The lawsuit represents Tenet’s latest effort to scupper a potential deal with CHS, which operates 130 hospitals in the US and had $13bn in revenues last year.
Tenet claims in the suit that CHS made between $280m and $377m through improperly admitting Medicare patients between 2006 and 2007.
It estimates that the liability and damages for these practices could exceed $1bn because many of these patients could have been placed under observation, or short-term, outpatient monitoring.
CHS called the allegations “baseless” and accused Tenet of using a “scorched earth” defence without regard for the interests of its shareholders.
“The bottom line is that these self-serving allegations are an attempt by Tenet’s management and board to continue their entrenchment strategy and to distract Tenet shareholders from CHS’s pending offer,” the company said.
The lawsuit comes after CHS made a $3.3bn hostile bid for Tenet last December, offering to pay $6 a share, including $5 cash for Tenet – a 40 per cent premium. It rebuffed the offer as too low, adopted a poison pill and delayed its annual shareholder meeting.
Tenet said it uncovered the irregularities as it was carrying out due diligence on CHS. It pointed to research that it commissioned from Avalere Health, a consultancy, that showed CHS placing half as many patients under observation than hospitals in the same markets.
CHS disclosed in its 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the Office of Inspector General of the US Department of Health and Human Services had previously requested documents relating to its admission criteria and the attorney-general in Texas had requested information about its emergency department procedures and billing.
Tenet said that CHS had touted its ability to find synergies through acquisitions, such as its acquisition of Triad Hospitals in 2007.
It alleges that additional revenues were generated by cutting the use of observation at the hospitals it acquired by more than 50 per cent and admitting more patients to “needless hospital stays”.
“As a result of the revenues generated from these improper admissions, CHS’s stock price has for many years been artificially inflated,” the Tenet lawsuit said. “CHS now seeks to use its artificially inflated stock price to pay, in part, for the proposed acquisition of Tenet.”
Tenet said CHS’s alleged tactics meant that its stock was worth less than it stated when proposing the acquisition and that its ability to finance the cash portion of the deal could be hampered.
It argues CHS could also be excluded from Medicare for practices that overbilled the programme.
2011年4月11日星期一
2011年4月5日星期二
Although NBC News executives proved adept at the host transition
“There is going to be an opening; she’s done,” says one source with knowledge of the situation. Another suggests she is still making her decision but that re-upping looks unlikely.
Although NBC News executives proved adept at the host transition when 15-year veteran Katie Couric stepped down in 2006, Vieira’s departure would nonetheless create a void at the dominant morning franchise — and an opportunity for rivals to pounce. In addition to being among the longest-running programs, Today has been the top-rated morning show for nearly 800 consecutive weeks (or more than 15 years). That longevity, coupled with its airtime — four hours Monday-Friday and three hours on the weekend — has made the show a profit center for NBC News. Today generated $454 million in ad revenue last year for its weekday broadcasts alone, according to estimates provided by Kantar Media. (By comparison, ABC’s Good Morning America, a perennial No. 2, took in $314 million, and CBS’ Early Show, a distant third in the ratings, earned $178 million.)
Vieira, who still hosts the syndicated game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, could decide to extend her contract for another 12 months as she did last year. But sources say the Today team has already started weighing replacement options. Potential heirs apparent to Vieira are said to include Today’s Ann Curry and Natalie Morales, Washington correspondent Savannah Guthrie and CNBC’s Erin Burnett. (Lauer, who has co-hosted Today since 1997, is locked in longer than Vieira, but his potential departure has NBC News eyeing its male anchor crop, including MSNBC’s Willie Geist and CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla.)
An NBC News spokesperson declined comment on possible anchor changes, except to say, “The Today show anchors are currently under contract and firmly in place.” Reps for Vieira declined comment.
Curry and Morales have the advantage of being familiar to NBC’s morning viewers. Curry, in particular, has paid her dues at Today, where she has been the show’s news anchor since 1997. Whether she’ll walk if the job doesn’t become hers is a concern that will inevitably be factored into the decision-making process.
For her part, Burnett has seen her profile steadily rise at the company. She hosts CNBC’s Squawk on the Street and Street Signs and appears on various NBC News programs to comment on financial stories. But while she sometimes turns up on Today, one source suggests NBC higher-ups are not convinced she’s a good fit for morning television.
Guthrie is said to have executives at the network most excited. The 39-year-old lawyer by training has proved a natural at traversing hard news and features — a requirement for a network morning show — when she has filled in for Vieira.
If Vieira does decide to bolt, it won’t come as a major surprise to anyone who has paid attention to her comments through the years. “A couple months into it, a little voice in my head said at 3:30, ‘You’re mentally ill; don’t get up,’ ” Vieira told the New York Daily News in 2006.
