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Note: The following news brief is a quote: http://ny1.com/8-queens-news-content/top_stories/109259/queens-imam-involved-in-terror-investigation-granted-holiday-travel 11/20/2009 09:14 AM Queens Imam Involved In Terror Investigation Granted Holiday Travel By: NY1 News The Queens imam under house arrest for allegedly interfering with a terror investigation will spend Thanksgiving in Virginia. According to reports, Ahmad Afzali was given permission to travel to his father’s home for the holiday. A federal judge in Brooklyn approved the trip after a request was filed by Afzali’s attorney. Federal prosecutors reportedly did not oppose the request, but the office of pretrial services was concerned his electronic ankle monitoring bracelet would be out of...

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has decided not to run for governor next year - but will run for U.S. Senate instead, sources told the Daily News. A source familiar with Giuliani's thinking said the failed presidential candidate has been telling people he plans to run against Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2010 to fill out the remaining two years of Hillary Clinton's term.

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has decided not to run for governor next year - but will run for U.S. Senate instead, sources told the Daily News. A source familiar with Giuliani's thinking said the failed presidential candidate has been telling people he plans to run against Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2010 to fill out the remaining two years of Hillary Clinton's term. If elected, the source said, he could use that as a stepping stone to run for President in 2012 - rather than run for re-election to the Senate. A Giuliani spokeswoman downplayed the reports. "Rudy has a...

Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has decided not to run for governor of New York next year after months of mulling a candidacy, according to people who have been told of the decision. .. It remains unclear whether the former mayor is considering any other political race in 2010. Some have urged him to take on the newly installed Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, who has never run statewide and is still introducing herself to voters in parts of the state. The decision will be a boon to other Republican contenders. So far, Rick Lazio, a former congressman from Long Island,...

Terrorists may have been upset over the treatment of their brothers-in-arms at Gitmo, but striking back at the naval base was a logistical impossibility. Not so with a city of endless subway tunnels, elevator shafts and an entire island that can be brought to a halt given the right combination of carnage and chaos. The Obama administration grossly underestimated the response of the American people when it announced its intentions last week to try battlefield combatants in criminal courts. We were also not impressed that President Obama ducked responsibility by simply calling it a "prosecutorial" decision. We see the harm...

After his Senate testimony today, Holder was confronted by a woman who lost a son Flight 93. She accused him of giving the military commissions short shrift and enabling a media circus in which KSM will be allowed to rant and put the country on trial. Once again, he failed to address the issue. He tells her he did not give them short shrift and that the defendants ranted in the commissions too. Funny, I don't recall breathless liberal news organizations gleefully giving endless blow-by-blow of those antics. Maybe that is because the military doesn't allow circuses to take place...

The eternal flame is not living up to its name — again. The Prison Ships Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park, a tribute to the nearly 12,000 prisoners of war who died on British ships in the East River during the Revolutionary War, has dimmed — and residents’ tempers are burning bright. “The monument is not getting the justice it deserves,” said Michael Molfetas, a Clinton Hill resident who was appalled that it had taken less than a year since the November, 2008 rededication ceremony for the supposedly eternal flame to go out. “It is here to show America’s strength...

Doug Hoffman picks up 20 votes so far in 23rd Congressional District recanvass By Mark Weiner / The Post-Standard November 17, 2009, 7:25PM Washington, D.c. -- Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman picked up a net gain of 20 votes Tuesday — far from what he needs to win — as the count of absentee ballots began in the 23rd Congressional District. Hoffman received the tiny boost after Madison, Oneida and Hamilton counties said they finished counting their absentee ballots Tuesday. The majority of the sprawling district – eight other counties – will finish the process this week. But if early...

Ten months before Al Qaeda in 2001 struck a deathblow in the heart lower Manhattan, one of the terrorist group's founding members plunged a sharpened comb through Pepe's left eye and into his brain, blinding the 42-year-old prison guard and causing severe brain injuries that plague him to this day. Pepe told FoxNews.com he worries that sending Mohammed and four of his alleged fellow 9/11 conspirators to New York could compromise the safety of the guards at the MCC prison. Keeping the prisoners in one location, he said, was especially dangerous. Teaming up against Pepe, they beat and blinded him,...

