Atlantic Monthly Contributors's Blog, page 858

Tollgate-gate: Did a Christie Ally Cause a Traffic Jam as Political Punishment?

Associated Press

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie high school pal is accused of severely disrupting traffic in one town in an act of political retribution. It sounds almost too "Jersey" to be believed, but a hearing held by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Monday suggested that the claim has merit. That ally, David Wildstein, was a high-ranking member of the Port Authority staff until resigning his position last week.

From September 9th to 13th, two of the three toll booths on the western side of the Port-Authority-managed George Washington Bridge were closed. That resulted in a massive backup into Fort Lee, New Jersey — which was completely unprepared for the interruption that happened to coincide with the first week of school. And Wildstein, according to testimony from the hearing, appears to be entirely to blame.

Wildstein is a long-time participant in New Jersey politics, a high school friend of Christie's, and the appointed second-in-command of the Jersey contingent at the Port Authority. Wildstein ordered the lane closures leading onto the bridge — one of three routes from New Jersey into Manhattan — according to testimony on Monday. And it was Wildstein who assured transit staffers they didn't need to inform Fort Lee. "Don’t worry about that," Wildstein reportedly said. "We will take care of it." He didn't. Last week, Wildstein resigned, calling the issue "a distraction."

If Monday's hearing was meant to provide an explanation for the closures, it didn't. Speculation centered on it being an act of political retribution, punishment for the mayor of Fort Lee, a Democrat, being one of the (relatively few) public officials in the state not to endorse Christie's reelection earlier this year. Mayor Mark Sokolich raised the possibility of retribution himself in a letter to the Port Authority during the closures. According to NJ.com, the September 12th letter "expresses the mayor’s belief that the closures were 'punitive,' and asks that they be lifted, 'quietly, uneventfully and without political fanfare.'" They were, the next day.

Sokolich's frustration is understandable. Closing the three lanes resulted in what NorthJersey.com described as "doubled, tripled and in some cases, quadrupled commuting times." Since it hadn't been told, the city was completely unprepared for the closures, which had far worse effects than longer commutes: "On the first day alone, the borough had to contend with a missing 4-year old, a cardiac arrest and a car that had run up against a building, said Police Chief Keith Bendul." Why did it happen? Fort Lee officials and the media were told that the closures were a necessary part of a traffic study.

At Monday's hearing, it was revealed that no study was taking place. The New York Times reports:

[T]estifying under subpoena in Trenton on Monday, bridge workers described Mr. Christie’s associates’ ordering the closings, and called the different maneuvers “unprecedented,” “odd” and “wrong.” There was, they said, no study.

Bridge manager Robert Durando went further: "in 35 years at the Port Authority, he had never heard of lanes being closed down for a traffic study."

It likely goes without saying that the implications for Christie are significant. His reelection was widely hailed as a significant step down the path toward a presidential bid, one predicated on his ability to garner support from both Democrats and Republicans to effect change. Suggestions that a staffer demanded a traffic disruption as an act of revenge — acting on his own or at Christie's direction — at worst spoils Christie's carefully developed public image. "The use of any of our facilities other than in the public interest is improper," Port Authority director Pat Foye said, according to WNYC radio. Foye also reportedly said that the closures were a violation of law, though it's not clear how.

The radio station described the most telling moment in Monday's hearing:

“Your testimony tells me there is a culture of fear – is there a culture of fear?” [Assemblymember John] Wisniewski asked Durando.

There was a very long pause. Ten seconds. An eternity.

“I think your answer speaks for itself.”

       

You Can Kinda Feel a Bit Better About Wearing Lululemon Again

AP

Chip Wilson, also known as the clothing magnate who blamed his female customers' thighs for his company's faulty workout pants is stepping down as Chairman of Lululemon. The yoga clothing manufacturer and life medicine to many Connecticut mothers, has announced that its chairman and founder is resigning as of early next year.

Wilson's departure was tucked in the company's release about its new CEO— a different position than the one Wilson holds. (Laurent Potdevin will be the company's take the CEO job, assuming the role vacated by Christine Day who stepped down in the wake of the company's too-sheer yoga pants controversy).

 The statement reads: 

In addition, Chip Wilson, lululemon's founder and the Chairman of its Board of Directors, informed the Board of Directors that he is resigning from the position of non-executive Chairman. Mr. Wilson will step down from the role effective prior to the company's annual meeting in June 2014. 