She has been similarly candid about having to navigate the personal burden of her husband Richard Cohen’s long battle with multiple sclerosis. “I’ll know when it’s time to go, and I’m not afraid,” she told Ladies’ Home Journal in October. “If I were to leave Today at the end of next year because it’s time for me, I wouldn’t jump to another show. I would look forward to not working, to traveling with Richard and carving out time for us.”
The possible Today transition comes in the wake of continued ratings erosion for broadcast news in general as well as a shakeup at CBS’ The Early Show and tinkering at ABC’s Good Morning America. While the broadcast morning shows still command significant audiences compared to their early hours competition – programs on NBC, ABC and CBS averaged 12.4 million viewers in aggregate last year– they have largely failed to build viewership among the younger demographics favored by advertisers. According to the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s annual State of the News Media report, morning news fell another 3% in 2010, the sixth consecutive year of losses.
In January, CBS News put in place an entirely new team led by Chris Wragge and Erica Hill. In the months since, the news division has seen 60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager named chairman and former Fox News and Bloomberg executive David Rhodes coming aboard as president. While the pair’s top priority at the moment is Couric and a potential transition at the CBS Evening News desk, both men also need to be assessing the division’s other broadcasts.
More recently, ABC News president Ben Sherwood announced a major personnel change on Good Morning America, the No. 2 morning show. ESPN’s Josh Elliott will be joining GMA as newsreader, replacing JuJu Chang, which has sent to Nightline where she will be a fill-in anchor Nightline and helm many of this summer’s primetime Nightline hours.
The tweaks have yet to push either broadcast ahead of Today, of course. For the first quarter, Today averaged 5.6 million viewers, followed by GMA (4.9 million) and The Early Show (2.6 million), according Nielsen. And in the all-important 25-54 demographic, Today posted its largest margin over GMA since 2004, luring 2.5 million compared to the latter’s 1.8 million.
Although NBC News executives proved adept at the host transition when 15-year veteran Katie Couric stepped down in 2006, Vieira’s departure would nonetheless create a void at the dominant morning franchise — and an opportunity for rivals to pounce. In addition to being among the longest-running programs, Today has been the top-rated morning show for nearly 800 consecutive weeks (or more than 15 years). That longevity, coupled with its airtime — four hours Monday-Friday and three hours on the weekend — has made the show a profit center for NBC News. Today generated $454 million in ad revenue last year for its weekday broadcasts alone, according to estimates provided by Kantar Media. (By comparison, ABC’s Good Morning America, a perennial No. 2, took in $314 million, and CBS’ Early Show, a distant third in the ratings, earned $178 million.)
Vieira, who still hosts the syndicated game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, could decide to extend her contract for another 12 months as she did last year. But sources say the Today team has already started weighing replacement options. Potential heirs apparent to Vieira are said to include Today’s Ann Curry and Natalie Morales, Washington correspondent Savannah Guthrie and CNBC’s Erin Burnett. (Lauer, who has co-hosted Today since 1997, is locked in longer than Vieira, but his potential departure has NBC News eyeing its male anchor crop, including MSNBC’s Willie Geist and CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla.)
An NBC News spokesperson declined comment on possible anchor changes, except to say, “The Today show anchors are currently under contract and firmly in place.” Reps for Vieira declined comment.
Curry and Morales have the advantage of being familiar to NBC’s morning viewers. Curry, in particular, has paid her dues at Today, where she has been the show’s news anchor since 1997. Whether she’ll walk if the job doesn’t become hers is a concern that will inevitably be factored into the decision-making process.
For her part, Burnett has seen her profile steadily rise at the company. She hosts CNBC’s Squawk on the Street and Street Signs and appears on various NBC News programs to comment on financial stories. But while she sometimes turns up on Today, one source suggests NBC higher-ups are not convinced she’s a good fit for morning television.
Guthrie is said to have executives at the network most excited. The 39-year-old lawyer by training has proved a natural at traversing hard news and features — a requirement for a network morning show — when she has filled in for Vieira.
If Vieira does decide to bolt, it won’t come as a major surprise to anyone who has paid attention to her comments through the years. “A couple months into it, a little voice in my head said at 3:30, ‘You’re mentally ill; don’t get up,’ ” Vieira told the New York Daily News in 2006.
She has been similarly candid about having to navigate the personal burden of her husband Richard Cohen’s long battle with multiple sclerosis. “I’ll know when it’s time to go, and I’m not afraid,” she told Ladies’ Home Journal in October. “If I were to leave Today at the end of next year because it’s time for me, I wouldn’t jump to another show. I would look forward to not working, to traveling with Richard and carving out time for us.”
The possible Today transition comes in the wake of continued ratings erosion for broadcast news in general as well as a shakeup at CBS’ The Early Show and tinkering at ABC’s Good Morning America. While the broadcast morning shows still command significant audiences compared to their early hours competition – programs on NBC, ABC and CBS averaged 12.4 million viewers in aggregate last year– they have largely failed to build viewership among the younger demographics favored by advertisers. According to the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s annual State of the News Media report, morning news fell another 3% in 2010, the sixth consecutive year of losses.
