Authorities have arrested America’s “Most Wanted” deadbeat dad, according to reports. Robert Sand, 50, of New York, was arrested upon his arrival at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday after being deported from the Philippines. He is believed to owe more than $1.2 million in child support. Over the last 10 years, Sand has underreported his income and moved from New York to Florida to Thailand to evade child support payments. Surprisingly, he has “only” three children from two previous marriages. Sand was taken into custody in the Philippines earlier this week. The Office of the Inspector General maintains a list of the most wanted deadbeat parents with info about their possible whereabouts and the sum of money they owe. Until Tuesday, Sand and his seven-figure debts topped the federal list. They have since updated Sand’s mugshot with a “captured” banner. Thank goodness.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently fainted and suffered a concussion , which has critics of this fall’s debacle in Benghazi, Libya, crying foul. Some even suggested that Clinton faked it to avoid potentially embarrassing testimony, but this has been slammed by aides as “wild speculation.” Former United Nations envoy John Bolton was ripped by the State Department today for speculation that Hillary Clinton may have pulled a fast one. Bolton speculated on Fox News that Clinton’s claim of fainting and suffering a concussion amounts to what foreign service officers call a “diplomatic illness.” “This is a ‘diplomatic illness’ to beat the band,” said Bolton, who served under George W. Bush. “I mean, I hope it’s nothing serious. But this thing was revealed in a way that I think was not transparent and I think there is an obligation here.” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland blasted the Clinton speculation Tuesday, calling Bolton’s “diplomatic illness” accusation “completely untrue.” “I can assure you, he’s not privy to any inside information,” Nuland said, calling Bolton’s criticism “wild speculation based on no information.” She also reported that Clinton is currently “on the mend.” Still, Clinton speculation in the media is at an all-time high, with many noting that her “diplomatic illness” is at the very least conveniently timed. The Benghazi attack resulted in the death of four Americans and a lot of finger-pointing about who in the administration knew what and when. Scandal or no scandal, it represents one of the few blemishes on Clinton’s record as the nation’s top diplomat, and one she’d just as soon not revisit. The New York Post called it “one of the most transparent dodges in the history of diplomacy,” and The Daily Caller called for a medical report. What do you think of the Clinton speculation: Is Bolton right-on with his “diplomatic illness” claim, or is it just a case of bad timing (and falling)? She may just be too busy running the world …
Wooooooow Government Declines To Press Criminal Charges Against HSBC Bank Following Admission Of Money Laundering To Drug Cartels Think the alleged U.S. “war on drugs” applies just as much to corrupt corporations that make millions as it does to everyday piff-puffers? Well, you might want to think again. A recent settlement to the tune of $1.9 million between the U.S. Assistant Attorney General and big ballin’ financial giant HSBC has more than a few fans of that ooooo-wee giving the government a mean side-eye. via Rolling Stone If you’ve ever been arrested on a drug charge, if you’ve ever spent even a day in jail for having a stem of marijuana in your pocket or “drug paraphernalia” in your gym bag, Assistant Attorney General and longtime Bill Clinton pal Lanny Breuer has a message for you: Bite me. Breuer this week signed off on a settlement deal with the British banking giant HSBC that is the ultimate insult to every ordinary person who’s ever had his life altered by a narcotics charge. Despite the fact that HSBC admitted to laundering billions of dollars for Colombian and Mexican drug cartels (among others) and violating a host of important banking laws (from the Bank Secrecy Act to the Trading With the Enemy Act), Breuer and his Justice Department elected not to pursue criminal prosecutions of the bank, opting instead for a “record” financial settlement of $1.9 billion, which as one analyst noted is about five weeks of income for the bank. The banks’ laundering transactions were so brazen that the NSA probably could have spotted them from space. Breuer admitted that drug dealers would sometimes come to HSBC’s Mexican branches and “deposit hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, in a single day, into a single account, using boxes designed to fit the precise dimensions of the teller windows.” This is a shady azz situation if we’ve ever heard of it. People get popped and sent to drop the soap everyday for wayyyyy less than what this money-hungry company managed to pull off AND admit to….and they barely get a slap on the wrist?? That’s that isht we don’t like!
