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Iran Update
CIA psychoanalysts will be busy today: President Ahmadinejad's father passes away
Tehran, May 30, IRNA Grieving, a grudge against Israel and the West, and nuclear technology in development. It's anyone's guess what that combination will provide. By Ed Moltzen · 30 May 2006
Defining Hillary
Now batting...Dan Balz of the Washington Post: For now, she is defined by a combination of celebrity and caution that strategists say leaves her more vulnerable than most politicians to charges that she is motivated more by personal ambition and tactical maneuver than by a clear philosophy. He writes further: A selective reading of Clinton's record can produce evidence to prove she is a centrist, a liberal and much in between. Is this so different than what Sen. Clinton's New York constituents are used to? Weren't Robert F. Kennedy (anti-war, pro-life, anti-communist, wiretapping veteran) and Daniel Patrick Moynihan (welfare critic, Nixon appointee, pro-choice) also senators whose records showed centrism, liberalism and "much in between?" Clinton holds the Senate seat Kennedy and Moynihan once occupied, after all. By Ed Moltzen · 30 May 2006
Spitzer, Paterson and Hospitals
The New York Post lights into the Spitzer-Paterson ticket's position on hospital reform. Spitzer opponent Tom Suozzi has tried to make health and medicaid reform a big issue in this campaign, saying Spitzer has fallen down on the job in this regard, but has gained no traction. Suozzi has aired, essentially, one TV commercial during the campaign one that didn't mention Spitzer, Paterson, Medicaid or hospital reform. By Ed Moltzen · 30 May 2006
The Shoe-In
In 1982, Ed Koch for months appeared to be the easy shoe-in for New York governor. And then Koch's mouth got in the way, as well as an upstart lieutenant governor named Mario Cuomo. Twenty-four years later, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer seems to be everybody's shoe-in for governor. And now he's stepping into situations like this. By Ed Moltzen · 29 May 2006
CNN Headline News
U.S. troops killed more than 300 Taliban in Afghanistan recently. That didn't get much in the way of headlines in news outlets, including CNN. However, this is. By Ed Moltzen · 29 May 2006
McFarland
KT McFarland, running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, has picked up more support for her effort, according to this item over at Urban Elephants. Perhaps more noteworthy is the fact that she has gone more than a month without a major campaign mistake or blunder. By Ed Moltzen · 29 May 2006
Again
Another Long Island helicopter crash. But it's not as if these things happen every day. By Ed Moltzen · 29 May 2006
Quote of the Day
"Take away Ruth's numbers and you still have a great story. Take away Bonds' numbers and all you have is a creep." By Ed Moltzen · 28 May 2006
NYPoDcast
The NYPD is now podcasting, and this week's program includes information on Fleet Week in New York City - as well as information on how to guard against, um, iPod theft. "The iPod Etching Program" provides residents the ability to register their iPods and cell phones with a unique number, which is placed in the device with an invisible ink marker that can be scanned by police at pawn shops and the like. Police report on their podcast that they've registered about 2,100 devices so far. By Ed Moltzen · 28 May 2006
May: 324 Terrorists Killed or Captured
