Media-Whore D'Oeuvres

"Ever since the end of the Cold War, there has been an assumption that conventional warfare between reasonably developed nation-states had been abolished. During the 1990s, it was expected that the primary purpose of the military would be operations other than war, such as peacekeeping, disaster relief and the change of oppressive regimes. After 9/11, many began speaking of asymmetric warfare and 'the long war.' Under this model, the United States would be engaged in counterterrorism activities in a broad area of the Islamic world for a very long time. Peer-to-peer conflict seemed obsolete. There was a profoundly radical idea embedded in this line of thought. Wars between nations or dynastic powers had been a constant condition in Europe, and the rest of the world had been no less violent. Every century had had systemic wars in which the entire international system (increasingly dominated by Europe since the 16th century) had participated. In the 20th century, there were the two World Wars, in the 19th century the Napoleonic Wars, in the 18th century the Seven Years' War, and in the 17th century the Thirty Years' War.Those who argued that U.S. defense policy had to shift its focus away from peer-to-peer and systemic conflict were in effect arguing that the world had entered a new era in which what had been previously commonplace would now be rare or nonexistent. What warfare there was would not involve nations but subnational groups and would not be systemic. The radical nature of this argument was rarely recognized by those who made it, and the evolving American defense policy that followed this reasoning was rarely seen as inappropriate. If the United States was going to be involved primarily in counterterrorism operations in the Islamic world for the next 50 years, we obviously needed a very different military than the one we had.There were two reasons for this argument. Military planners are always obsessed with the war they are fighting. It is only human to see the immediate task as a permanent task. During the Cold War, it was impossible for anyone to imagine how it would end. During World War I, it was obvious that static warfare dominated by the defense was the new permanent model. That generals always fight the last war must be amended to say that generals always believe the war they are fighting is the permanent war. It is, after all, the war that was the culmination of their careers, and imagining other wars when they are fighting this one, and indeed will not be fighting future ones, appeared frivolous.The second reason was that no nation-state was in a position to challenge the United States militarily. After the Cold War ended, the United States was in a singularly powerful position. The United States remains in a powerful position, but over time, other nations will increase their power, form alliances and coalitions and challenge the United States. No matter how benign a leading power is -- and the United States is not uniquely benign -- other nations will fear it, resent it or want to shame it for its behavior." (STRATFOR)





"Peaches Geldof had been warned that her rapid dieting could bring on a heart attack.
Geldof, 25, who was found dead at her home in the village of Wrotham, Kent, had spoken about her drastic eating habits in the past. 'I do juicing. You juice vegetables and then you drink it three times a day. It’s gross. I do it usually for about a month,' Peaches, a mother of two, told OK! magazine. In 2011, she said she could lose about 10 pounds in four weeks by following the diet, the Daily Mail reported. 'I have no willpower but with the juicing I’m like, ‘I have to do it because I have to lose this extra 10 pounds.’'I will lose it, then I’m back going mental for the chips. 'I’ll juice and then I eat chips.' When the interview was published, Cath Collins, a spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association, warned Peaches about her health. 'Surviving on fruit is a very dangerous diet,' Collins said. 'Peaches is at high risk of electrolyte abnormalities which could lead to acute cardiac arrest.
'Rapid dieting like this not only makes you lose muscle strength but wastes away your internal organs. 'It is what kills anorexics.' Peaches responded to her worried fans on Twitter, after her dramatically transformed frame was revealed. She said: 'To those telling me I look skinny and to eat something, I can assure you I’ve just cut out eating crap.'" (P6)





"Rob Lowe’s second memoir, Love Life, is more notable for what isn’t there than what is. For instance, there’s no mention in the just-published book of the infamous sex tape he filmed with an underage teen, the nanny lawsuits, or if he ever got anything in return for sending a nude photo of himself wrapped in a toy snake to Andy Warhol. What Rob Lowe, now 50, does want you to know, however, is that he’s older and wiser and loves his family — especially his wife, Sheryl — very, very much. At times, he seems a little bit like his character Chris Traeger from Parks and Recreation: buoyantly optimistic with a belief that hard work and dedication are the ultimate determinants for success. Still, there are plenty of anecdotes from the 259-page memoir that Lowe fans will enjoy, including why he turned down Grey's Anatomy and behind-the-scenes tales from the set of the short-lived Lyons Den ... 7. Rashida Jones calls him a “benevolent narcissist.”Well, it's better than “benevolent dictator.” 8. He went on a date with Madonna at the Palladium in New York.Madonna had just released Like a Virgin and he had just wrapped up St. Elmo’s Fire. They were sitting in the VIP area when she said she wanted to go dance in the crowd. Rob thought she was nuts and didn’t go. She told him, 'I’m just not going to let success fuck up my fun.'" (NYMag)

	Barbara Hutton and Prince Mdivani at the opening of the Met in 1933. She's wearing the Jadeite necklace that sold on Monday in Hong Kong for more than $27 million.

"Someone sent me the announcement from Christie’s that Barbara Hutton’s 'legendary Jadeite necklace sold at auction in Hong Kong for $27.4 million. Known as the Hutton-Mdivani necklace (Hutton bought it when she was married to Prince Mdivani – one of four Rumanian brothers – princelings, real or self-created – known as the Marrying Mdivanis in the 1920s and 30s).Forgotten now in contemporary life in the 21st century, Hutton was heiress to part of the Woolworth fortune. Her mother  Edna Woolworth Hutton committed suicide when Barbara was seven. She was alone in the apartment with her mother and found the body. Being the only child she inherited her mother’s share of the F.W. Woolworth fortune which measured in the billions in today’s dollars. Her father, Franklyn Hutton (brother of EF), increased her inheritance through investment so that when she reached majority, she came into about $500 million.She acquired several husbands, one son – Lance Reventlow; several residences including the American Ambassador’s residence (Winfield House) which she built in London; a drug addiction, and an enormous cache of precious jewelry.Barbara used to like to 'play' with her jewelry – have it all brought out and spread out on her bed while she looked it over, tried it on, etc. One of her cousins, Marjorie Durant Dye, a granddaughter of Marjorie Merriweather Post, went to visit Barbara one day in the mid-1960s, when she was living at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. It was said that she had gone through most of her fortune by then. Barbara was surveying her jewels spread out before her on her bed while visiting with her cousin Marge. She was fondling an extraordinary emerald green jade necklace that took Marge’s eye. Marge: 'Oh Barbara, that’s so beautiful.' Barbara passed it over to her. 'Try it on,' she said to Marge. Marge did. 'Oh, it looks beautiful on you,' Barbara enthused, adding: Take it ...' 'Oh Barbara, I can’t take it ...' 'No, take it, it looks so good on you ...'Marge Dye didn’t take it. Later she told her grandmother Mrs. Post the story, and grandmother responded: 'You should have taken it. She’s only going to give it away to somebody else, maybe even a stranger.' Barbara Hutton had what our late friend John Galliher (who knew her well) called 'inconsequential  generosity' – giving away something for no reason other than a whim of the moment." (NYSD)