The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 159

Today, the Freedom Tower (1WTC) will regain the title of the tallest skyscraper in New York City. It will soar more than 1,250 feet above the street, eclipsing the Empire State Building.
Crowning the world's tallest buildings is a little like picking the heavyweight champion in boxing. There is often disagreement about who deserves the belt.

In this case, the issue involves the 408-foot-tall

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Jack White Does Seven Nation Army

Jack White, who with his wife Meg, were part of the duo White Stripes did a stripped down version of Seven Nation Army.

White, now touring in support of his solo album Blunderbus, has two backing bands helping him do renditions of songs from his entire career.

This is the concert version of Seven Nation Army:

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Thinking Big: Expanding and Improving NYC Mass Transit

What can be done to improve and expand New York City's subway system, which is already the largest in the US, but which faces tremendous challenges? We already know how difficult it is to reclaim transit options that were previously built - think the Second Avenue Subway, which is finally seeing the first phase underway after decades of promises to replace the elevated line that was demolished

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Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Taken 3/2012 inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Israel

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Zimmerman's Wont Be Able To Claim Indigent Status After Raising $200k

Mark O'Mara, George Zimmerman's lawyer, had been hoping to make a motion before the court to claim that his client should be deemed an indigent case so as to get taxpayer funds to cover the costs of his trial preparation.

That's not going to go over well considering that Zimmerman's website (before it was taken down yesterday) netted him over $200,000 for his defense fund. I doubt O'Mara will

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Shuttle Enterprise Comes To New York City

UPDATE:

Here's better photos of the return pass before the Shuttle Enterprise comes in for a landing at JFK International Airport in Queens. The 747 and Enterprise are emerging from behind the World Financial Center and the National 9/11 Museum is the structure below and 3WTC is the structure on the left:















UPDATE:
I've had a chance to review the photos more closely, and here's

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Six Years To 100 Stories

One World Trade Center is essentially at 100 stories (or it will be by next week). The two tower cranes are already above that level, and the steel is continuing to be erected on the tower as it nears preparation for the antenna/spire that will ultimately rise to 1,776 feet.

It's been a long and painful journey to this point, and the following video is a time-lapse of the construction from its

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Debunking Bogus Story About Egyptian "Farewell Intercourse" Legislation

Several media outlets, including the Daily Mail and Daily Caller, have been busy spreading a story about how the Egyptian legislature is considering a bill that would allow a spouse to have sexual relations with their deceased spouse.

Think about that for a moment.

Does this even sound like a rational bill for consideration anywhere in the world.

Does it pass the smell test?

It doesn't, and

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Israel Celebrates Independence Day; Terrorists Carry Out Rocket Attacks

Israel is busy celebrating its 64th Independence Day, while terrorists in Gaza and Sinai carried out terror attacks in the form of rocket fire against Israelis in Ashkelon and Eilat.An air raid siren was sounded on Wednesday night and one rocket exploded in the region. There were no reports of injuries or damages.

Residents told Ynet that at around half past midnight, at the height of an

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North Korea Parading Missile Fakes?

Is North Korea parading fakes for the world to see, but lacking any real capability to field the equipment? That's the conclusion of a team of missile technology experts who have reviewed the photos and video of missiles paraded before Kim Jong Un during the 100th anniversary of his grandfather's birth earlier this month.But the weapons displayed April 15 appear to be a mishmash of liquid-fuel

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Drop the Hammer on NJ State Police For "Death Race 2012" Actions

Governor Chris Christie has to do more, much more, than shrug his shoulders over the alleged misdeed by New Jersey state troopers who escorted drivers of several high end cars along the Garden State Parkway. Those drivers include former New York Giant Brandon Jacobs who apparently asked for the escort in the first place.

Two state troopers have been suspended thus far, and while the State Police

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(Bovis) Lend Lease Admits Fraud, Avoids Criminal Charges

Lend Lease (formerly known as Bovis Lend Lease) admitted to bilking major clients out of tens of millions of dollars by overcharging on projects around the New York City metro area. It will be fined $56 million, but only one person will go to jail despite the widespread practice.

You might have heard of a few of the projects on which Lend Lease worked (or is working): Citifield, the World Trade

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New Study Finds Tremendous Disparity In Appendectomy Costs

Appendectomies are a relatively common medical procedure, which means that there are plenty of them done around the country. It therefore makes a great study to see just how much they cost.

The results of that study are eye-opening.

The costs range by tens of thousands of dollars.