Wilson's departure comes almost one month to the day after he blamed his customers' thighs for the company's pilling pants. "Quite frankly, some women's bodies just actually don't work," Wilson told Bloomberg TV. "It's about the rubbing through the thighs," he added. That gaffe came after a relative quiet period for the company, which also took heat for selling yoga pants that were essentially see-through. 

But the gaffe also spurred people to examine if Wilson has said dumb or dumber stuff before and ... he did. Critics unearthed a 2009 blog post where Wilson explained his theory on why women get breast cancer: Liberated women brought it upon themselves with their birth control pill and cigarettes. He wrote: 

Breast cancer also came into prominence in the 1990's. I suggest this was due to the number of cigarette-smoking Power Women who were on the pill (initial concentrations of hormones in the pill were very high) and taking on the stress previously left to men in the working world."

If Wilson was the only thing holding you back from purchasing the company's life-affirming $98 yoga pants, then his departure is good news. It also shows that some companies sometimes have the common sense to get rid of people who alienate customers. But, still there are companies who don't adhere to this basic (perhaps the most basic) tenet of business.

Take Abercrombie for example. Not unlike Lululemon's Wilson, Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries has a history of not catering to larger customers and approaching his business the way a high school junior who wants to be the most popular boy in school would. The 69-year-old's contract was renewed this week despite Abercrombie's flailing sales numbers, even among the young and beautiful customers he craves. 

       

Jon Stewart Shouts From the Hilltops: 'Apartheid Is Not Obamacare'

Comedy Central

As world leaders geared up last night for Nelson Mandela's memorial service, The Daily Show's Jon Stewart took the opportunity to clarify some confusion among conservatives: apartheid is, by a tremendous margin, not comparable to Obamacare.

In fact, he took issue with how numerous American politicians have been expressing the late South African president's legacy. Like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's tweet, for instance:

In a way, Mandela was both the “George Washington” and “Abraham Lincoln” of his country. We're so fortunate to have lived in his time.

— Senator Harry Reid (@SenatorReid) December 5, 2013

 "Well, we gotta make him into a white guy somehow, is that it?" Stewart quipped. "He's like George Washington—except not at all."

In other cases, it wasn't the political tributes that were offensive, but the thousands of comments appearing below them on Facebook. CNN combed through some of the particularly revolting comments that flooded Ted Cruz's Facebook page:

"You know the ghost of Franklin Delano Roosevelt was like, 'Why the f-- did I get dragged into this?'" Stewart quipped. But he then turned his attention to "non-anonymous jerks on the TV," like former Senator Rick Santorum, who summed up the leader's legacy by comparing the injustice he fought—apartheid—with the "great injustice" of Obamacare today.

"How do I put this in terms you'll understand: apartheid is not Obamacare!" an outraged Stewart responded. "The systemic subjugation of a race of people is different from the establishment of subsidized healthcare exchanges. The fact that insurance is now mandated again gets us nowhere close to apartheid-level injustice in any way [or] shape." 

Stewart, who is often at his best when aggressively debunking absurd political analogies, went ahead and encouraged his audience to repeat it "where people gather, on whatever it is Americans read."

He closed by reinterpreting The Sound of Music to suit his message. "The only injustice here is that you can make a statement like that and still get to have the TV talking stick," Stewart said."

       

Mary Barra Becomes First U.S. Auto Executive to Have It All

Associated Press

General Motors announced today that Mary Barra will take over as the company's new chairman and CEO in the new year, becoming the first ever woman to run a "Big 3" American automaker, effectively killing your "car guy" stereotype.

Tuesday morning, CNBC, Bloomberg and the
    

Five Best Tuesday Columns

Associated Press

Jonathan Cohn at The New Republic says Obamacare is redistribution. Republicans are wrong about who pays for the Affordable Care Act. Conservatives argue that "Obamacare is taking away your money or health insurance, and giving it to somebody else." Cohn explains, "the majority of funding in the law is money paid by — or given up by — either the wealthy or parts of the health care industry. It’s higher taxes on families making more than $250,000 a year, or new fees for the device industry, or cuts for health insurers serving Medicare patients." He concludes, "The simplest way to describe Obamacare is as a transfer from the lucky to the unlucky. And when it comes to health, you don't have to be poor to be unlucky." Salon politics writer Brian Beutler recommends the post. 

