#jeff klein

Crazy Bread Bouquet Little Caesars lovers in the south-Atlantic area can show some love to their Valentines by sending a beautiful bouquet of Crazy Bread to celebrate the holiday this year. The bouquets will be available from February 7th through February 14th at select stores in the Charleston, SC area and some other locations along the southern Atlantic coast. “We’re taking the tradition of…

Amid the bi-partisan mania over the Trump-Putin Summit in Helsinki, fevered, anti-Russian rhetoric in the United States makes conceivable what until recently seemed inconcievable: that dangerous tensions between Russia and the U.S. could lead to military conflict. It has happened before.

In September 1959, during a brief thaw in the Cold War, Nikita Khrushchev made his famous visit to the United States. In Los Angeles, the Soviet leader was invited to a luncheon at Twentieth Century-Fox Studios in Hollywood and during a long and rambling exchange he had this to say:

“Your armed intervention in Russia was the most unpleasant thing that ever occurred in the relations between our two countries, for we had never waged war against America until then; our troops have never set foot on American soil, while your troops have set foot on Soviet soil.”

These remarks by Khrushchev were little noted in the U.S. press at the time – especially compared to his widely-reported complaint about not being allowed to visit Disneyland.  But even if Americans read about Khrushchev’s comments it is likely that few of them would have had any idea what the Soviet Premier was talking about.

But Soviet – and now Russian — memory is much more persistent.  The wounds of foreign invasions, from Napoleon to the Nazis, were still fresh in Russian public consciousness in 1959 — and even in Russia today — in a way most Americans could not imagine.  Among other things, that is why the Russians reacted with so much outrage to the expansion of NATO to its borders in the 1990’s, despite U.S. promises not to do so during the negotiations for the unification of Germany.

The U.S. invasion Khrushchev referred to took place a century ago, after the October Revolution and during the civil war that followed between Bolshevik and anti-Bolshevik forces, the Red Army against White Russians.  While the Germans and Austrians were occupying parts of Western and Southern Russia, the Allies launched their own armed interventions in the Russian North and the Far East in 1918.

The Allied nations, including Britain, France, Italy, Japan and the U.S., cited various justifications for sending their troops into Russia: to “rescue” the Czech Legion that had been recruited to fight against the Central Powers; to protect allied military stores and keep them out of the hands of the Germans; to preserve communications via the Trans-Siberian Railway; and possibly to re-open an Eastern Front in the war.  But the real goal – rarely admitted publicly at first—was to reverse the events of October and install a more “acceptable” Russian government. As Winston Churchill later put it, the aim was to “strangle the Bolshevik infant in its cradle.”

In addition to Siberia, the U.S. joined British and French troops to invade at Archangel, in the north of Russia, on September 4, 1918. 

It seems that we may need to be reminded every generation or so of the perils of foreign military intervention and the simple truth asserted by General Graves:

“. . .there isn’t a nation on earth that would not resent foreigners sending troops into their country, for the purpose of putting this or that faction in charge.  The result is not only an injury to the prestige of the foreigner intervening, but is a great handicap to the faction the foreigner is trying to assist.”

General Graves was writing about Siberia in 1918, but it could just as well have been Vietnam in the 1960s or Afghanistan and Syria now. Or a warning today about 30,000 NATO troops on Russia’s borders.

My new video is is full of confusing comic nerd weirdness. If you enjoy Marvel, check it out!

A confusing continuity conversation, all about the Guardians of the Galaxy’s Mantis. My friend Jeff had been wanting to spring this absurdly complicated info dump on me for a while, but he insisted that I have the cameras rolling when he did. I’m glad, because the mess that is Mantis makes fun video fodder. And honestly? We barely scratched the surface…which I found out when I went looking for…

This piece is just so beautifully savage towards the self-righteous arrogance of early 2010's leftism. Here's some choice quotes.

