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Ellison Delivers Tearful Testimony at Radicalization Hearing

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:15:53 -0500

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison delivered a tearful remembrance of a Muslim-American who rushed into the World Trade Center site on September 11 to close his testimony before the Homeland Security Committee this morning.

Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, has been an outspoken opponent of Peter King's decision to restrict the hearings to a single religious group, likening it to an inquiry on drug dealers that would focus only on black...

Peter King Muslim Radicalization Hearings, CGI Edition

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:09:37 -0500

Peter King, wearing a crown (get it?) inveighs against radical recruiters in America, who wisely set up their booth at the Park51 Career Day fair.

Or, if you want to watch the hearings for reals, click...

Why the Rosier Employment Report Still Falls Short

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:05:25 -0500

U.S. employers added 192,000 jobs in February, the largest one-month improvement since May 2010, when public hiring picked up temporarily on account of the need for census workers. The increase in payrolls reflects a decline of 30,000 jobs in state and local government jobs, more than offset by a net gain of 222,000 on private-sector payrolls.

These headline gains, while welcome, have mixed implications for commercial real estate; improvements remain uneven, with employment in...

The Complaint Against Kruger, Boyland and Lipsky

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 10:32:16 -0500

Unsealed this morning.

I'm reading it now, but one quick detail stood out:

On or about February 11, 2011, RICHARD LIPSKY, the defendant, met with CARL KRUGER, the defendant, inside LIPSKY's car in the vicinity of 18th Street and Fith Avenue in Manhattan.

Not like there's any shortage of meeting rooms or coffee shops around there.

Anyway, the complaint: ...

Peter King Delivers Opening Remarks at Packed Hearing

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 10:08:59 -0500

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Peter King entered the packed hearing room on the third floor of the Cannon House Office Building this morning to a sea of flash bulbs and a swarm of about 20 video cameras.

He promptly delivered his opening remarks, justifying the need for the hearing and defending himself against the calls to broaden the hearing to include other non-Muslim terror threats.

"There is no equivalency of threat between al Qaeda and neo-Nazis...

Colbert to Weiner: 'You're a Shonda to the Goyim'

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 10:04:20 -0500

Anthony Weiner takes his case against Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas to The Colbert Report.

Later, when asked if he'll run for mayor, Weiner says, "perhaps." So coy that...

A Landmark Hospital

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 10:01:12 -0500

St. Vincent's, North Shore-LIJ and Rudin Management just announced a deal to bring emergency care back to Greenwich Village. Their plan calls for restoring--as opposed to demolishing--the closed hospital's landmark O'Toole Building. Here are two renderings of the re-used "overbite building," designed by Albert C. Ledner and built in 1966 as the headquarters of the National Maritime Union.

It had seemed unlikely anyone but St. Vincent's would be able to tear down the building to...

Liveblogging the Startup Bus, Day 3: Descent Into Austin

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:57:35 -0500

8:38 a.m. -- It's the final day on the road before Austin. The Observer did not liveblog yesterday due to confusion with editors and sparse internet access. To summarize: Internet access was very spotty, which interfered with workflow. One of the bus drivers, Dane, judged a pitch-off. He liked TripMedi. We drove through a tornado. Three police motorcycles turned on their sirens and escorted the bus from the edge of Baton Rouge to the...

Abolish South by Southwest!

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:53:48 -0500

If there's one thing I hate more than spilling a Shiner Bock on my iPhone 4 just after I just downloaded the newest OkCupid update, it's South by Southwest.

Let's destroy this sham of a technological confabulation once and for all. But before we do that, let's call it what it really is: the Woodstock of our generation. Which is to say, an excuse for unattractive men to disguise themselves as forward-thinking revolutionaries in hopes...

The Roots of Kruger's Downfall

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:24:27 -0500

Are wrapped up in Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio's corruption case.

From Jacob Gershman:

Federal court documents from the case described a friendly relationship between Mr. Kruger and the chief executive of MediSys, a health-care network that includes Jamaica Hospital in Queens and Brookdale University hospital in Brooklyn.

The chief executive of MediSys sought the help of Mr. Kruger and Seminerio to help get approval in Albany for a hospital merger. At the time, MediSys and Parkway Hospital were...