Personal Democracy Plus Our premium content network. LEARN MORE You are not logged in. LOG IN NOW >

Rudy and the Diplomats

BY | Thursday, January 24 2008

Dear Politickr,

On October 23, 1995, Mayor Giuliani hosted a private concert for the United Nations' 50th anniversary. All of the world's leaders were invited except two: Fidel Castro and Yasser Arafat. Unlike Castro, Arafat decided to attend anyways and was swiftly asked to leave by Mayor Giuliani. 
The uproar was deafening and a State Department spokesman - Nicholas Burns - scolded, "We don't think this is right. (Arafat) is the leader of the Palestinian people, and he is negotiating peace with Israel. He should be given the respect and dignity and hospitality in the United States that the leader of the Palestinian people deserves." 
To which Rudy replied, "I would not invite Arafat to anything, anywhere, anytime, anyplace ... I would rather not have someone who has been implicated in the murders of Americans there." 
It is this kind of moral clarity and determination to confront terrorists and dictators that gives me confidence Rudy Giuliani is best prepared and best suited to be the next President of the United States. 
America and Israel are entering a dangerous time. Iran's nuclear program is advancing by stealth, Osama bin Laden is still at large (and has threatened Israel), Hezbollah is rearmed, and Palestinian terrorists control Gaza. We need the right man is in the White House. 

That man is Rudy Giuliani. Alone among the candidates, he sees the entire picture. In that picture, Israel is America's most reliable ally in a critical front in the terrorists' relentless war against us. It speaks volumes that he has chosen, as his senior Middle East adviser, someone who has lived in Israel for over 25 years. That someone is me, and I answered his call precisely because only Rudy understands the full convergence of U.S. and Israeli interests. This goes beyond support for Israel: Rudy embraces Israel as a member of America's family. To any informed American voter who cares deeply about the security and well-being of Israel, Rudy Giuliani is an obvious choice. 
Rudy has always stood on the right side of these issues - and now he needs you to stand with him. Click here to learn more about Rudy's record on these issues, and once you do, please pass along the link to your friends and family. You can also donate to the campaign: please click here to give $25, $50, $100, $250 or $500 as part of our Drive2Five effort for Rudy. Ask your friends to visit JoinRudy2008.com/drive2five as well and sign up to join the team or make a contribution. 
Thank you again for your help and support for Rudy. 
Sincerely, 
Martin Kramer
Shalem Center
Jerusalem, Israel 

P.S. -- For those of you in the Sunshine State, click here for a map of Rudy's destination and list of town hall events. 

Paid for by the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee, Inc. 
www.JoinRudy2008.com 

http://giuliani.lyris.net/u?id=961229E&n=T&l=master&o=20725

News Briefs

RSS Feed yesterday >

On Change.org, a Big-Name Call for Dimon's Ouster from New York Fed

The International Monetary Fund's former Chief Economist Simon Johnson is using Change.org to build support for his position that JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon must resign from the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Johnson, a British economist who's a longtime professor at MIT, established the petition on Wednesday. Since then, more than 3,000 people have signed on to support his position. GO

Howard Rheingold on Congress, Digital Literacy, and Making Political Movements

From Congress to the classroom, digital literacy is a key skill that's often sorely lacking, Howard Rheingold, author of the new book "Net Smart: How to Thrive Online," said on Thursday's Personal Democracy Plus call — but there are ways to change that.

Rheingold derided "the degree of technological ignorance" in government and in particular Congress. "It's worse than ignorance," he said. "It's know-nothingness ... it's so endemic." During the fight over the Stop Online Piracy Act, members of Congress could often be heard pleading their ignorance of the Internet and its inner workings even as debating legislation that some said would alter the structure of the global communications network.

The call, moderated by TechPresident editorial director Micah Sifry, was recorded and is available online here.

GO

Should U.N. Politics Affect the Internet?

A key U.S. House subcommittee plans on examining the implications of the U.S. ceding control of key aspects of the global Internet infrastructure next Thursday. The House Energy and Commerce's subcommittee on Communications and Technology announced Wednesday that it's going to hold a hearing on proposals at the United Nations' International Telecommunication Union to afford more control over Internet governance to countries other than the United States. GO

wednesday >

This Isn't What Political Air Time Usually Means

MoveOn.org is asking supporters for $150,000 in donations to fly a plane above high-dollar fundraisers for Mitt Romney with "a message that reminds voters how he represents his corporate and 1% donors." MoveOn previously hired a plane to fly over Romney's Liberty University graduation speech with the message "GOP = HIGHER SCHOOL DEBT." GO

There's a New $200 Million Fund for Super-High-Speed Broadband Projects

An initiative to build and test gigabit-speed broadband networks is set to fund up to six next-generation Internet access projects across the country, fueled by a new $200 million broadband development funding program, Gigabit Squared and Gig.U announced this morning. GO

New Rice University Paper Chronicles Impact of the Internet On U.S. Foreign Policy

We all know that the Internet has transformed the way that the United States conducts diplomacy, and the way that it views national security, but where should we look to find evidence of this? This is the wide-ranging subject matter of a new paper published on Tuesday by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. The paper provides a round-up of some of the major turns of events between 2005 and 2011 in the realms of Internet governance, the development of online public diplomacy at the State Department, the evolution of the Internet-fueled Arab Spring, and the establishment of the shadowy U.S. Cyber Command in Fort Meade, Maryland, among other things. GO

Messin' with Lamar Smith, Revisited

Remember that grassroots fundraising campaign to put a "Don't Mess with the Internet" billboard in the home district of Rep. Lamar Smith, Republican of Texas and sponsor of the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act? All of the money required came in, and Fight for the Future, the advocacy group opposing more stringent copyright protections online, writes that the billboard went up. GO

Republican National Convention Organizers Sever Ties With Becki Donatelli's Campaign Solutions

After eight years producing online content for the Republican National Convention, GOP web consultant Becki Donatelli's Campaign Solutions is off of the project. "Campaign Solutions was retained to help develop our convention website and digital strategy, but they are no longer involved in convention planning," James Davis, the convention's communications director, told techPresident Tuesday. It's unclear what precipitated the of the relationship between the convention organizers and Campaign Solutions, which has been producing the online component of the event since 2004. But Donatelli's name surfaced in a controversial anti-Obama ad pitch sent to a Super PAC backed by TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, which appeared in its entirety in the Times last week. Ricketts has since disavowed the proposal and Donatelli has denied any involvement. GO

More