American Morons Face Stiff Challenge From UK

This is one of my favorite story categories. People who have everything and just blow it. They can't get through the day, rich without a job or a care in the world, and they can't handle even that. It's incredible.

Here's a great one. This Prince Andrew, he has to be raking in the dough for doing absolutely nothing. And here he's VOLUNTEERING for something and he can't even do that without having this dimwit ex-wife dragging him into her nonsense. In the old days the great kings of the past, murderer's row, they knew how to handle this kind of thing. Off to The Tower!

To me borrowing the money from a sex offender, that's not as bad as just being unable to get through life with everything on your side without making an ass of yourself in public and going broke. God forbid she would have gotten a real job.

The kicker is that "with Andrew's help" she settled all of her debts, about $8 million. How the hell do you owe $8 million? What was she doing for all this dough? "With Andrew's help" means the good people, British subjects all, paid for her Ladyship to blunder through life, through the good graces of HRH Prince Andrew.

If I could get this royalty deal I would TAKE IT, even though right now I will say I think it's bad. We'll see.

Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah were in the spotlight Monday for their ties to a wealthy U.S. sex offender — he for being pictured with an underage masseuse at the man's home and she for accepting money from the American to help pay off her massive debts.

Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, confirmed in an interview Monday in the Evening Standard newspaper that she did receive financial help from convicted U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But she claimed to have known nothing about his background and vowed to repay the 15,000 pounds ($24,500) he advanced to settle a debt to her former personal assistant, Johnny O'Sullivan.

"I am just so contrite I cannot say," the duchess was quoted as saying. "Whenever I can I will repay the money and will have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again."

The payment was handled through Andrew's office, the duchess said, and she wasn't directly involved. There was no immediate comment from Andrew's office.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron gave his backing to Andrew, who has also been under fire for hosting the son of Tunisia's dictator shortly before a popular uprising overthrew the leader and his relationship with Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, one of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's sons.

Some politicians had urged that the prince be sacked from his position as the U.K. trade envoy, although Business Secretary Vince Cable noted that the government had no power to fire him — he's a volunteer, not an employee.

Much of the controversy in Andrew's life has involved his marriage to Sarah in 1986 and their divorce 10 years later. They have two daughters. A key moment in the break up was the publication of photographs of a topless Sarah being kissed by a boyfriend.

Since then, the duchess has made and lost large sums of money, and she got into more trouble last year after an undercover newspaper reporter filmed her apparently offering to sell access to her ex-husband in return for 500,000 pounds ($724,000).

In Monday's interview, she said with Andrew's help she had settled all of her debts, which had been estimated at around 5 million pounds ($8.1 million).

[Associated Press]

Robots No Longer Satisfied with Blue Collar Jobs

First the machines came for our manufacturing jobs, which they took over with great ease while throwing countless millions of once proud, hard-working, middle-class Americans into poverty and despair in their wake.

Now the machines are setting their sights on white-collar, professional careers and they're proving themselves to be vastly superior at doing them than their feeble human predecessors.

Computers are getting better at mimicking human reasoning — as viewers of “Jeopardy!” found out when they saw Watson beat its human opponents — and they are claiming work once done by people in high-paying professions. The number of computer chip designers, for example, has largely stagnated because powerful software programs replace the work once done by legions of logic designers and draftsmen.

Software is also making its way into tasks that were the exclusive province of human decision makers, like loan and mortgage officers and tax accountants.

These new forms of automation have renewed the debate over the economic consequences of technological progress.

David H. Autor, an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says the United States economy is being “hollowed out.” New jobs, he says, are coming at the bottom of the economic pyramid, jobs in the middle are being lost to automation and outsourcing, and now job growth at the top is slowing because of automation.

“There is no reason to think that technology creates unemployment,” Professor Autor said. “Over the long run we find things for people to do. The harder question is, does changing technology always lead to better jobs? The answer is no.”

[NYT]

Not Beary Nice

Is there any creature on earth as vile and monstrous as the typical American teenager? The Captain thinks not.

RALEIGH -- It takes a special kind of cruelty to murder a teddy bear - the kind of callousness reserved for kitten kickers and daisy stompers, the brand of meanness practiced by the neighborhood bully and his pimply goons.

