Media-Whore D'Oeuvres

"It’s hard to drag an elephant into a room. But once there, it’s surprisingly easy to ignore. Such was the case during Kenya’s presidential campaign, which concluded this week. After a series of galling technical mishaps, the latest vote count delivered the presidency to deputy prime minister Uhuru Kenyatta and his running mate, William Ruto. The elephant of course, is the fact that both are under indictment by the International Criminal Court, accused of inciting, organizing and funding ethnically motivated violence against political rivals—or as these actions are otherwise known, crimes against humanity. Ironically enough, Kenyatta and Ruto's trials evolved from a gruesome spate of violence during Kenya’s last elections, in 2007. After a tense campaign between incumbent president Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga, the tally was announced and Kibaki immediately sworn in. It was the last thing many voters saw; minutes later, the televisions went black. The ensuing indignation of Odinga supporters—which at the time included Ruto’s support base—quickly escalated into a campaign of violent reprisals, placing poor Kenyans on farms and in slums alike at the center of pent-up tribal grievance. After six weeks of chaos, global diplomats intervened, and Odinga was declared runner up and prime minister. Twelve hundred people were dead, and over 350,000 were displaced. Two years later, Kenyan courts had barely begun to address the matter of justice for those killed or ruined by the clash." (TNR)

"Analytics savant Nate Silver and his team at the FiveThirtyEight blog have hit a wall with the upcoming papal election. They will not be sticking their necks out with a prediction for the conclave vote, citing a dearth of conventional polling data to plug into their models. Sitting out the most-watched election on the planet speaks to the difficulties of building a statistical model to short-list the papabili, or men most likely to be appointed pope. The outcome of the papal conclave vote is far more difficult to forecast than, say, a political election. For starters, you have to account for a two-thirds clinching vote rather than a simple majority. Secondly, historical voting data from the College of Cardinals will get you only so far. For example, 67 of the 115 cardinal electors voting in this conclave (or, 58 percent) are first-timers. Still, these obstacles aren’t stopping Vatican watchers and oddsmakers from predicting the next pontiff. They contend there is enough available data to crunch from previous conclaves to handicap the 2013 field. After running the numbers, here is what the papal forecasters have to say about the upcoming vote ... As conclave veteran John L. Allen Jr. wrote in National Catholic Reporter last week, you can throw out the old bromide, 'He who enters as pope exits as a cardinal.” Allen crunched the data on the past six conclaves dating back to 1939, concluding that there has only been one complete stunner—Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, elected Pope John Paul II in 1978. All other future popes entered the conclave riding a wave of positive buzz. This time round, many oddsmakers, including Oddschecker.com and Paddy Power, are tipping Italian cardinals Angelo Scola and Tarcisio Bertone and Ghana’s Cardinal Peter Turkson as the ones to watch, with Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston emerging as a dark-horse candidate." (Businessweek)

"Lucian Grainge is slightly overstating the glamour of my job, and I tell him Lunch with the FT is a rare chance for a journalist in 2013 to file a meaty expenses claim. 'The FT are paying for this?' he replies. 'Oh! I’ve got to do the classic rock’n’roll thing: not look at the menu, just order the most expensive thing.' The 52-year-old chairman and chief executive of Universal Music Group, behind artists from Amy Winehouse to Justin Bieber, learnt rock’n’roll’s high running costs early in his career, when he took the Damned to lunch in Paris in the mid-1980s. 'We’re on the Champs-Elysées and I was sitting there with Rat Scabies. We had a number one record at the time; they’d done a cover of ‘Eloise’ and we’re all sitting there, very grand, very grown-up, and he just opened up the menu and closed it.' Scabies, the band’s drummer, explained that whenever the record company was paying they would simply order the priciest food, Grainge recalls. 'And the meal eventually comes and it’s inedible, of course, because he ordered everything that no one would normally ever eat.' Grainge lets out one of the long, unrestrained laughs that punctuate his conversation. He is in a good mood. Universal artists and songwriters such as Frank Ocean and Mumford & Sons are in line for Grammy awards the weekend following our meeting, and, as Grainge knows but is not supposed to say, Billboard, the industry magazine, is about to crown him the most powerful person in the music business. The loose ends on the deal that won the Londoner that title – a £1.2bn swoop on EMI by Universal that required months of negotiations with regulators and rivals – were tied up hours before our meeting with the sale to Warner Music of Parlophone, the EMI label behind Coldplay and Sigur Rós that he was forced to divest to get the deal through. I cannot help but wonder if he engineered the announcement for Lunch with the FT’s benefit. 'I’m good but I’m not that good,' he laughs." (FT)

"For Jeff Zucker, the new president of CNN Worldwide, Job No. 1 is to create stars and conjure up a sense of excitement at the previously moribund cable news network. One thing is clear: Zucker certainly has a sense of urgency. Once, following its impressive coverage of Desert Storm, CNN dominated the cable-news landscape. Then, throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century, it committed the cardinal sin for any company: It believed its press clippings and became complacent. Over the past decade, it has meandered from one broadcast style to another and slipped far behind the Fox News Channel in the television ratings. It even found itself locked in a struggle with MSNBC for No. 2 in the cable sweepstakes. Zucker recognizes that television news is a business in which strong personalities command the steadiest and strongest followings. At NBC's 'Today' show, back in his glory days, he helped make Katie Couric into America's Sweetheart and boosted the career of Matt Lauer. Zucker showed an understanding of what the market wanted — and he provided it. Today, with viewers in the United States now enjoying so many alternatives, the journalists with the most clearly defined on-air styles have the best shots of cutting through the cable clutter. In prime time, for example, they tend to talk tough and sometimes even look a little tough, too. Above all, though, throughout the broadcast day their most marketable asset is their innate ability to make viewers care about what they're saying. Zucker wants to grab viewers by their lapels. By plucking Jake Tapper and Chris Cuomo from ABC News, for instance, he has already begun to demonstrate that he wants journalists who can define just as much of a viewer's TV-watching experience as the content itself — more so, actually." (TheFiscalTimes)

