After all, what was there to discuss? I’d banned the publicity-craving heiress from my gossip column in the New York Daily News in December 2004. I was faithful to the injunction right up until the moment, less than two years later, when my column was discontinued. But Paris persisted — untroubled by, and no doubt ignorant of, my feeble protest against her terrifying campaign for world domination.

Despite a lack of any discernible talent, education, scruples, manners, modesty or underpants, she is bigger than ever. Her hegemony over the popular culture is so pervasive that a Google search retrieves nearly 16 million “Paris Hilton” citations (although some small portion of those may be references to the Hilton Hotel in Paris), compared with only 3.5 million for “Hillary Clinton,” a woman who would be president.

So I can hardly blame the Associated Press for losing its nerve. The nation’s biggest wire service — which provides breaking news to tens of thousands of media outlets — vowed last month to ignore the trivial pursuits of hotel magnate Conrad Hilton’s leggy, blond great-granddaughter, who combines the sex appeal of a Swedish bikini model with the survival skills of a Norway rat.

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That’s the word from upset parents, who say the school rules make it difficult for them to keep contact with their children.

They would have aired their concerns during a satellite link-up with the chat show queen a week ago, but that was cancelled at short notice by the school’s management body.

Meanwhile the school seems to have made the rules even stricter. Until now, the girls could receive visitors every fortnight, but parents can now only visit them once a month.

Frances Mans, foster mother of Gweneth Mulder, said last week she would take her daughter out of the school if the rules were not changed.

‘Surely this isn’t a prison?’

Cellphones and e-mail correspondence are out of bounds during the week, and girls are only allowed to phone their parents at weekends.

The maximum number of visitors per pupil is four, and visits have to be approved by the school at least two weeks in advance.

Mans said she had to wait at the security gate for half an hour to be signed in when she went to visit her daughter last Sunday.

“It was a nightmare. We had only two hours to see my child. Surely this isn’t a prison or an institution?”

The names of visitors must also match those on the security guard’s list before guests are allowed in.

Parents are not allowed to smuggle junk food in to the girls past the matrons.

“Then the girls lose points,” says Mans.

The girls get points for “good behaviour”, which they can exchange at a school shop for clothes and caps.

No treats allowed

“The poor children are not even allowed to have any treats. Their diet is fruit, yoghurt and sandwiches. When they go on holiday for a month in April they’ll be stuffing themselves with sweets and chocolates in any case.”

Angela Conradie, whose daughter Michelle is at the school, says she’s just as upset about the strict visiting times.

“Michelle phones me in tears sometimes, and then I don’t know what to say to her,” says Conradie.

John Samuels, the executive head of the school, confirmed that only one visit a month would be allowed in future.

This means that if a girl has five siblings, she will only be able to see all of them over a period of three months.

Samuels says he sees nothing wrong with the system.

“We have the security and well-being of the girls at heart, in every respect. They are our priority. If there’s too much movement on the premises at the weekend, it disturbs the school spirit.”

The duo was spotted lunching as a family – with sons Brandon, 10, and Dylan, 9, – at the trendy Santa Monica eatery The Ivy this week.

Pam, who split from Kid Rock, 35, last November after four months of marriage, was snapped by photogs in a steamy smooch with Tommy as she exited the restaurant. No word yet on whether the two are back into their old ways, but one thing is for sure – that liplock is H-O-T!

A more ‘democratised’ television is needed to “give people a voice”, he believes.

His comments come ahead of the launch of a new television channel in the UK that will be created by and for 18- to 34-year-olds.

The global satellite and cable channel Current TV will have at least 30 per cent of its content provided by the viewers themselves.

“It’s part of an effort to democratise the television medium and to give individuals a chance to put their own perspectives on television; that’s really what it’s all about viewer created content,” Mr Gore told BBC Radio Five Live.

“It’s designed to give individuals a voice. People make television about what’s going on in their lives, in their own voices. We want to give a chance to join the global conversation.”

He added that the content would include short documentaries typically between three and eight minutes “from all over” the world.

Mr Gore is no stranger to cameras; his documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, was a worldwide hit and was named as the best documentary feature at this year’s Academy Awards.

Fflam, the Welsh word for flame, aims to be the country’s equivalent of Scotland’s hugely successful T in the Park.

Placebo will headline on Saturday and other acts confirmed so far include Manic Street Preachers, Levellers, Feeder and new group Enter Shakira.

