Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"With the publication of Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy (Simon & Schuster), we get a fresh look at how this man’s gothic imperatives—blood loyalty and inherited duty—would make him the greatest U.S. senator of modern times. The vital statistics of his life are grim in the extreme. He lost his oldest brother to World War II, his second and third oldest to assassins. He lost one sister to a plane accident, another to mental illness and misguided brain surgery. He’s had a son and daughter struck by cancer, a nephew, John Jr., killed in yet another plane accident. His own moral failings would bring more tragedy. His reckless driving and failure to readily go for help on Chappaquiddick Island in 1969 may have cost a young woman her life. Yet, even as he revealed grave fears for his own life, he never dropped the torch. Months after Bobby was killed, Ted’s classmate Burton Hersh describes what happened when some firecrackers popped at the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Lawrence. 'Kennedy’s smile froze immediately. I saw his legs buckle and his entire body flinch as he fought the impulse to flatten himself against the asphalt. I remember how ashen he went, how clouded his eyes looked until he recovered himself.' There were constant death threats arriving at his office. I, myself, recall the sight of Ted Kennedy sitting up there behind the big table at a Senate hearing back in the early 1970s. His eyes studied every person who came in the door. Wouldn’t you? He’d lost two brothers in eight years both to strangers bent on horror." (TheDailyBeast)

"ALEX Rodriguez spent Valentine's Day weekend without Madonna, but he didn't lack for company. Friday night, the embattled Yankee slugger hung out with Ingrid Casares at Scarpetta, a restaurant in the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, but he played the field Saturday. By day, he was photographed with model Melissa Britos; at night, he went on a date with 'three hot chicks' to Prime 112, in South Beach, as Britos hung solo at the Louis Bar & Lounge at the Gansevoort South. 'He left with the stunning blonde at, like, 3 a.m.,' our spy said. Calvin Klein was also in Miami with 'two model-type guys' at Meat Market .. and Caroline Kennedy and Ed Schlossberg went to the Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel concert at the Beacon." (PageSix)

"Interestingly, Clinton's inaugural Asia trip, and her visits to these particular countries, were recommended to her during the transition by Secretary Rice's outgoing Policy Planning Staff. But State's policy planners also included India as a key stop in their proposed itinerary, and the absence of a visit to New Delhi is the latest in an array of troubling signals about the new administration's priorities on the subcontinent .." (ForeignPolicy)



(image via nysocialdiary)

"Before we focus on the iconic American president who was honored throughout the past week – Abraham Lincoln - a moment please to praise the President of right now, Barack Obama. Rather than politics, it has to do with sartorial splendor. (A nod to Fashion Week, if you will). In other words, how good did he look Wednesday night at Ford’s Theatre? He looked very good, a well-dressed man, comfortable in his skin, not to mention the contemporary tailoring of a dinner suit that featured a long black silk tie rather than a bow tie .. Not to forget the First Lady. Michelle Obama walked into Ford’s Theatre in a sleeveless dark gray and white dress that fell to just below her knees. Pitch perfect for the event .. Eighteen months ago a new renovation got started with millions of dollars of funds raised by The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Campaign. The list of major donors reads like it’s out of a time capsule from before the sky fell. They include Ron Perelman, Sheila Johnson, Catherine and Wayne Reynolds, Miriam and Sheldon Adelson, Qatar .." (WashingtonsocialDiary)

"What better day for Sam Donaldson to announce his retirement than on Presidents' Day. Donaldson, who covered presidents from Kennedy to Obama, is retiring next week from full time work at ABC News. The 41-year ABC News vet will continue to appear occasionally on This Week with George Stephanopoulos as well as on ABC Radio. Howard Kurtz talked with Donaldson and his colleagues: 'Some people leave the business bitter, feeling they've been cast out, or they hang on too long,' Donaldson tells Kurtz. 'And I don't ever want to get in that position.'" (TVNewser)

"In words and gestures, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton offered reassurance to Japan on Tuesday, calling its alliance with the United States a 'cornerstone' of American foreign policy and meeting with families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton with Prime Minister Taro Aso of Japan prior to a dinner at the prime ministers' official residence in Tokyo on Tuesday. Mrs. Clinton also warned North Korea not to undertake a test of a ballistic missile, as it has threatened in recent days .. Mrs. Clinton brought an invitation from President Obama to Prime Minister Taro Aso to meet him in Washington next Tuesday. He will be the first foreign leader received at the White House .. North Korea’s saber-rattling has cast a shadow over Mrs. Clinton’s first trip as secretary of state, forcing her to confront an issue that evokes a complex range of feelings among Pyongyang’s neighbors." (NYTimes)