"At 10 p.m. on a Friday night in a private room on the 14th Floor of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital on 68th and York Avenue, my mother was lying in her bed hallucinating, in that dream space people go on their way to being gone. She spoke of seeing trees, possibly a forest. And she mentioned to Nick, my stepfather, that she had been to the theater where her play was showing and that the audience was full. In reality, she had not left the hospital in a month, and the play, 'Lucky Guy,' was nearly a year away from opening. My brother, Max, and I stood there in disbelief. Though it had been weeks since her blood count showed any sign of improvement, the gravity of the situation had crept up on us. Mom’s housekeeper, Linda Diaz, who had worked for her for 25 years, was in the corner sobbing. At some point, a team of doctors and nurses arrived to assess the situation, and Mom became slightly more lucid. 'Can you tell me your name?' one of them asked. 'Nora Ephron,' she said, nodding. 'Can you tell me where you are?' 'New York Hospital.' 'Who is the president of the United States?' At this point, my mother looked annoyed, gave a roll of the eyes and refused to answer the question, which later on was the source of some debate between Max and me about whether her sarcasm and humor remained even as her memory and focus faded or whether she was simply irritated at being treated like an infant." (NYTimes)

 

"I recently addressed The Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society for the Kilburn Lecture on 'The Future of the Olympic Games.' Instituted in 1781, the learned society is Britain’s second oldest after the Royal Society. John Dalton, the father of modern chemistry, was one of its important past members. My NBF Peter Barnes (I had to explain to him the acronym meant New Best Friend) picked me up at the airport and whisked me to the Manchester Metropolitan University and in 45 minutes I had changed into evening clothes and was facing a jolly audience of bearded professors, smiling ladies, and an all-around appreciative audience that laughed at my jokes and was extremely generous with their applause. I spoke for 45 minutes and had an intelligent question-and-answer period of 15 minutes. One gentleman asked me why Lindsay Lohan hadn’t come with me, and I told him that, alas, she was most likely in jail and thus incapable of travel ... I began with a short history of the Games that first took place in 776 BC. I mentioned Arrachion, the famous pankration athlete who won his third medal posthumously because just as he expired he broke the toe of his opponent, who surrendered. Nero tarnished the Games in 67 AD by disqualifying all entrants and winning the chariot race unopposed. By 339 AD, the Games were abolished because they had become too corrupt.  I then ran through my favorite moments of the modern Olympics: Bob Mathias winning the decathlon in 1948 as a 17-year-old Californian of Greek extraction, and with his Apollo-like looks repeating four years later; Emil Zátopek’s 1952 triple victory in the 5,000, the 10,000, and the marathon; the German Armin Hary winning the 100 meters in Rome in 1960; my friend Tony Madigan beating Cassius Clay—AKA Muhammad Ali—in the boxing semifinals in Rome and being robbed by the judges; and the barefoot Ethiopian sergeant Abebe Bikila smiling his way through the Villa Borghese gardens and down the Via Veneto while receiving the greatest cheers from the Roman crowd." (Taki)

"On Tuesday, March 5, 2013, The Associates Committee of The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center hosted the 22nd Annual Bunny Hop at FAO Schwarz Fifth Avenue, New York's legendary toy store. A Society tradition and the most high-profile family event of the year, the Bunny Hop is a thrilling and magical evening for families and children of all ages. Sponsored by Tiffany & Co., almost 900 guests attended including The Society's members, celebrity guests and New York families. The Event Co-Chairs were Alexandra D. Edwards, Nina Garcia Conrad, Melissa Meister and Marcie Pantzer, with Debra Messing serving as Honorary Chairman. The event raised over $311,000 to benefit the Pediatric Family Housing Endowment. The fund pays for overnight stays at special nearby accommodations when children and their families come from out of town for treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's renowned Pediatric Department and are unable to afford this expense." (NYSocialDiary)

Senate Banking Committee Hearing - Bank Money Laundering // Elizabeth Warren

Media-Whore D'oeuvres

"NBC News’s Richard Engel was dispatched to cover Syria’s civil war last December when he lived every war correspondent’s nightmare: he and his crew were dragged from their car at gunpoint, blindfolded, gagged, and held captive by the shabiha militia for five days. Engel documented his captivity in April’s Vanity Fair in a journal-like format, of which this is an excerpt ... A group of about 15 armed men were fanning out around us. Three or four of them stood in the middle of the road blocking our vehicles. The others went for the doors. They wore black jackets, black boots, and black ski masks. They were professionals and used hand signals to communicate. A balled fist meant stop. A pointed finger meant advance. Each man carried an AK-47. Several of the gunmen began hitting the windows of our car and minivan with the stocks of their weapons. When they got the doors open, they leveled their guns at our chests. Time was slowing down as if I’d been hit in the head. Time was slowing down as if I were drowning. This can’t be happening. I know what this is. This can’t be happening. These are the shabiha. They’re fucking kidnapping us. 'Get out!” a gunman was yelling as he dragged Aziz from the car.Then I saw the container truck. It wasn’t far away, parked off the road and hidden among olive trees. The metal doors at its rear stood open, flanked by gunmen.

That’s where they are going to put us. That’s here for us. We’re going into that truck.I got out of the car. Two of the gunmen were already marching Aziz to the truck. He had his hands up, his shoulders back, his head tilted forward to protect against blows from behind." (Richard Engel/VanityFair)

 

 

"Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the latest challenge to what many consider the most important civil rights law of the past century — the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The challenge involves Section 5 of the law, which requires nine states — all but two in the South — to obtain prior approval from the Justice Department before implementing any changes in voting laws, regulations or procedures. The Voting Rights Act, including Section 5, was last renewed in 2006. At that time, overwhelming majorities of Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate voted to renew the law for 25 years based on extensive evidence of continued attempts to suppress or dilute the votes of racial and ethnic minorities in the states covered by Section 5.Despite this legislative record, the justice’s questions and comments during last week’s oral arguments suggest that there is a good chance that the court will vote to strike down Section 5. The five conservative justices on the court, including Chief Justice John Roberts, were clearly skeptical about the continued need for federal supervision of the states covered by Section Five. At one point, Roberts asked whether 'the citizens in the South are more racist than citizens in the North.' Roberts’ question goes directly to what appears to be the central issue in the case — the continued significance of racial prejudice among white voters and political leaders in the states covered by Section 5. The officials bringing the suit to overturn Section 5 and their conservative allies claim that racial prejudice has diminished to the point where federal supervision of state and local governments in the covered states is no longer justified. In support of this argument, they cite the victories of numerous African-American candidates for state and local office and increased turnout rates among African-American voters.There is no doubt that old-fashioned racism has greatly diminished over the past 40 years throughout the nation and in the states covered by Section 5. However, there are good reasons to be concerned about how a decision to overturn Section 5 would affect the voting rights of African Americans and other minorities in these states — for reasons that are more political than racial. That’s because regardless of whether white political leaders in these states hold racist views, they have substantial political incentives for engaging in actions to suppress or dilute the minority vote.

