Andrew Cuomo does not need NY Const. Art. 1, Sec. 3 at all.
Andrew Cuomo does not like either Greeks or bettors.
Iran Leader Lambasted for Tribute to Chávez
more in Middle East
»
By FARNAZ FASSIHI
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's lionization of his Venezuelan friend Hugo Chávez caused a political firestorm in the Islamic Republic, as doubts arose over whether the two countries could carry on their tight alliance now that Mr. Chávez is dead.Mr. Ahmadinejad declared a national day of mourning for Mr. Chávez and wrote in a condolence letter to Venezuela that Mr. Chávez would be resurrected with Jesus Christ and Imam Mahdi—Shiite Islam's prophesied redeemer—to save humanity and bring justice to the world.
"He was the emotional pillar for all the revolutionary and freedom-seeking people of the region and the world," Mr. Ahmadinejad said of Mr. Chávez in his letter, which was published on his website and reported by Iranian media. "His holy soul and pure thoughts will shine from above and guide humanity toward dignity and justice."
The Iranian leader's response drew widespread condemnation from officials, clergy and ordinary people, as the brouhaha plays out on the front pages of Iranian newspapers.
From Coup Leader to President
See a timeline of the life of Hugo Chávez.
Mourning Chávez
Leo Ramirez/AFP/Getty Images
![[SB10001424127887324178904578343092041069654]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-WP003_0306ch_D_20130306094926.jpg)
A supporter of Venezuelan
President Hugo Chávez cried outside the Military Hospital in Caracas,
Venezuela, Tuesday after learning of his death.
"Who are you to say such things?" Hojatoleslam Mohsen Gharaati, a well-known cleric, asked during a speech, Iranian media reported. "This shows to what extent a person can go when he has abandoned religion and the book of God."
Several parliamentarians also said Mr. Ahmadinejad's response to Mr. Chavez's death was a political move aimed to creating tension among the country's politically divided factions.
Mr. Ahmadinejad flew to Caracas on Thursday to attend Mr. Chávez's funeral, scheduled for Friday. He said Mr. Chávez, who died on Tuesday after a battle with cancer, was a "martyr." He said Mr. Chávez died under "mysterious circumstances," echoing Venezuelan Vice President Nicolás Maduro's suggestion that the U.S. was responsible for Mr. Chávez's sickness.
Iran and Venezuela have little in common. They don't share geographical, religious, cultural or historical ties. But both are oil states whose relationship was forged mainly on the political premise that both are anti-western and anti-imperialist.
Bilateral ties flourished during Mr. Ahmadinjead's eight years in office, with each president visiting the other country at least six times.
Iran has invested billions of dollars in Venezuela over the past eight years in both joint ventures with the government and private investments. Some of those businesses include a bank, manufacturing plants for production of trucks, cars and bicycles and building housing projects.Mr. Chávez liaised to bring Iran closer to other Latin American countries like Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua.
Messers Ahmadinejad and Chávez acted like long-lost brothers, exchanging tight hugs, holding hands and enjoying private jokes.
Mr. Ahmadinejad took Mr. Chávez to the Iranian holy city of Mashhad in 2009 and intervened to take him inside the shrine of Imam Reza, which is normally off-limits to non-Muslims. On a visit to Caracas last year Mr. Chávez invited Mr. Ahmadinejad to watch a basketball match at his house, according a picture posted on Iranian media.
But for Iran, Mr. Chávez's death jeopardizes the carefully cultivated alliance with one of the nation's few allies and its gateway into Latin America.
Mr. Chávez's close ties to Iran were regarded nervously even among his own constituents. Mr. Ahmadinejad faced his own skeptics over the relationship in his own country. Mr. Ahmadinejad leaves office in June and although he will likely continue to be a player in Iran's politics, the extent of his influence in foreign policy is unclear.
"Definitely this will have an impact on Iran's relations with Venezuela," said political analyst Sadegh Zibakalam said by telephone from Tehran. "What will become of Iran's billions of dollars of investments?"
Iran's foreign ministry said on Wednesday it hoped to continue its strong ties with Venezuela.
Many ordinary Iranians treated the government's reaction to Mr. Chávez's death with ridicule. Jokes about Mr. Chávez, the socialist, being labeled Islamic martyr circulated in Tehran.
Social-media websites like Facebook were bombarded with humor articles and a cartoon showing Mr. Chávez dancing with two scantily dressed carnival dancers on resurrection day as Jesus Christ and Imam Mahdi gasped.
"Does anyone out there know what Venezuela looks like? What its people like to do? What Chávez ever said?" asked a blogger identified as Nima Ghanifar on his blog on Thursday.
HI-
Thanks for the help. The item’s
below. I’d be happy to mail you a copy, if you give me a mailing
address.
Claude
Solnik
(631)
913-4244
Long Island Business
News
2150
Smithtown Ave.
Ronkonkoma,
NY 11779-7348
Home >
LI Confidential
> Stop scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
No comments:
Post a Comment