Iran
Schumer says his 'Jewish lobby' talk almost brought Chuck Hagel to tears
Called upon this morning, again, to defend his endorsement of Chuck Hagel's nomination as defense secretary, Senator Chuck Schumer answered by talking about a conversation he had with Hagel about his previous reference to a "Jewish lobby" in America. More
Hagel clears the Armed Services Committee
By a party-line vote of 14 to 11, the Senate Armed Services Committee favorably reported the nomination of Chuck Hagel this afternoon.
The vote came after Republicans took another turn criticizing Hagel for past comments he made as a senator, more recent comments he made during a shaky confirmation hearing, and additional comments and financial information that they said he failed to adequately disclose. More
At a grim hearing, Hagel grasps at Gillibrand's lifeline
In a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand finally had the chance to publicly question Chuck Hagel, saying she'd be focusing her time on the "most urgent issues from my perspective," which were, in order: Iran, Israel, Israel, Israel, Syria, Afghanistan, and the treatment of women in the military. More
(2)Schumer says he'll be watching Hagel 'like an eagle'
Sen. Chuck Schumer defended his early endorsement of Chuck Hagel on a Jewish radio program this morning, saying he had asked "probing" questions in his 90-minute meeting with Hagel at the White House.
"His answers were not pat, were not check the box," Schumer told Nachum Segal, the host of "JM in the AM."
"You know, Nachum, I've been around, I've been in politics 37 years and I've been fooled on occasion, but not too often," Schumer said. "I think I have a pretty good, as they call it, b.s. detector. More
On Iran, Mayor Bloomberg says sanctions 'obviously aren't enough'
"I think that sanctions help but they obviously aren't enough," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg today on the question of Iran.
Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited with the mayor at Gracie Mansion. Afterward, the mayor offered a soft endorsement of the Israeli leader's controversial stance that the Obama administration needs to set clear "red lines," which Iran, in its pursuit of nuclear weapons, must not cross.
Today he offered a somewhat more explicit approval of Netanyahu's position. More
So p!ssed! Tabloid curses for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Each day, the New York tabloids vie to sell readers at the newsstands on outrageous headlines, dramatic photography, and, occasionally, great reporting. Who is today's winner? More
(3)After Liu spikes Bloomberg's taxi contract, de Blasio reminds us he objected first
Shortly after comptroller John Liu said this afternoon that he would reject the city's Taxi of Tomorrow contract as it's now written, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio sent out a reminder that he didn't like the Taxi of Tomorrow first. More
De Blasio calls on 'Taxi of Tomorrow' maker Nissan to divest from Iran
Public Advocate and 2013 mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio wants Nissan, the company the Bloomberg administration selected to make its 'Taxi of Tomorrow,' to divest from Iran. More
(2)Anna Gristina's East Side prostitution ring has legs
Each day, the New York tabloids vie to sell readers at the newsstands on outrageous headlines, dramatic photography, and, occasionally, great reporting. Who is today's winner? More
(1)Bill Keller says 'Times' readers 'have not forgotten that we blew it on Iraq,' and that's one reason Iran is different
"We can't entirely leech the New York-ness out of The New York Times," said Keller. "If we somehow achieved absolute objectivity, it would be kind of tedious to read. ... Watching The New York Times try to be even-handed on some issues is like trying to watch somebody dance their kids' dance styles. We look like we're trying too hard. Yes, we should be even-handed, we should certainly follow the basic rule of reporting, challenging your assumptions, and we should be ruthless about having a public editor or an editors' note to call ourselves out. ... But it is possible to be fair and still radiate a cultural persona." More
(1)Schumer urges 'additional scrutiny' of the Iranian mission in New York
Senator Chuck Schumer said today that Iranian diplomats assigned to work at the United Nations in New York City should be watched more closely, because the Iranian government has been linked to terrorist activity and the city's safety needs to be ensured. More
Peter King wishes all the Republican candidates would at least read the newspaper
Representative Peter King has almost settled on a presidential candidate.
"I think, first of all, Mitt Romney is clearly the most competent candidate we have," King told me in a phone interview this afternoon.
"I will probably end up endorsing Mitt Romney, I'm just not ready to do it now. If it comes down, which it looks like it will, to a campaign on the economy, I would say business experience and competency, Mitt Romney is clearly our strongest candidate. He's probably won all the debates. Certainly, he hasn't lost any of them, I'll put it that way. And he's serious. He's shown he's a serious player."
In King's view, that distinguished him from most of the rest of field.
(1)Nadler on how killing Khadafy could lead to a nuclear Iran
Representative Jerrold Nadler thinks the United States and its allies sent a "very bad message" to Iran by assisting in the effort to oust Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy.
"What message were we sending, whether we intended to send it or not?" Nadler asked a crowd of Israel supporters at the Agudath Israel breakfast on Monday morning.
Nadler, a liberal on most things who is nevertheless a hawk on Israel, prefaced his comments about Khadafy by saying, "I'm going to say one thing that may be unpopular here." More
(1)'Flowers of Evil': A movie about Twitter cross-talk that deserves our undivided attention
Much of the current conversation about social media and technology, in the world at large and in cinema, focuses on how it supposedly isolates us, and keeps us glued to our BlackBerries or iPhones and disengaged with the world around us. A manipulative documentary like Catfish, then, shows what we already know: There are crazy people out there ready to use this new ecosystem to take advantage of the good nature of others. More