More California Asparagus Acres Going Under

Another well-known California asparagus grower is taking out production. Acres of California land pushing out asparagus has continued to dwindle for the last several decades. AgNet West talked to Klein Family Farms President Jeff Klein last year when well-known asparagus packer Kings Crown out of Tracy shut its doors. “10, possibly 15 years ago there was at least 35,000, and I want to say closer…

In its first full-length episode, the Kryptonopolis Bugle examines what separates a superhero from other types of heroes.

An in-depth analysis of the term “Superhero”, comparing and contrasting with other heroic genres, such as 80s Action, Barbarian, and Romantic. Featuring a surprising amount of Booster Gold content!

Be sure to check out the Kryptonopolis Bugle on YouTube, and subscribe if you want more!

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THE REAL DEAL LA  |  FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Updated: Friday, February 24, 2017, 2:23 p.m.: It’s the hotel where Katy Perry first went public with new boo Orlando Bloom; where Jerry Hall flashed the engagement ring Rupert Murdoch gave her at a Golden Globes party; and where Rachel Zoe recently presented her latest collection to a party of guests that included Emma Stone, Selena Gomez and The Weeknd. Now, its owners are looking to take that seen-and-be-seen cache to the bank.

From left, Jeff Klein, the Sunset Tower Hotel and Rachel Zoe on the night of her show there (Getty, JK Hotel Group)

Hotelier Jeff Klein and his partner, an entity owned by Thai billionaire Thosapong Jaruthavee  — also known as “Mr. T” — are looking to sell the 81-key Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood for a price in the $90 million range, sources told The Real Deal. If they succeed, the $1.1 million a room price tag would make the WeHo record books.

The 117,656-square-foot Art Deco hotel at 8358 Sunset Boulevard  — where a penthouse room costs $2,250 a night — is on offer with or without the current brand and management in place, said sources with knowledge of the listing.

Jeff Davis and Tony Muscio of JLL are quietly shopping the property, sources said, but the brokers could not be reached for comment. Representatives of Klein’s JK Hotel Group also did not respond to requests.

Mr. T’s outfit bought an 80 percent stake in the hotel property for $75 million in 2015, from an investment group led by Peter Krulewitch. Klein retained his 20 percent interest in the property. JLL’s Davis and Muscio, along with their colleague John Strauss, handled that sale.

Klein and Krulewitch bought the property in 2004 for a mere $18.5 million, according to the New York Post. Klein, in humble fashion, told reporters he borrowed heavily to acquire it. Under his stewardship, the hotel, which was a hangout for Frank Sinatra, entered a new era, with its Tower Bar becoming a go-to spot for a new generation of celebrities.

The hotel played host to Vanity Fair’s Oscar party for 15 years, until 2015.

If JLL’s brokers can indeed fetch $1.1 million a room, it would set a per-square-foot price record for hotel sales in West Hollywood, said Bruce Baltin of PKF Consulting, a division of CBRE. The priciest recent sale in the city was Northwood Investors’ 2013 acquisition of the London West Hollywood hotel for $195 million, or about $975,000 per room, Baltin said, adding that he expected Klein to get his ask.

“Architecturally, the Sunset Tower Hotel is well regarded and iconic,” he said. “West Hollywood is a healthy market, with a good mix of leisure and entertainment.”

Many hotels will soon finish their trek through WeHo’s pipeline — the James, the Edition, the Pendry and the Kimpton La Peer among them. But the city, which has a hotel occupancy rate in the low 80 percent range, is likely to absorb them, Baltin said.

Elsewhere in Southern California, the $1 million-per-key watermark has been surpassed. The Montage Laguna Beach, in Orange County, traded for $360 million, or $1.4 million a room, in 2015.

Although it was not an outright sale, Mr. T’s stake in the Sunset Tower was also a record, according to Vincent Chang of Cushman & Wakefield. Factoring for only 80 percent of the rooms, in accordance with its 80 percent stake, it paid almost $1.3 million a unit.

Klein launched his own firm in 2000 when he opened New York’s City Club. In L.A., his JK Hotel Group acquired the San Vicente Inn in Los Angeles. Its long-planned renovation is set to be completed in early 2018.

Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that Klein’s partner is an entity owned by Thai billionaire Thosapong Jaruthavee.