That’s what Madonna’s new adopted daughter seems to be thinking as she soaks in the hustle and bustle of London 48 hours after being whisked from her African homeland.

The pop singer said she will “cocoon” 4-year-old Mercy James in her British townhouse for a week, to help her adjust to her new life.

Madonna’s pals said the girl slept through most of the 6,000-mile flight on a private jet from the Malawian capital Lilongwe to Heathrow on Friday.

(source)

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Madonna can adopt a second child from Malawi, the southern African country’s highest court ruled Friday, overturning a lower court decision it said was out of touch with the times.

Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo, reading the three-judge panel’s ruling, also said the singer’s commitment to helping disadvantaged children should have been taken into account when deciding on Madonna’s request to adopt 3-year-old Chifundo “Mercy” James.

Madonna has founded a charity, Raising Malawi, which helps feed, educate and provide medical care for some of Malawi’s more than 1 million orphans, half of whom have lost a parent to AIDS.

Children’s welfare groups had expressed concern that rules meant to protect children were being bent because of Madonna’s celebrity, and perhaps out of gratitude for what she has done for Malawi, one of the world’s poorest and most AIDS-ravaged countries.

Madonna’s lawyer Alan Chinula said he called his client after the ruling.

“It’s the wee hours of morning in New York but she is excited at the news,” Chinula said. “As her lawyer I am happy that this has settled this contentious issue.”

Chinula said he would now turn to arranging a passport for Chifundo, which could take several days, and was awaiting word from Madonna on travel plans for the girl. The adoption may not be final for some time.

Madonna had appealed after the lower court ruled she could not adopt the girl because the singer had not spent enough time in Malawi. The lower court said residency rules had been bent when Madonna adopted her son David from Malawi last year.

The appeals court said that was a narrow interpretation based on old laws.

“In this global village a man can have more than one place at which he resides,” Munlo said in the ruling, which took more than an hour to read in court Friday. “The matter of residence should be determined at the time of application of the adoption. In this case, Madonna was in Malawi not by chance but by intention. She is looking after several orphans whose welfare depends on her. She can therefore not be described as a sojourner.”

The ruling also said the judges saw only two options for Chifundo, “either to stay at the orphanage without the love of family and live with the possibility of destitution or be with Madonna where she is assured of love.

“Every child has the right to love.”

But the chairman of the coalition of non-governmental organizations that criticized Madonna’s adoption efforts said they had “reservations” about Friday’s judgment.

Undule Mwakasungula said the judge “disregarded” international agreements on children’s rights and adoptions.

He also took issue with the argument that because Madonna has made an investment in the country and has interests there, she could be considered a resident.

“We are a bit surprised but we can’t challenge it because the Supreme Court has ruled and we have to go with that,” he said.

(source)

• “Women are future of Africa” - Madonna
• “Madonna Stayed with Prostitues…”- Marc Almond

A tipster who describes himself as a “front of house employee” at the Bryant Park Hotel claims that Madonna, whose Sticky and Sweet Tour is on hiatus, booked 28 rooms for her dancers, roadies and techies. “They are horrible,” our source alleges. “We work with people in the fashion and entertainment industry all the time, a crowd that is notoriously difficult, but these guys are rude. They are presumptuous and cheap. Nearly every one of them have stiffed their bellman and servers, and what’s worse is they have tons of stuff.” A rep for Madonna said Her Madgesty is known for her generosity and typically doles out tips when a hotel stay is over. And a hotel rep called the allegations “fabricated,” adding, “They are a polite group. We are happy to have them stay with us.”

(source)

• “Women are future of Africa” - Madonna
• “Madonna Stayed with Prostitues…”- Marc Almond

(source)

• MADONNA AND FAMILY ATTEND KABBALAH
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It’s a pose often favoured by inebriated students - a hand grasping a fellow reveller’s behind.

But at 50-years of age Madonna should know better.

The mother-of-three was pictured striking the unusual pose with fellow guests Amber Rose, the model girlfriend of Kanye West.

That were at the star-studded Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Ball earlier this month.

Of course, Madonna may have thought the photo would never be viewed by the general public. But Amber Rose was so pleased with it that she posted it on her Twitter page - sharing it with the world.

