Results tagged “waronterror”

Families of firefighters killed in the 9/11 attacks are looking to obtain a meeting with President Obama to discuss his decision to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. Obama announced on Thursday that Gitmo would be closed for 120 days while officials review the prison known for its harsh interrogation methods. Civil Rights lawyer Norman Siegel says that the families are looking for "open and fair, but speedy trials for the prisoners who are being held there." Obama may be in store for an an earful if family members share the sentiments of Michael Burke, whose brother was a fire captain who died in the attacks and writes an op-ed for today's Daily News. He argues that it is impossible to fight terrorism under the Constitution, which would could become a "means to our destruction." He also says that Obama "is convincing these mass murderers that we are too narcissistic, too foolish and too weak to protect and defend ourselves."

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a police officer struck on 125th St. and St. Clair Pl. in Manhattan, a double stabbing on West 181st St. and Audubon Ave. in Manhattan, and a person under a train at Queens Blvd. and Broadway in Queens.
• The six-year-old who started the blaze that killed a firefighter is sorry. His mother says he's been crying since that night and repeats "I didn't mean to do it. I didn't mean to do it."
• Streetsblog describes yesterday's 3rd Annual Ghost Bikes Memorial Ride.

A look at some noteworthy television this week: Lincoln Center Tree Lighting 2007 (Monday, 5:30 p.m, WABC 7) Good Morning America’s Sam Champion and WABC’s Sade Baderinwa host the first televised tree lighting of the season. There will be some performances by Lincoln Center’s resident companies and some guest’s from channel 7’s owner Disney on hand for entertainment for the 8th annual Lincoln Center Holiday Tree lighting. America at a Crossroads (Monday, 9:00 p.m &...

A look at some noteworthy television this week:

Presidential hopeful John Edwards targeted New York son Rudy Giuliani during a speech. The Democratic candidate had earlier called President Bush's "war on terror" a "bumper sticker," which prompted Giuliani to say, "This is not a bumper sticker; the war is a real war."

The eight Democratic presidential candidates debated in New Hampshire last night, covering immigration, health care, and, of course, Iraq. Former Senator John Edwards, who is a distant third in the polls, went after Senators Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's voting on the Iraq spending bill, saying, "They went quietly to the floor of the Senate. They were among the last people to vote. They cast the right vote, and I applaud them for that. ... But there is a difference between leadership and legislating." But Obama fought back, pointing out that Edwads voted to go to war in 2002 (the Daily News gave Obama an "A" for his debate performance).

Andy Borowitz's talent transcends mediums. He's conquered TV with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the Internet with The Borowitz Report, the stage with his stand up and regular host of The Moth, a story telling series, and books with his tomes The Republican Playbook and Who Moved My Soap: The CEO's Guide to Surviving in Prison. What's next for this master of humor: the future!

Last night, former mayor Rudy Giuliani had his NYC fundraiser at the Sheraton. The theme was baseball, and guests paid $2,300-a-plate to eat Crackerjack, ice cream and hot dogs. (Maybe there were other things; the entire menu was not disclosed.) The Post reports that Giuliani stood before a faux-Yankee Stadium backdrop and said, "I think we make a mistake when we call it the war on terror, because it is their war on us... I have come face to face with America's soul, and I have been sustained by it - I got through Sept. 11 not because of me, but because of other people."

EVENT: Tonight at the Apple Store, the NYC photobloggers get together again. Come check out: Scott Heiferman, Kara Canal, Rebecca Smeyne, Will Sherman, Kamau Mucoki, Boogie and Martin Fuchs.

Open House; Nutmeat: A Fairytale Burlesque; House; The French Defense; The Bicycle Men; Hugging the Shoulder; and The Day the Universe Came Closer. Complete schedules and tickets for all are located on the Fringe listing site.

But not in someone's apartment - to the Bronx Zoo! An endangered snow leopard cub that was found in Pakistan will join the Bronx Zoo's snow leopard habitat this year. From the State Department:

Originally from the Naltar Valley high in the Karakorum Mountains of northern Pakistan, the snow leopard cub, now approximately 13 months old and 60 pounds, was turned over to Government of Pakistan authorities in July 2005 by the local goat herder who rescued it. The herder and his family had provided shelter for the cub in their home and later in their grain shed. As the cub grew, the herder approached World Wildlife Fund consultants working in the region for help and they temporarily took over the cub’s care. The cub was relocated south to Gilgit, where the Pakistani government assumed responsibility for its care.

Continue reading "In a Wave of Diplomacy, Orphaned Snow Leopard Heads to the Bronx"

Billionaire developer and owner of U.S. News & World Report and the Daily News Mortimer Zuckerman has donated $100 million to Memorial Sloan-Kettering for cancer research. The NY Times says it's the biggest in the hospital's history, and one of the largest to a medical institutiong overall. Since the donation is unrestricted, MSK will be putting most of it towards their new research building on First Avenue and East 68th Street. The 23 floor building, designed by Skidmore Owings Merrill, will be named after the mogul. Zuckerman said, "New York is a city that inspires philanthropy. There are more people who support more eleemosynary institutions than any other place by far. It's one of the reasons I love this city." Yeah, we had to look that up too, but, hey, big word for big donation.

With alleged terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui awaiting his formal sentencing this morning, the focus is on how the jurors decided to give him life in jail over the death penalty. The NY Times has a helpful graphic showing the mitigating factors that led the jury its sentence: The biggest factors seemed to be that he had a terrible childhood, with two abusive parents, and that he seemed to be, at best, a fringe member of Al Qaeda, one without any real knowledge; conversely, the jurors weren't as convinced by the defense's arguments that he was schizophrenic and wanted to be a martyr by dying. (All jurors need to agree on the death penalty.) While some September 11 victims' families accepted the verdict, many others had been hoping for the death penalty; even former mayor - and witness for the prosecution - Rudy Giuliani said he was "disappointed". President Bush took the time to remind America that the war on terror is still happening and "Evil will not have the final say."

Torontoist throws down the gauntlet and challenges all comers: pillow fight, bitch. They also stand up for a fellow blogger taking heat from the TTC and welcome city-wide WiFi.

The language in the Times article headline, A Sequel, Not a Re-run, speaks volumes about how Americans come to expect their wars: With blanket media coverage, branded, music themes, and logos. A sampling of the ways different media outlets are referring to the conflict/war/showdown:

kind of fries will result in your arrest and you will be branded across your forehead with the words "Cheese-eating Surrender Monkey". For breakfast you will order Freedom Toast. Why they didn't go with Texas Toast, which is (as my friend Joe pointed out to me) already a synonym for the toast-that-dare-not-speak-its-name, is beyond my understanding.