Media-Whore D'Oevres



"Next week the indispensable International Criminal Court in The Hague celebrates its fifth anniversary (Happy Birthday, Cancer). The Rome Statute, which authorized the Court's establishment, took place on July 17th, 1998. Although it was conceived with the best of intentions, The ICC has had its share failures as it navigates, for the first time in history, the depths of Man's inhumanity against Man." (RonMwangaguhunga/KCAWEARNESS Blog)

"This weekend -- July 12-13 -- negotiators will try once again to get terrorist rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army, the LRA, to keep their word on their commitment to surrender to the government of Uganda for reconciliatory treatment. The talks will be held at a remote location in southwestern Sudan in a region rife with geopolitical pandemonium. I have written previously on this blog on the twenty year war that ravaged Uganda, the country where I was born." (RonMwangaguhunga/KCAWEARNESS Blog)

"Attention media reporters: Rupert Murdoch, probably the most important man on your beat, has lost his wedding ring. Last seen in the Sun Valley Lodge lobby. Murdoch stumbled out of the Lodge bar on Thursday around midnight, where a ridiculously high-powered assemblage of media and tech moguls got sloshed. Instead of making a bee-line for the exit as most of the guests were doing, Murdoch, married to third wife Wendi Deng, was spotted hunting around the lobby. He told us he he had lost his wedding ring. So began a frantic 15-minute scramble among reporters hungry to please the mogul (me included), hoping to recover the ring and land an exclusive interview. No such luck. Still missing." (SiliconAlleyInsider via Gawker)

You-Put-Your-Trout-Pout-in-My-Blue-Seduction: "Melanie Griffith has long been a study in perils of cosmetic surgery - and now more so than ever. The actress' 'trout pout' looked almost fit to burst as she arrived at a the New York launch of her husband Antonio Banderas's new fragrance, Blue Seduction for Women." (Thisislondon)

"I put on a jacket and a tie and went down to Mr. Frick’s house on Fifth Avenue and 70th Street where The Frick Collection was holding its Garden Party from 6 to 8 for its Fellows and Young Fellows .. It was a perfect night for some drinks and outdoor conversation in a garden across the street from the forest of Central Park, all in the middle of the metropolis .. There were about 275 guests over the two hour period. Among those who accepted were Elisabeth Saint-Amand .. Lucy Lang, Emily Pataki .. Yasmin Dovas, Susan Quintin, Caroline Rowley .. Marquette du Bary .." (NYSocialDiary)



Chris-tuh-fuh! (image via fashionweekdaily)

"Last night's Cinema Society screening of August had guests reminiscing about the bygone dot-com era, given that the film concerned two brothers (played by Josh Hartnett and Adam Scott) trying to keep their internet company afloat in the months before 9/11 .. As for Susan Sarandon's internet habits? Turns out, she prefers another means of communication. 'I text, because my kids really don't answer the phone. Do people just not know how to deal with each other on the phone anymore? Is that a skill you're gonna lose?' .. Despite the pouring rain, the skies parted for a perfect after party at the SoHo Grand Yard, where revelers like Charlotte Ronson, Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss and Dylan Lauren mingled with Harnett's close friends Kirsten Dunst and Michael Imperioli -- his neighbor and drinking buddy at Edward's. After hiding out with Jeremy Kost in the corner, munching on snacks of calamari and fried chicken, Julia Restoin Roitfeld posed for photographers who asked her and a friend to pose with the lobster rolls. 'No thanks,' she said. 'I'll pass!'" (Fashionweekdaily)

"The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has reserved nearly $35 million on television advertisements in 31 House districts in for the fall campaign, offering a sneak preview of the central campaign battlegrounds and the party’s most vulnerable incumbents. Ads will begin airing in early September and early October, according to documentation obtained by Politico. By reserving television time for the fall campaign early on, the DCCC gets a discounted rate on often pricey advertising buys. If a race becomes less competitive, they can get their money refunded — occasionally with a small penalty assessed — or air additional ads in the same media market. The list is indicative of the ever-expansive playing field for House Democrats; the DCCC reserved $22.5 million of air time in seats currently held by Republicans. Some of the races they’re scheduled to be airing ads in, such as the seats of retiring Reps. Steve Pearce (R-N.M) and Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.), are solidly Republican. The committee is also spending $1 million to advertise against Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.), $1.5 million against freshman Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), $1.6 million against Rep. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.) and $1.1 million against Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.). All those seats have been in Republican hands for over a decade." (Politico)

"President Bush is expected to lose a hard-fought battle with Congress over Medicare legislation as nine key Senate Republicans say they intend to vote to override his veto. Eight of the GOP senators say they will stand by decisions to switch votes from no to yes when the bill came up this past week. Another senator who voted against the bill says he plans to support the override when the bill comes back after being rejected by Bush." (TheHill)