Jonathan Chait at Daily Intelligencer on Republicans' subsidies for the wealthy. GOP Rep. Ted Yoho thinks sugar subsidies should stay in place because they're an 
"accepted norm." Chait writes, "If tea partiers believe anything, it’s that, once a government program has been in place, we can’t get rid of it. It would hurt sugar growers, Yoho proceeds to explain, by forcing them to sell their product in the free market on even terms. This is completely unlike programs such as Medicaid and food stamps, which Yoho wants to cut, because cutting them wouldn’t be detrimental to anybody. At least not anybody he cares about." He argues, "The only programs able to attract continuing Republican support are the ones whose only purpose is to enrich powerful interests." Grist policy writer Ben Adler tweets this line: "Republican enthusiasm for wasteful domestic spending here is what’s especially telling."

Ilyse Hogue at The Nation says the late Nelson Mandela was a feminist. Mandela changed "the lives of millions of South African women" by enacting "the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy law — which replaced one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world with one of the most liberal and humane." The law "allows South African women full autonomy to decide when to terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester, complete with financial assistance if required." Hogue argues, "Mandela’s intimate experience with poverty and oppression showed him that reproductive freedom was intrinsically tied to economic security." Imani Gandy, the senior legal analyst at the reproductive health blog RH Reality Check, tweets, "No one is talking about what #Mandela did for women & #reprorights in SA — except for the inimitable @ilyseh."

Ben Jacobs at The Daily Beast on Rep. Steve Stockman's way with words. Stockman announced his candidacy for Senate yesterday (he's challenging GOP establishment Sen. John Cornyn). According to Jacobs, Stockman "has a history of outrageous statements, many of which come from his Twitter account @steveworks4you which is run by Donny Ferguson, the former Republican congressman's close friend and communications director." For example, last month Stockman tweeted, "About 110,000 people contract chlamydia each month, more than signed up for Obamacare. Obamacare is less popular than chlamydia." He also compared filibuster reform to the crucifixion: "As you know, the mob ruled and killed Jesus, an innocent man (and spared Barabbas). We have a rogue Senate.” Justin Green, the online editor at The Washington Examiner, tweets, "#FF @steveworks4you."

Brian Beutler at Salon on the budget deal. In the emerging budget deal, Democrats could have a "small amount of leverage to push the negotiation leftward — perhaps with a modest ask like extending emergency unemployment benefits for over a million Americans who’ve been unable to find work for months on end," Beutler writes. "But the noises out of the Senate Democratic caucus suggest that they’ve already given up on extending emergency UI." Theoretically, if Republicans are unable to pass a clean CR and the budget deal is the only option to avoid shutdown, Dems could push to extend emergency UI. But "given the weak-kneed performance House GOP moderates staged during the shutdown fight ... it’s hard to blame Democrats for assuming these guys might not be reliable allies of convenience." Business Insider politics writer Danny Vinik tweets, "Ds threatening a government shutdown unless they get a UI benefit extension is a bad political strategy."

       

Golden Globes Preview: Honoring the Best in Oscarbait Dramedy

NBC

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association will announce their Golden Globe Award nominations on Thursday morning. Will the glut of "prestige" films in the comedy categories ruin all the fun?

The Golden Globes are not the most respected of movie awards. The Hollywood Foreign Press's reputation for being glad-handling star-oglers is well established, and Ricky Gervais spent the better part of a telecast three years ago haranguing them for being bought-and-paid-for. It's also easily the most fun awards show to watch, annually, with a ballroom full of movie and TV celebrities intermingling and getting boozy, and with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler back as hosts, I can't imagine it will disappoint. At least not when it comes to the evening's festivities. The nominations, as ever, could leave a lot of folks -- especially comedy fans -- bumming.

The biggest difference between the Globes' movie categories and the Oscars is that they split up the Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress categories into Drama and Comedy/Musical. Since we hardly make any musicals anymore, and comedies are always underrepresented when it comes to studios pushing their films for awards, those categories are the least tethered to the prestige-movie narrative of awards season. Sure, that sometimes means the HFPA allow their eyes to glaze over as they throw nominations to the biggest movie stars eligible (Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie's nods for The Tourist were rightly lampooned). But the Globes are also the only place you'll see nominations for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in Best Picture, or Jack Black in School of Rock, or Christina Ricci in The Opposite of Sex. You take the good with the bad, but the good is so worth taking.

