Latest News Clips 2014.01.20

                     

1. Alleged Hollande affair shows 'old rules no longer apply' 

Special to CNN    January 11, 2014   

Tabloid: Hollande had affair with star 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS 

• Closer magazine has alleged Hollande is having an affair with actress Julie Gayet 
• Hollande, who was elected President in 2012, lives with partner Valerie Trierweiler 
• Matthew Fraser says a media omerta that protected politicians' private lives is ending 
• And he says French privacy laws are increasingly irrelevant in the social media world 

Editor's note: Matthew Fraser is a professor at the American University of Paris and lecturer at Sciences Po Paris. His most recent book, "Home Again in Paris: Oscar, Leo and Me" can be found at his author site. The views expressed in this commentary are solely his. 

(CNN) -- At first blush, Francois Hollande seems comically ill-suited in the role as ardent seducer of fetching actresses. And in many respects the astonishing allegations of his secret love trysts are like the improbable plot of a door-slamming French farce. 

Hollande's alleged sexual escapades, revealed by the gossip magazine "Closer," are buzzing through the French media and burning up Twitter streams gushing with shock, sniggering and outrage that so much attention is being devoted to something so irrelevant to affairs of state. Yet, at a time when the French are tired of reading how depressed they are, claims of Hollande's bedroom romp may well be a welcome distraction. It may even help him in the polls. 

Hollande is nonetheless threatening legal action against "Closer" for privacy invasion. That gesture itself is extraordinary for two reasons. 

First, Hollande has not denied the affair with 41-year-old actress Julie Gayet --- the magazine has pulled its article from its online edition under pressure from Gayet's lawyers, but says that does not mean its claims are inaccurate. 

'Bizarrely comical' 

Second, in the past Hollande's predecessors in the Elysee Palace -- notably Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac --- never had to worry about the French press reporting their feminine conquests. 

2.  Christie's rising star now a target 

CNN     January 9, 2014  

  

 

'Bridgegate' snarls Christie's rise 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS 

• Timothy Stanley: With bridge scandal, Chris Christie's rising star is tarnished 
• E-mails between Christie operatives paint lane closures as political payback 
• He says voters may well see Christie as bullying kingpin using government power to hurt them 
• Stanley: Dems, conservatives who want Christie to lose now have stick to beat him with 

(CNN) -- Politics is a cruel road. One minute you're sailing along the open highway, winning elections, keynoting political conventions. Next minute you're accused of something politically dirty and you're stuck in the gridlock of scandal. 

Let's consider New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who in November was "the GOP's lone superstar." That was how I described him after he won re-election by 22 points. But, I added, his "mixed record in office may come back to haunt the governor and be used against him." Two months later, and in a slightly different context than I would have expected, this appears to be coming true. 

In September 2013, lanes were closed on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge. At first it was dismissed as a "traffic study" and Christie turned early accusations that he had something to do with it into a political joke. ("I worked the cones, actually," Christie said, deflecting a question at a news conference last month. "Unbeknownst to everybody I was actually the guy out there, in overalls and a hat.") 

But e-mails obtained on Wednesday morning confirm that it wasn't so funny, and the closure actually appears to have been an act of retribution against a local Democratic mayor. "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," wroteBridget Anne Kelly, a deputy on Christie's senior staff, in an e-mail to David Wildstein, a Christie appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge. 

This led to long traffic jams and safety hazards, none of which apparently bothered Wildstein. In one exchange, a person whose name has been redacted from the e-mails and text messages wrote to Wildstein that he was worried about children on school buses, and Wildstein replied, "They are the children of Buono voters," a reference to Barbara Buono, Christie's opponent in his last election. What an ugly mind Wildstein must have. 

3.  Ariel Sharon, Fierce Defender of a Strong Israel, Dies at 85 

The New York Times   JAN. 11, 2014 

Ariel Sharon, 1928-2014                   

Ariel Sharon, one of the most influential figures in Israel’s history, a military commander and political leader who at the height of his power redrew the country’s electoral map, only to suffer a severe stroke from which he never recovered, died Saturday in a hospital near Tel Aviv. He was 85. 

Gilad Sharon, one of his two surviving sons, told reporters at the hospital where the former prime minister spent most of the last eight years that his father “went when he decided to go.” 

A cunning and unforgiving general who went on to hold nearly every top government post, including prime minister at the time he was struck ill, Mr. Sharon spent his final years in what doctors defined as a state of minimal consciousness in a sterile suite at the hospital, Sheba Medical Center. Visits were restricted for fear of infection. 

Prof. Shlomo Nov of the medical center said heart failure was “the direct cause of his death,” resulting from organ deterioration that had deepened over “a number of days.” 

 

As a warrior and political leader whose reputation rose and fell with the times, Ariel Sharon left a profound imprint on Israel. 

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the nation bowed its head to a man he described as “first and foremost a brave soldier and an outstanding military commander” who “had a central role in the battle for Israel’s security from the very beginning.” 

