Clinton: Hillary would be an ‘excellent president’

Clinton: Hillary would be an ‘excellent president’
Separately, Biden says senator would be formidable candidate in 2008


The Associated Press
Updated: 10:31 p.m. ET Feb. 27, 2005

TOKYO - Former President Clinton said Sunday that his wife, Hillary, would be an excellent choice as the first female leader of the world’s most powerful nation.

In an interview with Japan’s TV Asahi, Clinton said he did not know whether his wife, the senator of New York state, has any plans to one day run for the presidency.

“I don’t know if she’ll run or not,” he told the network, but added, “She would make an excellent president, and I would always try to help her.”

Separately on Sunday, Sen. Joseph Biden said Senator Clinton would be incredibly difficult to beat if she decides to run for president.

Clinton has said she plans to run for re-election as New York senator in 2006. Speculation has periodically surfaced, however, that the 57-year-old former first lady may have her sights set for the presidency in 2008.

Results from a U.S. poll released last week showed that six in 10 American voters believe the United States is ready for a female president.

Read the rest of the article:
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7041441/

New Yorkers oppose Games site

New Yorkers oppose Games site
Link to story
From correspondents in New York
February 23, 2005

New York's plan for a $US 1.4 billion ($1.8 billion) 2012 Olympic Stadium became the centre of controversy overnight as an International Olympic Committee evaluation panel visited the site.

Rival finalists London and Madrid have already hosted the IOC delegation, which will visit Paris and Moscow next month before deciding on a host city on July 6 in Singapore.

The 13-member panel made a whirlwind tour of venues and planned competition areas that included the west side Manhattan railyard that New York bidders hope will become the location for the proposed retractable-roof stadium.

"It's essential they leave here believing in our plan, believing in us as partners," said NYC2012 founder and deputy mayor Dan Doctoroff.

The land is owned by the Metropolitan Transit Authority, which will hold a hearing on March 31 to consider a growing field of rival bids offering more money for redevelopment projects that threaten the cornerstone of New York's bid.

"By the time the IOC votes they have to be convinced we'll be able to deliver on our promise that we will have an Olympic stadium," said Doctoroff.

NYC2012 executive director Jay Kriegel avoided the question when asked directly about it by reporters on a tour of venues.

When asked again about the stadium, he replied, "You want me to talk about fountains again?"

"That's New York's plan for the stadium. That's the only plan," said Kriegel. "I'll take any non-stadium questions."

When asked about what questions the IOC delegates had on the uncertainty around the stadium, Kriegel generalised.

"They are being thorough about the plan we have submitted to them," he said. "They will see every venue. They are concerned about every venue. They know about the stadium. We will discuss that with them."

A protest group sent an open letter to Moroccan commission chairwoman Nawal El Moutawakel saying it has "grave concern" about the costs New Yorkers will have to pay because bidders refuse to consider other stadium options.

"Organisers are making a massive – we'll use the word Olympian – error with regard to the single most important and critical component of their proposal – the main Olympic stadium," the letter read.

"They are almost blindly pursuing a path that will destroy New York's chances." The letter also referred to the stadium as "a cost-busting urban-planning nightmare than not one elected official from its community supports."

Standing atop the National Tennis Centre, bid operations director Andrew Kimball said nearby Shea Stadium, 50,000-seat home of baseball's New York Mets, is not being used because, "It wasn't a logical fit into our plans."

Pressed as to why the Queens neighbourhood, with parking and roadways in place, would not have made a better Olympic stadium site, Kimball said: "The ultimate decision was that the best destination for the Olympics and the city was on the west side."

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and state governor George Pataki made a presentation to the IOC and has promised the stadium project will be under construction before the IOC vote.

The committee also saw Madison Square Garden, whose owners made the first rival bid for the valuable west side Manhattan property that has caused trouble for New York's Olympic bidders and their $US3.6 billion ($4.54 billion) plan.

Bidders pressed the idea that they can fill stadiums for such events as hockey and team handball, a far cry from the empty seats that greeted many events at Athens last year.

"We're confident we can sell all tickets to fill all the stadiums," said Kriegel.

IOC members are set to hear details today about security and finances before making final venues visits on Friday and making their only public comments here at the conclusion of the visit.

"They've helped us prepare what we consider to be the most detailed budget ever prepared by a bid city," said Doctoroff.

Agence France-Presse

Patriots win for 3rd time in 4 years

Patriots win for 3rd time in 4 years
Feb 6, 11:15 PM (ET)
By BARRY WILNER

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Dynasties don't have to be perfect or pretty. They just have to win - like the New England Patriots. The Patriots won their third Super Bowl in four years with a dominant second half Sunday night, wearing down the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21.

It wasn't overpowering, and at times it was downright ugly. But it was more than enough to match the Dallas Cowboys' run of the 1990s and certify the Patriots of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady as the NFL's latest dynasty.

"To me this trophy belongs to these players," Belichick said. "They met all comers this year, a very challenging year. We're thrilled to win. These players played great all year, their best in the big games and they deserve it, they really deserve it."

With MVP Deion Branch tying a Super Bowl record for receptions with 11, Brady efficiently running the offense and Rodney Harrison sparking a smothering defense, the Patriots (17-2) won their ninth successive postseason game. That ties the record of Vince Lombardi's Packers of the 1960s, and there's hardly any better company a team can keep.

The difference once again was an Adam Vinatieri field goal, this one a 22-yarder with 8:40 to go. New England won its other two Super Bowls by the margin of Vinatieri's last-second kicks.