In fact, the cheapest appendectomies were under $2,000 while the most expensive were over $100,000. The median

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Afghanistan-US Pact Means US Presence In Afghanistan For Foreseeable Future

Despite claims that US forces will be leaving Afghanistan by 2014, the fact is that the US will continue to maintain a presence in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future - a decade or longer.

The reasons have as much to do with geography as they do politics.

Afghanistan is vital not only because the US needs to continue to deny al Qaeda a breeding ground in the country that played host to al

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Why Is David Paterson Being Selected For MTA Board?

Former New York Governor David Paterson had a woeful and forgetful stint as the accidental governor of New York following Eliot Spitzer's departure in the wake of a prostitution scandal. Paterson himself had scandals of his own, including issues with not paying for Yankee tickets.

So why is Governor Andrew Cuomo picking Paterson to sit on the MTA board? Cuomo has picked Paterson to replace

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Egypt Terminates Energy Deal That Began With Camp David Accords

This is a seriously disturbing turn of events in Israel-Egypt relations. Egypt has terminated its longstanding deal to provide Israel with natural gas.

Ampal-American Israel Corporation, a partner in the East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG), which operates the pipeline, said the Egyptian companies involved had notified EMG they were "terminating the gas and purchase agreement."

The company

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Panoramas of Jerusalem

The view of the Old City of Jerusalem taken from near the Mount Zion Hotel.







The Kotel, showing (from left to right) the Dome of the Rock, the entrance to the Western Wall tunnels, the Wailing (Western) Wall, the Megrabi Bridge, and the al Aqsa Mosque.

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Amtrak's Gateway Tunnel Project Moves Forward As Recriminations Continue Over Cancelled ARC Project

My views on the ill-conceived ARC tunnel project are well known (just check out the label linked below). It was a poorly conceived project that would end up saddling New Jersey taxpayers with cost overruns that the Federal Transit Administration conceded could end up being anywhere from $1 to more than $4 billion over the $8.7 billion budget (which itself was higher than initial $5 billion

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The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 158

It looks like the Port Authority and the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum have come to an agreement on construction costs. Payments will begin going out to subcontractors starting today, but the deal still requires finalization and approval by the Port Authority's Board. The subcontractors were caught in the middle of a dispute between the Port, which owns the World Trade Center site, and

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Florida's Governor Rick Scott Announces Task Force To Review Self-Defense/Gun Laws

Following the death of Tayvon Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman and the outrage over the failure to arrest Zimmerman immediately after the incident, Governor Rick Scott has announced that a task force will review the state's stand your ground laws and other gun laws to issue a recommendation on how to fix the laws."After listening to many concerned citizens in recent days, I will call for a

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Mayor Bloomberg's Latest Anti-Smoking Idea? Setting Rules in Apartment Buildings

Mayor Mike Bloomberg's latest nanny-state idea actually makes some sense. It calls for apartment buildings to set rules about where and how people can smoke in the buildings. The proposal has to go to the City Council for deliberation.In his latest salvo in his war on cigarettes, Mayor Bloomberg proposed sweeping legislation Wednesday to curb smoking in residential buildings — by requiring owners

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RIP Dick Clark

Dick Clark will be truly missed. He was instrumental in getting music out there to the masses - introducing the world to some of what are now the most famous names in music, along with plenty other acts who were deserving of recognition. Clark endured accusations that he was in with the squares, with critic Lester Bangs defining Bandstand as "a leggily acceptable euphemism of the teenage

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Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum Preparing For Shuttle Enterprise

The Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum is busy preparing for the anticipated arrival of the shuttle prototype Enterprise next week.The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum is moving three aircrafts from its flight deck to make room for the space shuttle Enterprise.

The aircrafts are being hoisted by crane onto the pier and then a barge. They’ll be taken to the Empire State Aerosciences Museum in

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Breivik Wants Death Penalty or Acquittal

Anders Breivik wont get his wish for the death penalty or acquital, despite the fact that his claims that he was acting in self defense simply don't pass the smell test.

Norweigan law permits only a maximum of 21 years in prison. The right-wing fanatic said he doesn't fear death and that militant nationalists in Europe have a lot to learn from al-Qaida, including their methods and glorification

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The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 157

The Freedom Tower is nearing its ultimate height of 105 stories (more than 1,300 feet) before the spire is constructed to top the structure out at its symbolic 1,776 feet.

