Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/
Here it is, the film by Dutch MP Geert Wilders that caused a worldwide uproar before anyone had seen a single frame: Fitna the Movie: Geert Wilders’ film about the Quran (English).
WARNING: there is some graphic footage in here, including video of people jumping from the Twin Towers on 9/11—footage that has been hidden away by the mainstream media.
This is bravery. Watch it and remember.
WARNING: there is some graphic footage in here, including video of people jumping from the Twin Towers on 9/11—footage that has been hidden away by the mainstream media.
This is bravery. Watch it and remember.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The 'Emboldenment Effect'
By JAMES TARANTO
"Researchers at Harvard say that publicly voiced doubts about the U.S. occupation of Iraq have a measurable 'emboldenment effect' on insurgents there," United Press International reports:
Periods of intense news media coverage in the United States of criticism about the war, or of polling about public opinion on the conflict, are followed by a small but quantifiable increases in the number of attacks on civilians and U.S. forces in Iraq, according to a study by Radha Iyengar, a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in health policy research at Harvard and Jonathan Monten of the Belfer Center at the university's Kennedy School of Government.
The increase in attacks is more pronounced in areas of Iraq that have better access to international news media, the authors conclude in a report titled "Is There an 'Emboldenment' Effect? Evidence from the Insurgency in Iraq." . . .
In Iraqi provinces that were broadly comparable in social and economic terms, attacks increased between 7 percent and 10 percent following what the researchers call "high-mention weeks," like the two just before the November 2006 election.
The study is here. One possible objection is the way the study counts "emboldening" statements (see pp. 9-10):
We construct an automated mentions count of potentially "emboldening" statements reported in major U.S. news outlets, which we define as the number of times top Bush administration officials--the President, Vice-President, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, Press Secretary, and the U.S. commander [in] Iraq--refer to statements or actions by other U.S. political figures that might encourage violent extremist groups in Iraq. This strategy provides an objective mechanism to classify what constitutes an emboldening or resolve-undermining statement or action.
This is probably the best the authors could do. There is no way to count "emboldening" statements directly; the definition invariably would be subjective and the count incomplete. But by relying on characterizations of Bush administration officials (and the commander in Iraq), they leave open the possibility that it is those characterizations, rather than the statements being characterized, that embolden terrorists in Iraq. In addition to "emboldening" statements, the authors also find a correlation between the release of major U.S. opinion polls about Iraq and violence there.
By JAMES TARANTO
"Researchers at Harvard say that publicly voiced doubts about the U.S. occupation of Iraq have a measurable 'emboldenment effect' on insurgents there," United Press International reports:
Periods of intense news media coverage in the United States of criticism about the war, or of polling about public opinion on the conflict, are followed by a small but quantifiable increases in the number of attacks on civilians and U.S. forces in Iraq, according to a study by Radha Iyengar, a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in health policy research at Harvard and Jonathan Monten of the Belfer Center at the university's Kennedy School of Government.
The increase in attacks is more pronounced in areas of Iraq that have better access to international news media, the authors conclude in a report titled "Is There an 'Emboldenment' Effect? Evidence from the Insurgency in Iraq." . . .
In Iraqi provinces that were broadly comparable in social and economic terms, attacks increased between 7 percent and 10 percent following what the researchers call "high-mention weeks," like the two just before the November 2006 election.
The study is here. One possible objection is the way the study counts "emboldening" statements (see pp. 9-10):
We construct an automated mentions count of potentially "emboldening" statements reported in major U.S. news outlets, which we define as the number of times top Bush administration officials--the President, Vice-President, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, Press Secretary, and the U.S. commander [in] Iraq--refer to statements or actions by other U.S. political figures that might encourage violent extremist groups in Iraq. This strategy provides an objective mechanism to classify what constitutes an emboldening or resolve-undermining statement or action.
