"BIG-HEARTED David Beckham is gifting his (US$15 million) Dubai mansion to wife Victoria's parents. The England soccer star has handed the keys to the waterfront villa—set on an exclusive palm-shaped artificial island—to delighted in-laws Tony and Jackie Adams. Becks bought the property in 2002 for (US$1.6 million). But since then its value has rocketed as Dubai has taken off as a holiday destination." (image and story via Newsoftheworld)
"South American nations, flush with cash from increased prices for oil, soy, copper and other commodity exports, are going on a military spending spree. In the wake of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's arms purchases, which saw him order $1.3 billion in military aircraft and 100,000 assault rifles in 2005, nations across the region are bulking up. Colombia is buying 24 Israeli Kfir fighter jets. Brazil plans to build its first nuclear submarine. Ecuador will boost military spending 19 percent this year. Overall, regional arms outlays surged 55 percent over four years to $38.4 billion in 2007, says the International Institute for Strategic Studies." (Bloomberg)
"Mark Penn's exit from his role as Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief strategist likely will portend no dramatic shift in message for the campaign in coming weeks but will bring satisfaction to scores of Clinton loyalists who have wanted the controversial image-meister sacked for months ... But for Clinton's aides and advisors, the meeting was just the latest in a list of complaints about Penn that began with his strategic decision last year to focus on a message of strength and electability rather than inspiration, and his insistence on highlighting policy over passion. His $13 million in campaign billing and his insistence on maintaining his salary as worldwide CEO of the firm Burson Marsteller were also sources of tension within the campaign." (Politico)
"My good pal Eric Dee Snider and I were recently enjoying some Instant Messenger banter, and our main topic of conversation was this: Why are studios and distributors so damn scared of their own horror movies? Sure, I know the obvious answer: Of all the rotten movies released in one calendar year, a good portion of 'em will be horror movies -- because horror movies often represent the best low-overhead investment for a production company that's looking to earn a quick buck. Yes, a lot more potentially profitable than a comedy, a drama or (dear god) a low-budget action flick. So if you KNOW you just finished post-production on a real stinkeroo, of course you'll want to 'hide' it from the press for as long as possible." (Cinematical)
(image via nysocialdiary)
"... (L)ast night, the whole of New York City's creative energy felt as if it had migrated across the East River to The Brooklyn Museum's Brooklyn Ball benefit and opening of the exhibition ©Murakami. It features the work of controversial Japanese pop artist (and designer of those fun, bright monogrammed Louis Vuitton bags) Takashi Murakami, who, clad in a Brooks Brothers suit and tie, Ben Sherman shirt, and Vuitton sneakers, brought along Chiho Aoshima, his sponsored artist, who, much to the amusement of the artist, was dressed as a Richard Prince nurse ..Even more dominant than the colors, though, were the two giant sculptures of a female and male anime superhero, the female showing off positively enormous breasts. (Selita) Ebanks said they inspired her inner feminist. 'I think it's very empowering to women,' she said. 'Okay, their boobs are huge. But they're superheroes.' But like most men that night, John McEnroe admitted that he'd 'gravitated' toward the sculptures for perhaps more prurient reasons. Were our heroine's, um, attributes a factor? 'Maybe,' he said, then paused and hung his head. 'Yeah.'" (Fashionweekdaily)
"Which Disney youth act's gay stylist had the suits in a dither because he insisted on dressing the boys in the tightest possible clothes? The execs had to back down when the 'beyond metrosexual' look was a smash with their target 'tween audience." (Gatecrasher)
"NATO leaders reaffirmed their 'shared long-term commitment' to Afghanistan during the 2-4 April summit in Bucharest, but pledges of additional troops fell far short of the numbers requested by the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF). US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told reporters on 1 April that General Daniel McNeill, the commander of ISAF, had requested three additional brigades, comprising up to 10,000 troops, in the form of two combat brigades and a brigade of trainers. However, only around 1,000 additional troops were offered by NATO members. Specific details such as the number of troops and types of capability on offer remain unclear. France will provide 700 of the 1,000 troops and will deploy them to the US-led Regional Command-East (RC-E), thereby permitting the shift of a similar number of US troops to RC-South (RC-S) to serve alongside Canadian troops - a move that satisfies Canadian demands for reinforcement in the southern Kandahar region." (Janes)
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