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Apr. 18th, 2012
The Israeli Question
Apr. 18th, 2012 08:00 amAn interesting strategic calculation on the likelihood of an Israeli attack on Iran.
_ _ _
If the Israelis really are intent on attacking the Iranian nuclear facilities, they’re likely to do so before this November’s American presidential elections. If they started an attack and needed U.S. firepower to help them complete the task, Barack Obama might open himself up to perilous political attacks—for being indecisive, weak, appeasing, anti-Israel, you name it—if he didn’t follow through. It could cost him the votes of crucial constituencies. If the Israelis tried to pressure the United States into joining an attack after the election, Obama would have (to borrow a phrase from another context) more flexibility. So, to the extent the Israeli leaders have decided to attack (and it’s not at all clear they have), they are probably thinking: much better sooner than later.
-- Fred Kaplan
_ _ _
I don't know if Obama is that predictable, though. I imagine that the Israelis will want to be prepared to have to follow through without assistance, leaving themselves vulnerable only to a mass war of retaliation by a number of Muslim powers, in which case, Obama should be expected to intervene. Though, if things go that route, who knows how the dominoes may fall? Might the Russians then step in? We are getting ahead of ourselves, but once the bombs starts falling, things can get extreme fast.
_ _ _
If the Israelis really are intent on attacking the Iranian nuclear facilities, they’re likely to do so before this November’s American presidential elections. If they started an attack and needed U.S. firepower to help them complete the task, Barack Obama might open himself up to perilous political attacks—for being indecisive, weak, appeasing, anti-Israel, you name it—if he didn’t follow through. It could cost him the votes of crucial constituencies. If the Israelis tried to pressure the United States into joining an attack after the election, Obama would have (to borrow a phrase from another context) more flexibility. So, to the extent the Israeli leaders have decided to attack (and it’s not at all clear they have), they are probably thinking: much better sooner than later.
-- Fred Kaplan
_ _ _
I don't know if Obama is that predictable, though. I imagine that the Israelis will want to be prepared to have to follow through without assistance, leaving themselves vulnerable only to a mass war of retaliation by a number of Muslim powers, in which case, Obama should be expected to intervene. Though, if things go that route, who knows how the dominoes may fall? Might the Russians then step in? We are getting ahead of ourselves, but once the bombs starts falling, things can get extreme fast.
The Israeli Question
Apr. 18th, 2012 08:00 amAn interesting strategic calculation on the likelihood of an Israeli attack on Iran.
_ _ _
If the Israelis really are intent on attacking the Iranian nuclear facilities, they’re likely to do so before this November’s American presidential elections. If they started an attack and needed U.S. firepower to help them complete the task, Barack Obama might open himself up to perilous political attacks—for being indecisive, weak, appeasing, anti-Israel, you name it—if he didn’t follow through. It could cost him the votes of crucial constituencies. If the Israelis tried to pressure the United States into joining an attack after the election, Obama would have (to borrow a phrase from another context) more flexibility. So, to the extent the Israeli leaders have decided to attack (and it’s not at all clear they have), they are probably thinking: much better sooner than later.
-- Fred Kaplan
_ _ _
I don't know if Obama is that predictable, though. I imagine that the Israelis will want to be prepared to have to follow through without assistance, leaving themselves vulnerable only to a mass war of retaliation by a number of Muslim powers, in which case, Obama should be expected to intervene. Though, if things go that route, who knows how the dominoes may fall? Might the Russians then step in? We are getting ahead of ourselves, but once the bombs starts falling, things can get extreme fast.
_ _ _
If the Israelis really are intent on attacking the Iranian nuclear facilities, they’re likely to do so before this November’s American presidential elections. If they started an attack and needed U.S. firepower to help them complete the task, Barack Obama might open himself up to perilous political attacks—for being indecisive, weak, appeasing, anti-Israel, you name it—if he didn’t follow through. It could cost him the votes of crucial constituencies. If the Israelis tried to pressure the United States into joining an attack after the election, Obama would have (to borrow a phrase from another context) more flexibility. So, to the extent the Israeli leaders have decided to attack (and it’s not at all clear they have), they are probably thinking: much better sooner than later.
-- Fred Kaplan
_ _ _
I don't know if Obama is that predictable, though. I imagine that the Israelis will want to be prepared to have to follow through without assistance, leaving themselves vulnerable only to a mass war of retaliation by a number of Muslim powers, in which case, Obama should be expected to intervene. Though, if things go that route, who knows how the dominoes may fall? Might the Russians then step in? We are getting ahead of ourselves, but once the bombs starts falling, things can get extreme fast.
