Transition Time At NYC DOT!

Our outgoing transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan was as good as New York could possibly ask for.  She took a victory lap on the way out at the New York Times:

There are few legacies of the Bloomberg years as indelible as the reimagined streets — the sprawling plazas and painted roadbed instructions at turns celebrated as symbols of smart urban transformation and maligned as emblems of a mayor who meddled too much.

Yet time and again, it was Ms. Sadik-Khan who won Mr. Bloomberg’s ear, or at least his tacit approval.

She has become an international star, drawing adoring crowds for speeches in Sydney and São Paulo, though some of her projects, and at times her confrontational style, placed her at odds with top aides at City Hall.

She's done a hell of a job, and will be a tough act to follow.  While it was hard to imagine we could do better, today Bill deBlasio announced her successor,  Polly Trottenberg, and early reviews are promising:

At the Obama DOT, she’s been an architect of TIGER, the grant program that’s helped fill funding gaps for many multi-modal projects. She was also a proponent of giving official recognition to the progressive street design guidelines produced by the National Association of City Transportation Officials, which until recently was led by outgoing NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.

Trottenberg’s policy credentials are top-notch, and advocates including Transportation Alternatives and the Straphangers Campaign greeted news of her appointment enthusiastically. The big question is how her deep experience at the federal level will translate to the rough and tumble of redesigning NYC streets.

I had an uphill battle convincing a number of my fellow transportation advocates to support Bill deBlasio over the last year - I am hopeful that this pick and the work ahead will demonstrate that this administration has its transportation priorities in order. I believe it will.

HSBC Execs Immune From Prosecution

So much for that whole "rule of law" thing.  

Though this was not stated explicitly, the government's rationale in not pursuing criminal prosecutions against the bank was apparently rooted in concerns that putting executives from a "systemically important institution" in jail for drug laundering would threaten the stability of the financial system.

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Merry Christmas!  Click through for the lyrics.

"You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" (1966)

"You're a 3 Decker sauerkraut and toad stool sandwich / With arsenic sauce!" The lyrics really are quite fantastic. 

http://boingboing.net/2013/12/25/youre-a-mean-one-mr-grin.html

A Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy

Another one, that is.

$1B/year climate denial network exposed

In Institutionalizing delay: foundation funding and the creation of U.S. climate change counter-movement organizations , a scholarly article published in the current Climatic Change , Drexel Universit…

Chris Christie Will Never Be President, Part 4,372

The guy is a jerk.

“Is it conceivable that Chris Christie knew nothing about the plan for retribution? It’s conceivable,” he said. “It’s not conceivable that this behavior is not going to be acceptable to the governor.”

It was the governor’s penchant for confrontation that first propelled him onto the national stage in 2010. As he pushed to cut public employee benefits, his staff celebrated video clips of him dressing down teachers at town hall-style meetings by posting them on YouTube. (“You want to come up here? Come up here,” the governor said to one teacher, a fellow Republican, who hesitated until the governor’s security state troopers gave him no choice. Mr. Christie wagged his finger as he lectured the man, then dismissed him from the hall.)

But his confrontations are not always that public.

In 2011, Mr. Christie held a news conference where he accused State Senator Richard J. Codey of being “combative and difficult” in blocking two nominees. Mr. Codey, a Democrat who had served as governor following the resignation of James E. McGreevey, responded by noting that he had not only signed off on the nominations, but had held a meeting to try to hurry them along.

Three days later, Mr. Codey was walking out of an event in Newark when he got a call from the state police superintendent informing him that he would no longer be afforded the trooper who accompanied him to occasional public events — a courtesy granted all former governors. That same day, his cousin, who had been appointed by Mr. McGreevey to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, was fired, as was a close friend and former deputy chief of staff who was then working in the state Office of Consumer Affairs.

“I understand politics, that a new administration comes in,” Mr. Codey said. “But this wasn’t about the usual he brings his own people in. This was all about sending a message.”

The governor laughed at the allegation of retribution; his spokesman called the Democratic party chairman who complained about it “clueless.”

Centrism Does Not Equal Objectivity

A bland and boring ideology.

Under the norm of objectivity that dominates mainstream political journalism in the United States, reporters are supposed to avoid endorsing competing political viewpoints or proposals. In practice, however, journalists often treat centrist policy priorities--especially on fiscal policy--as value-neutral. That's wrong. While it's widely accepted that the federal government faces limits on what it can borrow in the financial markets, there is significant disagreement, including among experts, over the priority that should be given to reducing current deficit and debt levels relative to other possible policy objectives. It is, in other words, a political issue. Reporters often ignore this conflict, treating deficit-cutting as a non-ideological objective while portraying other points of view as partisan or political. That's why it's not accepted for reporters to explicitly advocate, say, abortion bans or recognition of gay marriage, but criticism of the president for not advocating entitlement cuts with sufficient fervor can run in a "factcheck" column. 