One week ago today, villains of that variety sneaked onto Tara Wilson's front porch and stole the life-size black bear her father gave her for Christmas when she was 5. They gouged out its eyes, ripped open its gut, tore out its stuffing and wore its hide around the neighborhood like a trophy.

[...]

"It's 'Lord of the Flies,' " said Wilson, a financial planner, referring to William Golding's fictional tale of boyhood violence. "How could anybody massacre something so innocent? Right away, they knew what they were going to do: 'Let's take it, gut it and wear it.'

"It was ugly. That bear was something good."

[...]

Police spokesman Jim Sughrue said two suspects, ages 14 and 15, were given juvenile petitions charging them with larceny and with possession of stolen property. Those charges will be handled in a juvenile court.

Wilson hopes to piece Henry back together. Make him better. Stronger. Some of her neighbors have talked about starting up a fund to restore him through a local toy store, or maybe the Build-a-Bear Workshop.

But part of Henry will never return: the part that promised friendship and shelter to a little girl, the part that kept secrets from grown-ups, the part that guarded childhood innocence in its paws.

[News Observer]

Kid Rock Confused About Confederate Flag And There's Nothing Wrong With That

Kid Rock, he is a guy who is an uplifter. When I think of people who lift us up, I think "Kid Rock." He is that guy.

Charles Dickens wrote "Great Expectations" and when I read this article I thought, "Kid Rock is like Charles Dickens. A great storyteller for his time." Except for this Confederate flag thing. Now the Confederates lost the war, fighting for slavery. But today, some guys who drive trucks still like that flag, and sometimes they say they like the flag, but what they mean is that they like what that flag STANDS FOR, you know what I mean? The good old days of slavery.

The NAACP seems divided and I can understand that. Kid Rock is a complicated man, kind of like Shaft, and no one can really grasp the full depth of what he is about. It will be well into the twenty second century until we can get the full meaning.

I don't think Kid Rock owned slaves, but still, you have to wonder how a guy that comes up with such great music could be so insensitive. Just goes to show that complete assholes can be great artists. He could not be reached to respond to this, probably because he was deep in thought. Coming up with that kind of music is not some kind of magic trick. Ultimately you have to judge the WORK, you can't judge the man. You know what I mean? Check him out in this picture. He is like a modern version of Rodin's "Thinker" with that Coors Light. What is on his mind? Am I right? We are just lucky to be in this world at the same time.

Some NAACP supporters plan to boycott the Detroit arm's annual fundraiser over an honor for Kid Rock they say doesn't mesh with the civil rights group's goals.

The rocker is set to receive the Detroit branch's Great Expectations Award at the annual dinner, which typically attracts about 10,000 people, on May 1 at Cobo Center.

But Adolph Mongo, a longtime political consultant and head of Detroiters for Progress, said he and others will sit out over Kid Rock's use of the controversial Confederate flag during performances.

"It's a slap in the face for anyone who fought for civil rights in this country," Mongo said Thursday. "It's a symbol of hatred and bigotry."

NAACP officials defended the honor.

"Kid Rock ... has consistently lifted up the Great Expectations of many persons … concerning the future of the city," Donnell R. White, interim executive director of the Detroit Branch NAACP, said in a statement.

Kid Rock and his representatives couldn't be reached. But in a 2008 interview with the Guardian in Britain, he said the flag to him represents southern rock 'n' roll.

[The Detroit News]

Actor Will Lend Wit To Support Haiti As Others Actually Work

It's great that these actors get involved and help out. My favorite thing is when they say they are "raising awareness" or "raising consciousness." As if people aren't aware and conscious. As support goes, this isn't building a house or lending someone money. A little vague, at best. "Hey, you're having a hard time, let me raise some consciousness for you, alright?" And you look good doing it, because even though you're really not doing anything, you're getting credit for being a charitable guy. If I'm under a pile of rocks after an earthquake I could use something a little more tangible. Raising consciousness, that's not so great. Hey Clark Gable, will you help lift some of these rocks offa me?!?

