Category Archives: Interviews
Exclusive Interview: London’s Johnson Has no Plans for the 2015 Elections
Posted
on 03/04/2013
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London’s Mayor Boris Johnson has no plans to run as Conservative Leader in 2015. Instead, he says he will stay in office to the end of the current term which runs well into 2016:
Said Johnson in an exclusive interview with GestetnerUpdates.Com: “I have no such plans [to run for the leadership of the Conservatives]. I am working flat out now to get the Olympic legacy delivered here in London. I wan to make sure we get the benefit of all the billions we put into the games… I am staying Mayor for the rest of my mayoral term.” Read more »
Exclusive Interview: London’s Johnson Pledges to ‘Come Down Very Hard’ on Muslims Harassing Gays
Posted by Yossi Gestetner
on 03/04/2013
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In an exclusive interview with GestetnerUpdates.Com, London’s Mayor Boris Johnson pledged to come down hard on the people who harassed gays in London in the now infamous videos that circulated on the internet a month ago.
Mr. Johnson argues that the overall growth of the Muslim Community in London is not a problem to anyone but “I was concerned when I saw the report. I didn’t actually see the video but I saw several reports about these alleged incidences and I have taken it up with the Police. The people we are talking about are a group of extremists called Muslims Against the Crusade. By any stretch of the imagination they do not represent the majority of Muslims in London. We are determined to come down on them very hard. They are preaching doctrines of intolerance that we found absolutely unacceptable in London today.”
AUDIO: A Rare Radio Discussion About Jewish Political Blogs
Posted
on 08/23/2012
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Our Editor, Yossi Gestetner and one of our own contributor’s, Jacob Kornbluh discuss the influence Jewish political blogs might have on local races in NY State, and in the long run – for the accountability of our elected officials, on ‘Let’s Talk Tachlis’ radio Show 08-21-2012:
EXCLUSIVE Interview: Malcolm Smith Discusses Path to NYC Mayor 2013 Run
Posted
on 08/09/2012
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NY Dem State Senator Malcolm Smith spoke exclusively with Gestetner Updates regarding the recent news of his potential NYC Mayoral race in 2013 as a Republican. Read more »
In Exclusive Friday Interview, Dan Halloran Sees Lancman as Toughest Opponent in NY6
Posted by Yossi Gestetner
on 05/19/2012
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Hours before NYC Councilman Dan Halloran released to the public that he will undergo surgery for a tumor, he kept his schedule for an exclusive interview with GestetnerUpdates.Com to discuss his run for New York’s Sixth Congressional District on the GOP and Conservative lines.
The race has generated a lot of public interest due to the three-way Primary on the Democratic side and the huge number of Jewish voters in the district. “All three of the major Democrats running, says Halloran, are in-line Obama Democrats. They have not bumped their party. They have followed down the line on all the issues that are important to the Communities.” Read more »
AUDIO: Exclusive Interview: Mayor Johnson’s Assembly Ally Says Livingstone Being ‘Insulting’ to Jews Helped Mayor
Posted
on 05/03/2012
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Andrew Boff, a leading Conservative Party Member in the London Assembly and close ally to Mayor Johnson tells GestetnerUpdates in an exclusive interview that former London Mayor Ken Livingstone‘s approach to Jews helped the sitting mayor in today’s elections.
Boff says Livingstone was not able to capitalize on the dissatisfaction voters have with the Conservative Party (of which Mayor Johnson is a member) because Livingstone “is a very divisive figure. He is trying to play ethnic politics too much and he can be quite insulting for example to the Jewish Community in London who is a very large part of the electorate… I think people have responded to that.”
Boff also said in the interview that Livingstone “has been particularly insulting – I don’t want to say Anti-Semitic, but not sensitive – to the different cultures in London. You have to be sensitive to all cultures in a job like that.”
AUDIO: West : ‘Only Egomaniacal Person’ Would Actively Seek VP Slot
Posted by Yossi Gestetner
on 03/07/2012
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Congressman Allen West tells GestetnerUpdates.com in an exclusive interview, that “you don’t actively go seek something like that [VP seat]. That is something what an egomaniacal person would do. I have a job as a congressional representative. If someone were to come to me asking to take that role, [then] that’s something I’ll have to pray about; talk with my family about; and with some other close people we have as friends and advisors, and then we will make the best decision for our country.”
