Last week, Mr. and Mrs. Shawn Carter celebrated their fifth anniversary by visiting Cuba, along with their mothers and a small entourage of bodyguards. The power couple better known as Beyoncé and Jay-Z did what you’d expect of tourists to the historic capital of a tropical island: Walked around Old Havana in summer clothes, taking pictures (her) and smoking cigars (him); dined out in restaurants (even though, less typically, police had to be called to keep crowds of fans at bay) and on rooftop terraces; and danced to some of Cuba’s famous music.

But tourism, of course, is prohibited under America’s 50-year-old trade embargo against communist Cuba. And living it up on “Cuba or, as the informed refer to it, ‘the island prison,’” makes Beyoncé and Jay-Z “useful idiots extraordinaire,” says A.J. Delgado at Mediaite. “While dining, partying, and enjoying the best Havana has to offer, Beyoncé and Jay-Z not only legitimize and support the repressive regime, with both their presence and their cash, but turn a blind eye, cruelly, to the perils and languishing of the Cuban people.” This is especially galling because they are “proud African-Americans,” and Cuba is “notorious for relegating its black population to second-class status, or worse.”

How were Beyoncé and Jay-Z able to visit Cuba?

The Hollywood Foreign Press announced its nominees for the 70th annual Golden Globe awards early Thursday. Who was snubbed? Who came out on top? A few of our picks:

Losers: AMC, Game of Thrones, Matthew McConaughey
Winners: Anne Hathaway, Quentin Tarantino, Girls 

See the rest of The Week’s rundown here.

PHOTO: Universal Pictures

(Source: theweek.com)

The American Music Awards celebrated its 40th anniversary Sunday with a rather colorful telecast that brought together the country’s most popular musicians, singers, and songwriters.  In one of the night’s biggest (and most awkward) moments, Jenny McCarthy accosted winner Justin Bieber with kisses.

Here, a look back at 11 more iconic snapshots from the AMA archives.

(Source: theweek.com)

Cartoon of the day: Spotlight on science 
CAMERON CARDOW © 2012 Cagle Cartoons

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“As you can imagine, I am a little occupied at the moment, but perhaps someday I can help you forget Sarah Marshall…again. My only condition is that there be Muppets involved, and that is non-negotiable.”

— Hillary Clinton’s unsolicited response to Jason Segel, after he quipped to Us Weekly that he’d like to work with Clinton on a sequel to Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

“Can the Secretary of State get any hipper?” Yes. Yes she can. 

boston:

Beyonce’s baby news bigger than bin Laden

- Twitter’s PR team sent out a tweet on Monday that Beyonce’s pregnancy news at the MTV VMAs hit a new record, launching 8,868 Tweets per second on the popular micro-blogging site.