Panetta appears to be the first Obama adminsitration official to publicly voice what some in the media have been occasionally speculating, and what many have speculated in private conversation—That the recent Dick Cheney "Obama is going to get us all killed" media tour leads one to believe that Cheney may be secretly hoping for terrorists to strike again on American soil so that he can run around saying "I told you so."

A few miles from the agency's headquarters, which are in Langley, Virginia, former Vice-President Dick Cheney delivered an extraordinary attack on the Obama Administration's emerging national-security policies. Cheney, speaking at the American Enterprise Institute, accused the new Administration of making "the American people less safe" by banning brutal C.I.A. interrogations of terrorism suspects that had been sanctioned by the Bush Administration. Ruling out such interrogations "is unwise in the extreme," Cheney charged. "It is recklessness cloaked in righteousness."

In January, the Obama Administration banned the "enhanced" techniques that the Bush Administration had approved for the agency, including waterboarding and depriving prisoners of sleep for up to eleven days. Panetta, pouring a cup of coffee, responded to Cheney's speech with surprising candor. "I think he smells some blood in the water on the national-security issue," he told me. "It's almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it's almost as if he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that's dangerous politics."

The other interesting takeaway from the piece was a passage on Panetta's desire to find new, less brutal interrogation techniques for use in the future.

Panetta is already forging ahead on one important reform: he plans to replace the abusive interrogation program with a legally acceptable, non-coercive alternative. A task force led by the Harvard Law School professor Philip Heymann has been advising him on a proposal to create an élite U.S. government interrogation team, staffed by some of the best C.I.A., F.B.I., and military officers in the country, and drawing on the advice of social scientists, linguists, and other scholars. "What I'm pushing for is to establish a facility where we develop a team of interrogators trained in the latest techniques," Panetta said. "That's the one thing I'm worried about, frankly. There just aren't that many people who have the interrogation abilities we're going to need." Heymann describes the effort to create "the best non-coercive interrogation team in the world" as the equivalent of "a NASA-like, man-on-the-moon effort" for human-intelligence gathering. He said that members of his task force have travelled to France, England, Japan, Australia, and Israel, in order to compile comparative information on what interrogators do. "We also went to the best people in the U.S.," he added.

Somewhere in America over the next few days, Dick Cheney's copy of this week's New Yorker will arrive and he'll read Leon Panetta's remarks. Agitated, he'll toss the magazine across the room in disgust, accidentally shattering the glass on a framed photo Mary Cheney and her spouse Heather Poe resting on the mantle. He'll then call out to Lynne to prepare his favorite beverage, and Lynn will oblige by bringing him a highball glass filled with puppy's blood, on the rocks, garnished with two Napfilion olives on a yellow plastic spear, and all will be well once again in Dick Cheney's world.

The Secret History [New Yorker]

'Cause the world is mean and dangerous and bitter, and America used to be strong, but Obama's ruining it with his pansy-assness.

At least we think that's what Voight was trying to say. The Anaconda star basically launched into a tone poem about world leaders at a playground or something, so it's a little hard to tell.

One thing is for certain, though. If anyone can scare the president, it's Voight. I mean, he made FDR walk for God's sake.

As the story's been told by three papers: Rudy's walking down the street when 69 year-old Amagansett local John McCluskey (pictured, right) comes up to him and starts screaming at him. McCluskey allegedly threatened to "punch (Giuliani's) lights out" and Giuliani responded with something along the lines of "Bring it on!" The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.

And that's about as far as it went, as neither party really "brought it." Giuliani's moll, Judi, dialed their driver and hysterically ordered an extraction operation of him, and shortly thereafter, called the 5-0 (not the sequence of events: driver, then cops). McCluskey went into the coffee shop, emptied out all the change in his pockets, and was soon arrested by the fuzz, who hit the scene minutes later. The entire thing lasted a few minutes, and really, it was just two old guys yelling at each other. McCluskey's mostly been painted as "crazed" and "a lunatic" by New York papers, though he was noted as "slim and well-dressed" by a Post quote, and looks like a dead-ringer for John Larroquette, to us. McCluskey took the initiative to get ahead of the press cycle, and emailed us this morning. The semi-press-releasey, [sic]-heavy email from him:

Dear Editor,

I am the alleged crazed John W. McCluskey who "tried to attack" sweet Rudy Gulianno "out for a stroll" in Bridgehampton. The fact is that while crossing the street I simply informed Rudy of my contempt for his sleazy bullying tactics for most of his prosecutorial life. I pointed out he would gladly prosecute and persecute the innocent as well as the guilty if it gained him publicity.

He became irate and angry and threatened to beat me up for daring to express my opinion. He flew into a rage in the middle of the street using the foulest of language and threatened to kick my ass.His wife tried to calm him down but he continued his ranting's. Of course he proved my point by having me arrested for speaking irreverently to his royal nothingness. He's a true egomaniac and a bully who can hand it out but can't take.

