Seems the BBC reported that a lot of the money raised (up to 95%) went to buy arms in the (one of many) Horn of Africa civil wars, but concert organizer Bob Geldorf’s having none of it!

“If that percentage of money had been diverted, far more than a million people would have died,” he told The Times. “It’s possible that in one of the worst, longest-running conflicts on the continent some money was mislaid. But to suggest it was on this scale is just b******s.”

Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia are really doing great, right Bob?

Yet another reason why celebrity telethons aren’t worth a bean.

If celebrities want to help a cause, then they should start by donating a big chunk of their own money, anonymously and with no thought whatever of credit.

What happens instead, in most cases of urgent need, is that the telethon’s all about them, their careers, their singles, their return to/glow in the spotlight.

Gorilla pastiches: “Alas, I bring in nothing, but I’d give it all for a chance to give it all!”