Posted on 06/08/2007 6:27:40 AM PDT by IrishMike
HEILIGENDAMM, Germany (Reuters) - You can stop staring hopefully at that phone, Bono. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will not be calling.
The Irish rock star turned poverty activist met U.S. President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of a Group of Eight summit but was told Harper was too busy to talk to him.
Harper, a somewhat wooden figure regularly mocked for his lack of flair, told reporters on Thursday that meeting Bono was not a priority.
"I've got to say that meeting celebrities isn't kind of my shtick, that was the shtick of the previous guy," said Harper in a dig at his Liberal predecessor Paul Martin, who met Bono regularly.
"I hope we do it at some point but my principle focus in public policies is not kind of to meet celebrities," added the prime minister, a Conservative.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
That may be the case in a lot of Hollyweird. Remember Mommy Dearest...............
I can’t believe FReepers are annoyed with a guy wanting to avoid paying 42% tax on his royalties. Especially when he still pays tax in Ireland and several other countries on his real estate, clothing line, equity investments, restaurants, production companies, etc.
It’s not like he’s going around asking governments to raise our taxes.
The issue isn’t that Bono wants to pay lower taxes on his income...the issue is that he’s seeking to do so while, at the same time, trying to dip his hands in pockets of American taxpayers — the vast majority of whom make far less money than he does.
Do you find it acceptable that a tax-sheltering showbiz foreigner thinks he’s entitled to have a voice in how our tax money is spent?
Bono has two issues
1. His ego
2. Tax evasion
“Can Bono vote for me? Will he encourage people to vote for me? Then why should I waste my time?”
Both Ireland and the Netherlands Antilles are great tax dodges. They have low witholding rates from other OECD countries. In fact Bono is probably paying only +/- 20% on royalty income from the UK, US, etc. That's it.
It is therefore hypocritical for him to lecture developing countries on their supposed moral obligations while he has finagled a tax rate less than half of what all of us pay.
Bono *does* put his money where his mouth is, that's commendable. But I think he'd be far better served as a behind the scenes donor than as a frontman.
Or one of the members of Barenaked Ladies.
Wow, I sure hope Rosie the pig and Barbra Streisland and Cher don’t go up there hoping to see him. He might tell them all to take a hike! Guy has grits, and I like that in a leader. :0 )
Yup, just take a look at all of the celeb "Concerts for Charity". Band flies in, gets treated like rock stars, plays a couple of songs to save the world from the current trendy disaster, then reaps months of positive PR about it. "Hey, I played at the BLAH BLAH for the World concert this spring. What have YOU done?". No followup, no donations, no nothing. Just a bunch of feelgood-ism, when the cost of getting them there and pampering them could have done far more good.
And, the people that GO to the concert say "Hey, I WENT to the BLAH BLAH for the World concert this spring. See how enlightened I am!!" And the cost of the concert ticket could have done far more good with local charities. Or, they could have donated a weekend's work to a local church and *really* accomplished something.
Now, if these rock stars say "Hey, I want to play a concert" and their fans say "Hey, I'd love to see these guys play." IMHO that's fine. But pretending an event like that will save the world....that's just hypocracy.
I think he was pretty safe in telling Bono to take a hike. People that would get tied in a knot over it, aren't likely to vote conservative to begin with. :-)
He seems like such a frightful bore.
Koko Joe by Don and Dewey (1958), written by [Sonny] Bono
Sonny Bono, a sudden and tragic loss.
When will he start looking at the religious and economic opression of nations like The People’s Republic, or Say Fidel Castros Cuba?
Afterall isn’t he supposed to be a CHRISTIAN..? You’d think he would care about these VERY Much!..??
Well, he (Bono) has gotten other “idiots” (world leaders) to listen to him, hasn’t he....Hurrah for the Canadian PM
Harper, a somewhat wooden figure of a man, regularly mocked for his lack of flair......
In some people's view, a person who is solidly conservative does not often, if at all, provide delicious hints of scandal. They do not act flamboyantly to give the press (such as it is) their chance to either elevate him or seize a moment to destroy.
Bono, said of Prime Minister Martin (Liberal) first. "I am going to be a pain in the butt, if he does not.....etc". This is in reference to foreign aid. When the then Prime Minister Martin did not seem to conform to his "instructions", Bono then said.
I am going to kick his butt.
I will use an old English Yorkshire phrase, which I am not entitled to. This on Prime Minister Harper.
Gradely lad.
Now Bono is whining that the G8 leaders aren’t coughing up enough $$$ for AIDS in Africa...ummm, I mean...corrupt African dictators.
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