Media-Whore D'Oeuvres

"Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives in the United States today for a state visit that will be a crucial barometer of the U.S-Chinese relationship. U.S. officials are signaling that President Barack Obama will take a firmer stand on many of the issues that divide the world's two largest economic powers. Senior members of the Obama administration have issued high-profile public criticism of China's record on issues related to defense, economics, and human rights in advance of Hu's visit. Last week in Beijing, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates pledged to increase U.S. military investment in the Pacific in response to China's growing military power. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner also delivered a speech in Washington on Jan. 12 where he called on China to open its domestic market to American products and to let its currency appreciate in value. And then on Jan. 14, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton assailed China's human rights record and its continued imprisonment of Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo. 'Distrust lingers on both sides' of the relationship, she noted in her speech at the State Department. These three statements over the past week have signaled the Obama administration's intention not to back down on the major issues affecting the U.S.-China relations. However, analysts suggest, they could also make Hu's state visit a tense affair." (ForeignPolicy)

"I’m laughing about his Golden Globes gig as I write this. Can some network please make Ricky Gervais their political correspondent, because we need more of his, ah, how shall I politely put this—reality check. Washington is in one of its occasional delusional states, where events prompt politicians to tamp down their toxic urges. It’s called 'the new civility,' the post-Tucson flow of love and understanding that’s overtaken Capitol Hill and the White House, with the media clapping on the sidelines. Let’s put a timer on it. Call me a cynic—though I prefer skeptic—but my hundreds of years here (actually 30, but they feel like hundreds) have taught me the elected officials you pay with your tax dollars—not all, but most—shapeshift conveniently into who they believe you want them to be. Right now, as a tearful Speaker of the House John Boehner pronounced, it’s a Congress that operates 'without distinction of party' and always rises 'above partisanship.' Yeah, yeah, yeah. In a moving speech, President Obama called on all Americans to discourse in 'a way that heals, not in a way that wounds.' Enjoy the moment while it lasts. It could be tomorrow or next month, but eventually and ultimately the vitriol will return." (WashingtonSocialDiary)

"'Chinese moms' in China aren’t raising superior kids, actually. U.S. author Amy Chua’s book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother—and The Wall Street Journal extract of her memoir headlined “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”—has sparked huge debate inside China. But the response from what should surely be the Wild Kingdom of 'tiger moms' might surprise you. One real Chinese mom is 39-year-old Guo Jing, a government office-worker in Beijing with twin 8-year-old sons. (Yale law professor Amy Chua is of Filipino-Chinese descent and lives in the U.S., not in China.) 'I won’t be like Amy Chua,' says Guo about her kids' upbringing. 'I don’t want to pressure them... in the future I’d like them to have their own hobbies, to develop their own abilities. I won’t make decisions for them.' Guo says she believes her sons love their extracurricular hobbies—such as painting and learning how to play weiqi (the Chinese equivalent of chess, also known as 'go')—not because she forces them into it, but precisely because she does not: 'I didn’t give them any pressure.' If that isn’t a startling admission, here’s the clincher: Guo is so convinced that her kids need more than a traditional Chinese education that she’s sending them to a private, bilingual international school where kids learn both English and Chinese in a comparatively looser classroom environment. 'I try my best to adopt both Chinese and Western educational ways.'" (Melinda Liu/TheDailyBeast)

"'If you get in,' tweeted 50 Cent earlier this week,'technically I work for you. BIG MONEY.' Not that one of the world's most influential rappers is exactly cash-strapped — not least of all since he got in on the ground floor with Vitamin Water, then turned it into a reported $100-million cut. But this time the man otherwise known as Curtis Jackson was using his influence to promote penny stocks for a tech startup called H&H Imports, which he called 'one of the 15 products this year.' Which, of course, led to... big money: the stock rose 240 percent, leading some into rushed proclamations that Fitty banked some $8.7M from his tweets. Which, of course, was followed by H&H shares taking a nosedive. While day-traders spent their lunch breaks trying to figure out if they were stuck in a lost episode of Arrested Development, we wondered about another proclamation: a multi-millionaire investor shouting stock tips from the digital rooftops has got to be illegal, right? Or does innocuous celebrity tweeting amount to as much as, well, just that? So we called the Securities and Exchange Commission, of course." (Esquire)

"With Moet Champagne flowing at the Golden Globes all night, some stars got a little carried away. 'Twilight' heartthrob Robert Pattinson was spotted looking merry at the HBO party, before being shielded from photographers by security. 'Boardwalk Empire' actress Paz de la Huerta took off her shoes in the Beverly Hilton lobby and walked around barefoot between bashes, spies said. She later fell over, ripping her dress, after she tried to get into a party at the Chateau Marmont, according to reports. And 'The Mummy' star Brendan Fraser had to hold onto a girl to stop himself from falling on the crowded dance floor at the InStyle party." (PageSix)

"Ben Silverman’s IAC-owned Electus has acquired Engine Entertainment to form a new in-house global distribution arm, Electus/Engine Distribution. The new division will handle worldwide sales for Electus’ content including television, motion picture and digital. Engine Entertainment CEO Chris Philip will assume the role of president of Electus/Engine Distribution with offices in London, Miami, New York and Los Angeles. Electus and Engine already co-produce and distribute Thumb Wars, a Smart Phone game show. Electus previously inked a distribution partnership with Elizabeth Murdoch’s Shine Group, which will continue international distribution under existing deals for Cuckoo’s Nest, Master of the Mix, P.I. Moms and Hiccups." (Deadline)

"The Internet was awash with reactions to the looks that graced the red carpet at last night's Golden Globes, and it's become increasingly difficult to siphon out the quality round-ups from the misguided and the knee-jerk ones. But André Leon Talley is a man we can trust. The Anna Wintour confidant and Vogue contributing editor took to that magazine's website last night to set the record straight. Who stunned? Who flopped? Let's run down the line: Nicole Kidman: 'Wearing elegant white sequin Prada.' ... Tina Fey: 'Gorgeous midnight-in-Paris blue L'Wren Scott velvet column' ... Angelina Jolie: 'A bit of a matronly choice, and the slightly extended shoulders didn’t help. Why would arguably the sexiest star in Hollywood go for something that looked as if it had been recycled from the back lots where Adrians or Orry-Kellys might have been discovered at the last minute?' One of these things is not like the others! In the middle of an almost overdone outpouring of praise, André throws Angelina under the bus, offering some pretty damning critique in the middle of a softball fashion summary. André saved the only other damning criticism for Helena Bonham Carter: "Her Vivienne Westwood lamé and a haze of tulle and point d’esprit and James Dean-style sunglasses, was the evening’s train wreck."