Atlantic Monthly Contributors's Blog, page 933

The Emmys Gave Us a Neil Patrick Harris Dance Number with Sarah Silverman

Though the opening number was frustratingly dance-less, the Emmys ultimately satisfied audience expectations with a random Neil Patrick Harris dance number in the middle of the show, featuring a disco beat and a shimmying Sarah Silverman. 

The entire Emmy show has felt fairly random—just look at the winners list—and this dance number was no exception, based on the premise that, well, it's a random musical number in the middle of the show. Harris was joined by Silverman, who crooned the word "vagina," and, for some reason (Castle promo?) Nathan Fillion. 

Watch it here: 

       

Hillary Clinton's Presidential Campaign Is Already Haunted

Clinton-watchers have an abundance of bedtime reading options this Sunday with not one, but two long profiles aimed at a possible 2016 run for Hillary Clinton. In New York magazine, Clinton herself breaks a mini "press hiatus" to spend some time with Joe Hagan, who then digs into the extensive support system for the family dynasty. But it's The New Republic's profile of Doug Band, longtime advisor to Bill Clinton, that hints at one of the challenges Hillary will face in a 2016 campaign: the ghosts waiting in the wings from the Clintons' long public life. 

Band, writer Alec MacGillis explains, is "rarely written about, almost never quoted, and many Clinton associates are loath to discuss him on the record." But lately, he's emerged from under the Clinton umbrella to strike out on his own, leaving him more vulnerable to scrutiny. In the past few months, his name has popped up as something of an antagonist in stories of troubles at the family foundation. Even though Band declined to speak to MacGillis for his expansive profile, the piece connects some dots that could be unwelcome for Team Clinton: "the unease with Band reflects an unease with the phenomenon of post-presidential Clintonism itself," he writes. That Clintonism angst, TNR's piece posits, could extend to Hillary, albeit with few to no direct ties. Band's role in the Clinton administration was as the body man, a presidential version of a personal assistant. When Clinton became an ex-president, Band stayed on. Here's MacGillis's description of the eventual post-White House Band and Bill: 

Band and Clinton were so inseparable that Band sometimes framed requests to colleagues using the royal “us” or “we.” Naturally, people assumed he was referring to his boss. “In some part of his mind, he melded them into being one person,” says a longtime Clinton associate. “You thought that, if he said something, it was coming from the top. ... If he called and said, ‘We need tulips for the apartment,’ you assumed it was the president who needed tulips for his apartment.” However, the associate believes that, at least in some cases, Band was presenting his own preferences as those of Clinton. 

For those trying to get access to Clinton, Band became the man who decided if, and how much, and for how much, and when. But his connection to the family doesn't stop at Bill. That's, in part, thanks to his close friendship with Huma Abedin. Abedin works for Band's private firm, Teneo, something that made news when Congress decided to investigate whether her work there conflicted with her role at the State Department. New York also addresses the Abedin question, noting that the entire Weiner affair is another "ghost of Clintonworld past," speculating that Anthony Weiner's wife may have to choose between two loyalties. 

Band's firm has caused problems in the past for both Clintons, according to MacGillis, including questions raised by Hillary Clinton over potential conflicts of interest between Band's work and her role as Secretary of State. Bill Clinton's office stopped accepting payments from Teneo in 2012. The Clintons were further irritated, he reports, by the fallout from Band's habit of pitching to major donors of Clinton's charitable work in a way that left donors with "the distinct impression that Clinton had encouraged the donors to avail themselves of Band’s services." When Chelsea Clinton became more involved in her family's foundation, she too "came to worry that the overlap between the foundation and Band’s business interests could backfire on the Clintons." New York writes that "Chelsea’s arrival [at the family foundation] was a clear if unspoken critique of Doug Band," noting that the daughter has now taken over Band's role as gatekeeper to Bill. The changing of the guard coincided with Hillary Clinton's adoption of the Clinton Foundation as something of an unofficial base of operations for a future 2016 run. 

