Bono discusses
AIDS with Bush

Irish musician Bono met with President Bush on Wednesday at the White House to discuss AIDS, malaria, debt relief for poor nations, and other issues affecting developing countries. Bush invited Bono, who was in Washington, D.C., for two U2 concerts, to the lunch meeting. While Bono praises Bush's efforts to allocate more U.S. money to fight AIDS overseas, he says the United States could do much more to help poor people around the world, particularly those suffering from disease.

He also told Rolling Stone in an interview that appears in Friday's issue of the magazine that he is not afraid to confront Bush on the Administration's policies. "They should be afraid, because they will be held accountable for what happened on their watch," Bono told the magazine. "I'm representing the poorest and the most vulnerable people. I'm throwing a punch, and the fist belongs to people who can't be in the room, whose rage, whose anger, whose hurt I represent."

Bono does not support the war in Iraq but did not bring up the topic when meeting with Bush on Wednesday because he says his primary goal was to secure more aid for the poor and disadvantaged around the world. "I work for them," he said of the world's poor. "If me not shooting my mouth off about the war in Iraq is the price I pay, then I'm prepared to pay it." (Advocate.com)