This confusion between centrism and objectivity cropped up again in coverage of the budget deal, which often portrayed the fact that the agreement did little to cut the federal debt as a failing. The Washington Post's Lori Montgomery, for instance, was implicitly critical, writing that "the deal would do nothing to trim the debt, which is now larger, as a percentage of the economy, than at any point in U.S. history except during World War II." McClatchy's David Lightman also suggested that the lack of more aggressive deficit-cutting was a flaw. The bill is "likely to still increase the federal deficit, if only slightly, this year and next," he wrote, and is "hardly the grand bargain that's eluded Washington for years, much less a plan to make a serious dent in the government's $17.2 trillion debt.

Gothamist: John Oliver Got A Royal Sendoff From The Daily Show

A fitting tribute to one of their best correspondents ever. Right up there with Colbert on my favorites list. Looking forward to his show on HBO.

Watch John Oliver Bid An Emotional Adieu To The Daily Show

After 7+ years as the Daily Show's "Senior British Correspondent," John Oliver was given an emotional sendoff during his final episode last night. Jon Stewart apparently tricked him into thinking they…

Brooklyner, We Hardly Knew Ye

That was a pretty short stint as Brooklyn's tallest building. But 388 Bridge's time at the top might be even shorter.  They're growing like mushrooms in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn's Tallest Building Launches Leasing

Leasing began yesterday for 388 Bridge Street, the now nearly complete 53-story high-rise next to Fulton Mall, DNAinfo reported. Halstead is marketing the property, which will have a mix of rental and condo units, and residents are supposed to be able to start moving in by February. The rents at Brooklyn's tallest building range from $2,540 a month for a lower floor studio to $6,290 a month for an upper floor two-bedroom apartment. Units vary in size from 490 to 1,166 square feet.

http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2013/12/brooklyns-tallest-building-launches-leasing-2/

Cavity Searches For Freedom!

Nope, no freedom under there. Alternately, "freedom isn't free … and neither are invasive searches. Here is your invoice."

Lawsuit: police and doctors at UMC El Paso forced innocent woman to endure multiple warrantless cavity searches

A 54-year old American woman was given increasingly invasive and fruitless cavity searches after a drug dog was instructed to "alert" in front of her by U.S. border guards. The victim, according to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, was then ordered to consume laxatives, endure x-rays and other scans, and subjected to further medical rectal and vaginal probes—all conducted by doctors at University Medical Center El Paso over over her protests and without any form of warrant.

http://boingboing.net/2013/12/20/lawsuit-police-and-doctors-at.html

Pennywise And Pound Foolish

The House Republicans sometimes remind me of the evil clown from Stephen King's It.

Congress cuts Food Stamps, maintains Estate Tax Loophole worth $100 bn to the Rich

A 1990 law passed by Congress seeking to close a loophole in the Estate Tax ended up having an even bigger loophole that has cost the government $100 bn in taxes. The Estate Tax was created in 1916 in an attempt to forestall the rise of an American hereditary aristocracy of barons, especially robber barons. But the 1990 loophole allows the superwealthy to avoid Estate taxes and pass their obscene wealth on to the next generation, stacking the deck in society against anyone not born with a silver spoon in their mouths. The Paul Ryan Congress is nickel and diming the American people into hunger and insecurity in the name of avoiding Federal budget deficits. But the House has done nothing about this massive hole in the side of the ship of state through which $100 bn in revenues has flowed out to people who don't need it. Not only do the Walton heirs of Walmart fame have as much wealth as the bottom 30 percent of the entire US population (100 million people), but it is increasingly certain that the Waltons will be able to pass most of that on to the next generation. Europeans and Canadians now have a greater hope of moving up in social class than do Americans, who are becoming frozen in place in dead-end jobs (like the ones at Walmart).

http://www.juancole.com/2013/12/congress-maintains-loophole.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29

"Nobody is for corporatism”?

I'm not sure if Konczal is an idiot, or if he just thinks his readers are idiots. I'd label about 40% of elected Democrats as corporatist. Of course, that's far better than the 95%+ figure in the Republican Party, but it does demonstrate the need for movements like WFP to keep Democrats acting like Democrats.

Yes, Obama and the Democrats Are Mussolini-Style Corporatists, Just Like the Republicans

"Nobody is for corporatism"? Huh? Why does Konczal think K Street and "think tanks" which for the most part the arms and legs of corporations, exist? There is an entire large, well funded, and extremely effective business apparatus that extracts lucrative programs, explicit subsidies, guarantees, and various other gimmies from government bodies at all levels. Tom Ferguson has been meticulously documenting since the early 1980s how campaign finance in America works, which he calls he calls the "investment theory of politics": that political parties in the US respond not to popular will or the interests of broader society, but the patronage of large money blocks, with certain industries preferring one party to the other. One suspects the reason for the sensitivity within the ranks of the Democratic party water-carriers to the "corporatist" label is that Obamacare is a textbook case. Konczal cleverly tries to undermine this charge by serving up an example of histrionic right-wing messaging: depicting the contraception requirement (PR-wise, the Republican have been big on throwing identity politics into the ACA mix, but they are hardly alone). Yet Obamacare IS corporatist. Here we have the industries that are significant contributors to why the American medical system is so overpriced – the health insurers and Big Pharma – actually playing a major role in writing the legislation. And how is it not a sop to large companies to have the government require that citizens buy your product or else pay large tax penalties? Mr. Market certainly thought so, for the price of health insurer and drug company stocks jumped the day the ACA passed. And remember, the beneficiaries of Obamacare extend beyond the insurers and pharmaceutical makers. Hospitals, who increasingly engage in oligopoly pricing (most surgeries need to be done in hospitals), also come out even stronger because new requirements imposed on doctors' practices will make it difficult for a retiring MD who practices medicine, as opposed to servicing the rich (e.g., cosmetic surgeons) to sell their business to anyone other than a hospital.