Now Sean Penn, he sounds like he's actually doing something in Haiti and that is great. But this is a strange thing to say. Is he making a comparison between Charlie Sheen and the people of Haiti, and their respective struggles? It sounds like there is some kind of connection, no? In a way it's good they had that earthquake, because who knew Charlie Sheen would need a way to get back in touch with himself, you know? He had been doing so well. Look at this picture. I just think, "yes, he can help in Haiti."

I wonder whatever happened to just helping out quietly behind the scenes? Good work is its own reward and all that? Why does Sean Penn feel compelled to talk about this, and in this context with Charlie Sheen? Why can't he just go to Haiti? You know why? Because if he just went, you wouldn't know what a great guy Sean Penn is. He's not some shallow actor, he's a real person. He said so himself.

I liked the good old days, when the actor helped out and no one knew about it, and then AFTER HE WAS DEAD it would come out in a book that he helped out "but he didn't want anyone to know." That was class. Now, eh.

Also, how interested will the hard working Haitians be in Charlie Sheen, and if they are indeed interested in Charlie Sheen, won't that hurt the real cause of hard work over there? Because then they will be jerking around with Charlie and his wit instead of working.

This kind of thing makes me nuts, but maybe it will work out. Charlie Sheen may really be inspired by this visit, and the Haitians may gather some kind of mad performance enhancing drug-like inspiration listening to Charlie Sheen. Let's see if he really goes first. In any case this is news.

Sean Penn says he thinks Charlie Sheen could do a lot of good in Haiti, both for himself and the nation struggling to recover from a devastating earthquake.

"I think his energies, intelligence and passion could be both of service and servicing to him, as it is to all who are touched by the struggle of the Haitian people," Penn said in a statement Friday.

"Charlie is one of the very few public people who cannot be accused of using the media to his own benefit. I would very much like to show my old friend the world of needs on the ground in Haiti, and introduce him and his tremendous wit to our hard working Haitian staff."

Penn's message of support came hours after Sheen told "Access Hollywood" that he and Penn were planning a trip to the Caribbean nation, although no date for their travel has been announced.

"If he chooses to give support, I'll trust it," the Academy Award winner said.

Sheen, who has been on a media blitz since Monday, says he would like to bring the attention of the world back to Haiti, where Penn has been a fixture since a January 2010 earthquake destroyed more than 500,000 homes.

[Associated Press]

In Mortis Vinum

The Captain can't be sure there's wine after death, but he sure as hell wants no part of a booze-free afterlife.

Boozer Petra Dumitru's spirit is living on after his death - with a bizarre headstone picture showing him swigging from his favourite tipple.

[...]

Brother-in-law Stefan Toma told local newspaper Cancan: "He told us he wanted people to be reminded of the two great loves in his life: good wine and his wife. We thought that a picture would do that best, although I admit his wife doesn't look that happy about him drinking on the picture."

Church officials have complained about the headstone, saying it is "undignified" to show a man drinking on his own grave.

[Austrian Times]

What the World Needs Now: Plastic Banana Wrappers

In case you were in any doubt that the end of the world is nigh, the Captain submits the following.

Del Monte has come up with individual plastic packaging for bananas, a fruit that already comes in its own natural, biodegradable wrapper.

Paradoxically, Del Monte says the packaged bananas, which will be marketed [in a trial] as a “natural energy snack on the go” in Britain and the United States, are intended as a green initiative.

The clear pouches are said to contain “controlled ripening technology,” purported to extend the shelf-life of the fruit by several days.

Del Monte’s U.K. managing director James Harvey [told the Fresh Produce Journal] … “Del Monte’s new CRT packaging is designed to provide significant carbon footprint savings by reducing the frequency of deliveries and the amount of waste going to landfill. The packaging is also recyclable.”

[Unconsumption]

America's Leading Export, Morons, Well Represented

This proves something that needs proving. These Hollywood guys are idiots. Obama pushed through health care reform, which has been going on and on...for 50 years? And his reward is...what? Low approval ratings.

This guy has gone as far as he can with what he's got. It's just plain unfair to put it any other way. When he said "let's roll back the Bush tax cuts" they fought it tooth and nail to extend it.

