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Los Angeles, Alta California - January 31, 2007 - (ACN) During the trial of Pfc. Lynndie England, now doing three years in a military prison for her part in the Abu Ghraib prison war crimes, she was asked if there were other things that happened at Abu Ghraib, things that were not photographed, she said, "Yes." When asked if there were worse things that happened, she again said "Yes," but would not elaborate.
While testifying before a Senate panel on May 7, 2004, the now discredited Donald Rumsfeld confirmed that certain videotapes and photographs of the horrific sexual tortures at Abu Ghraib have yet to be released. "If these are released to the public, obviously it's going to make matters worse," Rumsfeld admitted.
What do these not yet released videotapes and photographs show? The answer is now slowly but surely surfacing as people who know are beginning to talk. The truth about these videotapes and photographs in the Pentagon's custody is more horrific than anything made public so far.
The videotapes and photographs that have not yet been made public depict, according to former Abu Ghraib prisoners, bestial US intelligence interrogators and military police personnel raping and sodomizing Iraqi children as young as 11 years old. Some of the new information became known this week when a former Abu Ghraib prison guard posted a video on YouTube.Com confessing to the repeated gang rape of a 15 year old Iraqi girl in custody. The video at http://youtube.com/v/HZuaiZr6YBU was promptly removed after it was making the rounds on the Internet but a transcript survived. The following is a transcript of the most relevant sections:
Voice of the guard at Abu Ghraib and another person is heard
------------------------------------
....girl, she was probably like 15 years old. Yeah, she was hot dude. The body on that girl, yeah, really tight. You know, hadn't been touched yet. She was fucking prime. So....
***
One of the guys started pimping her out for 50 bucks a shot. I think at the end of the day he'd made like 500 bucks before she hung herself.
Really?
Yeah. (laugh)
She hung herself? How's come she hung herself?
I don't know. She wasn't happy. (laugh)
***
In their culture, it's really shunned upon if you get raped. I guess she would have been stoned to death by her people. It's fucked up.
She was fucked anyway, I guess. In more ways than one.
(more laughing)
***
You didn't get shit from the CO, did you?
No, not until those fucking pictures came out. After then the biggest rule was no fucking cameras.
***
End of Transcript
The information on the above videotape is collaborated by Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. He has maintained that the Pentagon has videotapes of boys being sodomized at Abu Ghraib prison. "The worst is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking," Hersh said. Seymore Hersh first gained worldwide recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War.
More collaborative statements concerning the sexual torture of children at Abu Ghraib have been made by the surviving prisoners themselves. The following is an excerpt from a statement provided by Kasim Mehaddi Hilas, Detainee #151108, on January 18 2004:
"I saw [name deleted] fucking a kid, his age would be about 15 years. The kid was hurting very bad and they covered all the doors with sheets. Then when I heard the screaming I climbed the door because on top it wasn't covered and I saw [name deleted] who was wearing the military uniform putting his dick in the little kid's ass. I couldn't see the face of the kid because his face wasn't in front of the door. And a female soldier was taking pictures. The sodomizer [name deleted], I think he is [deleted] because of his accent, and he was not skinny or short, and he acted like a homosexual (gay). And that was in cell #23 as best as I remember."
The following is another testimony of sexual torture of Iraqi children from a statement provided by Thaar Salman Dawod, Detainee #150427, on January 17, 2004:
"I saw lots of people naked for a few days getting punished in the first days of Ramadan. They came with two boys naked and they were cuffed together face to face and Grainer was beating them and a group of guards were watching and taking pictures from top and bottom and there was three female soldiers laughing at the prisoners. The prisoners, two of them, were children. I don't know their names."
