Is Fried Frank betraying the legacy of Sarge Shriver ?

Like our new Facebook page : Is Fried Frank betraying the legacy of Sarge Shriver ?

From the Demand A Hospital e-mail listserv :

Dear All : 

We were a small group today, but we did well to keep showing up to say that our fight goes on :  we still need a full-service hospital to replace St. Vincent's. 

At today's real estate forum, it shocked our conscious to learn that Julie Menin, candidate for Manhattan Borough President, was a participant -- even through the highlight of the forum was Melanie Meyer's and Samantha Rudin's distorted presentation about St. Vincent's Hospital.  We will contact Ms. Menin, to ask her to explain why she took part in the real estate forum, if it was glorifying the Rudin takeover of St. Vincent's.... 

We were not allowed inside the forum, and one of our friends reported to us that the conference was deliberately not being recorded or live streamed, because the forum's participants did not want their conversations recorded for public examination.  While Melanie Meyers and Samantha Rudin talked about the profits that they are making, they don't want us to know the exact amount of their riches... 

Here is our video of our protest, pointing out how Melanie Meyers and the Rudin family are corrupting Sarge Shriver's legacy at the law firm of Fried Frank :  http://youtu.be/O-lN9sw2UsA 

Thank you for all that you do.

Google YouTube Censorship Warning

I had to write to Google tonight, because of a threat of censorship on one of my YouTube accounts. The timing is very interesting. Why all of a sudden now does one of my entire YouTube channels get flagged for deletion ? Hmmmmmmmmm.

This Week in Carolyn Ryan Media Bias

Everybody reported about Christine Quinn being booed about the Upper East Side waste transfer station, except for The New York Times. No surprise !!

As usual, almost the whole wide world has by now reported about the latest occasion when New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has been jeered at a large meeting, excepting, of course, the Metropolitan Section of The New York Times, which is edited by Speaker Quinn's brunch date, Carolyn Ryan.

"Upper East Siders opposed to the construction of a waste transfer station in their neighborhood booed City Council Speaker Christine Quinn at a mayoral forum," (NYPost).

After City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said she supported the location of the trash depot, she was promptly booed. "Don't expect us to vote for you, baby!" one angry voter screamed. (Gothamist)

"Speaking at a candidate forum on East 93rd Street, hosted by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, more than a hundred residents, some wearing green "Dump the Dump" t-shirts, heckled and booed the one candidate who said explicitly that the East 91st Street location for the garbage facility should not be changed: City Council Speaker Christine Quinn," (Capital New York).

Ms. Ryan has to bend the journalism in The New York Times to fit the mayoral agenda of Speaker Quinn's politics. Ms. Ryan makes it her duty to keep portraying Speaker Quinn in the best light, because that's what Speaker Quinn wants.

It's not like you would expect something even approaching journalistic balance from Ms. Ryan or The Times ?

Follow us on Facebook : We Protest Media Bias In The New York Times

Protest against Melanie Meyers and Samantha Rudin by St. Vincent's Hospital Activists

UPDATED : VIDEO OF PROTEST :

The Fried Frank lawyer Melanie Meyers and Samantha Rudin and her father, Bill Rudin, tarnish the legacy of Sarge Shriver.

Sarge Shriver's old law firm, Fried Frank Harris Shriver and Jacobson, have spent years representing the Rudin family's hostile takeover of St. Vincent's Hospital.

While the entire Lower Manhattan has no more Level I Trauma Center, the Rudin family (with Fried Frank's help) stand to make hundreds of millions of dollars from the luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital.

What would Sarge Shriver's family think about Fried Frank engaging in business that goes contrary to Sarge Shriver's legacy of public service and Progressive and humanitarian causes ?

St. Vincent's Hospital activists announce a protest against Melanie Meyers and Samantha Rudin.

Rudin Management Company are laughing all the way to the bank with all the money that they are making from the reckless luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital, and now they are gloating about it !  Join us for a protest this week :

Date :  Wednesday, 27 February 2013

Time :  2:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Place :  McGraw-Hill Companies, 1221 Avenue of the Americas (btwn 48th and 49th Streets), Manhattan

Executives from Real Estate Weekly Women's Form are gathering at McGraw-Hill on Wednesday to discuss how real estate executives can further their careers and discover new business opportunities. Among the many speakers are Melanie Meyers, the Fried Frank law firm partner who was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby CB2 and the City Council, and Samantha Rudin, from Rudin Management Company.

Join us as we protest from 2:30 - 3:00 outside McGraw-Hill's offices at 1221 Avenue of the Americas.

