PS

On the subject of international support for the state of Malawi in it's monumental task of trying to deal with the consequences of HIV/AIDS etc, I am with you all the way.

The newspapers should be covering these issues properly too. I agree on that point as well.

Madonna has kept the politics out of the story by keeping herself out of the politics. She titillates her audience with her daring from time to time, with a raise of an eyebrow and yet another inoccuous cliche about starving babies and aids, but never engages the issues in any real depth and certainly never says anything of any real controversy.

As a result the real arguments remain the preserve of nerds and smug politicians (politicians hate it when the issues are really discussed in any depth, that's why they eulogise in the same glib language as Madonna).

The tabloid press are suckers for a publicity stunt. They survive symbiotically with celebs who perform them in full knowledge of what they are doing and why. They won't always report it how it was intended to come across however, and I think they decided to knock Madonna for her actions because they decided that this stunt was too tasteless to be endorsed.