One of the most horrific incidents at Abu Ghraib is told by a 16 year old Iraqi girl in her own words. Nadia, in tears, narrated her story:
“I was visiting one of my relatives, and suddenly the American forces attacked the home and started to inspect it. They found some light weapons. So, they arrested all people in the home including me. I tried to explain to the interpreter, who was accompanying the American patrol, that I am just a visitor. However, my trials failed. I cried, begged them, and I lost consciousness from fear when they took me to Abu Ghraib prison.
Nadia continues “they put me alone in a dark and dirty prison cell. I expected that I will be released soon, especially when the investigation proved that I hadn’t committed a crime”
Nadia elaborated while tears poured down her cheek, a telling sign of just how much she has suffered.
“The first day was so burdensome. The cell was malodorous, humid and dark, and this condition increased the fear inside me more and more. The laughs of the soldier outside the cell made me even more scared. I was afraid of what would happen to me. For the first time I felt that I was in a difficult gridlock and that I had entered an unknown world that I would not get out of.
In the middle of these different feelings, I heard a voice for an American soldier woman who was speaking in an Arabic language. She said to me: “I didn’t imagine that the weapons’ traders in Iraq are women.” When I started to explain to her the circumstances of the situation, she beat me cruelly. I cried and shouted “By Allah! I am oppressed, By Allah! I am oppressed”
The soldier showered me with insults in a way that I have never thought possible or that I would ever be subjected to under any circumstances. Then, she started to deride me saying that she was monitoring me all the day via the satellite, and that they can track their enemies even inside their own bedrooms by American technology.
Then she laughed and said: “I was watching you when you were making love with your husband.” I replied in a confused voice “But I am not married”.
She beat me for more than one an hour and she forced me to drink a glass of water, and I knew later that they put a drug in it. I regained my consciousness after two days to find myself naked. I knew immediately that I have lost something that all the laws in the earth will not be able to return it to me once again. I had been raped. A hysterical fit attacked me and I started to hit my head violently against the walls till more than five American soldiers head by that soldier women entered the cell and started to beat me, and they raped me alternately while they laughing and listening to a loud music.
Day by day the scenario of raping me was repeated. And every day they invent new ways that are crueler than the prior ways.”
She went on describing the horrible acts of the American criminals:
“After about one month, a Negro soldier entered my cell and threw me two pieces of American military clothes. He said in weak Arabic language to wear them. After he put a black bag on my head, he led me to a public toilet where there are pipes for cold and hot water and he asked me to bathe. He then closed the door and left.
I was so exhausted and feeling pain, and despite the tremendous number of the bruises in my body, I poured out some water on my body. Before I finish my bath, the Negro soldier came in. I frightened, and I hit him in the face with the water bowl. His reaction was so tough. He raped me cruelly and spit on my face, then he left and returned with two soldiers who returned me to the cell.
The treatment continued that way, to the extent that sometimes I was raped ten times in a day, the matter which affected my health negatively.”
Nadia continued in revealing the American horrible actions made against the Iraqi women, saying:
“After more than 4 months, a woman soldier woman came, and I concluded from her conversation with other soldiers that her name is Mary. She said to me “now you have a golden opportunity, since an officer who has a high position will visit us today, if you deal with him positively, you would be released, especially because we are sure you are innocent.”
I replied, “If you are sure of I am innocent, why you don’t release me?”
She screamed in nervousness, “The only way that guarantees your releasing is to be positive with them.”
She took me to the public toilets, and she supervised my bath while she was holding a thick stick, hitting me by it if I didn’t perform her orders. Then, she gave me makeup, and warned me not to cry and ruin my makeup. Then she took me to an empty small room where there was nothing but a cover on the floor, and after one an hour she came accompanied with four soldiers who was holding cameras. She took off her clothes and she harassed me as if she was a man. The soldiers were laughing and listening to a noisy music, and taking photographs to me in all poses, and they were emphasizing on my face. The woman asked me to smile otherwise she is going to kill me, and she took a gun from one of her colleagues and fired four bullets near my head, and swore that the fifth bullet will be fired in my head.