Join The Fight For Universal Pre-K

I signed up - you should too.

Bill de Blasio Launches Campaign for Universal Pre-K

Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio today rolled out the campaign tasked with turning his central campaign promise--raising taxes on the wealthy to fund universal pre-k and afterschool programs--into reality. The initiative, called "UPKNYC," is described as "a grassroots campaign," on its new website, which launched today.

Copper Thievery At The Satori On Bond

This is disturbing all right, but I have no doubt the 76th Precinct will have this guy picked up in short order.  I wonder how much damage he did to score a few bucks.

Very Brazen Robbery At The Satori On Bond Street In Gowanus Yesterday

Images and video recorded by Satori's security camera yesterday morning. The robber is recorded about 25 seconds into the video Here is a bit or worrisome news for residents in Carroll Gardens and Go…

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year: Pareene Names #1 Hack Of 2013

Mike Allen, hoarder and shill. 

EXCLUSIVE — "Mike Allen is the biggest hack in the country, by Alex Pareene: "Mike Allen, Politico's superstar email newsletter author, has never been anyone's idea of a hard-charging, truth-to-power journalist, but as he's built PLAYBOOK into an elite Washington institution, he's become effectively indistinguishable from a paid advocate for business interests. … He promotes causes favored by wealthy corporate executives, promotes the nonprofits and PACs and interest groups those executives fund, and promotes the politicians who agree with the corporate agenda. And he does all of this each day in the guise of a simple emailed tipsheet of links to major political news stories. … "For Allen, a source is indistinguishable from a friend and both are indistinguishable from sponsors. The result is a daily exercise in favor-trading carried out by people using him as a conduit and people using him as an unpaid spokesman."

Charlie Stross: Bitcoin should die in a fire

Food for thought. What is all that computer power used for anyway,  what does the "mining" accomplish besides generating Bitcoins?  I've always wondered but never cared enough to look.  Seems like an incredible waste.

Charlie Stross: Bitcoin should die in a fire

@Veronica @warrenellis @scalzi @jjsaul @swordandlaser @StephenBrust @doctorow @neilhimself Assaulted BitCoin & invaded Libertopia, SAME DAY. — Charlie Stross (@cstross) December 18, 2013 Charlie St…

http://boingboing.net/2013/12/19/charlie-stross-bitcoin-should.html

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Whole Foods Will No Longer Soil Its Shelves With Chobani

Not only is Chobani far inferior to Fage, but honest to god it smells exactly like my infant's diapers did. 

I worked with someone who would eat Chobani every day, and every time I would be struck by the smell of soiled infant diaper. 

It was uncanny, and I'll never forget it.

Whole Foods Will No Longer Soil Its Shelves With Chobani

Sad news, Chobani fans: everyone's favorite Greek yogurt brand will soon stop being available at everyone's favorite massive organic food retailer. Whole Foods announced yesterday that they'll be drop…

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: BBP Names Marina and Skating Rink Operators

The pieces keep coming together. I've been enjoying the growth of BBP these past few years.

Brooklyn Bridge Park announces developer, operator of marina | Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Unacceptable Police Practices and America's Far-Right Supreme Court

A lot of good points here. In what bizarro universe was a strip or cavity search appropriate?

India Flap derives from America's Gulag Practices and Far-Right Supreme Court (By Juan Cole) 

The militarization of American police and humiliating practices of routine strip and cavity searches are the real culprits in the current diplomatic dispute between the United States and India …

Christie Cronies Lawyering Up

This will give me time to pop some corn, and reflect on the fact that Chris Christie will never, ever be president.

Christie Cronies Get Two Day Delay

Bill Baroni and David Wildstein, the Christie cronies at the center of the growing bridge closure scandal, have been given two more days to comply with legislative subpoenas, after hiring criminal def…

Melissa Mark-Viverito Likely Next Council Speaker

This is great news both for progressives and for Brooklyn. I have no problem per se with Dan Garodnick - I hear he's a good guy. And my only interactions with Mark Weprin have been positive. 

But after seeing some suspiciously sourced stories about Garodnick locking it up this morning, this is very welcome news. 

Kudos to Brad Lander and the rest of the progressive caucus for a real shift in Council dynamics. What a difference a year makes.

