The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 153

The cost for the Freedom Tower (aka 1WTC) is now expected to top out at nearly $3.8 billion dollars. That's $700 million more than the last estimate given, and billions more than the originally estimated cost for the tower. It now ranks as the most expensively constructed skyscraper in the world.

Much of the cost is due to the increased and enhanced security and safety measures built into the

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Gov. Christie Gets Foot-In-Mouth Disease Over Gay Marriage Comments

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has foot in mouth disorder in trying to 'clarify' remarks:

In a Statehouse press conference today, he expanded on the statement: “The political climate in the South didn’t give them the option to have a referendum back then,” he said, adding later: “They wished they would have had the option, but the political climate did not permit it, meaning they would not

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Crackdown Continues Against Opposition Across Syria

Does anyone honestly expect Bashar al-Assad to simply agree to what is likely to be a call by the United Nations to step aside and clear the way for elections in Syria? If you think that the move will result in a cessation of violence, you haven't been paying attention.

The Arab League monitoring mission is winding down in light of the ongoing refusal to cease fire and reduce the violence:

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Honda Does Ferris Bueller Redux For Super Bowl

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MF Global Clients May Never See $1.2 Billion Recovered

MF Global, the company that was headed up by prominent Democrat and former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, may never know what happened to the $1.2 billion in mission client money even though investigators thought they were making progress in unwinding the company's actions immediately prior to the bankruptcy:Previously it looked as though regulators and probably the company's CEO Jon Corzine

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Arab League Suspends Syria Mission Over Increasing Violence

You know things are really bad in Syria when Hamas leaders no longer consider it safe for them to stick around in Damascus despite the cordial relations between Bashar al-Assad and the terror group.

Now, the Arab League's observer mission to try and reduce the level of violence is suspending its operations because the situation is too violent for them to contend with. Once again, Assad's regime

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Suspect In North Jersey Synagogue Attacks Plotted Firebombing Additional Congregations

One of two suspects in a rash of attacks on synagogues around Northern New Jersey was planning another attack, against the Paramus Jewish Community Center. Having attended that congregation during the high Holy Days (Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana) a few years back this hits home even more than most:Synagogue firebombing suspect Anthony Graziano was planning another attack — on the Jewish Community

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Human Rights Groups Warn of Horrifying Slaughter of Civilians In Syria

While the videos could not be independently verified because Bashar al-Assad's iron-fisted grip on media and propaganda, human rights groups inside the country are claiming that Assad's loyalists murdered dozens of people, including women and children in the city of Homs. The Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees, an umbrella group of activists, both said the death toll in Homs was at

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Volkswagen Rolls Out Teaser Ad For Super Bowl

Volkswagen, who won acclaim with its immensely popular Super Bowl ad last year featuring a kid who was enthralled with being Darth Vader, is prepping the field for another ad along the same vein.

To do so, it's rolling out a teaser featuring a dog chorus barking out the Imperial March:



For those who have forgotten, here's the full Darth Vader ad:



In many respects, putting these ads online

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MTA Decides To Fast Track East Side Access Project

One has to wonder why the Department finally came around to fast tracking the long-delayed East Side Access project considering that such a move would have helped save costs over the life of the project and would have provided much-needed facilities access for commuters.

The East Side Access project allows LIRR trains to access Grand Central Terminal through newly constructed tunnels bored

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Spaced Out

Newt Gingrich gave a speech in Florida where he indicated that he would oversee the construction of a manned US space platform on the Moon by 2020.

He's hardly the first to consider a return to the moon and go beyond towards Mars and the outer planets. But because this is the Space Coast that has seen lost jobs due to the end of the space shuttle program, they're willing to grasp at straws in

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NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly's Mounting Problems

First, there is the ongoing fallout from revelations that the NYPD repeatedly screened the anti-Muslim film "The Third Jihad" despite claims from the Department that only a limited number of people saw the film. Commissioner Ray Kelly regrets for his role in the film, and how it was shown to new recruits. Mayor Mike Bloomberg indicated that someone at the Department exercised poor judgment in

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Egyptians Mark Anniversary of Uprising Against Mubarak With Demonstrations Against Current Military Regime

Egyptians threw off one totalitarian regime, and found that the military installed itself as the new power brokers. That's the basic change in the year that passed since protesters took to the streets demanding that Hosni Mubarak step down and cede power to the people. The crowd in the square on Wednesday morning was overwhelmingly male, with very few women in sight.

