Bono favored to win the Nobel Peace Prize

[jacknife23]

Bono won't win, he is just being used.

 

[Carek1230]

Who do you think is using Bono?

 

[PhunkPhorce]

I'm sure that members of the Noble Prize Сommittee are perfectly aware of the fact that world poverty cannot be eliminated.

 

[Liesje]

That's not what I'm saying, though. I'm talking about evaluating Bono's talent level/abilities as a rock star, compared to his talent level/abilities as a political activist.

All along, I think most U2 fans have assumed that Bono is a rock star first, political activist second. And I think even Bono has said as much, too.

But damn, if he actually were to win the Nobel, you'd almost have to consider his talent as an activist equal to his talent as a singer. He'll have reached the pinnacles of both careers: as a rock singer, he fronts the biggest band in the world, and is in the Rock Hall of Fame, etc., and as a peace activist, he'd have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

.

You're still confusing me.....why does he have to be one or the other? He's extremely talented at both, equally talnted and qualified at both. Anyone can be good at more than one thing. And why would this award change anything? You think some award will somehow change Bono from being a rock star to an activist, instead of his own actions determing this? I guess I'm not following why this distinction is even worth making....

 

[LyricalDrug]

You're still confusing me.....why does he have to be one or the other? He's extremely talented at both, equally talnted and qualified at both. Anyone can be good at more than one thing. And why would this award change anything? You think some award will somehow change Bono from being a rock star to an activist, instead of his own actions determing this? I guess I'm not following why this distinction is even worth making....

He doesn't have to be one or the other. All I said was that it's interesting to consider that he might be a better activist than he is a singer. He's such a great activist that it's actually now a debatable point.

Debates are fun. This is why sports fans debate whether a basketball player is a better passer or shooter, or music journalists debate whether John Lennon was a better singer or songwriter. That's all I'm saying.

 

[Liesje]

He doesn't have to be one or the other. All I said was that it's interesting to consider that he might be a better activist than he is a singer. He's such a great activist that it's actually now a debatable point.

Debates are fun. This is why sports fans debate whether a basketball player is a better passer or shooter, or music journalists debate whether John Lennon was a better singer or songwriter. That's all I'm saying.

....but how would you ever be able to determine which thing he's "better" at? Why does the Nobel Peace Prize somehow determine this, when Bono's already got tons of other humanitarian awards? It's comparing apples to oranges. When you compare a basketball player as a shooter or passer, you're still only considering basketball. Comparing Bono's skills as a guitar player vs. a harmonica player would be more along those lines. I think a better point of debate would be what makes a good activitist and what characteristics of Bono or his work qualify him as a good activist?

 

[angelordevil]

I'm sure that members of the Noble Prize Сommittee are perfectly aware of the fact that world poverty cannot be eliminated.

That's a piss pour attitude. In my most cynical moments, I'm a little jaded, and wonder if I can ever make a significant contribution to this world. Bono is doing it each day...he's a living inspiration, and makes each moment count. There's a lesson there for us all...believing that it can be better, and then doing the groundwork to try and make that happen.

What's the alternative? Cocooning and hoping it will all go away? I don't think so. I've got a few big issues with parts of the anti-poverty campaign, and most of them centre around where the money raising ends up. I fear that there are many corrupt governments on the receiving end of the equation, and without fixing that, the potential is there for the cycle to continue. This said, I have to hope that we're learning how to do this stuff better, and I believe Bono and Sachs when they insist that we are.

With regards to Bono potentially winning the Nobel, it would look good on him, along with his rosary beads...

Bono and U2 have always been about dreaming out loud, so in no way do I see a potential win as a threat to the music. If anything, it will add fuel to a fire that shows no signs of burning out soon.

 

[oneluvforutoo]

Hopefully he'll win this time! He was nomiinated before right?