After that, the four soldiers raped me alternately the matter which made me lose my consciousness. When I regained the consciousness I found myself in the cell and the traces of their teeth, nails and cigarettes are in everywhere in my body.”
Nadia stopped narrating her tragedy to wipe her tears, then she continued: “After one day Mary came and told me that I was cooperative, and I will be released but after I watch the film that they have shot. I was in pain when I saw the film, and she (Mary) said: “you have been created for the sole purpose for us to enjoy”. At the moment I became very anger and I attacked her although I was afraid of her reaction, and I would kill her except for the interfering of the soldiers. When the soldiers released me she showered me with hitting, then they left me.
After this incident, nobody harassed me for more then one month; I spent that period in the praying and invocation to Allah, the All-Mighty who has all power, to help me.
Mary came with some soldiers who gave me the clothes that I was wearing when they arrested me and took me to an American car. Then they threw me on the highway road after giving me 10,000 Iraqi Dinars.
I went to a home that was near the place where I have been thrown out and since I know the reaction of my family, I preferred to visit one of my relatives to let them know what happened after my absence. I knew that my brother had held a consolation board for me for more than 4 months, and they considered me as a dead person.
I understand the knife of shame is waiting for me. So, I went to Baghdad where I found a good family who lodged me, and I worked with this family as a maid and governess for their children.
Nadia wonders in pain, regret and bitterness:
“Who will quench my thirst? Who will return my virginity? What is the offense of my family and kin? I have inside me a baby, and I don’t know who his father is.”
---------------
End of Nadia's story
There is no doubt that the US has committed war crimes in Iraq of unspeakable horror. The fact is that what occurred at the Abu Ghraib prison have not been isolated incidents. Similar cases have occurred throughout Iraq. One of many cases occurred in Mahmudiya in March of 2006 when a 14 year old girl was gang raped after her parents and her 5 year old sister were massacred by drunk US occupation soldiers. The soldiers entered the young girl's home and forced her father Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, her mother Qassim Hamza and her sister Hadeel Qassim Hamza to an adjoining room. One soldier shot her parents and sister in the head and then all proceeded to repeatedly rape her. After raping her, the US soldiers poured kerosene on her and burned her to death. These rape and killings are among the most heinous in a series of cases by the US occupiers that have tarnished the American military.
Who should pay for these war crimes? Has there been justice in the Abu Ghraib torture crimes? Two of the worse Abu Ghraib torturers received mere 10 and 3 year sentences but one was only a sergeant and the other a private first class. How about the higher ups? Have they been responsible for these war crimes as well? How about Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney and yes even George Bush?
One of our subscribers has located the above referenced disturbing new video that was deleted from YouTube.com. We are informed that the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division is presently investigating the allegations made in the video. Please be warned, the video below is extremely disturbing:
(More)
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Cya!
“I’m young right now; I have a lot of time in the future to de-glam myself. Now I want to do roles of my age which are glamorous; because I have that image – I’m a glamorous woman. I wanted to be called a good and a good-looking actress.
There were media reports about the intimacy Preeti share with Manisha Koirala in ‘Chaahat - Ek Nasha’, to be released later this year. There have been confirmations and denials about the scenes between them. Preeti was quoted as saying: "Who kisses whom in the lip-lock, the audience will have to wait and watch. One thing is for sure, we are not making a lesbian love story." They didn’t but they surely whetted the audience’s appetite with their sleaze show. 
She had given 17 kisses in the movie ‘Khwahish’. Her reaction over it was quite simple: "It is a bold film and if I can generate interest for the film, I will do it. Khwahish has given me my identity. When audiences came in, they did not feel cheated. They are sick of seeing birds and flowers meeting, thundershowers and stuff like that. Couples kiss, it's normal. If married couples do not kiss, there is something abnormal about it." Then again Mahesh Bhatt's thriller ‘Murder’ directed by Anurag Basu put Mallika in an unconventional act. And then of course there was no looking back for this Haryana-born divorcee who’s emerged as Bollywood’s latest sex symbol.