In addition to a history of racial discrimination, the states covered by Section 5 are characterized by an exceptionally high degree of racial polarization in voting up to the present day. Whites and nonwhites in these states are deeply divided in their political preferences, resulting in a two-party system in which one party depends overwhelmingly on votes from whites and the other party depends overwhelmingly on votes from African Americans and other nonwhites. This racial polarization continues to provide a powerful incentive for leaders of the party that depends overwhelmingly on white votes to suppress or dilute the votes of African Americans and other minorities.Racial polarization in voting can be measured by the difference in the racial composition of the electoral coalitions that support the two major parties." (SabatosCrystalBall)

"Last night I went to a book party hosted by Christy Ferer, Barbara Liberman and Christiane Amanpour for their friend Cecile David-Weill who has just published her third novel 'The Suitors' here in America. The book was first published in France and is the second of her books to be published in the United States. It was also chosen for the recommended reading list of Oprah magazine. Cecile is a daughter of a very famous and socially prominent French banking family. As a novelist her subjects have included stories of such families — fictional of course. But the reader naturally thinks 'fictional — wink wink.' And why not. 'The Suitors' is the second of David-Weill’s novels to draw controversy in France. Scandale and all that. Because she says it like it is. Rich people at love and play — a situation a lot of us poor slobs wouldn’t mind considering as our dilemma. This one is about the Old Money families and their way of life. It is a sore subject in France. Unlike our culture where a great number of rich people practically take out ads and hire public relations flacks to get the word out, in France the word is always Non. The French — I mean the very rich ones who live like kings and duchesses in their impeccable chateaux and les hotels particuliars — I’ve been told, never speak of money, never utter the word, let alone describe the loot acquired with it. Ne jamais pas! It’s not only considered tres gauche but also politically dangereuses, liaisons aside. Like such talk might just evoke itchy thoughts among les peuples, about M. Guillot and his famously efficient execution device. The author and I are acquaintances through mutual friends. She has a quiet personality, although neither diffident nor shy. She loves New York and chooses to live here in a convenient and comfortable yet somewhat 'funkier' part of town versus Park or Fifth Avenues." (NYSocialDiary)

(image via fishbowlNY)

"Threats of yet another winter storm (We’re begging for mercy!) didn’t keep the faithful from Michael’s today. In fact, the dining room was even more crowded than usual as some of the city’s biggest hot shots cooled their heels at the bar and in the lounge as they waited to be seated among the power brokers and media mavens. There was plenty of air kisses and glad handing among the talking heads (Joe Kernen, Rosanna Scotto), television titans (Matt Blank, Henry Schleiff) and fashionable folk (Julie Macklowe). After all, what’s the point of having a power lunch in this town if the right people aren’t there to see it — or write about it? Happy to oblige ... (Table) 3. ‘Mayor’ Joe Armstrong and David Zinczenko, whose victorious return to magazines as contributing editorial director at American Media Inc.’s Men’s Fitness and plans for the launch of his own Galvanize Media, are chronicled in today’s WWD. Maybe it’s “Dave’s Health,” after all ... (Table) 14. Gannett’s Maryam Banikarim and journo Michael Wolff, now a columnist for The Guardian, who famously vowed several years ago never to return to Michael’s after being seated at a table other than his then regular perch at Table 5. It seems all is forgiven as the notoriously prickly scribe has been spotted in the dining room about once a month since late last year." (Diane Clehane)

"Last night, Barack Obama bowed to establishment convention and had what must have been a torturous dinner with twelve Republican senators. Before The Washington Post editorial board gets weepy-eyed over this banquet of bipartisan schmoozing, let’s make one thing clear: Even if he were the most prolific, solicitous, all-around charmingest dinner-host the capital had ever seen (think Kay Graham meets Dick Cavett), Obama would not have accomplished much more than he did the last two years, and possibly less. The reason, as many other commentators have spelled out, is that the limits to grand-bargaining aren’t social but structural. They’re the result of the two parties sorting themselves out along ideological lines; of a sharp move rightward among Republicans; and of basic partisan math in the House and Senate. It’s completely delusional to think these factors could be altered by a few more dreary gabfests at the Jefferson Hotel.Having said all that, I kinda think it could work this time. Sure, the country is as polarized as ever. Sure, the Republicans are nuttier than ever. And, sure, they have the numbers to thwart Obama’s agenda in Congress. But here’s the thing: Even with all that, the deal Obama has put on the table is very, very close to the deal John Boehner himself publicly offered last fall,¹ and which several Republican senators have supported in the past. Which is to say, there’s no obvious structural reason why a deal couldn’t happen.In fact, pretty much the only major difference between what Boehner has offered and what Obama is offering now is the number of steps it would take to get the deal done. Obama is proposing that it happen in two steps: The first step was to raise $600 billion through tax-rate hikes during the fiscal cliff deal in January. The second step would be to raise several hundred billion dollars more by closing tax loopholes in exchange for two-to-three times that amount in cuts to entitlement programs and other spending. Boehner, for his part, has proposed similar amounts. He just wanted all the tax-rate hikes, loophole closings, and spending cuts to happen in one big push at the end of last year." (TNR)