In January, CBS News put in place an entirely new team led by Chris Wragge and Erica Hill. In the months since, the news division has seen 60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager named chairman and former Fox News and Bloomberg executive David Rhodes coming aboard as president. While the pair’s top priority at the moment is Couric and a potential transition at the CBS Evening News desk, both men also need to be assessing the division’s other broadcasts.
More recently, ABC News president Ben Sherwood announced a major personnel change on Good Morning America, the No. 2 morning show. ESPN’s Josh Elliott will be joining GMA as newsreader, replacing JuJu Chang, which has sent to Nightline where she will be a fill-in anchor Nightline and helm many of this summer’s primetime Nightline hours.
The tweaks have yet to push either broadcast ahead of Today, of course. For the first quarter, Today averaged 5.6 million viewers, followed by GMA (4.9 million) and The Early Show (2.6 million), according Nielsen. And in the all-important 25-54 demographic, Today posted its largest margin over GMA since 2004, luring 2.5 million compared to the latter’s 1.8 million.
2011年3月28日星期一
Plutonium found in soil at the Fukushima complex phiten necklace
Obama's phiten necklace prime-time speech came a day after NATO agreed to assume full responsibility for military operations in Libya, ending uncertainty about who would take over the lead from U.S. forces. He said the handover would take place on Wednesday.
The alliance's decision gave a phiten necklace boost to Obama's effort to show Americans he was making good on his commitment to limit the U.S. military's involvement in Libya. NATO will take charge of air strikes that have targeted Gaddafi's military infrastructure as well as a no-fly zone and an arms embargo.
The White House also hopes Obama get phiten necklace can score political points at home from gains on the battlefield by Libyan rebels emboldened by the Western air assault on Gaddafi's loyalists.
Most polls show Americans divided over the Libya mission and believe on balance the Obama administration and its allies do not have a clear goal in taking military action.
Market players had estimated the Nikkei would come under
selling pressure after the date passed for investors to receive
dividends for the current business year ending March 31. Shares of Tokyo Electric were untraded due to a
glut of sell orders after a newspaper said a plan to nationalise
the operator of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has been
floated within the Japanese government. "The situation in Fukushima has a big, underlying impact on
the market, with worries over the phiten necklance wholesale plant likely impacting Wall
Street yesterday," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at
Daiwa Securities Capital Markets. Plutonium found in soil at the Fukushima complex heightened
alarm on Tuesday over Japan's protracted battle to contain the
world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 phiten necklace years. [ID:nL3E7ES2ND] "TEPCO untraded again is also souring the mood on the
Nikkei. If press reports were to be confirmed, looking at
similar examples in the past, the value of existing shares is
likely to decrease. In an extreme situation, the company may
even be delisted," Takahashi said. By mid-morning the benchmark Nikkei was down 1.5
percent or 145.59 points at 9,328.40. The broader Topix
lost 1.9 percent to 841.44. The head of the Tokyo Stock Exchange said on Monday that
some Japanese companies, mainly manufacturers, will likely be
late in announcing full-year earnings for this business
year because of the summer fashion 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which in turn
would delay the payment phiten necklace of dividends.
The alliance's decision gave a phiten necklace boost to Obama's effort to show Americans he was making good on his commitment to limit the U.S. military's involvement in Libya. NATO will take charge of air strikes that have targeted Gaddafi's military infrastructure as well as a no-fly zone and an arms embargo.
The White House also hopes Obama get phiten necklace can score political points at home from gains on the battlefield by Libyan rebels emboldened by the Western air assault on Gaddafi's loyalists.
Most polls show Americans divided over the Libya mission and believe on balance the Obama administration and its allies do not have a clear goal in taking military action.
Market players had estimated the Nikkei would come under
selling pressure after the date passed for investors to receive
dividends for the current business year ending March 31. Shares of Tokyo Electric were untraded due to a
glut of sell orders after a newspaper said a plan to nationalise
the operator of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has been
floated within the Japanese government. "The situation in Fukushima has a big, underlying impact on
the market, with worries over the phiten necklance wholesale plant likely impacting Wall
Street yesterday," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at
Daiwa Securities Capital Markets. Plutonium found in soil at the Fukushima complex heightened
alarm on Tuesday over Japan's protracted battle to contain the
world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 phiten necklace years. [ID:nL3E7ES2ND] "TEPCO untraded again is also souring the mood on the
Nikkei. If press reports were to be confirmed, looking at
similar examples in the past, the value of existing shares is
likely to decrease. In an extreme situation, the company may
even be delisted," Takahashi said. By mid-morning the benchmark Nikkei was down 1.5
percent or 145.59 points at 9,328.40. The broader Topix
lost 1.9 percent to 841.44. The head of the Tokyo Stock Exchange said on Monday that
some Japanese companies, mainly manufacturers, will likely be
late in announcing full-year earnings for this business
year because of the summer fashion 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which in turn
would delay the payment phiten necklace of dividends.