This year, because of the unusually large number of prestige Oscar contenders positioning themselves as comedies, there's a chance that the Best Picture, Musical or Comedy could be populated entirely by Oscarbait. Which isn't to say the films won't be worthy. But if you were hoping that The Heat could get some love for being the year's funniest movie, you're probably out of luck.

Best Picture, Drama

The Globes Love Movie Stars is usually the first rationale you go to when trying to predict their nominations. They like to fill up those tables with the best and the brightest. This means very good things not only for Gravity (Sandra Bullock and George Clooney), but also Saving Mr. Banks (Emma Thompson, Colin Farrell, and Tom Hanks), Captain Phillips (Hanks again), The Butler (Oprah + everyone), and even something like Dallas Buyers Club (McConaghey and Jennifer Garner). Of course, you can get those stars to show up by recognizing them in the acting categories, so there's always room for more modest star wattage, as is on display in a film like 12 Years a Slave. They don't always go for the Little Sundance Film That Could, though. Beasts of the Southern Wild and Winters Bone were but two indies that nabbed Oscar nominations but couldn't crack the field at the Globes. Which could mean an uphill climb for something like Fruitvale Station. Thus far, it's been the Weinstein Company horse to beat, but if any awards body is going to prioritize The Butler and August: Osage County (the latter competing as a comedy), it'll be the HFPA. For that last spot, I might watch out for something like All Is Lost, or else a rampant crowd-pleaser like Philomena.

Predicted nominees: 12 Years a Slave, Gravity, Saving Mr. Banks, Captain Phillips, All Is Lost.

Dark Horses: Fruitvale Station, The Butler, Philomena, Dallas Buyers Club, Blue Jasmine, Rush.

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy

There are so many major Oscar contenders in this category, at least one of them is going to have to be left out. It won't be American Hustle, whose star-studded lineup seems like it was devised in a lab to attract HFPA votes. Probably won't be The Wolf of Wall Street, which should have enough razzle-dazzle in names like DiCaprio and Scorsese to sail to a nomination. Probably won't be Nebraska, since Alexander Payne has seen nominations for his last three films. August: Osage County is another movie that seems pre-anointed to have its awards hopes salvaged by the Globes, though expect there to be quite a bit of griping about a bleak family saga involving infidelity, substance abuse, suicide, and incest being held up as one of the year's best comedies.

So. One slot to go. Her has been cleaning up with the critics this past week, but it's exactly the kind of movie you'd expect to clean up with the critics. It's less of a perfect fit with the HFPA, though they've gone for Spike Jonze before. In a less competitive year, I'd have bet on it -- or on Ben Stiller's glossy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty or Nicole Holofcener's lovely Enough Said, or Paul Feig's The Heat. But I think I'm hedging with Inside Llewyn Davis. The Globes have had an inconsistent history with the Coens, sometimes nominating them for movies they liked even better than the Academy (The Man Who Wasn't There, O Brother Where Art Thou?), sometimes not seeing what the Oscars later would (A Serious Man, True Grit). In this case, I think they'll end up going for the musicality of it all.

Predicted nominees: American Hustle, Nebraska, The Wolf of Wall St., August: Osage County, Inside Llewyn Davis.

Dark Horses: Her, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Before Midnight, Enough Said, The Heat, Frances Ha.

Best Director

The stargazing doesn't stop just because the category is for those who stand behind the camera. There are "star" directors and there are "name" directors, and while that's not the only reason that Martin Scorsese, David O. Russell, and Alexander Payne are the favorites to be nominated, alongside critical faves Alfonso Cuaron and Steve McQueen, it's a big one. 

Predicted nominees: Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), David O. Russell (American Hustle), Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity), Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street), Alexander Payne (Nebraska).

Dark Horses: JC Chandor (All Is Lost), Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips), Lee Daniels (The Butler), John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr. Banks), Spike Jonze (Her).