Brooklyn Delegation Meets To Solidify Support for Melissa Mark-Viverito

Brooklyn Borough Hall. (Photo: Wikipedia) Members of the City Council's Brooklyn delegation gathered this afternoon at Brooklyn Borough Hall to solidify their support for Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Vi…

Bloomberg, Plutocrat to the End

Let me shorten that for you, Mike:

$7 billion he would have used for tax cuts for the rich.

This city could not afford another year with a billionaire mayor.  Organized labor is the last bulwark against modern day feudalism.

Bloomberg Sounds Alarm Over 'Labor-Electoral Complex' in Final Speech as Mayor

Over the past 12 years, the mayor said, the city's pension costs have soared from $1.5 billion to $8.2 billion--a nearly 500 percent increase--siphoning off $7 billion he argued could have been used to fund for more affordable housing, classrooms or tax cuts. And while many other cities require municipal employees to chip in for at least part of their health care costs, he said the city's unions have remained frustratingly stubborn.

CB6 EPPL Meeting 12/23

On the agenda:

  Review of a new on-premises liquor license application submitted to the State Liquor Authority on behalf of Tour De Pre LLC at 435 7th Avenue (between 14th/15th Streets) in our district.

  Review of a new on-premises liquor license application submitted to the State Liquor Authority on behalf of Gin Blossom BK, LLC at 210 Smith Street (between Baltic/Butler Streets) in our district.

  Review of a new on-premises liquor license application submitted to the State Liquor Authority on behalf of Los Robles Corp. at 376 5th Avenue (between 6th/7th Streets) in our district.   

  Presentation and review for the renewal of a unenclosed sidewalk café permit application submitted to the Department of Consumer Affairs on behalf of Marco Polo Take Out LLC dba Enoteca on Court at 347 Court Street (between President/Union Streets) to permit 4 tables and 8 seats.

I will be travelling for the holidays so the meeting will be left in the able hands and beard of Chairman Shames.  

It seems like the mad rush for Barclay's related liquor licenses has subsided.  We haven't had a truly insane agenda in months.

MEETING LOCATION: 78TH POLICE PRECINCT 65 6TH AVENUE, 4TH FLOOR COURT ROOM (BETWEEN BERGEN & DEAN STREETS) BROOKLYN, NY 11217

6:30 PM

Good News: Gowanus Canal Flushing Tunnel To Re-open This Week

Via Community Board 6, great news from NYC DEP on a long awaited upgrade to the Gowanus Canal:

Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Carter Strickland today announced that the Gowanus Canal Flushing Tunnel will be re-activated this week for the first time since it was shut down for a full rehabilitation in 2010.  The activation of the first submersible turbine pump will bring up to 100 million gallons of oxygen-rich water to the head of the Canal each day.  The rehabilitation work also included draining the 1.2 mile long, 12 foot diameter tunnel and inspecting and repairing its brick-lined interior.  After Hurricane Sandy, construction plans were altered to include resiliency measures such as raising the control room floor and its critical electrical equipment, flood-proofing the service building, and installing a dike wall and mechanical flood gate.  Early next year it is expected that two additional turbine pumps will be activated, allowing for the injection of as much as 252 million gallons of fresher water into the Canal each day, or roughly 30 percent more than it could before the upgrade.  In addition, the tunnel will operate around the clock, including at low-tide, when the Canal water is at its most stagnant.  The system of three pumps provides redundancy that will ensure that the tunnel remains operational during future maintenance and repairs and the fresher water provided through the flushing tunnel will increase the dissolved oxygen content of the water in the Canal which will dramatically improve its aesthetics and provide a more suitable habitat for plant and aquatic life.

 And

As part of the overall effort to improve the health and cleanliness of the Gowanus Canal, DEP will install separate storm sewer pipes, or high-level storm sewers, along 3^rd Avenue in Park Slope.  Once completed, this project will keep millions of gallons of stormwater out of the combined sewer system, help to mitigate chronic flooding during heavy rain storms, and reduce sewer overflows into the Canal.

In addition, as part of the $1.5 billion Green Infrastructure Plan, beginning next spring DEP will build hundreds of specially engineered curbside gardens, or bioswales, in sidewalks throughout the neighborhoods surrounding the Canal.  Each bioswale can absorb nearly 2,500 gallons of stormwater when it rains which eases pressure on the combined sewer system and helps to reduce overflows into the Canal.  Bioswales also have hardy plants and trees to help absorb the stormwater, which also beautify the neighborhood, provide shade during the warmer months, and help clean the air.  

Local elected officials were pleased with the development:

 "Cleaning up the Gowanus Canal has long been a priority for our community and we are happy that the flushing tunnel will be reopened and can start to improve water quality in the canal,” said City Council Member Brad Lander.  “I look forward to working with Department of Environmental Protection to take the further steps necessary to make the Gowanus safe for our community."