Victories in those cities marked a comeback for phiten necklace
"They are trying to weaken our spirits. They are not trying to protect civilians," he said.
NATO, which has 28 member countries, took control Sunday of enforcing a resolution approved by the UN phiten necklace Security Council on March 17. The resolution called for the protection of Libyan civilians as Gadhafi attacked the opposition, and the enforcement of a no-fly zone over the country.
Previously the coalition enforcing the resolution had been led by the United States, the United Kingdom and France.
"Our goal is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under threat of attack from the Gadhafi regime," the organization's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement Sunday. "NATO will implement all aspects of the UN resolution. Nothing more, nothing less."
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver a speech about the situation in Libya at 7:30 p.m. ET Monday following calls from all quarters for the U.S. leader to clarify why he sent phiten necklace troops to enforce the U.N.-authorized military mission.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday accused Gadhafi of placing the bodies of people his regime has killed at the sites of some missile strikes by the U.S.-led coalition.
"The truth of the matter is we have trouble coming up with proof of any civilian casualties that we have been responsible for," Gates told CBS "Face the Nation."
"But we do have a lot of intelligence reporting about phiten necklace Gadhafi taking the bodies of the people he's killed and putting them at the sites where we've attacked."
While the opposition rolled westward, the city of Misrata -- between the rebels' current position and Tripoli -- remained under siege by government forces for the 11th consecutive day, a witness told CNN Sunday.
A doctor working at a hospital in Misrata said eight civilians were killed and 22 injured in violence Sunday. CNN could not independently confirm his report.
French warplanes on Sunday led airstrikes on armored vehicles and on a large munitions depot in the regions of summer fashion shop 2011 Misrata and Zintan, according to the French Ministry of Defense.
NATO, which has 28 member countries, took control Sunday of enforcing a resolution approved by the UN phiten necklace Security Council on March 17. The resolution called for the protection of Libyan civilians as Gadhafi attacked the opposition, and the enforcement of a no-fly zone over the country.
Previously the coalition enforcing the resolution had been led by the United States, the United Kingdom and France.
"Our goal is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under threat of attack from the Gadhafi regime," the organization's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement Sunday. "NATO will implement all aspects of the UN resolution. Nothing more, nothing less."
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver a speech about the situation in Libya at 7:30 p.m. ET Monday following calls from all quarters for the U.S. leader to clarify why he sent phiten necklace troops to enforce the U.N.-authorized military mission.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday accused Gadhafi of placing the bodies of people his regime has killed at the sites of some missile strikes by the U.S.-led coalition.
"The truth of the matter is we have trouble coming up with proof of any civilian casualties that we have been responsible for," Gates told CBS "Face the Nation."
"But we do have a lot of intelligence reporting about phiten necklace Gadhafi taking the bodies of the people he's killed and putting them at the sites where we've attacked."
While the opposition rolled westward, the city of Misrata -- between the rebels' current position and Tripoli -- remained under siege by government forces for the 11th consecutive day, a witness told CNN Sunday.
A doctor working at a hospital in Misrata said eight civilians were killed and 22 injured in violence Sunday. CNN could not independently confirm his report.
French warplanes on Sunday led airstrikes on armored vehicles and on a large munitions depot in the regions of summer fashion shop 2011 Misrata and Zintan, according to the French Ministry of Defense.
2011年3月27日星期日
the deal includes the restoration of $272 million guess handbags for girlfriend
The six girl fashion 2011 trends percent cut in the state's work force -- to be implemented if public employee unions don't concede $450 million in savings -- is the result of Cuomo's opposition to raising taxes to fill a $10 billion deficit.
The budget cuts overall spending by 2 percent.
New York is one of several big U.S. states working their way through the worst budget crunch in decades after the 2008 financial crisis and resulting recession squeezed tax collections, forcing tough decisions across the nation on spending. As the home of Wall Street, New York was among the hardest hit in the credit crisis.
Cuomo's anti-tax stand contrasts with strategies of some other cash-poor states, such as California and Connecticut, where governors want to raise some taxes. Illinois in January raised personal income taxes 67 percent to shore up what many consider the weakest state finances in the nation.
"I have said that New York is at a crossroads -- one road leading to further dysfunction and decline, the other toward fiscal responsibility and government efficiency. I believe this budget puts us on the right path," Cuomo said.
Cuomo and lawmakers said a handful of details still needed to be worked out, but that the complete budget would be voted upon by its April 1 deadline, and perhaps one day earlier.