There was a small controversy when Meghna found herself digitally stripped in the promotional posters of ‘Bad Friend’. It turned out that Meghna’s clothes in the photos were intentionally morphed short to make them more eye-catching. 
She would also like to get down & dirty with her dream lover. She says, "From the moment I saw SRK in a bathtub for the LUX ad, I haven't been able to fantasise about anything. The ad filled me with erotic thoughts. Had I been there at the shoot, I would certainly have jumped into the tub with him. I am sure you can guess the rest." Well, with cleavage like that we’re sure the LUX guys wouldn’t mind it. Now, only if the courts allowed adult content on television.
From high-fashion model to host of a cooking show might appear to be an unlikely journey. Even when travelling around the world as a model, Padma was always on the lookout to add to her culinary repertoire. Among other places, she has lived in Milan and Los Angeles, and she's currently a resident of New York. In 1999, Padma published a cookbook called ‘Easy Exotic: A Model's Low-fat Recipes from Around the World’.
Even as Bollywood is swarmed by sexy kittens eager to shed their clothes and flaunt their bikinis, model-turned-actress Tanvi Verma has gone a step further and has reportedly given a topless scene. And with that of course, Tanvi has hopped onto the bandwagon of Bollywood’s ever growing faction of hot belles. This ex-Miss Madhya Pradesh has shown little inhibition in flaunting her assets since her debut movie. 
If you thought ‘Murder’, ‘Hawas’, ‘Tauba Tauba’, ‘Julie’ and ‘Sheesha’ were sleaze fest, then you've got to watch ‘Fun - Can be dangerous times’. Bolder, raunchier, cruder, sleazier... Well, you run out of adjectives when you watch this flick. It truly is ‘sex on the rampage’. 
The entire story takes place in one night and how the lead pair of Mona Chopra and Arjun Punj faces several obstacles in their path. The writer writes the script in such a way that what you get to see is skin show for no rhyme or reason. Be it watching television or running around the house chasing the hero, the heroine is never dressed in anything more than a two piece. All ‘body’, no soul touched new depths with this.
The wife pushes her husband to sleep with women and act in blue films. She forces her husband to be a gigolo. The husband becomes a hustler since he has to support his wife and also his family back home in Punjab. The husband falls in love with a stripper, who subsequently beds one of her clients to free her lover from the clutches of his wife. Now, that’s what they made formulas for, isn’t it? 
Himanshu Malik is a super-rich brat, who hates his dad as much as he likes car racing, while Mallika Sherawat is the daughter of a chicken farmer. The film starts with an unusual scene where the boy meets the girl in a shop. They have an argument over buying a kurta-pyjama, but after they are through with their shopping, they realise that there is more to their relationship than fighting over kurtas and pyjamas. Love happens, and so do 17 kisses. Yes, Mallika Sherawat counted it. Sex never goes unaccounted, does it? 
If you're expecting ‘Julie’ to be a soft porn film, with sleaze aplenty, peddling skin-show in every alternate scene, you’re right. ‘Julie’ has its fair share of sex-laden sequences -- after all it is based on the life of a prostitute, or should we say an exploited destitute. Whichever way, it's ‘sexed up’ to tap enough audience. 
An aspiring actress Jigyasa (Hrishita Bhatt) sleeps with a top notch producer to bag a film assignment, then a lady producer [lesbian] to bag another film, then with the film's lead man, then offers a male companion to a gay activist cum organizer of a film award, then sleeps with a gangster, in between takes to drugs, then accuses an actor-director of sexual molestation and in the end, commits suicide.
‘Madhubala’ tells the story of Madhubaala (Kanishka), who wants to make it big in Bollywood. With the help of her friend (Gurpreet Singh), she meets an award winning director Raj Malhotra (Sameer Dharmadhikari), who rapes her 21 times in two years. She's promised the heroine's role in his film and also given false promises of marriage. Now how much more ‘sexed up’ can it get? 