“A clean and healthy Gowanus Canal will help ensure that the communities surrounding the Canal are safer, more sustainable, and aesthetically pleasing,” said City Council Member Stephen Levin. “I want to thank Commissioner Strickland and the Department of Environmental Protection for these improvements and their work to re-active the Gowanus Canal Flushing Tunnel.”

“The reactivation of the Gowanus Canal flushing tunnel is yet another example that the clean-up of the canal is well underway,” said NYS Assembly Member Joan L. Millman.  “I thank DEP for both repairing the flushing tunnel as well as increasing its capacity. Along with the EPA clean-up of the superfund site, we are another step closer to achieving a clean waterway.”   

 The companion piece to the flushing tunnel is the force main that sends sewage in the other direction in a pipe at the bottom of the flushing tunnel.  The reactivation (likely February 2014) of the force main will make a big difference in the canal's water quality.

Voter Suppression: Disenfranchizing Black and Poor Americans

Well, thankfully Rosa Parks ended racism, or this could be a problem.

"An uncomfortable relationship to the political activism of blacks and the poor"

It's race, class AND punditry predictions: In most elections, the intricacies of voting procedures rarely warrant headlines or interest most Americans. But in 2012, voter identification laws took ce…

http://www.balloon-juice.com/2013/12/18/an-uncomfortable-relationship-to-the-political-activism-of-blacks-and-the-poor/

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U.S. Income Inequality in Six Panels

Lucky Ducky!  This simple cartoon really says it all. It is well worth clicking through for.

TOM THE DANCING BUG: U.S. Income Inequality in Six Panels, featuring Lucky Ducky

BE THE FIRST ON YOUR BLOCK to see Tom the Dancing Bug, by @RubenBolling , every week! Members of the elite and prestigious INNER HIVE get the comic emailed to their inboxes at least a day before publi…

http://boingboing.net/2013/12/18/tom-the-dancing-bug-u-s-inco.html

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The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year: Pareene Does David Brooks

#4: David Brooks. 

When someone I know tells me the enjoy reading David Brooks, my opinion of them suffers, and I die a little inside.

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Of course the Columnist knows he didn't just get this job for his Idea. The Columnist got this job because the last newspaper is liberal, or perceived as liberal, but wants very, very much to also be fair, so one or two of its columnists are conservative. But you have to be a very specific kind of conservative to fit in at the last newspaper, whose most important readers are sensitive, liberal and rich (not coincidentally, just like everyone the Columnist writes about). You have to be a "not-too" conservative, preferably an erudite one who claims his conservatism from, say, Burke. You have to support the Republican Party most of the time but be careful to concede that they've perhaps gone just a bit too far some of the time. In this unjustly successful phase the Columnist will be one of the most influential people alive. Or at least "influence" will be something else he projects, alongside "seriousness." Our Columnist may not have started intending to become The Columnist. He may have preferred to be a humorist or essayist or maybe even a simple Ideas magazine editor. But no one turns down a column, and now his time is occupied with Sunday show panels, the follow-up books, debates of world-shaping importance (conducted only with other Columnists of his stature), and Ideas Festivals. (The Columnist spends the Bush years being wrong about Iraq.)

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/18/hack_list_no_4_david_brooks/

NSA Spying Program Ruled Unconstitutional

A first step. And we wouldn't be taking it but for Edward Snowden.

NSA's bulk phone data collection ruled unconstitutional by federal judge

"The ruling from Judge Richard Leon (PDF Link), a US district judge in the District of Columbia, is stayed pending a likely appeal. In his opinion, Leon wrote that the NSA's data vast collection of Americans' phone metadata constitutes an unreasonable search or seizure under the Fourth Amendment. "The government does not cite a single case in which analysis of the NSA's bulk metadata collection actually stopped an imminent terrorist attack," wrote Leon. "Given the limited record before me at this point in the litigation – most notably, the utter lack of evidence that a terrorist attack has ever been prevented because searching the NSA database was faster than other investigative tactics – I have serious doubts about the efficacy of the metadata collection program as a means of conducting time-sensitive investigations in cases involving imminent threats of terrorism.""

http://boingboing.net/2013/12/16/nsas-bulk-phone-data-collect.html

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The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year: Pareene Channels Richard Cohen

Pareene's Hack List #5.  There are few "liberal" columnists I despise more than Richard Cohen. Who is not at all liberal, but by wrapping himself in the cloak of liberalism launders legitimate contempt for Richard Cohen into unjustified contempt for liberals.  He is the rodeo clown of the WaPo opinion page.

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Where is the politician brave enough to address the widespread fear of black violence? No major public figure ever talks about it, besides Richard Cohen. There is a political correctness omerta around the issue of black people committing crime and being frightening. I wish I had a solution to this problem. I thought Barack Obama would fix it, by making it permissible for Richard Cohen to admit to his racial anxieties without fear of any sort of backlash. But did the former Barry Obama make it OK for Richard Cohen to defend racial profiling? No. Is the solution to put into place a criminal justice system designed to detain and imprison as many people of color as possible? I don't know. Does such a system already exist? I don't know. If it does, is it racist? It's a painfully, achingly, staggeringly complex issue, but I think it is not.