Martin Scorsese is taking on the 42nd President of the United States for his next project and Bill Clinton himself is fully participating in the non-fiction film. Produced in conjunction with HBO , the film will “explore his perspectives on history, politics, culture and the world.” Scorsese will produce and direct the film. In announcing the film, Scorsese said Clinton is a “Towering figure who remains a major voice in world issues,” adding, “President Clinton continues to shape the political dialogue both here and around the world. Through intimate conversations, I hope to provide greater insight into this transcendent figure.” William Jefferson Clinton served as the 42nd U.S. President from 1993 to 2001 and was the first Democratic leader in six decades to be elected twice. He is credited with leading the U.S. to one of the longest economic expansions in American history. After leaving office, he established the William J. Clinton Foundation which aims to “improve global health, strengthen economies, promote healthier childhoods and protect the environment by fostering partnerships among governments, business, NGOs and private citizens.” “President Clinton is one of the most compelling figures of our time, whose world view and perspective, combined with his uncommon intelligence, making him a singular voice on the world stage,” said HBO CEO Richard Plepler and programming president Michael Lombardo in a joint statement. “This documentary, under Marty’s gifted direction, creates a unique opportunity for the President to reflect on myriad issues that have consumed his attention and passion throughout both his Presidency and post-Presidency.” “I am pleased that legendary director Martin Scorsese and HBO have agreed to this film,” Clinton said in a statement. “I look forward to sharing my perspective on my years as President and my work in the years since with HBO’s audience.” Martin Scorsese collaborated with the 2011 doc George Harrison: Living in the Material World . He’s also worked with the premium network with the documentary Public Speaking (2010) and the series Boardwalk Empire , in which he is an executive producer.
Damn Hill Hillary Clinton Suffers Concussion After Fainting Via Boston Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who skipped an overseas trip this past week because of a stomach virus, sustained a concussion after fainting, the State Department said Saturday. The 65-year-old Clinton, who’s expected to leave her job soon after serving as America’s top diplomat during President Barack Obama’s first term, is recovering at home after the incident last week and is being monitored by doctors, according to a statement by aide Philippe Reines. No further details were immediately available. The statement said Clinton was dehydrated because of the virus and that she fainted and sustained a concussion. She will continue to work from home in the week ahead and looks forward to being back in the office ‘‘soon,’’ the statement said. Image via AP
Barbara Walters’ 10 Most Fascinating People of 2012 special aired last night, and the #1 most fascinating of the electic mix of individuals was revealed at last: David Petraeus! The special highlighted the achievements and antics of those that kept us enthralled for the past 12 months, from Ben Affleck to Gabby Douglas to Honey Boo Boo . But it was Petraeus, the decorated U.S. military hero now disgraced by an affair that forced his resignation as director of the CIA, who took the top prize. “He is, without question, one of the finest officers and minds of his generation,” said Walters. “Then shockingly, he resigned as head of the CIA because he’d had an extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell, his biographer. … The story was irresistible.” “The keeper of the nation’s secrets, unable to conceal his own.” Yes … the story of a man attracted to a younger woman who was taken with him is so unique. Paula Broadwell , of course, was revealed as Petraeus mistress after apparently emailing Jill Kelley, another woman he knew socially, and telling her to step off. Petraeus has been married to his wife, Holly, for 37 years. On the entertainment side, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane received a spot, along with British boy band One Direction and 50 Shades of Grey author E L James. Political nods went to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. What do you think of David Petraeus as the year’s most fascinating person? Yes, that story was the craziest! No, are you kidding me? View Poll »
Hugh Jackman is way more emo than I thought. But I’ll get to that in a moment. Among the filmmakers who turned up to praise the Les Misérables star at the Museum of the Moving Image’s salute to Jackman in lower Manhattan on Tuesday night was The Dark Knight Rises director Christopher Nolan who grew an enormous Cheshire-Cat grin when I asked him if the Superman reboot he is producing, Man of Steel , would see a cameo by Joseph Gordon-Levitt , or any actor, as Batman, and if he had any objections to a cameo as a continuity move to tie the Supes movie to the 2015 Justice League movie. “I can’t talk about that. You know that,” Nolan said cheerily. I didn’t know that, actually, but now that I do, I feel compelled to point out that, despite the frustratingly inconclusive nature of his answer, it’s not a ‘No.’ Yes, JG-L’s camp shot down the speculation as “entirely false” back in November, but if the idea had been ruled out, wouldn’t Nolan be saying something along those lines, too, so that the fan boys could move on? You know how angry they can get when their casting hopes and dreams are suddenly deflated after being allowed to build for months. The impish smile on Nolan’s face as he issued that no comment also heightened my optimism, especially in the wake of the powerful Man of Steel trailer that’s now burning up the Internet. Zack Snyder’s take on Superman clearly aspires to have the kind of psychological heft and dark undertones that made The Dark Knight trilogy so satisfying. If the movie attains or even approaches those standards, a JG-L Batman cameo would not dishonor Nolan’s work and it would set the bar high for Justice League . No pressure, Warner Bros. Nolan, Hathaway, Weisz Honor Jackman At Museum of The Moving Image Fete Getting back to Jackman, who’s on the fast-track to a Best Actor Oscar nomination , Nolan had much more to say about the actor, who he directed along with Christian Bale in The Prestige . The filmmaker told guests at the Museum of the Moving Image fete that though “ruthless” is not a word usually associated with Jackman, The Wolverine star is indeed “ruthless creatively” and a performer “driven by intense ambition.” The director also said that he looked forward to working with Jackman again, “probably not on a musical though,” despite Jackman’s urging him to direct one. Also praising Jackman were his wife, actress Deborra-Lee Furness, his X-Men Origins: Wolverine co-star Liev Schreiber , director Mike Nichols, former Saturday Night Live cast member Rachel Dratch , who got big laughs mocking Jackman’s Australian dialect and two of his Les Misérables co-stars Anne Hathaway and Eddie Redmayne . In an effusive, rambling speech, Hathaway called Jackman “deep as the sea.” Rachel Weisz offered up an even more intriguing description of the actor, calling him an “incredible cocktail of light and dark.” She also told the most revealing story of the night: During the filming of The Fountain , which was directed by her ex-husband Darren Aronofsky , Weisz said that Jackman gave himself so completely to a scene in which his character realizes he’s going to die that “he sobbed for about half an hour after the cameras stopped” while Weisz comforted him. “He’d gone to the deepest, darkest place a person can go,” she said. “And he wasn’t faking it.” Jackman kept his speech much lighter saying that his Christmas gift wish list was a simple one. All he wanted, he said, was “a movie with me starring in it to open on Christmas Day.” Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Matt Damon channeled Bill Clinton on a recent Tonight Show with Jay Leno . He recalled a trip he made to Camp David during the Clinton presidency when he and Ben Affleck brought along their Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting . Damon recalled how a producer from the film told the Prez that he was friends with John Travolta who was starring in Primary Colors , a film considered unflattering to Bill Clinton and did a great impression of him. Damon recalls the story and then morphs into the then POTUS. Check it out…
Aviation and music tycoon Sir Richard Branson and his son Sam Branson are no fans of the War on Drugs and they’re hoping a new film that they launched on YouTube will do for their cause what An Inconvenient Truth did for the issue of global warming. Produced through the younger Branson’s production company, Sundog Pictures, Breaking the Taboo features a host of notables including former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, other former world leaders as well as experts and other household names in a doc hoping to change hearts and minds about the global war on drugs. Clinton is shown in the trailer saying the War on Drugs, which has cost billions and jailed thousands in the U.S. alone, “hasn’t worked.” Morgan Freeman narrates the English version of the pic, the trailer of which opens with Richard Nixon’s proclamation ushering in the U.S. War on Drugs. Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal narrates the Spanish version of the film, which has its trailer available on YouTube. The site indicated the full-length Breaking the Taboo will bow December 7th. “I am hoping in the same way that Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth opened people’s eyes to global warming issues…, Branson told The Guardian . This film will open people’s eyes on the war on drugs and the failed war on drugs and make it easier for people who want to be brave and do something about it.” Sam Branson said the film will head to YouTube because of its “potential to reach millions. Both Branson look to countries such as Portugal and Spain where drug users receive treatment as opposed to jail time as providing an example. Sir Richard calls the legalization of marijuana as “inevitable” and added that most in power secretly agree with him. “I have hardly ever come across a politician that won’t say – off the record – what needs to be done…in the end they just need to be brave.” Washington and Colorado voted to legalize marijuana in the most recent election and the U.N. general assembly voted to hold a special session on drugs in 2016. Obama is also seen in the film before being elected saying that a change is needed, though he has held the line on decriminalization earlier this year. “We would be hopeful that in a second term Obama intends at the very least to start treating drugs as a healthcare problem, not a criminal problem,” said Sir Richard Branson. Check out the trailer below : [ Source: The Guardian ]
It’s never too early to start thinking about the 2016 election. Okay, maybe it is, but those who have like the prospects of Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush. Yes, a Clinton-Bush White House race. Can you imagine? By 2016, eight years after Barack Obama succeeded George W. Bush and outlasted Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, both political dynasties could rise again. The mere candidacy, let alone nomination and victory, of one or the other is no sure thing, but Clinton and Jeb Bush will loom large over their respective parties. Clinton, in particular, became her party’s leading contender in the 2016 nomination process starting the instant President Obama won reelection Tuesday. After barely falling short in 2008 and earning high marks and soaring approval ratings in four years as U.S. Secretary of State, she’d be the front-runner, hands down. Clinton is 65, however, and it is an open question as to whether she still covets the presidency and return to the political spotlight a campaign would entail. Jeb Bush, 59, most likely wouldn’t clear the room of potential competitors like Hillary, but remains one of the most talked-about GOP names for 2016. His two-term governorship of Florida, political gravitas, fundraising capability and appeal to Hispanics makes him a very formidable Republican, indeed. Bush’s wife, Columba, is of Mexican descent; their eldest son George P. Bush recently filed papers to run for office in his home state of Texas. Jeb Bush was mentioned – even encouraged by some to run- as a candidate for the 2012 GOP nomination; on a roster of 2016 contenders, he’d be top-tier. Who would you like to see run in the 2016 election?