Youth groups and other

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GM Faces New Problem With Chevy Volt - From Its Own Dealers

GM may be back on top as the world's top automaker by sales volume (but which counts for little when the real test is profits per vehicle - the bottom line), but it doesn't mean that the company is out of the woods by any stretch.

The Chevy Volt bet seems to be running into more problems. Even though the company has instituted upgrades to the steel frame around the battery pack to prevent

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Suspect In Rutherford New Jersey Synagogue Firebombings Due In Court Today

Anthony Graziano, the suspect in two firebombings, including one at a Rutherford congregation that contained the rabbi's residence, is scheduled to make an initial appearance morning in Hackensack.

Graziano is being held on $5 million bail after being charged with a host of crimes including nine attempted murder, arson and bias intimidation. He faces up to 80 years in prison if he convicted.

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Gov. Christie Outmaneuvers Democrats on Gay Marriage Proposals

Just after Democrats introduced bills legalizing gay marriage in the New Jersey legislature that are a mirror image of the language used in New York, Governor Chris Christie signaled his intention to veto any such legislation and instead said that he would put the matter up for a referendum.

Christie pulled the rug out from under Democrats who were hoping to put the onus on the governor. Instead

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The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 152

Once again, rebuilding at Ground Zero is threatening to come to a screeching halt. This time, Larry Silverstein is warning that rebuilding of 3WTC, which was designed by Richard Rogers, would be capped at a stump of 7 stories, because he can't find tenants and wont build it out on spec. The discussions with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the lower Manhattan site, are

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Suspect In Rutherford New Jersey Synagogue Firebombing In Custody

There will be a news conference this afternoon, but a suspect has been arrested in the firebombing of a Rutherford, New Jersey synagogue.The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office will hold a press conference this afternoon, a source confirmed. Rabbi Nosson Schuman told his father he would be at the press conference.

The father, Larry Schuman, said investigators came by Tuesday morning to tell the

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NJ Transit Considering Extending Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Into Bergen County

The biggest joke about the NJ Transit Hudson Bergen Light Rail is that the current system has no stops in Bergen County. It's exclusively in Hudson County, with stops from Bayonne through Hoboken. Ultimately, the plan was to extend the light rail into Bergen County and two such plans are under consideration. There's a new push to deliver the light rail into Bergen County. It involves getting the

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Syria's Assad Losing Cover

It's another day, another day of death and destruction in Syria. Another 15 people were killed, including 10 civilians in fighting around the country in the throes of an ongoing insurgency against Bashar al-Assad. There were yet again reports of clashes between loyalist security forces and deserters, and several of those killed were caught in the crossfire.

Bashar al-Assad is going to find

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South Carolina Prefers Ethically Challenged Gingrich Over Monied Romney

It's rather surprising how quickly voters in South Carolina have shifted preferences from Mitt Romney to Newt Gingrich. They're all too quick to ignore all of Gingrich's flaws - particularly the fact that his fellow Republicans essentially booted him from power as Speaker of the House over an ethical flap that resulted in a $300,000 fine. Since he left Congress, Gingrich has been a lobbyist and

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Prosecutors Release Video Of Man Wanted In Connection With Bergen County Shul Firebombing Attack

Prosecutors have released a video of a man wanted in connection to the January 11 firebombing of a Rutherford synagogue.



The video, from Jan. 9 surveillance footage, shows a fair-skinned man apparently between 18 and 30 years old, leaving what appears to be a Wal-Mart store with a camouflage backpack and a plastic shopping bag.