In many ways, Mr. Sharon’s story was that of his country. A champion of an iron-fisted, territory-expanding Zionism for most of his life, he stunned Israel and the world in 2005 with a Nixon-to-China reversal and withdrew all Israeli settlers and troops from Gaza. He then abandoned his Likud Party and formed a centrist movement called Kadima focused on further territorial withdrawal and a Palestinian state next door. 

Mr. Sharon was incapacitated eight years ago, in January 2006, and in elections that followed, Kadima still won the most votes. His former deputy, Ehud Olmert, became prime minister. But the impact of Mr. Sharon’s political shift went beyond Kadima. The hawkish Likud Party, led by his rival, Mr. Netanyahu, was returned to power in 2009, and Mr. Netanyahu, too, said then that he favored a Palestinian state alongside Israel. 

4.  To Stop Procrastinating, Look to Science of Mood Repair 

New Approach Focuses on Helping People Regulate Their Emotions 

The Wall Street Journal    Jan. 7, 2014  

Several new studies help explain what's happening in the brain when people  

procrastinate. WSJ's Sue Shellenbarger unpacks the latest research and software engineer Sean Gilbertson shares his story. Photo: Getty Images. 

Procrastinators, take note: If you've tried building self-discipline and you're still putting things off, maybe you need to try something different. One new approach: Check your mood. 

Often, procrastinators attempt to avoid the anxiety or worry aroused by a tough task with activities aimed at repairing their mood, such as checking Facebook or taking a nap. But the pattern, which researchers call "giving in to feel good," makes procrastinators feel worse later, when they face the consequences of missing a deadline or making a hasty, last-minute effort, says Timothy Pychyl (rhymes with Mitchell), an associate professor of psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a researcher on the topic. 

Increasingly, psychologists and time-management consultants are focusing on a new strategy: helping procrastinators see how attempts at mood repair are sabotaging their efforts and learn to regulate their emotions in more productive ways. 

Time Travel: If you are rebelling against the feeling of having to work, try projecting yourself into the future. Imagine the good feelings you will have if you stop procrastinating and finish a project (or the bad feelings you will have if you don't finish). Kyle T. Webster 

'Just Get Started': If you are feeling frightened of possible failure, just get started. Tell yourself you don't have to do the whole project. Just do the first one or two steps on it. Kyle T. Webster 

Forgive Yourself: If you are feeling guilty about procrastinating, stop beating yourself up. Replace the negative thoughts with something more positive. Kyle T. Webster 

Easy Things First: If you are feeling a lot of dread about one task in particular on your to-do list, start with something else, preferably the task you feel most like doing. The momentum you gain will help you start the toughest task later. Kyle T. Webster 

The new approach is based on several studies in the past two years showing that negative emotions can derail attempts at self-control. It fills a gap among established time-management methods, which stress behavioral changes such as adopting a new organizing system or doing exercises to build willpower. 

Latest News Clips 2014.01.13

                       

1. Run Run Shaw, Movie Mogul Seen as Creator of Kung Fu Genre, Dies at 106 

The New York Times    January 6, 2014 

 

Run Run Shaw, the colorful Hong Kong media mogul whose name was synonymous with low-budget Chinese action and horror films — and especially with the wildly successful kung fu genre, which he is largely credited with inventing — died on Tuesday at his home in Hong Kong. He was 106. 

His company, Television Broadcasts Limited, announced his death in a statement. 

Born in China, Mr. Shaw and his older brother, Run Me, were movie pioneers in Asia, producing and sometimes directing films and owning lucrative cinema chains. His companies are believed to have released more than 800 films worldwide. 

After his brother’s death in 1985, Mr. Shaw expanded his interest in television and became a publishing and real estate magnate as well. For his philanthropy, much of it going to educational and medical causes, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and showered with public expressions of gratitude by the Communist authorities in Beijing. 

Mr. Shaw enjoyed the zany glamour of the Asian media world he helped create. He presided over his companies from a garish Art Deco palace in Hong Kong, a cross between a Hollywood mansion and a Hans Christian Andersen cookie castle. Well into his 90s he attended social gatherings with a movie actress on each arm. And he liked to be photographed in a tai chi exercise pose, wearing the black gown of a traditional mandarin. 

Asked what his favorite films were, Mr. Shaw, a billionaire, once replied, “I particularly like movies that make money.” 

2. JPMorgan Settles With Federal Authorities in Madoff Case 

The New York Times     JANUARY 7, 2014 

Before Bernard L. Madoff was charged with stealing billions of dollars from his clients, and before he received a 150-year prison sentence for those crimes, JPMorgan Chase missed its chance to warn federal authorities about his Ponzi scheme. 

On Tuesday, five years after Mr. Madoff’s arrest set off a panic on Wall Street and in Washington, Mr. Madoff’s primary bank received a punishment of its own. 