This is probably the best the authors could do. There is no way to count "emboldening" statements directly; the definition invariably would be subjective and the count incomplete. But by relying on characterizations of Bush administration officials (and the commander in Iraq), they leave open the possibility that it is those characterizations, rather than the statements being characterized, that embolden terrorists in Iraq. In addition to "emboldening" statements, the authors also find a correlation between the release of major U.S. opinion polls about Iraq and violence there.
Monday, March 24, 2008
LGF
Media Trumpeting Another Grim Milestone
Mon, Mar 24, 2008 at 9:13:49 am PDT
The blatantly anti-war wire services are salivating and drooling over yet another “grim milestone” today (searching Google News for the phrase turns up 1,233 results), as military deaths in Iraq reached 4,000—and the most disgustingly ghoulish example is this Associated Press Flash movie, which begins with: “During the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, 2,973 people died.”
You see where they’re headed with that, of course: Military funerals.
Mon, Mar 24, 2008 at 9:13:49 am PDT
The blatantly anti-war wire services are salivating and drooling over yet another “grim milestone” today (searching Google News for the phrase turns up 1,233 results), as military deaths in Iraq reached 4,000—and the most disgustingly ghoulish example is this Associated Press Flash movie, which begins with: “During the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, 2,973 people died.”
You see where they’re headed with that, of course: Military funerals.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Wafa Sultan
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=29201_Wafa_Sultan_on_Al_Jazeera&only
How soon before someone makes her pay for her insolance?
How soon before someone makes her pay for her insolance?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Four Times More Journalists Identify as Liberal Than Conservative
By Brent Baker March 19, 2008 - 09:52 ET
A survey conducted late last year and released Monday, by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, confirmed the obvious -- that compared to the views of the public, conservatives are under-represented in national journalism while liberals are over-represented. Jennifer Harper of the Washington Times discovered the nugget buried deep in the annual “State of the Media” report from Pew's Project for Excellence in Journalism and FNC's Brit Hume on Tuesday night highlighted the findings from the survey of 222 journalists and news executives at national outlets:
Only six percent said they considered themselves conservatives and only two percent said they were very conservative. This compares with 36 percent of the overall population that describes itself as conservative. Most journalists, 53 percent, said they're moderate. 24 percent said they were liberal and eight percent very liberal.
Only 19 percent of the public consider themselves liberal. And it's not much of a leap to presume many of the 53 percent who describe themselves as “moderate” are really quite liberal.
By Brent Baker March 19, 2008 - 09:52 ET
A survey conducted late last year and released Monday, by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, confirmed the obvious -- that compared to the views of the public, conservatives are under-represented in national journalism while liberals are over-represented. Jennifer Harper of the Washington Times discovered the nugget buried deep in the annual “State of the Media” report from Pew's Project for Excellence in Journalism and FNC's Brit Hume on Tuesday night highlighted the findings from the survey of 222 journalists and news executives at national outlets:
Only six percent said they considered themselves conservatives and only two percent said they were very conservative. This compares with 36 percent of the overall population that describes itself as conservative. Most journalists, 53 percent, said they're moderate. 24 percent said they were liberal and eight percent very liberal.
Only 19 percent of the public consider themselves liberal. And it's not much of a leap to presume many of the 53 percent who describe themselves as “moderate” are really quite liberal.
Welcome to the right, Mr. Mamet
The dramatist's conversion to conservatism is good for him and for the right.
By Andrew Klavan March 19, 2008
David Mamet's public coming-out as a political conservative -- done in a 2,500-word essay in the Village Voice last week -- is wonderful news for the culture, far better, I fear, than many conservatives will appreciate. The left has monopolized the arts for so long that some on the right have lost the knack of them. We love to denounce Hollywood and indulge in paroxysms of rage about the latest artistic insults to patriotism and God. But when it comes actually to producing mature and complex works of art -- or supporting the people who produce them -- a good conservative can be very hard to find.Mamet, on the other hand, is a pillar of the arts. I don't know if he's America's greatest living playwright, but I'm hard-pressed to think of a better one. Many people know him for his movie work: "The Untouchables," "The Edge," "House of Games," etc. But it's plays such as "American Buffalo," "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Speed-the-Plow" that represent his best writing by far, each searching for remnants of heroism in the rubble of modernity through a hilarious and poetic tough-guy vernacular.
