Intelligencer

Bono Attacks Republican Congressman

THE latest political wannabe is U2 lead singer Bono, who has launched a series of radio advertisements in Iowa of all places.

It’s all rather easily explained, however. Bono is on a crusade to prevent AIDS in Africa by massively increasing funds there and persuading top American politicians to take his side.

You might remember that Bono visited Africa with former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill (remember him?) and forced renewed action from the Bush administration on AIDS funding on the Dark Continent.

However, Republican Congressman Jim Nussle, chairman of the House Budget Committee, has been playing hardball with the AIDS funding and has done his utmost, apparently, to prevent the full funding coming through.

Now Bono has paid for a series of radio ads in Nussle’s home district in Iowa. The slots criticize Nussle for standing in the way of the plan agreed by President Bush and Congress to handle the AIDS issue.

At a recent public meeting Nussle was heckled by AIDS protestors who flashed placards every 12 seconds that stated: “Another AIDS Death.” Bono’s ads apparently have set off a major furor in the state, and Nussle may well be feeling the heat. Nussle says that issues such as clean drinking water and nutrition is more vital to the billions of needy people in Africa than the fight on AIDS.

Mackin’s U.S. Links Helped

SEAN Mackin, the New York activist who was held in Belfast last month on a 1983 murder charge but later released, has an interesting tale to tell about his experience.

Mackin was home to see family members for the Easter holiday when he was snatched outside his brother’s house by men in boiler suits and brought in for interrogation. His family feared for his life at first, before finding out it was police and not Loyalist paramilitaries who had him.

Apparently the police were pulling no punches in their interrogation, and things looked bleak for the Westchester businessman until he revealed that he was actually an American citizen.

Apparently that fact led to a major sea change in the attitude of those questioning him. Suddenly the entire case took on a different light, especially when Mackin asked for the American consul in Belfast to become involved.

Shortly after that Mackin was freed, with no charges being made against him. It seems his American citizenship certainly helped him win his freedom, and he can consider himself a lucky man that he had that all-important passport.

Home for Colombia 3?

IT is quite likely that the Colombia Three will be going back to Ireland this week says Deaglan De Breadun, the Irish Times journalist who was in Colombia for the trial and verdict.

Speaking on his way back to Ireland via New York, De Breadun said that the Colombia government made so many mistakes in prosecuting the case that the only real alternative is to give the men their freedom.

While that is not the certain outcome, De Breadun believes that the negotiations underway at present will result in the men eventually being freed sooner rather than later.

What an achievement that would be for their lawyers and advocates such as Caitriona Ruane, chairman of the Bring Them Home campaign who has worked tirelessly on their behalf. However, no one in the campaign is counting their chickens, says De Breadun, until the men are at the airport and set for the journey home. It is a case, he says, that has had so many twists and turns that the outcome is still uncertain.

Wadsworth Passes

MIKE Wadsworth, former Canadian ambassador to Ireland for five years and athletic director at Notre Dame, has died at the age 60 while undergoing treatment for bone cancer at the Mayo Clinic.

Wadsworth was a refreshing ambassador, not unlike his contemporary American counterpart Jean Kennedy Smith, often disdaining the usual diplomatic speak for straightforward commentary.

Wadsworth, however, did not on a personal level relate to Kennedy Smith well. Indeed, his wife once launched a ferocious attack about Kennedy Smith at a Notre Dame function.

At Notre Dame too, Wadsworth had some controversial innings. He fired Lou Holtz and hired defensive coach Bob Davie who proved to be a bust. By the time he resigned in February 2000 Wadsworth had pretty much overstayed his welcome at the Golden Dome.

According to media reports, Wadsworth previously was an executive in the financial services and manufacturing industries, a lawyer, a radio and television sportscaster, and a newspaper sports columnist.

He attended Notre Dame on a football scholarship, playing center and earning a letter in 1964. He leaves his wife, Bernadette, and three daughters.

New Summit On North 

SO what are we to make of the latest summit between Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair on the topic of Northern Ireland? Now the pundits are saying that if all goes well in the new round of talks that the devolved government could be back in place by October. 

It certainly seems that the two men believe that they can cook up a deal despite the huge setbacks of recent times.

However, one source says that Blair is far more desperate than Ahern for a deal, given the fact that his reputation has taken such a hiding on Iraq. Expect a full court press over the next few months to deliver for a prime minister badly in need of a victory.