 

[Earnie Shavers]

The truth is, Bono is never going to see the final results of his campaign, if they are ever to occur. Jeffrey Sachs presents his idea of how it can possibly work, but that's an "in a perfect world" view. The truth is, real change will take decades and decades and decades and will take visionary people far, far more powerful than Bono can ever dream of being. His campaign is excellent, and it certainly has brought about real change, and at the very least a massive increase in awareness, but I often can't help but wonder what kind of success he'd have had if he poured his energy, resources and all that noise into just one facet of the (honestly, sprawling) campaign. Think about how far ahead he may be if he'd just zeroed in on the drugs for example? The whole greater DATA campaign is a dry and conceptually hard thing for the average Joe to follow, really. It's Bono that is brilliant at bringing it into the living room in digestable and understandable bite size pieces, but overall it's a hard thing to rally for.

Given how much of an uphill battle that has been, and considering how far he's gotten with that, I think it would have been amazing to see that same effort and success rate go into just simply pressuring for the manufacturing and distribution of the generic drugs. It's something people instantly and simply understand. It pits the Average Joe/Jane against the big evil corporation and government. It IS a crime and people know it straight away. It applies the same moral pressure on those who need to make decisions. It pulls on the same heartstrings, but provides an easy to understand solution. It can gather a lot more steam a lot quicker and can have a real and immediate impact - very quickly. I'd bet that if he had done that he would have acheived far, far greater success, perhaps even ultimate success, and all the Bonophiles on here would get the Peace Prize they want - and he'd deserve it.

 

[PhunkPhorce]

That's a piss pour attitude. In my most cynical moments, I'm a little jaded, and wonder if I can ever make a significant contribution to this world. Bono is doing it each day...he's a living inspiration, and makes each moment count. There's a lesson there for us all...believing that it can be better, and then doing the groundwork to try and make that happen.

What's the alternative? Cocooning and hoping it will all go away? I don't think so. I've got a few big issues with parts of the anti-poverty campaign, and most of them centre around where the money raising ends up. I fear that there are many corrupt governments on the receiving end of the equation, and without fixing that, the potential is there for the cycle to continue. This said, I have to hope that we're learning how to do this stuff better, and I believe Bono and Sachs when they insist that we are.

With regards to Bono potentially winning the Nobel, it would look good on him, along with his rosary beads...

Bono and U2 have always been about dreaming out loud, so in no way do I see a potential win as a threat to the music. If anything, it will add fuel to a fire that shows no signs of burning out soon.

I don't see anything wrong with "believing that it can be better, and then doing the groundwork to try and make that happen". I actually think that those are great, great things to do. I do believe that there are problems that CAN be solved in so called 3rd world countries (esp. in Africa): AIDS issues, absence of basic healthcare, hunger. And I really admire people who devote their lives to solve these problems (incl. Bono).

But on a general note, one has to understand that "3rd world" will remain "3rd world" forever. And reasons behind that, I think, are 60% political, 40% economical.

So campaigning for "Make poverty history" is really DREAMING out loud. On the other hand if by doing this we could "make AIDS history", "make hunger history", "make children dying without vaccines history" - I'm all for that.

 

[PhunkPhorce]

That's a piss pour attitude. In my most cynical moments, I'm a little jaded, and wonder if I can ever make a significant contribution to this world. Bono is doing it each day...he's a living inspiration, and makes each moment count. There's a lesson there for us all...believing that it can be better, and then doing the groundwork to try and make that happen.

What's the alternative? Cocooning and hoping it will all go away? I don't think so. I've got a few big issues with parts of the anti-poverty campaign, and most of them centre around where the money raising ends up. I fear that there are many corrupt governments on the receiving end of the equation, and without fixing that, the potential is there for the cycle to continue. This said, I have to hope that we're learning how to do this stuff better, and I believe Bono and Sachs when they insist that we are.

With regards to Bono potentially winning the Nobel, it would look good on him, along with his rosary beads...

Bono and U2 have always been about dreaming out loud, so in no way do I see a potential win as a threat to the music. If anything, it will add fuel to a fire that shows no signs of burning out soon.

I don't see anything wrong with "believing that it can be better, and then doing the groundwork to try and make that happen". I actually think that those are great, great things to do. I do believe that there are problems that CAN be solved in so called 3rd world countries (esp. in Africa): AIDS issues, absence of basic healthcare, hunger. And I really admire people who devote their lives to solve these problems (incl. Bono).

