'U2's Bono may campaign to end world poverty - but his band are taking advantage of the same tax avoidance schemes in the Republic of Ireland that rob impoverished countries of billions.

Billions drains out of impoverished countries each year because of multi-national companies shifting their profits to avoid tax. We need international action to make everyone pay their fair share.'

read the Indymedia Ireland Feature:
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/91294

Some Lyrics:
....Cause I still haven’t learned about democracy
But I still haven’t learned about democracy

You paid your tax and you
Laid the blame
Carried the burden
Of my shame
Of my shame
You know I’m still running

Cause I still haven’t learned about democracy
No I still haven’t learned about democracy
But I still haven’t learned about democracy
But I still haven’t learned about democracy...

read the Irish commentary at
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/91294

it seems that posting vimeo videos is impossible

please go to http://www.indymedia.ie/article/91294

Bono responded today in the irish times article posed as an ...'interview' ....in response to allegations of greeed and hypocracy by saying...and I quote...

..."What isactually hypocritical is the idea then you couldent use a financial services centre in Holland. ". Ah now it all makes sense. Someone or something is guilty of hypocracy ...why?, because there were no available tax shelters available to U2?, or was The Irish government guilty for placing tax free a cap of 250,000 on annual earnings forcing them to move their accounts Holland

Brian Boyd of thr Irish Times gave Bono, Paul McGuinness and the rest of the U2 tax dodgers an open platform to voice their opinions devoid of a single 'hard' question. A paludition of their career to date with a few anicdotal sweeties for the fans to give them something over a cafe-latte to trump their friends knoweledge of this bands long and rose petaled cake-walk to eternal infamy.

It sounded more like an oration piece, played over a video montage on a big screen of the bands endless achievements as they await to alight the stage at the Grammys to pick up their lifetime achievement award.

The 'interview ' headline started off with promise, as he says at the end of the header...'Brian Boyd takes their confession'....

The meaningless viod of Bono's inane answers is exposed in great detail and Boyd dosent see fit to delve. Its little wonder that people have lost faith in their political eadership and in their icons who have strayed into the bottomless world of insatiable greed simply because there is no one there to hold them to account when they stray. Boyd gets nothing that even resembles a confession.

....'We are totally tax compliant'.....'What's actually hypocritical is the idea that then you couldn't use a financial services centre in Holland'....

'The thing that stung was the accusation of hypocracy for my work as an activist'...

It is plausible that Boyd saw this as a confession of sorts who knows. He sounds more like a long time friend or fan of the band honoured to get the 'scoop', than an 'interviewer' wishing to get to the real issues.

So the biggest grosing band the planet has ever known continues on its merry way to sellout tours of every continent- except that one their buddy GW Bush and their other friend Tony Blair destroyed in a genocidal unilateral illegal massacre, to gross ever more un-countable sums of money and unaccountable wealth.

As you count your money this year Bono, Edge, Larry, Paul and Adam-I hope that ye remember that every three seconds a child will die needlessly of starvation, which could be prevented-or so you tell us- if governments pay up some of their taxes to end this atrocity, and people pay their fair share of that tax burden not just PAYE workers.

Every three seconds-one dead kid- 'click'... Every minute -20 kids 'click',... every hour -120 dead kids'click' ,... every day -3,000 dead kids' click', ....every week -21,000 dead kids'click', ........every year -1,092,000 -dead kids...... About the same ammount that your friends killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Talk is cheap, and life is cheaper it seems,and it dosent come any cheaper than U2's mouthpiece- Bono.