"A few hours into his thirteen-hour filibuster on Wednesday, Rand Paul acknowledged that he can't prevent John Brennan from becoming head of the CIA, saying, "Ultimately I can't win. There's not enough votes." Yet, overall the stunt was a massive success for the Kentucky senator. Aside from accomplishing his stated goal of drawing more attention to the Obama administration's suggestion that it has the right to take out a U.S. citizens on American soil in a drone attack (though Attorney General Eric Holder says they probably won't), Rand drew bipartisan support and ensured that he'd be featured on every news program along with clips from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington — which is definitely a plus for a potential 2016 presidential candidate.After leaving the floor shortly before 1 a.m. on Thursday, Paul claimed that he began the day with no intention of starting a filibuster, but an opportunity to gain control of the floor presented itself. "I hadn't planned on it," he said, according to Politico. "I didn't wear my most comfortable shoes or anything. I would have worn different shoes." (As The Wall Street Journal notes, "For an impromptu filibuster, Mr. Paul appeared prepared, carrying a large binder of articles and background reports on the subject of lethal U.S. force.")Paul managed to gain momentum both inside and outside of the Senate chamber as his energy dwindled and the inevitable bathroom break drew closer. A small group of senators, led by Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, helped Paul throughout the day, but GOP aides tell BuzzFeed that Senate Republicans who initially dismissed the filibuster as a futile effort decided to come to the floor as it gained more attention in the media and on Twitter. Marco Rubio made an attention-grabbing cameo, quoting The Godfather, the rapper Wiz Khalifa, and "that modern-day poet by the name of Jay-Z." Around midnight, Mitch McConnell joined in, praising Paul for his "tenacity and conviction" and announcing that he'll oppose Brennan's confirmation.Though Paul has always been a divisive figure, standing up for a really long time to defend Americans' civil liberties proved to be something both parties can rally behind. Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden joined the filibuster (though he said he planned to vote for Brennan) and Paul also enjoyed a brief reprieve from liberal pundits; Jon Stewart called drone oversight "certainly worth kicking up a fuss for,” and Paul was Rachel Maddow's "Best New Thing in the World Today" (though she wasn't a fan of his "gratuitous Hitler references" on the floor)." (NYMag)

"Hillary Clinton tops any of several top-tier possible Republican 2016 candidates — including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — according to a presidential poll on Thursday.Clinton bests Christie 45 percent to 37 percent, according to the Quinnipiac poll, and she trumps Sen. Marco Rubio 50 percent to 34 percent and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), 50 percent to 38 percent. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would start a 2016 presidential campaign with enormous advantages,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a statement. “She obviously is by far the best known and her more than 20 years in the public spotlight allows her to create a very favorable impression on the American people. But it is worth noting that she had very good poll numbers in 2006 looking toward the 2008 election before she faced a relative unknown in Barack Obama.' While Clinton comes out a winner, other possible Democratic contenders did not fare as well. Christie would beat Vice President Joe Biden 43 percent to 40 percent. But Biden would beat Rubio 45 percent to 38 percent. Biden also edges out Ryan 45 percent to 42 percent.As for Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, he’s tied with Rubio at 42 percent. And Ryan would beat Cuomo 42 percent to 37 percent.Brown’s take for the Republicans: you might to want to take another look at Christie." (Politico)

"And just like that, it’s over. Time Warner has ended talks with Meredith regarding merging Time Inc. with the Iowa-based company. As a result, Time Inc. will be spun off into a separate, publicly-traded company. The New York Times reports that the first casualty of the division is Laura Lang, who will leave once Time Inc. once the separation is complete.Yesterday multiple reports emerged that the deal was almost dead. As much as we joked that the deal wouldn’t get done because of Iowa, that wasn’t the main sticking point. The merger fell through because Meredith didn’t want to take on Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Money because they’re pretty much money pits and don’t fit well with Meredith’s brand. Understandable.So the biggest media combo to be discussed in quite some time ends not with a roar, but a few boring statements. Stephen Lacy, CEO of Meredith: “We respect Time Warner’s decision and certainly remain open to continuing a dialogue on how our companies might work together on future opportunities.” Jeff Bewkes, CEO of Time Warner: “After a thorough review of options, we believe that a separation will better position both Time Warner and Time Inc. Time Inc. will also benefit from the flexibility and focus of being a stand-alone company.”" (FishbowlNY)

"Newark Mayor Cory Booker has fielded criticism for openly talking about running for Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s seat, and spending a large proportion of his time out of New Jersey — but it didn’t stop Booker from heading into Manhattan Monday night and discussing his planned 2014 campaign in the middle of a busy restaurant. Lautenberg, 89, has announced he plans to retire, and Booker was overheard telling guests at Bill’s on East 54th Street about his ambition. One diner told us, “Cory confirmed he is running for Senate, but added he can only say this unofficially at the moment.” Booker also talked about his dramatic weight loss, telling dinner guests he “has lost 40 pounds and has 30 to go.” Booker recently spent a week living on food stamps when he said he lost a lot of weight. But Booker — who also doesn’t drink and is cutting back on caffeine — quoted Abraham Lincoln, saying, “It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.” On Tuesday night in his Newark state-of-the-city address, Booker defended his time spent elsewhere — especially the estimated 20 percent he spends visiting New York — saying, “I am relentless and unapologetic in my pursuit of development for our city.” Reps for Booker declined to comment." (PageSix)

Bond Influence Salon: "Capturing The Friedmans"

(image via flavorwire)

Last night I attended a salon thrown by Bond Influence on the subject of new evidence coming to light in the Friedman case. Among the crowd were filmmaker Andrew Jarecki and lawyer Ron Kuby. Since "Capturing the Friedman's" won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance in 2003, the Friedman case still hangs, unresolved. The film, profoundly even-handed in its delivery, persues the elusive truth as to whether or not the Friedmans actually molested children at their computer school in Great Neck. A 45-minute evidence reel was presented last night and it was quite convincing -- at least to this viewer -- that there was serious evidence of investigative misconduct in the way the detectives questioned the children, as well as in the preconceived notions of the sentencing judge who has said in interviews since that she never doubted the guilt of the Friedmans. For a night -- one optimistic, chilly New York night -- Kuby and Jarecki showed the gathered never-before-seen video, robustly pushing the case in a Q-and-A panel afterwards for overturning Jesse's conviction.

Years later and several more testimonies recanted, it seems almost as if inertia has set in concerning the possibility of overturning of Jesse Friedman's conviction. Don't tell that to Ron Kuby or Andrew Jarecki, however.  Arnold Friedman, unfortunately, died in prison in 1995 (which makes this story all the more tragic if indeed this was all hysteria on the part of the Great Neck police and community).