Here is the specific entry on the day's agenda, which reveals how Ms. Meyers and Ms. Rudin plan to describe how Rudin Management Company succeeded in exploiting community resources for private profit :

2:35 PM :  The Journey of St. Vincent’s

A look into Rudin Management’s vision for the development of St. Vincent’s, the milestones that have been met to pave the way for the project, the twists and turns that had to be addressed in achieving them and what we can expect as the redevelopment takes shape. The recent land use approvals will allow the abandoned hospital to be converted into a new, primarily residential and environmentally friendly complex encompassing the adaptive reuse of six historic buildings and the creation of a new public park that commemorates the history of St. Vincent’s Hospital.

Melanie Meyers, Partner, Fried Frank
Samantha Rudin Earls, Vice President, Rudin Management Company

Notice how Melanie Meyers and Samantha Rudin are portraying St. Vincent's Hospital as having been "abandoned."

CORRECTION :  It was Rudin Management Company, Fried Frank, Christine Quinn, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and the city and state Departments of Health which abandoned St. Vincent's.

Please bring signs to protest the Melanie Meyers, Samantha Rudin, Bill Rudin, and Rudin Management Company.  Our community still needs a full-service, Level I Trauma Center to replace St. Vincent's.

Please RSVP on the Facebook Invite :  https://www.facebook.com/events/133601436814483/

2013-02-27 Agenda | Real Estate Weekly Women's Forum by

1,000 days in jail for Bradley Manning ; 1,000 days of silence from Christine Quinn

1,000 days in jail for Bradley Manning ; 1,000 days of silence from Christine Quinn

Today, LGBT Army PFC Bradley Manning marked his 1,000th day imprisoned without a trial, reported Raw Story. PFC Manning is "suspected" of being the source of making government transparency disclosures to WikiLeaks.

PFC Manning is an LGBT service member, and many groups and leaders have been advocating for justice for PFC Manning. But New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has been eerily silent.

"It has taken him from the desert of Iraq, where he was arrested at a military operating base outside Baghdad, to a prison tent in Kuwait. From there he endured his infamous harsh treatment at Quantico Marine base in Virginia, and for the last 14 months he has attended a series of pre-trial hearings at Fort Meade in Maryland, the latest of which begins next week," reported Raw Story.

Among the violations of due process, government transparency, torture, and other charges, the government's prosecution of PFC Manning includes blatant acts of censorship.

No statement of support from LGBT leader Christine Quinn, who has her own murky history of redacting government documents.

What kind of an LGBT leader is Speaker Quinn if she remains quiet about the government's violations of PFC Manning's constitutional rights ?

OKAY, PANIC : The sugary drinks ban endangers coffee !

Mike Bloomberg's nanny over-reaching sugary drinks ban goes into effect March 12. Will people panic, if all sugary drinks have to be downsized -- including coffee ? As of yet, the sugary drinks peddled by Starbucks, like the "610-calorie venti iced white chocolate mochas with whip cream on top," seem to have sneaked by the ban, "but a Coke with fewer than half the calories is verboten." (See also : NAACP vs. Bloomberg’s Soda Ban : The NAACP and other minority groups fight back.)

Former Parks Chief Opposes NYU Expansion Plan

Henry Stern, Former Chief of Parks, Joins Legal Effort to Block the NYU Expansion.

From The Wall Street Journal :

Henry Stern, who led the Parks Department for 15 years under mayors Ed Koch and Rudolph Giuliani, said in an affidavit filed Friday that the city had for decades "either expressly or impliedly" dedicated the four sections on the superblocks between Houston and West Third streets as public parks. Mr. Stern's affidavit was part of a legal effort to block the NYU expansion.

The tracts of land—LaGuardia Park, LaGuardia Corner Gardens, Mercer Playground and the Mercer-Houston dog run—would be taken for either the permanent or temporary use of NYU in the construction of its planned 1 million-square-foot development. The City Council voted to approve the expansion plan in July, over the opposition of some neighborhood groups and members of the university's faculty.

"It was always the City's intent in continuously making these sites available to the public for recreational use over many years to treat them as dedicated parkland," Mr. Stern's affidavit says.

Read more : Former Parks Chief Opposes NYU Expansion Plan

Cut Oil Subsidies

Middle class families should not be forced to scrape by with less while oil companies get away with more.

@StopNYMRT Tweets On SUNY Downstate #LICH Closure Plan

SUNY Downstate submits closure plan for Long Island College Hospital ; nobody makes connection to @newyorkmrt nydailynews.com/new-york/brook… #LICH

— StopNYMRT (@StopNYMRT) February 21, 2013

Closure plan for Long Island College Hospital lets @nygovcuomo and @newyorkmrt off hook for responsibility nydailynews.com/new-york/brook… #LICH

— StopNYMRT (@StopNYMRT) February 21, 2013

Closure plan for #LICH follows pattern of other shady luxury condo conversions of hospitals #StVincents nydailynews.com/new-york/brook… @chriscquinn

— StopNYMRT (@StopNYMRT) February 21, 2013

Closure plan for #LICH is win for #neoliberalism and loss for #publichealth @nygovcuomo @newyorkmrt nydailynews.com/new-york/brook… @healthcarefor99

— StopNYMRT (@StopNYMRT) February 21, 2013

Where is Coalition for a New Village Hospital on #LICH closure plan ? nydailynews.com/new-york/brook… @yettakurland

— StopNYMRT (@StopNYMRT) February 21, 2013

The Wrath of Quinn : Endorse Her Or Else No Slush Funds For You !