Yesterday Amber’s boyfriend Kanye, also in the Madonna picture, made it clear that he doesn’t share his girlfriend’s passion for the social networking page.

In a rant on his blog the rapper chastised those pretending to be him.

‘Why would I use Twitter?’ he wrote ‘I’m too busy actually being creative most of the time and if I’m not and I’m just lying on the beach I wouldn’t tell the world.

‘Everything that Twitter offers I need less of.’

Perhaps he should share his views with his girlfriend.

(source)

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• “Women are future of Africa” - Madonna

So where do you start with what Madonna is wearing? You just skip to finished. There is nothing nice to say about the whole overall look, but thankfully I am not wearing it.

(source)

• Madonna gets her pimp look on
• Madonna to adopt Malawian girl?

Madonna is still appealing, but her appeal just got a whole heck of a lot more difficult. The Malawi kid that Madonna want’s have care takers raise in America apparently has a father. Who woulda thought??? here is more from People.

“I want to take care of her, and I’m capable of taking care of my baby,” James Kambewa told CBS’s The Early Show in an interview to air Monday, the same day the court will hear Madonna’s appeal of the rejected adoption.
“Mercy, she is a Malawian, so [I] need her to grow as a Malawian … with our culture,” he said.
The hearing in Madonna’s appeal case will be led by the head of the judiciary in Malawi. The southern African country’s High Court had previously rejected her application to adopt Mercy Chifundo James.
In his interview, Kambewa tells The Early Show that he’s never met his daughter and has only seen her “in newspapers and TV, not face to face.”

But America rules. That’s what this African man fails to realize. Rest assured, Madonna will let him know as the process continues. Madonna, I think it might be time to throw in the towel on this one. Or throw another african kegger and try to garner support that way. Hey, always works for me. You can have my dog if you want him; I take trade in beet.

(source)

• “Women are future of Africa” - Madonna
• “Madonna Stayed with Prostitues…”- Marc Almond

(source)

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The Material Girl is giving something back to the land of her ancestors.

Madonna has promised $500,000 to help victims of Italy’s devastating earthquake, said Fernando Caparso, mayor of Pacentro, the mountainside village where two of the pop star’s grandparents were born.

Carparso told The Associated Press on Wednesday that that he had spoken to the pop star’s manager and that he was deeply moved by Madonna’s effort to assist the town as well as surrounding areas.

“Madonna was the only one who could help us,” he said. “Other then being a great singer, a great rock star and an intelligent woman, with this gesture she has become a great woman,” he said.

Liz Rosenberg, the pop singer’s spokeswoman, confirmed that Madonna had pledged a “substantial amount,” in quake relief but didn’t disclose the exact figure.

The picturesque village, 100 kilometers (60 miles) from hard-hit L’Aquila, felt Monday’s earthquake but did not suffer serious damage. However Caparso said residents were terrified and some have been sleeping in tents or in their cars for fear of being crushed in collapsing buildings.

Caparso said the bulk of Madonna’s donation would be destined for areas harder hit.

In this tiny village, located below a snow covered mountain and overlooking a valley of olive groves, residents were mostly appreciative of the gesture - particularly coming at a time when the area was already experiencing economic problems.

“This was a tragedy for us, and I am very moved by what she did,” said Davide Battaglini, 33, who works for Italy’s financial police. “Our situation isn’t the best, factories have been closing, so a gesture from a star like her is very welcome.”

But Rosa Napoli, 90, was less than approving. “She is a woman that men like. She is not the Madonna that is worshipped in church,” Napoli said as she left a small church where she attended an evening Mass.

Madonna still has relatives in the town, who live in a four-story home along the main road leading up through the mountainside village. Giuseppe Mirandola, the son of her second cousins, answered the door at the entrance to the home, flanked by potted plants and trees.

“Journalists have been bothering my family for a long time,” Mirandola said from the door. “I don’t want to talk.”

(source)

• “Women are future of Africa” - Madonna
• “Madonna Stayed with Prostitues…”- Marc Almond

A judge has rejected Madonna’s request to adopt a second child from Malawi because of a requirement that prospective parents live in the southern African nation for at least 18 months, another judge and a lawyer said Friday.