Check out the trailer and never-before-released video on JustuiceforJesse

craigslist of the day

• via nymag

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres

"As sequestration begins, Republicans have been overtaken with something close to giddiness, and Democrats seized with gloom. It appeared as recently as a few months ago that the threat of across-the-board cuts, disproportionately hurting defense, would force Republicans to negotiate a long-term debt reduction agreement. But Republicans are happily announcing their willingness — and, in many cases, outright eagerness — to absorb a hit to spending of any kind whatsoever, and their total resistance to higher revenue in any form. And so the GOP is already celebrating its victory, even speaking of their great triumph in the past tense, as a done deal ('This was a necessary win for Republicans,' exults a GOP aide) while liberals are already bemoaning Obama’s miscalculation.The great Republican budget victory may yet arrive. It certainly hasn’t happened yet, and it’s far from certain if it ever will. The first question is whether House Republicans can sustain their refusal to consider their no-revenue, no-negotiation stance. Public opinion may not be the thing that stops them. Americans oppose government spending in general and favor it in particular. An ABC poll today finds strong public support for an across-the-board cut in federal spending. That is the result you’d expect from a poll that only asks about 'federal spending.' The same ABC poll found that the defense cuts, the only specific program it named, poll badly. This isn’t because military spending is especially popular — Americans are more willing to cut it than most programs — but that almost every actual spending program is popular. When Pew surveyed Americans about nineteen specific categories of actual federal spending, it found overwhelming opposition to cuts in any of them except 'aid to the world’s needy,' the scale of which Americans consistently overestimate by an order of magnitude. And so, as is often the case, the political fight will center on Republican efforts to define the subject merely as 'spending' against Democratic efforts to define specific elements of that spending." (Jonathan Chait)

"I have a confession to 
make: I'm a big fan of John Boehner. One of his very few, it turns out. The White House complains that Boehner's near-total ignorance of policy makes him impossible to negotiate with, and that it's pointless to deal with him anyway, since he exerts zero control over his members. Pundits deride him as strategically inept, constantly backing himself into corners from which there's no obvious escape. Even conservatives have lost their patience at times: Washington Examiner columnist Byron York recently called Boehner's message on sequestration—the $85 billion in automatic, across-the-board budget cuts that kicked in Friday—'astonishingly bad.' To which I say: Yes! Boehner is goofy, poorly informed, and frequently incoherent. He often sows confusion among the very people he's supposed to be leading. But despite this—or perhaps because of it—he has been remarkably effective at saving the Republican Party from complete self-destruction. Through heroic improvisation, he's avoided the global economic apocalypse House Republicans are so intent on provoking. Under the circumstances, Boehner has, in fact, been a raging success. I hesitate to call him 'sophisticated' because that would imply a level of self-awareness and reflection I'm not sure he's capable of. But the man's instincts are damn-near impeccable. Here is the soul-crushing reality that Boehner wakes up to every morning, before he lights up a Camel 99 and knots his power tie: The Democratic Party is much more popular than the GOP, and Barack Obama has far higher approval ratings than Republican leaders in Washington. When it comes to the budget—the key battleground in the partisan skirmishing of the last two years—the American people overwhelmingly favor Obama's approach (paring the deficit through a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts) over the Republicans' (cutting spending only). And the president's bully pulpit gives him a virtually limitless ability to highlight the programs that Republican cuts would endanger. Oh, and there's one other hitch for Boehner: Many of his 232 House Republicans refuse to acknowledge almost any of this, believing the only plausible explanation for the failure to enact their agenda is a lack of courage on the part of their leaders, of whom they are chronically suspicious. How, then, has Boehner managed to keep his job? You could spend months reading political science journals and come up with no better answer than this: The man gets crazy people." (TNR)

"In mid-January 2012, Roger Ailes skipped out on his duties at Fox News to attend a basketball game. The contest featured his 12-year-old son, Zac, who plays for his Upper East Side Catholic boys’ school. Ailes, in a folding chair along the sideline, was dressed in his work clothes: black suit, starched white shirt, gold tie clip, and matching cuff links. His hair was slicked back and a pair of bifocals perched on his nose. The overall effect was that of a formal, somewhat forbidding small-town banker in a Frank Capra movie. Ailes is past 70 and looks it, especially when he tries to walk on his bum leg. The other parents were young enough to be his children. But Zac is his only child, and perhaps the only person who could lure Ailes away from his office on a Wednesday afternoon. This was the third game of the season, and he had been there every time. As we waited for the tip-off, Ailes ran down the roster. 'Our guys,' he called them. Zac was easily the tallest kid on the team, and when the action commenced, his father encouraged him to take advantage of it. 'Don’t get boxed out,' he shouted. 'Use your height. Hands up on defense!' Zac hit the first shot of the game, and Ailes clapped loudly and shouted his approval. But Zac’s team, wearing red, was no match for the other school’s. As they fell behind, Ailes grew tense, barking instructions at his son and the rest of the team, but the advice wasn’t helping. During a time-out he extracted his BlackBerry for a quick peek at the standings. 'Let’s see if Fox News is still on the air,' he said." (VanityFair)

"Last night was the gala opening night Preview of The Art Show at the Park Avenue Armory. The evening benefitted the Henry Street Settlement. This is the 25th year of the collaboration of the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) and Henry Street on this event. I’m neither a dealer, a critic or a collector -- although I love looking and even occasionally seeing something that I would acquire (if I had the price). I entered this show early last evening with the plan to take some shots of what I saw. I soon found that I wanted to get a photo of everything because there is so much wonderful art on exhibition and for sale. There are 72 exhibitors and if you even like looking at art in the marketplace, this show deserves a few hours visit. It runs today through Sunday, March 10." (NYSocialDiary)

"Fashion publicist Lynn Tesoro has now settled her $1 million lawsuit against Marie-José Susskind-Jalou and her daughters Jennifer Eymere and Vanessa Bellugeon of Jalouse and L’Officiel magazines after the women allegedly assaulted Tesoro during a Zac Posen fashion show in September. The suit claimed Susskind-Jalou slapped Tesoro in the face while Tesoro looked for a seat for the French journalists after 60 chairs had been removed by the fire marshal. Eymere later bragged to Women’s Wear Daily about the incident, 'Now you know you don’t [bleep] with French people.' WWD reported the suit was settled yesterday. Terms weren’t disclosed, but sources say Tesoro received an apology from the women, which she accepted." (PageSix)