City Council Members Fear Budget Revenge if They Don't Endorse Quinn

From DNA Info :

Many City Council members are wary of endorsing candidates in the 2013 mayoral race until after budget season because they're afraid a vengeful Speaker Christine Quinn will cut their share of $50 million in discretionary funds, DNAinfo.com New York has learned.

The funds, which are controlled by the speaker, are dished out to members each summer to fund constituent-pleasing services, such as community centers and seniors programs. While Quinn’s office has long insisted that the money is allocated based on districts' needs, it’s no secret that members on Quinn’s good side tend to profit — while those who cross her get their budgets slashed.

And many Council members now worry that endorsing a rival in the mayor's race, where Quinn is widely perceived as the front-runner, will result in the same fate.

“I definitely think that discretionary funds will be wielded as a weapon in the fight for endorsements,” said one Democratic Council member, who, like nearly a dozen others who spoke to DNAinfo.com New York, asked for anonymity to avoid angering Quinn.

“Certainly, that is the elephant in the room,” another member said.

“It’s a legal form of blackmail," still another member said.

To avoid retribution, some Council members are weighing postponing their endorsements until July, after the budget is adopted and Quinn no longer has sway over the money.

See also : Endorse Quinn - or else ! (via Queens Crap)

"To This Day" anti-bullying video

Very moving and touching anti-bullying video, like you have never seen, but should. "To This Day" by Shane Koyczan.

At 1:20, he reminds us all what we heard growing up.

At 2:07, we meet another girl who was bruised by words.

At 2:57, we learn why she's awesome.

At 3:12, we meet a kid who was pummeled by pills.

At 4:28, we learn how many kids have to deal with this to this day.

At 5:23, if you've been bullied, you REALLY need to hear these words.

At 6:00, seriously, listen to these damn beautiful words.

And at 6:49, we get to the point that everyone should take to heart.

Help confront bullying by sharing this using the buttons below. It needs to be called out in spectacular fashion.

Help this message have a far reaching and long lasting effect in confronting bullying. Please share generously. For more information, visit : http://www.tothisdayproject.com

Christine Quinn is looking for endorsements and voters in the cemetery

Reality Sets In For Quinn, Isay : Early Poll Numbers Are An Illusion.

Greg David: "The idea that Ms. Quinn is the front-runner is a media fallacy." Via @crainsnewyork crainsnewyork.com/article/201302…

— Errol Louis (@errollouis) February 20, 2013

More and more, the Christine Quinn mayoral campaign are acting desperate.

Greg David published an editorial in Crain's New York Business giving everybody a reality check : The early polls portraying that Council Speaker Christine Quinn was an early leader in the crowded Democratic primary field are a fallacy !

Because Josh Isay, Matt Tepper, and Speaker Quinn's other campaign advisers know this, they are pulling out all the stops to maintain a public veneer of being in a leadership position, when in reality they could be further from it.

Earlier today, The New York Times published an article about how Speaker Quinn is now trolling through cemeteries and crematoriums for campaign endorsements. Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign is trying to figure out how to milk the endorsement she received from Ed Koch before he died. (An Endorsement Hard to Pass Up, and Harder to Promote)

''The idea that Ms. Quinn is the front-runner is a media fallacy,'' wrote Mr. David.

How low can Speaker Quinn go, for an endorsement ?

“If I were running against her, what do you say? ‘How low will she go, six feet under, or more?’ ” quipped Kenneth Sherrill, a political science professor at Hunter College. “The question is, how voters will respond to it, what they will think of a candidate who uses it.”

If Mr. Isay and Mr. Tepper try to push former Mayor Koch's endorsement of Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign, then Speaker Quinn risks triggering a major backlash from LGBT political and healthcare activists.

Has 32BJ union been infiltrated by real estate group ?

Has the union 32BJ SEIU become co-opted by the Real Estate Board of New York ?

A notable union representing doormen and service workers, 32BJ SEIU, appears to have become co-opted by the Real Estate Board of New York, a trade association of slumlords.

32BJ and REBNY will be screening mayoral candidates together in joint meetings. From the appearance of such an arrangement, the union and the trade association appear to be collaborating on a joint endorsement, which would mark the death of the independence of unions.

Already, Rob Speyer, chairman of REBNY, said in a statement, "Early on we realized that the interests of REBNY and 32BJ actually align in more ways than not."

Read the full story at : A union and a real estate lobby will screen mayoral candidates, together (Capital New York)

The neoconservatism of the REBNY has translated into neoliberalism at the unions. We are doomed.

