time I'm reminded of your generosity, your resilience, your innovation, your work ethic, your compassion. Although today, today I read in The Economist an article reporting that over 38 percent of Americans support some kind of torture in exceptional circumstances. My country – NO! Your country – tell me no. (Crowd answers back "no") Thank you.

Today as you pin this great honor on me, I ask you – I implore you as an Irish man who has seen some of these things close up, I ask you to remember you do not have to become a monster to defeat a monster. Your America is better than that. Your America is the one where Neil Armstrong takes a walk on the Moon because he can. Your America is the one where so many Irish people discovered their value. Your America is the one where a brave military fought and died for freedom in places like Omaha Beach, and in the Pacific, where president number 41 here – a true World War II war hero served. Your America gave Europe the Marshall Plan. Your America gave the world the Peace Corps, JFK, RFK, MLK, the Special Olympics, Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffet, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen – the bard and the boss – Steve Jobs, local hero Will Smith, the meditations of Mark Rothko, the poetics of Allen Ginsberg, Edward R. Murrow, Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, Mary J. Blige, Frank Gehry, of thee I sing, all of thee.

Hey, these are the reasons I'm a fan of America – and one more. America is not just a country. It's an idea, isn't it? It's a great and powerful idea. The idea that all men are created equal. That "we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." These are great lyrics, Mr. Jefferson. Great opening riff. The Declaration of Independence has a great closing line too – "we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." Well the men who made that, the men who signed that pledge, had a lot to lose by signing - like their lives. So what then about you and me? What are we ready to pledge? What are we ready to pledge ourselves to? Anything? Anything at all?

What about this idea of liberty? Not liberty for its own sake, but liberty for some larger end – not just freedom from oppression, but freedom of expression and worship. Freedom from want, and freedom from fear because when you are trapped by poverty, you are not free. When trade laws prevent you from selling the food you grow, you are not free. When you are dying of a mosquito bite for lack of a bed net, you are not free. When you are hungry in a world of plenty, you are not free. And when you are a monk in Burma this very week, barred from entering a temple because of your gospel of peace, it is an affront to the thug regime, well then none of us are truly free.

My other country, America, I know you'll not stand for that. So, look I'm not going to stand here, a rock star who just stepped off a private plane, and tell you to put your lives on the line for people you've never met or your fortunes – I haven't. But our sacred honor might just be at stake here. That and a whole lot else. So what, then, are we willing to pledge? How about our science, your technology, your creativity…America has so many great answers to offer. We can't fix all the world's problems. But the ones we can, we must.

Enough of my voice. Listen to the voice of young Africa. Good night.


:love: WOW!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THE SPEECH DION :hug:
 
"The GA"...lol....Md, sounds like a concert date. Moshing for Liberty, YEAH!!

Stories please! We wants more, my precious, yes we do!
 
I thought it was really a first class event. Well set up and organized. It was very neat to see the mayor, next to the gov, next to an ex-president, next to one of the biggest celebs/rockers/activists.

Security was of course tight. Metal detectors to get in plus I took note of secret service combing the top of the US mint across the street with binoculars. That on top of park rangers and city police.

Great speeches all around though. Im glad I was able to make the event
 
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