The judge who confirmed the decision did not make the ruling, but saw it. The lawyer was present when the ruling was made. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.

Madonna’s efforts to adopt 3-year-old Chifundo “Mercy” James had drawn criticism from some activists who said the little girl would be best off with relatives.

The 50-year-old pop superstar, who was not in court on Friday, can appeal the ruling to Malawi’s Supreme Court. There was no immediate comment from Madonna’s spokeswoman in New York.

The residency rule was waived in 2006, when Madonna was allowed to take her adopted son, David, to London before his adoption was finalized in 2008. It was not clear why Judge Esme Chombo ruled differently Friday. Another judge had handled Madonna’s previous adoption case.

However, when Madonna adopted David, she was still married to British film director Guy Ritchie. Their divorce became finalized earlier this year, and she was adopting Mercy as a single mother.

In court papers made public Friday, Madonna said Chifundo’s grandmother was unable to care for her. She promised to make Mercy a permanent part of her family and spare her the “hardship and emotional trauma” of life as an orphan.

The girl’s mother, according to the affidavit, died at age 14 just days after her baby was born Jan. 22, 2006. There was no mention of the father in the affidavit. The mother’s brother is listed as having consented to the adoption.

“I am able and willing to securely provide for Chifundo James and make her a permanent and established member of my family,” Madonna said. “To deny Chifundo James the opportunity to be adopted by me could expose her to hardship and emotional trauma which is otherwise avoidable.”

Malawi’s child welfare minister had endorsed Madonna’s adoption application.

“We have close to 2 million orphans in Malawi who need help,” Women and Child Welfare Development Minister Anna Kachikho told The Associated Press. “We can’t look after all of them as a country. If people like Madonna adopt even one such orphan, it’s one mouth less we have to feed.”

Orphans usually are taken in by their extended families in Africa, but AIDS and other diseases have taken a toll on those who might have traditionally provided support. In villages across the continent, frail elderly grandmothers do their best to care for children, but many end up in orphanages or on the streets.

The United Nations estimates 18 million African children will have lost a parent to AIDS by 2010.

Critics accused Madonna of using her fame and money to fast-track the adoption process, but the singer said she had followed standard procedures. She faced similar allegations in 2006 when she brought home David, who is now 3.

A coalition of non-governmental organizations called the Human Rights Consultative Committee had criticized Madonna’s adoption attempts, saying that adoption should be the last resort and that children need to be taken care of by their own family.

“Mercy James is a child who has her extended close family members alive and we urge Madonna to assist the child from right here,” the coalition said earlier this week.

Yet others from Malawi had applauded Madonna, saying the adoption would give Mercy enormous opportunities that she would be unable to achieve in the impoverished country, where 14 percent of adults are infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

Madonna first traveled to Malawi in 2006 while filming a documentary on the devastating poverty and AIDS crisis. On this trip, she has been accompanied by her three children: 3-year-old David, 12-year-old daughter Lourdes and 8-year-old son Rocco.

The four have visited an orphanage where David once lived and David also saw his biological father for the first time since he left Malawi in 2006.

Madonna and Lourdes also visited a village in Malawi this week and looked over plans to build a new school there. The singer has several charity projects in Malawi.

(source)

• “Women are future of Africa” - Madonna
• Malawi approves Madonnas 2nd adoption

Madonna dashed from the airport to an impoverished Malawi village to discuss a school she is planning to build, saying nothing to the hordes of reporters on her trail Sunday about whether she is planning to start the process of adopting a second Malawian child.

The singer, casually dressed in a white fedora, walked in Chinkhota, a village near the capital of this AIDS- and poverty-stricken southern African country, holding the hand of her 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes. Dozens of reporters looked on.

The 50-year-old Madonna refused to answer questions about reports that she was in Malawi to adopt a 4-year-old girl. She said it was “amazing” to be back in the country where she runs a charity organization and from where she adopted her son David, 3, last year.

Then she rushed away in a convoy of at least three sport utility vehicles, as crowds of shouting, waving children ran after her.