President Obama’s decision to put Khalid Sheikh Mohammed on trial in New York City along with four others accused of helping destroy the World Trade Center and attack the Pentagon on 9-11 paints a bull’s-eye for terrorists right on New York City, their favorite target. Now Obama has identified where the terrorists should focus their energies — on New York City.

Gov. David Paterson openly criticized the White House on Monday, saying he thought it was a terrible idea to move alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspected terrorists to New York for trial.

Our guests from Gitmo are going to be tried in New York. The people of New York will again have to be exposed to Islamic Extremists. Fear and paranoia will grip some New Yorkers. Some feel that by bringing these guys in will bring added threats from those who sympathize with them. And for what? Aren’t trials for people who have been charged with crimes? If fighting against the U.S. is a crime that terrorists have to go to court over, then how much longer will it be, before this wacko politically correct attitude mandates that our boys also be...

SNIPPET: "TERROR mastermind Rashid Rauf has been linked to a fresh Al Qaida plot to launch attacks on the US. The Birmingham-born extremist has been named by witnesses due to testify against Najibullah Zazi, who was arrested for plotting suicide bombings in New York. MI6 officers have linked the plot to a complex terror network said to be directed from Pakistan by Rauf and fellow jihadists. Zazi, 24, was identified through an intercepted communication, and was further implicated by US national Bryant Neal Vinas, who was captured in Pakistan last November. Vinas, 26, allegedly admits meeting Rauf and receiving training...

President Obama’s decision to put Khalid Sheikh Mohammed on trial in New York City along with four others accused of helping destroy the World Trade Center and attack the Pentagon on 9-11 paints a bulls-eye for terrorists right on New York City, their favorite target. Now Obama has identified where the terrorists should focus their energies – on New York City. His decision to bow to political correctness and not to try Mohammed at a secure military base and to try him in a civilian court, according him all the rights of an American citizen, raises important questions: Most importantly,...

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani blasted the Obama administration on Friday for its decision to try five Sept. 11 suspects in New York, saying that such a trial would only encourage terrorists to target the city once again. Earlier Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba would be transported onto U.S. soil to face justice in civilian court. "After eight years of delay, those allegedly responsible for that attacks of September the 11th will finally face justice," Holder said. "They...

...if one were to follow the logic of trying the Gitmo guys for trying to hurt us then why is it ok to fire back on them? Isn’t that wrong? In a Civil Court of law, what applies to one party, applies to the other. Aren’t the soldiers being fired on, taking justice into their own hands by firing back? I mean after all, according to the Civil Justice System that the Gitmo terrorists will be held to, isn’t a person considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law? And if they are innocent, then what right do...

New York State’s Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund hasn’t been all that dedicated. Since 1991, only 34.9 percent of the money in the fund went directly toward the repair and improvement of the state’s deteriorating roads and bridges. And over the next four years, that will shrink to about one fifth. It’s supposed to be a “locked box,” but apparently the lock wasn’t very strong. If only one-third of the money in the Highway and Bridge Trust Fund has actually been used to pay for highways and bridges, the question, is, where did the money go? The answer is...

SNIPPET: "Muthana is facing five counts of second-degree assault, DWI and reckless driving. He is accused of injuring six people. They are 21-year-old Dominick Nicholson, 20-year-old Tyrese Beard, 40-year-old James Pross, 50-year-old Debra Hollis, 25-year-old Luis Cruz and 49-year-old Diane Neil. All are Rochester residents." SNIPPET: "In his statement to police, he said he drank six cans of Budweiser in an hour. Then he started using swear words, cussing police and government. He said, "Ben Franklin was stupid. He should have made it so you *expletives* can't swerve the law. The Muslims will fix this country." When bail was being...

News today that the Obama administration will be bringing five terrorists from the Guantanamo Bay prison to New York is causing outrage and concern. This is not the first time, however, that the Obama administration has brought a terrorist to the United States mainland, and it promises not to be the last. Democrat Senate Leader Harry Reid promised this would not happen! News reports indicate President Obama previously told others he did not want terrorists in the United States! Now the welcome mat is out?! This is a HUGE FLIP FLOP!... It gets worse. Attorney General Eric Holder has also...

This memorandum is to inform you that effective November 30, 2009 Susquehanna Regional Emergency Medical Services, Inc. (SREMS) will no longer be able to continue operations. We were notified our contract is currently pending Office of State Comptroller approval contingent upon New York State Division of Budget (DOB) allocating funds to support it. The Department of Health does not know when DOB will make funds available and SREMS was asked to forward a continuity of operations plan related to the effects of no funding. SREMS conducted a fiscal and operational analysis which concluded that SREMS’s Program Agency funds would be...