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan imposed a $1.7 billion penalty on JPMorgan for two felony violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, a record payout under that 1970 law, which requires banks to alert authorities to suspicious activity. The prosecutors, essentially accusing the nation’s biggest bank of turning a blind eye to Mr. Madoff’s fraud, will require JPMorgan to pay the $1.7 billion to his victims. The bank cannot write off the sum as a tax deduction. 

Federal regulators announced their own rebuke of the bank, with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency striking a $350 million settlement, citing the Madoff case and broader breakdowns in safeguards against anti-money laundering. All told, after paying these settlements, JPMorgan will have doled out some $20 billion to resolve government investigations over the last 12 months. 

The criminal element of the case involved a so-called deferred-prosecution agreement with the prosecutors in Manhattan, an agreement that essentially suspends for two years an indictment as long as JPMorgan admits its actions and overhauls its controls against money laundering. Deferred-prosecution agreements, while not as forceful as leveling an indictment or demanding a guilty plea, have been rarely used against a giant American bank and are typically employed only when misconduct is extreme. 

3. Chicago Colder Than South Pole as Frigid Air Clamps Down 

The Bloomberg   Jan 7, 2014 

Frigid air clamped down on much of the U.S., giving Chicago a morning temperature lower than the South Pole and breaking records across the country amid disruptions to road, rail and air transport. 

Chicago, which yesterday reached a new low for the date of minus 16 (minus 27 Celsius), hovered at 3 degrees at 4:51 p.m. local time, according to the National Weather Service. It was 9 degrees in New York, where temperatures earlier broke a record for Jan. 7 set in 1896, the agency said. 

“Today is a brutal day, and there is no way around it,” said Tom Kines, a meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania. “One of my colleagues pointed out to me that the South Pole this morning is 6 below. That means places like Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, all those places are colder than the South Pole.” 

It may be the coldest day in 20 years, forecasters said. The cold is part of a pattern of extreme weather that occurs every decade or so and has been plaguing the U.S. with temperature swings from mild to freezing for more than a month. It extends across the upper Midwest into the South and eastward to the Atlantic, Kines said. 

The Minnesota towns of Embarrass and Brimson had recorded the lowest temperature in the contiguous U.S. as of 1 p.m. with readings of minus 35, the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, reported. 

Citrus Crops 

“It’s amazing, the only part of the U.S. east of the Mississippi that’s above freezing is the southern two-thirds of Florida,” said Bruce Terry, a meteorologist with the center. “Today is the coldest day for a large chunk of the U.S.” 

West of the Mississippi, the only places getting above freezing were the Southwest from Texas to California and then up the Pacific Coast to the Northwest, Terry said. 

The worst cold apparently missed citrus regions of Florida, Dale Mohler, an AccuWeather meteorologist, said today. A surge in energy demand pushed power in Texas to more than $5,000 a megawatt-hour yesterday for the first time and caused disruptions to oil refineries and pipelines. 

4.Democracy needs whistleblowers. That's why I broke into the FBI in 1971 
Like Snowden, we broke laws to reveal something that was more dangerous. We wanted to hold J Edgar Hoover accountable 

Bonnie Raines         J Edgar Hoover helped Richard Nixon gain power in the US. Photograph: Bettmann/CORBIS 

the Guardian.com, Tuesday 7 January 2014  

I vividly remember the eureka moment. It was the night we broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, in March 1971 and removed about 1,000 documents from the filing cabinets. We had a hunch that there would be incriminating material there, as the FBI under J Edgar Hoover was so bureaucratic that we thought every single thing that went on under him would be recorded. But we could not be sure, and until we found it, we were on tenterhooks. 

A shout went up among the group of eight of us. One of us had stumbled on a document from FBI headquarters signed by Hoover himself. It instructed the bureau's agents to set up interviews of anti-war activists as "it will enhance the paranoia endemic in these circles and will further serve to get the point across there is an FBI agent behind every mailbox." 

That was the first piece of evidence to emerge. It was a vindication. 

Looking back on what we did, there are obvious parallels with what Edward Snowden has done in releasing National Security Agency documents that show the NSA's blanket surveillance of Americans. I think Snowden's a legitimate whistleblower, and I guess we could be called whistleblowers as well. 

A look back at what happened 

I was 29 when my husband John and I decided to join six other people to carry out the break-in. I was a mother of three children, aged eight, six and two, and I was working on a degree in education at Temple University, where John was a professor of religion. 

We had both been heavily involved in the civil rights movement. John had been a freedom rider, and in Philadelphia we participated in anti-war protests against Vientnam. Through that activity we knew that the FBI was actively trying to squelch dissent, illegally and secretly. We knew that they were sending informants into university classrooms, infiltrating meetings, and tapping phones. The problem was that though we knew all this, there was no way to prove it. 

A physics professor at Haverford College named Bill Davidon called a few of us together at his home. Bill, who died last November, floated the idea of doing something to obtain evidence. He just came out with it: "What do you think about breaking into an FBI office to remove the files?" If it hadn't been for Bill, who was so smart and strategic, I'm not sure we would have taken it seriously. But we did.