So we will...take in less money in taxes...and somehow support the great unfunded pension bloat that has taken place throughout the 50 states? Americans are a big bunch of babies. Crying about taxes. Wah wah wah. Grow UP America. I call on YOU to grow up. Right now!

I'm sorry to be so political. There's a good "Simpsons" on now. Otherwise, I would like to see this Matt Damon run the country for a day. Where he doesn't have bottled water. Peace out to my people!

Is President Obama losing support in Hollywood?

In an interview set to air tonight, actor Matt Damon tells CNN's Piers Morgan he's unhappy with the president. Asked point blank if he thinks the president has been doing a good job running the country, Damon simply replied, "No."

"I really think he misinterpreted his mandate. A friend of mine said to me the other day, I thought it was a great line, 'I no longer hope for audacity,'" Damon said, referring to the title of Obama's political memoir. "He's doubled down on a lot of things, going back to education ... the idea that we're testing kids and we're tying teachers salaries to how kids are performing on tests, that kind of mechanized thinking has nothing to do with higher order. We're training them, not teaching them."

The criticisms count for more than standard-issue celebrity belly-aching, since Damon was one of Obama's earliest and best-known celebrity supporters during the 2008 presidential campaign. The actor and Oscar-winning screenwriter appeared at fundraisers for the Democratic candidate and hit the campaign trail on Obama's behalf.

This isn't the first time Damon has criticized Obama. Last year, the actor told reporters he was "disappointed" and "a little let down" by the president's leadership--but he was quick to add that Obama deserved more "time" to work on things. Apparently, Damon no longer feels that way.

And he's not the only one. Over the last year, a growing number of Hollywood types have publicly trashed the president's record on everything from gay rights to his failure to close a military detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

[Yahoo! News]

SPECIAL REPORT - Zombie Takeover Begins With Conquest Of The Ant Kingdom!

Here we go. Brain controlling fungi turning ants into zombies. Do I need to tell you where this is heading? We are going to be run by fungus among us!

Ants are really intelligent and super strong. An ant can lift 50 times its weight. These things can practically turn over a car. And as a group, forget about it, they form bridges and build right over the corpses of their bestest buddies to get things done if they have to. Brilliant AND ruthless.

So if this zombie thing can beat the ants, we humans don't have a chance. Get a look at the mug on this red ant. Come on. They are tougher than any human, even Vin Diesel or DeNiro. These zombie ants will be eaten by birds, and then they will start talking about "bird flu" again but don't be fooled, that's when the birds start getting eaten, finally by chickens and turkeys where they will easily be consumed by fish and humans. Then it's all over, because a whole wave of zombie animals will already be in place by the time the first humans get it.

If you run, the chickens will get you. If you swim, the fish will gnaw you to pieces. If you fall, there are the ants who started this whole freakin' thing.

But no matter how you feel about ants, this sounds bad. Why doesn't anyone listen to me? Why?!?

Scientists have identified four new species of brain-controlling fungi that turn ants into zombies that do the parasite's bidding before it kills them.

Identified from samples collected at two sites in Brazil's tropical rain forest, each of the four species specializes in controlling a different species of carpenter ant.

The original zombie-ant fungus, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, was first identified in 1865, and it seems to exist around the world.

"So we knew, right off the bat, there was a range of other species within that," said study researcher David Hughes, an entomologist at Pennsylvania State University. "I think it will turn out to be in the hundreds."

Once it infects an ant, the fungus uses as-yet-unidentified chemicals to control the ant's behavior, Hughes told LiveScience. It directs the ant to leave its colony (a very un-ant-like thing to do) and bite down on the underside of a leaf — the ant's soon-to-be resting place. Once it is killed by the fungus, the ant remains anchored in place, thanks to its death grip on the leaf.

Ultimately, the fungus produces a long stalk that protrudes from the ant's head, shooting spores out in the hopes of infecting other ants. Two of the four newly discovered species also sprouted smaller stalks elsewhere, including from the victim's feet and lower leg joints – the equivalent of knees.

[LiveScience.com]

Pope Says Jews Did Not Kill Christ - May Not Really Matter

You have to hand it to the Catholic Church, first they straighten out the mess with Gallileo and now this. They realized that they were wrong to torture Gallileo into saying the world was really flat when he knew it was round, and they admitted it. It takes a brave...Church to admit that it's wrong, and even if it takes them 400 years, they still took the hit, albeit belatedly.