AUDIO of Exclusive Interview: Congressman West Says its Time for Military Action on Iran
Posted by Yossi Gestetner
on 03/06/2012
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In an exclusive interview today with GestetnerUpdates.com, Congressman Allen West was asked “would you support an overt military strike by the United States at this time?” His answer: “There comes a time when you have exhausted your diplomatic solutions and I see that happening.” When pressed if he thinks we have indeed exhausted all the options, Col. West said, “in my assessment yes. I would like to sit down with Netanyahu to have a classified intelligence sharing briefing and that could solidify my assessment.”
Exclusive Interview: Joe the Plumber Agitated that Jewish Paper Backs Opponent Who Signed Pro-Palestinian Letter
Posted by Yossi Gestetner
on 02/29/2012
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Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber, tells GestetnerUpdates.com in an exclusive interview that he “does not understand” why the Jewish Week backs Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D) in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District where Wurzelbacher himself is running on the Republican line.
Kaptur was one of 54 lawmakers to pen a pro-Palestinian letter to President Obama in early 2010. Read more »
Audio: Interview with NYS Conservative Party Chairman 02/21/12
Posted by Mark Hirshberg
on 02/21/2012
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Exclusive: NYS Conservative Party Chairman Lets Loose in Gestetner Updates Interview
Posted by Yossi Gestetner
on 02/21/2012
2 comments
Michael Long
Michael Long, the Chairman of the New York State Conservative Party, gave today an exclusive interview for GestetnerUpdates.Com. Here is his take on some issues:
On the state of the NYS Republican Party: I think they would be more effective if they stood for a set of principles… I don’t think New Yorker’s know what they stand for. Over the years they voted for increased taxes and voted on the wrong side of social issues, and therefore ruined their own reputation.
On the GOP 20102 Race: I still believe Romney will be the nominee… Registered Conservatives here in New York would be more in favor of Rick Santorum than for Mitt Romney… [But] NY Conservatives would rally to help Romney defeat Obama… Read more »
Exclusive Interview: Gary Bauer Says he is NOT Against Romney; Prays Paul is Not Nominee
Posted by Yossi Gestetner
on 02/14/2012
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“Governor Romney is probably still the front-runner,” says former presidential candidate and social conservative leader Gary Bauer in an exclusive interview with GestetnerUpdates.Com, “but certainly Senator Santorum is making it a race. I am reasonably optimistic that when all is set and done he could emerge as the nominee. Read more »
Audio: Weprin Not Happy With Redistricting; Says Governor Serious About Veto
Posted by Mark Hirshberg
on 02/05/2012
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Audio: Weprin Backs Liu for Another Comptroller Run; Leaves Option Open If Liu Drops Out
Posted by Mark Hirshberg
on 02/05/2012
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Audio: Weprin Blames ‘Dissidents’ and ‘Trouble Makers’ for Destroying his NY9 Chances
Posted by Yossi Gestetner
on 02/05/2012
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In an exclusive interview with GestetnerUpdates.com, NYS Assemblyman David Weprin says that loud mouth “dissidents” and vocal “trouble makers” in the Orthodox Community distorted his record and statements, and thus undercut his chances in the NY9 Special Election.
Weprin also noted that he provided “millions of dollars” in funding for Orthodox Jewish organizations to help the poor and the Yeshivas (but apparently didn’t matter in the face of the dissidents).
Press Read More to listen to the audio: Read more »
Fidler Interview: ‘Most NY9 Factors Not Present in My NY Senate Race’
Posted by Yossi Gestetner
on 01/23/2012
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NYC Councilman and NY State Senate candidate Lewis Fidler did not want to speculate in an interview with GestetnerUpdates.Com exactly why NY Assemblyman David Weprin lost the NY9 elections back in mid-September. However, many issues that were at play in NY9 such as Israel and Obama in general, “are not present in my Senate race,” says Fidler. Besides, many Democrats who supported Turner “are supporting Lue Fidler in this race,” said the candidate as in a third person.