This time, the Patriots sealed it with a stop.

Read more...

All Hail The Torturer General!

Yes, folks, the U.S. Senate has voted 60-36 in favor of Alberto Gonzales as America's premier torturer general. I'm not racist; in fact, I've got some Cuban blood flowing through my veins, but I don't care if the nominated AG was Hispanic, Black, Asian or female--authorizing use of actions that lead to torture is in NO way acceptable and dismissing the Geneva Convention as "quaint" and "obsolete" is proof that Mr. Gonzales is as bull-headed and ignorant as the man he works for. Not only that, Mr. Gonzales refuses to admit mistakes (like his boss) and dodges questions quite smoothly (like the current Secretary of State and President). I am happy to know that my two senators voted against his confirmation and I proudly stand behind them and support their wise decisions.
Yes, folks, let's all hail the newly confirmed Torturer General!
    

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Senate confirms Gonzales as attorney general
Associated Press
February 3, 2005

WASHINGTON New York Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer today voted against confirming Alberto Gonzales as U.S. Attorney General.

Gonzales won Senate confirmation despite Democratic accusations that he helped formulate White House policies that led to overseas prisoner abuse and was too beholden to President Bush to be the nation's top law enforcement official.

The Senate voted 60-to-36 to put the first Hispanic ever into the job, with all of the "no" votes coming from Democrats.

At first, many Democrats had joined Republicans in praising the former state judge who traveled with Bush to Washington after the president's 2000 victory.

But some Democrats turned against him after he sidestepped questions on what advice he gave Bush and other administration officials on the interrogation methods that could be used on suspected terrorists or witnesses.

Democrats also expressed concern that Gonzales was too much of a Bush loyalist.

Schumer says he was worried Gonzales would be too willing to toe the party line and support Bush's positions, no matter what.

http://www.wstm.com/global/story.asp?s=2899414&ClientType=Printable

Tax Holiday Starts Today

Every place but the following counties and cities listed below that are collecting tax suck hard. Interestingly enough, I did a search on Yahoo! News for "tax free week" and local TV station articles came up. I needed to go two pages deep (with search results set to 40 per page) to find a major New York City metro paper such as the New York Post. It makes me wonder why the Daily News, the New York Times and Newsday didn't hype this up a little bit more? Is there a "no spend conspiracy" going on against Bloomberg and Pataki by the media? Hmmm... makes you wonder.

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Tax Holiday Starts Today
Bill Hoffmann

Time to shop 'til you drop — and pay no taxes.

Beginning today, the city and state will drop the combined 8.25 percent sales tax on all purchases of clothing and footwear less than $110 per item.

The tax-free week, which is held twice a year, will run through Sunday in the five boroughs.

Officials say the program not only helps shoppers save money, but gives retailers a shot in the arm because January and February are traditionally slow sales months.

Individual counties and cities have the option of dropping or keeping their local taxes. Among the counties that will continue to collect sales tax are Westchester, Nassau, Putnam and Orange.

Local cities that will keep collecting include: Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, White Plains and Yonkers.

How funny is this?

Tony Blair is P.I.M.P.in!

Judge: Detainees can challenge U.S. confinement

This is a step in the right direction in improving human rights in America. The Bush administration thinks it can do whatever it wants with people who are not U.S. citizens because they are not guaranteed the same rights as U.S. citizens or permanent residents in the U.S., however, the recent ruling by Judge Green shows that detainees held by the U.S. do, in fact, have legal rights. Oh, and by the way, the Geneva Convention is hardly "quaint" nor "obsolete."

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from Metro: New York Edition
Associated Press
Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Washington -- A federal judge ruled yesterday that foreign terror suspects held in Cuba can challenge their confinement in U.S. courts, and she criticized the Bush administration for holding hundreds of people without legal rights.

Judge Joyce Hens Green, handling claims filed by about 50 detainees at the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, said that the Supreme Court made clear last year that they have constitutional rights that lower courts should enforce.

Rights Remain
"Although this nations unquestionably must take strong action under the leadership of the commander-in-chief to protect itself against enormous and unprecedented threats," she wrote, "that necessity cannot negate the existence of the most basic fundamental rights for which the people of this country have fought and died for well over 200 years."

Green also ruled that hearings set up by the government to determine if the prisoners are "enemy combatants" are unconstitutional. Those hearings, called Combatant Status Review Tribunals, had been criticized by civil rights groups because detainees are not represented by lawyers and are not told of some of the evidence against them -- including some information that the judge said may have been obtained by torture or coercion.

Message to the world
"Her opinion sends a message to the rest of the world that democracy is still here," said Barbara Olshansky, an attorney with the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, which is representing detainees.

(more from The Star-Ledger New Jersey)
Opposing ruling
The decision conflicts with a ruling two weeks ago by another federal judge in the same court who considered a similar lawsuit brought by a different group of detainees. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon found last year's Supreme Court ruling did not provide Guantánamo detainees with the legal basis to try to win their freedom in American courts.

At the White House, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan took issue with the ruling, noting that it was directly at odds with the earlier one and saying the Justice Department "will review this matter."

Detention numbers
About 550 detainees are being held at the Navy base, accused of being enemy combatants. The prisoners, all men from 42 countries, were mainly swept up in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

Leon concluded that foreign citizens captured and detained outside the United States have no rights under the Constitution or international law.

Green flatly disagreed. She said detainees may fight their indefinite detentions as a violation of their constitutional due process rights. And some also may have claims that their rights were violated under the Geneva Convention, she said.