Pillow Tax; OT: Lightning never strikes twice

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PILLOW TAX--242 Google hits
...
"Pillow tax" (a tax on where people sleep, such as hotels/motels--not a tax  
on the purchase of pillows) is not in the OED.
...
... 
_http://www.nysun.com/article/56620_ (http://www.nysun.com/article/56620) 
    
     
Tax Win for City at High Court
U.N. Missions 'Must Pay Their Fair  Share'
By _JOSEPH  GOLDSTEIN_ (http://www.nysun.com/authors/Joseph+Goldstein) 
Staff Reporter of the Sun
June 15,  2007
 
... 
The Supreme Court, in a victory for _Mayor Bloomberg_ 
(http://www.nysun.com/related_results.php?term=Michael+Bloomberg)  that could bring New York hundreds 
of  millions of dollars, has opened the way for municipalities across the 
nation to  hold foreign countries accountable for the tax abuses of their 
diplomatic staff  in America. 
... 
A 7–2 ruling by the federal high court gives _New York City_ 
(http://www.nysun.com/related_results.php?term=New+York+City)  the go-ahead to collect a 
so-called  pillow tax from the diplomatic missions to the _United Nations_ 
(http://www.nysun.com/related_results.php?term=United+Nations)  that dot Midtown and 
the Upper East  Side. The ruling confers jurisdiction on American courts to 
hear the city's  argument that many of those countries should be paying taxes on 
their diplomatic  property. The city claims that it has a right to tax nations 
using missions to  the United Nations for non-diplomatic purposes — such as 
providing living  quarters for low-level staff. 
... 
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OT: LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE 
... 
This is a response to Bill Mullins' points. I did not refer to national  
lightning deaths because Michael Bloomberg is the mayor of New York City, and  was 
talking about New York terrorism. The odds of any New York City resident  
being struck by lightning are very low; the odds of any New York City  resident 
being struck TWICE by lightning, well, unless that person works on  top of the 
Empire State Building, it's about zero.  
... 
People died on 9-11. Certainly, a lot more people died on 9-11 than have been 
 hit twice by lightning in New York City. It is irresponsible for NYC's mayor 
to  say that the terrorism risk is zero. I know what Bloomberg was trying to  
say--get on with your life, worry about greater risks--but his "lightning"  
analogy was a poor one. 
... 
Actually, I think the odds of a major terrorist attack on New York City in  
the next thirty years are quite high. Partly because of that (plus a lot of  
other reasons), I left New York City.  




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