More Headaches for Geldof

It seems like Bob Geldof, organizer of Live 8, has to deal with a new controversy with each new day. That's overstating it; but the event does seem to be in the news more for problems than for what it promises.

One problem: It's too white.

Ananova reports:

Black rights campaigners have slammed Live 8 - for being too white.

They say not enough black acts are represented at the 2 July mega-gig in Hyde Park, and want to see more added before the big day.

The London-based Black Information Link kicked up a storm when they read the line-up, which includes Madonna, Coldplay, Sir Elton John and U2.

But organiser Sir Bob Geldof claimed he has asked several black acts to play but with little success.

A Live 8 spokesman says, "We have approached a number of black British artists and some turned us down."

The 22 acts confirmed for the UK gig are all white, apart from Mariah Carey - who is an ethnic hybrid of African-American, Venezuelan and Irish.

However, Black Information Link accused organisers of "hand-picking a hideously white line-up to perform in a concert to highlight African poverty."

Today, Geldof is coming under criticism again.

Yahoo writes:

Campaigners have penned an open letter to Bob Geldof in protest at his decision to invite the Pope to support Live 8.

The National Secular Society (NSS) is pointing to the Vatican's refusal to condone the use of condoms, saying it has helped spread HIV in Africa.

The society, which campaigns for religion to be taken out of public life, says it will create a counter-campaign of protest against any decision by Pope Benedict XVI to get involved.

NSS executive director Keith Porteous Wood said Geldof should not have written to the Pope about attending the Hyde Park event.

He said: "Inviting the Pope to Live 8 would be a slap in the face for all those currently working to stem the spread of Aids in Africa.

"Aids is destroying lives, communities and, ultimately, will destroy whole nations for generations to come unless greater efforts are made to check it.

"To invite the Pope, who has supported and reinforced this inhumane policy, to an event aimed at combating poverty through protest, verges on an obscenity. The invitation must be withdrawn immediately."

At the launch of Live 8, singer Sir Elton John raised his concerns about the invitation, saying: "When you take into consideration their (the Catholic Church's) views of contraception, and how this affects the spread of Aids... it adds to the general poverty of this region, doesn't it?"

Why not quit whining and focus on what the concert is about, raising awareness of poverty and debt in Africa and developing nations?

Complaining about the Pope attending or how white the line-up is counterproductive. That energy could be put to far better use.