He’s no Wyclef Jean or George Clooney, but that hasn’t stopped seven-year-old Charlie Simpson from raising more than £100,000 ($161,000) for the Haiti earthquake.

Simpson from Fulham, west London had hoped to raise just £500 for UNICEF’s earthquake appeal by cycling eight kilometers (five miles)around a local park.

“My name is Charlie Simpson. I want to do a sponsored bike ride for Haiti because there was a big earthquake and loads of people have lost their lives,” said Simpson on his JustGiving page, a fundraising site which launched his efforts.

“I want to make some money to buy food, water and tents for everyone in Haiti,” he said.

And with that simple call, messages of support flooded the site.

“Such a big heart for a young boy, you’re a little star!” wrote one supporter. “Well done Charlie. A real celebrity,” said another.

More donations began pouring in after the story caught the attention of the British media — with many cheering Simpson on towards the £100,000 mark.

Even British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is spreading the message. His “Downing Street” Twitter alias said: “Amazed by response to the great fundraising efforts of 7 yr old Charlie Simpson for the people of Haiti.”

David Bull, UNICEF UK executive director described Simpson’s efforts as “very bold and innovative.”

“It shows he connects with and not only understands what children his own age must be going through in Haiti,” Bull said in a press statement.

“The little seed — his idea — that he has planted has grown rapidly and his is a place well deserved in the humanitarian world.

“On behalf of the many children in Haiti, I thank Charlie for his effort.”

Money raised by Simpson will go towards UNICEF’s Haiti Earthquake Children’s Appeal which will provide water, sanitation, education, nutrition as well as supporting child protection

Hollywood is seeking a new Spider-Man after Sony Pictures made the shock announcement that Tobey Maguire would no longer take the lead role in the £2 billion franchise.

After reports that production on Spider-Man 4 had stalled amid disagreements over the script, Sony said that Maguire, who plays Peter Parker, and Sam Raimi, the director, had both left the film.

Sony said that a new Spider-Man film would appear in 2012 focusing on Parker, a teenager “grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing superhuman crises”. Although Maguire is hugely popular with young filmgoers, he would be 36 by the time the new film was released.

When the first film was released, in 2002, his performance as the student bitten by a genetically modified spider won praise and the opening weekend broke box-office records.

The third film grossed $1 billion and the three films, directed by Raimi, are in the top 25 biggest grossing hits of all time.

Only this week Maguire had said he was looking forward to shooting Spider-Man 4. “We have a lot of great stuff in terms of story and script,” he said. “We’re just trying to dial it in and get it ready as quickly as possible. Of course, these movies are a very big undertaking and take a lot more time than a drama or something more straightforward.”

But the fourth film has been dogged by trouble and is expected to miss a projected release date of May 2011. There were reports that Raimi wanted to cast John Malkovich as a winged, flying baddie, against the wishes of Sony. The studio, it was claimed, wanted a more cute villain who would also be the love interest.

Sony is to release more information on the film in the coming weeks.

Raimi acknowledged that the studio was heading in a “new direction”. Raimi said: “While we were looking forward to doing a fourth one together, the studio and Marvel [Spider-Man was created for Marvel Comics in 1962] have a unique opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction, and I know they will do a terrific job.”

The change gives Sony the opportunity to “reboot” the franchise, following the example of Paramount, which successfully reinvented Star Trek with a young cast last year.

Meanwhile, a Broadway musical based on the Spider-Man character is scheduled to open next month.

Happy New Year!

There is word that they could be charged and sent to jail. They lied to get in. Best believe Tyron and Keitrell wouldn’t of been able to sneek in this high security party.

President Obama made his first Presidential visit to New Orleans this week and while there he attended a town hall meeting. During lasr Thursday’s meeting, the 44^th President answered some tough questions but the toughest question of all came from a 9-year-old named Tyren Scott.

The fourth grader asked him a simple question.

“Why do people hate you?”

The confused young man even added,

“They supposed to love you.”