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres

"Consider the geography of unemployment. Only four countries in Europe are at or below 6 percent unemployment: the geographically contiguous countries of Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The immediate periphery has much higher unemployment; Denmark at 7.4 percent, the United Kingdom at 7.7 percent, France at 10.6 percent and Poland at 10.6 percent. In the far periphery, Italy is at 11.7 percent, Lithuania is at 13.3 percent, Ireland is at 14.7 percent, Portugal is at 17.6 percent, Spain is at 26.2 percent and Greece is at 27 percent. Germany, the world's fourth-largest economy, is at the center of gravity of Europe. Exports of goods and services are the equivalent of 51 percent of Germany's gross domestic product, and more than half of Germany's exports go to other European countries. Germany sees the European Union's free trade zone as essential for its survival. Without free access to these markets, its exports would contract dramatically and unemployment would soar. The euro is a tool that Germany, with its outsized influence, uses to manage its trade relations -- and this management puts other members of the eurozone at a disadvantage. Countries with relatively low wages ought to have a competitive advantage over German exports. However, many have negative balances of trade. Thus, when the financial crisis hit, their ability to manage was insufficient and led to sovereign debt crises, which in turn further undermined their position via austerity, especially as their membership in the eurozone doesn't allow them to apply their own monetary policies. This doesn't mean that they were not profligate in their social spending, but the underlying cause of their failure was much more complex. Ultimately it was rooted in the rare case of a free trade zone being built around a massive economy that depended on exports. (Germany is the third-largest exporter in the world, ranking after China and the United States.) The North American Free Trade Agreement is built around a net importer. Britain was a net importer from the Empire. German power unbalances the entire system. Comparing the unemployment rate of the German bloc with that of Southern Europe, it is difficult to imagine these countries are members of the same trade group. Even France, which has a relatively low unemployment rate, has a more complex story. Unemployment in France is concentrated in two major poles in the north and the south, with the southeast of France being the largest of them. Thus, if you look at the map, the southern tier of Europe has been hit extraordinarily hard with unemployment, and Eastern Europe not quite as badly, but Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Luxembourg have been left relatively unscathed. How long this will last, given the recession in Germany, is another matter, but the contrast tells us a great deal about the emerging geopolitics of the region." (STRATFOR)

"It was a busy one in New York on the charity gala circuit. Down at Three Sixty on 10 Desbrosses Street, the Bronx Museum of the Arts hosted its Spring Gala and Auction – “The Bronx in Venice” – (you had to be there), chaired by Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy, and Laura Blanco and Robert Shainheit were chairs of the evening. Tim Rollins and Dahn Vo were Artist Chairs. They were honoring the artist Sarah Sze, Wallace Edgecombe, former Director of the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, and Shelley and Donald Rubin, the co-founders of the Rubin Museum of Art. We covered the inaugural opening of the Rubin several years ago. The Rubins have been lifelong collectors of the art of the Himalayas and surrounding regions. A number of years ago they decided on another, greater adventure – starting a museum of their art. New Yorkers who share their interest and aesthetic know that it is a great success and has added a new factor to the culture. I’m familiar with the Bronx Museum, having been introduced to its work by our great late friend Roger Webster who was an early supporter. Perusing the Benefit Committee, and considering the participation of the Rubins, the museum is a force to watch here in New York.At the same hour, just up West Side Highway at the Chelsea Piers C-Cap was holding its annual Benefit 2013 (Grand Tasting of 40 of New York’s Finest Chefs)." (NySocialDiary)

"The sight of First Daughter Malia Obama at a dinner this weekend with her friends prompted one spy to describe the meal as a 'young girl’s social power club gathering.' On Saturday night, President Obama’s elder daughter, 14, was spotted at giant Chelsea restaurant Buddakan with eight of her friends, including a daughter of New York Giants chairman Steve Tisch. According to witnesses, the girls were chaperoned by four parents and five security guards who dined at the table directly next to them. 'She was in the middle of a gaggle of young girls,' one source told us, while Secret Service remained a comfortable distance behind them — and deterred other customers from bothering them. The presidential teenager was dressed 'very casual, jeans and ponytail.' Malia and her friends were overheard saying, 'This place is so hip' while they dined on rock shrimp, edamame dumplings, short ribs, lobster fried rice and noodles. An Obama rep didn’t get back to us. " (PageSix)

"Besides all the (must-warranted) fuss over splendor on the runways during Paris Fashion Week, there are shindigs du note happening left and right. On the refined end of the soiree spectrum: last week's Town & Country bash, held at the abode of Ambassador Charles Rivkin and his wife, Susan Tolston. The eve's woman of honor? T&C fashion editor-at-large, Jade Hobson. Carine Roitfeld and Stephen Gan rolled through, as did T&C's EIC, Jay Fielden, Hayley Bloomingdale, Indre Rockefeller, Shala Monroque, and Dior's Olivier Bialobos, and Andre Leon Talley (we can't get enough of this superexcited meet-and-greet shot with ALT and the Ambassador!). " (Fashionweekdaily)

"A poignant documentary to add to your must-view list ASAP, a night at the museum, and Jon Stewart avec wife rolling through. Such was the case for last night's Cinema Society, Bank of America, and Food & Wine-sponsored screening of A Place At The Table, featuring Jeff Bridges, an outspoken food policy advocate who launched the End Hunger Network in 1983, and restaurateur extraordinaire Tom Colicchio. The flick delves into the seriously broken system that is nutrition in the U.S., tackling the alarming rates of hunger as well as obesity nationwide (and, appallingly, how often both epidemics dovetail in the same households). The riveting film brought out the likes of Steve Buscemi, Gina Gershon, Dionne Warwick, Lou Reed, Matt Dillon, and Lauren Bush Lauren, all of whom piled into the subterranean Celeste Bartos theater to get enlightened. Mario Batali (and his tangerine Crocs, of course) got settled early, nabbing a prime aisle seat; shortly after, the Food & Wine crew poured in, including the mag's EIC, Dana Cowin, and Colicchio's Top Chef co-star, Gail Simmons. An additional contingent of intrigued folks filled up another theater two flights upstairs, where the 'holy sh*t!' reactions to the film's various story arcs and revelations was quite palpable, your Daily included. Heartfelt intro remarks ensued pre-film, for both theaters, including producers/co-directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush (j'adore that white frock, Lori!)." (Fashionweekdaily)