The journey 60-year-old Mamet has made from being what he calls a "brain-dead liberal" to acknowledging the genius of philosophers such as Thomas Sowell and Milton Friedman is a difficult one for an artist. We in the creative world swim in liberalism like fish in water. It's hard for us even to imagine that one might evolve and walk on dry land. "Yes," we might say to ourselves, "it certainly does seem that history has vindicated those warmongering right-wingers who opposed the Soviet Union. And really, in secret, one must admit that women and men are pretty fundamentally different. It does seem true, as well, that government programs manifestly worsen the problems they're designed to solve, whereas freedom in markets and ideas always seems strangely to improve things. ... But that doesn't mean I'm a conservative! Conservatives are mean, racist, sexist, greedy -- and they hate gay people, who are an artist's colleagues and friends! I'm nothing like that."
But creators at Mamet's level of talent are consigned to truth-telling by their deepest nature. The arts-world imperative to mouth allegiance to a creed at conflict with their new political awareness creates in them a simmering dyspepsia. You could see that already in an angry play such as 1992's "Oleanna," in which a pompous but basically decent professor is ruined by the denunciation of a student who's been body-snatched by the academic and feminist left. So now Mamet has grasped the nettle. He will come to find out just how small-minded, exclusionary and intellectually corrupt many on the left can be. Colleagues may abandon him; theater critics will contrive to ignore and attack him; his dependable audience may turn away. But he will also discover a right wing he never knew. He will discover thinkers who seek historical and moral truth as if it really mattered, and writers who defend liberty as if it were what in fact it is: the prerequisite of full humanity. Rather than the low and tiresome obsession of the left with the color of people's skins, he will find people who embrace a philosophical colorblindness. He will meet women of intelligence and competence who -- mirabile dictu -- don't despise men and manliness but openly admire them. Yes, he will find that a gathering of right-wingers is less welcoming to gay people than the left is, but he will also watch something astounding unfold. Unlike liberals, rightists, after a period of open discussion and thought, will actually admit when they're wrong and change their minds. This anti-gay prejudice will fall -- it's falling now. The big question is whether the good men and women of the right will realize what a gift they have been given in Mamet. Will they turn out for his plays and embrace their excellence? His is a hard language of four-letter words and scorching insights. Will rightists, despite their commitment to good behavior and values, remember that art is an examination of the world as it is, not as we would have it be?
The right has gained an artist. We should celebrate that. The arts are the soul of a people. It will not profit conservatives to gain even the whole world if they lose the culture.
Andrew Klavan's new novel, "Empire of Lies," is due out in July.
The dramatist's conversion to conservatism is good for him and for the right.
By Andrew Klavan March 19, 2008
David Mamet's public coming-out as a political conservative -- done in a 2,500-word essay in the Village Voice last week -- is wonderful news for the culture, far better, I fear, than many conservatives will appreciate. The left has monopolized the arts for so long that some on the right have lost the knack of them. We love to denounce Hollywood and indulge in paroxysms of rage about the latest artistic insults to patriotism and God. But when it comes actually to producing mature and complex works of art -- or supporting the people who produce them -- a good conservative can be very hard to find.Mamet, on the other hand, is a pillar of the arts. I don't know if he's America's greatest living playwright, but I'm hard-pressed to think of a better one. Many people know him for his movie work: "The Untouchables," "The Edge," "House of Games," etc. But it's plays such as "American Buffalo," "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Speed-the-Plow" that represent his best writing by far, each searching for remnants of heroism in the rubble of modernity through a hilarious and poetic tough-guy vernacular.
