Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



(image via allsteim)

"FRANCE'S first lady Carla Bruni is reportedly suing clothes company Pardon following the production of a bag depicting her in the nude - a photograph which was taken during her early modelling career. 'We are going to ask for ($181,000) in damages for the sale of this article, which constitutes a moral and matrimonial attack,' said Bruni's lawyer Thierry Herzog who, according to The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, said Bruni's intention was to donate the money to charity. In response, founder of the fashion label, Peter Mertes said the image was of 'a public woman, you find photos of her everywhere.'" (British Vogue)

"The boom years, we are now getting to see, were very reckless and the recklessness was wide-spread. It’s not them, it’s us. We’ve been living in a time when men have paid themselves annual fortunes great enough for several lifetimes while at the same time cutting labor costs and lobbying against income tax. So what we have wanted quite simply was: MORE. And we got it. MORE is still the operative word. Bernie Madoff simply gave them what they wanted. MORE. It is tempting to reproach. I asked someone who knew Bernie Madoff what the man himself was like. 'He’s a man with a lot of anger,' my friend told me. 'He hates God for what happened in his life. He’s also a man of immense charm.' A few years ago I asked John Dizard, the very smart and heady columnist for the FT what was at the root of this great financial boom we were experiencing. He replied with one word: 'liquidity.' Meaning ...? 'The world is awash in liquidity, more than ever before and everywhere ...' How long will this go on? He didn’t know. Will it end? 'Oh yes,' he smiled ruefully, 'it’ll end in tears.'" (NYSocialDiary)

"In an era of Predator drones and U.S. operatives kidnapping or killing al Qaeda suspects, I suppose it’s not completely bonkers that a top Army Reserve intelligence officer would publish a memoir about his experiences as a CIA assassin. Then again, you’ve probably not heard of Roland W. Haas, who claims to have roamed the world as a contract CIA hit man. He’s written a book, 'Enter Past Tense: My Life as a CIA Assassin,' which joins a library’s worth of such first-person, phantasmagorical accounts over the years ..'Recruited by the CIA in 1971 while attending Purdue University, his first mission was to assassinate a number of international drug dealers in Turkey and Afghanistan,' the book’s publicity sheet says. He was only a teenager. And, oh, by the way, he was doing a lot of drugs, including LSD." (CQPolitics)

"A BITTER divorce was the last thing on Bill Murray's mind Thursday night as he whooped it up with sultry 'Valkyrie' star Carice van Houten. Spies told us the odd couple was 'dancing together and acting very cuddly' at the Anchor Bar on Greenwich Street." (PageSix)



(Tom Colicchio and Salman Rushdie via Patrickmcmullen via Fashionweekdaily)

"It was a sea of Hunter rain boots and uniform black inside the 3rd Annual Lunchbox Auction benefit last night at Milk Studios. In the charitable spirit of the evening, a few celebs paused in the press tent before admiring the celeb-designed lunchboxes, which were auctioned off to benefit the Food Bank For New York City and The Lunchbox Fund of South Africa .. Salman Rushdie, who walked the orange carpet with (Topaz Page-Green), explained the lack of packed lunches at his English boarding school. "We had egg salad sandwiches and potato chips." The author admitted to participating in food fights while away, "but I don't remember what I threw. Whatever was closest!" He explained the Indian version of a lunchbox: "it's a circular tin called a tiffin carrier that had little trays inside for your rice and dal." (Fashionweekdaily)

"TVNewser has obtained the overnight ratings from the metered markets for the Sunday morning public affairs shows. NBC's Meet the Press averaged a 4.1/11, well ahead of ABC's This Week (2.9/7), CBS' Face the Nation (2.7/7) and FOX News Sunday (1.5/4)." (TVNewser)

"..(T)he Miramax Oscar-touted Doubt opened with $525K this weekend and a giant per screen average on 15 screens of $35,002. Box office was driven by strong reviews, the quality of the ensemble cast including Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and a great marketing campaign. The exit polls were 'very strong,' I hear." (DeadlineHollywoodDaily)

"Last week, Kathleen Fuld, wife of Lehman Brothers C.E.O. Dick Fuld, stopped by the Hermès boutique on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue to buy some holiday gifts. As she paid for her purchases, she vetoed the store’s signature orange bag and asked for a plain white one instead. It’s become a common request, an Hermès employee told The Daily Beast. Sales associates at this temple of good taste have gotten used to passing out plain white shopping bags to clients eager to hide their $10,000 Birkin habits in the current economic environment." (TheDailyBeast)

"When I asked Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper what one would need to eliminate piracy off the Somali coast, he answered with a question: are you fighting them on land or at sea? Over the weekend, it seems the Bush Administration answered: both. In addition to the international vessels patrolling offshore, a U.S. resolution is already circulating in the United Nations Security Council calling for a limited UN Peacekeeping Force to bring stability to the East-African nation. The United States also wants Ethiopian troops to stay through the U.S. presidential transition. And they'd like to add Eritrea, Ethopia's breakaway neighbor and favorite adversary, to its State Sponsors of Terrorism List. Talk about a hard sell." (ForeignPolicy)