The issue here is that they've already exonerated the Jews. As you can see they came out and said this in 1965. However I've noticed that since 1965, this doctrine has not really taken hold. Not much real impact. Most Catholics, even Mel Gibson, believe that the Jews are responsible for the crucifixion. As a kid, I always thought the Roman soldiers were responsible. It was hard for me to believe that these soldiers beating Christ were taking orders from JEWS. But somehow the blame got handed around and the conclusion was always, "the Jews killed Our Lord."

Maybe this time the Pope's followers will really embrace this doctrine and the Jews will finally be off the hook for good. Maybe this particular Pope will get more respect on this, and for an encore perhaps he can explain that the Jews also do not control the world through a secret cabal led by the Rothschilds. And at some point he may actually address the fact that Jesus was probably black. But Rome wasn't built in a day!

Pope Benedict XVI has made a sweeping exoneration of the Jewish people for the death of Jesus Christ, tackling one of the most controversial issues in Christianity in a new book.

In "Jesus of Nazareth-Part II" excerpts released Wednesday, Benedict explains biblically and theologically why there is no basis in Scripture for the argument that the Jewish people as a whole were responsible for Jesus' death.

Interpretations to the contrary have been used for centuries to justify the persecution of Jews.

While the Catholic Church has for five decades taught that Jews weren't collectively responsible, Jewish scholars said Wednesday the argument laid out by the German-born pontiff, who has had his share of mishaps with Jews, was a landmark statement from a pope that would help fight anti-Semitism today.

"Holocaust survivors know only too well how the centuries-long charge of 'Christ killer' against the Jews created a poisonous climate of hate that was the foundation of anti-Semitic persecution whose ultimate expression was realized in the Holocaust," said Elan Steinberg of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants.

The pope's book, he said, not only confirms church teaching refuting the deicide charge "but seals it for a new generation of Catholics."

The Catholic Church issued its most authoritative teaching on the issue in its 1965 Second Vatican Council document "Nostra Aetate," which revolutionized the church's relations with Jews by saying Christ's death could not be attributed to Jews as a whole at the time or today.

[Associated Press]

Love Is A Many Splendored Thing

Guy is getting fired. Now when it's time for a man to lose his job, that's a serious thing. Calls for reflection. You look at what this guy said, it's actually accurate. There are a lot of people around these days that make inaccurate statements and they don't lose their jobs. So it may not be fair, even on this level.

I know it's a minefield and even a quagmire, but he said "I love Hitler." Now you may not know this but I am half Jewish. And when I hear some guy say "I love Hitler," I just say, "whatever." I can't stop them from saying they love Hitler. And the fact is, they are allowed to say it. Plus, if Hitler won, yes, they would have all been gassed and dead. I've heard people say things, off the charts stupid, and they don't get fired. This guy, it's an accurate statement. If Hitler won they would have been gassed.

If the guy really acted up in my face that's a different story. I'm wondering why no one smacked this guy in the head? What happened? The actress, this Portman girl, she should've smacked him? If she wasn't there, doesn't she have the wherewithal to track down Galliano and smack him? I'll meet her and we'll go smack him together. She seems nice. And despite the abundant cell phone taping of the incident, WILL WE, THE PUBLIC, EVER REALLY KNOW? Come on.

They say love is a many splendored thing. I just hope we can all get there someday. But in the meantime some of these people are assholes, no?

Christian Dior has started proceedings to fire designer John Galliano after he was filmed making anti-Semitic comments in a Paris restaurant, the fashion giant said Tuesday.

The company condemned his "deeply offensive statements and conduct" in a statement announcing the plan to fire him.

The statement came hours after Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman condemned Galliano's praise of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

"I love Hitler," Galliano said in a video obtained by Britain's Sun newspaper. "Your mother, your forefathers would be f---ing gassed and f---ing dead."

The comments were reportedly made at a Paris cafe last year.

Galliano's lawyer, Stephane Zerbib, said Tuesday that Galliano formally denies that he is anti-Semitic. Zerbib declined to comment further.