The man, who is about 5’10’’ to 6’1’’, has a thin to medium

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A PATH Commute To Hell and Back, Courtesy of a Trespasser

You know your commute isn't going to go well when you get informed that there's a trespasser incident. More often than not, that means a fatality, but that wasn't exactly the case today. Someone apparently got into the PATH tunnels that run from New Jersey to 33rd Street around 9th Street. That forced a shutdown of those lines, and meant that commuters had to look to the WTC service or take NJ

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US Passes Milestone In Destroying Chemical Weapons, But Challenges Remain

Yesterday, reports announced that the US Army had destroyed one of its largest stockpiles of chemical weapons at the Deseret Chemical Facility in Tooele, Utah. More than $3 billion had been spent dismantling and destroying the chemical weapons, the munitions, and storage facilities holding the weapons in Tooele.The end of a 15-year project came anti-climactically yesterday afternoon — a worker,

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News Corp. Settles With Victims Over Hacking Scandal

Jude Law, one of those who were victims of the hacking scandal, apparently settled with News Corporation for roughly $200,000:The actor Jude Law received the highest disclosed payout of £130,000 damages plus costs as payments totalling £640,000 were made in 15 cases where the amount of amounts were made public.

The former deputy prime minister, John Prescott, received £40,000, Labour MP

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Historic Cyclone Roller Coaster Getting Safety Upgrades

For the first time since the 1970s, the historic Coney Island Cyclone roller coaster will be getting significant safety upgrades as parts are replaced and upgraded. The repairs are long overdue at the famous coaster. While some think that this might dampen the ride, which is notorious for its 60 degree drop on the first hill and exciting bumpy ride, it will mean that the coaster will continue

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Rick Perry Drops Out Of 2012 Race; Endorses Newt Gingrich

It shouldn't be all that surprising that Rick Perry is dropping out of the race for President.The announcement from Mr. Perry was expected to inject fresh momentum into Mr. Gingrich’s efforts to emerge as the leading alternative to Mitt Romney. It was unclear whether Mr. Perry would campaign with Mr. Gingrich in the final two days of the primary campaign here.

Mr. Perry will not participate in

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SOPA and PIPA Aren't The Answer

I've been blogging for more than a decade, including more than a few years here at A Blog For All. Thousands of posts and musings. Photographs galore. That's all intellectual property that I've produced over the years. Creators of media should have some protections and enforcement to make sure that their works of art are protected. It's the hard work of these media creators that should be

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More Bodies Recovered From Costa Concordia As Questions Pile Up

Five more bodies were recovered from the Costa Concordia as rescue crews blasted holes in the hull of the ship to better gain access to areas of the ship that were previously hard to access.

New reports from Italian media outlets show that the captain, Francesco Schettino, did abandon ship before the passengers were safely rescued and that he refused to return to the ship even as he was ordered

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More Anti-Semitic Incidents In Brooklyn Have Communities on Edge

Today two separate incidents of anti Semitic graffiti was found in Brooklyn. In addition to graffiti found in Midwood, where there have been several other incidents, including a possible insurance scam that used anti Semitic slurs to cover up torching several vehicles, several swastikas were found in Floyd Bennett Field, which is part of Gateway National Recreation Area (and would make that

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New York Times Misses Reason Why NJ Transit Is Buying Double Decker Trains

Leave it to the New York Times to ignore the main reason why NJ Transit is committing to purchasing 100 additional double-decker railcars. While the Times focuses on seat width, it's all about maximizing capacity.

The Times focuses on the seat-width and notes that the behinds of passengers has grown and this is in response to the growing backsides of its passengers. Each time an agency decides

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Costa Concordia Likely To be Scrapped Following Deadly Shipwreck

Rescue crews continue searching the ruin of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy for survivors or casualties. The death toll has risen as another victim was found inside the stricken ship.There are also increasing concerns that any further movement of the wreck could cause some of the 500,000 gallons of fuel on board to leak into the pristine waters off Giglio. The waters are a protected

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The Killings Continue Throughout Syria

Bashar al-Assad's regime continues murdering protesters and those opposed to the regime, despite the ongoing presence of Arab League monitors. Don't believe for one moment that the regime's claims of amnesty means anything either.

Assad is using all of his propaganda outlets for all they're worth. He values remaining in power over all else, so claiming that he's granted amnesty to those who've

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Another Lagging GOP Candidate Drops Out

If you blinked, you might have noticed that Jon Huntsman was running for President. His GOP campaign never amounted to much, and it is now over. Huntsman simply couldn't get his message across to GOP voters who were far more conservative than Huntsman.