Best Actor, Drama

Considering the current state of the Best Actor Oscar race -- a merciless jumble where upwards of nine strong contenders are grabbing for five slots -- splitting the group up among genre lines, however shakily defined, feels like a blessing. And they're divided pretty much in half, too. Robert Redford and Chiwetel Ejiofor have both won critics awards earlier this week, while Michael B. Jordan has been picking up Breakthrough Performer citations all over the place. Jordan is still the new kid on the block, of course, and he could easily be knocked out by veterans like Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, or Forest Whitaker. In fact, he only has to beat out one of them. 

Predicted nominees: Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Robert Redford (All Is Lost), Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips), Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station). 

Dark Horses: Forest Whitaker (The Butler), Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)

Best Actor, Musical or Comedy

Here's how the other half lives, as the comedy actors are almost a mirror image of their drama counterparts. There is, like Robert Redford, a veteran actor still killing it at an advanced age (Bruce Dern in Nebraska); there is, like Tom Hanks, a movie star doing movie star things like only a movie star can (Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street). There is, like Michael B. Jordan and Chiwetel Ejiofor, a breakthrough actor who has captivated audiences with his charisma and talent (Oscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis). There is, like Matthew McConaughey, an established actor doing awful things to his body for the sake of the part (Christian Bale in American Hustle). I'm tempted to include Ben Stiller in this group, as a way for the HFPA to recognize the fact that he directed Walter Mitty without giving him a Best Director nomination. Still, I feel like Joaquin Phoenix -- a former winner in this category for Walk the Line -- will hold down the fort for Her here.

Predicted nominees: Bruce Dern (Nebraska), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street), Joaquin Phoenix (Her), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Christian Bale (American Hustle).

Dark Horses: Ben Stiller (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Don Jon).

Best Actress, Drama

Of the five former Oscar winners expected to contend for Best Actress, four are categorized in Drama for the Globes. I would be very surprised to see this category shake out and not include Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Emma Thompson, or Judi Dench. But that fifth slot is wiiiiide open, primed for one of those super crazy ScarJo-for-A Love Song for Bobby Long nominations. While it's pretty much impossible to predict who might be the beneficiary of such a wild card (Carey Mulligan for The Great Gatsby?), I've got it whittled down to two likelier suspects. If the Globes act like the Globes and push star power over any semblance of what we've come to understand as quality (at least judging by the reviews out of Toronto), it could actually be Kate WInslet for Labor Day. A good chunk of the bad TIFF reviews said Winslet was good in Jason Reitman's misbegotten effort. If the Globes decide they want to get on the right side of history and help make a star, they could go for Brie Larson for Short Term 12. Come on, HFPA. This is your chance to do something for your fellow man. 

Predicted nominees: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Judi Dench (Philomena), Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks), Brie Larson (Short Term 12).

Dark Horses: Kate WInslet (Labor Day), Felicity Jones (The Invisible Woman), Carey Mulligan (The Great Gatsby).

Best Actress, Musical or Comedy

Back when I started bemoaning the state of an Oscarbait-dominated Musical/Comedy lineup, my biggest tears were shed for The Heat, which wasn't only fantastically funny but also a solid buddy flick and a gorgeous showcase for Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock. And I was crestfallen at the idea that they might get crowded out of this very category. But as luck would have it, most of the dramedy contenders this year are male-dominated pictures, leaving only Amy Adams (American Hustle) and Meryl Streep (August: Osage County) to front-load this category. Which leaves PLENTY of room for at least McCarthy to nab a nomination. Bullock might have to settle for merely her Gravity nod, though never underestimate the HFPA's affinity for handing out double nominations. Which is why I'm picking Julia Louis-Dreyfus to pick up a nomination here, for Enough Said, to go with her likely nod for Veep in the TV categories. As for the fifth slot, while Before Midnight's Julie Delpy will put up quite a fight, I'm actually allowing myself more optimism than is probably healthy when I predict a nomination for Frances Ha's Greta Gerwig. 

Predicted nominees: Meryl Streep (August: Osage County), Amy Adams (American Hustle), Melissa McCarthy (The Heat), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Enough Said), Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha).

Dark Horses: Julie Delpy (Before Midnight), Sandra Bullock (The Heat), Melissa McCarthy (Identity Thief), Jennifer Aniston (We're the Millers).