During the past month, U.S., Iraqi and Coalition forces have killed or captured as many as 324 members of al Qaeda, the Taliban, or other terrorists, including senior al Qaeda leaders and a chemical weapons expert, and captured critical al Qaeda documents in raids. The forces have also shut down al Qaeda hideouts along the Afghan-Pakistani border in raids on known terrorist safe havens, amid reports that Osama bin Laden has fled at least one hideout while on the run. The stunning string of victories in May would make it one of the most successful months in the War on Terror since Sept. 11, 2001, and comes at a time when al Qaeda in Iraq leaders have complained their organization there is teetering on total collapse. The shocking tally of victories is listed on the web site of the U.S. Central Command, which has overseen the War on Terror in both Iraq and Afghanistan for the past five years. The victories have gone largely unnoticed in a news climate that has focused on immigration controversies, pork barrel government spending, and corruption scandals in Washington, D.C., but has been among the most impressive string of victories in the global war to date. Here's a sample: COALITION FORCES CAPTURE SIX TERRORISTS IN RAMADI 3 TERRORISTS KILLED AFTER EMPLACING IEDs ANA, COALITION BATTLE ENEMY IN URUZGAN; KILL 24 MORE TALIBAN FIGHTERS KILLED DURING COMBINED OPERATION AFGHAN, COALITION FORCES KILL 20 ENEMY FIGHTERS DURING FIREFIGHT COALITION FORCES KILL TWO AL-QAIDA TERRORISTS AFGHAN, COALITION FORCES KILLS 61 ENEMY FIGHTERS, CAPTURE 20 IN OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS HILLAH SWAT CAPTURES LOCAL TERRORIST CELL LEADER TALIBAN FIGHTERS KILLED DURING COMBINED OPERATION JOINT TEAM CONDUCTS COMBAT OPERATIONS AGAINST EXTREMISTS COALITION FORCES CONDUCT STRIKE AGAINST EXTREMISTS COALITION FORCES CONDUCT RAIDS; DETAIN 8, KILL KNOWN TERRORIST COALITION FORCES RAID TERRORIST SAFE HAVEN IRAQI ARMY, MND-B SOLDIERS SEARCH NETS LARGE WEAPONS CACHE, 5 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS AIR FORCE FIGHTERS STRIKE ENEMY CAVES IN AFGHANISTAN TERRORISTS KILLED, HIDEOUT DESTROYED INFORMANT'S TIP LEADS TO CACHE AND INSURGENT COALITION AIR STRIKE KILLS ENEMY COMBATANTS; DESTROYS CAVE COMPLEX IN PAKTIKA PROVINCE TERRORIST CHEMICAL EXPERT KILLED IN BAGHDAD RAID IRAQI ARMY CAPTURES TERRORIST CELL LEADER IN EAST BAGHDAD COALITION AIR STRIKE KILLS ENEMY COMBATANTS; DESTROYS CAVE COMPLEX IN PAKTIKA PROVINCE TERRORISTS KILLED AFTER FIRING AT COALITION FORCES 10 TERRORISTS, ASSESSED AS FOREIGN, KILLED; THREE WEARING SUICIDE VESTS By Ed Moltzen · 28 May 2006
Times' Blog
Credit where credit is due: The New York Times' New York politics blog has a blogroll that includes blogs from competitors, including the Times Union, Daily News and New York Sun, as well as established blogs such as Urban Elephants. Now...if the writers could make their blog entries read a little less like news briefs... By Ed Moltzen · 28 May 2006
Truth Alert
Item: Va. Reporter Fired Over Fabrications RICHMOND, Va. -- The Richmond Times-Dispatch said Saturday it fired a reporter for fabricating part of a story and has begun investigating his other work. At this point, after Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, and several other reporters caught making stuff up over the past several years, shouldn't the default thought for every reporter be, "If I make it up, I'll get caught?" By Ed Moltzen · 27 May 2006
Rumsfeld: Staying Put
In case you missed it, here's a funny piece of video from a recent Pentagon Town Hall meeting. Gen. Pete Pace asks for a show of hands among those present who plans to retire in the near future. Rumsfeld's quip sparks a pretty humorous eruption from Pace: By Ed Moltzen · 27 May 2006
Captain 2000
It was a short squibber in front of home plate, which the Kansas City Royal's catcher picked up and immediately chucked into the right field box seats. Jeter than promptly stole third base. MORE: Susan Mullen says the math doesn't add up, and that Jeter is actually way past 2,000. By Ed Moltzen · 26 May 2006
More Al Qaeda Out Of Commission
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Coalition Forces continued to degrade al-Qaeda in Iraq and associated foreign terrorists operations in the al Anbar region May 26 when the troops disrupted a gathering and captured six detainees in southern Ramadi. Six fewer al Qaeda terrorists in circulation, courtesy of the troops in Iraq. By Ed Moltzen · 26 May 2006
Stern-CBS Settlement - Edge: Stern!