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres

"When Secretary of State John Kerry was scrambling last week to prevent the leader of the Syrian opposition from boycotting a meeting with him in Rome — a snub that could have spoiled his maiden voyage as the nation’s chief diplomat — he leaned on an old Senate colleague to help him out: Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. After Mr. Kerry extracted an agreement from the Syrian opposition leader, Moaz al-Khatib, to show up, Mr. Biden sealed the deal with a follow-up call. The vice president, who had met Mr. Khatib at a security conference in Munich, praised him for his courage, told him how important the meeting was and promised to stay in touch, according to the White House.  It was a classic example of how Mr. Biden has used personal relationships to amass influence in the Obama administration — a talent that current and former officials predicted would allow him to further expand his influence on foreign policy during President Obama’s second term.  Mr. Biden will shift to another part of the Middle East on Monday, when he will set the stage for Mr. Obama’s first presidential trip to Israel later this month, in a speech to the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, an influential pro-Israel lobbying group.  When Mr. Biden last spoke to the group in 2009, he warned them 'you’re not going to like this,' before laying out Mr. Obama’s demand, largely rebuffed, that Israel stop building Jewish settlements in the West Bank. This time, officials said, he will be more conciliatory, presaging a less confrontational approach during the president’s visit. 'Biden has great credibility with the pro-Israel community,' said Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael B. Oren. 'He has always been able to speak candidly and openly with us, all the while making it clear that he stands foursquare with the president.'  Mr. Biden, officials said, used his ties on Capitol Hill to champion another unpopular cause: Chuck Hagel, also an old Senate friend." (NYTimes)

"We all know that tensions rise during those final weeks leading up to the Academy Awards as media outlets decide who’s worthy and who’s not. So this begs the question: with so much money and prestige at stake, is it possible for even major and reputable media outlets to voice any negativel opinions while Oscar campaigning is underway? Especially if they want Academy Award contenders to take out ads and sit for interviews and come to parties? Increasingly, no. It’s well known that The Hollywood Reporter and Variety cravenly promise Oscar hopefuls flattering coverage. But Vanity Fair? Granted, its year-round showbiz coverage has all the heft of a marshmallow. But its Deputy Editor Bruce Handy this Oscar season wrote for the magazine’s website one brief but hardly brutal column dissecting Jessica Chastain‘s body of work. This wasn’t some freelancer: this was the magazine’s #2 who dared to express mild criticism about the Best Actress Oscar nominee for Zero Dark Thirty. 'I’m surprised it’s being hailed as one of the year’s great performances, and that it has earned her an Oscar nomination for best actress,' Handy opined. 'It’s not the sort of flashy thing, like playing a transgendered murder victim or quadriplegic boxer, that the Academy normally rewards.' He included much praise but also said Chastain was an 'empty vessel‘ and 'recessive presence' who doesn’t 'quite hold your eye'. The piece posted on the VF website January 25th at a pivotal point in Oscar campaigning: just before final paper ballots went out and online voting began. Within a day, the analysis was gone. Not just gone from the VF website but really really really erased from the Internet at large. (Replaced by this sassy VF error message flaunting top editor Graydon Carter.) " (Deadline)

"Busy time at the height of the season — Emilia and Pepe Fanjul's dinner at their beautiful house on Wednesday, February 6: salad, roast lamb and a delicious chocolate dessert. The guests: Kate Ford, Frank Chopin, Margaretha and Eric Javits, Annette and Joe Allen, Mr. and Mrs. Hashem Khosrovani, Jill Fuller, Jim Mitchell, Mila and former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Darlene and Jerry Jordan, Linda and Barry Donahue, Jackie Weld and Rod Drake, Gail and Harry Theodoracopulos ...Friday, February 8: Linda and Barry Donahue gave a big cocktail party at their big beautiful house that once belonged to Francie Young ... it was a book signing party for Robert L. Forbes and his new book of poetry, Beast Friends Forever!: Animal Lovers in Rhyme. It was also Grace Meigher’s birthday (hint: she was 39 last year). There were lots of the guests in black tie — many were going to the Red Cross Ball, others to Diana and Bill Wisters' dinner." (NYSocialDiary)

"Titans of finance and politics met for a very private lunch at the Four Seasons restaurant on Friday. Sen. John McCain, former AIG head Hank Greenberg, former Goldman Sachs chief John Whitehead and Henry Kissinger broke bread with money managers Evelyn de Rothschild and wife Lynn Forester de Rothschild, who wrote a much-talked-about newspaper op-ed piece last week on ending the 'carried interest' tax rate, which allows institutional investors to reap huge profits. The group of 16 huddled inside a private dining room, but heads in the restaurant’s Grill Room turned when all later paraded through on their way out. Spies told us McCain greeted many in the dining room, including Blackstone Group founders Stephen Schwarzman and Pete Peterson (who were at separate tables). While some speculated the gathering was a major powwow over financial reform, a McCain aide told us, 'Sen. McCain was in the city for meetings and enjoyed lunch with old friends and longtime supporters.'" (PageSix)

"Imagine being the HBO executive who hears this from one of the channel’s producing partners: 'We think there’s an opportunity for us to get into North Korea.' The executive was Michael Lombardo, and the partner was Vice Media, the Brooklyn media company with something of a daredevil streak. The conversation happened about a month ago, when production was well under way on “Vice,” a newsmagazine that will have its premiere on HBO on April 5.  The company’s bosses said they were planning a visit to the secretive country, centered on an exhibition basketball game with the flamboyant former N.B.A. star Dennis Rodman and three members of the Harlem Globetrotters. HBO decided to add what Mr. Lombardo said was 'a little bit' of extra financing, beyond what it had already agreed to pay for the newsmagazine. 'It felt like something that could be interesting for the show,' Mr. Lombardo, HBO’s president for programming, said last Friday as he recalled the meeting.

By Friday, the trip wasn’t just 'interesting,' it was international news. Kim Jong-un showed up for the exhibition game in Pyongyang the day before, making Mr. Rodman and Vice’s film crew the first Americans known to have met the North Korean ruler since he inherited power from his father in 2011.  On television and online, people were debating which group was benefiting more from the publicity, Vice or the North Korean leadership. At the State Department, reporters wanted to know why the United States government wasn’t visibly doing more to debrief Mr. Rodman about his interactions with Mr. Kim, the dictator whom he pronounced his 'friend.'" (Brian Stelter)

 

 

 

"In April 2003, British and U.S. researchers declared the Human Genome Project complete. This decade-long computational marathon marked the first time that anyone had mapped out the sequence of the more than 3 billion chemical building blocks that make up Human DNA. It was a pioneering breakthrough in computer science and biology. It was also an early 'Big Data' problem — a computational challenge that calls for a supercomputer, not an Oracle database, to solve. Welcome to the Big Data era. Today, processing power has advanced to the point where the Human Genome could be sequenced in a day. And with more and more of the world being digitized — everything from Google Street View images to our history of Facebook Likes — a lot of people are talking about Big Data these days. Enter Victor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier and their new book, Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think. As the title indicates, Mayer-Schonberger, an Oxford professor and Cukier, an editor with The Economist, are excited by Big Data, but their book is more than simple sideline cheerleader. It’s a nuanced and remarkably readable account of the technological changes that have made the Big Data era possible, and a primer on many of the interesting things that are happening at the intersection of powerful computer processing, machine learning, and data analytics. They cover everything from Google’s thirst for new data to mine, to Steven Levitt’s data-driven analysis of match fixing in professional Sumo wrestling. We caught up with Mayer-Schonberger and Cukier on the telephone to discuss their new book, which launches tomorrow. We wanted to know if Big Data is really changing our brains — and they gave us a few answers. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation." (WIRED)