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This five feet eight inches tall light-eyed, Kolkata girl, came into the limelight when she won the Famous Ford Supermodels Contest at the tender age of 17. She also won the Tulips Miss Super Vivacious in the same contest.Bipasha has been bold enough to accept an unusual role in her initial films “Ajnabi” and “Raaz”.She was a household name much before she entered films. 
Besides doing innumerable prestigious ads, Bipasha did the famous video ‘Tu’ for Sonu Nigam’s album “Kismat”.Apart from modeling and acting her other hobbies include dancing, reading and helping her mother with interior designing. Bipasha is the second daughter in the family and is fondly called Bonny by near and dear ones.
Doing goofy B-movie skin flicks with Karan Razdan and Harry Baweja wasn't helping her case. So now, she has pledged to break out of the ‘undress’ circuit and ‘Chup Chup Ke’ which released last month is the first in that new attempt. Whether her new performance oriented image will bring her the laurels and the eyes, only time will tell, and pretty soon we might add. 
We’ll forgive her the decision to be an actress in the first place. Yet rationally, the only reason Celina is still an option for mainstream filmmakers are her rock cold eyes that seem to gaze into eternity. Being bootilicious comes with the territory and that she’s shown in each of her films from ‘Janaasheen’ to the outright quirky ‘Tom, Dick and Harry. Go on lady, the ‘undress’ circle was destined for you. 
Actress Tara Sharma refused to lock lips with her co-star in Khosla Ka Ghosla .Ever since she stepped in Bollywood, Tara has avoided kissing scenes in films. The reason is simple – she is “uncomfortable” in locking lips before the camera.
The kiss was important because the scene showed a delicate, intimate moment between the two characters in the film.However, before the scene was to be shot, Tara expressed her inhibitions to the director. She said she would look awkward if forced to give the kissing scene.Dibakar Banerjee understood Tara’s concern and changed the scene. The kiss was replaced by a passionate hug between Tara and Parvin.In the past, Tara refused to kiss for her movie Amavas too. She also shied away from such a scene in a western movie that she is doing.
Early next year, filmmaker Karan Johar will return with his television show ‘Koffee With Karan’.Karan has some top Bollywood stars on his guest list for the second innings of his famous chat show in which he talks with celebrities about their professional and personal lives and also tests their IQ in a rapid fire question-answer section.
Apart from people from the showbiz, the new version of the programme will also feature sportspersons, socialites, politicians and other famous people from different fields.From the film industry, celebrities like Rani Mukherjee , Shah Rukh Khan and Kojol are already said to be on Karan’s guest list.Karan admits that top Bollywood stars will be part of his chat show, but refuses to reveal names.Not just the show’s format, even the look of the programme has been changed. Sets by Sharmista Roy have been made more stylish. Another big change will be the presence of audience in the second version of the show.Karan will begin shooting for ‘Koffee…’ in January. The first episode is likely to be telecast in February next year.
Bollywood lass Sameera Reddy seems to have become a favourite of Bengali director Buddhadeb Dasgupta.Sameera won accolades for her performance as a woman with American dreams in Dasgupta’s previous movie ‘Kaalpurush’. Now the highly acclaimed filmmaker has signed her for his next film as well.