Both profiles are worth a read, though gossipmongers will find more to savor in MacGillis's piece — including, but not limited to, the details of how Band apparently bumped Joe Biden from a golf game with President Obama. MacGillis's thesis connects Band into the very strategy of the Clinton Foundation. And even if that tie doesn't hold up as time passes, the look inside of "Clintonworld," which is almost a sovereign nation among American politics, demonstrates just how deep of an infrastructure the all-but-official candidate has at her disposal, and the possible remnants of the past that could end up as roadblocks along the way. Adding to the Clinton machine mythology is a telling quote from New York's Clinton profile, which provides and interesting answer to "will she or won't she?" 

Clintonworld, however, speaks with many voices­—albeit many of them not for attribution. Some of her close confidants, including many people with whom her own staff put me in touch, are far less circumspect than she is. “She’s running, but she doesn’t know it yet,” one such person put it to me. “It’s just like a force of history. It’s inexorable, it’s gravitational. I think she actually believes she has more say in it than she actually does.”

       

Neil Patrick Harris's Opening Disappoints with No Singing or Dancing

After his spectacular opening at the Tonys, everyone was expecting something big from Emmys host Neil Patrick Harris. Instead his opening was a big let down, with a lame bit featuring arguing former hosts and a House of Cards parody from Kevin Spacey. Luckily, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey swept in at the end to save the bit just by being themselves. 

Watch the opening here: 

Twitter wasn't really pleased with Harris' performance, even comparing the schtick to Seth MacFarlane's controversial turn at the Oscars. 

Guys, I'm really worried NPH is about to start singing "We Saw Your Boobs." #EWEmmys

— Hillary Busis (@hillibusterr) September 23, 2013

NPH is doing his Seth MacFarlane imitation.

— Jon Caramanica (@joncaramanica) September 23, 2013

Meanwhile, others just wondered where the singing and dancing was. 

I better see some singing and dancing, stat. #Emmys

— Joe Adalian (@TVMoJoe) September 23, 2013

Why isn't Neil Patrick Harris singing yet

— Willa Paskin (@willapaskin) September 23, 2013

It has been 8 (?) minutes and still no singing #emmys

— Vulture (@vulture) September 23, 2013

       

Paul Ryan Officially has a Book Deal

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Republican Representative Paul Ryan wants to "renew the conservative vision for 2014 and beyond" in a book slated to hit the shelves next August, according to an announcement by Twelve publishers. For those trying to divine the Republican field for the 2016 presidential elections, Ryan's book deal as almost as good a sign of the former vice presidential candidate's intentions as would be a trip to Iowa. Which, it turns out, Paul Ryan has already done. The speculative logic goes like this: presidential candidates have books. Paul Ryan is publishing a book. Therefore, Paul Ryan is a possible presidential candidate. According to Twelve, his book is tentatively titled Where Do We Go from Here? 

We already know a little bit about the Ryan campaign-esque book. In May, the National Review reported that Ryan was working on a then-unnamed book "featur[ing] a mix of autobiography, political analysis, and policy prescriptions." The book won't be a tell-all on Mitt Romney's failed 2012 campaign, either, implying that the autobiographical portions are more about campaign-ready myth-making than about contributing to the historical record. But Ryan, it should be noted, has not declared his intentions to run in 2016. On the other hand, Ryan announced on Friday that he was planning a trip to New Hampshire. And some conservatives would very much like for him to run. Jennifer Rubin already wrote a to-do before 2016 list for the possible presidential candidate. Number 2 on that list? Write a book. "Voters need to identify with a presidential candidate and want someone who has overcome adversity," Rubin advises. 

From the AP, here's how Twelve, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, describes the book: 

Where Do We Go from Here? will delve into the state of the conservative movement in America today, how it contrasts with liberal progressivism, and what needs to be done to save the American Idea. It will challenge conventional thinking, renew the conservative vision for 2014 and beyond, and show how it is essential for the well-being of our communities and the future of our nation.

Ryan won't get an advance for his book, just royalties, thanks to House rules, the AP explains. 