Witness how New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn booby-trapped the ATU Local 1181 bus strike by issuing a statement on February 12, in which she called on the union to end its strike and engaging in a "cooling off period."

There's more than one way to bust a union, either by dooming a strike, or by infiltrating it to sabotage its own best interests. Or so it apparently seems...

2013-02-12 Christine Quinn Statement of New York City Council Re ATU Local 1181 Bus Strike Union Busting by

Bloomberg: "No One Is Sleeping On The Streets"

#madeinny @mikebloomberg #homeless "no one is sleeping on the street"?! Take the subway b4 rush hour, walk around NYC & observe. Seriously?!

— Eleni Bourinaris (@EleniBourinaris) February 19, 2013

Mike Bloomberg is blind to the homeless problem. No surprise.

Homeless advocates are criticizing Mayor Michael Bloomberg's assertion that "no one is sleeping on the streets," after he was asked today about a report that the city shelter system is turning away families during cold winter days. (NY1)

How can anybody take Mike Bloomberg seriously, if he is so blind to his own elitist worldview ? Will anybody take him seriously when he makes an endorsement in the mayoral campaign ?

A Gay Man Shuts Down Hateful Urban Preacher on NYC Subway

A man, who identified himself as gay, spoke up for himself and on behalf of all LGBT people, after an urban preacher began to shows hateful religious messages. At one point, the gay man calls the urban preacher a "false prophet." After some back and forth, the other straphangers applauded several times in a show of support to the gay man.

The video was posted on YouTube on Saturday, February 16, and it has begun to go viral.

Christine Quinn Caught In Stop-And-Frisk Trap

At tremendous political peril to Christine Quinn, the leader of the NAACP plans to make ''stop-and-frisk'' a major mayoral campaign issue.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has been so close and chummy with Mayor Michael Bloomberg's and NYPD Commish Ray Kelly's unconstitutional and racist policy of ''stop-and-frisk.'' She has been waging a neoliberal campaign that is hard on crime by being harder on people of color.

But now comes NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, who is sick and tired of the racial profiling that underpins the entire ''stop-and-frisk'' program, The New York Post reported.

Mr. Jealous "trashed" the stop-and-frisk program during remarks he made at Nazarene Congregational Church in Brooklyn yesterday, and Mr. Jealous's comments were seen as criticism of Mayor Bloomberg's and Police Commissioner Kelly's ill-conceived support for the use of stop-and-frisk. Indeed, Mr. Jealous portrayed Mayor Bloomberg and Commish Kelly as "villains."

“We intend to ensure through every legal means that stop-and-frisk becomes a thing of the past with the next mayor of this town,” Mr. Jealous said.

Three of the four major Democratic candidates — Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and former city Comptroller Bill Thompson — have all said the practice should be reformed but not scrapped. Quinn has yet to take a position on a package of bills before the Council to scale back the program.

City Comptroller John Liu wants to abolish stop-and-frisk altogether.

Jealous also said he wants the next mayor to get rid of Kelly, who consistently polls higher among Democrats than any elected official.

Quinn has signaled she would keep Kelly on board if she won the race and Kelly was willing to stay.

Her competitors in the primary have not made the same commitment.

For her past support of Commish Kelly and for going along with fully funding the NYPD's stop-and-frisk program all these many years -- over 3.7 million stop-and-frisks have occurred whilst Christine Quinn has been speaker of the City Council -- Speaker Quinn has been targeted by activists for enabling the NYPD's discrimination against people of color. (Another blog post about the protest against Christine Quinn's support of stop-and-frisk.)

Read more : Christine Quinn Caught in Stop-and-Frisk Political Trap

GMHC, It's A Chop : Protest against 2013 Latex Ball at LGBT Community Center

On Friday night, activists continued their protests against the New York City-based AIDS organisation, GMHC.

Activists and representatives from the Ballroom community question where does GMHC receive the funding to sponsor the lush and plus Latex Ball.

The protesters also questioned the motivations of GMHC to become so involved in sponsoring a runway ball, when the AIDS organisation's primary mission is to "fights to end the AIDS epidemic and uplift the lives of all affected." Protesters wonder how can GMHC accomplish its mission in respect of the Ballroom community, if the Ballroom community feel manipulated and exploited by GMHC.

Read more : GMHC : It's a Chop ! Report and Flyer : Why you should boycott the 2013 Latex Ball.

Thousands March in Spain Against Healthcare Privitisation

AP VIDEO: Thousands march in Madrid to protest plans to privatize parts of regional public health care system.

Big protests in Spain against health care reforms (The sign reads : "I'm a patient, I'm a voter.")
By HAROLD HECKLE Associated Press
Updated: 02/17/2013 12:41:01 PM EST

Protesters march as they hold a banner reading "Health care system not for sale" during a demonstration against regional government-imposed austerity plans to restructure and part-privatize the health care sector in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013. Madrid proposes selling off the management of six of 20 public hospitals and 27 of 268 health centers. Spain's regions are struggling with a combined debt of $190 billion as the country's economy contracts into a double-dip recession triggered by a 2008 real estate crash. ((AP Photo/Andres Kudacki))

MADRID—Thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of 16 Spanish cities Sunday to protest plans to part-privatize the public health care system, with some questioning the government's motives.

