U2 frontman Bono, who has become an international spokesperson in recent years on global poverty, is astounded by how quickly the U.S. government was willing to part with $700 Billion to bail out flatlining investment banking firms. The singer says he and other advocates have had trouble getting just a fraction of that amount to help end poverty in underdeveloped nations for years. Bono teamed up with former President Bill Clinton yesterday to ensure that this latest economic crisis in the U.S. doesn’t overshadow the ongoing need for global aid.

The U.S. financial crisis making global waves is no excuse for governments and companies to walk away from helping the world’s poor, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and rocker Bono said on Wednesday.

As Congress debates a White House-proposed $700 billion bailout for the worst financial crisis since the Depression of the 1930s, Bono questioned why wealthy countries had not been able to come up with enough aid for the world’s problems.

“It is extraordinary to me that you can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can’t find $25 billion to save 25,000 children who die every day of preventable treatable disease and hunger,” the U2 lead singer told Clinton’s fourth annual philanthropic summit in New York. “That’s mad, that is mad.”

“This crisis is not an excuse to walk away from the world’s challenges, but a compelling reason to intensify our efforts to meet them, around the corner and around the world,” said Clinton, who has focused on humanitarian work since leaving the White House in 2001.

The Group of Eight wealthy nations vowed in 2005 to raise annual aid levels $50 billion by 2010, $25 billion of which was to go to Africa. But under current spending plans, the G8 will fall $40 billion short, according to a June report by the Africa Progress Panel set up to monitor implementation.

“Bankruptcy is a serious business and we all know people who have lost their jobs,” Bono said, referring to the bankruptcy declared by Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. “But this is moral bankruptcy.”

[From Yahoo News]

Perhaps someone (like maybe a certain former president?) should have explained to Bono that the reason the U.S. government was so willing to hand over that kind of money to bail out Wall Street is because it’s not really their money- its the taxpayers who will be footing the bill for this little exercise in corporate welfare. It’s easy to give away something that’s not yours to begin with. Still, the rocker does have a point- our economic woes are a walk in the park compared to what people in poor and warring parts of Africa go through on a daily basis. They lack access to some of the most basic human needs and for the most part, nobody cares.

Clinton, Bono and Al Gore are shown below at the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative at the Sheraton Hotel in NY on 9/24/08. Credit: Janet Mayer/PRPhotos

In highly unlikely news out yesterday, The Mirror claims that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie plan on naming U2’s Bono as their new twins’ godfather. In April the rumor was that it was going to be George Clooney – and the couple certainly have a wide array of celebrity friends to choose from.

It’s the Sweetest Thing for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s newborn twins. Little Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline are only a few weeks old, but they’ve already shot straight to the top of the showbiz A-list by bagging a superstar godfather - U2’s Bono. After giving birth two weeks ago, Angelina, 33, and Brad, 44, spent a week bonding with their new bundles of joy at Bono’s bolthole in a leafy village in the South of France.

And in return for the kind gesture, the Hollywood couple have asked him to be a permanent fixture in the lives of their tots. Sources tell me thrilled Bono, 48, accepted the offer immediately. A pal of the A-list parents revealed: “Brad and Angie think the world of Bono. They have been friends for years. Brad is a massive U2 fan and told Bono how much he admired him when they were introduced at a party a few years back.

“Since then, they’ve become very close, which Brad is thrilled about. Angelina is inspired by Bono’s humanitarian work and gets on with his wife Ali Hewson. Ali’s given Angelina some clothes from her ethical clothing range Edun.” I’m told the couple are planning a christening ceremony to welcome Bono into the extended family. But they have not yet decided if he will be sharing his duties with a godmother. Angelina has spoken about asking her ex-lesbian lover Jenny Shimzu [sic], but that has yet to be given the nod by Brad.

[From The Mirror]

I could maybe have accepted the POSSIBILITY that Brad and Angelina were considering Bono as a godfather until that last part about Jenny Shimzu. We’re really supposed to believe that the woman who Angelina used to sleep with – who talks about Angelina every chance she gets and is always telling the press that Brad is just a temporary distraction– would be considered by Brad Pitt as the godfather to his children? I call bullshit on that. It makes for good press and I’m sure a ton of sites will pick it up by the end of the day tomorrow, but I can’t imagine that it’s possibly true.

If Santa Claus goes by the Reuters good celebrity list, then it seems Angelina Jolie probably got something good in her stocking this year. Brad Pitt maybe? Reuters have listed the top celebrity humanitarians of 2007.