"I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano's comments that surfaced today," said Portman, who appears in ads for Miss Dior Cherie perfume. "In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way.

"I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still-existing prejudices that are the opposite of all that is beautiful," she said.

Before the video surfaced on Monday, Christian Dior already had suspended Galliano for allegedly making anti-Semitic remarks in another incident.

[CNN]

Richest Guy Says All Is Well

This guy is going to be rich one way or another, right? So how valuable is his opinion? Seems kind of stupid to me. And why should he care if I'm optimistic or not? He's winning if I'm optimistic or if I'm throwing up. It doesn't matter.

It's not enough that he has every dime, he has to come on like he's fucking Confucius. Why can't Warren Buffett keep his mouth shut and leave me alone? He has all the money he has to go on and on about it. "I'm rich and blah, blah, blah, you would be rich too but blah, blah, blah. Don't borrow money. We'll all be rich someday." A regular Vince Lombardi. How am I going to live without borrowing money? Come on.

"Don't let reality spook you." Tell it to the family that just got thrown out of their house. What a jerk. Billions of dollars. He has his optimism but he's holding on to his real cash. Brave man.

Billionaire Warren Buffett wants Americans to be optimistic about the country's future but wary about borrowing money and the games public companies play with profit numbers they report.

Buffett said in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders Saturday that he still believes America's best days are ahead.

"Commentators today often talk of 'great uncertainty.' But think back, for example, to December 6, 1941, October 18, 1987 and September 10, 2001," Buffett wrote, referring to the days before the Pearl Harbor attack, a stock market crash and terrorist attacks in the U.S. "No matter how serene today may be, tomorrow is always uncertain. Don't let that reality spook you."

He said a housing recovery will likely begin within the next year, which would help the economy and several Berkshire subsidiaries, including ones that make carpets and bricks.

[Associated Press]

Banks Shocked To Learn Breaking The Law Can Hurt Business

This reads to me like the banks are trying to get out of being held accountable for what they do, since if they get in trouble and have to pay fines that could make them go broke. If you catch them and fine them, they will go broke, so don't catch them and fine them. Uh, yeah, that sounds cool. Is this an apology? The average guy knows that if you break the law you could lose your business. I guess this is why average guys aren't bankers. You don't see many bankers bowling, do you? Well that's what average guys do, so I rest my case.

And this is one area, foreclosures, where it was unanimous. EVERY state is going after them. The banks were throwing people out of their houses and now that it turns out they shouldn't have done that they should get a break. Like the break they were giving the people they were throwing out. That means no break, ok?

It would be great if one of the attorney general guys would say "hey, you know what, if paying a fine makes you go broke, we'll forget the whole thing." And then the bank guy would say, "really?" And the attorney general guy would laugh and say "NO! I was just kidding, we're going to nail you to the wall."

Please God let me see this happen and I'll stop asking for money.

Probes by state attorneys general and other government agencies into banks' foreclosure practices carry the risk of fines and other major costs, according to regulatory filings from three of the country's biggest banks.

Revelations that major U.S. banks rammed through hundreds of foreclosures daily without giving many borrowers a fair shot at keeping their homes triggered investigations from all 50 states' attorneys general and from state and federal regulators. They also sparked pressure from lawmakers and class-action lawsuits.

Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. called out possible financial repercussions in annual filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday. None of them provided any details on how much was at risk.

"Those investigations and any irregularities that might be found in our foreclosure processes, along with any remedial steps taken in response to governmental investigations or to our own internal assessment, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations," Bank of America said.

[Associated Press]

Wah Wah Wah I Have To Pay Taxes O Wah Wah Wah

I rarely get political but here goes. This whole thing is clearly a tax break for rich people. It's at the expense of everyone in New York. The value of New York City real estate is through the roof. So why give anyone buying it a break?

Because as anyone who has ever done business on any planet knows, the buyers immediately start whining about TAXES. As in "wah, wah, wah I have to pay taxes."

