Media-Whore D'Oevres



(image via getty via observer)

"The Iowa results, with a victory for a populist social conservative deeply mistrusted by many people in the Republican establishment, also virtually guarantee that the nomination contest will not simply be a battle over personalities and credentials. Instead, the race will now be a deep and probably intensely negative fight for the direction of the party in the post-Bush era. Here’s what still utterly uncertain: Who will emerge from this demolition derby? Iowa’s historic role is to winnow the field. In 2008, it has the effect of expanding the number of credible top-tier contenders. There are now five people who can conjure at least somewhat plausible paths to the nomination." (Politico)

"Celebrity photographer Steven Sebring's feature directorial debut 'Patti Smith: Dream of Life' is described by the Sundance Film Festival as a "hypnotic plunge, a breathing collage of this legendary musician/poet/painter/activist's philosophy and artistry that feels as if it sprang directly from her soul.'" (Indiewire)

"So it is that, on the heels of the Connecticut Democrat-Independent's campaign swing on behalf of McCain, comes the news that the Arizona senator is making the circuit with an even more disturbing advocate for even more disturbing foreign policies: Henry Kissinger. The former Secretary of State, whose name is synonymous in the civilized world with the term 'war criminal' -- and whose sleazy business deals to advance the interests of the world's cruelest dictators has diminished what is left of his reputation -- has added the dubious distinction of his support to the McCain campaign." (TheNation)

"Howard (Stern) said that Artie thought that Nick DiPaulo was a writer for Chris Rock's new act but Nick said that he was part of his HBO show, not the new stuff. Nick said that he hasn't been helping him out with his stand-up act or anything like that. Howard said that he read that Chris was going out to clubs working on all of this material and took all of his writer buddies to help him out. Nick said that he did go out and help out with the Oscars but he didn't help out with the stand-up act. Artie said that Nick has a Rolex that he got from Chris and it has a funny inscription on the back of it. It reads 'Thanks for your help motherfucker. C.R.' Nick said that the watch was probably about 5 grand. Artie said that it's actually 6 grand. He's been getting into watches lately and he knows prices." (Marksfriggin)

"There is a fresh and sordid postscript to Benazir Bhutto's assassination. Tainted by her husband Asif Ali Zardari's penchant for graft and corruption, Bhutto was twice fired as prime minister (1990 and 1996). Her closest friends now say she did not appoint Zardari to succeed her as party leader in case of death. The political testament Zardari read on television was his recent creation, not hers." (METimes)

"One of Gotham's most eligible ladies is officially off the market. Alexis Bryan, executive fashion editor at Vanity Fair and the daughter of Anna Wintour paramour Shelby Bryan, is engaged to Spencer Morgan, her boyfriend of the last seven months. The New York Observer writer, after formally asking Shelby's permission, popped the question on December 20 at Tamarind in the Flatiron District, the upscale Indian restaurant the two went to for their first date." (Fashionweekdaily)

"Georgia, the homeland of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, votes tomorrow in an election whose key issue is how much power its leader should be allowed to wield. The presidential campaign pits Mikheil Saakashvili, who came to power after ousting Eduard Shevardnadze in 2003's peaceful 'Rose Revolution,' against Levan Gachechiladze, a former wine producer running at the head of an opposition bloc that accuses Saakashvili of increasingly authoritarian rule." (Bloomberg)

"As a Soviet successor state, Georgia's relationship with its 'northern neighbour' has deteriorated sharply in the last two years. Situated on Russia's southern border on the Black Sea, between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, Georgian territory has become vital in the energy supply chain because of the transport links it can offer between Russia, Central Asia and Europe. The most significant recent example was the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in 2006 to transport crude petroleum from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. Further, as Russia looks to strengthen its reputation as a global power at home, it is reluctant to release Georgia from its political skirts or influence. Economic sanctions are just one measure it is using to demonstrate its power." (Janes)