‘‘Bono’s positioning of the west as the saviour of Africa while failing to discuss the harm the G8 nations are doing has undermined campaigns for justice and accountability.’
It was bad enough in 2005. Then, at the G8 summit in Scotland, Bono and Bob Geldof heaped praise on Tony Blair and George Bush, who were still mired in the butchery they had initiated in Iraq. At one point Geldof appeared, literally and figuratively, to be sitting in Tony Blair’s lap. African activists accused them of drowning out a campaign for global justice with a campaign for charity.
But this is worse. As the UK chairs the G8 summit again, a campaign that Bono founded, with which Geldof works closely, appears to be whitewashing the G8′s policies in Africa.’
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Bono defends U2's tax arrangement: We are in 'total harmony' with Irish government's philosophy
‘Bono has made a fresh defence of U2’s tax arrangements, claiming the Irish government would ultimately appreciate the band’s decision to deposit a share of its multimillion-pound business offshore in the Dutch Antilles.
He rejected the accusation that it was hypocritical for him to criticise the government’s economic strategies in Ireland and blamed the “cranky left” for not appreciating the band’s position.
“U2 is in total harmony with our government’s philosophy,” he told The Observer. “Tax competitiveness has taken our country out of poverty. [The revenue] accept that if you engage in that policy then some people are going to go out, and some people are coming in.”’
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