Ending poverty? How long? How long must we sing this song?

■"Finance Chiefs Cancel Debt of 18 Nations: $40 Billion Owed to International Agencies Is Written Off; The relief package from the Group of 8 is conditional on good government practices," by Alan Cowell, New York Times, 12 June 2005, p. A12.

■"Bono's New Cause: Another African project for the U2 front man," editorial, Wall Street Journal, 13 June 2005, p. A12.

■"Concern Grows Over Nepal's Child Fighters: 'Untouchables' Used by Rebels in Brutal War," by John Lancaster, Washington Post, 14 June 2005, p. A18.

So the Old Core forgives a load of bad debt in the deep Gap. John Snow, our Treasury Sec, says "It is my hope today that this reform will conclusively end the destabilizing lend-and-forgive approach to development assistance in low-income countries."

Don't hold your breath John.

And don't hold your breath, ONE Campaign (now officially trendy with the PR shot of George Clooney looking handsome in his white ONE rubber bracelet in the current issue of Esquire) on your associated hopes for better development assistance plus a trade reform that cuts back on the Old Core's absurd trade subsidies to its own ag corporations (Bush just gave up on that back here, and the plight of such efforts in Europe, led by Tony Blair, looks equally fruitless, thanks to Chirac and those pesky French farmers).

The lend-and-forgive moment is just thatóa moment. The only things that really matters is what comes next.

Politicians fear Bono. He can be all sweet and everything, but frankly, he gets his way more through his potential shaming (like the Canadian PM he beat-up in the press) than through his charm (or lyrics). Being Catholic and oh so Irish, I understand both sources of his power (my Mom has long wielded an immense power of her own), and there's nothing wrong with either. No shame, no fear in not following the rules. It's just that Bono is proposing some new rules here, and if he wants to lock in today's gains, he better not stand still. He needs to go after the sources of conflictóand their victims.

A great place to start? Any conflict where large numbers of kids are forced into combat units. Tell me that's a hard one to shame on.

Give them some "Bloody Sunday" man. Hit 'em where it hurts. Make them look into the eyes of their kids and imagine them in combat.

Use your power for good, Bono, and take your sunglasses off inside. My Mom says so.