In what could be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, federal prosecutors sought to take over four U.S. mosques and a New York City skyscraper owned by a Muslim organization suspected of being controlled by the Iranian government. Prosecutors on Thursday filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets. The assets include bank accounts; Islamic centers consisting of schools and mosques in New York, Maryland, California and Houston; more than 100 acres in Virginia; and a 36-story Manhattan office tower. Confiscating the properties would...

Source: 9/11 Terror Detainees Face Trial in N.Y. Friday, November 13, 2009 WASHINGTON — Self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees will be sent to New York to face trial in a civilian federal court, an Obama administration official said Friday. The official said Attorney General Eric Holder plans to announce the decision later in the morning. The official is not authorized to discuss the decision before the announcement, so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Democrat's Winning Margin in Upstate New York House Race in DoubtUpdated November 12, 2009 by AP Though Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman conceded and Democrat Bill Owens was sworn into Congress last week, the routine recanvassing of votes shows Owens' lead has narrowed to 3,026 votes, with about 5,800 absentee ballots received so far that have yet to be counted. The special election last week for the 23rd Congressional District seat in New York may not be over after all. Though Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman conceded and Democrat Bill Owens was sworn into Congress last week, the routine recanvassing of votes...

Wall Street is not done pounding on Eliot Spitzer, but NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo may be attempting to protect Spitzer from the rest of the world finding out how a sleazeball politician really operates. Cuomo, who appeared to never spot a television camera he didn't like, has apparently found one. Any camera with a reporter that wants to know more about Spitzer's secret email account where he laid the dirt out on his aggressive tactics to gain high-profile fame. Lawyers for insurance mogul Hank Greenberg have sought e-mails that Spitzer used in his 2005 prosecution of Greenberg for alleged...

On election night, Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman conceded defeat to Democratic candidate Bill Owens after dramatically under-performing in key counties and deciding that he couldn’t overcome the gap. Today, the campaign is “looking very closely” at a recanvass of the district that has revealed, as recanvasses often do, screw-ups in the initial count. What was a 5,335-vote margin for Owens on election night is now a 3,026-vote margin, due largely to initial under-reporting of Hoffman votes in Oswego County and Jefferson County. According to Mark Weiner’s report, the Hoffman campaign is leaving open the option of legal challenges if...

Washington -- Conservative Doug Hoffman conceded the race in the 23rd Congressional District last week after receiving two pieces of grim news for his campaign: He was down 5,335 votes with 93 percent of the vote counted on election night, and he had barely won his stronghold in Oswego County. As it turns out, neither was true. But Hoffman’s concession -- based on snafus in Oswego County and elsewhere that left his vote undercounted -- set off a chain of events that echoed all the way to Washington, D.C., and helped secure passage of a historic health care reform bill....

A prominent Columbia architecture professor punched a female university employee in the face at a Harlem bar during a heated argument about race relations, cops said yesterday. Police busted Lionel McIntyre, 59, for assault yesterday after his bruised victim, Camille Davis, filed charges. McIntyre and Davis, who works as a production manager in the school's theater department, are both regulars at Toast, a popular university bar on Broadway and 125th Street, sources said. The professor, who is black, had been engaged in a fiery discussion about "white privilege" with Davis, who is white, and another male regular, who is also...

After the first day of recounting votes from Election Day, Nassau County Executive GOP candidate Ed Mangano leads incumbent Tom Suozzi by 24 votes. The number is small but could paint a troubling scenario for Suozzi, who is seeking a third term in office. According to sources the votes counted were from the 14th Legislative District, where Democratic Legislator Dave Mejias is also hoping the recount puts him on top of his challenger Republican Joe Belesi, Long Beach and most of Suozzi’s hometown of Glen Cove. More than 1,000 voting machines were taken to the Nassau County Board of Elections...