Best Supporting Actor

Aside from prohibitive critical favorites Jared Leto and Michael Fassbender, who are we looking at here? Again, it comes down to big stars vs. lesser stars. Tom Hanks for Saving Mr. Banks? Star. The late James Gandolfini for Enough Said? Star. Bradley Cooper for his borderline lead role in American Hustle? Star. Jonah Hill for The Wolf of Wall Street? I know, I know. But: star. If the HFPA wants to be star-makers instead of star-f*ckers, they have quite the selection as well. They wouldn't even have to step out of their Big Hollywood Picture comfort zone to find Daniel Bruhl (Rush) or David Oyelowo (The Butler) or Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips). I'd be surprised if they went for something as strange as Spring Breakers, even to get James Franco in the room (guys: James Franco will show up anyway), but I could see them going for a Will Forte (Nebraska) or a John Goodman (Inside Llewyn Davis) for some cred.

Predicted nominees: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club), Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave), Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street), Tom Hanks (Saving Mr. Banks), Will Forte (Nebraska).

Dark Horses: James Gandolfini (Enough Said), Daniel Bruhl (Rush), David Oyelowo (The Butler), Bradley Cooper (American Hustle), John Goodman (Inside Llewyn Davis). 

Best Supporting Actress

Absent from the critics-award hoopla thus far has been Oprah Winfrey's performance in The Butler. Which is as expected. The Globes were always going to be the place She would first make Her mark on awards season. Oh, sure, she'll be joined by critics' faves Jennifer Lawrence, June Squibb, and Lupita Nyong'o, but still you try pulling focus from Oprah on Globe night. So already we're down to one open slot. Octavia Spencer should absolutely be on your radar for Fruitvale Station, with a likeable, empathetic performance in one of awards season's favorite roles (loving mother). The other contenders are something of a grab-bag of past HFPA favorites, including Globe winners Julia Roberts (she's won three times), Sally Hawkins (past Best Actress winner for Happy Go Lucky), and Jennifer Garner (table 126!), and Globe favorites Alfre Woodard (nominated for Passion Fish here but not at the Oscars) and Scarlett Johansson (four career nominations). ScarJo would be eligible for her Don Jon performance, but not her voice work in Her, which the HFPA deemed ineligible. 

Predicted nominees: Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave), Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle), Oprah Winfrey (The Butler), June Squibb (Nebraska), Julia Roberts (August: Osage County).

Dark Horses: Octavia Spencer (Fruitvale Station), Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine), Scarlett Johansson (Don Jon), Amy Adams (Her), Alfre Woodard (12 Years a Slave), Jennifer Garner (Dallas Buyers Club).

 

       

Obama Shakes Castro's Hand, Finally Setting American Communism Into Motion

Associated Press

With no Florida campaigns in his future, President Obama shook the hand of Cuban President Raul Castro Ruz at the Nelson Mandela memorial service on Tuesday morning, setting off an entirely predictable response.

The gesture came as Obama took his seat in the VIP section of FNB Stadium. As he climbed the stairs into the area, Castro appeared to be the first person he encountered, as you can see in the animation at right. Obama tried to move on, but Castro kept talking. Finally, the two disengaged, allowing Obama the chance to embrace Brazil's Dilma Rousseff — an only slightly less fraught interaction, given reports of NSA spying in that country.

But the handshake with Cuba's Castro! The immediate response was as expected.

Let's just say that handshake Obama had with Raul Castro won't play out well here in South Florida...

— Amber (@Miami_Chica) December 10, 2013

But was there more to it? Was it yet another bow, of the sort Obama has been using since his first days as president to show that he doesn't respect America? (No; as West Wing Report notes, Obama is substantially taller than Castro.)

Bow. "@SkyNews: Barack Obama shakes hands with Raul Castro at the #MandelaMemorial http://t.co/9I5Fn1sAHM pic.twitter.com/q6HojDocFv”

— Gregg Keller (@RGreggKeller) December 10, 2013

Was it a "sign of something more"? (Who knows.)

Politeness or a sign of something more? Obama shakes hands with Cuba's Raul Castro. http://t.co/Qljjv30gMg

— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) December 10, 2013

Was it an opportunity to make jokes? (Yes.)

Is Obama shaking Raul Castro's hand the next Obama greets Hugo Chavez or the next Obama bows to Saudi King?

— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) December 10, 2013

CNN's Chris Cuomo had one of the more rational interpretations, attributing it to the spirit of "forgiveness and reconciliation" that defined Mandela and the day. (CNN.com went with "brief but important handshake.")

