Credit: Welcome to the Carlyle group Mr Bonio

U2 one of the biggest bands in the world, the amazing Zooeuropa tour, Bono singing delivering the most rousing line on Feed the World, The video he made for the Sweetest thing as an apology to his missus. Stand and salute the Charm of Bono & the cool U2. We forgive him for his bug eyed ego and black leather pants. Back him: He is trying to change the world! He uses his status as public symbol to speak out against corrupt officials, the red tape of politics and the money grabbing ideology of big business. Ask yourself ‘what have I done lately?’ buck the trend of capitalist life.

But I am starting to feel a little betrayed. Bono’s armour of righteousness is looking a tad tarnished, is it one business deal too many? He is a big time boardroom director of Electronic Arts & Forbe Books and a great courter of Venture Capitalists. Also widely reported that U2 and Bono have been moving their business over to the Netherlands to avoid paying their homeland's taxes. Ireland itself is a very generous to artists giving 250,000 euros tax free to artists and poets. Moving U2 corp to Holland means the tens of millions that U2 earns is virtually tax free.

For countries it is a damn right outrage to dodge social responsibility but for U2 it is ok? Bonio: Charity begins at home, didn’t your mother tell you that? Chris Martin’s & Pearl Jam Mum's certainly did with both bands announcing donations to good causes from sales or tours.

Although U2 isn’t alone in today's example of moral betrayal. Recently it was claimed that those lovely shiny, cool, lovely, friendly Apple Ipods are made by poor Chinese people working long 15 hour shifts earning as little as £27 a month in ‘Slave’ Conditions. Employees at the factory lived in dormitories housing 100 people and all outsiders and visitors are banned.

Apple PR machine said it was unaware of the workers conditions and was "investigating the allegations regarding working conditions in the Ipod manufacturing plant in China". Going on to say Apple said it did not tolerate its supplier code of conduct being broken. All news of this story seems to have died down, surely the worlds favourite gadget that has almost defined music in the 21st century being built under Slave labour, is a scandal of grand scale indeed? And more shamefully I am supporting this by the recent purchase of my 5th Ipod.