The journey 60-year-old Mamet has made from being what he calls a "brain-dead liberal" to acknowledging the genius of philosophers such as Thomas Sowell and Milton Friedman is a difficult one for an artist. We in the creative world swim in liberalism like fish in water. It's hard for us even to imagine that one might evolve and walk on dry land. "Yes," we might say to ourselves, "it certainly does seem that history has vindicated those warmongering right-wingers who opposed the Soviet Union. And really, in secret, one must admit that women and men are pretty fundamentally different. It does seem true, as well, that government programs manifestly worsen the problems they're designed to solve, whereas freedom in markets and ideas always seems strangely to improve things. ... But that doesn't mean I'm a conservative! Conservatives are mean, racist, sexist, greedy -- and they hate gay people, who are an artist's colleagues and friends! I'm nothing like that."
But creators at Mamet's level of talent are consigned to truth-telling by their deepest nature. The arts-world imperative to mouth allegiance to a creed at conflict with their new political awareness creates in them a simmering dyspepsia. You could see that already in an angry play such as 1992's "Oleanna," in which a pompous but basically decent professor is ruined by the denunciation of a student who's been body-snatched by the academic and feminist left. So now Mamet has grasped the nettle. He will come to find out just how small-minded, exclusionary and intellectually corrupt many on the left can be. Colleagues may abandon him; theater critics will contrive to ignore and attack him; his dependable audience may turn away. But he will also discover a right wing he never knew. He will discover thinkers who seek historical and moral truth as if it really mattered, and writers who defend liberty as if it were what in fact it is: the prerequisite of full humanity. Rather than the low and tiresome obsession of the left with the color of people's skins, he will find people who embrace a philosophical colorblindness. He will meet women of intelligence and competence who -- mirabile dictu -- don't despise men and manliness but openly admire them. Yes, he will find that a gathering of right-wingers is less welcoming to gay people than the left is, but he will also watch something astounding unfold. Unlike liberals, rightists, after a period of open discussion and thought, will actually admit when they're wrong and change their minds. This anti-gay prejudice will fall -- it's falling now. The big question is whether the good men and women of the right will realize what a gift they have been given in Mamet. Will they turn out for his plays and embrace their excellence? His is a hard language of four-letter words and scorching insights. Will rightists, despite their commitment to good behavior and values, remember that art is an examination of the world as it is, not as we would have it be?
The right has gained an artist. We should celebrate that. The arts are the soul of a people. It will not profit conservatives to gain even the whole world if they lose the culture.
Andrew Klavan's new novel, "Empire of Lies," is due out in July.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Here is a paragraph from Obama's speech on Jeremiah Wright today:
But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial. They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country – a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.
So it's not all about Israel, and there are perverse and hateful Islamic ideologies that are creating this present conflict.
Is this just window dressing, or will he remember it if he is elected?
But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial. They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country – a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.
So it's not all about Israel, and there are perverse and hateful Islamic ideologies that are creating this present conflict.
Is this just window dressing, or will he remember it if he is elected?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
An on-target letter to The Corner’s Mark Hemingway on the “stand by your man” phenomena: Bringing a Date to Your Public Humiliation.
I’m not willing to criticize the wife of a politician on the issue of whether she stands there or doesn’t. Certainly not on the issue of whether she remains married or doesn’t - I was always taken aback by those (many of whom at least talk in bumper-sticker terms about “family values”) who wanted Hillary Clinton to divorce Bill.
Whatever we may think about when it is appropriate to divorce, it is wrong to encourage a person (and in a bow to real life, I’ll say “a person who is not a close relative or friend”) to dissolve a marriage unless that person is incapable of making competent decisions.
What I would like to see, however, is a politician show up without his wife and say: (1) she wanted to stand here with me; (2) I am grateful for her support; but (3) I told her “no” - I’m the one who failed and I’m the one who should bear the public scorn.
But that would require that one of these knuckleheads was, emotionally, a grown man.
Exactly right.