Ryan's co-authored a book before, with Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy, called Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders. But on that book cover, Ryan has to share the dust jacket with his co-authors, which is hardly presidential. Presidential candidates need books that double as thesis statement and campaign ad, with a big bold title and a big bold portrait that's both singular and approachable. His new book deal was negotiated by attorney Robert Barnett, who also snagged deals for Barack Obama and George W. Bush's books. 

       

The 2013 Emmys Live Blog

The 2013 Emmys are here and we're here to fill you in on all the big news — especially if you're skipping the ceremony to prepare for Breaking Bad. Will House of Cards make Netflix's mark on the ceremony? Will 30 Rock get a fond farewell? Will Jon Hamm finally get a prize? Stay tuned as we update this blog with all the winners. Check elsewhere on the Wire for some of the night's big moments.

10:47 Steven Soderbergh wins the obvious Emmy for directing the lovely, gentle Behind the Candelabra. And not for nothing, he looks great!

10:41 As Kaley Cuoco and Academy Chairman Bruce Rosenblum were riffing a camera panned to Kevin Spacey. He was not having it. (GIF via David Itzkoff)

10:35 The Supporting Actor - Movie/Miniseries award, probably the least interesting of the night, goes to James Cromwell for his menacing work on American Horror Story: Asylum.

10:19 The Colbert Report won the variety series prize. The Daily Show had 10 consecutive wins before The Colbert Report took its prize for Variety show away. Meanwhile, The Voice broke The Amazing Race's seven-year streak in the reality competition category. 

10:04 The Colbert Report has yet another golden thing to put on its mantle.

9:56 Lead Actress - Drama goes to Claire Danes for Homeland, as predicted. This is actually the only thing that's gone as expected tonight.

9:48 The Emmys have now done a salute to the 1960s for some reason.

9:41 Well, these Emmys are officially nuts. Jeff Daniels just won for Best Leading Actor - Drama for The Newsroom. No one predicted that. Literally no one.

9:39 The Best Supporting Actor - Drama category was a tough one, but Bobby Canavale pulls it out in a huge surprise. No one liked his Boardwalk Empire villain. Except for Emmy voters, I guess.

9:29 NBC gets some more good news: The Voice aka the only thing keeping the lights on wins for Best Reality Competition Program.

9:25 Ohhhh. Here's Neil Patrick Harris's big, anticipated song. It's a joke about it being in the middle of the show. Like the rest of his stuff tonight, it's a bit dull.

9:18 Anna Gunn's win was preceded by a sketch/promo for How I Met Your Mother featuring Harris's cast mates worried about his addiction to hosting. It featured Arsenio Hall and Ryan Seacrest jokes. (We always do appreciate a good Seacrest joke.) 

9:16 Wow! Anna Gunn wins the Supporting Actress Drama trophy for Breaking Bad. A long time coming. Does this presage more BB wins to come?

9:04 The Lead Actress in a Miniseries/TV Movie prize goes to Laura Linney for The Big C's abbreviated final season. Linney is not in attendance. Boringggggg.

8:47 Lead Actor in a Comedy prize goes to Jim Parsons, for The Big Bang Theory, everyone's parents' favorite show. 

8:39 Veep's Julia Louis-Dreyfus wins for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. This is a good weekend for her, with this and the release of the critically lauded (and rightfully so) Nicole Holofcener film Enough Said.

8:28 Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series goes to Tony Hale for Veep. Well-deserved. He's consistently creepy and wonderful on that terrific show.

8:19 Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series goes to Merritt Wever, marking the first big surprise of the night. Nurse Jackie hasn't been on anyone's radar. She wins also for best, weirdest acceptance speech, walking off after saying "I gotta go."

8:06 And we're off.

7:59 The Emmys are starting a little late for, well, football. 

Guy has come out to tell Emmys audience that show may start slightly late due to Jets game running long.

— Scott Feinberg (@ScottFeinberg) September 22, 2013

7:30 We're about a half an hour away, and while we wait. Here are some dresses! First up, fashion hero Kiernan Shipka. 

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Zooey Deschanel

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Julia Louis-Dreyfus

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Rihanna's Instagram Got Two People Arrested in Thailand

The slow loris is an adorable, Instagram-able animal native to Southeast Asia. After Rihanna posed with one on Instagram, authorities in Thailand somehow tracked down the two guys who were peddling the protected animal for eager tourists and arrested them. 