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/17/hack_list_no_5_richard_cohen/

Billionaires Dodging Estate Taxes

Enraging.

"Accidental" Tax Break Gets Riches Out of Paying U.S. $100 Billion

What do Mark Zuckerberg, Ralph Lauren, Lloyd Bankfein, and Sheldon Adelson have in common? They're bazillionaires who'd like to stay that way. Here's how they do it. Read more...

http://gawker.com/accidental-tax-break-gets-riches-out-of-paying-u-s-1484946360?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gawker%2Ffull+%28Gawker%29

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Chris Christie Will Probably Avoid Jail Time

But other than that, his future's not looking great.

Always Weird When That Happens

That disinterested Christie appointee who shut down a big slice of the George Washington Bridge in a way that just happened to massively inconvenience constituents of a mayor who refused to endorse Ch…

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/christie-bridge-scandal-grows?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Talking-Points-Memo+%28Talking+Points+Memo%3A+by+Joshua+Micah+Marshall%29

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The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Pareene does his annual hack list. Our entry today: Tom Friedman, in the voice of … Tom Friedman.  Like a vampire standing between two mirrors, behold the infinite emptiness of Tom Friedman's mind.

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I happened to notice a young Palestinian man working behind the counter. When I ordered my coffee, he realized that I was American. "Ah, like Thomas Friedman," he said. "Friedman, the great New York Times columnist who understands the needs of and challenges facing people like me, working-class Palestinians living in the European Union, because of how often he travels the world and how many brief but illuminating conversations he has with service industry employees. We are all grateful to be material for his columns and books," he said, standing in for all people like him, by which I mean most foreign brown people. As I wrote down what he said to use it in my column, it struck me that the world is changing. The world used to be flat. Now, everyone I talk to, everywhere I go, tells me something is bending the world into a new shape. This 4G, 401(k) world is getting rounded. That scares a lot of people. But it doesn't scare Thomas Friedman. Because while some old media dinosaurs are going extinct thanks to the asteroid of globalization and the giant dust plume of hyperconnectivity, Friedman is a cockroach. A cockroach made of stone. A cockroach made of stone that lives in The Cloud.

Brooklyn CB6 Holiday Party 12/17

Add caption

Friends of Brooklyn Community Board 6's Annual Holiday Party

Tuesday, December 17th, 6-9pm
Red Rose Restaurant
315 Smith Street (between Union/President)
Brooklyn, NY 11231

$40-100+ per person (sliding scale, based on ability to pay)

Enjoy a delicious meal, beer/wine and soda
Raffle prizes!

Bring a loved one, bring a neighbor.  Make a friend.

The Privatization Myth

Fiscally conservative looters and moochers.  They care about three things: (1) cutting taxes for the rich (2) funneling public funds to their wealthy friends and (3) kicking the poors.  That is all.  Privatization isn't about efficiency.  It's about the grift, and about gutting unions.

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In theory, these contractors are supposed to save taxpayer money, as efficient, bottom-line-oriented corporate behemoths. In reality, they end up costing twice as much as civil servants, according to research by Professor Paul C. Light of New York University and others has shown. Defense contractors like Boeing and Northrop Grumman cost almost three times as much.

60 Minutes Continues Descent Into Garbage Reporting

Sad really. 60 Minutes used to be a well-regarded source for real journalism.  Now it's a reliable source for corrections after cringeworthy softball interviews.

60 Minutes Betters Their Benghazi Debacle: Pirates and Chinese Global Suicide Bombers

I will have more to say about tonight's 60 Minutes debacle. But for now, let me make three points. First, John Miller should never work in journalism again (he's reportedly prepping to run NYPD's in…

http://www.emptywheel.net/2013/12/15/60-minutes-betters-their-benghazi-debacle-pirates-and-chinese-global-suicide-bombers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=60-minutes-betters-their-benghazi-debacle-pirates-and-chinese-global-suicide-bombers

Expand Social Security

Not crazy talk anymore. Amen to that.  It's nice to see that despite the Pete Petersons of the world spending hundreds of millions of dollars (for the noble purpose of stealing trillions in retirement funds from the rest of us), not everyone will just roll over and let them win.

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But the days when right-wing Democrats like Pozen and the operatives of Third Way are anointed by the prestige media to represent the left-most acceptable opinion about Social Security appear to be over. Nobody should underestimate the difficulty of enacting the relatively modest increases in Social Security benefits called for in the Harkin bill and endorsed by Warren — to say nothing of expanding Social Security much more, in order to compensate for inadequate pensions and private saving, as my colleagues and I have proposed. But the discussion has changed from a debate about how much to cut Social Security to one about whether to cut Social Security or expand it. That is real progress.

Maker Of Terrifying Killer Robots Acquired By Google, Etc.

What's the worst that could happen?