Sunday night’s main artist is to be announced in the next few weeks and more than 50 bands will play across the three-day festival, which is expected to be attended by 30,000 music fans.

Nicky Wire from Welsh group Manic Street Preachers, said that it would be “good to be back in Swansea”.

Alongside the heavyweight bands will be three unsigned acts as a competition is being launched to find three new Welsh acts to perform at the festival on the main stage. Runners-up will play on the festival’s talent stage.

Festival promoter John Curd of Straight Music said: “As well as giving locals the chance to see some of the best live bands around, we are also dedicated to nurturing new talent and the full line up will reflect that.”

Gerald Clement, Swansea council’s cabinet member for culture, recreation and tourism, said that the line-up will “certainly put Swansea on the UK’s top festivals map”.

“This is an excellent opportunity, to not only showcase Swansea, but also Wales, as the line-up has such national appeal,” he added.

Fflam will take place at Swansea’s Singleton Park from Friday July 13th to Sunday July 15th. Tickets go on sale on today.

Enraged hacks, who had been blocked from the wedding due to an exclusive photo deal with ‘Hello!’ magazine, tried to gain entry to the Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur after chasing Liz and her new husband Arun Nayar when they arrived in a Bentley car.

The paparazzi had been camped outside the fort for the three-day ceremony but a fight broke out when the couple eventually arrived and tried to get through a security cordon.

This spilled over into a brawl as the journalists attempted to gain entry to the wedding and a female writer was apparently “slapped” by a security guard.

Liz retuned to London yesterday after trying the knot in India in what was a second wedding ceremony after their bash at Gloucestershire’s Sudeley Castle last weekend.

Since going into rehab last week in Malibu, Britney has been opening up about her unhealthy lifestyle and eventually told doctors about the bulimia she has suffered since her teenage years.

A source told All Headline News: ‘Her first week in detox was real hell. She was in a total mess but slowly she’s pulling through.

‘She was throwing the whole lot up, so, naturally, her medications weren’t working. Now the medical experts know why, her progress should pick up a little speed.’

Soon to be ex-husband Kevin Federline has also been paying the singer a visit so that she can see her two boys who she misses.

Witnesses claim she looked visibly upset when her sons left but she is still enrolled at the Promises clinic.

‘Desperate Housewives’ star Eva Longoria has revealed some of her plans for her forthcoming nuptials to basketball-ace Tony Parker.

Due to be married on 7th July 2007, Eva has already sorted out the evening’s entertainment, having set her eye on an American country music star.

‘My friend Kenny Chesney is going to sing at my wedding,’ she told Cosmopolitan magazine, before admitting that she hadn’t actually asked him yet.

Eva has also been raving about her wedding dress, reportedly being designed by French fashion designer, Monique Lhuillier.

‘My dress, my dress, my dress! I wish I could wear ten dresses to my wedding,’ she enthused. ‘It’s so sad that you put it in storage and then never see it again.’

When asked what her secret was to maintaining a healthy relationship, Eva stated: ‘We never go to bed angry, which sometimes frustrates Tony because he’ll be like ‘Please. I have a game tomorrow. I need sleep.

‘Another rule we have is that nobody is ever right. I don’t need to be right. I just want to be understood. The same goes for him.’

The wedding bells are also understood to be making the actress broody as she confessed that she would like to start planning for a family in the future, adding: ‘I do want to have a family at some point. I also want to adopt. I don’t feel pressure to have kids because I know there are so many out there.’

Or maybe she just woke up one morning and thought she’d like to have a little ray of sunshine on her head.

I don’t know if I like LiLo as a blonde yet…ok, I don’t like Lindsay as a self-indulgent twit.

Does Miss Clairol make a rinse for that?

Is Paris Hilton getting dissed by the its-a-good-thing-he’s-funny Vince Vaughn? Paris and Vince were sitting across from each other at a celebrity poker torunament when Paris reportedly tried her hand at flirting with Vince. And it took Vince less than a nano-second to distance himself from the been everywhere, done everyone heiress.

From MSN:

But a “close Vaughn buddy” insists to the Chicago Sun-Times that the recent ex of Jennifer Aniston has no intention of going where two Greek billion-heirs, a former boy-bander and an ooky “Girls Gone Wild” mogul have gone before. “First of all, she flirted with him,” the insider clarifies to the paper. “Trust me, Vince is not interested in Paris Hilton.”