The Associated Press reports two men -- a 20-year old and a 16-year-old -- were charged with possession of protected animals because of Rihanna's Instagram picture. Rihanna was travelling for her Diamonds World Tour when she decided to stop in Thailand for a quick vacation. According to her Instagram account, she spent her visit lounging in her bathing suit on boats, lounging in her bathing suit near the beach, and meeting with local wildlife. The slow loris, you see, is a protected animal. No citizen should be posing for pictures with them, not even RiRi. And when police heard about Rihanna's Instagram evidence, which they investigated thoroughly, the hunt was on. 

"Phuket authorities were alerted to the picture (of Rihanna), and last night police arrested the two individuals who brought out the loris as a photo opportunity for tourists," Weera Kerdsirimongkon a district police chief in Phuket, told the AP. The men face up to four years in prison and a $1,300 fine.

This isn't the first time Rihanna's travel plans got some people in trouble. Let's never forget the hot mess that was Rihanna's "777 tour," which trapped a bunch of journalists on Rihanna's plane while she played seven shows in seven countries over seven days. That did not go well, and she was forced to apologize. Those poor journalists are still psychologically recovering, though. 

 

       

It Took Hackers This Long to Crack the iPhone's Fingerprint Security

The iPhone 5S was released to the general public on Friday. Little more than 48 hours later, a group of hackers found a way to bypass the device's fingerprint-based security system that doesn't involve messy decapitation. 

The Chaos Computer Club's Starbug was able to get past the iPhone's 5S TouchID security system by using a photo of your fingerprint and using glue or plastic to create a copy, like you've seen in countless spy movies. He modified existing biometric hacking methods slightly for the iPhone's TouchID. "In reality, Apple's sensor has just a higher resolution compared to the sensors so far. So we only needed to ramp up the resolution of our fake," Starbug says.

His madness, explained:

First, the fingerprint of the enroled user is photographed with 2400 dpi resolution. The resulting image is then cleaned up, inverted and laser printed with 1200 dpi onto transparent sheet with a thick toner setting. Finally, pink latex milk or white woodglue is smeared into the pattern created by the toner onto the transparent sheet. After it cures, the thin latex sheet is lifted from the sheet, breathed on to make it a tiny bit moist and then placed onto the sensor to unlock the phone. This process has been used with minor refinements and variations against the vast majority of fingerprint sensors on the market.

Apple has yet to comment on hackers breaking through their landmark security system. "The technology within TouchID is some of the most advanced hardware or software we’ve put in any device," promises an Apple promotional video, as Buzzfeed points out.

But no, Starbug's hacking didn't take very long and it didn't take a genius stroke of luck. He just took the most obvious solution, and it worked. Oh well. At least it didn't involve chopping anything off. When Apple first announced the TouchID technology, most people figured thieves would start chopping off appendages when they snatched your phone, too. 

Is Apple's biometric security still the best security system on the market? Yes, of course. It's still harder for the common crook to circumvent than a number code. And it's lightyears better than Android's Face Unlock feature, as The Verge points out. But if you're a super secret spy and thought this phone was the answer to all your problems, well, sorry.

       

'Prisoners' Breaks Out

Welcome to the Box Office Report, where Hugh Jackman is always starring uncomfortably at the kale stuck to the side of your face after dinner. And he never has the courtesy to tell you about it, either. 

1. Prisoners (Warner): $21.4 million in 3,260 theaters

The Jake Gyllenhaal and Jackman slash fic thriller won the weekend thanks to great reviews (like this one from our Richard Lawson) and old people. If you're still wondering whether or not Prisoners is worth a trip to the theater, the somehow Oscar-less Roger Deakins did the film's cinematography. It's a movie that should be seen on the biggest, best screen possible. 

2. Insidious: Chapter 2 (Filmdistrict): $14.5 million in 3,155 theaters [Week 2]

Remember what The Box Office Report said last week about a third Insidious? Yeah, this came out on Monday. This is a facts only zone. 