Happy Saturday people. Most of the weekend subway work has been cancelled due to the expected snowstorm. Beware of Manhattan and Williamsburg, which will be plagued by a horde of drunken Santas. (Not in talks to be acquired by Google so far as I know).

The fictional, less terrifying AMEE from Red Planet, who did not have access to your email, search history and contacts.

Google acquires Boston Dynamics, makers of robots as cool as they are terrifying

"Writes Markoff in the NYT: "Google confirmed on Friday that it had completed the acquisition of Boston Dynamics, an engineering company that has designed mobile research robots for the Pentagon. The company, based in Waltham, Mass., has gained an international reputation for machines that walk with an uncanny sense of balance and even — cheetahlike — run faster than the fastest humans." Nothing could ever go wrong here."

http://boingboing.net/2013/12/13/google-acquires-robotics-firm.html

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NYT, ABC Lied To The Public About Kidnapped CIA Asset

Something to remember for the future about our good friends at the NYT and ABC.  They sometimes (repeatedly) lie. Far from the liberal bastion it is widely considered to be, the NYT is as establishment as it gets.  And don't even get me started on the many sins if ABC. 

The NYT is still one of the better papers out there. But don't take their word as gospel.

ABC, NYT Repeatedly Lied About CIA Operative Robert Levinson

"ABC News and The New York Times have known since 2007 that Robert Levinson, the ex-FBI agent who was kidnapped in Iran, was not, as the U.S. government and his family claimed, an independent businessman: He was working for the CIA. The Times' report today discloses this timeline; ABC News' report does not—but a source at the network confirmed to Gawker that ABC reporters discovered the CIA connection in 2007 as well."

http://gawker.com/abc-nyt-repeatedly-lied-about-cia-operative-robert-lev-1482879951?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gawker%2Ffull+%28Gawker%29

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As I Said, Chris Christie Will Never Be President

GWB shutdown scandal claims another scalp, now only one step removed from the big man himself. 

So petty, so stupid. So Christie.

Chris Christie Tries to Distance Himself From Very New Jersey George Washington Bridge Scandal

"In a press conference, Christie acknowledged that Baroni had mishandled the supposed study and said, "He offered his resignation now and I accepted it because I thought it was the appropriate thing to do given all of the distraction that's going on." Christie also said that he himself had not signed off on the fiasco, which, he insisted, was "absolutely, unequivocally not" politically motivated. Finally, the New Jersey governor denied a Thursday Wall Street Journal report that he had called Andrew Cuomo to complain "that Patrick Foye, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, was pressing too hard to get to the bottom" of the situation."

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/12/chris-christie-george-washington-bridge.html

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The Greatest Art To Ever Spring Forth From A Local Land Use Meeting

I have seen this play far too many times already.

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Fear & Zoning At Mt. Sinai: A One Act Play | Curbed Philly

http://philly.curbed.com/archives/2013/12/13/fear-zoning-at-mt-sinai-a-one-act-play.php

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Oh, That Civilian Kidnapped In Iran? Funny You Should Mention It . . .

I know it's hard to believe, but apparently the intelligence community was less than truthful with Congress, the authorities, and the public. Again.

I suspect there will be more to this story.

Our Man in Iran

Don't miss scoop just posted by the AP on missing American in Iran who...working for the CIA. And against all protocols. (Plus here's AP defending why they are publishing now.) In an extraordinary bre…

http://gregmitchellwriter.blogspot.com/2013/12/our-man-in-iran.html

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There Have Always Been Tom Friedmans

Not surprisingly, the author of "My Cortex Is Flat" didn't invent his signature shtick.

Tommy

Reader g sends along this Studs Terkel quote from Working: Similarly, on our shores, the myth dies hard. The most perdurable and certainly the most dreary is that of the cabdriver-philosopher. Our co…

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2013/12/tommy.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FbRuz+%28Eschaton%29

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Bloomberg's Fire Sale

New administration coming in! Everything must go! No offer refused!

Developer Of Hudson Yards & Willets Point Scores $120 Million In Tax Breaks

"With just 19 days left in office, the Bloomberg administration has bestowed a sloppy goodbye kiss on the giant developer Related Companies in the form of $120 million in tax breaks for its work on the Hudson Yards and Willets Point projects. The abatements were approved by the Industrial Development Agency, an arm of the Economic Development Council. According to Bloomberg News, Related will get a $76.5 million break to design a 49-story tower in Hudson Yards in addition to the $434 million in tax abatements for what has been referred to by Fortune as "the largest real estate project in U.S. history." The company plans to invest $1.2 billion in the project."

http://gothamist.com/2013/12/12/developer_gets_120_million_in_tax_b.php

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The Smearing Has Already Begun

Years of bilge from the tabloids ahead.  A couple of rags owned by billionaires are going to take a break from hurling feces at each other and spend the next four years inventing fake controversies to smear the first Democratic mayor in twenty years. 

The right-wing smear machine is already in motion.  Already working to construct the bullshit narratives they'll be employing to try to derail policy over the next few years.

Morning Read: 'Blooming Flowers or a Parks Commissioner?'

