“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” co-writer Bob Geldof is still fully on board with the song he helped create for charity with Band Aid, and doesn’t agree with criticisms he’s been hearing lately, including from performer Ed Sheeran. The song was originally released in 1984 and has had several remakes since then, including one Sheeran collaborated on in 2014. It has raised millions of dollars for charity over the years. The latest version called Band Aid 40, which commemorates four decades since its debut, uses previous recordings including those of Bono and Sheeran. This “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” is getting backlash, however, for allegedly promoting stereotypes about African culture. Last week, Sheeran said on social media that Band Aid never asked permission to use his vocals in the new version and that if they had, he “would have respectfully declined.” “A decade on and my understanding of the narrative associated with this has changed, eloquently explained by @fuseodg. This is just my personal stance, I’m hoping it’s a forward-looking one. Love to all,” the British musician shared to Instagram Stories. The explanation he referenced came from British-Ghanaian musician Fuse ODG who said he turned down Band Aid 30. He wrote on Stories: “While they may generate sympathy and donations, they perpetuate damaging stereotypes that stifle Africa’s economic growth, tourism, and investment, ultimately costing the continent trillions and destroying its dignity, pride and identity.” Now Geldof is responding to Sheeran’s comments and overall criticism of the song. The Irish songwriter told The Sunday Times that reality is more important than an “abstract wealthy-world argument.” “This little pop song has kept millions of people alive,” he told the outlet of the song that helped raise funds for Africans following a famine. “Why would Band Aid scrap feeding thousands of children dependent on us for a meal?” “Why not keep doing that? Because of an abstract wealthy-world argument, regardless of its legitimacy?” Geldof continued. CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE “No abstract theory, regardless of how sincerely held, should impede or distract from that hideous, concrete real-world reality,” he went on. “There are 600 million hungry people in the world — 300 million are in Africa. We wish it were other, but it is not. We can help some of them. That’s what we will continue to do.” “And I can guarantee your personal action here will result in a kid sleeping warmer, fed that night. This is one issue in which you have power,” he said. “You get to tilt the world a fraction — and I know: ‘Here is f***ing Geldof banging on.’ But the instrument of this control, as corny as it may sound, is this thing — this OK tune.” The song’s co-writer Midge Ure told The Sunday Times that even though he believes it’s “not a great song,” he still sees the value. “There are many keyboard warriors out there, and in the time it takes them to write a scathing remark some child has died. They talk while we actually do something,” Ure told the outlet. “All those stars turned up on that Sunday morning with hangovers, but were there for a reason. Although it’s also possible that they were just scared of Bob.”

When you’re a celebrity, people are always calling in favors. They expect that just because you are well-connected, you can make just about anything happen for them. Jason Kelce is a star in his own right. But you have to be living under a rock not to know that his brother, Travis Kelce, has been romantically tied to Taylor Swift for quite some time. She’s arguably the biggest star on the planet right now, and if anyone can make magic happen, it’s Taylor. Jason Kelce is a father to three girls who are probably a bit young for the concert scene, but he has plenty of friends who would likely love to see Taylor Swift perform. But Jason doesn’t want to impose. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rich Eisen (@richeisen) Taylor Swift Apparently Made A Sweet Offer To Jason Kelce The Eras Tour has been the must-have ticket for more than a year as fans clamored to get inside sold-out stadiums around the world. Jason told the Rich Eisen Show that Taylor very kindly told him “she will take care of anybody” that Jason would like to see the show. But the retired Philadelphia Eagle declined the offer because he didn’t “want to impose.” Jason Kelce told Rich he doesn’t “get a lot of people reaching out for Taylor Swift tickets.” But if they do, “it is an immediate ‘no.'” He said the superstar has been nothing but wonderful to his family, and he doesn’t want the Eras Tour to “be a dynamic” between them. Jason asked where the line was with Taylor, adding, “I’m not even broaching the line. I’m staying away from the line!” Jason probably has enough to think about now that his wife, Kylie Kelce, announced they are expecting their fourth daughter. We don’t want to put the cart before the house, but can you just imagine Taylor Swift as your aunt? Wildest dreams, girl. This story’s featured image is by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images. The post Jason Kelce Refused A Sweet Gesture From Taylor Swift Because He Didn’t Want To “Impose” appeared first on InspireMore.

"They have a lot less money to play with than they thought," Stern added.

The beloved star will always be remembered for his slapstick humor

What do we have going on here

'In the end, we can’t know what may have driven an agitated mind'

'He can develop personal relationships'

DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he agreed to a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah on Wednesday. Israel and Hezbollah have been locked in conflict since October 2023, and hostilities between the two have only risen in recent months. Netanyahu announced on Wednesday he would press his security cabinet to agree to the current ceasefire deal on the table, noting that Israel’s priorities in the ongoing Middle East conflict have shifted. “I have said many times that a good agreement is an agreement that can be enforced, and we will enforce it,” Netanyahu said in an address. If the deal is fully agreed to on Wednesday, a full-scale ceasefire will go into effect immediately. Israel will have 60 days to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, which will give Lebanese forces time to return to the region, according to reports. Hezbollah is expected to pull its forces back from the Israel-Lebanon border as part of the deal. The sustainability of the deal hinges on Hezbollah’s actions, Netanyahu noted. “The length of the ceasefire will depend on what happens in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said in his address. “With the full understanding of the United States, we are preserving full military freedom of action—if Hezbollah breaks the agreement and seeks to arm itself, we will attack.” There were three reasons that Israel was ready to accept a ceasefire deal at this point in time, Netanyahu said. One, to give the Israeli forces time to recuperate; two, to isolate Hamas from Hezbollah; and three, to allow Israel to focus on the threat from Iran. The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah marks a significant de-escalation of conflict in the Middle East. Hezbollah began attacking Israel following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks against Israel, which ended in the killing of roughly 1,200 people. Israel has since been engaged in a war with Hamas and cross-border skirmishes with Hezbollah, which have only grown more turbulent in recent months. Despite the near ending of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, regional tensions remain high. Israel and Hamas have yet to agree to a ceasefire deal, even after multiple rounds of negotiations mediated by the U.S. and other Arab partners. Gaza has been caught in the crossfire of the war and, as a result, has been decimated, leaving the Palestinians living there in dire conditions. Israel and Iran have also directly engaged with each other in recent months, with both sides firing drones and missiles into the other’s territory. Israel’s latest round of strikes against Iran in October seemed to deter Tehran from attacking any further for the time being. This article originally appeared at the Daily Caller News Foundation. The post Netanyahu Agrees to Ceasefire Deal With Hezbollah After More Than Year of Conflict appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The clock is ticking on massively powerful, deceptive and independent artificial intelligence (AI) according to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.  Schmidt made some disturbing comments on AI during the Nov. 24 edition of CNN’s Global Public Square with Fareed Zakaria. After admitting that the future of AI is “very scary” Schmidt told Zakaria that not only is it common knowledge in the industry that AI will eventually write most programs, but that “when the program can rewrite itself, which is called recursive self-improvement, it's going to gain much quicker than we can evolve as humans.” The former Google CEO followed these disturbing comments with a bit of very cold comfort, “In the short term, humans control these things.” Schmidt indicated that this state of affairs might not last, saying that AI could deceive and hide things from human monitors or even make copies of itself.  [Story Continues on MRC Free Speech America]

Before her show airs on PBS, Christiane Amanpour’s daily musings air on CNN International, and on Monday that included an interview with producer Joni Levin and writer and director Keith Clarke of the new documentary Call Me Ted about CNN founder Ted Turner. During their discussion, Amanpour, who is usually very keen to label Republicans Putin apologists, hyped Turner’s record of “always” doing “the right thing,” including “trying to bring peace between the Soviet Union... and the United States.” Amanpour asked her guests to “just remind people, I mean, I know it, because I work for CNN, but with that risk and that gamble and that all in, he changed the entire media landscape. It was really a global revolution. Just remind how that happened and how perilous it was, and how it could have failed at any moment along the way.”     Levin began by hyping Turner’s determination on “whether it was CNN, or cable, or, you know, whatever it was” before claiming, “I think it's just his inner belief, his inner belief in who he was, and things were not always transactional for him, it was really about doing the right thing. And you don't find that often.” Amanpour replied, “I was going to ask you that because that is something that, you know, those who work for him and have been in his orbit really admire, the fact that he always did the right thing on climate, on, you know, the environment, on nuclear weapons. You know, on -- even trying to bring peace between the Soviet Union as it was and the United States.” In 1988, Turner created a multipart documentary entitled Portrait of the Soviet Union. In that documentary, actor Roy Scheider declared, “The Soviet Union, draped in history, born in a bloody revolution, bound together by a dream that is still being dreamt. The dream of a socialist nation marching toward the world's first communist state." "Once the Kremlin was the home of czars. Today it belongs to the people." Less than three years later, that dream would lie where it belonged: dead on the ash heap of history. Turner has also defended other communist dictators, such as Cuba’s Fidel Castro, “I expected Castro to be some horrible person, but he was a great guy.” A year before North Korea’s Kim Jong-il detonated a nuclear bomb, Turner had this exchange with Wolf Blitzer: WOLF Blitzer: But this is one of the most despotic regimes and Kim Jong-il is one of the worst men on Earth. Isn't that a fair assessment? TED TURNER: Well, I didn't get, I didn't get to meet him, but he didn't look, in the pictures that I've seen of him on CNN, he didn't look too much different than most other people. BLITZER: But look at the way, look at the way he's, look at the way he's treating his own people. TURNER: Well, hey, listen. I saw a lot of people over there. They were thin and they were riding bicycles instead of driving in cars, but ah- BLITZER: Lot of those people are starving. TURNER: I didn't see, I didn't see any, I didn't see any brutality in the capital or out in the, on the DMZ… I think that we should give them another chance. It doesn't cost us anything. We already have agreements. And North Korea never posed any significant threat to the United States. Back in the present day, we can clearly see that Turner did not always do “the right thing.” If Blitzer could challenge him to his face in 2005, there is no reason for Amanpour to do corporate fluff in 2024. Here is a transcript for the November 25-taped show: PBS Amanpour and Company 11/25/2024 CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: And also, just remind people, I mean, I know it, because I work for CNN, but with that risk and that gamble and that all in, he changed the entire media landscape. It was really a global revolution. Just remind how that happened and how perilous it was, and how it could have failed at any moment along the way. JONI LEVIN: Well, and that again goes back to, you know, Ted's nature, you know, his instinctive nature. I mean, now he really had it, you know, whatever that it is. But, you know, again, people thought he was nuts and they always said no to him. And as I said, he took no and turned it into on, that was his -- that was who he was. And so, he was always planting the flag, you know. And he used to say, you know, I'm just going to go as far as I can, as fast as I can, and I'll worry about it when I get there, whether it was CNN, or cable, or, you know, whatever it was. And that was just his nature, and I think it's just his inner belief, his inner belief in who he was, and things were not always transactional for him, it was really about doing the right thing. And you don't find that often. AMANPOUR: That -- I was going to ask you that because that is something that, you know, those who work for him and have been in his orbit really admire, the fact that he always did the right thing on climate, on, you know, the environment, on nuclear weapons. You know, on -- even trying to bring peace between the Soviet Union as it was and the United States.