The story is that Sirius Satellite Radio will pay $2 million to CBS Radio to settle CBS' $200 million lawsuit. If you scroll to near the end of this story, you'll see a paragraph that makes it look like an absolute bonanza for Stern and Sirius: As part of the settlement, CBS Radio will receive payments in return for allowing the use of its recordings of The Howard Stern Show, according to a joint statement by CBS and Buchwald. The potential market for downloadable recordings of classic Howard Stern show broadcasts, interviews and bits could very well be massive. With 20 years of material including everything from interviews with Sam Kinison, Pat Cooper, Chris Rock and the entire Wack Pack (to name several of literally hundreds), Stern and Co. could stand to make millions upon millions should they choose to make the material available on iTunes and other outlets. For the rights to that, CBS gets $2 million (and, perhaps, a cut of any royalties.) This deal could very well be the King of All Bonanzas. By Ed Moltzen · 26 May 2006
Still The One
Elizabeth Benjamin is keeping tabs on the congressional campaign of musical star John Hall of Orleans, and files an interesting item about Hall's ability to attract star power to his campaign fundraising effort. Hall is an engaging, charismatic and magnetic figure in person. While he served as a Democrat in the then-mostly Republican Ulster County Legislature, he had even the most devout, conservative GOP party faithful liking him personally. (He served one term in office before deciding not to stand for re-election.)
But he's often attracted star power to various political efforts. Remember the "No Nukes" concert? He managed an effort that put James Taylor and Carly Simon on stage, together, singing "Mockingbird." That - in and of itself - is a greater accomplishmant than many incumbents in Congress can claim. But that seemed to have been the zenith of the anti-nuclear power movement (well, that, Three Mile Island and the movie The China Syndrome.) If Hall wins, his district will sit in the shadow of the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. Hall also threw his support behind Jerry Brown's 1992 campaign in the New York presidential primary, when Brown was the last man standing between Bill Clinton and the nomination. (Hall had some of his friends, including John Sebastian of The Lovin' Spoonful, play a primary night fundraiser and gathering for Brown in Woodstock.) Clinton trounced Brown before the then-Arkansas governor made his famous "You Gotta Believe" remark declaring victory. Now Hall is running for Congress as an anti-war Democrat in a district that includes the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Stewart Airport in Newburgh. So he brings passion, talent and a high-profile Rolodex into his effort. But will that translate into victory? In the past, it's been a very mixed bag for Hall. By Ed Moltzen · 26 May 2006
Bad Day For Bad Guys
Via Centcom, more evidence that the terrorists in Iraq are stuck in a quagmire: BAGHDAD, Iraq – Three terrorists found emplacing improvised explosive devices were killed at approximately 3:30 p.m. May 24 near Abu Ghraib just west of Baghdad. Coalition Forces from 1st Battalion, 1st Marines Regiment, observed three terrorists digging holes and placing IEDs, which positively identified them as terrorists with hostile intent. Coalition Forces then engaged and killed all three terrorists. There was no reported damage to Coalition Forces’ personnel or equipment. Anecdotally, it appears the "best and brightest" of Zarqawi and bin Laden's gang are no longer involved in major anti-Coalition operations in Iraq. By Ed Moltzen · 25 May 2006
Call Off The Panic Dogs
Initial reports of human-to-human bird flu transmission way be way "ahead of the news cycle." According to PandemicFlu.gov: There is an ongoing WHO investigation into a family cluster of H5N1-infected persons in Indonesia. A WHO team, including a CDC staff person, is on site and collaborating with the Indonesian Ministry of Health on this investigation. At this time, human-to-human transmission among this family cluster cannot be ruled out. However, genetic analyses by WHO reference laboratories at CDC and the University of Hong Kong indicate no unusual changes in these viruses compared with other H5N1 viruses isolated recently. You can put the duct tape away for now. By Ed Moltzen · 25 May 2006
Fast Blogging
A great blogger, with a new address! Michele Catalano writes to say: I just want to let you know that A Small Victory has gone the way of dinosaurs and 45rpm singles. Not only is the site closed, but the archives have been closed down as well. We call this "moving on" around these parts. Fast cars. Sigh. Guess she won't be profiling the latest Hyundai Accents. By Ed Moltzen · 24 May 2006