"Bill de Blasio's decision to move to Gracie Mansion was presented differently in the city's two tabloids. The New York Post--with an "OCCUPY GRACIE" headline--played up the move as a contradiction with his populist messaging, emphasizing that Mr. de Blasio is going to be with the "elite" in "one of the city's wealthiest enclaves." While the Daily News--under the print headline "WAS THAT SO HARD?--played up Mr. de Blasio's inability to make decisions by writing that "the delay raised questions whether he is an indecisive manager." A sarcastic editorial followed up: "Which will come first: blooming flowers or a parks commissioner?""

Real http://politicker.com/2013/12/morning-read-blooming-flowers-or-a-parks-commissioner/

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Krueger: Time To Legalize Marijuana In NY

There is absolutely no legitimate reason for marijuana to be illegal while alcohol and tobacco are legal. Period.  End this wasteful, harmful and pointless charade and regulate and tax the herb accordingly.

It's hard to believe that in 2013 we still have a flat-earth policy on marijuana in spite all evidence the world is round.  But I'm hopeful that we're on the cusp of change.  

Pols Begin Push to Legalize Marijuana in New York State

"Riding high on optimism, State Senator Liz Krueger and a bevy of Democratic pols began a public push today to legalize and tax marijuana in New York State. Ms. Krueger will soon introduce legislation to legalize pot in the State Senate, beginning an uphill battle that could pit her against Republicans, who partially control the Senate chamber, and possibly Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "

http://politicker.com/2013/12/pols-begin-push-to-legalize-marijuana-in-new-york-state/

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9/11 Commission Secrets May Be Revealed

I don't subscribe to any of the wild conspiracy theories of the Alex Jones fever swamps.  That said, much of the story of what happened has been withheld from the public for political and foreign policy reasons, and I really hope not only these 28 pages but more of the story sees the light of day.

And let the chips fall where they may. 

Back in 2004 or 2005 my National Security Law professor was (previously) the chief counsel to the 9/11 Commission.  Of course he wasn't sharing any classified material with us. But one clear takeaway I had from that class was that the 9/11 Commission report was a total whitewash.  And we shouldn't be willing to settle for that. 

Will Shifting Loyalties in the Middle East (and Fracking) Bring Truth about 9/11?

More at The Real News As the IBT reported yesterday, Congressman Walter Jones recently managed to get intelligence gatekeeper Mike Rogers to share the 28 redacted pages of the Joint Intelligence Com…

http://www.emptywheel.net/2013/12/11/will-shifting-loyalties-in-the-middle-east-and-fracking-bring-truth-about-911/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=will-shifting-loyalties-in-the-middle-east-and-fracking-bring-truth-about-911

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It's Boondoggles All The Way Down

Seriously?  I joke about it, but are sports arenas and casinos literally the only economic development schemes these people are capable of imagining?

Bonus points for literally planning to build on the ruins of the last boondoggle, a wasteful, unnecessary parking garage. 

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

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As Bloomberg departs, a soccer arena deal emerges | Capital New York

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2013/12/8537221/bloomberg-departs-soccer-arena-deal-emerges

Chris Christie Will Never Be President

For a lot of reasons, but one of which is his record (as opposed to his cultivated media image) could not withstand the spotlight.  As for Chriustie's non-denial denials, I'm reminded of Jim McGreevey's "don't be ridiculous" response to a state investigator asking whether he was gay (IIRC, as part of his security clearance process upon election to the Governorship).  It was marked down as a "no", and of course it was not a no.  It was an evasion.

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Mr. Christie laughed off the idea that he had been involved in a matter as small as closing bridge lanes, and his chief appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the bridge, insisted that the lane closings were simply part of a traffic study. But on Friday, the man who ordered the closings — a high school friend of the governor's who was a small-town mayor and the founder of an anonymous political blog before Mr. Christie's appointee created a job for him at the Port Authority — resigned, saying the issue had become "a distraction." And testifying under subpoena in Trenton on Monday, bridge workers described Mr. Christie's associates' ordering the closings, and called the different maneuvers "unprecedented," "odd" and "wrong." There was, they said, no study. Mr. Christie's associates at the Port Authority, they said, ordered bridge workers to shut down the lanes with three days' notice despite warnings that it would cause havoc, and that changes of this magnitude typically took years of planning. They were instructed not to tell anyone — not the news media, not Fort Lee, not even the Port Authority's executive director, who is an appointee of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, they said. They protested, but went along, they said, because they feared retribution.

Let The Snowpocalypse Begin!

Actually not that much, but logistical headaches aside I'm looking forward to the kids having some fun in the snow.

The Snow Will Really Start Coming Down Around 9 a.m. Tuesday in Brooklyn, NYC

Snow at Brooklyn Borough Hall. Photo: MK Metz According to the National Weather Service , Tuesday morning's snow should start getting real around 9 a.m. NOAA calls for total daytime snow accumulatio…

http://mcbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-snow-will-really-start-coming-down.html

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