"American elite opinion has been, for the most part, dead wrong about China. The People's Republic is not liberalizing and it is not aligning itself with the West to resolve the world's most pressing problems. Its military build-up is destabilizing and, in many cases, it is not playing by the rules of international trade." (ForeignPolicy)
"Israel’s diplomatic war with the United States will likely end the same way its real war ended last year in Gaza: ambiguously. There will be no white flags or mission accomplished signs, just a slight tilt in the balance of power, a modest moving of the trench lines. Those lines aren’t fully demarcated yet, but in important ways the outcome is already clear: Barack Obama has won. He’s won because he’s hurt Benjamin Netanyahu more than Netanyahu has hurt him. For decades, the relationship between an American president and an Israeli prime minister has resembled two guys with revolvers pointed at each other’s heads. For an Israeli prime minister, alienating your biggest patron is an excellent way to lose power—as Yitzhak Shamir learned after his showdown with George H.W. Bush and James Baker in the early 1990s. But for an American president, fighting with Israel almost always guarantees a fight with Congress, which tolerates little criticism of the Jewish state." (TheDailyBeast)
"Sean Combs is not the classiest celebrity ambassador Ciroc vodka could ever have. But he gets an A for effort. At Greenhouse Tuesday night, the hip-hop mogul got on the microphone to introduce rap artist Travis Porter. According to a spy, Combs, who's taken to calling himself 'Ciroc Obama,' urged everyone to buy his favorite brand, and then said: 'If you're not drinking Ciroc vodka, then you're drinking pee pee.' Combs has a multiyear strategic partnership worth up to $100 million with Ciroc and receives a 50 percent share of profits." (PageSix)
"Grand Street, which was completely closed down last night from 6 to 8, bared more resemblance to an outdoor rock concert than an art opening. 'I've never seen anything like this before' I kept hearing over and over again. The occasion? The opening of photographer Ryan McGinley's new show, 'Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere,' at Team Gallery. When I finally got a moment with the man of the hour, I asked him if there's an image he's always still searching for that's still out there, to which he responded, 'I have always had an endless fascination with nudity! Always!'" (Papermag)
"Another wildly beautiful early Spring day, yesterday in New York. Sunny, in the mid-60s. The vibe is fresh. The mood is up. Stuff. At the New York City Police Foundation gala on Monday night. I was sitting next to Somers Farkas when Andrea Catsimatides and Chris Cox came by to say hello to her. Mr. Cox is the son of Tricia Nixon, and grandson of Patricia and Richard Nixon. He is planning on following in his grandfather’s footsteps, and is running for Congress from the Suffolk County district that includes Southampton. Ms. Catsimatides is his constant companion and supporter. I’ve met Mr. Cox a couple of times. He’s a kid to these eyes and looks to be in his late 20s, early 30s. He’s bright-eyed, friendly and polite, and all of it clearly comes naturally to him. He has that New York kid natural forthrightness (compared to those of us who grew up in small towns) and yet none of the smug smoothness that people associate with a certain type of New Yorker, namely the privileged. You can’t not like him. It will be interesting to watch his progress. As improbable as youth looks for national politics, his grandfather was only 34 when he went to Congress in 1947." (NYSocialDiary)
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