Well FUCK OFF, and I NEVER curse in this space but tonight I am pissed. Come ON. You can't sell real estate in MANHATTAN without giving them a tax write off? COME ON!!! Hey you know what taxes do? They repair the bridges and I wish some of these complaining jerks could be consolidated onto one rotten bridge and they could all plunge off together whining about the quality of the bridge that the higher taxes could have fixed. So there!

Let them say no and move somewhere else. $900 million in breaks to these rich bastards. Wow, is all. If the taxes are the difference between you buying here in New York City I think it's fair to say get lost. On behalf of the taxpayers of New York, who are ultimately paying MORE than their fair share, courtesy of this kiss-the-rich-guy's-ass-because-he's-buying-a-NEW-apartment policy, which exists because I LIVE IN OUTER SPACE AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING, I'm begging for a revision. PLEASE!

As a New York native I am upset. Besides myself. If you were here right now you would see a second me, besides myself. I'm not kidding!

Nothing against A-Rod.

That's a lie. I hate the Yankees. Really, a lot. Sorry.

Yankees star Alex Rodriguez will pay virtually no property tax for a $6 million apartment he is buying on the upper West Side.

Rodriguez will be billed around $1,200 this year in real estate tax for his 3,000-square-foot, five-bedroom penthouse with spectacular views of the Hudson River.

Over the next 10 years Rodriguez and his fellow residents will continue to receive huge discounts on their tax, a city housing official said.

For Rodriguez, a full tax bill would be at least $60,000 annually, the latest city assessment records show.

A spokeswoman for Extell, the company that built the 2-year-old luxury Rushmore Towers near the West Side Highway, declined to discuss the taxes on the slugger's new bachelor pad.

But the only two penthouses that went into contract this month at the Rushmore, each of which was listed at more than $6 million, have been assessed at a little over $100 per month in taxes, one real estate expert told the Daily News.

So how is it possible that tens of thousands of ordinary city residents struggle each year with soaring tax bills for their co-ops, condos and homes, while the Yankees' $33-million-a-year star gets to pay next to nothing?

Well, Rodriguez and many other well-heeled New Yorkers have learned to take advantage of a little-known tax abatement program that has existed for decades.

The politicians and real estate insiders call it the "421A" program. It grants as much as a 98% percent tax abatement for up to 25 years to condo owners in newly built housing.

The bulk of the 421A benefit has gone to luxury housing in Manhattan, though a few reforms by City Hall and the Legislature in 2007 at least required developers to build 20% affordable housing to qualify for the tax abatement.

This year alone, the 421A program will cost our city more than $900 million in lost revenues, the Independent Budget Office says.

That's money that could prevent layoffs of firefighters and teachers. That could fund senior citizen centers and pay for after-school programs.

You haven't heard much about this, but the 421A program ended in December for any new construction. But the city's powerful real estate industry is determined to get it renewed and even get it expanded. Brooklyn City Councilman Brad Lander has been leading the fight against that renewal.

It's too much of a giveaway to developers, Lander says, especially since there's already a glut of luxury housing in this town.

The developers want to link any extension of rent stabilization laws for tenants, which the Legislature must vote on by June, to a deal on extending the 421A tax abatement for builders.

The industry hopes Gov. Cuomo, who made a name for himself a long time ago as an advocate for affordable housing, will take their side.

[New York Daily News]

Holy Smokes

Some might call this priest's rescue of a burning old man a miracle. Should the Captain catch fire at the age of 89, however, he'd much prefer to go ahead and get on with the whole ashes to ashes business.

A church regular, 89-year-old Vito Badalamente is now fighting for his life, after catching fire near the altar of Holy Family Catholic Church early Thursday morning. Nassau County Police Detective Sgt. James Skopek said his clothes caught fire while lighting candles in the back of the church.

[...]

“We are not sure how, but his clothing seemed to have caught fire while he was lighting a votive candle by the blessed mother statue,” Pastor Gerard Gentleman said told McLogan.

The senior citizen had collapsed near the sacristy with his clothes ablaze as Father Reid sprang into action.

“He was awake and aware. He was not communicative, just groaning. It was a little scary,” Father Reid said.

Badalamente was rushed to the burn unit at Nassau University Medical Center in critical condition. His stricken family was his side. Sixty percent of his body was scorched by the flames.

[CBS New York]