Bono has donated a red Ducati 916 to the charity Riders for Health to support African aid. The bike has at times belonged to INXS front-man Michael Hutchence, Bono and Adam Clayton. To help sweeten the deal, Bono signed the tank of the Ducati with “‘For Michael, Bono” in memory of Michael Hutchence. Proceeds from the auction will support Riders mission to help health workers in Africa reach rural villages with essential healthcare.

If you’re interested in bidding, you can contact jgoodman@riders.org. Fans wishing to attend the auction on 2nd December at the Birmingham NEC Bike Show can book their tickets for the Show at www.motorcycleshow.co.uk or on 0870 739 2007. The auction will take place on the Black Horse Stage in the Arai Entertainment Zone at 12 noon.

Ali, Bono and Alicia Keys. (photo credit).

Last night in NYC, at a $100,000 (!) per table event, the likes of David Bowie, Iman, Jay-Z, Diddy, Gwen Stefani, Sheryl Crow, Mike Mills, etc. etc. came out to honor Bono for his humanitarian work. The occasion was a fundraiser for the Keep A Child Alive charity.

In honoring him, Alicia Keys said of Bono, “He is an inspiration and single-handedly made it cool to have something to speak about.” Bono, for his part, showed up in a ridiculous/awesome burgundy colored suit, and said he was “proud” but would rather be giving an award than receiving one.

You can see several more photos of Bono and other celebs at the event at Confessions of a Paparazzi Etc.

Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani and Sheryl Crow were supposedly on the list to perform at the event. Does anyone know what songs were played and if anyone else got on stage to perform?

UPDATE: Rolling Stone reports that the evening included Gwen Stefani and Alicia Keys performing Sunday Bloody Sunday, Alicia and opera singer Kathleen Battle performing Miss Sarajevo and Bono joining Alicia to sing Don’t Give Up with the Agape Orphanage’s children’s choir.

—This post brought to you by Scatter O’ Light.

Kylie Minogue’s new movie White Diamond features an appearance by Bono. The documentary chronicles Minogue’s comeback from breast cancer. You might recall that Bono joined her on stage in Sydney last year for a duet of the song Kids. This included Bono swinging around a leash and collar, while Kylie wore a cat suit. (watch video of that here.)

Depending on your point of view, that video may or may not be as intriguing as the Red Hill Mining Town video, which you have surely heard by now is finally going to see the light of day as part of the Joshua Tree re-release.

While my inner grump wants to complain about another re-issue instead of a new issue (aka new music), this looks like their best repackage and re-sell job yet. So … yay, I guess.

—This post brought to you by Scatter O’ Light.

I went to the “Daily Show” Web site today, and one of the links on the main page was to a caption contest for this photo:

Sixty comments are posted so far; of the ones I’ve seen, none of them are terribly funny. (Although I did enjoy these two: “Looking around this distinguished body at my good friends from Indiana and Massachusetts and Delaware, I think I can say without fear of objection, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for,” and “Bono delights Senator Lugar with his yet to be released techno cover of “Little Bunny Foo-Foo.”) Come on @U2′ers; let’s see if we can’t flood Comedy Central’s Indecision 2008 with our own brand of Bono humor.

It was the best dressed general admission line I had ever stood in as a few thousand mortgage bankers and associates filled the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts today to hear Bono give the keynote address at their annual convention. The buzz was going through the building about Bono’s appearance very early on.

The doors to the general session room did not open until 8:15 a.m., and yet people were lining up well before the sun came out around 7 a.m. One woman standing in line said she received a phone call from a colleague at 7:15 a.m. who said that there were already 20 people in line waiting for the doors to open. As people were arriving and lining up for the doors to open, there was that same, familiar vibe in the room as if it was a concert and those in GA weren’t sure if they’d be able to get the position they wanted. The only things missing were sharpie numbers on hands and wristbands. Well, we all had to wear a namebadge, so I suppose that’s similar.

Bono’s remarks to the Mortgage Bankers Association can be seen as another opportunity to tell the story of what’s going on in Africa. The hardest sell was to convince mortgage bankers to forgive the loans - you think asking governments to do that is hard? Try mortgage bankers! Over Bono’s 45 minutes, he kept on message and dazzled (as he usually does) those with the thickest skin on issues that impact everyone in one way or another.

It was just surreal being in a room with roughly 2000 people in their business suits holding out their cell phones and cameras as if it was a U2 show - snapping photos throughout the remarks. There were a few people wearing their ONE Campaign or (RED) shirts, but the majority of the room was dressed in either black or navy blue.

Even Bono was in a black suit with his trademark shades, thick-soled shoes, mild 5 o’clock shadow, and deep greenish blue business shirt (half buttoned, mind you).

I was fortunate enough to get a question asked and answered at the end of the Q&A session - you’ll be able to hear that in our October podcast.

The current issue of GQ magazine features an extensive interview with Colin Powell, and a quote within the interview set off a certain Bono-ism alarm inside my brain. In response to a question about the threat of terrorism, Powell said:

“I would approach this differently, in almost Marshall-like terms. What are the great opportunities out there—ones that we can take advantage of? It should not be just about creating alliances to deal with a guy in a cave in Pakistan. It should be about how do we create institutions that keep the world moving down a path of wealth creation, of increasing respect for human rights, creating democratic institutions, and increasing the efficiency and power of market economies? This is perhaps the most effective way to go after terrorists.”

We’ve heard quite a few times from Bono in the past several years that he believes in a Marshall Plan for Africa and that “the war against terror is bound up in the war against poverty.” And that Colin Powell says so. For real, I half expected Powell to end the above quote by adding “And I didn’t say that, Bono said that. And he’s an Irish rock star, so maybe we should listen.”

Anyway …

It’s also that time of year again when everyone starts predicting who will win the Nobel Peace Prize. Bono has no chance. Just sayin…

There are some profiles of the “favorites” on the ABC News website. If the vote were all about facial hair and hoop earring (singular), surely Bono would win. But we all know it’s about more than that. Haircuts count, too. With that in mind, I’m betting on peace mediator Martti Ahtisaari because he has some serious Larry Mullen style action up top. Nice.

(After-the-Fact Update: What I meant to say was, clearly the winner will be Al Gore.)

—This post brought to you by Scatter O’ Light.

Several alert @U2 readers have let us know that LiveNation is currently sending out a survey asking them their thoughts about U2, specifically about a future concert and how much someone would be willing to shell out for tickets and merchandise. The U2 Survey Sweepstakes Grand Prize winner will receive one pair of concert tickets to any LiveNation venue in 2007 or 2008.

LiveNation’s email states:

Take our U2 survey for a chance to win tickets to a future Live Nation concert!

We want to hear your thoughts and experiences about U2. Your feedback helps us to create unforgettable live music experiences for you, the fan.

Please click on the link below and answer the brief questions to be automatically entered into the drawing!

What’s interesting is that the rules of the survey states “Entrants agree that the Administrator may disclose to third parties all personal information obtained from Entrants and use such information for marketing and other purposes. ”

Only those LiveNation emailed will be allowed to take the survey. For the full rules of the sweepstakes, check them out here.

Is this a hint that the band’s testing the waters for a potential 2008 tour? I guess we’ll need to wait and see.

Comedy Central’s South Park has taken the piss out of Bono’s crap - seriously. The episode first aired last night, and will rebroadcast tonight at 10 p.m.

In case you were worried that Bono would use his rumored gig as one of the Spice Girls as an excuse to hold up the work on the new U2 album, no dice. U2’s slow work process is actually The Edge’s fault. At least according to Bono’s comment in this clip [click to view]:

Edge and Bono were at a couple of events this past weekend in New York. They attended a screening of Julian Schnabel’s film the Diving Bell and the Butterfly. And they were also at Bill Clinton’s event about youth activism, which was webcast on think.mtv.com. A portion of Bono’s remarks at that event can be seen in this clip [click here to view]:

Note the last 20 seconds in the above video. Chris Rock bemoans the fact that college kids are not as interested in activism as they are in Girls Gone Wild. Funny man Bono, with adequate levels of inappropriateness, asks “What’s wrong with that?” And Bill Clinton stares straight ahead. Like a deer. With very bright headlights shining in his eyes.

Earlier in the week, Bono received the Liberty Medal from former President Bush, the same man U2 used to mock. Nightly. 15 very long Zoo TV years ago. Certainly an honor, but also a very surreal sight.

Dear The Edge: Restring! Restring! Quick!

—This post brought to you by Scatter O’ Light.