It was the third "white tide" demonstration in Madrid, named after the color of the medical scrubs many protesters wear. But it was the first time cities other than the capital took part, including Barcelona, Cuenca, Murcia, Pamplona, Toledo and Zaragoza. Protesters marched carrying banners saying "Public health is not to be sold, it's to be defended."

Health care and education are administered by Spain's 17 semiautonomous regions. Some indebted ones, like Madrid, have announced the part-privatization of some services, with some people openly suspicious that the move is more a political-motivated ploy than an attempt to cut costs.

Civil servant Javier Tarabilla, 31, said Spain's welfare state was being dismantled to be handed over to the private sector.

"This is pillaging of our public services, looting something we've all contributed to through taxes, to give it to private companies to run for profit," he said.

Madrid regional health councilor Javier Fernandez-Lasquetty has called the protests irresponsible, saying public money savings were essential to lift Spain out of debt and onto the road of economic recovery.

"These protests create conflict and are not in the interest of public health, but they do favor the interests of those who organize them," Fernandez-Lasquetty said.

Transgender teacher fired from Queens Catholic school

Sign the petition : St. Francis Preparatory High School: Formally Apologize to Mark (Marla) Krolikowski for Sexual Discrimination

From WABC Eyewitness News :

Transgender teacher fired from Queens Catholic school
By : Sarah Wallace, Eyewitness News
Web produced by Cristina Romano, Eyewitness News

QUEENS (WABC) -- Meet Marla Krolikowski. She no longer has any reason to hide. For 32 years, Krolikowski lived a dual life, teaching at St. Francis Prep School in Queens as a man, Mark, who professionally dressed in a suit and tie.

"I valued the job so much that I was willing to internalize everything, because the job met so much to me," said Krolikowski.

Krolikowski says she did start to add more feminine touches over the years, but claims no one seemed to mind. There are plenty of yearbook photos of her like that.

"I noticed it was a bit more feminine, but I mean, I didn't think it was anything to write home about," said former student Christina Guarino, "so it didn't matter, no."

Apparently, a parent did care. Krolikowski says in October of 2011 that school officials brought her in and confronted her.

"They said, 'are you a drag performer, are you a female impersonator?'" Krolikowski said, "they gave me all these different things, so finally I said 'I'm transgendered and I identify as a woman. Then everybody's jaw dropped, and then, I said, 'Oh God, what did I do?'"

Krolikowski said that someone told her "it sounds like you're worse than gay", and it took all her strength not to cry.

Krolikowski claims she was told to tone down her appearance, and did, but was fired anyway.

When September came, she was not going back to school for the first time in 32 years.

In a statement denying the allegations, St. Francis said: "Mr. Krolikowski's employment was terminated for entirely appropriate and professional reasons, and in no way discriminatory."

"All he wanted to do was to be judged by who he is and not what he is, and it's a horror that in this day an age, the school has chosen to judge him by what he is and not who he is," said Krolikowski's attorney, Andrew Kimler.

"My time is running out. I'm 59 years old and I want to live the way I was intended to be," adds Krowlikowski, "which is as a woman."

Krowlikowski has had breast implants, has started hormone treatments, and plans to have more surgery. She says she doesn't want people to look at her as a freak, because she didn't get to do all the things that girls got to do.

Krowikowski says she has been overwhelmed by support from thousands of current and former students who have signed an on-line petition on change.org. She doesn't have long-term plans but does have an immediate goal - to attend Lady Gaga's Born Brave bus tour that is coming to New York later this month.

Sign the petition : St. Francis Preparatory High School: Formally Apologize to Mark (Marla) Krolikowski for Sexual Discrimination

Anti-Quinn Activists Need More Resources To Educate Voters

NY1 Exclusive : Anti-Quinn Activists Still Have Work To Do : New Poll Shows Quinn In Front Of Other Potential Democratic 2013 Mayor Candidates

Last night on the Road To City Hall program on NY1, it was mentioned amongst the panel of experts that, given voters' relative low negative perception of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the Stop Christine Quinn protest effort still has work to do, because voters are not yet educated on Speaker Quinn's horrible record while in office.

One of the activists, Louis Flores, has posted a solicitation for resources, in order to escalate his efforts.

Here are some of the poll findings :

What are New York City Democrats’ impressions of these mayoral aspirants ?