Despite the film’s apparently provocative subject (voyeurism), there won’t been anything racy or sleazy about it. The movie will explore the way new technology has invaded women’s private space.Sameera has already begun shooting for the film, and despite her unfamiliarity with Bengali Sameera has been picking up the language very fast. She reportedly delivered an 8-page dialogue in a single shot while filming in Kolkata recently.She has also become fond of Bengali delicacies like Rasagulla and Mishti Doi
Vidya Balan has completely dismissed rumours of a rift with the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai during the making of Mani Ratnam 's Guru . “By now I'm used to all kinds of rumours. But this one truly takes the cake. I can't say we got along like a house on fire simply because we didn't have many scenes together. But whenever we worked together, Aishwarya was a dream co-star. She is an absolute delight to work with and is someone I look up to,” a report quotes Vidya as saying.
dio disc jockey in recent films. “The journey has been exciting. The character is so much more than the job it performs,” Vidya said. “They've given me tremendous job satisfaction at the end of the day,” Vidya said of the roles. Vidya portrayed a journalist in Salaam-e-Ishq opposite John Abraham . Vidya went to a few radio stations to get the feel of what it was like to be a radio jockey before she began shooting for the superhit Lage Raho Munnabhai opposite Sanjay Dutt . 
A photographer clicked away as Bollywood sex-kitten Mallika Sherawat removed the trousers of a man.The incident happened during Mallika’s now infamous New Year’s Eve performance at J W Marriott Hotel in Mumbai.
a man on stage during the performance. BBA president produced four photos in the court to authenticate his claims. In one photo, Mallika is seen removing the trousers of a man, while in another the man is seen trying to pull it up. While the photographs do not indicate if the man is a dancer and a part of the performance, Tiwari claims he could be a viewer who jumped on to the stage. "These photos are just another proof of her indecent performance on New Year's Eve,” said Tiwari. The court of chief judicial magistrate had ordered an inquiry into the criminal complaint filed against Mallika and JW Marriott Hotel that organised the event. Tiwari had filed the criminal complaint under section 8 of Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act, 1956.Mallika wore a single piece skin colored jump suit with a bikini top that was studded with diamonds and a silver diamond belt during her hour-long 'Jewel 07' program. 
Besides acting in films, Dia Mirza has a talent for painting too.Dia was introduced to painting in her early childhood by her late father Frank Handrich, who was a German painter. Although her father passed away when she was very young, Dia never gave up trying to sketch or paint.
he keeps gifting her canvas creations to friends and relatives. According to a report, Dia’s latest creation is a painting depicting moonlight reflected in the sea. Dia has also tried her hand at some portraits and abstract paintings. But she is humble enough to admit that she is still in learning stages.Apart from Dia, Bollywood actors Sushmita Sen and Salman Khan also paint in their free time. 
Raima Sen will play an important role in actress-filmmaker Aparna Sen’s next movie.Aparna appears to have temporarily shelved her proposed movie ‘Jewellery Box’ with Govinda, Konkona Sen Sharma and Soha Ali Khan. She is rather focusing on another project with an unusual title called ‘Japanese Wife’.
Then Raima went to Aparna’s house in Kolkata to hear the script and agreed to do the film.“It is one of the finest scripts I have heard in recent times,” says Raima.The film’s story is apparently based on a women-centric theme. To prepare for her role in the movie, Raima will reportedly attend acting workshop with theatre personality Sohag Sen.The movie’s shooting is likely to begin in April in West Bengal this year.S.F. mayor bumps Ivins, Iraq and The Game Dave Danforth -
Sat 02/03/2007 08:00PM MST Just once is enough when a high official has an affair. And so it was that just one story out of San Francisco became all the talk among many journalists and readers last week, shoving Iraq, Super Bowl hype, and the passing of columnist Molly Ivins into the background. Mayor Gavin Newsom, who's had high ratings in his first three years in office, slipped up in 2005. On Thursday, he publicly confessed. He'd had an affair with the wife of his key deputy and political strategist. What would prompt the popular official to make such a public apology? The story mixes elegance and pathos. Newsom, 37, had always been much watched, whether for his divorce, his under-age girlfriends, or the deft maneuvering that's garnered him high points entering a re-election campaign. Dubbed the "boy mayor," he