But on a general note, one has to understand that "3rd world" will remain "3rd world" forever. And reasons behind that, I think, are 60% political, 40% economical.

So campaigning for "Make poverty history" is really DREAMING out loud. On the other hand if by doing this we could "make AIDS history", "make hunger history", "make children dying without vaccines history" - I'm all for that.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Yeah, and I'm not saying Bono is doing the wrong thing, or should be doing something else or whatever - he's doing an amazing job of an amazing thing.

Just saying that rather than acheiving 10% success across 10 things, with the same energy and time he may have acheived 100% on one of them. Which is better, I don't know.

 

[PhunkPhorce]

sorry for the double post

 

[LyricalDrug]

Looks like Bono's odds are listed at 14-to-1 to win:

http://www.readabet.com/index.php/home/article/7989

 

[martha]

He was nomiinated before right?

Every year for several years now.

 

[lardence]

This topic is kinda cool, though - it proves that whether he wins or not, there are arguments for both and either will be a good decision. Yes?

 

[lardence]

"Bono has done a tremendous amount of work that comports with Alfred Nobel's intention to award the prize to a group or individual that promotes 'fraternity between nations'," Hunt declares.

"On the heels of the G8 Summit and The One Campaign, when awareness has been raised that we can, for the first time in human history, end dire poverty worldwide, I think Bono is the clear choice."

That's a 'peace scholar' view, lol.

 

[Utoo]

... 'fraternity between nations'," ....

Who knew there was in international Greek system??

 

[ShellBeThere]

Yeah, and I'm not saying Bono is doing the wrong thing, or should be doing something else or whatever - he's doing an amazing job of an amazing thing.

Just saying that rather than acheiving 10% success across 10 things, with the same energy and time he may have acheived 100% on one of them. Which is better, I don't know.

Interesting point...but it's exactly I think the 'movement leader' kind of role that works for someone like Bono. True, I suppose, he could have done an intensive focus on aids drugs...and there are probably ( i know crap about the details) folks in the organization he co-founded who do indeed focus their efforts on one or another issue...but the issues are complex and multifaceted and so his broad strokes help to address that fact. It also seems a reasonable place for him to stand given his day job...he wants to help bring about a *movement* to create greater parity, to stop ignoring how in this world of increasing plenty in many places there are folks who are dying of totally preventable causes, and how its just obscene how 'whether you live or whether you die' in this world is so blatantly determined by 'where you live'. His oft-mentioned example of malaria is a great example of this, the utter unacceptability that so many people die from a mosquito bite.

I agree with Lyrical_Drug--musings about whether this would mean Bono is a 'better' rockstar or peace activist aside--that this would be quite the historic thing. It might be a little hard on Bono for a while, what with the increased shit he'd get about his work and his 'dual-identity', but I'm imagining it wouldn't be too much for him to handle. It would be so interesting for 'rocknroll' and for our celebrity-minded culture, but maybe only for a minute or two. Most of it would carry on with its self-absorbed crap, the press would maybe bitch about the nobel peace prize as being like a popularity contest for a little while, and then all would continue as before, Bono included. He'd probably love having the medal for his scrapbook though--that would be cool to review in the 'leisure' years!
And it would make for a more widespread entry in the dictionaries of the 21st century for Bono and U2 I think!
I'm kinda mixed about the idea though of ticketmaster concert announcement pages and reviewer's notes starting out with "The Rock'n'Roll HallofFamers U2 and their Nobel Peace-Prize winning frontman Bono..."
Maybe a win for him would allow for some good new increased media for the issues? It would likely get him even greater access to the powers that be, no--now he's also won the peace prize, he's not "just some rockstar", but a force of the world's voice for goodness! Maybe it would increase his ability to get the pols to write the checks? Or maybe not... Or maybe it would win U2 some new fans who wouldn't have listened to their stuff before because of one or another preconception?

Cheers all!

 

[Lemonboy]

The only shame about this is that it is the only Nobel prize that aren't actually presented to the winner in Sweden....