I'm a publisher and documentary film maker of good reputation, never having been arrested before.("When the Goddess Ruled the Earth" and "Zeus Almighty") which is in the process of release. Rudy in the 80's harassed me and my company Arden Communications on phoney allegations of wrong doing regarding tax shelters as he did to thousands of others. In any case, I just had surgery on my knee and wouldn't have been foolish enough to engage Rudy in fisticuffs, but looking at the shape of him would preclude any idea of hitting the poor man, he's truly pathetic looking.

Aside for all of that he probably knows I am working on a documentary on 911 which includes his ineptitude and mishandling of certain events leading up to 911 and he thought this would be a good opportunity to discredit me. I emptied my pockets trying to come up with enough change for coffee at the Golden Pear which is where I was going when I met Rudy.

John W. McCluskey
Arden Films

McCluskey also told Newsday that he is "not a respecter of [Giuliani], and..told him essentially that he would prosecute and persecute a cheese sandwich if he got the opportunity." Now, we doubt McCluskey actually said that, but if he did: hilarity, and also, kinda true (though the Gouda RICO Trials would be a great beat to cover). Giuliani's spokesperson - which, amazingly, he still has - noted that the mayor "handled himself well and was calm considering the situation."The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.

It's not really that crazy to want to scream at Rudy Giuliani. He just did it, which, yeah: kinda makes him crazy, but kind of not! My favorite part of this McCluskey's email is that he tries to explain the change-emptying after he plugs his movie. A flack, and he pays for his coffee with change: a true New York hero, no doubt.

Rudy Giuliani confronts angry heckler at restaurant in the Hamptons [NYDN]
Rudy Giuliani accosted in Hamptons, police say [Newsday]
Rudy Giuliani Stands Up To Crazed Attacked On Hamptons Stroll [NYP]

You'll remember that this isn't Trump's first run-in with a member of the fairer sex. He's had nasty divorces with ex-wives Ivana ("Don't get mad, get everything") and Marla, and has raged at former business associates like Carolyn Kepcher and Martha Stewart. He fired Kepcher—who always seemed smart and capable and grounded on Trump's "hit" show The Apprentice—because she was becoming a "prima donna" whose "TV role went to her head." (He later axed his secretary for the same reason.) He publicly dissed his once-friend Martha when her Apprentice spin-off failed to attract viewers, blaming his own version's ratings dip on her failures. Then of course came Rosie, who aptly called him a "snake-oil salesman" on The View. He went completely apeshit, refusing to let the imagined "feud" die down. He kept blubbering about it for months and months, making as many jabs about her appearance as he possibly could. There was also the scuttled TV show Lady or a Tramp in which he planned to school "out of control" young women in how to be dainty, and then there was this.

So why do people still put up with him? Remember when he went bankrupt and everyone thought we were finally done with him? That was a glorious time. So what happened? Why did he come back for a thoroughly un-American second act? I mean his brand of self-aggrandizing, bewigged machismo was kind of de rigeur in the 80's and charmingly old-timey in the 90's, but now it's just passé and exhausting and increasingly offensive. And he never stops! He's seemingly impervious to criticism, his ego (and his toupee) just getting impossibly bigger and bigger and bigger.

Though maybe that's backfiring. Maybe that bullet-proof exterior will be his undoing. People do seem, finally, to be less charmed by his, well, snake-oil ways. Some are even turning their heads away from boredom. I mean, if you've witnessed time and time again how unstoppable the juggernaut is, you just stop worrying about it. There's nothing you can do. And then, after a while, you stop paying attention altogether. The Apprentice was canceled last year (though he'll tell you it was his choice to end it) and now he's been reduced to bellowing about perfectly likable actresses who have absolutely nothing to do with him. Hopefully this marks the beginning of his dimming-casino-lights fade into obscurity. We're tired.

boomp3.com


While out and about in Beverly Hills, popular character actor Paul Sorvino offered a reminder that not every one in Hollywood is as obsessed with looking fashionable or modern as some of his younger counterparts. Sorvino explained that he's nearly 70 years old and, at this point in his life, he's dressing for comfort above anything else. Sorvino said, "Besides, the kids these days don't have any style. Now, Dean Martin? That guy had a real sense of style."

[Photo Credit: WENN]

boomp3.com

And another thing about these fuckin' kids today is that they don't know how to wear a pair of pants. How do you fuck that up? Whatever happened going down to Brooks Brothers and having some tailor taking your measurements and coming back with a pair of pants that fits? And what's with all the typing on the phone? Whatsamatta with everyone? Suddenly, we've all become Mr. Greenjeans and we can't pick up a phone and talk to somebody? I gotta e-mail my own son in order to ask him how he's doing. Mr. Big Shot never has the time to pick up the phone.

[Photo Credit: INF]