"Matteo Garrone’s Italian mob film 'Gomorrah' found the highest per-theatre-average debut of 2009 this President’s Day weekend, according to four-day estimates provided this afternoon by Rentrak. On 5 screens, the IFC release grossed $102,702 for a $20,540 average. That even topped overall box office leader 'Friday The 13th'‘s $14,56- PTA. It also set a record for the biggest opening weekend ever at the IFC Center in New York City, grossing an estimated $32,000." (Indiewire)

"Railroads made Chicago, and now a Chicago-rich White House wants to return the favor: remaking rail with a huge new federal investment in high-speed passenger trains. The $787.2 billion economic recovery bill — to be signed by President Barack Obama on Tuesday — dedicates $8 billion to high-speed rail, most of which was added in the final closed-door bargaining at the instigation of White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. It’s a sum that far surpasses anything before attempted in the United States — and more is coming. Administration officials told Politico that when Obama outlines his 2010 budget next week, it will ask for $1 billion more for high-speed rail in each of the next five years .. As a candidate for president, Obama spoke of high-speed rail as part of his vision of 'rebuilding America.' Campaigning in Indiana, he talked of revitalizing the Midwest by connecting cities with faster rail service to relieve congestion and improve energy conservation. 'The time is right now for us to start thinking about high-speed rail as an alternative to air transportation connecting all these cities,' he said. 'And think about what a great project that would be in terms of rebuilding America.'" (Politico)

"John Malone’s Liberty Media offered $250m in a senior secured loan on Tuesday as the first step in a 'multi-stage' deal to rescue Sirius XM ahead of an imminent debt deadline, the companies said in a statement. The deal offered by Liberty involves a debt for equity swap and leaves Mr Malone’s group, which controls DirecTV, the US satellite television company, with a 'meaningful' stake in Sirius, one person familiar with the satellite radio group’s discussions said ahead of the deal." (FT)

"The GSMA, a worldwide consortium of mobile industries, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (owned by the guy who used to run Microsoft and his lady wife) have teamed up to found the the Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) initiative, allowing folks in developing countries to carry out mobile banking from their non-smartphones and keep and grow their money in a safe and affordable fashion. The Foundation has donated $12.5 million to the endeavor and is currently working to 'catalyze a new wave of mobile money innovation' and will support 20 projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The ultimate goal? Supply 20 million unbanked people with mobile financial services by 2012. Being 'unbanked' is fraught with peril. Homes that have no way to hide their assets securely are targets for theft or con men and even in the US day laborers are prey for gangs in New Orleans. These guys make their money on the job site and have to carry it around in wads of cash to insecure squats. Mobile banking would at least allow them to deposit and transfer the cash to their loved ones regularly and gives them a bit more security on the streets or in remote villages." (CrunchGear)

"Hilarious 'queen of mean' comic Lisa Lampanelli just helped induct '70s crooner Barry Manilow into the Friars Club, but strangely enough, she wouldn't go to that gay place in her speech. At the event, Lampanelli told me she doesn't know for sure if Barry's a homosexual (I do) and she added that, if he is that way, she wouldn't want to break the hearts of old ladies everywhere. Sudden sensitivity from the woman who points to strangers in the audience and assaults their looks, sexuality, and ethnicity (all in the name of defusing bad words by throwing them around as if juggling bowling pins)?" (Musto)

"U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has touted her approach to diplomacy as 'smart power.' That’s nothing new for China, which has employed economic, political and cultural persuasion under President Hu Jintao to build its image as a responsible world leader. Now China’s gains as a regional partner and potential counter to U.S. influence are threatened by a slowdown in growth that may reduce its economic clout. At the same time, President Barack Obama’s pledge to reverse Bush-era policies that diminished America’s authority creates added competition for China’s 'soft power' -- a phrase coined by Harvard professor Joseph Nye. The changes may expose China’s communist government to more scrutiny as the country’s leaders launch a reported 45 billion yuan ($6.6 billion) program to expand the reach and impact of its state-run media. 'If you want to promote something, you have to make sure the thing you’re promoting is acceptable to other countries,' says Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute at National University of Singapore. 'Soft power means other parties accept your values.'" (Bloomberg)