3. The Family (Relativity): $7 million in 3,091 theaters [Week 2]

4. Instructions Not Included (Lionsgate): $5.7 million in 978 theaters [Week 4]

This is the lil' movie that could:

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It makes my heart swell every time Instructions Not Included makes so much money with next to no promotion and no screen support. 

5. Battle of the Year (Screen Gems): $5 million in 2,008 theaters

Another dancing movie failed? Good. This particular dancing movie has Chris Brown in it? Even better. Battle of the Year was supposed to be Brown's glorious return to dance movies after a brief career playing tough guys in crime flicks and something in that Steve Harvey movie. Brown hasn't danced on screen since 2007's Stomp the Yard, a genre classic. (No thanks to Brown, though.)

       

What It's Like to Work for a Background Check Contractor

The contractor responsible for vetting Edward Snowden in 2011 and Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis in 2007, already under criminal investigation for "routine" background check failures, is coming under fire about the way they handle information and operate. Workers are expected to turn out clearances and fast as humanly possible, with little regard for oversight and security.

"People were leaving their laptops at Starbucks," a former USIS investigator told the Washington Post. A number of former USIS workers told the Post about the pressures they faced to churn out background checks, the little oversight from their bosses, and the lack of security placed on personal information collected for the checks. USIS rules say any personal information collected for a background check must be kept behind two layers locks: "for instance, a locked file cabinet in a home, plus a locked front door would qualify," the Post explains. But in practice, things are much, much different. "People were leaving cases on top of their cars, information blowing off. We had a lady that left her files at Chuck E. Cheese with her kids," the same former employee said. 

Two others described a workplace that put pressure on producing as many clearances as possible, paying little attention to "red flags" that should warrant a more thorough investigation. "It was like wink, wink, do this as fast as humanly possible... There was this intense pressure to do more and faster," one former employee said. "It’s very: 'Here’s a sheet of questions, ask the questions, hurry and get the answers, submit them and move forward,' said another. "There’s just not a lot of paying attention to potential red flags and that sort of thing."

USIS confirmed earlier this week they were responsible for vetting both Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who leaked top secret government information, and 34-year old Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis. In the wake of the shooting, questions were raised about how Alexis obtained security clearance with his long history of gun-related arrests and mental health issues. 

That USIS was responsible for Snowden and Alexis shouldn't come as much of a surprise: the company handles 45 percent of the Office for Personal Management's security clearance requests. That contract work is at risk because of the criminal investigation and the scrutiny facing the company right now, though.

Security procedures are under a big microscope in the wake of the shooting and Snowden's information dump. An audit by the Pentagon released this week also found fifty two cases where convicted felons were granted access to Navy facilities despite going through background checks. The Defense Department announced a review of all security clearance procedures after the report was released. 

       

Syria Meets its First Chemical Weapons Deadline

Syria submitted an "initial" list of its chemical weapons stockpiles and facilities on Friday, meeting its first deadline under a U.S.-Russian plan to disarm the country of its chemical weapons. That list, now in the hands of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, will be studied by experts on the committee. The contents of that inventory aren't going to be revealed any time soon. 

As the Wall Street Journal notes, the timeliness of the response keeps the pressure on the OPCW to work faster than it normally does, based on the swift timeline laid out by the international agreement. The organization and the UN Security Council have yet to approve that timeline, but are expected to do so in the coming week, so long as things stick to the plan. 

The plan, as it stands now, requires Syria to join the chemical weapons agreement and submit an inventory, which it's done. After that, the OPCW must bring the country's stockpile into international control by November, allow UN access for inspections and verifications, and lead to the destruction of all those weapons by the first half of 2014. That plan has lead to some tough feasibility questions for the agency, which, among other things, isn't used to working in a war zone. 

At any point, the UN could step in under the plan to apply penalties to the country, including military force, should Syria be found not in compliance. That includes this first test of their willingness to go along with the agreement. If officials find the Syrian declaration if its inventory to be flawed, the New York Times explains, that could lead to increased pressure on the UN Security Council.