I’m not willing to criticize the wife of a politician on the issue of whether she stands there or doesn’t. Certainly not on the issue of whether she remains married or doesn’t - I was always taken aback by those (many of whom at least talk in bumper-sticker terms about “family values”) who wanted Hillary Clinton to divorce Bill.
Whatever we may think about when it is appropriate to divorce, it is wrong to encourage a person (and in a bow to real life, I’ll say “a person who is not a close relative or friend”) to dissolve a marriage unless that person is incapable of making competent decisions.
What I would like to see, however, is a politician show up without his wife and say: (1) she wanted to stand here with me; (2) I am grateful for her support; but (3) I told her “no” - I’m the one who failed and I’m the one who should bear the public scorn.
But that would require that one of these knuckleheads was, emotionally, a grown man.
Exactly right.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
NYC CL
Silda Spitzer, I will totally do you. - m4w - 39
Reply to: pers-603757171@craigslist.orgDate: 2008-03-12, 11:11AM
EDT
Dear Silda Spitzer, I'm not sure why Eliot needed to stray; the deeper afflictions that arise during married life are a private affair (pardon) and to speculate or analyze about them is pointless and cruel. I'm sure you and your husband both have difficult characteristics that drive you to distraction or worse. I am here to tell you that none of those things matter to me, because I do not want to marry you, Silda, I want to fuck you.
Silda, let's face it, you're hot. Aitch-Ayy-Double-DoubleYew-Tee. Hawwt. I'm no great catch and have a tendency to be a bit of a prick, but hey, when you're standing there next to Eliot, humiliated, thinking "I can do better", are you really thinking about how much better? No. What's important right now is for you to dish it back, to arch your back and take it doggie-style with a thumb up your butt for good measure, to look back over your shoulder and see a different balding, self-righteous, smirking white guy grunting away and slapping your ass.
I am taller than Eliot.
When we move to the floor and hit the mish, you can reflect on your options: go for the divorce, the family-rending heartache with the big payday? Or stay together, knowing the payout might be just as good if you're good at slinging the guilt. Either way, Eliot's going to be out of a job for a while. Either way, I'm happy to diddle your clit. Personally, my advice is to wait it out. I mean, Hillary has done pretty well, right? You never know how these things will go. I have had my share of ups and downs, too... and I'm not going to claim I'm any kind of a prince (or an ethics crusader). I have beat a man nearly to death, stolen candy from children, and yes, I'll admit it dirty girl, I'm an atheist. MMmmmm. Like that?
None of my personal ups and downs matter anyway, Silda, because with me it's your ups-and-downs, on my glistening love sword, that matter. I'll be waiting, Babe. Oh, and one more thing... I'll only tap you for $78.50 an hour. And that's negotiable, if you're up for anal.
Call me.
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interestsPostingID: 603757171
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/mis/603757171.html
Reply to: pers-603757171@craigslist.orgDate: 2008-03-12, 11:11AM
EDT
Dear Silda Spitzer, I'm not sure why Eliot needed to stray; the deeper afflictions that arise during married life are a private affair (pardon) and to speculate or analyze about them is pointless and cruel. I'm sure you and your husband both have difficult characteristics that drive you to distraction or worse. I am here to tell you that none of those things matter to me, because I do not want to marry you, Silda, I want to fuck you.
Silda, let's face it, you're hot. Aitch-Ayy-Double-DoubleYew-Tee. Hawwt. I'm no great catch and have a tendency to be a bit of a prick, but hey, when you're standing there next to Eliot, humiliated, thinking "I can do better", are you really thinking about how much better? No. What's important right now is for you to dish it back, to arch your back and take it doggie-style with a thumb up your butt for good measure, to look back over your shoulder and see a different balding, self-righteous, smirking white guy grunting away and slapping your ass.
I am taller than Eliot.