Governor David Paterson called an unusual joint session of the Legislature Monday to implore recalcitrant lawmakers to close the state's huge budget gap before New York runs out of money. To some lawmakers it's nothing more than a photo op to help Paterson get re-elected. But the governor is dead serious. He said if the Legislature doesn't cut the budget now the state could run out of money by next month

Obama said the main message he took from last week’s election results – with Republicans winning gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia – was that Americans are “nervous, and they’re worried and they’re anxious.” “I don't think there's any denying the fact that people are worried out there,” he said in an interview with ABC’s Jake Tapper today. Obama said Democrat Bill Owens victory in the special election in New York’s 23rd congressional district, the one bright spot for the president’s party last Tuesday, “sent an important signal.”

LEWISBORO, NY -- The voters' revolt against high taxes and a deep recession was so intense that even community leaders of New York's sleepiest hamlets got tossed. Nowhere was this more evident than in the tiny town of Lewisboro -- a northern Westchester municipality of 12,000 near the Connecticut border. Mirroring the upheavals in higher-profile races, like the defeat of New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, cranky voters in Lewisboro threw out their own Democratic leaders.

Julian Robertson wins one for taxpayers. For every Sunbelt refugee who has tried to leave high tax bills behind in the cold Northeast, Julian Robertson scored a victory this week. By proving that he was outside New York City for half the days in the year 2000, the former hedge-fund titan avoided $27 million in city taxes, thanks to a ruling by New York's tax court. No thanks are due the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, which had ruled he was a resident and therefore liable for the multimillion-dollar tab. In the upside-down world of tax law,...

(The following is an extrapolation from the article.) A spokesman for Congressman Owens stated the following: Mr. Owens has recanted his solid positions on the following; he now supports the public option in the Health Reform bill; he will support cutting Medicare benefits; he supports taxing health care benefits; and will support increased taxes on the middle class.

November 05, 2009, 4:00 a.m. Republican Civil War?Our experts respond. An NRO Symposium The NY-23 race has political commentators abuzz: Is there a Republican civil war going on? If so, who started it, and can there be a truce? If not, why is everyone saying there is one? National Review Online asked a few close observers of the Right to report in on these rumors of war. KEN BLACKWELLDede Scozzafava’s record in the New York State legislature was pro-tax, pro-abortion, and anti-marriage. She even accepted the endorsement of ACORN. But she got the local party elders’ support, based on...

I just got through to my Congressman, Eric Massa (D-NY). I asked if he had made up his mind on Nancy Pelosi's health care bill and the staffer tole me he was voting NO, and was committed to that position.

To the list of hundreds of schools, hospitals, and community health centers that have received limited allocations of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine, you can now add some of New York's largest employers. In the past week or so 13 companies, including Citigroup (C) and Goldman Sachs (GS), have begun receiving small quantities of the vaccine, according to city health authorities.

Riyadh, Nov 5 (DPA) Around 5,480 people converted to Islam in Saudi Arabia through the ‘Bring me to Islam’ cell phone hotline service, media reports said Thursday. The service, provided in 12 languages, was launched to raise awareness among foreign communities in the kingdom, the Saudi daily Okaz reported. Any person can suggest names of non-Muslims he thinks might convert to Islam through text messages to the hotline, along with their phone numbers and the language they speak. Later, preachers would call these non-Muslims and try to introduce them to Islam, without revealing the number of the person who suggested...

Note: Video included. Peaceful preaching inside, violent message outside a New York mosque New York (CNN) -- SNIPPET: "Protected by the Constitution of the country they detest, radical Muslim converts like Yousef al-Khattab and Younes Abdullah Mohammed preach that the killing of U.S. troops overseas is justified. In their thinking, so were the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States -- and so are attacks on almost any American. "Americans will always be a target -- and a legitimate target -- until America changes its nature in the international arena," Mohammed said in an interview to air on tonight's...

In the midst of New York's 23rd District race, a disturbing amendment allowing inmates to volunteer for non-profits was given the thumbs up from New York voters by an overwhelming 67 percent. According to the New York Times, The amendement would allow New York's State Legislature to write a law allowing prisoners to volunteer at churches, social service groups, and other nonprofit organizations. As of December of 2008, around 60,000 inmates are currently serving time in the state's correctional facilities, according to New York's Department of Correction

NOTE: HERE IS THE NEWS YOU'VE BEEN HEARING REGARDING THE 23RD DISTRICT IN NEW YORK -----Democrats win New York congressional race, but conservatives claim victory too Posted: November 4th, 2009 02:06 AM ET From CNN Political Producer Rebecca Sinderbrand (CNN) – The three-way race in New York's 23rd congressional district ended Tuesday night with a surprise Democratic win - the first for the party in the reliably-Republican district since the 19th century. Democrat Bill Owens defeated Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman to claim victory in a race where an internal GOP fight drew national attention - and forced the party's...

