Media-Whore D'Oevres



"Last Thursday night at the Joyce, the high profile modern and contemporary dance theater in New York, a new ballet 'Cake' premiered with music by Karen LeFrak, choreography by Brian Reeder, and costumes by designer Charles Nolan. A large contingent of the New York social world were in the audience to celebrate this debut with their friend, the composer, Mrs. LeFrak ... Guests included: (Charles) Nolan whose loft was the scene of a dinner afterwards that Richard LeFrak and Andrew Tobias gave for the composer et al; Donald and Melania Trump, Allison and Leonard Stern, Cornelia Bregman, Daisy Soros, Hunt Slonem, Gillian and Sylvester Miniter, Joanne and Roberto De Guardiola, Somers Farkas, Pamela Fiori, Neal Fox, Jamee and Peter Gregory." (NYSocialDiary)

"Election officials in Indiana and North Carolina reported unusually high turnouts in the Democratic primary voting there on Tuesday, with Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton making a last-minute round of pitches in these critical states." (NYTimes)

"Beijing's expanding presence in Africa is coming under mounting scrutiny, with United States and African officials citing a recent Chinese arms shipment bound for Zimbabwe as the latest sign that China's Africa strategy needs an overhaul. South African dockworkers at the port of Durban were the first to refuse a Chinese merchant ship carrying ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar rounds that were bound for land-locked Zimbabwe in late April. The governments of Angola, Mozambique and Namibia subsequently declared their refusal to accept the arms shipment, which many feared would be used in acts of violence and political repression in Zimbabwe over the disputed results of the 29 March presidential election." (Janes)

"Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) is calling on Republicans to seek "real change to avoid a real disaster" in the wake of another Democratic victory in a special election on Saturday. In a letter to House Republicans posted on www.newt.org, Gingrich urges House leaders to call an 'emergency meeting' of House Republicans to address what he describes as a 'catastrophic collapse of trust in Republicans.' 'If a majority of the House Republicans vote for real change, they should instruct Republican Leader John Boehner [Ohio] and his team to come back with a new plan by the Wednesday before the Memorial Day recess,' Gingrich wrote. 'This plan should involve real change in legislative, communications, and campaign strategy and involve immediate, real action, including a complete overhaul of the Congressional Campaign Committee.'" (TheHill)