 

[LyricalDrug]

I

I agree with Lyrical_Drug--musings about whether this would mean Bono is a 'better' rockstar or peace activist aside--that this would be quite the historic thing. It might be a little hard on Bono for a while, what with the increased shit he'd get about his work and his 'dual-identity', but I'm imagining it wouldn't be too much for him to handle. It would be so interesting for 'rocknroll' and for our celebrity-minded culture, but maybe only for a minute or two. Most of it would carry on with its self-absorbed crap, the press would maybe bitch about the nobel peace prize as being like a popularity contest for a little while, and then all would continue as before, Bono included.

It would be SO historic if he won. This award would BLOW AWAY all the other little awards U2 has ever won in terms of prestige. If Bono wins my jaw will be on my chest for days.

I don't see how any U2 fans can be uncomfortable with the idea of him winning, to be honest. It's SUCH an honor! Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa won this award! If my friends give me any crap about it, I'll just say, oh, what has your band's lead singer done lately, other than getting busted for a DUI and hooking up with the latest Hollywood starlet? You know what Bono's done lately? He's WON THE NOBEL FUCKING PEACE PRIZE, that's what. What a great opportunity to brag about being a U2 / Bono fan!

Of course, he's still a long-shot (I think I misnamed this thread ... he's actually getting 14-1 odds, while the Finnish President is at 3-1) ... but you never know

 

[ShellBeThere]

I don't see how any U2 fans can be uncomfortable with the idea of him winning, to be honest. It's SUCH an honor! Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa won this award! If my friends give me any crap about it, I'll just say, oh, what has your band's lead singer done lately, other than getting busted for a DUI and hooking up with the latest Hollywood starlet? You know what Bono's done lately? He's WON THE NOBEL FUCKING PEACE PRIZE, that's what. What a great opportunity to brag about being a U2 / Bono fan!

I agree, it's hard to imagine U2 fans getting upset...and indeed it is a huge honor...but how/if/when/reasons--offered-as-to-why
people will complain about him getting it will be an interesting reflection on our culture. It might call up some interesting reflections on how we view ourselves, what we value and why..That would make a good case actually for it being awarded to Bono particularly this year. If the committee wanted us to have that sort of public conversation this year would bring up a lot of timely stuff--celebrity culture and politics, media and issues, people organizing, what we feel we 'owe' to each other and to the planet, how to get things done...I'm actually hoping more and more now that he gets it. Because even just his totally 'frontman'-related actions have brought these issues into focus in a very useful way, a way that would not have been any where near as useful if it were left just to folks like sachs or geldof, as much as I admire both of them for what they do.

Even if the debates or comments it might spark last only a little while, it would indeed give U2 fans serious highground to stand on in any battle of the bands,lol! And I'm more and more convinced that he should get it this year as opposed to sometime in the future...
cheers!

 

[Utoo]

This time tomorrow we'll know! Right?

 

[Val]

Will it be announced in Europe first? And if so, wouldn't we know it before tomorrow here in the states?

 

[Utoo]

Here are the times from the nobel site:

Friday, October 7
11:00 a.m. CET
9:00 a.m. GMT

I think that comes out to 5AM Eastern Time.

p.s.--What's CET?

 

[ShellBeThere]

a yahoo search got me "Central European Time", whatever that means...
further info maybe at worldtime.com, or timeanddate.com

cheers!

 

[LyricalDrug]

Here are the times from the nobel site:

Friday, October 7
11:00 a.m. CET
9:00 a.m. GMT

I think that comes out to 5AM Eastern Time.

p.s.--What's CET?

Hmmm... 5 am EST means 2 am PST, which means... they'll announce it 30 minutes after Conan ends on the west coast tonight. Man, I'm gonna be tired tomorrow

 

[Utoo]

Hmmm... 5 am EST means 2 am PST, which means... they'll announce it 30 minutes after Conan ends on the west coast tonight. Man, I'm gonna be tired tomorrow

hehe


oh, and thanks, ShellBeThere!

 

[Merc]

Well, in 3 hours we'll know...

 

[ShellBeThere]

hehe


oh, and thanks, ShellBeThere!

de nada!

I'm so keyed up staying up too late to watch the conan show that I might end up being awake for the announcement myself, EST!
I really didn't think I wanted him to win so much before, but after these threads on the issue I want it lots!
cheers...