If it was possible to put a dent in Paris’ overly high opinion of herself, this might do it. Not only did she get turned down by a bloated guy on the rebound, but Vince is so worried about being seen within ten feet of her that he had to issue an anti-Paris statement. Or maybe it was just a public serivce message about avoiding herpes…either way, bad news for Paris.

Penelope Cruz may have dumped ex-boyfriend Tom Cruise, but did she take a little piece of his crazy away from the relationship? Rumor has it that the Spanish hottie has been seen hanging around Tom’s favorite haunt…The Scientology Celebrity Center.

From zeenews.com:

She was a regular visitor at the Scientology Celebrity Center in the two weeks leading up to the Academy Awards. A source said: “She spent several afternoons there. When she’s in Los Angeles, she goes often.”

So maybe Penelope is jumping on the spaceship, or maybe she’s a smart business woman and she’s looking to ingratiate herself in one of the major power spots in Hollywood. Seriously, forget Hyde, if you want to make a deal hit the Celebrity Center. Is it a coincidence that after hanging with the original Cruise Penelope’s career took off and now that she’s been spotted at the C.C. she gets nominated for an Academy Award? Call me paranoid if you want, but someone is working on changing the Hollywood sign to Hubbard-land.

From The National Ledger:

Do blondes have more fun? One thing is certain, Hollywood is full of the platinum gals and In Touch Weekly has put together its list of the hottest blondes in Tinseltown. Leading the way is Christina Aguilera. Xtina just edges out the newly single Reese Witherspoon who had what many believed was the hottest look at the Oscars.

So I’m guessing you didn’t get disqualified for being a chemically enhanced blonde. Of course Christina has changed her hair color so many times that she might actually be a natural blonde and we’d never know it. Well, I guess there is one way to find out the truth, but I don’t want to go that far up her skirt.

From EW.com

A woman claiming to be a former nanny for Madonna is currently shopping a tell-all memoir detailing the inner workings of the Madonna-Guy Ritchie household. EW.com has seen the 80-page proposal, which is being circulated among major publishing houses. The document proposes a book that will reveal intimate information gleaned from Melissa Dumas’ service as Madonna’s nanny. Sample chapters and chapter summaries provide a laundry list of alleged details pertaining to Madonna’s marriage to Ritchie, their children’s behavior, the family’s participation in Kabbalah, and the motivation behind Madonna’s decision to adopt a boy from Malawi. The pitch also contains personal photos of Madonna’s family, as well as photos of the alleged nanny playing with Madonna’s kids.

This book has lawsuit written all over it. That is if Madonna lets the woman live. Maybe the nanny was too busy taking notes on what Lourdes and Rocco ate for lunch or stealing family photos to notice Madonna’s workout schedule. Cause unless this nanny was a German weightlifter, Madge could her snap her like a cheap chopstick.

From MSN:

According to Us Weekly, the meltdown-suffering mom of Sean Preston, 18 months, and Jayden James, 6 months, is “miserable” at the spalike center, with an insider claiming she “has been getting in tons of trouble.”

Among her alleged infractions: making too many phone calls and venturing out to pick up some new togs (she reportedly spent $3,000 at Los Angeles boutique Intuition during an online retail-therapy session).

Despite Promises’ nontough love approach, Brit still seems to be having a tough time working through the first of the 12 steps.

“She’s convinced she’s suffering from postpartum depression and does not think she has an alcohol or drug problem,” tattles the snitch. “She’s angry at her family and her manager for pressuring her to enter the program. She feels she was ambushed.”

She thinks Mama driving her to rehab was an ambush? After the head shaving, car bashing week Britney spent before she went into Promises her family could have tossed a net over her, stuffed her in a sack and rolled her all the way to Promises and no one would have held it against them.

Motherhood looks good on Jen. And it must work on her since she told the British verison of Marie Claire that she wants more kids someday. Not that I blame her, Violet even makes my ovaries tingle a little. Here’s what Jen says about being a mom.

“Since having my daughter,” Garner says, “I feel both happiness and anxiety more deeply.”

Even without the object of my lust Ben Affleck anywhere in sight, these pics made my shriveled heart melt just a little. Now I need to go find some celebrites doing stupid stuff before I go all soft and squishy.