In Her Corner
The Queens Democratic organization is backing state Sen. Ada Smith for re-election, after Smith has been repeatedly accused of assaults and various incidents of bad behavior. (Via Gun Legislation & Politics in NY.) By Ed Moltzen · 24 May 2006
Faso's Chances
Nassau Report has this to say about John Faso's chances in this year's New York governor's race: Weld is (or was) the State GOP establishment choice. But since the State GOP establishment has been weakened by benign neglect over the past number of years, their stamp of approval really doesn't carry the same weight it used to. Faso has certainly had the momentum of late. But he's still the only candidate wildcard Tom Golisano won't support for governor, but Faso has convinced an awful lot of Republican and Conservative leaders to get in line. By Ed Moltzen · 24 May 2006
Changes
From Political Prognostications: When I last rode off into the cyber-sunset, President Bush had just been sworn in for a second term. Republicans had secured solid control of both houses of Congress, and the new GOP majority was prepared to enact conservative governance upon the nation at last. Everything was going according to plan. Actually, things can change a lot quicker than that. On Sept. 10, 2001, Instapundit was blogging about the federal government's investigation into reporters' methods. This week, he's much more likely to be blogging about...the federal government's investigation into reporters' methods! Surely, though, with Katrina, Iraq, Iran, gas prices and Fitzmas, Republicans are in a much, much worse position now than they were two years ago, right? Well: Rasmussen Reports, May 25, 2004: Bush 44 percent. Rasmussen Reports, May 23, 2006: Bush: 39 percent. Lower numbers? Yes. But barely within the margin of error. And, remember, Tony Snow wasn't even working for Bush in 2004. By Ed Moltzen · 24 May 2006
American, Idle
The brief break here at Late Final is now over, and regular blogging will resume. By Ed Moltzen · 23 May 2006
The Stern Effect
By Ed Moltzen · 18 May 2006
For A Day
Is this a trend? Marty Markowitz will become a "nurse for a day" in celebration of National Nurses Week at Maimonides Medical Center. From The Times Union's Capitol Confidential: Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, who polls suggest isn’t quite at the head of the class in the gubernatorial race, will be "Professor for a Day" at Nassau Community College Thursday. No mention on whether Markowitz will let a nurse be Brooklyn borough president for a day, or Suozzi let a professor be Nassau County executive for a day. Presumably, they'll see how today goes. By Ed Moltzen · 11 May 2006
Weld, Spitzer and Taxes. (Oh, My)
Republican gubernatorial hopeful William Weld's camp issued this statement on Democratic frontrunner Eliot Spitzer, and taxes: Weld to Spitzer: Tax Increases Are the Wrong Medicine for New York and Its Economy You can read the full statement here. Here is a listing of key Spitzer speeches this year, at his web site, and none deal primarily with the tax issue. By Ed Moltzen · 10 May 2006
Marist Poll
The latest WNBC/Marist Poll is out. Well, with a 6 p.m. embargo time, but since the embargo has already been broken, here is a summary: Nobody is coming close to Eliot Spitzer, who leads Tom Suozzi 71-12 with 16 percent undecided. Spitzer also leads Republicans John Faso and William Weld in the 70-to-20 range, according to Marist. But Spitzer's challengers shouldn't be completely dejected. Marist's poll is based on "registered" voters, not "likely voters." And the poll has a 4-point margin for error. Ok, maybe they should be dejected... In all seriousness, the "likely voters" issue could loom large, as a higher-than-expected upstate vote or lower-than-expected New York City vote would likely hurt Spitzer at least a little in a primary or general election. But a fifty-point lead is pretty large in any scenario. You can see the full poll here. Even the candidates are breaking the embargo! From the Faso campaign, just emailed to reporters: STATEMENT FROM FASO SPOKESWOMAN SUSAN DEL PERCIO ON THE MOST RECENT WNBC/MARIST POLL Poll Shows Faso with Nine Point Lead in Potential Republican Primary Faso leads Weld among registered GOP voters, 30 percent to 21 percent. In January, Weld held an 8 percent to 4 percent lead over Faso. 49 percent of Republicans are undecided, compared to 50 percent in January - suggesting Faso is a potential, big beneficiary of Tom Golisano's decision to sidestep the race. Interesting, given that Faso is the one candidate Golisano said he wouldn't consider backing given Faso's background as a lobbyist. By Ed Moltzen · 10 May 2006