• 65% have a favorable opinion of Quinn, while 17% have an unfavorable one. 18% have either never heard of her or are unsure how to rate her.
• 49% have a favorable impression of Thompson, while 20% do not. 31% have either never heard of him or are unsure how to rate him.
• 48% of New York City Democrats have a positive view of de Blasio, while 20% have an unfavorable one. 32% have either never heard of him or are unsure how to rate him.
• When it comes to Liu, 43% have a favorable impression of him while 27% have an unfavorable one. 30% have either never heard of him or are unsure how to rate him.
• 26% of Democrats have a positive opinion of Albanese while 20% have an unfavorable view of him. 54% have either never heard of him or are unsure how to rate him.

Poll results have a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percent.

Left unsaid during the panel discussion was the impact of all the totally biased/fluff pieces being published by The New York Times, which favours Speaker Quinn, like her Betty Crocker story with its staged photo, the café story, and her luxury condo feature story.

It seems that Speaker Quinn's favourability ratings are being artificially inflated due to the biased and deliberately fluff news pieces being published about her.

VIDEO : Explosion and Boom from Russian Meteor Strike

MOSCOW – Bright objects, tentatively identified as fragments of a meteorite, streaked through the sky in western Siberia early on Friday, accompanied by a boom that damaged buildings across a vast swath of territory. Around 500 people were reported to have been injured, most from breaking glass. (The New York Times)

Middle Class Anger Toward Christine Quinn Mayoral Campaign

Two very insightful letters published by The New York Daily News, which continues to reveal voter anger toward the corruption by New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has lost touch with reality of the challenges facing average New Yorkers :

Chris cross I

Brooklyn: Re “Begin the Quinn spin” (Feb. 12): Middle-class housing for a family of four with an income of $103,000 to $142,000. If that is middle class, where are my food stamps, Medicaid card and free housing? Those amounts are not the middle class that I know. Christine Quinn must have been making a joke in her State of the City speech, right? Clifford F. Zeman

Chris cross II

Richmond Hill: Has City Council Speaker Christine Quinn convinced herself that she is a fair, honest and ethical leader who is worthy to hold the office of mayor? In 2006, she approved a generous pay raise for herself and the entire Council. Then, she extended her own patronage-appointed, cradle-to-grave city career by changing the laws of term limits for dictator Bloomberg. The final betrayal was her denying a vote on paid sick time for the working poor. Clean up your act, Empress Quinn, and withdraw your deeply flawed candidacy. Adele DeLeva

Brooklyn Hospital Closings Update - LICH

NY State and @nygovcuomo want to end acute healthcare access to poor people in Brooklynbkbureau.org/dueling-prescr… @cdcmmwr @american_heart

— StopNYMRT (@StopNYMRT) February 14, 2013

Bed Bugs Infestation at PS 69 in Jackson Heights

NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) - Bed bugs have been found in 15 classrooms in P.S. 69 in Jackson Heights, Queens, according to DNAinfo.com.

New York News | NYC Breaking News

The Department of Education says the problem has been going on since September, but denies there is an infestation.

Some parents see things differently. They say the school has a history of bed bugs. And to make things worse, the kids end up bringing them home.

Andrew Cuomo and the Neoliberalism Spree of Hospital Closings

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is closing hospitals, cutting healthcare, and attacking the social safety net in a spree of neoliberalism to "window dress" the New York State budget. His plan will make him look good, but it comes at the risk to public health. What are you going to do about it ?

Eleven hospital closings in New York City alone, since 2006 :

- Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn voted to be closed down under pressure from the Department of Health in 2013 ;

- Peninsula Hospital Center closed by the Department of Health in 2012 after it filed for bankruptcy ;

- North General Hospital in Harlem declared bankruptcy in 2010 ;

- St. Vincent's Hospital in Greenwich Village was shut down in 2010 to become luxury condos built by the greedy Rudin family ;

- St. John's Queens Hospital in Elmhurst went bankrupt in 2009 ;

- Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, Queens, went bankrupt in 2009 ;

- Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills, Queens, closed in 2008 ;

- Cabrini Medical Center in Manhattan closed in 2008 ;

- Victory Memorial Hospital in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, closed in 2008 ; and

- St. Vincent's Midtown (f.k.a. St. Clare's Hospital) closed in 2007.

We are at the point right now where there are not enough hospitals left in New York City to deal with a mass civilian trauma event, natural disaster, or epidemic.

This year's flu season was aggravated by the temporary closing of these hospitals, which sustained major damage from Hurricane Sandy :

- Bellevue Hospital ;

- NYU Langone Hospital ;

- New York Downtown Hospital ;

- Coler-Goldwater Hospital ; and

- Coney Island Hospital.

And the only functioning hospital in all of Lower Manhattan was Beth Israel, but it was functioning for a time solely on back-up generators.

Is this the kind of healthcare system that we can rely up on save lives in times of a medical emergency ?

In response to Facebook.com censorship, can SumofUs.org rollout a social networking interface ?

