Plan B Forum

Married New York congressman Anthony Weiner has admitted sending a close-up picture of his underpants to a young woman, but says he will not resign.

The Democratic representative also acknowledged "inappropriate" communications with women online.

Mr Weiner had initially said his Twitter account had been hacked when a photo of a man's crotch was sent from it last week.

On Monday he admitted this was not true, saying that he had "panicked".

A tearful Mr Weiner told a news conference he was "deeply ashamed of my terrible judgement".

"I'm deeply regretting what I have done and I'm not resigning," he said, apologising for any pain caused to his family, constituents, supporters and staff.

He said he had intended to send the close-up picture of himself in his underpants as a direct message on Twitter.

It's not big , and it's not clever”
Mark Mardell

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13677357

Direct messages can only be viewed by the addressee, whereas normal Twitter messages are generally accessible.

"Once I realised that I had posted to Twitter I panicked, I took it down and said that I had been hacked," Mr Weiner said.

He then said he had had exchanges with women he met online both before and after he married Huma Abedin, a top aide to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, last year.

"I have exchanged messages and photos of an explicit nature with about six women over the last three years."

But he said he had not met the women, and had never had sex outside his marriage.

His admission came on the same day a conservative blogger posted what purported to be photos of Mr Weiner without his shirt on.

Conservative provocateur Andrew Brightbart said he had obtained the photos from a woman with whom Mr Weiner had flirted online.

Mr Weiner, a native New Yorker and former New York City Council member, is known for his outspoken liberal views and his fiery speeches on the floor of the US House of Representatives.

He was widely expected to run for New York mayor in 2013.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13676650

bigskygal wrote:Apparently I'm not much for smut news - I only got 1/7 on the quiz!

Andrew D wrote:And the news is full of stuff about him.

And empty of stuff about the ones who are robbing us all blind.

Just the way they want it.

Andrew D wrote:And the news is full of stuff about him.

And empty of stuff about the ones who are robbing us all blind.

Just the way they want it.

Gob wrote:

Andrew D wrote:And the news is full of stuff about him.

And empty of stuff about the ones who are robbing us all blind.

Just the way they want it.

Without wishing to give offense Andrew, that is just so Steve it's not true.

I Don’t Care What Photos Anthony Weiner Sends

June 7, 2011 5:33 P.M.
By David Gelernter

The Anthony Weiner case is grossly annoying for many reasons — first, of course, because Weiner himself is so annoying. He’s disclosed such a natural, startling talent for bared-faced lying, he’s bound to be a contender for the world championship in the middleweight liar division or wherever he chooses to compete.

Of course we all know that e-mail and related technologies are treacherous and slippery. They sucker you into saying things you regret because they make words so utterly cheap — no need to hear, much less face the people you’re writing to — that they’re disorienting. In the Cybersphere you experience a sort of intellectual weightlessness, as if you were speaking and trying to control the loudness and tone of your voice without being able to hear yourself. I’ve used e-mail nearly every day since the early 1980s, and I’ve sent dozens (maybe hundreds) of e-mails over the years that I’ve regretted, usually because I said something too sharp or harsh or abrupt. I’ve been on my guard for many years now, and I still make mistakes.

Children who have grown up with the technology will find it easier to modulate their tone correctly — or will give up and modulate society’s tone downward instead, to allow for increased harshness, tactlessness, and thoughtlessness in communication. In the interim, we might all cut each other a little slack.

Which brings me back to Weiner. Weiner didn’t commit adultery or anything near adultery. He committed tasteless stupidity, and there’s no law against that. When reporters first asked him about the expose reports, he should have said “Butt out.”

The biggest offense in this case is the dirtying of the public airwaves and news-waves with ugly, trivial junk; it’s an offense like the one that used to be popular a generation ago with “urban youths,” who would carry around giant boom boxes and play music (or whatever it was) at deafening volumes.

For my part I couldn’t care less what sort of pictures or messages Weiner has been sending around the Net, and it’s an imposition to be required to care; to be unable to avoid the topic. I find that I have no interest in Congressman Anthony Weiner’s sex life or virtual sex life whatsoever. And I’ve heard enough tearful on-camera contrition to last me the rest of my life. I don’t want to hear Weiner’s apology. It’s got nothing to do with me, tells me nothing I want to know; the cable news media, conservative and liberal, would do the public a favor if they would agreed to a blanket tearful-apologies ban effective this instant. And in the future, let Weiner and everyone else who has done some trivial stupid thing that no one actually gives a damn about keep his apologies to himself.