When we move to the floor and hit the mish, you can reflect on your options: go for the divorce, the family-rending heartache with the big payday? Or stay together, knowing the payout might be just as good if you're good at slinging the guilt. Either way, Eliot's going to be out of a job for a while. Either way, I'm happy to diddle your clit. Personally, my advice is to wait it out. I mean, Hillary has done pretty well, right? You never know how these things will go. I have had my share of ups and downs, too... and I'm not going to claim I'm any kind of a prince (or an ethics crusader). I have beat a man nearly to death, stolen candy from children, and yes, I'll admit it dirty girl, I'm an atheist. MMmmmm. Like that?
None of my personal ups and downs matter anyway, Silda, because with me it's your ups-and-downs, on my glistening love sword, that matter. I'll be waiting, Babe. Oh, and one more thing... I'll only tap you for $78.50 an hour. And that's negotiable, if you're up for anal.
Call me.
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interestsPostingID: 603757171
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/mis/603757171.html
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Brusselsjournal.com
Interesting take on Geert Wilders controversy. Comments esp. good.
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/2900
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/2900
Quote of the Day
"In lead stories Monday night about New York Governor Eliot Spitzer being linked to a prostitution ring, neither ABC's World News nor the NBC Nightly News verbally identified Spitzer's political party. Must mean he's a liberal Democrat -- and he is. CBS anchor Katie Couric, however, managed to squeeze in a mention of his party. On ABC, the only hints as to Spitzer's party were a few seconds of video of Spitzer beside Hillary Clinton as they walked down some steps and a (D) on screen by Spitzer's name over part of one soundbite. NBC didn't even do that. While ABC and NBC failed to cite Spitzer's political affiliation in the four minutes or so each network dedicated to the revelations, both managed to find time to applaud his reputation and effectiveness as the Empire State's Attorney General before becoming Governor"
-- Brent Baker of the conservative Media Research Institute.
"In lead stories Monday night about New York Governor Eliot Spitzer being linked to a prostitution ring, neither ABC's World News nor the NBC Nightly News verbally identified Spitzer's political party. Must mean he's a liberal Democrat -- and he is. CBS anchor Katie Couric, however, managed to squeeze in a mention of his party. On ABC, the only hints as to Spitzer's party were a few seconds of video of Spitzer beside Hillary Clinton as they walked down some steps and a (D) on screen by Spitzer's name over part of one soundbite. NBC didn't even do that. While ABC and NBC failed to cite Spitzer's political affiliation in the four minutes or so each network dedicated to the revelations, both managed to find time to applaud his reputation and effectiveness as the Empire State's Attorney General before becoming Governor"
-- Brent Baker of the conservative Media Research Institute.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Don't know a ton about the guy but he struck me as a scold and a dick. Goodbye!
March 10, 2008
Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring
By DANNY HAKIM and WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM
ALBANY - Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a person briefed on the federal investigation.
An affidavit in the federal investigation into a prostitution ring said that a wiretap recording captured a man identified as Client 9 on a telephone call confirming plans to have a woman travel from New York to Washington, where he had reserved a hotel room. The person briefed on the case identified Mr. Spitzer as Client 9.
Mr. Spitzer today made a brief public appearance during which he apologized for his behavior, and described it as a “private matter.”
“I have acted in a way that violates my obligation to my family and violates my or any sense of right or wrong,” said Mr. Spitzer, who appeared with his wife Silda at his Manhattan office. “I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public to whom I promised better.”
“I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family.”
Before speaking, Mr. Spitzer stood with his arm around his wife; the two nodded and then strode forward together to face more than 100 reporters. Both had glassy, tear-filled eyes, but they did not cry.
The governor spoke for perhaps a minute and did not address his political future.
He declined to take questions and promised to report back soon. As he went to leave, three reporters screamed out, "Are you resigning? Are you resigning?", and Mr. Spitzer charged out of the room, slamming the door.
The governor learned that he had been implicated in the prostitution inquiry when a federal official contacted his staff last Friday, according to the person briefed on the case.
The governor informed his top aides Sunday night and this morning of his involvement. He canceled his public events today and scheduled the announcement for this afternoon after inquiries from The Times.