Obama gave little Tyren a hug before saying,

“First of all I did get elected President, not everyone hates me. I got a whole lotta folks. You know what is true is true, it’s like everybody’s getting mad all the time. I think that you’ve gotta take it with a grain of salt. Some of it is just what’s called politics, where when one party wins the other party feels like it has to poke you a little bit to keep you on your toes. So you shouldn’t take it too seriously.”

Obama broke it down further for little Tyren by adding,

“Sometimes I think people are worried about their own lives. A lot of people are losing their jobs right now. A lot of people are losing their health care, and a lot of people are losing their homes to foreclosure, and they’re feeling frustrated, and when you’re President of the United States, you gotta deal with all of that.”

He then reassured the young boy saying,

“I’m a pretty tough guy…you’ve just gotta keep on going when folks are criticizing you.”

 Leave it to children to state the obvious. It’s a shame to see how many people have turned their backs on this man since he was elected into office. No worries though, he’s exactly right. Obama’s got a “whole lotta folks” that support him as our President and aren’t jumping on the bandwagon to tear him down.

Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, former Cal and NBA star, was reportedly robbed on the streets of San Francisco over the weekend, KCRA-TV in Sacramento is reporting.

In a post on his blog, Johnson said he was near Union Square helping an elderly man get into a cab when someone stole his garment bag.

Johnson, former NBA All Star, said he lost a suit, a pair of shoes and some personal items.

“Not the end of the world, but frustrating,” Johnson wrote. “The real crime was the vulnerability of it all, the idea that I could leave my bag on a crowded street, turn my back for 30 seconds and have my stuff stolen.”

Johnson said he was in San Francisco to attend a conference with representatives of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. When he took office in 2008 he became the first African American mayor of Sacramento.

The mayor said the theft occurred as he was helping the man get into a cab.

“Next time I see San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, I’ll tell him the story and give him my word nothing like that will happen to him in Sacramento,” Johnson added. “And I’ll hope I can make good on the promise.”

Obama keeps it trill!

50 spoke today about the now infamous Kanye incident and how it was different from 2004 when he took to the stage at the Grammys in protest of not being named Best New Artist. He also talked about what his reaction would have been had it been he who was receiving an award and subject to an interruption by Kanye.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, the indefatigable liberal icon whose 47 years in the Senate were often overshadowed by his twin roles as keeper and casualty of the Camelot myth, died late Tuesday night after a long battle with brain cancer.He was 77, and passed away at the famed Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port, Mass.

“We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever,” the heartbroken Kennedy family said in a statement.

“We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said, “We have lost our patriarch.”

“Maria and I are immensely saddened by the passing of Uncle Teddy,” said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose wife, Maria Shriver, is the late Senator’s niece.

“Teddy inspired our country through his dedication to health care reform, his commitment to social justice, and his devotion to a life of public service.”

Kennedy was diagnosed in May 2008 with a malignant brain tumor, discovered after he suffered a seizure at the Hyannis Port compound.

Doctors initially said the cancer could kill Kennedy within a year. But the tough old Democrat fought bravely to outlast the grim prognosis.

His large family took advantage of the extra time.

“It let us have the chance to tell him how much we love him,” said his son Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) “and him to be there to hear it.”

Kennedy was largely absent from Washington after the diagnosis.

Rumors of his deteriorating condition heated up when Kennedy missed three big August events: His sister Eunice’s funeral, the confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, and the ceremony where he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Kennedy’s low profile over his last month was a dramatic contrast with his tumultuous life.

Thrust into the role of family patriarch by the assassinations of his two brothers, the star-crossed Kennedy endured a heartrending series of tragedies - several of them self-inflicted.

The Massachusetts Democrat never fully escaped the taint of Mary Jo Kopechne and Chappaquiddick. He struggled with alcohol, and suffered through the untimely deaths of nephews David by drug overdose, Michael in a skiing accident and JFK Jr. in a plane crash.

He never reached the White House, absorbing a stinging defeat in his 1980 challenge to incumbent Jimmy Carter. Critics said he lacked his brother John’s intellect and his brother Bobby’s passion.