Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



(Medet Sadyrkulov via muslimuzbekistan.net)

"A key opposition figure who broke with the president of Kyrgyzstan over his decision to pursue closer ties to Moscow and evict U.S. forces from a military base was killed Friday in an auto wreck, police said, but his colleagues said his death was a political assassination. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last week, Medet Sadyrkulov said he quit his job with the presidential administration because he was worried about his government's turn toward the Kremlin, which he said had put 'very bad pressure' on the Kyrgyz government to evict Americans from the air base. Mr. Sadyrkulov said he was teaming up with other officials who were worried about the move, and were planning to oppose the president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, in upcoming elections. He said that he had received threats from the president's entourage in recent weeks, and that he believed the president's brother, in charge of presidential security, was behind some of the threats. He said Mr. Bakiyev's brother had once sent him a gift-wrapped box of severed fingers and ears to his house as a warning. Sergei Masaulov, a spokesman for the president, called Mr. Sadyrkulov's death a 'tragedy' but declined to comment further until an investigation was finished. He confirmed that Mr. Sadyrkulov did receive a package of severed body parts more than two years ago, but that 'nothing was determined then about whom it was from and nothing is known now. It's just speculation.'" (WSJ)

"Everyone brags about their sxsw drunken exploits, but no one ever tweets about their morning-after regrets .. Just saw @mat chatting up Bill Murray." (fimoculous/Twitter)

"Tickets for Michael Jackson's 50 London concerts sold out within hours of becoming available, organizers said Friday. For Ayesha Obi -- who, having waited since Wednesday, was first in line -- the experience was a thriller. 'He is a legend and I love his message to the world,' Obi, a 19-year-old student said outside the O2 Arena in south London. 'I've been hoping that he would perform live again.' The shows are scheduled to kick off in July and stretch into February. The pop singer has said the series, entitled "This is It,' will be his last in the British capital." (HuffPo)

"Last night’s episode (Thursday, March 12, 2009) of 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' featuring guest Jim Cramer from CNBC, drew 2.3 million total viewers, making it the second most-watched episode of the year and one of the top 10 most-watched episodes in show’s history." (TheDailyShow)

"It was a rare pleasure on Thursday to call some of Hollywood’s most plugged-in players and hear them express undisguised drop-dead shock at all the high-level changes that Rupert Murdoch has wrought in his News Corp. entertainment empire. 'Holy shit,' exclaimed the head of one of the biggest talent agencies upon learning of all the recent upheaval at the company. That pretty much summed up the sentiment all around town .. On Thursday, Peter Liguori, the chairman of Fox Broadcasting, was unceremoniously axed after three years at the network. His surprise replacement is Peter Rice — the smooth and very successful head of the Fox Searchlight art-house label. The unexpected—and impressively unleaked—announcement took Hollywood by storm since Rice entirely lacks television experience (but not ambition)." (TheDailyBeast)

"outside.in founder steve johnson's friday presentation, which seems to have been highlight of #sxsw day 1" (pkafka)

"The Riyadh summit of the rulers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Kuwait March 11may be the Obama administration's first Middle East breakthrough. It is seen in Washington as ushering in the parting of the ways between Syria and Iran as a result of US diplomatic overtures to Damascus. From the regional perspective, it is meant to signal Syrian ruler Bashar Assad's reacceptance by the moderate Arab camp. The Saudi King Abdullah and Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak hope their meeting with Assad Wednesday will starting isolating Iran in the region and knock over the power bases it has built up in such places as the Gaza Strip. They are optimistic because Saturday, March 7 Hamas began commandeering the mosques and charities owned by Jihad Islami, the Palestinian terrorist militia created and funded by Tehran. Official circles in Washington, Cairo and Riyadh read this crackdown as evidence that Damascus is willing to begin wresting the control of Palestinian radical organizations from Iran." (DEBKA)

"'THESE people are so desperate for anything exclusive that they’ll end up in a broom cupboard or a toilet somewhere and no one is allowed in,' said Jamie Hince, the lead singer of the Kills, at Fendi’s private concert on Wednesday featuring the Gossip. Mr. Hince was seated in the V.I.P. balcony of a club on the Right Bank called the V.I.P. Room, and down the banquette from him were a variety of specially invited guests who, if they were not in fact Very Important, gave every impression of thinking otherwise." (Style)