The governor’s aides appeared shaken before he spoke, and one of them began to weep as they waited for him to make his statement at his Manhattan office.
The man described as Client 9 in court papers arranged to meet with a prostitute who was part of the ring, Emperors Club VIP, on the night of Feb. 13. Mr. Spitzer traveled to Washington that evening, according to a person told of his travel arrangements.
The affidavit says that Client 9 met with the woman in hotel room 871 but does not identify the hotel. Mr. Spitzer stayed at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on Feb. 13, according to a source who was told of his travel arrangements. Room 871 at the Mayflower Hotel that evening was registered under another name.
Federal prosecutors rarely charge clients in prostitution cases, which are generally seen as state crimes. But the Mann Act, passed by Congress in 1910 to address prostitution, human trafficking and what was viewed at the time as immorality in general, makes it a crime to transport someone between states for the purpose of prostitution. The four defendants charged in the case unsealed last week were all charged with that crime, along with several others.
Mr. Spitzer had a difficult first year in office, rocked by a mix of scandal and legislative setbacks. In recent weeks, however, Mr. Spitzer seemed to have rebounded, with his Democratic party poised to perhaps gain control of the state Senate for the first time in four decades.
Mr. Spitzer gained national attention when he served as attorney general with his relentless pursuit of Wall Street wrongdoing. As attorney general, he also had prosecuted at least two prostitution rings as head of the state’s organized crime task force.
In one such case in 2004, Mr. Spitzer spoke with revulsion and anger after announcing the arrest of 16 people for operating a high-end prostitution ring out of Staten Island.
“This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multitiered management structure,” Mr. Spitzer said at the time. “It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring.”
Albany for months has been roiled by bitter fighting and accusations of dirty tricks. The Albany County district attorney is set to issue in the coming days the results of his investigation into Mr. Spitzer’s first scandal, his aides’ involvement in an effort to tarnish Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, the state’s top Republican.
March 10, 2008
Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring
By DANNY HAKIM and WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM
ALBANY - Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a person briefed on the federal investigation.
An affidavit in the federal investigation into a prostitution ring said that a wiretap recording captured a man identified as Client 9 on a telephone call confirming plans to have a woman travel from New York to Washington, where he had reserved a hotel room. The person briefed on the case identified Mr. Spitzer as Client 9.
Mr. Spitzer today made a brief public appearance during which he apologized for his behavior, and described it as a “private matter.”
“I have acted in a way that violates my obligation to my family and violates my or any sense of right or wrong,” said Mr. Spitzer, who appeared with his wife Silda at his Manhattan office. “I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public to whom I promised better.”
“I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family.”
Before speaking, Mr. Spitzer stood with his arm around his wife; the two nodded and then strode forward together to face more than 100 reporters. Both had glassy, tear-filled eyes, but they did not cry.
The governor spoke for perhaps a minute and did not address his political future.
He declined to take questions and promised to report back soon. As he went to leave, three reporters screamed out, "Are you resigning? Are you resigning?", and Mr. Spitzer charged out of the room, slamming the door.
The governor learned that he had been implicated in the prostitution inquiry when a federal official contacted his staff last Friday, according to the person briefed on the case.
The governor informed his top aides Sunday night and this morning of his involvement. He canceled his public events today and scheduled the announcement for this afternoon after inquiries from The Times.
The governor’s aides appeared shaken before he spoke, and one of them began to weep as they waited for him to make his statement at his Manhattan office.
The man described as Client 9 in court papers arranged to meet with a prostitute who was part of the ring, Emperors Club VIP, on the night of Feb. 13. Mr. Spitzer traveled to Washington that evening, according to a person told of his travel arrangements.
The affidavit says that Client 9 met with the woman in hotel room 871 but does not identify the hotel. Mr. Spitzer stayed at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on Feb. 13, according to a source who was told of his travel arrangements. Room 871 at the Mayflower Hotel that evening was registered under another name.