So, Facebook.com likes to censor its users, who post information, links, or other media, such as photographs or videos, which are deemed too political in nature (or, more appropriately, too offensive to its advertisers or tax authorities). Facebook sometimes suspends user accounts for a period of time, mainly, for 30 days, according to recent examples of two of my "Facebook" friends. Considering how short-lived Myspace.com was, for all its clunky and anti-music file sharing obsession it became in its final years of relevancy, many users on Facebook.com look forward to the emergency of a new Web site, to which disaffected Facebook.com users can migrate.

For all those activists, who are "superusers" of Facebook.com, who use features like creating events for demonstrations or meeting planning, creating pages for activism campaigns, for creating groups of like-minded activists, and for creating public (or private) profiles for doing all this work, perhaps one emerging suggestion may make sense :

Seeing as how new Web sites, such as SumofUs.org, are emerging, where activists can participate in some limited function online activism, it might be fascinating to explore whether the owners-developers of Web sites, such as SumofUs.org, could add on social networking and other social app-like modules, extensions, or functionality, so that disaffected Facebook.com users can just abandon Facebook.com and just embrace one, fully-dedicated non-profit Web site, such as SumofUs.org, for their online activism and social media experience.

Imagine what online activists could do in a Web-based environment, which supported a safe space for online activism and social networking ? We wouldn't have to deal with the arbitrary censorship by Web sites, such as Facebook.com, we wouldn't have to deal with ever nebulous privacy policy changes to placate advertisers, there wouldn't be tracking, surveillance, or face recognition issues....

I imagine it would only take a small team of creative minds to mount an effort like this....

Then, we would have a newly, self-empowered community for online activism. And we could let our old Facebook.com accounts join our old Myspace.com accounts in the digital morgue of the past.

Long Island College Hospital - Vote by SUNY to Close

SUNY board unanimously approves closure of LI College Hosp and crowd erupts "Shame! Shame!" yfrog.com/oe7kepij

— FRED MOGUL (@fredmogul) February 8, 2013

David France, Ed Koch, and AIDS

David France, whose doc How To Survive A Plague is nominated for Oscar, speaks about former NY mayor Ed Koch, who reviewed the film for a local NY paper and who was not an advocate for Gay NY back in the day.

Does anybody have an update to the Lenox Hill Hospital EMS Paramedic Layoffs ?

Lenox Hill Hospital ended its paramedic service to the #UES and turned in its licenses. @micahkellner @billdeblasio

— Sarah Steiner (@Sarahgoat) January 14, 2013

Ed Koch Rudin Family Quinn Pro Quo ? Posh Apartment - St. Vincent's Hospital

Rudin family offered #EdKoch posh apartment.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/nyr… ; Koch promoted Rudin condo plan for #StVincent's. dnainfo.com/new-york/20110…

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) February 3, 2013

Closeted Mayor Will Eulogise Another

At tomorrow's funeral service, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to deliver the eulogy for former Mayor Ed Koch, who passed away on Friday at the age of 88.

Mayor Koch has been the subject of harsh criticism on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media Web sites since his death, for what critics see as his damning role in the spread of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980's, while he was mayor.

It's more than just a bit ironic that Mayor Bloomberg, who some say is gay, will eulogise Mayor Koch.

At tomorrow's service for #EdKoch, one #closeted mayor will eulogize another. Or will @mikebloomberg use occasion to finally come out ?

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) February 3, 2013

To distract from his sexual orientation, Mayor Koch made a game of appearing to have had a pretense of a relationship with former Miss America Bess Myerson, whilst Mayor Bloomberg uses Diana Taylor for similar purposes.

No word, yet, as to the subject of Mayor Bloomberg's farewell remarks.

Seven Brides for Seven Corporations (a Citizens United Wedding)

Get Money out of Politics - visit Move To Amend : https://movetoamend.org

Ed Koch and the AIDS Crisis - A Historical Fact Checking Duel Between NYT and YouTube Videos

In response to the biased "praises" and instant beatification of Ed Koch, I made a YouTube video set to music by Dalida, to help visualise former Mayor Ed Koch's complete failure on the AIDS crisis.

My video was made in response to the video promoted by The New York Times, which whitewashes any responsibility or culpability of the AIDS crisis away from former Mayor Ed Koch :

I'd love to hear what folks think ?

Ed Koch, the Closet, Neoliberalism, and AIDS

From The Nation

The instant beatification of former New York City Mayor Ed Koch has a lot of folks itching to do some grave dancing. Leftists will denounce Koch because he was one of the original neoliberal mayors, ushering in a regime of gentrification and finance-driven inequality that defines the city to this day. Minorities regard him with suspicion because he marginalized the city’s black and Hispanic leadership and inflamed racial fault lines to corner the white vote, presaging the Sister Souljah moments that would come to afflict the national Democratic Party. And yet even there, among the new Democrats, Koch was never a stalwart, breaking with the party to endorse George W. Bush for president in 2004 and flirting with the neocons over Israel late in his life.