Albany has not seen an early budget since 1983, when Cuomo's father, Mario Cuomo, was serving his girl guess handbags first year as governor. Last year's budget was passed in August.
One of the few concessions made by Cuomo was the rejection of a proposed $250,000 cap on non-economic medical malpractice damages. The cap was supported by the Senate's Republican majority, but strongly opposed by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
$15 BLN MEDICAID SPENDING CAP
Other health care proposals by the governor, including a $15 billion cap on annual Medicaid spending and an increase in the minimum wage for health care workers, are in the deal.
"We were able to achieve critical restorations which will soften the cuts affecting working families, our senior citizens, our most vulnerable populations and the children in our classrooms," said Silver, who has been at the helm of the Democrat-dominated Assembly since 1994.
Cuomo had proposed a $1.5 billion cut in state aid to schools, but the deal includes the restoration of $272 million. That includes a partial restoration of the $98 million to fund private schools for deaf and blind children that Cuomo had sought to shift to local school districts.
A proposal to eliminate 3,700 prison beds, mainly in upstate Republican districts, will also be in the final plan. The Senate GOP had sought changes to the plan, which will give guess handbags 2011 Cuomo the power to decide which prisons to close, but those attempts were spurned.
The budget cuts overall spending by 2 percent.
New York is one of several big U.S. states working their way through the worst budget crunch in decades after the 2008 financial crisis and resulting recession squeezed tax collections, forcing tough decisions across the nation on spending. As the home of Wall Street, New York was among the hardest hit in the credit crisis.
Cuomo's anti-tax stand contrasts with strategies of some other cash-poor states, such as California and Connecticut, where governors want to raise some taxes. Illinois in January raised personal income taxes 67 percent to shore up what many consider the weakest state finances in the nation.
"I have said that New York is at a crossroads -- one road leading to further dysfunction and decline, the other toward fiscal responsibility and government efficiency. I believe this budget puts us on the right path," Cuomo said.
Cuomo and lawmakers said a handful of details still needed to be worked out, but that the complete budget would be voted upon by its April 1 deadline, and perhaps one day earlier.
Albany has not seen an early budget since 1983, when Cuomo's father, Mario Cuomo, was serving his girl guess handbags first year as governor. Last year's budget was passed in August.
One of the few concessions made by Cuomo was the rejection of a proposed $250,000 cap on non-economic medical malpractice damages. The cap was supported by the Senate's Republican majority, but strongly opposed by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
$15 BLN MEDICAID SPENDING CAP
Other health care proposals by the governor, including a $15 billion cap on annual Medicaid spending and an increase in the minimum wage for health care workers, are in the deal.
"We were able to achieve critical restorations which will soften the cuts affecting working families, our senior citizens, our most vulnerable populations and the children in our classrooms," said Silver, who has been at the helm of the Democrat-dominated Assembly since 1994.
Cuomo had proposed a $1.5 billion cut in state aid to schools, but the deal includes the restoration of $272 million. That includes a partial restoration of the $98 million to fund private schools for deaf and blind children that Cuomo had sought to shift to local school districts.
A proposal to eliminate 3,700 prison beds, mainly in upstate Republican districts, will also be in the final plan. The Senate GOP had sought changes to the plan, which will give guess handbags 2011 Cuomo the power to decide which prisons to close, but those attempts were spurned.
2011年3月24日星期四
Liz was bigger than that
Elizabeth Taylor evokes more images than the number of husbands she had. She was the breathtakingly beautiful guess handbags which – unlike her near contemporary, Judy Garland – seemed to slip into adulthood unscarred by her precocious professional success; the sultry dramatic actress; the compulsive bride, who went through husbands like fashion trends; the scarlet woman who broke up America's sweethearts, Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds; the female half of what can very legitimately be described as the greatest love affair of the 20th century; the most beautiful woman in the world; front-page stalwart of the National Enquirer; star of some of the best movies of her era; star of some of the worst celebrity perfume adverts; the gay rights campaigner; the defender of Michael Jackson. Next to Taylor, Marilyn Monroe looks monochrome and monotone.
Even towards the end of her life, Taylor, despite near incapacitation, still not only understood the increasingly ridiculous celebrity world, but proved that – to paraphrase a quote from her most photographed role – age could not wither her. She was one of the most mature users of Twitter and her Twitter feed was so Tayloresque as to be nigh-on parodic, mixing passionate defences of Jackson with shout-outs to reality TV android Kim Kardashian and the occasional – and necessary – denials that she had re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-remarried ("Jason is my dearest friend!" she tweeted last year, at the age of 78, with an understandable giggle).
Those born in the 40s will probably remember her as the wife of Richard Burton and the actor who radiated sex without ever being as coarsely upfront with her assets as, say, Monroe or Jane Russell. Those born in the 70s will have the slightly less erotic image of Taylor as the wife of the unforgettably named Larry Fortensky, sporting makeup, jewellery and hair that makes Russell Brand today look a guess handbags on sale bit low-key. Yet she was equally famous to those born in either decade, and this is not just because of her ever fluid image but her fearlessness at breaking social mores.
