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Insider Report: Hillary, Obama Mean Big Media Dollars Special From NewsMax's Most Informed Sources
Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories): 1. Hezbollah Leader Admits Group Gets Weapons from Iran Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of the Lebanese Islamist party Hezbollah, has reportedly acknowledged that Iran is aiding the group by sending money and weapons via Syria. In an interview published in the Egyptian publication Masr al-Youm, Nasrallah also said Hezbollah is willing to receive aid even from Muslim countries that have diplomatic ties with Israel, such as Egypt, and from moderate countries critical of the Hezbollah actions that sparked the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, the Israeli Web site Haaretz.com reported. Nasrallah said Hezbollah which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in an effort to obtain the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israel, but admitted that he had made mistakes. "Perhaps we erred only God does not make mistakes and we have apologized to the Lebanese people for this and have paid a heavy price in blood," he said in the interview with Egyptian academic Saad Eddin Ibrahim.
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But he went on to declare: "We do not hesitate to sacrifice our children in the name of our righteous struggle." Two days after the interview appeared, Hezbollah officials dismissed it, saying in a statement that some parts were "inaccurate" and others were "completely unfounded." A Hezbollah official told the English language Daily Star in Lebanon that no formal interview had ever taken place. Ibrahim stands by his story, declaring: "They can deny that it took place, but I met with him for two hours on January 11, 2007. "Nasrallah told me that Hezbollah had been receiving aid from Iran from day one, and that it was coming in from Syria." He also told The Daily Star: "If they want to deny it for their own political convenience, then that's up to them." Editor's Note: 2. Hillary-Obama Race Will Bring Big Media Windfall No matter who proves victorious in the battle for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008, the presence of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama virtually guarantees one sure winner: Media outlets will be awash in campaign dollars. "When was the last time either party could boast this kind of star power with the proven ability to mint sick amounts of cash?" columnist J. Max Robbins writes in Broadcasting & Cable. In her 2006 re-election run against token opposition, Sen. Clinton raised more than $50 million, while Sen. Obama raised nearly $15 million and now has the support of many wealthy Democrats and independents. Expect both candidates, and other Democratic hopefuls not to mention a range of GOP candidates to start spending wads of cash early in the campaign, most of it on TV advertising. As the campaign heats up, media outlets should see a rise in ratings as well as advertising dollars, Robins notes, adding: "Count on the glamorous Clinton and Obama to boost the bottom line in a big way. Gender and race make both of them historic candidates with the kind of charisma that makes for great TV." Editor's Note: 3. Senate Staffer Refutes U.N. Global Warming Report The United Nations has issued a report stating that global warming is man-made and humans are to blame for the extreme weather conditions of recent years. But Marc Morano, communications director with the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, said the "scientific" report is bogus. Appearing on Fox News, Morano told John Gibson: "The first thing you have to realize is that what the U.N. came out with is not a scientific document, it is a political document approved by U.N. political delegates. The media has been reporting around the world that thousands of scientists have gotten together and this is their report. That is not the case "This is not thousands of scientists speaking, this is hundreds of U.N. bureaucrats and delegates speaking "The New York Times last year in April said that few scientists agree that any recent weather events including Katrina, drought, floods, are due to man-made global warming. There's nothing they can point to that's outside natural variability." When Gibson brought up the threat from Jacques Chirac of France that the European Union would heavily tax American exports to Europe if the U.S. doesn't fall into line with the Kyoto Protocol which dictates limits on the emission of greenhouse gases Morano responded: "It's the same Jacques Chirac who called Kyoto the first step to authentic global governance in 2000. That gives you an idea of the agenda behind it and Jacques Chirac is threatening the U.S. "The odd thing about it is, 13 of the 15 EU nations aren't meeting the requirements of Kyoto and the EU nations' emissions are rising twice as fast as the U.S. The U.S. is actually doing better even though we haven't ratified Kyoto. But they're trying to make the U.S. out to be the evil boogieman in the world." Meanwhile, one leading scientist is placing the blame for global warming on another "culprit" the sun. Israeli astrophysicist Dr. Nir Shaviv, who has made a name for himself studying meteorites, said: "Solar activity can explain a large part of the 20th-century global warming." In remarks reported by Canada's National Post, Dr. Shaviv stated that much evidence has been accumulating over the past decade of the strong relationship that variations in the sun's cosmic-ray emissions have on our atmosphere so much evidence that "it is unlikely that [the solar-climate link] does not exist." In his study of meteorites, published in the prestigious journal Physical Review Letters, Dr. Shaviv found that some meteorites reaching the earth sustained up to 10 percent more cosmic-ray damage than others. That kind of cosmic-ray variation, he