won early acclaim in 2004 when he rendered gay marriages a non-issue in his city. There were other issues. Newsom was blamed when football's 49ers announced plans to bolt town for a home field closer to San Jose, 45 miles south. He flubbed plans to overhaul the department notorious for writing parking tickets, and watched while the entrenched Taxi Commission voted to fire his handpicked head. There were also whispered issues -- like the "meat market" that Fog City Journal blogger Daniela Kirshenbaum would allege surrounded City Hall's Room 200. By all accounts, the affair technically didn't amount to much. It involved a few episodes with Ruby Rippey-Tourk, 34, back in late 2005 when Newsom was preoccupied with a divorce. Even if the relationship had included just one private episode, it was notable for the "what was he thinking?" question. There was the betrayal of Rippey-Tourk's husband, Alex, 35, who helped Newsom get elected in 2003. But there was also a ticking clock feel to it. According to San Francisco Chronicle political columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross, the betting wasn't whether things would splatter publicly, but when and how. The Tourks had always been a fashionable couple around City Hall. Alex, dapper and affable, had worked under ex-mayor Willie Brown before leaving and then coming back to help Newsom win office. His wife joined the administration as an appointments secretary, seen as a sort of chief shepherd of an unpredictable bunch of city commissions. Whatever happened in 2005, the whispers subsided for a time. But they resumed when Rippey-Tourk left the administration early last year for alcohol and drug abuse treatment. Some suspected a move to distance her from prying eyes. Then Alex Tourk suddenly left last week for "personal reasons." Nobody believed it. Tourke's high profile and an upcoming campaign would torture an already open secret among Newsom aides. According to Matier and Ross, Tourk never knew of the affair until last week, when his wife broke the news to him. Friends who didn't want him hurt kept it from him. Even Newsom was hesitant, worried that the news might endanger his close associate and campaign manager's marriage, even if it would inevitably explode. Tourk angrily confronted the mayor, and then quit Wednesday. His lawyer arranged a deal: Newsom's re-election piggy bank would bankroll the politically talented Tourke until he could find another job. Now it was up to Newsom to decide how the news would come out -- in a splash or in dribbles. The issue was forced when the Chronicle, perhaps by arrangement, perhaps helped by Newsom aides wanting the scandal behind them, wrote it up Thursday. Newsom then went public. In a 103-second statement lacking both mention of an "affair" and with whom, Newsom told San Franciscans "everything you've heard and read is true." He apologized to Tourk and conceded he had "let the people of San Francisco down." He sought counsel from a couple of hometown heavies, like U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Then Newsom clammed up, taking no questions and limiting his public appearances. Most reactions were personally critical of Newsom but politically accommodating. Resignation would be his "personal" decision (he wouldn't). Most agreed that his performance as mayor was not at issue. The Chronicle even ran a piece pointing out that San Francisco has always forgiven mayoral dalliances. Willie Brown, the prior eight-year chief, had always been surrounded by personal and financial rumors. But voters appeared to prefer, over all else, a broad dash of personality. There are still rumors about women and alcohol in Newsom's world. And there's talk of a "workplace issue" among younger administration employees. Bloggers suggested Newsom's credibility was now at issue in areas ranging from pressuring commission heads on pro-business measures to the Taxi Commission fiasco. Reporters recalled nasty scrapes with Newsom aides, including a libel suit threat, when they'd earlier inquired about the affair. A story like this doesn't carry much weight in the scheme things, but it blots out everything else like a fierce storm. "Newsworthy," after all, has always involved a negotiable mix of importance and fascination. Pure buzz counts for a lot. Long-time TV journalist Dan Noyes summed it up. He told the Fog City blog site, "I've been a journalist for 25 years and it's never personal. It's just a story." The Usual Suspect is a founder of the Aspen Daily News and appears here each Sunday. Counsel, console or berate him at ddanforth@aol.com. Your notes will be kept private unless you ask that we print them. | ||
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Guys & Gals,
Check out the below videos...and the site link which is given here also contains some awsome shots ...
Cya!
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