Her close friendships with gay actors – most notably Rock Hudson and Montgomery Clift – showed her to be more open-minded than most in an age when homosexuality was career-threatening. Taylor did more than pretty much anyone in her era by helping to remove the stigma of both homosexuality and, tragically, Aids by her loyalty to Hudson when he was dying from the disease.
Just as scandalous in its way was Taylor's relationship with Burton. Both were married when they met and neither made any attempt to hide not just their love for one another but their lust. Now divorce is as common among actors as undeserved Oscars but Taylor and Burton still look red-blooded next to today's anaemic Hello! wedding spreads. The publication last year of Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Marriage of the Century, by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger, truly puts to shame today's pretenders, not least with its inclusion of Burton's love letters to Taylor. But there was one letter even Taylor, the consummate celebrity, couldn't share with the public: the last one Burton wrote to her just before his death in 1984, saying he wanted to come home, and Taylor was home. That letter remained where it has ever since she received it: in her dressing table drawer, next to her bed.
Carrie Fisher compares her mother, Debbie Reynolds, and her father, Eddie Fisher, to Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, with Taylor – who made Fisher her husband number four – playing the Angelina Jolie role. It is a smart riff, neatly evoking the media hysteria that accompanied Fisher and Taylor's affair while he was still with Reynolds and the ensuing marriage (and, inevitably, divorce – there was no way little Fisher could ever compete with the mountain of machismo that was Richard Burton).
But the real joke is the comparison between Jolie and Taylor. Jolie's fame rests entirely on her personal life, which can be summed up as "married Rachel from Friends' husband, fond of adopting". As Jolie has amply proved, one doesn't need to be a good actor, or even appear in any good films, to be an A-list celebrity these days: one just needs to be thin and have a fondness for being photographed. Taylor had summer fashion 2011 the life, the looks, the movies, the smarts and the talent.
Even towards the end of her life, Taylor, despite near incapacitation, still not only understood the increasingly ridiculous celebrity world, but proved that – to paraphrase a quote from her most photographed role – age could not wither her. She was one of the most mature users of Twitter and her Twitter feed was so Tayloresque as to be nigh-on parodic, mixing passionate defences of Jackson with shout-outs to reality TV android Kim Kardashian and the occasional – and necessary – denials that she had re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-remarried ("Jason is my dearest friend!" she tweeted last year, at the age of 78, with an understandable giggle).
Those born in the 40s will probably remember her as the wife of Richard Burton and the actor who radiated sex without ever being as coarsely upfront with her assets as, say, Monroe or Jane Russell. Those born in the 70s will have the slightly less erotic image of Taylor as the wife of the unforgettably named Larry Fortensky, sporting makeup, jewellery and hair that makes Russell Brand today look a guess handbags on sale bit low-key. Yet she was equally famous to those born in either decade, and this is not just because of her ever fluid image but her fearlessness at breaking social mores.
Her close friendships with gay actors – most notably Rock Hudson and Montgomery Clift – showed her to be more open-minded than most in an age when homosexuality was career-threatening. Taylor did more than pretty much anyone in her era by helping to remove the stigma of both homosexuality and, tragically, Aids by her loyalty to Hudson when he was dying from the disease.
Just as scandalous in its way was Taylor's relationship with Burton. Both were married when they met and neither made any attempt to hide not just their love for one another but their lust. Now divorce is as common among actors as undeserved Oscars but Taylor and Burton still look red-blooded next to today's anaemic Hello! wedding spreads. The publication last year of Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Marriage of the Century, by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger, truly puts to shame today's pretenders, not least with its inclusion of Burton's love letters to Taylor. But there was one letter even Taylor, the consummate celebrity, couldn't share with the public: the last one Burton wrote to her just before his death in 1984, saying he wanted to come home, and Taylor was home. That letter remained where it has ever since she received it: in her dressing table drawer, next to her bed.
Carrie Fisher compares her mother, Debbie Reynolds, and her father, Eddie Fisher, to Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, with Taylor – who made Fisher her husband number four – playing the Angelina Jolie role. It is a smart riff, neatly evoking the media hysteria that accompanied Fisher and Taylor's affair while he was still with Reynolds and the ensuing marriage (and, inevitably, divorce – there was no way little Fisher could ever compete with the mountain of machismo that was Richard Burton).
But the real joke is the comparison between Jolie and Taylor. Jolie's fame rests entirely on her personal life, which can be summed up as "married Rachel from Friends' husband, fond of adopting". As Jolie has amply proved, one doesn't need to be a good actor, or even appear in any good films, to be an A-list celebrity these days: one just needs to be thin and have a fondness for being photographed. Taylor had summer fashion 2011 the life, the looks, the movies, the smarts and the talent.