Huntsman will now throw his support to Mitt Romney, and GOP conservatives will continue looking for the anti-Romney to throw their support to

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Costa Concordia Runs Aground Off Italian Coast, Capsizes and Casaulties Reported

The video and photos coming in from the Italian coast are remarkable. A luxury cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, capsized after running aground, and there are at least three people dead with dozens missing. Divers are going through the ship looking for survivors and casualties.



How could the ship have possibly run aground when the ship has the latest in navigation and sonar gear that should

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Northern New Jersey Wave of Anti-Semitic Attacks Has Jewish Community On Watch

A string of attacks against Jewish congregations in Northern New Jersey has communities on edge, and the most recent attack, involving a firebomb thrown at a synagogue in Rutherford that also is home to the rabbi and his family, is being treated as both a hate crime and attempted murder.

The attacks have been in Hackensack, Paramus, Rutherford, and Maywood.

In response to these attacks, law

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North Korea Culls Population of Insincere Mourners; Will Display Kim Jong Il's Remains

North Korea's regime is sending people it deems to be insincere in mourning the death of Kim Jong-il to labor camps. It's a loyalty test of sorts, and the regime will get to pick and choose who didn't appear sufficiently sad at the loss of the dead dictator.

That ABC News report includes a chipper video accompanying the story that ends with a variation of "...it's up to the North Korean

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Marines in 'Urinating' Video Identified, Charges Possible

All four US Marines seen in the video depicting them urinating on dead Taliban have been identified and the videographer is also being sought in connection with multiple charges. Two of the Marines have been interviewed by military officials involved in a criminal investigation into the video, which surfaced online Wednesday, the official said. At less than a minute long, the video appears to

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Haiti Struggles Two Years Following Devastating Quake

Haiti, which was one of the poorest and most incompetently governed countries in the world even before the devastating earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people, continues to struggle to rebuild its capital two years after the quake struck.

While streets have been cleared of debris, damaged and destroyed buildings throughout Port au Prince remain omnipresent. The debris of the collapsed

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Marines Caught On Tape Desecrating Taliban Bodies Deserve Punishment

The Marines who were videotaped while urinating on Taliban members apparently killed in a combat situation deserve whatever punishment is meted out to them. An investigation is underway to determine who was involved, and the charges would likely include conduct unbecoming an officer as well as a general offense (catchall) under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (47 USC Sections 933 and 934).

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Toyota Lifts Veil on Prius Vehicle Family; Prius C(ity) Will Have MSRP Below $19,000

The Prius in its prior incarnations have sold more than 1 million vehicles since it was launched. Toyota has dominated the hybrid vehicle line, all while other manufacturers, including Honda, have been unable to break through with vehicles that rely on hybrid technologies.

Now, Toyota is expanding the Prius line to include the C(ity), to go along with the V(ersatility) and the Liftback, which is

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Newt Gets No Love From Fellow Republicans

Delusions of grandeur and an overly inflated ego are what Newt Gingrich is all about. That's not just my assessment, but those of Republican Peter King, who represents parts of Queens and Long Island. He was among the Republicans who came in the class of 1994 that led Newt to become Speaker of the House. “What I don’t get is why anybody is surprised by anything this guy does,” Rep. Peter King was

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Journalists Killed In Syria; The Violence Continues

Syria's regime claims deep regret over the deaths and injuries of journalists, including Frenchman Gilles Jacquier, who was covering a pro-regime rally in Homs. A mortar attack was being covered by the journalists and then a second mortar came down on the same area, killing and wounding several journalists, including Jacquier.

While the regime is quick to claim that terrorists and opposition

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Ranking Nuclear Security By Country

The Nuclear Threat Initiative, which is headed by former US Senator Sam Nunn, has released a study of 32 nations that have nuclear capabilities - both nuclear weapons and civilian nuclear programs - that ranks each country by taking into account on-site security, political stability, economic conditions, security and safety, international commitments (such as nuclear nonproliferation), and other

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Syria's Assad Remains Defiant

Syria's Bashar al-Assad continues to strike a defiant tone against the ongoing protests and violence that has wracked his country for more than nine months. Thousands have died at the hands of his security forces, and he vows to use an iron hand to stop the violence (aka the protests).