U.S. President shakes hands with Communist dictator. Obama/Castro photos here: http://t.co/12jWkLgAAg Oh, wait. pic.twitter.com/rIoIBaqAQF

— PoliticsRadio (@PoliticsRadio) December 10, 2013

Not to mention that this is hardly a new phenomenon. In 1972, deep in the Cold War, President Nixon traveled to China, meeting and shaking hands with Mao Zedong. Obama isn't even the first president to shake hands with a Castro. In 2000, President Clinton shook hands with Fidel Castro after a U.N. luncheon in New York City.

A far more interesting question: what is the significance of the gesture Obama is employing near Castro in this photo? We welcome your knee-jerk speculation.

 

       

'Jupiter Ascending' Trailer: The Wachowskis Put Channing Tatum in Eyeliner

For their follow up to the convoluted Cloud Atlas, the Wachowski siblings have once again done something bold: they've made Channing Tatum look sort of ugly.  

In the first trailer for their Jupiter Ascending—which, frankly, doesn't look any less confusing than their previous work—the hero played by Tatum appears with a yellowish goatee and heavy eyeliner.  Sean Bean is also in this, but probably not for the length of the entire movie. (Sorry, Sean.) Eddie Redmayne wears some sort of fancy collar thing. The plot has something to do with his involvement with Mila Kunis, who is important in some way or another, aside from the fact that she's Mila Kunis and looks great here. Seriously though, her character's name is Jupiter and though she has a lowly job scrubbing toilets "her genetic signature marks her as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the cosmos." Tatum plays Caine, a "genetically engineered ex-military hunter." 

Ah, futuristic succession politics, so complicated. 

       

David Carr Gets a Part-Time Job at Boston University

AP

Boston University has picked well-loved and respected New York Times media columnist David Carr to teach students and future entrepreneurs how to sustain journalism in the digital era. "Carr, who starts in January, will keep writing for the Times but will spend two days a week at BU, where he will teach one class each semester in the College of Communication and participate in public events," The Boston Globe reports.

The move is a big get for BU — Carr's media column continues to be one of the most thoughtful and critical perspectives into journalism. He's well-loved in the media world for his insight and persona, and his voice cuts against the old-time stodginess that The Times sometimes displays. He's also Twitter-famous, a movie star who has embraced the idea of that social media that journalists must master in this day and age. 

What makes Carr a good fit is that he's attuned to and cares about about the issues facing new journalists. In recent weeks, he's been covering the issue of unpaid internships— a problem that the media world still hasn't figured out how to solve. And over the past few years, he's been on top of education issues at journalism schools in New York City (like Columbia's new dean);  has given speaking engagements at New York University; and has observed and judged journalism projects at CUNY Graduate School of Journalism's entrepreneurial journalism program. (That actually sounds not unlike some of the stuff he'll be covering at BU.) Those three schools probably wouldn't mind if Carr was on staff there too. 

It also sounds like a lot of money went into setting up this professorship. The Boston Globe reports: 

The new professorship was created with a $1.66 million gift from Andy Lack, 1968 BU graduate, member of the BU board of trustees, and chairman of Bloomberg Media Group, said BU. The family of fellow trustee Alan Leventhal made a matching gift of more than $830,000.

"I kind of see myself in the mold of a guerrilla fighting from the hills,"  Carr told The Globe, explaining why Boston University appealed to him. "I think a lot of journalism education that is going on is broadly not preparing kids for the world that they are stepping into. It’s a great time to be involved in journalism, but people have to be warmed up in the right way," he added. 

Carr will be prepping his classes next semester, and then will begin teaching at least two classes, one on media criticism and the other a hands-on journalism lab where students will produce media and learn how to distribute it through social media and other platforms. 

And though we don't condone bribing, students looking to get on Carr's good side should probably be made aware that the man likes cronuts. 

       

Ukrainian Protesters Take Down Lenin (Statue)

Reuters

Large protests continued in Kiev, Ukraine throughout the weekend in opposition to President Viktor Yanukovich and his government following the abandonment of a pact with the European Union. In the most visually impressive show of disdain for their leader, protesters tied electrical cable around a statue of Vladimir Lenin and toppled the statue, then broke it up into pieces with a sledgehammer (which had been blessed by an orthodox priest).

(Reuters)

The statue, first erected in 1946, was