this is the sort of stupidity I hear from my friends, so it's nice to know the Mayor of our fine city is no bettah, ha haaa....



http://www.ny1.com/ny/NewsBeats/Sub...tentintid=36596

JANUARY 20TH, 2004


You've probably argued with your friends over whether the no-carb Atkins diet really works. Perhaps you've even tried Atkins yourself. Now Mayor Michael Bloomberg is weighing in, and he's not mincing any words. NY1's Michael Scotto has the exclusive story.

Was it really a slip and fall that killed diet guru, Robert Atkins? Mayor Michael Bloomberg isn’t so sure.

“Atkins is dead. I don't believe that bullshit that he dropped dead slipping on a sidewalk, yeah right,” joked Bloomberg.

Chowing down on huge plate of pasta, Bloomberg ripped into the man who told dieters to stay away from carbohydrates.

Atkins died last April when he hit his head after slipping on a patch of ice in front of his Manhattan office.

He became internationally famous by claiming dieters could shed pounds while still eating lots of beef and bacon.

While he's often watching his waistline, the mayor's not a fan of what the diet guru used to cook up.

“I actually went to his house out in South Hampton,” said Bloomberg. “It was for a fundraiser about two years ago. It was for Pataki fundraiser, and I went. The guy was fat -- a big guy – but heavy and the food was inedible. I took one appetizer and spit it out in the napkin. It was just terrible.”

As you can imagine, the people who work for Atkins' company aren't too happy.

“I knew Atkins in life and he wasn't fat. I've eaten Veronica Atkins' food and it was good,” said chairperson for the Atkins Physicians Council Stuart Trager.

The Atkins Physician Council is baffled the mayor even made the comments. It gave NY1 a letter Bloomberg sent to Atkins' wife, Veronica, telling her:

“Through a career dedicated to finding innovative ways to help others improve their health, Dr. Robert C. Atkins touched the lives of so many.”

“I'd like to hope at least that this is just a joke gone bad and carried too far,” said Trager.

Since taking office Bloomberg has trimmed down. He's an avid runner and tries to stay away from high-calorie foods.

Last week, the weight-conscious mayor said he loves low calorie sandwiches at Subway. The sandwich chain also sells Atkins-friendly wraps.

But it appears the Mayor's going to stay far away from those sandwiches.

– Michael Scotto

whoops, I put the wrong URL up there, here's the article:

http://www.ny1.com/ny/NewsBeats/Sub...tentintid=36596

Nice way to trash the dead, Mayor Bloomberg. In a single series of stupid quotes, you insult him, advance a conspiracy theory, and generally look like a fool.

What the hell is the matter with you?

Ignorance coupled with verbosity is unbecoming in a politician.

After that, I'll bet the Bloombeast pulled a "Joe Namath" and tried to kiss the reporter.

http://www.nynewsday.com/nyc-mike01...pheadlines-left

Mayor Eats His Words

By Glenn Thrush, Staff Writer, January 21, 2004, 5:50 PM EST

Mayor Michael Bloomberg seems to be done with the diet-tribes.

A day after telling pasta-chomping Brooklyn firemen that low-carb guru Robert Atkins may have died from a high-fat diet -- and not from a 2002 fall -- a more subdued Mayor Mike softened his language.

"I would never criticize somebody else about their waistline," Bloomberg said Wednesday after swearing in police recruits in Brooklyn. "Let me just say you are what you eat."

During a lunchtime photo-op with firefighters at Engine 292/Ladder 148 on Tuesday, Bloomberg opined: "Atkins is dead. I don't believe that ––– that he dropped dead slipping on a sidewalk. Yeah, right."

The mayor -- who thought his utterances weren't being recorded by TV camermen huddled around him in the firehouse kitchen -- went on to diss dishes Atkins himself served.

"I actually went to his house out in Southampton for a Pataki fund-raiser two years ago," he said in audio picked up cable news channel New York 1. "The guy was fat, big guy, but heavy. And the food was inedible. I took one appetizer and I had to spit it into my napkin. It was just terrible."

A Bloomberg spokesman said the comments were off-the-record and shouldn't have been recorded.

The station countered that the mayor spoke at a scheduled public event, surrounded by a dozen or more journalists with high-tech recording devices.