That iron hand includes obtaining weapons, and one such weapons shipment was apparently stopped for violating

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Assad Continues Denying Ordering Bloody Crackdown, Blaming Conspiracies For Violence

Once again, Syria's Bashar al-Assad blames everyone and the kitchen sink for the ongoing violence despite being the one in charge of the government and the security apparatus that continues mowing down civilians all across Syria because they dare to oppose the regime's diktats. Syria's President Bashar Assad said on Tuesday that no orders were given to open fire on protesters, months after his

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Waste Not; Wanted

Last night, there was yet another new cooking show on television featuring the ubiquitous Bobby Flay and several other celebrity chefs. The premise for this particular program was interesting. It was to take food that would otherwise be discarded and to use it to prepare a catering job for 100 people.

The chefs were seemingly taken aback by the sheer waste of food that would otherwise be edible

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Feds Announce Arrest of Islamic Extremist in Tampa Terror Plot

Sami Osmakac, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in the former Yugoslavia, was arrested and charged with one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. His first appearance in federal court is scheduled for today. He allegedly sought to attack Ybor City nightclubs, law enforcement, other assorted businesses, and even attacking Tampa area bridges and infrastructure. Agents say

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Connecticut Panel Hands Down Recommendations Over Electric Utility Reliability

Once you attach a price tag to any project, all of a sudden supporters suddenly balk at making the necessary changes.

Connecticut residents suffered horrendously at the hands of Connecticut Light and Power during the double whammy of Hurricane Irene/Lee and then the freak October snowstorm. Millions of people were without power for days on end, and the utility was ill-prepared to deal with the

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Calls Come In To Can Credit For Plug In Electrics Like Chevy Volt

The Chevy Volt has gotten some real bad press lately. General Motors has had to essentially recall its entire production run of Volts to fix a problem that arose during testing by the NHSTA and IIHS that haven't been found on the street - the potential for a fire hazard due to certain kinds of side impacts. GM rightfully takes a hit over the flaw, and will cost the company an undetermined amount

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Arab League Asks Hamas For Help In Stabilizing Situation in Syria

Yes folks, you've read that headline right. The Arab League has asked the terrorist group Hamas for help on stabilizing the situation in Syria. That's little different from wanting to throw gasoline on a fire or having the fox guard the henhouse. The head of the Arab League said on Friday he had asked the Damascus-based leader of the Palestinian movement Hamas to ask the Syrian government to work

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Cuomo's Convention Plan Makes Little Sense

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued the annual state of the state address yesterday, and there were several nuggets of gold for Southern Queens. He suggested that Genting International, which operates a racino at Aqueduct Raceway, should operate a new 3.1 million square foot convention center facility.

He further suggested dismantling and redeveloping the West Side where the Javits Center is

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Three Philly Fans Sought In Brutal Beating After NHL Winter Classic Loss

Once again, Philadelphia fans show just how awful they are. Philly fans have been known to boo Santa Claus, Hall of Famers from other sports teams, and Philadelphia police have to maintain a jail at sports venues because the fans are known to get violent far too often for comfort or safety of everyone else.

This time, Philadelphia Flyer fans assaulted a pair of New York Ranger fans outside the

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Rounding Up the Iowa Caucus Results

Greets and saluts from the NYC metro area. I see that Santorum lost to Romney by all of eight votes. Not bad for a guy who was seen as too extreme for PA when he was booted by his constituents from the US Senate. Now, he's probably not extreme enough for the Iowa voters but will have his moment in the sun as the anyone but Romney candidate de jour. Meanwhile, Romney probably wasn't extreme enough

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Bias Attack Bottle Bomber Caught On Video; Additional Long Island Incidents Identified

In the span of a couple of hours, four Muslim and Asian businesses, mosques, or temples across Queens were firebombed by a man who used Starbucks drink bottles. A fifth location on Long Island may also have been attacked by the same individual:A fifth building — a Long Island home — has been hit by a Molotov cocktail, and cops are investigating if the attack is linked to four similar incidents in

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