When pressed on how he would respond if his opponents would indeed try to push the Obama-Israel issue into this race, Fidler said: “I am an independent Democrat. I speak my mind. I am not a big fan of [all what] my President has done in the Middle East. Not all good; not all bad. But I have a very strong pro-Israel record of my own… My position is that the United State is obligated to support any reasonable position that Government of Israel takes. I think to expect Israel to go back to 1967 borders is absurd… Let them make Israel an issue. I guarantee you, my support for Israel over the years is longer-standing and greater than my opponent’s.”
Audio: Exclusive Interview with Councilman Lew Fidler
Posted by Mark Hirshberg
on 01/23/2012
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Exclusive Interview: Assemblyman Lancman Won’t Shun Obama in a Turner House Challenge
Posted by Yossi Gestetner
on 01/10/2012
1 comment
“If the seat still exists and the district looks something like it looks now… then this is something I will be interested in doing.”
So says Queens Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D) in an exclusive GestetnerUpdates.Com interview regarding a potential run against Congressman Bob Turner (R- NY9) this year. The Assemblyman however made it very clear that redistricting is key and in the mean time he is focused on the legislative agenda in Albany. Among them, Mr. Lancman is pushing a bill that will protect workers safety at the work place.
Lancman says if he indeed runs for Congress he will run on his record of accomplishments in the Assembly since early 2007, and by no means will he shun the President: “I will support the guy who gave the order to Kill Osama Bin Laden; the guy who ended the Iraq war; the guy who is ending the war in Afghanistan. That’s my view on national level issues.” But the ambitious Assemblyman says, “If I have the good fortune to run for Congress, I will be talking of my record in the Assembly and what I would want to do in Congress.”
Exclusive Turner Interview : ‘Everyone in GOP Field Besides Ron Paul is Acceptable’
Posted by Yossi Gestetner
on 12/22/2011
3 comments
(Audio Below) Congressman Bob Turner (Republican NY-9) tells GestetnerUpdates.com in an exclusive interview that he will not say whom he prefers to win the Republican Presidential Primary. “I will let the process work,” he said. However Mr. Turner added that “Everyone there besides for Ron Paul would be acceptable.” Asked why, Mr. Turner said “I don’t think his foreign policy is workable.”
The Congressman also said he will vote no if the House gets called back to vote on a two-month extension of the payroll tax cuts.
Mr. Turner explains that the House already passed an economic-healthy bill that includes a year-long tax cut extension; a “Doctor Fix;” an extension of some unemployment benefits; and approval of the Key-Stone pipeline that is projected to add thousands of jobs and reduce America’s dependency on Middle Eastern oil. It is the Senate notes Mr. Turner that voted for a short tax-cut extension, but without including the pipeline, thus causing the stalemate.
AUDIO of Exclusive Jack Abramoff Interview Part 1 of 2
Posted by Yossi Gestetner
on 12/20/2011
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AUDIO of Exclusive Jack Abramoff Interview Part 2 of 2
Posted by Yossi Gestetner
on 12/20/2011
1 comment
Exclusive Interview: Abramoff: ‘I Was Assassinated’ but ‘All is from HKB”H’
Posted by Yossi Gestetner
on 12/20/2011
3 comments
Former powerful Jewish lobbyist Jack Abramoff says in an exclusive interview with GestetnerUpdates.Com “it could be” that someone in a powerful place decided to take him out. However, he says he never gave much thought to it. Instead he humbly admits that he did non-kosher things in his lobbying life, for which he served a few years in prison.
“I was the best in this business, but then I was assassinated,” Mr. Abramoff said. However, “All was from Hakadosh Baruch Hu.”
The book Capital Punishment authored recently by the former lobbyist shook up Washington, most notably on the issue of Insider Trading, which permits lawmakers to buy stock in firms of which they have information not available to the public. A person on the street would pay $50,000 to obtain insider information and then he may land up in prison, says Abramoff. “But the lawmakers get the information for free, and it’s legal too.”
The once powerful lobbyist says in the GestetnerUpdates.Com interview that he was not surprised that politicians dropped him the minute things started to unravel. He cites the Mishna which warns that ‘politicians present themselves as friends when things look promising yet are not around when things go tough.’
Audio: Part One of the Interview:
Part Two of the Abramoff Interview:
