According to reports, Brad Pitt has donated $100,000 to support gay marriage rights. Angelina Jolie’s for-equality partner made the donation to fight Proposition 8, an initiative on California’s November ballot that would overturn the state Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Brad Pitt said in a statement,

“Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn’t harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8.”

This latest donation just came after he and Angelina Jolie announced that they had donated $2 million to help fight H.I.V./AIDS and tuberculosis in Ethiopia.

According to reports, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation just donated $2 million to the Global Health Committee to make a help center in Ethiopia, and this will be named after their daughter Zahara (she was adopted from Ethiopia). Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are doing this for the kids affected by tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. The center will be modeled after Maddox Chivan Children’s Center in Cambodia (named after their oldest son), where children receive medical, education and social services. Angelina Jolie said in a statement:

“Our goal is to transfer the success we have had in Cambodia to Ethiopia where people are needlessly dying of tuberculosis, a curable disease, and HIV/AIDS, a treatable disease.”

Brad Pitt, meanwhile, said; “It is our hope when Zahara is older she will take responsibility of the clinic and continue its mission. The fact that poor people continue to die in our world today of TB, a curable disease, because of lack of access to drugs and care is unacceptable.”

And they were a new entry at that! Amazing huh?? The Daily Telegraph reported last Wednesday that Vanity Fair’s annual list of the world’s 100 most powerful and influential people listed Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in their top 10. The list is scheduled to appear in the October issue of the magazine.

THE VANITY FAIR 100 (2007 ranking in parentheses; only top 20 shown)

1. Vladimir Putin, Russian Prime Minister (new entry)
2. Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. (1)
3. Sergey Brin (3), Larry Page (3), and Eric Schmidt (new entry), Google
4. Steve Jobs, Apple, Disney, and Pixar (2)
5. Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway (5)
6. Jeff Bezos, Amazon (23)
7. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai (new entry)
8. Roman Abramovich, Millhouse Capital (30)
9. Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt, actors, activists (new entry)
10. Al Gore, eco-warrior (19)
11. Bill Clinton, Clinton Foundation (6)
12. Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, Bloomberg L.P. (9)
13. Bernard Arnault, LVMH (8)
14. Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks SKG (7)
15. Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren (13)
16. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft (returning)
17. François-Henri Pinault, PPR (new entry)
18. Barry Diller & Diane von Furstenberg (15), IAC; Diane von Furstenberg (15)
19. H. Lee Scott, Wal-Mart (12)
20. Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs (new entry)

That’s what an election insider is saying! However, if you remember, Angelina Jolie told Variety.com recently that she still haven’t chosen which presidential candidate she’ll vote for this November. The mother of six has said,

“I have not decided on a candidate. I am waiting to see the commitments they will make on issues like international justice, refugees and how to address the needs of children in crisis around the world.”

The election insider, however, insists that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are *really* in talks with a local promoter to host a charity event during the Democratic National Convention on August 25-28. The Jolie-Pitt tandem are apparently in “conversations” with an unnamed Denver doer, and are nailing down specifics, including the location. The big question: will they bring the twins?? ^_^

Aside from their usual charitable reasons, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are building one for their daughter Zahara Jolie-Pitt to manage when she grows up. The actress will be making a trip to Ethiopia soon to discuss building the AIDS clinic as part of the work of the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, a charity Angie set up with her partner Brad last 2006 for humanitarian aid around the world. The mother of six told Britain’s Hello magazine:

“We will be building a Tuberculosis/AIDS clinic in Ethiopia. The one we plan for Zahara to take over when she is older.”

Angelina Jolie also hopes to take son Maddox to his native place Cambodia as part of a separate charity trip that the family is planning once newborn twins Knox and Vivienne Marcheline grow up a little. The stunning actress shared,

“The next trip for our foundation will most likely be Asia to follow up on the situation in Burma and our work in Cambodia. The boys have been asking to go there, so we will take them when Knox and Vivienne are a bit older.”

The pregnant actress recently told the German daily Frankfurter Rundschau in an interview: “Everyone thinks that I have made up my mind. But my decision is still very much open. I have listened very carefully for what Obama and McCain stand for, which is something that every voter should do. I will make my decision only after I know what both candidates plan to do in the areas that are important to me.” Of course, we all know what Angelina Jolie is interested in — refugees and Iraq. The Wanted actress said it is

“not possible right now to simply hand over the reins to the Iraqis and pull out. The U.S. has not only a moral obligation to help the Iraqi refugees, it is also a US national security interest to end this crisis.”

In the interview, Angelina Jolie also critized the Bush administration’s “highly questionable foreign policy,” but said that was not the reason why she and her family live mostly in France. She says, “French is the second language in our household, so it is good to be there right now.”

WOW!! That will certainly go a looong way in Iraq! It just proves that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s love for children is by no means limited to their own eh?? =) The Education Partnership for Children of Conflict announced last Wednesday that the $1 million is to help kids affected by the war in Iraq. The organization will distribute the donation, made through the couple’s Jolie-Pitt Foundation, to four charities working on behalf of children who have lost parents, homes and schools in Iraq. Children in the U.S. who have lost parents in the conflict will also benefit. Angelina Jolie said in a written statement from Education Partnership for Children of Conflict (which she co-chairs):

“These educational support programs for children of conflict are the best way to help them heal. We hope to encourage others to give to these great organizations.”

The money will be divided between the Armed Services YMCA Operation Hero Program, which provides military children with counseling and educational support; Women for Women International, which will provide books, school supplies and other basic necessities to Iraqi women and children; the International Rescue Committee, which will repair three schools and offer classes for more than 2,500 students; and NineMillion.org, which will give school uniforms and learning materials to more than 2,000 displaced Iraqi kids. Last year, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation gave more than $300,000 to support the International Rescue Committee’s relief program for Darfur refugees.

PSA is public service announcement dear readers =) And the very pregnant Angelina Jolie recorded one for World Refugee Day (held on June 20) to help raise awareness about the plight of millions of people at risk. The “Wanted” actress joined UN’s refugee agency during a February 2001 visit to war-torn Sierra Leone in West Africa, prior to filming Beyond Borders with Clive Owen. Since then, Angelina Jolie has been the Goodwill Ambassador to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. You can view her PSA below:

In the PSA above, Angelina Jolie explains what life is like for millions around the world while emotive scenes of refugees flash on the screen. Here’s what she says: “They have survived war, they have survived displacement, they have survived rape, they have survived hunger and disease. For those who have survived and for those who did not, we are thinking of you on this day.”

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were ranked No. 21 on TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. And their good pal George Clooney wrote an article explaining how and why they were deserving of the honor. Here’s a snippet of the article:

“As a team, actors Brad Pitt, 44, and Angelina Jolie, 32, have served as our goodwill ambassadors worldwide. They brought help to Pakistan in 2005, after a catastrophic earthquake killed tens of thousands of people and left millions homeless. They have tended to the poor and sick in Africa. And they’ve raised global awareness—and contributed $1 million of their own money—for the victims of atrocities in Darfur. Brad co-founded Not on Our Watch, an organization set up to focus global attention on Darfur and other hot spots.

Angelina has worked tirelessly through the United Nations on behalf of refugees around the world, touring border camps in Africa, Asia and Latin America and lobbying on Capitol Hill. The couple cares for three adopted children, from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam, in addition to their biological daughter.”

More pictures of the radiant pregnant actress while speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations on the desperate need for education to help bring about change and hope for the Iraqi child refugees. Angelina Jolie is really beautiful! Whether she is frowning, pouting or just looking serious =)

MORE photos of Angelina Jolie HERE!