The actress was voted the person who has given the best name to “celebrity humanitarianism” for her work as goodwill ambassador for the UN refugee agency.

The 32-year-old, who has three adopted children from poverty-stricken areas, was also recognised for her attempts to draw attention to suffering in Africa and arrange aid for displaced Iraqis.

Madonna was voted the least respected celebrity altruist in the survey of 606 people by Reuters AlertNet. Although she raised millions for orphans in Malawi, she was accused of using her influence to adopt a baby from the country without the normal legal procedures.

Digital Spy

The poll wasn’t based on who did the most good, but rather who is the most respected do-gooder.

Other celebrity humanitarians include Bono, Bill Gates, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Bill Clinton. Following Madonna on the dubious humanitarian list is Paris Hilton following her aborted Rwanda trip, Oprah, Bono again, and Bob Geldof. So how can you earn respect to go along with your celebrity status?

The difference between Jolie and the other famous philanthropists is that the star doesn’t travel with camera crews and does her best to dodge the paparazzi.

“Someone like Angelina Jolie comes across as having more integrity than some celebrities and a greater sense that she doesn’t just do this for the publicity,” the director of the Feinstein International Famine Centre at Tufts University told Reuters news service.

POP

Angelina is an obvious choice as a respected celebrity humanitarian - although how the hell she gets anything done with four kids around is beyond me. I mean anything. Having time to brush her teeth, watch the news to know which countries are in crisis, anything! Some say that she’s got a team of nannies, but four kids must be demanding even if you have four nannies.

It also seems a little unfair to brand Madonna for adopting David Banda without following protocol, mostly because Malawi doesn’t seem to have a protocol for adoption. It is hard to bring a foreign child into your home and raise it, Madonna didn’t just adopt the kid for fashion, he’ll be around for the rest of her life.

It’s interesting that even after years of working for the AIDS cause and other issues in Africa, Bob Geldof and Bono still haven’t got the public’s respect.

Picture Note by Celebitchy: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are shown shopping at a baby store in New Orleans on 12/27/07, thanks to Splash News. Shiloh and Zahara are still young enough to need something from a baby shop so it might not mean they’re preparing for a new arrival by plane or hospital, although the tabloids are sure to make something of it. Thanks to Splash News.

I once saw an episode of Gilmore Girls where Rory and Lorelei go to Ireland and hang out in a certain Dublin bar hoping to bump into Bono. Or at the very least one of the other members of U2. Turns out, all you have to do is hang around worthy charitable events and they’ll come to you.

U2’s Bono and The Edge played a surprise gig tonight (November 23) at London’s Union Chapel.

Playing as part of Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions, the duo surprised the audience with a four song set which included rare track ‘Wave Of Sorrow’.

The identity of the ’special guests’ was shrouded in mystery when introduced by host Jo Whiley as “a new band with a lot of potential…Dave the guitarist is very nervous…If he makes a mistake forgive him, he’s new. The singer is very shy.”

[NME]

The duo also played ‘Stay’, ‘Angel of Harlem’ and ‘Desire’.

How very cool that would be. And they did some of their best songs, not that electronic stuff of recent years. Would U2 please do an acoustic tour?

Unfortunately for Mencap, a charity that helps people with learning disabilities, it seems that Bono’s involvement in charitable causes might not be helping, according to the head of African Aid Action.

Jobs Selasie, head of charity African Aid Action, claimed that such campaigns increase corruption and dependency on the continent.

Selasie explained that he believed that the western media had an obsession with political correctness which diverted from what he believes are the real causes of poverty in Africa.

The charity says since the original Band Aid campaign, the number of Africans living on handouts has increased by 500 per cent and African governments who used to rely on only 20 per cent of their annual budget from overseas aid are now dependent on a 70 per cent contribution.

“Aid has failed because campaigners, charities and governments do not have the right plan and excluded African entrepreneurs and grassroots organisations from being part of the solution,” said Selasie.

“You can’t impose change from without,” he continued. “It has to come from within and we won’t end poverty with handouts. Africans need to fight corruption and work hard.”

[NME]

I’m not going to judge whether this is true or not. I’m not some kind of international relations economist, but I will say that these economic issues might have happened anyway, and at least celebrities like Geldof and Bono have their hearts in the right place. Don’t let it put you off supporting a worthy cause.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Bono, his wife Ali Hewson, and Alicia Keys are shown on 10/25/07 at the 4th Annual Black Ball Concert for “Keep A Child Alive.” Thanks to PRPhotos for these pictures.