All that said, there is a special place reserved for Koch in gay hell—because he was mayor during the onset of the AIDS epidemic, which he is widely seen as failing to do enough about, and because it’s commonly assumed that Koch was a closeted gay man. “I hope he’s burning next to Roy Cohn”—or sentiments quite like it—have appeared frequently on my Facebook feed, especially from vets of ACT UP. ...

Read more : Ed Koch and the Cost of the Closet (The Nation)

Ed Koch dies unforgiven by AIDS activists (except by Christine Quinn, who is turning his death into a crass voter outreach opportunity).

@chriscquinn Don't let history sanitize the past. #EdKoch was silent while 1000's of LGBT NY-ers fought and died from AIDS. @tlrd @joemygod

— ACT UP New York (@actupny) February 2, 2013

From Gay Star News :

After lesbian NYC mayoral candidate Christine C. Quinn released a statement calling Koch a 'great mayor' and a 'great man,' LGBT activists pounced. Among those critical of Quinn is Peter Staley, one of the key members of ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) whose activism and innovation is credited with playing a crucial role in HIV-AIDS going from a death sentence to a manageable condition with the help of certain drugs.

'I'm supporting Christine Quinn for mayor, but this mass email she just sent out is completely tone deaf to the generation of gay New Yorkers who worked tirelessly to throw (Koch) out of office (and we succeeded),' Staley writes in a Facebook post. 'We will never forget his contemptible legacy of neglect during the early years of the HIV/AIDS crisis.'

Read more : Former New York Mayor Ed Koch dies at 88 unforgiven by AIDS activists. Many say he was closeted gay man who didn’t do anything on AIDS when his constituents were dying of disease.

I'm a supporter, but @chriscquinn's mass email is tone deaf to the gen. of gay NYers who fought Koch's AIDS neglect twitter.com/peterstaley/st…

— Peter Staley (@peterstaley) February 1, 2013

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

REALITY CHECK : Christine Quinn is not tone deaf. Instead, she is taking for granted that the LGBT community will vote for her. Therefore, she is taking us for granted. She is playing politics with Mayor Koch's AIDS responsibility in order to appeal to voters in the run-up to this election year. When will people wake up to this fact ?

@chriscquinn I'm a bit shocked by this.Koch is a TRAITOR to New Yorkers and Democrats.He can rot in hell for all I care.

— New Yorker (@vesnawasrobbed) February 1, 2013

Ed Koch, 88, Dies - AIDS Controversy - Memorial Tweets

I'm a supporter, but @chriscquinn's mass email is tone deaf to the gen. of gay NYers who fought Koch's AIDS neglect twitter.com/peterstaley/st…

— Peter Staley (@peterstaley) February 1, 2013

Closeted Former NYC Mayor #EdKoch Reviews @surviveaplague joemygod.blogspot.com/2012/10/closet… #HIV #AIDS @actupny @joemygod twitter.com/stopchrisquinn…

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) February 1, 2013

Ed Koch did more to spread HIV/AIDS than Patient Zero. This is a disgusting, abhorrent human being who was granted one thing...(cont)

— Kenny Sullivan (@kennysullivan) February 1, 2013

...he denied thousands if his gay citizens: the gift of time.

— Kenny Sullivan (@kennysullivan) February 1, 2013

Ex Mayor #EdKoch died today.Let tens of thousands die from #AIDS, supported @mikebloomberg, @chriscquinn, #RayKelly, and #stopandfrisk. RIP

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) February 1, 2013

The New York Times obit of Ed Koch has ONE fleeting reference to the AIDS epidemic, and nothing about what he did/didn't do. Pathetic.

— Jake S (@JakeMHS) February 1, 2013

Ed Koch's passing is almost as sad as how he ignored the HIV/AIDS crisis in NYC in the 80's.

— Scot Rose (@ScotRoseYaBoat) February 1, 2013

Ed Koch died. Mixed feelings. Sad for his family's loss. Still some anger over how he refused to deal with AIDS crisis.

— Abby, Queen of All (@abby_queenofall) February 1, 2013

Very curious what longtime #AIDS & #gay rights activist Larry Kramer will say on the passing of former NYC Mayor Ed Koch. @surviveaplague

— Ian Thompson (@iantDC) February 1, 2013

Rally to Save Interfaith and LICH outside Cuomo's Office

Call Gov. Andrew Cuomo : (212) 681-4580. Tell him : Save our hospitals !

Rally on 31 Jan 2013 to save Interfaith Hospital and Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in Brooklyn.

Gov. Cuomo and his political aide, the investment banker monster Stephen Berger, are obsessed with closing hospitals. And now, they are setting up "for profit" hospitals in Brooklyn. This is dangerous !!

Gov. Cuomo, in a supreme act of failed neoliberalism policies, has proposed to make Brooklyn one of two counties in the state as a pilot project, in which current state regulations would be to waived to allow for-profit health care investments. (Read more : Judy Wessler).