2011年3月22日星期二
Diplomats in Brussels have become embroiled in guess handbags
Diplomatic sources say that a structure which has kept the peace in Bosnia could be replicated as the international community enforces the no-fly zone over Libya.
Diplomats in Brussels have become embroiled in bitter exchanges in recent days as they try to establish a command structure for the Libyan operation that would meet guess handbags, 70% off, designer 2011 guess handbags on sale Barack Obama's demand to relieve Washington of operational control.
The diplomats are now looking to Bosnia which was famously failed by the European Union in the mid 1990s. The EU finally redeemed itself when it assumed command from Nato of the peace keeping operation in Bosnia in 2004. The EU force, known as Eufor, has been in the lead ever since but is able to draw on Nato assets when needed.
In separate phone calls Tuesday night Barack Obama agreed with David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy that a similar structure would be established to run the no-fly guess handbags, 70% off, designer 2011 guess handbags on sale zone over Libya.
Political oversight would be in the hands of members of the international coalition joining the action to enforce the UN security council resolution 1973. Britain, France and the US are in the lead, but the coalition also includes Arab countries such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. This oversight would be akin to the EU's role in Bosnia.
But the military campaign to enforce the no-fly zone would be run by Nato. This could mean that James Stavridis, an American admiral who is Nato's current Supreme Allied Commander Europe, could be in charge of the military operation.
The agreement by Obama, Sarkozy and Cameron will have to be put to all 28 members of Nato. The alliance operates by consensus which means that a raised eyebrow could scupper the plan.
But there were hopes in London and Paris that agreement will be reached, giving Nato the chance to summer fashion 2011 avoid its worst split in years.
An intense debate opened up after Obama, who wants to avoid a repeat of the US-led "shock and awe" tactics of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, made clear that Washington would command the campaign only in its early stages.
A clear message was sent across the Atlantic: Nato or a combination of its members with the support of Arab nations would have to take command of the no-fly zone to show the world that the US had no wish to impose its will on a Muslim country.
Sarkozy was keen to establish an Anglo-French command to run the military campaign. Britain was wary of the proposal however, and pushed hard for a clearly defined Nato operation.
"The French want to run this jointly with Britain," a senior Whitehall source said before Tuesday night's agreement. "That is their preference. It is not our preference. We want Nato to deal with this because Nato has the right experience in dealing with multinational teams."
The attempts to broker an agreement on the structure for the first major military action initiated under Obama's presidency started in a scratchy way on Monday when Nato ambassadors in Brussels held what was described as a "truly awful" and "emotional" meeting.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Nato secretary general, prompted a walkout by the French and German ambassadors after suggesting Paris was blocking the alliance and that Berlin was dragging its feet. One observer said: "There were a range of issues related to people's egos."
Tensions were running high even before the meeting opened. Britain and the US were said to be irritated that Sarkozy acted with characteristic impetuosity by launching the first strikes shortly after a summit of decision-makers in Paris on Saturday without properly briefing allies.
The Rasmussen statement said: "Nato has completed plans to help enforce the no-fly zone - to bring our contribution, if needed, in a clearly defined manner, to the broad international effort to protect the people of Libya from the violence of the Gaddafi regime."
Germany, which abstained in the vote at the UN last week, agreed that Nato should have no more than a supporting role. This view was shared by Turkey, Nato's third largest member and a crucial voice in the alliance because of its predominantly Muslim population.
But Ankara and Paris started to give ground over the last 48 hours. Sarkozy accepted that Nato would be in the lead on the military front as Britain and the US guess handbags, 70% off, designer 2011 guess handbags on sale accepted that international coalition members and not the alliance would provide political oversight.
Diplomats said that some of the newer members of Nato in eastern Europe put strong pressure on France. The likes of Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Baltic states and Belgium made clear that they could help enforce the UN resolution on the no-fly zone as part under a Nato umbrella.
Ankara also adopted what was described as a more flexible approach after a phone call late on Monday between Obama and Tayyip Recep Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister.
Obama, who was grateful for Ankara's role in helping to release four New York Times journalists in Libya, is understood to have impressed Erdogan in listening to his concerns about a western-dominated campaign.
Signs of movement were shown Tuesday when the Nato envoys met again to try to patch over their differences. Rasmussen announced Nato would take charge of the naval flotilla assembled in the Mediterranean to police a UN arms embargo against Libya.
The ships "will conduct operations to monitor, report and, if needed, interdict vessels suspected of carrying illegal arms or mercenaries. This will be done in close co-ordination with commercial shipping and regional organisations," he said.
Amid the disarray over who should run the air campaign, Norway said it was keeping its aircraft grounded on Crete until it knew who was in charge. Italy, close geographically to Libya, has made seven air bases available for the "coalition of the guess handbags, 70% off, designer 2011 guess handbags on sale willing" campaign, but warned that it would put them back under national control if Nato did not take charge.