Atkins died at age 72 last year after slipping on a midtown sidewalk during a snowstorm. His nationally popular diet calls for a mix of beef, pork and other high-protein foods.

Bloomberg, 61, who jogs in Central Park and on a treadmill several times a week, has trimmed down since taking office in January 2002, largely through a low-fat diet heavy on veggies.

"As you get older you have to worry about your waistline more," Bloomberg said Wednesday.

"Ignorance coupled with verbosity is unbecoming in a politician"

I think you meant "Ignorance coupled with verbosity is the DEFINITION of a politician.

The Smoking Gun has a link to Dr. Atkins' death certificate -- http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archiv...ergatkins1.html

one way for a fool to resign

Lez

Just great!, My sister (an unrepentant low fat dieter) comes up to me today and says:

"Did you hear? Atkins really died of a heart attack, he just fell down and hit his head after it happened."

Thanks a bunch Bloomberg for hatching another Atkins BS rumour.

Unfortunately, that rumor is old, just like Bloomberg's career. Sadly for Bloomberg, there are likely enough LCers in NYC to vote him right out of his posh little political position. Let's just hope for the rest of us they all actually vote!

Atkins' Widow Seeks Apology From NYC Mayor

Friday January 23, 2004 12:46 AM

By LUKAS I. ALPERT

Associated Press Writer

link to article

NEW YORK (AP) - He thought he was just chewing the fat, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg may have bitten off more than he bargained for.

Apparently thinking microphones were off during a visit to a Brooklyn fire house this week, Bloomberg, between bites of pasta, used an expletive to dismiss the reported details of Dr. Robert Atkins' death, hinting that he may have died from weight-related health problems. Later, he called the diet guru ``fat.''

Atkins died last year at 72 from head injuries sustained from a fall on an icy sidewalk. His controversial diet, which stresses eating meat, eggs and cheese over pasta, bread and vegetables, has been widely popular since his first book came out in 1972, selling millions of copies.

Atkins' widow is furious over Bloomberg's comments and wants an apology.

While Bloomberg backed off somewhat when asked by reporters about the comments Wednesday, saying he ``would never criticize someone about their waistline,'' his spokesman, Jordan Barowitz, said that's as much as an apology as there will be.

Veronica Atkins plans to go on ``Good Morning America'' Friday to air her views on Bloomberg's comments.

``They are extremely hurtful. They made her very angry, truly hurt,'' said Richard Rothstein, a spokesman for Atkins Nutritionals. ``She wants a public apology, and for the mayor to let people know what he said about her husband and his death was incredibly inappropriate and wrong.''

I believe he died while slipping on the ice. I work around the block and we had been having really bad weather that week. Alot of the sidewalks in the neighborhood were iced over.

Bloomberg is an A$$ to begin with. I think the only reason he got the job is b/c he has money.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/...3659451,00.html

Atkins Widow Demands Bloomberg Apology
Friday January 23, 2004 2:46 PM

NEW YORK (AP) - The widow of Dr. Robert Atkins went on national television Friday to demand that Mayor Michael Bloomberg apologize for calling the late diet guru ``fat.''

Veronica Atkins told ABC's ``Good Morning America'' that she was ``sick and tired of my husband being always maligned and his life's work being trivialized.''

The mayor apparently thought he was off camera when he made the comment while eating pasta at a photo op at a firehouse earlier this week. Using an expletive to express doubts about the details of Atkins' death, he said, ``I mean, the guy was fat.''

Atkins, whose diet stresses meat, eggs and cheese over pasta, bread and vegetables, died last April at 72 from head injuries sustained from a fall on an icy sidewalk.

Veronica Atkins asserted that her husband died from ``severe trauma to his head.'' His fall was unrelated to any health problems, and his arteries were clear, she said.

``I was very, very hurt, and I was angry'' about Bloomberg's remarks, she said.

Bloomberg had told reporters Thursday that he ``would never criticize someone about their waistline,'' and his spokesman Jordan Barowitz said that was much as an apology as there would be.

Barowitz declined to comment further Friday.

In his firehouse remarks, Bloomberg also said the food at an Atkins fund-raiser in the Hamptons had been ``inedible'' and that he had to spit an appetizer into his napkin.

Atkins' widow said the event's caterer ``considered to be one of the best in the Hamptons.''