Madonna was expected to appear Monday in court in Lilongwe, the capital, to sign adoption papers.

A security guard with the convoy said Madonna spoke to villagers about building a school, and she was seen looking at an artist’s impression of the proposed building.

Madonna first traveled to Malawi in 2006 while doing charity work and filming a documentary on the devastating poverty and AIDS crisis here. Her Raising Malawi organization, founded in 2006, raises funds to fight poverty by providing food, shelter, education and health care for children here.

The U.N. estimates that half of the 1 million Malawian children with one or no parents was orphaned by AIDS, and that the virus that causes AIDS has infected 14 percent of adults here. Of the population of 13 million, 65 percent live below the poverty line, and most of those living in poverty are women. Madonna plans a special school for girls to increase opportunities for girls and young women in Malawi.

It was not clear if the school she discussed Sunday was her proposed Raising Malawi Academy for Girls.

A Malawian welfare official and another person involved in the adoption proceedings have said the girl Madonna is hoping to adopt is about 4 years old and her unmarried mother died soon after she was born. The girl’s father is believed to be alive but no other details were available. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is considered sensitive.

A U.S. government official has also confirmed that an adoption bid by Madonna, an American citizen, is under way.

Madonna has faced harsh criticism for years over David’s adoption. Children’s advocacy groups accused her of wielding her immense wealth and influence to circumvent Malawian law requiring an 18- to 24-month assessment period before adoption.

But locals were not so condemning.

Wilson Kalibwanji, a resident of Chinkhota, said he would willingly place his own son in her care to ensure the boy a better life.

“We are poor people,” he said Sunday. “If a child’s mother dies, it is hard for the man to bring the child up.”

Austin Msowoya, legal researcher with Malawi’s Law Commission, played down concerns that a second adoption by Madonna would violate any laws. He said the best interests of the child would be taken into account - whether that was staying in an orphanage in Malawi or getting “an education with Madonna.”

“When you look at these two options, then perhaps it becomes in the best interests of the child to allow the adoption if the parents and the guardians consent to it,” he told Associated Press Television News on Saturday.

But Save the Children UK said the recently divorced superstar risked sending the wrong message by going through with the second adoption.

“International adoption can actually exacerbate the problem it hopes to solve,” spokesman Dominic Nutt said Saturday. “The very existence of orphanages encourages poor parents to abandon children in the hope that they will have a better life.”

Nutt said he was not suggesting that Madonna was doing anything wrong - but he said the whole process of international adoptions was often flawed and sometimes linked to criminal activity.

He said, barring exceptional circumstances, children should be kept in the care of their extended families or within their communities.

Madonna’s spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg in New York, who has not commented on the adoption reports, told The Associated Press the star would not respond to comments from Save the Children.

Madonna told Malawi’s The Nation newspaper that she was considering another adoption but would only do it if she had “the support of the Malawian people and government.”

If the adoption goes through, Madonna would become a single mother of four. She also has an 8-year-old son, Rocco, with former husband and British film director Guy Ritchie and her daughter Lourdes from a previous relationship.

She and Ritchie, who were married in 2000, obtained a preliminary divorce decree in November 2008.

(source)

• “Women are future of Africa” - Madonna
• Madonna to adopt Malawian girl?

Madonna’s lifestyle may get in the way of her plans to adopt another child from Africa.

Malawi’s adoption officials say Madge’s sizzling fling with 22-year-old Brazilian hunk Jesus Luz - and her rumored hookup with Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez - may doom her desire to adopt 3-year-old Mercy James.

“Our official policy is that we do not encourage our children to be sent into broken homes,” said a senior official from Malawi’s Ministry of Women and Child Welfare Development, noting her split from hubby Guy Ritchie.

“[Madonna’s] relationships may negatively affect the adoption of Mercy,” the official said.

“The news she is linked to another woman’s husband and a young man less than half her age makes us question her morals.”

Officials are unhappy the 50-year-old Material Mom, who adopted toddler David Banda in Malawi in 2006, flaunted her relationship with Luz in a recent racy W Magazine spread.

Simon Chisale, Malawi’s child welfare chief, said morality plays a big part in the adoption process.

