Stick to rock music

Time magazine has knighted Bono and Bill and Melinda Gates as "Persons of the Year" for being "Good Samaritans."

Bono is described as the "rocker who has made debt reduction sexy."

Perhaps Time magazine - about as in-touch as most corporate media - should get past the headlines about Africa and debt reduction and recognise the massive con perpetuated by the G8, aided and abetted by Bono and Bob Geldof.

Leading British dissenting historian Mark Curtis revealed as much in August:

""It is true that the G8 communique stated that 'developing countries...need to decide, plan and sequence their economic policies to fit with their own development strategies'. Yet it also stated that 'African countries need to build a much stronger investment climate" and increase "integration into the global economy' - code for promoting free trade [and privatisation] - and that aid resources would be focused on countries meeting these objectives."