The building is creeping towards edging out the Empire State Building as the tallest in New York City within the next couple of weeks, but it is the spire that will push the building to the top of the heap as tallest in North

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Breivik Admits Murdering 77, Claims Self Defense As Lay Judge Is Replaced

The trial of Anders Breivik continues, and while a lay judge was replaced with an alternate, the focus should be on Breivik's strategy of claiming that he murdered 77 people in self-defense. He claimed to be speaking as a commander of a Norwegian and European "anti-communist" resistance movement and an anti-Islam militant group he called the Knights Templar. Prosecutors have said the group does

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OWS Protests At Federal Hall in New York City

The Occupy Wall Street folks are back, but instead of focusing their efforts on and around Zuccotti Park, they're actually staking out space on the steps of Federal Hall. They're a minor diversion for the tourists and gawkers (of whom there are plenty), but they're really not getting much in the way of attention. The message hasn't really changed either. They're still railing against the income

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Norwegian Right Wing Massacre Suspect Claims Self Defense

Anders Breivik made an appearance in an Oslo courtroom and was not only defiant about his course of action, but actually claimed that his murder of 77 people, including 69 people who were shot and killed on Utoya Island at a youth camp operated by a liberal political party, was self-defense.

Breivik further claimed that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case because it is comprised and

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North Korean Missile Launch Ends In Failure

It was meant to be a great achievement and significant accomplishment for the regime of Kim Jong Un to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of North Korean founder Kim Il Song. The North Koreans would launch its most complex missile and satellite payload into space.

Yet, it blew up just about a minute into its boost phase. It likely didn't even clear North Korean airspace, although

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Dr. Who Filming in New York City; New Season Teaser Trailer Released

Dr. Who made history last season by filming parts of episodes in the United States. They've crossed the pond once again to film, this time in our own backyard. They'll be filming in and around New York City across the next couple of days after shooting scenes in Central Park. ... the show is rumored to be filming in Brooklyn Heights (and possibly Brooklyn Bridge Park) today, and appears to be set

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The Record's Math Problem

Today's Bergen Record has a report on the cancellation of the ARC tunnel and a contract that was signed in anticipation of the ARC project that would purchase 35 of the diesel-electric locomotives (DMUs) from Bombardier. The article claims that the contract costs $408 million.

That's just flat out wrong. The engines, about double the cost of a diesel locomotive, are another example of the costs

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NJ Transit Executive Director Jim Weinstein Backs Christie Killing ARC Tunnel Project

NJ Transit was the lead agency on the plan to build the ARC Tunnel. Much has been made over the past two days that Gov. Chris Christie killed the plan and a GAO report seems to suggest that Gov. Christie overstated the cost overruns in killing the plan.

The GAO plan acknowledged not only that there would be cost overruns, but that the FTA had estimated cost overruns exceeding those of NJ

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Meadowlands Brush Fire

UPDATE:
That's a photo of the brush fire still burning near the MetLife Stadium and Meadowlands sports complex. The smoke can be seen from miles away and while it wasn't affecting NJ Transit, it was affecting several local highways, including Route 130. Traffic helicopters were out in abundance covering this latest brush fire in the area, which follows several other major fires on Long Island,

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Special Prosecutor To Charge George Zimmerman in Tayvon Martin Death: UPDATE: In Custody and Charged With 2d Degree Murder

The special prosecutor charged to review the evidence gathered by Gov. Rick Scott, has decided that she will press ahead and charge George Zimmerman in the death of Tayvon Martin. The case has made headlines around the world (I first learned of the case while watching Sky News in Israel) and shed light on the problems associated with Florida's Stand Your Ground statute. From the Washington Post:

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Gingrich Bounces $500 Check To Get On Utah Ballot

Newt Gingrich's campaign is writing checks his campaign can't cash. A $500 check written by his campaign to get on the Utah ballot bounced. Yet, he still thinks that he should be President? He can't balance the books on his own campaign, but fashions himself fiscally prudent?

This is the same Newt Gingrich who only days ago saw his health care think tank declare bankruptcy.

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More Fallout From the GAO Report On ARC Tunnel and More Misleading Editorializations

Charles Stiles seems to think that Gov. Chris Christie was concerned more about the politics of looking like a fiscal conservative than doing the right thing in canceling the ARC tunnel project. He claims that the GAO report bolsters claims that Gov. Christie misled the public about who would be responsible for cost overruns.

The GAO report claims that New Jersey would be on the hook for 17% of

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Truce and Lies

No surprises here. Bashar al-Assad's regime is saying that they're complying with the terms of ceasefire offered up by the Arab League and UN envoy Kofi Annan. The facts on the ground indicate something else entirely.