Diplomats in Brussels have become embroiled in bitter exchanges in recent days as they try to establish a command structure for the Libyan operation that would meet guess handbags, 70% off, designer 2011 guess handbags on sale Barack Obama's demand to relieve Washington of operational control.
The diplomats are now looking to Bosnia which was famously failed by the European Union in the mid 1990s. The EU finally redeemed itself when it assumed command from Nato of the peace keeping operation in Bosnia in 2004. The EU force, known as Eufor, has been in the lead ever since but is able to draw on Nato assets when needed.
In separate phone calls Tuesday night Barack Obama agreed with David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy that a similar structure would be established to run the no-fly guess handbags, 70% off, designer 2011 guess handbags on sale zone over Libya.
Political oversight would be in the hands of members of the international coalition joining the action to enforce the UN security council resolution 1973. Britain, France and the US are in the lead, but the coalition also includes Arab countries such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. This oversight would be akin to the EU's role in Bosnia.
But the military campaign to enforce the no-fly zone would be run by Nato. This could mean that James Stavridis, an American admiral who is Nato's current Supreme Allied Commander Europe, could be in charge of the military operation.
The agreement by Obama, Sarkozy and Cameron will have to be put to all 28 members of Nato. The alliance operates by consensus which means that a raised eyebrow could scupper the plan.
But there were hopes in London and Paris that agreement will be reached, giving Nato the chance to summer fashion 2011 avoid its worst split in years.
An intense debate opened up after Obama, who wants to avoid a repeat of the US-led "shock and awe" tactics of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, made clear that Washington would command the campaign only in its early stages.
A clear message was sent across the Atlantic: Nato or a combination of its members with the support of Arab nations would have to take command of the no-fly zone to show the world that the US had no wish to impose its will on a Muslim country.
Sarkozy was keen to establish an Anglo-French command to run the military campaign. Britain was wary of the proposal however, and pushed hard for a clearly defined Nato operation.
"The French want to run this jointly with Britain," a senior Whitehall source said before Tuesday night's agreement. "That is their preference. It is not our preference. We want Nato to deal with this because Nato has the right experience in dealing with multinational teams."
The attempts to broker an agreement on the structure for the first major military action initiated under Obama's presidency started in a scratchy way on Monday when Nato ambassadors in Brussels held what was described as a "truly awful" and "emotional" meeting.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Nato secretary general, prompted a walkout by the French and German ambassadors after suggesting Paris was blocking the alliance and that Berlin was dragging its feet. One observer said: "There were a range of issues related to people's egos."
Tensions were running high even before the meeting opened. Britain and the US were said to be irritated that Sarkozy acted with characteristic impetuosity by launching the first strikes shortly after a summit of decision-makers in Paris on Saturday without properly briefing allies.
The Rasmussen statement said: "Nato has completed plans to help enforce the no-fly zone - to bring our contribution, if needed, in a clearly defined manner, to the broad international effort to protect the people of Libya from the violence of the Gaddafi regime."
Germany, which abstained in the vote at the UN last week, agreed that Nato should have no more than a supporting role. This view was shared by Turkey, Nato's third largest member and a crucial voice in the alliance because of its predominantly Muslim population.
But Ankara and Paris started to give ground over the last 48 hours. Sarkozy accepted that Nato would be in the lead on the military front as Britain and the US guess handbags, 70% off, designer 2011 guess handbags on sale accepted that international coalition members and not the alliance would provide political oversight.
Diplomats said that some of the newer members of Nato in eastern Europe put strong pressure on France. The likes of Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Baltic states and Belgium made clear that they could help enforce the UN resolution on the no-fly zone as part under a Nato umbrella.
Ankara also adopted what was described as a more flexible approach after a phone call late on Monday between Obama and Tayyip Recep Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister.
Obama, who was grateful for Ankara's role in helping to release four New York Times journalists in Libya, is understood to have impressed Erdogan in listening to his concerns about a western-dominated campaign.
Signs of movement were shown Tuesday when the Nato envoys met again to try to patch over their differences. Rasmussen announced Nato would take charge of the naval flotilla assembled in the Mediterranean to police a UN arms embargo against Libya.
The ships "will conduct operations to monitor, report and, if needed, interdict vessels suspected of carrying illegal arms or mercenaries. This will be done in close co-ordination with commercial shipping and regional organisations," he said.
Amid the disarray over who should run the air campaign, Norway said it was keeping its aircraft grounded on Crete until it knew who was in charge. Italy, close geographically to Libya, has made seven air bases available for the "coalition of the guess handbags, 70% off, designer 2011 guess handbags on sale willing" campaign, but warned that it would put them back under national control if Nato did not take charge.
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