I remember when Bo would assume this doleful posture when he was a baby puppy. Like he has to think things out. Little explosions of love in my heart.
Dick Clark
Apr. 18th, 2012 04:19 pmDick Clark died of a heart attack at 82.
_ _ _
With the boyish good looks of a bound-for-success junior executive and a ubiquitous on-camera presence, Mr. Clark was among the most recognizable faces in the world, even if what he was most famous for — spinning records and jabbering with teenagers — was on the insubstantial side. In addition to “American Bandstand” and “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” he hosted innumerable awards shows, comedy specials, series based on TV outtakes and the game show $10,000 Pyramid” (which lasted long enough to see the stakes ratcheted up to $100,000). He also made guest appearances on dramatic and comedy series, usually playing himself.
But he was as much a businessman as a television personality — “I get enormous pleasure and excitement sitting in on conferences with accountants, tax experts and lawyers,” he said in an interview with The New York Times in 1961 — and he was especially deft at packaging entertainment products for the small screen.
( Read more... )
_ _ _
I was thinking about passing over the news myself, but then I saw this interesting write-up, and it's not like I was unaware of Dick Clark in our popular culture. I was just never really a fan of anything he did. The main story I remember is the fight he had with the Colonel over getting Elvis to appear on "American Bandstand". Clark just couldn't pay enough as far as the Colonel was concerned, and in angry resentment, Clark vowed that his show would never rate an Elvis record.
_ _ _
With the boyish good looks of a bound-for-success junior executive and a ubiquitous on-camera presence, Mr. Clark was among the most recognizable faces in the world, even if what he was most famous for — spinning records and jabbering with teenagers — was on the insubstantial side. In addition to “American Bandstand” and “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” he hosted innumerable awards shows, comedy specials, series based on TV outtakes and the game show $10,000 Pyramid” (which lasted long enough to see the stakes ratcheted up to $100,000). He also made guest appearances on dramatic and comedy series, usually playing himself.
But he was as much a businessman as a television personality — “I get enormous pleasure and excitement sitting in on conferences with accountants, tax experts and lawyers,” he said in an interview with The New York Times in 1961 — and he was especially deft at packaging entertainment products for the small screen.
( Read more... )
_ _ _
I was thinking about passing over the news myself, but then I saw this interesting write-up, and it's not like I was unaware of Dick Clark in our popular culture. I was just never really a fan of anything he did. The main story I remember is the fight he had with the Colonel over getting Elvis to appear on "American Bandstand". Clark just couldn't pay enough as far as the Colonel was concerned, and in angry resentment, Clark vowed that his show would never rate an Elvis record.
Dick Clark
Apr. 18th, 2012 04:19 pmDick Clark died of a heart attack at 82.
_ _ _
With the boyish good looks of a bound-for-success junior executive and a ubiquitous on-camera presence, Mr. Clark was among the most recognizable faces in the world, even if what he was most famous for — spinning records and jabbering with teenagers — was on the insubstantial side. In addition to “American Bandstand” and “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” he hosted innumerable awards shows, comedy specials, series based on TV outtakes and the game show $10,000 Pyramid” (which lasted long enough to see the stakes ratcheted up to $100,000). He also made guest appearances on dramatic and comedy series, usually playing himself.
But he was as much a businessman as a television personality — “I get enormous pleasure and excitement sitting in on conferences with accountants, tax experts and lawyers,” he said in an interview with The New York Times in 1961 — and he was especially deft at packaging entertainment products for the small screen.
( Read more... )
_ _ _
I was thinking about passing over the news myself, but then I saw this interesting write-up, and it's not like I was unaware of Dick Clark in our popular culture. I was just never really a fan of anything he did. The main story I remember is the fight he had with the Colonel over getting Elvis to appear on "American Bandstand". Clark just couldn't pay enough as far as the Colonel was concerned, and in angry resentment, Clark vowed that his show would never rate an Elvis record.
_ _ _
With the boyish good looks of a bound-for-success junior executive and a ubiquitous on-camera presence, Mr. Clark was among the most recognizable faces in the world, even if what he was most famous for — spinning records and jabbering with teenagers — was on the insubstantial side. In addition to “American Bandstand” and “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” he hosted innumerable awards shows, comedy specials, series based on TV outtakes and the game show $10,000 Pyramid” (which lasted long enough to see the stakes ratcheted up to $100,000). He also made guest appearances on dramatic and comedy series, usually playing himself.
But he was as much a businessman as a television personality — “I get enormous pleasure and excitement sitting in on conferences with accountants, tax experts and lawyers,” he said in an interview with The New York Times in 1961 — and he was especially deft at packaging entertainment products for the small screen.