Assad's security forces have again intensified their assaults on rebel areas and increased the body county. Syria's assurance that its forces are complying with a cease-fire deal

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GAO Report Misleads Over Scrapped ARC Tunnel Numbers

The NY Times is reporting that the General Accountability Office is disputing figures put out by Gov. Chris Christie last year when he killed the ARC tunnel project on the basis of cost overruns that all parties conceded were likely to run $1 billion but potentially up to $5 billion more than the cost estimate.

The report claims:The report by the Government Accountability Office, to be released

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One Major New York Metro Area Bottleneck To Be Replaced; Another Awaiting Federal Approval

Utter the words Kosciuszko bridge to a New Yorker, and besides the multiple inflections and pronunciations, you'll get a string of epithets. The bridge spans Newtown Creek straddling the Brooklyn and Queens border, but it also links the Brooklyn Queens Expressway with the Long Island Expressway (LIE).

The bridge is functionally obsolete and a danger to the public. It is built without modern

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Is North Korea Contemplating New Nuclear Test As It Readies Missile For Launch

North Korea has been quite busy in the past couple of days with pronouncements about preparing for a test of a new long rang missile. Now, South Korea is warning of possible preparations by the North to conduct a new underground nuclear weapons test. All this comes just months after Kim Jong Un assumed the role of national leader following the death of his father Kim Jong Il. The missile test and

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Reflections on Passover and Easter

I've got to say that with having just returned from Israel, the Easter/Passover story hits home in a new and different way - particularly the Easter part. I'd been to Israel before, but this time we toured areas that had more significance to Christians, including the Basilica of the Assumption and Church of the Holy Sepulcher as well as the place on the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized.

To

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Syria's Shell Game

Bashar al-Assad knows one thing quite well - how to remain in power and to preserve his military assets. The UN and Arab League have been trying to get Assad to stop his brutal crackdown against opposition groups looking for social and political reform, and UN Envoy Kofi Annan claimed to have a deal in place that would bring about a ceasefire.

The only problem is that Assad has no interest in a

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The Costs of Higher Fuel Economy

When you look at new car prices and consider a more fuel efficient vehicle, what would you do? Would you pick the more fuel efficient vehicle and hope that you're going to come out ahead on the deal?

If you're buying a Prius, odds are you'll come out well ahead, but other cars, SUVs, and trucks may have more difficulty.

The New York Times compares hybrids with their closest vehicle stable mates

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Music Legend Jim Marshall Passed Away

Jim Marshall, guitar amp pioneer, has passed away at the age of 88.Born in London in 1923, Marshall started out as a drummer before going into business and founding Marshall Amplification in 1962.

He began making guitar amplifiers in Britain as a cheaper alternative to U.S. imports, and soon after legendary musicians including Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton were using his equipment.

He is

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Are the NY Mets Screwed On Day One of 2012 Season?

The New York Post is reporting that the prospect of empty seats at today's season opener has the team management freaked out: The Mets are so terrified by the embarrassing prospect of playing to empty seats at today's opener, they've made an Amazin' "buy one get one free" pitch.

Some 15,000 of their fans have been offered one free seat for Saturday's or Sunday's Atlanta game in exchange for

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Common Sense Prevails As Doctors' Group Calls Upon Profession To Stop Over-Ordering Tests; Procedures

The MSNBC headline is misleading. Doctors aren't calling for an end to 45 procedures, including PAP tests in certain circumstances, or chemotherapy for those suffering from terminal cancer. They're calling for doctors to utilize procedures and drug regimes when the circumstances call for it - based on the science.
Nine medical societies, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the

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MTA Kills 7 Train Proposal To Secaucus, Leaving Gateway As Only Proposed Cross-Hudson Transit Expansion Project

MTA Chairman Joe Lhota has effectively killed any chance for the 7 Train to be extended to Secaucus. He cites the costs of building out the line and the need to build a maintenance yard in New Jersey.

Lhota has a point - the MTA can barely afford its existing system and is already over budget on existing expansion or renovation projects, including the 7 Line extension to the Javits Center, the

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NJ Transit Does Not Expect To Raise Fares in 2012

Thank goodness for small miracles. NJ Transit has announced that it doesn't intend to increase fares once again in 2012. Considering that the level of service has been quite poor - despite NJ Transit metrics claiming otherwise - riders are going to breathe a temporary sigh of relief.Executive Director James Weinstein told members of the Assembly Budget Committee on Monday the fiscal 2013 state

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Model Legislation

Some of New Jersey's recent legislation enacted by Gov. Christie tracks model legislation written up by the conservative group ALEC. The response to the article was that the NJ legislators and Christie's office denied any use of the model language, but I find that farfetched. It's far more than coincidental that the language tracks so closely.

The New Jersey example is hardly alone though. I

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