believes, could alter global temperatures by as much as 15 percent enough to begin or end an ice age. Editor's Note: 4. Dr. Laura Hosts Birthday Fund-Raiser Advice guru Dr. Laura Schlessinger is celebrating her 60th birthday on March 3 with a fund-raiser for families of military and civilian personnel killed or injured in the war on terrorism. Dr. Laura a regular contributor to NewsMax Magazine has already raised more than $250,000 through the sale of her jewelry. And with her son Derek being deployed to the Middle East, she has even more reason to be passionate about this cause. "Dr. Laura's Birthday Beach Bash" is being organized by the non-profit Operation Family Fund, and will take place at the Grand California Hotel at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif. It's a 1960s-themed beach party with music from The Surftones and Dean Torrence from Jan and Dean. Commitments range from the "Do the Right Thing" circle at $50,000 to Souvenir Program Book sponsorships at $500. General admission to the party is $100, and includes a buffet dinner. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Web site. Editor's Note: 5. Obama's Secret Weapon A top media consultant who has specialized in helping African-American candidates win elections could play a major role in the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama. He is David Axelrod, a 51-year-old newspaper reporter turned consultant who was the key media strategist for Obama's senate campaign in Ohio. He wrote Obama's television ads and coined the "Yes We Can" slogan used by Obama and supporters of another Axelrod client, recently elected Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who like Obama is an African-American. Although he is based in Chicago, "1,000 miles from the notoriously clubby world of political consulting, Axelrod has become one of its most successful and respected practitioners," Christopher Hayes writes in The Nation. Axelrod who handled John Edwards' 2004 presidential run is now Obama's closest political adviser, and produced two recent videos posted to the presidential hopeful's Web site. Born on New York's Lower East Side to middle-class Jewish parents, Axelrod attended the University of Chicago and became a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, eventually rising to the position of city hall bureau chief by the age of 27. In 1984, he left journalism to work for Democrat Paul Simon's successful senate campaign in Illinois, and he later joined with a colleague in founding a consulting firm.
Since then Axelrod and his firm, now called AKP Media, has helped elect or re-elect a number of African-American mayors, including Harold Washington in Chicago, Dennis Archer in Detroit, Michael White in Cleveland, Lee Brown in Houston, John Street in Philadelphia, and Anthony Williams in Washington, D.C. "Axelrod has developed something of a novel niche for a political consultant: helping black politicians convince white voters to support them," Hayes notes. "With Obama's bid for the presidency, Axelrod's skill in this area will face the ultimate test." Editor's Note:
6. President Michael Savage? The idea of it may be a non-starter to some even Savage admits he has little chance of being elected to the nation's highest office but many NewsMax readers believe he should make the run anyway.
A recent NewsMax online survey finds that some 94 percent of respondents said they would vote for Savage in a Republican primary.
An even higher percent 97 percent -- said they were "unhappy" with the current slate of GOP presidential candidates. More than 15,000 readers voted in the unscientific poll.
Apparently, Savage, who hosts the third-most listened to radio show in the nation, isn't happy with the current roster.
"I know it sounds bizarre but when you consider the people running for the presidency, none . . . seems to be qualified," Savage said in the NewsMax story that first reported the host was mulling a bid.
"A non-politician who has a very large following, who is very conservative, and who believes in a simple message of borders, language, and culture has a great chance of electrifying the American people," Savage said, complaining the current flock of candidates are simply parroting "sound bytes." Savage says he seriously sees a need for a candidate like himself, since the Democrats have veered sharply to the left precisely because of the "loud noises being made by the left wing in the party. Consequently even the mainstream Democrats move to the left on virtually every issue: the Iraq war, global warming, you name it." Recalling the 2004 Democratic primaries, Savage said, "Guys like Kucinich and Sharpton, clearly unqualified for this job, were given equal time on the podium during the debates with the leading candidates such as Kerry and Gore." We can see it now, Giuliani, Romney, McCain, Savage . . . Editor's Note: 7. We Heard THAT fiery Philadelphia radio talk show host and MSNBC guest host Michael Smerconish will write an opinion column for the Philadelphia Inquirer. "The invitation for me to come aboard suggests that the Inquirer truly wishes to broaden the blend of opinion offered in its pages, which I think can only serve the readership well," he said in an e-mail. Smerconish an outspoken critic of political correctness will also continue to write his column for the Philadelphia Daily News.
THAT public relations guru Howard Rubenstein arranged a "truce" between New York Post owner Rupert Murdoch and New York Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman to keep their private lives out of each other's tabloid. That's what New Yorker magazine's Ken Auletta divulges in an upcoming column about Rubenstein. Blogger Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily had this to say about the report: "Unfortunately, it's the usual CEO porn that Auletta spins out on a semi-regular basis." Editor's Notes:
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