Masked Gunmen Steal Art Masterpieces in Zurich

"Count Lepic and his Daughters" by Edgar Degas (1871), and "Boy in a Red Waistcoat" by Paul Cézanne (1888).


"Poppies near Vetheuil" by Claude Monet (1879), "Chestnut in Bloom" by Vincent Van Gogh (1890)

Three thieves wearing ski masks, speaking accented German and toting guns, took 180 seconds to leave a Swiss private museum with negative white space after boosting a Cézanne, Degas, Van Gogh and Monet right off the walls from their glass enclosures. Shocked employees and gallery visitors were held at bay with the threat of violence as the signature pieces in the E. G. Bührle Collection were hastily shoved into a waiting getaway vehicle. Zürich, picturesque home of the mega gadget security locked down banks featuring numbered accounts, just endured Europe's worst art robbery worth over $163 million USD, making it a potential plot twist in a future Ocean 14- 36 script.

The burglars fled in a white van with possibly one of the paintings sticking out of the back, said Judith Hoedel, a police spokeswoman. Police were searching for witnesses who might have seen the van or caught a closer look at the men involved, she said, noting that one of the three spoke German with a heavy Slavic accent.

This is one of the largest robberies in Europe, and nearly comparable in value to the benchmark heist in 1990 of 12 works from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. At the time, that theft was said to be worth $200 million. While many of the paintings spirited out of the Gardner have been recovered, a priceless Vermeer, called "The Concert," is still missing.

The art stolen in Zurich came from the collection of Emil Georg Buhrle, a German industrialist based in Switzerland who built his fortune selling arms to both the Nazis and Allied forces during World War II. A former art student, Bührle amassed one of Europe's great Impressionist and early modern collections after the war, acquiring the celebrated "Boy in the Red Waistcoat" in 1948 -- the Paul Cézanne painting stolen Sunday. (AP Photo)

Major Embarrassing Swiss Problem is this is the second major art robbery in less than a week, with two Picassos being carted off from the small town of Pfäffikon as if they were free pastries. All of the stolen art is well known, albeit rare works, photographed many times. This makes selling on the open market tough, with the black market with no need for fussy time swallowing legitimate paper trails. The fingers crossed hope is the thieves took random works without a buyer in the hopes of fencing them when the investigation is not on the front burner. That may be wishful Tinkerbell thinking as London's recent art auction showed no ill economic effects and plenty of high dollar bidders vying to own more modern art rather than a bunch of world famous 19th century masters with differing styles.


Sue Roe gives us insight into the core of the masters by examining the influences of their natural environments on their art in The Private Lives of the Impressionist. This book is a new and important addition to a body of work studying Impressionism. Renoir, Cézanne, Degas, Monet and Van Gogh among others are followed in intimate detail noting the significant and worst moments of their lives.

Seoul & London Lose Historic Landmarks

For six centuries in South Korea, the Great South Gate protected an ancient city, Namdaemun. Re-opening the two tiered structure in 2006 after extensive renovations was a joyous national occasion now marred by suspicions that arson destroyed a hallowed place. Previously 1907 marked the last time the gate opened to the Korean public. A saddened President-elect Lee Myung-bak toured the torched gate, officially called Sungnyemun or Gate of Exalted Ceremonies Monday. Hundreds of firefighters made a heroic effort to save the historic gate and major tourist attraction. Lines of grieving people watched the firefighting efforts come to naught but charred remains, part of a nation's glory.

The South Korean government opened the landmark gate, officially named Sungnyemun, to public in 2006 for first time in nearly a century.

The gate had been off-limits to the public since Japanese colonial authorities built an electric tramway nearby in 1907. Japan ruled the Korean Peninsula in 1910-45.

Losses worth 20 billion won, 14.5 million euros or $21 million USD put a monetary value on the physical loss in the South Korean tragedy. A prior prestigious World Cultural Heritage Site, the 18th Century Hwaseong Fortress, located in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, was lost to fire in 2006 due to drunken behavior. Cameras may have caught sight of what is believed to be suspicious activity. Nothing prepared the South Korean population to lose the treasure dubbed number one.

Thousands of miles away in a twisted solidarity, London mourned the loss of their world famous trendy Camden Market. A unique North London market filled with almost 300 stalls went up in smoke as the London Fire Brigade tried valiantly to save books, antiques and livelihoods for hundreds of people. The market is popular with tourists, Britain's young glitterati like Kate Moss or out of the mainstream consciousness folks featuring a great place to get one of a kind cool clothes. Four time Grammy winner tonight, Amy Winehouse gave a heartfelt shout out to Camden town acknowledging the tragedy after her satellite performance during her award thank you.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: "We are concerned about the structural safety of all of the buildings that have been damaged and the risk of collapse and that includes the Hawley Arms."

Large sections of Camden High Street were cordoned off yesterday.

Mehran Rezae, 43, a trader at the 203 Shop on Camden High Street, said: "The reason that everyone comes here is for these markets. It is famous throughout the world.

"Losing trade like this is very bad news for everyone. If things are closed off for too long it could have a really bad effect in the long term."

Nearby buildings and homes were surrounded and at least two pubs, one being the famed Hawley Arms burned during the blaze that destroyed the over thirty year old Canal Market. There are assurances form the Holding company that work on replacing the market will begin as soon as the investigation into the fire's origins is completed. Replacement costs and insurance claims are expected to cost million of pounds. That does not include the costs of shuttered businesses on Camden High Street that remain roped off and inaccessible to tourist foot traffic.