“We do not only look at the material issues, but also the moral standing of prospective adoptive parents, because we do not want our children’s morals to be corrupted,” Chisale said.

Still, he said he doubted Madonna’s social whirl would affect the outcome of her adoptive process.
“We do not apply the law retroactively,” he said.

(source)

• “Women are future of Africa” - Madonna
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Warner Bros is rumored to have gotten their first look at Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes and to say they aren’t happy about it would be understatement according to The Sun.

Warner Bros chiefs said the first cut was not good enough — and blasted one scene as “ridiculously unrealistic”.

A source said the scenes were filmed while director Guy was “distracted” by his divorce from MADONNA.

The insider added: “It’s disastrous news, but Guy has promised to fix it.”

The Sun added that they want him to re-shoot not one, not two, but fives weeks of scenes. Yikes that is beyond a bad sign for the movie. But then again Swept Away was one of the absolute worse movies I have ever seen, so I don’t know why the new shocks me. Oh yeah, I expect more from Robert Downey Jr. Poor RDJ.

(source)

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WHILE Madonna has been busy squiring “baby” Jesus Luz around town - they dined at Macelleria Wednesday night - reporters in Brazil have been looking into the 22-year-old model’s recent past. According to newspaper colum nist Monica Bergamo, “Luz was dividing his time between two girlfriends before he encoun tered Madonna for a pictorial in W magazine. Every week he would stay with one or the other.” Asked for an inter view, Krishna Siqueira, one of his exes, demanded payment. Jesus, a fan of electronic music, was a regular at four different discos in Rio de Janeiro, where he lived with his mother, a beautician in an Ipa nema salon. One of his mother’s clients was a fashion execu tive who put him into model ing. Luz, a member of the Orkut social networking site, writes in his profile: “It is not important what the others think about us. The most important is what and whom [sic] we are. I have a clear con science even if I am con- demned. We cannot forget that Jesus was condemned.” Luz now calls the US home and has joined Kabbalah.

(source)

• “Women are future of Africa” - Madonna
• “Madonna Stayed with Prostitues…”- Marc Almond

This is the no-holds-barred photoshoot where Madonna is said to have met Brazilian model Jesus Luz, who she is now rumoured to be romancing.

And judging by the pictures, it’s clear to see the newly single singer wasted no time getting acquainted with the 22-year-old poser.

In one shot the 50-year-old is seen locked in a passionate embrace with a topless Luz, while in another the model is pictured naked as Madonna looks on.

Other images reveal that Luz has his full name tattooed across the top of his back and in another the pair romp together on a hotel bed.

Madonna is featured in a 46-page spread in the March edition of American magazine W, clad in a Victoria Beckham black dress with white-trimmed sleeves and neckline.

She was photographed in a hotel room in Rio de Janeiro in December by celebrated photographer Steven Klein.

Madonna was apparently so enamoured with the handsome Latino, she asked him to accompany her for the remainder of the South America leg of her Sticky & Sweet Tour.

Earlier this month the couple were spotted dining out together in New York, which has fuelled speculation they are an item.

Since being linked to Madonna, it’s perhaps no surprise Luz’s modelling career has been given a huge boost.

His former agent Sergios Mattos, who runs 40 Graus Models, told the New York Post recently that Luz stopped taking his calls after meeting Madonna and has now signed to the more high-profile Ford Models.

Mattos told Brazilian website Glamurama.com.br: ‘He stopped answering his phone, his mother quit her job… But I wish him the best.

‘And now I have a new Jesus [Spanish model Jesus Perez]. This is a much better Jesus, and he’s not a fan of Madonna’s.’

A source close to model also told Glamurama Jesus had raised his modelling rates since meeting Madonna.

The source said: ‘He was asking for some $135,000 a show. He did the same job last year for a mere $225.

‘A lot of people are contacting him but because he keeps raising his rates, they are changing their minds.’

Luz is the second man to be linked to Madonna since she split from her now ex-husband Guy Ritchie in October.

Madonna denied reports last year she was involved with New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez, who divorced his wife Cynthia last summer.

(source)

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• “Women are future of Africa” - Madonna