Howard Stern: Not Going Back
Anyone who has listened to Howard Stern in the past week would have heard his discussion of being offered an Opie-and-Anthony-like deal to simulcast his Sirius program over terrestrial radio. And anyone who listened would have heard him reject that out of hand. Here is how MarksFriggin.com reported it last week: Howard said he was offered the chance to go back to terrestrial radio just like Opie and Anthony are doing but he won't do it because he doesn't want to go back there. He said he could go back and beat all of those guy's asses but it would be really tough to go back to regular radio after being on satellite. That was last week. And then, this week, stories like this appeared: Stern May Come Back to Regular Radio And that fueled a ton of speculation in other media outlets, and so on and so on. So, on his program this morning, Stern spent the first hour doing nothing but saying what he said last week: He's had offers to do a show for terrestrial radio, and he's turned them down and won't go back. (On the program, Stern had his producer try to call AP, Reuters and other news services to issue a statement, but none of them would take the call because Stern wanted to do it on-air. The only taker for an interview with Stern was CBS News, which is owned by the company now suing him.) This appears to be a case of journalists and producers reporting the story they wanted, rather than the story that existed. MORE: Larry McShane from AP called in, and got the story. By Ed Moltzen · 10 May 2006
Spitzer, Illegals and The law
Ron Lewenberg at the New York Young Republicans are questioning whether Attorney General Eliot Spitzer misused his office while threatening employers who considered firing illegal immigrants last week during a day of protest: While it is possible that Mr. Spitzer and the staff at Attorney General's office are merely ignorant of federal law, the statement is well in line with the Attorney General's longstanding history of supporting illegal aliens. Spitzer's original statement is here. By Ed Moltzen · 10 May 2006
Trying To Flip A Seat For The Republicans
Blogger Flip Pidot, of Suitably Flip, is running for the Republican nomination to challenge state Sen. Liz Krueger in Manhattan. The reason? He writes: As Forrest Gump Once Said...I just felt like running. (Hat tip: Scott Sala.) By Ed Moltzen · 9 May 2006
Suozzi: No Mo' Shelly And Joe
From the Suozzi for Governor campaign: SUOZZI: FIRE SILVER AND BRUNO Democratic Candidate for Governor Calls for Replacement of Entire Albany Leadership You can read the entire speech Suozzi delivered here. Elizabeth Benjamin has the requisite responses. By Ed Moltzen · 9 May 2006
Breathe
David Blaine isn't under water any more, but his blog is. Here's the Google cache, though. By Ed Moltzen · 9 May 2006
Al Qaeda: We've Almost Lost Iraq
Al Qaeda is down to 110 terrorists in Iraq, but the only ones reporting that are Captain's Quarters, PowerLine, and Al Jazeera. Among the remaining al Qaeda leaders in Iraq, Ed Morrissey reports, are these: The expertise of the Baghdad commander is limited to transporting cars for conversion to booby-traps; otherwise, the analyst notes, he's rather "simple" and has no grasp of strategic matters. The commander for Northern al-Karkh worries about his own personal security, because the Americans have his picture and voice print -- so all he does is hide out. By Ed Moltzen · 9 May 2006
The Third Track
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi haven't yet debated in person, but the email debate is continuing apace. This morning, Spitzer delivered a speech on New York City's long-term transportation planning, saying: After decades of delay, we will have completed the first segment of the Second Avenue Subway - from 63rd Street to 96th Street - and the Long Island Railroad East Side Access project with its vital Mainline Corridor Improvements, otherwise known as the "Third Track... Suozzi's camp just issued a press release with his response: "Eliot is completely oblivious to what the actual process is. He said in today's newspaper that the New York State Senate is holding up the third track because they want to see a quality-of-life study," said Suozzi. "There is a normal procedure, known as the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, that you must go through before you can do a major transportation project like the third track. It requires a one-and-a-half to two-year process. Nobody is delaying the process, they're just watching out for the concerns of the residents." Suozzi says he favors the track, but doesn't want to condemn private property to develop it. By Ed Moltzen · 5 May 2006