From a New York political observer: The biggest defeat for RINOs in New York wasn't the pre-election collapse of Dede Scozzafava in the 23rd CD. It was tonight's stunning victory by conservative Republican Rob Astorino in the race for County Executive of Westchester County—the affluent and heavily taxed suburb just north of NYC, which has been solidly Democratic for more than a decade. Astorino's victory is a stinging rebuke to the brand of New York Republicanism personified by Assemblywoman Scozzafava, former Gov. (and Westchester native son) George Pataki, and Westchester's famously liberal former state Sen. Nicky Spano of Yonkers, who...

Here is video of Ben Stein last night on Larry King Live where he said Conservative Doug Hoffman lost the New York 23 Congressional Race because the Republican candidate "actively sabotaged" him, and was "shockingly disloyal" in endorsing the Democrat, Bill Owens. Stein was talking about liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava, who was anointed by GOP Party insiders as the candidate, but who eventually withdrew from the race after a revolt by conservatives who refused to support her liberal policies. Stein said Democrats should not be excited about winning a race where Republicans had such a "disloyal" candidate. . . (VIDEO)

ALBANY -- Bill Owens unexpectedly turned back an aggressive challenge by Conservative Party upstart Doug Hoffman to win an upstate congressional seat yesterday, becoming the first Democrat to represent the area in more than 100 years. Owens, an attorney and retired Air Force captain, was leading by 3 percentage points. Hoffman conceded shortly after midnight. "We stood up against two major parties that had a lot of money, but we got this far on determination," Hoffman told supporters gathered in Saranac Lake. "I want to really thank everybody here and around the district and around America who stood up for...

By David Weigel 11/3/09 10:50 PM SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. – I caught Watertown, N.Y., Mayor Jeff Graham, who endorsed NY-23 Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman this weekend, looking very glum at Doug Hoffman’s election party. I asked him what happened in Jefferson County, where Watertown is located, and where Democrat Bill Owens is leading the vote. “We lost,” said Graham. “The Scozzafava endorsement, the [Watertown Daily Times] endorsement of Owens–I mean, they roughed Hoffman up.” Could Hoffman still pull out a win? Graham grimaced. “It’s over.”

Breaking News: Fox News Projects: Democrat Owens Wins Race for New York's 23rd Congressional District

USS NEW YORK (LPD-21) PUBLIC SHIP VISITS ... – Wednesday, November 4 – 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Thursday, November 5 – 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. – Sunday, November 8 – 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Monday, November 9 – 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Tuesday, November 10 – 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Wednesday, November 11 – 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Dates and times are subject to change; updates will be posted here.) NO LARGE PACKAGES OR BACKPACKS WILL BE PERMITTED. Those who plan to go aboard the ship are advised to: -- Arrive...

Why would a Republican Congressional candidate after dropping out of her Congressional race endorse the Democrat remaining in the race over the Republican remaining in the race? (see story) Just as Republicans suspected Dede Scozzafava was just another Democrat RINO mole attempting to burrow her way into the National Republican Party to undermine it from within. Could it be that her decision to endorse the Democrat in the race for the 23rd Congressional District in New York is an indication of what type of Republican she is and what kind of Congressional representative she would have been? I think yes!...

There’s not much time left, but Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Watertown, N.Y., to try to build support for Democrat Bill Owens in the roller-coaster congressional contest in upstate New York. “We’re not asking you to switch your party,” Biden said in an appeal to centrist Republicans who supported Dede Scozzafava, the GOP candidate who withdrew from the race on Saturday amid flagging poll numbers and criticism from prominent conservatives for being too liberal. “We’re just saying, join us in teaching a lesson to absolutists who come and tell us that no dissent is permitted within their own party.”

Good news, but with lots of caveats. Here are some interesting facts from our unweighted numbers so far: -In a three way contest Doug Hoffman leads Bill Owens by 19 points. In a two way contest Hoffman leads Owens by 15 points. So the Dede Scozzafava withdrawal and endorsement will probably tighten the race some but not nearly enough. -58% of Republicans think that Scozzafava’s a liberal and that was obviously before her endorsement today.