Federal prosecutors rarely charge clients in prostitution cases, which are generally seen as state crimes. But the Mann Act, passed by Congress in 1910 to address prostitution, human trafficking and what was viewed at the time as immorality in general, makes it a crime to transport someone between states for the purpose of prostitution. The four defendants charged in the case unsealed last week were all charged with that crime, along with several others.
Mr. Spitzer had a difficult first year in office, rocked by a mix of scandal and legislative setbacks. In recent weeks, however, Mr. Spitzer seemed to have rebounded, with his Democratic party poised to perhaps gain control of the state Senate for the first time in four decades.
Mr. Spitzer gained national attention when he served as attorney general with his relentless pursuit of Wall Street wrongdoing. As attorney general, he also had prosecuted at least two prostitution rings as head of the state’s organized crime task force.
In one such case in 2004, Mr. Spitzer spoke with revulsion and anger after announcing the arrest of 16 people for operating a high-end prostitution ring out of Staten Island.
“This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multitiered management structure,” Mr. Spitzer said at the time. “It was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring.”
Albany for months has been roiled by bitter fighting and accusations of dirty tricks. The Albany County district attorney is set to issue in the coming days the results of his investigation into Mr. Spitzer’s first scandal, his aides’ involvement in an effort to tarnish Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, the state’s top Republican.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
John Kerry, an Obama supporter, turns up in this Boston Globe blog entry cheering his man on Iraq:
Kerry says Hillary Clinton's much-remarked-upon 3 a.m. phone call TV ad is a deceptive "fear tactic" because she's never faced such a crisis.
And when she has faced war-or-peace decisions in the US Senate, she not only whiffed on Iraq, but she also flubbed on Iran, the 2004 Democratic nominee argued.
"The fact is that she had a red phone moment, as Barack Obama said," Kerry said on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" on Sunday. "Her red phone moment was on the war in Iraq, and she chose the Bush course, the wrong course."
Well, let's look again at the Senate roll call, shall we? Seventy-seven senators "chose the Bush course." One of them was the junior senator from Massachusetts. Shameless!
Kerry says Hillary Clinton's much-remarked-upon 3 a.m. phone call TV ad is a deceptive "fear tactic" because she's never faced such a crisis.
And when she has faced war-or-peace decisions in the US Senate, she not only whiffed on Iraq, but she also flubbed on Iran, the 2004 Democratic nominee argued.
"The fact is that she had a red phone moment, as Barack Obama said," Kerry said on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" on Sunday. "Her red phone moment was on the war in Iraq, and she chose the Bush course, the wrong course."
Well, let's look again at the Senate roll call, shall we? Seventy-seven senators "chose the Bush course." One of them was the junior senator from Massachusetts. Shameless!
Monday, March 03, 2008
"From our perspective this is an issue between Colombia and Ecuador," he said. "I'm not sure what this has to do with Venezuela."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i3-gy-m2ViT4af14BjcC-rOHaWrgD8V64UV84
I think Hugo is making a strategic mistake-the US is dead sure to provide "support" to Colombia, namely by destroying every armored unit of the Venezuelan army. He can't win a war, can't really defend Venezuela, and is seen as being solidly on the side of FARC, who are not on ANYONE's list of nice guys. Does likely increase price of Oil though. I have to believe this is just posturing. He is such a dick. Also called Colombia the "Isreal of Latin America" due to it's client-state relations with the US.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i3-gy-m2ViT4af14BjcC-rOHaWrgD8V64UV84
I think Hugo is making a strategic mistake-the US is dead sure to provide "support" to Colombia, namely by destroying every armored unit of the Venezuelan army. He can't win a war, can't really defend Venezuela, and is seen as being solidly on the side of FARC, who are not on ANYONE's list of nice guys. Does likely increase price of Oil though. I have to believe this is just posturing. He is such a dick. Also called Colombia the "Isreal of Latin America" due to it's client-state relations with the US.
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