Clipped Wings
Newsday reports that the company whose helicopter crashed at Kings Park High School yesterday - missing kids by a few dozen feet - is Wings Air of Westchester. Wings Air's helicopter business is a ferry service for the rich and elite, according to the company's web site: Leave the anxiety of traffic behind. Our helicopter charter service will meet you on time and deliver you to your destination quickly and comfortably. As our guest, rest assured you will be flying in the safest, most modern fleet of charter helicopters in New York. Frequent destinations include Martha's Vineyard and The Hamptons. An NTSB investigation into the crash, in the aircraft owned by proprieters of the "safest" fleet of charter helicopters in New York, is pending. By Ed Moltzen · 5 May 2006
Averted Disaster
A small helicopter that had taken off from Long Island MacArthur Airport for White Plains this morning crashed on a soccer field at Kings Park High School, officials said. There are at least 50 public schools within a 20-mile radius of MacArthur Airport in Islip, N.Y. And crashes by shoddy helicopters taking off from MacArthur are hardly new. A quick look at the NTSB's site finds these incidents: A 1982 crash. (PDF) That makes eight helicopter crashes into, or out of, MacArthur Airport in the past seven years (including today's crash.) If Suffolk County, Long Island was still a patch of farm land that would be one thing. But the crashes encompass an area with more than 1 million residents. It's becoming noticeable. By Ed Moltzen · 4 May 2006
The Debate Debate, Continued
Yesterday, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi issued another debate challenge to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer as the two continue squaring off for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, calling Spitzer, "Mr. Tough Guy." Today, Suozzi followed up with another letter to Spitzer proposing a whole series of dates and places for the two to meet, head to head, and debate it out. He writes: You may prefer a coronation to a competition, but our State suffers when we perpetuate a system in which more voters watch a fictional debate on "The West Wing" than observe an open, honest discussion of the issues between two real candidates for major office. We complain about voter apathy, but how can we hope to engage the electorate if we won't even engage each other? You can read the full letter here. By Ed Moltzen · 3 May 2006
Credentials
Scott Sala hasn't had any luck getting creditials to New York's Republican state convention, and isn't sure whether Democrats and Republicans will give bloggers a seat at the table. (Both parties rolled out the "Welcome" banners for bloggers during national party conventions in 2004.) (Bloggers shouldn't feel left out, though. Democrats are even turning a cold shoulder to Tom Suozzi this year.) But, as we've seen so far, the candidates for New York governor appear much less skilled at integrating their campaigns with Web 2.0 than the national candidates two years ago. And the state parties tend to fall in line with their standard-bearers. So, in other words, don't expect much. By Ed Moltzen · 3 May 2006
10 Terrorists Killed
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces killed ten terrorists, three of them wearing suicide vests, and wounded one at approximately 1:30 a.m. May 2 at a safe house located approximately 40 kilometers southwest of Balad while searching for an al-Qaida terrorist leader. Upon the troops’ arrival, one terrorist who was sleeping while on guard outside the safe house, woke up and attempted to engage the assault troops with a pistol. The terrorist was shot before he could fire his weapon. As the wounded terrorist fell backward, he reached toward his chest and detonated a suicide vest. None of the assault troops were harmed in the explosion. One terrorist, who was injured, survived and is in custody. By Ed Moltzen · 2 May 2006
Faso: Put A Hold On State Gas Tax
Republican-Conservative gubernatorial hopefull John Faso is calling for a suspension to New York's state tax on gasoline: FASO CALLS FOR SUSPENSION OF MOTOR FUEL TAXES IN SUMMER MONTHS The result would be a savings of between 12 and 24 cents per gallon, Faso says, meaning the average price of a gallon of gas would drop below the $3 mark. You can read Faso's full statement here. By Ed Moltzen · 1 May 2006
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