Media-Whore D'Oevres



"The 51st Times BFI London Film Festival came to a close Thursday night with Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's 'Persepolis' taking the event's Sutherland Trophy .." (Indiewire)

"However, although the Israeli government has ramped up its rhetorical attacks on Iran in recent months it is still highly doubtful that Israel could launch a successful operation that would inflict long-term damage on Tehran's nuclear infrastructure or force Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to abandon his anti-Israeli and US policies. The primary problem for any Israeli operation in Iran is range. With no aircraft carriers or forward operating bases outside its territory, any attack by Israel on Iran would necessarily involve either its ballistic missiles or its long-range aircraft. The total number of Iranian nuclear sites are unknown, although more than 10 sites have been associated with Iran's nuclear projects by the US and Israel. Of these, the two most likely to be targeted by Israel would be the as yet unfinished 1,000 MW reactor at Bushehr on the Persian Gulf coast and the suspected uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, 60 km southeast of Kashan in central Esfahan province." (Janes)

"Meryl Streep will whip up some culinary delights as Julia Child in a movie about a woman inspired by the cooking icon. 'Julie & Julia' is an adaptation of the 2005 book by Julie Powell, 'Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.' Amy Adams ('Junebug') is in negotiations to co-star as Powell." (Variety)

"On the eve of tonight's MTV European Music Awards in Munich, host Snoop (Dogg) told us that he and (David Beckham) have been in talks about a big-budget blockbuster. He confided: 'No one would have thought me and my boy David would have anything in common - we come from separate worlds. 'But he has the dollars at his disposal.'" (3AMGirls)

"Lobbyists, lawyers and public relations aides hired by the Republic of the Congo have cited campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures by Paul Singer, a Giuliani backer and founder of the hedge fund Elliott Associates, as well as other executives at the fund. Critics say Kensington International, a subsidiary of Elliott Associates, is a 'vulture fund,' an investment group that buys up Third World debt at discounted prices and then sues for the full amount or more in court." (TheHill)

"U2 lead singer and good-international-causes advocate Bono just left a private meeting with Michael Bloomberg here at City Hall. A crush of reporters accosted the sunglassed singer, who focused on Bloomberg’s philanthropic potential, and sidestepped the question of whether the billionaire would-be presidential candidate could affect more change in national office. 'He’s a great and gifted manager and I think, you know, he could do an awful lot of good inside, or outside the White House,' Bono said." (Observer)

"Lunchtime at Michael’s which was hopping. Joe Armstrong was lunching with the new strong>Paula Zahn who dropped about ten years with her new head of curls. Peter Brown with Warren Hoge, Peter Duchin with Herb Schlosser; Chuck Pfeiffer with Taki and Dominick Dunne – now that must have been some table to listen to ..." (NYSocialdiary)

"Scores West for the second straight year opened its doors for revelers of all kinds on Halloween for The Imperia Erotica Halloween Ball. Sure, the signature exotic dancers were still in the house but most of them were dressed in festive–albeit skimpy–costumes while most eyes were focused on the diverse array of celebrities situated in all corners of the famed institution. The club’s tables were overflowing with Imperia vodka bottles as Diddy, Jay Z, and Eve enjoyed the civil center stage performances." (Fashionweekdaily)