Beset and beseeched by troubles and drama, Londoner, Amy Winehouse, regularly frequents the area where fashion intersects with music. Amy's unique hip sound can be heard in her Grammy nominated and Award CD, Back to Black.

Hip, Chic and Shocking Grammy Fashion

Grammy Glam!!!! Just work the Calvin Klein Fabulous Fergie!

Natasha Bedingfield makes purple pop.
Belated Christmas - Alicia is wearing a dress Lisa Rinna has....but she got a Grammy and a Prince congrats!

It's raining Grammy's: Lukas Bok and Shimmy Jiyan of the Soweto Gospel Choir were comfy. Angelique Kidjo had a golden gramophone to go with the lamée wrap.

Fashion Tragedy Train Wrecks on the Red Carpet:

Flopping From France: Elodie Bouchez, Maurice Eloise XII, Keely - Hide thine eyes...

Oh dear, Rhianna left the Umbrella behind as the critics will pour cold water over this dress.

She's feathers up on stage!






Adrienne Lau sparkles in a short mini something or other.





A real don't repeat up mohawk look for Alicia Keys in Armani, saccharine Carrie Underwood with florals, did you see the florals...then philanthropist Cher arrived with auburn locks in tatters.

Miley Cyrus on to her first ball sans prince. Cyndi Lauper glove treatment

Grammy Guys:

An over accessorized Mika, and stripes from Foo Fighter's Dave Grohl & Ne-Yo

Los Angeles's Staple Center is the intimate concert setting for the 50th edition of the GRAMMY's. For the week before the Staple Center sported a Grammy Gift Lounge filled with bling and swag stars love! Great music performances, avant garde fashion statements and the latest gossip about who is or should be in what plush rehab facility dominate the night. Party planners for the National Academy of Recording Artists festivities have a much easier time than those who pulled 2008 Oscar gigs. The so chi-chi Vanity Fair Oscar Party has already teetered, then bit the star dust in lieu of settling Hollywood's writer strike. Been so busy lately, I missed Project Runway so here's my are they in or out nods to Grammy fashionistas and flopsters. (Photos courtesy Reuters)

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin received R-E-S-P-E-C-T Friday from MusiCare in a tribute and award preceding Sunday's 18th golden GRAMMY.

Shout out!!! to the dapper Barack Obama who is busy getting Virginians and Marylanders votes as well as those from Grammy voters for his official GRAMMY for audio vocals on The Audacity of Hope.

Putin Returns Russia to Cold War Arms Race

Casting a peaceful revamped hammer and sickle nation as stuck watching in horror as the evil US empire beefs up on European based missile defense shields against a benevolent Mother Russia is something only a daring former head KGB spy like Putin would pull off with a straight face. His hemispheric example of closing Soviet missile bases in former client states, Vietnam and Cuba, showed Russia heeding concerns. But now, the US is playing war games in his backyard and he says get off his lawn. Time's Man of the Year, Vlad, gets a three-fer out of his reluctant warrior speech in front of the full State Council. He charts the forced march Russia is on for Dmitry Medvedev, his handpicked presidential puppet, as he elevates/retires to Prime Minister with a focus on "Special" Projects to match or trounce US arms efforts.

"It's not our fault. We didn't start it . . . funneling multibillions of dollars into developing weapons systems," Putin declared in what may be his final major address before he leaves the Kremlin after presidential elections March 2, to become prime minister.


"Russia has and always will have a response to these new challenges," Putin declared. "Over the next few years, Russia will start production of new types of arms, with the same or even superior specifications compared to those available to other nations."

Putin outright accuses the US and NATO of making Russia enter the arms race because of their perceived hegemony in the trillion dollar armament market. But the real salt in Putin's wound are US bases and missile stations in what were formerly USSR territorial possessions; Poland, Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria. His attack dog speech is also for Russian public consumption as the whiff of going on a war footing is based on his need to protect the perceived encroachment of Russia's borders.

Pooty-Poot, as a diplomacy challenged Bush nicknamed Putin, is on a drive to regain superpower status while putting the world on notice. Russia's oligarchy is changing hands with more Putin allies taking control of the economic levers. Putin ruthlessly quashed Russian internal dissent in a blazing fireball of democratic destruction by pre-emptively striking to stop cold a political rival from gaining access to the March ballot. OSCE, international election monitors walked away in protest. More members of the press have been murdered in Moscow and a former spy famously poisoned in London to keep them permanently silent.

The Kremlin is spinning Putin's pungent war machine rhetoric into something much more vanilla for world audiences. Putin's peevishness stems from stinging critiques delivered from the West on his backing out of the 1990 Conventional Forces of Europe Treaty which had caps on aircraft and other military hardware. Trust, but verify, as Reagan put it, has a new spin. The west also has deep concerns on the status of nuclear materials as new alliances shift with Russian partners - like Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadimejad.





For centuries, classic Literature captures much of the genius and life sorrows Russians endured. Most recently, a thoughtful and intriguing work was finished before the gunning down of one Russia's best journalists in the foyer of her apartment. Ana Politkovskaya penned most of her final thoughts in books including the excellent, A Russian Diary: A Journalist's Final Account of Life, Corruption and Death In Putin's Russia.