Media-Whore D'Oeuvres




"It was in the spring of 2008, shortly after their marriage, when the hedge-fund manager Buddy Fletcher and his wife, Ellen Pao, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, bought their first home in San Francisco. Situated on the 23rd floor of the exclusive St. Regis Residence, the $3.85 million, three-bedroom apartment seemed to float above the city, with its walls of windows—set above built-in benches of honed cream limestone—offering spectacular views of the Bay Bridge. At nearly 2,600 square feet, it had a vast chef’s kitchen, but also room-service dining, along with butler and concierge service—luxuries that attested to the couple’s wealth and their success. Alphonse 'Buddy' Fletcher was well-known on Wall Street. His hedge-fund company, Fletcher Asset Management—with a reported $500 million in assets—may not have been the biggest, but its results over the years were reported to be staggeringly impressive, at times as high as 350 percent. In 2009, when Fletcher was 44 years old, Forbes named him one of the country’s richest African Americans, estimating his net worth at $150 million. And he had been generous with his wealth. He donated millions of dollars to cultural institutions—including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, schools, libraries—and to civil-rights causes, including a headline-grabbing pledge of $50 million for fellowships whose recipients included Anita Hill and Elizabeth Alexander, the 2009 inaugural poet. At Harvard, his alma mater, a $4.5 million gift finances the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, which is held by the prominent critic and scholar Henry Louis 'Skip' Gates Jr. Hers was perhaps a quieter success. At 38, Ellen Pao was a junior partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers—if no longer the leading venture-capital firm in the Silicon Valley, then certainly the most venerable. A former corporate attorney who had worked at several tech companies, including Microsoft, she did not attract headlines, as Fletcher had, but she nevertheless had a foothold in the higher circles of the business world. The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Pao’s résumé was as gold-plated as Fletcher’s. A Princeton graduate, she also had Harvard law and business degrees. Fletcher and Pao had married just six months before they bought the apartment. Their marriage, barely four months after they met, had surprised some friends, in large part because, for several years, Fletcher had been living with his longtime boyfriend, Hobart 'Bo' Fowlkes Jr. But whatever had brought them together, they resonated as a couple. With their wealth and success, theirs was a powerful American Dream narrative—a story of obstacles overcome, and brilliance, hard work, intense drive, and ambition rewarded. And then everything seemed to fall apart." (VanityFair)

"I was distressed to learn of some of your current problems and wanted to send you a word of encouragement. Since the time Bob Tyrrell introduced us a few years ago, I have been one of your admirers….That letter, dated January 23, 1985, was addressed to me and was signed by Richard Nixon. I had it framed and it hangs in my office. The only other letter hanging next to it is from Sir Denis Thatcher after he and the Lady visited me in Switzerland. Nixon and Thatcher were two vastly misunderstood leaders who will one day be rightly seen as giants among the midgets who preceded and followed them. Lady T. I do not know well. President Nixon and I grew close during the late 1970s and 80s. He was the best-read politician I ever met, which might not be saying much, but his grasp of history was as astounding as the loathing the Eastern liberal establishment had for him. 'The media is full of bums who wish to prove their liberal credentials by flogging a long-dead president who was by far the greatest leader America had since Washington and Jefferson.' The media’s hatred for Richard Nixon rivals that of Hollywood." (Taki)

"Last night in Paris, T magazine held a dinner to honor their covergirl and Paree resident Lee Radziwill at Caviar Kaspia. Deborah 'please don't call me Debbie' Needleman was joined by Mario Sorrenti, Jessica Stam, Eric Wilson, Suzy Menkes, Christian Louboutin, Kate Lanphear, Patrick Li, Karla Otto, and Bryan Ferry to toast the well-received launch of Needleman's T and the lady of the hour. What's not to love about this affectionate shot of Radziwill touching a glowing Giambattista Valli?" (Fashionweekdaily)

Last night at I attended the LEGO Exhibition at Openhouse Gallery on Mulberry street to celebrate "In Pieces". The party, put on in part by The Observer, was wonderful, celebrating the work of Nathan Sawaya, who made amazing -- and delicate -- works of art out of LEGO. Also exhibiting was artist Dean West.

Spotted among the crowd: Julian Schnabel, NY1's Neil Rosen, Tim Devane, Michelle Cantor and Niecee R'driguez

Ashley Judd Sure Sounds Like She's Running For the Senate in Kentucky

Actress Ashley Judd, who earlier this year announced that she was splitting from her racecar driver husband, sure sounds like she is going to run against Mitch McConnell for his Kentucky Senate seat. Clearly Mitch is a little rattled -- he is polling with her name mentioned. And she is not doing much to dampen speculation. From NYMag:

Actress Ashley Judd's chances of winning a Kentucky Senate seat may be about as good as Mitch McConnell's chances of winning an Oscar, but discussing the possibility of a race between the two is too fun for anyone to pass up. On Friday, Judd appeared at George Washington University to discuss reproductive rights, though the reporters in attendance were much more interested in finding out whether she is serious about launching a campaign.

...Madeleine Albright and New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (who she met with in December), she emphasized her connection to her native state by complimenting the University of Kentucky's student newspaper and announcing her intention to put Kentucky daffodils in a vase presented to her by GWU's dean. The Kentucky talk is important, since Republicans there are already questioning her loyalty to the state by simultaneously pointing out that she currently lives in Tennessee and painting her as an out-of-touch Hollywood liberal.
 

 Conventional wisdom might say that Kentucky is way to red for a Hollywood liberal. But Judd is extraordinarily charming, beautiful, can spend a lot of her wealth in a relatively poor state -- maybe even match dollar-for-dollar the Senate Majority leader (Judd has a lot of friends in Hollywood and Nashville). Also, she has sutomatic name recognition and the degree to which the sequestration hits Kentucky could be a major drag on McConnel's re-election.

The verdict is still out.