( Read more... )
_ _ _
I was thinking about passing over the news myself, but then I saw this interesting write-up, and it's not like I was unaware of Dick Clark in our popular culture. I was just never really a fan of anything he did. The main story I remember is the fight he had with the Colonel over getting Elvis to appear on "American Bandstand". Clark just couldn't pay enough as far as the Colonel was concerned, and in angry resentment, Clark vowed that his show would never rate an Elvis record.
Friends and High Times
Apr. 18th, 2012 07:00 pm
I needed more times like that in my life. Though, I would never sit on the ledge of a tall building like that. Monk the wet blanket.
Friends and High Times
Apr. 18th, 2012 07:00 pmI needed more times like that in my life. Though, I would never sit on the ledge of a tall building like that. Monk the wet blanket.
Holographic technology has picked up, and the first big thing is apparently to bring celebrities back from the dead for one more show.
_ _ _
Elvis Presley: Live at the Bellagio.
It could happen. Kind of.
The haunting hologram of Tupac Shakur, which lit up the stage at California's Coachella music festival last weekend, is just the beginning of a new and lucrative revenue stream that could soon be available to dead celebrities, known in marketing circles as "delebs."
Hologram imaging has been around for awhile, but this past weekend was the first time a truly lifelike image of a deceased personality was able to truly wow the crowd.
Shakur’s hologram hollered to the masses: “What up, Coachella!” and then joined the rapper Snoop Dog for “Come With Me,” “Hail Mary” and “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.”
His holographic image and performance was 100 percent original, not cobbled or adapted from video of past performances. Which means any dead star, doing anything onstage, is now feasible.
-- Joe Piazza at Fox News
_ _ _
Personally, I find it is enough to listen to the old Elvis records and watch the old movies and concerts, but I would not care to spoil the party.
_ _ _
Elvis Presley: Live at the Bellagio.
It could happen. Kind of.
The haunting hologram of Tupac Shakur, which lit up the stage at California's Coachella music festival last weekend, is just the beginning of a new and lucrative revenue stream that could soon be available to dead celebrities, known in marketing circles as "delebs."
Hologram imaging has been around for awhile, but this past weekend was the first time a truly lifelike image of a deceased personality was able to truly wow the crowd.
Shakur’s hologram hollered to the masses: “What up, Coachella!” and then joined the rapper Snoop Dog for “Come With Me,” “Hail Mary” and “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.”
His holographic image and performance was 100 percent original, not cobbled or adapted from video of past performances. Which means any dead star, doing anything onstage, is now feasible.
-- Joe Piazza at Fox News
_ _ _
Personally, I find it is enough to listen to the old Elvis records and watch the old movies and concerts, but I would not care to spoil the party.
Holographic technology has picked up, and the first big thing is apparently to bring celebrities back from the dead for one more show.
_ _ _
Elvis Presley: Live at the Bellagio.
It could happen. Kind of.
The haunting hologram of Tupac Shakur, which lit up the stage at California's Coachella music festival last weekend, is just the beginning of a new and lucrative revenue stream that could soon be available to dead celebrities, known in marketing circles as "delebs."
Hologram imaging has been around for awhile, but this past weekend was the first time a truly lifelike image of a deceased personality was able to truly wow the crowd.
Shakur’s hologram hollered to the masses: “What up, Coachella!” and then joined the rapper Snoop Dog for “Come With Me,” “Hail Mary” and “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.”
His holographic image and performance was 100 percent original, not cobbled or adapted from video of past performances. Which means any dead star, doing anything onstage, is now feasible.
-- Joe Piazza at Fox News
_ _ _
Personally, I find it is enough to listen to the old Elvis records and watch the old movies and concerts, but I would not care to spoil the party.
_ _ _
Elvis Presley: Live at the Bellagio.
It could happen. Kind of.
The haunting hologram of Tupac Shakur, which lit up the stage at California's Coachella music festival last weekend, is just the beginning of a new and lucrative revenue stream that could soon be available to dead celebrities, known in marketing circles as "delebs."
Hologram imaging has been around for awhile, but this past weekend was the first time a truly lifelike image of a deceased personality was able to truly wow the crowd.
Shakur’s hologram hollered to the masses: “What up, Coachella!” and then joined the rapper Snoop Dog for “Come With Me,” “Hail Mary” and “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.”
His holographic image and performance was 100 percent original, not cobbled or adapted from video of past performances. Which means any dead star, doing anything onstage, is now feasible.
-- Joe Piazza at Fox News
_ _ _
Personally, I find it is enough to listen to the old Elvis records and watch the old movies and concerts, but I would not care to spoil the party.